Misprinted Lies (Alice in Chains/Bruno Mars)

World Buries Your Soul

Right after I saw Bruno's performance of "It Will Rain" on the X factor, I texted him.

Me: Just saw you on TV! I knew you would kill it! Production was awesome!

He responded pretty quickly.

Bruno: Awww thanks. Hey you should come to Levcon tomorrow and hang with us.

Me: I'll think about it. I have a lot of work to do.

Bruno: Pleeeease!!! You always work. A couple of hours won't hurt.

Me: K. Fine

Bruno:   :)

Me: Wow... smiley face. I'm impressed you figured that out.

Bruno:   :(

Me: Oh wow...look at you. NERD.

Bruno: LOL.... You're the NERD.

Me: Night

Bruno: Nooooo commeeee baaaaaaaaack

I laughed and smiled at my phone, before turning off the light. The next day I decided to stop by Levcon. I was greeted by all the hooligans and Bruno, of course.

It was nice having them back. Ever since Ryan had been leaving a lot to do One Republic stuff and other commitments, it was pretty lonely in the studio. Luke was doing a lot of shows with his band on the west coast. I mean, I was working with people but a lot of them weren't people I necessarily hung out with.

I was talking to Bruno about random things as Eric, Bruno's brother and drummer came in. I didn't know him and some of the others as well as Phil just because of timing. There were so many of them.

"Hey Lily, you're good with computers, right?" Eric asked.

"Yeah," Bruno said, laughing. "She's such a nerd."

I frowned, giving him a look that made him drop his smile and then start cracking up again.

"Yes," I said to Eric, smiling.

"We want to start a live chat with the fans and we need help setting it up."

"Oh," I said mockingly. "Now I see why I was brought here."

Eric's face stripped itself of emotion.

"I'm kidding," I said, getting up and patting him on the shoulder. "It's a joke, not a dick. Don't take it so hard. Relax."

I thought they were both going to die from their explosions of laughter as we walked into the other room where they had a laptop set up. I helped them figure out the live chat. Those two had no clue about it; it was very simple to set up. I mean, I knew I was younger, but seriously.

________________________________________________

The year was coming to an end.

"Ryan I can't do that," I heard her argue as I walked into the studio.

"Well you should at least think about it," Ryan said calmly. "Think about it for at least five minutes, will ya?"

Ryan and I passed each other through the doorway. He rolled his eyes.

"Think about what?" I asked, sitting down on the couch.

"Don't worry about it, Bruno."

She sighed for a moment when she realized I would just keep asking.

"He wants me to take over Patriot completely...like be the owner 100%."

I smiled. "You should do it. You should take it."

She just focused her eyes on the screen and shook her head. I was determined to push her until she accepted.

"Lily..."

"I don't think I can it, Bruno."

"I know you can. Look at chu, so focused on everything and dedicated. You've already pushed yourself so far. I've seen engineers and producers who don't work as hard as you do and they're crazy successful."

"Maybe you're right..."

I moved closer to her, leaning against the wall. "Of course I am."

She grinned and moved her focus back to the screen.

A couple days later, Ryan threw Lily a party at his house for her work and new position at Patriot that she finally accepted. I still had to nag her for days. He always throws such huge parties; everyone was at this party.

Toward the beginning of the party, I passed Luke and gave him a quick smile and nod on the way to the bathroom. He leaned against the wall and continued talking on the phone.

As I had just passed him, I heard his voice say, "Alright, alright, babe. Oh you're wearing those? The red ones? I bet you look really sexy. I'll be right over. Love you, too."

I couldn't believe my ears. I didn't believe my ears. When I finished going to the bathroom, I went back outside to the outdoor bar where Lily was talking to Ryan.

"Hey Lily, congratulations, again," I said, giving her a lingering hug.

"Thanks, Bruno."

"Hey," I said, looking around. "Where's Luke? I haven't seen him." 

"He left. He had to go take care of his mom. She's sick."

That lying douchebag. I knew exactly where he was, and it wasn't with his mom. It also wasn't with the girl he should have been supporting.I wanted to wring out his neck. How could he do this to her? I didn't know how to tell Lily about this, or even if I was going to.

Several weeks later, I still hadn't told her. It was early 2012 and my tour was officially over. We began writing and recording for the next album. It was so much fun, even in the early stages.

When I stepped into the studio, Lily was sitting on a stool, finishing "The Fighter" for Travie McCoy.

She had fallen asleep on her hand, leaning over the desk. The area around her eyes was red and swollen; I knew it happened. I shook her shoulder lightly.

She woke up yawning. "Hi Bruno."

"Are you okay?" I asked, sitting in the chair beside her.

"Yeah. My stomach's been acting up a bit," she said, pointing to the garbage can at her feet.

"Don't lie to me. Your stomach always acts up and you never look like this."

She stared at the computer screen totally avoiding my eye contact and sighed. "Luke broke up with me." He broke up with her? Jerk.

"Awww, I'm sorry," I said, wrapping an arm around her in a side hug.

"It's okay. I'm alright."

"You don't seem alright."

"I just didn't see it coming," she said quietly. "I don't know what I did."

"I'm sure it wasn't your fault," I said, winking.

Why was the world so against this girl? After seeing her like that, I was thrilled when she called me a few days after with great news.