&&with nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah[DAMIEN]

[noelle marie parks]

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Noelle finally had a day to herself in this new town. She had finished unpacking all their stuff in their apartment and she had decided to give herself a day off from the music store- seeing that she was the manager and all. So on her free day, she decided to go out to the lake with her guitar. Elle had noticed the lake when she and her mom had driven to Brookside for the first time. Ever since she laid eyes on it, she wanted to just sit there. Sometimes she would even imagine that day and how calm it would be. It was the only thing keeping the idea of moving to this new town worthwhile. Now, she finally had a chance to fulfill that little daydream of hers and with guitar in hand, she scampered over to the water’s edge, looking deep into the water.

Noelle took a deep breath, letting the sun touch her face lightly as its rays brushed at her golden hair. The wind cooled her, casting a smile to spread wide across her face. She couldn’t help but feel all the happier to be here, just sitting at the water’s edge. The danger of it all added to it as well for she sat fairly close; close enough that if she leaned forward and exhaled, the force of her breathe would be enough to send ripples throughout the azure water.

Pulling her acoustic guitar close, she brushed her fingers along the strings. The guitar she owned at the moment was a scratched up, pink guitar that her mother had bought her as a birthday present. Of course the hot pink infuriated her, but the guitar had the most wonderful tone. Elle had the guitar for about five years now and she was not willing to give it up, no matter how dilapidated it looked. Soon her quiet finger picking turned into chords and a melody struck her head. It was the familiar tune of Hallelujah that she knew so well. It was her favorite song to play for she played it well and it was a pretty tune that made her heart leap each time she played it.

“Now I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah,
Hallelujah,
Hallelujah,
Hallelujah…”

Her voice was soft, calm and collected as she sung the familiar melody. She loved it, striking each chord as gently as she controlled her tone and her voice. Noelle continued on, adding a bit more feeling as the song slowly came to an end.

”Hallelujah,
Hallelujah
Hallelujah…”

Elle closed her eyes, listening closely as the last major chord faded away into the morning light. Her voice had faded as well. She listened as it skipped across the lake to disappear ahead of her, wondering for another soul to touch with its splendor. It had been a while since she played that song and it nearly brought tears to her eyes, yet the wind wiped them away, tugging at her sun-lit hair as if asking for a roaring encore. Yet Noelle sat motionless, with that memorable tune still ringing in her head.

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[damien anthony wyle]

i couldn't sleep, i thought of nothing else, i needed help,

everyone was tellin' me you're movin' on with someone else

Dressed in a plain brown t-shirt topped with a checkered black and white shirt, jeans, and a pair of sneakers, Damien hung his head low as he watched the pavement move past beneath his feet while he walked silently towards the lake. Today wasn't exactly how he wanted his day to start out. First, he had carelessly lost one of his essays that was due next week, so he had to rewrite it later today. Secondly, his sister had just called from Australia, telling him that her sabbatical would be extended for at least another year. And last but not least, one of Damien's friends just called off their meeting to hang out, so he was free to wander around for the entire day.

He didn't like that at all.

As he was always someone who needed a schedule to stay calm and un-fidgety, Damien couldn't think of anything worse than what had been proceeding today. So he decided to go to a place he knew could calm him down a little: the lake. It was his sanctuary, his place of peace. He liked the reflecting sunlight that bounced from the lake into the trees, the smell of the soil and grass on the ground, the sound of the water lapping at the lake's edge and the rustling of the bushes and leaves.

It was no wonder why people described him as sensitive and 'the nice guy'. Damien continued his walk towards the lake and paused uncertainly when he heard a voice. The voice wasn't of the usual voices he heard at the lake —families laughing, kids screaming, teens chatting. No, it was of a girl. A girl, singing.

”...The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah,
Hallelujah,
Hallelujah,
Hallelujah…”

With interest, Damien quickened his pace, hoping to see who it was. Her voice was faint, gentle and serene as the song continued. By now Damien could see her in the distance, standing dangerously close to the water's edge —just like he always tended to do whenever he wanted to watch the tiny tadpoles or guppies in the water swim their own way in the lake that they thought was the size of the whole world.

