Luna


My mother made me take piano lessons ever since I was eleven. I wasn’t all that content with the idea at that time, wanting to spend as much time as possible watching cartoons, but I am glad I listened to her. Even if sometimes I spent countless nights repeating over and over again all the songs I was assigned to learn, it was always worth it in the end. It’s a very hard to explain feeling; it is like getting the best grade on a test and your teacher comparing the others to you, or reaching the ending of a good book you couldn’t wait to finish. The fact that I know I did this for myself and by myself, it makes me feel good and extremely content on the inside. But at the same time, it’s one of those things that only seem to be exciting to me. Doesn’t matter how many times I tried to show my mother or even my teacher all the new parts I learned to play, they would never share the same enthusiasm as me. Maybe say a quick “good job”, but that would be it. And it sometimes upset me more than it should; I wanted them to be happy for me, because of something I did. But with time I learned that not everything you do for yourself is important to others that don’t appreciate you, so I just started keeping it all for myself.

I never expect anything in return for something good I do. Some kids go home to their parents and get nice gifts for doing well in school or receive money for their good grades. That never happened for me. My mom would give me an allowance every week and even though it isn’t, I like thinking that it is for the same reasons all the other kids get money from their parents; to reward them. I don’t use the money unless necessary, keeping the rest of it in a box under my bed, dreaming of hopefully using them for college one day.

Even though I have stopped my piano lessons over a year ago, my mother claiming that now it was distracting me from my studies, I still love playing from time to time. I sometimes take time from my evenings to just sit down at my piano and try to remember all the old melodies I learned years ago. It really annoys me when I wouldn’t remember certain parts, trying really hard to but my mind just doesn’t seem to cooperate. But even so, I keep on playing, because it relaxes me. If I have a really stressful day, if I want to ease my emotions or calm down my nervousness about something, I just play and it almost instantly all goes away. It might sound silly to those who don’t know the beautiful cure music can be for the heart, but it is truly magical and I wouldn’t give it up for anything in the world.

That is how I ended up in the living room, sitting in front of the piano, pressing different keys, trying to recall a beautiful sonata I learned a long time ago, not hitting all the right notes, but still creating somehow nice sounds. I chose not to attend graduation today, not actually finding a reason in going, and it is fair to say my mom was pretty mad when she found me on the couch, watching a movie instead of being dressed in preppy clothes to be congratulated by my teachers, like all the other years before. She was really upset and scolded me, before deciding on sending a big flower basket to the principal of my school. Like she would even acknowledge me missing the graduation ceremony out of all the students in the school.

It is now later in the evening, the quiet sound of the clock ticking the seconds being one of the only noises in the room, besides my random pressing of keys on the piano when I remember a certain note. I see it is a quarter past six and I bite on my lip, an action I know I should stop before I rip the skin and it starts bleeding. But of course I don’t listen to my own advice and it eventually happens when I keep tapping my fingers on the dark wood of the chair I am sat on, bouncing my leg up and down. I shouldn’t feel as nervous as I do, but I can’t help it, it is just a bad habit, always stressing about stuff I shouldn’t even overthink.

Ashton promised he would come and pick me up at around six and a half, since his house is only a fifteen minute walk away. I have been trying to think of this dinner as a completely normal thing, just having some good food and nice conversation with Ashton and his dad. I’ve never had an actual meal with anyone before besides my parents so I don’t know if it’s going to be any different with them, but hopefully it will all work out. I seriously don’t think it’s the case for me to dress up, I suppose it is just a casual dinner, so I decided on a usual attire, jeans and a tank top. I didn’t really know what to do with my hair, so I left it as usual, with a couple of small braids through it and in messy tangles.

Quickly going in the kitchen to get a glass of water, I glance at every clock in the house every time I pass by one. The one in the living room, the one in the kitchen, the small one beside the tv, my phone, everywhere. Why am I so nervous, I have no clue. I just need some water to help me calm down for the moment. I look out the window and zone out for a few minutes, just staring at nothing and thinking of nothing in particular. I have to try my hardest not to bite my nails; I tend to always do that when I’m stressed, but lately I’ve been trying my hardest to let them grow and it has been working pretty well so I don’t want to ruin it.

