Songs of the City (Shiva x rskde)

[Shiva the Cat]

Someday, I'm not going to have to drive myself through this freaking traffic anymore Noemi thought as she pulled into the parking lot of the recording studio. Once Martin stops casting me as a guy, probably.

Oh well. She'd just wrapped up her role as Stephano in the Freeport Opera Company's production of Roméo et Juliette, and she was determined to make a fresh start of the situation before rehearsals began for The Tales of Hoffmann, in which the petite twenty-four-year-old would yet again be wearing pants (this time in the role of Nicklausse, which to be fair did have some great pieces). Singing on someone else's album wasn't exactly as exciting as cutting one of her own, but at least Noemi was going to get paid for the opportunity rather than having to foot the bill herself. In her two years since joining the opera she'd managed to make enough money to buy a decent car and afford rent on a very nice one-bedroom apartment downtown, but the cost of recording a decent solo album with the kind of backing orchestration she longed for was way above her pay grade.

It wasn't fair. Martin Carmichael, the manager of the FOC, never wanted to do anything that didn't highlight the diva of the company, the world-renowned soprano Carisse St. Jean, despite the fact that he had an up-and-coming mezzo-soprano on hand who was almost twenty years younger and at least sixty pounds lighter. Of course, with her petite frame and youthful face, Noemi didn't have the stage presence of Carisse, but how could she ever get her chance to shine if the company kept avoiding productions like Dido and Aeneas or The Tempest, or Noemi's personal favorite: Carmen. She'd graduated top of her class at USC singing the lead in that production, and the recording was probably what had landed her the job with the FOC. But God forbid someone take Carisse's crown off her fat blonde head, so the young singer had to suck it up and accept side role after side role, waiting for the perfect opportunity to finally make an impact on the audience.

Maybe this will be it she thought as she walked through the doors of the glass and concrete skyscraper, then snorted a little laugh when she saw the hangers-on in the lobby. Yeah, right. Like these metalheads would know a decent singer when they heard it. It was all screaming and growling with these types, if you could even hear it over the unnecessarily aggressive drums and guitars.

Noemi wasn't even sure why Angelo had asked her to do this, except maybe out of desperation on his end. They'd been friends back in college and still got lunch together occasionally to reminisce about old times, and a few weeks earlier he'd mentioned that one of the label's new bands, “Century of Something-or-Other,” wanted to record a song with a female singer, preferably one with classical training for whatever reason. Angelo had volunteered Noemi before he'd even asked her, and it was primarily due to the payment (and even better, the royalties, scanty as they'd probably be) she'd be getting and the lucky opening in her schedule that she'd even accepted.

The young producer was waiting for the singer near the security desk, a steaming paper cup of tea ready in hand. Angelo's elegant shoulders finally relaxed in relief when he saw Noemi approaching, large glasses shielding her dark eyes and her cute little frame swathed in a bright red coat against the early autumn chill outside. “Oh thank god. I knew you wouldn't let me down, Noe. How was traffic?” he asked, handing her the tea and escorting her towards the nearest elevator.

“Shitty as usual,” Noemi replied in her warm, lyric tones, sipping delicately at the tea more out of politeness than necessity. “Is the rest of the band here yet? I'm going to need some time to get warmed up, but I don't think it'll take too long. I listened to that demo you sent me, it doesn't seem like too hard of a part.” That was another reason she'd agreed to the gig; compared to some of the more challenging roles she'd had to play onstage, this would be a breeze.

“No, they aren't. And Jace isn't answering his phone. And my boss wants to listen in on the session, so naturally I'm about to have a fucking aneurysm,” Angelo confided as the elevator sped upward. “I was hoping maybe you'd be able to keep him busy until I figure out what's going on with those guys?”

The singer's eyes sparkled with interest. “Oh? Is your boss an opera fan?”

“Uh...kinda,” the producer said slowly. “He saw that production of Tristan and Isolde you were in last year though, and he said he really liked it.”

Noemi's face fell. “Ange, I was in the chorus in that one, and my character barely sang at all.” And he too had been a man, or a boy, technically.

“Yeah, well...I'm sure you can impress him now, without all that competition! Maybe you can even ask him about that solo album you were talking about before,” Angelo suggested as the doors opened to the studio floor.

His companion's face darkened a little, and she pressed her lips together in an unhappy line. “I'll do my best. After I warm up,” she stated finally. Angelo seemed to understand, and led her to a small practice room where she could get settled before heading into the studio itself. Leaving her to her scales and stretches of song, the producer ducked out again to call the rest of his talent, praying that someone would finally answer this time.

But when Noemi stepped out of the practice room fifteen minutes later, dressed now in a simple black skater dress that would allow her plenty of freedom of moment, she found her friend still whispering in panicked tones to an older man in a sharply-tailored suit, who nodded politely to the singer as she approached the door of the recording booth.

