I belted out the lyrics to Hailee Steinfeld's Starving, trying to hide a grin as Rian's mouth fell open.
As the song ended, the small crowd we'd amassed in the karaoke bar released thunderous applause. I even heard a few whistles as I stepped off the stage.
"Wow," Rian said, impressed, as I made my way back to our table. "I figured you could sing, but that was amazing."
I smiled, a little smug. "Thanks. Wanna tally up the score?"
I was currently winning our little wagerâas promised, I'd beat him at bowling, but he'd managed to steal a win on the race car track. We'd tied at the dart competition next door. This was the final frontier.
And I'd just brought the house down.
He smirked at me, not taking the bait. "The round's not over yet. It's my turn now."
I laughed. "You can't sing," I exclaimed. "You can barely carry a tune in a bucket!"
He wrinkled his nose at me. "What is this, 1984? I thought I was the one with the stilted language issues."
I scoffed. "Whatever. My point is you can't win, Haltie." I spread my arms tauntingly, already tasting victory. "Accept defeat. Singing isn't your style."
He chuckled darkly. "Who said I'd be singing?"
I frowned. What did he mean by that? But before I could ask, he was already walking towards the head of the room.
Instead of climbing up onstage, he veered to the left and sat down on a bench. I froze as I realized what he was about to do.
His fingers landed on the keys of the piano before him. He looked up and grinned wickedly at me.
I glared back, but inside I struggled to smother my excitement. It'd been years since I'd heard him play, and I'd be lying if I didn't say he was the reason I loved classical music.
The first note resounded throughout the room, catching the attention of the bar's many denizens. It was already captivating, and he'd only been up there a minute.
As he continued, the pace picked up speed and became more frenzied. I listened in awe as he stitched together a fiery and wild melody that seemed to contain the soul of the devil himself.
By the end, I could barely breathe, having been completely swept away by the sheer emotion in the music. The fact that it wasn't positive emotion meant nothingâthe crowd went wild.
He stood and took a bow. I managed to wipe the amazed look off my face just as he strode over and smirked at me.
"Now we can tally up the score," he said smugly. I couldn't bring myself to scowl; instead, I grinned broadly at him. At the sight of my unexpected smile, he seemed to freeze up a little.
"That was so good!" I said excitedly. "What was the piece called?"
He recovered from his stunned state enough to reply, but I saw the tips of his ears go pink. "It's called Fires of a Revolution."
I leaned back in my seat and shook my head. "I can't believe you pulled something like that on my birthday," I said teasingly. "Aren't you supposed to let me win?"
He raised his eyebrows, getting over his embarrassment. "I've never once 'let' anyone win, and I don't plan on breaking that streak just for you."
I feigned hurt. "Ouch. Playing to win, I see."
He smirked. "What, and you aren't?" Just then, an alarm went off in his pocket. He glanced down, pulling out his phone to shut it off.
"Looks like our time's up," he said, and I detected what almost sounded like . . . remorse? But that couldn't be right. What could he possibly have had worth regretting?
"Then I guess we should go," I said, getting up out of my seat.
"I suppose so," he echoed, and I didn't notice the residual despondency in his tone. Again, my blindness was pathetic.
Still on a high from the good turn the day had taken, and full of hopes and maybes and thoughts of the future, I strolled out of the bar. Rian followed and unlocked the car. That strange melancholy still surrounded him, but I didn't pay any attention to his reluctance to leave so quickly.
The drive back home was short, shorter than the way there. It never occurred to me, in all those maybes, that maybe Rian had purposefully been extending our time together, because he knew it would soon be ending.
Instead, I only hummed and looked out the window, making idle chatter with him on our way back to my apartment.
Lisa was the first to greet us as we returned. She grinned and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, winking at Rian and thanking him for bringing me back before curfew. "We can't have this little one out too long. She has a knack for getting in trouble."
I glared in embarrassmentâlike she was my actual parent, ironicallyâbut Rian didn't respond. He seemed to have retreated back into that ice-cold fortress, miles out of my reach.
"Since Lisa is here, I assume you don't need me for your makeup?" he asked curtly, grabbing his jacket from where he'd left it earlier.
I frowned at his sudden shift in demeanor, but shook my head no.
"Good. In that case, I'll see you in a few hours." And he left.
I watched the door swing shut behind him, thoroughly confused. I was unaware as to what had changed between us, and apparently I wasn't the only one who'd noticed the difference.
"That boy sure knows how chill the air," Lisa observed, eliciting a look from me. "No, seriously. I actually feel cold when he's around."
I simply shrugged and resigned myself to the primping and puffing the next couple hours would entail. Lisa, although she lacked the sheer finesse of Rian, was amazing when it came to fashion. She chose everything perfectly; accessories, shoes, colour scheme. By the end, I was even more stunning than I'd been yesterday.
And yet the anxiety I'd felt remained.
Rokim walked into the room, grinning when he saw me. "You are magical, Lisa," he said in approval, surveying me carefully. "She's gonna turn heads everywhere she goes."
I smiled, although it was more a compliment for Lisa than me. She smiled smugly. "Yeah. I feel sorry for her competitors."
I let out a laugh at that. "My competitors won't even be there. Just a bunch of snobby evaluators," I exclaimed ruefully, shaking my head.
"Important evaluators," Rokim chimed in.
"Yeah, but it's still just a ball, guys. Sure, it's important for diplomacy purposes, but the real test is tomorrow." My mirth faded as I considered what was in store. "At the Evaluation Competition."
