The Secret of Music: Chapter 2

The Secret of Music
Chapter 2: Boys
The following morning I woke up as soon as the light started to shine through my window. I slowly opened my eyes and stretched. I got out of bed and began to get dressed. I walked downstairs where I smelled that breakfast was being made. As soon as I walked into the kitchen I took a big breath. "Oh it smells so good, mom. What'chya makin'?" I came up behind her and sniffed the scent that came from the pan.
"Oh, I'm just making some toast and bacon, want some?" She turned and smiled.
"Oh I'd love to!" I walked over to the table where my brother was sitting. I pulled out a chair and sat down.
"Oh, by the way, Kerry called. She wanted to know if you wanted to hang out today. She said that if you're able to, she'd like to meet in the park at around noon." She placed a plate in front of me and my brother. She walked back to the stove to retrieve the plates with food and placed them on the table. She pulled up a chair and sat with us. "Alright dig in."
My brother was the first to grab a piece of toast. Then he took a couple slices of bacon. After he was done trying to sort the wiggly from the crispy, I took my turn, and then my mom. When we were done I went back upstairs to my room. I walked back to the empty canvas. I looked at my clock. "Well, I have about two hours before I have to be at the park." I picked up a new pallet and started to mix some more colors. These colors were quite different. They were more intense colors. There were some shades of pinks, reds, and purples. I started towards the top of the canvas, mainly making more swirl type strokes. About an hour and forty-five minutes later, about three-fourths of the canvas was covered. The more I looked at it, the more it seemed familiar. I looked at the swirls and the colors and recognized it instantly. I smiled to myself as I looked at my unfinished artwork. I packed up my paints and set them aside. I left my room and headed towards the front door. I slipped on my shoes and headed for the park.
"Oh hey, you came!" Kerry sat up from the park bench. "I was hoping you would come!"
"Hey, yeah well here I am."  I smiled.
"Something's different about you, what is it?" she said as she curiously inspected me.
"I…don't know what you're talking about…" I looked at her as she circled me.
"New haircut?"
"No."
"New clothes?"
"No…"
She gasped. "You met someone?!"
"What? No…" I looked at the ground.
"Aha! Yes you did! I just know it!" she got close to my face. "What's his name?"
"It's not important…it's not like I'll see him that much. He said he'd be back tonight but I guess he lives outside the city or something…"
"No way, shut up! Give me details! Outside the city you say? Oh this is great! Come on, tell me everything!" She grabbed my wrists and sat me down on the bench with her.
"Hey, I never said I liked him…" I slightly rolled my eyes.
"Oh please, I haven't seen you like this since…never! Something's obviously going on. Now c'mon fess up!" she scootched a few inches closer.
I sighed. "Well, if you must know, last night, I heard something. I didn't know what it was but I looked out my window and saw someone. So, I followed the sound and saw this boy-"
"Oh I knew it! Continue!"
"And he had this thing called a violin and it made the most beautiful sound…" I reminisced the sound in my head.
"Aww, you're in love!" She noticed that I looked away when I stated my memory.
I snapped back to reality. "I am not, maybe mesmerized by the sound, but not in love with him…"
"Whatever, are you gonna see him again at least?"
"Hopefully…he said he'd be back tonight but I don't know if he'll be able to."
"What did he look like? Was he cute? What's his name?"
"I didn't get a good enough look at him 'cause it was dark, but he had curly hair."
"And his name? You still haven't told me his name!" she began to shake me by the shoulders.
"A-A-Arco."  She finally stopped shaking me.
"Arco? What kind of name is that? Whatever, it doesn't matter. Do you think he was cute?"
"Um…well I…I" my face began to turn red.
She gasped. "Oh, he was!" she squealed and hugged me.
"Lilly and Arco…" she let go.
"Don't start…" I buried my head in my hands.
"Sitting in a tree…"
"Make it stop!" I said.
"K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"
My head rose up somewhat. "Curse the person that invented that." I laughed.
"Oh come on, have some fun, will ya? You know I'm just playing." She nudged me.
"Yeah yeah…" I said in a sarcastic tone.
"So what are ya gonna do if you two start dating?" She asked excitedly.
"I don't think we will, and even if we did, society would frown upon it. You know they like arranged marriages around here, and if they could make the decisions, they would. Rarely ever do you see a happy couple around here." I rested my head on my hand.
"Oh, don't say that. You never know what might happen. I just hope it works out for the best, whatever fate might have in store for you." She smiled.
"How is it that you're the most energetic and random person I know, but can still hold conversation and actually make me feel better?" I laughed.
"I have absolutely no idea." She giggled.
So, after we talked for a while and said our goodbyes, I left the park. It was about 2:30 in the afternoon. I decided to take the road I had walked with Arco on the previous night. I looked at the broken cobblestone as I walked alongside the abandoned factory. I heard a noise that sounded like a rock hitting the ground. I looked up. Nothing. I kept walking. I heard another one, but didn't look up this time. It was only when there was a three second silence before yet another rock hit something where I turned my head around. I peered past the fence that surrounded the building. I walked over to where there was a hole in the fence. I slipped through and started my way back to where the crate was. I looked around the corner and found a familiar face. I walked out slowly.
