Work Text:
VALENTINES DAY, 2025
“How much longer until we’re there, captain?” Colin asked, staring at the seat in front of him. Mike laughed, “In a couple of minutes. Though we might have to wait a little longer for the others to find us.”. The car buzzed calmly as Mike continued to drive through the busy streets, the sky above them turning from a cerulean blue to a mixture of oranges, yellows, and pinks. Emily stared at it from her tinted window. She always loved sunsets, which looked especially beautiful on a day like this.
Linkin Park was currently going to a rehearsal to play a few songs with another band by the name “Meg & Dia”, a not-as-popular but still good group made by two sisters of the Frampton family and three other men. This wasn't the first time Emily and the others had met with Meg & Dia, as for the past couple of months the two bands were colliding on music and were even thinking of perhaps making a song together. The band members of Meg & Dia were very nice and admiring to Linkin Park, which made them stand out from the other bands Mike and his friends had met.
Emily liked Dia and her crew, and the others did, too. But she especially liked Dia’s older sister, Meg Frampton. The very few times she saw her alone, her heart would race like never before. Armstrong didn’t know why being near Frampton made her feel this way, it was stupid of course…Or was it? Could it have been the way her straight dark burnt umber hair fell off her shoulders? Or the way her nose wrinkled every time she cackled at somebody’s crappy jokes? Or the way her long slender fingers so elegantly pranced around the guitar’s strings? Or maybe it was just Emily being a hopeless romantic…But that was also a lie, cause she hadn’t really fallen in love or dated somebody since the fallout with Kate, a model she was infatuated with years ago. Emily sighed and shook the thoughts away, “You’re definitely not her type. And even if you were, she’s probably straight and dating some loser…” the vocalist thought bitterly, though the butterflies in her stomach still stayed, making her shift uncomfortably in her seat. She rested her head in her hand as she continued to look at the endless busy roads and skies. She could see the others in the reflection of her window. Joe and Brad were fully asleep, Phoenix was lying back in his seat and reading “The Catcher In The Rye” quietly, Colin was completely zoned out, and Mike was busy driving in silence. Emily smiled slightly at the sight then went back to daydreaming.
“Okay, guys! Wake up! We made it!” Mike called out to the back as he stopped the car. Emily immediately shot up awake, not even realizing she had fallen asleep. “Mph…We’re here already?...” Brad grunted as he sat up and wiped the drool off his bearded chin. “Uh-yeah, dude. You’ve been asleep for like an hour!” Phoenix chuckled, elbowing the guitarist slightly so that he would stop leaning on him. “Well!...” Joe yawned, “Let’s get this thing started, shall we?”. Everyone nodded in agreement, grabbing their instruments and leaving Mike’s car. The group pulled up to the recording studio and walked in, Emily being the last one to enter the building. At the corner of her eye, she saw another car parked by the studio, “Maybe we don’t have to wait after all…” she thought with a small shrug before closing the door behind her.
Mike waved at the receptionist once they walked in, “Hey, we’re-”. “Linkin Park? Yes, the other five are waiting for you at the first studio down the hallway.” the employee quickly interrupted with ease, pointing to the dimly-lighted hallway at their left with their pen. Shinoda paused at the quick intrusion of his sentence but just awkwardly chuckled and followed to the hallway, “Alright, thanks.”. Once they reached the door to their private studio, they were met with the other band already there, getting acquainted with the equipment. Dia, the lead vocalist, immediately walked over to them, welcoming them in. “Hey! You guys made it!” She said with a smile. “Sorry, traffic got really bad on the way down here…” Mike responded, reaching out to hug Dia. “Ha! Tell me about it! It’s like accident town over there!” Nicholas, Meg & Dia’s drummer, said with a scoff. Emily noticed Meg hiding behind her sister, sitting down on a chair in a dark corner as she stared up at the other band. Armstrong didn’t even realize her face twisting up into a dumb big smile. She waved to the woman excitedly. Meg noticed and she did a small smile and waved back.
