The city never sleeps, they say. But in New York, it doesn't even breathe the same way the rest of the world does. Here, the air vibrates with a constant, low hum - the thrum of subway trains pulsing beneath the earth, the relentless honking of taxis, the rhythmic pounding of construction that never seems to end. It's a symphony, a cacophony of concrete and steel, a melody played on asphalt and exhaust fumes.
This symphony had a million instruments. There were the screeching brakes of a food cart, the rhythmic hammering of a street performer's drum, the rapid-fire patter of a sidewalk vendor hawking his wares. There were the high-pitched shouts of children playing in a rooftop park, the low murmurs of lovers sharing secrets on a park bench, the mournful wail of a police siren cutting through the air.
But amidst all this noise, amidst all this chaos, some found their own rhythm. Amelia, a dancer with fire in her soul, heard the pulse of the city in every beat of her heart. Ethan, a saxophonist with a story in every note, felt the city's energy course through his fingertips. Their lives, like two melodies intertwining, were about to be carried away by this concrete jungle symphony.
As Claire aims to leave her oppressive stepfamily behind, she befriends Zion. Will he be her ticket to freedom or a distraction in achieving her dreams?
*****
Claire Olsen has had a crush on Zion Petrakis since the first time she laid eyes on him, but he never noticed, instead only having eyes on the school's it girl, Maddie Jennings. Knowing she couldn't compete with Maddie, Claire hid her feelings for Zion, satisfied with admiring him from afar. However, when a series of events led Claire closer to Zion, her feelings for him grew from infatuation to love. And despite fighting hard to keep her feelings contained by distancing herself from Zion, he was determined to show her that he's earned a spot in her life.
[[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]