#brought to you by me listening to my showtunes playlist on my way home

[lochnessliv]

Not to post ice cold takes 16 years too late but Gabe really did force Natalie into the harmony instead of the melody in her OWN SONG about how he takes up so much more space in their family

[randomvarious]

Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam - “Lost in Emotion” I Know What Boys Like! Song released in 1987. Compilation released in 1996. Pop / Freestyle

From an old biography on Billboard.com:

Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam were one of the most musically diverse and successful recording acts of the '80s. With hits produced and written by Full Force, the six-man performing/songwriting/production team from East Flatbush/Brooklyn, NY, they scored million-selling hits with dance-based tracks ("I Wonder if I Take You Home"), beautiful ballads ("All Cried Out"), and unabashed pop tunes ("Head to Toe," "Lost in Emotion"). They were one of the early exponents of what later became hip-hop R&B. With five gold singles, two number one singles on both the R&B and the pop charts, two platinum albums, and inclusions on various compilations and movie soundtracks, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam were the most successful act of Full Force's "One Big Family" roster of acts.

A constant theme throughout Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam’s history is the influence of Motown. Motown music is what seemingly brought them together and it’s what ultimately led them to achieve gargantuan levels of success throughout the 80s and early 90s. But it all started in 1984 with a struggling New York-based hip hop / R&B / funk / electro band called Full Force. They couldn’t get a label to bite and decided that they needed a change in direction. Having witnessed the success of R&B boy band New Edition, who were transparently packaged as an 80s rehash of the Jackson 5 (a new edition, if you will, of a Motown group), the members of Full Force formed an idea that they thought was sure to hit: an 80s rehash of The Supremes (an all-girl Motown group!). Full Force would write,  produce, play the music, and provide backing vocals while a group of girls would take care of the main singing parts.

Full Force percussionist and roadie, Mike Hughes, would then come upon a 17-year old girl named Lisa Velez at a New York club called The Funhouse, which is also where Madonna ended up being discovered. Velez, who had visions of pop stardom, was a member of a traveling troupe in school that performed Motown hits and showtunes. Initially impressed by her looks, Hughes would invite her to an audition at a house in Brooklyn where three brothers from Full Force resided. Velez wouldn’t tell her protective older brother (she had nine siblings, by the way!), probably out of fear of him denying her request that she be allowed to go, and hopped on the D train to chase her dreams.

But it wasn’t all initially hunky dory. In fact, Velez’s first time meeting Full Force was rather creepy. From a 1988 interview and profile of Lisa Lisa in Spin:

...”I sit on a stool in the basement, and I’m looking around, and I see pictures of these big, big guys. Six big guys. I’m saying to myself, ‘Oh shit, they’re gonna kill me.’ I didn’t know what to think. I had just met Mike. Enter the six big guys, and I almost shit in my pants. Paul Anthony was the first one to come up to me, and he bent down and he kissed me and he says, ‘God, you’re very pretty.’ That’s when I thought, ‘Oh Jesus, he’s gonna rape me now.’”

But her fears were soon alleviated.

...Lisa started to sing. “She was singing this song that Mike Hughes wrote for her to do,” says Lou George, “and it wasn’t kicking at all. It was horrible, plain and simple. Because it had her singing so off-key, because the way the song was written, she was singing all off. I was just laughing until my tears came down because of the fact that she was off and Mike had wrote it, and it was just so funny the way the notes was going. And I was by the bathroom crying in tears, and Lisa couldn’t see me.

“Then she sang ‘For Your Eyes Only,” [the theme song from the 1981 James Bond flick] and that’s what got it. Everything fell into place. 

Full Force would end up auditioning more girls, but in Velez they had found the Diana Ross piece to their 80s Supremes puzzle: an attractive young woman blessed with a high-pitched and innocent-sounding voice that MTV-watching teenybopper types could fawn over and try to emulate. Rather than wait to fill out the rest of the group with more singers, Velez and Full Force got to recording. She would be given the stage name Lisa Lisa, a sort of play on the Full Force-produced, 1984 breakthrough hip hop hit, “Roxanne, Roxanne” by UTFO. Mike Hughes and a guitarist and bassist who was associated with Full Force named Alex “Spanador” Moseley would make up Cult Jam. LL&CJ would then debut in 1985, finding decent chart success in a platinum-selling album with songs like “I Wonder If I Take You Home,” “Can You Feel the Beat,” and “All Cried Out,” the last of which would reach the top ten in the US. A couple years later, they followed up with Spanish Fly, achieving platinum status again thanks to two chart-topping pop singles, “Head to Toe” and “Lost in Emotion.” Both songs would be noted for their clear infusion of Motown influence.

