~Declan.

Five days passed pretty uneventfully. Our band director called for daily rehearsals, as we'd soon be performing for a very special occasion for the Paiges, a gathering of several wealthy families in their social circle. We'd be expected to play the most boisterous and impressive pieces we could muster during their dinner, before we would all gather in the ballroom to tone down and play suitable dancing music. I'd even heard mention of him going downtown to hunt down some vocalists for the evening.

Much of the new material he began putting on our music stands ironically ended out falling under my strengths, while many of my bandmates struggled. He replaced much of our uptempo repertoire full of complicated lines and boisterous cadences, with melodic sequences full of rich harmony and a wider range of dynamics. The main challenge for me remained reading the music, but with that out of the way, I found myself very much in my element for once.

Meanwhile, every rehearsal, Madden somehow wormed his way over to me during a break and asked for an update on the status of my engagement with Miss Paige. The answer was always the same; I wasn't exactly opposed to the idea of exploring the potential with her, but wouldn't proceed unless I saw some clear signs from her. Of course, Madden insisted I'd see the signs quicker if I gathered the courage to just ask. His persistence wore my resolve down more and more every time he came over.

On the morning of our sixth day of daily rehearsals, I woke up early to practice first. I'd been picked to play the melody on a beautiful ballad called "Wherever I Go", which was an honor, but it was full of notes at the top of the tenor's range. Staying in tune up there was a bit of a challenge, so I devoted a special practice to working that out.

Midway through my third round of the melody, my telephone rang out in the living room, so I shot to my feet and hurried through my apartment to answer. I stubbed my toe on a foot of the couch as I passed it, which caused a shock to course through my whole body. It also drew a hiss to my lips and a wince to my face. Nonetheless, I pushed through and picked up the phone.

"Morning, Declan." Aaron Quill's voice said on the other end of the line, "I'm just calling to let you know the director's sick, so rehearsal's cancelled today. You have today off, at least."

I nodded. "Alright, thanks for letting me know. Do we still come tomorrow?"

"Not sure yet; depends on whether he makes a quick recovery or not. Probably, we'll get the chamber groups together to practice tomorrow, but we'll see."

"Sounds good. I sure hope he gets better before the big event."

Mr. Quill breathed in deeply. "Me too. He has a week, so ... hopefully."

"Yep. Anyway, have a good one, Mr. Quill."

"Likewise."

With a click, the call ended, so I put the phone down. I let out a sigh as my mind went over the possibilities for how I could spend the day, with rehearsal canceled. I could practice longer, for one thing, since I wouldn't have to worry about tiring myself out prematurely. Maybe I could even go jam downtown after lunch or something. I hadn't done that in a while, ever since joining the band.

Thinking of downtown reminded me of something I'd forgotten—my old boss Nuri Justice would be playing this very night at an old-fashioned diner called Karrie's, debuting the new saxophonist he'd hired since letting me go. I had no ill will toward the man, and I did have some curiosity about how my replacement would do.

The only reason I hadn't really considered going before was because the entry fee would be quite a bit above my budget, and an unofficial rule at Karrie's was that one had to bring a date. Any man opting to walk in and eat alone would stand out like a sore thumb there, not to mention a Candorian man at that.

But times had changed for me. Obviously, the Paiges had the means to pay their musicians well, so the entry fee was no longer a barrier for me. And as for the date ... I could hear Madden's voice in my head urging that this was the perfect opportunity. And maybe so. A nice dinner with Miss Paige while listening to one of the foremost trumpeters working in Silverport didn't sound bad at all.

I glanced down at my saxophone and sighed. It'd have to take back seat for once. After all, even if I left this instant to head to the Paige residence and ask Tahlia to accompany me, it'd be a last-minute request. No sense wasting any more time than I had to. So I quickly packed the horn away and got dressed to go.

Realizing I'd need an excuse to come by in spite of rehearsals being cancelled, I quickly hit on one. I grabbed my little box of reeds and stuffed it in my coat pocket. If needed, I could say I'd come by because I'd forgotten them in the music room. Fully equipped with that excuse and an umbrella to fend off the morning rain, I slipped through my front door and began walking to the Paige mansion.

* * * * *

~Tahlia.

