Three days had passed since he started his sessions with her. She was kind and gentle, often speaking softly and with silent ease. She often guided his hand towards the right keys and she allowed him some free time on his own as well. She was patient with him as well; she would always correct his mistakes, and would always be smiling as she did so.

He didn't get to talk much to her during these times, as he had once hoped. He settled upon merely allowing her to teach him all she knew. Her vast knowledge of the music placed in front of him astonished him day after day, and she never ceased to amaze him. She was a plethora of knowledge, a vast mind of thoughts and contemplations he could only hope to understand.

They did not speak of that day of which he caught her in his arms, and they did not touch since. She merely guided him from the air and allowed him to move his own hand; she would not touch him. He did not understand why this was so, as he wanted nothing more than to hold her against him and breathe in her scent.

Her scent of lilacs.

Everyday her scent taunted him, and every day he would restrain himself from getting too close to her. He had thought he was making progress, but he could see now that she was hesitant to speak to him. He didn't think he had done anything wrong, but he could see from her eyes that there was something always troubling her when they saw each other. He would gaze at her and her eyes drifted away from him, and this would puzzle him.

What was going on?

"And then the last stanza goes on for about two bars and you stop." She turned to him and smiled brightly, tilting her head. "Not bad right?"

Ray clicked his tongue and nodded back, smiling.

"Yeah…"

She gathered her belongings and tucked the music sheets in her bag.

"This place is often open, so if you want to practice you can."

Ray watched her as she began to put on her coat and fix her hair. He clenched his fist on the piano bench. The room was quiet and the hum of the radiator made the area warm. The snow had begun to melt outside and the day was rather warm, but the winter breeze still took a hold of anyone who passed. He breathed out slowly and didn't move from his seat, even as she began to walk out the door.

Slowly, he turned his head towards the piano keys and his eyes drifted back and forth between the black and white ivory, his mind reeling. He did not move.

"Ray?"

Her voice called to him and he looked up, Crystal already at the door and turned back to see him. She wore a puzzled face.

"Ray… are you alright?"

He breathed out again, and turned his head away.

"I treated you out to hot chocolate that day… remember?"

"That was…" the door was now shut and she held her bag by her side. "A few days ago… right?"

"Yes."

He stared out into the cold winter and stood up now, his hand coming up to touch the cool of the glass window. His heart pumped heavily in his chest.

He could hear Crystal's boots coming closer to him and he turned slightly over his shoulder, speaking to her.

"You don't talk to me."

"What do you mean?"

"You just… you don't talk to me."

"What does that mean?"

"Everything we've ever talked about… is nothing but music… I don't know anything about you."

He could see Crystal standing next to him now, looking out the window beside him.

"Well… I didn't think you'd want to know anything like that… I mean you just wanted to learn piano right? I'm good at that…"

That's not what I meant at all.

"It's…" Ray breathed out now, rubbing the back of his neck. He wanted to know how to convey his feelings to her, how to tell her that he felt something towards her that he had never felt before.

"Listen, I have to get going. Mom is expecting me home soon."

Ray turned to her now, his heart saddening and his eyes dimming.

"Oh… well… should I still walk you home?"

Crystal nodded at him, walking away now.

"Yeah… I feel…" Ray's ears perked at her words which were drowned out by her own whispers. He swallowed hard, feeling something tingling in his chest.

Crystal said no more but waited for him at the doorway. His body moved on its own and his feet led him towards her, where he grasped at her arm and led her towards her house. Together they moved down the hall and towards the outside, where a burst of wind greeted them.

He wanted to catch her hat again.

He peered inside the room and put his nose up against the glass. His breath fogged up the cool window and he stood back a little, his sweat beginning to feel a bit chill on his body.

The room was dark and empty, the piano facing the door as usual and feeling a little lonely in the grey light that filtered in through the clouds.

"Lookin' for your friend there?"

The voice startled him a bit, Ray's eyes peering at the man who held a mop in his hands and was leaning against a cleaning cart.

"She hasn't been in all day. Usually see her walkin' in around a half before you do."

"You know about her?" he asked, tilting his head and walking towards the man.

"I thought you said you didn't know of anyone else in here?"

"Who else in here besides you?"

Ray blinked twice, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Uhm… that's…"

"The room's kinda empty right?" he mused, moving towards the door. With a single hand he flicked a pair of keys out from his dirty trousers and unlocked the door, the metal swinging open silently and the echo of keys ringing in the hall.

