Emma noticed that Eric had gone completely stiff. She snapped her head toward the guy next to her, who was still glaring at Eric.
"Hey, Kevin, seriously, stop staring at him," Emma barked.
"What? Who even is this guy?" Kevin asked, turning to look at Emma.
"He’s my friend. Don’t be a jerk," Emma replied loudly, pouting.
Then, Emma reached across the divider and tapped Eric on the shoulder, getting him to look back at her.
"Eric, et my older brother, Kevin. He just got back from base, and he’s deploying overseas in a month," Emma said, introducing him.
"Oh... your brother," Eric said, turning to look at Kevin.
"Yeah... sorry about her. My sister loves causing trouble," Kevin replied.
"Who says I love causing trouble?!" Emma yelled, her face scrunching up.
The two siblings started bickering right then and there. Watching them banter like a normal, close-knit brother and sister briefly reminded Eric of his own relationship with Jason and Ruby. But the thought ca and went without triggering any emotional pain whatsoever, vanishing completely in an instant. Once the siblings finally stopped bickering,
"Emma, Kevin, et my cousin, Caleb," Eric said, introducing Caleb.
"Yo," Caleb greeted them, raising a hand.
"Nice to et you!" Emma said cheerfully.
A few monts later, Emma moved over to slide into the booth next to Eric, while Kevin joined Caleb on the other side. Eric finally got a good look at Kevin’s clothes and noticed he was wearing a military t-shirt and tactical pants.
It looked like Emma wasn’t kidding about him just getting back from base. Judging by his build and appearance, he was probably a year or two older than Eric, putting him right around Caleb’s age. After exchanging so casual small talk,
"So... are you two dating now, Eric?" Caleb asked, gesturing toward Emma.
"What? No, I literally just t her this afternoon," Eric answered honestly.
"Yeah... not yet. We’re just friends for now, right?" Emma interjected.
"Not yet?" Kevin repeated, his face hardening. It seed like the guy physically couldn’t smile, and whenever he tried, it honestly looked terrifying.
Emma realized she had just blurted out exactly what was hidden in her heart, and she quickly turned her head to look the other way. Eric, who noticed her reaction and felt a sudden wave of embarrassnt himself, imdiately took action,
"Anyway, I’m all done with my food. I should probably get going. I still have a ton of stuff to pick up at the convenience store," Eric said, standing up.
"Wait, hold on a second," Emma said, grabbing Eric’s forearm and pulling him right back down into the seat.
"What’s wrong?" Eric asked, completely bewildered as he sat back down.
"I’ll co with you," Emma declared.
"Uh... no, that’s fine. I can handle it myself," Eric replied.
Completely brushing Eric’s objections aside, Emma turned to Kevin and told him she was heading out for a bit with Eric, asking her brother to wait at the restaurant for a while. Then, she prompted Eric to stand up. Eric shot a desperate look over at Caleb, praying his cousin would bail him out, but Caleb just flashed a thumbs-up and nodded along with a massive grin. anwhile, Kevin just sat there silently, staring straight ahead and casually finishing his al.
Emma pulled a resigned Eric out of the restaurant, and they walked down the sidewalk toward a convenience store at the end of the block. Eric gently pried his arm from Emma’s grip and walked side-by-side with her.
"What are you even doing out this late anyway?" Eric asked.
"Getting food with my brother. We don’t have school tomorrow, plus we were starving and too lazy to order DoorDash," Emma replied casually.
"Oh, right. No school tomorrow?" Eric asked.
"Yeah, it’s actually sumr break since I’m going into the 12th grade, but I had a school thing earlier today, which is why I’m still in my uniform," Emma explained.
Eric took a proper look at what he was wearing just a white t-shirt under a jacket, jeans, and sneakers. His own hair was a bit ssy, and he wasn’t trying to impress anyone, but her natural, effortless beauty was undeniable. Eric’s face flushed slightly, and he quickly looked straight ahead, forcing any distracting thoughts out of his mind.
