8: Growing Garden

Ever since I asked for Cat to visit me again, I have been steadily making the rooftop a better place to hang out and chill.

The first thing that had to be done was cleaning. For a whole afternoon, I swept and scrubbed, making sure that it was spotless. I gained new callouses for it. But I didn't care. I was happy that step was done with.

The next following days I went to a plant nursery where they sold all sorts of flora and gardening equipment.

They even had a delivery service that wasn't that expensive so I ordered to my heart's content.

For the most part.

My landlord doesn't want very big plants so trees and bushes were out of the question.

But I did get a type of metallic garden shelf that held four pots tall in a zig-zag pattern.

From top to bottom there was a rebutia cactus that had a desert flower bud, ready to bloom, still don't know when it will bloom, but whatever color it's flower will be, I have a feeling it will be beautiful. A jade plant that basically fills the entire pot. Hopefully it will bring me luck with the money department since I am so far just depending on my UTube income.

An aloe vera that I thought would be very useful medicinal wise.

My mom and grandma had those plants. When one of us got burnt, they would cut a piece of the planet and use its slimy juice to relieve the pain and not get that bad of a burn mark.

Now that I cook my own meals, there are times that I occasionally have oil jump at my hands. Those things burn like a bitch.

And for the last plant on the shelf it was crown-of-thorns, that was larger than any of the pots on top of it.

...They had that plant too. They were rather religious. I- well- it's hard to have faith in God when He left you alone.

But that doesn't mean I am not a believer. It's just- it's hard to not be mad at Him for what has happened to your life. After all, I- I'm not a bad person. Not purposely. What did I do to deserve that?

Now, I am starting a new life where I have new friends who are good people.

I hope I don't lose them.

Shaking my head from those depressing thoughts, I went to the other site where I got a three layer iron shoe rack where I had more plants.

At the bottom layer I had three pots, from left to right was mint, lavender and rosemary.

The middle had two pots: snapdragons and marigolds.

And on the top it held one single pot that I hope I will be able to trim properly, a bonsai tree.

All that took about two days.

And when I came up one night, I realized I needed more light.

So the next afternoon, I went shopping and bought a lot of lights and several extension cords.

I got white paper lantern string lights that I connected to the four corners of roofs, courtesy of the lantern poles that were there. From there, I crisscrossed two mini star-shaped string lights on opposite corners to have more light.

When I turned on those lights when night came, I felt so incredibly at peace.

It felt even better when I played some instrumental music in the background, mainly piano and violin duets.

I know I'm going to add more things in the future, but for now… this is perfect.

"Love what you did to the place," Cat says as he landed.

I saw him on the other rooftop, so I wasn't startled this time.

"I'm starting to think that you are trying to impress me," he smirks as he makes his way towards me. On his hand there was my Tupperware and my thermos. He set it on the table and I gave him a soft smile.

"Thank you for coming, first of all," I start. "But in all honesty, I wasn't trying to impress you. This was more for my own pleasure. If I'm going to keep coming up, I should decorate it how I want it." My lips twisted in a lopsided smile. I had brought the filled churros in a different Tupperware and pushed them towards him. He immediately grabbed one and took a bite.

I simply smiled in my warm cup of coffee as I saw his face glow with delight.

"These are amazing!" Cat moans. I gave him a thermos that already has Chocolate Abuelita just for him.

"I know they are," I laughed. "Glad that you like them." Then a wistful feeling came over as I took in the whole picture before me. "This almost reminds me of home," I whispered softly.

"Huh?" He says as he finishes swallowing. "You're not from Paris?" I could tell he was acting falsely surprised.

But I'm going to play along with his 'ignorance', for both our sakes. "I'm American, from California, actually."

"Your French is flawless, you don't have much of an accent," Cat compliments.

"Thanks, I… tried very hard to hide the fact that I'm not from around here," I sighed. "But I guess my American side was bound to come out, one way or another."

"Hey, that's not a bad thing, that just makes you…special." I know that he was trying to be supportive, trying to make me feel better, but-

"Special, huh?" My voice drawls as I lazily swirl my coffee around, the liquid not spilling with my calculated motions. "Everyone is special, but some people don't appreciate that."

My sister… She was special. I remembered how a lot of children, even adults, would make sure they were away from her. Like she was a type of contagious disease.

