Chapter 2

The Fast Lane

The boys drove in front since Baralai was the one that knew how to get to his mother's bed and breakfast, while us girls followed close behind. I sat astride my motorcycle with one hand on the handlebars and the other resting on my thigh as we casually made our way back down to the docks.

I tried stifling a yawn that snuck up on me, but, since my helmet was in the way, it didn't work as I had intended. I kind of wanted to go home. Meeting the new kid's mother wasn't going to be that exciting. I'm actually pretty shocked that Rikku didn't suggest finding some after party to go to, I thought, rolling my eyes.

Don't get me wrong, I like going to parties just as much as the average high school student, but I was usually the one getting stuck as the designated driver and the one that carried all the keys. As much fun as it was to be around Rikku and Yuna when they're drunk, it tends to get old fast.

When we arrived at the bed and breakfast, we managed to find two empty spots near the back of the crowded lot. I parked beside Tidus and pulled my helmet off, examining Baralai's mother's business. The bed and breakfast resembled an old style mansion with high, vaulted ceilings and three stories high.

"This is a bed and breakfast?" I asked, unable to hide the skepticism in my voice.

Baralai chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, my mom likes to overdo it sometimes," he said as we made our way towards the front door.

"It's gorgeous," Yuna said, craning her neck back to get a better look at it.

"Has anyone come to stay yet?" Rikku asked, lacing her fingers behind her head as she walked.

"If I remember correctly, it's completely booked right now," Baralai replied, opening the door for us.

I glanced over my shoulder at the parking lot, already knowing he wasn't exaggerating. Rikku and Yuna's eyes were wide with awe and disbelief as they scanned the dark windows overhead. Whatever Baralai's mother was doing to pull in all this business was working like a charm.

Not even a full five seconds had gone by after Baralai shut the door behind us when his mother came around the corner. She was a very gorgeous woman. Her long chestnut hair fell perfectly around her shoulders in gentle curls and her sea green eyes shone brightly. A wide smile spread across her face when she saw her son emerge from the crowd of teenagers and she moved toward us eagerly, looking as though she wanted to give him a hug. When she stopped in front of us though, she calmly folded her hands behind her back, probably thinking that she would embarrass him in front of his new friends if she did.

"Hi, Mom. I wanted you to meet my new friends," Baralai began. "Guys, this is my mom, Carmen."

After all the introductions had been made, – with the exception of Gippal, whom she greeted with open arms – she asked Baralai how he had met all of us. An extremely long conversation erupted after Baralai told her that we were singers, and popular ones at that. She was absolutely ecstatic over the fact that he had made friends that were popular. Apparently, she didn't want him getting mixed up with the wrong crowd, which was pretty much every mother's concern.

During the last few minutes of our conversation, I saw Baralai nervously fidgeting out of the corner of my eye, something I felt like doing as well. Rikku and Yuna were the only two taking part in talking to Carmen. Gippal and Tidus were half asleep and I was just sitting there listening while everyone else chattered.

Finally, Yuna announced the late hour and that everyone's parents would be expecting us home soon. Carmen smiled and ushered us towards the door, biding us all good night. To be honest, I was relieved to get out of there. Baralai's mom was lovely, but I wasn't sure how much more of that I would have been able to endure.

"Paine, wait," Baralai called as his mother held him back in the doorway.

I frowned and stuffed my hands in my back pockets while Baralai and Carmen talked in hushed whispers. I caught bits and pieces of the conversation, but the one part that confused me the most is when Carmen said, "I know what happened to you in Bevelle really hurt and I just want you to find a nice girl."

Baralai rolled his eyes and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you at home, Mom." He closed the door behind him and walked with me to my motorcycle. "There's something I want to ask you."

"Shoot," I replied, leaning up against my motorcycle.

"Gippal and Tidus told me during the show that you're the one that writes and composes all the music."

"That's true."

"I was just wondering. Could you help me write some music for some lyrics I wrote?" he asked, scratching the back of his neck bashfully.

"You wrote a song?" I asked, a small smile spreading across my face.

He shrugged nonchalantly like everyone went around writing lyrics all the time. "It's nothing much," he replied. I could tell that he didn't want to delve too much into his past so I didn't push the issue. It was none of my business anyways. If he wanted me to know the reasoning behind his song, he would tell me.

"Well, I'll be going to our recording studio tomorrow morning to start mixing next week's show. I guess I could help you write some music to go along with your lyrics while I'm there."

