Very slowly, my hands continued to play. The piano shook as I pedaled a too hard and I bit my lip as I hit a wrong note. The window in my music room was open, letting cool air send my sheet music flying.
Louis laughed, catching one as it floated past his nose. "That's the best out of all the ones you've played," he said, nudging my arm and placing the music sheet on the piano. "You should definitely play that one."
I put my head down on the side of the piano and felt my scratchy sweater-jacket rub against my nose. "I just don't know!" I cried, banging the keys in frustration with my elbow. "I can't decide, it's either too easy, boring, or I mess up because it's too hard."
I rolled my head to the side and began to trill some notes. "Maybe I should write one of my own, that way it wouldn't matter if it was challenging or not."
Louis put an arm around my shoulders. "Don't worry, it's a high school music fest, not Carnegie Hall."
I lifted my head and smiled, lightly shoving him in the shoulder. "Just remember, Mr. Soon-To-Be Senior, you're not the one trying to get into the junior piano club as a freshman next year."
Louis shrugged and got off the piano bench and walked over to the window. He scanned the neighbor's front yard and their peered over their house where you could get an excellent view of the river. The sun was fading in the west, behind the swing in my backyard, and orange streaks of light shone across his face.
I turned in the piano bench so I was facing him and began to play a soft tune . . .
"Louis?"
"Hmm?"
I looked down at my hands on the piano. "D-do you ever feel . . . weird that you're dating someone about three and a half years younger than you?"
He drew his eyebrows together. "Why, do you feel that way about me?"
"No, no, I-I mean, sometimes I feel a bit strange about it. You're in high school, I'm still finishing junior high, you're into sports and math, I prefer writing and music. And I-I-" I stammered, unsure of what I was trying to say.
"What?" Louis asked, more concerned now as he came and leaned down to my height by the piano bench, our knees almost touching.
"I feel almost as if I'm taking you away from people your age!" I cried at last. "I don't mind if you want to hang out with them, I can write and play the piano and things on the weekends . . ."
"Grace," Louis laughed. "Calm down, calm down."
He leaned back until he was lying on the carpet.
"Actually," he said, "I've been feeling the same way about you." He chuckled. "It seems as if you don't have any girl friends and I don't have any guy friends anymore since we met each other."
I smiled and got up, walking to the window. "Oh, I do," I said. "There's Mary, and Olivia, and . . . well, Joel's not exactly a girl."
Louis laughed, rolling over and propping his chin on his fist. "Sometimes, I just need someone who I can actually express my creative and deep side with."
My face broke into a wide grin and I leaned down and hugged him.
It wasn't until the phone rang did we break apart.
-msof57
Author's Note: Sorry for this being short this week! My health teacher snuck a macho project on my friends and I so it's been a crazy week. I've been writing more, so more is sure to come!
