Mind Over Matter by Kaia Bennett

Otto promptly set up shop again. Before she could say “hi” to all of them, Jonny was grinning from ear to ear and wrapping her up in a big hug. She smiled and laughed at the way he sang "Darling Nikki!" and choked back the lump in her throat. Nostalgia was a bitter pill and she was going to have to get used to it. She wasn't like Trish — who was also meeting her at the studio to have lunch with the guys — she wasn't a part of the band by proxy anymore. The reason why was in the booth Nuke was just leaving, finishing up the end of the new song.
    "This one's one of my favorites," Jonny said, nodding towards the glass box of creativity to indicate the song. She laughed as Q gave up his seat for her with a brotherly pat on the head, then she straightened her hair and turned her attention back to Jonny. "Gabe came up with most of the lyrics. I was working on this melody the other day, just kinda got stuck in my head, but then Gabe added on this really haunting... shit, you gotta hear it..."
    Jonny gave her a set of headphones and let her listen. She'd never actually gotten a chance to see them at work in the studio. In the past she was usually catching him just as he was wrapping up, or she was smiling at him while he pulled on the last of his clothes and headed in. This was a different thing entirely. She was in the midst of watching him layer his solo onto the track the band was laying down. She watched the subtle artistry of his fingers over the strings, the way they vibrated under his touch and then sang out when he released them. The notes faded and then broke out into the silence of the room again. His eyes were closed, his head nodding along to the music in the headphones, trapped in his own world of music and creation. She realized her lips were parted and her eyes were glued to him, which made her sit up straight, clamp her mouth shut and divert her gaze to the wood and glass of the booth.
    She swallowed hard, feeling like she was going to cry. A sad song, almost like a lullaby — a powerful, rocking lullaby — a labyrinth of sounds she was powerless to find her way out of untouched. Just when she thought the beat would take her down a predictable path, something changed and the words hit her in the gut. It was like she'd heard the song before, even though this was her first time.
    Maybe it was the words. Maybe it was how Jonny's voice was begging some unknown girl for one more chance, for time to rewind away from coldness, back to fire, back to promises of forever that were etched into the very veins of the woman he loved. Maybe it was because as the chorus swelled it was like a cry to the heavens, an admission of loss that couldn't be fixed without undoing what seemed forever done.
    It's just a song. He's just another ex-boyfriend. This is no fairytale.
    And she was done being the foolish girl so easily caught up in the spell of him. But it took more effort than she thought it would to stop looking at him, drinking him in like the first gulp of water after a long drought. Force of habit, and bad habits like this always died hard. She just had to keep forging ahead.
    "Wow..." she said finally, pulling the headphones off before she really did cry. “That's amazing. I don't know how you guys do this over and over again."
    "It’s awesome having our number one fan around again," Nuke said with a grin. He leaned down to give her a quick kiss on the cheek and a pat on the shoulder that once again made her miss them and miss this world.
    "This one just kind of came out of nowhere," Jonny said and shared a look with Nuke that made her feel like knew exactly where the song had come from, "Last minute replacement for another song that just didn’t fit."
    Nicole nodded absently at Jonny and turned back to Gabriel inside the booth. "It's beautiful. Perfect."
    Gabriel's eyes opened and met hers. He registered only the slightest flicker of surprise. Then he smiled lightly, finishing up the last great wave of the song. It