Before they got to work, everybody started hanging out, sitting together, and talking. Emily decided this was her chance to get closer to Frampton, sneakily pushing her stool closer to her. Emily sat down on it, throwing her legs back and forth playfully. To be honest, she was surprised by herself. She doesn’t remember the last time she’d been so giddily like this…It’s been a while but it feels good. “So…You have any songs you’d really like to play?” Emily asked Meg, pressing her tongue against her cheek. Meg raised an eyebrow at the vocalist’s frivolous behavior, it contrasting with her solemn personality, but she just chuckled and turned her attention towards her. “Well, I would REALLY like to play the acoustic version of “Here, Here and Here” but I’m not so sure if the others would agree to that…” she said, glancing at her fellow band members who were currently chatting with Emily’s band members about whatever. Emily looked over to the others and then back at Meg, “Oh, are you talking about the one that goes like- here, here and here…uh- he pointed to his heart and mind and ears…” she hummed. Meg giggled at that, brushing her dark hair away from one of her eyes, “Yeah that’s the one…”. “She’s so cute when she laughs…” a faraway voice said in the back of Armstrong’s head before she quickly shook it away, “Well, we can definitely play that song in our recordings if you really want us to. I think that’d be a great song for what we’re doing!”. “Nah, it’s not that big of deal…” “No, seriously! I like that song! You should tell the others we should play it! Unless…You’re too ‘chicken’.” Emily teased. Meg chuckled, her smile growing slightly wider as she leaned back into her chair. “Oh my god, it’s seriously not that big of a deal, Emily! And I’m not a ‘chicken’, that’s completely stupid…” Meg scoffed playfully. Emily rolled her eyes and smirked, “Then just tell them you want to play the damn song before I tell them!”. “Okay, fine, miss! Maybe I will!” Meg snorted. Emily chucked,
“Atta girl!... You’re so cute when you act stubborn like that…”
“What?”
“Uh- I mean, your blouse is so cute when the patterns wrinkle like…um…that! Where’d you get it?”
“So, I guess we should get started, shall we?” Dave coughed. Everyone nodded and agreed, grabbing their instruments and standing up. Emily was about to do the same until she realized she didn't have her microphone on her. “Fuck…Did I leave it in Mike’s car?” she thought before turning to her fellow bandmate and tapping him on the shoulder. “Yo, Mikey, I don’t have my microphone with me. Do you have it?” Emily asked him. Mike squinted his eyes as he tried to think before shaking his head, “Nope. Haven’t seen it.”. Emily sighed and rolled her eyes, “I think I left it in the car, can I borrow the-”. Then suddenly, Meg interrupted them. “That won’t be needed. You can just borrow one of our spares. Here.” She handed the vocalist a black shiny case, winking smoothly before walking away. Armstrong raised an eyebrow at the help, a smirk playing on his lips. “Well, lookee here! Problem solved!” Mike said cheerfully, nudging Emily’s shoulder playfully before walking away to where the others were going. Emily nodded and opened up the case. Yep, Meg wasn’t lying, there was a microphone in there, shiny and refurbished, but that wasn’t what she was focused on…
What she REALLY was focused on was a yellowish-white envelope with a deep red colored heart stamped on it, trapped inside under the microphone but still very visible to the naked eye. Emily looked back up, realizing she was now alone in the room, as everyone had already gone inside the recording studio. Her heart began to race again as it had done before, putting Emily on edge. She grabbed the letter from the case and slowly put her microphone down on the stool she had previously sat on. She ripped open the envelope to reveal a neatly folded piece of paper. Emily unfolded it, looking at the beautiful cursive handwriting that could only belong to one person…She took a deep breath and began to read:
“Dear Emily Marcia Armstrong,”
“I cannot lie, my dearest, the months I have so gratefully gotten to know you have been very pleasant and exciting indeed. I don’t think I have ever met a more enthusiastic, compassionate, even comical woman than you. For your blue irises burn off a thousand suns and the oceans weighing in beneath it tell two different stories. I find you especially interesting though, as you stick out from the crowd rather than I do, but yet you called out to me. This could be deemed as weird, but opposites DO attract…”
“Hanging out with you has been very captivating, and I’d love to continue. I think you’d like to continue too, correct me if I’m wrong. Merely quoting from William Congreve: “If you do not believe my tongue, consult my eyes, consult your own.”. Here’s my number if you’d like to get more personal.”
Emily looked down, seeing the phone number. She continued to read the last sentence:
“Cheers, Your Secret Admirer”
Emily’s face began to grow hot. She folded the letter carefully back into her pocket, looking around paranoid that somebody was watching her. She looked down at herself before suddenly jumping up and down in triumph. “Yes! Yes! YESSS!” she squealed before trying to calm herself down but to no avail.
Meanwhile…
Meg watched Emily from the recording station, trying not to snort at the girl’s triumphant dance. “Hey, Meg, we’re ready to record. Are you alright? You seem happier than usual,” her sister asked, chuckling. Meg rolled her eyes, “It’s nothing, I’ll join you guys in a second.”. Dia shrugged, her shoulder-length hair bouncing slightly, “Alright, just don’t take too long…”.
“Don’t worry,” Meg stared at Emily for one last time to get it pictured in her head before turning to the two bands,
“I won’t.”.