Something - Quinn Fabray

Chapter 93

Shelby played a melody on the piano once, slowly. Ryan listened intently, following on the sheet music. "You got it?" she asked.

"I think so."

"Okay, let's give it a try." The two of them were in the music room at home. Ryan had requested her help in preparing for his NYADA audition, which was in two weeks. It was a familiar endeavor; she had helped many students prepare for auditions to various colleges. It was different to do it with her own child though, and at times like this it came rushing back to her that she had only had Ryan for three years. She was so happy to be able to bond with him over this. Before they'd met, she'd always entertained the idea that he'd be a performer like her. She'd been delighted to find that he was, and beyond ecstatic to discover that he was so very talented. They had actually begun working towards his audition a couple of months ago, trying out various pieces, only to be derailed by the car accident.

Shaking the thought off, Shelby played a two-bar lead-in before Ryan came in. The entrance was perfect, right up until the second line. He immediately stopped.

"Sharp," Shelby noted.

Ryan frowned, upset. They had been working on this for close to an hour now, and he still hadn't managed to catch it. "Yeah, I got that," he said irritably. "Can we go again?"

Shelby nodded, starting the lead-in again. Once more the entrance went fine, but as soon as the modulation hit - "Now you're flat."

He shut his eyes, obviously fighting his frustration. "Play it again," he requested. "Just the melody." He matched his voice to the notes perfectly, but once again he stopped. "This is useless!" he burst out. "I don't understand why I can't get this!"

"Calm down," Shelby instructed. "It's a difficult song, you'll get it with practice."

"No I won't!"

Shelby looked up, frowning at the anger in his voice. "Stop that," she said sternly. "Look, give it one more try." He clenched his jaw for a moment before nodding tersely. She played the music again, leading up to the problematic note, then -

"Argh!" Ryan tossed his sheet music down on the piano before storming out of the room before Shelby could say a word. James came inside, frowning as he looked over his shoulder where his son had stormed off.

"What happened?"

"I don't know." Shelby's frown deepened. "We were practicing, and he's having some trouble getting it right, and he's frustrated. I'm not sure what's wrong," she admitted. "Usually he's very quick to pick things up. Granted, it's a difficult song, but..."

James hummed. "I don't think it's the song, exactly," he said slowly. "He's been pretty irritable lately."

"I know." Shelby had been noticing it more and more. It wasn't just with his singing, either. He was more easily upset with little things too - like this morning when his mood had soured when he couldn't find his homework that had slid under his desk, or last night when he couldn't remember one of the math equations he needed.

"It's been going on since the accident."

Shelby looked at her fiancé worriedly. "Is that normal?" She hadn't noticed that, but now that she thought about it, James was right.

"Well, head injuries are tricky," he answered. "And that concussion he got was pretty bad. It's common to have headaches afterwards, like he's been having. Mood problems too, sometimes, and memory..."

"Do you think we should take him to the hospital?"

James ran a hand through his hair. "They're not really going to be able to do much, but if it doesn't get better, or if it gets worse, then we'll take him."