1/21 Instance: Just Give Me a Reason

[tears~fall~like~glass]

timeline: day after Replacement


Rachel: Despite wondering what had possessed her to offer this to Paige, other than justifying she didn't exclusively do musical things with Mayday, Rachel had spent the majority of the day in the music room, sat in front of the piano, practicing. She wasn't entirely sure how she felt about it. She hadn't even really touched the piano since before winter break, preferring to stick to the guitar because that didn't have as many memories connected to it. Though, the guitar reminded her that she'd told Paige she'd teach her, which she had no idea how to do...

Rachel: The singing was going to be the easy part.

Paige: Paige bounced into the music room after her class, plopping down on the piano bench next to Rachel. "Hi Rachie!" She had been anxious all day, but excited at the same time.

Rachel: She startled as Paige suddenly appeared next to her, quickly sliding her ring back on her finger and putting on a grin, "Hey, how was class?"

Paige: "Gooooooood as always." Paige stole a quick hug. "Sooooooo how do I start?!"

Rachel: Rachel returned the hug and shook her head, "Nothing right now because I'm pretty sure I promised to sing for you... unless you've changed your mind."

Paige: "Never," Paige promised her with a smile. "What are you going to sing?"

Rachel: "Damn, and I was hopeful I could get out of this..." she murmured as she reached to shuffle through all the classical pieces for the ones that weren't classical, handing them over.

Paige: "Hmmmm....." Paige giggled and scooted close to look at the song choices too. "No suck luck for you, Rachie!" She grinned happily at her. "I'm excited to hear you sing!"

Rachel: "I don't know why... I'm not that good," Rachel shook her head as she set the sheets up, glancing them over a few times. She was beginning to feel nervous and started to reach for the pack of cigarettes in her pocket but paused, somewhat reluctantly shrugging the hoodie off. She tossed it aside, far enough away she couldn't reach to resist the temptation.

Rachel: Smoking did nothing for her voice, though neither had the tongue ring.

Paige: "You're so modest." Paige nudged her gently, looking at the music too, getting a feel for the song before Rachel began. Something was wrong here. "Waaiiiittttt...."

Rachel: Rachel had lightly placed her fingers on the keys and blinked over at Paige, "Wait, what?"

Paige: "You didn't look far enough head. There are two parts to this." She showed her where it became a duet.

Rachel: She shrugged, "Yeah, I know it is... I just figured I'd do both..."

Paige: "You can't sing both parts... that would be silly. I um... could... try? To sing the other part?"

Rachel: "If you want to give it a shot..." Rachel answered. At least she wouldn't be the only one nervous now. "Are you sure you want that part?"

Paige: "It has less words... I'm not falling for that trap!" She grinned at Rachel. "More time to listen to YOU sing this way."

Rachel: "I can't believe you help with musical theater and don't sing..." she teased as she eyed her with a smirk. It was strange to have Paige in that spot instead of Josh, though not entirely unpleasant because Josh would've been lecturing by now. "But whenever you're ready..."

Paige: "I daaaaaaaaance." Paige moved her body a bit to demonstrate. "Though I can read music too. Singing was always so dull at the pageants. They always sang in foreign languages and opera and meh." Plus dancing was a great way to channel her boundless energy. She got close to Rachel to read the lyrics, then nodded. "I'm reeaaaaddddyyy!!!"

Rachel: She pulled her gaze back to the music when Paige was finished demonstrating and shifted to sit up a bit straighter. "Glad I'm not that dull..." she mumbled before taking a deep breath and starting, fingers easily moving across the keys as she tried focus on her timing rather than how nervous she was.

Rachel: She took another breath and started on the first verse, "Right from the start, you were a thief, you stole my heart. And, I, your willing victim..." After finishing the verse, she was telling herself to focus on the chorus, "Just give me a reason..."

Paige: Paige's gaze was pulled from the paper to look at Rachel's face while she sang. Something just felt natural about singing with her. She remembered just in time that she was supposed to be signing too. "I'm sorry I don't understand where all of this is coming from. I thought, that were were fine."