”Hallelujah,
Hallelujah
Hallelujah…”

Damien quietly walked up to the girl, looking from her head to her toes carefully. He had never seen her before; was she a tourist? A new resident? He couldn't make sure. But he knew how to make sure, however. The seventeen year old boy approached her. Her left side was facing him, so she might not have seen him at first. "Hey," Damien said, a little unsure of himself. He nodded towards her guitar, "You play?" An obvious statement, but D was never really good at introductions.

[noelle marie parks]

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&&With a squeak, Noelle nearly jumped into the water from pure shock. She hadn’t expected a voice from behind her and with a random flail of frightened limbs, she wrapped her arms around the stranger’s neck to keep herself from falling into the lake. ”AHH you idiot! You almost made me fall in!” Elle grumbled, grabbing her guitar with one hand and shoving it forcefully behind her just incase. She didn’t really care if she fell face first as long as her guitar was okay. Then again, she was wearing a new pair of jeans her mother had bought as a peace offering for dragging her to this town. She didn’t want to give that up especially since she had about three pairs of jeans with numerous, interchangeable shirts to go with it.

&&Noelle breathed heavily before playfully slapping the guy’s shoulder as she released her death grip on him; steadying herself farther away from the dangerous edge. She grabbed her guitar and looked up at him, curiously. ”What does it look like to yah?” She smirked, playing a quick section of a guitar solo, adding emphasis on the most important chords and the prettiest segment of finger picking. Noelle laughed, something she refrained herself from doing ever since she and her mother had arrived at this town in hopes that she might take her back to California where she rightfully belonged. And clearly, she was laughing at his palpable statement.

&&She immediately took notice that he must’ve been a musician for how interested he was in her song. Ordinary townsfolk probably would have ignored her if they hadn’t met her yet and here was Damian, nearly spooking her, without fear or cower. This twitched a bit of interest in that sixteen year old mind of hers. Noelle had been looking for a musician to join up with or at least meet on peaceful terms with since she arrived. She wanted to make a band like her own in California. Knowing the boys, it was probably broke up now from a fight over a bag of chips. Noelle was constantly the peacemaker, despite her attitude. She was the only girl and of course the lead singer and guitarist. All the guys respected her and she often barked them into place, not afraid to get physical with them. Knowing Elle, she flirted her way in earning their respect and cooperation as well. Yet, they all loved her and admired her passion for music. Oh how she missed them at this moment and looking into this guy’s eyes she could just recall that same curious look when she had recruited her band’s drummer.

&&Noelle looked up at the boy once again, coming to the fact that he was probably slightly older than she was and he was on her good side. Hopefully, he wouldn’t turn onto her bad. She grinned, patting the grassy area beside her. ”The name’s Noelle Parks. Are you just gonna stand there like the idiot you are?” Elle joked once again. She hoped he didn’t take it the wrong way, but Noelle was never the type of girl to care if someone walked away from her. It happened often and she seemed to have forgotten that feeling of guilt long ago so why would a random guy make any difference to her?

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[damien anthony wyle]

i couldn't sleep, i thought of nothing else, i needed help,

everyone was tellin' me you're movin' on with someone else

Damien raised his eyebrows with surprise as the girl literally flung herself at him as she feared falling into the water. Of course, his very first instinct was to blush and freeze on the spot. Damien was never really good around girls during their first meet (although most of his friends are girls.) After he regained his senses, the seventeen year old boy laughed at that and shook his head slightly. He noted that she protected her guitar —something that interested D quite an amount. She was a musician, obviously a dedicated one, it seemed.

Once the girl had released her surprisingly tight grip on him, she slapped Damien's shoulder a little playfully. But, being the softy (okay, maybe softy was the wrong word, but, hey, who's to judge?) he was, he winced a little. Did it hurt? Well, Damien would never admit to it, even if it did. Or did it? ”What does it look like to yah?” the girl said to him in response to his earlier question. She played a melody for him to hear, and he nodded, a hint of a smile on his face. "How long have you been playing?" he asked, hoping she was the kind who was open about their musical history.