“At least someone knows how to be on time,” the man in the suit remarked, then held out a hand to her. “Benjamin Holden, executive producer for the album. I can't thank you enough for taking the time to come down here, Miss Lang, and I apologize for the band being a little on the late side. I'm sure they'll be here soon, and I want to assure you that you will be fully compensated even if...well, if things don't turn out right today.”

Great. I get to spend the afternoon sitting on my ass waiting for a bunch of amateur punks Noemi thought, although the sweet smile on her face conveyed none of the bitterness she was feeling inside. “It's no trouble at all, Mr. Holden. I've got some free time for the next week or so before rehearsals begin again.”

“That's right, Angelo mentioned you sang with the city opera company. What are you doing next? I always mean to check it out but time just always seems to get away from me,” Mr. Holden added with a chuckle.

Noemi's small white hand clenched into a fist and her smile seemed to grow even tighter. “Les contes d'Hoffmann,” she replied in a flawless French accent. “Are you familiar with it?”

“Not in the least,” the executive replied. “If you don't mind, how about hopping in the booth there and singing a little bit of it for me, just as sort of a sound check while we wait?”

“Certainly,” Noemi said, one hand already on the door.

Not long after, the vibrato strains of Nicklausse's part of “Voyez-la sous son éventail” began to echo through the studio, probably for the first and last time ever.

 

[Risky]

Jace groaned quietly as he woke up, his head was pounding with the party that they had been having the night before. He blindly used his hand to tap the edge of his nightstand, searching for his phone to check the time.

His small studio apartment was a mess, truly he had never had much responsibility when he was younger, or really a nice place to live considering his habits on inadvertently trashing his own place. He groaned again as he finally found his phone and pressed the side button, his eyes squinting closed and his headache flaring with the sudden brightness of the screen and the time on the clock that already showed he was five minutes late for his studio recording today. He shook his head and dropped the phone on his chest, his eyes closing again as he started to drift back into his sleep, he had taken the recording as a favor to an old friend, someone who had helped him breach into the industry, but they would probably just reschedule~

Suddenly, the alarm on his phone goes off and he jumps, sitting up and growling with the pain of his head as his phone drops from his chest and on to the floor of his room. His body practically falls out of bed to grab it and turn it off, letting out a quiet sigh of relief as the pounding in his head subsides a bit. He laid on the floor for a moment before collecting himself and using his nightstand to drag himself up, putting a hand to his forehead in a feeble attempt to cure his headache. A small part of him wanted to just go back to bed, but having already expended the energy to roll out of it and turn off his damned alarm, he might as well start getting ready to head out, after all he was doing this guy a favor by showing up, he would arrive exactly when he would want to. It wasn't his kind of gig, loud drums or heavy guitars, apparently it was a duet with some high class singer from the Stage that the company thought he would work well with.

His eyes focused on the notifications that had been popping up all over his phone, the multiple missed calls from the man that had offered him a real opportunity with this company.. Fuck I shouldn't have gotten drunk last night... Hindsight was often twenty-twenty for him, he had been trying to straighten his act together since their music career had started taking off. He still had more than enough money to get by, but he wanted more than anything to make their music possible.

Ten minutes late.

He quickly gets dressed and prepares himself for the day, brushing his teeth to help hide the stench of alcohol on his breath and putting on clean clothes so that he wouldn't look like too much of a bum, though his favorite outfit consisted of a pair of jeans and a hoodie over a t-shirt, no matter what kind of weather it was he always preferred hoodies over everything else. He never wore his own merchandise, but his hoodie did have the tour of a rock group that he enjoyed on the back of it, perhaps the only reason he had taken the offer to do this song with this record label was because he respected Ballads more than anything, and it seemed like that was the kind of music they were going for.

It had been awhile since he had started a small band with a few of his best friends, they had been stupid kids who had been going through a lot at the time, and maybe playing music just helped all of them cope. But someone had heard them and offered them a gig at their bar, and they started to take off from there. It's crazy that had only been two years ago, all of them around twenty five now that they had started to establish their music careers.

Jace clenched his eyes shut from the memory, shaking his head. He took a deep breath and quickly hit himself on the side of his head a few times, trying to sober himself up a little. The company had told him the song that they had written was meant to be a testament to what they had been through, and that the female singer he would be singing with had the perfect voice for this kind of music, it wouldn't be as metal as he was used to, and he hadn't sang in a long time.. But the company had faith in him.

And look at how he had repaid them, fifteen minutes late by the time he had run out the door with his backpack slung over one shoulder.

He started walking to the bus stop, pulling out his phone and tapping on the missed call button, putting it to his ear and immediately hearing a very relieved albeit angry voice on the next line of Angelo. "Where the hell are you?! My boss is here." Jace could feel his chest tightening with the anger in the man's voice.

"I'm really sorry Angel, I overslept." His voice almost slurred, a bit of silence from the producer confirming that he knew Jace was still hungover from the night before.

