Chapter 61: Hello, Goodbye

Pre-Author Note: For this Chapter, I recommend Djo’s ’End of Beginning’. Honestly, there couldn’t have been a more perfect song for me to draw inspiration from.

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The next two weeks went by rather fast.

Within that time, Niall and Midnight Avenue had spent a good chunk of their time working on [Hello, Goodbye].

As a result, the final product of the song had turned out far, far better than any of them could’ve ever imagined.

Currently, it was booming through the speakers in the studio, the entire place doused in a hue of platinum mixed with strong traces of diamond only Niall could perceive.

Much like [Heal You], [Hello, Goodbye] was quite the phenomenal song. More so when the overall structure of the song was genuinely simple and the song itself was quite short.

Despite all that though, Niall’s focus remained solely on something else.

Having bade his friends an hour ago and genuinely appreciating them for their help and insights, he was seated alone in the studio, his icons revolving above his palm, and a light smile on his lips.

Though his microphone and guitar icons remained at their previous grades largely because it was just that much harder to progress now, his musical note icon on the other hand had evolved into the same grade as theirs.

A half-gleaming gold and a half-shimmering platinum frame.

Truly, the time he had spent with Sam, Archie and Lucas had yielded great results.

But now, it was time to head back home.

...

...

...

A week and a half had passed since then.

The first week of February had arrived.

Yet, Niall hadn’t bothered to upload his song just yet.

Afterall, there was one particularly important thing that had skipped his mind when he’d been making the song.

The music cover art.

Considering he previously hadn’t given it much thought, it had been at the point of uploading the song to CoreTunes that he’d realized that maybe it wasn’t as insignificant as he’d made it out to be.

Unfortunately, Niall didn’t have a fitting picture on hand he could easily upload for [Hello, Goodbye], as he’d done [Polaroid].

As a result, he had felt the need to give it some thought and not half-ass it.

Hence, why he’d turned to Camille whom was feeling rather full of energy even after she’d been discharged from the hospital three days ago.

Currently resting her chin atop his head as he sat by the desk in her office, her hands gently cuffed around his neck and her expression a mix of pride and curiosity, she asked;

"Do you like it?"

"Like it? I love it." Niall smiled in genuine appreciation and said;

"Thanks, Camille."

"You, are most welcome, cowboy." she reciprocated.

Following that, Niall navigated over to CoreTunes, uploaded the cover art and then, just as he began filling the details of the song--specifically the artist’s name part--he paused.

Just for a brief moment.

Then, his fingers began dancing over the keyboard once more, Camille watching with a rather curious light in her eyes as Niall typed a few words after his name;

Niall Parker feat. Midnight Avenue.

No sooner had he done that, he casually blitzed through the other details and then, hit upload.

*

March arrived far quicker than most would’ve probably anticipated.

With it, the winter season had receded gradually, heralding the slow transition into spring.

And with that transition, music from mainstream artists utterly dominated the charts.

Yet, dominating the very top of those charts, especially the Buzzing 100 and GrooveList Top 100 charts, was Tyler Kingstone’s [Closer, Baby].

The song had gotten so popular, it was being played at all the clubs, parties, gyms and every venue that could do with some high-energy pop song.

Even radio stations weren’t exempt, and neither were the social media platforms as several individuals used it in their shorts to generate more buzz.

To that effect, it didn’t come as a surprise that the song had beaten the second most streamed song by over five million streams, a gap that wasn’t to be scoffed at by any means.

At the same time, Tyler was once again coasting on the fame that came with releasing a hit song. Suddenly, that was all the tabloids had to say about him and he was once again the subject of everyone’s admiration... or so he believed.

The general populace of teen boy and young adult males on the other hand...

Well, a good chunk of them hated the song.

Blatant sensuality dialed up to eleven in pop songs weren’t a surprise in this day and age anymore, so that wasn’t their reason for disliking the song.

Rather, it was because most of them had to deal with Tyler’s rabid fans, most of whom just so happened to be on the opposite gender.

Even a lot of their girlfriends weren’t exempt from it, thereby exacerbating an already growing disdain they had for the artist.

This was even more so for a group of tight-knit college buddies whom had originally planned to go camping with their girlfriends, only for all four to cancel out on them at the last minute.

The reason?

"Fucking Tyler Kingstone?! So what if he has a concert just down the street?!" one of the guys in the group that went by the name of Kendall, let out in a pissed tone as he stared at the text on his phone.

"What arrant bullshit is this?!" he remarked audibly, his back slumping backwards and into the passenger’s seat he was seated on.