“Lost in Emotion” really is just a perfect piece of sun-drenched 80s pop. And yet, despite the fact that it’s clearly such a bop, and that it reached #1, it still feels a bit overlooked today. Throughout all my years of listening to the classic pop and rock radio format, I feel like I’ve never heard it on there. Similarly, I also feel like I don’t see it included on all that many 80s mixes or playlists. I mean, this song has over 4 million plays on Spotify, which is a lot, but “Straight Up” by Paula Abdul, which hit #1 the following year, and has that same type of young and innocent girl vocal affect, has over 40 million plays. They’re both good songs, no doubt, but go listen to both of them back to back and tell me which one holds up better today. The answer is “Lost in Emotion” and I will fight you if you disagree.

Ultimately, this song reflects a fantastically catchy pairing of an in vogue and upbeat, poppy freestyle sound with old chunks of Motown mixed in. Alongside slapping percussion, flooding synthesizers, and twinkling, sort of tropical-sounding melodies courtesy of a combination of xylophones and bells, Full Force divine their main inspiration for this song from a pair of Mary Wells hits (she was a Motown star!), “Two Lovers” and “You Beat Me to the Punch.” And if you listen to those songs, you can hear the bits and pieces that ended up motivating Full Force to write “Lost in Emotion.” 

But this sweet 80s jam struts with more than just Motown flair. The main, funky bassline that undergirds the whole thing has a definite Ben E. King “Stand by Me” feel to it, which is still 60s, but not Motown, and the extended bridge section, which also contains a nice sax solo, showcases even more glints of non-Motown 60s sounds. The male bass baritone backing vocal that briefly swoops in the outro portion is a clear callback to doo-wop groups of the 50s and 60s, which wasn’t Motown’s lane, and Lisa Lisa also appears to give tribute to Del Shannon with her own backing vocal by briefly wailing an “aye-yai-yai,” mimicking the iconic “why-why-why” from the early 60s rock-and-roll-pop masterpiece, “Runaway.” It’s these combinations of Lisa Lisa’s naturally nubile voice, not to mention her sheer attractiveness, along with Full Force’s expert mixing of both old and contemporary sounds that would enable “Lost in Emotion” to be the most popular song in the US during the summer of 1987. It’s also a tune which proves that, when done right, Motown doesn’t go out of style. At least it clearly hadn’t by then.

Of course, there was a music video for “Lost in Emotion,” too, which plainly shows Lisa Lisa lip syncing the whole song as she and her friends move through a crowded street fair rigged with carnival games and a stage, which Lisa Lisa graces at the end. According to Wikipedia, it was the fourth-most played video in 1987 on MTV.

An absolute classic banger of an 80s pop song that shows Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam at their peak. You ignore this flawless summer earworm at your own peril.

[spotlightonmringenue]

Hurting Henry Hidgens’ Feelings: A 3-Part Series

This is also kinda Tedgens but if you’re not into that just please read it for Professor Hidgens and skip over the gay bits

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Part One- Here It’s Safe and Sound

Summary: Henry doesn't mind the silence anymore, but he really needs a break from it.

 It's gotten to a point where the continuous silence no longer bothers him.

 It's not like he had been totally alone anyway, he had Alexa there to talk to him in case he felt particularly lonely or it got so quiet that the ringing in his ears became too much to handle. Even an AI with limited responses and answers was much better than living completely alone.

 Then again, living completely alone and safe was better than living among others and in constant fear of death or destruction. It wasn't like he was alone all day, every day either. Most people wouldn't have their day job double as their main source of social interaction, but Henry Hidgens was not most people. Even though he teaches a room of rarely interested students, he couldn't exactly call it thorough communication. They all thought he was just the kooky old teacher who was one more conspiracy away from joining the league of tin foil hats.

 Emma Perkins seemed to be different, though. Not exactly an instant friend, but still was kind enough to respond to his greetings when she entered the classroom and even brought him groceries once, which was a godsend because if Henry had to eat one more package of rehydrated noodles before the end of the world actually arrived, he was going to lose it. But still, mere acquaintances proved to be just enough for him. Besides, he couldn't handle more than that anyway.

 Not anymore.

~*~

 Henry takes a drag off his cigarette as he paces the floor. His mind is somewhere hazy, but his attempts to clear it and evaluate the situation at hand are proving to be quite difficult. He quickly thinks about how easily he had taken up smoking. He used to be disgusted, knowing how the chemicals royally fucked up the human body and vowed to never touch a cigarette in his life. But after everything, it became all too easy to go through the familiar motion of hand to lips to lungs to mind, and every tremor to still from the nicotine buzz.