Rachel: "Oh, we had everything," Rachel interjected as she glanced over to Paige, mouthing the part the other girl was singing to. She'd played the song enough times she had it memorized, so she didn't really need to look at the sheet music. Plus, it meant she could watch Paige while she focused on her part.

Paige: "Your head is running wild again...." Paige continued to sing her part, failing to notice the gaze on her yet as she concentrated on keeping up with Rachel's playing and hitting the proper notes... or at least close to.

Rachel: Closing her eyes, she joined in as the chorus came up again, "Just give me a reason, just a little bit's enough. Just a second, we're not broken just bent, and we can learn to love again..."

Paige: Paige looked over at Rachel, not needing the music for this part. She matched Rachel, harmonizing with her rather than worrying about what the notes on the paper said.

Rachel: Opening her eyes, she was slightly surprised to find Paige watching her and about fumbled some notes, luckily managing to stay on track. "Oh, tears ducts and rust."

Paige: Paige placed her hand on Rachel's leg, trying to steady her as she kept singing, her eyes trapped in Rachel's.

Rachel: Rachel sucked in a breath, glad she was to a point where she had to breathe in order to sing her next line.

Paige: She couldn't look away. Well, not longer than it took to glance at the next line of song. She wanted to fixate on those words, but Rachel's eyes pulled her in. Subconsciously she moved a bit closer to her, still harmonizing with Rachel rather than fussing over the notes.

Rachel: Grinning slightly because it was totally backwards for her to be singing about pouring drinks, Rachel was vaguely aware of how limited her space was becoming as they matched for the chorus once more, holding Paige's gaze. This was so much better than singing it alone.

Paige: Paige was glad she knew the words to this part because she couldn't have looked away even if she had wanted to. Unaware of moving closer, Paige kept her hand on Rachel's leg, continuing to keep the harmony going. She had to admit... they sounded great together!

Rachel: As she came to the end of the song, Rachel leaned toward Paige as well as she could while still hitting all the correct keys, slightly disappointed when she was left singing alone at the end.

Paige: Paige was still lost in Rachel's gaze, suddenly aware of just how close they were and that she wasn't moving away.

Rachel: Rachel pulled her gaze from Paige's long enough to study her face before meeting it again, finally able to move the arm that was between them because she'd finished the song. She grasped the edge of the piano bench for support as she leaned in a bit more, tilting her head slightly.

Paige: Paige's head was about to tilt as well when her phone went off, the sudden noise and vibration in her pocket causing her to jump and fumble for it.

Rachel: She released a breath and her hold on the bench in favor of raking a hand through her hair while she processed what exactly that had been.

Paige: "I uh..." She looked back up at Rachel, flooded with anxiety as she too tried to figure out what had just happened. But Phil was waiting. "I have to go..." She pointed to the phone, unable to communicate that Phil was waiting for her. She was also unaware that she had a most disappointed look on her face.

Rachel: "Oh..." Rachel said softly, slowly nodding as she looked from the phone to Paige, fairly sure she knew exactly what that meant. She wasn't sure she'd ever seen Paige so disappointed about it. She swallowed and tried not to look overly upset as she weakly forced out, "Okay."

Paige: "I'll uh... um... tonight? Later?" Paige slowly got to her feet, eyes still on Rachel's face.

Rachel: "Yeah..." she nodded again as she watched her get up, sighing. After a few moments of carefully studying Paige's face again, Rachel forced a small, mirthless smile as she repeated, "Yeah, later."

Paige: Only the sound and vibration of another text message jerked Paige's gaze away from Rachel's again. The disappointment returned and she slowly headed to the door, giving Rachel one last glance before she went through the doorway.

Rachel: Rachel stared at the doorway for a bit, eventually turning back to the piano and closing the lid. Shoulders slumping, she leaned forward to rest her head against it, wrapping her arms around herself as she closed her eyes. Of course she'd be there later. She was always there later.

Rachel: On the bright side, she could tell Mayday she'd been about three inches from telling Paige. ...Not that realizing she'd been that close made her feel any better.

Paige: Downstairs, Paige got into the car with Phil, her usual smile plastered on, but her heart just wasn't in it. The revelation of that in her mind set her into an uneasy mood. Something was definitely off and she needed to sort it out. Quick.