That Boy

Chapter 13

Vienna, 1800. Y/n and Wakko had arrived in that place at that time...and were now sitting on a chimney. "What's the purpose of this?", she asked. "For you to be brave", he said. "But it's scary", she whined. "It's not scary , it's fun", he corrected her.

She stared at him with such shock, it actually looked fake. "Come on, there's nothing to be scared of", he took her hand. Y/n just sighed and slid off with him. While free falling down into the dark fireplace, she gripped his hand tighter for support. For some reason, she didn't understand why she had done that. If this was for her to be brave, she kind of shouldn't have done it. Maybe it was only a part of being brave. "Why...why do I like this?", she asked once they landed. "Because it's fun, I told you", he said.

She stared at him, even though she couldn't see him well due to the darkness. "Then why am I shaking?". "Only you know why", he said, "What I know though, is that you made it. You were brave". Why was he acting so clever? And how did he know she was brave? Wait. Oh no... "So, what are we doing here?", she asked. "We need to sweep this place", he replied. "How?". He got out two giant bottle brushes, gave her one and they started cleaning after he taught her how to use it.

"How's your neck?", he asked in the middle of their cleaning. "Better", she said, "I went to school today". "Great", he smiled, "Again, you did it". And all y/n could feel after that was annoyance. Like this was all set up. Like he had found her on purpose. Instead of moving on with life, she met someone who tried real hard to tell her how to do it right. Someone who wanted to know, wanted to care. It hurt her. It cut trough her like a blade.

Once they finished, the two looked at the entrance of the fireplace. "There lives Beethoven", Wakko whispered, pointing at the entrance, "He's making the Fifth Symphony right now". "So we shouldn't disturb him", y/n tried to conclude. "He doesn't have inspiration", Wakko said. So, that meant he insisted to go out there. "You think we can help him?", she asked. He nodded. "But how are we going to get there?". "Don't worry", he said, "You can just explain everything to him".

They got out of the fireplace and stood in front of another piano, the third one so far. There stood the man they knew as Beethoven. His face was that of a miserable man. Looking down at the keys, he was struggling to break down from lack of inspiration and motivation. It looked painful to see him in such state. So y/n decided to start right away, she couldn't stand watching such sight.

"Uh...excuse me?", she raised her voice, knowing he was deaf. He slowly tilted his head up and stared at the two. His eyes widened in shock. "What are you doing in my house?", he asked bewildered. "We...", she began, but stopped, realising it would only confuse and upset him more. "You stay there, I'll try to fix this", she whispered to Wakko before walking over to the piano.

"So...you're struggling with...inspiration?", she asked carefuly. Beethoven slowly turned his head towards her and just stared at her, speechless. "You...think...you can help?", he finaly asked. Y/n stared back in wonder. She kinda felt like helping a child and it kinda annoyed her. "Well I can try", she blurted out. Oh no. How could she actually give him inspiration for something she already knew existed? Like, she could only guess what it sounded like. It was strange being in the past and knowing what was about to happen. But she would try anyway.

"Ok, so...I'll make something up and play it and you can give your opinion...is that fine?", she asked. He just nodded and got up from his seat. She sat there and stared at the music sheet in front of her. So it began. The long process of fixing up what was to become a masterpiece. This was stupid, now that she tought about it. Helping an adult create something that already existed, but no, she was in the past, so they had to make it all over again.

At one point, Wakko came up to her with...a horn? Well it looked like that, because he blew into it. And it made no sound. "That helps me hear", said Beethoven, and Wakko started spitting out. Y/n grabbed his hand and brought him over to the piano. "What?", he said, "I did it on purpose". "Ok, no more nonsense", she said, "If you're bored, you can help me fix something here". "Can we play what we had to play on the concert?" "No". "Aww". She sighed, "Ok, fine". And so she began to play the manic tune.

Twas a guy named Joe from Kokimo, playing that piano rag

Her voice echoed trough the room, sounding silly to her as she practicaly yelled the words out.

He banged the keys with his hands and his knees, playing that piano rag

Y/n stared at Wakko as he sang his line in a calmer voice, helping her play by dancing across the keys on his hands. She knew that was a part of the performance. Yet doubted it. Couldn't help but think about...how he was trying something on her and feel uneasy.

He twiddled with his toes and he diddled witb his nose, playing that piano rag

She sang even louder this time, trying to let it all out but not having much strengh. Before...he sat on her lap so they could sing the last line. Now that wasn't a part of their performance. Still, she had to ignore it.

And when the day was done be had some fun, playing that piano rag!

As soon as the song ended, she picked him up and put him back on his feet. Wakko pouted at her, but they were both interrupted by a clapping sound coming from Beethoven. They looked up and saw a huge smile on his face. "Kids, you're gifted", he said, "Now I know what to do".