Can I Take a Message? [Layla]

[Deleted]

December 16, 2025
@layla

Noah and Emrys had a pretty open policy when it came to each other's apartments. While the extravagance of Emrys' penthouse was a bit much for Noah's taste, it also was a great place to write music when he needed a space away from others. As part of his whole musician persona, the world did not know who "Erik Esper" was, and Noah intended to keep it that way. So when he wanted to practice something away from prying eyes, Emrys' place was always a safe space. Today though, Emrys must be out. Not that that was a problem. Emrys had let him come hang out whenever he needed. Noah was one of the few people with a spare key to the space, after all.

Sitting on the couch he strummed a few cords on the guitar, trying to decide if it went with the lyrics he was working on, if he needed to change the lyrics or the tempo, and so forth. Noah's song writing process was a long one. He had hundreds upon hundreds of songs that never made it to the recording studio, and even less that made it to the public. He was the sort of songwriter that wasn't short of ideas or creativity, but he had to go through the whole process to finally decide it something was worth keeping. It was clearly a good practice for him though, as Erik Esper's albums had done quite well. But a deadline was coming. The studio wanted to release a new album in the beginning of February. A "Valentine's Special". Apparently he wrote good, swoony love songs. As his manger had put it. They needed the final songs for recording by the end of the year, however, so they could do his recording and weeding out process in time. 

He hadn't been making nay progress at his own place because of his roommates, so, hence coming to Emrys'. 

He set down the guitar to pick up the notebook, scribbling out a few words and rewriting the verse. That was when there was a knock at the door. Now that was unusual. Emrys had pretty strict rules for visitors. The doormen would only let people in that Emrys had approved of. Maybe Emrys' aunt? He closed the notebook, got up and headed to the door. He unlocked it, then opened it. There, was a girl. Blonde, cute. Emrys' type, clearly. "Sorry, Mordrain doesn't sign autographs here," it was almost instinctual. It didn't cross his mind in that moment that she might be one of Emrys' "friends". It was also instinctual to use Emrys' stage name, instead of his first.

[Deleted]

as the surface breaks

reflections fade

December 16, 2025
@noah

It had been about a week had seen Emrys last. She had come over to decorate the apartment, but they had done very little of that, actually. Well, they managed to get the tree decorated before she had found mistletoe conveniently in the decorations box. But it was all fun, and that’s really the aspect she enjoyed from it. No drama, they were good friends and bandmates, but so far, they had been successful in not letting this arrangement of theirs get in the way of that. There had been practice sessions this week, but today they were given the day off. Layla didn’t mind either way if they spent all day in the studio or if she was able to enjoy the winter and holiday spirit all around. Today, however, she figured that she could stop by as she tended to do and pay a visit if he was home. She always figured she would be busier whenever she got the chance to be in a band, but maybe it was just that strange beginning phase. Though they did have that New Year’s gig approaching.

Layla checked in with the front desk, she’d been added to the visitor list some time back, and she hummed to herself as she made her way up to his penthouse. It was a tune she had stuck in her head, a happy one but a slower one than the ones that typically got stuck in her head. Finally, she was at the door, and she knocked and waited patiently for the door to open. It didn’t take long, but instead of Emrys usual smirk greeting her, it was somebody completely different. She blinked a few times, wondering if she’d knocked on the wrong door, but then he spoke and something about autographs. Still, there was a slight pause, and then she spoke. ”Oh! I’m Layla, I’m in the band with Emrys.” She happily explained, a friendly smile on her face. He was tall and thin, a bit skinny, and with a young face. ”Is he here?” She wondered.

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[Deleted]

December 16, 2025
@layla

Who even was this girl? How did she get past the building security? Noah was thinking about letting Emrys know that his security had failed... when she spoke. Layla. The band. It clicked in his head. Oh. Bete Noir. That band at the label that Emrys drummed for. Now that he'd heard her introduction he realized that she did look slightly familiar. He didn't spend much time at the label, as they kept his identity pretty hush-hush, but there were times when he had been recording and heard mention of the band. They'd been doing pretty well, from the sounds of it. "Oh, right." He answered slowly. But still... why was she here? Also, why was she on Emrys' visitor list? Emrys was very strict about his visitor list. He only put people on it that he fully trusted with the location of his place. Considering his track record to sleep with crazies, only to find out they were crazy after sleeping with them. Clearly she must be someone Emrys trusted...

As she asked if he was here, Noah finally stepped back, open the door fully. Silently inviting her in if she wanted. "No. Haven't seen him in a few hours. Probably won't be back till dark." Because, knowing Emrys? He was probably holed up with someone, having fun until the sun set and he could come home. Or he was dealing with his aunt's wrath.

