The Four Seasons for Quintet

by CrackedInkWell

Winter, 2nd Movement.

Nine days after a nosy New Year with fireworks popping away into the night, Harmonic was in his car driving. In the passenger seat, he bought a bouquet of blood red roses with one white one in the center. Being a Saturday, he drove over the slush, snow, and ice over gray roads towards a certain place in town. A place that consisted about two mile square of green pines, oak, spruce, and birch trees that for the most half makes up one of the town’s parks. The other half housed a small zoo while the other, larger half consisted of a cemetery.

Down Chestnut Ave, the Violinist pulled up to the gate that separated the line of houses from the line of tombstones and pine trees. In the warmer months, the cemetery was always taken care of to be sure it was completely green of leveled grass, planted flowers, and well-trimmed trees. But being the middle of winter where the ground was layered with untouched snow, the hollowed grounds were as still as ever.

Getting out of his car with the roses in hand, Harmonic walked into the frozen graveyard towards the spot of a particular carved stone. Minutes of crunching snow underneath his shoes later, he came to the permanent memorial. With his gloved hand, he swept away the snow and frost off of his late Husband’s name, “Color Spectrum Trotivari,” and the painted portrait of the Artist’s face that was forever encased in clear, hard plastic.

Kneeling down, Harmonic placed the flowers at the base of the stone, “Good afternoon,” he said. “I thought it was about time I came to visit you instead of talking to your paintings.” The Violinist laughed quietly, “To be honest, I can’t believe that it’s really have been a year. With all that’s happened, it seemed that time’s moving quite quickly as of late. But I’ve been keeping myself busy though, I’ve returned to teaching Orchestra, as well as taking on some privet lessons in the summer too.

“What else… Oh! Script is married now. He’s finally hitched himself to Page back in December. I’ve helped them out with their wedding of course, make it all Christmas themed. They told me that it was all beautiful for all the work I’ve done. They went to Manhattan for their honeymoon and said that they had fun over there.”

Harmonic paused for a moment as if waiting for a reply, “Also, I have a couple of students that I’ve helped out a bit. Both of them couples too that one of them, Lyra and Sweetie Drops, came to me for advice about when they get out of High School. With those two… when I started teaching again and feeling down, for a while they’ve left some gift baskets on my desk. I think one of them had a family member (I think it was an uncle) who passed on and tried to show their sympathies.

“While the other couple is two boys named Braeburn and Soarin. Color, I think you would have liked to meet them. In a way… they kind of reminded of us when we’ve started dating. In a way, I’ve helped them come to terms with themselves and become more open about who they are. They’ve shown a kind of happiness that I haven’t seen since you were alive.

“And it’s because of these two… that they’ve shown that I can move on. Color, I still miss you, and I still love you for more then you’re worth, but they, and you were right. I can’t go on grieving for you forever. Truth is, I don’t feel as bad as I was a year ago. Yes, I have shed many tears. I have, well, still am talking to you as if you’re still here. But as of now… I think I’m a little better now. I can now wake up every morning to look at your last masterpiece without bursting into an ocean of tears. In fact, I’m able to put the pictures of you in it back on the walls now.”

A bitter wind blew through the graveyard, loose snowflakes sprayed over the amber man before it settled as quickly as it came.

“At the same time, I have a confession to make,” Harmonic sighed. “I have looked back on the last thing you’ve said to me before you passed. You know, about me finding someone to give that same happiness that you’ve given me. Truth is Color; I don’t exactly feel ready to go into the dating field yet. It’s not that my job has taken too much time with my schedule; it’s just that I don’t know if it’ll be possible for me to go out with a total stranger. Not only that, but where do I even start?

“I don’t trust any of those dating sites since you can never be too sure if any of them really say who they are. There is not a single gay bar for miles, and even if there was one here in Equestrian, I don’t think I’ll be able to go because a bar isn’t one of those places to find a stable relationship where alcohol is involved in my opinion. To top it off, I don’t know if I’ll be able to even find anyone decent that swings that way.”

With a sigh, he stood up. “I wonder what you’re doing now. Wherever you are, I hope that you’re at peace somewhere. Perhaps in a kind of heaven where paintings become real every time you paint them. But as of now, I have to go; Script is expecting me to come over soon. However, I will see you again soon. Sound good?” But the stone still remained forever silent.

