Hi, everyone! Thank you so much for your reviews. Your suggestions were also appreciated and I don't want to give anything away just yet but I do have a plan for Pitch which you will see the beginning of in this chapter. It actually reminded me that it's now chapter four and I haven't even introduced my main antagonist yet. Stupid me! Well, better late then never, I suppose. As for Pitch molesting Jack though…now there's a thought. Hmm…

Play For Me, Jack

Chapter 4

The next day was not a general rehearsal and the strings didn't need to go in. Jack slept in until around 11AM, the time he was eventually victorious in the battle over the slight hangover that had developed from when he'd first woken up. Due to his second day with Bunny going much in the same way as the first except angrier, Jack had called Tooth the minute he'd gotten home and dragged her out to some dive bar they went to on occasion when they had nowhere better to hang out. Jack had knocked back more and more Jack and Coke as Tooth just sipped club soda the whole time and as Jack sat in his bed and tried to rub away his grogginess he thought back to the previous evening and began to grimace when he remembered the looser his tongue had gotten as the hours ticked by. Why didn't he drink more? At least then he could have forgotten all of that.

The previous night…

"Another" Jack said to the bar tender as he pushed his empty glass over the polished surface.

"Maybe you should eat something", Tooth said after she'd watched him pound his first drink.

"I'm not hungry, I just hate everything"

"Come on, Jack. Don't be so upset"

"Why not? I figure I should be allowed to after today"

"Why? Today wasn't as bad as yesterday"

"It was"

"Well, it depends on how you look at it"

"And how, dear Tooth, should I look at it?" griped Jack as he reached for his freshened glass.

"At least you're not afraid of Bunny anymore"

"I was never afraid of Bunny"

"Shy then"

"I wasn't shy!"

"Yes, you were. Yesterday you wouldn't even talk to him. Today you gave him sass. I can't wait to see what Thursday brings"

Jack just closed his eyes and groaned, "Oh, Tooth. Why is this so messed up?"

"Because you like him"

"For the last time, I don't like him"

"You do! You so do!"

"I so do not!"

"Don't think I haven't noticed you looking at him all day long. He's been looking at you too you know. I bet he likes you as well."

"We don't even know if he's gay"

"Ah ha! You do like him!"

"No, I don't!"

"Yes, you do! Why would you bring that up if you weren't considering it?"

"As just…like…a commentary"

"A commentary?"

"Yes. It was what we were talking about and I threw something relevant in. A commentary."

"His unknown sexuality is relevant?"

"It was just then", said Jack knowing he was digging a hole. There was a short silence between them before Tooth looked down to her glass, took a sip and then spoke.

"So what do you think?"

"What do you mean?"

"You think he's gay?"

Jack thought for a moment, "Hard to tell. He obviously takes care of himself and puts some thought into his looks. And he'd pretty ripped. But then, he's Australian. Aren't even their ugly people hot? You know, compared to us?"

Tooth just smiled, "I don't know, Jack. All I do know is you just talked about Bunny's grooming and his muscles without even flinching."

Just glared at her and then turned away to down the rest of his drink. "Aw, shut up!" he said as he signalled for another.

Later that night, the pair pulled up in a cab outside Jack's apartment. Tooth had decided Jack had drunk just enough to drown his sorrows but not enough to lead him down a path where he'd be totally an utterly blotto. Quite clearly he'd forgotten what he had to do tomorrow afternoon and she'd decided to wait until now to remind him so as not to give him something else to moan about all evening.

"You think I could make snow cones with Jack Daniels?" he asked as they came to a stop. Tooth just looked at him sympathetically.

"I think that might be something to try another night. You'll need a clear head for tomorrow"

"What are you talking about? We don't have anything tomorrow"

"Don't you remember…you know…what you've got tomorrow afternoon?"

Jack thought for a second, "No…I don't think I-…Aw, crap!" he spat as it dawned on him what the next day held.

"That's right. Are you ready?" Tooth asked as gently as she could.

"I don't know. I just don't wanna go-ho-ho!" Jack whined. He was referring, of course, to the review he had with none other than the conductor that gave him the creeps, Pitch Black. It was a regular occurrence for all of the orchestra's players and it served the purpose of assessing their skills over time so to make sure they got their hierarchy right and could move people around accordingly when the time came. There were a group of higher-ups that held the reviews and it wasn't just Pitch that did them. It seemed that Jack always seemed to get him though and he didn't think that was fair. Pitch always put him off as he always stood at Jack's side or behind him and watched every little movement he made. It made him uncomfortable as he felt the lithe, sickly-looking man's penetrating eyes locked on his body and it made him so nervous that he always messed something up. As a result, any of his attempts to impress Pitch with his playing were often marred by his mistakes and he always left his review with the sting of Pitch's comments fresh in his ear. The man had a way with words that kept eating at a person long after they were spoken and there had been many a time after a review when Jack had found himself awake into the early hours hearing them over and over in his head. Tomorrow would surely be no different and Jack sank down in the backseat of the cab as he tried to process the actuality that was his impending knockdown.