But there were some people who did accept her, and therefore accepted me.

I may not have been as special as her, but I was still a 'special' child. Still am.

That type of specialty doesn't ever go away.

No matter how much science wants to try.

And no matter how hard I try to hide that specialty. Eventually that secret will be out. And it will be then, when I will find out who my true friends are.

I just hope Cat Boy will be a true friend.

"I miss my home, especially the beach," I smiled forlornly. "I lived so close to it. It was just a bus stop or a bike ride away."

"It must be nice," Cat says. "I'm sure you'll go back."

I shake my head, "Not soon enough." November is steadily approaching and I wish I could visit their graves, but… "My aunt and uncle wouldn't recommend it." It slipped out, but somehow I didn't care. I don't mind sharing the incoming information. It's not like I'm the only one that has the same situation.

"Wouldn't your parents worry about that?" Cat asks as his tone shifts into something more serious.

I looked him in the eyes and tried to speak in the most steady voice that I could manage. But I could only whisper, "My parents died." A single tear slipped down my cheek, trailing down, only to fall off my chin. "Almost two years ago," I added absently.

"...I'm sorry," he whispers.

"It's not your fault," I frown as I use the bottom of my sleeve to clean my cheek. I don't understand why they keep apologizing. They didn't kill them. And the person who is responsible is behind bars. He isn't sorry.

"It's going to take a while for the pain to not be as painful," I clutch my hoodie on the area over my heart.

"I understand," Cat whispers as he holds my free hand with his. "I really hope you can feel better one day."

"I do too," More tears came down without my consent. I quickly wiped them away and with a couple of sniffles, they stopped. "Look at me. Already crying on you. Sorry."

"Hey, don't be," Cat insists as he squeezes my hand. "We're friends now."

"Really?" Gawd, I'm already sniffling again to stop the waterworks.

Cat smiled softly and damn, it made me feel better already. Even more when he wipes away the stray tears that managed to escape. "You can tell me anything, I promise I'll keep your secrets."

I nod silently and with a final squeeze our hands broke contact.

Then we spent talking on less depressing things as we enjoyed the warm drinks and sugary treats.

He mainly asked about California, asking for more details about why I missed living near the beach.

And so I told him in great detail, almost like I was doing a storytelling video for my UTube channel. I made sure to tell about the glory that is the sea, how wonderful it was to see the sun disappear in the vast ocean, the terrors and hilarity of seagulls trying to steal food from your very hands, and the peacefulness of just sitting either the sand or standing on the end of a harbor and let the sea breeze caress your face.

It was satisfying to see how captivated he looked as he listened on with all those facial expressions. I wonder if that is how my viewers' faces look anything like his. Because if they do, I would be glowing with warmth.

When I finished telling him about my wonderful home, he told me about his: Paris. He mentioned many of the touristic places, but the way he described it, I want to visit them when I can. And this time, take my sweet time to enjoy the place.

Eventually our cups were empty and the air grew too chilly for me.

"It's time I should head back," Cat stands as he stretches his hands up before putting them behind his head.

"Yeah, okay," I stand up as well as I rub my hands together for warmth. "Good night, Cat. Stay safe."

He smiles, "Good night, Jolene. You too." He went towards the edge of the roof and before he jumped out he turned around and winked, "See you next time."

Before I asked him more, he had already left, his silhouette getting smaller within seconds.

Next time? Like when?

But even with all those questions, I already knew that I'm going to be at the roof every night, waiting for him.

He's my friend now. He said so.

My new investment would be a heater, or a fire pit.

The smell of burning wood and the chill of the wind will make me remember better days too…

With that pinned on my mental checklist, I went back inside.

This time sleep came easier.

"Good afternoon, Jolene, how are you feeling?" My psychiatrist, Dr. Babineux, asks as I sit on the chair in her office.

"I'm good, thank you," I smiled politely. "And you?"

Her lips twitched as a knowing smile came to her face, "I'm feeling fantastic. But we are here to talk about you. From our last session you told me that you have friends at school, but not close friends.

"I have a feeling today is going to be a different answer."

And it was. I was purposely vague about who it was. Just that he is a boy in my class.

I didn't want to say more, in case she uses her psychology against me without even knowing and revealing Cat's real identity.

