Beats of the Heart - Chapter 19: Chapter 19

Miles' internal clock woke him up earlier than he had hoped. He had stayed up late, and when he tried to sleep, he had tossed and turned in bed. He was stressed about Trickshot more than Brian. Now he regretted letting them know who he was. He should have hidden Requiem for a little longer.
He climbed out of bed and staggered to the shower. He needed to wake up and get his day started. He needed to finalize some things for Dirge, contact Shawn to discuss the studio, and drink copious amounts of coffee.
He rested his head against the tile as the water cascaded down his body. And he needed to create a new setlist. He had no idea what someone would do with it. Sure, they could copy and use it for their show, but they wouldn't know how to transition the songs or where he wanted to layer it with phrasing or cuts. If Trickshot was trying to bite his style, he could mimic some of it. If he had been practicing, he might have had a better chance of copying him. But not now. Not with his current level of skills.
What bothered him the most was that he didn't know the crux of the problem with Trickshot. What was the catalyst? What made him stop making music? He ached to be on the turntables constantly, so how could someone just walk away?
He dragged himself out of the shower when the water started to run cold. He looked in the mirror and considered cleaning up his beard and hair. He hadn't buzzed his head for a while, and it was growing faster than expected. He ran his hand over it and decided against it. Maybe he will let it grow again. It would be hot under his mask, but he might not need to wear it much longer.
His phone started to ring, and he sighed as he fumbled to grab it. He was too tired to deal with any more bullshit. However, the exhaustion seemed to melt away as he saw Shawn's name on the screen.
"Miss me already?" He said as he answered the phone.
He was greeted by Shawn's husky laughter that practically made him weak in the knees. "Absolutely. I also wanted to check in to see how you are feeling."
Miles sighed and fell into his bed. "Like I got into a fight and lost."
"Shit. Do you need to go to a doctor?"
Miles laughed. "No. Not my first time on the losing side of a fight. Just need some Ibuprofen and ice."
Shawn grumbled something about being stubborn on the other line but didn't insist on a doctor. "How did the discussions go?"
Miles frowned. "It took a while to come up with a half-cocked plan. We finally went to bed..." he looked at the clock, "three hours ago."
"Fuck," Shawn spat out. "I should have called later."
"I was already up. Goddamn internal clock." Miles said half-jokingly. "But I was going to call you today."
Miles could hear Shawn's sharp intake of breath. "What for?"
"For now, we want to take you up on that offer to use your studios." Miles tried to hide the nervousness from his voice. He hadn't had to ask for help like this before and felt off-kilter. However, something told him that trusting Shawn like this would be okay.
A couple of days later, Miles entered a recording studio with Phase. The building was close to Aura's headquarters.
Phase was buzzing from excitement when he entered. The studio was much nicer than the others they had worked from. He was chatting nonstop and breaking down his ideas.
"I had a vision for this song. Visions, Miles, like you wouldn't believe. I blended the best I could, and now the vocals are going to kill it. Did you know that this was the location signer Alex Lee used for his second album? Oh my god. Hugh King-Richards produced that album—he must have been here too! That was Aura's best-selling album. History was made here. I can't believe I'm here..."
Phase continued to ramble, and Miles was torn between happiness for his DJ and disappointment that his stubbornness had been the wall between Phase and his dreams. He didn't know this studio had a history and didn't consider that Phase had a bigger goal than he initially thought. He was going through the motions, believing he was helping his people, but his actions may have been detrimental to their growth.
Miles didn't hear most of what Phase said, so he was startled when Phase nudged him. "Did you hear me?"
Miles smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, what was that?"
"Can you help me add some scratches?"
"To this song?"
Phase nodded happily. "I know I can do it myself, but there's something magical about your cuts. And how amazing would it be to have you featured on one of my tracks? People would lose their goddamn minds."
Miles laughed. "Fine, I think I can handle that."
Miles approached the receptionist but heard his name being called before he could introduce himself. He turned and was surprised to see Shawn.
Miles raised an eyebrow. "Don't you have a company to run or something?"
"I can afford some time away from the office. It'll do everyone some good." Shawn said with a laugh. "Let me show you to the booth you'll be using."
Miles looked around, passing several booths. Some had glass walls for others to observe, while some were completely closed off.
"One hell of a place you got here, Mr. Pierce," Phase said. He was wide-eyed and full of smiles. "How many recording booths do you have? Is this your only studio?"
