II. Cantabile
Cantabile (kahn•TAAH•bi•lay) is an instrumental music style that is played in a way to imitate the human voice.
~•~
Adrien swung his legs over the railing, settling above the crystal clear water below him. His eyes stared blankly at his reflection, where his legs dangled loosely above his image. His fingers clenched around the edge of the bridge's railing, his mind racing with a horde of sour thoughts. The thoughts that have been attacking him for as long as he could remember.
He's had enough. Being stuck in a continuous cycle of getting hurt over and over again, hiding behind a plastic smile everyday, dwelling on the trauma of his past, he was tired of it all. He couldn't take this pain anymore.
Just one jump, and it will all be over.
His eyes closed shut, clouding his vision in nothing but darkness. Pale redness from the sun in the distance danced around the inside of his eyelids. A pair of small, wet trails snuck out from underneath his eyelids, tickling his skin as they snaked their way down his cheeks. His lungs expanded and contracted as he took a series of deep breaths一the last breaths he will ever take. His fingers let go of the railing, preparing him for one final jump.
"I hope you're not about to do what I think you are."
Adrien's eyes darted open at the male voice from behind him. His hands clamped back down on the railing, allowing him to regain his balance. Adrien turned his head to look over his shoulder, where a dark skinned boy wearing glasses and a red baseball cap stood with his arms folded over his chest. The blond drew his eyes away from him, looking back down at the shimmering water.
"Go away, Nino," Adrien said, wiping his eyes on his sleeve, "Can't you see I'm busy?"
With a sigh, Nino leaned his elbows on the railing. His expression softened with concern as he looked at his friend.
"You know I'm not looking forward to diving head first into the lake, right?"
"No one's asking you to," Adrien mumbled, "Just leave and go on with your day."
"Do you really think I'd be able to go on with my day knowing I couldn't stop you?" Nino snapped, "Either way. If you jump, I'm jumping after you."
Finally, Adrien drew his eyes away from the water. He turned his head to look at the boy by his side. Nino now stood with his hand extended towards him, holding his palm upwards. Adrien's eyes fell upon Nino's hand, staring at the naturally embedded curved lines in his palm.
"I know you haven't had the best life, but I promise you you're not alone," Nino said, "And let me remind you that it's not gonna be that easy to push me away whether you like it or not."
Adrien's sight traveled from Nino's palm to his face. One corner of his lips twitched upwards into a small smile of reassurance.
"Come on, dude. Get off the railing and let's go home. The sun's almost setting."
Without complaining, Adrien extended his hand towards him. He placed his hand in his, allowing Nino to help him off the railing.
"You know you can go back home now, right?" Adrien stated, grabbing a glass bottle from his refrigerator.
Nino slipped into a stool at the kitchen counter, "Actually, I wanted to talk to you really quickly."
"Sure, what's up?"
Adrien held an unopened beer bottle out to Nino, to which he declined. Taking a seat in front of his best friend, Adrien popped the cap off and held the bottle to his lips.
"I've been pondering about this for some time, actually," Nino began, "That was the third time you've tried to jump off that bridge over the past five months, and I think you should go back to therapy."
Adrien slowly lowered the bottle, allowing it to settle on the marble counter. His hands clamped themselves around the bottle as his fingers repeatedly tapped against the glass, creating a chorus of high pitched and bell-like rings.
"I can't, Nino," Adrien sighed, "It's too expensive and I already have all these bills to worry about."
"You can try looking for a cheaper one," Nino suggested, "I just want you to get the help you need. I'm worried about you, Adrien."
Staying silent, Adrien clenched his bottom lip between his teeth. As much as he appreciated having Nino by his side, deep down he hated it when people worried about him.
"Whatever you decide to do, just remember that I'm here for you," Nino added, "And I'm guessing you're still upset about things with Kagami. After all, you guys have been together for quite a while."
Adrien shrugged, "It's whatever. She fell out of love and I didn't."
