Paper Parachute | Celebrity Romance

3.

Blair was exhausted as she cleared the plates from her last table of the night. It was nearly one in the morning and she'd been up since the crack of dawn. She couldn't wait to quit this job. She loved Deno, he was practically a father to her. The camaraderie of her coworkers and the atmosphere were amazing, performing there had helped give her a shot at her dream but now it was time to chase it. And that meant leaving Deno's, at least as a workplace, behind.

"I'm proud of you, B. I always knew you were special, I've been saying it for years now." Deno said after she had submitted her resignation and he joined her at the counter, propping his forearms onto the top and leaning his weight against it.

"Thank you, for everything. I still can't believe you called Tidal for me."

"It was no problem. You deserve this chance Blair. You deserve to be heard by more than just the regulars here on Open Mic nights."

Blair just nodded unsure of what to say to him. For the past three years Deno had been less like her boss and more like her father. Considering her real parents had never supported her decisions, they'd practically disowned her when she had moved to California instead of heading off to college, he was basically the only 'family' she had at this point.

"C'mon kid. Get these dishes to the back then get out of here. I know you're recording in the morning. This place isn't where you belong anymore."

"Does that mean I'm not going to be welcome anymore?"

"You will always be welcome here, Blair. Always." He hugged her then, and she had to fight the urge to cry. Yes her dream was taking off, but there was something sad about leaving the place that had come to feel like home to her.

"Thanks, Deno." She said pulling away from him. She threw her apron into the pile of dirty ones for the last time and grabbed her bag, she took one last longing look back around at the diner. The lights were already dimmed the chairs on top of the tables for the night. She took it all in and then sighed, heading for the exit and the official start of a brand new life.

"Believe in yourself, B! Everyone here believes in you." Deno called after her as she stepped out into the warm southern California air.

•

"Okay so, what's the song about?"

Taylor, the sound engineer helping with her EP asked. They were debating on changes they could make to improve it.

"It's about just going where you feel led even when it's hard because you're leaving something behind. I wrote it when I was moving out here a few years ago. I was leaving everything I had ever known behind to chase this dream and it was both exciting and terrifying all at once. A lot of the things I've been feeling these last few days really."

Taylor brought his forefinger and thumb to his chin, scratching at his beard as he changed a few things on the sound board before coming into the recording area and removing the rug.

"Let's try it like this." He said simply before retreating to the control room.

Blair felt the confused look grow on her face but did as he asked, stepping up to the microphone and delivering her song with as much fervor and emotion as she could manage.

"Okay, so we'll need to go back and track specific parts but come listen to this."

She removed her headphones and stepped into the control room, falling onto the comfortable black couch situated against the wall.

Taylor hit playback and the walls of the sound room echoed with her voice. Only she couldn't believe it was her. Their was something special about the way the mic Taylor had picked crackled and he'd done something to make her tone seem richer. The song was always sad and reflective but now, it was damn near heartbreaking.