A/N: Hello everyone! Sorry I didn't post last week. Last weekend was really rough and I wasn't in a mood to write at all. Believe me, I felt awful for not posting after I received the most comments for a chapter so far (and many thanks to you all for those too!). Powered by caffeine and snickerdoodles, I've written two chapters to make it up to you all. Enjoy :)
I hesitantly place my fingers on the keys of my piano before staring down at my hands. "Oh come on." Matt chuckles as he stares me down with a raised eyebrow. My eyes dart from his back to my hands nervously. I can't believe how fan-girly I'm feeling right now. It's just Matt… who's an incredible pianist.
"I must warn you, I'm awful."
"Mads, I'm sure you're fine." I sigh before playing a song I picked up in college. To my surprise, I can still play it quite well. During the middle of the song, I glance over at Matt who's staring intently at my fingers. He distracts me a sweet smile, causing me to mess up.
"Shit." I scoff, slamming down on the keys. "I told you I'd suck." Matt shakes his head with a quite giggle.
"You were fine. I really liked what you were playing." With a concentrated expression, Matt places his hands on the keys near mine and starts to play something very similar to what I just played. As he continues playing, the song becomes quite different and much more… Well, more Matt. I sit there, mesmerized by his playing, until the phone rings.
The music comes to a halt as I slowly get up from the piano bench. "No, keep playing." I beg Matt quietly. "I'll be right back." I quickly walk over to the kitchen and pick up the black phone lying on the counter before glancing at the screen. "Hey, Meghan. How was the flight home?" I ask my friend who had left a few days ago.
"It was okay. It's so weird being home. Sorry we stayed longer than we expected."
"Oh, don't worry. I loved having you guys. It gets a bit lonely around here."
"When does Matt leave?" She asks. I glance over into the other room at Matt who has started to play again.
"Tomorrow." I sigh. "I guess I'll be all by myself again." Matt's gaze shifts from the keys to me at this. He once again concludes his playing to make his way over to me. "He'll be over in Asia for a while."
On the other line, Emmett's voice calls to his wife which is followed by muffled chatter. "Sorry. That's too bad. Well I have to go. Emmett and I are going out tonight. Maybe we'll come and visit soon. You and Matt make the best of tonight for me, okay?"
"Oh, we will." I chuckle. "You and Emmett have fun. I'll talk to you soon." After hanging up the phone, I feel arms wrap around my waist.
"I'm going to miss you." Matt mutters into my ear. "I'm sorry I have to leave so much." I turn my head toward his.
"It's not your fault. You're in a band and you have shows to play all over the world. It's your job. I'm just an incredibly lonely person." Matt giggles as he hugs me tighter against him. I decide to ask him something that's been on my mind for a while. "Matt, would you want to spend Thanksgiving with me in New York? I'm staying at my parents' house and I thought maybe that could give you a chance to meet my family."
Matt gives me an excited and genuine smile. "Yeah, I'd love to! I'll check the tour schedule tomorrow."
"Okay. Text me tomorrow if you can." Matt nods before turning me around to face him. He raises an eyebrow at me and gives me a quite silly expression. I raise my eyebrows as well.
We stare at each other for a few seconds before I ask, "What?" Matt looks up at the ceiling, hinting upstairs. Once my face reveals I understand what he's talking about, he wiggles an eyebrow once more. I take his hand, leading him upstairs.
After entering our room, Matt shuts the door before pressing his lips against mine. He removes my shirt from my body before pushing me onto the bed. I carefully unbutton his shirt without our lips coming apart. "I'm gonna miss this." Matt smirks.
The next morning, I wake up to find Matt's spot on the bed empty. I throw on his shirt from last night that was lying in a crumpled ball in the middle of the bedroom along with a pair of sweatpants. Pushing my glasses against my face, I trudge down the stairs. Suitcases lie near the door and Matt's talking on the phone as he drinks a cup of coffee. He gives me a small smile as I wrap my arms around his neck and lightly kiss his cheek.
"Yeah." He says into the phone as he places his hand on my upper back. "That's fine. Great. Bye." He hangs up the phone then passionately kisses my lips. "I have to go. You go design amazing things for me, okay?" Putting down his coffee and the phone, he pulls me into a tight embrace. "I love you."
"I love you too."
"Well you look nice." I tell Adam as he struts into my office a week later. He gives me a pleased smile as he sits down in the white leather couch across from my desk.
"Brad and I are seeing For Colored Girls tonight." He boasts. I can't help but laugh at the way he says it. Then I realize something.
"Wait, you're going with Brad? My Brad?" I give him a confused look before my computer makes a loud noise, indicating that I have a new email. "Matt just emailed me." I sing as I frantically click on the email. Adam jumps up from the couch and peeks over my shoulder to read the email. "Maddy," I read aloud, trying to contain my excitement. "I've found some time to record this. I decided to add in some synths and stuff. I'm thinking I can work this into the next album maybe as a new song with lyrics or something. For now, I'm calling it "Sonata in M," that way if it gets leaked somehow, people will think it stands for "Matt" or "Muse" instead of your name. I've showed it to Dom and Chris and they seem to like it. Hope you feel the same way. Love you, Matt."
