by Light
She could hear his message behind the words. He was singing it for himself, and he was singing it to every single person who had been whispering behind his back. His song filled her like a glowing warmth, a little ball of happiness and hope; and she couldn’t help but beam up at his silhouette on stage. Tears hung low in her eyes, wetting her eyelashes as she squeezed Scarlet’s hand. In this moment, it almost felt like he was speaking to her. It felt like he knew her pain, just as she knew his, and that together they were taking away all the power it had over them. Every time Rome opened his eyes, he was looking at her. And in those brief, fleeting seconds when everyone else was just enjoying a lovely song, they were sharing a profound understanding – a sense of love.
“Wow,” Scarlet whispered. “Did you know that boy could sing?”
“Sort of,” she mumbled, dropping her eyes and letting go of her hand. Rome started another song, and she squinted back up at him, listening intently. “…Do you know what this is?”
“Just listen to the chorus,” Scarlet laughed. “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall. It’s by Coldplay.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard it,” Aria admitted, watching Rome attentively. He was singing with so much emotion, such conviction, it was giving her goosebumps. His voice was just so smooth and sweet. It felt soothing, like cool water on a fresh burn.
“Do you think he’s talking about his dad?”
“He’s talking about all of us,” Aria whispered.
Before she knew it, his song was over and the other members of the group were joining him on stage. Some took up positions in the back with instruments while three girls and a boy filled the empty stools at his sides. Ariahna balked when she recognized the girl sitting next to him. It was the waitress from La Lune… Autumn. The blonde girl reached out and touched him on the arm, whispering something quickly in his ear. Whatever it was had made Rome smirk. Aria felt that returning sense of unhappiness.
Scarlet smiled at her knowingly.
“Someone’s got their sights set on your man,” she commented.
“He’s not… my man. We’re just friends.”
“Mhmm. Well, if you want to be more than friends, you better jump on that train before it leaves the station, because half the girls in this room are drooling over him right now.”
“Weren’t you the one who called him gross?”
“Hey, I didn’t say I was interested, I said some people might be.”
Rome’s voice moved through the room, harmonizing with the others in the group as they began singing Mirrors by Justin Timberlake. The song choice had several, obviously immature, male students laughing and mocking Rome and the other boy. A few feminine whistles and catcalls were offsetting the heckling, and the disapproving scowls from the teachers were doing little to stop any of it. They were singing quite well, Aria thought, even if it was mostly Rome and Autumn harmonizing together.
“I should have joined the music group,” she mumbled.
The group played a few more songs together before the concert started winding down. Everyone except Rome and Autumn shuffled off the stage. Fast Car by Tracy Chapman seemed to be their ending song. It was beyond fitting, she thought, given everything she knew about him now. Autumn was staring at him affectionately as she sang, and Aria was trying not to think about how good they sounded together. The story they were weaving had her thinking of that first day they’d met, driving down the highway into town. This song felt like that memory. It was haunting and bittersweet. She’d been so scared then. Right now, she’d do anything just to get back to that place.
“You’re supposed to maintain eye contact with the audience,” she said quietly, glaring at Autumn and her enamored smile.
Scarlet smiled at her, nearly laughing.
“She may be looking at him, but that boy is looking at you. I don’t think he’s taken his eyes off of you once.”
Aria’s face was turning an attractive shade of pink.
“Stop teasing me,” she said.
The rest of the group flooded back out to take a bow, and Aria applauded loudly, glancing at Rome as everyone else hurried off stage. He hadn’t moved. The music teacher peeked out from behind the curtain, waving her arms at him and gesturing for him to get off stage.
He was too busy staring at her to notice.
“Rome…” she muttered, watching him scoop up one of the electric guitars. It was clear to her and everyone else in the room that this hadn’t been planned. “What is he doing?”
Scarlet shrugged. “What makes you think I know?”
Ariahna took a deep breath, trying to ignore the way his eyes were locked on her. When she glanced away she realized she wasn’t the only one who had noticed. He hadn’t even started singing yet and her heart felt like it was in her stomach. It was like she knew something bad was about to happen. And when he stepped up to the mic, his fingers plucking gently over the strings, she about died.
It took her a moment, but she finally recognized the song. What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction. The melody was so different than the original, slow and sincere – a seductive array of notes. Rome was singing to her, she realized. He was reading a love note in front of the entire school. Her breath quickened as he sang, feeling her face flush with embarrassment. She was completely flattered and abashed, terrified that everyone was going to know he was singing to her. She felt overwhelmed, like she might start laughing or crying at any moment. Aria raised a hand to her mouth, biting her lip gently and trying to hide her smile.
Don’t draw attention to yourself, she thought.
“Oh my god,” Scarlet whispered. “Is he singing to you?”
Ariahna felt suddenly queasy. Rome was up on stage baring his heart to her, and last night she’d given herself away to another boy – a boy who didn’t even care about her. She was both elated and sick, and yet she couldn’t stop staring at him starry-eyed.
