Even after Stephanie got back from the British Museum and headed back to Lydia's apartment for the evening, she was still thinking about that half-hour or so she spent walking around the museum with Kyle Lancaster. She couldn't help but be surprised by how pleasant hanging out with him was - sure, he still acted a bit like a snarky asshole, but it seemed more in good humor than anything else. Walking around and chatting with him was actually pretty fun, and she honestly had a good time on what she had fully anticipated on being a fairly boring day trip to a museum.

Perhaps she could actually grow to like Kyle. It would have been nice to have another friend here in London besides Lydia... as long as she didn't accidentally hijack his masterclass again.

So after Stephanie got ready for bed that night, she finally did a little Google research on Kyle Lancaster. She realized she had really underestimated his fame in the classical music world: while the average person probably wouldn't know who he was, he was definitely a well-known name to all the music nerds of the world, particularly the women. Stephanie amused herself for a few minutes clicking through several fan blogs and Pinterest boards made by Kyle's biggest fangirls, which consisted of endless airbrushed photos and video slideshows of him.

Kyle was very handsome, Stephanie had to admit. She figured that his face was what probably contributed to his fame: good looks, a charming British accent, and incredible musical talent all wrapped up in one package. And the fact that he was only twenty-five years old probably helped too. Stephanie couldn't help but feel a bit jealous - he was a full two years younger than herself, and he was already touring around the world and teaching a masterclass! Life was so unfair sometimes, and it was no wonder people wanted to see him paired up with that Chloe Alistair woman: they were like the ultimate musical power couple.

Stephanie ended up finding a few YouTube videos of Kyle performing, and she was completely transfixed. She had never learned to play the piano, but even to her untrained eyes she could tell he was incredibly talented. One of his most viewed videos was when he performed Liszt's La Campenella at the Cité de la Musique in Paris last year. The fast-paced piece was undeniably impressive, and his fingers practically flew over the keys as he played each note perfectly.

Stephanie watched that video multiple times before finding another one, and then another and another. She lay in bed late into the night, the glow of her phone screen lighting her face as she continued to watch videos of Kyle performing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Despite only getting a few hours of sleep, Stephanie still got up early the next morning and headed over to the Academy with her violin, eager to get some practice in. After settling in one of the practice rooms, she immediately got into the zone as she started to practice; it was easy focusing on her sheet music when inside this practice room, which was a small windowless space with cement walls and great acoustics. Today Stephanie was practicing Beethoven - the man who composed some of the most beautiful pieces ever created, but whom she often struggled with since his music was often so complex and varying. For hours she toiled over one of his concertos, and by noon she was exhausted, though felt she had made some progress. She couldn't help but notice, with some resigned amusement, her bowstring had frayed a bit after all that practicing.

Must've been a good practice session.

Stephanie's conversation with Kyle yesterday suddenly came back to her: he had mentioned that his uncle was a luthier, and Stephanie said she had been meaning to get her bowstring rehaired while in the city. She had already planned on stopping by his uncle's music shop at some point, and now she was resolved to go today before lunch. She didn't really want to practice again with frayed pieces of horsehair hanging off her bowstring.

Stephanie now packed up her violin, bow, and sheet music before heading out of the practice room and toward the front doors. Once outside, she quickly googled on her phone where the music shop Lancaster's was, and felt pleased that it was within walking distance from the Academy.

The sky was cloudy and gray overhead, and Stephanie felt worried that it would start raining at some point. Normally she didn't mind the rain, but getting water on her violin case would be a huge problem: she couldn't risk getting her violin wet, otherwise she'd be out a $2500 instrument.

Stephanie hurried down the streets and walkways as she made her way to Lancaster's, dodging around the many pedestrians out at this time of day. Finally, she turned a corner on a little side street and came across a quaint-looking shop with a faded sign over the front door with the scripted word Lancaster's Music Shop written on it. Stephanie made her way inside, a little bell tinkling as she entered through the front door.

Wow.

One step in, and Stephanie already felt like she was in heaven. The whole shop was a warm and cozy space with mahogany wood panelled walls and soft lighting. The whole place was filled with shelves filled with many types of guitars, cellos, and violas, and from the rafters in the ceiling hung violins - dozens of them, side-by-side and all in perfectly even rows. Stephanie couldn't help but stare up at the beautiful instruments, examining them with avid interest.

"But of course you're here today."

A familiar British voice sounded from behind Stephanie, and she whipped around to come face-to-face with Kyle Lancaster once again. He was leaning against the front counter beside the cash register, looking casually handsome in a collared sweater and dark wash jeans.

Stephanie's shoulders dropped slightly as she gazed at him in resigned amusement. "Seriously? This is starting to feel intentional at this point."

"Don't flatter yourself," Kyle quirked an eyebrow at her. "My time is certainly better spent than following you around all day."

"Well, it's a shame you weren't stalking me this morning while I was practicing at the Academy," Stephanie lobbed right back, smiling proudly. "You would have heard a flawlessly-executed Beethoven concerto."

