AN: Hi everyone! Welcome to the second chapter. The song for this chapter is called "Dernière" by Yann Tiersen. There's always the gentle suggestion to listen to it while you read, but you do you boo.

No. 2: Jake –Dernière

It wasn't that Jake hated his classes it was just that he got no enjoyment from them. Nothing about macro management or synergy made him want to get out of bed. He only got out of bed because he had to. He was digging himself into debt (crushing debt) in hopes that he could get himself out of it by the time he was fifty. Once he graduated with his degree in business, he was going to get a real job. Jake threw off his covers and sat up, tousling his hair.

"A real job, huh?" he thought, as her rubbed sleep from his eyes. He imagined himself behind a desk in a room with white walls and grey cubicle dividers. He thought of himself in a white shirt and patterned tie surrounded by ringing phones and piles of papers that held no real meaning. He watched his mind play the movie of his life: his future-self rapidly aging in his wheeled chair. He was going to get a real job, so he could be happy.

Jeez, what was this these downer thoughts? This wasn't like him. Sure, he didn't have the great first day of class, but things would look up soon. There were plenty of parties to attend and he always had his own ways of unwinding.

"Everything is going to be fine," he thought, "It's going to be fine"

"Jake! Over here!"

Jake was scanning the dining hall, tray in hand, and looking for a seat when an enthusiastic voice called to him. Jake turned to his left and saw Charles waving him down. Jake smiled and made his way over. Jake liked Charles. He was kinda weird, but he seemed to think Jake was super cool, and well, there really wasn't a faster way to make friends with him than that. He sat down and greeted his new friend with pat on the back.

"Jakey, Jakey, eggs and bac-y!" Charles said in reference to Jake's breakfast.

"Good one. What time's your first class?" Jake asked.

"Ten, but I woke up early because they were serving blintzes for breakfast. I love blintzes"

"Me too, Buddy. Me too" Jake said, taking a bite out of his own blueberry blintz.

"Oh, hey, check it out! It's that crazy girl you bumped into last night" Charles said and Jake whipped around to see her coming out of the kitchen with her tray, trying to find a spot, then finally settling on a small table in the corner by herself. He watched her eat her eggs in silence and saw her eyes glaze over in deep thought.

"Wonder what her deal is" Jake said, turning back to Charles.

"I'm think she was just having a bad day. She's in my art class and the professor gave her a real hard time yesterday. She was late and Wuntch just drilled her right in front of everybody then made her leave" Charles said. That was another cool thing about Charles. He was kind enough to give people the benefit of the doubt.

"Yeesh, that's brutal" Jake said.

"Yeah, especially since we have a quiz on Wednesday. I hope she got the notes from someone or she's going to be really behind" he said as he stuffed another blintz in his mouth. Jake had a bad feeling she didn't have the notes since he only ever saw her by herself.

"Hey, do you have the notes with you?" Jake asked.

"No, they're back in my room"

"Can I borrow them for a bit?"

"Sure, but why?" Charles asked.

"Oh, you know, just spreading the Peralta kindness wherever I go" he said, with one last look at the pretty girl eating eggs in the corner.

Jake wasn't able to photocopy Charles notes until the afternoon, after they both finished their first classes. Once Jake had the notes he wasn't really sure what to do with them. He didn't know the girl's name or which building she was in, so he just had to hope he'd bump into her (figuratively, not literally) sometime before tomorrow.

His prayers were answered during lunch because after getting his tray he saw her eating her meal in the same lonely table she was at for breakfast. He approached the table, but felt himself get nervous. It puzzled him. He normally had no trouble introducing himself to new people, but after their last…exchange, he wasn't too proud to admit he was a little afraid of her. He swore he saw fire in those brown eyes and he never wanted that kind of fury directed at him again. Still, he took a deep breath and greeted her.

"Uh, hey, can I sit with you?" he asked, and when she looked at him, he immediately relaxed. The fire in her eyes was completely extinguished. Instead, her eyes were filled with a nervous, surprised look that reminded him of a dog that knew it had done wrong.