The boy smiled; it was a sincere smile, one without his usual nervousness and uncertainty. Here was a girl he had never met before, a girl who obviously loved music, maybe just as much as he did. And she had yet to blow him off for being too little of a 'bad boy' and too much of 'the best friend' kind. Which, in Damien's book, was immediately a good start. He tucked his left hand into his jean's pocket while he used the other to run through his hair. This made his hair stand up a little, which his friend Lila liked describing as his 'cute point'. Damien hated it when she said that.

Introducing herself, the girl joked a little about Damien being an idiot. This, for some reason, made D smile. She reminded him of Lila, who always, and almost literally always, called him an idiot. But he never took it to heart. Damien offered the girl he now knew as Noelle another smile as he, too, told her his name.

"I'm Damien," he said, shrugging his shoulders lightly as he took a spot next to her. He looked at her again. He was sure he had never seen her before, and, considering that he had lived here all his life, he was pretty sure he knew everyone that was three years above him and three years below him. So, basically, anyone in Brookside from the age of fourteen to twenty.

Curiously, Damien looked at the girl again with another hint of interest. If she was by the lake, by herself, she probably wasn't a tourist, and definitely not a local. "I'm probably guessing that you're a new resident," he said rather slowly as he looked out at the waters. He turned his head to face her and gave her a smile, "So welcome to Brookside, Noelle."

[noelle marie parks]

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&&Noelle smiled at this silly boy. Everything was going pretty well so far. He was kind and interested in music and now Elle couldn’t help but think that this town might not be as bad as she thought. Then again, she still missed her home in California. Yet the prospect of starting a new life here didn’t sound as implausible. She began laughing once again as she noticed the slight pain in his expression. Or was it pain? Noelle wasn’t sure but she loved guys who weren’t afraid to be a little on the soft side. Obnoxious males who think they’re all bad just made her want to puke. These feeble boys were much easier to tease and they were much more subjected to being ordered around without complaint. That, Noelle liked. She liked power and obtaining it through force was not a problem.

&&She beamed at him as he inquired about her musical history. She loved to talk about it since it was both about music and herself- her two favorite subjects to talk about. ”I’ve been playing since I was about 6 when my mom bought me my first guitar. It just went uphill from there with a whole bunch of instruments.” Noelle answered boldly with a great sense of pride in what she had been doing for nearly 10 years. Music was her life and it had been so ever since she was born. Her mother even admitted to have played music around her when she was still in the womb- using headphones and speakers. When parents read stories to their swollen bellies, her mother played Beethoven and Mozart. Or that’s what Elle’s mother had said. Music also ran through their family. Her mother played almost every string instrument on the face of the earth. Her father… she wasn’t so sure about. ”I’ve also played a bit of piano, the trumpet, the baritone, the saxophone, the flute…” Her voice faded slightly away as she realized she was rambling again and her mother always told her never to ramble. But did she take her advice? No.

&&Noelle couldn’t help but give the boy a toothy grin as she watched him brush back his hair in a classical ‘brush back’ move that guys used to pull their hair out of their face. Guys often did a hair flip as well which Noelle thought was pretty funny and in Damian’s case, the way he spiked up his hair a bit was kind of cute. Girls, as Noelle observed, also had a way of tucking their hair away from their face, yet it was usually more subtle by shoving their bangs behind their ears or throwing their hair back, forcefully. This amused Noelle as well and she couldn’t help but think how silly the human race was.

&&Hmm… Damien… Noelle thought. It was an interesting name and probably a name she would definitely remember from here on forth. She smiled at his welcome and opened her mouth to say something before bangs fell over her eyes. Elle grunted and blew the hair away- an unusual technique that she had developed long ago since her arm had gotten tired of fixing it each time. And with that she replied, grinning jovially. ”hah. Thanks. I guess I’m starting to warm up to this town. Or maybe I’m just getting soft..” Noelle stated blandly, leaned back on her palms as she looked out at the water as well.

