The Kings: A Band's Tale

Recording with Unexpected [6]

The soft hum of recording equipment filled the studio as The Kings wrapped up their latest take of Unwritten Pages. The song was coming together, but it still needed a few tweaks to get it just right. Uno, standing in the recording booth with his guitar, gave the signal to the sound engineers behind the glass.

"Alright, let's take five," Marshall said through the mic, his voice crackling in the booth. "You've earned a break."

Lorenzo stretched his arms as he stood from his stool. "Sounds good to me. Could use some coffee anyway."

The rest of the band-Matt, Angelo, Maury, Sherwin, and Lance-nodded in agreement, getting up from their seats behind the control panel. Even Denise stood, though she lingered a bit longer, eyes flicking back to Uno through the glass.

"Uno, you coming?" Angelo asked, waving toward the booth.

Uno waved back absentmindedly, still holding his guitar. "I'll be out in a minute. Just need to fine-tune something real quick."

Angelo shrugged and followed the others out into the break room, leaving just the sound engineers and Denise behind.

Denise glanced at Uno again through the glass. He was plucking a few chords, deep in thought, completely unaware that his mic was still on. The engineers were adjusting levels, tweaking dials, but they were all paying more attention to their gear than what Uno was doing.

Uno shifted in the booth, his fingers finding the familiar chords of a song he hadn't planned to share yet. It was something he'd written in secret, late at night when he couldn't sleep, thinking about Denise. He strummed a few soft notes and began to sing, unaware that his voice was being picked up by the still-active mic.

"This song... it's for someone special," he muttered to himself as his fingers moved across the strings. His voice was barely above a whisper, but it was clear enough for those in the control room to hear.

Denise's breath caught in her throat. She recognized the melody instantly-it wasn't one of their usual tracks. She leaned forward, heart racing, eyes wide as she watched him.

Uno started singing softly, his voice filled with emotion.

"In a crowded room, I see only one,
With eyes like gold, shining like the sun.
I never knew what love could be,
Until your gaze was locked on me."

Denise's hand flew to her chest. Yellow eyes. She was the only one in the room-no, in the entire band-who had yellow eyes. Her pulse quickened as the realization hit her. This song... it was for her.

Uno kept singing, still unaware that the mic was on and that his private performance was being heard by everyone in the control room.

"In the quiet moments, you're always there,
With every glance, you show me you care.
But I'm too scared to say the words,
So I'll sing them in this song, unheard."

Denise felt like she couldn't breathe. Every word, every note was filled with the feelings Uno had kept hidden for so long. She glanced at the sound engineers, who were now completely silent, listening intently, as if realizing the significance of the moment.

Arkin looked over at Denise, his eyebrows raised as if to ask, Is this for real?

Denise's eyes were glued to Uno, her voice barely a whisper as she answered, "Yeah... it's real."

Uno continued playing, his voice growing a little stronger, though his tone remained tender.

"If only I could tell you what you mean,
The way you've coloured my life, yellow and blue.
But for now, I'll keep it in my heart,
Until the day we're not apart."