#Like. From beams perspective at least. The lyrics are so him.... falls to my hands and knees....🥀🥀🥀💔💔💔💔💔

[100shark]

Chat this song so Beam coded for them

[n0wornever]

Meet Cute (pt. 2) - Luke Patterson x Reader

Read Part 1 here

So....I got a little carried away with this. If you don’t like it, pls don’t ever tell me lolol (also, yes, the lyrics included are Miss Taylor Swift’s)

Y/N placed her bag down at her usual table. She took a look around the room, trying to draw as little attention as she could as she looked around the room for those hazel eyes. Unsatisfied with her assessment, she sits down at the table and opens her book. 

Within a second, a soft voice tickled her ear. “Looking for someone in particular?” She felt her ears burn as he giggled softly close to her face. 

She turned to be met by the smiling barista, coffee splattered all over his apron and flour attached to the sides of his arms. She tried her best not to smile too quickly back at him, tucking a piece of her falling hair behind her ear. 

“Nope.” She stated, scrunching her nose up at him. He rolled his eyes, leaning on the table in front of her. 

“Well are you going to order something or do you plan on freeloading all afternoon?” She popped her jaw as his eyes bulged, raising his eyebrows at her. 

She set down her book and placed her hand on her chest, mouth ajar in his direction “Not with this kind of customer service.”

His smile grew even wider as he shooed her gaze off of him with the towel in his hand. He slid the open chair toward her, sitting down and leaning his elbow on the granite below. 

Can I at least get a chai ready for you, miss comedian?” 

She brought her finger up to her face, tapping her cheek a few times before nodding. She moved to grab her wallet out of her bag, but by the time she did, he was out of sight. 

She leaned over to look at the bar, where she saw him running quickly to the machine, booting his coworker off of it with a push of his hip. She smiled dreamily as he worked quickly, steaming milk, and then flipping over to the other side to start steeping the tea. He eventually poured something into an orange mug with a smile on his face. She watched him carefully sprinkle cinnamon on top of it, his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth as he did. As his eyes moved away from the cup, she leaned back over to face forward at the table and lifted her book to her face again. 

It took a few seconds for him to walk over to her table. She forced herself to keep her eyes on the words in front of her until the glass actually hit the table. She lifted her eyes to meet it with a small smile. She looked up to see him beaming down at it with his hands out.

“Ba daaaa…” He said with jazz hands shaking at his creation.

“Thank you,” She said simply, picking her card up from the table next to her “How much do I owe you?”

He shook his head “I get a free drink a day, this one is yours.” 

She frowned at him, pushing the debit out toward him. “No, Luke come on…” He rose his hands, refusing to take the card from her once again. She moved her feet, preparing to get out of her chair but Luke took off on foot back toward the bar. 

She looked down at the ground, shaking her head before rotating back to her book. She leaned over to her bag, pulling out her pencil and tucking it behind her hair. She had created a habit of spinning her shoulder-length hair around writing utensils to make a makeshift ponytail. She pressed down on the middle of her bun to make sure it was secured before bringing her hands back down to the table. She chewed on the middle of her lip as she finally dove into her first poem of the evening. 

A moment passes before her phone buzzes against the table. She finishes the line she’s on before picking it up. She looks at the message from an unknown number with furrowed brows. She swipes it open, eyes falling on the word “purple.” 

Unknown: “Hey purple, it’s your favorite barista.”

She smirks down at the device, quickly typing her response. “Shouldn’t my favorite barista be working and not texting customers?”

Unknown: “Yeah well...we’re dead and I want to talk to you without being whipped by my boss again.”

She giggled, her mind falling back to the sound of the towel slapping back and forth on the barista’s back. “You are making it quite difficult for me to focus on my reading….” 

Unknown: “So studious. I guess we can talk later. :(“ 

She rolled her eyes, not responding to his pouting. She placed her phone face down on the table and gripped the book in her hands once again. 

Y/N eventually finished the book in one sitting, with extra time she planned to spare. She pulled out her notebook from her bag and flipped to a fresh page. She leaned over to rummage through her bag for another pencil. She felt her hair collapse around her face and sat up straight, she turned to see Luke holding up the purple mechanical pencil in his hand as he hovered over her.

“Need this?” He winked in her direction, his eyes drawing over her features. “I think I like your hair better down anyway,” 

She pulled her curls behind her ears and shook her head up at him as she reached for the writing utensil.  

