The Piano || 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘣𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬

|45| Terrifying, yet beautiful.

Ashley heard the boys' exclamations behind her, and Ronja's gasp as they recognized the melody. She managed to completely ignore the reaction, focusing on the pace of her fingers. The chords flowed through her, filling up the room. She let them take her mind with her and slowly closed her eyes, trusting Ilse to guide her fingers, as she had done last time.

It was a strange sensation. As if she had never left. She could feel someone staring at her and was sure that it wasn't Sam, Colby, or Ronja. It felt secure and safe, those eyes on her, the gaze on the back of her neck.

Almost like last time, she stopped caring about anything that happened around her. Her senses blocked out the camera, the three people behind her, and the ballroom. But this time, there was no trace of agony left in her chest. Ashley felt a wave of relief wash over her in the beginning, followed by giddy excitement. The corners of her mouth bent upwards without her realizing it, and she almost laughed out loud.

Slowly, the song ended, and she blinked several times. Her eyes had a hard time focusing, the whole world was blurry, but it didn't even alarm her. Ashley knew that she was fine. She was fine and safe here.

"Wow," she heard someone say. "That was... terrifying, yet beautiful."

She turned her head, and saw Colby, with his hands tucked in his pockets. She smiled at him, then went to smile at Sam and Ronja.

The world was a wonderful place to be in.

"Yeah," Sam said. "I did not expect you to play her melody. That caught me by surprise, but at least you didn't feel the heartbreak this time, right?"

"Oh, it was wonderful," she replied, clapping her hands together. "I feel so good right now."

Right before she could end the sentence, the flashlight on top of the piano turned on, making her spin her head around.

"Hi," Ashley said, "Ilse, are you here with us right now?"

The cat ball next to Ronja got activated, and the older woman quickly took a few steps back, away from the equipment. She chuckled nervously, looking around the room, until she met Ashley's friendly gaze, which seemed to calm her down.

"Hey Ilse," Sam said, clearing his throat. "We're going to be here for the next four days, are you willing to communicate with us throughout this time?"

The cat ball had turned off by now, but a few seconds after Sam finished talking, it went back to blinking. Ashley was smiling and waved a little.

"Are you happy that we're back?" she asked.

The cat ball kept blinking, even longer than it should. They all looked at it, waiting for it to turn off but it kept going.

"Did you try to keep me here last time?" Ashley continued her questions after at least twenty seconds. The cat ball immediately stopped blinking.

"Looks like someone's guilty," Colby chuckled.

"How do you guys do this so casually," Ronja sighed, shaking her head. She had her arms crossed in front of her chest and a stunned expression on her face.

"I guess you get used to it," Sam replied with a nonchalant shrug.

"Is it okay that we're talking to you down here? Or would you prefer for us to go up, to your room?" Colby asked.

"Dude, you have to ask a definitive question, not two separate ones," Sam laughed. "Okay, should we stay here?"

The flashlight on the piano turned on again.

"That's a yes," Ashley said. "Let's get comfortable." She swung her feet over the stool so that she was sitting in a circle with the other three, who were still standing.