Melodious Endgame

IV.

Andre Harris sat among his many talented friends and coworkers in his Velvet Theory Records studio. Eva, his manager, arranged with Tori's manager for all of them to meet there, and there couldn't have been a better spot to kick this thing off. Andre had plenty of instruments and buttons to keep his mind occupied as he subconsciously counted down the hours then minutes until Tori arrived. But he wasn't nervous.

Well, not really. What he was feeling was more like whiplash. Just a few days ago he had everything outlined about how the next year or two was going to go with him, his people, and his studio. Tori calling him was not in the cards. It scribbled all over his plans and forced him to rewrite them, though truth be told, he had yet to even consider what the new plans would look like. Well, besides co-writing songs, assisting Tori in figuring out her new sound, and getting her featured on some of his people's upcoming singles.

He still couldn't believe he agreed to do this so quickly. Granted, he had been drinking that night Tori called him, and she even asked him if he was drunk. And while, no, he wasn't, not really, he was sure his state did have something to do with his spontaneous decision. Even going back to the party after their phone call and telling Eva to contact Tori Vega's manager ASAP felt like an out-of-body experience. Oh, Andre was used to taking quick action when a great opportunity presented itself, but he would be lying to himself if this situation didn't come with a bit more nuance.

"When is she getting here?" Siobhan Grey, his latest recruit and whose album party he was at a few nights ago, asked.

"Their plane landed about an hour ago, and they still have to get their luggage, find their ride, sit in Chicago traffic—," Eva Mason explained the timeline to Siobhan, but the younger girl interrupted.

"So maybe in about an hour?"

Andre hid a smile at Siobhan's lack of patience. Eva was very meticulous about timelines and when things were taking place, but Siobhan was always just looking for a short answer. She only just turned twenty-one, her album party pretty much doubling as her birthday party. Despite that, she kept getting carded because she only looked to be fifteen at best. She was of mixed-race, and her flawless brown skin combined with her deep green eyes allowed her to look both innocent yet captivating. Her singing voice sounded mature beyond her years, and Andre thought she was at least his age when he first heard her demo a few years back.

"Still can't believe you never told us you were friends with Tori Vega," another one of his older recruits, Deon Bennett, commented as he strummed a few chords on the guitar he was holding.

"We haven't talked since high school," Andre reminded him. He wanted to add more, like 'I'm not really sure that qualifies as friends,' but even in his head it felt out of place. Their last two years of high school, they were more than friends. A lot more. And then high school ended on them not even being friends, so what does one call that sort of relationship?

And this is where some of his nervousness settled in. Despite exchanging some congratulatory texts with her over the years, he really had no idea what her life looked like. He prided himself on keeping up to date with the music industry, and once Tori released her first single, she made a big name for herself quickly. So, finding out about all her successes was more in part due to her name being everywhere and him paying attention. He often wondered if it was the same with her. She was the first to text him congratulations, but she also kept it going over the next few years as his success skyrocketed and she was—…

Andre had no idea what she was doing between high school and her world premiere as a singer. He thought about looking her up many times. But at some point, he found a groove in life, and he was scared that he would read or see something that threw everything off. His emotions continued to rule over his logical side, and in a way, he was fine with that because it was how he was able to write and produce such amazing music, but he also knew how it could be his downfall if he wasn't careful.

Though he supposed his logical side did win when it came down to him making the decision to start his own studio or—

"Emily King just said they're about twenty minutes away," Eva announced while texting her response back to Emily.

"Spoiler alert!" Siobhan exclaimed, "Shoulda just let them walk in unexpectedly. And dramatically."

"No unexpectedness," Andre countered, pointing at her in mock discipline, "Or drama. Please no drama."

She stuck her tongue out, "You're no fun, old man." Andre only shook his head at this, and she continued on, "Having Tori Vega walk in dramatically would be sweet though. She could do that slow motion walk with her long hair blowing in the wind from an invisible fan—wait, her hair always looks so long in videos and pictures, I wonder if it's just extensions though."

"No, that's her real hair," Andre countered without even thinking.