 This new outbreak...he wonders if it's really all that bad. The infected are happy, no conflicts or arguments. They sing and dance in harmony but still maintain a sense of individuality. Humanity had yet to find a way to create mutual peace among every member of its society, and it had thousands of years to do so. How was this all so bad if it's to create global calm?

 He's stopped pacing and remains stuck in such a daze of his swirling thoughts that he doesn't notice the door open, or the footsteps that follow it. It's only the words that cause him to jump out of his thinking to allow his ears to readjust to the sound of someone else's voice besides his own.

 "Everyone's asleep. They're beat after all the shit that's happened."

 The professor turns his head to glance at Ted, standing there with a demeanor that looks slightly different than it did when he'd arrived. He looks almost...scared. Not entirely, but as if he's so unsure of the future or his own fate than he can't help but display even the slightest bit of uneasiness. Henry can see it. He notices little things like that.

 "That's understandable. You've all had a rough day," he responds in his usual matter-of-fact tone, taking another drag off the cigarette he nearly drops when the tremor returns. "Aren't you tired as well? You've been through as much as they have today."

 Ted just shrugs and leans back against the wall, watching the other smoke and stare blankly at the floor. "I usually go to bed late anyway. Guess my sleep schedule doesn't give a fuck about the end of the world."

 Henry chuckles slightly in return, before taking a moment and extending his pack of cigarettes to offer up one to him. Ted shakes his head and softly declines as he sighs and glances around the room. "...Do you think it really is the end of the world?" Henry asks, his voice barely above a whisper as he talks through an exhalation of smoke.

 "What do you mean?"

 "I mean, what if it isn't the end of the world? What if it's the new beginning?"

 "...Are you seriously defending murderous aliens right now?" Ted asks, the tone he uses to ask the question cutting deep into Hidgens' subconscious. "They killed Charlotte. The only thing they're beginning is the fucked up apocalypse nobody wanted to be a part of."

 Henry doesn't have a response. He just sighs and smashes the finished cigarette into the ashtray. He has an overwhelming urge to go for another one, but he needs to pace himself, or even more, his supply of cigarettes.

 "So why do you stay cooped up in this giant panic room?"

 "I'm not cooped up, I'm safe. As I told you all, I predicted this scenario thirty years ago-"

 Ted looks at Henry with an expression that makes his heart stop. One with no trace of light-heartedness, one that's familiar and reminds him of things he doesn't want to think of. "I know I just met you today, but I can call out bullshit when I see it. There's gotta be some other reason."

 The older man has to look away, and the nerves culminate in him pulling another cigarette from the pack and lighting it as soon as it hits his lips. "There's just...a lot of things I've learned over the years. There isn't some other reason. There are many other reasons. If I can keep myself alive, then there's no point in taking risks."

 "I don't think being a part of society is taking a risk, professor. That's just stupid."

 Henry has to bite his tongue to keep from snapping at Ted. To keep from explaining that the reason he keeps his distance is because of his first and last best friends. "You can't lose your friends if you don't have them to begin with," he says with finality, signaling that he was ending the conversation right there.

 After a few passing moments of silence, Ted pushes off the wall and feigns a yawn. "I'm gonna go get some sleep." He turns and makes way back to the door. "Goodnight, Professor Hidgens." The footsteps tapping on the floor sends Henry back to his thoughts. He thinks about the conversation, about his refusal to make friends...but sometimes he wants so badly to have connections with other people again. Maybe it's not as simple as he thinks it is. Maybe he can't just refuse to have people in his life because he's afraid to lose them again. Sometimes he longs for just someone, anyone, to at least call him by his first name. Hearing Emma call him Professor Hidgens reminds him of all he's accomplished and worked hard for, but he'd give anything to hear someone call him Henry again. To have that simple fucking connection of a first name basis.

 Maybe that could happen. Maybe that's the first step he needed to take.

 "...Henry," he says quickly before he can hear the sound of the doorknob turn. "My...you can call me Henry."

 There's a brief pause and slight tension that hangs in the air, and Henry moves to take another drag before he notices to his dismay that he had let the whole cigarette burn down to the filter.

 He doesn't look back at Ted. This whole interaction was making him stress enough. He can't add to it by looking back at what he's sure is the man's smug grin. He doesn't have to look back though, because the man quickly moves to stand in front of Henry, looking at him with a blank stare before a slight smile shows up. It's something new to Henry, something he hasn't seen from the man all day. He'd naturally assumed he wasn't one to display emotions...or at least, the positive ones.