"I-uh-um-yes! Of course, yes!" she said, her hands fidgeting. Jake sat down and gave her a polite smile, which she tried to return, but it wasn't quite working out for her.

"Great, thanks. I'm Jake, by the way"

"Amy. I'm Amy" she said, still nervous.

"Amy, nice. Um, so I wanted to actually talk to you for a second. I just wanted to-"

"No, please don't! I was so rude yesterday. I'm sorry, I just had a really bad day and it was just really bad timing. I'm really sorry I yelled at you" she said, her eyes pleading for forgiveness.

"Nah, don't worry about it. I'm really sorry for ruining your dress. I have terrible coordination and should definitely be watching where I'm going at all times so…yeah, sorry"

"It's okay" she said, looking at the ground.

"Well, anyway, my friend Charles says you're in his art class with him and he told me about the whole 'kicked out of class' incident, so I asked him to photocopy his notes for you" He said, handing her the notes. She stared at them in silence, her eyes big.

"Oh" was all she was able to say.

"You have a quiz tomorrow so, uh, yeah, just wanted you to know, so y'know, you wouldn't be behind. Hopefully, this makes up for the tomato soup incident a little" he said and at this, Amy did look up. She gave him a heart-stunning smile that made him feel dizzy. There was a look in her eyes that he could only describe as fire, but, this time, he welcomed the flames.

"Thank you so much. I…I really needed this. Thank you" she said and he realized this was the first time since coming to college that he was smiling. Yeah, he had curled his lips and flashed his teeth to people when appropriate, but this was the first can't-fight-his-muscles-back-even-if-he-wanted-to-honest-to-goodness smile. He felt the dreary feelings that he had hung onto since the morning fade away and all because of a simple "thank you".

"No problem, just doin' my part" he said. She smiled again and, to his disappointment, began packing her things.

"Heading out?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah sorry! I just want to start studying the notes right away. I'm already so behind. Maybe, we could, um…" the last part died in her chest.

"Wanna meet up for dinner with me and my friends?" he asked and her face lit up again.

"Yeah! That'd be great" She said as she stood with books in hand. They exchanged numbers and Amy left the dining hall with a bounce in her step.

Jake watched her leave and noticed the dining hall felt a little colder without her fire-eyes to warm it.

The joyful feelings Jake had experienced during lunch were, unfortunately, short-lived. While in his room, Jake received a phone call from his mother.

"Hey Jakey" she said.

"Hey mom, how ya doin'?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm good honey. I want to hear about you! How was your first couple of days?" She asked excitedly.

"Good"

"Make any friends?"

"Uh, yeah. I met a couple of cool people and Gina's here so…"

"I'm so glad you two went together, that way you weren't alone"

"Yeah, yeah it's cool" he said, the conversation already boring him.

"So how were your classes?" she asked.

"I don't know mom, kinda lame" he said, honestly.

"What do you mean?" she asked and her light tone changed.

"I just…Mom, you know I don't want to be a Business major. It sucks" he said and he heard his mother's exasperated sigh.

"Jake, we talked about this. Honey, it's not practical for you to study music. What would you do with a music degree?" she asked and he felt himself shrink.

"I don't know mom, there's a lot of stuff I could do. If I switched my major and took classes, they could probably help me figure it out" he said, but he knew his argument was weak.

"You need to focus on your business classes. You have to make a living after you graduate. I can't just keep supporting you forever" she said, sticking the knife in deeper.

"Mom, I know-"

"Do you? Are you aware how much tuition is? You didn't get any grants. The only reason you're able to go to college is because of loans and that still isn't enough to cover everything. You have no idea how much I've had to-"

"Mom, I know"

"-cut back just to get you through your first semester. Honey, look, I know you love the piano, but it's a hobby, Jake. It's not a career. Do you understand me?" she asked and Jake felt a familiar tightness in his chest.

"Yeah" he said, daring not to day too much in fear of yelling at her.

"Okay, honey, I'm gonna go now, but I love you and keep your chin up, okay? The classes will get better" she said, trying to soften the blow of her speech.

"Yup, got it. Love you too" he replied, her final "bye" lost as he hung up the phone.

