THE RHYTHM OF LIFE
A/N: This little group of stories is part of the Shuffle Challenge set by Madison Bellows - and oh, my goodness, it was hard! I've never typed so fast in my life, or so badly - fortunately, the rules allowed for a little editing or you'd never be able to read it. Ten fics from ten songs with my i-pod on shuffle - and, of course, the character that I chose was Adam Ross. Some songs were easier than others! Apologies in advance for my wacky taste in music, which includes a curious fondness for film soundtracks. Hope you like the result. And please, try it yourself! It's an amazing challenge and I loved every minute of it...
-xx-
Hey, Soul Sister - Train
He stepped into the room and found her dancing. His tunes, her moves. The sight was... perfect.
"Where..."
...did you find it? he started to ask, but the words died away in his throat. Her eyes were closed and she swayed from side to side, her lips moving silently in time to the stolen song. He felt guilty for witnessing such a private moment. He also felt smug.
Guess I'm not the only one who dances in the lab...
Footsteps padded softly behind him. He twitched and looked over his shoulder - but Lindsay's luck was sweeter than his.
Not Mac.
"My wife," Danny murmured fondly, brushing past him with a rapt look on his face.
Adam smiled and walked away. He could wait for his 'tunes' a little longer...
-xx-
Done All Wrong - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
(from the episode 'Enough')
It was his fault, pure and simple. Had to be. Too many silly mistakes; too much goofing around. But no warning? That was harsh, and hurt him deeply. It didn't feel like Mac's style; not at all - but the boss knew everything. Everything. Surely he knew about this?
Adam sat on the couch in Mac's office, his head hanging low; his hands shaking as he clung to the piece of paper that had shattered his dreams. Waiting was torture. Where was he? Why didn't he come?
When Mac finally strode through the door, Adam leapt to his feet. The words tumbled out before his boss - his hero - could even reach his desk.
"Was it the paper aeroplanes? Or the dancing...?"
-xx-
Hairspray (from the musical of the same name)
(Adam once told Danny that he had dated a Suicide Girl who almost broke his heart...)
Her hair was an event. He couldn't tear his eyes away.
"How do you sleep?" he asked her.
"I don't," she replied, in a highly suggestive tone. Her eyes were laughing, though.
"Can I... touch it?"
"If you like."
Slipping down from his bar stool, he reached out shyly. The spikes were long and black, with random streaks of red that made him think of blood running down a knife. The hair itself felt... brittle. Restrained, but only just. He let his fingers slip down from the crown of her head to her cheeks, brushing past her kohl black eyes with tender care. She shivered. Reaching up, she clasped his hands and pulled them from her face.
Control, he realised. She needed to be in control.
For now.
Accepting her wary lead with grace, he followed her onto the dance floor.
-xx-
Sigma - Secret Garden
(Adam and Stella. That strange and controversial moment at the beginning of season 6. Somehow, it seemed to fit the music...)
In her arms, he slept at last.
The world fell away as shadows claimed him - but this time, they were peaceful and the fear no longer haunted him. He felt her presence and he was safe. For one night, she was his angel; his anchor to sanity.
Their dance together had been heaven.
In the morning, she rose and left him sitting there. No words. No need.
For both of them, the healing had begun.
-xx-
Forever Young - Bob Dylan
(From lab rat to CSI...)
He was tired of being treated like a child. He knew that was how they saw him. The young one in the family; the joker, with his bright smile and his eager manner. Trapped forever in the lab, as though it wasn't safe to let him out. Did they think that the world would hurt him? Didn't they know that it already had?
Time to grow up, he told himself, taking a deep breath and pulling the buds from his ears as he tapped on Mac's office door.
Time to change the music...
-xx-
Slughorn's Confession (from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) - Nicholas Hooper
(from the episode 'The Party's Over')
"Nothing that a slice and some Guitar Hero won't fix."
The lie tripped off his tongue so easily. He knew that Stella wasn't fooled - half-expected her to follow him. But as he walked away through the heedless crowds, there was no shout behind him; no hand on his shoulder.
There was only the memory.
Jake's face, young and trusting. The face of a murderer - even now, Adam could scarcely believe it - begging him to understand. And the trouble was, he did. He knew that rage; had felt it himself and only just managed to turn away. The rage of a child against his father; the person who was supposed to protect him and love him, in spite of his faults. Somehow, Jake had sensed the connection.
Music and his tears were all that he could give in return for the young boy's confession.
-xx-
Imagine - Eva Cassidy
(In this story, I imagined Adam listening to the original version of the song)
He held his knees and rocked. The music took his pain and turned it into raw emotion, nameless and easier to handle. Physical bruises would fade but the scars on his heart were forever. He tried to imagine a life without them. It was a dream, and one that he did not believe in. Too much; it was all too much. He was only a boy. Escape was something bright and impossible. But imagining it... that was freedom.
-xx-
Feed the Birds (from Mary Poppins)
(Yes, I admit this song is on my i-pod. It's beautiful. As for the situation in this story - interpret it however you wish. It simply popped into my head as I listened to the music...)
He was too shocked to cry.
The girl peered out between the railings, grimy fingers twisting around the metal bars; eyes wide and hungry.
"Do you... live here?" Adam stammered.
She nodded; her lips pressed together.
"Can I... come in?" The lump in his throat made it difficult to speak.
Once again, she nodded. Swinging the gate back she let him through. The front door was locked. As she sat down on the steps, he perched beside her.
"I'm looking for your mom," he said. "She called me and left a message. I'm an old friend. My name's Adam..."
The girl shrugged.
"You hungry?" He felt in his pocket and pulled out a chocolate bar; a random, greedy snack that he had been saving for later.
Her eyes lit up; a beacon of hope and delight.
Adam's heart missed a beat.
-xx-
Returning Home - John Barry
His hand lingered on the doorbell. He could not bring himself to press it; to hear the familiar chime. He felt frozen in time; a boy and a man all at once, haunted by shadows. Not all of them were good. If he entered now, would it be the same? As if he had never left?
Adam clung to the man that he had become. A single tear fell from his eye as he wept for the boy that had been. He brushed it away and swallowed, hard.
Then he pushed the bell.
As the door opened, he found himself wrapped in a pair of bony arms and his mother's scent overwhelmed him.
"Oh, Adam..."
He was home.
-xx-
Late in the Evening - Paul Simon
Too tired even to sleep, Adam leaned from his window and breathed in the night air. The sounds of the city were all around him, even at this late hour. Traffic, a constant underlying thread of horns and engines. Shouting from the couple two doors down, who loved to share their conflict with the whole neighbourhood. And, from the club across the street, the rise and fall of music...
People drifted out of the door, bringing snatches of the bright sound with them. A woman was singing, the husky notes a magic spell to lure him from his home.
Adam reached for his jacket; sleep forgotten...