Piano Man (Tradley au)

Chapter 9- Brad's POV

I can't bring myself to be angry that Tristan ran out on me. I'm worried about him more than anything else, I don't want him going back to the boyfriend that abuses him. He deserves better than that, but I don't think he's got much confidence in himself. I just hope that he's ok. He ran out in a state a few days ago, and I haven't heard from him since. That's somewhat worrying since he left his bag here. He's got his phone and keys, but he left some clothes and books.  I've managed to resist the urge to look, but it's tempting.

Right now, I'm walking to the bar like I do every Saturday night. Tristan has been constantly on my mind, and now is no exception. It was only a few weeks ago that we met, but it feels a lot longer. He's my friend now, I guess it's natural that I'm worrying about him, but I can't do much about it, as much as I wish otherwise.

I head into the bar to find the other pianist just finishing up. We don't get along very well, it's a sort of rivalry, so I try to avoid him. Whilst trying not to make eye contact, I look over and see a 'reserved' sign at the end of the bar. Interestingly enough, it's where Tristan sat the couple of times he's been in here. "Who's that for?" I ask the barman, who laughs.

"It's for your friend." He tells me. "The tall blonde one who always looks nervous."

I smile at his accurate description. "Oh, you mean Tristan. Why did you reserve it?"

"Because he's your friend." says the barman in an exasperated yet amused voice. "I figured that you might like him to be nearby." 

Despite my feelings towards Tristan at the point, I have to smile. "Thank you. I don't know if he's coming though." The barman gives me a knowing smile before heading off to serve a customer. Slightly confused, I get an old receipt out my pocket and write 'for you Uh Tristan, love Piano Man. PS your bag is under the piano' on it before putting it under the sign. I brought his bag just in case he showed up, I don't know if he will but I thought bringing it in the off chance he would was the right thing to do. I hope he still wants to see me, I certainly want to see him.

By 10pm, I'm settling myself at the piano to get started. The main reason the other pianist doesn't like me is that I have the better time slot and are more popular than him. I don't know if I'm necessarily a better player than him, but I certainly get more money in my tip jar. My first song is one of my own compositions. I don't break them out very often, but I felt that now warranted one. It's about the last guy I was with, and it's very much about being alone. Thankfully, it seems to go down well.

When I'm finished, I start on Penny Lane by The Beatles, one that doesn't require too much thinking as I know it so well. Midway through the song, the bell on the door chimes as a familiar blonde walks in. My heart nearly skips a beat, but I have to stay calm. Tristan heads over to his usual seat and I see his face fall as he sees the 'reserved' sign, but he then smiles as he reads my note. He then sits down and when I get to the last bit of the song (which I know so well I don't have to look at the music), I look over at him.

He gives me a small smile, and I give him one in return. It's lucky I don't tend to sing and play at the same time, I'm way too distracted right now. Throughout the rest of my set, so for a good hour and a half, we continue to exchange smiles. I really enjoy doing this, but tonight I'm wishing it away because of how badly I want to see Tristan. 

At midnight, I stand up from the piano, grab Tristan's bag and my tip jar and head over to where he's sitting. "I liked the note." he says quietly as I pull up a stool next to him.

I smile. "I'm glad you did. I didn't actually reserve it for you, the barman did, but I did write you something." Tristan smiles, and I'm aware of the warm feeling from the last time I saw him coming back. Trying desperately to ignore it, I order a drink for us and start trying to get to the bottom of why he ran out on me.

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I don't know why I keep mentioning the Beatles, I don't even like them that much 🙄 But I did really like this chapter, please vote and comment if you did too!

After nearly 3 years of no Taylor music, she came back and I'm already addicted 😂 I love her. If you haven't listened to look what you made me do yet I recommend it, it's super catchy.