Music at Night

Part 2

I heard the lock click behind us as Anthony lead me out of the apartment, turning his key in the lock and pocketing it deep where I could never get to it. It wasn't like I planned on trying to steal it in the first place, but I suppose he had the right to be wary of me. I did, however, eye the chapstick he slid into his pocket very carefully. My lips hurt.

"Alright." He glanced down at the watch on his wrist, the same gold one I'd been looking at when I'd first come in. "We've got four hours, tops, until the music stops."

"Wonderful," I responded curtly.

He rolled his eyes. "Where do we start?"

"Well, we can't hope to search the whole city in one night, and you sure as hell can't think I'm doing this over and over again."

He glared over at me. "I know that, idiot. It's not like I don't live here. I'm asking where you think we should start."

I folded my arms. "I've got a pretty good idea of where it comes from, actually."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. But first, I'm in desperate need of chapstick."

He rolled his eyes. "You're not supposed to share, but..."

Almost grudgingly he pulled the little stick out of his pocket and handed it over. At the moment, it felt like dragging something across my already-agitated lips, but I knew bliss would come later. I handed it back gratefully, but he waved his hand. "Keep it. You need it more than I do."

"Thanks," I said, slipping it into my pocket. "I'm positive the music is coming from the piers."

He raised his eyebrows. "I swear I've looked up and down every one, Angelica."

I winced at his using my name despite the fact that I'd willingly given it to him. "Maybe they move," I suggested. "Not in the same place every night."

He shrugged. "A possibility, yes."

We watched each other for a long moment. Finally he said, "To the piers, then?"

"Sounds like a plan."

•••••

The half-hour it took us to walk to the water from the apartment building felt very long. I was tempted to run, but it was clear that Anthony didn't spend most of his days sleeping as I did. It was already obvious that he'd wanted to go to bed after a long day at work but had jumped at the idea of another person hearing the night music. At long last we crested a final hill and looked down on a series of piers jetting out into the bay.

The fog rolling in made them difficult to see and count on the far ends, and the Golden Gate bridge was already invisible against the ocean beyond, but I glanced over at Anthony's determined face and knew that I wasn't going to be allowed to give up here.

I sighed. "Okay. Where do we start?"

"Why are we the only ones who hear it?" He asked.

"Good question. Where do we start?"

"No, I'm serious. What's special about us?"

"I said, that's a very good question, Anthony."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm just wondering, okay? I know you didn't come out here to make a friend. Neither did I. But it might be a clue."

"You're thinking way too much into this, dude."

"So maybe I am." He sighed. "Well, miss street rat, which pier does the music sound like it's coming from?"

I listened, but the playing was interrupted by the loud chiming of a clock tower. One am. Meaning, we had three and a half hours, tops. As soon as it ended, I heard the flute notes start up again. "I have no idea," I confessed.

He sighed. "Well, I'm hearing it from over there, so..."

He pointed in the direction of what I was sure was that giant science museum, the Exploratorium. I sighed. "Off we go, then?"

"Do we really have anything else to go off of?" He responded, and for the first time since we'd left the house, he started walking first.

•••••
It didn't take us long to reach the pier. I'd been right, it was the science museum, but Anthony didn't stop. He kept walking. Confused, I followed, trudging along behind him as he occasionally looked back to make sure I was still following, green eyes marking my every move.

This was blackmail.

I sighed. "Time?"

"One twenty."

"I'm not hearing anything from this direction," I complained. "This is pointless. I've never found it before, and neither have you."

He whirled on me. "Did your parents teach you to complain this much or did you learn this on the streets?"

"What do you expect me to do?" I yelled. "You're dragging me around looking for a mystery musician who probably doesn't even want to be found!"

"Maybe you shouldn't have snuck into my house!"

Frightened, I stumbled backwards as his hands clenched into fists. He froze at the look of terror on my face, and after a moment, his gaze softened significantly. "Why are you out on the streets?" He asked gently.

"What do you care? No one does!" I snapped. "You want to go find the music, fine, let's go find the music!"

"I'm serious."

What I wanted to say froze on my tongue at his tone. He did, in fact, sound completely serious. The pain in my lips having faded to a dull ache, I tried to speak and found no voice, only goosebumps along my cold arms. A boy with Amazon jungle green eyes raising his voice was terrifying in itself. I took a breath. "It doesn't matter."

"I think it does."

I blinked up at him. He met my gaze as the flute continued to play in the background. Finally I whimpered, "I fell in love with the wrong guy."

Silence followed my statement. He let out a breath and nodded. "That's all you're going to say?"

"You asked why. That's why."

"What happened?"

"What happened isn't important. Let's just go find the music, okay?"

I brushed past him indignantly, leaving him standing in the middle of the sidewalk, hands in his warm coat pockets.

•••••

The clock chimed two as we approached Pier 39. The tourist trap was deserted at this hour even despite being one of the most popular and iconic spots in the city. I sighed and glanced over at Anthony. He shrugged. "Think this might be worth a shot?"

"Not really," I confessed. "I can't imagine someone picking this place. It's always crawling with night guards."

"Really?" He asked.

"Mmm-hmm. Not that I've tried to rob it, or would ever try."

"You sure you didn't take anything from my apartment?"

"This chapstick is mine now."

He rolled his eyes. "Why would you steal things anyways? All that homeless outreach stuff must be worth something."

"I've tried to tell you, I'm not a thief. And all that homeless outreach stuff, it's mediocre and far from enough. Huge demand, not enough supplies."

He raised his eyebrows. "So... why don't you steal things?"

I blinked at him. "Because I've got a guilty conscience."

"Guilty enough to never go back to your family?"

I froze, eyes narrowing, teeth clenched. I took a step back, fixating him with my death glare. "That's not my decision to make."

"You're still a minor. You can't legally be out here alone."

"Please, just shut up. Let's go. I think I heard the music coming from back the way we came."

I turned and walked away.