Disclaimer: All characters belong to Marissa Meyer. The plot is mine.

Thorne couldn't believe what he was doing.

"Come on, Thorne, hurry up and get dressed!" Cinder called out.

"That's Captain to you," he grumbled, pulling on his suit jacket. "And you should be grateful I'm dressing nicely at all for a stupid piano concert."

"Oh, don't be mean, Cress has worked really hard on this!" Cinder replied. "And you had better hurry up. Kai has been ready for ages."

"Yeah, yeah," Thorne muttered, brushing back his hair. Stars, he looked good today. He quickly sprayed on some cologne and then opened the door to his room.

Cinder and Kai were already waiting outside the front door. In all his long years of best-friendship with Cinder, he had only seen her dress up maybe five times. So it came as a shock to him to see her in a nice purple wrap-dress with matching sparkly purple earrings.

"Don't even think about it," Cinder glared at Thorne. Oh, he had many things to say to her, but unfortunately, before he could make a sarcastic comment, he heard another voice.

"Oh, come on, Cinder, you look fabulous!" Her boyfriend Kai put an arm around her shoulder.

"You'd say that no matter what," she snapped.

"Because it's true," Kai said, giving her a short kiss on the forehead.

"Liar," Cinder elbowed him.

"Love ya," Kai replied.

"Okay, can we cut the sappy stuff and get around to the concert?" Thorne groaned.

"Now you're actually excited for the concert?" Cinder rolled her eyes.

"Nah," Thorne admitted. "I just can't stand all this romance. Makes me jealous." He shrugged. "So let's go."

"Let's go," Cinder agreed, letting go of Kai and opening the door.

"So who exactly is this Cress?"

On Thorne's insistence, they were riding in Kai's convertible, all the way from his humble abode back in Philadelphia to Carnegie Hall. The ride was two hours long and Thorne was losing his mind from boredom.

"Don't be mean!" Cinder exclaimed. "Cress is a very nice person."

"What did I say?" Thorne looked helplessly at Kai, who shrugged back at him.

"Oh, sorry for snapping at you," Cinder said. "What I meant to say was -"

"Nope," said Thorne, waving his hand. "Firstly, I would like to acknowledge and appreciate the fact that one Miss Linh Cinder said the word 'sorry.' To me, no less."

"Oh, shut up, Thorne," Cinder elbowed him.

"That's Captain to you," Thorne replied, satisfied.

"Anyway, as I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted, Cress is a cousin of mine."

"Which family?" Kai asked.

"The biological one," Cinder replied.

"Ooh, that sucks," Thorne commented. Though Cinder's adoptive family were pretty abusive, her biological family was twisted and evil. Thorne had made the mistake of agreeing to be Cinder's date to one of their parties. They possessed a cruel and sadistic streak he thought almost inhumane. He shuddered.

"Yeah," Cinder said. "My aunt's girlfriend's ward, or something like that." She shuddered. "But Cress is really sweet. She's a bit sensitive, though, so be nice to her."

"Not a problem." Thorne ran his hands through his hair. "Cress will adore me."

"Yeah, right," Cinder rolled her eyes.

"Wait," said Kai. "What do you mean by 'ward'?"

"She's technically an adopted daughter, but Sybil treats her even more badly than Adri treated me," Cinder said. "Apparently she's threatened to give her up before. At least Adri grudgingly accepted that there would be no getting rid of me."

"You know that if she had given you up, I would have let you stay in my basement, right?" Thorne interjected.

Ignoring Thorne, Cinder continued, "Pretty much any money Cress gets from playing goes to Sybil. She's really talented, see. She can sing and play any instrument like nobody else. That's why Sybil keeps her. So even though she's over eighteen years old, Cress is still completely dependent on Sybil, since she has all the money. And no," she added, "she cannot just escape, because Sybil is paying contacts to get her good concerts. Without her, Cress would just be another struggling New York City artist."

"Spades," Thorne said, overwhelmed. "She needs rescuing."

"The last person she needs to be rescued by is you, Thorne," Cinder said, rolling her eyes at him.

"That's Captain to you," he said.

"All right. I'll entertain you once," Cinder said. "The last person she needs to be rescued by is you, Oh-Great-Ex-Captain-Who-Dropped-Out-Of-Flight-School."

