Felicity scoffed, "I knew it. He's not coming and you're a dirty liar."

"Would you relax?" Nora said, still scratching lyrics onto her notes. "It's only a few minutes past the hour. Give him some time."

Her stepsister crossed her arms, her cleavage peeking delicately from under the sky blue long sleeve v-neck she wore. "Eli Leonger is hardly ever late. He's even at school on time."

Nora raised an eyebrow but still did not glance up, "I'm somewhat frightened you know that."

"Oh grow up, Nora! You're about to have the most popular boy in our school—heck, maybe our country—in our home and you don't even care. You're wearing sweats!"

She was wearing joggers (not sweats) and a Daxton Cavenaugh tee. Not that it mattered. She wasn't out to impress Eli Leonger anyway. Once this project was over, he'd go back to ignoring her. So why try?

Nora put her mechanical pencil down. "These are joggers. And what about Ian?"

"Ian?"

She pursed her lips. How could Felicity be borderline obsessed with Eli and not even know who Ian is? If you asked her, she'd have preferred Ian come over. Not his brother. "Ian Leonger. He's popular."

Felicity scrunched up her nose. "Ian's a Sophomore. Eli is a Senior," she said as if the two statements alone explained it.

"So?"

Felicity shook her head and snapped her bubblegum loudly. "I'm not going to waste my breath explaining it to you."

Nora rolled her eyes. There was no explanation. Both Eli and Ian were popular, yes, and arguably the most popular in school, but being well known should not give one more weight than the other in the contest of likability. What if Eli was a raging asshole? Did his popularity negate that?

No, Nora told herself, he'd still be a raging asshole.

The doorbell chimed.

Felicity sat up straighter, her eyes wide. When Nora didn't move, she said, "Well? Don't keep him waiting!"

Nora rolled her eyes again and briefly wondered if it was true eyes could get stuck that way. The mental image of her answering the door with her eyes all googly made her laugh.

She was still laughing as she opened the door, the winter wind snapping immediately at her cheeks. "Hey," she greeted Eli.

Eli's lips curved into a rather attractive half-smile. "Hey." He pointed to the burly, sweater-wearing guy right behind him. "Do you mind if Markos does a sweep first of the house? It's protocol."

Nora opened the door further, "sure. No problem."

Once they were inside, Markos disappeared to do a quick scope of the main floor. Nora watched him go with a frown.

"What's wrong?" Eli asked her.

Today he wore a red baseball cap he'd turned backward, a pair of dark jeans, and a black tee under his grey winter coat. The tip of his nose and the tops of his ears were already pink from the cold. Nora motioned for his jacket, "I can take your coat."

He shrugged out of the heavy thing and handed it over just as Markos returned. "All clear?" Eli asked in a light tone.

Markos didn't respond.

She couldn't imagine having to wait to enter a place until a sweep was done. Or having to bring a bodyguard to a homework meet up. Just the idea of some huge guy trailing behind her from place to place had her snorting.

Eli raised an eyebrow. Creator, he probably thought she was absolutely mental, just standing here laughing to herself. "I'm not going to hurt you," Nora joked and pointed at Markos. "So Markos, if you want to watch a movie or something, you can. I imagine the last thing you want to do is watch us put a molecule together."

Deadpanned, Markos said, "I would love nothing more."

Nora grinned, "well don't have too much fun."

She'd just begun to ask if they wanted anything to drink when, "Eli! I thought I heard your voice." Felicity came out of the kitchen, hips swaying, and popping bubblegum.

"Hey," Eli shifted on his feet, his focus shifting between Nora and Felicity. "I forgot you two were related."

And there's a reason for that, Nora thought to herself. Felicity had a doctorate of manipulation. She kept certain details to herself and revealed only pieces of what she wanted with the other students. If she didn't want anyone to know she and Nora were related, they wouldn't. Which meant Nora not only faded into the background, but if Felicity had the ability, she found a way to push Nora to the background.

"Nora doesn't like to tell people we're related," Felicity said with a shrug. "It keeps the fans away from her, I guess."

Nora immediately pulled herself away from the conversation. While it was true she didn't like to tell people they were related, it had nothing to do with Felicity's fame. She never told anyone because it didn't matter. Felicity may be a moderately popular artist on Musetunes, but that information did nothing for Nora's benefit. She didn't get off easy, didn't get into places just because they were related by marriage. Instead, she only got the buzz of excitement from fans who wanted to know everything about Felicity. Or the people who played friendship only to come to visit Felicity's home and meet her.

Telling people she was related to Felicity made the relationships in her life hollow. Other than Tessa, people didn't care about Nora. Not who she was. Not what she could do. Not her talents. Nothing.

"I'm sure that's not it," Eli said, and shifted so he leaned closer to Nora.

Nora snapped back to attention.

