A/N: Hi sorry for the delay and the small size of this chapter. I chose not to make it too large because any more content would have been filler, and ultimately useless to the rest of the plot. As always,

Enjoy.

Chapter Song: Shawn Mendes - 305

November 13th, 2019

Professor Laurent's ruler slapped the side of her lectern, releasing a loud, cracking snap! Sera, who, since the midterm project had ended, had begun to sit next to me in class, let out a gasp at the sudden sound.

And upon realizing that her outburst was audible, Sera flushed and looked at me as I would do something to help her.

I shrugged. It wasn't like the class was paying attention to her. They had the professor to focus on.

"Now that I have everyone's attention, I would like to announce the final for this class." She cleared her throat. "Much like the midterm, the final will also be an EP project. However, instead of you choosing an EP concept, I will instead be assigning you one."

There were no groans, exclamations, or sounds of complaint.

It was nothing but pure silence.

I looked at Seraphine. Her mouth hung open in pure shock, and it seemed that everyone else wore the same expression as well. I could hardly believe it. Of all the teachers that would curb our creativity, of all the classes that would curb our creativity, Professor Laurent and Music Composition were the last two that I would have answered with.

For months, Professor Laurent had lauded the importance of creative freedom, collaboration, and so on and so forth. But now she was taking almost all of it away and assigning it to us as our final.

"Professor." Violet stood. "Did I hear that right?"

"Yes, Violet. I will be assigning you the concept for your EP."

"This isn't fair, Professor!"

Following Violet's outburst, the class exploded into a ruckus of shouting, pointing, and complaining. It was hard to resist getting dragged in with the rest of them, for a moment I slowly began to rise out of my seat, but Seraphine grabbed the sleeve of my jacket and stopped me.

"No point in fighting against it when there's nothing we can do, right?" She asked.

"Right." I sighed. Professor Laurent was a stalwart woman, when she set her mind on something, there wasn't much to be done about changing her opinion. Thinking more positively, I continued. "We should just try and make the most out of whatever she assigns us, right?"

Seraphine smiled and nodded.

After a short while, Professor Laurent managed to calm the lecture hall back down. She sounded half-tempted to lecture us on things other than what we were supposed to learn that day. Curtly, she continued her lecture. "As I said: you will be assigned concepts for the final EP project. You have the option to continue working with the partner you had in the previous EP project, and if you wish to be assigned another partner, please let me know." She scanned the room for any dissenting gazes. "In addition to this EP project, you will also be assigned a small bit of research."

Professor Laurent grinned. "There will be a Music-Appreciation Festival in Venice Beach this upcoming weekend. It will be open from November 15th through the 22nd. I expect every group to go and make note of at least one genre of music at the festival, and attempt to make a song within that genre."

Seraphine and I shared an excited glance.

"The EP project will be due December 9th. Unlike the last project, the EP with the highest grade will not be released by UMG, but hopefully the fact that this is worth a quarter of your grade in this class still motivates you." Professor Laurent produced the same bowl that she used to draw names for the first EP project. "Seeing as we are all here today, I will draw concepts now. Please speak to me after class if you and your partner would like to work with different people."

"For Violet and Orion," Professor Laurent began, her hand dipping into the bowl and swirling around the pieces of paper. She pulled one out and unfolded it. "Your concept will be Night."

Violet groaned, and Orion patted her on the back.

"For Seraphine and Jaemin…"

"Oh boy," I murmured. "Here's hoping we get something good."

"Agreed," Seraphine added.

"Your concept will be Wonder."

[;]

Over the last week or so, Seraphine and I had slowly returned to a normal friendship— it was the only positive outcome of the scandal that Lux and I created on our trip to Disneyland together. After that incident, Lux and I had a long conversation about what our relationship with each other really was.

It was a strange, but much needed conversation. After what was essentially a date at Disneyland, I felt awful for treating Lux the way I did; it felt like I was accidentally leading her on the entire time there. Even though it wasn't my intention, I still couldn't help but feel that way. Lux reassured me that wasn't the case, and that the blame was on both of us. We both crossed boundaries that we shouldn't have simply because we got carried away in the moment. Now we were facing the consequences of our careless actions.

Lux was stuck at home, and wouldn't be able to see me face-to-face for an unknown amount of time, anywhere from a few weeks to several months.

Ultimately, we decided that it would be best to remain friends.

I… I don't think I would have minded starting a relationship with Lux after that. But during our conversation, she put it in such a way that made perfect sense: "We should probably try being friends first. I don't even know anything about you other than the fact that you sing, make music, and work at the same place I do."

So ever since Lux was forced to stay at home, and whenever I had time, we would text one another. It was harmless conversation, just asking questions and learning more about each other.

