L U C A

Now, ten years after the night of his piano concert, as Luca stood in the music room, he couldn't help but to think back at the old memory. If back then he could exchange all his toys for his father to come to his concert, he would have.

    "Well, how about this," Mr. Carter began when he saw the light leave Luca's face, "I'll practice with you every day, and I'll make sure to come with you to the auditions. How's that?"

    Luca nodded, his heart fluttering in excitement once more. This was more than he could ever ask for. He smiled heartily. "I — I would love that. Thank you, sir. Thank you so much."

    "Great. Then I'll see you tomorrow after lunch for your first practice session," said Mr. Carter kindly. "We can also go over the pieces that you can play for the audition. We have to pick the best ones."

    "Of course. Thank you again. Have a good day," Luca said politely before leaving the room, unable to suppress his growing smile.

   Luca happily danced his way out of the Berrington Hall happily, only stopping his moves when he saw other people around. He then looked down at his wrist-watch. I still have time, he thought to himself, his heart suddenly fluttering. 

    With that, Luca walked down to the rugby field, where the team was still practicing. He took his usual seat in the audience stands, his gaze wandering toward a certain boy with dark hair and black eyes who was too focused on the game to even notice Luca's presence.

    Putting on his glasses, Luca took a book out of his bag and opened it. He loved coming here to read, enjoying the fresh air and the beautiful view that autumn had brought with itself. But sometimes he completely forgot to read and stole glances at Shawn every once in a while.

    Luca liked watching him practice, running around the field confidently with a certain hunger and determination in his eyes, as though nothing else in the world mattered at that moment. Although Luca flinched whenever the players tackled Shawn to the ground, though he got up every single time with the same confidence.

    Luca wished he could stop noticing the way Shawn's firm muscles moved, or the fact that his abs showed even through his shirt, or the veins that ran down his forearms. He wished he could stop thinking about the sharp curve of his jaw and the way it clenched each time he was deep in thought, or how soft his lips looked when he smiled.

    Luca had memorized his face like his favorite poem.

   The practice finally came to an end, and it was only then that Shawn saw Luca sitting in the stands, his head once again hidden behind his book. 

    "Oi! Sunshine!" Shawn called out loudly, smirking when Luca lowered his book to look over at him. "Come down here for a minute!"

    Luca had resolved to be careful that no sign of anticipation should escape him as he closed his book and grabbed his bag, walking down the stands to reach Shawn.

    "What is it?" he asked, trying to sound as careless as possible.

    "C'mon. There's something I've wanted to give you." Shawn gestured Luca with his head to follow him, and Luca did as he was asked, steady to his purpose to look uninterested.

    Shawn led him toward the changing room and opened his locker to take his bag out. Luca watched him curiously as he dug into the bag and took out a book from inside it.

    "Here. I've had this for a while, but I forgot to give it back to you," said Shawn, handing him the book.

    "Where did you find this?" Luca looked down at it in bewilderment. He had been looking for this book for ages, but he couldn't remember where he had left it.

    "Remember the day I got into a fight with Wilson? Well, I guess when you and Nicholas had come to separate us, you dropped the book. I found it later that week in the lost-and-found section in the locker room and knew it was yours."

    Luca felt speechless for a moment as he stared down at the book. He finally looked up at Shawn with a little smile. "This... It means a lot to me. Thank you."

    "Anytime." Shawn returned the smile, but as soon as he felt that the atmosphere was getting too sentimental, he grinned and proceeded to say more playfully, "I thought you'd said that you would always choose your books over everything and everyone. What happened, Sunshine? Are you starting to care for me more than your books?"

    Luca chuckled, saying teasingly, "Not even in your wildest dreams, Anderson."

    "Ouch. That hurt my feelings," Shawn said mockingly, placing a hand over his heart. He then reached out his arm in a quick motion, and before Luca could duck his head, Shawn ruffled up his blond hair. "You've gotten really mean lately, Little Sunbeam. It's not like you."

    "Oh, shut up." Luca rolled his eyes as he moved away and out of Shawn's reach, though he was unable to hide his goofy smile.