#nick folio

The cursor blinked impatiently on the monitor where Noah sat, examining the finalized tracklist for the new album. Noah stared back at it.

His phone buzzed on the desk.

Jolly: Conference call in 5. Don’t be late.

Noah exhaled through his nose, pushing himself up from the chair. He grabbed his laptop and made his way into the living room where Jolly was already setting up, headphones around his neck, legs kicked up on the coffee table like he had all the time in the world.

“About time,” Jolly said when Noah walked in.

“Here goes nothing,” Noah muttered, dropping onto the couch.

Before Jolly could respond, the laptop chimed.

Meeting has Started: Sumerian Records – Management

Jolly straightened immediately, swinging his feet down. Noah sat up a little straighter too, rolling his shoulders back as he accepted the call.

The screen flickered to life. Their manager appeared first, seated in his office.

“Hey, guys, good to see you both.”

“Hey,” Jolly replied easily.

Noah gave a small nod. “Hey.”

“Alright,” he continued, glancing down at notes. “So I’ll get right into it. Nashville is locked in for Friday evening. We’ve got meetings scheduled with the rest of the Sumerian team, A&R, and a few touring coordinators. This is basically a green light discussion; if everything aligns, we could start mapping out a full return cycle.”

Noah felt his fingers tighten slightly against his knee.

“A full cycle?” Jolly asked.

“Potentially,” the manager said. “Nothing is confirmed yet, but one of the options we’re actively looking at is a support slot with Ice Nine Kills. Short run first, U.S. cities only. Then, depending on response and logistics, we expand internationally.”

Noah swallowed. “Like… real shows?” he asked before he could stop himself.

The manager smiled slightly. “That’s the idea, yeah. Not livestreams. Not one-offs. Actual touring again.”

Silence settled over the call for a beat.

Jolly let out a low whistle. “Damn.”

Noah didn’t say anything at first. His mind was already moving too fast; cities, stages, crowds, soundchecks, buses, all of it suddenly feeling both familiar and completely foreign.

The manager continued, “Friday is mostly alignment. Expectations, health checks, scheduling feasibility. If it goes well, we’ll start locking in dates within the next few weeks.”

Noah nodded slowly, “Got it,” he said.

“Good,” the manager replied. “Get some rest before then. It’s going to be a big weekend.”

Jolly grinned as the call began to wrap. “We’ll be there.”

“Great. Talk soon, guys.”

The screen went dark. For a moment, neither of them moved. Then Jolly leaned back, exhaling. “Well… that’s happening.”

Noah stared at the blank laptop screen.

“Yeah,” he said quietly. “It is.”

The weight of it didn’t fully land yet, but it was there, waiting.

________________________

Session 80

Noah pulled his hood over his head to shield against the cool October breeze as he walked from his car. His body seemed to vibrate with anxiety. In a few days, they would figure out whether or not they started touring again. It would be almost 2 years since they had played a show that was not through a livestream. Noah had done all that he could in the meantime to keep the band alive. They did livestream acoustic sets, merch drops, twitch streaming, and worked tirelessly on the new album. It was getting to a point where he wasn’t quite sure what to do anymore. It was all out of his hands.

He reached the lobby and took a seat, leaning his elbows on his knees. He almost hadn’t made it to Tuesday without asking Fallon for an earlier session. Noah had barely slept, barely ate even in anticipation of this meeting.

The hall door creaked open and Noah looked up. Relief instantly flooded his system at the sight of Fallon peering out with a warm smile on her face. She beckoned for him to follow her to the office.

He stepped into the familiar room and took a seat on his usual lounge chair, flipping his hood off as he settled in. Fallon closed the door and crossed the room to her seat. She turned around and her jaw dropped.

“Oh my God…your hair…” she gaped.

“Yup. It’s gone.” He replied with a playful smile.

"I..." She laughed softly, still looking at him. "I'm sorry, I just wasn't expecting that." 

"Good surprise?"

"Definitely."

He would be lying if he said it didn’t help his ego a little bit to see her speechless. He had chopped all of his hair off for what might possibly have been the first time since he was a young child. Noah had wanted a fresh start. New life after covid, new album cycle, new outlook after going back to therapy, and somehow his appearance held a lot of weight in all of it. He now had short hair, buzzed with a slight fade. Layers of longer hair still fell from the top, framing his face slightly where it parted in the middle.

“How’s the week been? Give me the rundown.” Fallon asked, now settled across from him.

“It’s been uhh, not great? I mean nothing really bad has happened but we have this big meeting coming up and I feel restless and can’t focus on anything and have been so…off.”

“Give it a name,” Fallon said, narrowing her eyes inquisitively. 

Noah thought for a moment. “Anxious.”

“There it is.” Fallon nodded. “So, a big meeting?”

“Yeah, so we’re signed by Sumerian Records and their headquarters is in Nashville. We’re flying out there in 2 days to meet with them and discuss next moves- including the potential of picking up some touring opportunities. There's so much on the line and it feels like there's nothing I can do about it, and I don’t think I’m ready to face the disappointment of being told we’re still stuck home without touring again.”

Fallon nodded slowly, letting the silence settle for a moment before speaking.

"It sounds like you've already started living through the disappointment."

"...What do you mean?" Noah frowned slightly.

"You're talking about a meeting that hasn't happened yet," she said gently. "But emotionally, you've already begun preparing yourself for the outcome you're most afraid of."

He stared at the floor for a second. "...Yeah."

"Do you think that's protecting you?"

