"Please tell me you're not luring me to the middle of nowhere. Because with everyone going on..." Kris, blinded by Jesse's large hand cupped over her eyes, steps forward and accidentally bumps her arm into the wall. "Oww!"

"I told you to follow my lead." Jesse laughs, still covering her eyes as he walks besides her, leading them down a long corridor.

Squinting, she attempts to peek through the cracks in between his fingers. "Yeah, well you should see me on the dance floor."

"Is that an offer?" He says with a playful tone and feels her cheeks rise beneath his hand as she smiles. He stops at a doorway and pushes the unlocked door open. "Okay, just a few more steps."

She hears the short heels on her boots tap against the wooden floor as he leads her further into the room. He suddenly stops, his hand still blocking her eyes as she turns her head toward him. "Are we here?"

He doesn't say anything.

"Jesse, I swear if this is some kind of joke—"

His hand drops and she gasps, backing up into the wall. She covers her mouth excitedly, her eyes gazing past the large mixing console and up at the long window centered directly above it. She approaches the glass, staring through at the recording studio on the other side. The dimensions of the room make a perfect square, the abstract pattern of the wooden walls resembling that of bricks stacked upon each other. Compared to the studio, the control room they stand in is rather small and narrow, slightly wider than they hallway they were walking through just moments before. It doesn't help that the mixer takes up nearly half of the space.

"No joke." He says, smiling. Through the reflection of the glass she sees him step closer to her.

She stares forward, still shocked by everything. She's never seen a real studio before, let alone stepped inside of one. It's even more spectacular than she had ever imagined. "What is all of this?"

"It's a recording studio."

"Well duh." She turns to him. "I mean, what are we doing here?"

"Recording."

Glaring at him, she's still not sure of where he is actually going with this. She knows this place must cost a fortune and is something clearly out of both of their budgets. "Very funny. No for real, are we meeting someone or—"

"I know a guy who's letting me use this place as a favor. He owes me one." He looks down at the controls, fidgeting with some of the knobs as if this is his first time to ever look at such a panel. "I figured we could get some studio recordings to release on your EP."

"EP?" Her eyebrows rise and she looks off to the side, just now noticing the several signed, framed records of famous artists mounted to the walls in the control room. She sets her purse on the floor and uses her foot to slide it underneath the mixing console. "Wow, the surprises just keep coming. Sounds like you have it all planned out."

Jesse smirks. "Yeah well, what can I say? I'm awesome. Come to think of it, I really don't get paid enough for this gig."

"You don't get paid at all."

"Ehh, it's worth it." He continues to fiddle with buttons on the panel as she opens the door leading into the recording room, slowly walking inside. "The band from the lounge should be here in about half an hour. Was thinking we could start with a couple of originals and toss in one or two covers?"

"Yeah, sure." She nods, focused more on her surroundings, and his voice fades out as the door slowly closes behind her.

He watches her through the glass, not able to hear a thing as she scales the walls inside of the soundproof room. She spots more framed records aligned on the walls and can't help but examine each one, feeling like a kid lost inside of a candy shop. Looking up, she sees that the ceiling is lined with long acoustic panels— thick black sheets of foam set up to tame the sound.

A microphone, with a round filter placed inches in front of it, is already set up in the center of the room. Next to it is a barstool from the Lager Lounge and Kris smiles, immediately knowing that Jesse must have put it there. Probably to shake off her nerves.

"Oh and Kris, one more thing." His voice echoes through the speakers mounted above the window behind her. Startled, she spins around to see him leaning in to talk to her through the small microphone on the control panel. He presses a button on the base of the microphone's stand as he continues to speak. "Will you go on a date with me?"

A smile stretches across her face and, before she can even think about it, her answer slips out. "Yes."

From the other side of the glass, he realizes the speakers inside the studio are still set on mute. He sees her lips move but, the room still being soundproof, he can't quite make it out. "What?"

"Yes!"

"I can't—hold on." He pushes several buttons anxiously, trying to figure it out which button he has to press to turn on the audio, as the studio door swings open.

Kris quickly walks in, her smile growing wider. The door shuts behind her and she leans against it. "I said yes."

He smiles back, trying hard to play it cool when he really just wants to cheer out of excitement. Approaching her, he lifts his hand to brush at a strand of hair on her cheek. The two peer into each other's eyes and, slowly, he leans in as—

The door to the hallway kicks open, the drummer carrying a large crate in each hand as he steps into the room. "Hey, sorry we're late. Got a little carried away at the lounge."

"You're early actually." Jesse playfully rolls his eyes at Kris. The two laugh and he plucks his lips out at her as she steps away from the studio door.

Two more bearded men enter, carrying equipment of their own. From a good distance, they could all pull off being brothers. Hell, they might be.

"Oh awesome." The drummer looks at the two and quickly picks up on what happened—or what was about to—and he grins. "Heh. We could always come back later if you want."

"Nah, don't be ridiculous." Jesse grabs the handle to pull the studio door open. "Y'know the drill."

Still holding back from giggling childishly, the drummer cuts through the two and enters into the studio. His fellow band members follow him inside as Jesse holds the door open.

Kris turns to glance at Jesse, pulling her hair back nervously. "Well, I guess I should get in there, huh?"

"I guess so." He says, still smiling.

Blushing, she retreats back into the recording studio and he lets the door close behind her. As he makes his way back to the mixing console, Jesse can't help but stare at her through the glass to watch as she climbs onto her barstool.

Sticking out from the side pouch of her purse, her phone buzzes. The screen illuminates as a notification pops up, showing a missed call from Taylor.

♫ ᴄᴀᴜɢʜᴛ ᴜᴘ ɪɴ ʏᴏᴜ / ᴋᴀᴛᴇ ᴠᴏᴇɢᴇʟᴇ ғᴛ. ɪɴʟᴀɴᴅ sᴋʏ ♫