"Well, I'll be damned." Nick let out a little snort and Ellis looked to him curiously. The conman was smiling—no, he was smirking; Nick didn't know how to just smile. The conman always had to look like he knew something you didn't. Ellis felt the corner of his mouth twitching into a grin.
The mechanic's blue eyes followed Nick's gaze and he found himself staring at a simple piano nestled in the corner. The pub had suffered so many violent shudders from the military's bombs that it looked like half the ceiling's dust had covered the room—and especially, that black piano. Still, though, it stood proudly... almost like it was waiting for someone.
"Oh, come on," Rochelle huffed. "This isn't the time or the place. If you've forgotten, we're in the middle of a zombie apocalypse."
"Relax," Nick shot back. He looked a little annoyed. "I just want to see if it works."
"'Sides, we can use a li'l break," Ellis voiced. Rochelle looked at the mechanic, judged his eager expression for a moment, and then with a sigh she gave in. The woman crossed her arms and nodded once as if to say 'well hurry up'. Her foot began to tap impatiently almost instantly. Beside her, Coach chuckled good naturedly.
Perhaps just to irk her more, Nick took his sweet time moving to the piano. He stepped delicately around the broken glass and fallen bar stools. All the while, he was just staring fixatedly at that piano. When he reached it he stood for a brief moment to admire it. Then he slid onto the bench, for some reason not noticing that he had just covered his pants in dirty ceiling dust.
Nick glanced over his shoulder as Ellis approached but he made no comment. His gaze fell back to the keys. His eyes searched the dusty surface.
Both of his hands lifted together and then his fingers came down onto one key, then two, three—Ellis lost count quickly. The conman's fingers flickered across the surface. The song that he played Ellis recognized. It was probably one of the few he did. He wasn't much of a classical guy, but the melody had been beaten into his head all through grade school. It felt odd watching Nick play it, though. It was the first time Ellis really listened to it.
It was Beethoven… it was called "Für Elise" and Ellis would have sworn that the song was still as drab and boring as it had been when he was a kid, but God the way Nick played it… The way his hands moved, the way his body swayed with the melody, how intense his eyes were, how he was smiling… It made Ellis' heart pound. Maybe it was because he had never seen anyone play it—just heard it over and over in those boring and tedious classrooms—but there was something entirely different about the song now as Nick played it. Ellis found himself mesmerized.
All too soon—far too soon—the song was over with. Nick's hands hovered over the keys for a moment longer as if he wanted to keep playing, but then he shrugged slightly and stood. Ellis stared at him in open awe. Nick smiled—no, no, he smirked back at him and—
He had that same look on his face. That same startled, curious look he had had back at the pub, back when his eyes had fallen on the piano for the first time… Nick's lips parted slightly and he blinked several times. His gaze momentarily broke free of the piano's captivating surface and found Ellis' eyes. He just sat there and stared at Ellis, almost as if begging him for permission to play. The young man nodded eagerly, encouragingly.
Nick's hands lifted slowly and his fingers came to rest gently on the keys. He brushed down the length of it, making no noise except for the soft shhck of his fingertips on its surface. His hands came back before him, touching the surface greedily. He seemed almost lost, like he didn't know what to do. But then there was a flicker—a flicker of something.
Nick's fingers came down and the song—soft, slow and maybe too gentle, too sad—filled the air. His voice followed, barely a whisper, and each word was drawn out and smooth, filled with undertones of sorrow and humility. The words, although clear, were not in a language Ellis knew.
"The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom and his tongue shall speak judgment. Blessed is he who suffers temptation. For once he has been tried, he shall receive the crown of life. Oh lord, oh holy fire, have mercy. Oh how sacred, how serene. How benevolent... how lovely. Oh lily of purity… have mercy..."
The music continued to flutter passionately long after Nick's voice had ceased its enchanting melody, but the misery behind the song was still evident.
The song ended and Nick sat back, staring at the keys wordlessly.
Ellis opened his mouth as if to speak, but then he stopped. He wasn't sure if maybe he had just made things worse. Nick looked to be in tears again. Damn it… this wasn't what he had meant to do. Ellis moved closer and lifted a hand cautiously to Nick's shoulder. The conman half-glanced at him, but he said nothing. Ellis swallowed painfully, feeling guilt creeping up inside of him. He would have sworn, he would have sworn this would have helped Nick! If maybe even only little. He would have sworn!
"Nick… I'm sorry… I di'n't… I di'n't mean ta…"
Nick's hands rose again and his fingers came down on the keys.
The conman's face softened and his eyes closed—
—Nick had to of played dozens of songs like that, never repeating one twice. His voice had never joined again and his eyes had seemed to stay closed permanently. Ellis wondered how he could have possibly remembered all of these songs… but if Nick had ever missed a note—or a page—Ellis was unaware of it. As far as Ellis could tell Nick played with perfect, absolute tenderness and passion. At least he wasn't lifeless anymore.
