Elements

Chapter 19

I made my way over to the piano, sheet music in hand. When they saw me coming, the other students scattered- other than Anita of course. Like the rest of the school, my fellow musicians treated me like a walking plague.

I smiled at Anita, who was now checking out some of the guitars on the walls, as I sat down. I played the first few lines of the song. It was easy enough to play, just a few simple chords. Furthermore, my hands seemed to know the song already, playing what was written and adding in a few extra riffs.

Something pulled at my attention from the back if my head. Continuing to play, I searched for what it was. Then suddenly, the music room disappeared around me- I was lost in a memory.

I was in a house, though I knew somehow it wasn't my own, sitting at a different piano. The floor beneath the pedals was covered in soft tab carpet, and the wall the piano was pushed against was a slightly darker shade of brown. The piano itself was made of dark wood, and the bench matched it, with a floral cushion for the musician to sit on. There was a thick layer of dust over the keys- no one had been in the house for a long time before me.

I was still playing "A Drop In the Ocean", but now I was singing as well, harmonizing perfectly with a male voice behind me. Though I don't know how, I knew it was Ben.

Try as I might, I couldn't turn my head to look at the rest of the house or snap out of my memory- it was like being forced to watch a movie until the end, even if you wanted to read wattpad instead. I knew as I listened that this would be what the song would sound like when Ben sang it, only without my harmony. To me it seemed like it was missing something.

The song finally ended, my fingers resting on the keys for a second after the last note. Then suddenly I was back in the music room, staring at the keys if the baby grand I was playing on in the current time. Thankfully I hadn't started singing like in the memory.

I blinked a few times, coming back to the real world. I turned to look at the other occupants of the room. None of them seemed to notice what had happened to me. None except for a certain boy whose chocolate brown eyes had lit up when I had finished playing and returned from my memory.

I stood up, taking the music with me, and walked over to him. He grinned at me and said,"I see that the songs coming back to you. You want to practice some more before we try it together?" He asked, gesturing towards the booth as he asked the question.

I shook my head in response, replying, "No. I remember it perfectly- I even remember playing it somewhere else. I used to sing a harmony to it, right?" I tilted my head, waiting for a response. His eyes lit up like a child's on Christmas.

"You remember the White's house? That's great! How much of it can you remember?" He asked excitedly.

His face fell slightly as I shook my head. "I only remember the piano. I couldn't turn my head to see anything else."

He simply shrugged, although a little disappointed. "It a start. Don't worry Elephant. I'll help you get your memories back no matter how long it takes." I blushed at this, and my heart sped up.

What? No! I wasn't supposed to feel this way. Not towards him, and not towards anyone. It would only hurt other people.

I thought of my sister, who was dead because she was trying to protect me- because she loved her little sister. I thought if my parents who might be dead, and if not, then were captives of the Puppeteer's. All the had done was cared for someone, and they had suffered for it. I would not be the cause of anyone getting hurt again.

I wouldn't grow attached to anyone in the first place, and if by some mistake I did, I would be strong enough to protect them and me both.

"Shall we record then?" Bens voice pulled me from my thoughts. I nodded. He opened the door for me, then followed me inside.

There was a keyboard already set up, as well as a few microphones for Ben and I to sing. We adjusted them to our heights and I sat down at the piano.

The man who was in charge of the music room Mr. Gary, gestured to the headphones on the piano. After we put them on, we could hear him say, "Alright you two. Give me a few seconds, and we'll get started."

Turns out, he had meant a few milliseconds. Through the window that lead to the computer room(A/N: I don't know what it's really called so yeah) we could see him super speeding around the room. His voice came through the headphones a few seconds later, saying, "Alright. Start whenever you're ready."

Ben looked right at me, then counted us off. I played the chords, not harmonizing until the first verse started, as Ben sang:

A drop in the ocean,
A change in the weather,
I was praying that you and me
Might end up together.
It's like wishing for rain
As I stand in the desert,
'Cause I'm holding you closer than most,
'Cause you are my heaven.

He looked right at me as he sang, making my heart skip a beat. I looked down at the keys and focused on playing and singing the harmony as the first verse began.

I don't want to waste the weekend,
If you don't love me pretend
For a few more hours
Then it's time to go.
As my train rolls down the east coast
I wonder how you'll keep warm.
It's too late to cry,
Too broken to move on.

Still I can't let you be.
Most nights I hardly sleep.
Don't take what you don't need
From me.

The chorus repeated, and this time I sang in harmony with Ben. During the instrumental between chorus and verse, he mouthed to me to sing the next verse alone. I nodded and started as the instrumental ended.

Misplace trust and old friends,
Never counting regrets,
By the grace if god,
I do not rest at all.
New England as the leaves change,
The last excuse that I'll claim,
I was a boy who loved a woman like a little girl.

Ben came in on the last line before the pre-chorus with harmony, and we sang the rest of the song switching between who was singing melody and who was singing harmony. I couldn't help but think of the first four lines of the second verse and how they seemed to relate to me. Old friends? Misplaced trust? Maybe I was putting too much thought into this.

When the song finished, I looked up at Ben, whose eyes hadn't left me the whole time. He smiled at me, then slowly tuned his head to the window.

Mr. Gary's voice came through the headphones: "That was great! Here, listen!" a second later, the song came through out headphones. I couldn't help but grin. We sounded amazing, though I felt like it was missing something.

I thought for a moment before turning to Ben saying, "It needs a violin part."

He thought for a moment before answering,"I don't think so. Violins only play in sad stories. Ours is going to be a happy one." He smiled at me as he spoke, then walked through the door to the other room in the recording booth to talk to Mr. Gary.

I had to pinch myself to stop the irregular beating of my heart, though it didn't do much. If I were to fall in love, Ben wouldn't be so bad. I sighed. I couldn't.

Love was just another was for someone to get hurt.