Chapter 8: Seattle Sunrise

Amanda went home to change her clothes after I had awaken her gently, she had slept in the chair, sprawled out like a lazy cat on its favorite sleeping place. She had been a little groggy at the start, but when I told her that I wanted to name the band Seattle Sunrise, she immediately seemed more awake, and she told me she liked the name: simple, original.

I looked at the clock, in an hour, at nine o´clock, I was going to meet Jack Carter, Johnny Dean and Allen Promfry, and hopefully, they would like me and the band name I had come up with. I was nervous, and I decided to take another shower, then get dressed before I would go down to the studio. Not having a lot of clothing to choose from, I picked out some of the clothes I had bought yesterday, and hopped in the shower.

Being alone again, my mind started to wander off on it's own. What was Jacob doing now? I had left him about 24 hours ago now. Had he read my letter? Did he understand what I was trying to tell him? I felt tears falling from my eyes, but the water from the shower hid them. I hoped he did understand. If not now, maybe later, someday.

The extremely blond and unfamiliar hair that followed my head were ever it turned, gave me a fright more than once, and looking into the mirror, I looked blissfully different. I was not the brown, haired, brokenhearted girl anymore, I was a blond artist. Sure, still brokenhearted, but no one needed to know or see that.

Twenty minutes later, I was down in the reception aria at the ground floor, just as alone as I had been the day before. I clutched the guitar in my hand as I looked around, hoping to see someone, but no one was around. Not wanting to stand in the reception aria like a fool, again, I decided to go to the recording studio I had been in the day before to play some on my guitar.

Silently, I walked through the corridor that led to the recording booth, and by some reason unknown to even me, I as terrified to meet someone there. But the corridor and the booth was empty. So I sat down in the chair placed in the middle of the box – shaped room again, took out my guitar and started strumming it. If was horribly off tune, but finally I sounded like it should, and I smiled as I started to play the chords to the song I had written in the cab on my way here. I had meant every word of the song, and as I started to sing it again, I released that it wasn't a half-bad composition.

The song left my head with lots of questions. What was the meaning of this life, really? Was I meant to fail at holding on to everything I loved? Was this the right road for me, was it right of me to leave Jake? He was a good kid, but that was it. He was just a kid, a friend. Argh....! Couldn't my head just shut up!

So I did like I had done when I wrote Monday Morning. I got my thoughts out of my head by making them into a song.

I hadn't composed more than the beginning of the song, before I heard the door to the recording booth being wrenched open, and a guy with short, brown hair and dim, blue eyes stumbled in. I stopped playing immediately and stood up, looking at the guy that was breathing hard and looking at me with a kind of manic look in his eyes. Then he opened his mouth, and what he said left me more confused than I already was and quit frankly, a little scared.

"You should play E minor instead of G major at the start of the verse."

I blinked at him. "Excuse me?"

He lifted his hands and motioned for me to give him the guitar. "Here, I'll show you."

Reluctantly I gave it to him and he took my seat in the recording booth and started to play my song, but he did some changes. I didn't like it at first, who was he to make changes to my song. But I had to admit that he was good.

"Sing," he prompted, and reluctantly, I did as I was told.

What's this life anyway?

What's it to you and me?

What's it to anyone?

Who are we supposed to be?

Make me a storybook

Write me away from here

I need a different now

Where we can wear each other for awhile

I'll len you my tears if I could borrow a smile

I'll get through tomorrow somehow today

Happy After...

Once upon these days

Wow, it sounded so much better when he played it! The changes worked brilliantly, and he put in a bit of melody in the guitar voice too. He looked up at me, expectantly. I smiled at him and nodded.

"That sounds much better than when I play it, you must be a professional," I said, studying the way he held my guitar, like it belonged on his lap and in his arms. The boy laughed.

"Nah, I can't clam that title, not yet anyway," he smiled, showing a row of perfect white teeth. Then he balanced the guitar between his chest and lap as he leant forward and offered me his hand.

"Hey, I´m Jack Carter."

Oh! Now that would explain a lot. So this was the second member of my band. I grasped his hand an shook it.

"Hi, I´m Bella, Bella Swan," I smiled, and Jacks eyes widened. So he had heard of me. I wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

"Oh, right, I should have guessed that, shouldn't I?" he laughed and brushed the short hair with his hand, like he was used to have more hair than he currently had. Just like... No, don´t go there, not now. Stupid, stupid!

