Silently Falling (ORIGINAL): Chapter Thirteen

"I swear my mom is driving me crazy," Tyler groans as soon as he walks up to Alyse and I.

I had been talking to Alyse about music class and the song I failed to turn in last week. Mr. C thankfully gave me a small extension since I hadn't had the lyrics completely perfect, and I turned it in this morning. Now I'm working on my next song, which Mr. C needs by Friday.

Two days to finish.

I have the music for it down, I finished it just last night. But it's the lyrics I'm stumped on yet again, I only have one verse down.

"And why is that?" I ask, refocusing on Tyler's comment about his mother.

"Rebecca called the house this morning, and my mom freaking answered the phone. She started asking her if she was my girlfriend and a bunch of other nonsense." He whines. "Who the hell even calls house phones anymore?"

Alyse and I both roll our eyes. "Tyler, be happy you have an overbearing mother. Look at who you're talking to."

At that comment his face flushes. "Shit...you're right. Sorry you two." He says, frowning at us both.

I shake my head and rest my head on his shoulder for a second or two. "Don't be sorry, Alyse here is just having a bad morning."

Tyler's frown lifts slightly and he nods. "When is she not?"

I laugh at Alyse's scowl and throw an arm around her shoulder.

"I'm just messing with you Alyse, you know I love ya." Tyler says, nudging her.

She rolls her eyes, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's just head to English, Raine."

I chuckle and wave bye to Tyler as Alyse drags me down the hall. We round the corner and see West walking towards the class from the opposite end of the corridor. Today he's wearing a black, dark yellow, and white plaid shirt rolled up at the sleeves. His tattoo is out on display for all to see, and the veins in his forearm are prominent and hot as ever.

He's walking with Faith.

Something in me drops, and I look away before his eyes meet mine. Alyse pulls me into the classroom and to our seats, not noticing my odd change in mood.

Maybe it's just because I absolutely despise Faith. She made my life a living hell all through ninth and tenth grade. She would snap at me for absolutely no reason, frame me and get me in trouble, and she even went as far as to sleep with my brother.

Okay, so the third one isn't so rare.

West walks into the room, and luckily Faith isn't attached to his arm as she was just seconds before. He catches my eye and his lips twitch upwards, but I don't smile back. Instead I divert my eyes to Alyse, and his lips fall as soon as I look away.

"I thought sunshine was supposed to be bright." I hear him say as he sits down next to me.

I turn my head to West who is looking at me with a crooked smile.

"So why don't you turn that frown upside down?" He asks.

Just from how corny that damn line was, my lips lift up into a small grin.

"You need to find a new book of jokes." I sign.

"Hey, it worked didn't it?" He says, leaning back in his seat.

"So West, how's your essay coming along?" Alyse asks, looking at him over me.

He shrugs, "It's coming, I guess. I'm not the strongest essay writer, but we've got a while for me to improve it."

Shit. I haven't even started writing mine.

I look at West. "Lesson after school? I need to interview you more for my own essay." I sign slowly.

He nods and smirks. "I knew you couldn't get enough of me."

I take in a deep breath and resist rolling my eyes. "You wish."

Before he has the chance to respond, we both get a giant whiff of perfume and Tina plants herself on his desk.

"Hey West," she says, her nasally voice carrying through my ears enough to make a deaf person cringe.

He grimaces, "Hey."

"So I saw you walking with Faith earlier." She begins, and it perks my interest. I wouldn't have brought this up to West myself, but I am curious as to why he was walking with the Devil.

He raises a brow, "And?"

"Why were you?" She asks, biting her lip.

West rolls his eyes, "Why do you care?"

"Because I don't want you two to, like, be a thing." She says.

He snorts, "Trust me, we aren't."

Tina sits up straight at that news and opens her smiling lips to respond, but West cuts her off. "And you and I will never be either."

She scoffs and stands up, fixing her skin tight skirt before stalking away. West sighs and rolls his shoulders.

I try my hardest to ignore the bit of relief that flows through me at that admittance. I don't know why that would have any affect on me, West and I are barely friends. Sure as heck nothing more.

"Girl troubles?" I ask.

He chuckles, "You don't know the half of it. Faith wouldn't fucking leave me alone this morning. She seems to think that the fact I asked her for a pencil two times means that I'm in love with her." He says, shaking his head in annoyance.

"Language." I scold.

"English." West responds, winking at me.

OoO

With a yawn, I plop down on my leather couch with West following.

"How many Expo markers have you been through with that thing?" He asks, nodding towards my whiteboard.

"Random." I sign. "But I have no clue."