I glanced down at Seraphine as we walked out of Professor Laurent's class and towards her car. We were both done with classes for the day. I thought it best to be courteous and walk her back to the parking garage.

She was trying to make an argument in favor of the concept. And while I understood where she was coming from, I still couldn't help but feel pigeonholed. Months after months of creative freedom, all amounting up to… this.

It felt wrong.

"It's not like the concept is foreign," Seraphine argued. "We can totally make something out if it."

"That's not the point, Sera." I sighed. "It feels like the professor is taking something away from us. Something that shouldn't ever be taken away."

"I know. But like I said earlier, there's not much we can do about it, right?"

"Yeah. I get it." Stuffing my hands into my pockets, I decided to leave the conversation there. Seraphine had a point there. We just had to take in stride. "So, we should probably go to that music festival before anything else, right?"

Seraphine agreed. "Definitely. After that, we can try what we did for the last album."

"Now that I think about it, Professor Laurent didn't mention anything about how we would get photos."

"Maybe she wanted us to get them on our own?"

I shrugged. "Either way, let's focus on that festival. Are you free on the 15th?"

"I should be."

"Cool."

"It's a date?"

"It's a da—"

Seraphine giggled.

I rolled my eyes. "Very funny, Ser." Of course, normal for Seraphine and I meant that we shared a little bit of harmless flirting here and there. "Alright," I said as we approached her car. "I'll see you on Friday?"

Seraphine walked to the other side of the car. "Friday."

I waved at her one last time before she got in the car. The engine rumbled to a start, and I stepped back as she began to pull out of her parking spot. I waited for her to be out my vision before walking towards where I parked my bike.

[;]

November 15th, 2019

"Sera!" I called, jogging over to her easily identifiable bundle of pink hair. She wore a pale, cropped puffer jacket in tandem with a simple black t-shirt. She also sported a pair of denim shorts, a bright yellow dad-hat, and her black guitar case slung over her shoulder. Her pink hair was tied into a ponytail that she fitted through the hole in the back of her hat. When she spotted me, a look of pure relief washed over her. "You okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine," answered Seraphine. "Just… a little weary from all of the people here."

The music festival was packed. Actually, even packed was too light of a description to use. For as far as my eyes could see, all across Venice Beach, booths and tents were propped up. Each one colored vibrantly, and each one playing either music I've heard a thousand times before, or music I hadn't ever heard once in my life. And an endless sea of people flooded the area between the booths.

"I guess a lot of people really like music here."

"Jae. You live in LA."

"I know, I know," I defended. "Still shocking." I shrugged. "I guess I don't go outside enough."

"You work forty hours a week and take eighteen units," Seraphine reasoned. "Makes sense that you don't go outside."

"Alright, alright. Which way should we head first?"

"South," she replied immediately. "I'd rather die than go to Santa Monica on a Friday."

I laughed. "Sounds good." I jerked a thumb at my backpack. "Did you bring a notebook or something?"

Seraphine tilted her head. "I can just use my phone to take notes, Jae."

"Oh. Right. Smartphones."

She tapped my shoulder. "C'mon. Let's get going."

[;]

As it turned out, Professor Laurent forcing us to attend this music festival was a genius idea. It allowed Seraphine and me to interact first-hand with musicians that all had different sounds, identities, and ideas of how to approach music. And when it came to approaching a concept… it was like some deity came down and blessed us with this opportunity.

I lost track of how many different ideas we thought up even as we were walking by booths. When we heard something interesting, Seraphine recorded it on her phone, and I marked down the specific notes or chords it contained.

Specifically, there was a booth where a cello and a French horn played together. And the timbre of both instruments together was so filled with emotion that it was almost numbing to the ears.

"It should be illegal for those instruments to sound that good together and for no composer to be using them like that," I said to Seraphine as the duet slowly rose into a crescendo. The piece itself… was unexplainable; it had so many rising and falling melodies that it sounded like two birds locked in a twisting and spiraling dance across the sky.

"Yeah…" Seraphine breathed.

When the piece ended, we gave the performers our best applause.

Seraphine looked up at me. "We're totally using that for the EP, right?"

"Oh yeah. We are."

And with the assignment already completed, Seraphine and I could focus on simply enjoying the music. And each other's company.

As we walked along the beach, Seraphine nudged my side with her elbow. When she noticed she had my attention, she pointed to one of the booths not promoting some type of music. "There's funnel cake. Do you want some?"

The sickeningly sweet scent of funnel cake immediately overloaded my senses. I covered my nose with the sleeve of my hoodie. "If you want," I replied. "Not too into sweets myself."

Seraphine tilted her head. "Wait. Really?"

I chuckled. "Yes. Really."

"I could have sworn that you told me you liked sweets."

"Nope," I replied, popping the 'p.'

"Huh. Okay," Seraphine said. "I'm gonna get some then."