Harmonic turned away towards the gate of the cemetery. Snow fell from the sky that slowly covered his tracks by the time he started his car and drove away. Although Harmonic couldn’t explain it, there was a sense of peace when he left, as if someone familiar was thanking him for the visit.

_*_

Lyra let her back pack slump to the floor of her room. At present, she didn’t feel like doing her homework right away since she just got home for school. All those chapters of reading, journal assignments, and looking over study guides can wait for all she cared. All she cared about doing right now was to flop onto the bed with music playing in her earphones.

While she did sigh when her back landed on the blankets of her bed, she didn’t get the chance to place those nosy buds in her ears when she heard a ring from her phone. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled it out to find a text.

It was from Bon Bon.

‘This is bad,’ it said.

Cocking an eyebrow, she used the tiny keyboard to message back, ‘What’s bad?’

‘I’ve just got home and found the response letter in the mail from Calvin Hill University. I’ve been rejected. ;_;’

The Harpist was shot in the heart with sympathy, ‘Oh Bonnie, I’m so sorry! What happened?’

‘Something about that I’m underqualified. I couldn’t finish reading the rest of it.’

‘R u okay?’

‘No.’

‘Is there something I can do?’

‘I just really need someone to talk to. My parents are out of the house for now.’

‘Okay, give me a sec.’ She touched her phone a few times until she got to her girlfriend’s number to call her up. It didn’t take long for her girlfriend to pick up, “Hello?”

She heard a sniff from the other end, “Hey.”

“I don’t understand what’s going on. How can you be rejected? I thought you were so sure about this whole college thing.”

“So was I,” Sweetie Drops croaked. “It said something about my grades, that I was barely underqualified. Lyra it’s… it’s not fair.”

“Hey, hey now, it’s not all bad. You still got plenty of colleges to choose from.”

“Like what?”

“Well… what about that local college here, did you talk with your folks about it?”

“Of course we did,” she sniffed. “B-but we wanted to see about Calvin Hill first before we did anything. Lyra… What does this say about my future? Do I even have one?”

“Bonnie, calm down, this isn’t the end of the world. Even if you don’t get into that University, you still got others to choose from. Maybe you need to start small, someplace that doesn’t need you to prove that you’re some prodigy.”

“Yeah but… I don’t know. I’m sorry Lyra; I’m just feeling really down here.”

“No, you’re fine. Just don’t let this get to you. I know rejection sucks, but you shouldn’t let it bother you. I mean, you’ve still got me at least.”

“I suppose so,” she trailed off.

“Sweetie, can I ask you something?”

“What?”

“Why Calvin Hill?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, out of all the places you could have gone to, why that place?”

“Well,” Bon Bon sniffed, “It’s because my family had graduated there in the past. So there’s a kind of expectation that I would get my degree there. But more importantly, they have a culinary school that’s been on the top ten best in the country. I was hoping that if I go there, after I’m done with whatever generals I take, I could enroll in those classes to further my skill in making sweets. But now…”

“Oh… Sweetie, I didn’t know. Ah man, it makes all I’ve said a little too cold-hearted, huh?”

“I forgive you. It’s my fault I haven’t told ya about that bit until now. Sorry about that.”

“Hey, I guess you learn a little something new every day, am I right?”

This got a laugh from her girlfriend, “Yeah. Just a bit disappointing that I didn’t get in though. Do you think that if I get into the local college that I might make my way up to Calvin?”

Lyra shrugged, “I guess. But of course, the first thing you need to do is to get in there obviously.”

“You think they’ll accept me?”

“From what I’ve heard, it’s not like you’re applying to Harvard or anything. Although your chances of getting in should be higher, I think. Still, don’t get yourself all worked up over this. I think that you’re already a great Confectionist.”

“I’m just an assistant.”

Lyra blew raspberries, “Don’t give me that, you’re the only girl I know who can easily put chocolates from Europe to shame! Honestly, I don’t think you need a piece of paper that tells the world that you can make candy, your samples would convince them enough.”

“Awe… that’s so sweet coming from you.”

“But I mean it. Bonnie, you really need to give yourself a whole lot more credit than ya think. Even if you don’t even get into college after High School, I think you’ll do pretty well on your own.”

“I don’t know about that.”

Lyra sat up, “Still, you’ll be fine. Just talk it out to your folks and I think they’ll say the same thing I’ve been saying, don’t sweat it.”

“Okay.”

“You feel better now?”

“A little bit, yeah.”

