The Pianist || MYG || ✔

33.

"I don't know," Daisy answered honestly. She took a breath, before looking at her tutor, "I don't even know how I feel right now,"

Yoongi viewed her for a moment before speaking, "You feel lost?" Daisy nodded.

She was surprised that Yoongi was this clear-headed. It was like he was a completely different person to before. He was confident and he was listening - really listening to what she was saying to him. 

He was quiet for a while, seemingly in thought, before taking a step towards her. 

"Lost, huh?" He said quietly, sitting on the edge of the stool, closer to the lower notes of the piano.

Daisy shuffled along a little, giving him more space, and he gently placed his fingers on the keys, slowly playing an eerie, melancholy tune with only one hand. He lifted his other hand, gently pressing down, giving the thin tune a little depth.

He lifted his gaze, looking at Daisy expectantly as he slowly gave life to the keys in front of them both. Daisy placed her own hands on the keys and played the same melody that her tutor had, but in a higher octave.

Yoongi answered her with yet another tune, and they played back and forth for a little while, getting used to the feel of the other player.

He spoke, quietly, "Take the lead,"

Without even hesitating, Daisy began to play just a little louder and faster, and Yoongi quietly accompanied her in the background.

"More," He said, louder this time and Daisy began to play harder with more feeling. The tune was haunting and sad, but there was a flicker of hope buried deep, so Daisy played, trying to dig into the music to find that small ray of sunshine.

She let her hands run wild, letting them do what they wanted, and Yoongi kept up easily, helping to guide and shape the music by subtle changes every now and then. Daisy met his changes and improved on them, pushing more emotion free from her heart. Her fingers danced over the keys, as free as a bird soaring in the sky. There was no reason to hold back; in fact, Yoongi was pushing her forwards, lifting her higher into the air and not letting her fall.

Daisy could feel the song reaching its finale, but in a way, she didn't want to stop. However, she was so lost in the music, that her fingers were ending it for her, meeting Yoongi's notes as he started to take back control, reigning her in before she went too far and was unable to halt.

He was slowly and gently closing the door on her emotions; she had let them all out and he was helping her to control herself just a little better. He didn't lock them up, he just pushed the door to, leaving a gap for her emotions to easily move in and out of.

He took control of the tempo, slowing the speed of Daisy's hands until the piece finished just as it started; her answering his melody with a higher version of her own until it felt right to press the final notes.

When she finally removed her hands from the keys, she was surprised to find herself a little out of breath. She turned to face Yoongi, who had a soft smile on his face.

"I know it's probably the wrong thing to say right now," He said, a little sadly, "But if I could have done something so emotional and spontaneous with Isabella, my life would have been complete a long time ago," He turned to face her, noting the confused expression on her face, "It takes trust, among other useless words, to perform so in sync with another person on the same piano without any practice,"

He stood up, "Thank you for playing with me," He said quietly, "I think that's enough for today. Go home and relax. Think about what kind of story you want to tell to the audience at the concert. It is important that they get a feel for your music, or you won't even stand a chance of winning the competition,"

Yoongi turned and left the room. He walked straight down the corridor and out of the exit of the university.

He knew he had come a long way since he had last seen Daisy, but even so, he was still struggling to work out his own emotions, let alone another person's.

However, when they had played together so suddenly, with no practice or any communication between them except the notes drifting up from the piano, he knew she was like him, but better. She knew what she wanted, and although she had done it in a different way to him, she was striving towards her goal. 

She wanted to move on and live her life. She wanted to express herself through her art, and let her pencil tell her stories. Even so, she was now even taking huge strides forward with her playing. She hated playing the piano before, but now she was learning that there were ways to express herself through music, she was changing. She knew that she could tell the world she was hurting without speaking, and Yoongi was a little jealous.

All he knew was that he wanted to be happy. He wanted to let go of his past and move forward, and although he was trying, he still couldn't get his head around how. The therapist had helped a great deal; he had smiled and taken on a challenge today that he would usually have just brushed off and ignored. He hadn't had a single drink or cigarette in over a week, and he was feeling better about himself.

But he was nowhere near the level of acceptance that his student had reached. He had a lot of work to do to get himself where he wanted to be, but for now, he had decided on one single goal.

To help Daisy give a performance that would leave the audience in tears. To help lift her to the position that she performs so well that she would get standing ovations, and roses thrown at her feet.

She was going to feel accomplished and appreciated for who she is and for her own individual gift. And he was going to be the one to help her get there.

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AN: This chapters piece is the piano duet from "The Corpse Bride" (Emily and Victor), by The Wild Conductor. If you haven't seen the film, I suggest you go watch it. It's Tim Burton :)