Keyboards & Chaos (Noa and Gabe)

[Jade Parrish]

Jade showered quickly after work, sucking down her iced latte and changing into a purple plaid top and black shorts before digging her keyboard and its stand out of the closet, clothes of hers falling onto the floor as she struggled to get it out.

When she finally managed, she lifted the keyboard into the hallway, carrying the stand in her other hand. Gabe would be here in a few minutes and she wanted to be prepared. She'd barely run a brush and her black hair was messy and water was still dripping down her neck.

She got the keyboard into the living room and put it on the stand, sighing in relief and putting her hands on her hips. "Noa!" She was fairly sure her red-headed roommmate was in her room, but Vera was out. She padded down the hallway, barefoot (which was shocking, she almost always wore her combat boots), but her feet ached after a long shift at Starbucks.

She made it to Noa's room and leaned on the doorframe. "I'm having company in a few minutes. Don't scare him," she said, adding a wink.

[Noa Reese]

"Noa!"

Noa raised her head from where she'd been lying on her bed, staring at her laptop. She pulled an earbud from her ear as her roommate approached.

"I'm having company in a few minutes. Don't scare him."

Her lips broke into a smirk. "Oh honey." She shook her head, chuckling, "Why do you bother telling me these things. You know I can't help myself," she teased. And that wasn't entirely joking. Because, even though she wished she could just be polite and ignore whoever would be coming over, the thought had entered her mind and it wasn't about to leave. That thought being 'hmmm, new person, look effortlessly sexy.'

Which is why she was glad she had changed into her pjs earlier. Short short shorts and a cami that clung and readily displayed her cutely embroidered bra straps - well, once she took off her hoodie and changed her bra that was. Which she would do. And soon. Not to mention fixing her makeup a bit and pulling her hair into a casual sideswept ponytail that curled so delightfully as she played with it. God, she loved that she could do that. She was just a bit of an exhibitionist in that way.

[Gabriel James]

Gabe had woken up a little later than he planned, but still with plenty of time to shower and get dressed before heading over to the residence of Jade Parrish - his newest potential student. He had agreed to give her a trial lesson today. He put on a pair of dark wash jeans and a plain white t-shirt. He looked at himself in the mirror and decided he should probably shave, but knew he didn't have time. He would just have to go looking scruffy. If his niece could see him right now she'd call him a hobo all day. Though he had been told before that a little scruff can be attractive on the right person. Maybe he was the right person. Or maybe Jade would actually think he was a homeless street performer.

He grabbed his guitar and a black leather jacket on his way out, knowing that the fall weather was starting to kick in and it may get a little cold later. Their apartments weren't too far away, and Gabe elected to walk instead of having to try and find a parking spot once he got to his destination - and subsequently losing his spot right in front of his own apartment.

It took about 10 minutes for Gabe to get to the adress that Jade had given him. He shook out his hair before knocking on the door, leaning on the top of his guitar case while he waited for someone to answer.

[Noa Reese]

The timing was practically perfect. Noa grinned wickedly as she ran for the door, skidding in her socks across the hardwood floor and catching herself on the doorknob. She flipped her curly ponytail to the front of her shoulder, covering one scarlet bra strap, and adjusted the (very short) shorts again, casually, before opening the door. And she was certainly glad she'd taken the time to look good. Because he was attractive. Quite attractive.

Noa's lips took on a mischievous smile as she cocked back on one hip, leaning a bit against the door, her arms crossed under her bust to emphasize her already impressive cleavage. Yet somehow it didn't seem that bad, since she was only in her PJs. It's not like she was trying to be sexy. Or, at least, he didn't have to know that. "You must be Jade's company."

Her eyes flickered over the guitar case, and she was pleasantly surprised, though she did wonder why he'd brought it. Was Jade forming a band or something? This guy looked a little bit older than them, though Noa was used to hanging around some older people, so it didn't bother her, it just made her curious about how he and Jade knew each other.

[Jade Parrish]

Jade rolled her eyes at Noa, slinking away from the doorway and off into the bathroom, running her fingers through her hair and trying to towel dry it a bit more. She heard a few knocks on the door and leisurely made her way down the hall, just in time to see Noa burst from her room and skid across the floor to pull open the door. Well, she couldn't say she didn't warn Gabe.

She caught sight of him in the doorway, leather jacket and a guitar swung over his shoulder, wondering how he'd react to Noa and her excessively short shorts and copious amount of cleavage. He didn't seem the type to get too flustered, which was good when it came to Noa. Jade definitely didn't want her music teacher to be scared off when he'd barely entered the door.