“Unbelievable,” She muttered.

A smirk reappeared on his face as he held out the pencil, shaking it between his fingers. She reached over and he caught her wrist with his free hand. She tried and failed to hold back the audible gasp that came with his sudden touch. He flipped her hand over, place the pencil in it before closing her hand around the small object. He placed his hand on top of hers for a moment before letting her go.

She turned back to face forward, hoping the growing redness on her face and ears weren’t as apparent as it felt. He slid into the chair in front of her, catching her eyes again. He set his elbows on the table and leaned his chin in his palms. 

“So you’re actually writing tonight?”

“Are you on break?” She rose an eyebrow at him. 

He shrugged “Kind of?” 

She narrowed her eyes at him. He was unbelievably determined. She watched as his eyes fell to her open notebook and back to her eyes. 

“What are you writing.” 

She sighed, tapping her pencil on the table. “That’s the problem, I’m not sure yet.”

He nodded, propping his hand under his chin as he looked over in the distance. Almost as if a lightbulb turned on in his brain, his expression changed to one of excitement. “How about I help you?”

She shook her head “You’re going to get yourself fired if you just sit here and try to help me brainstorm…” 

He laughed again, digging into his pocket “I’m not going to just sit here….I have…” He pulled out a square piece of paper and pushed it over toward her. She stared at it for a moment before looking up at Luke in confusion. He lifted the paper into his hands and unraveled it, pressing the open paper to the table before pushing it over to her once more. She read through the chicken scratched lines as he spoke to her.

“These are lyrics I started writing last night. Maybe you could respond to them?”

She rose an eyebrow “I don’t write music.” 

Luke scoffed, rolling his eyes at her “I meant write-in in your medium of choice. Write a poem or just a few statements in the way that someone may respond to what’s being sung.” 

She moved the paper back toward him “Luke I can’t just take your work like that.” His hand moved to cover hers as his smile grew.

“I want you to take it, use it if you can. I’ll be waiting…” He stood up from the table, running over to his very unenthusiastic coworker. 

She held the paper in both hands as she started to read the lyrics. She felt her heart pick up even staring at the writing, feeling like she was reading directly into someone’s diary. 

“And you stood there in front of me just, Close enough to touch, close enough to hope you couldn't see what I was thinking of. Drop everything now, meet me in the pouring rain, kiss me on the sidewalk, take away the pain 'Cause I see, sparks fly, whenever you smile.”

There was a large space between paragraphs. He must have pieces missing still, she thought. She let her eyes fall to the next line, a small smile forming on her lips. 

“I run my fingers through your hair and watch the lights go wild. Just keep on keeping your eyes on me, its just wrong enough to make it feel right. And lead me up the staircase, won't you whisper soft and slow? And I'm captivated by you baby, like a fireworks show.”

Y/N sat there in awe as she read through the short lines over and over. Whoever Luke was talking to, he was really in deep. His cool demeanor didn’t give away this kind, vulnerable sound that came through his lyrics. She tapped her pencil as she began to think thoroughly about these short lines. 

Luke has to be extremely infatuated with this love interest he’s writing to, she decided. So she decided to write from the perspective of the girl, who is hesitant to be as confident about the possibility of a relationship budding between them. Her hand wrote frantically across the page as her mind ran wild. 

“The way you move is like a full-on rainstorm, and I'm a house of cards. You're the kind of reckless that should send me running, but I know that I won't get far.” 

She thought these lines might sound a little corny, but she loved it already. She sat and gazed over at Luke at the counter. He was already leaning over the ice cream area, smiling in her direction. She shot him a quick smile, looking into his brown-green eyes before looking back at the table and putting the pen to paper again. 

“Get me with those green eyes, baby as the lights go down, give something that'll haunt me whenever you're not around, 'cause I see, sparks fly, when you smile.” 

She wanted to go a bit deeper than the fluff, so she concentrated on the next part being the girl’s nerves. She’d never felt like writing had ever come this simply to her, practically overflowing in her mind before she’s able to capture it in words. 

“My mind forgets to remind me, you’re a bad idea, You touch me once and it's really something, you find I'm even better than you, imagined I would be. I'm on my guard for the rest of the world, but with you, I know its no good. And I could wait patiently, but I really wish you would.”