"What compelled you to trust this boy?" She asks, surprising me.

"Eh?"

She gives that knowingly smile, almost mocking. "From what I gathered from our meetings, you have always been a cautious person regarding opening up your feelings.

"It would seem a little strange that you would just trust this boy unless… you have certain feelings of attraction for him," she finishes, her smirk taunting me.

"Oh," I stared blankly, relief going through me as she didn't correctly guess the reason. "Oh!" I can feel a blush coming to my cheeks that can rival Marinette's. "Oh no no no no no nooo," I make an 'x' with my arms.

"Please explain," Dr. Babineux smiles. She's enjoying my flustered state.

"Um," I press my pointer fingers together as I look down on them. Then I take a few calming breaths to let the blush die down. Looking up, I made sure that I projected confidence, "He and I have had a personal moment where I detected genuine feelings. He's a good guy. I can tell. And he and I are homies."

I'm pretty sure that didn't explain the whole situation, but she took it and didn't press for her wrong hypothesis.

"Homie? I'm afraid I am unfamiliar with that word," she asks.

And so for the majority of our session I talked to her about the homies and homegirls that I had back in California.

How much I missed them and that I had to grieve over them since I will never be able to see them ever again.

Time was almost out when her last piece of advice was, "Keep your friendship with that boy growing. I can tell that it has been good for you.

"Hopefully, one day you can be open to him."

And that was then end and I took the bus ride back home.

It didn't take much effort as I played my 'Good Vibes' playlist for the first time in over two years.

Dr. Babineux, I am going to make sure that my friendship with Paris' cat-themed superhero continues to grow.

I like this friendship and I really hope for it to last.

It's been five days since Cat Noir chatted.

But Adrien has taken the effort to join me in a lot of his activities.

For example, he invited me to join him on his basketball practice.

He said that he needed a partner to work with and Nino said that he was going to be busy working with Alya.

Something about a script, but I didn't pay much mind to it.

So here I was waiting for him in front of my apartment, a gym bag slung over my shoulder.

And exactly at 3:30, his limo appeared.

The window rolled down as his face was shown, "Have you been waiting long?"

"Nah, I just like getting up early. I don't like being tardy," I smirk making him smile.

Immediately he got out and opened the door wider just for me.

But before I got in, I stretched my hand towards him and he immediately responded. We did the 'homie handshake' and I slid inside.

And I blushed seeing a new person that I didn't expect. It was a woman who looked rather unimpressed as she pushed her glasses up. Adrien's bodyguard looked at me through the rear view mirror.

"So you are Jolene Baudelaire," She says rather passionless as she shifts to get a better look at me.

"Yes, um, who are you?" But before I could answer Adrien slid in as he smiled easily at me.

"Jolene, this is my father's assistant, Nathalie Sancoeur. And you've already seen my bodyguard, Giles." Then he looked at them. "Jolene is a good friend of mine and I am sure she will be able to help me with basketball practice today."

"We will see about that," she asks smoothly and with a hidden code that the Agreste's employees must share, they face forward and Giles starts driving.

"Did you get to finish the homework?" Adrien asks after a moment of silence.

I turned to look at him, as I was paying attention to the passing scenery.

"Most of it. I still have to do some of the history reading, but that is easy to do. Usually I start working on subjects that I find more difficult and then moving down the difficulty level so when I finish, I'm not that stressed." I nod, proud of my system.

Adrien's mouth turns to a small 'o'. "That's interesting and now that I think about it, pretty smart too.

"So history comes easily to you?"

And so I began rambling about my intricate system. Telling him about the factors such as when the homework is due and if it is a short or long term project that needed to be taken into account.

Also there is the fact that if I understood the subject and if I don't then set extra time to review it until I am more comfortable with my understanding.

I didn't realize that I was rambling that long until I finished telling him of an example of when we had to do that science project weeks ago when I was paired up with Max and Kim.

"Wow. You really have it all figured out," Adrien breathes out.

I blushed again, "Sorry. I just- well, I really like my system."

"Hey. No worries. You should be proud of it. It made school work easier, didn't it?"

I smiled, "That is true. So what about you? As far as I know you have fencing and apparently basketball as part of your weekly schedule. How do you manage?"

And so he told me that his father had Nathalie figured out a schedule that works for him and now that he isn't homeschooled anymore, she had to fix it again.