"He is my company," she said, walking up behind Noa. "And he's gonna make me famous." She grinned, glad to see that he'd found the apartment alright.

[Gabriel James]

When the door swung open, Gabe eyes initially widened in surprised, but it only took a moment for his face to contort into a slightly confused expression. At first he thought maybe he had the wrong address. Maybe the 6 was supposed to be a 0. Jade hadn't answered the door, but instead a somewhat busty girl with dark brown-red hair and extremely short shorts stood in front of him - a mischievous grin plastered to her face. Gabe knew a mischievous grin when he saw one, after all.

He opened his mouth to say something when the girl noted that he must be Jade's company. Suddenly it made sense. Jade had warned him about her roommates after all. And before Gabe could reply to that Jade appeared behind the girl like magic. "Hey Jade," Gabriel said with a small wave, her roommate still standing in between him and the entryway. "I'm Gabriel and... apparently I'm making your friend famous," he introduced himself with one of his signature charming smiles.

[Noa Reese]

Noa didn't intend to actively flirt. Or, at least, not entirely. She intended to treat him the way she treated most of her guy friends. Which meant teasing. And possibly that teasing could be considered flirting. "Hey - Noa," she introduced herself with a little wave as she got out of the way so he could enter. "Come on in, Mr. Rockstar," she tossed the words over her shoulder with a jokingly sarcastic tone, tossing herself casually onto one side of the plush couch, leaving the other end wide open as she pulled out her laptop.

Yes, she was actually happy for her friend to have found someone to help her with her music. That someone also happened to be cute, and seemed like a pretty fun person on first impressions. And part of her was saying that she should probably give Jade and Gabriel some privacy - or at least pretend to give them some privacy - but 1) she got a huge thrill out of this little fantasy of being the distractingly hot roommate and 2) she was actually really curious about what they'd be playing. She loved to hear people perform, and wanted to hear her friend, especially. So she tried to place herself where she'd be in the room but not too much in the way.

[Jade Parrish]

Jade quickly winked at Gabe as Noa let him in. "She's harmless, I promise. For the most part anyway." She tossed a grin in the direction of her roommate before leading Gabe over to the keyboard she had set up in the living room. "I'm glad you brought your guitar so you can accompany me, but I did manage to dig out my keyboard." She touched one of the keys and smiled at the noise. It was a bit dusty but it worked. That was what mattered after all.

She knew Noa was in the room and she didn't mind. She'd heard her sing before, except maybe more so in the car or in the shower for fun. This was a bit different.

[Gabriel James]

"Well seeing as I'm here to teach you keyboard it's probably a good thing you have one," Gabe joked, walking in past Noa, smiling at at her, even though the alluring look on her face was a little uncomfortable. Jade had warned him though, and she just promised that she's harmless. Gabe wasn't 100% convinced, but felt better when he saw the keyboard. "I just brought my guitar because I'm that guy at parties. The one who shows up with his guitar everywhere he goes. Actually... if I don't have it with me I'll probably die." It was all mostly a joke, but sometimes people assumed it was true. Perhaps it was. Gabe wasn't going to risk it.

Gabriel sat down at the keyboard and set his hands on the keys, deciding he should test out the quality real quick before he started anything. He played a few chords and transitioned into a little Fur Elise before turning to Jade, "Alright. Sounds good to me." He rubbed his hands together and stood, offering the bench in front of the piano to Jade. "Promise you won't be offended by the simplicity of the first couple lessons," he asked with a small laugh. He turned and noticed Noa was still in the room. "And you can promise you won't make fun of Jade if she's practicing Mary Had a Little Lamb for the next week."

[Noa Reese]

Noa kept her eyes firmly glued to her computer as she eavesdropped. She wondered if he knew he sounded like he was flirting with Jade. But, then again, Noa probably read everything as flirting. In any case, she knew he wasn't taking an interest in her at the moment. Which was too bad. But maybe in the future. She may simply need to switch up her mode of attack.

Or, y'know, just let it go.

Not yet, though.

Glancing up from her computer screen at Gabriel as he addressed her, Noa shot Jade a vicious smile. "Oh, I won't." Her tone obviously implied otherwise. "Muwahahahha," she added, in a low voice, smirking. But she couldn't hold the act for long, and she snorted at her own antics. "But really," she amended, honestly, "I won't. Not too much, anyway. I'm not that much of a dick." The smirk returned as she rolled her eyes, looking away from them back to her computer.