The corners of his mouth turned up in a shy smile. "You'll really help me?" he asked, sounding shocked.

I nodded, not being able to help smiling myself. "Sure, I'd love to. Would you happen to have the lyrics on you? That way I can go over them a little before tomorrow."

"Actually, no. They're at my house." He paused and I saw a flicker of confusion in his dark brown eyes. "You have a recording studio?"

"Well, yeah. That's how we record our music," I said, making my voice blatantly sarcastic.

"You guys...own it?" He sounded downright astounded.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Wow, that's really cool."

"Hey, Paine!" Rikku called, running up to me. "When are you gonna be at the studio tomorrow?"

"Eight, why?" I asked, folding my arms across my stomach.

"Ugh, too early for me. Yuna and I just want to come and help out tomorrow." Her statement made my right eyebrow arch at a near impossible angle. The blonde caught it and chuckled nervously. "Alright, I know we never come to help you but yeah... Is it okay?"

I shrugged. "A little help would be appreciated."

"Sweet! See you tomorrow, Paine!" She ran back over to Yuna's car, but stopped short when she opened the door. "We'll be there at ten!"

I nodded and waved at them before turning back to Baralai. "I better get going too. I have to get up earlier than they do," I said, climbing onto my motorcycle. I set my helmet in my lap and drummed my fingers across the top. I still had no idea how he was getting to the studio in the morning. "So do you want me to give you directions or what?"

"Well," Baralai began, looking back at Tidus and Gippal. " I was thinking it would be a good idea if you gave me a ride home so you know where I live."

I couldn't help but allow my jaw to slacken a small amount. He is very brave.

"You think so, huh?" He nodded and one corner of his mouth curled up in a coy smirk. I chuckled as I slammed my helmet over my head. "I don't have another helmet."

He ran over to Gippal and Tidus to tell them that he was getting a ride home with me and I almost fell off my bike when I saw the look on Gippal's face. It was absolutely priceless. He had always wanted to either ride my bike or have me take him on a ride. Neither one had ever happened. This new kid is the only one that I have ever let ride on my bike with me.

We waved to our friends as I raced out of the parking lot and into the deserted street before Gippal collected himself enough to come yell at me. I wouldn't escape from him though. I was gonna see him again on Monday morning so I'd get the third degree then. Baralai kept his arms wrapped tightly around my stomach and his forehead pressed against my back on the way up from the docks to keep his eyes from drying out. Having him this close to me was uncomfortable and it wasn't going to be easy for me to get used to it.

Hold it! What am I thinking? This is not going to be an everyday routine.

Every few seconds I could feel the pressure on my back disappear while he figured out where we were. He whispered directions in my ear every few minutes, which made a traitorous shiver shoot up my spine, and, before I knew it, we were pulling up the driveway of a very expensive looking two story house.

I flipped up the visor on my helmet to get a better look at it as I coasted to a stop next to the same black sedan that had picked up Baralai from school and dropped him off at the stadium. The house was painted in a variety of browns; darker tones around the windows and lighter tones around the body. It was 'Grade A Awesomeness' if you were to ask Rikku.

"If you want, I can get my lyrics for you now," Baralai suggested as he slid off the back of my motorcycle.

I was so entranced by his home that I hadn't realized that he had spoken until he appeared in my field of vision. I snapped to attention, quickly meeting his eyes. "Sure," I responded, not exactly sure what he had said.

I was only waiting for a few minutes before Baralai came back outside, a folded bundle of papers in his hand. "Here they are," he said, handing them to me. "Hope you like them." He chuckled bashfully, raising his right hand to scratch the back of his neck. My eyes lingered on the spot where his long fingers were rubbing nervous circles on his dark skin, noticing that he did that quite a lot.

"Well, let's put it this way," I began, twisting around to stuff the papers into the storage compartment that had my costume in it. "if I like it, it won't be hard for me to come up with music to go with it. And if I really like it, I'll start getting rhythm and note ideas before I'm even finished reading the lyrics."

"Wow," he said, putting his hands in his pockets. "How did you get so good?"

I sighed and leaned back on my seat. That was an innocent enough question, but I couldn't bring myself to tell him the whole truth. He didn't need to know about any of that anyways. Who was he to me? "I've just had...a lot of free time for the past few years."

