FINALLY! I know this has taken me a while, but this chapter should make up for it! This is a whopping NINE PAGES on my computer. And oh-em-gee I'm so happy about the end. Any mistakes I hope will be forgiven because I wanted to get this too you all as fast as I could. My computer decided "Oh, this story Autumn's Concerto? I don't like it. DELETE!" So if there are any mistakes, I'm sorry and please tell me if there is anything that is not right, I will fix it immediately. Thank you to all who have read and reviewed! Now, if you would be so kind as to read and review again, I'd be wonderfully happy. :) Thanks for sticking with me so far.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Twilight or any of its recognizable characters. All that belongs to Stephanie Meyer.
AND BEFORE I FORGET: Peter is not the same Peter from Jasper's past. It wasn't until a little while ago that I realized that there was a Peter in the Twilight saga and I was like *facepalm* My story's Peter... the things he does and what I'll do to him I didn't want to do to any of Stephanie's characters, so I created him on my own. His name I picked out of the air. Scout's Honor.
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I laid on my bed, going rapidly through the entire scenario of before and what might happen to this after. After spending a good amount of my night staring at the ceiling, I decided it might be good to draw myself out of the camatose state and crawl out of my hole I called my room for a while.
Most of the lights were off around our small house leaving me to wonder just how long I had been back in my room. This almost-obsession with Edward Cullen may not be healthy for my mental state.
Sue was sitting in the living room, a dog-eared, worn book in her hand. Her eyes flicked back and forth between lines leisurely, as if she had all the time to read. When she heard my foot falls, she glanced up and smiled.
"Hey there, sleepy head." She said warmly, setting her book aside and patting the space beside her. "Want to sit with me? I feel like I haven't seen you in so long."
I took my spot beside her, her familiar warmth was comforting, especially when she put an arm around me like she used to when I was younger. "So, what have you been up to?" She asked, her voice casual and lilting. I suddenly felt tired enough to wish I had stayed in my room. "What's the matter?"
"I... I don't know." I confessed. "I'm kind of confused."
"Is it a boy?"
My head swiveled back to face her. "How did you know?"
Her eyes softened and crinkled a little at the corners. "I remember having that same look on my face when I met your dad. You feel like nothing is making sense, right? That you want to go one way while at the same time going the other?" I nodded. "Completely normal." She announced. "Who's the lucky boy?"
"He's... strange." I said, purposefully avoiding the question. "One minute he's kind, the next he's ignoring me like the plague. And I feel like I'm going to go crazy, especially when I want to like him but I also just want to run away and not look back." I fell against Sue's shoulder and sighed. I seemed to be doing that a lot lately. "I'm so confused."
Sue was quiet, absentmindedly rubbing her hand up and down my arm in thought. "Well, maybe he's just as confused as you are. Maybe he's being bi-polar because he doesn't know what to do or say around you." She squeezed my arm lightly. "You can be intimidating."
I grumbled, "I don't mean to be."
"What's he like?"
"Apart from bi-polar?" I thought a minute. How could I describe what I saw without sounding obsessed? "He's very gentleman-like, no matter what. But when he gets angry, it's scary. But when he's normal, when he's being himself, he's patient and understanding and graceful. And he has these eyes that if you look straight into, they will show you everything he's thinking."
"Sounds like you're in deep."
"I am not."
"Bella, that look on your face is not 'I-know-a-cute-boy' look."
I didn't want to have this conversation anymore. "Sue, do you miss Dad?" I felt childish for asking it, but he had been on my mind for a while; him and Mom.
Sue's features softened, almost aging as she said, "I miss him every day."
"I do too." I caught myself off guard with the turn of conversation, and I felt bitterness I hadn't felt in years. Bitterness and sadness and childish. "I told him to be careful. I always told him to be careful. And the one time I didn't-"
"Isabella, you had nothing to do with his death." Sue said, taking my hand and clutching it hard in her fingers. "You loved him and he loved you and that's all I want you to remember. That's what he would want you to remember. He's been gone for three years now, sweetheart. Let this guilt go."
