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Rip the bandaid off so slowly you can feel it burn.
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To Duet With You In silence, I still hear your voice.
She seems shy at first, her eyes fixed on the music sheets in her hands as she sings the first notes of that Taylor Swift song he just started learning a few days ago. Then he can feel how she slowly starts sounding more confident, as if she is testing the water and remembers she still knows how to swim just fine. And she is a delight. Now that he recalls the first time he saw Claire, she had been singing this song, although it was a much more cheerful version back then. He'd turned this attention to the stage and saw her, and they had met before, but Evan had to admit it was only at that moment she made an impression. To his defense, he had been smitten with Hannah from day one, and the sunny girl was one of her friends, so it made it a bit awkward for him when Claire invited him to Homecoming right after he started school in Green Valley High. He was young, and admittedly a bit of an asshole, because he can't remember having ever started a conversation with Claire those first weeks
To Duet With You Just felt like saying hi
“Here. I brought cupcakes from Mary’s.” Tessa looks up from her desk and frowns slightly. “Wow. So considerate. Who are you and what have you done to Claire?” She just rolls her eyes and shrugs it off. Trying her best to be nice is the only way she knows to make peace with her roommate after her behavior last month. “How do you even know I like this?” “You buy them every time you have money at the beginning of the month.” The other girl smiles. “So you do pay attention. I knew it. But you have never done nice things to apologize for being a bitch before. Are these the effects of Mr. Hot Green Eyes?” “Please, he is just a friend.” But the truth is, she is in a light mood now, after spending the afternoon rehearsing with Evan. Tomorrow they will record the song and upload it to the radio’s website for the contest. In the past, Claire used to worry more about doing things perfectly, but now she is just having fun, and it feels good. Without realizing it, she starts humming at th
To Duet With You Red shoes
“And she went quickly up to the church-door; but when she came there, the red shoes were dancing before her.” When she was younger, Claire had thought that the spoiled girl in the story just reaped what she sowed. She was warned against wearing the red shoes to church, then she heard the curse and still went ahead and danced. Such a spoiled child, she preferred to wear her red shoes and go to dance right after her mother passed away. Those sins couldn’t be forgiven even if she cut her feet to get rid of the shoes, as they followed as if making fun of her, reminding her of her previous actions. Later, Claire wondered if everyone had their own red shoes. She thought Rick was her own version of those damned shoes. As much as she tried to cut it off, that past was always there, mocking her stupidity. But these days, she is coming to another realization… “What are you doing with that dead serious expression?” Evan whispers as he takes a seat next to her on the table. “Re-reading some f
To Duet With You Once bitten, twice shy (you still catch my eye)
Compared to the times she watched the rehearsals, the auditorium has quite an audience in the evening of the show. Claire has avoided places with large numbers of people for a while, but now Evan is holding her hand so they can find seats together without getting separated by the crowd.“Hey, Evan! I did not know you were still around.” A couple of guys approach them to greet him. “And Claire, right?”“Hi.”It makes her feel uncomfortable, when strangers know her name. Thankfully, she still has Evan’s hand, and she squeezes it tightly trying not to shrink in front of others again. “We’ll leave tomorrow and spend the holidays with my family.”“Ah, so you are taking your girlfriend home. See Jay, they just started dating and she is not afraid of visiting his family. What’s your excuse again?”“Hmm, have fun, guys.” Evan clears his throat rather loudly. “We’ll sit over here. See you around.”Her heart is thumping against her chest.“Your classmates?”“One of them, yes.”“Why are they un
To Duet With You A little brave, it's the very first kiss
He is cleaning up his closet when he finds the blue scarf burning between the piles of clothes. It has survived the many moving-days in the past year because it is one of the few woolen pieces that do not make his neck itch. Now he remembers this was a present from Claire. She handed it to him with her chin up, a self-righteous expression on her face, and then walked towards Kat and Hannah to hand them their gifts with a smile on her face, which makes him think Claire believed this was the lesser present. Evan thinks he gave her a mug for Christmas once, so maybe she was crossed with him. Claire used to go all out with very personalized Christmas’ gifts, in their junior year she gave him an album with photos of him and Hannah, because, in her own words, he was a ‘hopeless romantic’ who liked corny things. It was true, of course. He wanted to have those things his parents did not have. A good family, a perfect life, no matter how his own childhood taught him those things were impossib
To Duet With You The broken might start healing
“Evan, you’re home!”“And you must be Claire. We are so glad you could join us. Come in!”When Claire meets Evan’s mom and his little sister, she learns he looks a lot like her. He’s got her heir and her eyes.“I have a trundle bed in my room, so you can sleep with me and we can have a pajama party. But mom says you probably want to stay in Evan’s bedroom.”Claire feels her ears burning hot at Julie’s very direct words.“Don’t worry.” Evan leans in to whisper. “There is a couch I can use as a bed there as well.”“Don’t mind Julie. She is just very excited to have her big brother back home.”“I am sure we can have a pajama party.” Claire tells the girl. “I haven’t had one in years. It will be fun.”But for the moment, her bag ends up in the guest room that was reformed into Evan’s room for whenever he wants to stay with them, Mr. Fogel tells her when they sit to have lunch together.This place reminds her of the house where she grew up with her parents when they were still married or t
To Duet With You From love to lust, from lust to trust
On Christmas, Claire prepares her lemon pie, and the five of them spend time at the table and playing cards afterwards, but then they are back to rehearsing for the next song cover.“So, we are preparing the next song for you, and Claire had this crazy idea that I should sing with her. But I think she changed her mind after rehearsing today and listening to me for the first time.”“Seriously, Evan?” “I am just documenting. Say hi.”Okay then. She smiles and waves her hand at the camera.“Hi everyone! Thank you for your support with the first cover. We hope you enjoy what we are preparing for you next.”Evan is satisfied with this, because he sets his phone aside and sits on the couch, facing her. “You have not opened my gift yet.”That morning she immediately wore the cardigan Halley and Henry gave her, and she quickly saved Julie’s handmade card saying it had to go to a new scrapbook, without doubts. The small box Evan gave her is on the night table, untouched, maybe because she i
To Duet With You This is why we can't have nice things.
At some point the conversation at their table goes from how awesome it is that she is doing an internship in the best fashion magazine of the country, to wondering about Claire's whereabouts.“Why didn’t she come home? Kat, what did you hear from Claire?”“She, uhm, I do not know. She told me she already had plans, probably with her father’s side of the family.”Kat looks at her, of course, because she blames her for Claire’s absence.“Bet if she was here then those waiters would not take so long to bring us the food.” One of the guys jokes.Of course, now they all have only nice things to say about Claire. How she threw the best parties, how much of a talented singer she was, and oh so pretty. Maybe she was a bit demanding and a perfectionist, but that was also why she made such a good president of the student council.They pretend they were all friends in their senior year. As if Claire did not throw mud on Erick and ruined Hannah’s relationship with Evan in the process.It is absur
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