“Besides, you still have time to get this sorted out. As far as we’re concerned, we won’t have to separate for a long time.”

“I guess there is a bit of silver lining in this. Thanks for talking to me.”

“Anytime,” Lyra smiled, “So, is there anything you wanna talk about?”

“Not sure. What’re you doing?”

“Trying to relax a bit, listen to a bit of music and all that.”

“Oh, I see. You have too much homework?”

She shrugged and answered, “Nothing too major, some reading, writing, and arithmetic.”

“So nothing I can help with?”

“I don’t think so, but I did run into something, I know who to call.”

“Likewise,” Sweetie Drops said before there was a pause. Before Lyra could ask what was going on, her girlfriend said, “My parents are pulling up on the driveway. I think I’m ready to tell them now.”

“Okay. I’ll be sure to see ya tomorrow.”

“Alright, see ya.”

“Bye,” and with that Lyra hung up.

_*_

Beep! “Would the following teachers come to Principal Celestia’s office: Mr. Disc and Mr. Trotivari. Again, would Mr. Disc and Mr. Trotivari please come to Principal Celestia’s office?”

The intercom shut off, leaving the Art teacher in confusion. ‘What does she want me and Harmonic for?’ he thought before turning to his students. “Keep working on your sculpture while I’m gone. Remember; try to rethink how a crow should look.”

His students nodded before he closed the door behind him and started to head towards the office. Wanting to speed up his time, he hopped on a moped he sneezed out of existence to drive down the hallway.

A few turns and “Hey, what where you’re going,” later, Mr. Disc quickly arrived at his destination. After hopping off his mode of transportation before letting it loose in the hallways, he walked in the sectary office to wait for the other teacher to arrive.

The Violinist did a couple of minutes later, spotting his co-worker, Harmonic asked, and “I’m guessing you don’t know why you’re here either?”

Julius shrugged, “How do I know? I was in the middle of teaching when Lu called us up here.”

“Wait-a-sec gentlemen,” the sectary, with the name plaque of Raven, picked up the phone and pressed a button. “Yes, Celestia? The teachers you asked for are here… okay.” After hanging up the phone she told them that they could go right ahead.

Opening the door, they found their boss standing up next to her desk with a clipboard in hand. “Ah good, come in, I need to talk with you both.”

The Surrealist walked in while Harmonic closed the door behind him. “Why did you call us up?”

“Well,” she flipped one of the papers over the board before looking up to Harmonic. “To answer your question, both of you know that Valentine’s Day Ball is coming up in a month, right?”

“Of course,” Julius sat down in the chairs across from her big arm chair. “Where you guys will be selling tickets and the teachers organize it. What about it?”

“Let me get straight to the point,” she sat the board down. “This year, I’ve chosen both of you to decide on a theme for this year’s ball and even how to go about organizing it. The reason why I’ve picked you two is that you have the resources to do something like this.”

“You want us to organize a dance?” Harmonic raised an eyebrow.

“Pretty much, although I have to jot down what exactly you’ll be doing and what our students can expect from this. Of course, I’ll be lending the gym over to you two when the time comes, and you’ll be provided whatever help you need to pull this off. But for now, let’s get down to the planning.”

Mr. Disk pulled on his goatee, “Interesting… Valentine’s huh? I suppose you want something a little more original than having paper hearts scotch-taped everywhere?”

“If you like,” their boss sat on the edge of her desk, picking up a pen, “Any ideas gentlemen?”

“Why not something European?” the Orchestra teacher wandered aloud.

“Like what?”

“Yeah,” Julius tilted his head, “There’s a Pandora’s box worth of ideas coming out of that. Maybe have a ball that’s Tudor themed where there are heads in the punch-bowl.”

“What about…” Harmonic scratched his head. “Vienna?”

Both Principal and fellow teacher raised an eyebrow.

Mr. Disc spoke first, “What’s in Vienna?”

“Well, I remember when I was on tour that the orchestra I was with had to go through Europe. And one of the places we were scheduled to perform in Austria’s capital on New Year’s Eve. I took Color with me at the time because he wanted to see Vienna too. So when we got there, we found out that they celebrated it in a very elegant way that even in the streets they created chandlers out of Christmas lights to hang there. Not only that, but I remember people there were dressed in their Sunday best, and treat the night as if they were in some huge ball. And at midnight, our orchestra played not Auld Lang Syne, but the Blue Danube Waltz. The way they had it all set up was almost fairytale like to the point where it becomes… well, romantic.”

