One Man Band System

Late in the afternoon, after wrapping up watching the movie shoot in front of them, which starred Wesley in a high-octane action flick about soldiers battling an alien invasion, Eric walked over behind a guy who was rendering the CGI animation for the scene they had just wrapped. Wesley had been wearing motion-capture sensors, and Eric’s eyes widened as he stared at the screen.

In the CGI rendering, the footage they had just captured wasn’t set on Earth at all, but on an alien planet with incredibly detailed graphics, featuring eerie, otherworldly trees, cliffs far steeper than the real ones, and another planet visible on the horizon.

"Whoaaah, this movie is going to be absolutely insane when it hits theaters," Eric thought to himself.

Then he glanced over at Wesley, who was chatting with the six girls. Naturally, he was completely surrounded by them. He was laughing, occasionally touching the girls’ shoulders or arms, and the girls obviously didn’t mind. Catching the bright, thrilled expressions on the faces of Monica, Chloe, Priya, Heidi, and Laura, Eric felt a sharp pang of jealousy in his chest, even if it passed quickly. Meanwhile, Wesley wasn’t paying much attention to the five of them anyway; his focus was entirely locked on Emma, who didn’t seem all that enthusiastic about talking to him.

Eric sat down on a rock and pulled out his smartphone, trying his best to shake off the bitter feeling. But he couldn’t stop watching Emma interact with Wesley, who clearly seemed to be hitting on her, while Monica, Chloe, Priya, Heidi, and Laura kept trying to engage the actor, and Wesley happily humored them. Eric opened his notes app to continue working on his song, but his mind went completely blank because his emotions were overriding his creativity.

"Damn it... why am I feeling like this... he’s a movie star... a literal heartthrob... it’s totally normal for Emma, Monica, Chloe, Priya, Heidi, and Laura to fan out because he’s a celebrity... but why is it hitting me like this... I don’t remember ever feeling this way back when I was with Vivian... which is probably why I missed all her red flags and had no clue she was sleeping around with Jason... damn it... this seriously sucks," Eric thought to himself.

His fingers began tapping frantically across the screen, writing down the rhythm that was pouring out of his heart, channeling all his inner pain directly into the music. Then he started humming, focusing entirely on capturing the vibe. His mind cleared up completely as he logged all the notes into his app, setting the tempo with the tapping of his fingers before humming the melody aloud.

Suddenly, he noticed a crowd of shadows looming over him. Eric stopped humming and lifted his head, his eyes widening as he realized that a group of crew members, the assistant director, the makeup artist, and even the CGI guy had all gathered around him. Standing right there among them was Morgan.

"What was that song you were just humming?" Morgan asked.

"Oh... this? Um... just something I was messing around with," Eric answered nervously, quickly standing up.

"Wow... you just came up with that on the spot?" Morgan asked, studying Eric closely.

"Um... yeah," Eric replied.

"Alright, come with me," Morgan said.

"Huh... where to?" Eric asked, totally confused.

"Don’t worry about it... just come along, let’s go," Morgan gestured.

Left with no choice, Eric followed Morgan, with the staff, assistant director, makeup artist, stunt doubles, and the rest of the crew trailing right behind them. They walked under a canopy where a guy was sitting in front of a laptop.

"Hey... you have audio editing software on your laptop, right?" Morgan asked.

"Yeah, boss, why?" the guy asked, puzzled.

"Let us use it. I want you to log his song and play it," Morgan answered.

"But I don’t really know how to use it, sir... Stephen is the one who handles that, and he didn’t come with us today," the guy replied.

"Um... I actually know how to use it, sir," Eric offered.

Morgan and the guy behind the laptop instantly snapped their heads toward Eric. Without a second thought, the guy stood up, opened the application, and gestured for Eric to take his seat. Eric immediately began inputting his notes into the software, adjusting the tempo, the harmonic melodies, and the entire structure of the song exactly as it played out in his head.