"It doesn't bother me," Felicity brushed it off easily. "Just think it's odd. Anyway, let me know when you guys are done with whatever you're up to—" Chemistry. Nora had specifically told Felicity earlier he was only here for a project. Did anyone ever listen to her? "—and then Eli maybe we can connect. I'd love to show you my newest single."

Crap. Nora winced. She hadn't yet finished the final demo copy of Felicity's single. It needed to be polished. Right now it sounded like a bit of a mess and totally not ready for Eli's ears. Or anyone's for that matter.

"Sure," Eli said.

Felicity placed a hand higher on the doorframe and leaned into it, tilting her head just slightly. "Are you working on anything interesting right now?"

Nora tapped her fingers against her elbow and shifted her weight to the other foot. Markos had already faded into the background, observing from a spot near the front door, close to the wall.

"I'm piecing together a new album."

"Really?" Interest brightened the whites in Felicity's eyes. "Maybe we can do a collab on it."

Eli crossed his arms across his chest. Nora didn't like that her attention immediately flew to the way the dark sleeves stretched at the biceps and along his chest. Was Eli Leonger hiding a set of sleek muscles under there?

The thought sent fire up to lick her cheeks. Good Creator, what the hell was the matter with her?

"Maybe," Eli said to Felicity.

When she looked over to him, she was surprised to meet his hazel eyes. Something danced behind them, an expression she couldn't quite figure out as his gaze traced over her face and down to her shifting feet. "Want to get started?"

"Ye—" She cleared her throat, "Yeah. We can work in my room."

Eli gestured ahead of them, "lead the way my little glasses friend."

Nora snorted as they walked down the hallway and up the stairs, "'little'? I'll have you know I am mighty."

Despite his normal distance, she still felt him like a walking torch behind her. All too suddenly aware of the ratty joggers she'd thrown on this morning and the bleach stain on her Daxton Cavenaugh t-shirt.

It's just Eli Leonger, she reminded herself.

If she'd spent even a moment thinking about the two of them working on this project and not on the four different songs she had to write this month plus her contest entry, she would've realized that having Eli Leonger in her bedroom was a terrible idea. But now it was too late.

Biting the side of her thumb, she opened the door. Markos stayed out in the hall while Eli walked in and surveyed the room.

Before her death, her mother had worked hard on their home, designing and carefully constructing each room. Even Nora's bedroom. While Nora was little at the time, her mother had taken the time to put together a room not for a little girl but for a growing girl. And other than getting a queen-sized bed when she outgrew her little twin one at five, she hadn't changed much. The same pink shaggy rug covered the dark wood floors, the same white shelving lined the walls along with the hanging white hammock chair in the corner.

She watched Eli look up at the skylight and the Kamree Philips poster above her minimalistic desk. Then over to the flowing script above her bed. "Be still young one, the sun shines on you," it read.

Feeling alarmingly vulnerable, Nora sat on the bed and, being the masochist she was, asked, "What do you think?"

Eli tilted his head, taking a final scan over the room. "It's not what I expected."

"It needs more black," she said jokingly.

"I like it," Eli said with a shrug. "Wait until you see mine. You're going to laugh."

Oh, she couldn't wait. Not that she cared too much about Eli Leonger's room, but rather she wanted to see what made him tick. You could learn a lot about a person from their bedroom. Maybe she'd learn something about his personality. Something she could use for a song.

Nora shook her head, "if you're not laughing at my little girl room, then I'm not laughing at your room. Unless you have a racecar bed."

"I do not have a racecar bed."

"See? Then you're fine." She smiled, then held up her chemistry notebook, "can we get started?"

Instead of bringing the desk chair over or sitting on the bed, Eli chose to settle down on her salmon pink rug. He'd arrived with only a notebook of his own, which he flipped open. "Where do you want to begin?"

They started with the concepts they talked about in class. Eli would work on setting up the 3D model and Nora would work on the paper. She was pleasantly surprised by the way Eli conducted himself. When he had a topic, he focused on it, giving it his undivided attention. He had a rather calm nature about him as they brainstormed. A sort of steady confidence in what he was doing and how he went about things.

Not thirty minutes in, Nora forwent the bed to sit on the floor. She didn't like being above him as they worked. Rather, she felt the need to be across from him as they put their ideas together. Once she sat cross-legged on the rug across from him, she felt better and was able to work.

Nora looked over at Eli's drawing of the model and nodded. "Looks good."

"How's the paper coming?"

"It's not," she flipped her notebook around so he could see the weird map she'd drawn. "I used all the points we discussed to make a mind map. It should work as our outline."

Eli frowned down at all her lines and scribbles housed in bubbles. "I've never seen anyone use a mind map in real life."

