Doe's POV:

So, apparently 'I'll be right back' in Xander's terms means something closer to 'I'll be back when I feel like it'.

I thought that it would just be a quick discussion with Nico, but after five minutes, I just decided to go ahead and take a shower.

And after doing so, and getting dressed into the tank top and shorts I would typically wear to bed, like the hypocrite I am, he still wasn't back.

I came to my own conclusion that he was off handling things with the name I had given him.

In his pajamas no less.

So, seeing the two new instrument cases sitting on the coffee table, as well as a variety of thin music books, I settled myself down on the couch, eager to get started on what I'd made myself put off for this long.

I kind of wanted to do it with Xander, but since he decided to be lame, I wasn't going to wait for him any longer.

The deep red velvet that coated the inside of the case shined almost as beautifully as the guitar I'd been wanting for a while.

My guitar.

The slick cherrywood, the silver detailing, and strings.

All just looked so much more vibrant now that they were this close.

I carefully pulled apart the velcro that held in in the case before lifting it.

My entire body was stiff as I did, worried that with just one wrong move, I'd break it.

Even though Xander's old violin had held together for decades, I just wanted to be extra careful now that I finally had my hands on it.

The case containing his new one sat right by it, but I'd leave that to him.

I slowly sat myself down, sitting near the edge with the instrument in my lap.

Yeah... this was a lot different than Xander's little violin.

I took a moment to adjust and get both the guitar and myself into a position that felt right.

I'd seen musicians play in the city, so my knowledge thus far was purely based on that.

The pads of my fingers on my left hand tested the strings, the other positioning near the bottom.

And just like I'd seen the street musicians do it, I strummed down all six of them with my thumb

The sound, though not as well put together as when Xander does this with his instrument, sent excitement shooting through my body.

The sound of an instrument that was meant to be strummed like this.

I couldn't wait to master this.

Looking back up at the stack of books he had also gotten, I earned forward to grab the one that read 'Beginners guide' and opened it onto the table in front of me.

I skimmed over the first few introductory pages, wanting to get right to the good stuff.

Plus, I had Xander to help me with the basics anyway.

That is if he'd ever come back.

A click from the door answered my call, Xander promptly walking in.

It took a moment for him to find me, looking towards the bed first.

And that same smile appeared again, being preferred a whole lot more than that worry from before.

"That was quite the long conversation," I noted, well aware that wasn't all he had done.

By my tone, he knew that I knew that.

"Yeah, I just had to take care of some things while I was out. But Nico told me to give you his thanks." He said as he approached me.

I debated whether or not I wanted to know exactly how he handled these 'things', deciding that I didn't.

It wasn't something that I wanted to dwell on it anymore.

I knew Xander wasn't the 'physical punishment' kind of guy, so it was probably something close to what he'd done to Layla.

Either way, he looked to be in a better mood about the whole thing.

Tucking my semi-wet hair behind my ears, I scooted over to my left to give him some room.

"How are you liking it so far?" He asked, sitting close beside me, "I tuned it after I bought it, so that's all taken care of."

Oh. That's why It sounded nice.

"It's beautiful, I just don't really know how to start," I divulged, "Thank you for this, by the way,"

He shook his head as he leaned forward, dragging the book I had opened closer to him so he could inspect it.

"Don't mention it. I'm just excited to watch you try something that you're passionate about."

He spoke so casually and yet it left me wide-eyed.

He flipped through more of the pages, skimming them over the same way I did.

Though, he definitely knew more about what those pages were trying to tell me.

I didn't speak 'music' like he did.

"Alright, it looks like they want to start you with some basic cords," he divulged, finally turning to a page that had mostly pictures.

The pictures were drawn like the top of the strings, circles with numbers on some of the strings and between what the picture showed as a 'fret'.

Okay, seems straightforward enough, but I just hope that Xander knows what half of these words mean.

He studied it for a moment.

"So... like this."

I stayed still as he moved, his left hand going around my back to set itself over where mine was, careful not to actually touch my back.

