Living for the Music

"My head is twirling, and there's nothing I can do, and I know...."

I was almost bouncing in my seat, listening to the words flow out at me. "Won't get no sleep tonight cause my thoughts won't stop without a fight..."

I glanced across the table to see Seth grinning at me. He reached out and took my hand, squeezing it before resting our joined hands on the table. "I still didn't get the harmony quite right there," I murmured, half to myself.

I could tell Seth was rolling his eyes. "It sounds great, Sophie."

Mara smiled at me, and I thought I saw a glimmer of moisture in her eyes. "I agree, hon. I can't believe it's actually you. It sounds so mature, and professional, and...." She wiped an eye before continuing. "I can't believe how much you two have grown up."

I smiled at her. I couldn't believe it, either. It seemed like so much had changed since junior high, and yet so much had remained the same.

"Hey all!" a loud voice called from the doorway.

I turned to see Nathan standing there, grinning at us all. He paused for a moment, listening to the song, and then a puzzled look spread across his face. "Who's this, Seth? I've never heard the song before."

"Do you like it?"

I was glad Seth asked - I was too afraid to.

Nathan seemed to think for a moment, and then he slowly nodded. "Yeah, I do. It's got a really good melody, and the voice sounds really familiar. Is it someone I've heard before?"

A small smirk played across Seth's face, and even I had to smile. "Yeah, I think you have. Not like this, but you've definitely heard her talk before."

"Heard her talk?"

A part of me felt bad for Nathan - he looked really confused at the moment. But a part of me was thrilled - he liked the song, without even knowing it was mine. Sure, Seth and Mara had both assured me how good it was, but they would have done that if it had been a fancy version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Nathan's approval actually meant something.

"It's my song," I finally told him, and his face immediately lit up.

"No way! Seriously, Sophie? That's amazing! Why did - when did - how did you record it?"

"You've been gone to long," Seth teased his brother.

Nathan waved it away, still focusing on me.

"I won the contest," I smiled. "Seth and I recorded the song this weekend."

"No way!"

I smiled at Seth, thinking back over the last few days. It had been just like elementary school - we had stayed up late, watching TV and then talking until we fell asleep. Things were back to how they used to be, only better.

"How much fun was it?" Nathan asked.

I laughed. "Am I supposed to be able to describe it?" I paused, trying to gather my words. "It was absolutely amazing. The people there were all really cool, and they knew what they were doing. They didn't try to force any ideas on me - on us," I added, glancing at Seth, "but they really helped us."

"That's great." If Nathan's smile was any bigger, I swear his face would crack. "And the song? You think it turned out well?"

"Don't ask her that," Seth chuckled. "She's already told me where the harmony needs work, and I'm sure if I let her she could tell me what to change with the strings."

I smiled sheepishly. "I think there's always room for improvement. But the song.... well, it's really similar to what I heard in my head."

Seth squeezed my hand again, and I felt my smile grow as I looked at him. Part of this still seemed surreal - that he was actually sitting here, next to me, holding my hand. That this past weekend had really happened, that he and I were really.... us.

Nathan looked back and forth between us, then held up a hand. "Whoa. Whoa. Back up and slow down. You two.... are you..."

Seth and I were both grinning, and even Mara looked happy as she stood up, moving out of the room after saying something about "letting the kids catch up." She hadn't seemed at all surprised last week, when Seth and I had told her that we were going out. She just nodded, as if she had expected it all along. Which, you know, maybe she had. It seemed like it had been obvious to everyone except Seth and me.

"Whoa," Nathan repeated for the third time.

I laughed. "Is that all you can say?"

"I - you - I mean - when did this happen?"

"Last week." I felt Seth drape his arm around my shoulder. "It's not that big of a deal, Nathan."

I nodded at him. We'd had a chance to talk over the weekend, to make sure we both were on the same page. "Yeah. We're still, like friends..."

"But there's some kissing involved," Seth interrupted.

"And some dates," I added.

"Which include kissing."

"We're just taking it slow."

"And kissing."

I shoved Seth away from me, glad Mara wasn't in the room anymore. Still, I couldn't help laughing. He was being so nice with all of this - letting our relationship develop at my pace. I knew he would never intentionally hurt me, and a part of me knew we would be great together. But at the same time, I needed a bit of time to recover from everything I'd gone through with Aaron.

"I heard you the first time," Nathan groaned in response to his brother's words. "Thanks, Seth. I needed that mental picture in my head."

I bit my lip, slightly worried. Nathan seemed to pick up on this, because he grinned at me. "I'm kidding, Sophie. I think it's great."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'm happy for you guys."

I pulled away from Seth to give Nathan a hug. "Thanks," I whispered in his ear.

He hugged me a little tighter. "You guys were meant to be, Soph. I can't imagine a more perfect couple."

"Except for you and Gabby," I teased.

He chuckled quietly. "Yes, well, that's a given."

I drew away from him, smiling to myself. I was glad some things never would change.

Seth automatically pulled me closer to him as I sat back in my seat. "I love you, Sophie," he whispered in my ear.

"I love you, too," I whispered back.

I knew life would never be perfect. There were still rumors floating around the school, and I knew there would always be people who wanted to try to sabotage our relationship. But I also knew that if our friendship could survive three years on separate continents, we could survive petty high school drama. Because we had our friends and our family. We had our memories, and our music. And most importantly, we had each other.