Adrien stared down at his hands around the glass bottle, remembering the days where they once held another hand. A pair of brown eyes and short, dark hair made their way into his thoughts. Her voice, her smile, he missed all of it. Days felt more like months without her, and he still ached to see her name pop up on his screen. Whenever he received a notification, his heart raced with excitement at the possibility that it could be her.
But it never is.
"I don't think she was the one for you," Nino said, "As much as it hurts."
Adrien nodded silently. He lifted the beer bottle off the table. Before the rim of the bottle could even brush his lips, Nino reached out and snatched the bottle from him. The dark haired boy pushed himself off the stool, walking around the counter with the bottle in his hand. Adrien lifted an eyebrow, slightly annoyed by his best friend's actions.
"What are you doing?"
"You need to stop drinking," Nino said, tilting the bottle over the sink.
The contents of the glass bottle spilled into the sink, emitting a low rumbling sound as they entered the drain. Adrien turned around in his stool to fully face Nino, leaning his back against the edge of the counter. He watched as Nino placed a new addition to the row of empty bottles that lined up near the sink.
"It's not even that strong, but you do you," Adrien said quietly.
"Dude. Knowing you, you're probably gonna get yourself drunk," Nino pointed out, "And I really don't want to deal with your drunk ass again."
Adrien tilted his head, "Is drunk me really that bad?"
"Well, you tried to drive my motorcycle last time," Nino said, "Luckily, you didn't even turn on the engine but still managed to fall off."
"I see," Adrien said, twitching his eyebrow at the embarrassing thought.
Adrien jumped off the stool. Nino watched as his blond friend strolled his way across the floor. Adrien's figure turned a corner at the end of the hall, disappearing from his view behind a wall.
"Where are you going?" Nino called after him.
"To my piano," Adrien's voice called back, "Do whatever you want, I don't care. Make yourself at home I guess."
Adrien stepped inside a wooden floored room, closing the door behind him. In the corner of the relatively small room sat a black grand piano, the one thing that kept him going through all these years. Music was there for him whether he was soaring over cloud nine (which was quite rare) or down in the dumps. Whenever he played, he felt as if he had been transported to a whole new world. Like all his sadness and problems had temporarily ceased. The black and white keys practically allowed him to spill his emotions out, ranging from bright and sunny majors to low and disheartening minors.
With music, he finally felt in control.
He felt free.
~•~
The shiny, snow colored liquid poured into the steel cocktail shaker. The bell chimed from the entrance, followed by greetings from Adrien's coworkers. He twitched his head up from his current work, his lips parting the second they landed on the visitor.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the well-known violinist. By her side was, once again, that ombre haired woman he saw yesterday. Although he did unexpectedly run into her yesterday (literally), he never thought he would see her walk through the doors of the coffee shop.
Adrien had an entire playlist full of her music. He admired the way her emotions projected powerfully through her music, something he could only dream of doing himself. The unique melodies of her original pieces were sounds that he would never get tired of hearing. Although his cousin (who he openly hated for other reasons) was already her accompanist, Adrien had always dreamed about accompanying her violin one day.
Though, it was very unlikely he would ever get the chance to do so, especially considering how inexperienced he was in playing with other musicians.
"Uh, Adrien?"
Adrien snapped out of his daydream at the call of his name. It was then that his hand became covered in a flood of icy wetness. He looked down at his work, where the milk he had been pouring now covered both his hand and the counter as it pooled over the brim of the shaker. Gasping, Adrien set the milk carton down. He drew his hand away from the cold shaker, running to the sink to wash it off. He returned to his station with a towel, cursing under his breath as he dabbed at the milk spill.
"I'll finish that order for you," His male coworker said, carefully reaching for the shaker full of milk, "Get the new one started."
"Got it."
Alya and Marinette took their seats at a table as they waited for their drinks. After sending a text message, Marinette dropped her phone inside her bag. She placed her elbows on the table as she turned to face Alya.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" Marinette asked.
"It's about Félix," Alya began, "It's kind of late for me to say this considering you've been with him for two years already, but it's better late than never."
Alya exhaled a long sigh, "I don't think your relationship with him is healthy at all."