Adam gives me an excited smile. "He wrote you a song." He gushes just above a whisper. "Open the file!" He orders, pointing at the screen. I click on the file attached to the email. A screen appears followed by a piano piece, much like the one Matt was playing the night before he left, backed by strings. It's simply beautiful.
"Do you need a tissue?" Adam asks after the song ends. I suddenly realize my cheeks are wet.
"Shit, I'm crying." I chuckle as I receive a tissue from Adam. "That was so beautiful."
"And he wrote it for you!" He cheers, nearly jumping into the air. I nod, still in shock. I rummage through my purse for my Blackberry. After finally finding it, I immediately text Meghan.
The man wrote me a song.
A little less than a minute after sending the message, I receive a phone call from Meghan. "He didn't! How does it go? Is it good?"She asks excitedly.
"It's just piano and strings so far, but it's so beautiful! I'll send it to you."
"I can't wait to hear it!"
"And I can't wait for you to hear it." I say as I press the reply button to thank Matt for the song. I decide that calling him would be more genuine than thanking him through email, so I end my conversation with Meghan and dial Matt's number.
Matt picks up the phone on the second ring. "Did you get it?" He asks with the excitement of a five year old on Christmas morning. "Did you like it?"
"I loved it! God, it was so beautiful, Matt. I actually cried, even ask Adam."
"It's true, she did." Adam says loud enough for Matt to hear through the phone. Laughter is heard from Matt's side of the phone.
"I'm so glad you liked it! I'll work on writing lyrics for it soon." He says cheerfully.
"You don't have to!" I tell him. "It's beautiful the way it is. Now I have to do something awesome for you now."
"No you don't, love."
"Yes, I do. I insist. Now before you try to talk me out of it, I have to go back to work. I'll talk to you later. Love you."
"Fine. I love you too." I hang up the phone and realize I have no idea what I'm going to do for Matt that would even come close to making me a song.
I sit down on my couch later that night with a notebook on my lap, tapping a pen against the empty page. I've decided to write Matt a poem. I always did quite well in English class. The only thing to worry about is this becoming complete and utter cheese, which I'm sure is going to happen.
After staring at the paper in front of me, I begin to write the poem. I read it over, realizing how ridiculous it sounds. Deciding she'll know what to do with it, I call up Meghan and read her the poem.
"When you're gone, I long for your arms to wrap around me in one of your tight embraces and for you to whisper in my ear the three words that never fail to bring a smile to my face.
Though it had been empty for a while, my bed feels all too lonely and spacious without you lying there next to me, your face just inches away. Things just aren't the same without your smiling face glowing with contagious happiness.
From the day I met you, I was filled with this incredible feeling every time we spoke or you just looked me in the eyes. To be yours is simply surreal.
"Does that sound stupid?" I ask after reading it.
"Yes, very." She says. I rip the paper from the notebook and crumple it into a ball. Frustrated, I chuck it across the room.
"I'm giving up!" I announce.
"Don't give up, darling. I'm sure Matt will love it." She says, her voice filled with encouragement. Despite her support, I pick up the paper from the floor and hopelessly throw it away.
Sighing, I say, "It's shit. I'm not giving him this." I stand in the kitchen rubbing my forehead, desperate for ideas.
"Why don't you do something artistic, like a collage or something?" She suggests. "You're good at making those."
I think about her idea for a moment. I've always loved working with pictures, so maybe something good will come out of her recommendation.
After ending my conversation with Meghan, I head over to my computer and open the file containing all my pictures. I search through them, finding pictures of Matt and I on the night we met, pictures of us from Fashion Week, and photos of the band and I in Australia. I fit all of them into a little slideshow, adding effects and transitions.
I have a desperate need for more pictures after editing them all. Reluctantly, I text Dom, asking him if he has any pictures of Matt and I. Within minutes, he sends me a bunch of pictures, one in particular catching my eye.
The picture is of Matt and I sleeping in a hotel room. I'm fully clothed, shoes and all, lying in a sleeping Matt's arms. My mouth is slightly open and I have makeup smudged all over my face. I insert the picture at the end of the montage and send it to Matt after finishing it up.
A few minutes later, I receive a call from Matt. "I loved it! Where did you find that picture of us at the end?" He asks.
"I took it." Dom shouts victoriously in the background.
"You did? Was that the night Maddy crashed at the hotel?"
"Yeah, I think it was." I answer for Dom.
"Hold on for a second, babe. Dom wants to talk to you." Matt says, handing over the phone to his bandmate as he mutters something to him.
"Hey, Mads! He really loved the video." Dom says. "You should've seen his face. He misses you. We all do."
"I miss you guys too, Dominic, dear." I tell him. "I'm glad he liked it, even though it isn't nearly as good as the piano piece Matt wrote for me."
Matt asks Dom for the phone back on the other line. "We all really enjoyed your collage though. It was very sweet. I'll text you later, okay? Here's Matt."
"Can I come back to visit you in a couple weeks?" Matt asks after Dom hands him the phone. "We have a few days in between shows and I was thinking about spending them with you."
"Sure, if you can make it back for the show on time."
"I'm sure I can, there's just something important I need to talk to you about."
