OH MY DARLING! || LOUIS

4 | EPIPHANY.

—

"Is that a new song?" Jamie asks, with a small smile as she approaches Louis' figure over the piano. The song felt oddly melancholic and alone. The complete opposite of Louis' overall character. He stops abruptly, the note going sour as she stops by the edge of his piano. "It sounds...nice."

"You're too kind, Jamie." Louis grins before scooting over to the side of the piano bench. He pats the empty spot as a silent invitation. One which Jamie takes. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

They're a little older now. Jamie doesn't really know how old she is now, no one knows how old they are other than older. Erin died a long time ago, it was an accident but Stephanie hasn't really been the same since. Her smiles don't quite reach her eyes anymore and she doesn't joke with Mitch as much as she did before. Things are just different now.

Jamie shrugs her shoulders. "I had free time and I haven't seen you in a while." She answers simply, lightly nudging his arm with her shoulder. The action brings a soft chuckle from their lips. They're close enough for Jamie to count the freckles scattered on his dark skin. She always liked freckles; Mitch had some too. She remembered connecting the dots when he was asleep once. Maybe Louis will willingly let her do it if she asked.

"Funny way of saying you missed me." He wiggles his eyebrows, one that is met with a roll of her eyes. Jamie turns her attention towards the piano keys, reaching out to press a single note. He loved to tease, especially Aasim. She met the other boy a while back, with their numbers slowly dwindling; it was bound to happen sooner or later. He teased everybody without discrimination but it seemed that Aasim and Jamie were the first two on his list.

There was always that weird feeling in her stomach whenever he directed his quips towards her direction but she mostly chalked it up to annoyance. She doesn't quite know what to say back, words dying at her mouth so she doesn't.

"I can teach you, if you want." He offers, before placing his fingers over the keys. "Put yours on top of mine."

Jamie makes a face, a little skeptical of his method of teaching. "How is this going to help me...?"

"Have some faith in little ol' Louis."

Jamie rolls her eyes before doing as instructed. She places her hands on top of his. It's a little awkward, because she has to reach over him to reach his other hand but they make it work. Her palms warm against the back of his hands and her fingers slotting over the spaces between his. All and all, it felt like a weird hand hold. It isn't weird though, because Louis is a touchy-feely person.

"Alright Lou, work your magic."

And he does.

It feels like a switch has been flipped. The cheeky Louis replaced with a more serious one. The one that takes piano seriously and performs the best. He shifts around, moving her arms along with his'. She doesn't feel like she's learning but she could pretend she's playing the piano—which was probably what he wanted to do in the first place. A smile curls her lips and she tilts her head up to sneak a glance at Louis.

There's a serene expression on his countenance. Eyes lidded with a smile playing on his lips. If she didn't know any better, she'd assume that he knew everything by muscle memory now. He plays the same tune from earlier. Melancholic and just a little different from his usual songs. Despite their obvious contrast, it seems to...match Louis as well. Jamie couldn't quite place it but it did.

"Is this a new piece?" She asks, voice quiet almost afraid to break the silence.

"Yeah, it's still a work in progress though."

"...It's beautiful." Jamie says, her tone serious. Her eyes slip close, letting Louis full control of her as she goes slack. She leans against his side, humming along with his piece.