It must have been kind of awkward positioning on his part, but I don't think he cared.

Neither did I.

I stared at where his hand enveloped mine as if he would be playing it through me, my breath catching for some reason.

My hand looked small under his, the coolness of his skin feeling oddly welcoming.

And yet he was still just looking at the book on the table with narrow eyes.

"Okay so for an A cord..." He muttered, His fingers guiding mine to press down on the third, fourth, and fifth string on the second fret.

"Now strum."

I followed his instructions, the sound that came out of it being one of the more 'correct' ones I've ever put together.

The realization and excitement must have shown judging by his soft chuckle that followed.

I hurriedly saved the positioning to memory.

We continued like that for a bit, Xander guiding me through different cords, and then quizzing me on previous ones to see if I remembered them.

Either way, his hand never left mine. Not that I was complaining.

As we did, we both slowly ended up in a more comfortable position. Me not being so uptight anymore, and Xanders chin nearly resting on my shoulder.

I found myself smiling a lot more than usual during the entire process, the giggles and short bursts of banter when one of us would accidentally do something wrong.

It was clear to me that he had somewhat of a muscle memory with this even if this wasn't the instrument he knew so well.

That as well as how serious he was when he said he would help me with this.

He just looked so focused whenever he'd turn the page and figure out something new right along with me.

I wanted to have that same focus but I kept finding myself getting distracted.

Whether it was another subtle catch in my breath whenever he moved, the extra beats in my heart at the feeling of him beside me, or the goosebumps that sometimes came with his subtle praises.

Most of which, to him, seemed to go unnoticed

That dedicated look that was sitting right over my shoulder proved it and shocked me, knowing just how bad he was at focusing when he did anything else.

It felt like he was enjoying this, and I think that added to mine a great deal.

It was fun. Doing this with him, on top of everything else made me... happy in a way I couldn't discern entirely.

I swallowed, trying to put all of these thoughts into a pattern that I could recognize, but coming up with nothing.

I'd already concluded that I missed him while I was gone, but all of these new ones were just confusing

I'd at least realized that back when Layla was an issue and even further back into my childhood, there were certain emotions that were kept behind a locked door.

They weren't needed for what they were trying to build me in to, or maybe I just never had the chance to experience them given the circumstances.

Now that she wasn't... Now I wasn't fighting every positive reaction I had to something because for once I didn't feel the need to hold anything back for my wellbeing.

And thus that simple locked door became a floodgate, finally releasing all of these reactions and emotions I didn't understand let alone know how to process all at once.

It was frightening in an odd sense, but at the same time, I didn't want any of it to stop.

Well, not forever, but it was making it harder to focus on what we were doing.

It was impeding my ability to focus on my instrument.

A shiver ran its way through me at the feeling of his hair against my bare shoulder, that being the thing that caught his attention.

"You okay?" he questioned, his head lifting away from my shoulder to look me over.

I kind of wanted to tell him, but at the same time, since they were all sprouting from him, that stubbornness in me didn't want him to have the satisfaction of knowing it was all exclusive to him.

I wanted to at least, know what all of this was sprouting from myself before going there.

"Yeah. Sorry, I guess I'm just a bit shakey. I got too excited after seeing the case, that I forgot to eat something after my shower." I explained.

Which was true. They didn't feed us this morning either.

Maybe hunger was partially to blame for what I was going through.

Yeah... Yeah, that must be it.

I hated how I missed the contact as soon as his hand left mine, for no other reason than it added to my confusion.

"I haven't eaten either, so I'll order. I'll get you some coffee too since we're gonna be up late."

"We are?" This was the first that I was hearing this.

"Mhm," he slowly stood, "There's a meteor shower tonight that you should see. It's been about five decades since the last one, and I've heard that this one is gone be the brightest one in the last three hundred years."

This was my first time hearing about 'meteor showers' as well, but he looked like he was looking forward to it, so I will too.

"Sounds like a plan, then."