My eyes trail to his forearm and the single word tatted upon it.

Strength

I don't know how I've refrained from asking him about it. There's no doubt I'm curious; I have just about a million questions. When did he get it? Where did he get it? Why did he get it? Did it hurt?

"Alright, you said you wanted to know more about juvie?" West asks, shifting in his seat. He snaps me from my thoughts and I blink a few times, trying to comprehend his words.

I nod, "For the essay."

"The first interview wasn't enough?"

I scowl at him. "You gave me shitty answers."

"First question." He mutters.

'Explain how juvie works.'

I ask West a lot of the same questions from our previous interview, and I am pleasantly surprised at the answers he gives me this time around. From the way he's answered all the questions today, I actually have an angle for my paper.

"You know, I heard you were in chorus yet you're mute. How does that work?" West asks once our 'lesson' ends.

Really I interviewed him and taught him about four words.

'Mr. C gives me alternative assignments. Instead of singing, I write the songs we sing.' I write, spinning the whiteboard to show him.

His eyes fill with interest. "Really? You write sheet music?" I nod, and his lips purse in impressiveness. "Well maybe I should start calling you Beethoven."

"Is that a mute/deaf joke?"

West laughs and shakes his head, "No Sunshine, it's based on the fact you write music. But that could have been a beautiful joke."

I smile, 'I don't write classical style music. It's more...modern. If I played classical, no one in chorus would want to sing.'

"Can I hear one?" West asks, startling me.

He wants to hear one of my songs?

The delinquent wants to hear one of my songs?

"Why?" I ask.

"Why not?" He retaliates.

I roll my bottom lip between my teeth on instinct as my thoughts consume me. No one has ever requested to see my songs, not even Tyler or Gray. Alyse listens to them on occasion, but not per her request. Toby hears me practice, but he doesn't physically ask me to perform anything for him.

All of the sudden, my car ride with West yesterday floats into my mind. More importantly: his singing voice. The awe it left me in is undeniable, I doubt he will ever let me forget the starstruck look that just had to fill my features. On top of that, West isn't in chorus.

Which means if he were to happen to sing the lyrics of my songs so that I could hear them before turning them in, he wouldn't be at an unfair advantage like Alyse...

My eyes snap back up to West who's waiting patiently, and I nod. "Yeah, why not."

I stand from the couch as West's eyebrows shoot up in surprise, I'm sure he was expecting me to be a little more on the fence about this. Maybe I should be, but I'm not.

I walk towards my stair case, and as I mound the final step, I feel West's hot breath on the back of my neck, making me freeze. My shoulders tense slightly and his warm breath fanning across my neck makes goosebumps rise atop my skin.

"I thought it would be a little more difficult to get into your room. I didn't pin you as that type of girl, Sunshine." He says huskily and I can hear the smirk in his voice.

I narrow my eyes, and without warning I ram my elbow into his stomach and keep walking up the stairs. He lets out a groan and I glance behind me to see him clutching his abdomen.

"Okay, I was not expecting that." He moans, standing up straight.

I give him an innocent smile and walk into my room. I walk straight to my piano and pick up my songbook, turning around to face West as he enters. His eyes flit around the room, soaking it all in, and I suddenly feel a little self conscious.

What if he thinks my room is childish? What if he sees my posters as silly and makes fun of me for them?

Oh my gosh, please tell me I picked up my dirty bra off the floor.

West's eyes flit towards the floor and a smirk overtakes his features, and I know I forgot to throw it into my hamper.

"Nice bra, love the dark blue. Reminds me of your eyes." He smirks, leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest.

My face flushes a deep red and I rush towards the article of clothing and quickly toss it into my hamper. I throw my hair over my face to hide my blush.

"Tell me, did you buy it to match on purpose?" He asks.

I just lift my hand and flip him the bird.

West chuckles and walks fully into the room. "Nice room, though. I like the posters, especially that one." He says, nodding towards my Eagles poster.

I sit down on my piano bench and offer an awkward smile. "Thanks."

He stands awkwardly in the middle of my room, patting his legs as he looks around. I cock a brow and gesture to the bed.

"You can sit, you know."

He reads my hands and plops down, making himself right at home. He puts one leg over the other and places his arms behind his head, propping his back against the headrest.

"Comfy bed. I'm sure it's great for-" I cut him off by throwing a pencil at him. "I was going to say sleeping." He deadpans, picking it up from where it rolled down his chest and placing it behind his ear.

I roll my eyes, "Sure you were."

He smirks and folds his arms behind his head. "Such a dirty mind for such an innocent girl."