“Huh… you know,” Julius pointed out, “That could actually work.”

“Really?”

“I mean, I can make practically anything appear just like that,” he snapped his fingers and a bowl of pairs appeared in his other hand. “So really, I think I might be able to come up with something to decorate the gym as long as I have a good idea what I’m trying to convey. So do you want this to be a formal thing?”

“That’s the way it’s done in Vienna.”

Celestia started scribbling away.

Harmonic also added, “If we’re seriously gonna do this, I think I have to call up the orchestra. Considering the fact that I haven’t spoken to any of them for over a year, I’m not sure how they’d react to me asking this sort of favor.”

“Wait, you want to make this have live music?” Julius folded his arms, “Going for old fashion aren’t we?”

“Hey, if you wanted this, ‘Night in Vienna’ thing to be any good, why not make it as authentic as possible?”

“So,” Celestia spoke up, “You’ll be doing the decorating while you will be providing the music, is that what I’m hearing?”

“Pretty much,” both teachers said.

“This is a good start,” their Boss stood up. “I think we’ll talk about this later, to let you two go back to your classes. But I think this is gonna be fun.”

“It’ll be interesting alright,” Mr. Disc commented as he headed out the door.

“Likewise,” Harmonic added. Once they were dismissed and out in the halls, Julius catches his ride back to his class while the Violinist pulled out his cellphone. After finding the number and dialing it, he started to walk slowly back to his classroom.

“Hello? It’s me, Harmonic Trotivari… Yes… Yes… I’m fine… Yeah… Look, I know this is sudden, but I think I might need a favor from you guys… That depends. Tell me, what are you guys planning for Valentine’s Day?”

_*_

Braeburn drove up on the street where the Cloudlines lived. In the passenger’s seat in dull gold and tied up in twine was his boyfriend’s present. It wasn’t very big, but it was something that he knew held quite a bit of nostalgic value to Soarin.

He pulled up behind the line of cars at the mouth of the coal-da-sac, parked in front of the white brick house with the green roof. The cowboy parked on the side of the house where two towering pine trees stood over. If it were spring, he would have walked over one of the grassy lawns instead of several inches of snow. But once he crossed over until he got to the icy driveway, he carefully made his way to the concrete steps of the front door.

It didn’t take long for anyone to answer the deep green door with the oval glass in the center. “Hey Brae,” Rain said as she stepped aside.

“Howdy ma’am,” Braeburn took off his hat as he stepped inside the short hallway. “Ah brought the birthday boy a little somethin’.”

“He’s in the living room.” She offered her hand to take his Stetson, in which he handed over. “How long will you be staying over?”

“Ah’ll be havin’ some of the cake if that’s what yer askin’.”

“Brea?” Soarin poked his head around a corner. “Hey man, glad you can make it.”

“Hey there,” Braeburn unzipped his coat. “How’s yer day so far?”

“Don’t take off your coat,” Soarin said suddenly, his boyfriend noticing that as he stepped out, he was holding his coat in his hand.

“What for?”

“I wanna show ya a little something,” he pointed over to the kitchen, follow me to the back.

Raising an eyebrow, the Apple farmer followed his boyfriend through the kitchen with his present still in his hands. Along the way, he got a good look at the cake that was sitting on the stove. It was a round mound of black and white frosting in the shape of a soccer ball. On it was Soarin’s name in light blue. And beside the cake, as Braeburn knew, were seventeen candles and a box of matches.

Following Soarin to the glass doors over where the dining table was, Braeburn also got a glimpse over to the living room where relatives of the Cloudlines sat around in couches with the TV going.

The Apple slipped over into the backyard of the house, over the concrete patio where all the bikes and frozen grill were and towards the open air snowy ground. The backyard is fenced off with concrete blocks that was falling apart, along with a row of five pine trees, a shed, a young apple tree, and as he followed in Soarin’s footsteps around the corner of the house where another, towering evergreen stood between the rest of the backyard and the garden with the three rows of raspberry bushes. It is underneath these three that he found his boyfriend.

“Okay,” Soarin said. “Was there something you were gonna ask me?”

“Yeah, how’s your birthday goin’ fer starters.”