A blanket of dread fell on him. Was there nothing else left for him to do? Did he just have to accept that "entrepreneurship" and "real estate" were going to be his life? Each question he asked himself made the pain in his chest get even tighter.

In an attempt to get his mind off of his dismal future, Jake decided to take a nap. The conversation had exhausted him and he didn't particularly feel like doing anything else. If nothing else, maybe he could play in his dreams.

Jake woke up in total darkness and was unsure of where he was. It took him a couple of minutes, but eventually he remembered he took a nap at around 5:00 p.m. and now it was night. He looked at him phone and saw it was 9:13p.m.

"Dammit," he thought, "I missed dinner"

Then a crushing realization hit him. He had made plans with Amy and he completely stood her up. He groaned and immediately sent her a text:

"Hey I'm super sorry I wasn't at dinner. I feel asleep. Raincheck?"

He looked at his phone and saw she didn't even try to get in contact with him. He worried that maybe she was just waiting around for a text that never came. Did she at least get herself something to eat? Another wave of guilt hit him. His heart soared when his phone vibrated. It was a text from Amy:

"It's okay. I figured as much by the time it was 8:30. Yeah, we can raincheck"

He let out a sigh of relief. At least she wasn't upset. They decided to have dinner at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow and Jake let himself feel a little better. It wasn't until he realized that she probably had dinner alone again that he felt terrible again.

He looked over at his desk and saw his copy of The Library of Piano Favorites. He felt the familiar itch in his fingers and knew there was only one thing he could do right now. He grabbed his songbook and ran out the door.

The Music Conservatory was blissfully deserted again and he felt the weight on his chest lighten. He nearly ran up the stairs to the practice rooms. He opened the door and felt a rush of relief as he looked at the beautiful Baby Grand in the center of the room. He sat down and opened the book to one of his old favorites. His fingers fell into the keys, like water falls into a glass and just fits there. He began playing and let the anxiety of the day wash away with each note.

There was no greater feeling than this. He felt powerful and in control, but he also felt like he was painting worlds that wouldn't exist without him. Everything just made sense here and there was no one around to tell him he had more important things to be doing. What could be more important than this?

Time passed and he continued to play. He only stopped when his body was full of that tingling sensation he got when he played a piece perfectly. Well, at least close to perfectly. There was always a spot where he would hit the keys too hard or not hard enough. Still, he felt much better than he did before he walked into the room and that's what mattered. He gathered his things and headed for the door, but stopped when he saw a piece of paper right in front of it. Jake assumed someone must have slipped it in while he was playing because it definitely wasn't there when he first arrived. He picked up the paper and on it, in neat, bold lettering was the message:

You play beautifully. Please, don't ever stop.

That was it. Just those seven words and they were already playing on repeat in his mind. He looked on the back for some kind of clue to who left him the note, but found nothing. He folded the paper neatly and put it in his pocket.

It was as if he was visited by an angel or muse, telling him to keep going. It gave him courage and suddenly, he knew what he had to do.

He was going to change his major.

AN: So this chapter, I realize, might step on some toes. I just want everyone to know that if you're a business major, I completely respect that and Jake's views on the major are solely his own. This fic is in no way trying to drag business majors. Also, if you find yourself following a more stable career instead of an art, I also completely respect that. The theme here is "do what makes you happiest", not "pursue your hobby".

This is a very personal subject for me. I'm an actor/writer/director and consider myself a theatre artist so this is all hits close to home. I can't tell you how many times I've been asked "what are you going to do with a theatre degree?" and how much that hurts. I just want to make it crystal clear that the only commentary I'm making is that you should do what you want to do. If that means you want your art to be something you just do for fun, awesome! And if it means you want to pursue it professionally, that's also awesome! Okay, so we all good?

Ugggghhh! I write so angsty! I really want to write Jake as the big goofball he is, but I'm always putting him through, what I would call, sobering situations so I feel like he wouldn't be as silly as usual. I'll try to incorporate more happy!Jake soon haha.

As always, thank you so much for reading and I really appreciate your feedback. I read and reply to every single one. You guys are seriously so nice, I'm either grinning like an idiot or on the verge of tears.

See you next time!