Once they reached the end of the block, they stepped into the convenience store. Eric imdiately started grabbing essentials: a toothbrush, toothpaste, body wash, detergent, snacks, a six-pack of soda, and even so underwear. Emma watched him pile the items into his basket before finally speaking up.
"Did you move to this city without bringing anything at all? Wait, did you run away from ho?" Emma asked bluntly.
Hearing her question, Eric didn’t give a verbal answer. He just gave a quiet nod, his expression shifting instantly. Emma realized she had stepped on a sensitive topic and didn’t press him any further. Instead, she grabbed two bags of chips and tossed them into his basket.
"Buy these for , haha," Emma teased.
"Oh... sure," Eric smiled.
They walked up to the register, paid for everything, and headed back out into the night to walk back to the restaurant. When they arrived, they caught Caleb and Kevin stepping outside.
"Sorry man, I gotta bounce. My girl just got off her shift at the hospital and she’s on her way back to the apartnt. Keep in touch, alright?" Caleb told Eric.
"Got it. Get ho safe," Eric replied.
Caleb imdiately took off, leaving Eric, Kevin, and Emma behind. Kevin turned to look at Eric.
"I’m gonna head out too... Emma, you coming?" Kevin asked his sister.
"Uh... yeah, obviously," Emma said, stepping over to Kevin’s side. She turned back to lock eyes with Eric. "See you tomorrow, don’t forget to text ," Emma said, waving her hand.
"Yeah, see you tomorrow," Eric smiled, waving back.
"Later, Ric. I’m hitting the road," Kevin said, raising a hand.
Eric nodded and smiled as the two siblings hopped onto a motorcycle parked in front of the restaurant and buckled their helts. They pulled out into traffic, and Emma turned around to wave one last ti, which Eric returned.
Once Kevin’s motorcycle disappeared around the corner, Eric turned and walked back toward his grandfather’s building just a short distance away. He looked into his shopping bags one more ti, making sure he hadn’t forgotten a single thing.
***
After getting back to his place, he dropped all his shopping bags onto the kitchen counter, sat down at the dining table, and pulled out his smartphone. He imdiately started setting up creator accounts on the two streaming platforms he had picked out earlier. Once the registration was complete, he glanced over at the guitar resting on the lounge chair.
"Alright, let’s do this," Eric thought.
He walked over to grab his guitar and his handwritten draft from the table, then headed to the elevator to go down to the third floor. Stepping into the recording studio, "click"—he flipped on the lights. A massive grin spread across his face as he took in the studio layout.
He walked straight into the soundproof glass booth opposite the control room and pulled up a stool. He sat down, placing his lyric sheet on a music stand, and rigged his smartphone onto a microphone mount hanging down from above.
After adjusting the cara angle to focus strictly on his guitar and torso, keeping his face completely out of the fra, he hit record. He jumped straight into the track, pouring his soul into the five-minute lody. When he finished, he played the footage back.
Not entirely satisfied with the take, he decided to do it again. It took him seven more tries to get a performance he actually liked, but looking at the playback, his face had accidentally slipped into the fra, forcing him to reconsider.
"Hmm... I really don’t want my face out there just yet," Eric thought.
He paused to think for a mont, then stepped out of the booth and headed upstairs. A few minutes later, he ca back down wearing a pair of non-prescription fashion glasses he had found among his grandfather’s things.
He ran through a few more takes until he finally captured the perfect recording. Without wasting any ti, he uploaded the track to both streaming services.
"Yaaawn." A sudden wave of exhaustion hit him. He checked the ti and caught himself off guard, it was already two in the morning. "Whoa... it’s late. Ti for bed, at least the job is done," Eric said to himself.
He hurried out of the recording booth and ran back upstairs. He threw himself straight onto his bed and knocked out instantly, completely unaware that the video of him playing that brand-new track was about to change his life forever.
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