Savannah stood in front of the control panel, hypnotized by the sheer complexity of it. She had already Googled how to use one, but the instructions were unbefitting of this particular model. Or any model, that was. Everything that had come up on Google were for softwares that edited a track that had already been recorded. She supposed that made sense, considering that most people who were looking to record a track would have someone behind the control panel doing it all.

   She realized then that she didn't have to record anything. Sure, she had wanted to, because it would give her a taste of the music career she had left behind in favor of being Skid Row's fashion director. But, as she stared at the numerous buttons, she knew that doing so would be impossible.

   So, she walked inside the recording studio. The realization that she couldn't record didn't do too much to dampen her mood; after all, not much about the process would change. She would still be plugging some headphones into her phone, playing an instrumental of some preexisting song, and singing to that. The only difference was that she wouldn't have any record of it.

   But, that was okay, as long as Sebastian had managed to hear her.

She walked into the studio, being sure to leave the door open. There were headphones placed on the ground by one of the microphones, so she bent down to pick them up. They were chorded, so she inserted the plug into her phone's headphone jack. Then, she put the headphones on preemptively, placing her phone in her jeans' pocket afterward.

   She walked over to the microphone, and it towered over her; after all, Sebastian had been using that mic prior to her. And that man was practically a walking mountain.

   She fiddled with the mic for a bit, finally getting it down to her level after a small bit of struggling. As it neared her lips, she realized that she had no idea what song she wanted to sing. She could always sing one of her old songs, but something in her brain was telling her that that wasn't the right way to go.

   Instead, it told her that she should sing a Skid Row song. After all, Sebastian loved his music and took great pride in it. So, nothing would impress him more than hearing her attempt his nearly impossible vocal patterns.

   But, at the same time, that was risky. The word "attempt" is not being used lightly here, since the notes he could hit with ease were very difficult for Savannah to match. She was a good singer, but she wasn't that good.

   Still, though, if she did it well, Sebastian would be that much more in awe. And him being in awe was exactly what she wanted.

   So, she'd take the risk.

   As soon as her plans solidified in her mind, she immediately knew what song she'd choose. The song 18 and Life had been playing on repeat in her mind, and she knew that this was the song she was meant to sing. She hadn't tried singing it aloud before, but she had a good feeling about it.

So, she took her phone out of her pocket and opened YouTube. It felt odd to be in a recording studio, about sing her heart out, with the absence of her bandmates. She felt that familiar sense of bitterness creep into her mind, and she tried to hold onto it. After all, the more ticked off someone was, the better they'd sing. Emotion is essential.

She searched up the instrumental for 18 and Life, and she was about to click the first video that popped up when her finger froze.

A still photo of Sebastian complimented the thumbnail, and in it, he was wearing tight, leather, pants, no shirt, and a spiked choker. He had his lips parted in a very rocker-esque way, and his eyes were burning with that intensity that they always had.

Damn, Savannah thought, her stomach clenching painfully. He's so fucking pretty.

All of a sudden, staring at that thumbnail, she began to feel very nervous. Nervous for how she'd perform. She had known taking on a Skid Row song would be a challenge from the start, but the actual nerves hadn't hit her until just then.

So, she forced herself to click the video, and the iconic chords of 18 and Life began to fill her ears.

She lined her lips up with the microphone, the nervousness now replaced with an incredible rush of dopamine. She hadn't been in front of a microphone in what felt like forever, and now that she was, she felt at home. Truly comfortable. The fact that Sebastian could be listening was almost forgotten.

Almost.

The time came for her cue, and she began to sing.

"Ricky was a young boy, he had a heart of stone," she sang, her eyes fluttering closed in what she considered "the singer way." She stuffed her phone in her pocket and gripped the microphone tightly, preparing herself for the oncoming scream. She was unsure if she could hit it, but she was going to try.

"Lived nine to five and he worked his fingers to the bone!" she shrieked, and she was pleased to hear that her voice didn't crack, and it had the same intensity in it as Sebastian's.

