Chapter 96: Cavalier

Murray had already began reviewing the soundtrack to be used in [Rink].

Given his extensive knowledge and love for older songs, it honestly hadn’t taken him long before he’d cobbled together a select few he felt were very fitting and noteworthy.

In fact, it was one of the first things he’d sorted out amidst the movie’s post production.

However, considering he’d assured Niall he’d prioritize the song he was making before any other for the end credits, he’d simply opted to leave that aspect of things on the backburner.

Well, that was until Niall finally sent in that very same song a couple minutes ago.

Considering Murray hadn’t listened to any of the young artist’s song thus far, he wasn’t really expecting anything great.

Good, maybe... but not great.

And this wasn’t because he was looking down on Niall, not when he’d seen and experienced firsthand what the young man was capable off.

Rather, it was because he’d assumed it would be a song whose structure would most probably fall in line with the rather predictable structure of contemporary songs in the music industry today.

In any case, after transferring the music file over to a flash drive, he plugged it into an old, Bluetooth-less speaker he honestly hadn’t used in years as he typically tended to play his songs via vinyl.

Turning it on and switching its mode over to the USB, Murray simply hit play and proceeded to head over to the kitchen to make himself some tea and his breakfast.

However, he hadn’t even travelled halfway across the room when an hypnotically gripping drone cascaded across the room.

Halting in his steps, his marble-grey irises thinning as his pupils gradually expanded, Murray turned to face the speaker.

Truly, it was unlike anything he’d ever heard.

Which made him all the more stunned since he could easily pick out that the tune was made solely with instrumentals and not much else.

But that was when he heard Niall’s vocals seamlessly slip into the song, a slight huskiness to his voice he’d never once heard from him in all their time on set together.

Murray hadn’t even finished hearing the lyrics of the first verse before he slowly lowered into the nearest couch, all of the hair on his body literally standing on edge.

"It’s a 90’s-inspired power ballad..." the man breathed out in genuine awe as he continued listening.

Upon hearing the second verse, the man let out an awestruck simper, his mind in clear disbelief at how Niall had taken such strong inspirations from Elias’s journey and fit it into a general metaphor for something that much more profound.

One that everyone could easily get behind.

In fact, by the time Niall got around to releasing this song to the public, Murray was certain that even those uninterested in a figure-skating themed movie would still find themselves wanting to watch [Rink], solely for the sake of those lyrics.

By now the song had finally reached its outro... and even then, Murray remained glued to his seat, his palms interlocked as a sense of deep poignance continued to wash over him in waves upon waves.

His marble-grey irises on the other hand, were glimmering with such enthrallment, one might have assumed a legitimate spell had been casted on him.

As the song came to an end, Murray actually began clapping continuously despite being the only audience in the house.

In fact, he quite looked like a crazy old man in that very moment.

Yet, Murray practically had no words to say or express how he felt about what he’d just heard asides giving it a standing ovation right then and there.

Honestly, if he saw Niall right now, he’d give him not just a vigorous handshake, but also a most grateful hug.

Afterall, never would he have ever thought he’d hear such a song in this day and age, much less have the song draw inspirations from his very own work to create something so... hermetic, yet equally easy to grasp.

It was also why, it really didn’t take long before he picked up his phone and dialed his line.

No sooner had the call gone through, he immediately spoke, his tone a mix of curious amazement;

"Perhaps you could tell me what you were on when you made this song?!"

In response, a light laughter came from the other end of the line, which was then eventually followed by a reply;

"Lots and lots of inspiration... and an unhealthy amount of dopamine, I guess."

"So, did you like it?" Niall then asked, his tone amused.

"Asking that question when you already know the answer’s a pretty conceited but cavalier move on your part, Niall." Murray laughed in response to his question, a reaction Niall equally shared.

"Then again, that’s one of your best qualities," the man added to which he then finally said;

"So of course, you’ve more than earned all the privilege to have [Aperture] as the end credits song in [Rink]."

To that, Niall donned a genuinely grateful smile as he said;

"Thank you, Murray. Thank you for giving me this privilege."

"Honestly, kid... I should be the one thanking you for making such an outstanding piece of art." Murray’s voice came from the other end of the infotainment system.