I nodded, but I didn't know how to let it go. "I have a date this Friday." I said quietly. "Do you think you could tell Peter I'm at a friend's house?"
Sue cocked her head. "Why should I lie to Peter? You're not going somewhere you're not supposed to, are you?"
I shook my head, searching my head for a way out: A lie I would have to convince her with. "No, no. But you know how... protective he gets over me and boys. He nearly drills holes with his eyes into the heads of the boys who go through the lunch line, and I hardly speak to them. I just... don't want to worry him."
Sue smiled and smoothed my hair back. "Well, then, I can do that for you. This Friday?"
"Yes."
"Alright then. I'll tell him you've gone to Angela's."
"Thanks."
"But I have to meet this boy." I grimaced but agreed. She just chuckled and then sent me back to bed.
"Aren't you going to bed?" I asked her from the hallway.
"I think I'll read for a little while longer. If you need anything, I'm right here or down the hall."
"I know." I went back to my room and locked my door, the lock above it, and set the chair against the door knob. I turned on the lamp by my bed before I turned off the main lights. I pulled my hair back into a loose pony tail and threw myself on my bed. I'd see him again tomorrow and hopefully I'd keep a straight mind. And then I'd see him the day after tomorrow for the "date." Between now and then, I would figure how to get him to talk. I thought I deserved to know why he would spread such nasty rumors about me around the school when I had done nothing to him.
I stayed up contemplating what I would do long enough to hear Sue go to bed. It wasn't until a little later, long enough for her to go to bed, that I heard my door knob turn almost discreetly with someone trying to get in. I lay staring at the dark ceiling, not moving, as the locked knob turned once then twice, then nothing.
I was in the dark shadows of the freezer when I heard the bell beside the cash register go off, telling me someone needed my attention. I came out immediately and stopped. Edward was leaning against the tray counter, looking more like a model than a person had the right to. And he was in the middle of a flourescent lighted cafeteria for Pete's sake. I was in my uniform for those on the school's payroll with my hair pulled back with ten bobby pins and felt stupid beside him. He glanced over to me and gave me a small smile. I tried to smile back but I was afraid it would come out like a grimace so I didn't.
"Hello, Bella." He said pleasently.
"Edward." I cautiously replied. Something seemed funny to him because he chuckled under his breath but then composed himself.
"If you still agree to go with me tomorrow, I will need your address. I know this is a bit last minute and I apologize."
"Edward, please, let me meet you somewhere."
"I said I would come get you at your house. I don't feel right about making you search me out."
"Yes, well, I don't feel right about letting you step foot in my house with my step-dad." I grumbled.
"What's wrong with your step-dad?"
Dang it. He wasn't supposed to hear that. "He's just... protective."
Edward let out a breath, running a hand through his hair. I noticed again how long his fingers were and wanted to slap myself. "Would it make you feel better if I picked you up outside where you live?"
"Sure." I said quickly. "A block away."
His jaw clenched, but he agreed.
We were silent for what seemed forever. I lost track of time with those green eyes staring so intimidatingly into mine.
"I still need the address, Bella."
This was so unhealthy. "Right. Of course." I backed away into the kitchen, digging around for a napkin and then a pen. I quickly scrawled the address of a block away from my house and the time of when I would be ready for him to come get me. When I handed it to him. I felt almost embarassed by how meager my napkin was compared to the rest of him. I don't know why. Maybe it was because he was dressed so nicely, everything about him was beautiful, and there was my dinky napkin. He glanced at it, then smoothly pulled out his own pen, the nice ball point ink kind, and elegantly wrote my name at the corner. Even that was much more beautiful, making my hand writing look like a young child's handwriting.
Edward folded it and slid it into his pocket, smiling charmingly at me.
"Is that all you needed?" I asked, folding my arms across my chest, almost to protect myself. He shook his head. "No, I'm pretty sure I have what I came for."
"Where are we going?" I all but blurted.
"That is a surprise."
