Chapter 12: No Limits
601 Words
Morning came fast.
Too fast.
Skye barely had time to process everything—the interview, the engagement, the headlines—before the doorbell rang.
She opened it to find Zara Kingsley already walking in, phone in hand, energy high as always.
“Please tell me you’re awake because I have news,” Zara said, not even waiting.
Skye blinked. “Good morning to you too?”
“No time for that,” Zara waved it off. “NF wants you on a track.”
Skye froze.
“…What?”
Zara smirked. “Feature. His team reached out this morning. He specifically asked for you.”
A slow grin spread across Skye’s face.
“You’re joking.”
“I don’t joke about business.”
Skye let out a breathless laugh. “Okay—yeah. Yeah, I’m in. Obviously I’m in.”
“Good,” Zara nodded. “Studio session’s already booked.”
—
A few hours later…
The studio felt different from the stage.
More intimate.
More raw.
Every sound mattered here.
Skye stepped inside, headphones resting around her neck, eyes scanning the dimly lit room.
And there he was.
NF stood near the mic, focused, intense as always.
He glanced up.
“You made it.”
“Wouldn’t miss this,” Skye replied, stepping in.
He gave a small nod. “I’ve got something for you. Thought your voice would hit different on it.”
“I like the sound of that already.”
—
The beat dropped.
Dark.
Heavy.
Emotional—but powerful.
NF stepped into the booth first.
His voice cut through clean, sharp, controlled.
NF:
Yeah—
I been running through the pressure, never slowing down,
Heavy is the head when they give you the crown,
Everybody watching, yeah they love you now,
But they never see the nights when you almost drown.
I don’t trust the love, I don’t trust the praise,
Built it from the bottom, now I’m lost in the maze,
Fame got a price, yeah it’s more than a phase,
You either stand tall or you fade in the haze.
He stepped back.
Looked at her.
“Your turn.”
—
Skye stepped into the booth.
Took a breath.
Closed her eyes for just a second.
Then—
She went in.
Skye:
Yeah—
Lights on me, I don’t ever back down,
Came from the silence, now I shake the whole crowd,
They see the shine but they don’t see the scars,
Turned every wound into a reason I’m a star.
I don’t play safe, I don’t stay in the lines,
I built my name, now the world’s in my hands,
They want the fame, they don’t know what it costs,
You lose yourself every time that you’re lost.
The beat hit harder.
Energy rising.
NF stepped back in, their voices overlapping slightly—
NF & Skye (Hook):
We don’t run, we don’t break, we don’t fold,
Pressure make diamonds, yeah we turn into gold,
They want the light but they fear the control,
Fame got a price—are you ready to pay for your soul?
Silence.
Then—
“Yeah,” NF nodded slowly. “That’s it.”
Skye pulled off the headphones, adrenaline still buzzing through her.
“That was crazy,” she said, smiling.
“You brought it,” he replied simply.
—
But as she stepped out of the booth…
Her phone lit up again.
A message.
Unknown number.
Always unknown.
She hesitated.
Then opened it.
“You sound better when it’s just you.”
—
Her smile faded slightly.
Just for a second.
—
Because somehow…
He knew.
- Writer