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[damien anthony wyle]

i couldn't sleep, i thought of nothing else, i needed help,

everyone was tellin' me you're movin' on with someone else

Damien smiled as she described her past with ease. It was making Damien feel rather tranquil (at least, more than he was a few minutes ago) by meeting someone who was so much in touch with music. Although there were many musicians in this town, none of them —at least, none that he knew of— would talk about their music so openly with someone they barely knew. Especially someone as socially awkward as Damien.

He listened to what she was saying with full attention. She played almost the exact few same instruments he did, except that he didn't play the saxophone and baritone, but played the harp (which he was proud to admit, even if some people told him it was feminine) and trombone instead. But the ones he was most interested in was of course his guitar and piano. And he sang and wrote songs as well, of course. But he wasn't sure if Noelle bothered, so he just kept quiet.

When Noelle talked about getting soft, Damien shook his head and smiled a little. He was a softy, as mentioned earlier, and sometimes he wasn't afraid to admit it. Sometimes. "Nothing wrong with being soft," he said quite matter-of-factly as if he was debating about, well, being a softy. "This town's not quite that bad; everyone's friendly, I can tell you that for sure."

The seventeen year old grinned at her, then turned to look around. Was she uncomfortable in Brookside? Damien had never really lived anywhere else to know the difference between home and foreign countries. "Where are you from?" he asked her. Would talking about her hometown calm her down or infuriate her? Damien was willing to take the chance.

[noelle marie parks]

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&&”everyone’s friendly…” Noelle nodded. She definitely knew that. Only a few days ago did she meet Lila and she was pretty nice. She wasn’t the best person to meet first, yet they ended up getting along eventually. And this meeting with Damien was a win for the town. If there were more people like Damien and Lila, maybe Noelle wouldn’t feel as bad. Then again, this town couldn’t just all be filled with teens like themselves. There are probably adults- adults that Noelle could easily piss off or vise versa. She smiled a mischievous little smile. ”Well then I am honored to be the first to wreak havoc upon this town. A smirk appeared upon her lips and she laughed a devious laugh. Noelle knew that she would probably cause trouble sooner or later. If it wasn’t today, it will probably be next week. Who knows? All Elle knew was that she constantly tended to turn everyone against her by the end of the year whether good first impressions or not.

&&When Damien inquired about her hometown, Noelle fell silent. She had to think about it for a moment. Truly she was just afraid she would talk about something that would make her just break down and cry. The thing she said about getting soft, she knew was true. The risk of letting out her true feelings were just too great seeing that the subject of her hometown was closely linked to the subject of her family and with her family came the subject of her mom and dad- or more like her dad. That subject, she was afraid to explore, especially with a guy she had met only ten or so minutes ago.

&&Noelle took a deep breath and took the frightening risk. ”My mom dragged me all the way here from California. She didn’t even tell me we were going, but since she’s my mother, I had to listen.” Elle smiled a sort of sincere smile. Her audacity and bold outer shell seemed to have melted away to reveal just a second layer that was much more docile than the first. Yet, Noelle could feel that panic come over her. She looked at his face for a moment before looking down at the water as she quickly changed the subject. ”S-sooo, you play?” Noelle nervously imitated their first encounter trying to make him laugh- or more like make herself laugh to get her out of the uncomfortable situation.

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[damien anthony wyle]

i couldn't sleep, i thought of nothing else, i needed help,

everyone was tellin' me you're movin' on with someone else

With a slight pause, Damien realized he had touched a sensitive spot when he asked her about her hometown. He was about to ask her to forget about it, when she began to answer. Like he always did when listening to someone, Damien gave his full attention and nodded, taking in what she was saying very quietly and understandably. Maybe.

When she was done, he gave her a small pat on the shoulder once and then looked towards the lake. "Brookside might never feel as good as home, but you'll feel better if you try to think of it like it was," Damien said softly, not sure if she heard him or not. He liked Noelle instantly; she seemed like she wasn't afraid to say what was on her mind. Maybe it would be just this once, but, either way, Damien admired her boldness to let it out. In his opinion, people who bottled things up only ended up hurting themselves.