"I've never liked surprises." I said, almost rudely but he just grinned. "Why doesn't that surprise me? I promise it won't be as bad as you're making it."
"How do you know how bad I'm making it?"
"I find the more time I spend with you, the easier it is to figure you out."
I found that rude. He had only seen me two days in a row after weeks of ignoring me after one gone-wrong date. "Are you done?"
He ran his hand through his hair again and said, "Yes."
My nod was curt; I was trying to keep my tiny bubble of excitement from showing and succeeded until he leaned in and kissed my cheek so gently it was like a feather. A simple brush across my cheek and up my face went and my heart stuttered. "See you tomorrow." He whispered, still in close proximity to me. He seemed almost as surprised as me, or maybe I imagined it, because he was gone before I could get my heart under control.
"Yeah." I finally managed softly to the door he had just left through.
My morning at Webber's on Friday was easy. I think it had more to do that it was the morning and my mind was in auto pilot. My afternoon at the school, however, was harder.
I spent a little time with Sue in the library. A new major project had been given out and students were pouring in to use the books and Sue couldn't manage all the students and the counter by herself. After that I spent the rest of my time in the kitchen with Peter cutting vegetables and that was when I noticed that the normal group of four had a fifth member added to it.
Edward had joined the group today, in day light, and was ... laughing. When I came out of the kitchen to clean off the counter of the food area, I saw him right away and he saw me. His head was turning towards me just as I was opening the door, almost like he had been checking the door but that couldn't be right. There was something in his eyes that I saw even from where I was standing and I couldn't place it, but it made my stomach flip. The small girl beside him caught him staring at me and turned to look at me too. Her smile was brilliant and white teeth and she waved me over.
"So, you are Isabella Swan?" She asked politely. Her voice was high pitched, like a flute, lilting and flowing and just as pretty.
"Just Bella." I replied, trying not to fidget with whatever was in my pocket. "How can I help you?"
"Oh, I don't want help." She pulled a chair out so fast it appeared to come out of nowhere. "Sit with us."
The invitation was so out of place it baffled me. The other three's attention was now on me, the gorgeous blonde's eyes were going from Edward and me in a continuous line.
"I don't-"
"Alice," Edward interjected smoothly, "she doesn't know us. Don't make her feel uncomfortable."
"I'm Alice," she said, as if Edward hadn't spoken. "This is Jasper," she gestured to the blonde boy beside her. "And this is Emmett." The huge bear of a man. Despite the last conversation between him, me, and Jasper, he smiled, revealing dimples. "And this is Rosalie." The perfect blonde pinned me with her eyes like she was measuring up. "And you're Bella! I've heard so much about you."
I felt my stomach drop. Was this another sort of underlying cruelty? Was she making up for the scene I had caused Edward? The other two boys knew about it, there's no doubt she knew too.
"What Alice means is," Emmett said, his voice booming, "is that she's heard everything about you from Eddie here." He thumped Edward on the back, the sound was so loud I thought maybe he had broken his back. Edward twisted away and knocked his hand aside, saying, "Alice, Bella works here. She can't drop everything she's doing just to satisfy your needs."
Alice cocked him an eyebrow. "I'm just trying to be friendly, Edward. Maybe she needs a break. Do you?" She turned big, piercing blue eyes on me. "Sit with us. I'm sure we'd be great friends."
She sounded sincere and I found myself wanting to take her invitation. "I'm sorry, I can't. I would like to, but I have to get back to work."
"But we're the only ones here." She pointed out.
"I know, but I can't take a break right now. But I appreciate the offer." I smiled, hoping it was convincing enough for her. She just shrugged. "Some other time then."
I nodded and then it became awkward. I stood beside their table, shifting from one foot to the other.
"Well, I'd better... get back to work." I said. Alice smiled again but the stares from the others were intimidating. I took a step back, then another, and then I turned around and walked as normally as I could back to the kitchen.
In the silence, their voices carried back to me. "Think she's awkward enough?"
"Rose, there's no need for that kind of tone."
"Don't talk to me like that, Emmett."