"Hey!" Thorne said indignantly.

"It's true," Cinder said.

"But if your dream is to captain a ship, why did you drop out of flight school?" Kai asked.

"They couldn't handle my awesomeness," Thorne said, smoothing back his hair and putting his legs on the seat in front of his.

"Get off!" Cinder shoved his legs off the seat. "And stop sounding so 21st century."

"Fine, fine, I'll tell you the truth," Thorne said. "Flight school has military discipline. Let's just say that I got into a few rough spots there."

"So...you were expelled?" Kai asked.

"No, I dropped out before they had the chance to publicly humiliate me," Thorne said.

"Oh," Kai paused. His face suddenly lit up. "We're here! In New York City!"

"Cool," Thorne said, shrugging. "I've been here a lot. It's not that special."

"I've only been here a couple times," Kai said. "It's pretty amazing."

"I agree," Cinder said, squeezing Kai's hand.

"It's overrated," Thorne rolled his eyes. New York City had such a shining reputation, but it beat the life out of so many people.

"You know, I think this is Cress' first time in New York, too," Cinder noted. "I wonder what she thinks of it."

"Probably terrified," Thorne said. Innocent little girls like Cress normally didn't fare well in this city.

Cress was crazy-excited.

This wasn't the same low-key excitement she felt when she was performing in other cities; she knew she couldn't get attached to them, since she would have to leave. But New York City was different. Cress couldn't help but fall in love with the bright stage lights and the crowded streets. It was all just so romantic, like something from a TV drama.

Cress knew that she would have to leave this city, but she couldn't help but feel like she would be leaving a part of her heart behind as well. It sounded sappy, but it was true.

Sighing, Cress cracked her knuckles and sat down to warm up for the concert. Scales, scales, scales, then arpeggios, arpeggios, arpeggios. She stretched her arms out and smiled. Piano was so relaxing.

"Crescent Moon Darnel?" A voice broke her out of her reverie.

"Yes?" she turned to face a rather official-looking woman in a sparkly black dress.

"You're on in an hour. Would you like to warm up on the concert piano?"

"Sure," Cress followed the woman through the maze of passages behind the stage at Carnegie Hall. Carnegie Hall. Stars, that sounded so big and important and perfect. And it looked perfect, too.

"You nervous?" she asked Cress.

"Not really," Cress gave a nervous laugh. Aces, she got asked that question a lot. But if she were perfectly honest with herself, talking to strangers freaked her out more than playing piano or singing for them. Music was something Cress had always done purely for her own enjoyment. Other people just happened to like the way she played, that was all.

"Wow, that's pretty big of you," the woman replied. "Here you go, it's right through this door."

Cress gingerly turned the doorknob, then slowly opened the door. "Whoa," she breathed. "Whoa."

It was perfect in every way. The stage was giant, with a grand piano at the center. The plainness of the stage showcased the piano, just the right amount. It also showcased her, but she was trying not to think about that.

The rest of the room, though, was a work of art. The seats were red and velvety, the ceiling was lit up, and it just looked so romantic. If Cress ever got a date, she would want to take him here. Not that she would, or anything. She was just plain old Crescent Moon Darnel, who could barely hold a conversation with a stranger. How could she have a full-on relationship?

"Stars above, it's amazing," Cress finally breathed after several minutes of stupidly gaping and thinking.

"It is, isn't it?" her escort said. "They're going to start letting the first guests in, by the way."

"Okay," Cress gulped, twirling her hair around with her finger. "Better go change."

"Remind me why we have to wait in this godforsaken line?" Thorne asked Cinder.

"Because we're not the only ones here to see her play," Cinder groaned.

"Why, is she hot or something?" Thorne asked.

"Oh my stars," Cinder facepalmed. "I'm not even going to answer that question."

Thorne bit back a retort. He was actually a bit curious to find out who this Cress was. And how she looked. Not like he could actually handle a serious relationship or anything. Or like any girl deserved him.

"So where's Iko?" Kai said, changing the topic.

"At her friend Tressa's," Cinder replied. "She's been there three nights in a row. I'm starting to suspect that she's going there because she has a crush on his brother Liam."

"Really?" Thorne was intrigued. "Do you approve?"

