Chapter 9: Sing To Me, Harmony

~“Open up next to you and my secrets become your truth. And the distance between that was sheltering me comes in full view.” —Sara Bareilles.~

Chapter Theme Song: “Breathe Again” by Sara Bareilles.

THIRD PERSON

~Captivating.~

That’s the word that keeps popping up in Harmony’s mind as she carefully sketches the portrait of the ~perfect~ boy sitting before her.

He must be one of God’s most prized creations, a masterpiece that even the creator himself must have marveled at once he was done shaping him.

Before Blaze, she had never felt the urge to appreciate male beauty.

Sure, she had interacted with boys during her school years, but none of them had ever stirred such feelings within her.

The emotions Blaze ignites in her are vastly different from those Callum evokes.

While Callum exudes a refreshing, friendly aura, Blaze is somewhat intimidating yet has the ability to etch himself into one’s memory effortlessly.

There might be days when she doesn’t think of Callum, but ever since she met Blaze Xander, not a minute goes by without his mesmerizing eyes flashing in her mind. And it scares her.

She looks at the finished sketch and a satisfied smile spreads across her face. She captured him perfectly, from his curly black hair to his long lashes to his full red lips. They’re all depicted beautifully.

This must be how God felt when he finished creating such a remarkable being. He must have spent years perfecting this ~flawless~ human.

“I’m done, you should see it.” She looks up, grinning with excitement, only to find that her model has fallen asleep.

His breathing is steady, his muscular arms loosely crossed over his chest. Harmony watches him silently, and for a moment, she feels a pang of sympathy for him.

She’s not sure where this sudden empathy comes from, but it might be because his mother committed suicide—in the most horrific way possible.

He always seems so composed, but she lived with a broken mother for six years, and she knows what brokenness looks like. She too has been scarred by the death of her father.

So recognizing a broken person isn’t difficult for her; she’s all too familiar with it. Blaze must be hurting deep down, and no one can convince her otherwise.

She quietly rises from her seat and walks towards him, clutching her sketchpad to her chest. She sits down on the mattress, her emerald eyes studying his flawless face.

Up close, he looks like a Roman god, his features radiating beauty. Sketching his image was a joy, but now she’s even more captivated by the real thing.

She smiles softly at his long eyelashes, casting a thick shadow over his closed eyes. Then a strange thought crosses her mind. ~What do they feel like?~

Before she can question her unusual impulse, she reaches out to trace a finger over one of his delicate lashes.

The fine hairs shift under her touch and her heart races at their softness. ~He can’t be human; he’s too perfect.~

As if one touch isn’t enough, she turns her attention to the other eyelash, wanting to give it the same attention.

But as soon as her finger hovers over the fine hairs, Blaze’s hand shoots up to grasp her wrist.

His sparkling blue eyes, windows to a soul, slowly open to meet her surprised gaze. His eyes are slightly squinted, confirming that he was indeed asleep.

Harmony’s cheeks flush the color of his lips as she stares at him, speechless and embarrassed. And as if her self-consciousness isn’t enough, Blaze opens his mouth to state the obvious.

“You’re quite hands-on, green eyes.”

His silvery voice sends a shiver down her spine and her heart pounds as she tries to pull her hand free. “Sorry. I was just—”

She lets out a yelp as Blaze swiftly flips her onto her back. His strong upper body lightly pins her to the mattress and her eyes widen at the compromising position.

“Blaze.”

“Yes?”

A smirk plays on his lips as he places a hand beside her head, trapping her. His lower body remains seated, one foot on the ground, the other bent at the knee on his bed.

Harmony looks up at the handsome guy above her, stunned and trembling.

“What are you—”

“You touched me first.” His eyes are heavy and intense, and she’s sure she’ll stop breathing soon. “Do you know what happens when you touch a boy like that, Harmony?”

She looks up at him, unsure if he’s expecting an answer. But maybe he isn’t, because he answers his own question.