I turn towards my piano and don't respond. I wish I was innocent, but sadly that title was ripped away the moment I arrived at that party.

"So what song are you going to play for me?" West asks, sitting up.

A small rush of excitement runs through me. I haven't gotten to play my chorus songs for a pre-audience before, so this is quite exciting for me. I feel a smile worm it's way to my lips as I open up my songbook and go to the most recent page.

"This is the song I have to turn in on Friday." I sign.

"Don't be nervous," he winks.

I scoff, "As if. You don't intimidate me."

He sighs, "I lost that last word."

I erase my previous sentence from the whiteboard and write down the word 'intimidate.' He reads from his place on my bed and his eyes light up in recognition.

"I beg to differ. I think I intimidate you quite a lot." He says.

I raise a brow. "Believe what you want."

I turn back to my piano and slide up the cover, revealing the pristine keys just begging to be played. My smile turns soft as I run my hand over them briefly, memories of my mother flitting past my eyes for a second or two. I let out a small breath before I place my hands over the keys, my songbook open and placed atop the Maple wood piano.

I waste no time in getting started and my fingers run over the keys effortlessly, gliding across the piano as if possessed. I glance up towards my songbook, my eyes soaking in the notes to play.

I recognize the slight sway of my body and bob of my head as the song plays out, my hands forming a mind of their own. Once I hit what will be known as the chorus, my eyes stay glued to the keys instead of my songbook.

Any knowledge of having West as an audience dissipates as I continue playing, and soon it's just me. My lips start to move slightly to few lyrics I've already written, and I find everything in me wishing to be able to sing once again.

"And I finally find, you and I collide."

The lyrics don't pour from my own lips, and if they did then my voice is much more masculine than I last remember. A surprised jump over takes me and my hands still on the keys, the song getting an abrupt ending. My head snaps behind me where West is standing only centimeters away from me. He is reading my songbook that is still settled on the piano.

"Why'd you stop?" He asks, looking down at me. His chest is practically pressed against my back, and I discreetly move forward a little.

I just stare at him in shock. Shocked from him singing the lyrics, and shocked from how fantastic it sounded. Without warning, West slides onto the piano bench next to me and takes my songbook from its perch, his body once again pressed to mine. His arm is barely touching mine, but it's enough for me to stiffen slightly.

I watch him silently as he reads over the notes for this song, written across only two pages. "That sounded amazing." He says, his eyes shooting to me for a second. "You really wrote it?"

I nod, fiddling with my hands as he continues to look over the notes. Shouldn't I be ripping that from his hands?

"I see I sang the only lyrics you wrote." He comments.

I take my book from his grasp and set it back on my piano. "I just started it Monday." I defend, scooting away from him a little bit.

"And it's due Friday? Lyrics and all?" He asks.

I avoid looking at him since he's sitting rather close to me, and I nod in response.

"You won't have them finished by then." He says, standing up.

I whip around to him, "What?"

Now he smirks, and I resist the urge to growl at him. I swear he can't go ten minutes without smirking.

"Unless I help you, that is." He says.

I just blink at him.

And then I start laughing.

His smirk falters and he gets a defensive look. "Why is that so funny?"

"Why would I need your help?" I ask, chuckling at him.

He scowls, "I figured you would prefer a little help with the lyrics and whatnot. I just so happen to have an idea of lyrics for this song, and I also just so happen to like writing lyrics."

My eyebrows furrow together, West Love is literally filled with surprises.

'You write lyrics?' I scribble onto my whiteboard.

"I have before, just for the hell of it." He says, leaning against the wall.

I bite my lip and glance back at my piano. Music has always been my escape, it's always been what's lifted my mood when gone bad. It's been my most vivid memory of my mother. It's never been something I've...shared. Of course I play my music for others, but that's the point. It's my music to play.

Do I want to share the credit? The creative thinking?

My hand unconsciously comes up to my mother's necklace in its rightful place around my neck.

It would make things easier on me, and it could be a new experience. I look back at West and my eyebrows furrow. This boy has been making me question myself more than I have in my entire life, and I'm not sure I like that.

"You really want to?" I ask, watching him closely.

My music isn't something I joke about.

"I wouldn't be asking if I didn't." He responds.

I stand up and walk closer to him, now feeling more confident.

"You aren't making fun of me?" I sign slowly, my eyes examining him as closely as he does me.

He tilts his head and frowns slightly. "You would know if I was making fun of you, Raine. I want to help you, believe it or not."

I stare at him for a few more moments until I finally crack. I offer him a small smile and a nod.

"Deal."