Chapter 53: Karma

Niall lay in bed with a relaxed smile, multiple icons reflected in his cool-gray irises as they hovered over his palms.

Across the board, a good chunk of his skills had increased.

The frame of his film slate icon had evolved into a striking gold, all of its edges bleeding a shimmering platinum.

His microphone icon on the other hand, was now a half platinum, half gold frame.

As for his guitar icon, it had equally phased into a half platinum, half-gold sheen.

Staring at them, Niall couldn’t help but feel rather proud of himself.

Afterall, this was the sort of result he’d hoped for when he began writing [Silver Comets]... a movie that would allow him to utilize a lot of his skills as best as he could.

Dismissing the icons a couple minutes later, he then stared at the ceiling, a curious thought surfacing in his mind;

’I wonder if theirs evolved too...’

Considering he had been using the Gift of Bestowal on Sam, Archie and Lucas, Niall was rather curious to see if it had any effects on their skills.

Sure he’d majorly limited its effect on them to the supernatural flow state his Gift of True Aptitude afforded him, he wasn’t as ignorant as to think some of its actual effects couldn’t have seeped into them.

Which was why, the very next day when they’d arrived on set to film some of the last scenes in the movie, Niall appraised them with his Gift of Discernment.

’Well,’

’I wouldn’t say I wasn’t expecting that...’ he mused to himself as he stared at their icons, each one having evolved into half of the next grade across the board.

Dismissing the effects of the gift as the director called for him and the trio to take their positions, the quartet did as they were told and slipped into character.

Then, as the cinematographers positioned the cameras expertly, Harrison called for the necessary checks.

And following up from the story, despite their poignant and deeply impactful performance, Silver Comets had lost the competition to Red Velvet.

Afterall, for as amazing as their performance had been, they had still been scored based on a number of other criterions... criterions they had clearly botched due to their initial indecisiveness.

However, just because they had lost the battle, didn’t mean they had lost the war.

And upon ensuring everything was as is, the director called out;

"Action!"

-

{Silver Comets | 4th, October 2016 | Act 6 | Scene 8 | Take 1}

Filing out of the hall as the crowd applauded them even louder than they had applauded the actual victors, the members of Silver Comets put up a brave façade.

Soon enough, they were out of the hall and onto the street, the cold night’s breeze washing over them as their façades crumbled.

Opting to simply remain quiet, all four walked down the walkway and towards Sam’s truck, each of them lost in their own thoughts.

Yet, despite his eyes reddened from tears, Owen broke the silence;

"Well,"

"On the bright side,"

"My Pops isn’t awake to witness his son’s inability to keep a promise."

For a while, his bandmates stared at him in stunned disbelief, clearly unable to fathom how he was capable of cracking a joke like that despite himself and at such a sensitive time.

Then, Alex exclaimed;

"Owen!"

"Too much?" Owen scrunched his nose as he stared at the trio while leaning on the old truck.

"How’s about... We’ve successfully proven that karma isn’t real?" he curiously tilted his head.

"The hell?" Simon let out in an audibly confused whisper.

"I mean, we got our song stolen, lost the competition, Alex’s parents are still shitty, you’re still running the garage at a loss, Luke’s homeless, I’m behind on rent, my Pop’s still in a coma..." Owen expatiated and then said;

"So, if karma really does exist, clearly it’s got us all confused with a bunch of other people."

A loud silence descended amidst the quartet.

Then Luke burst into an unrestrained laughter.

Soon enough, the others joined in, Owen himself included as Simon remarked in between guffaws;

"Never... change, Owen. Never...ever change."

As they did though, multiple individuals dressed in pristine suits rushed out of the hall, pushing past the slowly exiting crowd.

Uncoordinated, each one looked around as if searching for a treasure they should’ve never lost, beads of sweat forming on their brows.

Upon noticing the quartet laughing their ass off in the far end of the walkway though, they immediately rushed in their direction.

As for Silver Comets themselves...

Luke swung into the passenger seat, claiming the spot before anyone else as Simon settled into the driver’s seat.

In sync, Owen and Alex claimed the backseats, ready for the vehicle to move.

And so it did... only for a bunch of crazy men dressed in suits to rush in front of the vehicle;

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" they all called out, their voices a cacophony of distress as their hands slapped against its bonnet.

"We’re from JukeBox Records, and we’d like to discuss a possibility of signing Silver Comets!" one of the men quickly explained.

In response, the quartet looked to each other, first in disbelief, then surprise, then excitement as Owen soon spoke;

"Guys, karma... karma might actually be real."

"Cut!"

-

*

A week and a half later, [Silver Comets] wrapped up filming.

Now that the production phase was over, the workload was going to fall back mostly on Henry for the movie’s post production.

Harrison had also opted to be heavily involved in it. Given [Silver Comets] was one of the most rewarding movies he’d ever directed, he wanted to see it through till the very end.

As for the main cast, they had chosen to return to their lives prior to their involvement in the movie.

Which was why, currently on their way to the airport, Sam seated in the passenger seat while Archie and Lucas sat in the backseat, Niall whom was in the driver’s seat asked;

"So, what will you guys be doing leading up to the movie’s release?"

"Honestly," Sam tilted his head, the cool breeze tousling his hair same as the others.

"Not much." he simply shrugged, his expression relaxed.

"There’s also the fact that we’re rather unemployed at the moment." Lucas humorously remarked.

"Broke, too, might I add. Very broke." Archie chipped in, a hand running through his hair as a chuckle escaped everyone’s lips in response.

Then, following a comfortable silence shared amidst them,

"But thanks to you, we can at least keep the café running." Sam looked over to Niall in genuine appreciation.

Considering all three were previously in a combined debt of a million dollars plus, Niall’s efforts to get them onboard had been their saving grace.

Afterall, with their paychecks from starring in [Silver Comets]--a respective sum of three hundred and fifty thousand dollars--they had been able to pull themselves out of the rut they’d been in.

And what was left of it, they simply invested it into the café while keeping some pocket change on their beings for the inevitable rainy days.

Which was why, even though they were in fact, broke, they felt the most relaxed and free they’d ever been in years.

It was also why, Sam couldn’t help but appreciate Niall once more, his expression full of gratitude;

"So, thank you, Niall. For choosing us. Truly, we’re forever in your debt."

"It was nothing," Niall simply reciprocated with a warm smile of his own.

"No. It wasn’t nothing. It was a lot." Archie shook his head, unwilling to allow the young man simply brush it off.

"Archie and Sam’s right, you know," Lucas followed up to which he then said;

"I don’t think there would have been a single band our age in their right minds who wouldn’t have jumped on the offer to work with you on [Silver Comets]."

"Which is why you considering us before anyone else is a privilege we’ll forever be grateful for,"

"So yeah, we’re forever in your debt, and that’s non-negotiable." Lucas concluded to which his buddies bobbed their heads in an acknowledging gesture.

Staring at the road ahead as he drove past yet another vehicle, Niall remained quiet for a few seconds as the vehicle coasted down the highway.

Then he finally spoke, a light, knowing smile on his lips;

"Well, if you insist... I guess I know who to call when I decide to produce my next song."

In response, the trio looked to each other and then chuckled while shaking their heads, evidently amused by Niall’s response.

If that was his idea of having them repay their debt, then it most certainly had to be a very roundabout way of saying he was looking forward to working with them again.

In any case, about ten minutes later, Niall dropped them off at the airport, waved them goodbye and then proceeded to head back home.

Upon reaching his apartment, he promptly retrieved his laptop and got down to work.

It was time to finally write the last arc of [The Spire of Fate].

Advance Chapters are available on Patreon!

/Caer07