Tainted: Listening to the Silence (Book 1)

SIX

"Do you... want to... come in?"

I was a little taken aback, he wanted to spend time with me? I nodded and he let us both into his house. I waved at Mr. and Mrs. Andel and followed Oliver up to his room. It was still covered in stave paper. Oliver blushed and started picking up the crumbled balls of paper from the floor. I laughed when I saw him. I just threw my bag in a corner and sat on his bed like I had done before. He looked up at me, embarrassment written all over his face. I gave a smile and just waved it off. Oliver went over to his trash can to drop the sheets he had picked up and came back and sat on the bench in front of his piano. I hadn't noticed before but Oliver had a whole shelf full of books. I read some of the titles, already thinking of some I wanted him to lend to me afterwards. Maybe I could get him to read me some, then I could hear more of that sexy voice. Would he do it? I looked back at Oliver and caught him looking at me. He averted his gaze again and I did my best to hold back a smile. I poked his arm and he looked back at me.

"When did you learn to play the piano?"

"When I was... just a kid."

"You've always been good at it?"

"Yeah."

"Wow, that's so cool. I learned to play the guitar when I was little too, but I really wasn't all that good at first. It was with time that I got good at it. Then I changed to electric guitar and it was easier because it was really similar to a normal acoustic guitar. Then I learned to play the bass and it was a little hard at first but then I got the hang of it."

"You play... three instruments?"

"Well, it's really just two because guitar and electric guitar are practically the same, the only thing that changes is the technique you use to play and maybe the way you form chords. But anyway, yeah I do."

We went on like that, making small talk about music and school and Em and Dust. The time just flew by us and before we realized it, it was time for me to go back to my house. Oliver walked me back to the front door and I waved him goodbye before leaving to go to my house. I thought back to how it was at the start between Ollie and me and kind of smiled. I was quite happy that I had talked things out with him when I did. Maybe if I hadn't we would still be glaring at each other.

I went into my room and closed the door behind me throwing my bag somewhere and jumping on the bed. I kicked off my shoes and lay on the bed looking up at the ceiling. I wasn't stupid, I did notice the way I reacted to him but I wondered if the signs I was getting from him were true or if they were just my imagination. I sighed and turned around closing my eyes. Behind them I saw the way Oliver looked at me back when I was playing in the music classroom. I smiled again and with that in my head fell slowly asleep.

My days went by in a flash, spent between school with Em, Dusty, and Oliver, detention with Oliver, and practice until late with Em and Dusty. We had finally solved the stupid thing about my suggestion. They'd agreed to accept a second voice and a second guitar but while we found them we still practiced with Em singing. We already had about four songs of our own, the fourth, Fuck Me, still on the making and editing process, meaning Em couldn't decide on the lyrics, even though the rhythm had already been decided with another lyrics. Now she said she didn't like them and was thinking of changing them. Em had been pressuring about the songs for a while now and I personally thought she was rushing things. Get the songs ready to record them somehow and then send them to labels in less than a month. Idiotic, I know. But well, I hoped she noticed sometime soon that it was impossible to do what she asked for and slowed down a little. For the time being we practiced every afternoon for hours and hours and hours.