Amy entered the café, smiling once she spotted me.

I wasn't sure if she would be after hearing my proposal, though.

I knew that setting her up with Ian was very egoistical of me. In fact, I was acting as a bigger jerk than Ian. Which was why, after a long night of thoughts, I decided to tell her straight away the next day. If she didn't want to, then I'd stop. If she did… then not only I would benefit from this, but she would, too. After all, what other thing could agreeing to be set up with a guy mean other than liking him?

"Hey," she greeted, sitting down on the chair across from me.

I smiled back at her. "Hey. Having a nice day?"

Amy pressed her lips together, tilting her head. "One of my teachers is mad at me for not being able to get a piece right after the second time trying it… but it could be worse, such as having Ian there."

I grimaced. That practice two days ago was a preview of hell for Amy. Unless she liked Ian, of course.

"Here are your orders," the waitress announced, setting down two mugs of coffee in front of each of us.

Amy smiled once she spotted hers. "Vanilla-flavored… you still remember it's my favorite."

"It's for the one you spilled all over Ian," I told her.

She grimaced but still broke into a laugh.

I grinned, a thing that was hard not to do around Amy.

Amy took a sip of her beverage. "So… what was it that you wanted to tell me?"

I looked away, the back of my neck slightly burning. "Well… it's… it's slightly complicated."

Amy sat up straighter, the bright look in her green eyes disappearing. "Is something wrong?"

I chuckled, shaking my head. "No. Of course not… though I'm afraid it might be…"

Amy's lips curled down. "Oh… you don't have to tell me if-"

"It involves you," I cut in, pressing my lips together.

Amy blinked.

I sighed. "I don't know how to say it, so I'll just-"

"It's okay if you didn't like my piano skills," Amy interrupted. "I did start late and playing with a guy like Ian… I must've looked like a rookie trying to play a piece composed for advanced pianists."

"Amy-"

"You don't have to apologize," Amy continued, shaking her head. "After you told me your story on how you've always wanted to be a composer, I couldn't possibly stand in your way if I'm a bad pianist. I mean, if I play bad, then that beautiful piece you composed will sound quite the opposite-"

"You're an amazing pianist," I stated. "And I would never ever want to kick you out of the duet. In fact, I think I would choose you over Ian any day."

Amy's lips slightly curled upward. "Really?"

I nodded, smiling.

A blush settled on her cheeks.

"Which is what I want to talk to you about this afternoon," I continued in a more serious tone. "Ian."

Amy looked uncomfortable. "You don't have to kick him out because of his perfectionism. He was right, I wasn't playing quite well that day. Primarily because I was distracted…"

"With him?" I asked.

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Huh?"

"Were you distracted by Ian?" I repeated.

Amy bit her lower lip, looking down at her mug. Her shoulders were tense, now. "I don't know what you mean…"

"Do you like him?" I asked, not aware that I might've been sort of invading her personal thoughts at that time. After all, I'd only met her for a week.

Amy's eyes widened. "W-what?"

"You can tell me," I urged. "I won't tell anyone…"

Amy giggled nervously. "W-why are you asking me that?"

I shrugged. "Because I've got a proposition for you."

Amy looked completely baffled. "A proposition?"

I nodded. "But I won't tell it to you unless you tell me if you like Ian or not."

Amy looked like she was between a knife and a wall. Even now, I am surprised she hadn't gotten mad at me back then. Looking back at my actions, I had been a prying jerk. But Amy has always been way too nice for her own good, so, of course, she simply bore with me patiently.

There was a long silence as the girl sat there, swirling her spoon in her coffee.

"It would be hard not to be attracted to him," Amy quietly answered.

My shoulders slumped down.

"And it would be hard not to like a guy who introduced you to the piano," Amy finished.

I felt a pang on my chest, but I shook it off. It was probably nerves –after all, I still didn't know if she would be angered at my proposition. But before I went into detail, I still had another question in my mind that I wished to be answered.

"He introduced you to the piano?" I asked. "Ever since you mentioned that, I've been wondering about it quite a lot."

I was surprised to see a smile on her face.

"I'll tell you the story, then," she began.

I nodded.

"When I was sixteen, Aunt Beatrice wanted me to play the violin," Amy said. "As you already know, my parents passed away in a house fire when I was seven… and the biggest mystery in my life is still why she took my brother and I in."

I felt a ghost of a smile on my face.

"And as you also know, surprisingly, my aunt favored my brother big time. Since he was good at math, she thought he'd inherited it from her, because she was good at it, too," Amy explained.

I couldn't help but chuckle. "I didn't know that part of the story."

Amy raised her eyebrows. "Really? Then you probably don't know why she dislikes me."

I was smiling from ear to ear now. "And why is that?"

Amy smiled back. "Because I was good at history, and she flunked at it when she was in school."

I laughed, and soon, Amy was laughing along. After the laughter died down, Amy continued her tale. "Well… when I turned sixteen, she was tired of me being a 'failing disappointment', as she put it. So she thought that I should enroll in violin lessons, since she was a violinist when she was younger. She even played a piece for me… though, I'm not sure if it was lack of practice or what, but she wasn't so good at it…"

I shook my head, chuckling.

