The Creative Process (tag: Addie)

[Alexandra Lawson]

"Oh!  No no!  Go back."  Alex flailed a hand in a circle in order to emphasize her desire for the guitarist to rewind his idle, experimental strumming.  "I like that one."  She paused, falling silent as she waited expectantly for the guitarist to comply.  Her eyes lit up at the sound of the subtle, yet engaging riff.  "Yeah.  Oh yeah."  She gave an exaggerated series of nods.  "That fits better then what we have down for 'Yield', don't you think?"  There was another nod as she tapped her mechanical pencil against the large notepad that was sitting on her lap.  "Try it out in 'G'."  She suggested.  "I bet it'll work with the key change after the bridge too."

It was another late night that found Alex and her bandmate, Jordan, sitting in the studio that had been given to them.  Alex was seated, feet tucked beneath her, on a large, plush chair in the corner, scribbling notes here and there on the pad while she and Jordan mulled over ideas for new songs or how to fine tune the handful they'd already pieced together.  Alex was clad in a far too large grey sweater that bore a weathered and worn San Francisco 49ers logo on the front and a simple pair of black sweatpants.  Her hair was tied back in a subdued ponytail, the end of which she often pulled over her shoulder to fidget with.

When Jordan's phone beeped, Alex's eyes lifted from the paper and she gave the guitarist a smirk.  She knew who it was trying to get a hold of him and she waved a hand.  "Go."  She said with a bit of a laugh.  "Don't keep her waiting anymore, I'll have Bernie walk me out when I'm done."  Another nod came with the mention of the security guard who patrolled the lobby of the studio at night.  There was a bit of protest but Alex wasn't hearing it.  She shooed the guitarist out of studio only to find a diminutive figure slip inside just as he was leaving.

"Hey."  Alex said, a soft smile coming to her face as she caught sight of the brown haired young woman who only stood an inch or so taller.  "What're you doing here?"  She asked, tucking the pencil behind her ear and resting the notepad onto her lap so she could focus her attention on Addison Sloane .  "I thought everyone else went home already."

[Addison Sloane]

Working late into the night was something Addison was used to. Hell, everyone at Dyer loved to stay as long as they could. Perks of having a great boss and an amazing team.

Things couldn't have gotten any better for the talent scout the past few months and despite the hold up with what happened to Alex recently, even the band she had managed to rustle up practically out of thin air was doing heaps better than they did before Alex came into the picture.

Their frontman's muse brimmed over with the new addition and the other members were really excited to have her around. They were bummed that she couldn't make it to the rehearsals the past few weeks but they understood and they made up for it and now that she was back, they were back in full swing.

She had been listening to their process the whole night and was only now coming in to check on Alex. A small smirk grazed her lips when Jordan came out of the sound booth with his phone. Slipping in, her smirk turned into a smile when she saw her friend.

"Yeah, I usually don't go home until later." She shrugged before sliding into a chair and rolling over to the redhead. "How's the band treating you?"

[Alexandra Lawson]

In Alex's often muddled, overly optimistic mind the events of recent months were the best thing that every happened to her as-yet-to-exist music career. Previously she'd always shied away from writing much of her own material as she rarely found the inspiration for anything beyond the cliche love songs or terrible depictions of teenage life most garbage bands released. While she wasn't above writing about such things Alex wished to tap into a vein of inspiration that went beyond the norm, beyond her own personal experiences. It was hardly an ideal way to discover that muse, but the attack and its subsequent fallout had given her an entirely new perspective on life and the pent up emotions that came with it came through in her writing. She simply considered it a constructive way to deal with a harrowing, life-altering event.

"They're great." Alex replied without missing a beat. There was just nothing else to say. He meshed well with the band members and they all got along like they were old friends. Each one of them brought something different to the creative process and fed off one another in a way Alex had never experienced before. "We've pieced together two songs and a third is almost ready to try out." She said, nodding thoughtfully. A contented smile touched Alex's lips as she sighed and settled back into the chair. "I can't tell you what it means to be back here doing this."

[Addison Sloane]

The answer brought a relieved smile to Addison's face. "I'm glad." She responded, her eyebrows raised in delighted surprise when Alex mentioned that they had made pretty good progress so far when it came to the music.

"Dude, that's amazing. I'm so happy for you." She reached out and squeezed Alex's hand, her smile widening before it softened at Alex's last remark. "I get it. I really do." She nodded. Pulling her hand back to rest on her lap, Addison pulled one leg up the chair, wrapping her arms around it and rested her chin on her knee.

"And everything else? I feel like we haven't really talked outside of this in ages."