Back in the present…

Jack ran his fingers into his tousled hair and rubbed his head gently as he tried to clear the haze in his mind. In hindsight, he really should have spent the previous evening practicing and he regretted not doing so. There wasn't really any time now to practice anything seriously and he knew he wouldn't be able to do anything after getting straight out of bed. After jumping, or rather dragging himself into a hot shower he stood in his living room, in his underwear since getting dressed was just another chore at this moment in time, and put together his violin to try practicing a little in order to wake up his muscles. In front of him he had the Rondo from Beethoven's 5th Violin Sonata. It was a piece he knew well and had been happy to play when it was assigned as one of their review pieces. There were other pieces he'd have to play as well but this was the main one this time around and before today he'd been fairly confident he'd do a good job with it. The way he felt this morning though left him feeling unsure and as he began to play his fears about messing up wouldn't go away. The piece had its technical moments but was simple enough to really expose his poor technique if he did slip up, especially in the wrong places. His arpeggios were messy, his shifting* was a little off and he had to force himself to stop, shake his head, grit his teeth and knuckle down on this music so he wouldn't look stupid later. After a few minutes of fierce concentration he felt the blood in his arms starting to pump properly and he managed to find his usual agility. His headache, which had never really been too strong, began to subside and it wasn't long before he managed to sound half-decent again. Hopefully after a little coffee, something to eat and maybe some Tylenol he would be back on fine form and wouldn't give Pitch much ammunition.

He relished the idea of wiping that smug, self-important look off of the frightening man's face and hoped he could walk out the other side of his review feeling as if he deserved his place in the orchestra. All of the other reviewers were warm and kind, but not Pitch. Whereas other players would get praise and constructive comments with other bosses, Pitch would never be so nice as to make them feel like they deserved to even be alive. Every so often he'd say something that would be genuinely cruel but usually he was smarter than that and would allow the player to be consumed by their own self-doubt and fear if they didn't meet his expectations. Even now, Jack remembered the first time when he'd been asked whether he really thought he was up to the standard demanded by such a professional orchestra and the creeping, destroying feeling that had followed. Pitch had left it at that and Jack had felt worthless for days afterwards. He'd practiced and practiced for hours until his fingers were sore but it wasn't any use. He'd just felt horrible. It eventually took North, the manager Jack became extremely fond of, to break him out of his rut by telling him he was doing great and to ignore Pitch. That was when Jack learned even the guys in charge thought he was an jackass. And he was. He really, really was when he wanted to be and Jack smirked to himself as he decided that today he wasn't going to let Pitch get on top of him. He was no doubt going to be mean but Jack was confident that even though he felt gross, he was still a great player and nothing said to him to the contrary would get to him. Screw Pitch. And screw his review.

After lunch, Jack found himself standing in a practice room holding his violin and staring at the page on the stand in front of him. He had to admit he was a little nervous. It reminded him of performance exams he'd taken in college and knew that these were basically the same thing. This time though, how well he did didn't affect his grade, it affected his career and no amount of cocksure, internal self-promoting could quell the fear that began to creep in at the edges of his consciousness.

"Just calm down" he thought to himself as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "You're not getting fired. It's just a review"

Just then his phone buzzed in his pocket and he took it out to see a good luck message from Tooth. He smiled weakly as he read the message and then startled as the door burst open to reveal the chilling man he'd been expecting. He was dressed all in black as usual and Jack had always wondered if he did that just to draw attention to his spooky eyes. He did not look happy and Jack gulped a little before forcing a smile onto his face in greeting.

"Good afternoon, Pitch" he said trying to sound confident but not doing a great job. Pitch was silent for a moment as he stared Jack down and made him feel uneasy. Then, to his surprise, he softened and put on his smarmy, slithery brand of niceness that creeped Jack out even more as he spoke.

"Jack Frost, it's a pleasure to see you again"

"Uh…you too" he lied.

"Ready?" Pitch asked, as he began to glare.

"Let's do it"

On that note, Pitch stepped in and revealed the pianist that had been standing behind him. How had he managed to conceal a whole person with his aura of terror? That had to be black magic and once again Jack took a deep breath to steady his nerves that, by now, had started jittering again. Was it suddenly hotter in here? It felt like it.

