Melody's POV

On my day off I woke late in the afternoon, almost at dusk. I'd stayed up all night working on some new songs. Luckily the only other tenant in the building was Poe and he'd had a lady friend over until three in the morning and then passed out drunk so I could play my piano into the late hours of the night with no issues. I'd finally crashed at around noon. I rolled out of bed, the headboard was being held together with duct tape, Poe and I had found it on a street corner, sanded it down spray painted it and assembled it to the best of our ability, with a lot of duct tape. The mattress, Poe managed to get a deal on from a pal who worked in wholesale. My bedding didn't entirely match, we'd found some odds and ends at various thrift stores.

Overall my attic apartment was pretty shabby but it was home. I trudged to my bathroom with a yawn walking past a wall of windows that looked out into the small town square and the coffee shop across the street. As I turned the faucets on the shower, I groaned as nothing happened before smacking the shower head. Water spit out of the shower head after a moment and the pipes groaned in protest. I was waiting for one to burst and the entire record shop to be flooded.

After a lukewarm shower, I wrapped myself in a somewhat damp towel and muttered a curse under my breath as I realized the heater and dehumidifier in the bathroom had stopped working leaving my towel damp. I looked to my reflection in the mirror as I hurriedly styled my long crimson hair with a small side braid that turned into a ponytail with the rest of my hair. My amber eyes were bright and full of life looking much different than they did when I lived in my parent's ritzy mansion. Before my eyes had always been dull and lifeless, lacking passion and the will to live. I'd been nothing but a caged songbird before; I was paraded around at parties to sing and play what they wanted me to for their entertainment like a living doll.

I clung tightly to my towel as I headed back to my room to change. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end as I passed the wall of windows and I turned to gaze out the window closest to me and felt my heart flutter in my chest as I spotted a familiar head of blonde hair sitting at a table outside of the coffee shop across the street. It was Shu. He was lost in his music ignoring a group of girls that tried, in vain, to get his attention. His oceanic blue eyes flicked upward as if sensing my gaze to find me in my window in nothing but a towel.

I let out a yelp and jumped away from the window only succeeding in tripping over the tattered area rug and tumbling onto my sofa out of his line of sight. Heat burned through me as I crawled away from the windows back to my bedroom to change. My face was still a bright shade of red matching my crimson hair as I hurriedly got dressed into a pair of plain denim jeans and a distressed band tea I'd gotten from Poe's younger days that he'd since outgrown.

After slipping on my vans, I grabbed my keys and my wallet and headed out the door and sighed as I spotted Poe passed out on the floor half in his apartment and half in the hallway. "Hey boss, did you not open the store today?"

Poe grumbled something back at me. Sighing I stepped over him and into his apartment before grabbing ahold of his leg and dragged him inside. He was too heavy for me to lift so I settled on grabbing a pillow from the couch and a throw blanket to make him a little more comfortable before heading out the door and closing it behind me with a shake of my head.

I headed downstairs and exited onto the sidewalk next to the shop's storefront window. My amber gaze drifted across the street to the coffee shop. Shu was still there, though he appeared to be dozing off at his table. Was he okay? Hurriedly, I jogged across the street before pausing near his table. Hesitantly I placed my hand atop his shoulder.

"A-Are you okay?"

He slowly opened his oceanic blue eyes and glanced upward meeting my gaze but said nothing.

My cheeks reddened, "S-sorry, I just... you were... it's not safe to sleep in public places...."

A small smirk twitched at the corner of his lips as I started babbling.

"I'm sorry, it's none of my business. Sorry for bothering yo-." I turned to leave in a panic but paused as I felt his cool hand encircle my wrist sending a shiver down my spine.

"You're always so noisy." He noted as he lightly tugged on my wrist causing me to topple into the chair next to him.

"Sorry."

He released his hold on my wrist and closed his eyes again, getting lost in his music. What was he listening to? He looked so at peace. I forced myself to sit quietly not wanting to disturb him. Once the song he'd been listening to ended he lazily opened one of his oceanic blue eyes and peered at me curiously.

"Still here?"

Embarrassment wormed through me, "What are you listening to?" I asked him curiously.

He plucked one of the earbuds from his ear and handed it over to me. I smiled and accepted the earbud before bringing it closer to my ear. A gasp nearly escaped me as I heard my own voice and I couldn't contain the grin that spread across my face.

"You liked it then?" I asked giddily.

He shrugged.

"They're playing locally a few blocks away on Saturday night...if you like them...I have a VIP ticket you can have...I'll be working the venue but I could join you when I'm done, if you want..." I was babbling again and hurriedly shut my mouth and folded my hands into my lap feeling giddy and nervous. This was the most we'd talked in the past few months.

Shu paused and pondered my ramblings for a moment He looked momentarily conflicted but shook it off. "Alright."

I smiled before digging through my wallet for the VIP ticket. "The address and all the details are on the ticket. I'll see you there." My heart felt light as giddiness wormed through me making it impossible for me to sit still. 

Video- "Dig The Crazy" By Faith Marie