“Things like this...happen.” He lifts a hand to tuck a strand of her curly hair between his fingers, and she swallows nervously as her eyes follow his hand.

Harmony is shaking beneath him, and Blaze is undoubtedly aware of it. It only fuels his desire. He thrives on fear, vulnerability, and innocence.

He enjoys putting people in situations that are overwhelming for them but satisfying for him. This is his entertainment. This is what makes him smile.

~Power.~

“I-I think...we should just—” Harmony isn’t sure what she wants to say.

She may be inexperienced in relationships and intimacy, but she knows what it means when a boy looks at her with such an expression. ~Desire.~

She’s read enough books and watched enough romance movies to know what comes next.

The look Blaze is giving her right now is the same look the male lead gives before he kisses the heroine.

~Kissing.~ She’s not ready for that. She’s been saving her first kiss for the man she’ll marry someday.

She never imagined her first kiss would be with a boy she just met a few days ago, on his dorm bed.

Harmony had always pictured her first kiss happening under the moonlight, or maybe on a beach, but certainly not here.

Unfortunately, Blaze doesn’t give a damn about ~first kisses~ or ~fairytales~. He doesn’t believe in such ~fantasies~.

He doesn’t care if her lips are untouched or if she’s saving them for ~the one~. He wants her.

And whoever her future husband might be will just have to accept that he wasn’t the first man to claim her in this way.

Her chest rises and falls with quick breaths as Blaze lightly brushes her lower lip with his thumb.

She tries to summon the willpower to tell him to stop, but it’s as if Blaze has cast some kind of spell on her, leaving her frozen beneath him.

~She should have listened. She shouldn’t have come here. Now she’s stuck; unable to move, unable to escape.~

“Your heart is beating so fast, Harmony,” he whispers, and her wide, forest-green eyes shimmer with fear. “I can hear it so clearly...”

He’s not the only one. She can hear her own heart pounding in her ears. She takes a small breath as Blaze slowly begins to close the distance between them.

A mix of adrenaline and anxiety courses through her body as she watches his soft, pink lips hover over hers. He’s so close that she can smell the scent of his body wash, mingling with the intoxicating aroma of his masculine deodorant.

His silver cross necklace brushes against her flushed neck as he keeps his eyes locked on hers, his head moving closer, and closer, and closer.

Quickly, she shuts her eyes and grabs the sketchpad from next to her, placing it between their lips. Blaze freezes as she holds it there, her closed eyelids the only thing he can see.

“T-the drawing...,” she stammers. “I-I think we should look at it…”

Watching her shaking hands clutching her makeshift barrier, he fights back a smile.

Harmony opens her eyes, her innocent green gaze meeting his steady, predatory one.

“Okay,” he says, and she sighs in relief, quickly sliding out from under him as if she’s trying to escape a ghost.

Being close to him has proven to be dangerous, and she makes a mental note to keep her distance from now on.

She hands him the sketchpad then subtly moves further away, her body still shaking. He notices this and suppresses a smirk as he looks at the detailed sketch of himself.

“Wow. This is good.” He looks at her with a wide smile. “I like it.”

“You do?” Her face lights up, and he nods instantly.

“Absolutely. You’re talented, Harmony.”

And he means it. Not only does she have an amazing voice, but her ability to transform reality into art is truly impressive.

She smiles, his compliment sending her over the moon. “Thank you.”

“Can I have it?” He grins charmingly.

“Yeah.” She grips the edge of the bed to contain her excitement. “Sure, of course.”

He carefully tears the page out and hands her back the sketchpad before examining the image again. “Wow. It looks even better than the real thing.”

Harmony appreciates his praise, but she feels he’s laying it on a bit thick. She knows she’s a good artist, but she doesn’t think her skills are out of this world.

Great artists before her have shown such talent in their work. She’s not the first.

“It’s not that great.” She scrunches up her face, swinging her feet and looking down to hide her blush.

Blaze playfully narrows his eyes at her. “It looks exactly like me, so if you’re saying it’s not that great, you’re saying that ~I~ am not that great. Is that what you’re trying to say?”