"Haaa~... God, I hate that guy. I shouldn’t, but I really, really do." the second friend whom was already seated in the driver’s seat of the Jeep they had rented, Carlos, slumped his head onto the steering wheel.

"I’m breaking up with her." Jayce whom was seated at the back, casually let out as he sent the text.

"Over the phone, man? That’s cold." Brad whom was seated just opposite his buddy remarked, one of his brows cocked in a mix of concern yet genuine admiration.

"You know what? Let’s head out, anyway. Make it a boy’s trip." Carlos suddenly raised his head from the steering wheel and ignited the engine.

"Yeah. Yeah, let’s do that." Kendall pocketed his phone, his smile returning as Jayce nodded in agreement;

"We haven’t had one of those in a while. Should be nice."

"Brad, hit us with some of your best travel music. This is gonna be a fairly long ride." Kendall gestured to him with a snap of his fingers.

"Roger that." Brad replied, not even bothering to think twice before taking his buddy up on the offer and connecting to the infotainment system.

Soon enough, the music began playing and the boys began vibing as the vehicle coasted down some of the streets, got into some traffic here and there, and finally, began gliding down a free highway.

At some point, Brad stopped disk-jockeying the songs and simply allowed any random song with a similar vibe to play.

Which was why, at some point, a peculiar drum beat played twice, which was then followed by a dreamy, melancholic tune and gentle vocals that had a more reflective feel to it than it was melodic;

Just one more glance behind, one teardrop from my eye,

I’d better save it for...

Another midnight ride, and rushing car headlights,

Enter Riverside...

’Do you recall those times...?’

Without realizing it, the quartet had began bopping their heads in sync, each of them feeling not just the beat of the song, but also the intimate lyrics that came with it.

Lyrics that seemed to imply a journey the singer had to go on to reach their dreams.

Also, what were the odds that they just happened to be passing Riverside around that exact time. A most intriguing coincidence that was.

But the moment they heard the chorus, they actually looked towards each other in surprise, the simple structure of the tune rising in sync with the singer’s voice and his backing vocals.

And when I’m back in Tennessee, I feel it,

Another version of me, he would be proud,

I pay my respects to where it all began...

Again, what were the odds?! They were all from Tennessee! That was originally why they’d been so tight knit when they came down to school in LA.

Now, as they intently listened to the song, the percussion of drumbeats underpinning and equally driving the song, they couldn’t help but feel the longing that came with it.

Once again, the dreamy, melancholic tune picked up, but this time with a bit less nostalgia, and all that more pride etched into the second verse.

And maybe time moves on, and maybe people... change,

Nothing really stays the same...

I’m not who I was before,

But I’ll keep hearing through the noise...

Enter Boulevard...

’Just trust me, you’ll be fine...’

By now, the gang was completely invested in the untold story that came with those lyrics. There was just something so intimate about it that they couldn’t quite get a grasp on.

Yet, for some reason or the other, it was like they could feel it without even having experienced it themselves.

Truly, it had evoked those feelings of shared nostalgia and pride despite the song not even being sung for their sakes... one that was even more apparent in the chorus once again;

And when I’m back in Tennessee, I feel it,

Another version of me, he would be proud,

I pay my respects to where it all began,

Hello, goodbye...

No sooner had they heard that, all four began to feel chills crawl up their spines when the powerful bridge came, the singer’s voice rising with every line, almost as if to echo those convictions to himself;

You make a man out of his struggles, but the struggle makes the man,

You make a man out of his struggles, but the struggle makes the man,

You make a man out of his struggles, but the struggle makes the man,

You make a man out of his--!

The moment the song was cut off at exactly that part, just as it was about to reach a crescendo, goosebumps broke out on their skin.

Then, with his voice returning to its normal octave, the tune lulling a bit as the guitar strummed in the background...

And when I’m back in Tennessee, I feel it...

Another version of me, he would be proud...

Then, with another sudden rise in his octave;

Oh... I pay my respects to where it all began...

Hello...

Goodbye...!

Instantly, the song ended, almost as if signifying a closed Chapter of a long, long story.

Glancing over to each other, their eyes seemingly echoing a shared thought that said;

You felt that too, right?!

Kendall immediately echoed their thoughts;

"Brad, run that shit again!"

Without being told, his buddy did as he was told while remarking in kind;

"You don’t gotta tell me twice!"

Just like that, [Hello, Goodbye], a song that had literally just landed on the charts, suddenly became something none of them could’ve ever imagined at the time.

Their new obsession.

Advance Chapters are available on Patreon!

/Caer07