 "Alright...goodnight, Henry," Ted replies to kill the silence, patting Hidgens' shoulder as he walks back to the door.

 And in an instant, Henry Hidgens is thrown back into the typical silence. The silence that doesn't bother him anymore, but now...neither does the sound.

------------

Part Two- Still The Dance Goes On

Summary: Showtunes help Henry with whatever emotion he feels.

**Author’s Note: I’d recommend listening to “Rememb’ring You” from Yank! the Musical while listening to this, since it’s the song I’ve quoted and will give you the feel I was going for with this part**

 Henry's passion for musical theatre never really left him. If anything, it only got stronger as the pressures of science caused him to seek the comfort of showtunes. He often listened to act one mind blowing numbers to pump him up and motivate him to continue with his work, or sang both parts to sappy duets as he double checked the security cameras surrounding his home. They never failed to help keep him in a high energy mode.

 But right now, Professor Henry Hidgens was not in the mood to stay high energy.

 He's staring straight up at the ceiling, laying flat across a bare table in his lab as he mindlessly lets the cigarette dangling between his fingers burn down without so much as acknowledging that it was in his hand. He's beginning to no longer need them anyway. They're mostly there as a force of habit, or to remind the man that he was holding something he couldn't drop and therefore kept him grounded.

 Soft music is playing in the background, thanks to Alexa, who he'd asked to play his rainy day playlist. It's comprised of soft ballads or songs he often listened to when he needed a break from the dulled silence he was accustomed to. Something calm, quiet, slow. He often sang along under his breath, or gently swayed his foot to the slow beat. Today, however, he's barely even paying attention to the words.

 Something's happened to him as of late. He would've wondered what it could be that changed, but he had caught on as soon as it had begun. The way Ted didn't grow annoyed or worried when he talked about musicals, but instead watched the professor with intrigue and genuine interest. The way he smiled and never snapped at him out of habit or in self defense. The way their connection had gone from mere acquaintances to a deep friendship in a matter or weeks, and he knew that's the exact reason that he no longer had the urge to chain smoke.

 Because the shaking hands are gone, the racing thoughts are slowed, and he no longer feels panicked by a strengthening connection. He knows that these things should be silly, he's a grown man for God's sake, but it's really not that simple. None of it is, but he can't keep dwelling on it. If he does, he's sure it'll kill him.

 It's later than he thought, he notices when he sees a digital clock reading "2:47 AM". He figures everyone else is asleep, and he should be too. But the sound of the doorknob and familiar footsteps make him sit up and take a deep breath. "I know you said your sleep schedule is different than most people, but I think this is a little extreme."

 Ted chuckles in reply and stands in front of the other, crossing his arms but in a way that feels welcome and not intimidating like he usually acts around others. This is different, a side of Ted that only the professor gets to see.

 "Says the only other person who's also awake," he says smugly, turning his head to the sound of the soft music playing. "Something wrong, Henry?"

 He still can't quite get used to Ted calling him that, but the way he says it carefully and never in a harsh tone makes Henry feel so relieved. After a quick pause to register what song was ending, he looks back to the man in front of him and shrugs. "I suppose not. I was just thinking."

 "You're always thinking whenever I come to talk to you. Do you ever take some time to not think about anything?"

 Henry thinks about it, then shakes his head. "There's no time to stop thinking during the apocalypse, Ted."

 The song that begins makes the professor perk up. A song he hasn't heard in so long, one he forgot he'd put in the playlist. He stands up and moves over to the speaker, unable to take his eyes off it.

 Ted doesn't know what to do. Henry's behavior is rarely normal so he's not usually phased by anything odd, but this was slightly confusing. He watches as the man turns away from the speaker to face him, taking a few steps forward and reaching out his hand.

 "I know you can't sing at all, but I think it's time for me to find out if you have enough coordination to dance," he says with a hopeful smile, praying to any deity that Ted couldn't see the tinge of sadness in his eyes. His smile grows wider when the man accepts his offer after a few seconds of hesitation, and they stand together with Henry's hand placed gently on Ted's waist and the other man's hand on the professor's shoulder, slowly moving along to the song.

 I can't seem to fall asleep, my darling  I keep rememb'ring you

 Henry doesn't notice how they get closer as they move, until he can feel Ted's hand move and his head replace it to rest on his shoulder. It's nothing too much, it's just comforting and real and something Henry was missing. Physical contact was an aspect of a friendship he missed. As much as he'd hate to admit it, he craved it more than any other form of contact.

