Melody immediately clings tightly to my arm. Her fingers are skinny but surprisingly strong, it feels as if my arm is being stabbed by five pointy sticks.

Crowded around the doorway are a bunch of teenagers. Excited smiles adorn most of their faces as some of them begin taking out their phones to take pictures. A sudden, unexplained urge to protect Melody comes over me, and I take a defensive step in front of her. I can feel her shaky breath as she lightly presses her front against my back, probably just barely peeking at the scene over my shoulder.

A girl wearing a bright orange t-shirt and carrying a tall, tiny flag is standing to the side. I can just make out, "University of Markham Tours" printed on her shirt and flag. I see these groups around campus in the evening all the time, usually high schoolers and their parents.

"Oh hello! Sorry, I didn't realize someone would be in here." The girl gives me a bright smile. I don't trust someone who looks that cheery at seven thirty in the morning. "I was just giving a tour of the music building to these high school seniors. Isn't it awesome everyone?"

I raise an eyebrow. "Shouldn't they be in school right now?"

She giggles. "They have signed permission. We're doing tours for future undergrad students today! These are all students with early admission to U of M's music program."

I can just barely make out the quiet murmuring from people I can't see in the group.

"Are you sure that's her?"

"Duh, she's standing right next to a piano."

"Hi Melody! I'm such a huge fan!" an excited looking redhead standing at the front of the group gushes. "I started playing piano because of you!"

"Me too!" a girl with blue hair and round glasses exclaims, pushing through to the front.

"She's cute." I hear the voice of someone out of view murmur.

"Cole," Melody whimpers in the quietest and most terrified voice I've ever heard from her. I feel her grip on my shoulder tighten.

My chest suddenly feels heavy and my heart pounds, making it difficult to breathe as I desperately try to figure out what to do. I don't exactly know how to handle this - I can't say I've been used as a human meat shield before.

I clear my throat and channel my inner Mr. Carter. "Hey sorry, but we were in the middle of something. Would you mind leaving us alone?"

"Can we meet Melody first?" The redhead looks at me hopefully with wide, sparkly eyes. They begin slowly entering the room like a pack of lions cornering their prey.

"Sorry but no." I try to sound calm but these kids are starting to get on my nerves. "Melody doesn't want any visitors right now." I have the strangest sense of déjà vu as I say that.

They scowl at me like I'm the bad guy. The blue haired girl crosses her arms. "And you are...?"

I cross my arms too. "That's none of your business. Please just leave her alone," I snap, feeling anger begin to boil inside me.

The tour guide's cheery smile has faded. I look at her expectantly and give her my best get the hell out of here, look. Her eyes dart back and forth from me to the kids nervously, clearly torn over respecting our privacy and giving these kids an awesome tour.

"Err c'mon everyone, let's keep going." They ignore her meek voice and continue inching closer towards us.

"Just like, one picture? I need it for my Instagram," one of them whines. Kids these days. I'm having an incredibly difficult time not cussing them out, I'm trying to keep things calm for Melody's sake. If it was just me here, these bratty kids would be running for the hills by this point.

I nearly stumble as Melody takes a couple steps backwards, tugging me along with her. "Help," she whimpers again.

A small guy, barely taller than Melody, tries to push past me. His reaching level is a lot shorter than I was prepared for, and he manages to grab onto her arm and tugs her out from behind me. She lets out a tiny, terrified squeak as she stumbles, nearly falling over.

I easily catch Melody and help her regain her balance. "Jesus Christ dude," I grumble, prying his grubby hand off of her. "You guys need to leave, now."

They all make an annoying whining noise. Melody grips onto the back of my shirt so tightly that she's starting to restrict my breathing.

"Excuse me?"

Everyone jumps at the booming voice. I've never been so glad to hear Mr. Carter's grumpy, rough tone. I have no problem spotting him behind the kids still lingering by the door, he's almost a head taller than all of them. The group turns around and finds themselves face to face with him and his furious glare.

"I believe you were just asked to leave." Anger flashes in his dark brown eyes, but his voice is scarily calm and quiet.

