Page 41 of Teach Me to Fly

When I woke up this morning, Reign was already gone, but he’d brewed a fresh pot of coffee and left a breakfast plate for me with a sticky note saying‘see you and Lando at the studio’before leaving.

A small, stupid part of me finds it endearing because in a way, it almost feels like maybe he still cares. But another, louder, part of me wonders why he’s like this. Warm one moment, distant the next. Why is he acting like we’re still friends? Like we’re more than that? Like we never stopped being anything at all? Like he didn’t ghost me five years ago?

He never gave me an explanation, or a goodbye, and now he’s back in my orbit—making me breakfast, leaving notes, calling in my best friend like he suddenly knowswhat I need. And the worst part is, a part of me wants to fall right back into him, as if nothing ever happened.

“You’re absolutely sure he said he wants me there, too?” Lando asks for the seventh time, glancing sideways at me.

I can’t help laughing at how nervous he sounds. “Yes, Lando. He wants you there.”

He still looks skeptical. “Are we talking about the same Reign who once told me I’d never be able to do a double tour en l’air because I have‘too much flair and not enough air’?”

I laugh again, this time louder. “That was twelve years ago, and you landed on your face.”

“My flair was ahead of its time,” he mutters, but he’s smiling now. “But what’s the point if we’re changing the choreography altogether now?”

“There’s still going to be a pas de deux in the new choreo, and I’m still struggling to dance with Reign,” I admit. “I haven’t let him do a lift yet.”

“Why not? What happens when he tries?”

“Images of Alec flash through my mind, and I end up halfway across the studio.”

He looks at me with concern. “What if it happens when I try to lift you, too?”

I shrug. “I'm more comfortable with you, so I’m hoping it won’t. Otherwise, this entire production is screwed.”

Lando laughs nervously. “No pressure then.”

We’re just about to reach the studio when we both pause at the sound of a soft piano melody drifting out through the partially open door, hauntingly beautiful and full of feeling. The melody winds through the morning fog, wrapping around my ribs until they ache with sadness.

“Do you hear that?” he whispers.

“Let’s go look,” I reply.

We edge closer to the studio, steps feather-light on the stones. I gently press my fingers against the doorframe, careful not to push it open as we both peer through the narrow glass panel.

Inside, Reign sits at the piano. His eyes are closed, fingers gliding across the keys with little effort. The music pours out of him, and it hits me all at once—this is what he’s missing when he dances. This emotion, the way he seems lost in something bigger than himself. He looks...free. And it's at this moment that I realize I've never seen Reign Herrington truly feel before.

“I didn’t know he could play like that,” Lando whispers, eyes wide.

I shake my head. “I didn’t know he could play at all.”

The melody slows and softens as Reign’s eyes blink open, and in the reflection of the mirrored wall, his eyes find mine, and for a moment, I forget to breathe. When he finishes the last notes, he stands.

“Done spying on me?” he asks, voice carrying easily through the door.

Lando jumps so hard that he yelps and elbows the door, causing it to swing open with a loud creak, revealing us frozen in place, caught eavesdropping.

“Shit,” Lando mutters, standing up straighter.

Reign raises an eyebrow. “Subtle, brother.”

He deadpans, before his eyes lock on mine again, like he’s not quite ready to look away. I break eye contact and attempt to act like my skin isn't prickling from the way he's looking at me. Reign shuts the piano lid with a quiet thud and crosses his arms. He doesn’t look mad, just mildly amused in that very Reign way that makes it impossible to tell what he’s really thinking.

“You didn't have to wait outside,” he says.

“We didn’t want to interrupt,” I say, stepping into the studio, Lando close behind me. “That was… beautiful.”

Surprise and discomfort flicker across his face.

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