"I've given you a really good fucking opportunity here kid, I don't give a shit what your history is like, this is a shot at making real music." The anger continued before a quiet sigh left him. "I have a driver headed your way, he's got orders to speed you over here.. Maybe pick up a damn coffee on the way." The phone beeped as the producer hung up on him.

Jace's hazel eyes focused on a car pulling up to his apartment, stepping into the passenger side without hesitation.

"You know, most people get in the back." The heavy accent of the driver made him chuckle and shake his head, motioning forward with his hand, the car speeding off in reaction to his signal.

From the text messages he had been receiving, the other two members of his band were already at the spot, his driver passing by a coffee place to help Jace get sobered up before delivering him to the building, the man downing his coffee before quickly making his way inside, clutching the side of his head as he got into the elevator and pressed the button to take him to one of the upper floors of the large building they were inside of.

"There he is!" A rough female voice calls out as soon as the elevator doors opened, his arm going numb with pain as Katey punched him in the arm, she had been their lead drummer for a long time, all of them had been good friends for a long time now. "About fucking time Jacob!" She laughed, causing him to shake his head.

"What did I say about calling me that? I go by Jace, it's always been Jace." He rolled his eyes, he was one of those people that didn't enjoy being called by his full name, he had shaped his identity around his nickname. "You got me fucked up last night, you know that? You're never mixing my drinks ever again." He laughed.

"Pussy." She spat with a grin, stepping to the side so that the second member of their band could make his way over, Pat had a certain way of always looking like a disappointed father whenever Jace was late.

"If you can't handle your alcohol, then don't drink." All of them broke out into laughter, every time they saw each other it was like a reunion, the three standing in a group outside of the elevator, Jace's hands tucked into his pockets. "We need to get into the studio before that suit has a heart attack." Pat motioned to the man staring at them as they reminisced.

The first thing that was obvious about the group was their tattoos, though Jace's arms were covered by his hoodie, the other two had fairly obvious arm and chest tattoos, nothing above their collarbones but one could only imagine what their legs and lower body looked like. They weren't dressed too punky, but their more casual attire suggested a laid back atmosphere as they made their way into the studio.

"Finally!" Angelo rushed over to them and practically grabbed them to rush them into the studio.

 

[Shiva the Cat]

After Noemi had performed as many arias as she could think of without wearing out her voice, she finally noticed some new figures beginning to filter into the studio. Stepping out of the booth, she looked over coolly at the newcomers as Angelo introduced them to the dark-haired diva.

"Well, we've got at least two-thirds ready to go!" the producer laughed awkwardly as Noemi crossed her arms over her chest. "This is Katey, she's on drums, and Pat--"

"You're the vocalist?" the opera singer cut in before Angelo could explain what exactly it was Pat did. She'd assumed the man was the lead singer based on his arrival alone; after all what kind of frontman would keep the rest of his group waiting, considering how much the studio time had to be causing them?

Angelo's face somehow managed to fall even further. "Uh, no, Jace is on vocals for this particular song. He's on his way though!" Despite the reassurance in his voice, Noemi's lips were still pressed firmly together in a disapproving line, and her eyes seemed to grow even darker as she looked skeptically over towards the band members that had shown up. At least they weren't quite as freakish-looking as some of the other performers she'd seen downstairs, but their clothes were nothing to brag about and their tattoos looked more like a desperate cry for attention than anything else. Of course, for Noemi it might have just been a case of sour grapes; she'd often thought about getting inked but knew she didn't dare get it anyplace on her body that a costume might reveal, and she was too scared of needles to get a tattoo someplace that would never be seen on stage.

After making some noncommittal small talk to the other pair, Noemi crossed the room to where she'd set aside her Coach bag, fishing inside to take a look at her phone. She was pleased to see a text message waiting for her, knowing a reply would at least eat up a few boring minutes of waiting. But then she saw who had sent it.

From: Karsten Glick
To: Noemi Lang

Dinner tonight? I got reservations at Iris. 8:00.​

The singer sighed. She supposed Karsten could be considered the closest thing she had to a boyfriend, although he had made his opinion on monogamy very clear to her on multiple occasions (that opinion being that it was ridiculous and outdated, and certainly beneath people with talent like his). Noemi wasn't totally shocked he'd reached out; he always waited until she was between productions to make his advances. She theorized it was because he knew certain activities regarding her mouth and throat were completely off-limits while she was in the middle of a run, and with a scowl at her phone she almost considered declining his offer.

But then again, he was the first chair cello for the Freeport Symphony Orchestra, and appeared in several local magazines as one of the city's most eligible bachelors. Like her, he had ties to the LA classical music scene, and turning him down might cause the kind of gossip she didn't really need right now. Her parents were under the impression that Noemi and Karsten were friends at least, if not actually dating, and the mezzo-soprano didn't want to deal with the questions if they heard anything to the contrary. Besides, Iris was a great restaurant, and reservations were almost impossible to get.

