Round 1
1,062 words…
Shoot the Moon
It's weird how the world works… That is- how class schedules work. Who knew that someone like me, the talentless Bella Swan, would end up in a music class to get more credit for participation in extracurricular activities at school? I really thought I had enough credit to graduate from this dump early. Apparently not…
There was one good side to this, though. And that would be the fact that Edward Cullen was in the same class. He, along with his adoptive parents and foster siblings, moved here to Forks yesterday afternoon and they've already become the 'it' factor of Forks High. Every girl was after Edward; and who could blame them? What with his dazzling green eyes, tall athletic frame, and beautifully tousled bronze hair, he was the most coveted guy out of probably the entire male population of the school- which really wasn't much, considering this is a really small town, but still…
"So stupid," I heard Edward mumble to himself.
He'd been doing this since our last class ended. I was tutoring a few friends in our small study hall during after-school hours and came across Edward playing piano on my way there this afternoon. I stopped by the door, listening to him play. He wasn't that bad. At all. I couldn't understand why he was beating himself up so much.
When I came back from tutoring, he was still there. This time, however, he was singing. I recognized the song immediately; it was Shoot the Moon by Norah Jones. His velvety voice was entrancing, but it sounded like he was struggling with something. Then, I heard an abrupt slam of the keys and an aggravated "WHY CAN'T I GET THIS RIGHT?" It made me jump and hit my head against the door I was leaning on.
"Is someone there?" Edward Cullen's once frustrated tone had turned quiet and curious. Great, I'd been caught.
Rubbing the back of my sore head, I slowly turned the corner and gave a sheepish smile in his direction. I didn't look at his eyes, though. My face was red enough with embarrassment; he probably thought I was a stalker. I just focused my gaze on his perfectly chiseled chin and murmured shyly: "Um, sorry…"
He chuckled quietly. "It's alright. You okay?" He gestured at my head, as I was still rubbing it.
"I'm fine." I answered timidly. "How about you, though?"
His dark brows furrowed slightly. "What about me?"
"Well, you sounded frustrated a minute ago. Everything okay?"
Edward turned back to the piano. "Yeah, it's just this extra credit assignment I decided to take, so I could catch up with the class. Something about evaluating a modern piece from a certain artist and then playing it as you think it was meant to be played. It sounds simple, and I thought it would be since I picked someone who plays piano like me. I just can't seem to get the feel of the song, you know?"
I nodded. "Yeah, I think I understand. I didn't quite get the song when I first heard it, either."
He looked up at me from where he was sitting. "You're a Norah fan?"
I shrugged. "Well, not the obsessed kind, but I like listening to some of her work- including this one."
"What makes you like this piece? It's a song about heartbreak, isn't it?"
"Yes, but it also teaches something else…"
Then, Edward smiled. It was a thoughtful, adorable, crooked smile.
"What's your name?" He asked almost tenderly, his mesmerizing emerald eyes suddenly sparkling.
"Isabella Swan," I squeaked out, unnerved from the intensity of his gaze. I blushed, and then cleared my throat. "But you can call me Bella."
His smile grew. "Well, Bella, my name is Edward. Would you mind giving me your evaluation?" He patted the space next to him on the stool.
I could've melted right there. Before I could, however, I took Edward's invitation and sat beside him to look over the lyrics on the sheet music. It was hard to concentrate while being this close to him. I could see the rise and fall of his chest in my peripheral vision, and I briefly wondered what it would look like without the clothing… I mentally slapped myself and looked back at the lyrics.
"Okay, so- there's the title of the song, itself. I've always thought of 'shoot the moon' as an expression similar to the one 'reach for the stars.' The only difference is that just as reaching for the stars may mean to pursue your dreams, shooting the moon may mean to pursue love. And in the beginning, as the vocalist talks about her lover shooting the moon and missing it, she could be saying that- in the midst of falling in love- he made a mistake."
"Like devoting himself to the wrong woman…?" Edward inferred.
I nodded. "Right, because the vocalist mentions the words 'why you had to each be lonely.' Her lover may have had his heart broken by someone else, and that's why later on in the song-"
"He ends up breaking the vocalist's heart, too." He finished. "And then he moves on to break the heart of someone else-"
"All because another heartbreaker left him the same way." I finished this time. Both of our voices had lowered and become quiet toward the end of our evaluation.
I chanced looking up at him and sure enough he was looking at me, as well. There was sorrow built up in his eyes. There was something else there, something that made me blush all over again, and I turned away and asked him to try playing the song again.
He did, and it was phenomenal. There was so much feeling in his tone and the music he played entranced me. Before I knew it, I was singing along with him. It wasn't until near the end that I realized I couldn't hear his voice anymore, and then I turned my head to see he was watching me. He had a lazy smile on his face and, as the final keys rang through the room, I could've sworn I heard him murmur something along the lines of "nice shooting…"
Sorry, if it's not the most romantic. I just don't believe in first kiss at first meeting… anyway, hope you at least semi-liked it…