I Just Wanted to be Edgy Too

Chapter Forty-Seven

Van

Bondy and I sat in the studio as Jack showed us different versions of a song he'd mixed two ways. Blakes and Bob told us to pick which one we liked more, and left to head up to Glasgow for the day. They offered to take Ellie along and she jumped at the chance. We'd spent the last few days wrapped up in each other, trying not to let the others know how deep things were getting, but it was evident in the way we gravitated toward each other, and the way that I couldn't keep my hands off her.

I smirked to myself as I glanced over at the couch, my cheeks turning a deep red. Bondy nudged me and raised his eyebrows at me.

"You alright, mate?"

I flicked my hand through my hair before crossing my arms over my chest and leaning into the wall. "Yeah...I'm good."

"Alright, second version." Jack pressed a few buttons and the song took on an entirely different vibe than it had the first time around. The tempo increased, and the highlight of the bass gave the song a depth it didn't have before. I glanced over to Bondy, his boot tapping rhythmically against the floor, fingers picking at invisible strings.

The song was meant to be a bit slower, but heavier than a stripped down acoustic version. In my head, it carried hints of Heathrow, but hearing it this way reminded me of the beginning of Outside. It packed a punch that I didn't intend for it to carry when I wrote it.

By the time the song finished, Bondy and I shared several silent glances that spoke loudly to each other.  We both felt strongly about the second version. I could almost see us sharing these glances on stage together in a few months, smirking in between the chorus and bridge, remembering a time where we could have picked something different. Those moments were my favorites. The moments where we knew what it took to make a song something worth singing along to. Everyone in the crowd just assumed we were laughing at something between the two of us, but it was usually more than that. There was usually a deeper meaning than that.

Jack spun around in his chair and waited for our thoughts. I cleared my throat and pointed to the mixing board.

"The second version is stronger."

He nodded as his eyes shifted to Bondy.

"It's not what we had in mind, but I think it'll go over better. There's more power to it. More of a kickback."

"Listen, I know you're wanting to bring something new to the table with this album, and there's quite a few more acoustic songs on this album than the last, but I felt like this song needed something else. And now it has it."

"It's better than what it woulda been." I patted Jack's back and he smiled.

It'd been a while since I'd felt in control of the music we were releasing. The Balance wasn't all I had it chalked up to be in my mind, but it's what the label wanted, what they told us to do. It was the first time that I had been limited with my creativity as an artist, and it felt like I was being strangled. This was different, The Edge was going to be something that felt right again. I wanted it to feel authentic, almost an outlaw vibe to it, the way our music was meant to be. Not watered down versions of things we'd created, but something with more depth.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. Blakes. I silenced it and shoved it back in.

"I'll finish mixing up the rest of the songs today and tomorrow and then we'll meet for a run through. All of you, Steve, too."

I nodded in approval, suddenly antsy at the thought of hearing the album in full.

"Is the artwork done?"