Jack watched Pitch as he seemed to drift menacingly across the room and took a seat directly in front of him where he could see Jack's face around his stand and make the poor guy know he was being analyzed. Jack gritted his teeth inside his mouth and just stared at the page on the stand hoping to God he didn't look scared. It didn't matter if he was, he just couldn't let Pitch know how he felt and avoided eye contact with him at all costs which, owing to where he sat, was no easy task.

"Shall we begin?" Jack asked raising his violin.

"In a moment" said the almost grey-skinned man in front of him, "but first of all…Jack, how are you feeling?"

Jack was quiet for a second, "How am I feeling?"

"That's what I said"

"I…uh…fine, I guess"

"You guess?"

"Yeah…"

"Really? Because it seems that in the past couple of days you've been a little off"

"Have I?" asked Jack suddenly realising what Pitch was getting at.

"Yes. I've been watching you. Feeling a little rusty, perhaps? After the holidays?"

"It hasn't been that long"

"True, but you do seem to be…struggling"

"I'm not struggling. It's only been a couple of days since we've come back"

"But I would expect you not to need a warm up period. This is, what, your fourth season here?"

"Yes"

"So, do you not think that, maybe, you should be used to how we work here?"

"I feel I understand it"

"You feel you do? Well…we'll see"

Silence then filled the room for a few moments and Jack didn't know what he was supposed to do. If he hadn't felt entirely confident a few minutes ago, he must have been teetering on the edge of a breakdown by now and as the seconds ticked past he only felt more and more uncomfortable as those bright but menacing eyes watched him.

"Shall I…start?"

"What a good idea" Pitch said sarcastically.

Jack raised his violin again and tried to breathe slowly. He knew this piece and he didn't find it hard. It was nothing to be scared about. All he had to do was play it, and play it well. That was all and then he'd move onto the next one. Why then did he want to run away?

When he was as ready as he was ever going to be, he looked over to the pianist in the corner of the room, who gave him a sympathetic smile, and nodded to show he was ready. As the pianist started playing he raised his bow and took another breath. It didn't steady him as he had hoped and so he just concentrated on getting his entry right. Nothing would be worse than missing that.

Fortunately he'd been here long enough to get the joints in his hands nice and loose so his fingers didn't feel sluggish as they danced across the fingerboard. Not that they had to dance too much. The piece focused far more on correct intonation than complexity and he seemed to be achieving that perfectly. Well, so far. He took care to manage his vibrato* nicely and tried not to overcook it. He also held back on emphasizing his slurs and making it sound too passionate. Pitch would hate that, and besides, the piece was delicate and not an epic love poem. There was no need to give it more drama and give Pitch something to criticize him for.

Soon he got to the part with the tricky turns* and then not long after came the fiddly little triplets*. He nailed them and sneaked a cheeky smile when he came out the other side. Then, as soon as it had begun, he finished the piece with a good, firm, well-tuned double-stop* and let his violin down. He was very pleased with himself and smiled even more as he shuffled the music around on his stand. He'd been right on with his fingering, his double-stopping* had been perfectly in tune and he hadn't overdone the variation in his dynamics*. Maybe this time he'd actually get some praise.

"Don't kid yourself" he thought as he remembered who it was sitting across from him and saw how he looked neither impressed nor unimpressed. He had simply sat there all through the piece and had hardly moved a muscle. It was just his creepy way and so Jack just took it as neither a good nor bad sign.

"What did you think?" he asked with a quiet, but now more confident voice. Pitch just continued to stare and then, after a few moments, spoke with a sneer.

"Next piece"

Jack sighed with frustration but not too visibly so Pitch would pick up on it and play it against him. He simply arranged the next two pieces, a couple of studies the higher-ups had selected and played them one after the other, this time only making a couple of mistakes. Studies were designed to be tricky though and so he didn't think too much of it. He was still riding the happy feeling he'd gotten from his performance of the Beethoven and nothing was going to bring that down. Nothing, that was, until Pitch started who had by now moved behind him to examine his body as he played. Jack turned his head to look at the man when he lingered there for just a little longer than was comfortable. He simply stood there glaring and Jack didn't like it one bit.

"So. What do you think?"

Pitch sighed exasperatedly, "What do you want me to say, Jack?"

"I uh…I don't know."

"Then why did you ask?"

"Isn't the point of the review to tell me whether I'm sounding okay and let me know what I should work on?"

"Hmm" he said turning away and going over to the window, "And do you want me to give you my honest opinion or just give you the answer you expect?"

"And what's the answer I expect?" Jack asked narrowing his eyebrows.

