Flower ||| Ateez

1

"Sing for me, my songbird."

"......"

"Sing for me."

"........."

"I said sing." The sound of metal rubbing together breaks the silence.

"Lay down.......Your sweet and weary head......The night is falling.......You have come to journey's end....."

---

"I'm leaving." Lily called, picking her backpack up and slinging it over her shoulders. A grunt answered her. She glanced at her father, sitting on the couch, a beer in hand, staring at the tv.

"Get dinner. And beer."

"Yes, Father." Lily said, looking at the ground before she left the worn-down house. She walked over to her bike and pedaled her way to campus after placing earbuds in her ears and turning on her Pandora dance playlist.

She let the music flow through her, allowing it to wash away all thoughts plaguing her mind. She fell into the beats, the melodies, focused on the harmonies. All of it. The music soothed her.

The local campus teamed with life as students hurried in every direction to get to class. Lily found an open spot on a bike rack, locked her bike up, and walked to her first class. She smiled at her self as she stepped in time with the music.

The lecture hall was already full by the time she got there. She stood on her toes to find an open seat. When she spotted one, she made her way behind her fellow students, trying not to disturb those who were already seated.

Sighing, she pulled out her history book, a notebook, and a variety of colored pens. Red for the word, black for the definition, blue for anything the professor says is important, and orange for notes she wants to remember.

She heard a slight chuckle next to her and looked up to see a boy eyeing her pens. He had a kind face and a bright smile. Messy brown hair accented his brown eyes. He placed his chin on his hand and smiled. "You take this seriously, don't you?"

Lily felt her mouth open, wanting to respond, but no words came out.

The boy just smiled even more. Lily would have found it hard to smile back if she wasn't stunned.

She was snapped out of her stupor when the professor started talking. She shook her head and focused on the slideshow he had on the screen. Trying to ignore her neighbor, she took her notes just how she planned. Color coded and neat. She had to do good in her classes, she had to.

The rest of her day was about as routine as her first class. English, math, lunch, then the real fun began.

Dance class.

Lily had picked it as one of her electives, and it was the best part of her day. She only had it Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but she soaked in every second.

When she entered the classroom after changing into comfortable clothing, she made her way to the back of the classroom and started stretching. As she sat on the ground and leaned forward, she felt her shirt pull up a little. Quickly sitting up, she tugged at the hem and cursed herself for not getting new clothes when she had the chance to last week.

Doing a different stretch, she did the best she could to keep her shirt in place, tugging on the bottom and her long sleeves.

Then the class started. A catchy hip-hop song started playing and the class jumped up and started going through a routine they had learned on the first day. It was then that Lily was able to let loose a little.

She flipped her hair, spun in a circle, leaned forward placing her hands on her knees and arched her back. Slamming the floor with her feet, she left straight up and stuck the landing. Her arms flew in all directions as she let the music take over. She was free.

---

Lily walked into her house, lugging grocery bags and a case of beer. She juggled everything while basically forcing herself into her own house before quickly placing everything in the kitchen and running a beer to her father, still sitting in pretty much the same place he had been that morning.

He grunted and started downing the drink.

Without another word, Lily returned to the kitchen and started making dinner, making sure to season everything just right and to not burn anything.

"Mmmm, smells good." Her father's slurred voice filled her ears.

Lily did her best to keep her face straight. "Thank you, Father. It's almost done."

"Good. You know I don't like to be kept waiting." He stood in the kitchen and watched her work, taking a swig of his beer every few minutes. "Why do you look like you've been sweating."

"I had my dance class today, Father. I'm sorry I didn't have time to change before I came home, I wanted to get to the store before it got too busy." Lily turned away from him, busying herself with the pan on the stove.

Then she froze.

Her father was standing behind her, playing with a strand of her hair by her neck. He leaned forward and inhaled.