Act Two // Book One

Chapter Six

The morning sun cast a red glow behind Harry's eyelids as he pulled himself out of a very deep sleep. Where was he? What time was he in? Was he dreaming?

He lifted his hand to read the numbers on his watch. It was almost 11 a.m. He hadn't slept this long in awhile. He let his hand drop with a thump to the bed underneath him.

His hands lifted to his eyes, rubbing the sleep out of them when he heard a voice. Harry's head lifted off the pillow slowly as the voice got a little louder and then faded away again. She was singing "Baby I Need Your Loving" from The Four Tops.

Harry's eyes squinted as he looked around the room. Confusion set in. Gwen? Had the entire last year been a dream?

He pulled his feet out of the covers, pressing them into the cold wood floors as he lifted himself up and off the mattress. He tiptoed down the hallway, trying desperately to ignore the nagging pounding in his head as well as walk softly enough so the floors didn't creak.

He curled his fingers around the frame of the doorway before peeking around. It wasn't Gwen. His heart sagged as the realization set in that he hadn't been dreaming. Until a new realization set in. She could sing.

What was her name again? Serena? Stephanie? Something with an S. She had a beautiful voice full of soul and emotion. A voice that sounded eerily like Gwen's but yet had it's own tone. Her voice took Harry's breath away.

She turned around suddenly. Harry stepped back, leaning his head against the wall behind him as he continued to listen. He tipped his head up to look at the ceiling. She obviously hadn't had a whole lot of training, but there was real raw talent there. Talent that piqued Harry's curiosity.

When Harry heard her voice headed his way he quickly tiptoed back down the hallway to his room. He silently got back into his bed, lying down just as he heard her pass his bedroom door.

Maybe there was more to this girl then he originally thought.

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Harry stared down at the console in his studio a few hours later. He hadn't been able to get the sound of Samantha's voice out of his head all day. It was kind of annoying considering he'd promised the record company he'd have something for them to hear by the end of the week and he was no closer to an actual song then he had been a week ago.

His producer, Jeff, toyed with some of the knobs. He adjusted instruments and sounds, hoping something would start the inspiration and get them moving. But it was clear that Harry was distracted and hardly thinking about anything having to do with music.

Jeff studied him for a bit. It was a little disconcerting to see the Harry he'd known and loved return if even for a tiny glimpse. And he definitely hadn't seen this Harry since Gwen died. His gears were turning. Jeff used to get so excited when Harry's gears would turn, it usually meant really good things were about to happen.

He didn't know what to do. Was this going to continue or was it a one shot deal? He almost didn't want to say anything to scare it away. But he couldn't help himself,

"You ok over there buddy?"

Harry didn't answer right away, still seemingly in his own world. He finally took a breath and turned to Jeff,

"I heard something today..."

That was it. That was all he said. Thankfully Jeff had been around Harry enough to know that he just needed to keep quiet and allow Harry to get through his through process.

Harry finally focused on Jeff in front of him,

"The girl upstairs-"
"Samantha." Jeff interrupted.
Harry rolled his eyes, still irritated that he didn't know her name immediately. He nodded,