"I think she's fine." I heard Alice say. "I don't know about all those rumors I heard. I thought they sounded like jealous girl's stories and I think I'm right."
The kitchen door fell behind me, cutting off whatever else they said in their conversation. Was this a good omen for tonight? Stop it, Bella. Overthinking this will just make you go crazy. Give this another chance, you know you want to. But could I actually go through with it? The memories of before had not faded. If I trudged them up, it still stung and I knew my words hadn't been forgotten. I just needed to ... calm down. And wait outside, a block away from my home at five so I could meet him. If it didn't go well this time, I'd completely forget it. I'd forget who he was, I'd forget what he looked like. If I ever saw him on campus again, I'd just see him as another student.
That was a good way to look at things, right?
"What was that?"
I jumped, forgetting Peter was back here with me. He was still chopping vegetables, but the knife was coming down harder, each slice ending with a loud, forbidding thunk. I swallowed before I answered. "It's nothing. They had a question and I answered it for them."
"What kind of question?" Still he did not look at me.
"Nothing important. I've forgotten it now."
"That brat was staring at you."
"Alice? She was the one asking me-"
"No. The boy beside her with the brown hair."
"Edward?"
That was when Peter stopped chopping and turned to me, the knife still in his hand. "You know him?"
"Not well." And it was the truth, wasn't it? "I just know his name."
"You're intimate with him enough to call him by his first name?"
"It's not like that, Peter."
He set the knife down and fully faced me, leaning against the counter and crossing one foot over the other. I wasn't fooled by the easy stance. "I don't want you near any boys, you got that? They only want you for one thing and I won't allow them to have it."
How I hid the shiver that went crawling down my back, I don't know. I managed to keep a straight face and say, "I know," normally. Peter stared at me for a long time so hard, I felt the pressure against my skin. I finally broke away and went to the trays, pretending to stack them by color.
He didn't say anything more to me then and I was relieved. When he left for his break, I decided to chance something. I went back out to the group, still sitting there eating. When they saw me, the talk quieted down.
To Edward, I said, "May I speak with you for a moment?" At the look his friends were giving me, I quickly added, "It won't take long."
Swiftly he left his chair and followed me back to the register, out of earshot of the others. The only solution for the small privacy I could justify was his friends made me uncomfortable.
"Before you leave the school, Sue would like to meet you."
"Sue?"
"She's my step mom."
"You told someone about me?"
"Was I not supposed to?"
"No, it just ... surprised me is all. When and where?"
"Whenever you have free time, which I'm hoping is now because I don't think I'll be able to introduce the two of you without-" I cut my words off. I had a terrible case of nerves right now and when I was nervouse I talked a lot." Edward didn't say anything, obviously was waiting me to finish, but I knew he caught my slip. "Whenever you can find the time, but right now would be best." I amended.
"Alright. Am I to guess that Sue is the librarian you used to work with?"
"Yes."
I wished I had noticed earlier how close we were. We were nearly toe-to-toe with him leaning over me and me craning to look into his face. I was suddenly very warm and my heart was pressing its normal speed limit. We were in our own private bubble, transparent to the outiders at the table looking in. He seemed to notice it too and stepped away. "Then lead the way and I will follow."
Taking a shaking breath, I pushed past him and started to walk towards the door, keeping my mind occupied while passing the table and the following stares. Edward gave them an excuse with a promise that he'd be back and if not to go on without him.
Silently, he followed me. It was unnerving. Silence was not golden in this type of situation so I said the first thing that came to my mind.
"So, they are your friends?"
"Yes."
Now where to go from there? "Alice seems ... comfortable."
He chuckled. "She's never had any problem meeting new people."
"Oh."
I didn't want to mention the others. How Jasper calculating stare could make a person feel like he knew everything they were feeling or how Emmet's size made a person feel so small or that Rosalie's entire being slapped a girl's self esteem silly.
"They all seem very different." I said instead. It certainly sounded less harsh than what I had been thinking.
