Constellations, Alex Gaskarth, All Time Low

44

Petal

"Lucas didn't tell you? We've been recording the music for two songs while you were gone. We need the vocals." Gavin shrugs.

"And we wrote more for the lyrics you sent us." Gavin says.

As soon as I had gotten into the studio this morning, I had been hugged, and told never to leave that long again. I had also been asked again if anything special happened in the last few weeks. I had my ring in my purse, wanting to tell them at dinner when Alex would be with us and when we saw mom too.

"I want to hear what you have!" I smile, brightly. They stood behind their instruments in the rehersal studio, warming up quickly before they started playing things that they showed me on Skype with bad quality. In person, it sounded wonderful. I loved it so much, even though Gavin sang terribly and off key.

When they finish, Lucas comes in, telling them they were great before adding a couple irreversible things about something, but I didn't listen. "Anyway, I thought we would get another hand to help us produce this album. He won't be here but once every couple of weeks for a few days, but anyway, you'll see who that is soon. His car just came up."

"I had an idea to run by you guys. Hear me out first." They look at me to go on. "I want to add piano to a few of the tracks that we're going to do on this album. As I had been writing, I thought of things to add."

"No one plays piano, though? We wanted it all to be natural, remember?" Andy comments, forgetting I'm a natural.

"No, it's the only instrument I can play and that I'm good at." I smile, shrugging. "I haven't played in a while, but I gauruntee I'll still be able to do it well with practice. Just wait and see. We have seven months to do all of this, so thats what we'll do. Listen now."

"If that's what you guys want we can totally do that. I'm thinking it will sound really good and change the sounds of rock a little bit. Are we thinking accoustic or?" A new but very familiar voice asks.

"Rian!" I bound over to my friend and hug him. "We missed you."

"I missed you guys too." He smiles his megawatt smile.

"To answer your question, I'll show you what I've written." I thanked God silently for there being a piano in this room.

I started to play the song that I sang to Alex on my first night in Baltimore. I decided to call it Jacked Up, and I thought it sounded truly beautiful.  When I finish, I shrug. "But if you don't like that idea, we don't have to." I get back up from the piano, and turn to them.

"I like that idea a lot." They all gave variations of that. I smiled from ear to ear. I was excited, this would be a new start. We continued talking for a little while about when we would track those songs, and then I went into the vocal room to record vocals for a song they recorded while I had been gone.

"You're really engaged in this aren't you?" Rian asks, and taps his wedding band. I nod, grinning. "Good, me too." He hugs me again. "Congratulations." He whispers in my ear.

Alex

There are so many houses in LA, I didn't know where to begin. I do know that she wanted me to start though, but this would be much easier with her beside me. "Hi, my name is Elizabeth Baker, I'll show you the houses today." The real estate woman smiles. "Are you looking for anything in particular?"

"At least a two bedroom house would be okay, but I'd like to have a guest bedroom too?" I tell her about my dream house, and also about Petals.

Petal had her dreamhouse as of now, she would say, but she wanted something bigger for our children and if a guest stays over.