And that is when I learned that Adrien also speaks several other languages.

So far he told me that he has mastered English, Italian, Morse code and Japanese. He's working on Chinese currently. He isn't as fluent as the other languages, but he is getting there.

I stared at him surprised, but then I smirked and spoke Japanese, "You speak Japanese? I am surprised."

Adrien's look on his face made me giggle as I continued speaking in the foreign language, "I speak several languages too. Obviously English, but also Spanish and Italian."

Then he started to speak Italian, with a smug smile, "Wow, now that was something that I didn't expect. I speak Italian because of the Fashion Week in Milan where my father participates. What about you?"

My lips unconsciously turned to a frown, "My grandmother, from my mother's side, she was Italian."

Adrien immediately frowns, "I'm sorry for bringing it up."

"You didn't know," I replied in French.

"We are here," Nathalie's surprisingly soft voice cuts in, making me realize that we are definitely not in the main city.

To be honest, it looked very fancy, the building itself looking like a chateau, it probably is one.

And the space around it was vast with green grass and beautiful healthy trees.

"What is this place?" I ask breathless. I'm totally going to watercolor this and make it part of my portfolio.

"It's the Paris Country Club," Adrien says. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"You can say that again." My eyes are taking every detail. The sketches that I could start…

Soon the car stops in the valet parking and an employee opens the door for us.

"Welcome back," He greets warmly as he makes eye contact with them, but when he looks at me, he is stoned faced. "And you are…?"

"She is Jolene Baudelaire, Adrien's guest for his basketball practice," Nathalie answers smoothly.

"Oh, I see," he says as his cold demeanor changes. "In that case, welcome to the Paris Country Club, Miss Baudelaire. Please enjoy your visit."

"Thank you, monsieur…?"

"Jean Delacroix, at your service," he bows humbly. Then he straightens up and fixes the front of his suit. "M. Adrien, would you like me to give Miss Baudelaire a temporary locker for her to use?"

"That would be great, thank you, Jean."

"Adrien, show Jolene to the women's locker room, while I grab the locker combination and give it to her there," Nathalie states and leaves without another word with Jean, who followed quickly behind her.

Adrien didn't bat an eye at her actions, instead he looks at me and gives his signature assuring smile, "Come on, let me show you the way and tell you more about this place."

I nod and walk right beside him as he points out the different rooms and makes some small talk about school.

By the time we made it to the locker rooms, Natalie was in front of it, somehow.

Either we were too slow, or she is very fast.

"I'll take it from here, Adrien. Jolene can meet you at the court," she said curtly.

Adrien gives me a look, "I'll be fine."

And so he disappeared into the men's locker room that was rather close by.

Natalie simply made a gesture for me to follow and I obeyed, walking behind her.

We were silent as she took to me a row of lockers that were the only ones that had locks opened with a key, the others had combinations on the locker itself.

"Guests of Club members get assigned these lockers to keep track of them and to not… abuse their boundaries." Okay, sounds fair. I mean, these country clubs are expensive. People pay a lot of money for these services and I don't think they would take kindly to strangers who are not paying to take advantage of it. "So usually, the key is given to the member, which would be Adrien, but I shall be safe keeping it today."

"Oh, that sounds reasonable," I answered simply. I mean, we are in different rooms and it would be weird for him to keep a key from the women's locker room.

So Natalie is the reasonable option.

She simply raised an eyebrow. "Alright, I am glad that you see it that way." Then she clears her throat. "I will be waiting for you outside after you change into your sports attire. And please, make sure you bring the key."

She handed me the key and quickly left.

I turned my head and body in different directions, to see that no one was here.

So I stripped off my usual clothes and put on my activewear.

It was a pair of simple black men shorts and a tight fitting baby blue tank top.

When I opened the locker to put my things in, there was a small mirror stuck in the door. It was a little too high for me to see myself, so I walked back and I saw my reflection.

My eyes were fine with the amber contacts, but putting more drops wouldn't hurt either.

The blue wig didn't seem out of place, but I'm not sure it would be wise to keep my dragonfly hair clip on.

In a split second decision, I took it off and put it inside the locker for safe keeping.

So instead I put on the white sweat headband and sweat wristbands I had, plus putting on waterproof sunscreen.

