I run my hand through my hair as I push my way into the Starbucks. The bell on the door jingles cheerily as I walk in. Not ten minutes later, the bell went off again. Looking around, I see Serena walking through the door, out of breath.
,,Beca, hi!" She says cheerfully.
,,Hi Serena." I attempt to smile at her, but I'm failing. She laughs.
,,Lack of coffee?"
,,Yeah," I smile warmly. ,,I just can't enjoy the day without coffee in the morning." Both of us order a coffee to go because we have to get to Republic Records.
,,Me neither. I thought things would get better in New York. My old job wasn't something I would repeat." Serena tells me while we're waiting until our orders are ready.
,,Where did you work?"
,,Big Dean's Ocean front cafe." My mouth opens. She lived in LA?!
,,You lived in LA?" Serena nods. ,,Wow, New York must be a big step down." I say, thinking about my dream to live in Los Angeles sometime.
,,Nah, not really. I loved LA, but New York is the dream. And besides, my best friends are living here too."
,,I don't have many friends anymore. They betrayed me, siding with my former girlfriend."
,,I'm sorry to hear that, but maybe someday it will come around. Do you still love your ex-girlfriend?"
,,Of course, I do. If you love someone that feeling won't go away easily. But I haven't seen her in four months. I want to move on."
,,If you let me, I can take you to this party tonight. My friends and I are known for parties. We know a lot of people here in New York."
,,I would love to. That would take my mind off of things." Our orders are called and we take them with us outside.
,,Great, I'll call Nate to tell him I'm taking a plus one tonight."
,,Okay, but you have to tell me more about your friends. If I'm meeting them tonight, I need a little intel about them." Serena laughs out loud and takes me to the steps of the Met. We sit down and cheer before taking sips from the cup.
,,I agree to give you some info about them, but only on one condition." I raise my eyebrow.
,,And what's that?"
,,That you give me your number." I smirk. ,,Don't see this as a flirty attempt. It's just... we are colleagues and you told me you don't have many friends. Maybe it's nice to have me as your friend?"
,,Um..." I consider for a moment. I don't do "friends" anymore, but Serena is nice and since I met her yesterday, I was hoping to see her again and get to know her more. ,,Okay, deal. But then I want to meet Nate and your other friends too." I hold out my hand and she shakes it.
,,Deal." She smiles. ,,Now let's exchange numbers." She hands me her phone and I add my number. I quickly send myself a message so I have her number too.
,,I'll make sure to message you later." She tells me once we both put our phones back in our pockets. ,,Now, let's go to Republic Records before Mr. Banks fires us." We quickly make our way to the company.
When we have arrived at Republic Records, I'm sitting at my desk, across from Serena's. She smiles at me when she types something on her laptop. My laptop is open in front of me too, while I'm trying to write this song. I'm a little stuck tho. Suddenly my phone vibrates. I open my Whatsapp to see new messages.
Serena: A little stuck over there?
I look over at her and she smiles. I roll my eyes playfully and take my gaze back to my phone.
Beca: If I didn't know better, I would think you're flirting with me 😏
Serena: Don't get cocky, Mitchell!
Beca: Aw, you already have a nickname for me. Don't get used to it, Henderson! 😉
Serena: Here's a tip. Go asked Emily for advice, she's the only one around here writing her songs.
I look over to Serena and she points to another boot. I startle for a moment, seeing Emily in there. I haven't talked to her since I'm back. She also betrayed me by siding with Chloe. Serena must have seen my face because another message comes in.
Serena: Are you 🆗?
Beca: Emily was a former friend, who betrayed me. I will not enjoy talking to her, but if I'm stuck, I'll consider it.
Serena: I'm pretty sure you can manage it. Go get to work, cutie 😉
I shake my head, laugh, and concentrate on the song in front of me again. Normally I would write my songs in the notebook, but stupidly I forgot it this morning at Wyatt's. Luckily my laptop has enough space to write too.
We were picture-perfect, flawless on the surface, we were walking on a straight line
We were automatic, you seemed so fanatic, I was confident and wide-eyed
Tough times, watch us come undone, you found someone
Think Beca, what can be next? Think about how much hurt you have. Think!
,,Need help?" A blond girl is standing behind me. ,,I was sitting over there and I saw you struggling. So I thought, maybe you want to brainstorm together?" She asks me and I smile at her. She's sweet.
,,I appreciate that, but normally I work alone."
,,That obviously isn't working today. You need help, so why not accepting my help?"
,,You won't take "no" for an answer, huh?" The girl laughs and shakes her head. Before I can answer, my phone vibrates.
Serena: Go with that cutie! She's a total bomb and interested in you. You wanted to move on, Mitchell so move on! 😉
,,So what do you say?" The girl asks. I stand up.
,,Okay, but first I need your name." I cross my arms and she smiles while extending her hand.
,,Sutton Brady." She tells me and I take her hand.
,,Beca Mitchell." I let her know my name and take her towards her office. She's here longer than I am. Maybe she has worked with some artists already. Sutton sits down behind her desk and looks at me.
,,I saw what you wrote." She starts and folds her hands. ,,It was really good, but how do you want to continue? You must go to your deepest feelings. There were it hurts the most."
,,I already tried that." I sigh and rub my neck.
,,Okay, I want to try something different. It helped me write "Skater boy". Avril was super excited about the lyrics."
,,You wrote that song?!" I say enthusiastically. ,,I love that song!"
,,Thank you." She says proudly. ,,But back to your song. What helped me was imagining the person I wrote the lyrics for."
,,What do you mean?"
,,Well, your song has a lot of anger." I nod. ,,Try this." She leans forward a little. ,,Close your eyes and imagine the person you wrote this for in front of you." I do what she says. I can see Chloe's face in front of me and feel the anger fill my body. I feel betrayed and unloved.
,,Okay, now open your eyes and finish your song." Sutton says. I open my eyes and feel the inspiration flow through my body. Sutton hands me an empty sheet of paper and I start writing.
Tell me why I think about you?
And tell me if you think about me?
And tell me when you touch him, is it really love or just another fantasy?
And tell me does he laugh and tell me does he make you move
And tell me does he get you? Take away your breath.
Just tell me that it can't be true, what I found out about you...
It's going great. Imagining Chloe helped.
,,Thank you, Sutton. Imagining the person helped. I think I can finish this song now." I smile and leave her. I sit down back behind my desk as I finish the song.