From: Noemi Lang
To: Karsten Glick

Sounds good. Pick me up at 7:30.
​

At least she could make him drive.

She had just pressed "send" when the door opened again, and a tired-looking man with stubble on his finely-chiseled face and bedhead that might have been attractive if it had been intentional walked in. Rolling her eyes, she stowed her phone again and stood up straight again, all five feet and six inches of her trying to look as queenly as possible as she strode in the newcomer's attention.

"Let me guess, you're Jace?" Noemi asked, raising one of her flawless black brows as she looked him over from top to bottom. Like the rest of his band, he wasn't quite as rough or edgy-looking as she had expected, but he was still a far cry from the well-dressed and polished musicians she usually associated with. "Took you long enough to get here."

"Noemi's on a really tight schedule today," Angelo interjected in explanation, stepping in between the two and resting his hands firmly on the ingenue's shoulders. "She's all warmed up and ready to go though, so if you'll just step into the booth whenever you're ready..."

He all but shoved the young woman into the recording booth, mouthing his pleas for her to be nice and just do her best so they could get this all over with. Noemi only shrugged in response. Of course she would sing however they wanted her to, that was her job and she demanded perfection from herself. Niceness though, not so much.

"Any day now," she muttered, waiting for Jace to join her.

 

[Risky]

The two band members had already made their disdain for this stuck-up opera singer quite apparent on their faces, especially when she seemed to be so disapproving of Jace. To the point where they hadn't stuck around the studio, not wanting to make any sort of small talk with her.

They had waited for Jace to come up through the elevator, standing in the small lobby and quietly talking to one another about the bitch in the next room, why had Jace agreed to this?

While they didn't have a 'leader', Jace was probably the closest thing to one that they had, he managed to get them most of their gigs while maintaining a solid musical talent with his guitar skills, apparently he was also a helluva singer, though neither of them had really ever heard him sing, he mostly stuck to his guitar.

Their quiet conversation was soon interrupted by a very anxious Angelo who quickly led them into the studio, wanting the producer and their partner to at least see them before they got started with the recording. It would probably be a cold read, they had been sent small previews of the song idea but really none of them knew what to expect aside from the fact that it wouldn't be hard rock like they were used to. It was all that they had ever known, and something that they heavily enjoyed. But they couldn't exactly turn down the opportunity to record with a major record label, the money and the possible outreach that this company could provide them could be enough to singlehandedly launch them into fame, they couldn't afford to turn this opportunity down without at least trying first. The three turned their heads towards the studio now, following Angelo inside so that they could meet everyone.

Jace smoothed a hand over his head to try and combat some of the bedhead that he had woken up with, even with the coffee and the realization that he should probably get his act together it was still hard not to be hungover and feel like shit from how much he had drank the night before. He never really kept track of how much Katey was pouring for him, he kinda just drank whatever she gave to him.

"You're gonna love the girly they picked for us to perform with, she's really nice." Katey rolled her eyes, Pat stifling a laugh while rubbing the back of his head. "Gave us a nice warm welcome before you came in, Jace." Her voice grew a bit low, he could tell that she was a bit pissed.

They finally entered the studio and stepped inside, his two bandmates leaving his side to go and prepare their instruments, his hazel eyes focusing on the beautiful girl in front of him, though he stood tall over her at 5'11", she didn't seem at all intimidated by his stature, one that he kept chiseled with time at the gym to keep up with his fitness.

He opened his mouth to respond, but Angelo quickly interjected and Jace's mouth closed again, his hands sitting in his pockets. "Sorry. Slept in." He shrugged his shoulders, as if it was no big deal that he had been nearly twenty minutes late to this recording session that could be the difference between fame or shame for his band. "Luckily I don't need to look good for a recording, eh?" He elbowed Angelo who gave a quiet and pathetic hiss of pain.

Whether she liked it or not, she would be recording with him and his band today, but it seemed that she had no intentions of making niceties with them, giving Jace a look as she walked into the studio and waited for him to join her. He sighed quietly, it was going to be a long session if she was going to act like this, but he decided to just ignore her rudeness for now, maybe they'd just gotten off on the wrong foot.

Stepping into the studio, he walked to his respective microphone, putting on the pair of studio quality headphones that were sitting on it, taking a quiet breath and closing his eyes for a moment, he needed to get his head in the game. He knew that his band wouldn't need a warmup, he certainly didn't, as bad as it may be for his throat or voice, it was something that they thought of as a waste of time.

His eyes settled on the music sitting in front of him, eyes flicking over the lyrics they had expected him to sing. This song seemed a bit sadder than he had anticipated, it combined a more 'normal' tone of music with a bit of rock, but the beauty of the vocals were meant to be front and center for all to hear. He cleared his throat before glancing up to the woman standing in front of him.