Siobhan squinted her eyes at him, "Mmm-hmmm…"

Andre lowered his sunglasses over his eyes and crossed his arms.

...

...

...

Tori and Emily pulled up outside of a large building that they were sure housed plenty of different music companies and sound booths for rent. Andre's VT Records was on the seventh floor. As they got out of the car and walked inside, part of Tori wanted to take the stairs to give her more time to figure out how to greet him. But exerting too much energy was sure to leave her out of breath and lightheaded, and the last thing she wanted to do was see him and pass out.

Thankfully, Emily led the way to the elevator, so Tori just had to follow. Emily pressed the button for the seventh floor, then glanced over at Tori who was gripping the metal bar like her life depended on it.

"What's going on with you? It's been years since I've seen you act this nervous," Emily said, and despite her outwardly keeping her cool because it was part of her job to keep Tori calm before big events, Tori was making her antsy too.

"Sorry, just—hoping everything works out okay," Tori settled on.

They didn't have more time to talk it through as the elevator dinged their arrival and Tori felt like her stomach was left plummeting back to the ground floor.

"Get your idol face on," Emily told her quickly as the doors opened. At these words, Tori instantly stood up straight and flipped her hair over her shoulder. Emily smirked. These were the golden words. It started many years ago, when Tori was just starting out, and she had a Japanese pop idol friend named Shiori. Tori called her before she was due to perform her first hit single live, panic attack on the rise, but Shiori said these infamous words to her, and it managed to override everything else in Tori's brain and show the world a fearless and confident woman.

Call it operant conditioning or subliminal messaging, either way, it always worked like a charm.

Tori saw the door in front of them that had the Velvet Theory Records icon on the front, and she swore her ghost was out of her body and she was only watching herself approach the door. Emily went first, knocking a couple times before the door was pulled open by a short and gorgeous Hispanic woman who had to have been Eva Mason.

"You made it! Come on in," she stepped aside and held the door open for the two guests.

Tori saw Emily and Eva shake hands and begin chatting like it was happening through a thin film separating universes. Tori stepped further into the studio and her eyes scanned the other people standing around, obviously waiting for her. No one was saying anything though, which made it a little awkward, so she opened her mouth to say something. But then someone stood up from their chair behind everyone and began walking toward her.

He was wearing those same sunglasses she saw him wearing in the airport six years ago. She was sure she was destined to never see his eyes in person again. He was wearing a checkered black and white button-up shirt that fitted him perfectly, and it somehow went perfectly with his baggy jeans. He was also currently rocking the dreadlocks he always had in high school, but they were longer, past his shoulders, the colors a mixture of brown and copper. Something that was completely different than high school was his beard, and he never looked better.

Tori could only assume she was starstruck.

"Tori Vega…" Andre said her full name with a smile, and her heart and stomach switched places, "you—," he looked her up and down and it took all of Tori's will power to not wiggle her legs like she knew she did when she thought too hard about heavy attention on her. "…are timeless."

Her breath caught in her throat. Meeting different people she knew from various years of life, after having not seen them for a long time, always told her that her looks never changed. 'You look exactly the same!' they'd all say.

But never…

Never did anyone call her what Andre just called her.

She wished she could see his eyes but maybe it was a blessing she couldn't, because then she really would be starstruck.

Tori searched for words to say to him, but her tongue felt thick and the only thing she managed was to hold out her hands to him and say, "It's so good to see you!" She winced and was sure she may have even stumbled and stuttered over a few words in that simple sentence.

Andre kept his smile and even nodded once in agreement, and though his eyes were hidden, Tori felt the eye contact.

"Are old people always this awkward at reunions?" the young girl that had been standing in the background finally stepped forward to break the tension. She grinned at Andre, and it was instantly clear she was always giving him a hard time. She then turned her full attention to Tori, "Not that you're old! You look like you're my age. Unlike…" she glanced over at Andre again before waving him away. She held out her hand, "It's so amazing to meet you!"

Tori took her hand instantly, "Oh, you're Shiv-G! I preordered your album! Love, love, love 'Midnight Texts.' I listen to it every day!"

