Chapter 93: Phenomenal

Having felt that familiar tingle wash over him during his performance, specifically after he’d landed the backflip, Niall had ignored it to round up the take perfectly.

Even now, as he sat to a corner in the side, he had yet to actually check it and simply opted to watch all the proceedings play out, a thin smile on his lips.

Moments ago, Murray had filmed a brief conversation scene between Matthew and Louis a couple times, courtesy of Louis’ act failing to touch on the heights of Matthew’s.

Thankfully, after the fifth take, the supporting actor finally mustered all he could and Murray finally accepted the take.

That said, it was one of the last scenes in the movie.

One that would key in, right after Matthew’s stunt double had performed Elias’ routine, a performance had ultimately won the gold medal in his bracket.

One he’d done by going into the very same jump that had killed his career, land it perfectly this time, but in the process, lose what was left of his leg’s durability for any metric of competitive figure skating for the foreseeable future.

Yet, despite this... and for the first time in all of the movie, Elias’ genuine laughter had cascaded through the arena, the sound beautiful, clear and bar none, unfettered.

It was also that scene that Murray was currently filming, one that Matthew was nailing to a perfect T.

And though Elias’ performance hadn’t been as amazing as Noah’s, it was the context behind his character’s motivation that would pull it to the same heights.

One that was further elevated by the emotional payoff in seeing Elias finally break free of his shackles completely.

Niall watched it play out, same as everyone on set, his cool-gray irises seemed to glint in deep fascination as it followed the actor... or more so, the character he was playing.

For as much as the young actor loved his role as Noah Bennett in the movie, he had to admit that he found Elias’ journey much more poignant and inspirational.

It was also why, it really didn’t take long before his mind had begun piecing together an idea.

One that would ultimately evolve into a song that drew from the core themes of Elias’ journey in [Rink].

A song about vulnerability, identity and the acceptance that came with being your most authentic self in a world that was trying so hard to suppress you from reaching it.

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"And... Cut! That’s a wrap everybody!"

No sooner had Murray said those words, everyone erupted in jubilation, cheers and applauds filling up every corner of the venue.

Within moments, several of the extras burst back onto the stage, all of them gliding across the ice to add to the general air of celebration, all of them free skating on the ice as much as they wanted.

Afterall, rarely would they ever get a chance like this to skate on such a stage as grand as that of the Grand Palais.

As if to add to that revelry, the lights of the massive and historic exhibition hall started to flip on one after the other, further driving the general sense of effulgence that came with it.

Given that it was already pretty late into the evening though, and given how much Paris seemed to pride itself on its lights, it felt all the more natural that it had happened.

But even then, it was still a rather majestic sight to behold.

One that had Matthew, Howard and even the egotistic Louis looking up at the domes in shared awe, same as many of the crew members and the extras themselves as they continued clapping.

Rising from the bench he was seated on whilst equally clapping, Niall then made his way over to Murray whom was leaning back into his chair in contentment, the man’s smile fulfilled.

Upon seeing Niall, he casually said, his expression bright as he gestured with spread arms;

"Kid! Get your bags and equipment ready! We should be able to make some time to go on that golfing trip now that we’ve rounded up production."

"I’ll be sure to do that. Just let me know the date ahead of time." Niall chuckled as he replied to the man who similarly reciprocated with an assuring nod and then offered the seat next to him.

Taking him up on the gesture, Niall settled into said seat in appreciation and then proceeded to speak;

"I’d like to discuss something with you regarding the movie,"

To that, Murray turned his full attention to the youth and asked, a bit of his seriousness returning;

"What is it?"

"Well, if its fine by you, I’d like to make the end credits song. I have a pretty great idea for one that I think you’d like." Niall replied, his smile assuring.

To that, Murray’s expression shifted in surprise as he arched an intrigued brow. Though he was aware Niall was a musician, he hadn’t actually gotten around to listening to his songs.

In fact, Murray generally never listened to newer songs these days. He was more of a 70’s, 80’s and 90’s man as he believed those were the golden ages of music.

It was also why he had a habit of using those older songs and shining a spotlight on them instead of the newer generation of music in his movies.

Still, given how much of a perfectionist Niall seemed to be--a trait they both seemed to share--Murray was very inclined to hear him out.

So, with genuine interest in his tone, he said;

"Alright. Have it forwarded to me once you’re done with it. I’ll make sure to consider it first before any other I typically would."

To that, Niall beamed, his smile genuine as he replied;

"Thank you, Murray. I won’t let you down."

*

A lot of the time, the streaming count of the songs Murray chose to use and highlight in his movies, usually went up after the movie was released.

As a result, many of the record labels who had the publishing rights to those songs were usually glad to give him the license to use them.

That said, Niall couldn’t have been more uninterested in that aspect of things.

Rather, he was more focused on infusing those core themes he’d singled out and incorporating them into making a great song.

It was also why, after returning to his hotel that night following the little celebratory party at a nearby restaurant with the main crew and cast, he’d promptly began working on the song.

With how inspired he currently was, everything kept easily clicking into place for him.

The sound he wanted, the composition, the lyrics... all of it flooded his mind and his being.

And in typical Niall fashion, he abused his Gift of Vitality to work on it overnight.

By the time morning came, yet another familiar tingle had washing over him, he had the lyrics down perfectly, as well as the core skeleton of the tune.

All that was left, was refining it to new heights.

But what was probably the most staggering, was that after Niall had assessed the single-take track he’d made... it had come back as a blinding platinum with strong flashes of diamond!

And for the first time since he’d begun creating any form of media, it was the very first time he’d managed to come extremely close to the highest grade possible without further refinement.

Simply put, Niall was on his way to creating a phenomenal song.

The kind that would continue to live on for years, and years, upon years to come.

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Niall leaned on the iron railings, his gaze focused on nothing but the icons on his palms.

Yet far down below, the tourists looked up at the summit of the Eiffel Tower, some of them already proceeding to make their way up, either via the stairs or the elevator.

Niall had walked up the stairs to reach the very top roughly thirty minutes ago, and now he simply assessed his growth as the soft breeze continued to tousle his dirty-blonde hair.

First off, his film slate icon was now a half gold, half platinum hue... signifying that he was on track to evolving from being a great actor, into an excellent actor.

His musical note icon on the other hand, saturated fully into a shimmering platinum frame, indicating that he was well and truly, an excellent composer.

As for his microphone icon which remained in a half-gold, half-platinum state, Niall was pretty sure that it would soon evolve much the same as his musical note icon in the coming months, if not weeks.

In any case, the young artist was more than satisfied with the progress he was making.

Considering he was set to be mostly involved in the pre-production of [A Maddened Wonderland], and scouting out locations for the film, he honestly doubted he’d have much time to involve himself in any extracurricular activities asides maybe writing [The Tree of Fate].

But before all that, he needed to perfect the new song and attend Coachella.

Speaking of Coachella though, Niall had responded favorably to that very message whilst simultaneously making a personal offer to them... one he’d hoped they’d equally respond favorably to.

Thankfully, he’d gotten a response from them just this morning, one that essentially implied that they were more than on-board... and in their words; ’Genuinely excited to make it happen’.

This was why, as Niall was casually dismissing his icons at the moment, he dipped his hands into his pockets to contact a certain trio... or more specifically, his fictional bandmates.

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/Caer07