[Alexandra Lawson]

Alex fell silent for a few moments as she nodded contemplatively. She supposed Addie truly did know what she meant when she talked about the relief that came with being around music again. It was strange that someone who held music in such a high regard had so few close friends who could fully understand that passion. The smile didn't remain far from her lips, though, and she couldn't help but let another one slip when Addie went to sit and make herself comfortable. The studio was silent, the hallway outside dark. A certain peace settled over the two girls.

"Yeah." Alex exhaled slowly as she thought this all over. So much had happened it felt like the last time she and Addie had gotten together to talk was years ago. As if everything that happened before the attack that had nearly killed her was a distant memory, a dream that was quickly fading the more she forced herself to look forward to a promising future. "It's alright." She replied vaguely. "It's kind of trying to find out what normal is now. Working at Bellefonte is weird. Yesterday one of the kids called me 'Miss Lawson', can you believe that?"

[Addison Sloane]

The mention of Bellefonte had Addison chuckling, nodding her agreement that yes, that did sound rather weird. She would probably feel the same if she worked at her old school too.

"I still haven't gotten used to the interns here calling me Miss Sloane. Felix calls me that sometimes and it weirds me out." She chuckled, a small blush occurring when she mentioned the boy she was kind of seeing. Even the words 'kind of seeing' seemed to be sort of an exaggeration.

"What are you working as again?"

[Alexandra Lawson]

"Yeah..." Alex's eyes narrowed as she watched Addie speak. There was something about the way she said the name that piqued the diminutive redhead's curiosity. Addie was remarkably secretive about her personal life given how close the two of them were. It sometimes seemed as though Addie was only interested in Alex's life and never spoke of her own. A thin smirk touched Alex's features, though, as Addie had let her poker face slip just ever so slightly. "Felix, huh?" She said almost teasingly. "I heard about that. How are you two doing, anyway?"

A low groan escaped at the question about work. It wasn't so much that Alex didn't like her job, on the contrary. She enjoyed it greatly. The hours were amazing, the pay was decent, it was largely stress free and she got along wonderfully with her co-workers in the office. That it was part time and didn't include working nights and weekends like the club was the icing on the cake as it allowed her ample time to spend in the studio talking shop, playing around with the instruments and equipment or outright practicing with her bandmates. There was just one, simple problem. "Oh God, Addie." She almost visibly winced. "I'm so bad at it." Came the confession. "Whoever thought it was a good idea to hire me to file and organize needs to get their head checked."

[Addison Sloane]

Smiling when Alex asked about Felix, Addison's bottom lip disappeared into her mouth as she tried to explain how things were between them. "We...uh...he asked me out a few days ago." She revealed. She looked to Alex with an embarrassed grin. "I've...never been on a date. Like...what does it even entail? I feel like I'm making too big a deal out of something that...isn't a big deal."

But it was a big deal to the talent scout. She had never really had any relationships outside of the friendships she still had.

The confession led Addison to laugh. "Probably. Wasn't there anything else that you could have been? Music teacher? Or an assistant to one?" She asked, curious as to why she took up the job in the first place.

[Alexandra Lawson]

Alex's grin widened as Addie spoke. There was definitely a lot more going on between Felix and Addie than she first believed. She studied the brunette and the way an almost whimsical inflection touched her tone. It told Alex all there was to know. "Yes." She confirmed with a curt nod. "You're thinking way too much of it. It's not like you're going on a blind date or anything. You already know him, already like him, you've already hung out with him, right? There's nothing to worry about. Just go with it and you'll be fine."

A snort of a laugh nearly escaped but Alex clamped a hand over her mouth in order to stifle it. Just the mere thought of her being any sort of teacher was ludicrous to her. "Me? A teacher? I shouldn't be trusted with the headmistresses' voicemails let alone the education of kids." Her head shook and she dared let out a little of the laugh. "I didn't study teaching. I don't know the first thing about it." She waved a hand idly. "Nah. I'll stay where I'm at for now. I'll figure it out. Maybe."

[Addison Sloane]

Addison chuckled in embarrassment when Alex confirmed that she was thinking too much of it. And she was right. It wasn't like she didn't already enjoy Felix's company. The only thing changing would be the context. Felix had basically told her he felt the same way about her so she shouldn't really see any problems. They were going to have a good time.

The talent scout nodded quietly. "I don't...have to do anything different, right?" She asked after a long pause. "I mean I don't have to change the way I dress or whatever?"

Snorting softly, Addison shook her head in amusement. "I guess. I just thought since you were only doing music here part-time, you'd find a way to make it full time elsewhere. But I get where you're coming from. Of course you'll figure things out." She shrugged.

"What have you gotten so far, music wise I mean. Anything about your awesome best friend who got you a gig with an awesome band?" She teased lightly.