Pitch spoke with a hint of baby talk in his voice, as if he were talking to a dog "Oh, weren't you a good boy? Yes, you was! Yes, you was! You're so special!"

Jack huffed. This was new but not unexpected. Damn, he wished he could hit this asshole!

"And how about something serious?"

Pitch turned around, "You really want that? Fine. What can I say? I see no change in you from the last time we met. It seems to me you're not putting any work into your playing and are simply coasting by on natural ability. You show no evidence of hard work and I cannot say categorically that you deserve to be in the seat you hold. And as for your posture, I don't think I even need to say what a mess that is"

Ouch! That stung badly. It wasn't devastating though, all apart from that jab at his posture which was a new one. Jack had grown accustomed to Pitch's frank condemnation of his playing and he'd learned to ignore it. Others said he was good including other conductors and managers. What's more, he knew he was good and had most certainly improved in the last year. Playing in a professional orchestra like the West Pennsylvania Philharmonic brought out a certain something in a player that couldn't be garnered anywhere else and Jack had seen a change in his playing since working for them. Pitch was just trying to get at him and even though he didn't believe him, the nasty man still got to him. Especially with the new attack he'd decided to throw in there. What was wrong with his posture? He thought he stood nicely when he played. Surely Pitch was just making things up now.

"I see. And what would you recommend I do?" Jack asked deciding not to respond in kind.

"Have you considered whether or not there might be a profession you're better suited to?" he asked smugly and turning away.

"No. Have you?"

Pitch grunted. "Watch it, Frost"

"Yes, Mr. Black" he said with a grin.

"Jack, do you really think there's any chance of you getting better? I mean really?"

"I have gotten better"

"I asked if you think you can get better from here"

"Well, of course I can."

"Then will you at least try to impress me the next time we meet?"

"Hey, I nailed that Beethoven. Wasn't that good enough?"

"Dreary rubbish that's thrown at the string section to try and impress us and only serves to swell their own self-importance" he said as he marched back to his seat. "Play me something else"

"W- What?"

"You want to impress me? Play me something impressive, if you think you can"

Jack snorted silently. This jackass wanted impressing? Fine, he'd impress him. With what though? What else did he have with him? Slowly he made his way over to his bag thinking hard through the pieces he had inside. He didn't have much. An Elgar piece and something else he couldn't quite remember, neither of which would be good enough to show off to Pitch. The only other piece he had to hand was the score to Swan Lake and he couldn't play anything from that.

Or could he? Suddenly he thought about the solo from the Russian dance in Act three and wondered if he could really play that to him. It was pleasing, yes, and it was extremely hard to play. He'd played it before though and he knew it inside out. Perhaps this was his ticket into Pitch's good books, or at least his ticket out of his bad. Taking a deep breath, he steadied his nerves and turned back around holding the piece. As he got back to his stand he spoke to the pianist.

"Can you give me the Act three Russian dance from Swan Lake?"

He received a surprised nod and then ignored Pitch's amused chuff as he readied himself. Confidently, he raised his violin again and looked to the player behind the piano and signalled his readiness. The opening chord echoed in the room as the pianist bashed it out and straight away Jack begun the passionate, ornamented run from low down on the G-string all the way up to the top on the E where he gave everything he had to the fast trilling that followed. This was one he could really throw everything he had into and could let passion flow freely. It was extremely alluring music and a piece that really showed off a violinist's abilities. It required strength, skill and above all a well-tapped source of artful fervour from within. On top of that it demanded a huge amount of control that Jack had always found enticing. This was the kind of challenge he was always looking for and as he played he found himself becoming more and more absorbed in the music. It filled him up and took control of him and as he sawed away at the strings with his bow it felt as if a fire burning within him began to rage. He was in his element and knew Pitch couldn't fault him for his sound quality here.

As it happened, just as he began, Bunny, who had been running a brass sectional all day was just returning from a bathroom break and was stopped mid-stride as he heard the sound of a solo violin coming from somewhere nearby. Silently he listened and began to follow it to a closed door just a few paces away from where he was and stopped to listen. Whoever it was sounded fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. He hadn't gotten to know any player's individual sound in this orchestra yet and he would have remembered if he'd heard this person before. He might have assumed it was Sandy in there playing but knew the concertmaster didn't have to go through these reviews. So who was it?

As the mystery player consumed him he lost track of time and didn't move until the piece was over. He decided to try to figure out whom it was from the voices that followed but all he could make out were muffled garbles.

On the other side of the door, Jack paused as the silence in the room rounded off the piece nicely. He'd really outdone himself this time and couldn't wait to see the look on Pitch's face.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the grey-looking man's expression hadn't changed. He just sat there and stared as he had before and it looked as if he had something brewing inside. Probably something mean knowing him.

