Melodies

I found Kell already unpacked and perfect, looking completely calm and composed. He ran up to me once he saw me, smiling and helping me carry my music in, even though I didn't need help. I guess he just wanted to feel useful.

"We're playing in about half an hour. It's not even a big deal, it's just that we play near our school's art and academic display right after the cello solo. People can come through and look at stuff and we'll just be background music. It's not nearly as bad as what I thought it would be."

"Do county and catholic have people playing?"

"Catholic has their orchestra playing, but county went with band. They have their chamber group playing."

"What's the point of all this?"

"We're pretty much competing for funding."

I breathed out. "Okay."

I unpacked and tuned, and we plucked through the trouble spots in our song for a while, until that got boring and was just getting Kell all worked up.

"Calm down, Jesus."

He bit his lip, resting his viola on his knee. "Sorry. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

"Nervous?"

"No..." He was looking anywhere but at me.

"Then what?"

He blushed a deep pink, staring up at a poster. "I was just thinking about stuff."

I smiled, knowing what he was getting at, but wanting to hear him say it. "What kind of stuff?"

He looked over at me, realizing I was teasing him. He swatted at my arm, still pink, but looking a little more comfortable with talking about it. "Your mouth on my dick stuff. You knew what I meant."

I laughed at him and reached out, grabbing the chair he sat on and pulling him closer to me, making him squeak in surprise. I leaned in, close to his ear, speaking quietly. "I knew what you meant, but I had to hear you say it. I couldn't stop thinking about it either, especially your cute little moans, and how hot you look when you're turned on."

He flushed again, pushing me away a little. "Stop it, we have to play in a few minutes."

I started to say something about how much we could do in just a few minutes, but he cut me off. "We can mess around later, but I swear to god if I have to go out there with a hard-on, I will never speak to you again."

I laughed, about to reply, but Mr. Kitching came in the room at that exact moment, and I decided he probably wouldn't want to hear about our sexual activities.

"Alright, are you both tuned and warmed up?" We nodded, standing and getting our shit together.

"Okay. When you go out, you'll go down the hall until you see the big painting of the dancer. There should be stands set up for the two of you already, and you just play as soon as Carolyn gets her chair out of the way." He exhaled, looking more nervous than I had ever been about this entire thing. "Good luck."

I followed Kell out into the hall, and we found our stands set up and Carolyn had already moved her chair and cello. We set up our music, and Kell looked over at me.

There were a ton of people in suits around us, many of them well over 60. They were talking, looking at the art and the ACT scores and such. Kell let out a breath, raising his viola to his shoulder. "Not too loud."

"Got it."

And once we were past the first line, I completely zoned out, going on autopilot. I couldn't help but to watch Kell as he played. He looked so focused, so determined to get through this fucking song one last time. I couldn't help but notice the circles under his eyes, and the way he adjusted his bow grip when he played longer notes, sneaking in the small movement. I took in everything about him, from his tense jaw to his hand loosening ever so slightly as he shifted up and down the fingerboard. The next thing I knew, it was over. There was another violinist already standing there, waiting.

We grabbed our music and left, letting the next girl play. I looked at Kell in a kind of awe as we headed back to the room we'd unpacked in. "We don't have to do that stupid song anymore."

"No, we don't." He smiled. "And we didn't even mess up."

"Really? I wasn't paying any attention."

He shot me a look. "You fuckhead."

I couldn't help but laugh at him using one of my favorite insults.