Chapter 2

A/N: I won't be around this weekend, so I'm going to post the new chapter today. Thank you so much for the reviews and comments. I feel so grateful for all the encouragement from this fandom. You all rock! This chapter is much longer than the first one. Just an FYI, the virus in this story is not COVID, it is unnamed, but it has similarities. I didn't want to use that much realism, so be aware of that as the story progresses. Thank you to Agoodwitch who has been pre-reader, beta, hand holder, and rant receiver. You rock Hun, and I love ya!

The next day was slow, and I wanted to scream after staring at my computer screen for the last four hours. I pushed away from my computer and went into the kitchen to make some lunch. I threw all the ingredients into my instant pot for chicken fried rice. It only took about 20 minutes total and only took me about five minutes to prep. When the first lockdown happened, I spent way too much money ordering food to be delivered, so when we got word that another lockdown was coming, I got ready for it with everything I would need to feed myself without spending too much money.

I had taken my second lap around the entire perimeter of my apartment when I heard the first few notes of "My heart will go on" play. I immediately smiled because they were playing the extended version of the song. I always loved the piano version of this song so much more than the version that Celine Dion made famous, and Titanic was a movie I watched so many times. I stood there for the six minutes the song was playing, with this stupid cheerful grin on my face and my heart thudding. I think I may have just fell in love with their playing even more at that moment.

When the song was over, they transitioned straight into another song. It wasn't a classical song, but it took me a minute to realize they were playing Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. I laughed again because it was so unpredictable for them to play such a song. Hopefully, the classical wasn't completely gone, but I was glad that it seemed something more uplifting. I grabbed my rice and got back to work, a little lighter and in a better mood.

It was about 2 hours later, at 1 pm, that there was a knock on my door. I had ordered to have my groceries delivered. I was not willing to go face that madhouse. Even though it was an essential trip, and we were allowed those, I still didn't want to make that trek. I put my mask on and watched through the peephole until the guy was gone and then grabbed my bags, bringing them inside. When I grabbed the last bag and was about to close the door, I noticed a note taped to my door. I pulled it off the door and went inside before reading it. I looked at it, and it was from my neighbor.

Greetings neighbor,

I have to say that I was a little surprised to see the song you chose, but once I looked up the notes, I have to agree that it sounds amazing on the piano. I'm glad that you are enjoying my music and request away. I'll play whatever you want within my ability. Thank you for making this lockdown a little more interesting.

-The piano man-

I tried to resist squealing. Then I chastised myself for freaking out like a love-struck teen. So, the piano neighbor was a guy, plays like a professional, and he had beautiful handwriting. I shook my head and unpacked my groceries, putting everything away. I went back to work and tried to get my piano man's words out of my mind.

By the time I could log off work at 3, I was vibrating with excitement. I pulled a sticky note off my pad and wrote my next note to my neighbor:

Piano man,

I think you'll find that my musical tastes are wide and varied. So, since you chose the name for yourself, I want to hear Piano Man by Billy Joel. Keep with the classic rock theme you started earlier with Bohemian Rhapsody. I'll have to see if I can come up with something harder tomorrow. Thanks for the invitation to request away. You may end up regretting that.

-The girl with the best musical taste-

I grabbed my mask, boots, and tape and went next door. I taped it to the front door and headed back to my apartment. I needed to do some cleaning that I had put off for the last few days. I turned on my soundbar and connected my phone to the Bluetooth. I put on an Ed Sheeran mix. I was just in that kind of in this apartment complex were pretty cool, and they would usually come to ask you to turn it down before reporting noise but being cooped up for a while made people a bit more tolerant of music or something that could serve as a distraction for them too.

I wondered if my neighbor was going to play music again tonight. He usually played at night, but today he played during the day. I wondered if he was a musician or if the piano playing was completely unrelated to his job. He was really exceptionally talented, not all of those songs he played were easy at all. I tried not to speculate what he looked like, because honestly, it didn't matter. I could feel the emotion behind the songs he played and the way he played them, and that was enough to enjoy this.

I finished cleaning my apartment and doing the dishes. I turned my soundbar off and looked over at my piano. I had an ok sized apartment and when my grandma passed away; I was the first to claim her antique upright piano. It was very well taken care of, and the Cherrywood was muted from the years of use, but I still found it incredibly beautiful. I sat down and did some warm-up scales. It had been some time, but playing it for years before brought it all back to me. I started playing one song I was intimidated by when I started playing and had taken some time to master, the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies. It seemed like a slower song, but a lot was going on key-wise.