“Eh, kinda boring,” he leaned up against the tree. “I’ve only got a few phone calls from my grandma and grandpa, as well as a couple of friends to tell me the exact same thing.” He looked down at the package underneath Braeburn’s arm. “What’s that?”

“Oh,” he took it out and hand it over to Soarin. “Ah’ve got ya a little somethin’, bein’ yer birthday and all.”

Tilting his head, the blue athlete took the gift in his own hand, “You want me to open now or…?”

“Y’all can if ya wanna.” His boyfriend didn’t take too long to decide to go ahead and open the gift. After ripping the paper and removing the twine, he found a DVD case along with a card.

“Hey! I remember this,” Soarin held up the case. “‘The Adventures of Detective Meow.’ I haven’t seen this since I was a kid. Brae, where did you find this?”

“Believe it or not, Ah ran inta it in the grocery store discount ben. It was layin’ underneath a bunch of stuff, and Ah remember ya sayin’ about you’ve seen it when yer little. So, Ah ended up buyin’ it fer ya.”

The aqua athlete laughed, “Oh man, I have so many good memories coming out of this show.” Then he paused with a thought, “Wait, you haven’t seen this, have ya?”

“Not that Ah recall,” the cowboy shook his head. “But Ah did remember ya talkin’ about it.”

“We need to see this sometime. Maybe it has a couple of good episodes somewhere.”

“Ah, Soar, the card,” the yellow Apple gestured with his hand to flip his gift over.

Realizing it, Soarin opened up the card to which he found two tickets in it. “What’s this?” he picked up one of them to examine more closely. On the outer ridge of the ticket in gold trimming in front of a dark blue background, the ticket read: “A Night in Vienna: Valentine’s Day Ball. 8 P.M.”

“Would ya mind bein’ mah date fer the dance on Valentine’s Day?” his boyfriend asked.

“Awe, that’s really thoughtful of ya dude. Of course, I’ll go out with ya.”

Braeburn smiled, “Thank ya. So with that out of the way, what was it you wanna show me?”

“Huh? Oh! I’ve nearly forgotten,” Soarin stood upright. “Tell me, have ya ever thought what it’d be like to fly for real?”

He tilted his head, “Ya mean like sprouting wings and all?”

“Exactly.”

While he thought about his answer, his boyfriend walked out to a spot in his backyard that isn’t overgrown by trees. “Ah guess. Sometimes when ya start flyin’, Ah kinda wander what it’s like fer ya ta just goin’ up so effortlessly.”

“Come here,” he waved over. Braeburn stepped into the snow until he was face to face with him. “Before I do anything, I need to ask ya, do you trust me?”

“What does that got ta do with anythin’?”

“Just answer the question. Do you trust me?”

“Well… Yeah.”

Soarin grinned, “Okay, now turn around.”

“Why?” he raised an eyebrow.

“Just do it. I think you’re gonna like this.”

The yellow Apple did so. Once his back was turned, he felt Soarin’s arms wrapped tightly around his chest. “Now when I say ‘jump,’ try doing it as high as you can.”

“Okay?”

He felt his boyfriend bend his knees, and being wrapped in his arms, he did the same.

“By the way, you’re not afraid of heights, are ya?”

“Not really.”

“Jump!”

And they did, Braeburn saw the ground being taken away as he was picked up into the air above the one-floor house and the pine trees. “Saor!” he shouted, “what are ya doin’!”

“Relax man,” he heard the blue athlete, who the cowboy quickly assumed he sprouted his wings. “I’ve got ya. I ain’t gonna drop ya.” His yellow boyfriend gripped his arms for dear life.

“Y’all better not!” from behind, all the farmer's could hear was laughter.

“C’mon man, you’re safe. Trust me,” he then flew forward once he gained enough altitude. “I really do think you’re gonna like this.”

In any other situation when Braeburn had suddenly found himself flying in the still winter air that he was picked off the ground like a mouse in the claws of a hawk, he would naturally freak out. His eyes glued to the sweeping earth below, he could feel his heartbeat racing for the fact that he can’t feel a thing from his feet. However, being in Soarin’s arms, there was a strange sense of security. That no matter what happens; he will never let him drop.

Once he grew comfortable about flying around, the yellow Apple took the moment too actually look at the labyrinths of streets below. He could see every snow-covered hill, every curve of the river and canals that ran through the town, every roof, backyards, and crawling cars. Even without his hat on, Braeburn didn’t even mind the cold for the amazement of how small everything was from a literal bird’s eye view.

