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Alexa looked around as she got out of the cab at her hotel and helped her driver get her luggage out of the trunk. “I'm finally here, I’ve made it.” she thought to herself as she stood in awe taking in the sights, sounds and smells of the place she once thought she could only reach with the help of her ex partner who she shared a band with.
She was glad to finally be here. She’d done it by herself, her dream, it was all finally coming together and all without needing him to do anything for her. She walked into the lobby and thought she recognised a face at the check-in desk. “Well fuck, it’s that asshole. Just what I needed.” She quickly pulled herself together and walked over to check in, trying her best to ignore him but he unfortunately decided to strike up a conversation.
“Oh, heya Alexa,” Dean said “What are you doing here? Pitching more songs that will never have a chance of being picked up by literally anyone by any chance.” He smirked, probably thinking that Alexa was going to say yes. “Oh. Well, I’m actually here to go and record a few songs for myself Dean. I also wouldn’t bash my writing if I were you darling, remember who wrote your number one hits and got your name on the map.”
Alexa giggled as Dean opened his mouth as if he was about to say something but quickly closed it and walked away.Alexa walked up to the person at the desk and got her room key. “Would you like someone to bring your luggage up to your room ma’am?” The receptionist asked.
“No no, don’t worry! I’ll be ok,” Alexa smiled. “I’m sure you all are busy enough. Thank you for the offer though!” The lady nodded and smiled back as Alexa walked away and took the elevator to the floor her room was on and trailed her suitcase behind her.
She was glad to finally be able to sit down and revisit her recent lyrics and chords she’d put alongside them. It took her an hour or two to double check the chords were right and to fit them with the melody since she just had a piano app on her phone.
She gave up after a little bit and decided that she would just double check it all at the studio tomorrow when they were doing the original recording and pitching ideas to make sure it was as good as it could possibly be.
She smiled as she picked up her notebook and put it back into her small handbag she carried around with her and hailed a cab to get a drive to the recording studio. She walked in and waved to her producer Nathan. “Ah! Alexa, we’ve been looking forward to this today. We finally get to record in person together instead of over a zoom meeting.”
Nathan and Alexa laughed before they went into a meeting room and Alexa grabbed her notebook out and let Nathan read the lyrics. “Ok- these are amazing. You wrote this about your journey and your ex partner, right?” Alexa nodded in reply. “Do you have a melody in mind for it?” Alexa nodded “Sure do! I’ve had it for a while now and I wanted to wait for us to be able to meet up so I could be able to show you it in person.”
She smiled and Nathan nodded for her to go into the recording room to let him hear the base melody.
Alexa put the headphones on and began to sing the melody with her lyrics infront of her “It’s hard havin’ a heart in the city. Look at the stars, waitin' for someone to tell you you’re pretty, you’re enough.” She giggled to add a little something and then continued. “So it goes, I don’t know, what the feeling’s like to be comfortable. With a stranger in your skin, don’t know why you let them in.”
She looked up at Nathan and he signalled for her to take her headphones off.“Hey Alexa, do you wanna try the chorus, I’m just curious to hear it because I really like the lyrics.” Alexa looked up, “Sure!” She put her headphones back on and grinned. “We used to talk about the fakers in LA
But now you’re one of ‘em and damn it hurts to say.”
She said those lines with a hint of malice and hatred in her voice. “I should've seen it comin’ from a mile away, a mile away. You always wanted to take before you give, but what’s the fun of it? I don't know how you live with yourself in your Hollywood house in the hills. Gives me chills. City of angels” She took off her headphones and laughed once more.
They slowly went through the song for the next few hours, making twitches to the melody and the instrumental until they got to the final chorus. “So, what ideas do you have for the final chorus so we can pull this song together.
“So I was thinking we just have a few piano notes for the first two or 3 lines and then start to have the normal instrumental come in after that, if that makes sense.” Alexa suggested. Nathan nodded, “Go ahead and we can try it.” Alexa got the backing track idea ready then went back into the recording part of the studio.
“We used to talk about the fakers in LA. But now you’re one of ‘em and damn it hurts to say, damn it hurts to say..” She let her voice fade out slightly to make it sound as if she was truly hurt, which at the time that she wrote those lyrics she truly was.
At that time she felt betrayed and abandoned by Dean's actions and his choice to just leave her with nothing and claim that she had done nothing but make it even more difficult for him to become a famous artist.
After a few more tweaks and idea swaps Alexa finally got to sing the final chorus in full. You always wanted to take before you give, but what’s the fun of it? I don't know how you live with yourself in your Hollywood house in the hills. Gives me chills. City of angels. That's what they call us, right? Wish you were able, to see there's so much more to life. City of angels, that's what they call us, right? City of angels.”
Alexa took the headphones off and Nathan stood at the other side of the glass clapping. He walked over to her as she walked out “Alexa, that was amazing. You truly do have a talent.”
They released the song titled “City of Angels” a few short weeks later and it was a hit on the charts. She was invited to play it at a big music show a few months later and was shocked to see how many people were there watching her. It truly was a dream come true.
It was even better that when she was singing the final chorus she caught Deans eye and he looked away in shame because he knew that those lyrics were about him because of all the times that they spoke about how hypocritical some artists were and now he’d become what they had promised each other they would never be.
She walked off of the stage after her set to see Dean looking extremely ashamed backstage. He hurriedly rushed over to her. “Alexa, I just want to apologise, for everything. Watching you sing that song out there made me realise how much I messed up and I know words aren’t even close to enough as an apology but I do just want to say sorry.”
She looked him up and down before speaking “I appreciate that you realised that you messed up Dean but, at the end of the day you made your bed and now you have to lie in it. Apology not accepted but like I said before I do appreciate it.” She walked away just as he was called on stage to do his set with his band. She giggled slightly.
It was an unplanned revenge. She was never going to accept his apology because she knew what she was worth and was never gonna let anyone take advantage of her ever again.