"You can just call me Shawn." Shawn smiled patiently. "This has ten booths. We tried to keep it as contained as possible to ensure the best equipment and sound quality. I own a few places across the states—Atlanta, Memphis, Chicago, and LA. Still, most of our recordings are done here or at the Aura headquarters. Everything at the headquarters can be used for live sessions, so the equipment is slightly different there."
Shawn opened the door to one of the booths, and Miles cursed inwardly. It was fucking nice. Miles knew that his recording equipment was a little outdated, but he didn't realize how much.
Phase bounced on his toes a little, grinning nonstop. "This is great. Can we get started?"
Miles pulled out a water bottle from the bag he was carrying. "Water first, then vocal exercises before you mic up."
Phase frowned. "Stickler."
Miles rolled his eyes. "You're the one with the vision, so you better not fuck around." He turned toward Shawn. "How long do we have here?"
Shawn shrugged. "This booth is free until next Thursday, so a little over a week. If we need to extend it, we can."
Miles grinned. "Perfect."
However, Phase shuddered. "Fuck... he's going to kill me."
When Miles turned a sharp gaze at him, Phase chugged his water and ran off to the recording room. While Miles was familiarizing himself with the equipment, Shawn stood behind him.
"If you need someone from production, let me know," he offered.
"Thanks, but we normally do this ourselves. I should be fine. Just need to learn how to navigate your USS Enterprise of a soundboard." Miles chuckled as he started to adjust some of the volume faders.
"A Star Trek joke? Really?"
Miles grinned. "One of my best friends is obsessed. He also got my goddaughter into it, so I learned a couple of terms."
Shawn sat down on the couch lazily. "Well, if you need help, let me know."
"Don't you worry yourself. I haven't met a soundboard that's stumped me yet." Miles said with a chuckle as he set up everything, already becoming comfortable with the equipment.
Phase had stuck his head into the booth and overheard them. "That's true. Apparently, he traveled to Cornell during his university days when Columbia played them for an away football game. Miles broke into the sound booth, hijacked their state-of-the-art equipment, and played Never Gonna Give You Up on the stadium's loudspeaker on repeat. The problem was the equipment was new, and no one knew how to fix it."
Shawn laughed. "Are you serious?"
"Allegedly, I did that. No one could prove it." Miles said with a smile. "Besides, after two hours of it playing, I was kind enough to offer my services to turn it off."
"According to Eve, they all suspected he did it in the first place but were too relieved to give him shit about it. The story traveled back to Columbia, and he became somewhat of a legend."
"Again, allegedly. And if either one of you repeats that story to Danny, I will make you regret it." He shot them both a challenging look.
Phase yelped and jumped back to his recording booth while Shawn lifted his hands in surrender.
Miles kept a smile on his face as he finished his setup. He checked the levels before flipping the mic into the recording booth. "Alright, Phase, give me a few bars to confirm my levels."
Phase saluted and belted out a ridiculous version of a Spice Girls song.
Miles groaned. "Bars of your song, you fucker!"
Phase laughed and finally complied. Miles shook his head as he completed a couple of tweaks with the faders and checked the computer.
"Alright. We got a lot of time to make this right. Don't rush or stress it." Miles said as he started the song.
He watched Phase and the computer. He was focused on the levels and how it read out. He allowed Phase to go through the entire song and then played it back. He frowned a little and readjusted his settings.
"Try it again."
Phase nodded and started, but Miles stopped him a few bars in.
"Nah, it's too soft," Miles said lightly in the mic. "Try the first verse again."
They repeated the process, but Miles still didn't feel right, so he called Phase in with them. He pulled out a thermos and handed it to him while they listened to the playback together.
Phase sighed as he drank the honey tea Miles prepared. "You're right. It's still soft."
"You're challenging yourself with this song. You typically have a fun, fast vibe—perfect for the clubs. But this raw—a side of New York that people close their eyes to. Your lyrics are about your struggles and horrors of the street. Everyone has a story, and you need to express yours." Miles said.
Phase's shoulders slumped. "Writing the lyrics was easy, but I don't know how to make it sound. It's perfect in my head, but I just can't get it to sound the same."
"You gotta put your truth into your sound. People like us, we made it out of those streets. But that shit we endured is still here." He tapped Phase's temple lightly.
"I know..."
"Statistically, we shouldn't be alive, Phase. And if we did die, no one would give a shit. Quite frankly, that pisses me the fuck off. So anger would be the foundation of my cadence." Miles said, his tone stiffer than usual.
Phase tapped the thermos. "Okay. I can do anger."