[Alexandra Lawson]

"No, no." Alex said with an exasperated gasp. If she didn't know better (and she sort of didn't) she would have pegged Addie as approaching 'lost cause' territory. "You don't do anything different." She insisted. "Felix likes you for who you are, right? You didn't get all dressed up and do your hair and make up when you guys were hanging out before, did you? Of course not." She said quickly without bothering to give Addie a chance to respond. "Unless you're going to some fancy restaurant that calls for it, you don't need do anything out of the ordinary."

"The term part time is subjective." Alex pointed out with a bit of a nod. "I've been spending more time here than I have at work." She paused and thought something over for a moment before offering a shrug. "Or at home." She added before frowning as she actually had to take a moment to ponder how true of a statement that actually was. "Hey now!" She instantly lit up at the talk of music and wagged her pencil at Addie. "You can't just ask me to start talking about stuff that's not finished!" She protested with a laugh.

[Addison Sloane]

Addison took a deep breath and nodded. She was, indeed, a lost cause. For someone so incredibly at ease in crowds, Addison was so inept when it came to just one on one interactions, especially when the context was just a little intimate.

Hell, the last time she was alone with Felix...look how well that turned out.

It was good to have someone as candid as Alex in a time like this. There was no hassle to dating and Addison really was blowing things out of proportion.

As Alex spoke, the sudden frown on the redhead's face piqued the talent scout's curiosity. But it was masked by her genuine joy at hearing Alex's tease and laughter. "That's just showbiz term for no." Addison teased right alongside her five foot counterpart.

"So...everything good at home?" She asked.

[Alexandra Lawson]

Alex's eyes positively gleamed as Addie seemed to be satisfied with the answers she got. The diminutive redhead wasn't all that familiar with the young man who'd so obviously captured her friend's attention but that didn't matter. She knew him from college and at least knew him to have the reputation for being a terribly nice guy, which is exactly what Alex would say Addie needed.

A stifled giggle escaped as Alex clipped the mechanical pencil she was holding onto the notepad and set it aside, her head shaking as she did so. It felt weird talking about anything she'd written. While her bandmates assured her the handful of songs she'd presented were solid foundations it remained an awkward topic. She couldn't shake the feeling that her writing was juvenile and overly dramatic given the genre they played. "Hey, don't give me that." She shot back. "I don't know any industry terms yet."

With a light sigh Alex settled back into the couch she was sitting on, her hands falling into her lap as she thought a moment then nodded. The bright, playful smile on her face had melted away but only to be replaced by a soft expression of whimsical contentment. "Yeah." She said, lowering her gaze almost sheepishly. "Ezra sort of followed me to Bellefonte." She shrugged a bit at that. She knew she probably should have been a little annoyed by him feeling the need to keep tabs on her but she couldn't deny there was a certain sense of comfort that came with the gesture. "But it's kind of weird, you know?" She said, letting out a little huff before lifting her gaze back up to Addie. "Someone asked me the other day when we were going to get married." The utterly lost and confused expression on her face when she spoke did little to convey whether or not that idea was something she would be receptive to.

[Addison Sloane]

Glad to have the topic of Felix laid to rest, Addison was more than happy to concentrate on Alex once more. It felt so much better when she could concentrate on something else rather than herself.

Addison chuckled at Alex's retort and shrugged. "You know I'm only joking." She grinned.

Observing Alex wasn't something Addison was always comfortable doing. Mostly because Alex was aware of her surroundings and Addison didn't always know what to answer if she was caught staring. But the girl seemed preoccupied with thoughts of her boyfriend and Addison took the chance to watch the little subtle nuances and when Alex mentioned marriage floating in the air, Addison couldn't help but smile lightly.

Would it be bad if she told Alex that she was thinking the same thing?

"Are they the type to joke around?" Addison asked.

[Alexandra Lawson]

Of course Alex knew Addie was joking. She gave a playful shrug of her shoulders before issuing a small, contented sigh. Slowly but surely Alex was growing accustomed to the studio and office building. She got along well with the receptionists and even became friends with the night security guards. Most importantly, though, was that she'd managed to find a place within her new band. They were quickly becoming 'her' guys and they had taken her in. It was almost like they'd all known each other well before coming to Dyer.

"No." Alex answered simply, her face a blend of concern and uncertainty. "I guess it... makes sense?" Alex didn't know and the tone of her voice showed just that. "I've never really thought about it before." Came the admission. "It just never felt like anything I'd ever do. We've been together for almost four years now so I get it." She gave another shrug. "But everything's all crazy right now. New jobs, I've got all this going." Alex waved a hand idly around the studio. Her head shook and she threw her hands up in exasperation. "Just thinking about it feels weird."