Lisa waved dismissively. "Yeah, but you've got that in the bag. The only other person of note is that guy from the . . . uh, what was it called?" She turned to Rokim, snapping her fingers.
"The Bainbridge Academy," he supplied helpfully.
"Right!" she confirmed, nodding. "Bainbridge. They'll probably be our biggest competitors." She leaned forward conspiratorially. "Apparently, their guy's an absolute monster. Jared Benoit, I think he's called. I hear he goes through at least one Assistant Chef a week." She shook her head, shuddering. "I pity the poor bastard who has to work with him at the ecomp tomorrow."
I gave her a wry smile. "Thanks for the warning, Lis. But if he can't even work with his AC, I doubt he's anyone worth worrying about."
"True," she acquiesced. "Though if he did manage to find someone willing, it wouldn't be good for us."
A knock from the entrance to the apartment interrupted our conversation. I grimaced, suddenly nervous. I knew who was behind that door.
"Coming!" Lisa called, walking away from me. I made one last check of my appearance in the mirror, but Rokim laughed amusedly. "You look amazing, Han. Even if that stubborn lump of stone refuses say it, know that you do."
I smiled at him. "Thanks, Kimmy."
As soon as the words had left my mouth, Rian stalked into the room. I sighed slightlyâI detected waves of cold radiating from him already. I guess this afternoon was just my imagination.
Upon seeing me, he paused. His lips parted as he took in my appearance, and for a second I felt uncharacteristically self-conscious.
But it was over in a moment. Recovering his wits, he gave me a brief nod. "Good, you're ready. Car's outside." His eyes flicked around the room, almost in an anxious manner. "Adrian's driving."
I frowned. "Why? I thought he wasn't coming."
Rian turned away from me. "He's not. He came here with me. I had to . . . talk to him about something."
That was strange. As far as I knew, they didn't know each other that well. Apart from that weird look Adrian had given him at the hospital, there was no reason Rian would need to have a one-on-one with him.
"Alright," I said simply, shrugging.
Something about the way he held himself seemed off, but I didn't comment further. Whatever was bothering him, he'd tell me if he felt like it. I'd learned the hard way that effort alone wasn't going to get me anywhere with himâhe had to be willing to talk.
Of course, I found that immensely annoying, but you know. You couldn't win all the time.
"I'll see you guys," I called to Rokim and Lisa on my way out. They waved, and I exited the room with Rian in tow.
The sight of the elevator, as it usually did, brought slightly embarrassing memories with it. I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm my nerves.
I'll be fine. No episodes tonight.
How very wrong I was.
But that comes later. For the moment, I was with Rian, past the elevators and heading to the sleek black car that would take us to the ball.
Rian opened the door, and I hitched up my dress to climb inside. He slid in after me.
A whistle came from the front seat. I glanced up to see Adrian grinning at me. "Very nice, Hanna," he said, impressed. He looked at Rian appraisingly. "Did you do her makeup this time, too?"
Rian stiffened and glared at nothing. Adrian's smile melted away, and I frowned. "How did you know he did my makeup last time, Adrian? I don't think I told you that."
He hesitated. Rian's fingers began tapping on his knee. My suspicion grew, but before I could question them further Adrian offered a reply.
"Rian told me," he admitted, wincing.
I blinked in surprise, looking up at the block of ice to my right. I glanced back at Adrian incredulously, jutting my thumb in Rian's direction. "Him? This Rian?" I glanced between the two of them in disbelief. "He . . . told you he did my makeup?"
Not exactly what you'd consider casual conversation, I thought bewilderedly.
I was blown away, searching for any hint of mistruth in Adrian's statement. But judging from Rian's black gaze, currently burning holes in the car floor, and Adrian awkward fidgets, I figured he wasn't lying. He looked like he'd let slip a secret better kept hidden.
But . . . it was just makeup. It didn't really warrant the intense reactions of my fellow passengers. What was going on with them?
"Anyways," I announced, trying to lighten the suddenly oppressive mood, "thanks for volunteering to be our chauffeur." I directed my words at Adrian. "Prof's gonna be alright?"
He jumped at the change of topic. "Oh, yeah," he said, waving a hand dismissively. He sent me a knowing wink. "I've got a fun night planned for him."
I wrinkled my nose. "I know you guys aren't that much older than me, but come on, Adrian. TMI."
He laughed at that and pulled away from the curb. I exhaled and leaned against the seat as we started driving. Rian said nothing, but I noted uneasily that his fingers were still tapping. Not a good sign.
There was some commotion on the road as we passed by. Several large signs shone brightly in the night, and I idly noticed there was some farmer's fair or festival taking place nearby. I saw a sign for a petting zooâreal live barn animals!âand felt a sudden longing to be patting a sheep, or a horse, even a chicken or something, rather than be where we were heading.
Unfortunately, my wish didn't seem to come true. About a half hour later, we arrived at an enormous banquet hall. Thankfully, it was nowhere near Branbury, and I dismounted the car with ease as Adrian peeled off into the night.
"Ready?" I asked Rian, standing before the massive, ornate entrance.
He'd crossed his arms, and his fingers still hadn't quit tap tap tapping. Something was clearly bothering him, but I forced myself to sideline my questions. He didn't need comfort from me.
Slowly, he unfurled his hands. His every movement was focused and deliberate as he strode forward, pulling me close and looping my arm through his. He exhaled, the waves of darkness rolling off him more tangible than ever. I almost felt sorry for the folks inside.
"Ready," he repeated.
And with that, we stepped inside.