I only messed up once or twice, but I was proud of being able to do as well as I did with the time since I'd played. Once I finished my song, my neighbor launched into the last waltz of the nutcracker. I laughed and closed the lid on my piano. Whenever he played, all I could do was sit or stand there, smile, and be in awe of his talent. I really wished I could watch him as his fingers flew across the keys. I could imagine the look on his face. I always got lost in the music when I played.

When he finished playing that, I heard the song that I had requested. I quietly sang along with the song. "He said son can you play me a memory I'm not really sure how it goes, but it's sad and sweet and I knew it complete."

Memories of me and my dad playing the piano together and singing when I was younger ran through my head. It made me smile. It was a bittersweet moment. My dad was a police officer, and he got shot during a robbery when I was fifteen. Alice was 11. It was a really hard thing to deal with; it was one reason I gave up lessons when I was 15. Before my dad had died, I was learning more by myself and I had a really hard time touching a piano again after that. I didn't play again until I was 18, which was 7 years ago.

Hearing that song again in the form that my dad and I preferred was like a warm hug, and it was so unexpected that it brought tears to my eyes. I felt the overwhelming need to talk to Alice. I dialed her number, and she answered. She went into instant alert mode when she realized I had been crying.

"Bellsy, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

I launched into the story of me and the neighbor leaving notes to each other, which she squealed at and clapped. I told her to calm down so I could finish my story. I told her which song I had requested, and she nodded and got a wistful smile on her face.

"Daddy loved that song, didn't he? One of the first songs he ever played and sang for us." She said.

I nodded. "While mom was trying to get us to learn Chopin, Debussy, and Mozart, he was getting us to play something 'fun.' Queen, Billy Joel, Pink Floyd."

"That drove mom crazy." She mused. I nodded and then narrowed my eyes when I saw someone walk past the camera in the background. Alice started talking about school and I kept an eye on the background. I caught a mop of blonde curly hair and I gasped. Alice trailed off and sat perfectly still.

"Mary Alice Swan, why is there a guy in your apartment, and why does he look like Jasper?"

Jasper was a guy that she met last year in her philosophy class. They were both in their last year of school. Needless to say, we were in the middle of a lockdown and I had no idea she was living with someone.

"It is Jasper, Bellsy."

"Don't Bellsy me. Is he living with you?"

"Well, for right now. The first lockdown was really hard, we didn't get to see each other for over a month."

I rolled my eyes. "So, he temporarily moved in?"

"We decided to do a trial run. This way neither of us can try to sabotage it, and if we get in a fight, we give each other some space and then talk about it. It really is a smart plan."

I really wanted to argue with her logic, but it sounded like a great plan. "But Ali, you guys haven't known each other very long." I wasn't trying to rain on her parade or be all big sister-like, but Alice fell in and out of love easily. Flighty sounds like such a mean word, but she got it from our Mom. They were more go-with-the-flow girls, where I was more like my dad. Calm, serious, studious. Not that I couldn't have fun, but being spontaneous was harder for me.

I was someone who planned and needed structure, or I felt like I was just living in chaos. Definitely a type -C personality. I was so opposite of my sister, but I still loved her fiercely. I actually admired her ability to take risks because they usually paid off. This was just a much bigger deal.

"Bells, I know that I have had a lot of boyfriends, and they were never that serious, but from the start, there was just something about Jazz. He's the calm in the middle of my crazy storm. He is hard to fluster, and he takes my tantrums with humor and grace. He might be the one." She said with certainty.

Her honesty and sincerity threw me. "Wow, Ali. If that's the case, then I'm happy for you. So, it's going well?" I asked her.

She started talking animatedly about living with Jasper. We laughed and joked, then I got to threaten Jasper's dick if he hurt my sister. Alice bid me farewell after a few more minutes because she had homework to get back to. I looked at the clock, assuming that they had already delivered the mail. I put my facemask on and went downstairs to the mailboxes. I pulled out my keys and unlocked mine. I pulled out the flyers and threw away the junk mail. I also saw that I had a package.

"Hey, it came. Yay." I did a little dance and heard a chuckle behind me. Well crap. I turned and the most gorgeous guy was standing there. He had green eyes. His hair was a brown color with reddish undertones. Not auburn, but definitely unique. His jaw was strong and angular, from what I could tell under his mask. I smiled at him and realized with my mask; he wouldn't be able to see it. "Been waiting for this package for a long time."

"Right. Things keep getting delayed. It's okay. The dance was cute."

I blushed deep red and bowed my head. "Thanks."

He stepped forward; I imagine to get to his box, so I stepped out of the way.

"Have a good evening," I said, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible. He looked at me, inclined his head, and unlocked his mailbox.

"You too."