 It's at the point when the song ends and they're still holding each other that something happens to Henry. His brain feels like it's exploding, and he lets out a cry of pain as his knees buckle, and he can feel Ted quickly move to keep him upright before he thankfully regains his strength and steps back. Through blurred vision, he can tell Ted looks worried, and he knows he's trying to hide it from him. Ted was really good at that, hiding emotions so he wouldn't look soft around anyone so nobody could hurt him. Henry noticed that. He noticed the little things.

 He can't really hear what Ted says to him as he helps him sit in a nearby chair, but he thinks the man was questioning if he was alright. Just like that, the pain disappears as quickly as it had appeared, and Henry nods to allow Ted to calm down. "I'm alright...nothing to fret about."

 "You can't say that after you almost passed out in my arms."

 He's right, but Henry doesn't know what to say. The pain was quick, and excruciating, but it's gone now, so it's fine. It's just fine. "...You should get some sleep. I'll be heading to bed soon myself."

 It was clear that Ted wants to say something back and argue about what had just happened, but he's growing tired and Henry's so adamant about being okay. He trusts Henry.

 "Okay...goodnight, Henry."

 "Goodnight Ted." The professor watches the other walked out from the chair, before he finally feels safe enough to stand up without getting dizzy. He sighs and stops the music, letting himself return to the quiet. In those moments of dancing with Ted, he realized he needs to talk about it. He needs to talk about the reason he's so afraid of connection, why he had said you can't lose friends if you don't make them.

 He needs to tell Ted about the boys. He needs to tell the story.

 Henry shifts from looking around his lab to stand in front of a mirror, sighing at the man staring back at him before something catches his eye. Or, rather, something in his eyes catches his attention.

 Flashes of bright blue, appearing and disappearing like lightning.

------------

Part Three- Everything is Perfect/Nothing’s Real

Summary: Henry theorized this exact scenario thirty years ago. But what if wasn’t simply a theory?

 Henry Hidgens is fucked.

 He's got it under control, but he's still fucked.

 As he paces the floor, he's thankful that everyone else is upstairs getting drunk and he has time to temporarily return to isolation and figure things out. He had made some excuse about needing to go to the lab and do some more research on the blue shit, which just made the others nod and let him walk out of the room. He quickly checks everything over. The gates are locked, the security cameras are perfectly placed to cover every spot of the perimeter of his home, and just in case, he's fully equipped in case all else fails.

 He checks his reflection in the mirror again, and nothing's changed. His eyes are still flashing bright blue, and it's more prominent than before. It's impossible to hide now. He needs to think of a way to explain without causing chaos. But then again, this isn't something he could talk about with ease. He still has trouble understanding it himself.

 There's a knock on the door, and his eyes return to their natural color. He's relieved, but he knows it's only a matter of time before the flashing returns. As he crosses the room to open the door, he hopes it's not who he thinks it is. That hope fades when he sees Ted standing there, hands in his pockets.

 "Alice is making them watch Moana. I decided to duck out."

 Henry laughs softly and steps aside to let Ted in before shutting the door behind him. "You should've stayed, it's a good movie."

 "I don't really like kids' movies," Ted replies with a shrug, looking around the room. "So, what's going on with the blue shit?"

 It takes the professor a second of confusion before he remembers he was supposed to be in the lab running tests, so he immediately fumbles over a response. "I've got a few tests that I'm running that need some time before I'll have the results, but I'm convinced that there's quite possibly a way for the aliens to infect us without entirely doing so, allowing it to hide in our subconscious for years, even decades, before finally spreading to take over."

 Ted listens to Henry talk and looks more perplexed with each word. "So they can just hide in our bodies? That sounds crazy."

 As if on cue, the excruciating migraine returns, this time for the third time that day. He groans loudly and collapses, feeling as though he's being electrocuted from the head down. It's another few passing seconds of pain and blurred vision before it dissipates, and then he can tell that Ted is yelling out his name in horror.

 "What the hell is going on?! You can't brush this shit off again!" he snaps, and Henry knows it's because he's scared.

 "I...okay," the professor starts, regaining his strength and getting up from the floor to take a seat. He grabs his cigarettes from the table and lights the first one he's had in weeks. He had pretty much quit, but this occasion was acceptable for him to just smoke that one. He doesn't think he can get through the story without it. After a couple drags and seconds of silence, he sighs and looks at the floor, too scared to look at Ted in fear of the flashing color returning.

 "Remember the musical I'm writing? Workin' Boys?"

 Ted nods enthusiastically, the mention of the show making him grin. He loved hearing the other talk about it whenever he had the chance. "Yeah, why?"

 "...Well, it's based on a true story. All of those boys were my closest friends. My best friends."

 "Were?" Ted asks, his brows scrunching up as he sat in a chair in front of Henry. "What happened?"