"Well, he is honest, and fair," Cinder admitted. "But he's also a bit of a jerk."

"Guess she should have stuck to me, then," Thorne said smoothly.

"EW!" Cinder slapped him. "That's not what I meant at all, you idiot!"

"Looking at the two of you, no one would be able to tell that you're best friends," Kai noted, a small smile on his face.

"That's because they don't know the true meaning of best-friendship," Thorne said, slapping Cinder back.

"Tickets!" a voice sounded. "Show your tickets here!"

Thorne handed his ticket to the woman and winked. The woman blushed and giggled. He smiled.

"Row G in the orchestra section, Mister…"

"Captain Thorne," he said, sending the woman into another fit of giggles.

"Hurry up, Captain," a voice hissed into his ear from behind him. Cinder.

"Well, I'll be on my way, then! Hope we see each other again! Love ya!"

Every time he met a new girl, he said the same words to her. And every single time, he didn't mean a word of it.

"It's time, it's time, it's time!" Cress sang, twirling through all the passages and only stopping for the door.

She was dressed in a short green dress, sparkly, of course, that was incredibly twirly. Cress loved twirly dresses. She twirled a couple more times, just for good measure.

"I am Crescent Moon Darnel, and I am going to make a showstopping entrance," she said to herself. Then she opened the door.

As far as she could look, she only saw people in chairs. People, people, more people. As long as she didn't have to talk to them, she was fine. She was more than fine.

Cress quickly scanned the audience to see if anybody who she knew was there. As usual, Mistress Sybil had chosen to miss her performance. She sighed. If only Sybil could hear her play just once. Maybe then she'd release her. Maybe then she'd realize that Cress was meant to lead a different life, a glamorous life.

No. It was a fool's hope. Who was she kidding, anyway? She was not meant to lead a glamorous life. But stars, she did want it so.

She continued scanning the crowd. No one, no one, no one…she sighed. Another concert with no one to watch her. She gave the crowd one last scan, and suddenly spotted a familiar face.

No. It couldn't be. No one would come to watch her play piano. But she was waving, waving right at Cress. Who was she again?

It clicked. "Cinder!" Cress waved back ecstatically. Though she hadn't known Cinder for long, she had always been nice to Cress, taking the time to talk to her and care about her in a way that no one else did.

She was with a couple boys, Cress noted. Who were they? One of them was probably her boyfriend Kai, who she was living with. But who was the other guy? And where was Iko?

Stars, the other guy was hot, though. He had the most perfect face, and his lips. Oh, those would be good for kissing.

The other guy was looking straight at her, now. Embarrassed, Cress turned her head ever so slightly. Then he winked at her. Aces, he was handsome.

Cress blushed and giggled a little bit, then continued waving, ignoring the fact that her heart was racing. She smiled at Cinder and Kai, ignoring the other guy. They smiled back.

"Whoa, she is cute. And sexy," Thorne told Cinder.

"I'm sure she'll be dazzled by your flirting," Cinder replied with an eyeroll.

"I'm sure she will," Thorne replied, raising his eyebrows. "Iko would agree with me, if she were here."

"Yeah, well, she's not, so you're just going to have to deal with the fact that no one here thinks you can handle a serious relationship." Cinder elbowed him.

Thorne smirked. "Now's when I casually mention that dress you're wearing to divert attention," he said.

"Oh, shut up," Cinder said, elbowing him again. Aces, she was strong. "Kai gave it to me for our one year dating anniversary."

"Subtle," Thorne remarked, patting Kai on the back. "You have done well," he told him.

"She looks pretty, don't you think?" Kai replied with a smile.

"She does," Thorne admitted. "You should dress up more."

"Not going to happen." Cinder crossed her arms and glared at Thorne.

"So what's Cute-Sexy going to be playing?" Thorne asked, changing the subject.

Kai looked at his program. "An Evening of Chopin," he read. "She is going to be playing a couple nocturnes, a couple waltzes and ballades, an etude, and to top it off, the fourth impromptu. You know, the famous one."

"Oh yeah, Thorne knows so much about classical music," Cinder said.

"Hey!" Thorne said. "I'm sure I know more than you!"

"And what exactly makes you think that?" Cinder asked, a challenge in her face.