"Fancy seeing you at this time of day." I smiled.
He slightly jumped. "Oh, hey…I-I didn't see you there." He was sitting on the crate and apparently throwing rocks at the side of the building.
"So that was you making that noise. Can't you ever be quiet?" I chuckled. I walked over and picked up one of the rocks that rested alongside the bricked wall.
"I guess not. But when I do, I wonder why it's always you that finds me." He smiled. "Normally I'm not out this early…but when I am, I try to be as quiet as a church mouse."  He threw another rock at the wall.
"Well, since we're  sorta on the topic…where do you live?" I walked to the side of him and leaned against the fence. I fiddled with the rock that was in my hands.
He looked up at me and then to the ground.
"You live outside the wall, don't you?" I looked at him.
"How would you know?" he leaned forward. His leg slid off the crate and hung freely.
"What's out there?" I looked at the very slightly exposed opening in the wall and nudged my head in its direction.
"Did you follow me?" he seemed slightly surprised but his face didn't show it.
"That's beside the point." I slid down the fence and sat on the ground. I threw the rock at the wall. "What were you going to tell me? Last night you said-"
"I told you I would when it would get dark." He threw another rock. I saw a smile creep up on his face when he said this.
I gasped humorously. "No fair…" I smiled.
"Sorry, my word's my word. I can come here earlier though, maybe by an hour or two?"
"I'd rather sit here and stuff and wait until the sun goes down." He chuckled when I said this.
"You'd rather spend a full day with a weirdo like me? Just to learn about something that you apparently never heard of? Wow, I feel special." He threw another rock.
"You're not a weirdo, and of course I would. You're fun to talk to." I saw a little smile on his face.
"Well, you're one of the few." He looked at the ground again. He bent over to his left and picked up a satchel that he had brought with him. He took out an apple. "Want one? I have like half of a dozen in here." He smiled.
I opened my hands. He tossed it gently. I caught it and took a bite. He took out another one and set the satchel back down. He took a bite of his as well. "Thanks. So…what brings you inside the walls of the city? I imagine it's much more exciting outside the wall." I took another bite.
He chuckled. "Sometimes I come here for some peace and quiet. Where I come from, it's all loud and energetic. Sometimes I come here to escape all that sometimes. I'm not like all the others who live outside the wall."
"Wait, there are others? What are they like?" I asked.
"Of course there are others. They're loud…but they're nice. They like to have a lot of fun, where as I am more reserved. You'd be able to pick them out in a crowd of people like you. They stick out like sore thumbs in how they look and act. But if I were to be put in a crowd, I'd probably blend in." He shrugged.
"Why come here though, don't you think you'll get caught? A security guard or something saw me last night when I was here…"
"He only comes late at night, just to make sure no one's hiding in the building or something, but I always leave before then. That's why I had to go last night. I barely made it thanks to you." He chuckled.
"Have you ever been to another part of town? Don't you get bored sitting behind an old factory all the time?" I finished the apple down to the core and threw it in a nearby bush.
"Well, no…I haven't. I don't think it would be the best idea. Bored? Not really, I come here to think, write, or just to throw rocks I guess." With that he threw his apple core in the same bush.
"That's all you do?"
"All day long, if I need to."
"What do you write?" I stood up.
"You'll have to find out." He looked at me with the same playful face.
I rolled my eyes and lightly hit his shoulder. "Why are you so difficult?" I laughed. I sat down next to him on the crate and slightly pushed him a couple inches so then I'd fit.
"Why do you need to know everything?" He smirked.
We broke into laughter. "Because you-"
We heard footsteps. "Shh" he put his hand in front of my face. We listened. "Quick, follow me." He whispered. He slung his satchel around his shoulder. We hopped off the crate. He started pulling it.
"You go in first, if I get caught they'll-" He gripped my hand and pulled me in through the opening. He pulled me behind him and he began to pull the crate in to cover the hole. He looked over the top of the crate and through the crack that resided a couple inches above. I stood up with him and looked through. We listened carefully to see who was coming. From where we were standing, it was dark, but clearly daytime. The light from inside the wall shown through almost like a flashlight to the surrounding we were in. We looked through to find two men walking around the building, one of them we both recognized.
"So why did ya call me down here, Bill?" said one man to the other.
"Because, I heard noises last night. It sounded like there were people here and I saw one person runnin' away from me. I wanted to make sure no one was here."
Their voices were somewhat muffled because of the wall, but we could make out what they were saying.
"What are we gonna do?" I whispered.
"Shh" He put his finger to his lips and turned to me.
Bill turned towards the crevice in which we were hiding. Arco instinctively put his hand on my shoulder and pulled me down as he ducked behind the crate. We were closely huddled together. His face only inches away from mine. We listened more carefully.