She decided to end it with a call and response to Luke’s initial lyrics, rewriting “Drop everything now, meet me in the pouring rain, kiss me on the sidewalk take away the pain 'Cause I see, sparks fly, whenever you smile.” 

Y/N put down her pencil and read it back a couple of times and she couldn’t help but beam at the paper below her. 

“Is it going well?” A voice boomed over her shoulder, causing her to jump up in her seat, hearing a familiar laugh behind her. 

She turned to him with wide eyes “Do you ever like to enter a room quietly?” He shook his head at her, the two laughing together as Luke took a seat at the table. He put his hand out toward her notebook. 

“Let me see what ya got, Y/N.” 

She hesitated, playing with the red ribbon that sat in the middle of the page. Luke’s face softened as he noticed her anxious tick. “I promise I won’t judge, and if I do...you have every right to never speak to me again.” She sighed, meeting his eyes, Luke’s teeth atop of his bottom lip. “Y/N, I understand how vulnerable creative work can be, I promise you...it’s between you and me.” his finger pointing back and forth between the two.

Y/N gave in, sliding the notebook his way and bringing her eyes to the ceiling. She didn’t want to see his reactions quite yet to her quick writing. She’d had only an hour to start scribbling, so she wasn’t convinced that it would drop jaws. Her internal monologue was stopped by her eyes when they looked over and saw Luke’s wide smile as he ran his eyes down the paper. She let them linger there for a while, taking in his animated expression. He looked up at her for a moment, the smile staying put before he darted back down to her words. He pointed to a specific spot on the page and brought his gaze back up to her again. 

“I'm on my guard for the rest of the world, But with you, I know its no good.” He sang quietly, his eyes fixated on her face. He spun around in his chair before he opened his mouth again.

“Y/N, this is so good. This...is music. At least to me. I can hear this.” 

She knew her face was a perfect shade of pink by now, but she tried to ignore her elevated heart rate as she asked him a question. “You, you mean that?” 

He nodded “You have to sing this with me.” 

She shook her head profusely “Luke, oh no, absolutely not.” 

He giggled, touching her hand again. “Come on Y/N. My house isn’t far from here and I’m off in 10 minutes. It could be as private as you need it to be.” 

She thought about her former voice lessons, her years of choir and her short time in the drama department. She wasn’t a terrible singer. For some reason, the mixture of her finally being able to put something on paper and the way Luke was looking at her right now made her want to say yes, so she did. 

She finally nodded his way, whispering a quick “....okay.”

Luke’s smile grew as he stood from the table, “Wait for me here, I’ll be done in a few.” 

She spent the last 10 minutes painstakingly over-analyzing every single possible situation that may come from this encounter. She was about to be alone, with a boy she’s met all of two times, giving one of the most vulnerable parts of her to him. What if he hated it and never wanted to see her again. Did she want to see him again?

What was happening to her? She tried to focus on the lyrics/poem or whatever she’d written. She started to hum along to a line to calm herself down as she waited for Luke to finish. As soon as she’d hit her second stanza, a hand touched her shoulder. 

“Let’s get out of here.” He said, pulling on his coat. 

She got up out of her seat, placing her notebook in her bag and throwing her coat over her body. She followed him out the door into the cold autumnal air. He turned to her, pointing to the left side of the lot. 

“Ride with me? I’ll bring you back to your car later.” She nodded at him, following him across the street. 

As she got into the passenger side seat, the smell that wrapped around her felt familiar. It smelled like him, like dark woods and coffee mixed together. She took a silent breath in, exhaling as he got in next to her. 

“You okay?” He asked, putting on his seatbelt.

“Just preparing for my 9 p.m. news abduction story.” She said, grabbing onto the handle near her chair. 

He pursed his lips together, obviously holding in laughter as he put the car in drive. He pulled out of the lot and onto the road quickly. As they moved past homes and office buildings, Y/N brought her attention out toward the window. She listened to Luke’s light humming as she took in what passed them by. 

He turned onto a street lined in trees that were shedding their summer green. She almost wanted to take a shot of the leaves, but she didn’t want to feel invasive. Instead, she mentally took note of their beauty, something she’d hope to at least get to write about later. 

Luke hopped out of the car quickly, lightly jogging her side to open the door. “Ma lady,” he slightly bowed at her and she rolled her eyes, stepping out of the car. 