"Alright kiddos, let's play nice." Angelo said through their headsets. "We've only got enough time for two takes, that's just showbiz.. So I recommend getting briefly familiar with the music in front of you since we didn't exactly have the time to do it this morning." The man cleared his throat and Jace rolled his eyes, he was never going to hear the end about his lateness until this song was literally perfect. Not that he mined, there had been a time when he had absolutely refused to be late to anything, but those days were long behind him, he had become a new person now that he had started his music career and moved away from the darker portion of his life.

Jace listened to the keyboard playing, his eyes settled on the music to wait for his cue before starting, he wasn't quite sure why Angelo had wanted him to be the lead vocals in this song, but even with a massive hangover and seemingly no warmup whatsoever, he started nailing it. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the Producer staring at him with awe, he had probably expected a massive flop from the young singer, but so far so good.

By the end of the song they had a perfect take, Jace let out a quiet breath, his eyes still fixed on the music that Angelo had given them. He had been right about one thing, it had hit pretty close to home. "Fuck.." He muttered quietly, out of the mic to avoid anybody hearing him.

 

[Shiva the Cat]

Noemi suspected one of the reasons the producers had asked for a mezzo-soprano on backing vocals was because she had no trouble at all harmonizing with with the lead. Granted, Jace had nothing on the types of vocalists she usually sang with, but objectively speaking he wasn't bad. She supposed for a popular artist he was even decent, with that low, slightly gravelly tone that would probably pain him in a few hours. Her own strong, lyric tone only served to bring out the melancholy qualities of Jace's voice by comparison, and gave the song overall a more romantic, almost dreamy feeling.

If nothing else, she could be happy with the fact they nailed the recording in a single take, and there was no hiding the sigh of relief as Angelo came darting towards her, fresh water bottle in hand. "Thanks," she murmured with a nod towards her friend, then looked back curiously towards her fellow singer.

"That was pretty good," Noemi acknowledged, raising the bottle to her lips as she looked Jace over from top to bottom. "I wouldn't expect someone like you to have your pitch under control like that. You're going to burn out your vocal chords if you don't use your diaphragm more though. Just some friendly advice." Taking a long drink, she rolled her shoulders and neck a little bit, then capped the bottle again and shoved it into her purse.

She wanted to ask the singer if he was the one who wrote the song, but judging by the way he was looking over the lyrics, Noemi sincerely doubted that. Only the most melodramatic of egotists on the planet would get choked up about their own writing, and while Noemi acknowledged that Jace must have had an ego (what lead singer didn't?) he didn't strike her as the type to get emotional over words on paper. Instead, she merely shrugged it off and approached Mr. Holden, asking if she could listen to the track and of course getting a resounding yes.

Shit, she hated to admit it, but they sounded even better together in the recording. The engineer must have been a goddamn genius, or else she really should have listened to that agent last year who'd tried to talk her into recording a non-classical album. Of course, on this song Noemi's voice didn't sound nearly as dramatic or commanding as it did onstage, but she nailed every note perfectly while highlighting the finest points of Jace's performance.

"I'm happy with it," she said finally, removing the headphones and offering Mr. Holden the smallest of smiles. "It definitely sounds different than anything I've heard on the radio before. Who wrote it?" Not that she was well-acquainted with any popular songwriters these days, but if she was going to make a habit of appearing on rock and alternative tracks, it wouldn't hurt to have a name in her mind and contact info in her phone.

 

[Risky]

His voice had been forged over the last few years of his life, having had little to no interest in singing until Angelo came his way and asked him to tape a demo reel. Maybe the man had just gotten a hunch that Jace could sing, but he wasn't really sure if that was the case. He had listened to the vocalist while they sang together, her voice was truly beautiful, something that deserved its own song and record rather than being a backup for some amateur singer who's voice almost broke during the song. He closed his eyes for a moment, visualizing the lyrics in his head and letting out a shaky sigh, he had talked to Angelo a lot about the things he had seen, it was obvious who had written the song and what his intentions had been.

It was meant to be sad, that sort of raw emotion didn't come from practicing a script over and over again, they had wanted the first take to sound the way that it had, and now that he was listening to it through his headphones once it had been engineered, their plan had worked flawlessly. He sounded torn, his voice beautiful and deep but wavering with emotion that laced it, he hadn't even realized that he was capable of singing in that way, Angelo was a musical genius.

Jace glanced her way and took his headphones off to grab his own water so that he could get a quick drink, nodding his head. "Thank you." He replied to both her compliment and the advice that she had given. "You sounded amazing yourself, I'm surprised I wasn't your backup singer." He said while leaning against the wall of the studio, looking the woman over with interest. "Have you recorded solo before? Angelo had to find you somewhere." He couldn't imagine that she didn't have a successful career.

He set the bottle down and walked back over to his mic with his hands in his pockets, setting the headphones back over his ears so that he could listen to the track that the engineer was working on. He bit the inside of his cheek listening to it, it really was like nothing he had ever sang before, and his band had nailed it in the other studio as well.

