*A/N: Charlie Puth is so fucking adorable in the How Long video clip. His bad dancing just makes it 100x better. Example of this dancing is in the gif above^. Happy reading!*

T A Y L O R ' S   P.O.V

Friday Evening, February 15th, 2014.

Tonight's been a blur. 

Apart from enduring Bella's endless showering of compliments and Miss Lauriana's panicked barking about who's performing when, I don't remember a thing. Hell, I haven't even seen Darko yet - or, maybe I have and I don't remember. Ergh.

I'm standing backstage, peeking through the garnet curtains separating me from the rest of the school. The performance that's currently being presented was a beautiful jazz song led by a girl in my class. She played the final notes from her saxophone before stopping, earning a round of applause from the audience as she bowed. I closed the curtain and sighed deeply, knowing that I'll be up there soon, confessing everything about myself to everybody, especially  Darko.

Fucking hell, this is daunting.

Outing myself to the school isn't what's terrifying me - I'm proud of who I am. If anybody has a problem with me, then they'd have to get through Owen first (he showed off his fists to me yesterday - I'm assuming that Darko nicknamed them, because the nicknames were both terrible and amusing).  What's terrifying to me is that even though I have proof of Darko's feelings, I still feel a slight fear of rejection. I guess that's going to be there no matter what. I'm not letting that stop me, though. It's too late to stop. 

I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder, which simultaneously snapped me out of my thoughts and made me flinch. Turning around, I realized it was Owen, who was noticeably out of breath. 

"I'm... here... sorry..." he said between huffs. I furrowed my brows and grinned in amusement. 

"Why're you so exhausted?"

He sat on a chair, attempting to catch his breath. "Had to give Darko something, and had to make sure Bella kept her mouth shut. The damn girl knows how to disappear. Took me ages to find her. Had to run because our performance is so close."

"Dare I ask what you gave to Darko and how you got Bella to stay silent?" I asked, a little worried about the answers. Owen, finally composing himself, smiled at me.

"If things go well tonight, you'll see what I gave to Darko. And, as for Bella..." he said, pulling out his phone. He opened the voice recorder app and showed me a recording.

"Before I met up with you yesterday to practice our song, I heard a scream come from the girl's toilets. Turns out Bella and Nicole were in there, conspiring and plotting. At one point, Bella said why she loves you so much - she wants to mooch off of you when you become famous. I recorded it and told her I'd show it to you if she tried anything. There's no doubt shes going to try and ruin Darko after your performance. The recording shut her up immediately and will continue to shut her up, so long as my phone isn't broken."

I turned around, peeking through the curtain again. I could see Bella from here - she seemed nervous, judging from they way she fidgeted in her seat and was frantically looking around for something (probably me). I smiled smugly to myself, knowing that she finally got blackmailed. Karma is a bitch.

"Why doesn't she want me to know?" I asked rhetorically. Owen, ignoring my tone, answered me.

"Who knows dude. Maybe she knows how scummy she is and doesn't want you to see that side of her anymore. Or, maybe she's actually in love with you. Or, maybe, she doesn't want to jeopardize her chance of getting rich. It could go either way."

I closed the curtain and turned towards him. "Owen?"

"Yeah?"

I flashed him a warm smile. "Thanks... for everything."

He smiled. "Don't thank me yet. You and Darko aren't together - thank me then."

He checked his watch. "Look, before we perform, I've gotta call my grandma. I'll be back in a few, okay?"

I nodded. He flashed a smile before walking off, pressing his fingers onto the screen before bringing it to his ear. I turned back around and watched as some staff prepared my piano on stage. I grinned when I began remembering the time I taught Darko how to play Fur Elise. 

Wow. Now that explains why he left so suddenly - I knew his excuse sounded like a load of bullshit. I probably nearly broke him with my teaching method. Thank god he left though; I have no idea how he didn't notice my boner when I sat down next to him. I also have no idea what made me think to lean over him and teach him in that way, but I'm so glad I did. 

"Your suit looks amazing, my good sir." A voice said behind me. 

'Darko?' a confused voice said in my head.

I whipped around to see Darko standing behind me, much to my surprise. My eyes widened, but softened when he flashed his perfect smile. I smiled brightly, exposing my teeth.

"Oh my god! Darko!" I shouted, my voice betraying my excitement to see him. Without even thinking, I wrapped him in a hug. He was surprised at my gesture but eventually returned it.

"I was just thinking of the time I taught you Fur Elise," I mumbled into his suit jacket. He laughed nervously, releasing me from his warm embrace. Damn, he smelled really nice - a strange mix of sandalwood and musk.

"That was a good day. You're a great teacher." He said. I giggled, punching him lightly. 

"Look," he said, before looking around backstage, as if searching for someone. "I can't be back here for long, I think Miss Lauriana would throw a drum-kit at me if she finds me. I just wanted to say good luck before you started your performance. I know you'll do great."

I grinned, beginning to blush. "Heh. Thanks, Darko. You'll love the performance, I'm sure of it."