He walked next to her toward the wooden door with a large wreath hanging upon it. Shades of yellow and orange and green sprinkled around it. He put the key in the door and guided her inside. The place was quiet. Table set, rooms clean but no sight of anyone around the first floor. 

“Where’s your family?” She asked.

He held his hand out to take her coat. “Dunno, probably at one of our relative’s houses. It’s poker night.” She shrugged off her jacket, placing it in his palm. 

He pointed at the stairs “Let’s go to my room.” She followed his lead up the winding stairs. He moved toward the door straight in front of them and spun the handle open. He gestured her in first, and her eyes met walls of musical artists and ticket stubs. She turned in a circle, taking all of it in. 

“Pretty sweet, huh?”

She smiled at him “Quite a collection you’ve got.” He held her gaze for a moment before walking over to his guitar stand. 

“Here’s my baby, let’s get to singing!” He ran his fingers down the strings once before sitting back on his bed, tapping the spot next to him for her. 

She moved slowly, sliding next to him and leaning back on the wall. She handed him her notebook and he strummed away as he looked at their combined words. Y/N watched him in awe as he combined words and melody in front of her. Her eyes fixed on his closed expression, shaking his head enthusiastically to the notes he played.

He smiled back at her, laying out some poorly drawn notes on paper in front of them. “Okay, so I already had something in mind for this piece. Let me know if you need any help as we go through this.”

He started to play the opening notes, leading up to the first verse she came up with. He hummed his thoughts on the first stanza, and then looked at her, nodded her along. She tried to avoid looking at her shaking hands as she quietly repeated that first line. His warm grin boosted her confidence, next coming in stronger and the following even brighter than before. 

As they hit the chorus he counted down from three for her and then they sang together. “ Drop everything now, meet me in the pouring rain, kiss me on the sidewalk take away the pain 'Cause I see, sparks fly, whenever you smile.” His velvet voice eased her worries as they continued down the page, eye contact staying consistent.

By the time they got to the end, Y/N and Luke were simply looking at each other as his playing faded out into the background. His gaze always made her a bit on edge, but the way he looked at her right now, with that dreamlike trance, was enough to make her feel like the room was spinning. She finally diverted her gaze from his to look out his window and she heard him exhale.

“You okay?” 

“Yeah.” She said lazily, letting her eyes slowly migrate back to the bedframe he laid against. He set his guitar to the side and moved over to the edge of the bed near her. She watched as he slid his hand closer to her, inching it toward her own. When he finally closed in, his grip was soft and gentle, bringing his fingers between hers. She looked up to meet his eyes, trying to dissect what he was doing. 

She watched as his body leaned in toward hers. She felt her breath hitch at the proximity. Finally letting her gaze meet his. She watched as his gaze moved from her lips to her eyes a few times before he closed the distance, hand reaching for her neck. She shut her eyes, leaning into him as their lips moved together. As they pulled away, his dark eyes glistened at her.

“Like music.” He repeated, touching her cheek gently.

.

.

.

.

Tag list: @xplrreylo​ @lovesanimals​, @anythingandeverythingfandom​, @crybabyddl​, @oswin05​, @themaddies-obx​, @lukeys-giggle​, @bumbleberry-pie​ @kiss-themoongoodbye​  @marinettepotterandplagg​, @lolychu​, @bathtimejish​, @dasexydevitt13​ @musicconversedance​, @txrii​  @bestdressedandstressed​ @daisiesforlacey​  @epikskool​  @bookfrog247​ @carleywhittaker​ @princessvader15​ @rudysbay​ @spooky-season-bitch​ @kcd15​ @whatever-happens-imma-stand-tall​

[zig-a-zow]

As told by Aiden [Chapter 5: No words]

Summary: Aiden Zhou had everything figured out. He was a Junior at high school, he would graduate in two years, attend a prestigious school such as Juilliard and become the best musician he could be. Of course, despite being practically a prodigy at what he loved, he had a lot to learn yet, especially the most important lesson: there was more to life than what he once thought.

Pairings: Aiden x MC (Grace Ashton)

Word count: 3658

Notes: Hello there! What is this, you might be asking yourself? Well, nothing other than what the title says: High School Story as told by Aiden. The events from the book, but from his perspective, plus extra scenes/fanon lore. There are significant changes in this story, though. For once, I have two MCs, best friends Grace and Callie. However, one of them will be significantly more prominent due to being Aiden’s love interest. Also, each chapter has its own song, cause how could I write about Aiden without music included? Click the lyrics to listen.