She laughs at this, and Blaze’s lips twitch at the sound of her innocent laughter. He’s struck gold.

“Sorry...I mean, you’re great, but the drawing isn’t that great. I feel like anyone could have drawn that.”

“Well...I wouldn’t be able to.” He shrugs, and her cheeks darken. His words are melting her heart, and she looks away from him and at the floor.

“You’re great too,” she says. “I liked your Naruto drawing. It was a bit creepy, but it was nice.”

He chuckles and nods. “Thank you.”

She looks at him but quickly averts her gaze again.

“By the way,” he starts, tucking his legs under him as he sits up straight. “That guy...I saw you talking to today. Who is he?”

He bites his lip and places the sketch on the nightstand before looking back at a confused Harmony.

“Which guy?” She frowns. She hasn’t spoken to many guys since she arrived, so he must be talking about... “You mean Mal?”

“Mal,” Blaze repeats the name under his breath before shaking his head with a soft scoff.

Harmony notices his strange reaction and turns to face him, rubbing her arm. “He’s in my literature class. Why do you ask?”

Blaze leans his head against the wall, casually shrugging his shoulders as he looks at her through his long lashes. “No reason. What were you guys talking about?”

She purses her lips as she tries to remember. “Well, um, he wanted me to join the music club.”

“Oh, well, you should. You’d be great.”

She knows, but she hasn’t found the courage to do so yet. She looks down, nervously fiddling with the hem of her dress. “I don’t sing in front of people.”

Blaze studies her before asking, “Why?”

“Because...” She’s not sure she wants to share such personal information, but considering she’s already told him about her father’s death, she’s already crossed that line.

“I used to sing for my dad, but now that he’s gone, the thought of singing for anyone else makes me sick.”

A quiet moment passes between them. Harmony doesn’t expect Blaze to offer any comfort. He’s already shown that he’s not the comforting type.

And he confirms her thoughts when he simply glosses over her confession.

“I heard you singing the other day...you seemed okay.” He gives a half-smile.

“That’s because I didn’t know you were there,” she admits, and he nods in understanding.

“Yeah. I guess you’re right.”

Her mind drifts back to that moment when he had emerged from behind the wall, and she can’t help but wonder.

“Why were you there?” She looks up at him, brushing her hair away from her face. “Hiding behind that wall...all alone.”

He shrugs. “I just wanted to be alone... Is that weird?”

“No, not at all. It’s just surprising that you, ‘the life of the party,’ would want to be alone.”

“Well…” He takes a deep breath. “Sometimes there’s more to people than what you see on the surface.”

She looks at him, considering his words. They’re deeper than he probably intended. The saying is fitting for someone like him.

First, she discovered his love for art, then she found out he listens to Kodaline. And just the other day, she learned his mother committed suicide, yet he seems so calm and unaffected.

He’s a mystery, and she’s incredibly curious about the person hiding behind his eyes.

~I just hope my curiosity doesn’t get the best of me.~

“What is it?” Blaze pulls one knee up to his chest, meeting her intense gaze.

She shrugs slightly, her lips twisting. “It’s just...your eyes.”

His eyebrows knit together in confusion before smoothing out again. “What about them?”

“They seem...empty sometimes. Is that on purpose?”

Blaze looks at her. He needs to be careful around this observant first-year. She’s sharper than he initially thought.

He can tell she’s academically gifted, so she’s not someone he can easily fool.

Not everyone can see the emptiness in his eyes, but she just pointed it out without hesitation. Maybe she should be the one worried about their connection.

He smiles. “Are you trying to figure me out, green eyes?”

She’s unsure how to respond to his question, so she stays silent.

That’s exactly what she’s trying to do. Figure him out. She’s usually good at reading people, but with Blaze Xander, she feels like she’s staring at a blank page.

“Don’t try to,” he advises her gently. “It’ll just leave you confused. And it’ll only hurt you in the end.”

