Hamartia (Royce)

3.1

Jacob's P.O.V.

"Chresanto, this is not the way to the cafeteria" I said to him, he had my hand in his as he pulled me down the hall. I could be around him and not feel so guilty about kissing someone else, he was really concerned about why I was either really nervous or super quiet. I had to reassure him that there was nothing wrong with me. I still haven't talked to Alex about us kissing, she's been really avoiding me.

"I know, Jacob".

"Okay... So... Why aren't you taking me to the cafeteria? Believe it or not, I'm actually hungry and I was actually planning on eating".

"I'll get you to lunch, don't worry".

I sighed. Where the hell was he taking me? And why? He pulled me down one of the smaller halls of the school. "Why're we on A hall?" I asked. He ignored my question and walked down the hall, "Chresanto, I really don't understand why we're do-" I stopped talking when he stopped walking. My eyes read the sign that said: Band and Orchestra Room. I looked at him, "Chres".

He smiled and opened the door, he walked me into the room. "I wanna hear you play" he said finally. He let go of my hand and I looked around the room.

I hadn't been in a band room in a long time, but as I looked around I was still familiar with the instruments. The room was well organized, the brass, woodwind, and orchestral strings were all sectioned off. The concert and marching percussion instruments were side by side, but you could tell which instruments belonged to which section. The chairs were arranged in a semi-circle in the middle of the room with music stands in front of each chair. There were band posters taped to the walls, a few talking about different musical terms such as fermata or mezze forte. My eyes finally landed on the piano that was in the corner of the room. I stared at it.

"Chres..." I murmured, I shook my head a little. "It's been a long time".

"I know, but that doesn't matter".

"I was fourteen". I don't know why, but staring at the black piano reminded me of when I was fourteen and naive. It reminded me that when I was fourteen, everything seemed to be fine and okay. I was in a good foster home, I had friends, I wasn't suffering from an eating disorder. It made me realize that my life has gone downhill since then.

I inched closer to the piano until my fingers were grazing the wood. I pulled out the bench and slowly sat. I lifted the covering up and pushed it back so I had access to the black and white keys. I stared at them. I shook my head a little. "I don't... I don't know what to play" I said quietly, looking at Chresanto, who was sitting in a chair not too far from me.

"Do you remember the first song you learned how to play?" He asked, his voice was calm and steady.

I furrowed my eyebrows as I began to sort through my memories of my ninth grade year. "I... Um... Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" I said, nodding. "Yeah, that's it".

"Then play it".

I looked at him, "Chresanto, I haven't touched a piano in ages, let alone play one. It's not gonna sound right, I'm going to mess up. I'm gonna ruin the song, and the-" "Play it" he said, interrupting me. I groaned lightly but turned my body to the piano, I sat up straight and brushed my fingers across the keys for a few minutes.

"What're you so afraid of, Jacob?" Chresanto asked suddenly, "huh?"

I shook my head a little, "I'm not afraid of anything". It was silent for a few seconds and I flinched when I felt his hand run through my curls.

"Then play".

I exhaled softly and finally began to play the first song I ever learned how to play. My fingers moved across the keys and the sound of the perfectly tuned piano filled my ears. I smiled a little but gave off a pained expression when I hit the wrong key. It threw everything off balance and I snatched my fingers from the keys.