"Usually we got stuff goin' on in here but… seems as if everything's kinda grey right?"

Ray took a look at the man before making his way inside. The afternoon sun was fading into the sky now, the grey light turning red and orange before his eyes. The piano lay there as if calling his name and wanting to be played.

His fingers twitched.

"Looky here."

Turning his head Ray could see that Hank held up a thermos in his hand, fixing his hat with his other hand.

"Finders keepers as I always say!" Hank cackled, eyeing the thermos. He had one eye closed and the other eye examining the silver surface. He scratched his head once and put the thermos down on the piano.

"Where'd you find that?" Ray asked, taking the thermos in his hand now. With ease he twisted off the lid and peered inside, still seeing a bit of tea leftover.

She must have left it here.

"Under the bench right here… I wouldn't drink that if I was you." Hank gazed at him through his open eye. "Don't know where that's been."

Ray's fingers found the lid again and screwed the top back on, shaking the thermos back and forth a little before speaking to his friend.

"You're coming in to clean right?"

Hank spit a bit into a rag and pocketed the cloth, nodding his head.

"That's what they pay me for!"

Hank took his bucket from his cart and set his cleaning supplies out, taking a few rags from his bag and beginning to fill the air with the scent of window cleansers.

She'd… want it back.

"Thanks Hank… I'll take it from here."

Walking towards the door Ray heard a voice coming from behind him speak very quietly, with a hint of a smile.

"She'd want more than that."

The words froze Ray in his tracks, and his eyes widened. The feeling of warmth and tingling overcame his heart, and for a mere minute he felt as if something had overtaken him. A sense of purpose flowed through his body, making him more eager to see her now. He knew she'd want her thermos back… but he wasn't sure who he was going for.

Ray turned his heel quickly to talk to Hank but to his surprise the janitor was no longer in the room with him. He breathed out quietly and his shoulders fell, his hand still gripping the thermos.

The mop was laid against the piano.

The doorbell rang rather loudly. He waited patiently in the snow, the sun beginning to set on the day. Orange and red were turning to deep purples now and a few streaks of blue could be seen across the sky. His heart pounded with elation.

Eventually the door opened up and a woman stood in front of him, gazing at him.

"May I help you?"

"Uhm…" Ray bowed to her politely, feeling his cheeks burn bright.

"I just… I came to give you… this… Crystal she… left it at the school and I just… thought she'd… want it back…"

Slowly he handed the woman the thermos he held and backed off the porch uneasily. He swallowed.

"I just… she left it and uh.."

The woman took a look at the thermos for a minute, examining the silver surface. A small smile spread across her face and she gazed at him with kind brown eyes.

"I'm sure she'd love this back… of course… you traveled all the way out here… and I have a pot roast…"

Her eyes were set on him, and slowly Ray began to feel an unconscious tug of fate pull him towards the door again. His heart beat wildly now, nervousness working its way into his mind. A gust of wind blew against him and immediately he jumped at the opportunity to stay inside. The cold wind blew through his coat and he walked back to her, the mother moving aside to let him inside.

Wiping his coat off and rubbing his arms, Ray's eyes drifted around the house. A chandelier hung above his head while a pair of stairs was to his immediate front. The mother offered him to take off his shoes and come up to the top floor, to which Ray easily complied.

His bare feet touched the cool wooden floor and he took off the coat he had on. The woman took his coat and offered him a seat on a maroon colored couch to his left, on which he promptly sat quietly. She hung his coat up in a closet nearby, speaking to him.

"Dear you look so tired… where did you come from?"

"I just… I practice martial arts ma'am… and I had a practice session…"

"Oh so YOU must be the person Crystal is always talking about."

Ray's ears perked.

"Always?"

"She mentions that she has a student who's older than her who was so eager to take piano lessons… I never thought it'd be someone like you!" the woman poked her head out from the kitchen and smirked at him. "Someone so cute!"

Ray could feel his cheeks catch on fire.

"I… I uh… thank you…?"

The woman laughed and made her way back into the kitchen, of which smells were quickly emanating. Taking a deep sniff of the air, Ray's stomach rumbled and he realized he was hungry.

This is about the time I get back to Tyson's… I'm starving.

"I'm sure you're starving dear… dinner will be in a few minutes."

Ray nodded and sat more comfortably on the couch, shivering a bit. He could feel his own body sweat against his skin, which made him rather cold.

"Dear do you need to wash up?"

