Silently Falling

Chapter Fifteen (Edited 9/30/2020)

Silently Falling: Chapter Fifteen

Thursday

When West and I made our deal, I surprised myself. My music has always been an escape. My safe haven. My songs are a way for me to express all of my frustrations. All of my feelings. The song I played for West...I haven't played that for anyone, and I certainly have never had anyone sing it. Hearing West sing it, however, nearly brought me to tears. I used to play that song over and over on my piano when I first wrote it, but I could only imagine how it would sound for someone to sing.

He sang it beautifully enough to convince me to say yes in getting his help for my Chorus songs, and I have a strange feeling that it won't just be my school song book he and I play through. After he had me so easily playing a song that close to my heart.

Now I'm walking out of class with Alyse. I filled her in on everything before class started, leaving out no details because she practically interrogated every moment out of me.

"I cannot believe he got you to play a song from your personal song book," she exclaims, "you wouldn't show me for the longest time. And I've never even sung them."

I shrug as we stop by my locker, "I can't explain it. I was nervous, of course."

"And the fact that he's going to help you with your songs for Mr. C, too? If I didn't ship you two before, this would be the major starting point."

My eyes roll on their own accord, "What's the big deal, anyways?"

"What's the big deal?" She repeats as though I'm insane. "The big deal, Raine, is that I know how important your music is to you and you're now sharing that with bad boy West Love."

I don't respond to her, choosing to busy my hands by swapping textbooks.

"Okay, anyways I've got to go see Mr. Patterson before lunch. See you in a bit," she says before walking away.

I balance the books on my arm and shut my locker, and that's when everything falls out of my arms from complete surprise. West is standing there, his arms crossed and a lazy smirk planted to his features. I try to calm my breathing and place my hand over my rapidly beating heart.

"You scared me."

When West sees my books sprawled out on the floor, his smirk disappears and he bends down to help me pick them up. Students shuffle to their classes around us, and one doesn't move out of the way for me and West on the floor and steps on my hand, causing me to hiss out of pain and cradle it to my chest. He just stepped on my pinky, and though it hurt like hell, it will be fine in a few minutes.

However, as soon as West watches me flinch and clutch my hand, he shoots up and grabs the guy by his backpack so he can't walk away. He pulls him back by the strap at the top, causing the kid's arms to swing forward as he gets yanked backwards and lands against the lockers.

"W-what did I do?" He asks, gulping when he notices it was West who stopped him.

West narrows his eyes and nods down to me still kneeling on the ground, cradling my poor hand to my body. I stare sheepishly at the trembling underclassman, quickly stacking my books on top of one another and standing up.

"I'm sorry!" He blurts out, "I didn't even realize I stepped on her hand, I thought it was a pencil or something!"

I balance my books on one arm and tap West's arm frantically as he stares down the poor kid. He moves his eyes to me and I shake my head with wide eyes, trying to get across that it's okay, he didn't mean it.