Secrets And Scars

Chapter 4- A Wall Broken Down

Tamaki's P.O.V

I woke up to the sound of a piano being played down the hall. Skye had given us all pajamas for the night so I changed back into my clothes before following the sound of the playing. Suddenly it cut off and the sound of a fist crashing down on the keys in frustration echoed through the hall.

"Damn!" I heard Skye mutter to herself. It was obvious she didn't want to wake anyone up even though she would have most likely have screamed her head off if she were alone. "It has to be perfect." I heard her sigh in anger "Why is this so hard! Why can't it be like guitar!" She began playing again until she missed a note and once again her fist came down on the keys in frustration. "Forty-two! You can't get through a simple forty-two minute piece! PATHETIC!" I heard her sigh again. This time sadly. "It's next week. I've had three years of practice and I can't even get ten notes into it." She began to sob to herself. "They're all right. I'm pathetic and bound to fail. I can't do it. I can't do anything. Why didn't I just listen and do as I was told? Why? I was already being beaten, burned, mocked, spit on. Why did I have to make things worse for myself? Why did I have to be born? Everyone makes it very clear I'm just a mistake so what was the point in keeping me alive for so long? They could have had me killed. What was the point?"

I couldn't stand to her heart beat herself up any longer. "Need some help?" I offered to her with a warm smile

She turned around so fast she almost fell off the piano bench. I couldn't tell if it was shock, fear, embarrassment, or a little bit of all three, but the look in her eyes was obvious the fact I had witnessed her whisper meltdown was the worst thing in the world at that moment. "Oh! Tamaki!" her voice was thrown off in shock "How much of that were you there for?" She looked at her hands, which were held gently together in her lap.

"I'm not gonna lie, a lot." I said with a nervous laugh but still smiled.

"Sorry." She said embarrassed "I woke you up didn't I?"

"No. No." I said laughing m slightly in attempt to put her at ease "I had a bad dream and couldn't go back to sleep. You know you played beautifully Skye."

"You don't have to lie." she said almost under her breath "I know I suck."

"You just missed a few notes." I smile warmly "It doesn't change the fact your beautiful." My eyes widened at what I said. I mean...erm...... y-you play beautiful!" I corrected quickly while stammering and tripping on my words in the process. She giggled.

"Thanks Tamaki." her cheeks were dusted with a light shade of pink

"W-what happened to Barbie?" I laughed and rubbed the back of my neck. My cheeks were hot and I could tell I was noticeably blushing

She shook her head slightly from side to side "It's not accurate anymore." she said with a warm smile

"So um.." I started to stammer "W-why are you up so early? It's 4 in the morning."

"Well I woke up three hours early because I had a nightmare. I went for a four hour run rather than my usual three hour run and have been trying this for the past hour. It seems I can never sleep past the stroke of midnight here." She smiled and let out a small laugh.

"So. How about that help?" I returned her smile with one of my own

"Yeah." She said lowly smiling warmly. "I can't seem to connect when it comes to piano."

"Um. Connect?" I was completely lost by her words

"Music." She said like it was so obvious. "It's in the heart of any true musician. It's more than a hobby or passion. It's a part of them. When they play it's natural, as if their very soul is being held to themselves and their audience. There's a connection with the music and the player. A never ending circle. There is no beginning and there is no end. There's no separation dividing the two. Whether voice or instrument, they always have the same connection. When I sing or I play guitar, or any other instrument, I can feel this connection and I'm free. It's just me and the music. No matter how many people are there, they all disappear and I'm alone, nothing to distract me. With anything, I can connect but when it comes to the piano, I fall. It's like I'm a bird trying helplessly to fly without my wings. I'm trapped and confined when I try to play and can never get it right. I slam right into a wall." She sighed and I could see the frustration in her eyes. "To make things worse, the piece they want me to play has to be played by two people and I have no one who is willing to play it with me because of this block. I've had three years to practice and find someone. Now I have less than a week and I'm no better than when I started. I can't back out. It'll make my family seem like cowards and failures. Not to mention with a sixteen year old girl as head of the most powerful family in the world, it's just a joke in itself."

"Well I'll play with you." I gave her another smile. She looked up and stared at me with her huge puppy eyes and I could see the sadness in the deep shade of her irises being replaced with hope. "And don't cry;" I wiped a tear from her cheek. "we'll get this perfect before next week."

"T-thanks Tamaki." I could see a faint pink brushed on her cheeks as she stared down at her hands, which were held gently together in her lap

"So what song are we going to be playing?"

"O-oh. It's called Four Seasons, a piece by Vivaldi, traditionally played by violinists and cellists. It's composed of four smaller pieces, each differed and varied to portray the feel of each season through unique melodies."

"Well I didn't need to know all that but it never hurts to know what your playing. You're a smart girl Skye." I began to get lost in the deep purple of her eyes. I snapped out of my trance when my hand slipped and slammed down on a few key, startling me and causing Skye to let out a small giggle. "So when I was watching you play I noticed you think too much about everything. You said when you play your free, so be free. Loosen up and just let the piano be a part of you like you said."

"I-I'll t-try."

She hesitantly began to play. It was obvious she already had the notes memorized. I joined in a few seconds after. Within seconds she had been able to create her connection and seeing her play was just breathtaking. Forty-two minutes later we had played the last few notes. "Hey Skye?" I said to her sweetly.

"Huh?" hearing my voice snapped her out of her trance-like state. "Oh, Tamaki. Yeah? What's up?" she said slightly dazed from coming back to reality.

"You got through it." I smiled at her. "And it was just as perfect as it was beautiful."

Her eyes widened, growing impossibly bigger. She sprang forward and enveloped me in a hug. "Thank you so much Tamaki!" She hugged me tighter. "I've been facing this alone for three years and in less than a day you helped me more than I would have ever thought possible!"

"It's no problem. Do you wanna go over it again?"

"Later." She sighed happily "It's perfect right now."

I began to get lost once again in her eyes. I didn't even notice but I had leaned in and kissed her. She didn't pull away when I did. I didn't deepen the kiss but simply cupped her chin with my hand. The sun had been barely half way risen over the horizon and dimly lit the room through the window behind Skye, the only other light was a small lamp shining on the sheet music making it lit just enough to be legible. The moment was perfect. Until....