"We are different. Polar opposites. It's a wonder we all get along." He replied nonchalantly. "But I suppose it's like the saying 'opposites attract' right?"
Coming to the library doors saved me from having to continue the strained conversation. Sue looked up from the counter and her entire copper face split into a smile.
"Hello, Bella!" She welcomed, coming out from behind the desk. "Is this the boy?"
This was going to be embarassing, I just knew it. "Yes. Sue, this is Edward. Edward, this is my step-mother, Sue."
He took her hand gingerly and shook it. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sue." The minute she heard his voice, Sue's eyes were on mine and sparkling. I prayed Edward hadn't seen it but as always I had no such luck. His eyes couldn't only be described as dancing with mirth.
"The pleasure is all mine." She said warmly. I was always thankful that Sue never acted younger than she was. The war stories of the few friends I had other their mothers trying to relive their glory days was enough to scare me, but Sue never did that.
"So, where are you taking my daughter?"
Edward looked from her to me and then leaned in to whisper to her. I tried to hear, but he was speaking so low that even from how close I was I couldn't hear anything but a rumble. Sue clapped her hands once and said, "I think that is wonderful! She hasn't done that in so long but I'm sure she'll remember it when you go." If that wasn't cryptic I don't know what was. Sudddenly, Sue asked, "Edward, what is your last name?"
I thought Edward wasn't going to answer. The look on his face plainly said he didn't want to. "Masen." Sue was going to recognize the name.
Sue gasped and I wanted to put my head down on the desk. "So, you are Ms. Esme's son? You know, your mother is a wonderful person. She and I have talked a little and it's very plain that you are her world."
Edward's jaw tightened but he still kept the smile. I wondered if Sue would see it and stop. When she opened her mouth to speak again, I stopped her. "Sue, I have to get back to the cafeteria. I snuck out without Peter knowing and I have to get back before he notices."
She went aflutter. "Why would you sneak out? Never mind, don't answer, hurry back. Have fun tonight and remember to be careful."
I may have shoved Edward out the door. "Thanks, Sue." I bit my lip on the way back to the cafeteria, praying I was back before Peter saw me gone and already coming up with excuses in case he wasn't.
I made it back to the cafeteria without Peter in sight and sighed from the very pool of my being.
"Why were you in such a rush to get back?"
How had I not noticed Edward was still behind me?
"If Peter had seen me gone ... I don't know, something would have happened."
"What would have happened? You were gone to see your step-mother."
A perfect excuse. Why did I always have to over complicate things? "Because I left the cafeteria by itself."
"It's not going to burn to the ground."
"Yeah, well, you don't understand Peter." I rubbed my temples with the tips of my fingers and breathed in. "You should probably go. I have a lot to do."
I tried to pry where Edward was taking me out of Sue later, but she wouldn't budge. "It's a secret," was all she said, winking. She obnoxiously knew how to drive my imagination insane. The only clue she gave me was when she was helping me pick out what to wear: a dark blue shirt and white skirt. So I wasn't going outside for sports of any kind and it was more than casual? Or maybe that was just Sue thinking that I had to dress up for a date with the headmaster's son.
I kissed Sue goodbye before I left, slipping on matching flats before I left the threshold. I took my bag with me too. If he did give me the book back, I was going to keep it on me at all times until tomorrow when I gave it back to Jake. Inside was his jacket too, taken off the back of my chair and neatly folded. But of course, the bag was zipped and would always be on my shoulder, so if he refused, I would keep the ridiculously expensive jacket, pawn it off, and pay for Jake's book.
I walked the block and stopped near one of the countless trees of Forks, Washington. Where we lived was ... not the best part of Forks. Not dangerous unless you counted the wolves, bears, or coyotes, but not well populated. We lived out in the middle of nowhere in the middle of Nowhere, Washington. Despite the large mammals and lack of people, I enjoyed the walks now and then. They were few and far between with my jobs and helping Sue, but when I got them, they cleared my mind, gave me time to think, and at times calmed me down.
No one drove down these roads often, so when I heard the soft approaching tires, I knew who it was. And he was right on time. Of course.
