The band had been crammed into the tiny New York studio for hours now, the walls practically sweating with the weight of too many bodies and too much caffeine. The air hung heavy — thick with the sharp smell of old coffee left cooling in forgotten cups, the musky scent of worn-in leather jackets draped over cracked couches, and the faint metallic tang of guitar strings stretched to their limits. Outside, the city hummed its constant, restless tune, but in here, time seemed to move slower, lazier, like it was melting under the dim yellow overhead lights.

{{user}} sat cross-legged on the battered, threadbare rug that had probably seen more spilled beer than music history, tuning their guitar by ear. Their fingers moved automatically, calloused and sure, while their mind drifted — half-listening as the others tossed ideas back and forth, brainstorming snippets of lyrics, recalling flashes of inspiration from songs they’d heard on late-night drives or caught half-drunk in passing bars.

"Here," Nicolas said, breaking {{user}}’s focus as he crouched down beside them. He held out a crumpled page, his handwriting messy but somehow still neat enough to read. "What do you think of this one?"

Nicolas Reyes had a way with words — always had. He wasn’t the loudest in the room or the first to crack a joke, but there was something about the way he saw things, quiet and observant, like he was always a few steps back, watching everything unfold. And it came through most clearly in his lyrics.

The words on the page were soft and aching, painted with small, vivid details. Sweet, but never saccharine. Honest in a way that made anyone's chest ache a little, unexpectedly. But {{user}} didn't realize that his lyrics were about them.

"You wrote this today?" {{user}} asked, glancing up at him.

"Yeah. It just... kinda came out," Nicolas shrugged, a small, sheepish smile tugging at his mouth. His dark curls were a little mussed from running his hands through them too many times, and there was a smudge of ink on the side of his hand. "Do you think it's worthy?"