Within minutes, chaos became architecture.
I watched it all unfold, entranced. The man I’d been living with—so careful, so quietly intense—was suddenly larger than the room. His confidence wasn’t arrogance, but fluency. The others responded to him instinctively, like instruments tuning to a single key.
“Again,” Theo said. The song grew, layer upon layer of sound.
“Ain’t no sunshine when he’s gone…”
The blend hit low in my chest, and I forgot to draw. I sat forwards, elbows on my knees, pulled in before I had the chance to guard myself.
Oliver caught my eye during his baritone line and gave a small, warm grin, as if to sayYeah. We feel it too.
Then Theo joined in, and I forgot how to breathe for a second.
Theo’s voice wasn’t loud. It didn’t have to be. It was deep, steady, anchoring, the sound a river would make if it could hum.
It vibrated straight through my chest.
Theo didn’t look at me, but I felt the moment Theo noticed I was watching. There was a shift in posture, a subtle tightening of the shoulders, and a crack of awareness that moved between us like static.
Theo’s bass felt like gravity itself.
When the final chord faded, the silence rang louder than the music had.
Max stretched his arms overhead. “Well,thatdidn’t totally suck.”
“High praise indeed,” Theo said dryly. “Okay, let’s take it from the bridge.”
I laughed with the others, but my gaze never left Theo. I saw the precision in every gesture, the warmth hidden under control. Every time Theo looked up, our eyes met briefly, and each time, I felt that quiet pull tighten before Theo averted his gaze to refocus on the group.
I knew then that I wasn’t imagining it.
There’s a connection. Not safe, but real.
Theo caught me watching, and this time he held the gaze for a few seconds.
Long enough to make my stomach drop and my pulse quicken.
Theo called for a break. “That wasn’t terrible,” he admitted.
“Which in Theo-speak amounts to glowing praise,” Elliott said with a shy smile.
Max elbowed Theo. “Look at you pretending we weren’t great.”
Theo gave a half-smile, barely there, but real, and something in my chest pulled tight at the sight.
Julian dropped into the chair beside me. “So? Scale of one to spiritual awakening?”
I laughed. “Pretty damn impressive.”
Julian winked. “Flattery will get you everywhere.”
Across the room, Theo glanced over, just a flicker, and I smiled at him.
Theo looked away too fast.
Theo
By the time rehearsal neared its end, my nerves felt as fragile as glass.