Music Lines Novels & Stories

Before I could properly sit, someone grabbed a microphone. “Hey, everyone!” A few people cheered, others barely turned, but the person continued anyway. “Welcome to the pre-exam party! There’s enough to drink, music’s already on—so do whatever you want. Dance, chill…” He raised his bottle. “Just don’t get caught.” Laughter rippled through the room. “First things first—let the party begin!” Cheers erupted, louder this time, and just like that, everything dissolved into noise again. Drinks started going around. Someone shoved a bottle toward our table, and I watched as hands reached for it without hesitation.

His name flashed across the screen, and for a second, I just stared at it before answering. “Hello?” The moment the call connected, noise flooded through the speaker. It was loud and chaotic, music pulsing heavily in the background, the deep bass vibrating through the line in a way that made it impossible to ignore. There were voices layered over it, laughter, high-pitched squeals that sounded distinctly feminine. “Hold on,” Marcus’s voice came through, slightly muffled. There was a shuffle, then his voice again, clearer this time. “Move a little, princess,” he drawled lazily. “Daddy has to attend to something.”

"Annie's dead." Jessica kept talking. "Yeah, I heard she died of some stomach cancer the same day I had my surgery. Cancer definitely has something to do with genes. Her mom died of it, now she's dead too. How sad. But it works out for us, right? At least she's not in the way anymore…" I raised my hand, wanting to slap her just like before, but my transparent fingers passed right through her face. The next moment, there was a crisp slap. It was Zach.

I pulled out my phone, opened a blank message box to his number, and typed out the exact words currently glowing on my laptop screen. "You want noise, Eliot, use your words. " Then I hit send.

At six forty-five in the morning, the headquarters of Linéa Cosmetics stood like a polished monument against the Tokyo skyline,forty-two floors of glass and pale stone reflecting a city that never truly slept. Jerome Lin preferred it this way. Before the assistants arrived. Before the board members rehearsed their compliments. Before the building filled with perfume and ambition. The lobby doors parted at his approach. “Good morning, Mr. Lin,” the security director said immediately, bowing just enough to be respectful without appearing outdated.

As if it will help the d******d. Silently another tick appears on the d******d bar. It's better. He walks again. Slowly, closer, closer to 100% A strange moan came from my throat. "Come on!" Complain The d******d window disappears. Exhale. Sign off. Now! No. The mouse starts to move across the screen by itself. A program opens. I watch with bated breath. It feels like my heart has caught a sped wobble... Doc is in front of his computer!

I was. The knife was still in my pocket. My fingers still wrapped around it. But the fear was distant. A radio playing in another room. While my body leaned toward him like a plant toward a window. "Show me," I said. He turned. The gold flared. Not controlled now. Not managed. "You don't understand what you're asking." "Then make me understand." --- He crossed the space between us. One movement. Not fast. Not slow. Inevitable as gravity.

The line went dead. ******

“Go little rock star.” I frowned as the line went dead. Huh?

“If she comes for you tonight, let her. I’ll handle the fallout.” Her lips twitched. “Planning to play the knight, Mr. Cross?” He met her gaze, tone flat. “Planning to play partner.” Something in her chest tightened, not unpleasantly, just unexpected. “Then we’re on the same page,” she said, taking a champagne flute from a passing tray. For a while, they circulated the crowd like clockwork; flawless, coordinated, magnetic. The media loved the contrast: his precision against her quiet fire. When the speeches began, Clarisse made her move.