All week I have been looking forward to Kia's sleepover. We hold these kind of sleepovers all the time, but this is the first time we have ever been invited to Kia's house.

The other girls chitter excitedly in the changing room, untying their ballet shoes and changing out of their leotards.

"I can't wait for this evening, Kia said her parents were going away for the weekend so we'll have the whole house to ourselves!" Jamie says, stuffing her things into her bag.

"Is that why she wasn't at rehearsal today?" Rebecca asks, glancing at me and I nod.

"She wanted to be there to say goodbye and tidy up a bit for this evening." I explain.

"She shouldn't be missing rehearsals." Leah says spitefully and I roll my eyes.

"Don't be mean, Leah. Kia works harder than half of us here, she can afford to miss a rehearsal." I say, watching her scoff.

"I wouldn't want to go to her house anyway, her brother is a freak. I wouldn't want to be anywhere near him." She mutters. Amy, Rebecca and Jamie all look at each other and smirk, rolling their eyes and bursting into fits of giggles.

Leah leaves promptly and I frown.

"What was that about?" I ask, still watching the door after her swift exit. It takes a lot to ruffle Leah's feathers.

"Leah's had a crush on Kia's brother for just about forever." Jamie explains and Amy sighs.

"I don't blame her, he's so gorgeous, it shouldn't be allowed." Amy chimes in and I laugh.

"What? You guys never told me this!" I exclaim, slumping down on the bench.

"You and Kia are usually together, it would be super weird to tell Kia that we think her brother's hot." Rebecca says sheepishly, shrugging her shoulders.

"I always forget you haven't seen him, it's definitely an incentive to switch schools." Jamie says with a suggestive wiggle of her eyebrows.

"I would if I could, but you know my parents." I mumble, wishing that I had the opportunity to go to school with these girls. My dance friends are the only true friends I have.

"Hey, we wish we were smart enough to get into a private school." Amy says, nudging me and I grimace. I wish I had been allowed to go to public school I think inwardly.

My all-girls, private school is strict and posh. We have uniforms, a swimming pool and even a lacrosse team. My parents worked tooth and nail to get me into that school, wanting only the best for me. I don't have the heart to tell them that I hate it, and that I will never fit in.

We leave the studio together and walk towards Kia's house, but I'm not finished with this conversation.

"So, seeing as I have no idea, tell me about Kia's brother." I say, changing the subject quickly.

Jamie laughs, linking her arm with mine.

"He's really tall, but looks a lot like Kia. Dark hair and eyes, wears dark clothes a lot too." Amy says.

"They're twins you know." Rebecca says and I nod, already knowing this.

"So, he's a 'bad boy'." I assume, watching their expressions. Jamie frowns and Amy shakes her head.

"Not at all, he's really quiet. He barely talks to anyone, just keeps to himself mainly. He's insanely smart though, I was in his physics class last year and nearly cried at the final exam. He's in all advanced classes this year too." Jamie says matter-of-factly.

Amy and Rebecca nod in agreement, and I frown.

"So, he's an outcast?" I ask, trying to figure him out.

"Mm, no, he has friends and people definitely like him. He's just..." Jamie waves her hand around vaguely.

"Just?" I ask, frowning in concentration.

"You know." Amy says, gesticulating vaguely again and I sigh in frustration.

We meander towards Kia's door and knock, hearing her rush to open it in excitement.

"Hi guys! Come in, come in, my parents have just left and my brothers upstairs so we're good to go!" She says. I glance at the other girls and Kia laughs.

"Don't worry, Kit won't bother us, he's kind of shy."

-

For the rest of the evening we chat and laugh, we play games and gossip and we order pizza. At one point I think someone even turns on a classical CD.

"So it's two pepperoni, one sausage, a margarita and..oh a veggie one for Clara." Kia says, smiling at me.

"Oh, don't order me a whole different one, I can just have some margarita." I mumble, not wanting to cause a fuss but Kia waves me off.

"Don't worry, Kit's vegetarian too so he'll have some." She says, jumping up to order them. I nod, shivering slightly. Kia's house is warm and comforting, with nicknacks lying around and books littering the shelves. It feels lived in, but I can't shake the feeling of nervous anticipation.

"So, lets talk about soulmates." Jamie says, rolling onto her stomach with a dreamy look and I roll my eyes.

Soulmates are an idealistic part of our reality. Girls dream about meeting their soulmate but it rarely happens. Most people end up settling, some people go mad trying to find them, but hardly anyone actually finds their soulmate.

"What's it meant to feel like? People say you can feel it when you see them." Amy asks and the girls giggle excitedly.

"Maybe it's like a tingling feeling-

"No it's meant to feel warm and-

"I thought it made you feel whole and complete-

"That's ridiculous." Kia interrupts, walking back into the room.

Our eyes meet and she looks just as uncomfortable as I feel.