Meanwhile, downstairs, the man himself perked up as he cracked open his second beer. He thought he had heard the scream of a familiar note that belonged to a familiar song.

Wait. Was Savannah. . ?

It had sounded amazing from downstairs. The intensity she seemed to possess made his heart throb heavily within his chest, and her voice was strong and did not waver. He hadn't heard a voice like hers since. . .ever.

And he craved to hear it at less of a distance.

So, he stood up, putting his beer down on the coffee table. "Shit, guys. I just realized I forgot something in the recording studio. Be back in a sec."

"All right, hurry back," Rachel said unassumingly, waving his singer away.

Sebastian nodded and began to ascend the stairs. Obviously, he hadn't really forgotten anything, but the guys didn't need to know that. The feeling of lying to them made him feel slightly guilty, but slightly exhilarated as well. There was nothing that felt more oddly satisfying than lying in order to get something you wanted.

As he neared the studio, he could hear Savannah's voice more clearly now, and it made him weak in the knees. For a brief moment, he wondered if he would have to grab onto the wall and take a second. It felt like every part of him was trembling, and he was astounded at the physical impact her voice could bring. He didn't even feel that he could illicit such a response from anyone.

   He approached the door to the recording studio, poking his head in. He smiled a little as he saw Savannah, eyes closed and hips swaying to the music that was playing through her headphones. She knew every word of the song, he realized. And that fact made his smile widen.

   She didn't seem to notice his arrival, and that made her that much more beautiful to behold. She looked so free behind the mic. It's like she had forgotten that anyone else was in the house, all of her usual timidness evaporating into thin air. Sebastian hadn't seen her confidence to this magnitude before, and the change was beyond intriguing.

   Unbeknownst to him, she had forgotten that anyone could be listening. Her initial plan was the furthest thing from her mind, and it got even further and further away with each note she sang. Her subconscious mind had hidden the plan entirely, and it made her believe that she was singing just to sing.

   Quietly, Sebastian slipped into the room, leaving being the furthest thing from his own mind. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't. Her powerful voice kept him here, in this room, and it had no intentions of letting him escape.

   Eventually, the guitar solo between the chorus and the bridge filled Savannah's ears, the notes enough to send excited jolts through her body. She opened her eyes, bopping her head as she gripped the microphone tight.

   But, as she did, she saw the familiar blond watching her, arms crossed and leaning against the wall. He was smiling at her, his eyes full of adoration.

   Her breath caught in her throat, and that's when her initial plan came flooding to the forefront of her mind once again. It had worked! He was listening to her, and, by the smile on his face, he thought she was killing it!

   He saw the brief shock that flitted across her face, and he reassured her by giving her a huge, somewhat kiddish thumbs up.

   She let a small smile slip before returning her gaze to the microphone. She had not anticipated how distracted she would get by his very presence, but she was, indeed, distracted now. She began to fear that this would manifest itself in the form of a voice crack or a mess-up in terms of lyrics. So, she did all she could to zero back in to the song.

   Her cue to sing arrived once more, and so she did.

   "'Accidents will happen,' they all heard Ricky say," she sang intensely, her nerves spiking as she realized that she was nearing the most difficult part of the song: the scream at the end of the bridge.

   She tried to shove those nerves out of her mind as she continued. "He fired his six-shot to the wind, that child blew a child away!"

   As she finished singing that part, she felt a prick of pride at the fact that she had, once again, nailed it. She stole a glance at Sebastian, and that prick of pride turned into a tidal wave when she saw that his eyes were wide, and his mouth was agape.

   Sebastian practically had heart-eyes over the woman. She had him under her spell, that was for sure. The way she sang, the innocent yet sexy way she looked, the way she danced. . . He was screwed, that was for damn sure.

   He lightly chewed on his lower lip as he watched her finish out the song, and, by the end of it, goosebumps were racing down his arms. He had never been on the receiving side of hearing 18 and Life, so he had never really felt the chills that the fans reported. But, he felt them in full force now, and he was fairly certain that if those fans had heard Savannah sing, their chills would have been way more intense than what they were when he sang. They would practically be walking goosebumps.

