Disclaimer: I'm sorry, did you want me to actually type this on every chapter? Too bad! Check chapter one for all disclaiming details. Oh... I don't own any Billy Joel songs hereafter mentioned... Happy now? I disclaimed something.

A/N: OK! Originally I was gonna scrap this entire chapter all together and just turn what I had as chapter four into chapter three and just say Lio did great on his performance. But then I had a revelation! I was singing to myself, to keep my voice in shape for choir, yes choir. And then it hit me! And left one hell of a mark... o --(me with a black eye, hehehe) But I was singing a Billy Joel song and I realized that it had a solo, FOR A GUY! And I was like "YAYNESS! I don't have to scrap chapter three! YAH!" Originally I was going to use "For The Longest Time", but I couldn't find the lyrics. Plus there was trying to figure out what words were the solo... Ugh, so not worth it! So I decided just today that "The River of Dreams" would be a better choice, considering I have already seen the music and I pretty much know it all. So here is chapter three. Sorry to make you wait so long. And yes... I know it isn't very long. I just typed it with no rough draft, while listening to swing/jazz music so XP

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Marco

"In the middle of the, I go walkin' in the, In the middle of the, I go walkin' in the..." I sang with the rest of choir, continuingly echoing. Everyone but Lio was singing. I was trying to watch Lio and read my music at the same time (not an easy feat for a beginning singer).

The teacher had shown everyone in the class how to sit properly and still be able to sing loud. Butt on the edge of your seat and back straight. Everyone was sitting like this, except Lio, he stood. He mentioned something about being about to sing better while standing. But he didn't stand like he did when we were just talking, he stood with his back straight, rib cage up and his shoulders up. I hadn't noticed before how broad shouldered he was.

We had started our third echo, when we were almost half way through it I realized that Lio was about to sing. And sure enough, when we reached the middle of line Lio opened his mouth and belted out some note.

"In the middle of night," he sung. Half the class was so shocked at his volume they missed that they missed their next note. "I go walking in my sleep. From the mountains of faith, to a river so deep."

I kept singing, though I wasn't sure I was on key, or singing the right words for that matter. He was amazing! He knew just where to get quiet and where to get soft at! And his voice! His voice was amazing! The music seem to vibrate through him, and somehow was brought to life through it all. His face showed so much emotion with the words, you would think he was living the very song.

"I must be looking for something, something sacred I lost." he continued, not even bothering to flip the page to the next side. "But the river is wide, and too hard to cross..."

Two or three of the kids that were new, like me, had dropped their music, stopped singing and were staring at Lio. But he didn't seem to notice. He just kept singing, and living the music. I was totally in awe of his singing so far. I hadn't seen anything yet.

"And even though the river is wide," Lio cried out at an impossible high. The teacher missed a note on the piano, but it didn't even phase Lio, as he dropped way down and continued to sing. "I walk down every evening and stand on the shore." His voice went back up high for the first half of the next sentence, and low for the second. "And try to cross to the opposite side, so I can finally find what I've been look for."

The teacher had stopped playing all together and stood up and applauded. Everyone, including me, did the same. He crumbled into his seat next to me, beet red. The class was clapping and talking about him for a full five minutes before everyone stopped and sat back down, and another fifteen before Lio's face was back to normal. He was so red you could have fried an egg on his face. The rest of the class wasn't as momentous as Lio's solo, the teacher asked if he wanted to go again, Lio told him flat out "No." Honestly I couldn't blame him. The teacher, though disappointed, moved onto another song, no solo this time.

When the bell rang everyone got up, chattering about different things. Some of which were the solo. I saw Lio dart for the door before anyone could get to him and start babbling about how good he was. When I caught up to him, we were almost to the door and he had regained his composure. He smiled at me when I got to him. We got to the door and headed for our next hour.

End Chapter Three

Author: Lio?

Lio: Yes?

Author: Did you kill Billy Joel, and steal his voice?

Lio: What!?! Are you nuts?

Author: Is that a rhetorical question, or did you actually want me to answer that?

Lio: Ugh... Never mind...

Author: Hehehe... Too easy!