damned_institute | Day 29: Music Room

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Day 29: Music Room

Quatre was thankful that his "name" wasn't called to be visited, but there was always the next shift. He knew he probably should have hunted down his comrades to see if they were safe this shift as well and if they could think of a plan to escape. It was strange being in captivity, Quatre had never been caught by OZ and when one of the remaining White Fang factions had attempted to assassinate him, the action had resulted in the deaths of many innocent politicians and bureaucrats; people who had families and who had honestly been hoping to do the best with the peace that Quatre and so many like him had tried so hard to obtain.

There were a few things that could completely take Quatre's mind off even the most horrible of facts, one of them was music. So when the nurse mentioned that he could go to the 'Music Room' he couldn't help but want to at least look in the room. There was an assortment of instruments for him to choose from. There were no classical pieces to speak of, but Quatre considered the fact that an attentive enough patient could use a number of the pieces of a piano to kill someone. That and you couldn't really use headphones on a real flute.

He ran his fingers over the electric keyboard before sitting down to it.

He had once told a good friend, Noin, that he played what he felt and at the moment his anxiousness was overwhelming. If he played at least a little bit of it, it might release from him, might take some of the pressure from his heart.

That, and it would be reassuring to be doing something he loved to do. He placed the headphones on his ears, trying not to allow his emotions to affect any of the patients that might enter the room after him, and started to play.

The sound was dulled, probably for safety reasons, but that was probably for the best. If anyone spoke to him he would be able to hear, even if he let the music that his fingers played with electrical sound take him away from Landel's prison walls.

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It hadn't been a terribly interesting (minus one certain mental breakdown) nor terribly productive day. The fact of the matter was it had been confusing. Even now, being hustled from his room, the vampire was perplexed. His last memory was being in town with Bella. How had he gotten back into his room? It was like his memory had a portion torn out of it - not as if he had forgotten, but as if the time never had existed.

Odd. (To put it lightly.)

The only suggestion that floated up to his mind is that he had somehow fallen asleep before that period (upon being in town) and the now (being back in the institute). But then again, that idea was just as prepostorous as believing his mind had gone out of time.

But in retrospect, this place permitted him to sleep.

He struggled to drop the issue, finding the passage of time was beyond his own grasp, in an ironic twist. His main concern was finding Bella, once again. And making sure something hadn't happened. The sleep had left him especially dull, and conversation with the nurse didn't serve much purpose.

Upon entering the music room - a room he was quite elated to see, despite the circumstances - Edward was disappointed to see no signs of a piano (of course, the piano wires), and the sole keyboard taken. He moved past the two seated at the keyboard, rummaging through the stores of instruments to decide on a rather plain looking recorder. It was the closest he'd find to a wind instrument, which was rather a favorite of his.

Recorder in hand, he snaked back around to gracefully dump himself in relief next to Bella, turning a questioning glance to her earpieces.

The arrival of Edward went unnoticed at first – she was too lost in her world of memories. Memories from when she hadn’t known about vampires, or Victoria, or Landel’s. When Forks had just been a living hell.

Of course, that all changed when she fell in love with Edward, but that much was obvious.

Humming the ending of the tune, Bella’s eyes slowly opened, and she stared up at the ceiling for a few moments before something coppery caught the corner of her eye. Turning her head, the teenager did not jump at the sight of her fiancé – instead, her heart did the jumping. Thump, thump, thump.

“Edward …” the smile broke across her lips and she plucked the head phones off of her ears as so she could fully take him in now, her heart starting to calm down. Why did it feel like a century since she had last seen her fiancé? She had no idea, but the sudden urge to want to touch him became unbearable, and she reached out to grasp gently onto his free hand. Her eyes caught sight of the recorder and she blinked, wincing from a childhood memory. “Haven’t seen one of those since second grade.”

Edward wrapped his own fingers around hers, giving her a half-smile. Still as beautiful as always. And her heart was just as fast. "Hello to you, too." The urge to bend down and give her a real hello was annoyingly persistant.

"Haven't seen you in a while," he joked, saving his questions for later. At her remark, he lifted the instrument in question in his free hand, making to hand it off to her. "Would you like to try it? I can't say it's one of my personal favorites." Edward grinned at the prospect that he might be able to hear her play. "Did they teach you how in second grade?"

If she liked it, he'd have to make a mental note to obtain a real wind instrument later. Perhaps a flute - for nostalgic value, of course.

“I know, right? It’s been … what, 12 hours? That’s long.” Bella smiled as well, her grasp on his hand tightening. Her urge was annoying as well – she had already given in once. Not again.

The mention of the recorder made Bella’s smile falter and morph into a full blown frown, and she stared at the atrocious object with a none too friendly stare. “ … Yes, they taught us. I doubt I remember anything, though.” She didn’t want to. Ever again. No, it had been humiliating the first time –

But he just looked so happy, how could she say no?

