(Untitled)

[beatingkeys]

Who: Rush + Jesse
What: Piano.
Where: Glee practice room.
When: Thursday, after school.
Rating: PG for gratuitous duets

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[beatingkeys]

"We'll see," he managed to cut in with before Jesse was ordering him (with gestures rather than words) on where to put his hands. Rush complied, somewhat huffily, and was glad to note that this was a song that he, too, knew.

It was a bit annoying that Jesse's voice seemed to overshadow the excellence of both of their playing... but, then again, Rush was very used to that, considering that he played for the Glee club and they weren't exactly (and for good reason) big on piano solos. Actually, that was probably good, because it would be embarrassing...

Anyway, Rush played, more glancing over the sheet music than really reading it and playing according to that. The singing night next to his ear was too distracting for that, anyway.

After -- well, it felt like a few minutes, but it was probably about thirty seconds, Rush decided to join in. Yeah, he was no singer when it came to the kind of talent people were publicly recognized for, which is why he was in the background of the Glee club, but he could carry a tune well enough. So he picked a moment where one verse transitioned into another and fell into step, so to speak, with Jesse.

"Confusion never stops closing walls and ticking clocks (gonna)
Come back and take you home I could not stop that you now know (singing)
Come out upon my seas curse missed opportunities (am I)
A part of the cure or am I part of the disease (singing)"

[apoorboy]

Jesse's gaze darted away from the sheet music and over to Rush when the blond began to sing. Jesse immediately set about analyzing Rush's singing voice and comparing it to his own. It wasn't a particularly strong voice, he noted, but Rush had good pitch and a reasonably melodic tone.

"You are," they sang in unison some five or six times. The repeated line gave Jesse plenty of opportunity to hear how they sounded together, and to his surprise the way their voices layered and blended wasn't wholly unpleasant. Rush's voice held a certain quiet charm, and Jesse's had power and polish; somehow they complemented each other.

"And nothing else compares."

[beatingkeys]

Rush, greatly pleased when Jesse didn't instantly recoil in horror from his less-than-stellar voice, raised his volume somewhat so that they were a bit more equal on that front. He looked up from his hands, which he had been staring at rather determinedly, and glanced at Jesse somewhat nervously, just because he didn't know if it would piss Jesse off that he was singing too, even if it was clearly not singing of the same caliber. They met eyes once or twice, but Rush couldn't really tell anything specific from that.

He went back to staring at his hands, watching as they moved, seemingly of their own accord, across the keys. Rush's lungs were just beginning to feel the strain of the unexpected singing when the song came to an end with the last "Home is where I wanted to go," and he could take a deep breath. Of course, his hands still appeared to be moving of their own accord after the song had stopped, and he forced himself to stop playing.

"That was..." he trailed off, not wanting to appear to praise himself. So he said, unsure, "nice."

[apoorboy]

Jesse feigned silent disapproval for a few brief moments before breaking out into a wide grin. His jaw ached slightly from the effort, and it occurred to Jesse that he was doing more smiling lately than he was accustomed to.

"Your voice," he began, unsure of what to say. "It wasn't bad."

Coming from Jesse St. James, that was practically a glowing review.

"But don't let it get into your head that you can compete with me," he added haughtily. "The last thing I need is my piano player quitting the show."

[beatingkeys]

Rush smiled back, still looking unsure of himself. He then looked away, clearing his throat as Jesse told him his voice "wasn't bad." Considering what he meant when he said Jesse's piano playing "wasn't bad," that was actually pretty good compared to his own hyper-critical view of his singing voice.

"You can be sure that your piano player will be there," Rush returned, examining the nails of his right hand so he seemed to have a purpose in looking away from Jesse other than that he was being stupidly shy. "Competing with you would just be... embarrassing. For me."

But he didn't really want to think about that much longer because, well, as he said... embarrassing. "So. Do you... have something else you brought for us to play?"

[apoorboy]

Jesse thought a moment and then reached down into his backpack, groping around for a somewhat thick volume of music he'd recently checked out from the Lima Public Library. It was a collection of Broadway standards, solos for males. He flipped to one at random, immensely pleased when he realized it was something only he could sing: "The Music of the Night," from The Phantom of the Opera.

"You'd better let me handle this one," Jesse smirked, straightening his back and squaring his shoulders. He would have to utilize all of his breathing exercises in order to sustain the longer notes of the song.

"Night-time sharpens,
heightens each sensation
Darkness stirs and wakes imagination
Silently the senses abandon their defenses...

Slowly, gently night unfurls its splendor
Grasp it, sense it - tremulous and tender
Turn your face away
from the garish light of day,
turn your thoughts away
from cold, unfeeling light -
and listen to the music of the night..."