Then finally change my shoes for the pink and white Nike's.

I quickly lock the locker and meet up with Natalie.

She did a once over and stretched out her hand. I gave her the key and she moved forward.

She isn't the talkative type, but that's fine by me.

When we made it to the court, Adrien was there with an older man, probably in his late forties.

He was tall, taller than Adrien by a whole head, strong looking lithe muscles, wearing red sweatpants and a white muscle shirt with white sneakers. He was bald, but he has a peppered goatee going on.

When they finally noticed me, Adrien waved me over.

Natalie went to sit on the bench where Giles was observing.

"I am Coach Alan Lessort," the man introduces himself as he stretches his hand towards me. The one that wasn't holding a basketball.

I gave him a firm handshake like my dad taught me. "I'm Jolene Baudelaire, Coach."

He smiles and nods approvingly, "Nice grip, girl. But we still have to see how good you are with the hoops.

"But first warmups!" And so Adrien and I did stretches, ran laps around the court and did our own cooling off routine. For me it was some katas that I learned back in the US.

Both guys were giving me strange looks, but they shrug it off.

"Alright, first let Adrien show you how we do this," Coach Alan then throws the ball at him. He easily catches it and starts dribbling and then dunks the ball in the hoop.

...I'm terrible at dunking.

"You want to bounce it a few before making a shot," Adrien says.

Feeling better about this, I started bouncing it around, switching hands and moving away from the hoop Adrien dunk it. When I was in the half court, I took aim and made the shot.

It went through the hoop easily and I went to grab it.

I looked at the guys and I giggled at their expressions.

"I have good aim," I smiled cheekily as I bounced the basketball with one hand.

The Coach grinned, "Now we're talking!"

And I kind of regret showing off my skills.

He immediately set me up against Adrien on one-on-ones.

My pride didn't want me to lose, but I did.

Damn his height advantage!

But at least I made him work for it.

...With a ten point difference.

Many times I tricked him with my footwork, my speed and flexibility.

His strength and height were my disadvantages.

But overall, it was fun.

But hell, I'm very sore… and sweaty.

"That was a good practice, kids," The Coach says as he slaps Adrien's back as I try to fan myself with my hand.

It wasn't working out.

"Now hit the showers and hopefully, I get to see you next week Jolene," He winks and looks at Natalie who didn't really have any expression.

She stood up, "Let me take you to the showers."

I quickly ran off to her as Adrien and Coach Alan stayed behind and talked.

We went to the locker room to get my bag and she assured me that the showers provided clean towels and soap to use.

Just as I was about to enter, Natalie stopped me by clearing her throat. "Adrien didn't mention that you played basketball."

"Oh, I don't think he knew until today," I shrugged. "It was fun, thank you for letting me be a guest here."

She didn't say anything about it. "Meet Adrien at the Blue Room," She simply said and walked away.

Okay, then.

I sniffed myself and I'm not that bad, thanks deodorant.

When I went inside, thankfully no one was using it, but even if some were there it was pretty private.

The shower stalls were divided with white walls and it even had white shower curtains to close behind. And there is a whole shelf filled with white fluffy-looking towels and next to it there's soaps and even mini shampoo and conditioners. And something that I found useful were the shower caps.

I don't want to wet my wig.

So I took a quick shower and dressed back in my regular stuff, feeling clean.

I remember Adrien mentioning the Blue Room, but I forgot.

Thankfully, I saw an employee walking by and I asked her where the Blue Room was.

Lets just say that this place has wonderful service. She even led me towards it.

She asked if there was anything else I needed and obviously I said no, but thanked her for asking.

She was such a nice lady.

I went inside the large blue painted room and hidden behind the large bouquet of flowers, there was a grand piano, near a large window that was overlooking a garden area where there's several garden chairs.

There were two pairs of older couples enjoying tea or coffee, talking, with smiles on their faces.

Everything else seems to be empty.

But my attention went back to the piano.

It was a sleek black Bosendorfer. A majestic instrument.

I looked around, and no one was around. So slowly I made my way towards the bench.

On the music rack, it had an open book with a piece of Vivaldi, 'Summer' of the Four Seasons to be exact.

So carefully opening the fall board, I started playing my warm up songs.

First it started with Chopin's Minute Waltz (Op. 64 No.1). Then it progressed with Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 16 in C Major, K.545 the 1st Movement.