They all immediately scurry away.

Mr. Carter comes in and shuts the door behind him. His look of anger quickly fades and his brows knit together in concern when he spots Melody. She cautiously loosens her grip and steps out from behind me.

Mr. Carter crouches down a bit and touches Melody's arm. "Ms. Aria? Are you alright?" It still catches me off guard every once in a while, how gentle and soft he is with Melody.

She nods wordlessly before walking over to the piano bench and sitting down. I open my mouth to speak but Mr. Carter places his hand on my shoulder and shakes his head. He leads us over to the chairs by the side of the room and we take a seat.

Melody begins playing a somber, melancholy song. It's slow and haunting, giving me an uneasy feeling in my chest. It's like the music in a movie that plays when something horrible is approaching.

I lean towards Mr. Carter and whisper, "What's happening?"

He roughly drags his palm against the stubble on his jaw. "It's how she vents I suppose. Ms. Aria has been like this for as long as I've known her."

I glance at Melody. Her face is surprisingly... neutral, considering the chaos she just went through. A slight undertone of sadness, maybe, but the control she has over her demeanor right now is kind of nuts. You'd never think that the music that's making me feel like we're at a funeral was coming from her.

I furrow my brows. "So she's just... channeling her emotions through her music?"

He thinks for a moment. "More or less, yes. She's incredibly self-sufficient, though it worries me at times."

She suddenly stops playing. Did she hear us?

"Cole? Aren't you going to be late for class?" she whispers.

I glance at my watch. If I run I can still make it to class on time. "I can skip today, I want to make sure you're ok."

"Th-thank you," she says quietly. Her hands hover over the keys for a moment before she slowly rests them onto her lap. "Mr. Carter? Would you mind leaving us alone for a little bit?"

Mr. Carter stands up. "Of course Ms. Aria."

He gives me a stern look on his way out. Subtle, but clear. I will break you if you hurt her. He must know how fragile of a state she's in now, probably much better than I do. The room is blanketed in silence after he quietly shuts the door behind him.

Melody stands up and hesitates for a moment, her eyes dart back and forth from me to the piano. Her indecision is going to get us nowhere.

"Err, care to sit?" I pat the chair next to me.

She nods and comes over. We sit in silence for a moment. I speak up when I realize she clearly isn't going to speak first. "Does stuff like that happen often?"

She shakes her head. "You're not going to find classical music fans grouped up like that in places like malls or restaurants, not that I even go out very often. It's easy for Mr. Carter to keep things under control when it's just an individual." Her voice is still a bit soft and shaky.

"Is there a reason why this causes so much anxiety for you?" She's shy I guess, but she must be used to it by this point... right?

She turns away from me and stares blankly at the piano. I'm not sure whether she even comprehended my words or not. It's almost eerily silent as I sit there with my patience growing weary. I try to study her face to get an idea of how she's feeling, but it's expressionless and stony.

Right before I'm about to say something again, she speaks up. "It's complicated," she mumbles, fidgeting with her thumbs. "I don't want to talk about it, sorry. I'm ok now though."

I'll admit I was expecting a bit more than that, but I'm glad she didn't try and run away like last time. That's... progress, right? "Nah, don't be sorry." I pat her shoulder. "It's just important that you're ok."

She turns towards me. "I really appreciate what you did."

I give her a reassuring smile. "No worries. What are friends for?"

The glazed over look in her eyes clears a bit. "You consider me a friend?" she asks shyly with a small, soft smile.

"Yeah, of course." I can't help but wonder whether or she she considers me to be a friend.

She hesitates for a moment before reaching over to hug me. I'm enveloped by the faint scent of honey and roses. I lightly pat her back. She's so small, she feels fragile and delicate like a porcelain doll.

"You alright?" I ask after her shaky breathing has calmed down.

I feel her nod. "Thank you Cole." Her quiet voice is muffled into my shoulder.

--------------------------------

Ok the two of them are so sweet together 🥺🥺

Thanks for reading! :)