"Not bad" he said eventually, "Shame it wasn't something you chose"

"What do you mean?"

"It was from Swan Lake. Surely you have something you can play well that stands up on its own rather than this, something we provided for you"

"Wasn't it good enough?"

The silence that followed let Jack know he'd caught Pitch out. It felt good. It really did.

"Just don't forget what I said", Pitch grumbled as he rose up and made for the door, "Ask yourself if you really think you deserve your place in this orchestra." With that he left leaving Jack and the pianist alone in the room. Jack turned to the her with a smile and knew she was feeling the same way.

"Great job" she said with a smile as she made for the door as well and left. It was gratifying to know that at least someone other than himself thought he'd done well. Jack just chuckled as he began to pack up and was glad he'd managed to shut Pitch up. That was the real reward here, at least for now.

Jack turned as he heard the door click again and froze as he locked eyes with Bunny. The two just stared at each other for a long moment. Jack wondering what on earth this was about, Bunny dumbfounded at realizing that it was Jack who had impressed him so much. Eventually, Jack to broke the silence.

"Hey" he said in a low voice.

"Hey. That, uh…that was you playing just now?"

"Yeah"

"Huh" Bunny said keeping quiet again. The two continued to stare at each other in silence for another long moment before Bunny interrupted the awkwardness that had now sprung into the room. "Uh…sounded real good, Jacky. Uh…I mean, Jack"

"Thanks"

The two stared again for a moment before the tension became too great and Bunny embarrassedly slunk out of the room. Just as he pulled his body around the door Jack gave him a soft, almost unnoticeable smile and then chuffed amusedly as the man disappeared from his sight. That was weird. Perhaps the weirdest thing though was Bunny correcting himself over his 'Jacky' mistake. He'd had so much fun with it the day before, so why would he correct himself if he could have some fun at his expense again?

Delving deep into his pocket he pulled out his phone and scrolled through the numbers quickly before hitting 'Call'. It rung for only a second or two before the person at the other end picked up.

"Hello?"

"Tooth, it's Jack"

"Oh, hey! How did it go?"

"Great. But I've got a problem"

"What?"

"Okay, get a load of this…"

Jack quickly related what had just happened and then the two remained silent.

"You still there?" Jack eventually asked.

"Yeah, I'm here."

"So what do you think?"

"What can I say? You like him. Follow him! Flirt a little!"

"God damn it, Tooth! It's not like that"

"It so is!"

"Aaah! Just shut up!" he shot as he hung up. What the hell was going on?

Glossary:

Double-stopping: When two strings are played simultaneously.

Dynamics: The volume levels of a piece of music.

Shifting: When I violinist changed the position of their fingers on the fingerboard (the long black part on top of the violin under the strings) in order to reach different notes along the same string. Different positions are called 'first, second, third, etc. position' depending on where the index finger is placed.

Triplet: A set of three notes of the same length fit into a certain number of beats, or for that matter, one beat or less.

Turn: A type of ornament in music (little flourishes found in music that decorate the melody) A short set of notes consisting of the one above the note printed, the note itself, the note below and the note itself again. Usually in a quick twiddle.

Vibrato: A rocking of the finger when pressed down on the fingerboard to create a wobbling sound. The same as how singers 'wobble' their voices when they sing long notes. Please excuse my bad explanation. Basically, it makes your playing sound fancy.

There we are, everyone! Hope it wasn't too long for one chapter. At least now I have Pitch set up. Yay the antagonist! Once again, let me know what you think. Your reviews, favourites and follows mean so much to me and I am so pleased you're enjoying it. I've got some good stuff planned for Jack and Bunny and Pitch will certainly be in there to throw a spanner in the works so I hope you'll all like that. See you in the next chapter!

If you want to hear the Beethoven piece Jack played that I was referring to, here it is (YOU HAVE TO PUT THE DOTS IN YOURSELF): youtube com/watch?v=06fGo9oAnh8

And if, like me, you like reading the music as you listen, you can find it here (it's the last movement of the sonata so it starts halfway down page 5) (PUT THE DOTS IN): javanese imslp info/files/imglnks/usimg/a/a3/IMSLP04224-Beethoven_-_Violin_Sonata_No.5_violin_part_.pdf

Here is the Russian dance from Act III of Swan Lake (it's cool to imagine Jack playing this one. Well worth a listen if you like classical music or if you need a little fuel for the imagination): youtube com/watch?v=jADBf7QHAOw&list=PL10D6ABA89BF70168