❥ Chapter Seven

            “Mitsuki, I think… you should take a step back and look upon your work that you’ve turned in so far.”

            She began to wring her hands, confused. “I’m sorry, professor, but what do you mean?”

            “Your compositions and lyrics are magnificent, beautiful, and I definitely would have recommended you for a more advanced class… But the only problem is that they all have that same heartbreaking tone to them. There is no sign of venturing into different genres and tones.” He sighed and waited for her to reply. When she didn’t, he continued to say, “I think it would be nice for you to try out composing a… more uplifting piece, focusing more on the majors instead of minors. It doesn’t have to be one of those happy, pop-like songs, but maybe it would be a good idea to step away from the solemn ballads every once in a while.”

            “It’s the type that I’m most comfortable with.” She clenched her fists tight before opening her hands and repeating the small movement, as if to try and stop herself from releasing her frustration. Mitsuki had this conversation with him so many times before. But it seemed as if he was truly serious about going through with it this time.

            “But as artists, we all can never be too comfortable, right? I’m not trying to discourage you, Mitsuki, but a change would be nice for you. You’ll get to try out a different style, become more comfortable with it, and have more experience in composing and writing lyrics. Maybe you’ll even become more adventurous and try out more styles. But for now, or at least our next assignment, I expect a more elevated feel to your music. Give me a different emotion from you. And because it’s with a partner… I’ll leave it up to you to choose who would be the best for this type of collaboration. I know you can do it, Mitsuki. You just have to open yourself up more, and you’ll find you have more potential than you think.”

❥ ❥ ❥

     She fumbled with the strings of her guitar, still pondering over the conversation she had with her professor. And Mitsuki knew that what he said was true: she had to try out other genres and styles. But whenever she started a new composition, there was no inspiration to push her forward, to steer her into the right direction. Mitsuki was officially stumped.

            “Mitsuki!”

            Her head snapped up, surprised by the outcry of her name. “T-Teo.”

            Sitting down next to her, he crossed his legs and grinned. “What’s up? I saw you walk out earlier with the professor. Something wrong?”

            “My compositions are too sad… for lack of a better word.”

            “What?” He was surprised by her blunt answer, though he knew he should’ve expected it from her.

            “In a brief summary of what he said, my compositions are always too sad,” she replied sharply, fingers flexing against her guitar.

            “That’s… an easy fix though,” said Teo, smiling. “Does he want your next assignment to be more upbeat?”

            She nodded.

            Teo stood up and pointed to himself. “Well, now you’ve got the best tutor when it comes to happy songs.”

            “You barely pass that composition class. How would you be the best candidate for a tutor?”

            “How do you think I still pass the class?”

            “Your compositions?”

            “Exactly!”

            “And how do you exactly fail the class?”

            “The quizzes and essays,” he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

            “So are you suggesting that we become partners?”

            “You catch on pretty quick, Mitsuki.” Teo smiled and sat down again, pulling a notebook and pen out of his backpack.

            She glanced down at her guitar, contemplating whether she should agree or not. And she knew she had to, mostly because she barely knew anybody else in her class. So, nodding, she hoped she wouldn’t regret the decision later on.

            “Let’s get started then, shall we?” asked Teo. “What should we work on first? Lyrics, or the music?”

            “Music,” said Mitsuki. “It’ll take longer, and the sooner we finish, the easier it will seem to work on the lyrics.”

            “Sounds like a plan.”

❥ ❥ ❥

            After spending an afternoon attempting to compose in the overly crowded courtyard, the two decided that early morning composing sessions bin their usual location was the best, as it seemed to be the quietest and most convenient time and place for both of them.

            The only difference this time was Teo hauling a huge keyboard with him in one hand and a stand in his other.

            As he began to casually play a few random chords, she took a step back (figuratively) and couldn’t help but see even more resemblance. The way his brow would furrow in concentration, the way his head tilted slightly to the right as he tried out different melodies, the way his face would light up when a certain combination appealed to him, and the way his nose would crinkle if there was dissonance in a set of chords seemed so heartbreakingly familiar that her fingers trembled, and a single tear wavered in each of her eyes before she quickly wiped them away as she tried to strum matching chords with her guitar. She mentally cursed herself for her weak heart.

            Teo looked up from the keyboard, as if to tease, but stopped immediately when he saw the grieved expression on Mitsuki’s face. “W-What’s wrong? Did I do something?”

            With a quick shake of her head, she stood up, hastily looking away and sliding her guitar back into its case. “Let’s just stop for today,” she mumbled.

            “Stop? But we just…”

            Mitsuki shoved her notebook into the side pocket and stood up straight, avoiding his eyes that she knew would send her into a fit of sobbing. But somehow, her eyes still managed to meet his, and her heart cracked at those hauntingly similar eyes, bringing back memories that now brought her grief and pain.

            But he didn’t speak again after he saw the familiar emotions in her eyes, amplified ten times stronger. And he watched as she slowly walked away, occasionally bringing her hand up to her face, perhaps to wipe her falling tears.

❥ ❥ ❥

            Mitsuki trudged up the stairs to her dorm room, heart still trembling with agony. The resemblance was uncanny. The chances of her meeting a near dopple ganger of Akio were so slim that she couldn’t believe the mere similarities between the two. And to Mitsuki, she wished she had never met Teo. They were almost exact copies of each other, Akio and Teo. They looked nearly the same, except for Teo’s slightly lighter hair and lankier stature. They had similar personalities, a combination of ridiculously silly and realistically serious. But Akio never had that same flicker of sadness in his eyes. That was the one real difference Mitsuki had to keep reminding herself whenever she saw Teo.

            Despite knowing that they were two different people who appeared in her life at two different times, Mitsuki couldn’t suppress the feeling that for some reason, she thought Akio was back in her life. And her heart seemed so conflicted, wondering between her feelings of happiness and her feelings of utter disappointment in herself, sadness, grief.

            She had dug herself into a deep, unforgiving well that she knew would swallow her up if she didn’t find a way to fix things soon.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey loves! I know I've been gone for so long, and this chapter is short as hell. Like I said in one of my other fics, I have no excuse except that I have a lack of time. I should have known what I was getting into when I decided to write three, ongoing, chaptered fics in the middle of my junior year of high school. It's simply a matter of... I don't have time. That is why I can't consistently update my fics, and I'm more than just sorry, guys. I really am, and that's really all I can say for myself. Again, I can't guarantee regular updates, but I promise that I will not leave this fic incomplete. I'll finish all of my fics even if it's the last thing I do! (hahaha so cliché) So I hope you can forgive me and give me some time to pull things together. I'm really sorry :(

-DespisedSecret

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