Taking the offending thing out of his hand, Bella pulled her other hand from his and held onto the odd plastic contraption. Running her fingers over the smooth material, she groaned out loud and placed her fingers in the correct places and blew –

Only for the object to let out the sound of something dying.

Utterly embarrassed, she blushed a bright red and thrust the object at his chest, turning her gaze away from Edward so she couldn’t see his potential laughter. “I failed in second grade, I fail now. Take it out of my hand before I snap it over something and get sedated.”

His smile didn't fade at all after the blurted note. He might as well have been listening to a symphony orchestra, the noise didn't seem to bother him so.

"Don't be so hard on yourself," he murmured, taking the instrument back in one hand. "You barely even gave it a chance. One note is not going to create a melody." Edward moved to sink deeper into the chair, sliding behind her tomato-red face. Hopefully a little thing like this wouldn't attract a nurse's attention. He had a plan for this scene.

Twirling his own fingers through hers, he juggled the recorder and her other free hand in his, moving to gently place her fingers on the keys of the instrument, his head resting on her shoulder. "You'll have all the time in the world to perfect it. How do you feel about a quick lesson now?"

He'd much rather try this - a sort of free gift, perhaps? - than cling on to her remark about twelve hours apart. It only seemed to be minutes to him.

As if on cue, Bella’s heart began to race the moment she felt Edward’s head against her shoulder, the moment his fingers entwined with her own. It was things like this that she loved and feared – love for the obvious, feared because of the embarrassment she felt from the way her heart pounded. It was years since they had met, and yet at every touch, she still fell head over heels in love.

“A lesson, huh?” Bella whispered out, claiming at least a little bit of her head. She knew better than to speak loudly and attract a nurse’s attention, especially in the position the two were in. A soft sigh escaped her lips, yet soon she was smiling, her head turned off to the side so she could at least catch a small glimpse of his smiling face. “I … guess? There’s nothing else to do … or …” Now, if she had been in the right state of mind she might have realized what he was planning. Get her good at an instrument so he could buy it for her in the future, etc… but alas Now all she cared about was the contact that the two were currently sharing.

“I should have known you would be able to play one of these horrible things …” she joked after a roll of her eyes and a quick view of her tongue – she had stuck it out at him momentarily.

Edward clicked his tongue in a disapproving way. "What is that supposed to mean?" She really must think he was skilled in everything.

"Luckily, you don't have to tune a recorder," he went on, as if he hadn't said anything. "Just turn the foot joint a bit to the side, so it doesn't line up with the other holes." He unwrapped one of his hands from hers, turning the bottom part of the plastic recorder to the right.

"Now, to play a note so it doesn't squeak, you'll have to tongue. Put the beak," he said, pointing to the mouthpiece, "to your lips, but don't let it touch your teeth. Try whispering the word 'too' into the beak, without pressing down on any of the holes. It should make a clear note if you don't blow too hard."

“It means nothing.” Bella said with a grin, turning her head away so he couldn’t see the amusement in her eyes.

… His explanations made her slightly confused, though. Was it this complicated back in second grade? No, she was pretty sure that it wasn’t. It was just Edward, trying to explain things in the only way he knew how – making everything more complicated than it normally was.

“Um, okay …” turning to look back down at the offending plastic tube, Bella narrowed her eyes slightly at it, before placing the instrument to her lips as he had told her to do. Taking in a soft breath, she shut her eyes in an attempt to block out whatever humiliation was most likely coming her way.

Needless to say, she was rather surprised when a note sounding nothing like a dying animal came out. Blinking once, she frowned, turning her gaze towards Edward once more. “Okay, now what.”

After the note was uttered, Edward nodded approvingly. "Yes, exactly like that. Good job, love."

He turned in the chair a bit, enough to wrap his arms around her own, placing her fingers over the hole on the bottom of the recorder, as well as the first hole closest to the mouthpiece. "Now cover those holes completely, and make the same whispering noise. It should make a normal B note, if both holes are completely covered. If any air escapes, the sound won't reverberate."

Oh god, how did he expect her to be able to concentrate when he was so close to her? Especially when it seemed like forever since they had been able to be alone and …

Bella forced her mind into mute mode and followed Edward’s instructions with a slightly shaking hand, still unsure in what to do. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to learn, it was just … well, there were obviously other things on her mind at that moment. For example, she really wanted to tell him about the supposed guest she was going to get, as well as the young girl she had rescued the night prior, and … and …

No, she would continue to do as he said. Placing her fingers against the small holes as instructed, she blew softly into the instrument, hearing the soft note as it slowly faded back into silence. “What are you going to try and teach me to play, anyway?”

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Day 29: Music Room

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