“Butterflies all havin' fun you know what I mean. Sleep in peace when day is done, that's what I mean.
And this old world is a new world, and a bold world for me.” – Nina Simone

ONE

November '12

The auroral sunshine reflected in the room forming dancing illusions on the wall.  It was early  when Sylvia opened her eyes from the deep slumber. One look at the clock on the bedside table told her that it was a little too early to wake up. Two hours before her usual wake up call would normally seem refreshing to her but not today. Not with all the anxiety that insisted on running through her veins. She gazed at her dull ceiling, waiting patiently for the morning sloth in her to amble away. It didn't. Sylvia turned to observe the balcony on her left.  A tincture of light shined through the glass, revealing London in her birthday suit. Entranced, she wrapped herself in the duvet and walked towards it. Obviously, there was a need to take a closer look. The weather tickled her bare neck. Everything was grey. It felt almost like the first time she had stepped her foot in London.

How can a city like this with such a crazy lifestyle be so welcoming?

The weird feeling of belonging, even somewhere she barely knew, filled her once again. Sylvia was extremely glad London welcomed her as much as it did since the first time she had been to the British town.

She turned around to face the room and a sigh escaped her lips after realizing Sean was still in a deep sleep. A satisfied grin covered her face when she thought about how good he was at balancing their feelings out; her nerves and his peace met together and somehow everything turned into harmony. Coming back to the bed, Sylvia caught herself staring at his features and thinking about the things she loved about him.

“Already awake, love? It’s early,” a whispering voice escaped his lips. He calmly placed his arm around Sylvia’s waist, inviting her to get back into bed.

“I'm not used to the time change,” she whispered back to him with a shy smile.

“Well, good morning, beautiful.” He leaned forward and gently kissed her cheek. “Gosh, it’s goddamn art to keep myself away from this smile.”

Holding her chin softly, their eyes met for a second and suddenly Sylvia felt lost in his green eyes. A light shade of red flashed over her face, as she remembered Sean telling her how he fell in love with her smile. A lifetime staring into his eyes in silence didn’t sound too bad for her, but obviously something would suddenly break the moment. Knowing him as much as she did, something would soon come out from his mouth.

“What’s the matter?”

“I’m nervous!” It took some time for her to think about the feelings that were taking over her body and making her crazy.

“Don’t be! You’ve been waiting so long for this!”

“But there are some really large wild animals right now in my stomach and no tender butterflies whatsoever!” She gave her belly a look as her fingers drummmed on it.

“Oh, really?” He looked down at her with a gleam in his eyes; it was easily turning into the playful mood that everyone was used to. “Right here?” He touched her belly and started tickling it and soon they were rolling over the bed, laughing.

“I can’t breathe! Stop!” Her words were not strong enough to make him stop and a loud squeal was the only option she had left. “I can’t! Sean, stop!” As the sudden scream came out from her mouth, he stopped and started laughing even more as his body rolled by her side on the bed.

“I wouldn’t do that. You don’t want to wake the whole hotel up!” He turned to her, slighty caressing her cheek right before kissing her skin. Sylvia grabbed the pillow and hit him in the face with it, pretending to start another playful war.

Sean definitely knew how to make her feel comfortable. Although she would say his presence was more than enough. There was just one thing about him that made her mad and that was he kept being that juvenile boy even though he was over thirty years old. He held her wrists and put her arms over the bed, but as soon as his eyes met hers, Sean calmly lost his grip and moved his body closer to Sylvia.

“Maybe it’s enough for a wakeup call, right?” His shining smile hit her and she felt as if she could easily begin melting inside.

“God, is this smile heaven?” Her smile was instant to him, making her wonder when she lost all control for him.

“Nope, this is Sean, the love of your life! Come on, I’ll get us some breakfast.”

She watched him standing up from the bed and quickly changing his clothes. “We can ask for room service," she flashed him a pouty face that would easily convince him to get back into the bed with her. At least she hoped for that.

We still have some time before we’re supposed to leave so why not just stay here and have a good time? Why is he acting like we’re in a hurry?

“I know, but I wanna get you some special things! Today is the day!” Before she even had the time to think about anything, he disappeared, but his face reappeared in the doorway a matter of seconds later. “I forgot to say something,” he bit his bottom lip as she looked at him in confusion; “I love you so much! Get ready for the greatest day ever!” His voice got lower as he disappeared once again.

She released her body over the bed and soon her mind was dominated by memories. How could someone like Sean be so devoted? She could barely believe he actually asked his band mates of Yellowcard to reschedule their next gig; only so that he could be here with her today. Despite his busy life, he really wanted to be there and share this moment with Sylvia. It was not hard for her to admit how crazy it was to think that just one day in life could change everything. Sean was the one who made her confident enough to try to follow her dreams. The memory from that day when Sean introduced her to Simon Cowell was still fresh in her mind.

After being a contestant on ‘The Voice’ and watching her best friend Cassadee Pope win the show, Sylvia stepped back for a while to figure out what she wanted to do with her career and her last years at UNI. She always knew what needed to be done, but for some reason it was hard to believe that the future could be that bright for her. Christina Aguilera, her mentor in The Voice, tried her best to bring her back to the game, but somehow all her efforts made Sylvia even more scared. Trying to visualize the future from someone else’s perspective did not work; it just didn’t seem right to her. She loved Christina with all her heart, but following her footsteps never seemed like the best choice for her.