Noah let out a quiet breath through his nose. "I guess if I expect the worst, it won't hurt as much."

"Has that strategy worked for you before?" Fallon tilted her head.

He was quiet for a long moment before giving a reluctant shake of his head.

"...No."

"What usually ends up happening?"

"I usually just suffer twice," he laughed softly, though there wasn't much humor in it.

"Tell me what you can control before you get on that plane." Fallon asked, crossing her arms.

“My attitude?” He shrugged.

She nodded. "What else?"

"...How prepared we are."

"What else?"

He thought for a moment.

"...Whether I show up."

"Exactly," she paused, "and what can't you control?"

"The label….the touring market, covid..” He wracked his brain.

"Their decision." Fallon added for him.

He nodded, a sad smile tugging at his lips.

"So where have you been spending most of your mental energy?"

"...The stuff I can't control." Noah sighed.

Noah felt as if he could breathe easily again as he walked out of the session. He got back to the house and packed his bags for Nashville, deciding that was what he could do about his current feelings. The rest was out of his hands.

________________________

It was almost 11:30pm on Friday night. Fallon sat on her couch, Michelle next to her as they worked through their Halloween movie marathon. She mindlessly shoveled M&Ms into her mouth, flinching as a jumpscare happened on screen and spilling the candy across her lap. Michelle laughed at her reaction and Fallon reached for a throw pillow, lightly chucking it at her.

“I wasn’t scared, just surprised,” she said in an attempt to defend herself.

"Miss 'I wish it were Halloween all year' just got taken out by a PG-13 jumpscare." Michelle chuckled, hugging the pillow to her chest.

They returned to a comfortable silence, watching as the final girl was cornered with nothing but a pair of garden sheers on screen. Next to her, Fallon’s phone began to vibrate face down on the couch cushion. She picked it up, wondering who was calling so late.

Noah’s name filled her screen.

Her stomach dropped. The meeting.

“I gotta take this. Client.” She said to Michelle, standing up and swiping the answer button across the screen. She shuffled quickly to her bedroom and pulled the door shut behind her, bracing herself for the worst.

“Noah? Are you okay? Are you safe?”

For a moment, all she heard was muffled laughter somewhere in the background. Music. Someone yelling something unintelligible. 

Then he spoke.

“Fallon?”

“Yeah, I’m here. Where are you? Are you okay?” Her heart pounded.

“Yeah I’m.. I’m..”  Another burst of laughter erupted behind him and a voice carried through the phone. “I’m out somewhere. In Nashville.”

Fallon knit her brows together, “Have you been drinking?”

“You could say that,” Noah let out a bubbly laugh.

Fallon’s mind raced “Okay I-”

Noah interrupted her.

“We got it.”

Her brow furrowed,"What?"

"The tour."

The words seemed to hang in the air between them.

"They said yes. We’re going back."

She could practically hear how big he was smiling through the phone.

“Noah I’m so happy for you, that’s amazing!” her heart fluttered.

"I just..." he searched for the words, "I wanted to tell you."

Fallon felt her chest tighten.

"You've been there for this whole thing." His words came slowly, thoughtfully. "The waiting... all of it." He took a quiet breath. "...You were the first person I wanted to call."

Silence settled between them.

Outside the bedroom, Fallon could faintly hear Michelle laughing at something on the television. Inside, the room felt impossibly still.

For one fleeting, reckless second she wished she were there. Somewhere she could witness the smile she could already hear in his voice, throw her arms around him in celebration, and congratulate him without carefully choosing every word.

The thought startled her as quickly as it had come.

She pushed it gently aside.

"Thank you," she said softly. "I'm really honored you wanted to share it with me."

"I figured you'd get it."

"I do." She paused. "And for what it's worth..." she said, warmth creeping into her voice, "I think it's okay to let yourself be excited tonight."

He let out a contented little laugh. "...Yeah."

Another voice shouted from somewhere in the bar.

"NOAH! SHOTS!"

He pulled the phone away for a second.

"I'M COMING!"

"I think your band needs you." Fallon laughed. 

"Yeah but...I really like talking to you, Fal."

The words came so matter-of-factly that Fallon almost missed them, her heart stuttering at the use of her nickname. Noah seemed to realize what he'd said a second later.

"I..." He laughed quietly to himself. "Fuck that probably sounded weird."

Fallon smiled. "I'm glad you feel comfortable talking with me."

"No," he murmured, almost to himself, "It's more than that." He blinked, as if suddenly remembering who he was talking to. "...Ignore me."

She smiled softly, though he couldn't see just how much effort it took to keep her voice steady.

"It means a lot to hear that."

Noah was quiet for a moment.

"...Thanks for answering. Fuck, I just realized how late it is."

“Of course, Noah, it’s no problem.”

The sounds of the bar continued to echo through the phone. Noah returned to celebrating with his friends, the phone forgotten. Fallon listened for a moment longer, the faint sound of his laugh patching through the line. She imagined the smile on his face.

“Goodbye, Noah” she murmured through a grin, disconnecting the call. She stood for a moment, phone gripped at her side, and let out a contented sigh before returning to her spot on the couch next to Michelle.

Michelle reached for the remote and paused the TV.

“You good? Crisis?”

“Yeah, no uh..” Fallon just shook her head and smiled to herself. “Everything is good.”

Author's Note: AAHH I have spent so much time slow-burning it and setting up the timeline and relationship I am SO excited for the next few chapters MWUAHHAHA painfully letting it all play out 😏I love this lil community and picture us all frolicking in a field of flowers together k bye- Lila