Announcement

"It's nice to see you all again. Hope you all got some proper rest and now, we're back again to practice. And before that, I've talked to different maestro and..We are having a concert with the same orchestra as Jax!" Sir Ice announced to which made all of us shocked.

We all cheered and I am actually happy that we're having a concert. And I get to see Jax again, with his band mates.

"But.." he interrupted, "..It will be 2 months from now, for Valentine's, February 21. We still have lots of weeks to go but I have already prepare pieces..yet other pieces are still processing so we will practice non-stop..Like always" he laughed lightly. "Prepare" and with that, Aaron opened his case, grabbing his violin out and his bow. While me and Blythe were already prepared. Although, for the concert, there will only be one using the piano and of course they have one so maybe we will play for the strings again or maybe winds or brass.

Aaron went near me with his violin on his shoulder. "So..we will be seeing Jax again, huh?"

"That seems like it" I replied. "Why?"

"Oh, no reason.." as he slowly backed away from me and smiles, "No reason at all"

"There's a reason" Blythe suddenly joining the finished conversation.

I raised my brow, "What is it?"

she scoffed, "You..really don't get it?" I shook to which she groaned.

"..Hope you won't stay that dense, Ella.."

I do not get what either of them is saying.

I sat on the piano bench, confused. I pondered as my phone lit up. I opened to see Jax texted me if I want to see something weird.

Hmm.

'It better weird me out', I answered as I put my phone on my lap waiting for his reply. I took a while and my phone vibrated which means that he texted back. I opened my phone too see a picture of a giant fat giraffe, so fat you don't even know where the leg is anymore. I cracked and burst into laughter, silently.

He texted again, 'I can hear your laugh all the way here' to which I laughed again.

I typed and replied, 'It's not that funny, but weird' and I finally put down my phone and focused practicing for our concert.

For the concert, we will be playing 10 pieces. Most are love songs, of course. Some are pop and most are classical. Other pieces were not yet printed and are still progressing hence we're practicing 7 pieces. Bach, Liszt, and many other composers.

"Ah, before you all go. I almost forgot" he stopped us from going home.

We all stood in front of the door, waiting for his announcement.

He cleared his throat, "You three will be having a solo. Prepare a piece and present it to me and I will also prepare a piece for you guys and we'll see which is more..perfect for you.. That is all, you may go. Be safe" he waved his hand.

A solo. Yeah, I don't think I can do that. As usual, Aaron and I continued practicing without stops and I am still not that confidence on my performance. Yes, I've performed many concerts, recitals and solos before but my mom was always there so it always gave me confidence. Now that I rarely see her and she didn't come to my recital.. What do I do now?

"Are you not glad, Lou?" Aaron asked as he shivered, keeping his shoulders together.

"I'm just nervous is all. I'm stressing now so that I won't stress when the concert's near" I chuckled softly.

"You will be fine, Lou. You've been practicing and you have improved a lot. By a lot, I meant like how I really hate Malty that I wish she'd die in a fire and get eaten by vultures lot" he gritted his mouth making me laugh like a gorilla.

He chuckled softly, "You laughed. About time, so what's keeping you from smiling, Lou? Is this about your mom?" I stopped laughing and sighed.

I smiled lightly, "..In a way, yes..She wasn't there in our recital. I'm seeing her less and less now and..I don't know.." I shrugged as I scoffed lightly, "..It worries me. Just when we were things were finally getting better and the atmosphere around us were lighter..She's like a tide that comes and goes"

"I can't figure out what she's thinking, Aaron"

"You don't need to know. You love her, right?"

I pondered. Of course, I do. I admire her. I really do.

I nodded in response.

He replied, looking ahead, "Then that's good, isn't it? Let's rely on that"

I stared at him. Stared until he felt uncomfortable. I've notice something now, and I want to ask him. I don't know whether I'm being weird or what. It has been roughly 3 minutes and I'm still staring at him and I am getting tired.

Finally he talked, "..Is something wrong..? You've been staring at me, Lou.."

"I can see that"

He laughed lightly, "So what is it?"

"..You.. haven't been making eye contact with me ever since the recital.. Was I too captivating?" I chuckled, "No. I'm joking"

"You are" he stared at me intently.

"Do you know why I don't make eye contact with you often?" he asked me.

"No, why?"

"Everytime I look at you I feel this unknown danger rise from my stomach to my throat. It makes my cheeks flush and throat scratchy. It makes my stomach turn and it makes my hands clammy. Eye contact is a dangerous thing even for man like me."

I was quiet. Feeling my face burning up as I swallow the words he just said. Saying things like that is just making me hope that he likes me back. I don't know if he does, but if he doesn't, I would probably never function again.

"..You really say things like that straightforwardly, you know?"

"It's embarrassing even for me, Lou"

"..Are you.." in love with me? I want to ask you so bad that it hurts. I want to know how you feel too. And I want to tell you how much I love you and every inch of your body. If I said that before, we might be dating already. We might have save months dating, traveling, meeting my mom officially, meeting your mom, meeting the rest of our families. But we wasted 8 months of nothing. How long..is this going to last..?

"Am I what?" he asked.

I shook my head, "No, it's nothing" I gave him a small smile, "By the way, if you don't make eye contact with me everytime we talk, I'll gulge your eyes out and eat them" pacing my walk.

I can hear him groan as he said, "That's just plain gross, Lou"

I giggled and continue walking. Time's really fast, huh. I never fully realized what it meant to hurt. To truly hurt. Until I wanted you to such a great extent, only to have no other choice but to convince myself, that I didn't.