Voices were in harmony, souls were as one; it was but another rehearsal for the Tuners for the upcoming chorale competition later in August.

She sang her heart out every time but when they were told to keep their mum, she was quiet as a lost person in a foreign land. She was reserved, quiet but never naïve. She was observant, sensitive yet not a bit gullible.

It was way back June when they started rehearsing songs for the competition and due to such an event, she was nevertheless exposed and bare and obliged to meet other people-- in the light of evading the loner title.

Everytime she sang, she had this gut feeling that somebody was looking at her. She was then forced to act minimal, reserved and almost stealthily. Though she had such a hunch, she never expected that her instincts were correct.

Now as their practice got intense by the minute, they were then told to repeat the song piece from the very beginning, but there was a slight twist.

One should find a partner that one has never came across with before nor talked to, then the two should lay hands upon each other while placing a bit of force between their palms and look into one another's eyes whilst singing the piece.

She had her partner instantly, it was someone, a girl, from the seniors. She had a good rapport with this individual but they haven't talked that much ever since the beginning of the rehearsals.

She was almost comfortable, almost settled in with her partner, when a guy, whom she has known to be so foolish and peculiar, probably the clown of the group, pulled her away from her place.

This guy then grabbed another guys' arm- the guy whom she was awed with, a soul who was so devoted to music, was now in front of her, deemed and stuck as her new partner.

Her eyes went down to her feet as she struggled to keep eye contact between the both of them. He was smiling and had a very calm demeanor.

Before Luke left- the guy who brought them together, he said that it was what Gion has been waiting for all this time, for them to be close and paired with each other. Everyone teased them and yelled at them.

She somehow felt something click inside her, as if all the bolts in her mind locked in place and connected. Maybe he was the one staring at her all these time. She undoubtedly admits to herself that there was something in Gion that drew her near to him.

She can even remember on the very first day of their rehearsals when she asked someone from the choir, whilst pointing at Gion, as to what his name was.

Gion was a member of a popular band in their school and she knew him before the choral was formed but she never knew his name, not until rehearsals started.

Taking in a deep breath, she lifted her head and found out that he was already staring at her. With the brush of their gazes, he withdrew his stare from hers and glanced at the sides.

She was patient enough to wait for him to introduce himself.

"Hey. I'm Gion, and you are Seth, am I right?" He suddenly uttered, lifting the corner of his lips, drawing a smile on his face.

She did a mental backflip and smiled in return. "Yes, I'm Seth. Nice to meet you." she replied, keeping things neutral and civil.

He stared at her for a moment and then refocused his attention to their conductor.

He held his hand up, motioning for her to do the same thing but on the opposite direction.

She was nervous and ashamed, knowing that her palms were so sweaty when it holds something in between it, let alone if something is attached to its surface.

"Hey, I got to warn you. My hands could go sweaty. I'm sorry." Her gaze fell to his eyes, it was so soft, so angelic, pleading- basked with a mysterious light

"That's fine. Don't worry, no need for an apology. Let's just have fun and don't forget to smile." He reassured her, closing his statement with a wide smile that reached his dark brown eyes.

His hair was black and downy. His eyeglasses suited his face perfectly, his skin was fair and he was not too buff nor too skinny.

She then placed her hands on top of his and upon contact, she felt her heart leap.

They started singing and even so, their gazes never met. She was ashamed and he was too. The conductor went around the room to check if people were folllowing the orders.

When the conductor stopped in front of them, they immediately locked their gazes upon each other and it stayed like that, long even after the conductor has left.

The only thing that snapped them out of their reverie was her sweaty palms. He smiled and did not complain as he shifted his hands opposite from its previous position as she gracefully followed.

The tips of her fingers grew cold; she was nervous and shy and uncertain and she felt awkward but she went on with the hype. Her fingertips did not touch his skin, only the palms; yet his hand was closely linked to her, leaving no space in between.

She would occasionally look at him but he would avoid her eyes but he was smiling still.

Deep down her thoughts, she knew that she was just too meticulous and emotional and poetic that she made her current situation a critical notion.

After the song halted, they broke free from each other's grip and smiled in conclusion.

She carried in her heart his gazes and his smiles; she held everything dear to her. She was always like that. Her heart always on her sleeve.

After two long hours of rehearsing, she went home with a jovial heart.

She told her friends about what happened and she knew one thing that instantaneously took her smile away: Gion had a girlfriend.

It was nothing really, she was just well... sad for experiencing languid happiness all the time. How her happiness was always taken away from her even before she could accept that she was in fact, happy.

Attention fueled her heart, even bits of them made her happy. She had a brief moment of joy, but she thinks he was clueless but really, no one knew the truth.

In the symphony of their voices, she held on; with his gazes, the idea of being held dear reeked her thoughts, but she was only free falling.

Floating in between the midst of daydream and reality.

With a melody to keep in her heart, she let out a sigh, wishing her thoughts of him would go with her exhaling.