[Deleted]

as the surface breaks

reflections fade

December 16, 2025
@noah

He looked confused, and it seemed to take a moment to register who she was, and then he took a step back to enter. Though he explained that Emrys wasn’t around and the times he could travel were a bit limited at times, but she didn’t mind. It was still a bit strange to her that he was here alone in this apartment, though. Layla walked past him and into the familiar penthouse. ”Oh, well he wasn’t expecting me—I was just in the area.” She said happily, plopping down on the couch. ”Are you from the label?” She asked, pulling out her phone to send him a text. She got along with their manager well enough but saw the attitude shift when it came to Emrys being difficult.

She hadn’t seen him around before, but there was something slightly familiar about him—she couldn’t place it though, and there was a look of concentration on her face. ”Did you go to Hogwarts? How do you know Emrys?” She asked. It was a safe question, and she was hardly one to casually broach a subject. This area was magical, as well as the record label and their band. Had Emrys lived in a muggle area, she might not have asked it right away, even if she almost forgot to filter herself at times. It was interesting talking to muggles with her veela heritage. Their reactions didn’t faze her anymore.

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[Deleted]

December 16, 2025
@layla

Emrys was a bit of an idiot, if you asked Noah. The vampire chose to not travel by apparation often, which meant he willingly trapped himself places. He could get home if he really wanted, but for some reason the fool just disdained entirely at that form of transportation. So, obviously, Noah had no pity when Emrys was "trapped" away from home. It was his own doing. It was like being in a room with two doors, and one door was open but it wasn't the door you wanted, so you complained you were stuck. Though, Noah hoped his friend would show up sooner or later. He needed another song writer's opinion on one of the songs he was working on.

The girl was... pretty he supposed. Probably had slept with Emrys considering how comfortable she was coming here, but also happened to be a coworker. it almost made Noah groan, and he almost made a mental note that sleeping with someone you worked with probably wasn't the best idea, just in case they decided they didn't like Emrys' playboy attitude. But, after a moment's thought he realized he didn't really care. As long as Emrys' sleeping around didn't hurt him personally it wasn't his business. "Oh, I see," he answered slowly as the girl stated she wasn't expected. Which only confirmed that she was someone close enough to Emrys to be welcome here. As for if he was from the label... Well, that was a question he wasn't keen on answering. "No, I'm his best friend," was his response. It often surprised people when they found out Emrys and Noah were best friends and that there was nothing past platonic friendship between them. Though when they saw the pair interact they would start to understand. The pair balanced each other. Emrys was the fire and Noah the water. Opposites, but both were elements and needed.

Noah had followed her back to the living space. She was looking at him, as if trying to figure soemthing out. Did she recognize him from the label? Had he made a mistake and she'd seen him? But then she mentioned Hogwarts. "Yeah, graduated 2021." Now that he thought about it.. she looked a bit familiar too, but it wasnt' from teh label. Did they overlap? "We met back in school, he was a few years younger." That was true. Their friendship hadn't formed because of the record label, it had already been there long before they'd started making music professionally.

[Deleted]

as the surface breaks

reflections fade

December 16, 2025
@noah

Layla quickly hammered out a quick message on her phone while this stranger to explain who he was. She really had thought he was from the label with how many employees were sent after him to keep him in check. The rest of the band behaved compared to Emrys. The only ‘trouble’ Layla herself ever got into was when she ended up in Emrys’ bed. “Best friend?” Layla asked curiously, plopping herself on the familiar couch. Most of Emrys’ friends were those kind of friends, and she could say that as she fell into that bucket. But, she supposed it wasn’t a stretch of the imagination if Emrys had friends that fell into other buckets.

”That must be it!” Layla responded. Hogwarts. It was an easy explanation for his familiarity. ”Gryffindor ’21.” They were in the same year, so no doubt they had classes that had overlapped at some point. But he hadn’t been in Gryffindor, or she wouldn’t have struggled to recognize him. ”We must have never run into one another.” She looked off toward the ceiling in thought as she placed her phone absent-mindedly to her side on a closed notebook. And while Layla had already introduced herself by name, he hadn’t. ”What was your name?” Maybe it would bring up a distant memory, not that school was all that long ago.

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[Deleted]

December 16, 2025
@layla

Noah plopped down on one of the couches, picking up the guitar and setting it off to the side so it wasn't hogging any sitting space. He eyed the girl again, still trying to fully understand what exactly she was doing here. After a moment though he grabbed the notebook, which he'd been jotting down all his lyrics and cords, and closed it so none of the lyrics he'd been working on would be visible.

