Forever and Always

ten

You know, everyone has something that they love to do. That they probably couldn't live without. Like, Lilah doesn't want to live without singing. Elena loves to study astrology.

My pastime is the violin. Well, it was the violin. I love that instrument more than life itself but I also loved Anastasia Morgan more than life itself. My mom was my inspiration. I could even say she was my will to live.

The violin was our safe space. Our little thing that kept us together even if I was mad at her. Playing made me feel like I could do anything and everything in the world.

My mom passed down her violin that she got from her mom, who got it from her mom, and so on. So the instant I was able to read and hold the violin, I was playing it.

I also haven't played it since my moms death. Something about playing something that used to belong to her, that was a piece of her soul, broke my heart. I realized I was breaking it more by not playing the only thing that could've gotten me through it all.

So, today, I grabbed that violin out of the closet- yes I brought it with me just in case- and went to the orchestra room. Yeah, my school has an orchestra room. Too cool for y'all get the fuck out.

"You're pretty good," I hear from the doorway of the large, echoey, room. I noticed it was Atlas.

"Well, practicing for 12 years has to do something right?" I say as I begin putting the instrument away.

"Wait, no. Don't stop, I want to listen to more." Atlas grabbed the case from the ground so I couldn't put it away.

I sighed, "Atlas, no. It's not something I do for everyone,"

"Well I'm not everyone."

"No but you're also not special, please, leave it alone."

He sighed, eventually giving the case back when I still refused 5 minutes later. I packed up and we began walking to English together. Him and I had English together right after lunch. Which he found odd because I'm a junior and he's a senior but I'm just Albert Einstein reincarnated. Which is exactly what I told Atlas.

"You know, if you weren't such a douche my first day here, we probably could've been friends," I spun around to walk backwards and talk to him at the same time. Multi tasking is a skill only the best can do.

"I was only a douche because a random chick was sleeping in my dorm," Atlas scoffed.

"I still keep those scissors on my desk, Reid," I scold him.

Getting to the class a minute before the bell rang, we sat down in our assigned seats. Mine was next to a dude named Samuel and Atlas was on the other side of Samuel.

The teacher came in, who I haven't bothered to learn her name, and began droning on and on about words meanings and what book we had to read for this quarter of the year. I tuned all the bullshit out. Apparently, so did Samuel.

"Hello, gorgeous," Sam turned to me while I was doodling some random shit.

I rolled my eyes, "Hello, Sam."

"I was thinking, you, me. Date this weekend."

I tried so hard not to laugh. I looked over at Atlas and he was in the same predicament but sharing eye contact ruined it. I burst out laughing. Everyone in the class looked over at us and Sam was basically a deer in the headlights.

The teacher was, obviously, not pleased that we interrupted her class. "Elliot, Atlas, outside. Right now,"

We both stood up laughing like maniacs as we made our way out the door.