Watching Eric work, Morgan smiled and nodded approvingly, standing right in front of him with his arms crossed over his chest. After about thirty minutes of intense tinkering, a music track lasting two minutes and ten seconds was finally born. Eric hit play, and a heavy, explosive track that felt like raging fire with a fast-paced beat, perfectly capturing the chaos of a battle, echoed through the canopy.

Almost the entire film crew came crowding over when they heard it. Then, a young man sat down right next to Eric, listening intently. He hung onto every single beat, scribbling something down on a piece of paper in front of him. Once the track finished playing, the young man turned to Eric in total shock, realizing he recognized him. He immediately extended his hand.

"Are you Eric Reed? My name is Alan Williams, I’m the composer for this movie. Would you let me use your track for the soundtrack? Here, try adding these lyrics I just wrote down," Alan said, sliding his paper over.

"I actually brought him along today so he could soak in the movie’s vibe and compose the music. Would you be open to collaborating with him?" Morgan added, chiming in.

Eric glanced down at the paper resting on top of the laptop keyboard, his eyes widening as he saw the lyrics Alan had already scribbled out. It was a completely different direction from what he had envisioned himself, considering the rhythm had actually been born out of his own inner heartache and jealousy, making it feel like a war he was waging against his own mind.

Naturally, the sudden offer left Eric totally speechless, unable to find his voice even as he looked up to see two highly expectant faces eagerly waiting for his answer.

"Of course, I’m making you an official offer, and I’ll have the contract drawn up. What do you say?" Morgan spoke up, noticing Eric’s hesitation.

"Without your permission and a proper contract, there’s no way I’d use your track, even though it’s an absolute perfect fit for the movie we’re making," Alan added.

"I see... so... what would the contract look like?" Eric asked, curious and feeling like he had no choice but to go along with it.

"Let’s talk details once we head back down. How does that sound?" Morgan suggested.

"Alright... Mr. Morgan," Eric replied, giving in.

"Great working with you," Alan said, patting Eric on the back.

"Likewise... Mr. Alan," Eric replied.

Morgan and Alan then led Eric out from under the canopy, as the staff needed to pack up their gear and head down now that the shoot had wrapped. But Eric had only taken a few steps outside when,

"Eric!"

Suddenly, all six girls lunged at him simultaneously, knocking him flat on his back onto the ground and sending his glasses crooked.

"He... hey," Eric muttered, straightening his glasses.

"You are amazing... seriously amazing... smoooch," Emma immediately planted a kiss on Eric’s cheek.

"Yeah... I absolutely loved your song... smooch," Chloe kissed his other cheek.

"That track literally gave me goosebumps and made my heart race... smoooch," Priya kissed Eric’s cheek, taking turns with Emma.

"Awesome... totally awesome... I love that song so much... smooch," Heidi added, kissing Eric’s forehead.

"Please let me be the very first person to hear the finished version... smooch," Laura said, also kissing his forehead.

"This is exactly why... I keep falling more and more in love with your music... smooch," Monica kissed Eric right then and there, except her target was different: right on the lips.

"Hey! Who said you could kiss him on the lips?" Emma, Chloe, Priya, Heidi, and Laura yelled in unison, shoving Monica away.

"Oh, please, says who? I can do whatever I want. It’s your own fault for sticking to just the cheeks and forehead, huh," Monica shot back, refusing to back down.

"You piece of work... get over here, I’m going to teach you a lesson right now," Emma yelled, pointing a finger at Monica.

"Yeah... get over here... come on everyone, let’s get her," Priya yelled, pointing at Monica.

The scene instantly turned into absolute chaos. Emma, Chloe, Priya, Heidi, and Laura started shouting and lecturing Monica, who refused to back down and began firing back.

Meanwhile, Eric took one look at Morgan, Alan, Wesley, and the rest of the crew watching them, and covered his face, wishing the ground would open up and swallow him whole.

Morgan and Alan just shook their heads, while Wesley knitted his brows, glaring at the six girls before his eyes drifted down to Eric, who was still sprawled out on the dirt.

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