However Soft Your Symphony

you could be a lion or a buzzard or a bee

One coffee date quickly turned into yet another coffee date, and soon enough, Maisy and Theo’s frequent coffee dates turned into dinner dates. Maisy was suddenly flooded with so much happiness, although admittedly she was still unsure on exactly what was going on between the two of them; it certainly felt like dating, although neither had attempted confirmation of this in so many words.

Their personalities clicked and complemented each other perfectly. For every quip Theo would come up with, Maisy would have a sarcastic comment ready in record time. They found that they shared many of the same interests, enjoyed the same type of music, television, and movies. These mutual interests contributed to the fact that that there was a strong underlying friendship between the two of them that might just provide a healthy base for any romantic sort of attraction, although that exact conversation had not come about as of yet.

Their friendly dates went off without a hitch for about a month, the couple frequenting the coffee shop where they had met, and a few other obscure locations around the city. Theo didn’t appear to be nervous about anybody seeing them, at least not to Maisy. However, one Saturday night when the pair found themselves at a cute little Italian restaurant, Theo was recognized by a group of pre-teen girls. The girls requested a picture with him, and Theo was more than happy to oblige, and Maisy even offered to take the picture. Theo didn’t say much about it afterwards, only that he was surprised it hadn’t happened sooner.

While Theo made an effort to play it off as nothing, it was apparent that it did have some sort of effect on the nature of their relationship. The day following, there were several tabloids and online gossip sites noting the existence of a mysterious girl in the company of Romanticist enigma Theo Kemp, and speculating about the nature of her relationship with the music star. From that point forward, Theo and Maisy’s rendezvous were moved to more disclosed locations; namely Theo’s apartment.

Most nights, they had movie marathons, or they would binge watch TV shows together. Although neither party said so verbally, they both prefered this to their more formal get togethers. It was mutually understood that they would spend a night on Theo’s couch with a couple bags of microwave popcorn at least twice a week. It was a tradition of sorts that became dear to both of them.

One night, a couple months after Theo and Maisy had first met, found the two of them sharing a meal at Theo’s place. Maisy insisted on cooking for the two of them, and Theo most certainly did not argue, so almost immediately after she arrived, Maisy made herself at home in Theo’s kitchen, busying herself in front of the stovetop, making pasta.

“Are you sure I can’t do anything to help you out?” Theo asked, stepping behind Maisy and resting his chin on Maisy’s shoulder. Maisy let out an amused huff before shaking Theo off.

“I’m very sure. You burnt our popcorn last week.”

“Okay, unfair,” Theo said, crossing his arms and glaring at Maisy. “That was a complete accident, and it was partially your fault for distracting me.”

Maisy raised her eyebrows, smirking. “I just think that anybody who ‘accidentally’ puts popcorn in the microwave for two hours instead of two minutes should not be trusted in a kitchen.”

“Hey now. It was one time.”

“Uh-huh. Go busy yourself. This will be done in -- five minutes or so.”

“So mean to me.” Theo said, sticking his lips out in a pout. Maisy rolled her eyes at him with a chuckle, and wordlessly shifted her focus to stirring the pasta. Maisy wasn’t particularly surprised when Theo darted away, only to return seconds later with his guitar in his clutch and a smile plastered on his face that could probably cure cancer. He started strumming a familiar tune, one that Maisy recognized immediately. It was one of Theo’s earliest and biggest hits, more on the pop side of the spectrum than anything else, but still incredibly good, if not a tad bit overplayed. Maisy couldn’t help but smile when she listened, despite her best efforts to remain teasingly unamused. This made Theo grin and sing louder, and Maisy mentally cursed herself for egging Theo on. While sweet and funny, Theo was all kinds of full of himself.