[Jade Parrish]

"That's how I feel about coffee," Jade told Gabe. "And well, caffeine in general."She needed it and if she didn't have it, she got irritable and probably would die. She watched as he tested out the piano and she gave him a thumbs up when he approved of it. "Bitchin', it still works." She'd kept it hidden away meaning to learn how to play it but never getting around to it. "I won't be offended, just annoyed. I'll try to be patient though, Master James." She bowed her head jokingly, her black hair fanning everywhere.

Then she turned to look at Noa. "And don't worry, love. I'll just play it all the time, even when you're sleeping. You'll be dreaming about Mary and her little lamb," she said with a devious smirk. Sure, playing that same song over and over again would be bound to get annoying, but she could drive Noa insane as well. She rolled her eyes at her roommate before turning back to Gabe. "So, let's get this going. Can I get you anything to drink?"

[Gabriel James]

"Nah I'm good. Hydrated before I got here," Gabe said with a smile, grabbing a chair that was sitting around and pulled it next to the piano so Jade could sit on the bench and wouldn't have to awkwardly share the space with Gabe. He motioned for her to take a seat and picked up the bag he had thrown all the things he brought in. He pulled out some music, before turning to Jade and raising an eyebrow," Wait do you know how to read music? I forgot to ask"

It wasn't like teaching her to read it would be hard, but it was a step he may not need to go through. And if he didn't that would be great. He usually didn't use sheet music anyway, but it was always a good place to start when people had not idea what to do at the piano.

[Jade Parrish]

"Yes, I can read sheet music," Jade said. "I was in choir for years. So I'm very familiar with sheet music, although I can't say that it's my favorite thing in the world." She thought it was too conventional. She'd rather just feel the music, the pitch and the tempo, rather than read it. That's how music was supposed to be.

She'd sat down on the bench, her legs dangling slightly because of her short height. She lost a lot of it without her boots on.

[Gabriel James]

Gabriel laughed at Jade's response. "You seem thrilled by the concept," he said as he set the simple sheet music in front of Jade. "Trust me... I'm not a fan of it either but it'll be a good learning tool for now. Until you understand which notes are which and where your hands go."

"Alright I'm going to put your hands in the position to play these scales and so you can get a feel for which notes are what," Gabe said, reaching over and taking Jade's hands in his. He placed them down and put each finger where they belonged."And you just want to curve your fingers a little more," Gabe noted, noticing that her hands were laying a little flat. "It's easier to play. Sexier too." Gabe knew a bit about stage presence at this point. Wasn't going to hurt passing on his knowledge on the subject.

"So your right thumb and left pink are both on C. White keys are natural. Your black keys are sharps and flats but we won't use those much for now..." Gabe said starting the lesson. He hated technical talk but he had to get through it. Otherwise Jade's playing would just be random and with no direction. You needed a basis before you could go on and just play the way Gabriel did now.

He taught her how to play the scale, and corrected her fingering and reminded her to try and play smooth and evenly. "It's easier if you don't think so hard," he promised at one point. He taught her how to turn a scale into a basic set of chords, and joked that he'd quiz her someday. (He was a legitimate teacher now, after all). The lesson was going pretty well so far, he thought.

[Noa Reese]

Noa enjoyed listening in on the conversation, but started to zone out as the conversation covered things she already knew (she'd been in choir with Jade at Hammel, after all). But she had attuned her ears to pick up certain cues and words, and one of them was sex. Her attention had already been drawn by their movement, though.

"...you just want to curve your fingers a little more... It's easier to play. Sexier too."

Noa bit back a snort. Right. Sure. Wow, he was kinda obvious. She wanted to give him hell for it, but held her tongue for the sake of her friend.

...Or she attempted to. It was getting more difficult by the second. Still, he hadn't made that third strike, so she'd give him another chance before pointing out the obvious. Not that she really knew why she would be pointing out the obvious. For her own entertainment, partly. Probably, though she didn't want to admit it, cause she was a little annoyed that he ignored her. Was he really ignoring her, though? She should push it.

Test time. She stretched, languidly, letting out a groan, making it clear that they were boring her, and then made her way into the kitchen, hips swaying lazily like they did when she was just too tired to rush anywhere. Kitchen... kitchen... she dug through cabinets and cupboards, not trying to keep it down at all, until she found something suitably suggestive without being phallic.

It didn't hurt that it was delicious.

So she sat, calmly molesting her spoon with her tongue after each delicious bite of ice cream. And the weird thing was, this wasn't actually unusual behavior for her. She really liked ice cream. And she had a slight oral fixation. So she had 'molested' her spoons on a number of occasions. Actually, every time she ate with a spoon. The term itself had been coined by Vera. Who had pointed it out many times, and Noa loved her for it.