The keys rattled as Nate opened the wooden door of the shed, the peeling red paint exposing the original wooden panels.
The door creaked slowly as he pushed it open, revealing a modest-sized shed that had been turned into a temporary music studio. Foam padding lined the wooden walls to keep too much sound from escaping, and a simple recording setup with a piano and a laptop connected to a DAW sat in one corner.
A cozy station held a small sofa and a desk cluttered with stacked papers and crumpled-up pieces.
Mathew, seeing the musky-aired shed turned into a studio, pushed past Nate, who kept observing his friend with a silent stare.
Mathew looked around, picking up some papers from the desk as he passed, glancing over the contents before indicating them briefly. "Your newest song?" he asked, already knowing the answer as Nate nodded in confirmation.
"Huh," came the exclamation from Mat, fully taking in the room. "Not like the one you have at home, but definitely serves its purpose," he said, turning to smile at Nate, who was anxiously awaiting his friend's opinion.
"I like it!" Mat said, giving him a thumbs-up. Nate smiled just a little before also pushing past the door, closing it behind him.
"Speaking of home, man," Mathew spoke, plopping himself lazily onto the sofa. Nate went toward the seat at his recording station, taking a stool.
"What about it?" Nate asked.
"When are you coming back?" Mathew asked innocently, fiddling with some of the papers, making sounds like "ooh" and "aah," not noticing Nate's gaze hardening as he glanced out the window toward the forest he now patrolled every night since arriving here.
Mathew, picking up on the silence, looked over the lyrics, seeing the expression on his friend's face before it slowly dawned on him. "Wait, you don't mean to..!" Mat spoke a little louder than intended, as Nate turned to face him directly.
"I do," he said quietly. "I've been enjoying my time here, Mat. Not like back home, where everything feels fake and forced. Here… even though it's not easy, it feels like actual home," he explained, as Mat leaned forward, fully attentive, looking a little offended if anything.
"Wait, hold on, Nate, hold on," Mat said, putting the papers down and grabbing his head. "You can't suddenly just decide that, man. You have a life back home—friends, fami—" Mathew began, before Nate cut him off harshly.
"No one!" he said, whipping his head to lock eyes with Mathew. "You're the only person I considered a friend back home, Mat. Everyone else is close to me because of their own agenda. You know this, I know this. So stop trying to convince me otherwise." Nate shut the conversation down as both friends sat opposite each other, a silence descending.
Finally, after a minute, Mathew rubbed his head in frustration. "Ugh, alright, alright, I concede," he said, already knowing what Nate said was partially true. Besides, the truth of the matter was Nate didn't really need to go back home. He would be completely fine where he currently was operating; it was just Mathew himself who needed to be back in Michigan because, even though he was Nate's manager first, he still operated a record label full-time.
So whether it was selfish or not, Mathew wanted his friend close by.
Nate, seeing the frustration on his friend's face and feeling the sorrow coming from him, felt a little bad. But he knew that he needed to stay in Forks—if not to protect his family, then to keep all the supernatural stuff to himself.
He didn't want Mathew mixed up in this dangerous world, so keeping him at arm's length physically would make Nate's already stressed heart a little less heavy.
"I'm sorry, man," Nate said sincerely to Mathew, who looked a little down.
"Naah, man, don't stress it. Honestly, you're right. From what I've seen in the little time I've been here, you seem at peace—calm even—which I kinda don't like," Mathew said, throwing in a little jab at the end, which made both friends snicker.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of everything for you. So, do you have a place in mind?" Mathew asked, both finally on the same page.
"Yeah, actually I do," Nate said, his mind flashing to the image of his rundown childhood house.
Mathew, hearing this, tilted his head. "Oh?" he made a questioning sound.
"Yeah, my childhood home. My dad left the property in my name, so… just have to rebuild the place, but other than that, it's perfect," Nate said, thinking about how easy it would be to actually be himself when he moved there. It was surrounded by forest, on the outskirts of Forks—no prying eyes anywhere—and with his echo location, it would be a perfect safe haven.
"Huh, didn't know about that. But alright, I'll have some guys come check the property out and see what can be done. But for now… be honest," Mathew said, completely changing his tone to a more serious one, which made Nate's abnormally slow heartbeat pick up a little.
"W… what is it?" he asked, unsure of what his friend meant.
There was a moment where Mathew closed his eyes before opening them and smiling like the devil himself. "So, who is the girl?"
Seeing what his friend asked, Nate just turned around to pick up a crumpled-up paper before launching it at Mathew, making sure to add a little supernatural strength so it actually hit its mark.
"Hahahahah!" Mathew laughed, trying to dodge but failing miserably.
"What? I'm saying, you wanting to stay here can only mean you found a hot girl," Mathew said, leaning in awkwardly, having tried to dodge the paper ball but failing. "And let's not forget these papers," he said, showing Leah's handwriting. "I know damn well your fingers can't produce such divine handwriting," he said, snickering to himself, "which could only mean a girl was here, and I know damn well it's not your cousin." He was deducing from all the things he observed, which to a degree were spot on.
What made it even worse was the sound of Nate's phone chiming at that exact moment.
Nate, who felt the vibration, dug into his pocket before looking at the text from Leah:
Tribe meeting later today. Thought it'd be a good time for you to meet my dad :)
Nate smiled unconsciously as Mathew observed him.
"Oh no!" Mathew voiced in an overly exaggerated tone.
"What?" Nate asked, confused, looking over his phone.
"You haven't smiled like that since you broke up with that witch," Mathew said, reminding Nate of a memory he would much rather leave in the past. Nate shook his head.
"God, please don't mention her," he whispered, before looking back at his phone to write a reply: Mind if I bring a friend?Nate wrote, not trusting Mathew to be alone with his cousin and uncle.
The reply came fast. I didn't know you had a friend ;) she wrote.
"Oh, I like her already," Nate heard Mathew comment over his shoulder, somehow appearing next to him.
"You know what? I change my mind. You're not invited," Nate said, about to type exactly that, but Mathew snatched the phone away. Nate knew he would do that because he saw the whole act in slow motion.
"NO. CAN. DO. Roomie, let's get going!" Mat said, wagging his finger in a "no-no" motion.
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Once again, a small chapter to get my writing muscles going. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'm not sure how realistic these characters are, but I hope they're to your liking. Mathew's character is actually based off yours truly, so that's why he comes to me so naturally—I just hope you guys are liking him as much as I enjoy writing about him.
As always, I appreciate all your support and love, so if you comment your ideas and thoughts, it would be heavily appreciated—so bring on the load! Also, can any of you guess where the story is headed?
As always, catch you guys on the next one.