As the girl tried to make the moment pass by asking Damien if he played, he smirked as she replayed their first encounter. But under it he could detect the hint that she just wanted to change the subject. He respected her decision not to dwell on it and answered light-heartedly. "I play the piano, and guitar, of course. Then there's the violin, harp, flute, trombone and trumpet. Oh and I know the basic beat of the drums, but I can't really make it sound, simply put, good."

Was Noelle interested or would she think that he was just someone who couldn't stick with one instrument? He could, and did, though. His favorite was the piano; the rest were all things he wanted to try. It never hurt to be adventurous. Turning his head, Damien smiled at Noelle again. She was one of the few new residents he had met, but so far his favorite.

[noelle marie parks]

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&&Noelle grunted in dismay. She hadn’t really thought of Brookside as a home. She just imagined it as a little vacationing spot that sooner or later she would leave by convince her mom to move them back to California. Actually, she had thought of it as a nightmare when she first realized they were moving. Yet as she thought about it, she was warming up to it and its people. ”I guess I could think of it like that… but it’s still dump to me. No offense or anything.” Elle closed her eyes. Her audacity was clearly return for those words slipped out of her mouth like a cat fish down a river bend.

&&It wasn’t long until Damien caught her attention once again as he began mentioning all the instruments he had played. She quickly sat up and turned to him a bit more, smiling a toothy grin. Noelle was definitely back. Music was her element and she was glad to have moved away from the subject of her past which seemed to be so far away now. As his list went on, her smile spread wider. She hadn’t met a person who had tried many different instruments like she had and she had never really met someone who was so open to saying so. Noelle admired him for that. She loved people who played all types of instruments. She couldn’t think of how a person could only stick with just one. The point of trying new instruments is to find what you’re interested in right? Elle’s philosophy was that ‘you needed to spread your wings and use your tentacles to find your way’. She believed that even if you did play an instrument for a few months, it was still an instrument you knew how to play and if you didn’t like it then by all means forget about it and move on.

&&”hah! That’s awesome dude!” Noelle gently slapped him on the back, all in good nature; a laugh echoing through her voice box. ”You play almost as many instruments as I do! And to tell you the truth, I’m not very good at the drums either. I guess my brain is just angry that it never has the melody!” It was true; Elle loved having the melody to any song. That was one reason she tried so many instruments and why she had fallen in love with the trumpet. The golden instrument, almost 90% of the time, had the melody as well as beautiful solos that were challenging yet important. The melody also caused her to fall for the guitar and the piano and after a bit of searching, she found a flute and fell in love with it as well- yet it wasn’t her favorite due to the high, obnoxious notes it often reached.

&&Noelle stopped, suddenly realizing that he said he had played the harp. She’d never heard of any male who played the harp, yet in her opinion, more guys should whether they looked stupid or not. All instruments, in Elle’s view, were for both male and female as long as they were willing to play it. Once again, she couldn’t help but smile at this silly boy. He was unique and that, Noelle liked a lot.

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[damien anthony wyle]

i couldn't sleep, i thought of nothing else, i needed help,

everyone was tellin' me you're movin' on with someone else

Damien looked at Noelle as she grunted in dismay. Maybe Brookside just wasn't her cup of tea. She did come from California, and all. That was a big city, wasn't it? Surely adjusting to a tiny, close-knit town where everyone knew everyone would be a little different for her. If you lived here all your life, you would never be surprised however, if you turned a corner and met your friend buying coffee, your crush sitting and waiting for a friend, your enemy whispering little nothings into his/her friend's ear. When you knew everyone, sooner or later they fit into a category. Good side, bad side.