Mr. Holden gave her a wide smile when she asked who wrote it, motioning to Angelo. "The same one that brought you both together." He clapped the man on the shoulder. "We're going to make a shit load of money." He seemed fairly excited about that prospect, Angelo just gave a weak smile, he had known that the two singers would be able to compliment each other's style, even if their personalities were polar opposites. "You two will be contact I'm assuming? If this makes enough I can foresee tours and parties in your future." The older man clapped his hands together.

 

[Shiva the Cat]

Noemi couldn't help but preen a little bit at the praise Jace had given to her voice. "Well, this isn't exactly my usual style," she explained. "And I doubt you'd make it as my backup. I'm used to having a whole chorus behind me, you know. And an orchestra." The pretty boy's eyes seemed utterly uncomprehending of the hints she'd dropped, and his question about whether she'd ever recorded solo touched a nerve with her. Stiffening, the short woman turned on her heel and went to the rack where her coat was hanging.

"For your information, I'm the lead mezzo-soprano for the city opera company. And Angelo didn't 'find' me. He begged me to come in and record so he could make himself look good to his bosses by saving them a few bucks. Isn't that right, Ange?" she asked haughtily as she pulled the coat over her shoulders. It was an unnecessary barb, considering how impressed she'd been a moment earlier when she'd learned her friend had actually written the song. It was only due to the fact that there was some truth in Noemi's words (and that Angelo had been dealing with the wannabe diva's ways since their freshman year of college) that the young producer merely smiled in response to her, albeit his grin somewhat resembled a grimace more than anything else.

Mr. Holden's joy was much more genuine, although Noemi thought there was something distasteful in his fixation on the money. "I don't think it'll be necessary," she remarked, glancing sidelong towards Jace and knowing there was no chance she would be saving his number. "You and Angelo have my information of course, and my manager's," the singer continued, pulling her hand free and wiping it surreptitiously on her coat. "A tour is pretty much off the table though. I have a two-year contract with the company, and we never have more than a few weeks off between productions. I know the deal we cut was generous, Mr. Holden, but you're going to need to sell a lot of copies of this song to make me give all of that up."

Besides, the rumor was that the winter production was going to be Werther, unless Carisse got her way again and talked Martin into doing another Wagner. It would finally give Noemi a shot at a leading part, or at the very least one that wasn't a breeches role. She'd been secretly practicing for weeks in her sound-proofed room at home, and was sure that by the time auditions were announced she could nail the much-coveted part of Charlotte. And in the meantime, the paychecks from the song they'd cut today would go into the "Solo Album" fund, and by the time that was full she could sing whatever she wanted.

In the meantime though, her manicurist had texted her with a last-minute opening, and if she was going out with Karsten tonight she couldn't say no. "Is there anything else?" she asked, sliding on her sunglasses. "I have another appointment I need to get to..."

 

[Risky]

It all made sense now, the stuck up attitude, the view towards him and his band, the rudeness.. Of course she was with the Opera.

Jace laughed quietly and shook his head, taking his headphones off and putting them on the stand. "I was wondering why you seemed so snooty." He slipped his hands into his pockets. "Gotta cling on to music from hundreds of years ago otherwise it's not 'real' music, right?" He asked before glancing over to the two suits standing behind the glass. "You have my number Angel, you give me a call if you need anything... I'm outta here." He waved Noemi off before walking out of the studio, the only reason he had even known her stupid name was because Angelo had told him she was on a tight schedule.

Fucking bitch..

They had offered her the chance at a tour, to make modern music for people that would actually listen to it and understand, not a bunch of stuck-up suits with more money than they know what to do with, throwing it at a bunch of French speaking 'singers'. He stormed past his crew, who shot Angelo an apologetic look before following him on to the elevator and setting it for the first floor, Jace leaning against the back wall while rubbing his eyes. His two friends looked at him, concerned with what had happened in the studio, causing him to look up at the two of them with a sort of angry and confused look. "What?" He snapped.

"You doing alright big guy?" Pat elbowed him, Jace batting his arm away while shaking his head.

"I tried to be nice to that girl, I really tried." He laughed while shaking his head. "Fucksake, I didn't know a bitch could be so deep in her own little world that she forgets human decency." He earned a couple of chuckles from his tattooed friends, who both seemed to agree with him on how Noemi had been acting towards them. They stepped off of the elevator and made their way out of the building together, Jace catching a ride with Katey to get back to his apartment to finish sobering up, though his anger towards the Opera singer had certainly done a lot to straighten his mind, it still bothered him that she had barely even given them a chance. She had told him that he was a good singer, and when he tried to compliment her back she had taken it straight to heart.

None of them could have realized just how well the song they had performed was going to do.

