While the latest episode of X-Star, especially Aiden, was getting a lot of traction online, he was working his shift at the bar.
"Aiden, come to the kitchen."
He passed two big glasses of beer to customers when he suddenly heard a shout from the kitchen. Putting the glasses down, he ran to the kitchen, only to see the bartender, Jeff, there.
"You are up next. In ten minutes." Jeff added, pointing at the door that led to the stage.
"Noted," Aiden took a deep breath, knowing that his performance was next. However, he was not too nervous due to now having the experience of standing in front of an even larger audience. "Can I record the video of me singing?"
"Video?"
"Yeah, for MeTube. I'm starting a channel."
"Oh, then, I can record for you. Don't worry; I will get a good video. Just go and give a great performance. Everyone is excited to see you because you are a famous one. Boss will be watching too."
Aiden nodded and climbed up to the stage after picking up his guitar. Then, walking up to the mic, he introduced himself to attract everyone's attention.
"Welcome, everyone. I'm Aiden Silvereye. It's been a while since I saw you all."
At his words, every person in the bar looked at him. Some old customers cheered and slapped their tables seeing him, while the newer ones were left surprised to see Aiden here.
He had gotten quite a bit famous after all.
"The boss has given me a slot to perform here. So, I have prepared a song that you might have heard on X-Star. Which one should I go with?"
Many people quickly started pointing out the song they liked the most from Aiden on that question.
"Sing 'Life is a story."
"No, 'I can't seem to forget' is the best one."
"I liked 'Close' more."
Aiden could see that there was a lot of popularity of his songs in the bar. But at that moment, there was a shout from the table where Abraham was sitting.
"Sing an original. You are famous for those."
It was a woman's voice, and when Aiden looked that way, he instantly recognised her. She was Abraham's niece, Amy Dickson.
When she shouted that, Abraham gestured to Aiden to go by her request, and having no way out, the latter nodded.
"Alright, I'm going to sing an original. I completed it just a few days back, and it's titled 'Lonely'. I hope everyone enjoys it."
Lonely was a song that he had written after reaching Basic Grade 10. It was basically something that he had written after getting eliminated because he didn't have anything better to do.
Slowly, Aiden strummed the strings of his guitar, and a slow melody came out of it. It felt a bit different from his other songs, with this one having a bit of a melancholy tone.
🎼🎸🎤🎶🎵
"Where have the good days gone?"
"The times where we used to ask our friends for games to loan."
"We used to have a dream of growing magically."
"But did it all end up so tragically?"
🎼🎸🎤🎶🎵
A white light flowed out of his guitar as he sang that verse. 'Lonely' was a song that started with a guy just thinking of his childhood and how the present time was very different from what he had expected.
The day where he would mature suddenly never came, and now, it was already too late.
Aiden's voice expressed this perfectly, and from the second verse, the song picked up pace as the tempo increased.
🎼🎸🎤🎶🎵
"Now, I'm just a guy sitting in the small space that has become my life."
"No friends, nothing, nada, for whom I would strive."
"Every day, just hitting a new low."
"Surviving with a coffee to goooo."
🎼🎸🎤🎶🎵
The pre-chorus was right next after the second verse. Aiden had composed the song in a way that seemed to be both fun and sad at the same time due to the tempo and bright music with just a subtle soft tone.
🎼🎸🎤🎶🎵
"The bright blue skies had turned grey."
"Going to work, faking a smile every day."
"If I try to tell anyone, they just laugh and turn away."
🎼🎸🎤🎶🎵
Aiden took a breath as the white light filled the whole room. Again, silver light could be seen mixed with it, and it seemed way brighter this time. Moving one hand away from the strings, he started tapping his guitar and the floor with his foot.
He didn't have any other instruments right now, so he used those to add some sounds to the song.
As the light intensified, he started the chorus.
🎼🎸🎤🎶🎵
"I just want to scream out loud, only one thing that sits in the back of my mind."
"Ooh, I just feel lonely."
"Looking for a way out of this, but everything is fading slowly."
"Ooh, I just feel lonely."
"My days are eating me up, nights feel empty, and no one knows me closely."
"Ooh, I just feel lone...ly..."
🎼🎸🎤🎶🎵
Amy's eyes were glued to the image of Aiden singing as the chorus ended. The song had already managed to captivate her, and she forgot where she was for a second.
The song was just so enchanting that she couldn't help it.
It was the same with the customers who weren't even talking with their buddies and just listening to the song. They leaned back in their seats and enjoyed the song while sipping their drinks.
🎼🎸🎤🎶🎵
"I don't want to go down like this."
"I can't find the passion, and the only thing I could do is to wish."
"No, I don't want to be picked up."
"Even if I'm lonely, I know I could be something more."
"Maybe that is lost in my heart, but I'm trying to find it and soarrrr."
🎼🎸🎤🎶🎵
The white and the silver light danced together in the whole bar as 'Lonely' started to enter their hearts.
Abraham even felt that X-Star judges were too dumb not to recognise Aiden's talent. Thankfully, the latter didn't need them to get to the top.
He could do that himself.
At that moment, the song again picked up pace in the fourth verse as Aiden tried to get his notes as high as possible. Before, it was tough for him to do it, but now, he was able to.
He could feel the new flexibility in his voice, and he used it to express his song for the best.
🎼🎸🎤🎶🎵
"I just want to scream out loud, only one thing that sits in the back of my mind."
"Ooh, I just feel lonely."
"Looking for a way out of this, but everything is fading slowly."
"Ooh, I just feel lonely."
"My days are eating me up, nights feel empty, and no one knows me closely."
"Ooh, I just feel lonely."
🎼🎸🎤🎶🎵
***
As the song finished, the audience showered Aiden with their cheers and claps. He smiled at the jovial customers and thanked them.
"Thank you for listening to me."
"You did great!"
"Sing it again."
"Yeah, one more song."
Although they wanted another song, Aiden was only allotted the time to sing one song. So, he slowly put down his guitar and bid the customers farewell.
"I'm sorry, but there are other singers who will sing better songs. My time is over now."
Saying that he left the stage as the customers' disappointment fell on his back. He walked inside the kitchen and saw Jeff standing there with a video recorder.
"Jeff, you shot it well?"
"Yeah, it came out great. I'm sure it will blow up after you post it. Anyway, the boss wants to see you."
"Why?"
Aiden raised an eyebrow, but Jeff just sighed helplessly.
"I don't know. Go and find out."
Putting down his guitar, Aiden left the kitchen and moved towards the table where Abraham was sitting. Besides him, Amy was there, and she was smiling at him.
'She gives me bad vibes.'
He thought inwardly but just maintained a charming smile. Of course, Amy needed to be respected due to whose relative she was. But, personally, he had never really relished being in her company because of the predatory gaze she would sometimes show.
"Kid, you sang well. You have improved a lot from the last time."
Abraham said, smiling ear to ear. He liked the song and was surprised that Aiden had grown this much.
"Thank you, boss."
"Anyway, Amy wants to talk to you about something."
Aiden looked at Amy upon hearing that. With blonde hair and a mature face, Amy was in her early 30s. She smirked at him before opening her mouth.
"Have you heard of the Creative Media Agency?" She asked, and the former nodded. It was one of the few mid-sized talent agencies. He had heard of it because Abraham was an investor in it.
"I'm its CEO, and I want to offer you a contract. A record label deal, to be more specific."
...
//DreamNote//
3rd Chapter of the day, and another bonus chapter.
Next chapter coming sharp at 00:00 AM shanghai time.
Vote this book with golden tickets and power stones after the next chapter :)