After Sera got her funnel cake, we found a place to sit on the bleachers near a small sand park. Seraphine rested the paper plate in her lap, her shoes resting on the edge of the bleachers below her. Soft sunlight graced the side of her face as she munched on the funnel cake.

I sat beside her and simply enjoyed the feeling of the ocean breeze against my skin. The whirlwind that was finals season left me exhausted and my muscles sore. Even with how little time I already had to myself, I ended up with even less time. If I wasn't working, I was studying. If I wasn't studying, I was working. And if I was doing neither, I was practicing or producing.

"Enjoying yourself?" Seraphine asked.

I chuckled. "I needed a break. Otherwise I think I would've collapsed sooner rather than later."

"You work too hard," she added through a mouthful of funnel cake. She swallowed. "You're lucky that your grey hair looks good on you." Seraphine pointed her powdered sugar coated fork at me.

"Yes, yes." I ran a hand through said hair. "I should be thanking my parents for having good genes." I chuckled.

Seraphine giggled. "Yes, you should." She quickly finished the rest of the funnel cake and wiped her lips with a napkin before tossing the plate, her fork, and her napkin in a nearby trash can. Raising her hands above her head, she let out a satisfied groan. "I probably shouldn't be eating that, considering we went to the gym this morning… but I don't care."

I stood up. "There's also the fact that you already ate it, Ser."

"Okay. Fair enough."

"So," she began. "Where to now?"

[;]

From mid-afternoon until sunset, Seraphine and I spent the remainder of the day at the festival. We shared laughs, a few snacks, and enjoyed the sheer talent that filled Venice Beach. We absorbed as much of the music as we could, even if it meant that I had to remind Seraphine that we were here for class. And she always responded with a small sigh, a nod, and a, "such a party-pooper, Jae."

I'm sure she appreciated the reminders.

Nevertheless, we eventually made it all the way to Santa Monica from Venice Beach. It was strange spending this much time with Seraphine again. The last time she and I shared a whole day together was nearly a month ago, may be a little more or a little less. But the change of pace was welcome.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, we sat next to each other on the beach. I laid out a blanket over the sand so we wouldn't have to worry about getting sand all over us or the guitar case. I caught Seraphine shivering, her clothes not doing very much to shield her from the cold ocean breeze.

"You okay?" I asked.

She shakily nodded. "Just cold."

"Do you want my jacket?"

Sera shrugged. "I wouldn't mind it."

I unzipped my jacket and placed it over her shoulders. "You know," I said, laying on my back on the blanket. "I feel like I should just carry around an extra jacket when I'm with you."

She giggled. "Yeah, maybe."

Listening to the sound of the waves lapping the shore, taking in the soft and subtle scent of Seraphine's perfume I found myself drifting towards sleep. And before I knew it, I was fast asleep.

Seraphine gently stirred me awake. I wasn't entirely sure how long I was asleep, but it couldn't have been that long. She had my head in her lap, one hand on her side and the other scrolling through her phone. "Did you have a good nap?"

"I did," I said. I sat up and glanced at her. "Any reason why I wake up with my head in your lap?"

"I figured it would be a little more comfortable than the sand. Or the blanket." She set her phone down. "Sorry if it made you uncomfortable."

I shook my head. "Not at all. I was just curious."

After that, we fell into a strained silence that neither of us wanted to break. We'd long since run out of things to talk about, and with the festival over, there was nothing but the sound of the waves against the sand, and the calling and shouting of other groups at the beach. A few bonfires lined the shore, each one alight with a twisting and curling fire.

We sat in that silence for a time. Neither of us looked at each other, neither of us reached for our phones, and neither of us attempted to make conversation. We simply stared out at the darkened ocean.

Seraphine moved over to her guitar case and began to unzip it. Pulling out her guitar, she tested it, the notes ringing throughout the night air. "Let's sing something," she said suddenly.

"Oh. Okay." I cleared my throat. "What did you want to sing?"

"end of summer."

"Our song?"

She nodded. "Do you need to warm up?"

I shook my head. "Don't think so. I should be fine."

After two measures of counting in, Seraphine began to strum the main chords of the song. I quickly found the tempo, and settled myself into the pocket of the guitar, my body bobbing along to the rhythm

"It's the end of summer and I feel. Don't wanna remember but I will. Don't forget me when I leave, don't forget me… Please, don't forget me."

A small smile bloomed on Seraphine's lips as I began to sing, and I smiled as well. My eyes closed on their own as I submerged myself in the ocean of music. I sang with as much feeling and fervor as I could, pouring every ounce of myself into the small performance.

"Don't forget me when I leave, don't forget me when I cry, don't forget me… Please, don't forget me." I finished the chorus, and Seraphine joined in a moment later— her pure voice rang out like a bell.