"Oh, and we should be done with pre-production come May ending," the director casually added to which he then said;

"So, if it’s fine by you, I’d like if you could help with a few of the promotions we’d have."

Mulling it over for a bit, Niall then responded;

"Sure. I’ll make time for it in my schedule."

"Thank you, Niall," Murray’s tone was appreciative as he proceeded to end the call;

"Oh, and I look forward to seeing you on the golf-course this month."

"As do I." Niall replied in kind to which the man then hung up the call.

Smiling warmly as he kept driving down the road, Niall’s dirty-blonde hair tousled gently in the breeze as he made his way over to HTA.

Considering Coachella was set to take place in a couple days’ time, it was only natural that he was back in LA to sort out a few things.

The first of it had to do with [A Maddened Wonderland].

Though he and Victor had discussed it over text a couple weeks back and he’d even signed the digital copies of the contract regarding his roles in the movies’ production, he was still required to sign the hard copies.

Roughly ten minutes later, he pulled up into the parking lot of his agency and made his way up to meet with his agent.

"Morning, Niall," Victor casually greeted upon his talent’s entry into the office, a warm smile on his lips.

"Morning, Vic." Niall reciprocated in kind, and then settled into the chair just opposite him as he asked;

"Now, where’s the paperwork?"

Having expected it, Victor simply pulled them out slid it across the table and over to his talent.

Promptly, Niall picked them up and began perusing through, his eyes laser-focused.

Compared to [Silver Comets] where he’d gotten just 12%, Niall had passed the ball to Victor to have him to negotiate a deal of a 25% cut of the box office returns.

Naturally, the deal had went through easily... more so when Niall was essentially the movie’s executive producer and he was investing a little over a quarter of the movie’s total budget.

Satisfied with the terms and conditions, Niall then penned his signature about twenty minutes later.

With that out of the way, he simply engaged in some mundane discussion with his agent for the next couple minutes.

A few minutes later, he was out of the office and was already on his way to the elevator.

Now, that he’d sorted that out, he was off to handling the second thing on his list.

His new house.

With pre-production for [A Maddened Wonderland] set to begin in August, Niall had doubled his effort in trying to secure a proper one now when he was less busy.

Then there was the fact that Camille and his parents were set to visit in the tail end of the year, presumably the last two ember months.

As a result, it was only natural that Niall wanted them faraway from all the inevitable paparazzi that was sure to plague him every now and then.

It was also why he’d zoomed out of the parking lot a few minutes later and was on his way to a gated neighborhood in Silver Lake to meet with the realtor whom he’d arranged a meeting with.

Half an hour later, he arrived at the residence which was tucked into a more secluded area in the green, leafy hillside of the neighborhood.

The house he was vying for was a spacious three-bedroom stucco family home that offered a stunning view of the lake itself. It also had a driveway, two car garages, and two open parking spaces.

Its exterior was painted white, with dark timber framings and a broad charcoal-tiled roof that gave it a distinct storybook-like view... one that was further highlighted by its lush, almost overgrown front garden.

All in all, it was set to cost him roughly one million dollars.

Currently parked before the house, was a middle-aged man in a form-fitting suit leaning on the side-frame of his black Porsche.

No sooner had he seen Niall’s car come to a halt before the gates and stepping out of the vehicle, he walked over to greet him with a cordial smile;

"Morning. You must be Mr. Parker,"

"Yes. Pleasure to meet you, Mr. ...?" Niall curiously inquired, his head tilted slightly.

"Wayne." the man offered a handshake, one Niall received with a cordial smile.

"Well then, shall we go for tour?" the man then offered to which Niall simply nodded.

The next few hours following that, Niall thoroughly assessed the quality of the house.

As a kid who grew up on a farm, he had a knack for a bit of architecture so it was only natural he was being as scrutinous as he was.

That said, Niall had encountered no issues with the home. Which was why, after the day was over, the house was set to be in his name.

As for the other deets leading up to the keys to the door being finally handed to him, well that was something he had to handle over the course of the month.

But in the meantime, he returned his focus to performing at Coachella.

And just like that, the second of week of April came around and he and Midnight Avenue, arrived at the venue for rehearsals before the actual day of their performance.

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/Caer07