Taglist: @mlmseangayle @ravenclawpokegirl25 @poofboopmew @apluschoices

Ch. 1 - Ch. 2  - Ch. 3 - Ch. 4 - Ch. 5 (It’s right here!) - Ch. 6 - Ch. 7 - Ch. 8 (Coming soon!)

I could talk all day long about the news, Giving you the current affairs and my views I could talk all night long about a song, Giving you the pointers on where you’re going wrong

Aiden wasn't a big fan of social media as a whole.

He didn't think there was something wrong with it, but he didn't find the appeal either. Myra, however, was having none of that. When she found out he didn't have a FaceSpace account, she was horrified in the most exaggerated way.

And the only reason he had joined that social network, was because she had threatened to create one herself to impersonate him, and he could only assume that her intentions weren't exactly good.

So it wasn't strange that he would spend entire days, even weeks, without even opening the FaceSpace app on his phone.

That Thursday during lunch, however, he was feeling bored enough to give it a chance.

The moment he checked his notifications, he spotted a bunch of familiar faces. Myra had tagged him in many, many 'memes', and although he found some of those mildly entertaining, something else caught his attention.

He had a new friend request, from Emma Hawkins. And when he tapped her profile picture, he saw Emma, Callie and Grace smiling at him from the screen. The picture had a short caption with it:

"True Friends are there when you need them 😌" - with Callie McKenzie and Grace Ashton.

After tapping the 'Like' button on the picture and accepting the request, his finger hovered over Grace's highlighted name for a few seconds before tapping it. Her FaceSpace profile displayed before him.

His eyes lingered on her profile picture for a second too long. She was wearing a red dress and a leather jacket as she smiled for the camera, her chocolate eyes seemingly looking right at him. Her picture had a short caption as well, "✨Carpe Diem✨", and a long list of comments below, which included compliments from Callie and a grammatically incorrect reminder to meet up at the parking lot after school, courtesy of Michael Harrison.

He considered 'Liking' her picture too, but decided against it in the last second.

He soon found that he wasn't allowed to see much more without adding her as a friend. His thumb once again hovered over the screen, indesicive.

Now that he thought about it, they hadn't interacted much after Tuesday night. As they didn't share a homeroom, their only chance was at lunch and casually in the hallways. But on Wednesday she had lunch with Michael and his friends, Wes, Koh and Morgan. And on the present day, she was having lunch with the whole Homecoming committee.

And she was sitting right next to Maria, as he confirmed when he finally looked up from his phone as he heard someone insistently call his name.

"EARTH TO AIDEN!"

He startled, and his eyes fell on Myra's face as she gave him a goofy smirk.

"Geez, you really spaced out there" she said then, and looked over his phone before she cackled. "For someone who hates FaceSpace, you sure seemed distracted by it."

"I only decided to use it now. And..." he pressed a button and the screen went black. "... it's none of your business."

"Aw, at least check out the memes I tagged you in...!"

Aiden didn't listen to her, again. His eyes drifted one more time toward the committee table, where Payton was just standing up with a big bright smile.

"... of course we can! We have our very own Ellen..." she said with a giggle, placing a hand on Maria's shoulder before placing the other on Grace's. "... and Portia, the Dream Team!"

"Payton!" Maria frowned immediately, a deep blush on her cheeks. "I told you to stop saying that!"

"Yeah... why am I Portia?" asked Grace as she raised an eyebrow, smirking a bit. "I see myself as more of an Ellen, to be honest..."

"That is NOT the part to focus on, Grace...!"

Aiden rolled his eyes and huffed as he looked away from them, his gaze falling again on Myra only to find that she was staring at him now. A smile started to spread slowly on her face.

"Ohmygod..."

His body tensed almost immediately. He saw it coming before she even said it, and was already dreading it.

"... Aiden, are you jealous?"

There it was. He quickly shook his head and looked away, trying to seem as dismissive as possible.

"Pffft..."

"Don't 'pffft' me, sir!" she exclaimed then, grinning as she raised an accusatory finger at him. "You're jealous that your crush is spending time with someone else!"

"Keep it down!" he scowled at her, his face flushing red with both embarrassment and anger. "I'm not jealous. And it's not a 'crush'."

