18

CHANGE OF KEY

Eric paced his living room, eyes glued to his screen as he refreshed his Twitter feed again. “Come on, Tessa.” Hadn’t she seen the notification yet? What was taking her so long? “Come on! You must have seen it!”

As if in answer to his words, a new message popped up at the top of her recent tweets.

Tessa H @TessaHeartsEric

OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!

A broad smile creased his face. “There we go.” The standard fangirl response. Only a slight step up from when they tweeted random strings of capital letters. He could just imagine the way she must have been bouncing around her room right then, screaming her head off.

Something about that mental image made Eric pull up short. A new thought had entered his head. Would she DM him something now? The fans usually did after he followed them. Selfies, more often than not. After all these months, would he finally catch a glimpse of Tessa’s face?

He sank down heavily on the piano stool in front of the white baby grand, and his fingers picked out a minor chord progression as he waited. He eyed his message tab impatiently, watching for a new DM, but he gave up after a moment.

To hell with it. He couldn’t take the suspense. He needed to hear more from her than “OMGGGGGGGGGGGGG GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!” He switched accounts back to @EricThornSucks and fired off a new message from there.

Taylor: Tessa? Are you there? What happened?

Eric tapped a single note in a rapid staccato as he waited for her reply.

Tessa H: ERIC FOLLOWED ME!!!!!

Taylor: Whoa!

Tessa H: OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG

Taylor: Are you freaking out?

Tessa H: OMG MY HANS AR SHAKING SPO BAD

Taylor: Deep breaths. Deep breaths. Don’t hyperventilate on me now.

Tessa H: I can’t stop smiling. OMG, why did he follow me? It doesn’t even make any sense!

Taylor: Well, you did wish him a Merry Christmas.

Tessa H: OMGGGGG HE MUST HAVE SEEN IT! HE SAW MY TWEET! ERIC THORN SAW MY TWEET!!!!!!!

Eric laughed out loud. His left hand remained on the piano keys, and he picked out a simple melody, switching to a major key. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this way: so happy he couldn’t wipe away the goofy grin.

Happy because he’d made her happy.

“Oh, Tessa,” he said, chuckling at the phone. “Tessa, Tessa, Tessa. I love you.”

The music stopped abruptly as his words hung in the air. Just a figure of speech, of course. He didn’t really mean that. Obviously not.

Eric blinked away the thought. He swiveled on the piano stool and brought the DM conversation back around to the topic he had in mind.

Taylor: So? Did you send him a selfie?

Tessa H: Stop. Don’t even say it.

Taylor: He probably wants to see a reaction shot.

Tessa H: Ummm, hello? I don’t like strangers looking at me. That’s one of my triggers.

Taylor: No strangers. Just Eric. No one else would ever see.

Tessa H: NO WAY

Taylor: Trust me, Tessa. He’s a guy. He’ll like it.

Tessa H: How would you know? You have no idea what I even look like!

Eric bit his lip. “Not for long,” he murmured. The corners of his mouth quivered with anticipation. He could sense her resolve starting to crumble. She just needed one more little push…

Taylor: Maybe not exactly, but I know you’re beautiful.

Tessa H: You don’t know that.

Taylor: Yes I do. Maybe YOU don’t know that.

Tessa H: I don’t know I’m beautiful?

Taylor: Maybe.

Tessa H: OK, Taylor. And let me guess… That’s what makes me beautiful?

Eric paused. He smacked himself lightly on the forehead when he realized what he’d done.

Taylor: Shit. I just plagiarized a song, didn’t I?

Tessa H: Don’t tell me you’re a One Direction fanboy now?

Taylor: Hey, that was a brilliant song. Teenage girls love to hear how they’re all secretly beautiful :P

Eric’s mouth twisted, his giddy smile transforming into a smirk. He knew why his mind had gone to that song, of course. He’d been listening to it the other day. He had a new single in the works along the same lines. “Snowflakes” was slated for release in time for the holidays—a surprise Christmas gift to all his lovely fans.

I watch the snowflakes falling,

Too many for me to see,

But I know each one is beautiful,

Special and unique.

Eric turned back to the piano and played the chorus. He had a hunch that it would be a hit. Maybe not a smash of the same magnitude as “What Makes You Beautiful,” but somewhere in the ballpark. The thirteen-to-eighteen demo would go wild for it, assuming they understood the metaphor: the snowflakes were the fans. And assuming he could convince his record label not to mess around too much with the lyrics. Apparently, they were threatening to bring in an outside songwriter. Maury had broken the news to him this evening after the show.

“Don’t take it personally, kid. They just think some of the lyrics come across a little insincere.”

Eric frowned, remembering. Insincere? What did the label expect? If he ever wrote a song about how he really saw his fans, they’d ban it in every country for explicit language.

“So go rewrite it yourself,” Maury had said to him. “Maybe write a song about your mystery girl on the other end of all the text messages.”

“Maury, I told you—”

“Write them a love song about something real, Eric. That’s all they’re asking.”

Eric had been livid at the time, but maybe it wasn’t the worst advice after all. The faintest spark of an idea had just popped into his head…

He’d called the song “Snowflakes,” but maybe that was the problem. Maybe it should be “Snowflake.” Singular. Not a song about all his fans. Just one. A song about feeling cold and alone, and finding that one perfect snowflake in the middle of a raging blizzard.

A love song?

Was it possible?

Eric shook his head, uncertain. How could it be love? Real love? And more importantly, if it was real love, then what on earth was he going to do about it?

He knew Tessa was still waiting for his answer on the other end of the line.

Tessa H: Taylor, do you know how many selfies Eric Thorn must get? He wouldn’t even notice it.

Eric’s shoulders slumped. For now, he changed his tune. Maybe he didn’t want to see her picture after all. Not yet. He suddenly realized where that might lead, and the thought of it made him tremble. If he fell for Tessa, he knew he couldn’t hide behind a fake profile any longer. Not if he wanted it to go anywhere. He would have to tell her the truth. And that meant showing her his own face in return.

Taylor: Nah, you’re right. Too many fans. Too many faces for him to see just one.

Tessa H: He probably didn’t even follow me himself. I bet some publicist was using his account just now, and her finger slipped.

But Eric knew the truth. He’d already noticed her in the crowd. Now he couldn’t look away. He hadn’t even meant to talk to her tonight, and yet somehow there he was.

He stood up from the piano and padded toward the bedroom, typing out another message as he went.

Taylor: You’re right. Probably wasn’t even him. Because if Eric ever noticed your existence, Tessa, I think he’d be the one DM’ing you.