Ray flinched at her voice, the woman standing almost on top of him.

How the…?

"U-Uh… it's alright… I-I can just wash up at my friend-"

"Nonsense you can wash up right here!"

Before he could respond he felt a towel being shoved into his arms and a hand leading him to the shower.

"Left for hot and right for cold and I'll take your clothes!"

Ray could not speak as the fury of motions caught him completely off guard. His clothes were stripped off rather easily and his hair became undone in a flash. He remembered being in the living room and then suddenly he had ended up stark naked in the bathroom. The door was slammed shut and Ray held the towel to his crotch, feeling rather confused.

… What just happened?

He held the towel to his hair, not bothering to put on his headband or his hair tie. His clothes were clean and warm now, Ray putting his green martial arts shirt and pants on easily and slipping into his boxers. The warmth of the shower helped him heal his skin, but he still felt the pang of hunger eat at him.

"Dinner is ready!"

Opening the door to the hallway Ray walked out of the shower feeling refreshed and ready to eat. He set a foot down outside the door before he heard a voice coming from his left.

"Mom, I need your driver's license! They're asking for identi-"

Ray's eyes met her before she could see him. She had been looking down at a few papers when she bumped into him, and Ray could feel her head against his chest.

He melted on in the inside.

Crystal gazed up at him now, backing away softly. She wore a pair of grey sweatpants with a black loose sweater. Her hair was up in a clip and her glasses hung over her nose because of the impact.

Quickly she adjusted herself and spoke rashly to him.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded. Her body was set and her fists were at her side. Ray watched her for a few moments before slowly setting the towel on his shoulders.

"Giving you back something you left." He replied softly.

Crystal's lips pursed and she looked away, Ray seeing a little blush erupt from her cheeks. He stepped forward gently.

"You… left your thermos at the school… thought I'd give it back."

Her eyes met his and immediately he could read her thoughts.

Yeah… I did come all this way just for that.

"Dinner!"

At her mother's voice Crystal walked past him and to the dining room, where she sat down and poured juice for herself. Ray waited a few moments, thinking and pondering. His heart was screaming at him, but his mind was numb.

He wanted so much more.

"Why don't you stay the night?"

"Oh I couldn't do that."

"Why not? You have such a long walk ahead of you!"

"Ma'am I appreciate the offer but"

"Nonsense there's an AeroBed downstairs!"

"Mom he's a GUY! Dad would have a fit!"

"Your father isn't here right now is he?"

"I thought you still wanted me to wait!"

"Nonsense you'll be fine! I trust you!"

"Uh…"

How did I get talked into this?

She laid out his sheets for him and organized his pillows. Ray stood behind her awkwardly in the empty guest room, watching as Crystal put together his bedding. He had set his bag down near the only table next to the bed and watched her in silence. She was nearly done with her task.

The room smelled of lavender and as she finished she stood in the room silently, looking at her own work. Slowly, Ray's feet caught up with her and he found himself next to her.

"Thank you… I don't know why your mother insisted so bad but… I… wanted to say thank you."

"Why did you come all the way here?"

Ray flinched a bit at her blunt, Crystal turning to him now. She peered up at him through her glasses and for some reason she scared him a bit.

"I… wanted to return that thermos…"

"You could have given it to me tomorrow."

Ray shifted his head to the side. "You didn't come today… why didn't you come?"

Crystal opened her mouth to reply but instead remained silent. Her mouth closed and she looked away from him, shaking her head.

"I don't want to get into it."

Ray made his way over to his bed now, sitting down carefully and patting the spot beside him.

"I have time."

Crystal stared at him for a second before backing up, holding up her hands and adjusting her glasses.

"I don't want to talk about it, I just needed"

"I want to know."

He blocked her way out, using his speed to get past her and block the door with his body. She tried to move left and right around him, but he had her blocked at every angle. He played her game and eventually she gave in, shaking her head.

"Fine… I'll tell you."

She plopped herself down upon his bed and he smiled, sitting down with her and gazing at her intently.

"So? Why weren't you there today?"

"Well…"

From what he could gather, Ray understood why she had been so distant with him.

She was dating someone who was about a year older than she was, and who had treated her unkindly the other night. This caused her to become rather sad with herself and she didn't feel the need to go anywhere or do anything. She told him that she was a little depressed, but didn't want to talk about anything.

She had told him that her boyfriend was also a boyfriend of not that long, as they had just begun to date in the past two months. He was the type of person that hung around her because she was cute. But Ray saw nothing more than that.