“What ya think?” Soarin asked.

“Fer starters, aren’t ya arms gettin’ tired?”

“Nah, I’m good. I mean flying in general.”

“Is there another word fer ‘wow’?”

“Sure there is, like amazing, spectacular, beautiful even?”

“Ah think Ah’ll settle fer breathtaking, thank ya.” They passed over the bare trees of one of the town’s parks when the farmer asked, “Is this what it’s like fer ya?”

“When I’m not just restricted to my backyard, oh yeah,” he could practice his boyfriend grin. “It’s so liberating out here. Of course, my wings tend to get tired if I stay out for too long but, out here, I’m as free as I want to be with almost nothing tying me down. Now that you’re up here with me, I guess I really am in heaven.”

Braeburn snorted, “Ya do know what you’d jus’ said, right?”

“Yeah, so?”

“That was really corny.”

“What? I thought it was romantic.”

“You’re tryin’ a bit too hard Soar. Y’all already won me over. Now, can we get back to yer house, ya know, cake an all.”

“Alright, fine,” Soarin dived over his neighborhood, towards the mound of shoveled snow in the middle of his coal-da-sac. As they landed on the mound, they slid down, tumbling over one another over the piled up snow. Once they reached the foot of it, Soarin found himself face to face with Braeburn and on top of him.

“Uh…” was all his boyfriend said, his cheeks turning crimson.

“Oh!” Soarin leaped up, lending a hand to let the other get up. “Brae, I’m so sorry about that man. I should really work on my landing.”

“Hey, nothin’ is broken,” he whipped off the snowflakes off of his coat and blue jeans. “Still, that was actually new. Maybe, when ya practiced a bit more, Ah might wanna do that again sometime in warmer weather.”

“Yeah, I know,” he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Hey, c’mon now, they’re still waitin’ fer us.”

Soarin nodded, he started to walk towards his family’s driveway when suddenly he felt a tap on his shoulder, “Oh, befor’ Ah forget,” Braeburn said before kissing him on the cheek, in which his blue Wondercolt froze. “Thanks fer the ride. Now let’s grab some cake,” he said walking ahead of him.

As for Soarin, he took a moment to realize what just happened. Putting a cool hand to the spot where Braeburn had kissed him, he smiled. “Yeah, you’re welcome.”

_*_

“So, what do ya think?” Julius asked once he unveiled the painting to Harmonic.

The Violinist’s eyes widen, “Is that going to be the gym?”

“Well,” Mr. Disc set the painting down near the fireplace. “It’s more or less a rough idea I have before I actually do anything. But yes, that’s what I plan to do with the gym. I’ve already showed it to Ms. Boss about it and she loved it. What’s more, it won’t cost the school a cent when I’m in charged. So what do you think of this?”

“It’s an elegant design, I’ll give ya that,” the music teacher said as he sat down in his chair. “I like the look of the chandlers and the stage for the orchestra.”

“Speaking of which,” he leaned up against the piano. “Did you get in touch with the old band of yours?”

“Orchestra,” Harmonic frowned, “and yes I did, as it turned out, they were heading eastward and they don’t have anything scheduled for February 14th. If anything, the conductor I’ve contacted with was rather surprised that I’ve called at all, thinking that I was still grieving. To put it in a nutshell, I was told that since they’ve actually missed playing with me, which they would perform for nothing for the High School ball.”

“Well, there’s some good news right there. Although, out of curiosity, are you the one doing all the playing or the dancing?”

The Violinist raised an eyebrow, “I’ll be playing with the orchestra. Why’d you ask?”

“Just curious, besides, I’m planning to go there myself.”

“You?”

“Yep,” Julius smiled, “I’ve finally asked Celestia to go out with me to the dance, which is a miracle in and of itself. Oh, and since I’m here, I was wondering if I could make a special request?”

“Like what?”

Mr. Disc bends over and whispered in Harmonic’s ear if he knew a particular song. “Yeah I do, we used to play that song a while back so I think that the orchestra would remember it as well.”

“Excellent,” Julius grinned before there was a knock on the door. “Well, I guess I must be going then.” He grabbed the painting and the paperwork on the piano, “I’ll hand these over to Celestia tomorrow. Thanks for inviting me over.”

For the music teacher, on the other hand, he was confused that someone else was at his door; he didn’t recall that he had to meet someone else today. As the two teachers went up to the door, the elder opened it to find Braeburn Apple and Soarin Cloudline at Harmonic’s doorstep.