Then I finally began with 'Summer'. I had memorized the notes, so the music sheets were basically useless, but it has been almost two years since I last played a real piano.

The violin I have back home I do maintenance on, but I haven't had the heart to play it.

But today? Today has been a nice day, I'm in a good mood, in a beautiful place, with a gorgeous piano right in front of me.

When I finished the last note, clapping sounded my ears, making me jerk my knee against the frame.

"Ow," I whine as I look back and see a surprised Nathalie and Giles, and a guilty looking Adrien. "I don't like being surprised."

"Sorry," Adrien says sheepishly, "I forgot."

I sighed, "It's okay, you didn't mean to." Then I fixed my dragonfly clip to make my blue hair get away from my face. "So are we leaving?"

"How about we play a quick duet?"

"You play piano?" I was surprised.

He grins, "Yep, so what do you say?"

A duet? I have only played duets with two other people in my life… and they are gone now.

But…

"Do you know Beethoven's 5th Symphony in C Minor for Four Hands?"

Adrien looked surprised, but he admitted, "No…"

"I can quickly download the piece from my iPad," Nathalie surprisingly offers.

In just a few seconds, the iPad replaced the paper sheets and indeed there were the notes.

I scooted over to sit on the right side, and Adrien joined me on the other side. "I don't know how good you are, but please do your best." I told him.

"I will do my best," He nods sharply and quickly scans the pages. "Ready?"

I simply started, my fingers already knowing the melody. My eyes closed and my ears heard only the vibrations of the strings.

It was as if I had never stopped playing.

That the person next to me wasn't Adrien, but her. My other half.

When the last notes finished, I took a shuddering deep breath. My eyes slowly fluttered open, but I had to blink again when I saw Adrien's face and not her's.

"That was lovely," I offered as I looked down at the keys. "It's been a long time since I touched a piano."

"You have a natural talent for it," Adrien says as his hand covers the top of mine's.

I gave him a wry smile, "You should give yourself credit too. You were amazing, it didn't sound like it was your first time playing this piece."

Adrien blushed, "Thank you."

I slowly moved my hand away from him and stood up. "Are we leaving?"

"Yes," Natalie speaks up, this time, right behind us.

It was embarrassing to admit that I jerked my knee harder against the frame and let out an undignified screech.

My face immediately heated, "You surprised me, Nathalie."

"I will try not to do that," she said softly as she grabs her iPad and walks away.

The three of us followed her.

During the drive back to my apartment, Adrien had to ask one of the more personal questions.

"How long have you been playing?"

"I- I have been playing for as long as I can remember," I admitted. Then I smiled sadly, "It was nice playing again."

"Again?"

"I haven't played in almost two years." I really missed playing. I tried to play the violin, but I could barely manage a note without having my hands tremble uncontrollably.

It felt so wrong enjoying playing music when they were gone.

I did play an homage to them, waterfall tears coming down my face. And when I finished, my violin was buried with them. In my mind, hoping that a part of me was with them.

"Oh," that was all he offered.

Adrien knew better than to ask. Cat knows what happened during that time. It isn't hard to figure out the reason.

"Anyways, how long have you played?"

When I finally got back to my apartment, I quickly finished my homework and grabbed the violin from under my bed.

My breath shuddered before I found the courage to open it.

It has been almost a month since I last did a maintenance check.

I cleaned off the dust and used wood polish for that pristine appearance.

But my hands stopped at the tuning pegs.

But then one finger slowly slid down the D string and plucked it.

It was horrible.

So I tuned that string and all the others until they were perfect.

Then my eyes went to the bow.

Sighing, I closed my eyes and accepted defeat.

It was time. I have to do it.

It took me a while to gather my things and my nerves as I went to the roof.

The moon was slowly rising in the sky, the last rays of daylight already vanished.

I turn on the lights and I set the violin case on the table.

Then I set up the bluetooth on the speaker to my phone, making sure the voice recognition was ready.

But first, practice.

I did scales, but I messed up on the G string, so I did it again.

I repeated again and again until I was satisfied.

"Hello."

I scream as I jump and turn around to face the intruder. "Cat!"