 The man takes another long inhalation, wishing he at least had enough common sense to go grab some booze to take the edge off before he had started the story. "Do you also remember how I said I theorized this exact scenario thirty years ago? And how Paul was skeptical about that?" Ted simply hums an agreement and Henry can no longer hide.

 "There's a reason for that. And it wasn't so much a theory as it was a prediction."

~*~

 Henry Hidgens looked at his watch for what felt like the thousandth time. He had been early, but now it was 5:09 and he was still the only person there. He knew full well that the other boys weren't as picky about time as he was, but they also knew he would never let them hear the end of it if they arrived much later. Nevertheless, he just sighed and pushed his sleeve back down over his wrist, looking around the football field. Not a single person was in sight, which was admittedly different than the usual few people walking around, but he figured they were all most likely stuck in afternoon traffic. That's probably where the others were too.

 He decided that waiting by himself was getting too boring and decided to take a stroll on his own. He couldn't really go very far though. No matter how many new stores or diners that opened up around town, Hatchetfield felt so incredibly small, but was also the whole world to Henry. It's the place he had grown up, and despite how tiny it was, he could never see himself leaving. He had all he wanted right there. A stable business job, close friends, regular musicals playing at the Starlight. What more could he want?

 As he circled back to where he'd been, he could see someone walking toward him from a distance. He could tell who it was right away, the ugly tie giving the man away. Stu always wore the most atrocious ties, but Henry couldn't help but laugh at them. "How are you supposed to play in that suit?" he asked the man with a chuckle, but as he got closer, Henry noticed something different about Stu. The way he was walking towards him, with a slight smile that just didn't look right.

 And when he finally got close enough, he realized that Stu was humming. That was definitely different. Stu didn't hum. He didn't like doing things like that, singing or dancing. So when he began to sing, and his expression turned to something more sinister, Henry went from confused to frightened.

 "What's going on? Stu, what are you doing?!"

 "I want you to join me, Henry! We can sing together forever! Doesn't that sound great?"

 As he began to back up, Stu only walked closer to him, until he finally grabbed him and covered his mouth. Henry's mouth began to burn, and the sharp taste of metal made him squirm to try and get out of his friend's grasp. The burning sensation moved down his throat but still lingered in his mouth as he managed to push the other away and take a step back.

 The sound of a gunshot made the man flinch, and the sight of his friend laying on the ground made him feel like he was sinking.

~*~

 "...I assume that Stu was their trial run because no outbreak happened, and the government organization that covered up his death told me there were a few other casualties, but since the population in Hatchetfield was so small and spread out back then, they had been able to catch on and contain it. They told the public that Stu had been killed while being robbed. The other boys...they knew I was with him when he died. They blamed me for not being able to save him. He was the youngest of all the rest of us. Super smart, skipped a few grades. He needed someone to protect him...and I couldn't do it. Everyone took his death hard...including me. I haven't seen the other boys since his funeral. And since then, I've been preparing for it to all happen again. To find out just what happened to Stu. I suppose I got my answers."

 There's silence when Henry finishes speaking, and he lifts his hand to quickly wipe away the tears threatening to spill. He finally arrives at the part of the story that he's worried the most to tell Ted. The part he knows will scare him.

 "I think Stu infected me. Partially, at least."

 Ted quickly stands up, the fear evident in his eyes. "No, but you're-"

 "Still physically conscious, yes. I believe it hasn't developed enough to make me a part of the hive, but it's trying to evolve. That's what's causing the pain I'm experiencing, and my spontaneous bouts of humming to myself. Most of the time I can't control it, but I don't mean to startle you all."

 The other man begins to pace, shaking his head as he tries to process everything he was just told. It's a lot, and Ted doesn't know what to do. Eventually, without saying anything, he starts to walk back to the door.

 But Henry can't let him walk out. Panic rises in him because he can't lose another friend. He'd lost so many so quickly. He can't lose another friend, not to these aliens again. Most of all, he can't lose another friend, especially when he thinks he just might love this one more than a friend should.

 "Ted, wait!"

 "Get away from me! You've been keeping us locked up here with you when you've been one of them the whole time! You're probably just waiting to infect us all! And I fucking trusted you!"

 The words hurt him. I trusted you. Words that were all too familiar. He trusted you, Henry, and you let him die.

 This can't happen again. He'd die before he lost Ted.

 He quickly stands from his chair and rushes over to him, and before he can fully assess his actions, he pulls him close and kisses him. It's a little awkward since Henry's not used to kissing someone and isn't used to leaning down. He can tell that Ted's shocked, but he still kisses him back. It's not the spark-flying fireworks that his hopeless romantic twenty-two-year-old self had thought of, but it's real and it's comforting above everything else, and he loves it all the same.

