As it turned out, having Skye as a friend really helped. Though Skye wasn’t a violinist, they knew good places to get decent replacement violin strings for a cheaper price. I knew this because I ran out of replacement strings and I tend to stock up a bit in case my violin strings break before my usual replacement time. Changing violin strings depended on the frequency of usage, but generally active violinists replaced their strings every 3 months or so. I wasn’t too active so I replaced mine closer to every 4-6 months.

The jam sessions with Skye were also fun. I wasn’t expecting anything fruitful coming out of it, but having another person who knew music really helped. We tried to show off our proficiency to one another by playing some complicated pieces. Other times we were playing covers of current music, something both of us enjoyed doing all the time. I was in the middle of playing Joji’s latest track, Glimpse of Us, when Skye stopped what they were playing and started listening to me. They then tried to accompany what I was playing, which they succeeded after a few bars. After I finished playing, Skye gave me a thunderous applause and I bowed to him as a sign of thanks.

“That was amazing. You captured the emotion that Joji tried to portray.”

I blushed. It was nice hearing compliments from someone who knew music, let alone a musician who was good at what they did.

“That is all thanks to you, a great accompanist.”

Skye also started blushing. We tend to make each other blush, and while I typically didn’t enjoy blushing, it just felt right with Skye. They then got up from the piano bench and walked towards me to give me a hug. I was glad I put down my violin first, or I would have dropped my precious instrument. 

Once Skye figured out that I did enjoy hugs, they started giving me hugs a lot more frequently, even if they were for small reasons. I, too, embraced those hugs as part of our friendship. 

“Lee, I don’t know how to put this into words, but thank you for agreeing to these music sessions. It always puts my mind at ease whenever I play with you.”

I never asked them about their stress at work, so I didn’t know that these sessions helped them as much as they helped me. I guess it was nice of them to also have someone to be able to appreciate music with. 

“You’re welcome, Skye. We can always have more sessions if you would like. I’m usually free on the weekends anyway.”

Skye looked at me and nodded furiously. 

“Yes, that would be great. I’m also available on the weekends. Let’s have a second weekly session on Sundays then.”

I had no issues with Sundays, so I agreed.

“Sure, but we should also have lunch or dinner together after that, depending on the time.”

Skye knew what I was trying to imply. Ever since I gave them the answer to their confession, we never really had lunch or dinner, even after our jam sessions. Perhaps they still felt a bit awkward, but I really wanted to have lunch or dinner with them, and I still wanted to treat them since they treated me last time.

“Yeah yeah, you just want to treat me after last time.”

I grinned. Yes, they knew where I was going. They didn’t seem to disagree though, and I did imply it wasn’t going to be a one-time thing, because I enjoyed eating with friends.

After placing my violin back into its case, I then grabbed my wallet and keys, then I dragged Skye to go out to a nearby Italian restaurant for lunch. It was about lunch time, and I was starting to feel hungry. They said they enjoyed pasta, and I knew the Italian restaurant had vegetarian options, so I wasn’t too concerned if they could eat there.

As Skye and I were walking to the restaurant, a funny thought came into my mind: If someone told me a year ago that Skye Long, my bully, would be a good friend to me 10 years after I graduated from high school, I would have laughed at them. I started laughing, while Skye looked at me, confused as they didn’t say anything funny.

“Is everything okay, Lee?” 

I didn’t want to say what I thought, so I just quickly nodded and gestured for us to enter the Italian restaurant. As I expected, the restaurant did have multiple vegetarian options for Skye, and I also picked a vegetarian option as I was curious over the meat substitute that they used. As it turned out, the meat substitutes were seitan and mushroom, and surprisingly delicious. Skye also seemed to enjoy the food and quickly devoured his plate.

“Oh wow, I wasn’t expecting this!” 

I was curious since it seemed like Skye didn’t eat out often, since this restaurant wasn’t too far from his apartment complex. 

“Have you been here before? It seems close to where you live.”

Skye looked at me as if I suggested something out of this world. 

“Lee, I actually don’t live near here. I lied about getting off at the same station as you. I actually live closer to the city. You might be thinking of my parents’ old apartment, which they moved out of as soon as I changed schools.” 

I felt like I was slapped into reality. But then again, it didn’t make sense because the city would have been a few more stops away from my station, and they didn’t seem to be getting off the train anytime soon on that (retrospectively) fateful day.

“Wait a minute, Skye, why didn’t you get off the train the day we met? You were definitely a lot further than you were supposed to go.”

To my surprise, Skye started chuckling. 

“You haven’t figured it out yet? I recognized you as soon as you boarded the train that day. I just didn’t want to leave your sight when I saw you again, so I was planning on following you to the station where you get off. You know what happened next. Sorry if that sounded creepy, it wasn’t my intention. I just wanted to know where you live, and I wasn’t too surprised that you were living in the same area as 10 years ago.”

That revelation was indeed surprising to me, but at the same time, it made sense now. Skye wanted to see me again because at that time, they had feelings for me. If it were someone else, I would have found that to be very creepy, but this was Skye, and I could tell that they were just being curious. I shook my head.

“It’s fine, I understand what you mean, and no, you’re not being creepy. I would have done the same thing.”

Not going to lie, I felt touched by their actions. It was the first time someone openly showed their affections towards me, even if it seemed creepy to others. It was also at that moment when I realised something. 

I had feelings for Skye Long. I wasn't sure up till that point, but with that revelation, I knew I had romantic feelings for them.