Movement catches my eye and snaps me out of my trance. I quickly spot someone walking by and my eyes widen as I let the glass of water fall back in the sink and run as fast as I can up the stairs. I can’t believe time passed by so quickly I didn’t even notice it. I almost trip on my way up the stairs as I look frantically around the room for my jacket which I know I am going to need later throughout the night since I am always so cold. It’s just my luckiest day since I can’t find it anywhere. There is the loud sound of the doorbell and I groan, giving up on searching for my jacket and I just grab the first thing that comes to my hand, which is Ashton’s hoodie that I have been wearing around the house quite often lately. Without any second thoughts I tie it around my waist as I make my way back down the stairs and take my phone and keys from the table and jog out the door.

As I regain my breath I start walking at a normal pace again after locking the door behind me and open the gate to be met by warm arms wrapping around my body. With one hand still on the big metal gate I let it go as it slowly shuts behind me and locks automatically. My arms come up on his shoulders as I wrap them around his body, smiling slightly into his shirt. He always has a very uncommon yet nice smell, kind of like bubblegum and cologne.

“Hi, Ashton.” I mutter and wait a few more seconds for him to let me out of his embrace which he eventually does and smiles down at me.

“Hello.” His hair is back to not being styled today, messy curls coming down onto his forehead as he runs his fingers through them. “Ready to go?” He asks and I nod.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” I chuckle with a sigh and he just laughs slightly, leading the way.


It wasn’t that long of a walk, it took us about twenty minutes since we weren’t in a rush and took our time just walking slowly and talking on the way about all the random things that came to mind. Like my silly questions about Ashton’s favorite things, such as candies, beverages and even his favorite food, which is by the way spaghetti.

“Tell me at least your favorite color.” He groans and I smile, but shake my head.

“Have you got an answer to my riddle?” I raise my eyebrows at him and he sighs.

“No.” He mumbles and I giggle, continuing on walking. “I swear one day I will find the answer to that stupid riddle and there is nothing you will be able to hide from me anymore.” I smile at the thought of that; hopefully one day that will be possible.

As soon as we reach his neighborhood it makes me smile. It is the typical kind of street you would see in movies; there are beautiful small houses with perfectly mowed lawns and neat gray pavements. It seems like the type of place in which neighbors walk to each other’s houses in just their pajamas to ask for a cup of sugar. It is very nice, always something I wished I could have had. As soon as we reach his place, I can’t help but smile at the beautiful small house. It is painted white and has a nice brick rooftop, with a big tree by the end of the property, its long branches almost touching the windows. There is a bike on the porch and some random pairs of sneakers.

“Your house is nice.” I smile and he does the same.

“Thanks.” He can clearly see that I do actually like it and he just laughs slightly, shrugging his shoulders. “I mean, it’s nothing compared to yours, but you know… it’s home.”

“I would give up any big mansion to have what you do, to be honest.” I say quietly and he shakes his head frowning.

“Why would you do that?”

“Because life would be a lot simpler.” It’s the only reason I can come up with and he seems to understand, so he just nods his head and guides me to the front door, opening it and allowing me to step inside first.

The first thing that I notice is the incredible smell of food that hits me. Only now do I realize how hungry I actually am. Ashton closes the door behind him and takes off his shoes. I do the same, placing them a lot more neatly than he did next to his and I look around for a short second at the nice place. I do understand what he means when he says it is home; it really does feel like a home, not just a house.

“Come on, I think dinner is ready.” I follow him down the hallway into the kitchen where his father is currently opening a window. “Hey, dad.”

“Ashton, Luna! You’re here already.” He exclaims smiling and quickly goes to the sink to wash his hands. “How are you?” He asks and looks at me as he dries his hands.

“I’m well, thank you Mr. Irwin.” I smile politely and he shakes his head.