 As he pulls back and looks at the man in front of him, he knows that Ted can see the bright color flashing in his eyes. And he knows he can also see those same eyes welling with tears.

 "I can't lose another person to this, Ted. Please. I can figure out how to stop it. I will figure out how to stop it. If I can't...you can," he says firmly, looking over at his stock of shotguns, all lined and prepared for any aliens that managed to get through the gates.

 Ted follows Henry's gaze and quickly shakes his head. "No. We're not talking about that. We...we gotta get everyone else in here. Six brains are better than one, and we need every idea we got to figure it out."

 Henry had never seen the other so determined before. Or so genuine. It was as if kissing him had flipped a switch in him, or had made any walls he'd built break down.

 Perhaps Ted had done the same to him.

 As the professor just nods and watches him leave, he gets another flash of pain in his head, but not so bad that he can't stand it. It's pain he can manage. Pain he's managed for twenty-seven years, that he just passed off as headaches for far too long.

 He knows he lied to Ted when he said he could stop it, but he needs to buy some time. He needs this time with him. To have one last lasting connection with someone before he goes. If anyone's going to kill him, he'd rather it be Ted when Henry's so far gone that he's no longer conscious of his own actions.

 It's getting stronger, and he knows it. But he can hold on for just a little longer. He has to.

----

WELP THAT’S THE END I’M GONNA GO DIE IN A HOLE AND NEVER WRITE FANFICTION AGAIN OK BYEEEEE

[backseatstorytime]

1/29/2016, 1:14pm – country.

Names, dates, times, and specific details have been modified to protect my riders’ privacy. If you have reason to believe that your story is being told and you’d prefer it not to be shared, please message me and I’ll be more than happy to take it down.

For those who don't know me personally, I'm really big on music. I play a few different instruments, I write music, I've jumped from genre to genre over the years, and I've come to really appreciate all kinds of music. Any time someone gives me something to listen to, I listen to it the whole way through. I'm always open to learning about new music, learning to play new music, and just expanding my repertoire. Music was my first love, and nothing has changed.

I don't really have a particular go-to driving playlist. Often times, I just play what I feel. Sometimes I'll have a Queen playlist going; other times, I'll have showtunes. While I'm on the clock, I avoid anything particularly harsh or offensive, so I avoid music with shrill screaming or songs about "bitches and weed," so to speak. That means normally, I don't have a lot of rap or hardcore metal. I tend to learn towards the chill side of music, learning towards mellow beats, acoustic sounds, things that are more relaxing than anything else. That also means that normally I opt not to throw on something like Animals as Leaders.

Lately, you'll find me listening to two different playlists: my showtunes playlist or my Chance the Rapper playlist. A close friend of mine had recently shown me a song from the new Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen called "Waiting Through a Window". I was in love from the get-go, and I built a playlist around that sort of uplifting, pop-driven musical theatre style. On the other hand, I've also been on an on-and-off Chance the Rapper binge. I think it's safe to say that he was my favorite artist of 2016, and I still haven't fallen off the wagon. I keep finding myself coming back to his album Coloring Book or his work on Donnie Trumpet Nico Segal and the Social Experiment's project Surf. On top of that, I also picked up Telefone, the album by Noname Gypsy, who's been featured on a few of Chance's songs. It's got similar vibes and it falls in the mellow side of hip hop that I've been really enjoying recently, so I've got a bunch of Chance and Noname on the same playlist.

Last Sunday, I put the latter playlist on. I drove around Burbank around noon, and Chance filled the air in the car. I made a pickup on a corner by a cafe. In came a young guy named Rommel.

Rommel was almost the perfect image of the millennial stereotype—early 20s, contemporarily dressed and accessorized, sporting round-framed, half-rimless glasses, earphones, and his cafe work uniform in hand. The second he sat down, he pulled out his phone. There's nothing inherently wrong with any of that; speaking as a millennial as well, it's the norm of our generation.

I didn't really gauge much of a conversation incoming, so I let the music fill the air. The song switched from Noname's "Diddy Bop" to "Wanna Be Cool" by The Social Experiment, which featured Chance pretty prominently.

"Hey, man, I'm pretty into Chance, too," Rommel said from the backseat.

"Oh, for real?" "Yeah man, Chance is pretty good. I like a lot of the stuff he comes out with. My brother's way more into him than I am, but I dig his stuff."

