When the Violin Sings

Chapter 28

March, 7 Months Earlier

Noel awoke ambitious. She beat her alarm by ten minutes, her clothes were already laid out the night before, and she took half as much time as normal getting ready in her bathroom. As she combed through her hair in the early hours of the morning, she clenched her fist.

I'm going to do it. I'm going to tell Riley how I feel.

For the past two weeks, every fiber in Noel's being had told her to keep her mouth shut, but after realizing during that conversation over coffee that she did have feelings for Riley, Noel wasn't afraid of her feelings as much anymore. She was taking the time to understand herself more and what she wanted from life. Riley just happened to be a part of that.

Noel's fingers shook slightly as she buttoned up her blouse. There was no guarantee that Riley would say anything back. If anything, Noel risked jeopardizing their relationship again. But she had remembered that Riley had shared a large part of herself only a few weeks prior. If Riley had the courage to share that side of herself, then Noel did too.

Her mother scolded her for eating too fast, but Noel didn't care much. She practically ran down to the bus stop and anxiously bounced her leg the entire ride. Noel kept willing herself to calm down. She and Riley wouldn't even see each other until practice, and even then, it wasn't like Noel would share those words deep inside her at that time. That was probably a good thing, she thought. After all, she wasn't too sure what exactly she would even say to Riley at the moment.

All day, Noel watched the clock tick by slowly in each of her classes. She barely touched her snack, and though she killed some time in the library for a few hours, she found that she had barely gotten any homework done when she packed up to head to practice.

As soon as Noel made eye contact with Riley in the practice room, she felt a chill run down her spine. She wasn't quite sure how she was going to last so long holding these feelings inside of her. They were practically just waiting to spill out. Noel settled for smiling weakly in response and remaining quiet as they tuned their instruments. Thankfully, practice started on time for once, leaving no opportunity for Noel to even initiate a conversation.

Noel tried her best to focus on the music. After all, she had been enjoying playing some more, but today, it was back to her mechanical playing. She let her mind wander while her fingers moved freely. What would Riley even say when she told her? Would they still be friends afterwards? Maybe it wasn't a good idea if they were going to sit next to each other in orchestra for an extended period of time...

Doubt was beginning to set in to Noel's mind by the time practice ended. When Professor Brown finally dismissed them, Noel could only sit for a moment, shaking in her seat. Should she just call it off and go home? Or would delaying it only cause more sleepless nights?

"Noel? Are you okay?" Riley asked, peering down to look at her. "You look really pale."

"Can we skip food today and go straight there?" she asked in one breath.

Riley's eyes widened. "Yeah, I guess, but are you sure you're feeling okay? Maybe you should get something to eat."

"I'll feel better when we get there," Noel argued.

"Okay. I'll wait outside for you then," Riley said, leaving Noel to put away her things.

Noel lingered a bit as she packed up everything. Once she had gotten ahold of her things, she let out a deep sigh and met Riley outside of the building. Without even making eye contact, she said, "Let's go," walking at speeds faster than normal.

"What's got you in such a rush?" Riley asked as she picked up her pace to walk alongside Noel.

Noel was quiet, unsure what else to say. Thankfully, Riley only let out a sigh and continued walking quietly alongside Noel without asking any more questions. Noel had too many thoughts swirling around in her head to have the space to talk about anything else.