“I guess we found out who your secret admirer is!” Scarlet breathed, wrapping an arm around her and shaking her gleefully.
Aria was trying to hide from any and all attention, including the jealous eyes and knowing smiles being thrown her way. Part of her was hoping she’d look down to find herself naked. That way at least she’d know that all of this was nothing more than a dream, an insane figment of her imagination. The last note faded into silence and she paled at the sight of her own clothes. This was real. And so was the fact that Rome was now hopping off the front of the stage and walking towards her. Hundreds of eyes followed curiously at his back, and the closer he got the more mortified she became.
“Please don’t,” she murmured, sinking down in her seat.
“Hey,” he breathed, stopping at her side. He hadn’t exactly thought this through, he realized. “So, did you have plans for today, or…?”
Oh my god, she thought.
Ariahna knew there was only one way to escape this hell. She rose to her feet and grabbed Rome’s hand, rushing up the aisle and out of sight as quick as her feet could carry her. She burst through the metal doors to the auditorium and didn’t stop until they were outside.
“Are you serious?” she said, rounding on him. She was very close to hysterical laughter. “Why did you do that?”
“Uh… which part?”
“The part where you sang a beautiful, romantic song and then walked straight up to me in front of the entire school and basically asked me out,” she said, smiling despite how anxious she felt.
“Right, that part,” he mumbled. “You aren’t mad, are you? Because I kind of thought that…”
“No,” she grinned, looking away from him. “I’m embarrassed.”
“Was it too much?”
“No… Maybe? I don’t know,” she said, pressing a palm to her forehead. “It was… sweet, I just—Rome, why did you do that?”
“I think that part’s kind of obvious by now,” he smirked. “Look, maybe we could just go for a walk together? I found this trail through the woods the other day. I just thought… maybe it
would be a good way for us to have some time alone to talk.”
She sighed, looking back at the Performing Arts building as the sound of voices filtered out into the morning air. “Sure,” she said. At least she’d be able to put off facing the rest of Vardel for just a little while longer. Rome took her by the hand, leading her around the greenhouses and out towards the tree line at a near run. They stepped into the secluded safety of the trees to find sunlight filtering through the branches, bursting against all the colors of the forest. It made it look like something out of a fanciful painting.
“If I asked you to run away with me, would you?” he asked.
Aria stammered in surprise.
“Where would we even run to?” she smiled.
“I don’t know. Anywhere but here, I guess.”
“And why would you want to run away with me? I don’t think I’d make a very good traveling companion.”
“I doubt that’s true,” he said. “But honestly, after last night, I was actually planning on leaving. I guess some part of me still wants to.”
“What?” she breathed, squeezing his hand.
“Don’t worry; I’m not going anywhere. I don’t even know why I asked you that. I guess I just feel like I could do anything right now. After being on that stage—after doing, that. I guess the world just doesn’t seem so scary at the moment.”
Rome stopped when he suddenly realized the trail had led them somewhere much different than he remembered. There was a long, open walkway scattered with fallen leaves. Trees lined either side of the path, and entangled branches arched above them romantically. The forest was buzzing with a warm, otherworldly energy. Other than when he’d first met Ariahna, it was more enchanting and magical than anything Rome had ever seen. He wasn’t sure he’d ever felt this connected to nature before.
“This place feels alive,” he whispered, reaching out to touch one of the trees. Moss grew instantaneously beneath his fingers and he jerked back, frowning at the bark. “What the heck was that?”
“I think your element is Earth,” she said, smiling.
“…Do you maybe just want to see where the path leads?” he asked, trying not to eye the forest too intently.
She nodded.
Ariahna was fascinated by the way the light bounced off the colorful autumn leaves. She thought she’d been through every inch of these woods, but she’d never seen this place before, and it was filling her with excitement. There was something about not only being here, but being here with him, that felt so familiar.
“Did you know this was here?” she asked. It felt like she’d always known and just hadn’t realized it until this moment. Her skin was sparking where their hands touched, and she pulled away from him in surprise. The path ended in a mass of branches twisting through the air to create a hidden oasis in the middle of the woods. There was a small lake concealed partially by the confines of the overgrown tree. It was breathtaking, even though the branches were bare. The tree was the only thing that didn’t really feel alive.
It felt dormant.
“Rome,” Aria whispered, walking over to the center of the glen. Fresh, vibrant grass swayed around her ankles as she approached the edge of the lake where it greeted the gigantic trunk of the tree. “I think this is the yew tree,” she said. “This… this is The Grove.”
Or what’s left of it, she thought.
Rome turned around in a slow circle, taking everything in. He couldn’t deny it; he couldn’t ignore how this place made him feel. He felt safe, like he was coming home for the first time in ages.
“I thought this place was lost?”
“How did you know that?” she asked, brushing her fingers over the trunk of the massive tree.
“I’ve been doing a little research… Aria, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we found this place.”
“I don’t think we found it so much as it showed itself to us.”
