Monstercat University I

Chapter 026

[Dilumi's POV]

Soulero's set is filled with the best of electro and house. During the first part, he plays his Hellberg collaboration Because We Are, and later on he plays Bloodlip, Truth, and Pussycat. Many beautiful melodies with vocals are scattered throughout the set, as well as a good amount of big room to keep everyone dancing. At the end he does an awesome transition from Video Boy to The Munsta, ending a little heavier for Droptek. Droptek starts his set lighter and then gets heavier, kind of like what I did. He uses Vice as one of his throwbacks, and he even plays some bounce in the middle, which I love. Then about three quarters through, he starts an incredible melodic dubstep remix of Radioactive. I swear I'm going to ask him whose it is later. It's so beautiful. Even though I don't know the remix, I know Radioactive, so I sing along with it, turning my head towards the ceiling and closing my eyes. After that he does an amazing transition into Duality that ties the vibe together perfectly and makes cold chills go up my arms. After it he starts playing this DnB track with female vocals that I don't know, and then he says it's his new track with Isabel Higuero! I'm so excited for it to come out; it sounds amazing. After what seems like no time at all, the set is over, and the lights come back on. All of a sudden, the room turns into a swarm, with artists talking and pushing past one another. I look over at Tristam. "That was incredible."
"I know, right?" he smiles. Dang, it feels weird standing next to him with 3" heels on. I'm not much shorter than him now. I think we're just going to stay in the same place until the auditorium has cleared out a bit, and then it won't be as hard to get out.
"Hey Dilumi, your set was really amazing." It takes me a second to realize it's Draper talking to me from behind.
"Thanks! It was fun."
"You're welcome. Well, I'll see you later." I wave to Draper as he walks away. Overall, that was probably my best set ever. My transitions were great, I maintained a good mix of different subgenres, I pleased the crowd, and even though there were some songs I wanted to play but hadn't gotten to, I stayed true to the vibe, and that's the most important thing. I didn't expect myself to steer completely off the tracklist, but once I started, it just kind of came naturally, and I realized it's not too hard anyway. It's actually pretty fun. That way, you can even surprise yourself with what you come up with. Suddenly I see the Pegboard Nerds pushing their way through the crowd. Oh yeah, I never played Coffins either. Oh well.
"Hey Alex! Mike!" They both turn and look at me, then make their way over.
"Hey! You did great!" Mike exclaims.
"I can't stick to the same genre for five minutes," I laugh.
"Hey, that's alright!" Alex says. "We're really proud of you." I beam with happiness. It's so great to hear that from someone like the Pegboard Nerds.
"I kind of panicked a bit towards the end because I was on a really high BPM," I admit.
"Yeah, it showed on your face..." Mike says.
"Crap..." I mumble, looking at the ground.
"Hey, it's ok. Everybody messes up sometimes. It's a learning experience. That was a really great set overall! You did amazing!" Mike pats me on the shoulder.
"Thank you," I smile as the Nerds walk away. I wonder where Soulero and Droptek are. They're nowhere to be seen, as usual. Suddenly, a huge wave of drowsiness washes over me, and I yawn.
"You tired?" Tristam asks.
"Yeah...really tired..." I feel like I could just fall asleep standing right here.
"C'mon, let's go back to my dorm," Tristam says, pushing me lightly towards the door. I trudge through the thinning crowd, and everyone else follows. The auditorium is really clearing out now. I think for a second about my equipment, which is still sitting backstage. Oh well, I'll get it in the morning. Once we're out, Tristam puts his arm around my shoulders and pulls me closer to his side as we walk down the hallway. I lean into him happily, soaking up the warmth of his body.

---

[Braken's POV]

"Tristam, come on," I say, pulling him towards the kitchen. "I have to show you something." We walk in together, then I turn and face him.
"Yeah?" he says, the slightest tinge of concern in his eyes. I figure I have to show him this sometime. I roll up my sleeve, revealing the cuts on my wrist. Tristam gasps and then freezes, staring down at my scars as if recalling some bad memory.
"I...I'm sorry I let you down," I murmur. He looks up and his eyes meet mine for just a second before he pulls me into a tight embrace.
"None of this is your fault," Tristam says quietly. "It never was." He doesn't let go for a long time. When he finally pulls away, he has a determined and fierce look in his eyes as he holds me firmly by the shoulders.
"Braken, you're going to get through this," he says. "I care about you, and I'm going to help you get through this."
"Thank you," I whisper after a few seconds.
"Always," Tristam says with the tiniest bit of a smile.
"Oh...I, um...threw away the sheet music for our song...I'm sorry..."
"You mean that electro thing?" he asks in a much calmer voice than I had expected. I nod. "It's okay," Tristam shrugs. "I don't think it was really going in the right direction anyway."
"So what do we do now?"
"We'll start from the start," Tristam says.
"I like that," I say, smiling.
"I'll go write it down then," Tristam responds, smiling even bigger.

[Dilumi's POV]

I finish the snack Tristam gave me and walk out of the kitchen. Tristam is laying on the top bunk on his phone with his head propped up on the pillow, Aero Chord is on his laptop, and Noisestorm and Braken are sound asleep. I walk around and climb partway up the ladder to the top bunk, then stand and gaze at Tristam. He notices me within a few seconds and gives me a goofy smile. "Whatcha doing?" I ask him.
"Watching your set. Someone has it up on YouTube already."
"Cool. You just watched it a couple hours ago!" I laugh.
"But it's awesome!" Tristam protests. I grin in response.
"Can I see it?"
"Sure. C'mon." Tristam pats the empty space next to him. I raise an eyebrow.
"You sure there's enough room for me up there?"
"Yep. Braken came up here once before. It's fine." I slide my knees up onto the mattress and then crawl over and lay on my side next to Tristam, propping myself up on my elbow and staring at the video on his phone. It is a little tight up here, but it'll do.
"That's so cool!" I exclaim as my track Never Let It Go (Alive) comes on, about ten minutes through the set.
"Yeah," Tristam agrees. We watch in silence for a couple more minutes before I yawn. Then Tristam yawns, making us both laugh. Tristam pauses the video and looks over at me. "Well, I guess we can watch the rest of this later. I'm really tired too."
"Agreed."
"Hey, you wanna be the first one to sign this?" Tristam asks, holding his cast up.
"Sure!" I respond. As I shift into a cross-legged position, Tristam climbs down from the top bunk and then comes back up holding a pink marker. "Pink for drumstep," he smiles, knowing I love the genre.
"Yay!" I laugh, reaching for the marker. "How should I sign it? My real name or artist name?"
"However you want me to address you," Tristam responds.
"Well...I prefer Dilumi," I tell him. I write my artist name on the cast, drawing a small heart next to it.
"Cool. Thanks."

[Tristam's POV]

"So do you want me to call you Leo?" Dilumi asks me. I smile and nod.
"Sure, why not?"
"Ok, Leo," she says, breaking out into a grin. I let out yet another big yawn and then fall onto my back. Dilumi stretches out and lies down beside me, resting her head on my shoulder and closing her eyes. I pull my arm out and wrap it around her, and she slides closer to my side. Honestly, we've been normal friends for so long that it's almost a little odd to think of her this way. But now, I know this is what we were meant to be all along.

---
---
---
THE END
---
---
---