I rushed out of the little alcove and made my way upstairs as fast as I could. I was still berating myself for my spazzy behavior when I saw a sticky note on my door. I smiled and grabbed it off the door. I walked into my apartment and put my mail and keys down. I looked at the note from my neighbor and smiled.

Piano Girl,

Well, color me surprised you could play the piano as well. Dance of the sugar plum fairies is pretty advanced. May I be so bold as to ask how long you have been playing? To give you some personal info I'm 31 and have been playing piano since I was 6, so a little over 24 years. Not to brag, but I doubt you could find a song I can't play. Do your worst.

-The Piano Man-

I stared at the paper, stunned. 24 years. Holy crap, that was so much more than my 7 years in my youth and my sporadic playing for the last 7 years since I started again. I grabbed another sticky note because if he wanted a challenge, I definitely had one.

Piano Man,

I'm officially impressed. I took piano lessons from the time I was about 8 to 15. I stopped playing for a few years and started up again when I was 18. I'm 25 now, so math that out. It's just been a sporadic hobby for me. I'm by no means extremely advanced, but I know enough about the piano to know how to present a challenge. I want you to play Chopin's Fantaisie Impromptu. Hope you have those fingers warmed up, mister.

-The Piano Girl-

I smiled and went to go tape my note to the neighbor's door. I slunk back into my apartment and thought about what my piano guy told me. So, he was pretty close to my age. I hadn't had a boyfriend for a while, but I usually dated guys that were at least 4 years older. I scoffed at myself. Why was I thinking of this guy as dating material? I didn't even know the man, so it was ridiculous to think about.

Wanting to feel closer to my dad and my family that I missed, I sat at the piano and played Hallelujah. I sang the lyrics to the song.

"I heard there was a secret chord that David played, and it pleased the Lord, but you don't really care for music, do you?

Well, it goes like this. The 4th, the 5th, the minor fall, and the major lift. The baffled king composing hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah, Hall-e-lu-jah."

I continued to sing along, and it surprised me I could get through it without crying. This was one song my mom requested often for me and my dad to sing. Alice didn't like it and couldn't hit the high notes. My dad sang it in a lower register, and I sang the higher notes, but I didn't sing the Leonard Cohen version. I sang a more modern version that someone did as a cover.

"Maybe there's a God above but all I ever learned from love Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you

It's not a cry that you hear at night, it's not somebody who's seen the light, it's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah."

I sang the last part with as much feeling as I could, and it was so melancholy that I truly started crying during the last couple of hallelujahs.

I closed the lid to the piano and sighed when there was a knock on my door. Either it was someone coming to complain about the noise, or it was the creepy neighbor, the one I didn't like coming over to ask me out on a date again. Which he did often. I grabbed my mask, putting it on before looking out the peephole. There was no one there. I opened the door and looked around, finding nothing. When I looked down, there was a single CD case and a post-it note taped to it. I smiled and went back into the apartment. This was the quickest response I have ever gotten from him. I opened the case before I read the note. In his elegant handwriting, it said:

Piano mix

I looked at the note.

Piano girl,

I know this is the fastest response that I have ever given you, but I heard your song you just played, and I had to let you know it was beautiful. I had no idea that you could sing as well. Seems like you are quite the talented little musician. I'm more than happy to play the Chopin song, but it will have to be tomorrow. Don't want any noise complaints. I wanted you to have this CD I have recorded of me playing different songs. Let's see how many you know. I was wondering if you would be interested in a duet game. After I play Chopin tomorrow, play a song, as much as you want and then I will play the rest once you stop. Let's see if we can guess each other's songs. Let me know. Have a beautiful night.

-The Piano Man-

This time, to reply to his note, I took out a sheet of paper.

Piano Man,

Thank you for your kind words. My dad and I used to play the piano together and sing, so I learned it all from him. I'm truly touched that you are giving me this CD. I would love to have a little duet off with you, and I will try to come up with a good song. I really wish that I could come to say hi to you, but this lockdown definitely prohibits it. I guess this is the next best thing. Looking forward to our piano date tomorrow.

-Piano Girl-

For the second time that night, I went and taped my letter to his door. I knew I could make it back to my apartment, so I knocked on the door and took off. I made it back to my apartment before I heard the door open, and I slid back inside my door.

A/N: All right, so how are we feeling. We know a little more about our mystery neighbor and we will see a little more of mail room guy next chapter, but I think you can guess who that is. See you next week, lovelies!

Playlist:

My heart will go on By James Horner

Bohemian Rhapsody By Queen

Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies By Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Final Waltz and Apotheosis (Nutcracker) By Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Piano Man By Billy Joel

Hallelujah originally by Leonard Cohen (version that inspired me by Hana Pestle)