Alya braced herself for any counterargument to come out of Marinette's mouth. However, to her surprise, Marinette nodded her head in response to her statement.
"I can't say I disagree," Marinette said, "But it's hard to leave because of our music partnership and I don't want to hurt him. Even if he causes me physical and emotional pain, I一"
"Wait," Alya interrupted, "Did you say physical?"
Marinette's eyes widened at the realization of what she just revealed. She mentally slapped herself in the face for not watching her words. Marinette gulped down a thick lump, her body heating up at Alya's slightly narrowed eyes.
"Marinette," Alya's voice grew low and serious, "Is he hitting you?"
The midnight haired woman darted her eyes to the table, "Just once or twice."
She hoped with all her heart that her words were convincing enough. However, Alya was not convinced at all. She knew when her best friend was lying, and her relationship was far worse than she initially thought.
"I think it's finally time I say this," Alya started, clearing her throat, "He. Does. Not. Love. You. Why can't you see that?"
Marinette kept her head down, her stomach churning in shame as Alya spoke some sense into her. The ombre haired woman paused for a brief moment to push her glasses up her nose.
"I know it hurts and I'm sorry, but it's the truth. He's just using you for fame, Marinette."
Marinette sighed, avoiding eye contact with Alya, "I don't know what to do, though. I一"
"Break up with him," Alya demanded.
"What about my music career?"
"You can find a new accompanist, there are many great pianists out there," Alya said, "Something's telling me that the only reason you're staying with him is because of your partnership. That's not true love."
Marinette stared down at her hands, which had been clasped together over her lap. She nervously fidgeted with her thumbs, rubbing their sides against each other in a continuous motion.
"I did love him, though," Marinette mumbled silently.
"You did is not the same as you do, Marinette," Alya pointed out, "You need to end things with him as soon as possible, it's only going to hurt more if you wait longer."
Finally, Marinette turned her head back up. Her eyes darted briefly to the side, where they landed on a small piano covered in a white tablecloth. She looked back at Alya and opened her mouth to speak, but paused at the sound of her order number. The bluenette stood up from her seat, leaving Alya alone at the table. Her fingers tapped continuously against the polished wood as she waited for her friend's return.
"Thank you," Marinette said.
She grabbed her warm latte from the blond barista. Just as she turned around on her heels, his voice called after her.
"Wait."
With the warmth of her beverage absorbing into her palms, Marinette glanced over her shoulder, where she was met with the face of the young man she bumped into yesterday.
"Uh... You're Marinette, right?" The blond asked awkwardly, "I... Love your music."
Marinette's lips formed a smile at his compliment, "Thank you. And sorry about yesterday, I was in a hurry."
"Don't worry about it," He replied, "Nice talking to you anyways一"
"What's your name?" Marinette blurted.
The barista blinked a single time at her unexpected question. He glanced over both of his shoulders, where his coworkers were all busy doing their own work. He turned his attention back to the violinist in front of him, who now faced him with her entire body.
"Adrien," The blond answered.
"Nice to meet you, Adrien," Marinette said, turning away, "I'll let you get back to work now, bye!"
And with that, the dark haired musician took off. One edge of Adrien's lips cracked upwards ever so slightly. He turned back to his station, picking up the empty plastic cup that was next in line.
Marinette returned to her seat across from Alya, who tilted her head when she saw the rather cheery expression on Marinette's face. That small compliment and portion of recognition she just received was enough to make her day. The short girl placed her beverage on the table, shooting Alya a quick nod.
"I'll break up with him," Marinette said, "You were right about everything."
Alya blinked, "Well, that was fast. When are you going to do it?"
Marinette lifted her steamy beverage to her lips, taking in the semi-bitter taste of matcha mixed with sweet chocolate and a hint of floral coconut. The scorching liquid left a painful itch in its wake as it burned her tongue. She lowered the lidded coffee cup back down to the table, gulping down the scalding beverage with slightly teary eyes. She paused for a quick moment before answering Alya's question.
"Tonight."