A few weeks passed and it was in the top ten across the music charts, a smash hit song that seemed to reach audiences of all ages, genders, and creeds, Jace's band performances suddenly had a lot more attendance and they were even starting to get fan mail. Their biggest fans, of course, were the people that they had just made millions of dollars for, begging for them to come in and make more music with them, telling the band that they would have more music available for them to perform soon.

Jace was lounging around his apartment after a long night of partying, it seemed that every night these days was occupied with partying and drinking, of course there were also plenty of other drugs around, though Jace hadn't thought to try any of them.. Yet, at least. A text message popped up on his phone from Mr. Holden, and Jace's eyebrows raised at the idea of it. He turned his head to see a half naked blonde woman stumbling out of his room, her hair all out of shape from drinking and whatever they had done last night, she shoots him a smile and he jerked his thumb towards the door, making her face drop almost immediately as she turned around to go and grab the clothing that had probably found its way all over his bedroom floor.

Party tonight~ we're celebrating your song, so I assume you'll be there? -H

Jace thought for a minute before starting to type out his response, jumping a bit at a sudden voice.

"I thought you would be different!"

"Geeeet the fuck out!" She quickly scrambled out of his apartment and he shook his head, he didn't even remember the damn girls name.

I'm in.

 

[Shiva the Cat]

Noemi only smiled politely as Jace proceeded to tear down the art she had spent her entire life perfecting. "It's all right, I know it takes a certain type of person to understand and appreciate what I do. But don't worry Jace, no one's going to call you and ask you to record an aria in between your...gigs? I'd use the word 'concert,' but I typically reserve that for situations where I've actually heard of the act performing." She lowered her sunglasses over her eyes and checked her lipstick in her phone's camera. "You might want to remember though: an opera singer can show up and sing your music any day of the week. I'd like to see you pull off the reverse."

With a few more cool farewells to the executives, she excused herself from the studio and headed for the elevators, taking care to wait for her own rather than getting on a car with the rest of the band members. Once she was alone inside and the doors had shut behind her, only then did she curl her hand into a fist and slam it into the wall of the elevator, doing more damage to her knuckles than anything else.

Scorn from guys like Jace was nothing new to Noemi. She'd gone to a state school, after all. And even when she was a kid, she knew how weird she was for listening to singers like Pavarotti and Fleming rather than the popular acts her peers were into. That was why she rarely socialized these days outside of classical music circles. Jace wasn't wrong when he called them snooty, but at least they understood. They could listen to a recording of Dido's Lament and feel the same things she did, and they would never mock her for trying to hit all the high notes or dream of wearing the extravagant costumes on stage before hundreds of people who still loved the centuries-old songs.

"Idiot," the singer murmured as she stepped off the elevator, sauntering out to the parking lot like Dido herself.

*****
​

By the time rehearsals had begun for Hoffman, Noemi had almost forgotten about recording the song. It was only when she got an alert about a substantial deposit in her bank account, and a text message from Angelo that she realized the song was actually charting.

Probably just a one-hit-wonder thing, she told herself as she arrived at the theater. As a rule she didn't listen to the radio, and if anyone had asked her who the best-selling artist in the county was she wouldn't have even known who to guess. But as she waded into the crowd of the chorus, smiling and making pleasantries with the colleagues she hadn't seen in a month, she was suddenly dragged into the reality of the situation by Mica, one of the freshman tenors of the company.

He literally dragged her, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her over to where a small group of the younger singers were staring at her in awe. "We heard your song!" Mica grinned, giving her a playful shove on the arm and nearly knocking her over with the force of it. "I didn't know you knew Century of Revilers! Luke and I saw them at their New Year's show, it was awesome! How did you end up singing on their album?"

Gingerly pulling her arm free of the younger man's grasp, Noemi gave him a cool smile. "Friend of a friend. It was a one-time thing, I don't think--"

"Aw, but you gotta do more with them! You and Jace sound so good together!" Luke, another new singer, chimed in.

"Yeah, no," the mezzo-soprano replied, already stepping back to join her own circle of more established members of the company. "I don't think I'm even going to see him again, let along sing with him. Like I said, it was a one-time thing."

Except for when the call came that afternoon from Angelo. Noemi could practically hear him going down on his knees to beg her to make an appearance at the party the company was throwing. "Just because the press will be there. They want some pictures of you with the band, that's it. Please Noe, I told Mr. Holden you'd come. You have to at least stop by. I'll arrange a car and everything."

After ducking into a secluded nook in one of the wings to ensure she wouldn't be heard, the singer let out a huffy breath. "Ange, I can't. I have an early rehearsal tomorrow, I can't be out late tonight. Plus I need to save my voice. What if they want a live performance while we're all there?"

"No singing, I promise. And I'll have you home by midnight, on my honor as a fairy godmother. But my job is riding on this, Noemi. And you are making a pretty chunk of change off the royalties, just like I said you would."

"...Ugh, fine. Two hours, that's all you're getting. And I need to be in my house by midnight, capiche?"