"But well, she made me get into this afterschool violin classes a friend of hers gave," Amy informed me. "And after three weeks of learning, I learned that I sucked as big as my aunt did at it."

"I wonder how happy your aunt was about that," I mused sarcastically.

"Oh, she was very happy," Amy answered, her tone wrapped around sarcasm. "So happy, she grounded me for it."

My eyes widened. "Really?"

Amy nodded. "However, I had a very considerate teacher. I know she would've suggested I tried another instrument, but she was an old friend of Aunt Beatrice's, so she probably knew how stubborn she is. Instead, she handed me a tutor. Who was none other than Ian."

"No way," I chuckled.

Amy nodded, smiling. "He had moved to Boston a few years back. And as you already might've guessed, he nearly had a heart attack the first time he heard me play."

"It would be weird if he hadn't," I commented.

"And it would've been even weirder if he hadn't tried to get me kicked out of violin lessons. As he put it, it would be an 'offense to the dignity of violin if I kept playing it'."

I chuckled, shaking my head. It was quite a predictable move from Ian.

"Since those classes weren't only for violin, we spent the entire afternoon searching for an adequate instrument for me," Amy told me. She placed her fingers under her chin. "I still remember we played the guitar, the drums and I think the trombone."

I grinned, silently laughing.

"There were still many other instruments to play, since the place was sort of like a music academy," Amy said. "But when I spotted the piano, I went straight toward it. My mom had taught me how to play a song from The Sound of Music when I was younger, so I began playing it. And…"

I gazed at her expectantly.

"Ian just stood there, looking at me with a pensive look on his face," Amy said. "And then he told me I looked lovely playing the piano. I was never sure if he just did it to make me think I actually did and drop out from the violin, or if he meant it, but still… I began playing the piano and, for some reason, I started to like him that afternoon. He might've been a jerk and a snob, but still. I just had a feeling there was something else to him. And I still do."

"I'm hoping you didn't enter this college to follow him," I joked.

Amy stared blankly at me, her eyes wide.

My eyes widened, and I gulped. "You entered-"

Amy broke out laughing. "Of course I didn't! After all, Ian moved away when I began senior year. How was I supposed to know to which college he wanted to attend?"

I was clearly relieved. "That was a good one. For a second I thought he was the reason why you were here."

Amy smiled. "He slightly is… after all, he got me to play the piano."

I grinned. "So I still have to thank him, don't I?"

Amy grinned, shrugging with one shoulder.

"Oh," I began. "By the way, is there a reason why your aunt doesn't approve of you playing the piano?"

"She sucked at it when she was my age," she replied. "But at least she kept paying for the lessons."

"Ah… your Aunt Beatrice is a case, isn't she?"

"A big and mysterious one," Amy chuckled. After a few seconds, her eyes turned serious. "By the way, what was the proposal?"

I looked down, pursing my lips. "Well…"

Amy silently listened.

Better get it out quickly. "I thought it would be good to set you and Ian up. You know, to go on a date."

Amy's eyes widened, but she still kept silent.

"The way he helped you with my piece two days ago… it made me think," I paused. Should I tell her the real reason behind my plan or should I lie to her? That was the question that settled on my mind that very same minute. But after gazing at her astonished face, I realized what a selfish jerk I was being. Shaking my head, I shrugged. "I wanted to set you two up so my piece would sound better. After all, feelings show through music, and my piece is slightly romantic. But I don't think I want to do that anymore."

Amy gazed at me.

"I now realize it was a very stupid thing of me to do," I finished off.

I looked down, slightly embarrassed to look at Amy.

But then I felt her hand on my forearm.

"May I ask you something?" she said in a soft tone.

I nodded, still dazed with disappointment in myself.

"Were you planning to do it even if I didn't like Ian?"

I was quick to answer. "No, of course not."

Amy smiled. "Then I'll do it."

The question took me aback. She was going to do it? "Huh?"

"I like him, so I wouldn't be bothered," Amy began. "But there are two problems: one, that redhead from before, and two, the fact that he probably doesn't like me. So, you have to promise not to feel bad for me if it doesn't work. Because, quite obviously, there's a chance it won't."

I was surprised. "You are going to do it even if Ian might never like you back?"

"How will I know that if I never try?" she answered. "I always wanted to date him, so maybe now's the chance."

I smiled. "That's… wow. I don't think I'd try to get someone to like me even if I knew they might never feel the same."

"I never thought I would until today, too" Amy answered. She smiled. "So… to begin, I'm guessing this is the part where I have to completely change, right? And since you're a boy… you might know on what. So don't think you'll offend me in any way once you give me your constructive criticism."

Amy's eyes were expectant.

I still couldn't believe she'd accepted. And the fact that she was willing to change for Ian was also slightly unbelievable. I inspected her. Truth be told, I didn't see anything she could change in. She had an amazing attitude, and any boy would be lucky to date her. I continued gazing at her face. I'd never really taken a good look at it before. But now that I did, I realized how pretty she was. Very pretty.

I cleared my throat, blushing. "I… I don't think Ian and I are similar in any way, because I don't see anything that would make him not like you."

I'm sorry for the late update... but in my defense, I've been sleeping at 12 a.m. everyday of the week doing homework. Yes, my teachers are that obsessed with their assignments. Hopefully, though, the length of this chapter will make up for my delay.