"That's awesome, man," I began. "I was actually having a hard time figuring out what to play in the car today, but I settled on Chance." "I know what you mean," Rommel laughed, "I listen to a bunch of different kinds of music so it can get pretty hard to decide sometimes."

"Same here man, I'm all over the map. I've been listening to a lot of weird stuff lately." "Oh for real? Try me."

I'm always a little overconfident in my music knowledge. More often than not, I do it in hopes of being wrong so I learn something new, but I find some satisfaction in being right.

"How about 'Tennessee Whiskey' by Chris Stapleton?" "...Alright, you got me there."

Country was the last thing I expected from the African American twenty-something sitting in my backseat. California doesn't have a heavy country music scene, at least not one I'm familiar with, nor one that I'm aware of at all. I can probably count on one hand the number of people I know that regularly listen to and enjoy country. And at that point I only really appreciated the genre, but I never actively sought it out.

"I know, man, usually I don't bang country either, but my roommate sent this to me and said, 'You're gonna call me the whitest dude ever but just listen to this,' and I got into it!"

Rommel was living with a roommate, working two jobs and making a living for himself while devoting the rest of his time making music. I thought I was big on music discovery and learning about new music until Rommel told me that he would toss on whatever random playlist Spotify would throw at him and listen to it the whole way through. "Sometimes it's hit, sometimes it's miss, but it's worth it when you find those really good songs like these."

Once we hit a red light, I opened up Spotify to play the song.

Right from the get-go with the walk up into the sweet guitar solo in 3/4 time, it hit me. My head impulsively reeled back, matching the song's cadence and dropping down on the next downbeat. My eyes closed and rolled back into my head for a moment as my eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly and as I mouthed a silent "ooooh". I was swaying, and before I could even get a word in, Rommel already had a smile on and hit me with "Right? It's good!"

He wasn't kidding. I'm not sure what your stance is on country music, but I don't actively seek it out. The music itself doesn't elicit a reaction from me, but it's the lyrics in particularly evocative country songs that get me. This was a song in which the music hit me right off the bat and where the lyrics got me not long after. By whatever unspoken standard I hold my music to, this lived up to it.

I let the playlist run as we kept talking about country. Rommel brought up something that changed the way I viewed country music.

"I've been noticing it a lot the more I listened to country, but country and hip hop have a lot of similarities."

I was pretty surprised by this hearing it initially, but after the sweet surprise of "Tennessee Whiskey," I was prepared and even anticipating to hear what he had to say about it.

"I mean, think about it. They both have those similar moments. You listen to the subject matter that rapper rap about: drugs, money, expensive shit, 'bitches,' common themes in the rap game. It's not all that far off in country music, either—country singers will sing about their booze, their bars, their pick up trucks, their girls in daisy dukes... it might not all line up the same way, but there's a bigger overlap than most people really notice. And both of them have some really cheesy songs. You've got all these songs in rap with crazy metaphors, like "Broccoli" or, like... "Panda," you know? Country's got a lot of cheesy shit like that, too, like..."

While he was talking about this, "That's Why God Made a Front Porch" was playing on Spotify. "Like this song, right?" I asked him.

"Yeah man, like this song!" he laughed.

We were both laughing as we neared his stop. He thanked me for the trip and said "Hope we cross paths again, man."

That was my last trip for the day; it was a good point to call it. The whole way home, I let the random country music playlist play and I found some really awesome music.

It's really funny thinking about it. Bo Burnham recently ripped on country music in his latest comedy special, and as far as I could tell at the time without really knowing country music, it seemed accurate enough. Peering from an outside perspective, country music as a whole seemed a lot like pickup trucks, whiskey, and resonator guitars playing simple chords with violins riffing in the back. But thinking about hip hop in the same way, from what it may sound like to someone that doesn't listen to it, hip hop just seems like girls, drugs, lavish spending, and deep bass hits behind either sampled hits or generic synth melodies with people in the background yelling "HEY". They both have their moments that perpetuate the stereotype, but they have some absolutely solid moments hidden underneath all the generic-colored variety.

At the end of the day, every genre has its gems hidden beneath a lot of plastic. That's why I don't have a particular favorite genre or a particular favorite band—there's too much good in every genre to really narrow down one thing I like best. And it's fine if you've found the one or two or few things that resonate with you deeply. There's no wrong answer in the realm of music; if there were, we wouldn't have jazz and... well, most music today. All that matters is that you've found something that elicits a positive response. Music is magical, after all. I think it's one of the few things in life that's truly universal. Whatever you enjoy, whether it's top 40 pop music or NWOBHM, play on. Don't be afraid to try new things; you might like something you didn't think you would.

As always, thanks for reading, and I'll see you next time.