"Well, I am refined, classy, smart…"

"I'm sorry, who are you talking about?" Cinder said. "Because there's no way you're describing yourself."

"Oh, shut up, you two. Neither of you would know anything about classical music. You've never been forced to take lessons." Kai grimaced.

"Is it that bad?" Cinder asked him.

"It's… not for everyone. You either get it or you don't. And… I didn't. My talents lie in other areas, I guess," he replied.

Cinder kissed his forehead. "Yes, they do," she said.

Thorne held up his hands. "What did I say about PDAs in front of me?"

Cinder rolled her eyes, but mercifully, Kai changed the subject. "Chopin is very emotional," he said. "Cress must be very talented to pull his pieces off."

"She's… a dreamer," Cinder said. "To say the least."

"She must be perfect for me, then," Thorne said.

Cinder elbowed him. "You like her."

"I do not!" he replied indignantly. "I just think she's kinda hot, is all. But I don't even know her!"

"You do like her," Cinder confirmed. "You've never showed interest in the same girl for this long before."

"What about you?" he asked.

"EW!" Cinder exclaimed. "No, you idiot, I mean romantically!"

"Okay, you two, calm down, the show is about to start," Kai said. The three of them sat.

"But how do you know it's about to start?" Thorne asked.

"The lights are dimmed," he replied.

"They call that dimmed? They barely changed anything!"

"It must take refinement, class, and intelligence to detect it then, huh?" Cinder nudged him.

"Oh, shut up."

"Admit it first."

"Admit what?"

"You know what."

"No, I don't."

"That you're not refined, classy, and smart," Cinder hissed.

"Fine. I, the charismatic and bold Captain Carswell Thorne, am not particularly gifted in the areas of refinement, class, and intelligence."

"Fine," Cinder grumbled. "But I only accept that because she's about to start."

The lights dimmed all the way and soon the only light in the room was shining on Cress. Spades, she was good-looking. Thorne smoothed back his hair. Why was he smoothing back his hair?

Cress struck the first chord. Blegh. He had forgotten all about the piano component of the concert. How long would he be listening to this music?

Cress continued to play, her little body swaying back and forth as she pounded out the keys. It wasn't bad, he thought. She was actually pretty good.

Thorne looked at the ground and twiddled his thumbs. Just another hour, he thought, just another hour… He looked up so he would at least be watching Cress.

Five minutes slipped by. Then ten more, then fifteen more. He was halfway there. But, he thought, it wasn't so bad after all. The music did have some feeling, some oomph to it. It wasn't so boring.

Aces, she looked good when she played piano. Her whole face was lit up with emotion as she caressed the piano, then rose up in a crescendo, finally pounding out the final chord and dropping back down to a soft murmur. Thorne felt a lump rise in his throat. Why was he feeling this way? It was only music, after all, and that too, classical music.

But she was playing with his emotions, over and over again, rising and rising into an epic climax and then waterfalling down. Thorne felt his face. It was wet. When had he started crying? He didn't know. Just fifteen minutes ago he had been bored. What had changed?

The final song started. This one was one big roller coaster ride. There was no other way to describe it. She was pulling him into a trance, playing with the song in subtle ways that pulled him deeper. She started to rise.

The tears were pouring down Thorne's face in earnest now. He had eyes only for this amazing woman; this amazing girl. Stars, she was only his age. How had she learned this?

The final chord crashed down onto him as Cress brought it down in a wave. She started to play again, but slowly, soothingly. Like a lullaby.

Even within this slow section, she found ways to keep it interesting. She brought it up a little bit, then slowly lowered it, then let it rise again like a bird, and let the bird fly back down again. He was amazed. And spades, she looked so pretty as she swayed to the music. So full of life.

Without warning, the song roared back to life, and Thorne jolted up in his seat. She was taking it up, up, up, playing louder and more intensely, and then for the final time, she threw the climax of the song onto him. He choked out a sob. It was beautiful. She was beautiful.

The last few bars of the song washed over him like a stream. He was happy. He was at peace.

The music ended, and almost hesitantly, Cress got out of her seat to take a bow. Why was she hesitating? She had done so wonderfully...surely she knew that?

As she took her bow, Thorne stood up for her and clapped as hard as he possibly could. It didn't matter if people were staring. Cress deserved it.

