The Game

Chapter 3

After school, I didn't get out the first for once. I followed Tony outside. Three boys seemed to also be waiting for him and they walked away together. I ran after them 

"Hey ! Stop !" They turned around as I pointed Tony "You're Tony Perry, right ? You're in my class !" He looked surprised, actually, they all did and so was I. It had been the first time I talked to someone from school in a while. 

"Yeah I guess I am" he said, shyly and we both smiled "Why ?"

"I-I was wondering if you already had a partner for the music project ya know...cause I really liked what you said about the purpose of music and all so...And you know I am a big fan of Blink too by the way"

He looked even more surprised and glad. He ran a hand through his dark hair, now I could see both of his shiny brown eyes. "Sure ! Awesome !"

"Great ! So...um, would you like to come at my house someday ? So we can start playing something."

"Yeah why not ! I mean, I have time tonight so maybe we can do that now !" He confessed.

"Of course !" 

He turned around to his friends. "I see you later guys !" He waved his hand and followed me.

We started walking in direction home, not saying a word. It was one of these awkward moments when you just wanna hide anywhere or simply run away. I tried so hard to find a topic 

"I'm sorry if you had plans with your friends." I finally said, undoing the knots on my earphones.

"It's okay, we were just gonna hang out and watch Star Wars at Jaime's place."

"Which one of them is Jaime ?" I asked, confused.

"The cool one with the dumb hair" We both laughed.

"So you like Star Wars ?" 

"I'm a huge fan !" He said 

"Same here ! My dad used to make a great imitation of Chewbacca when I was a kid !" I continued.

"Vic does it perfectly, it's incredible !"

I looked at him, confused."Vic ?"

"...the small one that looks Mexican ?" He described. 

"Oh yeah I see ! Haha he's not that small though" I confessed.

"Oh yes he is !" Tony smiled. I liked his smile. He had a sort of beautiful childish smile. I plugged my earphones and gave him one, then I chose an artist... Rage Against The Machine came on with Killing In The Name. 

"Oh My God ! RATM ! They are awesome ! You said you liked them in class, didn't you ?" 

"Yes I did ! The band of my life !" I proudly said. 

"I approve !"

We finally arrived home. When we came in, I directly took Tony upstairs in my room. Chris wasn't back yet. I opened the door and threw my bag on the floor. 

"By the way, do you at least have a guitar ?" Tony asked, but I didn't even have the time to answer that he had noticed the 'musical corner' of my bedroom already. "Oh my God ! Do you really play all these ? I thought you were only a bass player !"

I took my acoustic guitar down to give it to Tony "I am essentially a bass player. It's my favorite instrument but there are still things you can do with a double bass that you can't do with a simple electric bass. Stuff like 50's rock for example. I like to play all genres of music and I feel like only one instrument is not enough to explore everything."

He took the guitar, analysed it with the eye of a professional, which was enjoyable to see, and sat on the couch. "So you also like classical music ? Symphonies, concertos... These kinda things ?" He asked, apparently judging by the cello and the violin.

"Yeah ! Definitely ! A lot ! I got that from my mom, she kinda made me grow up with that. She taught me the violin, and the cello just followed. It's a very complex and beautiful instrument." I explained.

"Indeed" He smiled at me and got back to his guitar. He checked it was well chorded and started playing the intro of Stairway To Heaven. 

"The eternal..." I laughed. 

"I know right! I've been in some guitar shops where it's even forbidden to play it!"

"Understandable. This song is forever blacklisted"

"So, with all the instruments that you play, you must like writing music, don't you ?"

"I don't write music. I just don't... Do you ?" I asked back. 

"I'm in a band, with the guys you saw earlier. We're called Pierce The Veil and we play a sort of Hardcore/Punk Rock thing. Vic is the lead singer and he mostly writes everything, but I write a few riffs and solos sometimes. I'd like to play something different with you, a little slower ? What do you think ?" He explained.

I sighed and walked to the coffee table right in front of him. Hidden under a mass of books, there was a little carnet. It was made of black leather and my initials "E.M.W" were written in gold. It was a present from my dad, for my birthday, 4 years ago. I took it and opened it. I turned the pages of old paper between my fingers, searching for a precise thing. There were drawings, quotations, lyrics, notes...Then I found it, the only song I had ever written, 2 years ago. I gave it to Tony, sat next to him, and, without a word, without even asking anything, he took it and read it.

Once he was done, he looked up on me and said "It's beautiful. But...I'm not sure I understand..."