Arriving at the new studio, Edward proceeded to give them a mini tour.

"So, what do you guys think? I wanted to have the recording for 'we are the world' here last time, but this wasn't ready yet." Edward shared as he showed them the set-up of their new studio. He could not help but be proud.

Serena was quite impressed. The improvement was astounding. The new studio room was divided into 3 rooms separated by glass partitions. Each room has its own functions. She continued to listen as Edward explained.

"The research team actually came up with this set up. They highlighted that it is important to separate the rooms so that the sounds would not create too much echo with all the microphones being used at the same time. I'm not so sure, but when I think of it, it does make sense. What is great about their research though is replacing the horns with mics, so I say that it's all good." He said as he walked around.

"Anyway, this is the live room where instrumentalists would play their instruments. Their playing would be picked up by microphones. This room is for the isolation booths where singers will be singing in front of their respective mics. They will be able to listen to the sounds made from the other side through those headphones. Then this is the control room. From here, the music producer can hear the output of the performers and give them instructions through this intercom. Fancy, right?"

Serena nodded her head, it's better this way. Nothing like the modern studios but still an improvement. She was just glad that the horns are gone. Gods, it felt so awkward singing through those.

Facing the two while in the control room, Edward asked, "Want to give it a try? How about you guys let me listen to the new song you told me about?"

"That's fine, but…" Serena said as she looked at Charlton. Well, they haven't discussed the melody or anything about it yet and she only sang it to him once.

"Sure, we can try it out. Serena, you go to the isolation booth and I'll go to the other. Don't worry, I already have the melody and lyrics memorized."

Serena looked at him skeptically. "Really?"

Charlton gave her a smirk.

--

The two of them went inside the respective rooms. Charlton looked at the instruments available. There was a grand piano, a guitar, a drum set, saxophone, and other instruments using strings. Just looking at them, he could already imagine the harmony he can create with the song. However, he only has a pair of hands now, so he picked up a guitar.

The guitar, unlike the other instruments in the room had a cord attached to it.

Edward, seeing him look at it quizzically through the glass panel used the intercom to address him. "That attached to the guitar is an amplifier to make the sound it creates heard. Other instruments have to rely on the mics though."

Charlton nodded his head in understanding as he saw Serena stand in front of the mic in the other room.

Serena entered the booth and stood in front of the mic. She wore the stand in-ear headphones then she looked through the glass panel. She could see Edward at the control room in front. When she looked to her right side, she saw Charlton holding the guitar looking right back at her. He started testing the instrument which she can hear clearly through the headphones she was wearing.

"Mic test." She tried saying through the mic, wondering if Charlton can hear her too.

Edward gave her the thumbs up, only to notice that she's not looking at him. He awkwardly put his hand down as he chuckled. These two.

Anyway, Charlton smiled at her and replied, "I can hear you."

Serena did not hear him but understood what he was saying. "I can't hear you." She said.

Charlton looked around and saw a mic on a stand, by the piano. He looked at Edward for permission.

"Yes, you can use that in the meantime." Edward announced through the intercom.

Charlton nodded his head. Then, he took the mic and placed it in front of him. "Can you hear me now?" he asked.

Serena heard his sexy voice on the other side, "Crystal." She responded.

"okay, then here goes." He said as he started strumming the guitar.

To Serena's surprise, it sounded really good. Perfect really. He had an introductory melody prepared and was hitting all the notes correctly. It was crazy how good he was in music. Then, he started singing the first line as he looked her in the eye.

"Looking in you eyes I, see a paradise, this word that I found it's too good to be true… Standing her beside you, want so much to give you, this love in my heart that I'm feeling for you…" then he nodded at her to indicate that she could start singing now.

Serena could not stop the smile blooming on her face, goodness, he's the hottest thing ever when he sings, not breaking eye contact she started singing her lines "let 'em say we're crazy, I don't care about that, put your hand in my hand baby don't ever look back… Let the world around us, just fall apart… baby we can make it if we're heart to heart…"

Then, Charlton joined her for the chorus, "And we can build this dream together, stand this storm forever, nothing's gonna stop us now, and if this world runs out of lovers, we'll still have each other, Nothing's gonna stop us, nothing's gonna stop us now…"

After the song ended, Edward's voice can be heard through the speakers in the room.

"alright you two, that was a great song, but please stop looking at each other through the glass partition, I feel like I ate enough dog food to last me a lifetime." He pressed the intercom off. Then he laughed so hard. Goodness, he really hit jackpot with these two.

--

TBC