He had his door open already and getting out to come for my door. I forgot he liked to do that. I gingerly stepped into the car, pulling my skirt in after me to keep it from shutting in the door as he closed it. On his side of the car, he simultaneously was in the car, putting on his seat belt, and accelerating the car. Don't ask me how he did it.
"Please tell me driving dangerously is not something you do often."
His eyes shot over to me. "This is dangerous to you?" His tone was good humored.
"Going sixty-five on a forty-five speed limit? I'd say it's borderline."
He laughed. "I know what I'm doing. Don't worry, Bella, I won't let anything happen to you."
My heart may have skipped a beat. Whether I was on guard with him or not, I was still a girl and from what I understood of movies, that meant sweet words like that could still get to me.
I sat back in the leather and looked at everything but out the windshield in case I became a passenger driver. Stomping down on the invisible brake might look bad on my part.
"You're not nervous being around me are you?"
"Depends on what you mean by nervous." I chanced a glance at his side profile. His eyes were still on the road, both hands on the wheel, but he was paying attention to what I said, maybe even to how I was acting. "If you mean I'm nervous that we're going to crash because you don't have a healthy respect for speed limits, sure."
He grinned and I noticed this his canines were a little longer than normal. "I'll keep that in mind, but what I mean is is that I don't want you to think we're going to have a ... repeat of our last time together." There was a part of me that didn't believe him but it was shrinking by the minute. Blossoming was a part of me that believed he was sincere and creeping was the part of me that wondered why the change of heart when he had spoken to me in weeks.
"Why?" He didn't ask me what I meant.
"I don't know why," he replied softly. I wanted to press for more information, but something stopped me. Maybe it was the look on his face.
As nicely as I could, because I might as well so I could say I gave this a chance, I asked. "Do you have the book?" It sounded like I was using a code for illegal substances. I felt so stupid.
His mouth twitched and he gestured to the back. "It's in the trunk with my bag."
I waited for him to ask about his jacket, but he didn't. "Um, I have your jacket too."
Again his mouth twitch upwards.
We drove for a while longer when I suddenly recognized where we were and where we were headed. "Why are we going back to the school?"
"Believe it or not, there's somewhere I want to take you there." Skepticism must have shown on my face because when he turned, he laughed, "I'm serious. Its been closed for a while and it's not open to students anymore, but we'll get in."
In other words: breaking and entering.
I stayed silent as Edward slowed down and we pulled up to the school, thinking we were actually going to break into the main building while also thinking I was an idiot for agreeing to this. But we drove right past the main building, the library, and the cafeteria. We continued driving back to the buildings that were known as the barracks that hadn't been used for years since the updating and additions to the main building. Past those and to the very back where one lone building was sitting, dark and abandoned. Edward went around the building and parked in the back. I looked at the building like it was an enemy base. It was rather far from the school, actually closer to the road but to get to it a person would have to walk the path was so narrow. There was no way a car could reach it with the short cut.
Edward opened my door, standing beside it with an arm stretched towards the building. "Ladies first."
At one time the outside walls may have been pure white with green trimming. But the outside had been graffitied with black music notes around the building. It looked like it had been done with purpose and not vandalism. The windows were pitch black without light, giving it the feel or foreboding and approach with caution.
"Perhaps I'll go in first to make it seem less frightening," I heard at my side. Edward strode forward, pulling out of his pockets a ring of keys. He pulled out one that from our short distance I could see looked like an old skeleton key which fit in the door easily. He disappeared through the door and I had the ridiculous image of him being eaten by the darkness. Shortly lights came on in the front and a trail followed going to the back. I saw his black shadow moving through the golden lit rooms, looking like one of those old shadow profile pictures from the eighteen hundres.
He stepped outside and waved me forward. "It's safe now." I approached with the caution I had felt earlier but with lights it felt silly. I expected to find the inside dirty with dust and cluttered with everything out of place but it was clean, taking me by complete surprise. It was almost like a small house of sorts, with a hallway that met you at the door that led to a large room with a couch a few chairs and a large object in the middle of the room covered by a white sheet. Off to the side was a smaller room that when inspected showed instuments lining the walls and sheet music piled in the corner.
