Ever so slowly, the days grew longer. A faint teasing hue of sunlight lingered a few minutes more than it had previously. After some convincing, Erik was allowed to split the rent, and the invitations to his place ceased.  

Now that Cas was more at ease, the pair made fast progress with the duet. There were rare days where Cas had almost forgotten the competition existed. The sun shone brighter, and it was never too cold or too warm. Despite the twins making sure there was always work to be done, Cas didn’t think he could feel this way again. 

The hours spent with Erik were fleeting as they came, that his afternoons were just as wonderful as the evenings they played together. Fingers leapt over arpeggios and stumbled into slurs, focus trailing at every light graze and fleeting glances. 

In the days they didn’t meet, Cas practised his solo piece whenever he could leave the manor. As well as being accepted to the first round at Lagen, Alexander had received auditions from other music schools, and the only times he came out of the piano room was to eat. Johan was rarely to be seen, his hours spent behind closed doors studying and reading.

‘So...tomorrow’s the day.’ 

They were lazing on the school rooftop. Erik had flopped on one of the old benches, his eyes closed against the sky. A breeze carried in the faint beginnings of spring, landing at the base of necks and loose strands of hair. The air smelled of three day old uniforms and concrete, faint traces of cigarettes lingering by the door. It was whole and fragile all at once, teetering at the edge between youth and adulthood. 

‘Be honest, how big is the venue?’ 

‘Just play like we practised, Cas.’ 

Just like the solo performance that Cas would go through if he made it to the next round, the competition was not devoid of the crowd.

In truth, he’d forgotten what it was like to play in front of a live audience, for it had been too long. Vaguely now, Cas recalled his amateur mistakes, the enthusiastic and warm applause that followed despite it. Lily had been there among them, a proud smile at the simplest of attempts.

‘They won’t be able to see you,’ Erik said. 

Cas glanced up. ‘They won’t?’ 

‘They’re keeping the candidates anonymous, so there’s a thin curtain of some sort. So...’ Erik sat up. ‘Pretend it’s an empty hall. Just us two.’ 

In the brief silence, he reached out a hand and held Cas’. ‘We can do this. Trust me.’ 

The words ebbed and flowed, and Cas desperately wanted to hold on to it, to believe that Erik meant what he offered. That even if everything fell apart one day, Erik would look at him the same way, the same words murmuring softly from his lips. 

Evening arrived quicker than Cas would’ve liked, and having run through the piece yet again in his mind, he finally stuffed the sheets between two books on his desk.

Erik had insisted on picking him up and going together. But Cas had refused, saying there are things he had to do and they’ll meet there instead. 

Cas busied himself with chores to avoid registering the nerves. He prepared meals, cleaned the halls, polished the silverware and did the laundry, all the while glancing at the clock at every brief moment.

Thinking he shouldn’t push himself too much tonight, Cas picked his best and got ready. 

Around an hour before he was to set off, Silas informed him that the three of them were to dine out and left the manor. Hearing the doors close, Cas decided to head to the piano room. He didn’t expect them to go out earlier today, and was grateful for the spare minutes to revisit some passages. 

Just as he began to play a few notes, someone spoke from behind.