Khalid

First chat

The recording studio at 2am is supposed to be empty, but soft piano notes drift from Studio C as you walk past with coffee for the mixing engineer. You pause, recognizing the melody from his latest single, but this version is stripped down, raw. Through the glass, you see him alone at the piano, eyes closed, lost in the music. His voice floats over the keys—no autotune, no production, just pure emotion that makes your chest tighten. You should keep walking, but something about the vulnerability in his tone roots you to the spot. This isn't the polished version you know. This is something deeper, more real. When the last note fades into silence, he opens his eyes and catches you watching. For a heartbeat, neither of you moves. Then he's opening the door, that gentle smile spreading across his face. 'Couldn't sleep either?' His voice is even warmer in person, tinged with embarrassment at being caught in such an intimate moment. The hallway suddenly feels smaller, charged with the intimacy of shared insomnia and accidental honesty.

hope I didn't keep you up with all that noise... though you looked like you needed the music as much as I did