In the depths of my little indoor painter's studio, I stepped back to view my newest work from farther back. I had been attempting again and again to create a portrait of my father as a present for his upcoming birthday, but repeatedly, I found my proportions had been skewed, or the coloration far from ideal. In my landscapes, a missed brush stroke could easily become a new leaf or an unintended branch, but the same could not be said for an extra eye on my father.

As I stepped back, the realization struck me that I hadn't spaced the eyes correctly, leaving one floating far off from the nose and the other too close. With a sigh, I laid my palette down and hung my head. No matter how persistent my attempts to maintain positivity, such setbacks wore on the confidence after a while.

Maybe a drink of ice-cold lemonade would help clear my mind, I thought, so I smeared excess paint off my fingers and onto a dirty rag. Then I headed out of my studio to get refreshed.

I hardly passed anyone on the way to the kitchen; my parents had gone out to visit some friends, and my brothers had once again opted to spend a day at the arcade. Only myself and the servants remained in the house, to my knowledge.

For that reason, I found myself rather spooked when I rounded a corner and ran into none other than Declan. As questions of why he was here flooded my mind, I also immediately felt self-conscious, given my attire of an old, paint-stained shirt, equally unbecoming pants, and a lack of shoes altogether. I awkwardly crossed my arms over a particularly unbecoming paint splotch.

"Excuse me, Miss." Declan spat out, "Didn't see you there.''

"That's fine ... but what are you doing here? I thought rehearsals were cancelled here today."

"About that. I actually was forgetful enough to leave my reeds here yesterday, so came to get them."

I watched as he fished the box out of his coat pocket and jiggled them victoriously in his hand. "I see. One of the servants let you in?"

"Yeah, of course." Declan shifted. "You've been painting, I guess? Or is that blood?"

"I—yes, blue blood, Mr. Otto, of course." I said with a giggle, "No, I have been practicing portraiture, actually."

"Glad to hear it; hope that's going well?"

"Not particularly, but I have refused to surrender up to this point."

Declan smiled. "Well, I'm sure if you stick with it long enough, you'll succeed. I guess I'll let you go on your way, but I did have one question, now that you're here."

"Oh? Ask away."

"You've probably heard of Nuri Justice, I assume?"

I squinted as I attempted to recall. The name sounded familiar, but I couldn't bring to mind who that was. Finally, I shook my head. "I can't recall the name."

"Ah, well, he's a really good trumpeter. Phenomenal, actually. I played for him a couple weeks once. Anyway, he's playing tonight at Karrie's Diner, and I was gonna go with a friend, but he bailed out on me."

"Aww, that's no fun; I'm sorry."

Declan laughed nervously, hand jumping to the back of his neck. "It's alright, just need to find someone else to go with. Would you be interested?"

Suddenly, I felt nervous too. "Well ... I mean, that doesn't sound bad, and I have no plans this evening. I just don't know what to do, since my parents aren't here for me to inform them."

"You're a grown woman, aren't you?" Declan asked with a chuckle.

"Of course ... I just like to retain transparency. I'll go with you, Mr. Otto, but I have a question for you."

"Ask away, Miss Paige."

"Is this a date?"

Declan's lips twitched. "I ... well yes it is. If you want it to be, I mean."

I smiled. "Well, in that case, you have a date."

And just like that, I walked past Declan to get my lemonade. All the while, my heart bubbled with excitement and anticipation. I could have never foreseen a series of events like this, but I would also be the last to complain. Instead of returning to painting, I'd have to start getting ready, and possibly give Keene a call as well.

* * * * *

A/N: Aww, so just like that, the stars have aligned, and our leads have themselves a date! I'm pretty excited; hopefully you are too. ❤️

If you enjoyed the chapter, how about you hit that vote button? It means a lot and helps me out in the almighty Wattpad algorithm, so thanks in advance! 

I'd like to give fair warning that since I recently started a new job, my writing time has been cut down drastically, and I don't think juggling two books at once will be feasible anymore. I have a few prewritten chapters to go here, but it's likely I'll need to put this book on hold in the next couple weeks, maybe early October. I'll keep ya'll updated, but just a heads-up that this book might be on hold for a few weeks at that time. Hope you understand! ❤️

Now for our random question: What natural disaster scares you the most?

(For me, it'd have to be between earthquakes and volcanoes, with tsunamis in there for good measure. Something about even the freaking ground being destabilized is kinda freaky, lol.)

Well, I'll see you in next week's update! Until then, God bless.