But then again, all it could be was maybe, she just missed her home. For some reason, this reminded him of his older sister Denise. Did she miss being here in Brookside when she went out on her sabbaticals and such? Maybe she didn't like leaving at all. But Deni was his sister, and only family. Damien would still miss her nonetheless. How would he not? He heard Noelle's voice a little faintly at first, due to being lost in his trance. ”I guess I could think of it like that… but it’s still dump to me. No offense or anything.”

The junior listed the instruments he played as Noelle sat up and turned to him with a toothy grin. ”Hah! That’s awesome dude!” she said, giving him a playful slap on the back. Damien winced again. Curse his, um, softiness. ”I guess my brain is just angry that it never has the melody!” Damien shrugged at her sentence. Drums were irritant to him, but it was the only thing his best friend Lila knew how to play. Even if she was tone deaf. "Haha, drums naturally don't have a melody, I guess." Mentally, he laughed. Maybe that was why Lila could play it. There was no tune involved, just a beat. A simple, easy-to-follow beat.

Casually, Damien leaned back on his hands and looked out to the water. The sunlight on the water's surface reflected up into the trees and formed little streaks of light that seemed to come from those trees themselves. Damien focused on the one opposite of where he and Noelle sat. It looked like the tree was literally glowing with sunlight. Damien smiled to himself. So what, he admired nature, he adored music, he was sensitive and soft, he was different than the normal kind of guys that girls fell for. He was him, and that was all that mattered to Damien.

As Damien turned to the one known as Noelle, he smiled a little. She was like him, and at the same time, so different. It was nice to know someone like that, even if it was a little confusing at first. He shook his head and grinned to himself. Damien flashed her a smile while he readjusted his position on the ground. He now sat with one leg tucked under the other, while 'the other' hung loosely in front of him, almost touching the tip of the water, his hands resting on his lap. Looking back to face Noelle, he asked, "So which instrument do you like the most?"

[noelle marie parks]

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&&Noelle laughed. ”Yeah! That’s why I hate ‘em.” To her, drums were just a good source of the beat whenever there was no conductor like when she played gigs where she sat placed in the front for everyone to see. Her drummer back home was fortunately very good at what he did, banging on those tightly wound drum heads and clanging cymbals with his drumsticks. Too bad she left him back in California. She could use him right about now seeing that she still didn’t have the band she was looking for.

&&The sixteen year old watched Damien in turn, smiling happily. She liked talking to this boy, despite the fact that they had met only moments ago. He was a musician and he was one of those boys that you could pick on and never get a punch right back. It must’ve been fate that caused them to meet. Maybe it was God or some higher being rewarding Noelle for having to move against her will. Whoever did it and for whatever reason, she was eternally grateful. Truthfully, this meeting almost makes up for all she’s been through. The shop helped too, yet Noelle knew that once she approached the apartment, she would go right back into her horrible mood. So she enjoyed it for now, lying down on her back with her hands folded behind her head. She let out a sigh, her light gray jacket now spread flat upon the grass with her guitar on her right side, laid just as she was.

&& ”So which instrument do you like the most?” A toothy grin appeared on the girl’s face once more as she took a deep breath to answer. ”Definitely the guitar. The trumpet comes a close second since I’ve been playing it for just as long. And you the piano and guitar right?” Noelle didn’t know how anyone could hate playing the guitar or the piano. They were both so similar yet so different and both have a simplistic design to them. To create music was a combination of chords and notes. That was one major reason she loved the guitar. The trumpet could never play chords. Only note by note, yet if played right, the notes could be just as satisfying as chords themselves. Elle then turned to the guitar because of those chords the trumpet could not make out. It was ‘love at first sight’ you could say and so Noelle took on the two instruments and kept them as her main sources of music.

Ooc// blah sorry its so short D; my muse is dwindling D:

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[damien anthony wyle]

i couldn't sleep, i thought of nothing else, i needed help,

everyone was tellin' me you're movin' on with someone else

Damien looked at Noelle again as she laid down on the grass. He smiled. If it was Lila next to him at the moment, she would not have dared lie down before inspecting for any insect or loose dirt, afraid to get bitten or get her new shirt dirty or something. Noelle was a rather refreshing change; she was different than most of the people he knew. He liked that about her.