Instead, I focused on Jack.

"No, that´s cool, I didn't know that you were you, you know... Amanda told me about you all last night," I said, feeling a bit stupid myself for not having jumped to the conclusion that Jack was Jack, and for rambling. Why couldn't I stop rambling all the time! Jack pretended to look scared.

"Oh no! I assure you, everything she told you is a lie. I never dated to women at the same time, and I didn't fall of a stage during my guitarsolo," he said, so obviously faking it that I had to laugh out loud.

"No? So you aren't a great guitar player, and you are not madly in love with your guitar?" I asked when I was able to speak again. All this laughing was making my stomach hurt. Jack laughed too.

"Ok, now that is the truth." Then he looked at his wrist were a solid metal watch snaked around his wrist, and then he swore.

"Oh no, we are late!" he said, grabbing my guitar with one hand and my wrist with the other, dragging me out of the booth. He only let go of my hand so he could open the door, and then we were running through the corridors of North Star Records, until we got to a door where it said "Band Studio D". Jack didn't nock or anything, he just barged in, just he had done moments before, and I wondered if this was a habit of his. I just followed him in, hanging at the end of his arm like a rag doll.

"Just relax, I got the golden girl here, an we are only a few minutes late," Jack announced as he shoved me in front of him and then bowed like he had just preformed a marvelous deed. I blushed red as I took in my surroundings. This booth was much bigger than the one I had been in, and behind seemingly weirdly placed glass shields, there were instruments. A drum, a guitar, a keyboard, a bass and one place only a microphone.

But the instruments weren't the only things that was inside the booth. Mr. North was smiling softly at me from where he stood beside Amanda, and they had clearly been talking. Christopher was standing between two other guys, one tall and fair with angelic, blond hair, wavy, and the other one a bit smaller with straight, dark blond hair. The one with the angelic hair, had a wicked smile on his face. Christopher looked a bit shocked, but he quickly pulled himself together.

"Good morning blonde," he smiled and walked over to me. He surprised me by lifting his hand and ruffling my puffy blond hair. "I like it, it´s the new you!" Oh, how sweet that smile of his was. Bella, snap out of it! His blue eyes sparkled.

Mr. North clapped his hands and looked at all of us.

"Good good, now we are all here. Bella, I trust you know Amanda," Amanda smiled and nodded. "but I dear say that you don't know Johnny the keyboard player." the boy with the angelic golden hair winked at me and waved, that wicked smile still on his round face. He had the face of a little, naughty kid, but the body of a man.

"On his left," mr North continued, "we have Allen who plays the drums." Allen smiled at me too did a kind of salut with his hand, like we were in the navy or something. He seemed like a nice guy, like a big brother kind of type with his broad shoulders and warm, grey eyes.

"And I can see that you have already meet Jack, so I think that's all," mr North nodded to himself, clearly satisfied, and then he walked over to me and Christopher, grabbed him by the arm and started for the door. Wait, what? Were they leaving us? Me?

"I trust you will have something to show us when we come back," Christopher said over his shoulder at us, a bemused expression on his face. Then the door closed behind him, and I everything went quiet. But only for a second.

"Hey you guys, check out what Bella and I came up with a few seconds ago!" blurted Jack and practically ran to where the guitar stood behind one of the glass shields. Unsure of myself, stood rooted to the spot. What was I supposed to do again? I could see Allen and Johnny glancing at each other and then rolling their eyes. Johnny looked over at me.

"It's just so typical Jack – move, getting to "know" the girl before anyone else gets a chance," he smiled and wiggled his eyebrows. Amanda had walked up to me, and snorted loudly at the two boys.

"Hey, be nice, she is not just a hot thing, she is a smart, artistic, talented hot thing," Amanda said and bumped me with her hips.

Jupp, of course I lost my balance, who do you think I am? A girl with grace and a good relationship with gravity? I was so stiff because I was no nerves, that when Amanda bumped me, it caught me fully of guard and I fell smack down on the floor.

Amanda looked shocked down at me, but then she threw her head back and laughed out loud. Laughter erupted from the other people standing different places in the booth, and I felt myself blush so hard, I was sure that I looked like I had a really bad sunburn. Again, way to make an impression. I pressed my hands to my face and hid behind them. The laughter quickly quieted down then, and I looked up from my hands.

Allen, Jack, Amanda and Johnny were all standing over me, all of them smiling and suppressing laughter. But all their eyes were kind. They weren't being mean, they just thought it was funny that I had fallen down so easily. I could see that, but I still felt like melting into the floor beneath me.