Nora snorted, "Pretty sure this is real life. And now you can't say that again." She flicked a stray scrap of paper she'd folded up at him. It hit him on the meaty part of his forearm.

"Ow," Eli joked.

She chuckled, no more than a low hum of sound, and peered at the dark hair escaping under his cap. It was thick and unruly in a way that made her wonder if that was why he often kept it relatively short. But she liked it short. "You always wear hats outside of school," she noted out loud. Hearing herself, a hot flush worked over her cheeks, and she turned all her attention suddenly to the notebook in front of her as if by ignoring it she could also ignore her own words. Great, now he's going to know you noticed.

Nice going, Nor-rah.

Eli's cologne whispered at her as he pulled a knee up. The readjustment put him just a smidge closer to her.

"That your guitar in the corner?"

Nora blinked up at him. Guitar? She glanced in the corner where the light wooded, worn instrument sat on its stand. Oh. Her mother's guitar. "Yeah. That's...mine."

"You play?"

She did. Almost every night before bed. Plucking at the strings until her eyelids drooped. And if it wasn't the roughly furnished old guitar, then it was her dad's blocky keyboard hidden under her white bed frame. She shrugged. "Sometimes."

She didn't know why she felt the need to be so blase about it all. Everyone in Sarias played an instrument. Music was in their blood. It was the lifeforce in their veins.

Lifeforce in my veins. She scribbled the phrase on the margin of her paper. Huh. That one might be useful in Felicity's next song. Her stepsister always wanted the stronger, more metaphorical songs.

"—ora?"

"Hmm?" She responded absently.

"What are you doing?"

Almost automatically, she flipped the notebook to a different page. "Just doodling."

He jabbed a thumb at the guitar. "Do you mind if I...?"

What she needed to do was finish this project so she could get him out of her house. She had songs she needed to write. Demos to record. And yet...the mental image of Eli Leonger holding her mother's guitar in her room and playing sounded like an experience she wasn't sure she could turn down. "Um. Sure, I guess."

Eli picked up her mother's guitar with a quiet respect she appreciated. He had no idea it was her mother's guitar; he still treated the instrument with care.

He plucked at the strings of the guitar with a calm familiarity that Nora knew all too well. Then he played a few chords as a warm-up and flowed straight into an acoustic rendition of Felicity's song, her song, Break my Heart (Into Pieces). Nora would recognize the chorus in her sleep. She'd played the rawest version of that song on that same guitar.

Hearing him play it now made her feel like he'd wrapped up her insides and tied them to a balloon to float away. There was something about Eli Leonger playing her arrangement. Something that made her bite her cheek to keep from grinning. He doesn't even know that's your arrangement, she told herself.

After the chorus of the song, he dabbled into another set of quick chords and added the beat of his palm against the base of the guitar. His focus was on the strings, his hair falling out from under his red hat as he glanced down. His tongue peeked out of the corner of his mouth. Nora didn't think he realized he did that, or how engrossed he'd gotten into whatever he was playing.

A feeling she knew all too well. That was the magic of music. It transported her places—places where dreams were lighter than air and nightmares nothing more than a sharp sting of memory.

Something about the piece...there. Nora pushed her nails into her palm to resist pointing it out.

But there it was again.

She shouldn't. But now he was playing the same melody. As if he couldn't figure it out and ugh she should just tell him—

There!

She put a hand on his arm. He blinked and froze.

Shit, now she messed up. "I'm sorry. That one chord after the riff—if you make it a G it smoothes out the transition."

A crease appeared between his eyebrows. Without a word, he played the same melody again but this time ended the riff and flowed into the next part with a G chord.

Eli stopped. Stared at her.

A flush worked over her cheeks. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't—"

"What else?"

Nora blinked, "I'm sorry?"

"You play, right?" Eli asked, "do you write too?"

She did. Not that she'd tell him that. "We need to get this project together—"

"I know, just...humor me."

She wanted to tell him. Wanted to share all about her work and what she was doing, the songs she liked, the melodies she was proud of, and the instances where she wasn't successful or the songs she looked back on now and just cringed.

But she couldn't tell him that. She couldn't tell anyone that. If she did, Mallory would cut her tuition and sour her father's name.

She paused, thinking. Finally, she said, "I dabble a bit. But it's not something I have time for right now with my scholarship. School comes first." Which, in her case, wasn't a lie.

"I bet you would be good at it," he declared. Then frowned, "aren't you collecting sounds? That could work perfectly with songs."

If only he knew.

She gave him a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "We should get back to work."

With a crease between his eyebrows, Eli put her mother's guitar back and the two of them continued their project.

Every once in a while, she felt the weight of his eyes on her, as if she were a puzzle that didn't quite make sense. But she didn't want to be a puzzle or a mystery or anything but a random classmate to him. So she ignored his heavy gaze and worked the rest of their session in silence.