"Bill, I guarantee you no one's here, and if they were, who cares? If it's a couple or few of reckless teenagers, let them have their fun. Unless they're making drugs or doing something they shouldn't be in, out, or around the building, then we might have an issue. But just because you saw someone here last night doesn't mean that they're doing anything bad." The man put his hand on Bill's should and they walked away.
"It's not just that, but what if they're trying to escape, or more importantly, let someone in?" He whispered the last part.
"If they escape, let them, and trust me, if one of those people came in here, they would be easily taken care of." Their voices trailed off as they walked away from the building.
He let go of me and we both turned and sighed.
"That was close."
"A little too close." I added.
He peered back over the crate. "I think it's all clear…" his eyes shot left and right in search of anyone else being there. At this point I discovered that his eyes were a soft shade of blue. The way the light reflected off them was extremely beautiful. It was at this time where I realized I have actually gotten lost in someone else's eyes, and they weren't even looking at me. I once again snapped back into reality. He started pushing the crate. He moved it about two feet away from the opening. He crawled out rather quickly. I slowly followed. As soon as I stuck my head out, I noticed I had been offered a friendly hand. I reached forward slowly and I was pulled up and out with no effort on my part.
"You do know I'm perfectly capable of getting up by myself right?" I chuckled.
"Then why'd ya take my hand, hmm?" He smiled deviously.
"Shut up." I smiled and squeezed his hand extremely tight.
The smile on his face dropped. He retracted his hand. "Ouch…that hurt." He examined his it to see if there was any kind of damage.
"Ha…wimp." I slightly nudged him. Before I could swallow my pride I had found myself in some sort of lock where he had twisted my arm behind my back. The pain wasn't that bad, but I knew that if I were to make any sudden movements, then there would be some for sure. "Oh clever, like I haven't seen that one before." I twisted underneath my arm and grabbed one of his hands and pushed back on his thumb. Again our faces were inches from each other. Our expressions though, were quite different. He tried to push back with his thumb, which was rather strong to my surprise. My expression changed when he was about to use my force on myself.
"Trust me, when you play violin for as many years as I have, your fingers become extremely strong. I guarantee mine are more agile too." He smiled and slammed my clenched fist that was around his thumb into my stomach. I staggered back a few steps.
"Huh, not bad…for a girl." He snickered.
"So what, I am a girl. What's your excuse?" I put my hand on my hip.
"Oh, that was low." He cringed humorously.
"Ha!" I stuck my tongue out at him with my eyes shut. Before I knew it I hit a patch of grass kind of hard, the wind slightly knocked out of me. I opened my eyes to see the blue ones I had admired earlier. I fidgeted but it was no use. He had my arms pinned to the ground by the wrists. The rest of him was to the side of me, his face, once again only a few inches away. He imitated my face and stuck his tongue out at me. This was my chance. I pushed up with all my might and then I landed on top. He was surprised by my apparent strength. I had him in the same position that he had had me in. His eyes looked playful. He pushed up and we continued rotating. At one point we both stopped when I finally pushed him off me. We broke into laughter. By this time, we tumbled at least a good ten feet and now we were in nothing but grass with a few flowers nearby. We laughed again.
He turned to me and chuckled. "That was probably the most fun I've had. Normally I'm not one to fight but I guess you brought it right out of me." He smiled.
"Yeah, normally I'm not one to roughhouse either, but that was fun." I turned to look at him. His face lit up even more when I smiled back.
"Agreed." His hand lightly touched mine. I don't know if it was on purpose or not, but I smiled at him after he did so.  However, he didn't notice that I was looking at him. He seemed to be more interested in the sky. I turned my head in the same direction.
"Just look at the colors. The reds, oranges, the yellows, all surrounded by an intense shade of pink."
"I know. It's lovely isn't it?" He turned his face.
"Indeed it is. The sky tends to be my inspiration quite a bit when it comes to painting. I try to look at it as much as I can when I have an urge to paint. I look at it when it rains, snows, hails, when it's cloudy or sunny, every time it's a different assortment of colors." He noticed that I started to get lost in my words.
"You paint? Hmm, well you seem extremely passionate." He turned to me and smiled again. "That's how I am with my violin." He chuckled and turned his face away. "Funny…two similar artistic beings in the same environment where we sit right now and we have to be separated by wall by the law."
"Yeah, I love to paint. You know, ever since I was little I always wondered what lies outside the wall, I've always been told that it was several things by different people, but the majority of them told me it was none of my business. I feel like I've been-" Arco turned and before I got a chance to continue, I felt his lips touch mine. I never knew what it was like to kiss, yet to even like someone, but something about this was special. I closed my eyes and slowly leaned into the kiss. He pulled away slowly as I slowly opened my eyes.
"Music." He whispered, eyes still half shut.
The way his eyes looked in the warm colors of the sunset was magnificent. I seemed to have gotten lost in them. It took me a few seconds to even process what he had just said.
"What?" I said in a hushed tone.
"Music…" He mused. His tone slightly increased when he said this.
I did a cross between a gasp and a sigh, then chuckled slightly. "It all makes sense now…" I rested the back of my hand on my forehead and closed my eyes.