It was true, a small part of the truth, but still the truth. Since my parent's passing, music was the only thing that got my mind off of the fact that I was alone. I had taught myself to play all the instruments that I owned. I would actually be qualified to be a music teacher or band director if I wanted to go in that direction later in life because of all the knowledge I had.

Baralai cocked his head, much like a dog would when hearing a strange sound, and was about to say something when he stopped himself. "I'm sorry. I was going to ask a very personal question, but it's none of my business." He paused, gazing into my eyes intently. "See you in the morning?"

I nodded. "Yeah," I said, flipping the visor back down with a sharp snap. I revved my motorcycle back to life and was about to turn it around when Baralai rushed up to my side and slammed a smaller folded piece of paper into my hand.

"Almost forgot. That's my cell number. Call me when you get here tomorrow morning." Then without waiting for me to say anything else he turned around and walked towards his house, waving at me when he got to his front door.

I glanced down at the crinkled piece of paper that was pressed into my palm, waved back absently then turned around and gunned my motorcycle away from his house. I was still trying to figure out what the hell had transpired between myself and Baralai. I probably would have been completely fine going up and knocking on his door in the morning; that's actually what I was planning on doing. Asking for his number hadn't even crossed my mind.

I think he just wanted a reason to give me his number. Ugh, men. Sometimes I don't even want to know what they're thinking.

By the time I got home I had practically pushed the issue to the back of my mind. I wasn't one to obsess over whether someone liked me or not. Baralai was just another guy. He was nice, but that didn't mean anything. Every guy was nice at first.

I tossed my keys and costume onto the coffee table then collapsed onto my couch, turning the papers that held Baralai's lyrics around in my hands. Now that I had them I was reluctant to read them. I was almost one hundred percent sure that they contained information on what had happened to Baralai while he was living in Bevelle. With a shaky breath, I unfolded the papers and noticed first hand that he had very neat handwriting. I could actually understand Baralai's handwriting; Gippal's and Tidus' were a totally different story. It was like trying to decipher ancient hieroglyphics when reading anything they wrote.

I frowned as I skimmed through the first few lines, whispering a couple out loud to myself. "And you're still probably working at a nine to five pace. I wonder how bad that tastes." The fingers on my right hand started to drum out a basic rhythm on my couch cushions. "You never seemed so tense, love. I've never seen you fall so hard. Do you know where you are?" My frown deepened as I finally realized what exactly Baralai's lyrics were trying to say.

"He was cheated on," I said, letting the papers fall back against my legs. "That's what his mother meant. He was dating a girl in Bevelle and she cheated on him."

And I thought men were bad. Women can be just as vicious.

I studied his lyrics for another hour and a half when I should have been asleep. By the time I collapsed into my bed, utterly exhausted, I had the makings of a composition for Baralai's lyrics running circles in my mind. I pressed down on my eyes, willing myself to go to sleep. I could practically hear the music in my ears and I knew it would take me a while to get to sleep. I looked over at my bedside table where my cell phone was charging and where Baralai's number was sitting. I groaned and turned over onto my side, closing my eyes and lulling myself to sleep with the music playing in my ears.

The blaring of my alarm clock didn't do very much to wake me up the next morning. I had fallen asleep a little after two o'clock and had tossed and turned almost all night. Waking up at seven in the morning was not something I enjoyed doing. If I could, I would sleep in till noon.

I stumbled out of bed and immediately went to my bathroom, turning the shower water on as cold as it would go then jumping right in. I gasped as the icy water soaked me, sending chills shooting down my spine. My teeth began to chatter as I turned the water temperature to hot. "Alright, I'm awake," I stuttered as the water began to slowly heat up.

As it turns out, hot water wasn't a very good idea either. After I had washed my hair I almost fell asleep leaning against the wall of my shower. I am never going to fall asleep that late again, I thought as I turned the water ice cold again.

It was almost seven forty-five when I stumbled back into my room. I paced around in front of my bed in my underwear, slapping my cheeks, trying to get my ass in gear. Before getting dressed, I quickly programmed Baralai's number into my phone, hardly even paying attention to the number itself.

By the time I closed my phone and tossed it onto my bed, I was so pressed for time that Baralai would probably be wondering where I was. I tore through my closet and, not caring what I looked like, grabbed an old pair of gray cut-off sweatpants, a gray long sleeved shirt and a comfortable pair of flip-flops. That choice of shoe probably wasn't a good idea because of the fact that the only mode of transportation was my motorcycle, but if I burned my legs, I burned my legs. Rikku would be pissed at me, but, oh well.

