Rewind With A Superstar System-Chapter 105: Disappointing Song (1)

<🎧 Song Recommendation: I Want It That Way by Backstreet Boys>

...

(August 16, 2019 — Neon Studios)

The Miami heat was relentless, but the guy stepping out of the backseat of the standard Toyota Camry Uber didn’t seem to notice.

Alex Hall grabbed a black bag from the trunk and slung it over his shoulder. He looked exactly the same as he did during Hollywood Week. He wore a simple, slightly oversized black t-shirt, dark jeans, and a pair of Vans.

His raven black hair fell heavily over his forehead, completely covering his eyes and giving him a cool look.

Von was already waiting for him by the entrance of Neon Sound Studios. They had been roommates and teammates during in the Star Mansion, but calling them close friends would be a stretch.

Alex had always been the quiet one. He was always a ghost hovering in the background while the rest of the contestants tore each other apart for screen time.

"Alex!" Von greeted energetically, stepping forward and extending a hand.

Alex looked at the hand for a brief second before shaking it. "Varley."

"Glad you made the flight," Von said, leading him inside the air-conditioned lobby. "How have you been faring after the show? You kind of fell off the map."

"Just surviving," Alex replied curtly. His voice was flat as usual, carrying a natural baritone that gave nothing away.

Von tried to engage him in a bit more conversation as they walked down the platinum-lined hallway, asking about his flight and his hometown, but Alex only offered one-word answers. He was ice-cold as always.

When Von pushed open the heavy, soundproofed doors to Studio A, he expected some reaction, but Alex just walked in and sat down on the leather couch.

He didn’t comment on the equipment. He just set his bag on the floor and waited.

Patch, who was sitting in his chair, looked over his shoulder and offered a slight nod. He leaned over to Von and muttered, "I like his energy. He just wants to work."

Von let out a quiet breath. "Yeah... Let’s get to it."

Von walked over to the coffee table and sat across from Alex. "So, do you have any ideas on what we can do? Any concepts or riffs you’ve been working on since you got back home?"

Alex stared blankly ahead. He thought for a long moment. His face was completely unreadable beneath the raven fringe of his hair.

"Well... not really," Alex finally said. "But I can assist you. As long as we have a direction."

Von rubbed the back of his neck. With Noah and Conor, the inspiration had been explosive and immediate when they worked, but he didn’t expect it to be the same with Alex.

"I have something we could start with," Patch chimed in from the console. He clicked his mouse a few times. "I threw this skeleton track together last night. It’s just a backing track right now. I don’t know, but you guys can see if you’d like to sing on this, and I’ll adjust it however you want." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Patch hit the spacebar.

A slow, melancholic piano melody filled the studio monitors, underscored by a deep, vibrating bassline that felt heavy and isolating. It was definitely a sad ballad, stripped down and raw.

"This works," Von said, grabbing a blank notebook. He looked at Alex. "Let’s do a sad ballad. Something about isolation. Let’s call it Forget Me. It can be about not wanting to be remembered, just fading out of someone’s life."

Alex gave a slow, indifferent nod. "Okay."

They spent the next two hours brainstorming. It wasn’t the high-energy magic of the previous sessions. It was just methodical and.

Von would come up with a line, hum it to find the melody, and Alex would throw in a rhyme or a secondary thought to finish the bar.

🎶

Don’t leave a light on for me

Just let the shadows pull me under

Erase the history

And forget you ever knew my name

🎶

"I think this is nice," Von said, looking over the finished lyrics. The structure was solid, and the words were really sad. "Let’s lay down the rough takes."

They stepped into the vocal booth together, standing on opposite sides of the glass partition with their own microphones. Patch queued up the backing track.

When the beat dropped, they sang.

Technically, it was flawless. Alex had vocals as good as Von’s. He hit the minor notes with pinpoint accuracy and their voices harmonized on the chorus.

But when the take ended and they stepped out of the booth, Von felt a sudden wave of confusion.

He looked around the control room. He hadn’t seen any glowing lights aside his while they sang. The air wasn’t shimmering now either. And he wasn’t hallucinating. He could immediately tell that Alex’s skill wasn’t working.

Von looked over at Patch, who was saving the vocal stems on his computer.

"Patch, did you feel anything when you listened to that song?"

Patch furrowed his brow. "What exactly?"

Von shook his head slightly. "Hmm. Like... a hallucination?"

Patch let out a short laugh. "No. Anything else? I just heard two guys singing perfectly on pitch. The mix sounds clean."

Von didn’t say anything. He looked over at Alex, who was quietly drinking a bottle of water on the couch. Von thought of how to ask him without sounding insane.

"Uh... Alex! Have you ever experienced someone having a hallucination after you sang? Like they saw things while you were performing?"

Alex lowered his water bottle, looking at Von like he had two heads. "Nah... And I don’t really sing for people. Just Project: Star."

Von frowned. He remembered that even back during the reality show, he didn’t think he had ever seen Alex’s ability actually working. Had it always been broken?

With a mental command, Von triggered the System.

[Inspect]

A translucent blue screen popped up next to the raven-haired singer.

[Name: Alex Hall]

[Vocals: B+]

[Skill: Audio-Visual Projection (A)]