“Mr. D?” Soarin looked up, “what are you doing here?”

“Oh, going over the plans for the Ball and the end of the world.” The art teacher said casually, “in other words, just a normal Friday.”

“Okay,” the farmer drawled as Mr. Disc walked out the door, bidding them good bye.

Harmonic turned his attention towards the students, “Can I help you two?”

“Actually, yeah,” Braeburn said as their teacher let them inside. “It has ta do with the upcoming Ball.”

“Don’t tell me that you have a requested song as well,” the Violinist closed the door.

“It’s not that,” Soarin grabbed his arm. “But it has something to do with it.”

“How so?”

“The ticket said that it’s going to be an ‘old fashioned’ dance. Where they’ll be a waltz and all that,” he explained. “Even when we can go in a formal dress and all, there’s one thing we don’t know how to do.”

“Yes?” Harmonic tilted his head.

“We’re jus’ gonna get straight to the point,” Braeburn said, “Can ya teach us how to dance all proper?”

This was unexpected. In all of his years of being a teacher, as well as being a father, never once had anyone come up to him to give them dance lessons. Not even Script when he and Page were dating never asked this sort of thing before a dance.

“May I ask why?”

“Why askin’ ya or…”

“Yes, why did you come to me?”

“Well,” Soarin said, “while I’ve been to a few dances before, I’ve never to one that’s this formal before. I don’t know what to do with this sort of thing, to be honest. Even with the dances, it mentions on the ticket, I have no idea how they’re supposed to be done. We were wondering since you teach music if you happen to know a few moves for these sorts of dances.”

Harmonic hummed in thought, “To be honest with you two, I haven’t danced in years. But yes, I do happen to know a few ‘moves,’ as you call it.” He turned to the bookshelves by his radio to look through the CD’s. “I happen to know one that would work well with the three-quarter time that the music will be played. Now where is… there it is.”

He took out the disk out of his case and inserted it into the machine. But he pressed a few tracks forward and put it on pause. “So, in order for this to work,” he turned back to the boys. “I’ll personally teach you both the very basics before we practice with the music.”

“Sounds fair,” Soarin shrugged as his Orchestra teacher went up to him.

“First thing you need to know,” he said. “Is that for each dance partner, there’s a lead and a follower. For you to understand, I’ll take the lead.”

“Okay.”

“First,” Harmonic offered his right hand, “let me have your hand.” He did so, “Now, the way that you can tell is leading is by where the lead’s hand is. For example, if you place your left hand on my shoulder. Yes like that. While I place mine just underneath your rib-cage,” he did so. “This means that I’m the one that’s leading. With this in mind, when the music starts, I move my right leg forward while you move your left leg backward. Like so, one, two,” Harmonic moved forward while Soarin stepped backward. “Three. Now again with you moving forward with your left leg Soarin, one, two,” they moved back in the same space. “Three.”

“So there’s a rhythm to this?” the blue athlete asked.

“Exactly,” their teacher nodded. “Just like the beat of a drum, when you dance with your partner, you move with them on the beat. Like, one, two, three. One, two- left leg, three. One, two, three,” Harmonic counted, moving with his student until he got the pattern down.

“There you go,” the Violinist stopped suddenly. “I think you get a general idea. Braeburn, let’s try it with you, how about you take the lead?”

Harmonic repeated the same dance moves with the yellow Apple as he did with Soarin. Once he got the same pattern down, he went over to the stereo. “Very good, now let’s practice with some music.” As he pushed play, a melody of sneer drums, soft brass and a clarinet started to sing though the speakers.

“Before you begin a dance, the first thing you do is to bow to your partner,” they did. “Now decide who’s gonna take the lead.” Braeburn stepped forward to Soarin, placing his hand at his rib-cage while taking a hand with the other. “Okay, now on the beat,” reminded their teacher.

Both boys looked to each other, listening for the rhythm of the music to cue them in. And then, Braeburn stepped forward in time for Soarin to step back, then forward, then back again. As the music developed into a much richer melody, both bodies went from a straight line to a curve until they went in a full circle.

For Harmonic, he could have told them to stop because they have got it. However, he decided to just let the couple have their moment as they were quickly getting lost in the rhythm of the same dace that he and his husband used to share. And now, here in his Living Room, he saw peace and happiness waltz together.

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