I grabbed my phone off my bed and my keys off the table then ran out of my house, speeding off down the street as fast as I could without getting a speeding ticket. I pulled into Baralai's yard at ten minutes after eight and quickly pulled off my helmet, flipping open my cell phone to call him. My eyes met the front door briefly and I paused when I saw Baralai's head sticking out of the open door. I closed my phone and waved at him, figuring that calling him was moot by now. He looked over his shoulder, probably to say good-bye to his parents then closed the door behind him.

"Sorry I'm so late," I said as he approached me. "I stayed up half the night reading your lyrics."

Baralai looked surprised at that. "Did you come up with anything?"

I nodded and stifled a yawn behind my hand. "I have an idea. I'll test it out once we get to the studio."

Baralai's smile dazzled me and I had to rub my eyes as he hopped onto my motorcycle. I mashed my helmet onto my head, my face screwing up, then sped out of Baralai's driveway. He kept his forehead pressed into my back just as he had last night with his arms wrapped tightly around my stomach. I felt the intense urge to squirm away from him. This whole closeness thing with someone besides my two best friends was still very uncomfortable.

So why do I continue to put myself into situations where I'm going to be close to him? Why? I thought, hoping that after today he would find another ride.

Our recording studio was located in a large lot of warehouses and store rooms that were used for a number of things. It hadn't put too much of a hole in our pockets to remodel one of the smaller store rooms into a studio. The only thing that almost completely broke us was all the sound and mixing equipment we had to buy, including a few of the instruments I didn't already own. We made all that money back in less than a month though so none of us minded too much then.

Only certain individuals that had a gate code could get inside so I never had to worry about someone coming and stealing all of our recording equipment. Once I reached the gate, I quickly punched in the code and slowly rode through the rows of warehouses until I arrived at ours. I parked on the side of the building and trudged towards the door with Baralai following close behind as I sorted through all the keys on my ring, trying to find the right one.

I should have made myself some coffee before I left. Oh, and I probably should have gone to bed earlier last night too, I thought sarcastically

The front door led to a small foyer area that was blocked off from the mixing room. That way none of the outside noise would come inside. We had a bunch of pictures of ourselves displayed on the walls along with a couple chairs and even a decorative plant. The chairs and plant were Rikku's idea. She thought that those things would be a nice touch just in case anyone came to visit us while we were here, which confused me since no one else knew our gate code or any of the other codes, as a matter of fact. There was a sliding door that came out of the wall leading into the mixing room. A lock was on this one too. I flipped on all the lights and turned on all the sound equipment, stifling a yawn as I checked everything before practically stumbling into the recording booth.

I had to figure out a way to wake myself up so I grabbed my electric guitar and plugged it into the amp, turning it up as high as it would go. The crackling hum I heard from the black box at my feet warned me that I probably had it turned up a little too much, but I didn't really care. I needed to do something to get myself motivated. I took a deep breath and, without using a pick, raked my fingers across the strings. The sound that erupted almost rendered me deaf, but I was most definitely awake.

When I looked up Baralai was standing in the doorway of the recording booth staring at me with one eyebrow quirked in confusion. "You okay?" he asked, more than likely thinking I had lost my mind.

I'm not crazy. Just sleep deprived, I reminded myself. I turned away from him as my cheeks flared red, setting my guitar back in its stand.

"Sorry about that," I said as I made my way over to the Grand piano. "I needed to do something to wake myself up."

Baralai chuckled, a sound that I was quickly starting to enjoy, and came to stand next to the piano as I sat down on the bench and uncovered the keys. "This piano is amazing," he mused, his eyes gliding over the immaculately polished black surface.

"Believe it or not, this is the most expensive piece of equipment we have." I plinked out a few out of key notes before looking up at the tan skinned boy standing next to me. "If you don't mind, I need to warm up."

"Can I watch?" he asked, meeting my eyes.

I shrugged nonchalantly, my sleep deprivation being the reason why I didn't give a damn. "Sure."

