Yours Musically

25. Crush Or Dignity

Chapter Twenty Five - Crush Or Dignity

"Are you tone-deaf?"

Frustration was clear on Matt's face as he spat the question while my mouth fell open in surprise, feeling deeply offended by that.

"What? That was mean."

"Mean?" He scrutinized me for a moment, then cocked his head to the side incitingly. "Poor Becks. Did I hurt your feelings? Are you about to cry? Do you need someone to tuck you in bed tonight, perhaps with a comfort soft toy?"

"You..." I gritted my teeth in annoyance, grabbed the first thing I could find—his guitar's pick on the table between us—and threw it at him.

It barely hit him before falling to the floor, and he raised a brow at me. "Wow, you suck at throwing too."

"What do you mean too?" I crossed my arms. "If you're referring to music, I should remind you I'm new at this. Oh, and, you're a crappy teacher."

His eyes narrowed.

"That's right." I pointed a finger at him. "A crappy—"

"Rule number one of learning music," he cut me off. "Learn to take constructive criticism."

I scoffed. "You need to fire up google to learn the difference between criticism and insult."

"Rule number two," he continued, ignoring me. "Listen to your mentor."

I scoffed louder. "You are not my mentor."

"Rule number three, respect your mentor."

"Respect my ass!" I shouted, a little impatient over his behaviour. Then, a second later, I dropped my head into my hands and slowly slithered out of my chair, sunk to the floor next to Cheeto, and wrapped my arm around him.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Matt get up and peek over the table.

"What the hell?"

"Leave me alone." I shut my eyes.

"What are you—"

"I need a break."

"Clearly."

"From you," I snapped.

I heard him exhale slowly and then, his footsteps leaving the room. I sighed in relief and just cuddled with the kittens for the next few minutes.

"Why is he like this? How do you guys manage to stay with him all the time?"

Cheeto purred while K2 climbed on my stomach to just casually lounge there.

"Meow," said K2, looking me right in the eyes.

"I know, right? He's a jerk." I shook my head, whispering, "bite him."

I stared up at the ceiling and mindlessly hummed the tune of Harry Potter until the door opened and my tormentor walked back in. He halted for a second when he saw me and the cats, grumbled something under his breath, and put a large cup down on the table.

"Get up. You're not sleeping on my floor."

I shuffled with a huff, making K2 jump off me and run into the corner while Cheeto remained motionless on the floor. I suddenly envied them as I planted myself back on the chair in front of my musical tyrant. Why did they get to sleep and eat all day without the fear of some crazy, stuck-up musician correcting their 'pitch flaws'?

But who was I kidding? Their meow was perfect. Cute, even. Perks of living with a bloody perfectionist.

I set my eyes back on Matt and involuntarily narrowed them. One of his brows perked up, then eventually lowered into a plain stare, and just like that, we went into a stare down.