The sixteen year old answered his question about her favorite instrument with another one of those toothy grins that Damien recently (like, really recently. Saying, a few minutes ago) grew familiar to. When he heard her answer, Damien nodded and smiled. At her 'guess' of his favorite instruments, D nodded, a little too enthusiastically, and replied with, "I think honestly they tie for first. I can never choose between the two of them."

At that, Damien began making a list in his head. After the piano and guitar would definitely come the violin; right after that would arrive his harp. Then even after that, it would be the flute, jazz one first before standard. Next came Noelle's second favorite, the trumpet. After that... trombone. Maybe after that on the list, the cello would arrive, followed by all other sorts of instruments D could more or less play little by little, like the recorder, harmonica, and many more rather small wind and string instruments. Oh and somewhere in that list came the drums.

With a slightly contented sigh, Damien looked down at the girl who was lying down on the grass, who was between him and her guitar. It was until then that Damien realized how old the guitar looked. Noelle was probably really attached to it, or something, he was guessing. Damien smiled. This day was going much better than it had before he came here. "Rate me this," Damien asked. Rate Me This was a 'game' he and Lila would play when wanting to know about the preferences of one another.

Damien straightened and turned to face Noelle. "You've been chosen for a performance, but can only play one of these three instruments. I'll give you a... saxophone, a flute and a tuba." He hoped she would understand what he was asking. "Which would you play and why?"

[noelle marie parks]

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&&Noelle chuckled at his enthusiastic answer. It pleased her knowing how much he liked music. She thought she wouldn’t meet one musical soul in this small town, yet now she was thinking otherwise thanks to Damien and the information given to her by Lila. Elle seriously would have probably died if there were no musical people in this town. She would get along with almost no one for music brought people together and that was definitely the case with Damien, yet she knew that their personalities just clicked somehow. Maybe it was their love of music, but she knew it must’ve been something more.

&&Elle nearly zoned out in the space between Damien’s words as his voice faded behind her. She was getting distracted again. Distracted from the clouds floating freely above her against a light blue backdrop. Her eyes were beginning to droop and she suddenly realized how tired she really was. The transition still hadn’t caught up with her. During the past few days she had been in this town, this was the only real time she had to herself. All other moments had been used up with unpacking and designing and painting and arranging and all the things that made moving difficult. So now, the young girl was ready to sleep. Her body begged her to just relax as she lay in the warm grass, counting the clouds like cotton sheep. However, Damien’s game and question immediately snapped her out of it. She turned to him, acknowledging his presence once again, all the while keeping herself from just shutting down.

&&”Personally… I wouldn’t play.” She grunted, turning her view back onto the sky. She could just imagine herself walking up to the conductor and refusing to play. Elle often did that anyways. Sometimes she would just hold a strike with the band director at her old school if he didn’t give her a solo. Eventually he had to give in. Noelle was too important for the piece seeing that she was first chair and had more musical experience than the second and third trumpets combined. After a long pause, Noelle turned her gaze back on to him. She was as serious as ever with her answer. Elle was not the type of girl to just fit into a mold. Maybe if she was in the mood she might’ve played flute, yet it wasn’t likely. She had to either feel like playing or asked to play on her own free will. Anything else was unacceptable and she wouldn’t tolerate it. ”If I can’t play my trumpet, I don’t care if I lose the chance or not. I’ll get one and I’ll get one within my requirements."

&&Noelle watched Damien again, trying to see if he would yell at her for not giving a straight answer. A smile was slowly appearing on her face. It was a mischievous little smile that was filled with determination and a fierce sense of courage. She wasn’t afraid. Noelle was rarely afraid actually. It took a lot to spook her and there had yet to be an adult to make her back down and she knew there wouldn’t be one anytime soon.