"Psst," Cinder hissed into his ear. "Were you crying?"

He held out a hand. Not now. He would deal with Cinder later. He was almost looking forward to it. But now, his only eyes were for Cress.

The lights came back on and the room dissolved into conversation. At last, Thorne turned to Cinder.

"Before you say anything-"

"Wow, Thorne," Cinder put an arm around him. "I mean, Wolf I would expect, but you? It's nice to know you have a shred of humanity in there. Or was it the girl?"

"It was both," he admitted. "She was so beautiful, but her playing really affected me. It put me in a trance or something."

"Yeah, she was pretty great," Kai said. "I haven't heard very many pianists better than her. And I come here every month."

He took a deep breath. "Okay, let's go," he said.

"Wait, don't you want to talk to her?" Cinder asked. "I mean, I do, but if you don't, you can wait here while Kai and I-"

"Are you kidding me?" Thorne raised his eyebrows. "There is nothing more I want to do than talk to her."

"I figured as much," Cinder remarked. "Let's go."

Cress bit her lip. It had gone pretty well, she thought. She had made a couple of mistakes here and there, but no one had noticed, right?

After the concert, she had intentionally avoided Other-Hot-Guy's stare, but now she wondered what he had thought of it. Maybe, just maybe, he liked her, just a little bit?

She shuddered. She didn't like him, she didn't want him to like her or anything. Why was she even thinking about him?

She wondered when Sybil would arrive to pick her up from her hotel room. And whisk her away to who-knows-where for her next concert. Cress sighed. She was really going to miss New York.

Before she had time to ponder any further, a knock came on her dressing door. "You have visitors," her helper said.

Cress tensed up. Who could be visiting her? "Who is it?" she called.

"It's your cousin. Cinder?" came the reply.

Oh. Cinder. Phew. Cinder was always nice to her. Maybe Hot-Guy was with her, too. She shrugged. "Come in," she said.

The door creaked open and Cinder was there, with a big smile on her face. "Cress!" she said. "You were amazing!"

"Thank you," Cress beamed. "I thought I did okay."

Cinder opened her arms out and Cress accepted the embrace, squeezing her cousin. "Thank you so much for coming to see me," she said.

"It was my pleasure," Cinder replied. "Kai here, you know him, right? My boyfriend, well, he bought the tickets, actually."

"I have season passes," he shrugged. "High culture."

Cress looked at him. Cinder had done pretty well, she supposed. Much better than she would ever do. Kai just carried himself with so much dignity and poise, and was a perfect match for the practical Cinder. She sighed. It was all so romantic.

"Oh, and this is my friend Thorne." Hot-Guy, no, Thorne, stepped out from behind Cinder, looking equal parts embarrassed and charming. Cress' heart fluttered. She gave him a small wave. He smiled back. Aces, he looked so charming when he smiled.

Thorne stuck out his hand. "Captain Thorne, actually," he said. Cinder elbowed him.

Captain. It sounded so dreamy. "Pleasure to meet you, Captain," she said, shaking his hand with a small laugh.

"She actually calls you that?" Cinder seemed surprised.

"Oh, shut up, Cindy, we're having a moment here," Thorne replied to Cinder. Cress' brow furrowed. They were having a moment?

"Never call me Cindy again and it's a deal," Cinder spat out. Thorne nodded.

"Your playing was really good," he told her. "Like, really really good. How do you play like that?"

"I don't know, honestly," Cress said. "I just… feel it, I guess."

"Could you, uh, teach me?"

"It's really hard work," Cress and Kai said at the same time. She looked at Kai. "You've played piano?"

"It wasn't for me," Kai said, shrugging. "It takes a lot of patience, I guess, and I didn't have that kind of patience."

"He's right," Cress said. "It takes years before you start to feel the songs, before you learn how to put emotion into them. First you have to learn how to play fluently. The basic songs are super boring," a laugh escaped her. She bit her lip. Would he find her boring? He probably already did…

"Oh. Okay. Forget I asked," he said. "Do you do anything else?"

"Like what?" Cress was confused.

"Oh, I don't know, some other form of music? Surely a talented and beautiful woman like you wouldn't be confined to one instrument…"

"I sing too," she admitted. "It's not very good, though."

