Encore (Prodigy: 3)

Chopsticks

"I assume he's with you now?"

Zane glanced through the doors into the bedroom to where Locke was sound asleep in his bed, curled around Zane's pillow like it was a teddy.

"Yeah," he muttered, adjusting his grip on his phone as he finished his coffee. "He arrived last night, went to sleep pretty soon after he arrived."

"Well, at least we know where he is," Jessica sighed.

"So what's the game plan?" Zane asked, sitting down.

"Who knows, it depends on you."

"Me?"

"What are you going to do with him? You need to go back to The States eventually."

Zane glanced over to the doors. "And he'll have to go back on stage eventually."

"Yeah, I'm not sure he will this time, Zane," Jessica muttered.

"What?" Zane said.

"Has he told you about his stage fright over the last few years?"

"It's been getting a bit worse, yeah, so? It's never stopped him."

"No, it's never stopped him, but it's been getting harder and harder to get him to the shows over the last few years. Even harder to just get him to practice."

"That's absurd; he lives for music, that's all he has in his life."

"Yeah," Jessica muttered, "That's all he has. And if he grows to hate music, what is there left?"

Zane opened his mouth and footsteps made him pause.

"Who are you talking to?"

He looked around to see Locke at the door.

"I'll talk to you later, bye," he said quickly to Jessica and hung up, turning to Locke. "I thought you'd sleep longer."

"Was that Jess?"

"Yeah."

"Did you tell her I was here?"

"Like you said, she could put two and two together," Zane said, gesturing to Locke to sit down. He dropped onto the sofa opposite; crossing his legs then looked at Zane, staring unblinkingly for at least a minute, until Zane stood up.

"What?"

"I forgot how tall you actually are because I'm so used to seeing you with your team on TV," Locke said simply.

"Yeah well, I'm always going to be the shortest member of my team."

"But point guard doesn't need height, right?"

"Well, not like the centre or something."

Locke let out a soft laugh, making Zane look at him as he looked towards the window. "To think you were a centre when we first met."

"I played all positions back then," Zane said, "It was only in uni that I really started to specialise."

Locke fell quiet, leaning back against the arm of the sofa, dropping his cheek on the backrest.

"What happened with her?"

Zane looked at him for a moment, then looked down. "You know what happened," he muttered. "She's a concert pianist and—"

"Not her career," Locke said, "I know what happened in Maddie's career, who do you think made her who she is today? I meant what happened with you and her," Locke said, his tone sharp.