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[damien anthony wyle]

i couldn't sleep, i thought of nothing else, i needed help,

everyone was tellin' me you're movin' on with someone else

Damien heard her answer and laughed good-naturedly. It wasn't what he was expecting, but it certainly told him more about Noelle as a person. ”Personally… I wouldn’t play.” Damien heard the sixteen year old grunt, and he chuckled. This new trait he learnt about her could be both a good and bad one. Good, being that she was headstrong and determined. Bad, being, well, that she might have been a little bit stubborn. Damien grinned to himself. Unlike her, if he was given the chance to play, he would. He didn't mind what he played, as long as he could delight others with his music. He was flexible and versatile in this area, but, hey, every musician had their own quirks that made music a way of life, not just a hobby.

With a sigh, Damien looked down at her again, the smile still on his face. After quite a long, silenced pause, he felt Noelle turn back to look at him as she continued her answer. ”If I can’t play my trumpet, I don’t care if I lose the chance or not. I’ll get one and I’ll get one within my requirements." Damien's smile spread a little more, it was obvious now that she was the kind of girl who had a leadership quality. This was again a good and bad trait. It was nice to learn more about her; he was very observant when it came to knowing others. This freaked some people out, but that was Damien.

The boy glazed his eye over the trees and to the clouds. It seemed like Noelle's vision was focused on them. Perhaps she was tired... she seemed like she wanted some time to just lay in the grass and relax. Damien smiled, turning around to lie down next to Noelle, about forty-five degrees apart, so that anyone who saw them from a plane or helicopter would see a little 'V' shape on the ground. He stared at the clouds just as she had did some time ago.

A wide grin across his face, Damien looked up as the fluffy clouds passed over his head, minding their own business. Out of nowhere, Damien said, "I wonder what it's like to be a cloud," Honestly, he was just letting out a thought out loud. It made him sound a little weird, but then again, anyone who knew Damien knew he was slightly random, and liked it that way. "Just floating there, flying, looking down at the world... getting angry and causing storms..." Now Noelle might have been confused, or she could have just ignored him.

Everyone has their own quirks and flaws.

[noelle marie parks]

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&&Thankfully, Damien wasn’t angry at her answer. He seemed rather interested about it, which was originally Noelle’s goal. Plus, she told him the truth. Although she was known for her lies, she never jokes about her music. Then again, Noelle knew that Damien was probably looking for a straighter answer coming for her. She opened her mouth ready to ask him what he would do, yet she decided to keep quiet for he laid himself down. Noelle guessed that his answer would have probably been a much better one. Maybe the tuba or the flute. Yet if he had asked her again, she would probably answer just as she did. Elle was never one to fit into a mold. It was impossible.

&&As he lay down beside her, she smiled, tapping her foot against his playfully to a steady 66 beats per minute, adding a few triplets from time to time as she sung one of her ensemble pieces in her head. It was a slow tempo yet a beautiful one that she often tapped to whenever she was bored or if her feet were somewhat restless. In this case, they were restless despite the fact that her whole upper half from calves up just wanted to relax in the cool grass.

&&She looked back up to the clouds once again before Damien made a strange statement. Noelle couldn’t help but laugh. He was so much like her. He must’ve been a carbon copy of herself or vise versa; maybe even that Adam and Eve thing. She turned onto her side still giggling and wriggling in amusement as she faced him. Noelle had been thinking nearly the same thing and it spooked her to think that he must’ve read her mind somehow. ”I think being a cloud would be wonderful.” She chuckled once again yet his second statement kind of stumped her. “…getting angry and causing storms…” Noelle cocked her head slightly at this, questioning him. It was a silent question of ”What do you mean, Damien?”, yet she couldn’t put it into words for she was still trying to wrap her mind around it. Maybe there was something more to this boy than music and innocence.

&&Still watching him intently, Elle added to her gesture,”Well… you’re true there. The only problem I would have if I was a cloud is that the wind would dictate what direction I float. No independence. No free will. Just floating wherever this invisible force takes you…” She glanced at the sky from the edges of her eyes before turning back to him. Noelle was still curious about his last statement. Was he angry at the world? It didn’t seem like it. Not at the surface, yet Noelle would have to scrape that away now wouldn’t she?

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