Myra opened her mouth to say something else, but just then Ezra returned to the table with a grin, demanding her attention to discuss who was hotter, Matt Rodriguez or Ryan Summers, with both of them on opposing sides.

Sighing with relief but still feeling his heart beat wildly, Aiden lowered his gaze to his phone as he unlocked it.

Grace's smiling face greeted him once again. His finger hovered over the digital "Add as a friend" button one more time, before he took a deep breath and finally pressed it, blocking his phone and shoving it in his pocket so he wouldn't undo his actions.

His eyes found Grace again without his consent, and he froze in place when she took her own phone out of her pocket, as if she had received a recent notification...

Would it be too pathetic to hide?

To his utter surprise (and further mortification), Grace smiled at her device right before looking up, her eyes locking with his. She winked as she pressed the screen, and his phone vibrated in his pocket instantly.

The bell rang a second later, and thankfully she looked away then, because otherwise Aiden would have remained there for a few more minutes.

He could feel his face burn like never before, but as he rushed out of the cafeteria, he couldn't contain that stupid smile that was fighting to see the light.

Perhaps FaceSpace wasn't that bad after all.

"Thank you, Sally. Final lists will be up on Monday morning. Good luck!"

The freshman girl that had just performed a decent saxophone solo beamed at Ezra's words, and left the room waving. Once again, they were the last three people in the band room.

It was Friday, which meant Aiden would stay at the band room after everyone left so he could play alone for a while. Ezra allowed him to do so, just like he allowed him to stay for the tryouts even after performing himself. He wasn't staying alone, however, as Myra was sitting right by his side, typing on her phone.

Ezra made a few notes in his binder, before he turned around to see his fellow bandmates with a smile.

"Thanks for staying, guys" he muttered, sitting down next to them with sigh as he checked his watch. "We're almost done here."

Myra shrugged slightly at that, finally looking up from her screen with a smile.

"No problem, Ezra. We're both waiting for Grace to show up... isn't that right, Aiden?"

He didn't reply, but simply gave a long sigh of impatience. She hadn't stopped her teasing since the day before, and something told him that it wouldn't cease anytime soon. Just because it was true, she didn't have to actually say it.

Ezra chuckled, straightening up in his seat.

"You're in luck, then."

"What's up, my dudes?" Grace's voice made him look up almost instantly, just to see her walk into the band room with a bright smile. "Sorry I'm kinda late, my bestie got super nervous about her own tryouts so Emma and I had to help her out."

"Oh, thank goodness!" Myra jumped out of her seat with a grin. "The other saxophone... playing... people? Well, they sucked."

"Myra!"

"You know it's true!"

Aiden rolled his eyes at that, but couldn't really be mad at her. She was actually right. Ezra shook his head with a smile, and approached Grace with a few pages of sheet music. Aiden couldn't contain a sigh of exasperation. It was the same song over and over again...

"The Fight Song, huh?" Grace read aloud, tapping her foot to the rhythm as she went through the sheets.

"Yup. That's what we're playing in the next game..."

"And the one after that. And the rest of them, really."

Usually Aiden would've felt slightly intimidated when Ezra gave him a warning look, but he didn't. He held his gaze instead, almost defiant. He was tired of playing the same song every game, and all his complaints were ignored. As Myra would say, he was 'salty', and wasn't going to hide it.

"Alright then" they both turned to Grace when she spoke, just to see that she had already settled herself and had her own saxophone at the ready. "When should I start?"

"If it can be before these two divas start fighting again, it'd be great" Myra said with a grin, and didn't really care about the irritated glances she got from them.

Grace simply nodded, and started playing, the sounds she produced being the only thing that could be heard in the room. Even though he had heard that song many, many times, Aiden couldn't help but appreciate its beauty when it was performed with such passion and expertise. Grace clearly had practiced a lot, and probably played sax from a very young age.

When she finished, Myra let out a loud whistle of approval.

"That was awesome!" she exclaimed, smiling widely. "Right, Ezra?"

Their student director kept quiet for a few seconds, taking a few more notes, before looking up and smiling a bit.

"Yeah, it was a strong performance. Well done."

Grace gave the three of them an exaggerated curtsy, with a bright smile on her face. Soon enough everyone started to collect their possessions, except for Aiden. He instead looked for his own sheet music in his backpack, barely hearing them talk as background noise.