I took a deep breath, the song I was getting ready to play was one of Rikku's. It was rather sad, totally opposite to how she really felt, but beautiful all the same. Of course, I had written the music for it and it was one of my favorite compositions. There was more music than just the piano, but it was just as good with only one instrument. Yuna and I sang back up on this song whenever Rikku sang it during a show so I knew all the lyrics. I suddenly felt very self-conscious with Baralai standing there expectantly, waiting for me to start. I cleared my throat and looked back up at Baralai, feeling the need to explain why I was going to sing this specific song.

"This is Rikku's song, but the piano arrangement is one of my favorites. Just letting you know." I clamped my mouth shut, feeling very idiotic.

My fingers flew over the keys, expertly executing all the notes. When I started to sing the words, my voice seemed to echo through the room and I had to fight to keep from looking up at Baralai as I got to the chorus. I kept my eyes on the keys and thought only about how weird my voice sounded with this song. Rikku's voice was smooth and higher, more accustomed to this song than my voice, which was a little rougher and deeper. Although, I had no problem hitting all the high notes as well. Yuna and Rikku actually applauded me on how I belted out the higher notes. All of our fans liked it too.

My voice was much more accustomed to the rock songs that I wrote for myself. They were more my element than slow instrumentals. Rikku had tried to get me to sing a few of her songs in the past, but that was always met with failure, much to her disappointment. Before I realized it, I had reached the end of the song and let the last note hang in the air for a few seconds before looking up at Baralai to gauge his reaction. He was staring down at his feet with a lost look in his eyes and seemed to snap out of a trance when he noticed I was no longer singing.

"Wow, that was...beautiful."

I nodded as I got up from the piano, not really sure how to respond, and went to walk back into the mixing room.

"Hold on," he said, rushing up to my side. "Before you get started writing the music for my song, can you sing something else really fast?"

I frowned and turned to look at him. "Like what?" I questioned, baffled that he would want to hear me sing again.

"I don't know. Just something that isn't like that," he said, indicating Rikku's song. "Something...different."

I thought for a second, wondering which one would be fitting to sing for him. "Alright," I said, walking into the mixing room and sitting down in front of the sound boards.

Besides the half dozen computer screens that were situated on top of the sound boards, there was a computer screen built into one of the boards, which we used as an archive for all of our songs and music videos. We also used it to practice whenever we wanted and not be disturbed. I flicked on the computer's power switch and scrolled through the extensive list of songs until I came to the one I wanted. I was shocked by how brave I was as I put it on the queue. I paused it before it started playing and stared at the screen, wondering whether or not if I should change it.

He asked for different and I'm going to give him different.

I quickly enabled a setting that would distort my voice and make it sound more electronic when I sang into the microphone. Sadly, here in the studio is the only place where we can apply that setting to our voices. The equipment in the stadium isn't ours so it's not that advanced.

"Okay, after I put the headphones on press this button right here," I said, pointing at the play button.

He nodded and quickly sat down in the chair, thinking that if he took too long I would change my mind. I went into the recording booth and slid the door shut before going over to my station and cramming my headphones over my ears. I was still pondering over the fact that I should change the song to something else, but before I had the chance to stop him, he hit the play button and the music started playing in my ears. I mainly sang this one so certain number so it sounded much more natural to me. This song was...a little more risqué than the others and it had a lot of sexual themes. It was one of our many show openers. We weren't going to be singing this one next week, but I already knew we'd be using it sometime in the near future.

I found myself getting caught up in the lyrics and singing it the way I would as if I was standing on the stage next to Yuna and Rikku. I left all the dance moves out though. I did not need to be doing that right now. If he was going to be at the next few shows, which I was quite positive he was going to be, then he could wait until then to see them. When I lifted my eyes to look through the window to the mixing room, Baralai was watching me intently, his dark eyes focused on me. I could detect a small amount of adoration in his chocolate eyes, which almost made me forget some of the lyrics, but I pushed through them and breathed a enormous sigh of relief when the music finally ended.

I yanked the headphones off my head and walked back into the mixing room before he had a chance to shout out anymore requests. I looked at the clock on the back wall and gaped. It was only eight thirty. I had another hour and half before Yuna and Rikku got here. I was gonna be alone with Baralai for quite a while longer.

Yay for me...

I sighed heavily as settled into a chair besides Baralai, the realization that I would have to first compose all the music for his song before I could even think about recording it. Not to mention I needed to find out if the kid could even carry a tune. All I knew was that there was going to be a lot of dead air between us for the next couple hours that I knew he was going to fill with small talk. Fantastic.

Oh, this is gonna be fun.