"So… he didn't understand why you were sad? Well… what happened?"

"He just… I was asking him why he was so mean to me the other day… and then he got all defensive… like it was me who had the problem."

"What did he do?"

"He doesn't treat me like a girlfriend around his friends… at least… that's how I see it."

They were sitting close together now, their shoulders touching each other and their knees near their chests. The clock was ticking soon to ten and Ray had demanded that he know everything that was going on. The little lamp on the table provided them with some light and cast shadows against the wall, his taking up hers.

"Is he always like that?"

"Yeah but… you know that's the way he is…"

Ray turned to her now, shaking his head.

"It shouldn't be like that… he should treat you like…. Like a human being wherever he goes. It doesn't matter where or who you're with."

"Yeah well… he said he was sorry."

"How long has this been going on?"

"Well he's…" her voice faded for a second before coming back again after she cleared her throat. "Third… fourth…"

"Time?" Ray asked incredulously.

Crystal didn't move, but Ray could feel anger boiling up inside his chest. He grit his teeth that were sharpening to rip out that man's throat. He managed to calm himself however and took a deep breath, speaking slowly.

"It doesn't matter if it's the first or second time… no one should treat you like that… you should know that."

"I've never…"

Crystal suddenly stopped speaking and Ray could feel a shift in the air. His heart pounded with nervousness and he turned to her fully, looking into her eyes.

"Crystal?"

She took a deep breath of air and hid her hand in her sleeves, waving her arms back and forth.

"I've just… never been very popular…"

Ray tilted his head as his nervousness faded away. The shift in the air had returned to normal, and he began to feel something exploding in his mind.

Go on.

Go on.

His eyes drifted towards her hands, which were hidden in her sweater sleeves. He uncurled his legs and sat upright, breathing silently. His fingers twitched a bit as his hand moved towards her, lining her legs and tracing up to her knees.

Crystal was stock frozen in front of him, and Ray continued, not sure where his mind or body was taking him.

Go on.

He moved closer to her, inhaling her scent ever so silently. His eyes dimmed and he spoke softly, his tongue making words only his heart knew how to speak.

"You've never dated anyone… have you? Before him… and you're so unsure of yourself… you're shy… but you're so sweet… and caring… you're so gentle… and I think you're…"

Beautiful.

"…. You deserve better than that."

His fingers found her sleeve and he pulled her fingers out of the cloth. Gently he tugged at her hand until both her hands were exposed and he could see her tan skin. His eyes moved from her hands to her eyes, which were stuck to a spot in space.

"You deserve a lot better."

His fingers found her fingers and they intertwined gently, his heart racing in his chest.

What am I doing?

She did not fight him however, and instead accepted his presence near her. She turned to him then and there and he looked into her chocolate eyes. They sparkled and shone like stars, sending him into deep chasms of thoughts and space. Before he could move he found her body warming up against his and pressing against his chest. Her head was placed upon his shoulder and he froze, his body feeling her warmth against him.

This… this is what it's like?

Their hands were intertwined and he felt her fingers rubbing his knuckles carefully, her slender form huddling closer to his body and eventually the both of them lay down on the bed. Ray stared at her from where he lay, and she stared back at him.

Something pulled them together.

Her head buried in his chest and his arms found their way around her waist and pulled her closer to him, his nose stuck in her hair.

From beneath him he could hear her inhaling his scent as well, Crystal whispering to him.

"You smell… like… rain…"

They lay there for a few more minutes before Crystal quickly got up at her mother's voice and wished him a good night, leaving Ray to his own thoughts in the empty room. That blissful moment had come and gone so quickly that Ray could only hold onto his fleeting memory of her body against him.

He fell upon the pillows and sheets and began to think more to himself. She had a boyfriend… but… was she really into him? Only time would tell him the answers he sought so deeply.

A vibration from his right snapped him out of his thoughts and he flipped open his phone, seeing a text. His eyes scanned over the name and he gasped under his breath.

He turned over on his side and slowly smiled, typing fast and replying to the text that was sent from the person he wanted to talk to the most.

Thank you, Ray… for understanding me.

Her words were so simple, yet they held such great meaning to him. His fingers thought of the message right away, and he hesitated before sending the reply, thinking twice. His instincts fought him, but he knew that this was how he felt. Ray hit the reply button and closed his phone, turning over on his side again and closing his eyes. He hoped he could reach her.

I just wish… I was your own.