Soul exhaled a bated breath and peered through the crack in the red plush curtains for the millionth time. His scarlet eyes scanned the theatre seats looking for that familiar mop of dirty blonde hair. He had reserved a ticket for her but he was still unsure about her coming to see him play. He wanted to impress her, bring her into his world of music. He thought maybe by hearing him play, she'd learn to love music just as much as him.

Tap-tap. Soul whirled around in surprise to meet Kidd, the stage manager. Kidd pressed a slender finger against his lips and motioned with the other hand that it was Soul's cue. Feet like lead, Soul straightened his slumped figure and stepped through the curtains. The silence seemed to swallow his footsteps to the baby grand in such a way that Soul had to wonder whether or not he was even moving at all. Seated on the bench with his tanned fingers resting lightly on the ivory keys, Soul tried to clear all doubts and fears away. One thought remained no matter how hard he tried to push it down.

Did she make it? Was she even here?

The melody that poured out of his soul was unlike the piece Soul originally prepared for tonight. Before he could even register he was playing, notes were forming right before his eyes. It was like his hands had developed minds of their own. He couldn't stop the melancholy music and neither did he want to. This was music of his own composition, his soul poured out on the ivories. He didn't care to please the audience because they weren't apart of this journey of sound. They were simply observers as Soul continued to dig deeper into himself, the piano translating what was found in the depths. The piano howled and shrieked and yet Soul played on.

The second the ending note faded into the thick atmosphere, the audience erupted into thunderous applause. Soul felt the spell dissipate and he bowed low to hide his pink cheeks. He ducked back under the red curtains and ran through the backstage maze. He paused to straighten his black tie in the green room mirror before scrambling down the stairs to the lobby of the theater. He searched the crowd for those flashing green eyes, but was met with awkward waves and smiles from an appreciative crowd. Confusion clutched to the edges of Soul's brain as he continued to search. Finally he dug out his phone and texted her, "hey where are you?"

He waited.

And waited.

He called her. No answer. Frustration built in his chest and he texted her again, "Did you even come?!" He waited until the crowd had thinned out into just a few straggler teens, which most likely were just killing time until it was time to crash a party. He flopped down on one of the lobby couches with a growl.

"Soul!" He whipped his head around and instantly groaned. Fast-walking toward him was Kidd, with a shocked expression on his face. Soul covered his face with his hands, unwillingly to deal with whatever crazy thing Kidd had on his mind.

"Soul! What the hell was that?!"

Soul only groaned louder into his palms.

"There was no symmetry in that composition! Plus Mr. Wes, I'm sure, did not approve that selection for tonight."

"Wes can suck it."

Kidd sucked in a gasp, "Your brother has been very generous by allowing you, his kid brother, to open for him. You with your asymmetrical shit."

"Gee thanks, are we done here?" Soul rose from the couch and walked away from the sputtering stage manager.

His phone vibrated and it was her. "Yeah I was there."

Soul blew out some steam. He didn't want to ask what she thought, for fear of sounding like he was fishing for praise. But he was curious to what she thought.

"So?" He texted

"What?" She shot back.

"What'd you think?" He bit his lip in anticipation.

"It was okay..I guess."

He re-read her text, a feeling of dread settling deep in his stomach.

She hated it.

Soul felt the sting of rejection, as depression swirling around his ankles. It wouldn't affect him if he had played the piece Wes had composed but tonight was all him. All of his soul laid bare and she hated it.