The walls in each room were white, holding tacked to them papers of composition. If my limited knowledge of reading music was correct, they would have been beautiful if they had been completed.
"Wow," I breathed.
"I know." He said behind me.
"What is this?"
"This is the Edward Masen Music Room, where the most brilliant teacher taught music to whoever wished to learn."
I frowned. That was a little conceited, wasn't it?
"No, it wasn't named after me." He put out there like he could read my mind. "I was named after my father, Edward Masen senior. He was the teacher here."
Oh.
"Aren't you going ot ask me where he is?"
"I figure," I said, thinking quickly, "that you'll tell me if you want to without me putting my nose where it doesn't belong." Even if I've already done that.
The look on his face was off, like that wasn't the answer he had expected and that he had an answer already prepared had I asked where his father was.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." I said quietly. He just nodded and turned away from me, going to the covered object and running his hands over it smoothly.
"Do you rememeber when we were in my car weeks ago?" Though I didn't really want to, I still held that memory clear. "I remember how you told me you used to play piano, taught by your mother, right?" He pulled the sheet off and there was a beautiful baby grand piano, gleaming in the light like it was brand new. My breath caught as memories rushed to me that I hadn't known I still knew. Edward was at one end of the keys, picking out a distracted tune. "I thought that if we both did something we had in common it would be a better start."
How was it so easy for him to send my heart tripping over itself? His words, the fact that he had actually been listening and thought about this... I was... touched.
But, "I really can't play." I reminded. "I can play simple things and even those aren't the best. I played with my mom because it was like a mother-daughter thing for her." When I thought about those words later, it sounded like I was shooting him down. But I wasn't, I just didn't want to embarass myself when I played horribly. I thought I had ruined it then, but he just smiled a true smile, crooked and happy, and murmured gently, "Then I'll teach you."
He pulled the bench out for me, waiting for me to find it in me to actually take the seat. I thought he was going to sit beside me, but he didn't. He nudged me to the middle of the bench and then stood directly behind me, bending slightly so that he could hover my hands over the keys. The space between my fingers and keys were enough for him to slide his hands under mine. "Let your hands rest on mine," he instructed, "and just feel me play."
My heart was beating too fast. I felt the deep pounding in my chest and the blood rushing in my ears. I thought I had long fingers, but his were even longer, making me feel better. His were definite piano hands, easily reaching far off black keys better than I could. But his skin was cool and smooth, I could feel the slightest touch he used to bring out a gorgeous melody. There was something intimate about our position. Not just how close he was, but how it seemed as if we were working together to bring out this music, that I was a part of something he was creating. I felt the music in my heart and the song in my mind, I knew what it was saying without words and I felt the over powering colors that filled my body.
His fingers drifted under mine elegantly. In my ear he hummed a counter harmony. This was the epitome of beauty.
The music stopped before the crescendo. "I haven't gotten any farther." He whispered. I felt the tears in my eyes and only understood why in a dark place of myself I wouldn't be able to find. I wanted to explain to him how beautiful it was, how I felt it in my bones and when I went to, I almost bumped noses with him. He was so close, his head right beside my hovering over my shoulder. He didn't turn his head lest he knock into me, but he did pull back, allowing me to face myself in his direction.
"It's beautiful." I whispered so softly he could only hear it in this silence.
He swallowed and it occured to me he might be just as nervous as me. Whatever he was thinking, whatever the reason we were here now, I didn't care.
His hand came up, wavering like he wasn't sure of what he was going to do. I didn't move, I didn't flinch. Steadily now, the back of his fingers came to rest on my cheek and slid down until one knuckle traced my lips.
My face was hot, burning, but in a good way, a way I wanted. He bent down, crouched on his feet so he could be eye level with me. My heart was in my throat, beating so hard I thought I would choke.
Gently, gently, he kissed me.