Crowds came and went. People lingered and stared, some whispered and others nodded solemnly with unsaid appreciation. But it was only Ellis who stayed obediently. At one point he had pulled up a chair beside the other, but he hadn't moved since then. And, that, had to of been hours ago… But, strangely, Ellis found himself unable to move. Each song Nick played almost felt like it was meant to be a confession. It was almost like he was trying to tell Ellis what he was feeling inside. The lack of words didn't make his message any less obvious—Nick hurt. A lot. But… why?
"Ellis?" The mechanic about jumped out of his skin at the sound of his name.
It was Coach. The big man was standing beside the younger man and he was staring at Nick—almost off-handedly, absently. The conman continued to play—unhearing, unseeing, intolerant of anything but the gentle sway and rock of his body to the song that had seemed to have consumed him.
Coach was silent a moment longer until he finally spoke. "I found some of my family, Ellis. I'm going to be staying with them."
Ellis smiled up at the man, "Thas great, Coach. Thas real great. I'm happy fer ya." And he was.
Coach's mouth worked into a frown. "Ellis… are you sure about this? About staying with Nick? I won't be there next time if he loses it." Both of their gazes fell to Nick. He still seemed unaware of anything but the piano before him.
Ellis nodded once; yes. He was sure.
Coach let out a strained sigh. "All right then kid." He offered his hand to the fellow southerner but Ellis quickly stood and embraced the big man. Coach warmly returned it. "Take care, all right? And keep in touch… I won't be too far away."
"Thanks, Coach."
The big man gave Ellis one last look before he half smiled. His gaze then fell to the conman. "Hey Nick." Not surprisingly, Nick did not break his trance. "I'll see you around. You take care of yourself, you hear?"
Eyes still closed, fingers still coaxing beautiful notes from the piano, the man called back faintly, "Yeah, you too." It surprised Coach. It surprised Ellis too. Nick seemed to have not noticed he had said anything. Coach looked at Ellis and shook his head with a slight smile. Then with one last warm pat on the mechanic's shoulder, Coach had turned and disappeared into the crowds of people.
And once again, their party of four had become two.
A/N: The song Nick sings is a Latin opera song called "Lilium" (Not sure when it was originally written, but it a beautiful song used for Elfin Lied's opening song). I wanted to write it in Latin, but if you don't know the song, then it's hard to capture the emotion behind it, so I wrote it translated in English to try and give off the humble, almost desperate tone to it. It's not fully written out—I imagine Nick maybe didn't know all of it, or perhaps Ellis just couldn't hear him he was whispering it so quietly =P
After some considerable time thinking, I've come to realize that there's no way this story can end in a few chapters and be fulfilling. I guess, it'll continue on as long as it needs. Besides… I need this story as much as it needs me, if not more.
Also, if you've ever had the pleasure to watch someone play one of your most favorite songs in person—be it classical or not—you will find yourself falling in love with that song all over again.
(Now bullshit rant here)
I don't like Rochelle. She's such a bitch. LOL Just had to get that out of my system.
So, this cracked me up. I was playing four swordsmen (which is a lot harder than I initially thought it'd be) and Ellis ended up getting caught up on a balcony after we all jumped down on a level in the Parish. (I'm not going to lie, I was absolutely heartbroken listening to that Charger killing him and Ellis screaming for help. But it was impossible to get back up and so I threw boomer bile at it (totally useless since there's no hordes e_e) and just… waited for Ellis to die… So, when he did I massacred the Charger and gimping away, Coach at my side and Rochelle somewhere behind us Coach whispers "Stay close now, it looks like we just became a party of two!" and I looked down—Ellis is dead, Rochelle is in green health, Coach yellow, me yellow… and then I started laughing. I'm with ya, Coach. Rochelle is dead to me too, buddy. For some reason, it made me laugh super hard. Then everything was okay when I saved Ellis from a closet. But, I ended up getting too pissed off at them at one point. They seem to get fixated on things really easily and just stop moving and it's not until you're really far away that they finally teleport out of their stupor. Ridiculous. I got so sick of dying because they're too retarded to turn and slap me free from a smoker or hunter.
I'm also becoming more and more aware that I am insanely jealous of Ellis giving attention to anyone but me. On Dark Carnival I kept standing between Ellis and Rochelle when he was trying to heal her (FUU you, Ellisbot. I healed yo ass with mine! So, that healthpack you're carrying was supposed to be for me –angry face-). I swear, Ellisbot is so persistent. He just kept pulling that first aid out, over and over and over and over, until I finally pitied him and let him heal her. Anyways… done with the rambling.