After everything that happened in The Voice, Sylvia realized that all she really wanted was a chance to put all her soul into her music. She just needed some freedom to do what she wanted. One day Sylvia met Cassadee’s friend, Sean Mackin, violinist of the band Yellowcard, during her promotional tour. He was the one who supported her the most and convinced her to go for an independent solo album. Everything happened at the right time; Cassadee’s promotion and Yellowcard’s big comeback. Finally, by a stroke of luck, she was in the spotlight and her music began to be requested at several radio stations, even though it wasn’t released yet as a mainstream album. Then one day, the one and only, Simon Cowell, attended one of Cassadee and Yellowcard’s gigs and asked to work with Sylvia. Simon had received an amateur version of her album from Christina and had met spoken to Sean in New York a few days earlier. The day that certainly changed everything for her.

Although Simon had already offered to help her with her next production, they were still waiting for it to be official. That was the main reason why Sylvia and Sean were in London; signing her first contract ever and make her dream finally come true.

“Here we are!” Sean glanced at her as the driver parked the car in front of Syco’s office. “Shall we go?”

“Yeah, I think so,” her nervous laugh came out again.

“Don’t make me tickle you again, girl!” He threatened to grab her again, but she attempted to hide herself by shrinking her body on the seat.

She was glad he was here with her that day. It was one of those moments she thought if anything different would have happened in each of their lives, fate wouldn’t have put them together. Sylvia grabbed his hand and interlaced their fingers in silence. Once again the memories from the day they met shone on her mind.

“I’m here for you, no reason to worry about anything. Don’t forget; I’ll always be here for you, no matter what.” He softly pecked her lips with a big grin on his features and opened the huge door in front of them.

Syco’s office; would she have ever believed she would be standing in this building? Never. Meeting Simon was one of the greatest moments in her life so far; they clicked instantly. After all of his consideration and phone calls back and forth, it was hard for her to define him as Syco’s boss; he was now a close friend to her.

As Sean and Sylvia walked through the fancy building, both of them recognized some awards and posters on the walls. Despite all of the respect they had for Simon, it was impossible not to see the whole extravagance thing people talked about when it came to him.

____________________________________________________________

“Are you ready for this?” Simon flashed a daring look as she shook the pen in her hand.

Sylvia stared at the paper in front of her for a while, but she couldn’t help the silly smile that spread across her lips. A deep sigh escaped her mouth as her eyes ran over the last line of the contract. Her gaze ceased when she felt a smooth hand touching the back of her neck, bringing her back into her comfort zone.

“Come on, it’s only a signature,” Sean’s whispering voice sounded in her ear like it was the relief she was craving that moment.

Simon looked at the couple, leaning over the table and took a deep breath, “Ok, Sylvia, it will be over once you sign it. Or not,” he quickly added with his signature smirk.

“That’s only the beginning.” She leaned back to the contract and scanned it for the fifth time. That was that; that was the moment she had been waiting for. With no more hesitation, she breathed roughly and quickly signed the paper.

“I would celebrate this with the most expensive champagne there is, but we ran out of it yesterday,” Simon said and his expression turned into a happy smile. He stood up from his cozy seat and warmed her in a big hug. “Congratulations Sylvia. I can already see the brilliant future you will have in this business.”

Some tears started to escape from her eyes, but she tried to contain it and make it less evident. Some persistent tears ran down her cheeks as she laid her head on Simon’s shoulder. There was no reason in this world for her not to believe him. She certainly was in good hands.

“No words can describe how thankful I am for your support Simon. This is the best feeling ever.” She glanced at him as a big smile reached her eyes.

“Glad to hear that honey,” Simon separated himself from her and grabbed Sean’s hand, “Just don’t forget to thank this big boy over here. I’m sure he’ll do great with the production.” 

“The production is just a plus; it’s all about her voice now.” Sean turned his head to Sylvia and she met the cutest pair of dimples she had ever seen.

Her voice.

His last line rushed through her mind as she remembered how everything started; ‘The Voice’. It’s quite funny that she had just signed a music contract with the one who had turned British music into massive pop culture; from that moment, her future was in his hands.

Future.

The word that always was in her dreams and made all of them seem so distant. And her future had just come. One thing that Sean had taught her, and she was trying to live by, was to enjoy the moment. That was exactly what she was planning on doing.

[A/N]

Hey guys!

First, thanks for spending some time reading my book! I really need to tell you the first 6 chapters of this book give you background infos and events for what comes next ;) So, if you ever get confused, calm down! Things will get clearer as soon as possible!

I know it's about about favorite lovely lads, although there's no sign of them on the 1st chapter. Just WAIT, ok?! Soon they'll be around :)

On the right side you guys can see how I picture Sylvia and Sean, so just keep her in mind! And I also pinned an amazing Muse's version for "Feeling Good". Every chapter I'll come with another great song, probably a song that inspired the chapter's title or my writing. As I said on Author's Note, I'm really into music and I really need to share some great song with you all!

Anyway, don't forget to vote and to tell me what you think about it! And if you're reading it, I promise from the bottom of my heart you will never regret reading my book! I'm working my a*s to give you one of the greatest storylines ever!

See you all :)