[beatingkeys]

Rush pushed back to give Jesse some room to play, his lips twitching somewhat when he saw what Jesse took out of his backpack; yeah, okay, Rush had known Jesse... well... not that long, but already it seemed so like him to randomly carry around a gigantic book of songs for him to whip out so that he could wield his voice to the public. Or the private, as he was now, but still.

He listened intently to Jesse's singing, giving it the attention that it clearly deserved, but by the middle of the song he was becoming... a bit discontent. Rush thought the song would be so much better if Jesse could just focus entirely on the singing, so he moved closer, making sure their eyes met, and he sort of jerked his head to indicate that Jesse should stand and let him take over.

Rush put his hands under Jesse's and begun playing, neither of them forced to pause or falter as Jesse stood, and Rush put some of his attention towards playing; perhaps a quarter of his attention, because the rest was still focused on the singing.

[apoorboy]

Jesse appreciated Rush's thoughtfulness in taking over the musical accompaniment and was glad to have a chance to stand: it would give him the extra power and control that he needed to do the song properly. He wished he had someone to really perform to, however; this song, like many others in the Phantom score, was a veiled seduction, and Jesse always felt that was half the fun of singing it. Nevertheless, he continued to croon in his softest, smoothest tone:

"Close your eyes and surrender to your
darkest dreams!
Purge your thoughts of the life
you knew before!
Close your eyes,
let your spirit start to soar!
And you'll live
as you've never lived before...

Softly, deftly,
music shall surround you...
Feel it, hear it,
closing in around you...
Open up your mind,
let your fantasies unwind,
in this darkness which
you know you cannot fight -
the darkness of the music of the night...

Let your mind start a journey
through a strange new world!
Leave all thoughts
of the world you knew before!
Let your soul take you where you
long to be!
Only then can you belong to me..."

[beatingkeys]

An odd sensation seemed to be taking over Rush, beginning at the spot on his neck just below where his hair fell, and spreading upward, downward, and outward in all direction until the whole of him just felt -- odd. He didn't stop playing, however, since he figured that would be a disservice to Jesse, and he hunched a little more over the piano, his fingers becoming a bit more stiff as he did.

Rush rolled his shoulders in an attempt to diffuse the feeling as Jesse came to the last few verses. He looked up at the sheet music to be sure of what he was playing, and put his best effort into the last part of the song and beginning to press more softly at the end to give Jesse center stage.

And when he sang the last line, "Help me make the music of the night," Rush had the piano trail off softly, then dropped his hands to his lap.

He turned his head to look at Jesse and, after coughing awkwardly, said "I'd clap, but... I'm not sure you clap for private shows."

[apoorboy]

Jesse strained to hear the final, echoing note long after it had already faded. He stood in stunned silence, facing away from Rush and not daring to meet his gaze. Something about that performance had been... different. He hadn't sung with such energy, such raw power and personality in quite a while. That song, in those moments, had been his. Had he been onstage, in the role of the Phantom, Jesse had no doubt there would have been a standing ovation at the end of the evening. Something had shifted and the words, the music had made sudden, undeniable sense.

Setting aside his strange revelation, Jesse finally deigned to look at Rush. It would probably have been rude, he reasoned, to ignore the other boy in favor of analyzing his performance further.

"You match me well," Jesse admitted, reaching for his music. "I know I paused a hair too long after one verse, but you waited. You'll be great in Chicago."

[beatingkeys]

"Oh," Rush said, unable to come up with a more coherent response to the praise. The silence hung between them for quite a few moments, and Rush found that it was quickly becoming a little too awkward for his tastes. "I mean-- thanks. You will too. Obviously."

He stood, perhaps a little too quickly, and picked up his backpack to put his own sheet music away, figuring that after that they were both practiced-out for the day. "So, uh... I'll see you at rehearsal, right?"

[apoorboy]

Jesse frowned at Rush's sudden awkwardness when they had seemed so at ease not long before. Maybe he thought Jesse was too much of a show-off (he was) and didn't want to be in his presence anymore. Jesse shrugged and tried to dispel any lingering feelings of disappointment.

"I never miss a rehearsal," Jesse answered neutrally, gathering his own belongings.

"See you then."

[beatingkeys]

"Yeah, see you."

Rush dawdled some, leaving Jesse time to leave first. He then sat back down at the bench and letting his hands linger over the keys for a little longer.

But he couldn't really think of what he wanted to play. He tapped the keys in no pattern in particular and looked back at the door.

He was just thankful that the feeling on his neck was gone.

[apoorboy]

This thread is now closed.