Untold Story (With AJ Holmes of Starkid)

Chapter 1: A Whole New World

Chapter 1: A Whole New World

The room was dark. Quiet. I was utterly alone and at peace, just me and my favorite piano. 

Nearly no one knew that I was hear. Every night after groups are done rehearsing or performing, I love to come here and just play by myself. The piano filling my ears with wonderful music. 

Hesitant to ruin the quiet, I slowly placed my fingers along the keys, stroking them momentarily before placing them into position. 

The sound filled the small studio as my fingers danced across the keys, playing a song from on of my favorite movies. 

And then it was ruined. 

"Aladdin?" a voice cut in, ruining my perfect moment with an amazing song. 

I stopped immediately, cutting off the song mid-verse, and said nothing. Nearly every light was off, leaving only a slight vision of the piano keys. 

Maybe if I said nothing, he'd go away?

"Sorry to scare you, I was just packing up from my last rehearsal." the voice spoke again, getting closer as I stayed perfectly quiet and still. 

"Or not?" the guy said, obviously directly behind me at this moment. 

"I didn't know anyone was here.." I finally said, my voice quiet and slightly upset. 

"My bad, my bad. I'd just like to help you with your song.." he spoke, sitting down directly next to me on the piano bench. "I don't need help. It's fine." I shot back defensively. 

"It was great! Don't get me wrong! I'd just like to help you out when it gets to the chorus." he continued, not accepting the fact that I wanted to be left alone. 

"I said I don't need help." I repeated, slightly annoyed with the new stranger who was now sitting so closely to me. 

"Oh sure you do!" he demanded in a happy tone, placing his fingers where mine had been only seconds before. "I-" I tried to fight back, but he cut me off quickly. 

"You were a bit choppy when you got to the chorus. You see, right here-" he instructed, playing the notes I had just been playing, "Instead of making sure it was smooth and soft." he finished, stopping the sound abruptly. 

"I was doing it just like that…" I sulked, still upset that I was being corrected by someone who I didn't even know the name of. "No, you did it more in a way that you smashed the keys, rather than running them smoothly." he corrected, placing his left arm up on the other side of the piano so he could play the whole verse. 

As soon as he moved his left arm to place it on the keyboard, it brushed against my own, causing me to retreat away from him suddenly, jerking my arm away from where he had just brushed against me. 

"Are you alright?.." he asked, glancing over at me, with a shadow cast over him, causing him to appear as just a silhouette. "I'm fine…" I said quietly, trying to keep my distance from him. 

"Okay…" he accepted, turning to look back at the piano. "Here, sing it with me so that I can show you how it's supposed to sound." he demanded, a slight smile being shown on his face. 

I didn't respond, and simply accepted that he wasn't leaving. 

"I can show you the world
Shining, shimmering, splendid
Tell me, princess, now when did
you last let your heart decide
I can open your eyes
Take you wonder by wonder
Over, sideways, and under
On a magic carpet ride."

He sang loudly, but powerfully, sounding nearly better than the piano. His voice was like velvet as it tickled my ears with enjoyment. 

"See?" he finally said, retreating his hands from the keys. "You're really good…" I admitted, avoiding looking at him, and staring down at the keys instead.

"Thank you! That's sweet of you." he responded, and I could see a goofy big smile on his face. "Do you mind if I switch on the light so I may see the face of my Jasmine?" he joked, looking at me and causing me to look away with a blush that I'm glad he couldn't see. 

"Sure…" I responded quietly, before he hopped off the bench quickly and ran back behind on of the wings, and switched a light, flooding the entire stage side of the studio, causing my eyes to close in shock before he ran back to sit with me. 

"You alright?.." he asked, as I continued to have my eyes shut for a few more moments. "Yeah.. Yeah… I've got sensitive eyes.. sorry..". 

"Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't know.." he responded innocently, with almost a guilty tint in his voice as I opened my eyes. "It's fine, it's fine. It was just kinda sudden." I reassured him, accidentally flashing a smile. 

"Oh. No wonder they're sensitive… They're a beautiful silver-like color.." he said, looking into my eyes and causing me to feel slightly uneasy. 

"Um… Yeah…" I answered, unsure of if he was flirting or not… 

"So… Sing with me, Jasmine?" he smiled a large smile, showing off all his teeth. 

And then we sang. 

We sang nearly the whole song, which was strange. I don't sing. But he was amazing, so I felt bad for missing out on such an experience as singing with him. His voice overpowered mine, and he hit literally every note, not missing a beat as he played such an amazing song. 

As the song finished, I was smiling. I was smiling even though I didn't know who exactly I was even singing with. I just knew he was making me feel happy… bubbly… It was weird. 

"So um… What's your name?.." I spoke quietly, unsure of what else to say after singing such a beautiful duet with such a talented guy. 

He smiled and looked down momentarily, before finally responding. 

"Just call me AJ. And who might my Jasmine be?" he joked once again, unable to get over his knew nickname for me. 

"Just call me Shaila." I teased, mocking his tone. 

That was the first night my life really began.