"... and I'm saying Ryan is way hotter simply because he's older. He's like wine, y'know what I'm saying?"

"Ezra, the wine thing is a lie, my mom told me! But Grace, what do you think?"

"I think you're both wrong. Victoria Fontaine is clearly the hottest one."

Both Ezra and Myra agreed on that, or so it seemed. Aiden didn't really care. Soon he could hear steps walking away and words of farewell from both of his fellow band members, before the room found silence. He smiled to himself and took a deep breath.

Finally, he was alone.

"So... you're not leaving too?"

Almost.

Grace was standing a few feet away from him, her bag hanging from her shoulder as she kept her eyes on him, curious. He sighed, approaching the piano with his sheet music.

"I... tend to take advantage of the quietness after school to play some new pieces, and some old ones, sometimes I compose too" he admitted, placing the sheets in the holder before simply adding. "Alone."

"Oh! Right!" the girl sounded somewhat surprised at that, but shrugged it off almost instantly. "That's my cue to leave then! See you Monday...!"

"Wait!"

Grace stood at the door at the sound of his voice, slightly turning to give him a questioning look. Aiden could feel his cheeks start to burn a bit at her intense gaze, but this was no time to back down. He stood straight and cleared his throat.

"I usually do this alone but... I could make an exception for you."

She raised an eyebrow at that, and sauntered back into the room, a tiny teasing smile on her face.

"Really now?" she asked, stopping right in front of him and tiltling her head to the side. "Why would you do that for little ol' me?"

"Well..."

Aiden swallowed hard, taking another deep breath. Grace was clearly having a good time teasing him. So maybe, just maybe, he could try giving her a taste of her own medicine. He stood as tall as he was (which wasn't much, but still more than her), and smiled.

"I could use an audience. Especially an audience as nice as you."

Grace stood there in silence for a few seconds, her lips slightly parted as if she were about to say something else but couldn't quite decide what, staring up at him with her big brown eyes. He couldn't tell if she was blushing or not, but her silence and expression was more than enough for him.

With a slightly smug smile, he gestured for the piano bench with an elegant flourish.

"Shall we?"

"Yes! I mean... I guess I can stay for a a little while..."

Grace sat down and he followed suit, his fingers immediately finding the keys and pressing softly, not to make a sound yet. A quick glance let him know that Grace was feeling curious, as far as he could tell by the way she looked on, expectantly.

"I'll play one of my favorite pieces now" Aiden announced, with a deep relaxed sound. "Tell me if you recognize it. It's okay if you don't."

And with that, he let his fingers glide flawlessly across the keys, pressing each of them at the exact moment, hitting the right note quite literally. His eyes closed without him even noticing, concentrating only on the melody, and what it made him feel.

The same feeling he got when he played that song for the first time with an audience. He remembered how nervous he felt at first and how relieved he felt when he finished. His parents smiling proudly from their seats, the audience giving him a standing ovation, people around commenting on how talented he was for such a young age.

He loved the praise. He was good, excellent even, at what he was doing. So he held on to it as tight as he could. And he wasn't planning on letting go anytime soon.

The song was over before he knew it, and after a few seconds of silence, the sound of clapping made him open his eyes and look up.

"Ohmygod, that was amazing!" Grace was beaming as she clapped, an expression of pure enjoyment on her face. "You're SO talented, like, you didn't even need to look at the keys...!"

Aiden could feel himself beam right back, a sense of both pride and joy making him feel almost giddy. He really did love audiences, especially if they gave him the praise he rightfully deserved, and secretly craved.

"Thank you! Thank you!" he exclaimed, feeling himself blush but, for the first time in weeks, not out of embarrassment. He sighed as he came down from cloud nine, caressing the keys absentmindedly. "This is the song I played at my first recital, when I was six. Whenever I play it, it takes me right back. Like no recording or picture ever could."

Grace watched him silently for a few seconds, and as he didn't add anything else, she smiled playfully before speaking.

"By that you're saying there's no recording or pictures of that moment?"

He nodded. She sighed dramatically.

"Well, that sucks. I really wanted to see baby Aiden" she admitted with a shrug, before gasping, as if she just had remembered something. "Oh! I did recognize that song!"

"Really? What is it called?"

"It's Mozart's Sonata 16 in C... my mom used to play it a lot when I was a kid. She would teach me how to play too, we'd play together for hours..."