Though, there was that question. The confusion that Emrys had a best friend, that he didn't sleep with. There'd never been anything between the two, and there never would be. "Yes, best friend. Purely platonic," he stated nonchalantly with a shrug. Sure, Noah found men attractive, he personally didn't find Emrys attractive. Not in that sense. That didn't stop Emrys from flirting, of course, but they'd never actually act on it.

Noah raised an eyebrow as she mentioned her own schooling. Oh. They'd been in the same year? "Oh. Yeah, I was Ravenclaw," he answered. He obviously hadn't socialized much if he didn't know people in his own year. "I'm Noah. Corner." His gaze immediately focused on the phone she'd put on his notebook. Before deciding it was fine. It was closed, after all. Not like it'd out him, the front wasn't decorated or anything like that.

[Deleted]

as the surface breaks

reflections fade

December 16, 2025
@noah

He moved the guitar, and Layla resisted the urge to pick it up and absentmindedly strum or traverse the neck with various scales. It was how she wrote most of her songs and things like that. Start with a scale on any place of the neck, build a riff from that or some chords and go from there. Usually, it was a feeling she waited for when she struck a particular chord or chord progression. A minor chord to feel something sad or deep, a major chord for something light and happy, and a third chord to even it out.

Ah, so Emrys did have people in his life he didn’t sleep with. The fact of the matter was that Layla was just a statistic in that part of Emrys’ life. Not that it bothered her, she wasn’t looking for anything more than some fun in that department—so Emrys should consider himself lucky that she would cause him no drama. But, while she’d recognized his face, Layla racked her brain for how she’d missed him while in the same year. He was rather quiet, while she was anything but—maybe that was it. She’d placed her phone down while giving the boy in front of her a curious but not unfriendly look. ”Nice to meet you Noah Corner.” She shifted on the couch to make herself more comfortable. ”I spent a lot of time in classes drawing or writing poems.” Layla admitted, she’d hardly been anywhere near top of her class. ”Do you play as well?”

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[Deleted]

December 16, 2025
@layla

Well, at least the girl didn't immediately doubt Noah's words. It was pretty common for people to refuse to believe him when he said that he and Emrys were platonic friends. Emrys was such a player and would literally sleep with anything that moved, if it was willing. But the thing was? Noah didn't like that type of guy. Noah didn't talk about his preferences really but it was very much NOT Emrys. Noah had never felt a hint of attraction or interest in his friend. But to be honest? That was what made their friendship work. Because if those feelings had ever been there then the friendship wouldn't have lasted. Emrys would have eventually gotten bored and Noah would have gotten sick of being used.

To be honest, Noah had been quite the fly on the wall in school. He'd never spoken up much, and tended to keep to himself or his small group of friends. He'd never had much interest in expanding that friendship much. He preferred to not be around too many people if he could help it. Noah leaned back into the couch, propping a leg up and wrapping his arms around his knee. He'd... been pretty similar. Writing music and poetry in class, since it was so closely linked. Or off playing music. He hadn't been so guarded with his musical talent back in school. He had joined the orchestra, though he'd played the piano, accompanying the other musicians. "Same, I wasn't social at school." he said aloud, only speaking because he felt it necessary to respond in some way. At her next question though, he blinked. She must be referring to the guitar, since that was the only instrument nearby. "A bit," he admitted, downplaying his skill quite a bit in the statement. He wasn't denying it though. Denying it would only make it more suspicious as to why he was here, which one of Emrys' guitars. "Do you play guitar in the band?" He knew Emrys played the drums, but he hadn't paid enough attention to the other band members yet to know who did what.

(If you want, Noah has his custom ability now. So you can pick whatever she's associating with her current emotion and he'll see it hovering about).

[Deleted]

as the surface breaks

reflections fade

December 16, 2025
@noah

Layla had been the opposite. She was the epitome of the extrovert personality, and she thrived on those social interactions. Still, it didn’t mean she had met everybody while at Hogwarts. As any teenager did, she created a social circle, and those had been the people she enjoyed spending time with the most. It had been a random bunch, most of the musicians and other students that did average in their courses and focused on other things. Those were fond memories for Layla, and she reminisced momentarily but didn’t want her mind to wander too far from the current conversation. So she shook off the wave of nostalgia that had passed over and looked back at Noah.

The guitar was out, so Layla had assumed Noah had been playing. But it was probably one of Emrys’ guitars. He had a few here, along with other instruments. He played, even if his focus was on drums for the band. Interestingly, such a famous person had dropped into the background to play drums, but she figured it was something akin to Genesis with Phil Collins. ”Yes, along with Levi.” She nodded. ”I can play a little bit of bass. When you know guitar, it's easy to get started, but Lance is way better at it than me.” Layla added. She was happy being the rhythm guitarist, it might not have been as fancy as the lead, but it was more consistent.

[ i'd say she has a generally happy demeanor--so something like that ]

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