“Please, call me Brendon, all of Ashton’s friends do so.” I smile and nod as he quickly looks around. “Dinner will be ready in about ten minutes, you kids can go in Ashton’s room while I finish here.” Ashton just nods and grabs my wrist gently, guiding me out.

It is something I don’t think I will ever get used to, him touching me. I don’t know why my heart starts beating as fast as it does when he does so, but I can’t help it. His skin on mine just tingles in the most beautiful way possible, making me shiver. We walk a small set of stairs up to what I assume is Ashton’s bedroom. As soon as he enters the room with me behind him, I am hit by the beautiful perfume he always has on him. His bed is unmade, the blue sheets sliding halfway down. Ashton quickly goes to his bed and tries to arrange the covers, but I don’t really pay attention to it. It is a pretty big room, at least big enough to fit a whole set of drums in the back of it. It is old and there is some obvious dust on it, making it look like it hasn’t been played in a long time. There is also his guitar in the corner with which he played for me that time on the beach; I can’t believe that was three weeks ago. Time passes by so quickly. Other than that, there is a desk with a lot of scattered notebooks and papers on it and also a big closet that has some tee shirts thrown in front of it so I assume he keeps his clothes there.

“Sorry for the mess.” He mumbles and starts picking different things from the floor and from around the room, trying to put them in place. “Didn’t really have time to clean up.”

“That’s okay.” I sit down on his bed, but get up as I feel something underneath me. Pulling out an empty box of biscuits, I place it down beside the bed and sit back down. “My room is not all that clean either.”

He laughs at that, probably not believing me but I am not going to argue him. I mean, yes, my room is not as messy as his, but I do have my own kind of mess. I see some books on his nightstand and frown, remembering his comment from a couple days ago, saying that he doesn’t read. Reaching towards them, I place them on my lap and glance at the covers.
“Shakespeare?” I smile and look at all the titles; Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet and Sonnets.

“I mean, you told me he’s good, so I guess I was kind of interested.” He comes in front of me, doing the usual thing he does when he feels uncomfortable, scratching the back of his neck.

“They are nice books.” I nod and place them back. Looking on his walls, I see a lot of different posters of a lot of bands and people I don’t know, but I do recognize a few of them which make me smile.

“Oh my God, is that Justin Bieber?” I laugh and his face goes blank, looking behind him and shaking his head frantically.

“I swear I didn’t put it there myself, one of my mates did it as a joke and I just haven’t got the chance to take it down yet.” He looks so embarrassed, getting up and quickly ripping the poster off his wall, throwing it in the bin.

“Well your friends clearly love Justin Bieber.” I giggle and he rolls his eyes, but just shrugs. “Is that them?” I ask and look at his desk.

There is a picture in a frame of Ashton next to three other guys, all making silly faces and posing weirdly. I do recognize one of the guys from his graduation, I believe his name was Michael. Ashton smiles and nods.

“Yep, that’s them. You met Michael.” He remarks and I nod. “That’s what my dad meant by “all my friends”. They are here literally all the time. I mean, one of them could burst through the door at any moment so don’t be scared if that happens.” He chuckles and I smile. That must be nice, having such best friends, I sometimes wish I had that.

“Oh, you like photography?” I distract myself from the thought by pointing at the camera that is resting on top of a shelf on the other part of his room.

“I guess.” He shrugs. “I sometimes use it, not that often though.”

“Do you have any pictures?” I ask already getting up to pick up the camera, looking at it and going back to Ashton so he can show them to me because I don’t want to press any random buttons and ruin his settings.

“I have a few.” He mumbles and seems kind of uncomfortable again, flicking through some of the pictures as I sit down next to him and lean in to get a closer look.

The first photo he shows me is of a beautiful sunset and my mouth parts a little, because it looks almost the same as a real sunset. My phone camera could never take in the beauty of a colorful sky, not having the good enough quality for it. But I guess a performant camera could do that and I want so badly to get one now. The next photo is of what looks like a coffee shop, the place looks kind of empty but extremely cozy. Then there is a picture of a mug, the steam coming from the coffee inside, the camera capturing every little detail. There are a lot of pictures of flowers, clouds, the moon, even random people on the street that must have caught his attention.