"I don't believe that for a second," he said, taking her hand. "What do you sing?"

"Opera," Cress blushed. "But musical theater is my guilty pleasure."

"Well, I'm sure a woman such as yourself wouldn't mind singing something for me?" Thorne raised his eyebrows.

"Oh. Uh, sure," she said sheepishly. "But not here. Not now."

She didn't want to sing for him yet, that was for sure. But then when would she sing for him? Would she ever see him again?

"When will I see you again?" he asked. "I'm holding you to that promise, you know…" He smiled.

"Uh. Um." Cress squirmed nervously. When would Sybil let her see him? "I don't know."

"Do you have a pen?" he asked suddenly.

"Oh. Uh, yeah, I guess," she shrugged, picking up a pen from her piano and handing it to Thorne.

"Here," he said, beckoning for her to come closer. "Show me your hand."

Hesitantly, Cress held her hand out for Thorne. He carefully took it. Their fingers brushed. His hand felt so… warm. And perfect. She swallowed.

Thorne uncapped his pen and started to write something on her hand. It stung a little bit, but he was doing it so gently, like he was afraid of damaging her hands. She smiled. What was he writing?

"There," he said. "My phone number. Call me when you're ready to sing for me. Or, you know. Any time." He winked and Cress found herself blushing. He was so charming and handsome and heroic. Was he going to rescue her from Sybil? Well, she supposed she wouldn't know unless she called him.

"I will, Captain," she said shyly. He nodded once at her and then turned to his friends.

"Well, we'd best get going," he told them. He turned to Cress. "Nice meeting you, and lovely playing."

"Bye, Cress," Cinder said. "Oh, and if you ever need someone to… talk to, I'm here for you. And Iko too."

She supposed Cinder meant living under Sybil's rule. "Thank you," she replied. "I appreciate the gesture."

"You're going to be a star someday," Kai said.

"You already are," Thorne added, grinning at her.

They turned around and left. Cress blinked a couple of times, trying to understand what had just happened.

Captain Thorne had asked her out.

And he thought she was a star.

Cress didn't know what was happening, but she liked it, she decided. She would figure Sybil out later.

"As of now, everything is great," she said aloud, sitting down on the piano. She cracked her knuckles a couple times, and started playing the happiest song she could think of.

"You know, I really have half a mind to FaceTime Iko," Cinder said. "I mean, I have a few comments on what just happened, but I have a feeling Iko's will be better."

"What?" He shrugged. "She's hot, she's cute, and she's a really talented girl. I have taste," he added.

"Questionable, seeing as you hang out with me," Cinder said. Kai elbowed her.

"Knock off, Cinder," he said, kissing her on the cheek. She kissed him back.

Thorne opened his mouth, but Kai held a hand out. "Not a word," he said. "You're going to have a date soon enough."

"I don't know," Cinder frowned. "How are you going to work around the whole evil-mother thing?"

"Whatever," Thorne said. "We'll figure that out later."

"You really aren't much of a planner, are you?" Cinder said.

"Yeah, no," he replied. "Planning is not one of my many strong suits."

She elbowed him. He elbowed her. She elbowed him back.

"You're the best, Cinder," Thorne said to her.

"No, I'm not," she replied. "Your thinking that makes me even more certain."

"Still, I appreciate the sentiment," Cinder added, when she saw Thorne's face, which had dropped into a mock-pout. He perked up.

"I can't believe she said yes," he said.

"Me neither, honestly," Cinder replied. "I mean, does she know you?"

"Guess not," he replied. "I can't wait to hear her sing, though, if it's anything like her piano playing!"

"You're in love," Cinder said. "Hopelessly."

"I guess I am," Thorne said.

A/N: Hi readers! Thank you so much for reading! If you liked it, please review!

This idea came to me after reading It Is Winter Here by bearsbeetsbattlestargalactica. It's for a different fandom, but the writing is really good. It, and my piano practice later that evening, made me realize what an underappreciated talent piano and classical music in general is. I wanted to write a fic like this for some ship, and Cresswell just seemed perfect to me.

Tell me if you thought the characters were in character! It's my first fanfiction for Lunar Chronicles, so I'm not sure. Any advice is welcomed.

Thank you for reading, and stay beautiful!