Shiobhan looked taken aback and now she was more than a little starstruck herself, "Tori Vega listens to my music?" She was so new that the thought of not only the world, but other successful artists, knew her name and music was still something beyond her comprehension. "Also, Shiv-G is just my stage name. My friends call me Siobhan."

Tori's smile grew, "Beautiful name. Will we be working together too?"

Siobhan looked over her shoulder at Andre, "Daaaad, can I play with Tori Vega?"

Tori's eyes grew a bit at this, but Andre rolled his eyes behind his glasses, "Don't pay her no mind. She's a strange one," Andre warned Tori, "But yeah, that's the pl—."

"We have a lot to go over first. Fun paperwork," Eva spoke up, texting on her phone, "I had the lawyers on standby so I'm letting them know they can come up and we can start this contract and move on to the exciting stuff."

Tori felt like she was all over the place. She was glad the managers were taking action to move things forward, but at the same time, she wanted some…normalcy to settle between her and Andre first. She wasn't sure if she could get that in a room full of other people. But she almost felt like she was entering into a commitment before she even knew if it was going to work or not.

"Let's get on with it then," Andre clapped his hands and turned around to head toward the table that was set up and ready for paperwork. He kept his cool outwardly, but inside he was having a mini meltdown. He couldn't believe he was so at a loss for words when he saw her that he said the one and only thing he was thinking out loud. Though, and he couldn't deny this, it was absolutely true. Her face lost its baby roundness, making her cheekbones even more pronounced (he didn't think that was possible). Her jeans and sleeveless black top that wrapped around her neck showed that not only did she keep her thin frame over the years, but she became more toned, and she never looked better.

Tori and Siobhan, and Emily and Eva, continued to chat as they waited for the lawyers to arrive. Deon had stayed back and observed everyone's interactions, eyeing Andre over by himself at the table. He put the guitar down and went over to him, slapping a hand on his shoulder, "You okay, man? You haven't seen her since high school, and you only said ten words to her."

Andre looked back over at the groups, and he was glad Siobhan was being so talkative, "I guess I'm just at a loss for words right now…"

"Ah…" Deon looked over to Tori as well, "Well, I can see why. She's a hottie."

"It's not about that…" Andre mumbled, but didn't want to take the time to elaborate. He saw her and suddenly felt like twelve years' worth of words bubbled to the surface and then all collided together to make one jumbled mess. 'Maybe this is going to be harder than I thought…'

Then Tori, who had been nodding at something Siobhan said, glanced over at him and smiled. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't realize he didn't smile back until the pull on her lips slowly lowered and she turned back to Siobhan. Thankfully, the lawyers came into the recording studio at that moment, and everyone was ready to get down to business.

Tori tried hard to pay attention to what the lawyers and managers were saying, but at that point she just wanted to sign whatever they gave her and then crawl into the nearest hole. She couldn't read Andre at all, but him not returning or even acknowledging her smile made her feel like he was already regretting this decision.

But then in the middle of all the legal jargon, he started tapping his fingers lightly on the table and his lips moved silently as he said something in his head. Or rather, sang something, because he whipped out a small notepad from his jeans back pocket and wrote down words with one hand while his other mimicked playing the keys of a melodica.

Tori couldn't help but stare as Andre worked his way through a song that he must have suddenly had the inspiration for. If she had a hard time paying attention to the lawyers before, she had completely zoned them out at this point. He used to do this all the time in high school and to see that he still worked like this, that his passion for music didn't fade a single bit, really made her swell with joy. She wanted to brag that she knew him before the world did. She wanted to hear the lyrics he was singing in his mind, and she wanted to sing with him. She wanted to write with him. She wanted to make music with him.

Both of their names were called simultaneously by Eva and Emily to get their attention. Tori blinked out of her trance and Andre only barely looked up (though his damn sunglasses were still hiding his eyes). The paperwork was ready to start being initialed and signed in all the appropriate spots. Tori picked up her pen as the papers were slid in front of her. Andre moved his pen from his notepad to the legal documents and they did what they had to do to seal the deal.

By the end of it, they were locked in to work with each other for at least one year.