“Yeah, I feel that too,” he nodded. “…Have you experienced anything weird the last few days?” he asked. “Like the sound of whispering voices, or flickering lights?”
“No,” she said slowly. “Why?”
Rome took a deep breath and sat down at the base of the tree, brushing his palm over the tall grass. “You’re probably going to think I’m crazy.”
“Try me,” she said, taking a seat next to him.
“The other night, some really strange stuff happened. I’m talking full-on vengeful spirit stuff. Do you remember that guy we saw at the museum, the one who told us about the curse?”
Aria shivered. “How could I forget?”
“I don’t think he was alive,” he said, pausing to gauge her reaction. “I didn’t hear him come up, he didn’t have a scent, and he disappeared in the blink of an eye. I asked Trevor, and he said he didn’t even see him. I mean, how else is that even possible?”
“…What happened the other night?” she asked apprehensively.
“The Artisan,” Rome said by way of explanation. “I know it’s him. It was the same creepy guy, talking in the same creepy riddles. Long story short, we aren’t the only ones who are cursed. I believe Dallas is too, and Kaleb.”
“Kaleb?” she repeated. That just didn’t seem right to her. “Wait, if you’re a werewolf, how are you two even friends?”
“It’s complicated, but we understand each other. I think the fact that we both have magic helps with our… you know, need to want to kill each other,” he laughed.
“Sounds like a dangerous friendship…”
“Maybe for him,” Rome grinned. Aria bumped into him playfully, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She seemed content leaning into the side of his body.
“So why do you think he’s cursed?”
“Cursed to be left in the cold,” he mumbled. “That’s what he said, and he looked right at Kaleb when he said it. He seemed pissed that he wasn’t alone. That me and him were, I don’t know, looking out for each other? He said everything comes at a price. I still don’t understand what he meant by that exactly, but I’m working on it. And I found out that there is at least one person from each of the six families here, attending this school, all at the same time. It’s all connected but I just can’t figure out how.”
“And you think Kaleb is…” She thought about it. “A Graham?”
“Yeah,” he said. “I could be wrong, but it makes sense, right?”
“Nothing makes sense anymore,” Aria sighed.
“I’m going to break this curse. Hell, if I can I’m going to break all of them. I think hundreds of years are enough for all this suffering and death.”
“And how do you plan on going about doing that?”
“Well… I haven’t exactly figured that out yet, but—”
“Can we just talk for a while, about something else?” she asked.
Rome smiled. “Yeah, I’d like that. I’ve actually been meaning to ask you where you learned to play the piano. If I close my eyes, I can still see you sitting there. I can hear your voice, and—will you sing something for me? It doesn’t have to be right now, but, promise me I’ll get to hear your voice again. Maybe we could even sing something together?”
“Maybe sometime. I don’t feel much like singing right now.”
Rome took a deep breath. “Everything is going to get better. I promise. Why don’t we just get to know each other a little better? What do you want to know? You can ask me anything.”
“When did you join the music group?” she asked.
“Wednesday,” Rome said. “But that’s too easy, try again.”
Aria smiled at him in thought. There were so many things she could think to ask him, but none of them seemed right for this moment. They were heavier, more personal questions. Things she wasn’t sure she’d ever ask – things she didn’t expect him to answer.
“Okay,” she said, “I want to know what your favorite thing about yourself is.” A confused look came over Rome’s face. “I just mean, what do you value most about being you?”
/> “Wow,” he said. “I’m not sure I know how to answer that question if I’m being honest. The things I like about myself are often the things I also hate most. I love being what I am, but at the same time, it makes me dangerous, unpredictable. Like last night. I want to apologize for that. That wasn’t me. Well, it was, but it wasn’t.”
Aria brushed her fingers over Rome’s soft stubble, smiling up into his eyes. “It’s okay. You have nothing to apologize for.”
“Can I kiss you?” he asked.
She dropped her gaze.
“Never mind, I—just forget I said anything. Please.”
Ariahna felt like she was going to cry.
“I haven’t been honest with you,” she said. “You’ve been nothing but kind, but the truth is, I don’t deserve you. And I can’t do this to you.” It seemed like the world was standing still, holding its breath. She was sure at any moment the earth was going to fall out from under her feet and swallow her whole. It felt like the words were eating her alive from the inside, until she just couldn’t hold them in any longer.
“…I slept with Christian,” she whispered.
“I know.”
She looked up at him with a frown.
“I went to talk to you this morning. I was coming to say goodbye and that’s when I found Christian sneaking out of your room.”
“You knew? And you still—?”
“Nothing’s changed. I still feel the same way about you. I know he tricked you. He even fooled me into thinking he cared...”
“Did he even tell you?” he asked suddenly.
“Tell me what?”
“How do I put this,” Rome muttered. “There’s a chance that Christian might be a part of this curse too. I… I think he might be my brother.” Ariahna was staring at him in open shock. He waved a hand in front of her face and she barely even blinked. Her lips were parted and moving like she was trying to speak but she just couldn’t find the words.