He smiled. We stood there, not saying anything to each other for a few moments. I just gazed into his eyes, as did he with mine. 

"I uh," He said, running his fingers through his hair, "I wanted to just see and talk to you. I haven't been able to for a while and I miss you."

I smiled, my cheeks most likely a bright red - I certainly felt them warm up. "I've missed you too, dude."

We stood there, just gazing at each other. After a second, he stepped closer to me, our chests nearly touching. His eyes flicked down to my lips, making my heart nearly stop. 

"Taylor, I..." he whispered, the corners of my lips curling into a smile. I felt a stirring in my groin as he stood there, studying my face. I nearly lost myself in his eyes.

Snapping both of us out of our spell, Miss Lauriana's voice erupted from the stage, making us both jump. He regained his posture, before taking a step away from me. 

"I, uh.. I better go..." he said, his expression dejected. I reluctantly nodded, causing him to purse his lips, frowning. Before I could speak, Darko began walking away, his cheeks a very obvious bright red. Soon, he was lost in the crowd of teenagers outside of the stage area.

Hopefully, he isn't too embarrassed. Whatever's running in his mind right now is going to change within the next ten minutes, permanently.

Miss Lauriana's voice grew louder. Accepting that Darko's left, I turned around, facing her.

"And now, for our final performance," She said excitedly into the microphone on stage, "it's your favourite pianist, Taylor James Ferguson!" 

I walked onto the stage, a round of applause following me as I smiled toward the crowd. I grabbed the microphone from Miss Lauriana before fixing it onto the stand that was attached to the piano. I sat down, cracked my knuckles, and faced the crowd with my most confident-looking smirk.

"Okay, I'm going to be playing two songs tonight. The first one is a cover, while the second one is going to be a song I wrote myself." I said, speaking into the microphone. The crowd cheered. 

I smiled as I waited for their excitement to die down. I was meant to play four songs, but as the night progressed, Miss Lauriana advised that I only played two. She didn't limit just me; everyone that performed had to drop some songs. Maybe she had to cut back due to time constraints, but who knows?

"Anyway, this first one is for the couples and potential couples-to-be. I hope you've all heard of Ed Sheeran's 'Tenerife Sea'," I said, the crowd cutting me off with a round of excited cheers at the mention of the red-headed artist. "If you have a special someone with you here tonight, or you've been dying to ask that one person out, now is the perfect time to ask them for a dance. Happy belated Valentines day, everybody!"

I began to sing. Couples bustled out of their seats as I began playing my piano cover of the famous song. They all began slow-dancing to my voice and music. I glanced at the crowd when I could, noticing that after the second chorus the audience had moved to the outskirts of the dance-floor, allowing a giant circle just for Stefan and Lyra. They danced perfectly to the song, swaying in time, twirling and eventually ending their 'routine' with a passionate kiss. The crowd cheered for them. I grinned widely. 

I ended the song, earning a near earsplitting applause from the audience as I bowed, filling me with confidence and putting a permanent smile on my face. I make eye contact with Darko, who shot me a quick smirk, raising his hands toward me as he applauded harder. 

"Okay, okay, everyone, take a seat," I said. "The next song will be played in a minute. As I've said, this one isn't one any of you will know - I wrote it myself. Get ready, because I'm also going to dedicate this song to a special somebody. My real valentine."

I scanned the crowd as excited murmurs and high pitched awwww's echoed off of the gym walls. I met eyes with Bella, who shot me a panicked expression. Her face was paler than normal, and she was noticeably distressed. I giggled to myself before breaking eye contact, focusing my attention on Darko. He looked at me, confused. I smirked at him. 

His face paled. Before I could give away any more information, I forced myself to look away. My phone vibrated in my pocket, startling me. 

'I'm done with the call. Waiting on standby behind the curtain. Ready when you are.' Owen texted. I smiled. I took in a deep breath. 

This is it. 

"Of course, I need help from a good friend of mine to help perform this song. Everyone give it up for my mystery right-hand person, Owen Prietto!"

He burst out from behind the curtain, his classical guitar in tow. He smiled warmly, striding towards the seat that was prepared for him. The crowd clapped furiously at his entrance. Owen and I locked eyes before nodding. I looked out towards the crowd, the biggest grin on my face. I locked eyed with Darko as I began to speak. 

"I dedicate this song to Darko Ulyanov."

The audience gasped. Confused murmurs grew louder and louder. I heard Trent and Duncan holler slurs at me. There's no going back now.

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A/N: Ah, don't you love cliffhangers? ;) ;) Two chapters to go!

Dedicating this chapter to @iSawJamesFirst. Real lad, been here on this book, supporting it for ages. Your comments make me laugh so hard and they genuinely make my day so much better. Thanks for being such a rad person. Keep being freaking amazing, okay? xx

QOTC: Favourite movie/tv show with LGBT+ themes?

AOTC: 'Brokeback Mountain' or 'You Me Her'. Highly recommend them both. <3 

Much Love, Tyler <3