"Remember, that's my cadence. It doesn't have to be yours. There's a lot we feel out there. Frustration, fear, sorrow, pain. We feel it all. People celebrate that we got out of there, but that doesn't change the fact that we have been to more funerals than weddings. This song is yours, so show the emotions you feel."
Phase's head lowered, and his shoulders trembled. He sighed heavily. "Sometimes I forget that you're from Brownsville."
Miles tensed a little, hearing the name of his old neighborhood. It was a rough place to grow up in, to say the least. He tried to push past his original bristle and ignore that Shawn just found out a vital piece of his history. "And you were just down the block. Find your voice, and let the world know what it's like."
Phase blew out a long exhale. "Can't you do it for me?"
Miles chuckled and shook his head. "Not my story. Now get in the right headspace, and try it again."
Phase nodded and went back into the room. Miles checked his settings and rubbed his hand over his mouth.
"Fuck," he murmured. "This is why I hate lyrics."
Shawn was suddenly behind him with a hand on his shoulder. "Why?"
Miles clicked his tongue. "Too real. Too raw. I don't know how you do it."
"I'm hardly in the studio like this. I usually sit in my high-rise office, profiting from those lyrics." Shawn said with a light sigh. "You're more than a record label owner, Miles. I never realized how much you did behind the scenes."
"They still deserve more," Miles said quietly. He kept his eyes on Phase, scared that if he looked at Shawn, he would see all of the horrors he was trying to hide away.
"I think I'm ready," Phase said with a low voice.
"Got it," Miles responded and started the track again.
Phase continued to rap his lyrics, bringing out more feelings and heart. Miles had to stop him a few times and re-record certain parts until satisfied. However, he stopped Phase before long.
Phase came back into the sound booth and collapsed on the couch. He coughed a couple of times and gratefully took the water Miles handed him.
"Good job. We have a few parts I want to clean up." Miles explained and played back the song.
After the first listen, he played it again, except he would pause when he wanted to change something. He would note down the times and then list out his ideas.
As they were discussing it, Shawn's phone rang. He gave them an apologetic nod before he left the room.
Miles leaned in. "I also got some ideas for the scratches."
Phase grinned. "What are you thinking?" he said with a hoarse voice.
Miles frowned when he realized Phase had overused his voice and grabbed another thermos with tea. "At this point, we can add a couple of bars of scratches. Nothing too out of hand."
He imitated the scratches he wanted through beatboxing.
"I was also thinking of adding something a little strong here," he said as he played a small sample. "But this means I would want you to delay your next verse so you come on the next bar. And if we do that..."
He used the computer program to cut the sound waves and move that section of the song.
"We'll have some cuts on these two bars, and then stop on the upbeat..."
He pressed play at the next downbeat of the following bar. It was at a section where the beat dropped, and his lyrics seemed to be made for it. It flowed and was powerful.
"Shit," Phase said. "Fucking chills, man."
Miles grinned. "So you're down with these changes?"
"Let's go again!" He got up, but Miles pulled his arm.
"No, you're going to rest. Go to my place because Danny already got soup and tea ready for you."
"Soup?" Phase looked helplessly at him. "But... I want steak."
"You'll get steak when you finish up this song. Go on, now."
Phase sighed dramatically. "I hate you sometimes."
"But you love me most times," Miles chuckled as he got up from the couch.
They left the recording booth and saw Shawn in one of the glass recording booths, still on the phone. His face had a dark look, and his body was tense. He was intimidating, but something was commanding and sexy about his demeanor.
Miles hesitated for a moment, and Phase watched him carefully. "I'll head out first, Miles. You can wait for him so he knows we didn't just disappear on him."
Miles was shaken from his stare. "What?"
Phase grinned. "You may need to... comfort him." He winked and took off quickly.
"What the fuck?" Miles murmured. Did everyone assume he was fucking Shawn?
Miles turned his gaze back to Shawn and watched as he ran his fingers through his salt-and-pepper hair. He bit his lower lip at the sight. Perhaps that wasn't a bad idea.
As if he could feel Miles' heated eyes, Shawn looked up. The anger in his eyes faded, and the corner of his lips curled. He said something else to the person on the other line without breaking eye contact and then hung up the phone.
He opened the door and leaned against the doorframe. "Where's Phase?"
"Sent him home. He needed to rest his vocals, but I have some good ideas we can jump on for tomorrow." Miles explained.
"And you stayed behind?"
Miles smiled. "Are you hungry?"
"Starved," he responded, returning the smile.