“They are beautiful, Ashton.” I whisper and look up at him when I notice he stopped moving to the next photo, his eyes glued to mine, lips slightly parted. He clears his throat, breaking the eye contact and he shifts uncomfortably.

“They’re alright.” He shrugs and changes some settings from the buttons, keeping his eyes down.

I lean my back on the wall, closing my eyes for a few moments. I really wish he would stop saying that everything he owns or does is just average or okay when I tell him almost the complete opposite. His pictures are truly beautiful, I don’t know why he must always put himself down like that. I open my eyes quickly after a flash goes off, startling me. Ashton grins and looks down at the photo he just took and I lean over to see it as well. My knees are tucked up to my chest, my eyes closed and I look like I am almost falling asleep. My hair is everywhere, some of it covering my face. I huff and roll my eyes.

“I look so bad.” He just shakes his head, putting the camera down.

“No, you don’t.” He says in a serious voice and I can’t help but smile slightly.

“Don’t you think dinner should be ready by now?” I change the subject as I get up from his bed and tighten the hoodie from around my waist so it wouldn’t fall off.

“Yeah, I think it is.” He clears his throat and gets up as well, but then stops and looks down. “Is that mine?” A small smile tugs at the corners of his lips as he spots his hoodie on me.
“Oh, yes, if you want it back-“ I start but he stops me.
“I told you to keep it. There’s no need to give it back to me.” I just smile at him and nod, walking out of his door and back down the stairs.

It was nothing like I expected, Ashton’s dad is such a nice man, he kept on asking questions about me, which I obviously had to answer. Ashton would grin at each question his dad asked, knowing I can’t possibly also give him a riddle. But he asked basic questions, such as about my parents and school. Nothing I wouldn’t want Ashton to know for now. He made what he claimed to be his best dish, his special lasagna that he usually only makes on Sundays, but made an exception for today since Ashton mentioned to him that I am half Italian. Another stereotype that would normally make me roll my eyes, but this time it only makes me smile, knowing that his dad put an effort in making this dinner enjoyable for me as well.

At around nine o’clock after having apple pie as dessert, we eventually finish and Ashton’s dad says that it’s late and I should be heading home so my mom doesn’t worry. If only he knew my mom is never home anyway. But I nod, thanking him for the amazing food and also for the great time. He pushes Ashton out the door after me, urging him to take me home and I laugh at that, but Ashton looks like he would have done that even without his dad’s remark. We walk quietly down the street and I unwrap the hoodie from around my hips, actually putting it on my body as it started to get a bit colder, the sun slowly coming down. I spot Ashton smiling from the corner of my eye as I do so.

We reach my house sooner than I thought we would and I enter the code to the front gate, turning around to face Ashton. This time I don’t hesitate to go in for a hug, wrapping my arms around his torso, feeling the heat radiating from his body on my cold skin. His arms come around me and we stay hugged like this for a short moment, before I whisper.
“Thank you for this wonderful evening.”

“It was no problem. Anytime.” I smile at that and lean back from the hug.

“Well, it is only fair you come to meet my dad as well.” The idea comes to my mind right on the spot. “He also invited me over since him and his girlfriend got engaged and I want you to come with me.” I smile really big at the idea of Ashton actually being there with me.

“Sure, I’ll come if you want me to.” He smiles tiredly and I feel really bad for keeping him out this late.

“Okay, I’ll call you when I get some details about when we can go. Goodnight, Ashton.” I place my hand on his shoulder and let it slide down his arm quickly, before sending him another smile and walking towards the front door.

“Sleep well, Luna.” He mumbles tiredly and I can hear his footsteps slowly fading away before I enter my house and go straight to my room where I collapse on my bed, almost instantly falling into slumber with Ashton’s warm hoodie hugging my body.

Notes