"You said 'please don't forget me.' I said 'who's gonna do that?' These words I'm saying will not make you stay." She tapped the body of her guitar with her knuckles synchronously with her singing. As she finished her verse, she glanced at me, her fingers moving back to the strings.

And we began to sing together. "It's the end of summer and I feel. Don't wanna remember but I will. It's the end of summer and I feel." Our voices melted together like green tea and honey, or a perfect blend of coffee.

The song finished with a few final chords.

"Can't believe you took the melody from me at the end," Seraphine said with a pout, her fingers still lingering on the strings. "You know how much I love singing the melody."

"And I also know how much you love singing the harmony," I said with a grin.

She elbowed my side. "Rude."

We shared a laugh as Sera set down her guitar. With the awkwardness diffused, Seraphine let out a long, deep sigh. "It's been a weird month, huh?"

"Yeah. It certainly has."

She rubbed the back of her neck. "Making friends… is a lot harder than I expected."

I chuckled. "Agreed. But… it's been fun, right? Mostly?"

"Mostly." Seraphine brought her knees to her chest. "Can I ask you something?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Go ahead."

"Are you worried about the EP?"

"I am."

"Why?"

"Because Professor Laurent forcing us into a concept—"

"Besides that," Seraphine immediately interjected. "There has to be more to it than that, Jae."

"I have to be perfect, Ser," I said honestly. "Everything I make, everything I write, and everything I produce has to be perfect. For me to get anywhere, my music has to be perfect."

Seraphine smiled softly, shaking her head. "No one's perfect. You don't need to be perfect, or strong everyday." She reached out and brushed my cheek. "Jae, the best things in life won't be perfect. And you have to accept that."

"But I…" The words died on my lips.

"You have to accept that, Jae," she finished. "And I'll be there with you every step of the way. If you let me, if you want me to."

"Why wouldn't I?" I asked.

"Because you haven't before," answered Seraphine. "And you probably won't in the future."

"You sound so sure."

She smiled. "Because you're as stubborn as an ox, and about as prideful as one too," she said, whimsically. Seraphine laid on her back, her gaze tilted up at the sky before it rolled over to me. "But that's okay. I think I'm finally getting used to it."

I laid beside her, resting my hands on my stomach. "Or you're just getting more persistent."

"Hey, I haven't been persistent in a while."

"True enough."

"What do you want, Jae?" Seraphine asked suddenly. "Out of this friendship, what do you want?"

"I want to know you, Seraphine," I murmured, staring out at the ocean as we sat on the sand. "You're one of the few people in my life that have stuck around this long." I chuckled. "I don't care if you constantly make me feel like I'm on a rollercoaster. I just want to know you. To be able to understand you. To make music with you." I looked at her, our eyes meeting. "That's all."

Seraphine pursed her lips. "That's all?"

"That's all."

Her pursed lips slowly morphed into a small, nearly imperceptible smile. "Okay. Then feel free to know all about me."

Something about the way she said those words threw me for a loop, but Seraphine was already on her feet and brushing the sand from her legs before I could even ask her about it. She bent over, picked up her guitar, and returned it to its case. "You know what we should do sometime?" She asked.

"Hm?"

"Busking."

"You think so?"

Seraphine nodded with her guitar case slung over one shoulder. "It's something I've been wanting to do for awhile now, and with you by my side, it'll be a little bit more exciting than just me doing it alone." She grinned. "Plus, it'll be a great way to get some performing experience for our inevitable concerts in front of a crowd of thousands."

She and I shared a laugh. And it made me realize just how much I enjoyed Seraphine's laugh, even if it was closer to a giggle than anything else.

"You sound so sure of our success."

Sera shrugged. "Gotta start by believing in yourself, right?"

"Agreed."

"So," she began as we started to walk back to her car. "How are things between you and Lux?"

"Wh— what?"

Sera shrugged. "You two were pretty close at Disneyland, and I assume that you've seen one another often. I'm just wondering. Making conversation."

"Oh." I tilted my head. "We actually haven't seen each other since Disneyland. After the article came out, we decided to let things cool down for a while, at least until people forgot about it."

"So you two aren't dating?"

I shook my head. "No. We're not."

Seraphine bobbed her head. "Okay. Cool."

"Why the sudden interest?"

She glanced at me with widened eyes. "N— nothing! Like I said, just making conversation." Sera lifted the bill of her hat and ran a hand through her flattened hair, walking slightly faster.

I chuckled and jogged to catch up with her.

A/N: Thanks for reading. Please leave a review if you enjoyed my work!

TheKazooBirb - Pacing is intended. Story is about the journey to stardom, not about life in stardom.

CPG117 - Thank you! And more is coming.

yuriwarrior - Thank you for reviewing! And maybe OCxLux is endgame ;)

Next Chapter: 12/11