   When the song was over, Savannah sheepishly took off the headphones, and, just like that, the confident persona vanished. She was back to her normal self, and that made Sebastian both ecstatic and disappointed. He had always dug shy girls, but the confidence with which Savannah sang made his heart skip a beat, too.

   She smiled slightly at him as she unplugged the headphones, haphazardly chucking them back to their place on the floor after. She was thrilled with his response, and she was excited to hear what she hoped were compliments.

   She emerged from the studio and shyly walked up to Sebastian, a timid smile on her face. "Hey. What brings you up here?" she asked casually.

   Sebastian grinned, shrugging nonchalantly. "Just heard someone belting out 18 and Life like a pro, so I wanted to come check it out."

   She blushed lightly, crossing her arms with an eyebrow raised. "A pro, you say?"

   "Oh, yeah. I've never heard anyone sing it that well." He paused, then continued. "You know, when you said you were a singer, I wasn't sure what to expect. You know? But, I definitely wasn't expecting that."

Her shy smile widened as she shrugged back, playing off her skills. She didn't want to give the impression that she was cocky, but she also didn't want to give the impression that she was insecure. Depending on the guy, either of those things could be a turn-off. So, she settled on something in the middle. "Nah. I'm good, but I'm not that good."

   "Sav, shut the fuck up." Sebastian grinned at her expression of faux offense, stepping closer to her. "Your voice is beautiful."

   He opened his mouth to say something else, then shut it. His expression was pondering, and he seemed to be really looking inward to see if he wanted to say what he had thought of.

   He eventually decided to go with it, looking down at her as her brown eyes burned into his. "Everything about you is."

   Savannah's breath hitched, and she pressed her lips together shyly. "Thanks," she sputtered once she finally gathered enough strength to. She assessed his perfect, chiseled features and commented, "You, too. Almost annoyingly so."

   He laughed, and he continued to look at her with an emotion that Savannah couldn't identify in his eyes.

   His hands kept twitching forward, wanting to grab her. Wanting to act upon the feelings that were running wild within his mind. He knew she felt the same, but. . .what if, for some reason, she refused? What if one of his bandmates caught him, and kicked him out for making moves on the fashion director? What if Rachel beat his ass for making moves on his friend?

   Meanwhile, Savannah was thinking the same exact thing. She knew that acting on her feelings for Sebastian was not a good idea whatsoever, since this could jeopardize Sebastian's status within the band. She was loving his popularity, and she didn't want to take that away from him. And let's not forget to mention her own position's vulnerability if something were to happen. Rachel hated Sebastian, that was a given, and he wouldn't want her engaging with him in that way. And, even though Snake, Scotti, and Rob weren't as protective well-being-wise as Rachel, they would still see their advances as negatives. And Savannah would, no doubt, experience the repercussions of that.

   But, again, she did not have the strength to deny something this amazing, right in front of her.

   Sebastian's internal struggle eventually broke, and his impulsivity became apparent once again. "Fuck it," he said in a deep, throaty voice, grabbing Savannah's waist.

   She breathed in sharply in surprise, and Sebastian began to recoil, not wanting to make her uncomfortable. But, she held his hands there, loving the feeling of them. "Sorry," she mumbled. "I just—wasn't expecting that."

   He smiled at her, his lips suddenly a lot closer to her own than before. Her eyes flickered to them and back up to his eyes, and he smirked, having noticed this.

   "Shut up," she whispered, eyes fluttering closed as she leaned in to meet him in the middle.

   "I didn't say anything," he whispered back, his lips so close that she could feel his breath on her. . .

   Then, a familiar voice rang out in both of their ears, causing them to jump back in surprise.

   "Hey, Baz!" Rachel said obnoxiously, smiling in a somewhat crazy way at the two singers. He looked sharply at Sebastian, not needing to be a rocket scientist to come to the conclusion that he was about to kiss his best friend.