Kyle put a hand on his chest. "Oh, what a shame I hadn't heard you executing Beethoven's music."

His inflection on the word 'executing' wasn't lost on Stephanie, and she rolled her eyes. "Very funny."

"Yes, I thought it was," Kyle grinned. At that moment, a kindly-looking older gentleman walked from the backroom and approached Stephanie from behind the counter.

"Why hello, miss," he smiled at her, his spectacles glinting in the light of the shop. "How may I help you today?"

"Hi. I was hoping to get my violin bow rehaired here," Stephanie said, placing her violin case on the counter and taking her bow out. "It's been a couple years since I last got it rehaired, and I've been playing a lot recently. It's starting to fray a bit."

The man accepted the bow Stephanie handed him. "Oh yes, I can see this could definitely use some new horsehair. The process will take a few hours, however: I can rehair this tonight, and you should have this back in your hands first thing tomorrow morning."

"That's perfect. Thank you so much," Stephanie grinned brightly.

"Uncle George, this is Stephanie," Kyle said to the man behind the counter, nodding toward Stephanie. "I met her over at the Royal Academy. Stephanie, this is my Uncle George."

"Ah, so you're Stephanie," George said, his eyes lighting up as they landed on her. "My nephew was just telling me about you. He said you might be stopping by at some point in the next few weeks, and that I ought to give you a discount for whatever you want done."

"Did he really?" Stephanie smiled, looking over at Kyle and feeling oddly touched he had kept his word about telling his uncle about her.

"I did. And I'm surprised Uncle George didn't recognize you as soon as you walked in," Kyle grinned in amusement, glancing over at him. "After I described you as a loudmouthed American redhead."

"You did not say that," George said firmly, giving Kyle a lovingly stern look over his spectacles. Stephanie couldn't help but giggle.

"That's okay. I've called Kyle 'stuck-up' before, so I don't really care what he calls me," she said, giving him a sarcastic smile. George laughed.

"Oh, you find this funny?" Kyle teased his uncle, grinning in amusement. Kyle looked very much at ease in here, moreso than Stephanie had ever seen him before, and she couldn't help but think it suited him quite well.

"...Excuse me, are you Kyle Lancaster?"

A bespectacled woman and her young daughter had walked into the shop, and they approached Kyle with identical expressions of excitement on their faces.

"Yeah I am," Kyle smiled politely, straightening up.

"I'm so sorry to bother you. My daughter has been taking piano lessons for about a year now, and she and I listen to your music all the time," the woman gushed. "We are such big fans! Can we get a picture?"

"Of course," Kyle smiled sincerely, and the three of them stepped away so they could take some pictures.

"Fans have been approaching him here all morning," George remarked, and Stephanie looked at him. "I'm not sure how he feels about all this fame, but I'm happy he's getting the recognition he deserves."

Stephanie remembered how reluctant Kyle was to go with his manager Reg to do a PR photoshoot, and she realized Kyle must have been rather uncomfortable with being famous. The thought surprised her. "Why does he tour all over the world if he doesn't want to be famous, then?"

"I think he enjoys traveling. It's the life he's chosen for himself," George explained. "Kyle has always had an affinity for music, even as a child. When he wasn't at school, he would practice all hours of the day, and that was enough to eventually get him a scholarship to Juilliard. The professors at that school connected him to a music management company, which was how he met Reg, who then helped Kyle build a name for himself."

Stephanie smiled slightly hearing about Kyle's past. "Did you spend a lot of time with him when he was a kid?"

George smiled, though Stephanie thought it looked a bit sad. "Yes, I did. Kyle's home life was rather... difficult, shall we say. My good-for-nothing brother left when Kyle was just four years old, and his mother might as well have left too since she hardly stuck around after that. Kyle was left alone most of the time, so I let him come to the music shop here after school most days. He loved it here." George's smile became fonder as he reminisced. "Since he was still a child, I didn't want to put him to work, so I let him just sit and play on the old piano in the backroom. He would play for hours... I think he would've played well into the night if I let him."

Stephanie felt her heart break at the thought of Kyle being all alone as a child. "I'm sorry, I had no idea Kyle had such a hard upbringing."

"He was a good kid," George sighed. "And it's a shame his parents could never have been bothered with him. I think that's why he prefers to go on tour... he doesn't have to be in his hometown, with memories of his family surrounding him."

Stephanie looked away, her mind casting back to when she first met Kyle. She had thought he had a rude and arrogant disposition, but maybe that was because he just didn't like being back in this city? But if that was the case, why was he here teaching classes at the Royal Academy? She didn't know, and she wasn't sure if she should ask.

Stephanie and George watched Kyle finish up taking pictures with the mother and daughter before making his way back over to them.

"Hi," he grinned. "So what are we talking about?"

Stephanie smiled back at him. "Just pointing out how obnoxiously famous you are."

Kyle rolled his eyes as George chuckled. "It's not exactly my choice. Taking pictures with fans is a hazard of the profession."

"How much you must suffer," Stephanie teased.

The three of them laughed, and continued to chat with each other as the afternoon wore on.