Chapter Text
You were dragged to a violin recital on campus by a friend you don't even speak to anymore. He said his girlfriend was playing, and that he'd repay you third wheeling with McDonald's afterwards.
You don't really have recital worthy clothes, but you dressed the best you could. It was a rainy evening in June, warm and humid, and the A/C in the amphitheater felt relieving until the cold seeped through your wet clothes and made you shiver in the audience. You sat front row beside your friend and watched the first few musicians with a dejected, bored expression. You never cared much for classical music. You make sure to clap for your friend's girlfriend as she bows to the audience, who apparently hear something in this kind of music that you clearly don't.
You're about to get up from your seat when you realize there's one more person walking up to the stage. Short white hair with green strands. Eyes the color of polished emerald and every bit as bright. You find yourself sitting up straighter, and you don't know why. The second the strings start vibrating, you understand that whoever organized the recital saved the best for last. The music is unlike anything you've ever heard. At first it's a slow, warm, gentle and vaguely melancholic sound. Like the memory of an afternoon you hadn't recognized as special at the time but now feels like a nostalgic long lost dream.
Then the pace picks up, and builds into an anxious asphyxia of all your senses. The overwhelming feeling of every problem you ignored for what was supposed to be the best years of your life, all crashing down at the same time. You pay attention to the girl on stage, eyes closed, brow furrowed, lips downturned as her hand moves with equal parts practiced precision and raw emotion. Your heart follows the rhythm of the song, down, up, higher, lower, crescendo, crash. Then the same calm, warm motif of the first verse is now a triumphant celebration of overcoming, the feeling of solving a puzzle, the joy of carefree summer noon at the beach. It ends, and you're clapping, but you don't remember having stood up. The audience seems to follow your cue and the blushing artist is bowing deeply in gratitude. Her eyes lock onto yours for a second, or you could've imagined that. There's a smile on your face that you haven't worn in a long time.
Your friend's girlfriend notices your enthusiasm.
"She's really amazing, isn't she?"
"Wh-... yeah. That was beautiful."
"The music?", a knowing smile.
"Yeah."
An hour later, you find yourself backstage with your friends, being introduced to the artist that captured your heart. Your friend tells her you were enthralled by her perfomance. You remind him he just found out what "enthralled" means earlier today through an app.
"That was incredible," you say. "And this is coming from the kind of person who never thought they'd ever even set foot in a violin recital. A-all due respect, of course..."
Soft giggles, reserved, quiet. Gorgeous. Like music.
"Thank you. I wasn't expecting a stranger to start a standing ovation for me."
You catch a german accent, the curled Rs, the AHs. It sounds right coming from her lips.
"O-oh, i... that wasn't intentional... i-i mean, of course you deserved one, i just didn't know..."
You're stuttering, and she's still giggling.
"Friend of a girlfriend of a friend." you think. Someone brings up the McDonald's and the four of you walk. The girls are talking techincal terms you don't understand like arpeggios and stacattos? Your friend elbows you in the ribs and gives you a proud smile. Inside, after ordering you tap your card before she can refuse. She blushes.
You're walking her back to her dorm, your friend left with his girlfriend. You two talk a bit, slightly stilted. You hold back a waterfall of compliments. You wanna tell her that her accent is cute, that her giggles inject dopamine straight into your veins, that she looks gorgeous under the moonlight.
"It was a pleasure to meet you... o-oh my God, i didn't even ask your name!" ,you realize as you speak.
More giggles.
"That just means we were having too much fun to be formal. Cecilia Immergreen." - She extends a delicate hand, soft and slightly textured with the callouses of a string player.
You exchange your last pleasantries of the night. You watch her silhouette elegantly disappear into the doorframe with an adorable wave. You walk back, and the stars look prettier tonight. They have a green hue to them now.