"Your soulmate makes you feel anxious and nervous and elated and bright all at the same time. They bring out the best in you, they make you want to be the person they deserve. They fill you with hope and drive you to the brink of madness simultaneously. You don't want to meet your soulmate." She says earnestly.

"Kia, have you found them?" Ashley, another girl from our dance class, asks with bated breath.

"No, but I know someone who has. When he sees her it's the best and worst moment of his entire life. He loves her with every inch of his being and he doesn't know how to have her, how to be with her. It's not what it's made out to be." She explains with a sad shrug.

"Who is it?" Rebecca asks.

"A friend of my dad's." Kia says, fiddling with her fingers. I don't buy her story, but I do believe that she's seen what she described. The look on her face is that of a person who has been slapped with the ugly truth.

The silence in the room makes the music in the background more obvious, and I realise that it's not a CD at all, but someone playing.

"Kia, is that your brother playing?" I ask, my eyes wondering towards the ceiling. She nods with a small smile, looking hesitant.

"I can ask him to stop if it bothers you?" She says uneasily, and I get the impression she is very unwilling to do so.

"No, no, he's really good. I thought it was a CD playing." I admit and Kia laughs.

"I always tell him to join an orchestra or something. Don't you play in one, Clara?" Saskia remarks and I nod.

"I play the violin." I say reluctantly, not really wanting to talk about my music. Music is something I have just for me, something that I excel in because I can blend into the background and forget everything for a little while. Forget my grades at school, my future, my next ballet recital, my pushy parents and my loneliness.

The doorbell interrupts our discussion and I for one am glad. The mood in the room is soon restored and the girls fall on the pizzas like starved gremlins.

I open up my designated pizza and note that thankfully, there's no sweetcorn. Sweetcorn on pizza is an abomination.

I take a slice and nibble it, wondering how much I should save for Kia's brother.

"Saskia? Is Kit coming down to get his or..?" I trail off, wondering if I should offer to take it up.

"No, eat what you want and I'll take the rest up to him," She says with a happy smile.

"I'm sorry if you like sweetcorn on pizza by the way, but Kit can't stand it." She continues, mumbling something along the lines of 'fussy bastard' under her breath.

"That's fine." I say cheerfully, surprised to find that we have something in common. I eat my fill of pizza, pushing the box away from me when I'm finished. Kia jumps up and scoops the box into her hands, before bounding up the stairs.

The music stops and I find that I miss it. It's steady, gentle rhythm had been soothing to me and I find myself curious about Kia's other half who remains hidden upstairs. I even feel a little jealous, not having seen him with my own eyes.

Kia skips down the stairs again and conversation starts up as normal. But the entire evening I can't sit still, every limb in my body restless and alert. We traipse upstairs to Kia's room and I cant help a lingering look towards the closed door opposite the bathroom.

We whisper and share secrets long into the evening and when Ashley and Rebecca fall asleep, we turn out the lights and settle down for the evening. I toss and turn however, not able to feel comfortable or relaxed.

I huff, staring out the window in frustration when the piano starts to play once more. It plays so softly that at first I don't hear it. It's beautiful and slow, so comforting and painfully delicate.

I get up and slowly creep towards the music, as if I'm being drawn in by the pied piper.

The floorboard beneath my foot creaks and the music stops suddenly. My head clears in the silence and I curse under my breath, resting my head in the palms of my hands. What am I doing?

I walk into the bathroom and turn on the light, looking at my tired eyes look back at me. They're usually an attractive shade of green but I can't find anything attractive about my appearance right now. My hair is a golden birds nest from all the tossing and turning I've been doing and my pyjamas are wrinkled and disheveled. Altogether I've definitely looked better.

I want him to keep playing, I need him to if I ever hope of drifting off to sleep.

Going into his room is a definite no, I've never seen the boy before let alone spoken to him. This is his house, it would be beyond weird. I remember the pad of paper on Kia's desk and hastily write my request, not giving myself time to think about how strange I'm being right now.

I hesitate in front of his door. I glance at my bare feet and my pink and white striped pyjamas. I shake my head and stuff the note beneath the door before scuttling back to Kia's room.

I leap beneath my covers, my heart racing in anticipation. I frown, wishing that I hadn't written anything at all, that I could just fall asleep and not feel this way.

My train of thought is broken as the piano softly begins to play once more, and I smile. The melody is sweet and loving, relaxing me to my core.

My eyes flutter twice before closing and I regretfully acknowledge that I won't be awake to hear how it ends. How I hope that it goes on and on forever.

_

A/N Clara's point of view! 

I know, I know, today is not Wednesday. Or did I say Thursday? At this point, I do not remember what day of the week I promised updates, but I know Sunday wasn't it. Soooo, surprise? Happy Birthday? idk. 

Let me know...what you're dressing up as for Halloween. I wanna know. Happy spooky season folks, the fun is just beginning.