His gaze is intense, and she looks at him in confusion. What does he mean? Before she can ask him to clarify, he speaks again.

“Okay,” he says. “You can practice singing in front of me. I’m all ears.” He sits up straight, and Harmony shakes her head.

“No, I can’t. I can’t sing in front of anyone, Blaze.”

“No, you can, Harmony. Fear is a real bitch. You don’t want to carry that around. Let it go.”

Ignoring his crude language, she frowns at his advice. “That’s easy for you to say.”

“Just try.”

“I can’t.”

“You can.”

“I can’t.”

“You can.”

She glares at his stubbornness, and he laughs. “Just pretend I’m hiding behind a wall.”

She smiles.

~What?~

He raises his hands and holds them in front of his face.

“Last time you sang comfortably because you thought I wasn’t there. So just pretend I’m behind a wall right now. Technically, you’re alone in the room.”

Harmony giggles and he peeks at her through his fingers with feigned surprise.

“Who are you laughing with? I’m not in the room, so you must be going crazy laughing by yourself.”

She bursts into laughter and Blaze joins in with a soft chuckle of his own. But he doesn’t lower his hands, so he must still be expecting her to sing.

Harmony decides to give it a shot. After all, Blaze already heard her sing in the music room. She can just pretend he’s not there, just like he suggested.

“Okay, um, what should I sing?” she asks, pushing her curly hair back from her face.

“Mm. You choose. I liked your choice last time.”

She thinks for a moment. There are so many songs to choose from, and as a music lover, picking a song is like picking a needle out of a haystack.

After some thought, she decides on “Breathe Again” by Sara Bareilles.

She clears her throat. “Okay, I’m going to start, but please don’t laugh.”

“Laugh? What’s that? I’ve never heard of it. Did you make it up?”

She chuckles and adjusts her position on the bed so she’s facing his hands. She focuses on the cross ring on his finger, trying to steady her breathing and gather her courage.

Finally, she closes her eyes and opens her mouth, letting the lyrics flow out.

~“Car is parked, bags are packed, but what kind of heart doesn’t look back at the comfortable glow from the porch, the one I will still call yours?~

~“All those words came undone and now I’m not the only one facing the ghosts that decide if the fire inside still burns. All I have, all I need, he’s the air I would kill to breathe.~

~“Holds my love in his hands, still, I’m searching for something. Out of breath, I am left hoping someday I’ll breathe again…”~

Her voice is soft and gentle, each word caressed and made uniquely hers.

A choir of a thousand angels couldn't produce such a sweet, melodic sound. It fills the room, calming the air and transforming the atmosphere into one of warmth and comfort.

With her nerves now at ease, she continues to sing, her voice free from the constraints it held before.

~“Open up next to you and my secrets become your truth and the distance between that was sheltering me comes in full view.~

~“Hang my head, break my heart, built from all I have torn apart, and my burden to bear is a love I can’t carry anymore. All I have, all I need, he’s the air I would kill to breathe.~

~“Holds my love in his hands, still I’m searching for something. Out of breath, I am left hoping someday I’ll breathe again…”~

She finishes the song, slowly opening her eyes to find Blaze watching her intently. His hands, once covering his face, now rest in his lap.

The warm, comforting atmosphere has shifted into one of intense desire, and her heart races once again.

She swallows hard as Blaze leans in, their breaths mingling in the shared air.

His gaze drops to her lips, and her eyelashes flutter nervously under the intensity of his stare. Her body trembles as she watches him look at her mouth with longing.

“I... I thought you were going to stay behind the wall.”

Her nervous chatter had saved her before, but she doubts it will be enough this time.

“I couldn’t, Harmony,” he whispers, his gaze locked on her wide, innocent eyes. “Not when you broke it down.”

With his hands on either side of her, he leans in, closing the remaining distance and pressing his lips to hers.

Claiming her first kiss and beginning the process of shattering her innocence.

~^”Now I’m about to give you my heart but remember this one thing; I’ve never been in love before so you gotta go easy on me.” —Jordin Sparks.^~