10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSQkMYHaW6m
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCFk5DNVdxi
The music room had never felt so loud.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNfqRjlgLBr
Not because of the instruments—those had long since quieted—but because of the silence that now stretched between Naomi and Levi. It wasn’t awkward. It was thick. Weighted. Like it carried all the things they hadn’t said but maybe almost had.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7tuM30OkOa
Naomi shifted on the piano bench, fingers still hovering over the keys. The chill of the room settled on her skin, but she barely noticed. Levi stood in the doorway, arms crossed, wearing that familiar look—a mix of smug confidence and something softer, unguarded, that showed up when he didn’t know she was watching.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI8NxxGU0up
“I didn’t expect you to show up early,” she said finally, her voice lower than usual.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH8euMil12i
He smirked. “Didn’t want to let you hog the practice room again.”
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaRixB7W9JA
She gave a tight smile, eyes flicking back to the keys. “You could’ve just booked a different time, you know.”
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI8TR1HtpYa
“Where’s the fun in that?” He stepped inside, footsteps echoing slightly on the wooden floor. “Besides, it’s more entertaining when you’re flustered.”
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDD8KN1IIwt
Naomi resisted the urge to huff. “I’m not flustered.”
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgAVEouVpxs
He slid onto the bench beside her—too close. Close enough that their arms almost touched. “You are. You always get this little crease between your eyebrows when you're trying not to yell at me.”
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvrq3yHyfWX
She narrowed her eyes at him, but the corners of her lips twitched. “Maybe because you’re always doing something worth yelling about.”
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6yBqxRvKN8
Levi chuckled, the sound low and relaxed. “And maybe because it works.”
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1yNjUunZwi
She hated how true that was. She hated even more how her body warmed just sitting this close to him. This was exactly why she didn’t like surprises—and Levi Hayes was a walking one.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXT94EwIVHc
He lifted his hands to the piano, fingers brushing the keys as if remembering an old thought. Then, without another word, he began to play.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGPWjRylqZb
The melody was unfamiliar—rough around the edges, hesitant at first—but raw. It tugged something in her chest, something she didn’t want to feel when Levi was around. The notes rose, dipped, and caught on emotion. Not polished. But honest.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHPxFiH1g1c
Naomi didn’t speak. She simply lifted her hands and added a harmony, weaving into his melody without overpowering it. Their notes clashed at first, then began to settle into something strangely beautiful—like two people figuring out how to breathe the same air.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEeKTinGXdl
Each note he played felt like a confession she wasn’t sure she was ready to hear. She answered with her harmony, not out of agreement, but out of instinct—like her soul already understood something her mind refused to admit.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmbh71mJuvr
For a few minutes, the music said everything their mouths couldn’t.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDBvPtBRuBk
When the final chord faded, Naomi let her hands drop to her lap. She didn’t move. Didn’t speak. Her pulse hadn’t quite slowed.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5WwqVI1sLB
“You’ve been working on that,” she said softly.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA3E9IZe6Y6
Levi nodded, his eyes on the keys. “Yeah. It’s part of my set for the competition.”
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTRnQKJO0hd
She turned slightly to look at him. “You’re actually taking it seriously.”
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYda0nILfeG
“I always was. You just never noticed.” He paused, then added more quietly, “Guess I got used to hiding it.”
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGluT8tZwSu
Naomi blinked, caught off guard. There was no teasing in his voice. No smugness. Just truth.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnuqEXaBRsW
“I guess I didn’t,” she admitted, voice barely above a whisper.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZPHvltlzZm
He finally looked at her then—and not with that cocky glint he always wore in public. This look was steady. Serious. Almost unsure.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7kJsCo4O9B
It made her nervous in a way applause never could.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPaPk1F5WqX
“I’ll let you get back to it,” he said, rising to his feet.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU8VRnd0dre
“Levi.”
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ33kSBI7wov
He paused in the doorway but didn’t turn around.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKEezuEAO4t
“I liked it,” she said. “Your melody. It was… raw. Real.”
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCIA1z1Y1O6
His posture eased slightly. “Thanks. I was trying to be.”
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXbOK9wbwYy
Then he was gone.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQx43zX5bPO
---
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzOAIPZLhi7
That night, Naomi lay on her bed with her headphones in, the silence loud around her once again. But now it played differently.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoT9g2x1mxj
She should’ve been focusing on the competition, on her solo, on the arrangement she hadn’t finished. But all she could hear was the sound of Levi’s melody—rough and emotional—and the way their notes had tangled together like they belonged.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGr25gV1pT5
She hated how it stayed with her.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtbtlHd3jmu
She hated more how she didn’t want it to stop.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe8llgHRDLl
And the scariest part?
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaLQF7JrLri
She wasn’t sure if the music between them was the start of something…
or the beginning of a distraction she couldn’t afford.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUNjl2pi9np
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLMwzENgSlm
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL9pOfasdsQ
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡicG7yMaid3