   When Sebastian didn't answer, him being too stunned to, Rachel went on. "You've been up here a while. I don't think it takes that long to grab something you forgot." He laughed dryly.

   During Sebastian and Savannah's whole interaction, Rachel noticed that the blond had been upstairs for a while, and he had a gut feeling that something bad was about to happen. He hadn't taken it too seriously, though; it was probably nothing. It was just his intuition acting up and giving false alarms. He was almost positive of that.

   Almost. So, he wanted to check just to be extra sure.

   And thank God he did. Otherwise, what the fuck would Sebastian have done to Savannah?

   "Oh," Sebastian breathed, at a loss of what to say. He was in trouble, and he knew it. "Um. . .I heard Sav singing once I got up here, and I listened to her for a bit."

   "Oh!" Rachel said with mock enthusiasm. "And that's all you were doing?"

   Sebastian nodded slowly. "Yes," he answered quietly, shamefully, as if Rachel wouldn't believe him with a nod alone.

   Rachel's smile vanished in what seemed like no time at all, his happy facade ditched. "Baz, get the fuck downstairs. Now."

   Sebastian looked at Savannah one last time, almost as if he expected her to save him.

   She stared back at him, bewildered and upset that they were in trouble, and her expression told Sebastian that she was unable to prevent what was going on.

   So, he sent her a timid smile before obeying, leaving the room and beginning to descend the stairs.

   Rachel looked at Savannah wordlessly, and the silence she was being met with was almost worse than yelling. She wriggled around uncomfortably, refusing to meet Rachel's eyes.

   "What the fuck, Sav?" he eventually asked. It was a simple question, but nothing more needed to be said.

   She guiltily raised her eyes to look at him. "I'm sorry," was all she could say. Again, she knew that Rachel wouldn't approve of her and Sebastian, given his complaints about him, and she felt like she had almost let him down, in a way. Like she wasn't listening to his warnings, and was disrespecting his care for her.

   Rachel ran his hands over his face, sighing heavily. He eventually looked at her again, his expression stone. "Get the fuck out of here," he whispered. "Go home."

   Her heart dropped. "Rach, let me—"

   "We can talk about this after. I just—I can't talk to you right now. I might fucking explode. Besides, I need to talk to Baz first." He gestured sharply to the door. "Go home."

   Unsure of what else to do, she dropped her gaze and did just that. She walked out of the room, descended the stairs, and walked out of the house. She heard Snake, Scotti, and Rob trying to address her as she did, but she couldn't speak. She couldn't find the strength to. Sebastian was desperately hushing them, telling them he'd explain later.

   The cold air greeted her, and she hadn't realized she had been crying a little until the tears began to freeze on her cheeks. Her chin trembled as she removed her glasses and wiped her tears with her sleeve. This smudged her eyeliner to hell and back, but that was the least of her worries.

   She was careless today. A careless idiot. Sebastian was, too, but she should've been the mature one. Sebastian clearly hadn't mentally aged past sixteen, and it was her responsibility to refuse if something happened. Once she had realized refusing his advances would be difficult, she had given up. Why? Why would she do that? The only thing that resulted from doing that was putting her own position as well as Sebastian's in jeopardy. He had already been treading on thin ice, and this would not help things. After all, there was so much to dislike about this whole thing: the unprofessionalism of mixing business with pleasure, the fact that Sebastian would likely hurt her somehow, the fact that Sebastian knew his position in the band was tentative at the moment and he still chose to flirt with Savannah rather than focus on what he needed to improve on. . . Yes, everybody would hate this development.

   She got to her car, putting on her glasses again before unlocking and opening the door. She sat down numbly, staring at the house she had just left as thousands of incoherent thoughts raced through her mind.

   She sat there for who knew how long, numb and unmoving. But, a ping from her phone broke her out of her daze.

   Almost robotically, she took it out and took in her Lock Screen.

   A text message.

   Two words, from Sebastian.

   I'm sorry.

   And that was all.