More Than a Moment

Seven

"Bravo!" Ashton yelled as the band clapped. They had just finished listening to Luke and Magnolia's rough take of Distance. 

"You like it?" Magnolia asked timidly, now painfully aware of how vulnerable she is.

"It's great!" Calum answered. He knew it would be great because Luke and Magnolia are great. They don't even have to be singing to be great; they're just great together. Like right now, they are both standing off with one arm clutching the other, waiting for feedback with nervous eyes. Great. 

"Glad to hear it," John piped in. "We're going to give these two a break from that song. I'm sure they were singing it in their sleep." John looked over at Luke and Magnolia, hoping to get an affirmative nod or something, but they just stood there, waiting for him to continue. "Anyway, why don't we work on some of the other stuff and have Magnolia jump in."

Everyone got to work, and by the time they were done, Magnolia wondered how they had actually accomplished anything. Yeah, they went through five songs a few times each, but they had to stop and start about a hundred times because the boys kept goofing around. 

If they made it past the initial thirty seconds of the song, they were good for the rest of it, but those first thirty seconds were painful. 

"Good work today, everyone. Good luck with the rest of the tour. I'll see you in a few weeks!" John dismissed as everyone was packing up. Everyone responded with their good-byes.

"So, do you wanna go get some coffee?" Calum asked Magnolia as the whole group stood around after John had left.

In her mind she knew he meant with everyone, but in her heart she thought he was asking her alone. 

"Uh, sure. Actually, what time is it?" Magnolia wheeled around until she found a clock. (Her phone is in her bag because there are no phones in the booth.) "I have a study date tonight, but I have plenty of time before then." She smiled, waiting for further plans.

"A date, huh? Is he cute?" Ashton teased, wiggling his eyebrows. 

Date? Luke thought. Actually, he hadn't thought anything of it until Ashton made a joke.

"Study date. Definitely not a date if studying is involved, but sure, I guess my friend is cute in a really cliche nerd kind of way," Magnolia shrugged, trying to picture a scenario where Tyler would be cute. She couldn't see it. 

"I'll be the judge of that," Michael said, stepping forward. "Picture, please."

Magnolia pulled up a picture of Tyler from Facebook. Honestly, he is the dictionary definition of a nerd: looks and personality. He's a good guy, though. He tells funny jokes if you understand them.

"Awh!" Michael cooed. "If you took his clothes and put them on a teddy bear, it'd be a really cute nerd teddy bear." Michael smiled, imagining said bear. 

Magnolia laughed along with Michael until Calum interrupted with his impatience. 

"Let's go," and he walked out the door. 

The group stopped for coffee, but they continued to Calum and Ashton's for privacy. Their apartment is surprisingly well-kept, but that's probably because they're never around. This saddened Magnolia. 

"So... how was it? Was it as bad as you thought it'd be? Worse? Better?" Michael badgered, blowing on his drink to cool it down. 

"It was..." How did she want to phrase this? It was kind of terrible, but also really great? "Kind of terrible but also really great. If that makes sense." She blushed, looking away. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb. That was dumb.

"That makes complete sense!" Michael assured her. He had felt the same way. It's like you're putting everything out there to be criticized, but at the same time, you're creating music. It doesn't get much better than that. 

"It's also exhausting. I don't know how you do it. And then add touring into the mix? No thanks." Magnolia is finally realizing how tired she actually is. All the adrenaline of these past two days is finally fizzling out. She could use a nap right about now. 

The boys chuckled, all silently agreeing to the notion that their workload is massive. "The trick is to never actually say you're tired," Luke said, giving Magnolia a tip that doesn't actually work. 

"Whoops," Magnolia answered, then laughing. 

They continued to talk and joke, but as time went on, everyone's dwindling energy became more apparent. Magnolia still has to go home and study for a final in two days. She wanted to cry. 

"I should go," She said, excusing herself. "Thanks for the coffee and a good time." She slipped her purse over her shoulder and waved.

"Yeah, anytime. We'll text you or call you or something next time we're in town," Ashton said, yawning as soon as he got his final word out.

Magnolia laughed and turned to go, "Sounds good. See you whenever." 

As she went down the hallway, fast footsteps approached behind her. "Hey, Lia, wait up!" 

Lia? Magnolia had never been called Lia, though, now that she thinks of it, that seems like a pretty obvious nickname to come out of her full name. 

She turned around to find Luke, not mentioning anything about the name. He seemed caught off by it, though. Luke didn't mean to call her anything but Magnolia, but Lia just kind of slipped out. It felt familiar to him. "Uh, sorry. I just wanted to tell you that you did a good job. Recording isn't easy, but you did great. And you made it fun." He smiled, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. 

"Thanks, Luke. That means a lot to me. You helped," she offered, smiling back. 

"Well, I haven't felt that refreshed recording in a while, so I'm glad you're working with us," he smiled back. He knew this would be awkward, but needed to tell her this. Hearing positive feedback makes all the difference in the world. 

"I'm glad I'm doing this too. I'll see you soon, okay?" She flashed one last smile before twisting the doorknob.

"Yeah, see ya," Luke bid. 

Once the door had closed, he stood in the hall, staring at the space Magnolia just stood. He took a deep breath, a fresh guilt creeping up on him. He returned to the boys to find a cheeky grin on each of their faces. 

"Nothing happened," he stated before they could make any smart remarks. 

"Yeah, that's why your face is flushed," Michael muttered, and the other boys broke into a soft chuckle, but Luke just blushed harder.