chapter 5

*Chapter 5: Hidden Measures*

Monday morning felt different.

River walked the halls with a strange lightness in his chest, as though the kiss hadn't just happened in a dream but in full, vivid color. He kept replaying it—how soft Skyler's lips were, how warm his hands felt when they brushed against his.

But they hadn't talked about it.

Not yet.

Skyler greeted him the same way as always, grinning like a storm about to break. "Practice after class?"

River nodded, hiding the way his stomach fluttered. "Yeah. Same room."

But a question hung in the space between them: *What are we now?*

***

In practice room 7, their song had changed.

It wasn't just harmonies and tension—it was conversation. Touches of longing in the chords, laughter in the rests, hesitation in the dissonance. They both felt it. And this time, River didn't run from it.

"You added a new motif," Skyler said, listening closely.

"I didn't mean to," River replied, eyes on the keys.

Skyler smiled. "That's the best kind of music—the kind that slips through when you're not pretending."

River glanced up, pulse ticking fast. "Are we still pretending?"

Skyler's face softened. "Not if you don't want to."

River didn't answer with words. He leaned forward and kissed him again.Deeper. Slower. Like a verse finally finding its chorus.

***

But later that week, things began to shift.

At the winter showcase board, River noticed a name that made his stomach drop: *Elliot Harrow*—a prodigy pianist, and River's childhood rival. And worse—his father's favorite.

He hadn't seen Elliot in years, not since the competition that nearly broke him.

"He's back?" River muttered.

"Who?" Skyler asked, catching the tension in his voice.

"No one," River lied.

But the truth came crashing back in waves. The pressure. The expectations. The fear of not being *enough*.

Suddenly, the music with Skyler—so free, so warm—felt fragile in his hands.

Skyler saw it. "River. Don't go back into your shell. Not now."

River looked away. "You wouldn't understand."

Skyler's voice dropped. "Then explain it. Let me in."

But River didn't.

He just sat down at the piano… and played a piece so cold, so precise, it felt like goodbye.

Skyler watched him in silence.

And for the first time in weeks, the music didn't speak between them.

It was just noise.

—