"Bella, I'm sorry," said Amanda and reached out a hand for me to grab. Allen did the same, and they helped me get up on my feet again. I shook my head.

"No, it's my fault," I said, checking that I hadn't hurt myself falling. "The floor and I go way back, he likes to make me trip or fall for no obvious reasons all the time." It was a lame joke, I'll admit, but it was true. I fell down ALL THE TIME! To my utter surprise, Johnny laughed at me bad joke like he actually thought it was a funny one. Allen, Jack and Amanda too snorted in amusement.

"So basically, you're a total klutz?" Allen asked as he brushed off some dust on my arm. I nodded ashamed, but Allen just laughed. "Jack! Hide your guitar!" said Johnny, and Jack mock – ran away from us, and I had to laugh too at the horrified expression on his face. What a character that boy was.

Amanda put a hand over my shoulder.

"Hey, did you an Jack say you had something to show us?" she asked, and this time Jack really ran and got his guitar. Where was mine? I would have to look for it later. The rest of the group followed him and in a few short seconds, he stood there with his guitar, looking expectantly at me.

"Come on, show us what you got!" Allen said kindly and gently pushed me beside Jack. Oh, how my heart was pounding! How could I ever be an artist, when I got this nervous just singing for my own band. "Get a grip on yourself," I told myself sternly, and then I nodded at Jack. He started to play my song, and I sang. And as I sang, I could feel the song coming together inside me, like a song I had known in all along, just forgotten it.

I could feel Amanda, Allen and Johnny gawking at me, and when the song ended, Allen wolf whistled. Amanda clapped her hands, but Johnny was just steering at me like I had two heads or something. I felt myself blushing again, why couldn't he just look away? But I was pleased, it seemed that at least Amanda and Allen liked my song.

"Isn't she genius?" Jack asked excitedly, and I blushed even more.

"Yeah," Allen nodded and high-fived Jack behind my back. "I can hear it in my head you know, I already got the drum beat." Amanda nodded smilingly, and then she saw me looking at Johnny, and she looked at him too.

"Hey Johnny, say something! You are scaring the crap out of Bella," she stage whispered to him, and Johnny shook his head like he was denying something, and blinked. Then he turned his back on us and walked over to his keyboard.

"What is he doing?" I whispered to Amanda, but she just shrugged, like this was something that happened all the time. Johnny but on a pair of oversized headphones like the one I had worn the previous day when I had recorded free falling. At once, Jack grabbed his too, and listened as Johnny played on his keyboard. Amanda and Allen leaned in to listen too, and a wide grin steadily spread on all of their faces.

"He's in "the mode"," smiled Allen and nodded. Then he straightened up. "Everyone on their marks!" Oh confusion, how often it followed me these days. "The mode?". I didn't understand a thing.

Like Amanda had read my mind, she grabbed my arm and as she lead me to the microphone in the corner, she said: "Sometimes when Johnny hears something that inspires him, he goes into "the mode", and when he's in "the mode", it's just nothing to do but to get your gear and follow as best as you can," she said and slammed the headphones on my head, and a piano version of my song filled my ears.

I widened my eyes as I heard the beauty of the complicated, yet easy-on-the-ear piano melody. He was really good. Then a bit sharper guitar voice joined piano melody, and soon a deep base made it all sounded more complete. How weird to hear the music that had just been in my head put into reality. A steady drumbeat joined the others, and they jammed together for a little while before the music suddenly stopped.

The sudden silence took me a bit of guard, and startled I looked around to se everyone taking their headphones off and looking at Johnny, so I did the same, curios to what was going on: I had never been a bart of a band, so I had no idea of how this things worked.

"Ok guys, this could be our first song as a new group," Johnny said, "and I personally am very positive with what we have going here." He was so serious, but yet gentle and boyish, and I occurred to me that music was something important to him. He was a natural joker, sure, but when it came to his and the bands, his music, there was no joking.

"Seattle Sunrise," Amanda said, and everyone turned to look at her.

"Excuse me?" Johnny said, confused. Amanda looked away from Johnny, and smiled at me.

"Our band name, it's Seattle Sunrise."

A.N: Disclaimer, I don't own anything except the band and North Star Records. The song I used is These Days by Chantel Kreviazuk

I hople you like this chapter and like the band, I really LOVE the band.