Capiche indeed. Thankfully rehearsal would be wrapped up by four pm, which left her enough time to get as pretty as an event like this warranted (which, in Noemi's opinion, was the bare minimum). But the more she thought about it, the idea of showing up to the party alone made her even more irritable. If she was going to have to go into the lions den, she'd be damned if she did it alone.

Unfortunately, the symphony had a show tonight, which meant Karsten would be totally unavailable. If someone else had been throwing the party she might have considered inviting Angelo, but since it was technically his party she could hardly expect he'd be able to stick by her side all night. Most of her other male friends wouldn't dream of being caught dead at an event for a popular act, or their wives and girlfriends wouldn't let them go with another woman. So it was that when the car service pulled up in front of the hotel where the party was being held, young Mica Léone had the honor of helping Noemi out of the vehicle, looking like a kid at his first high school dance escorting the prom queen.

"Let's get this over with," the prom queen muttered, trudging towards the ballroom in her Jimmy Choos like a prisoner on her way to execution.

 

[Risky]

Jace wasn’t too sure of what kind of party the company was throwing, but he actually managed to scrounge together some proper casual dress attire, a white shirt and black tie with an overcoat that fit him almost perfectly. He glanced over to his closet, there were nice uniforms from the old days in there, but he wouldn’t be caught dead wearing them to a party, they were for super special occasions only.

Not that he even wanted to be reminded of those days.

He texted the group chat this his band had, and confirmed that they had also been invited to the party, mostly to ensure that Angel wasn’t trying to pull a fast one and only have the singers show up. A low groan left his lips as he remembered that Noemi would probably be there. She had been rude to him before but God only knows what she would have to say to him, maybe their song being on the top of charts would change her opinion about this side of the musical world.. probably not. If anything she probably had ignored the music altogether and just accepted that she was getting a nice check every month with thousands of dollars in royalties.

He had been pissed enough to do his research on the girl, seeing a few tapes of her performance from the theater company’s website. Seeing her wearing men’s clothing had thrown him off a bit, but had definitely given him some insight into what she did when she wasn’t recording music with Angel. He had never been much of an Opera or Theater guy, he had enjoyed musical theater in high school which helped him develop his voice early on, but Opera was on a whole new level from that. It had taken him hours to calm down, feeling some sort of way about her repaying his kindness and compliments with scorn, but a few drinks and a night or three of partying with his friends and fans had taken his mind off of it for the most part.

Now he walked to his car, dressed for success and starting his car as he took a deep breath. From what Mr. Holden had told him, it seemed like it would be a big deal for them to be seen at the party, which definitely meant that press would be there. Never in his whole life had he had to deal with press, he was slightly worried that he would say something embarrassing, or god forbid incriminating.

He drove with the radio off, there was something about hearing his own music that made him feel awkward and it seemed like their song was on the radio every twenty minutes. It was a short drive extended heavily by traffic, but he soon pulled up to the location that Holden had sent him, tossing his keys to the valet before walking towards the entrance to the venue. They had gone all out, not exactly red carpet status, but when he approached the entrance to the venue he was immediately bombarded by a wall of fans and press being held back by security barriers, his eyes struggling to adjust to the flashing lights and his chest tightening with the colors flooding his vision.

Soon he was snapped out of it by a arm moving around his shoulder as Pat held him close, waving to the crowd with a deceitful fake smile, his true intentions to get Jace inside before he made a fool of himself. The sounds of flashing cameras and fans crying out for attention was soon sealed off as they walked inside of the venue, Pat chuckling quietly. “You look damn good buddy, though next time when it comes to press I’d recommend just keeping your head low and moving along.” He gave his shoulder a squeeze before letting him out of the embrace.

“Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind Mr. Celebrity.” He laughed, shaking his head as they walked together into the main room of the party. Tables had been set up in front of a stage that luckily already had a different band playing on it, tables with way too much food set up around the perimeter of the room as waiters and waitresses walked around with platters of champagne. Jace felt floored looking at the scene, and this was all for them? He shook his head and slipped his hands into the pockets of his trousers, his eyes glancing around the room to see if Noemi had already arrived.

He was quickly swept up by Mr. Holden, who stole him from Pat almost immediately. "You sir, have made me a lot of money!" He grinned while looking to Jace, it hadn't been the first time the producer had contacted him all excited. "Your voice is certainly something, I'm surprised that we didn't find you sooner young man." This made Jace scoff lightly, it made sense that he hadn't been found considering the willingness studio's often displayed to take on new singers was often second to none.

"Considering how low my royalty was and how much is in my account, I could tell." Jace rubbed the back of his head, earning a hearty laugh from the Suit, and a clap on the back.

"Well, I'm happy to reunite you with your partner singer for that song, she should be here tonight.. And you two are gonna play nice for the cameras." The man's voice dropped into a more serious tone, his finger pressed to Jace's chest. "Got it?"

"Yeah.. Whatever man.."