"Sorry!" He yells sheepishly as he makes his way towards me. "I did make some noise, but you didn't hear me…"

I groaned and took in a deep inhale, and then exhaled slowly to calm my heart. "It's fine. I should have heard."

"So you're a violinist?" He asks as he points out the instrument in my hand. "I thought- I mean, nevermind." He says quickly, trying to cover up.

I ignored the slip up. "I am… today, I'm going to try and play again. Before I lose my nerve…"

"Again?"

"I haven't played this in almost two years…" I repeated, and my friend's expression mirrored his civilian one a few hours ago.

"Oh," Then he pauses for a few seconds. "What made this change?"

I was silent for a while, "I- Today, I played a piano."

"You play that too?"

I smiled wryly, "I play a lot of instruments."

"Really?"

I nodded, "My dad was a… musician. He taught-" I couldn't say more as my throat felt incredibly dry.

Damn, I'm going to cry.

"Can I play you something?"

"Huh? I mean, y-yeah. Yes, of course!" He nods. "I would love to hear it."

I gave him a watery smile, "I haven't played in a while, I could sound horrible. Like a dying cat."

Cat chuckles as he places a hand on my shoulder, "I have a feeling that it's not going to be that way."

With an encouraging pat on the head, he went to sit on the chair and looked at me patiently.

Furiously blinking away the threatening tears that wanted to exit.

"Hey Siri," I command the speaker. The robotic assistant talked back to me in an Australian male accent. "Play Chopin Nocturne No. 20 in C-Sharp Minor, in piano arrangement with violin absence."

My arm and hand positions were ready before the first piano notes rang.

When I was barely finished with the first note, my first tear of many fell.

But that didn't stop me.

How could I?

I had to finish.

I have to…

My hands fluidly moved, not once messing up.

My body gently swayed with the music that I had denied myself to play.

When the last note rang, I slowly put my violin down and I looked at Cat.

Or I tried.

He looked blurry with all these tears stuck in my eyes.

His blob-like form came closer and then his hand took my instruments and placed them in their case.

I followed after him because that is not the proper way to-

My thoughts stopped as his arms enveloped around me.

"Can I h-hug you?" I hiccuped.

"Yes," He whispers and my arms tightly wrapped around him and I buried my head on his chest.

His hand was soothingly rubbing my back while the other was holding the back of my head. Reminding me of a mother gently holding the head of her newborn baby.

I cried for I don't know how long.

"I lost my twin too," I sniffle.

I could feel how his body tensed up, "What?"

I didn't want to look at him. "She was my twin. My older sister by three minutes." I start, my voice getting softer. "She was my other half, and my best friend.

"Almost two years ago, my parents didn't just die, so did she, leaving me alone. When they died, it seemed like my whole world was destroyed."

"But you have your uncle and aunt, right?"

"...I barely know them." I deflected. "When they died, a large part of me did too. Music is what united us a lot. We loved it so much.

"This song, this song… this song was our song. Our favorite song. This was her violin and she would play it so beautifully.

"She was way more talented than me. She was a genius. A music prodigy. By the time I finished mastering one instrument, she already had five more.

"Her sense of hearing was so sharp. She didn't have to see the music sheets to learn, she played it by ear.

"...She was amazing."

"I wish all of those bad things never happened to you," Cat whispers as he hugs me tighter. "You are a good person, I don't understand why those bad things happen, but I am glad that you are here.

"Because I am happy to have met someone as wonderful as you," He finishes as his chin rests on top of my head.

"And I'm happy to have met you, felino. Without you, or the new friends that I have made here, coping would have been so much harder."

"Felino?"

I smiled secretly, "It means feline in Spanish. Don't worry, I'll just say it when it's just the two of us."

"Sounds good to me, little lady."

When I looked up and saw my rebutia flower buds had already bloomed without my knowledge.

It was a beautiful red color. My favorite color.

AN: Sorry for the delay, but this was a lengthy chapter so I hope you guys enjoyed it.

Thank you to strider122, Myrrine and Momochan77 for favorited/following this story. You guys are amazing and made my day better than it was before.

Next chapter will be back to a MLB based episode.

PS: Sorry, but for some unforeseen time, I believe I'm going to update every two weeks now that the holidays are coming up and my job leaves me mentally exhausted by the end of the day. Hopefully, when the season is over, I'll be able to update weekly at a regular basis. Hopefully...