Aiden was about to comment on her knowledge, but he could hear the nostalgia in her voice, and see it in her eyes when she looked at him again. She smiled again, a bit less enthusiastically.

"Mind if I try playing something?"

"Of course not" he stood up almost immediately, and she took his place in front of the piano, with a sigh. "What are you going to play?"

"The only song I can play from memory, in piano at least" she muttered, taking a deep breath. She gave him a slightly abashed look. "I'm a bit rusty... so it may not be that good. Definitely not as good as you."

And right after that, she began playing. It took him only a second to recognize the melody. Beethoven's Bagatelle in A minor, one of the first songs he ever learned. He started pacing silently as he listened, noticing the slight mistakes she was making, and biting his tongue to keep himself from interrupting.

When the song came to an ending, his pacing did the same, and he stood now in front of the piano, watching her with his hands behind his back. Grace looked up at him after a moment, and gave him a tiny smile.

"It was terrible, I know. But hey, at least I tried!"

"It wasn't terrible. It wasn't perfect either. It was decent" he said then, and he was being as honest as he could without being rude. "When was the last time you played?"

Grace shifted a bit on her seat, looking away.

"Three or four years ago."

"Then it's impressive! You just need more practice... and a better posture."

Aiden rounded the piano and stood right behind her. He studied her current posture for a few more seconds before nodding to himself.

"Keep your back straight. Loose your shoulders" he started instructing, and Grace did her best to follow his lead. "Keep the palm of your hand curved."

That part gave her a bit more trouble. She was trying, for sure, but it wasn't quite right. Aiden sighed and leaned down, placing his hands on hers to help her.

"Like this, as if you’re holding an apple" he said in her ear, placing her hands above the keys in the correct position. "Also remember to place your elbows a bit higher than the keyboard, in a comfortable distance from--"

A giggle interrupted his impromptu lesson.

When they looked up, they could see a pair or blonde girls at the door, watching them intently. Emma covered her mouth while Callie glared at her.

"I'm sorry! I can't help it... I see a cute couple, I giggle."

Just then Aiden realized the position he was in, and how close they were. He immediately stood straight and took a few steps back, clearing his throat. He was blushing intensely.

"I, uh, I think you're good to go..."

"Yeah, literally... I'm their ride" Grace explained with a smile, apparently not as embarrassed as him.

Callie stepped inside with an almost apologetic smile.

"Oh, no! It's okay!" she exclaimed then, shrugging casually. "We can walk! It'll be a good exercise for two cheerleaders!"

"We didn't make the squad yet..."

"But we will, Emma, just trust me!"

Grace laughed as she stood up, stretching her arms for a moment as she shook her head slightly.

"Nah, it's all good. Just gimme a few minutes, okay?" she asked with a wink, and the two girls exchanged looks before nodding, exiting the room.

Silence reigned for a moment, as she grabbed her bag to hang it on her shoulder, turning to him with a smile.

"This was nice. Let's do it again sometime."

Aiden didn't really know how to reply at first. He wasn't used to interacting with someone as forthright as her. He nodded, cheeks still rosy.

"I would like that."

"Cool. See you Monday" she simply said, heading for the door. She stopped for a second, right at the threshold. "And by the way, I really like your cologne."

Grace winked mischievously right before walking out of the room, leaving him standing there in silence, his face burning red.

His phone vibrated after a minute or two. A FaceSpace notification from Myra.

She had posted a picture of a black cat dressed in a suit, paws placed on the keys of a piano. It had a caption, of course:

"Aiden Zhou is that you? 😂😂😂"

He rolled his eyes and was ready to ignore the post when he saw three dots moving in the comment section, which meant someone was writing. A new comment appeared.

"Grace Ashton said: 7/10 not as talented 😌👌"

He wasn't able to stop smiling for the next few hours.

FaceSpace wasn't that bad. Not at all.

But what can I say, about something that blows me away Without it sounding like another cliche From what I’ve seen and I’ve heard, When it comes to you, baby

There are no, there are no words

Chapter 5 is up!

Back to the longer chapters, yay! Also, as you might have noticed, I change many dialogs and actions but try to keep the essence of each scene as much as possible.

Reminder that you can tell me if you want to be added to the taglist, and I’ll do it immediately!

As always, feedback is appreciated and encouraged! Thanks for reading!