Sing for Absolution

Dom laughed heartily, throwing his head back, his wide mouth flashing the rows of straight teeth again. He liked her. She seemed to have a good sense of humor.

"That's good. Especially considering we usually don't. Not our lifestyle. Matt especially."

Dom was the partier of the group. He liked to have a good time and was frequently out and about on the town no matter where he was. He lived the typical rockstar lifestyle and loved it.

He noticed her glance for Dom and Morgan and tuned in briefly to their conversation. They were talking about work. "Not interesting," Dom said, tilting his head in their direction.
 
"I don't usually either. I like staying up late to watch the stars," she admitted, smiling up at him. He certainly was really nice, she decided.


"I was just making sure they're still there since you've stolen me away for conversation with yourself," she said teasingly with a bit of a laugh as he commented on Dom and Morgan, obviously having seen her glancing over at them.
 
"I'm sure Matt would like to hear that you like the stars," Dom said with a soft smile. "Anyway, Dom's heading off tomorrow, so work prevails, even late at night."

The conversation quieted and soon both Doms and Morgan were quiet. In the distance, classical sounding piano could be heard from cabin six, and everyone seemed to be focusing in on it. Dom sighed.

"That's his baby," he explained. "There are songs that are all of ours, y'know? Not that one. It's truly his and he doesn't understand that. He keeps getting on my case to challenge him on it, to add my input. I wouldn't change it for the world. It's brilliant. He says he's not perfect and me an Chris have to make it our own too. I don't want to touch it. I think it should stay the way it is."

"He's fucking brilliant," Morgan added. "He'll silence a crowd of one hundred thousand with that piece." He laughed, "I hope he doesn't expect me to play it!"

Everyone went quiet again, listening as the song came to its bombastic climax with heavy pounding chords and sweeping arpeggios until Matt's playing drifted into a decrescendo too quiet for them to hear anymore.

"Put the bells at that climax," Dom muttered. "He's right."

"You know he's right," said Morgan.

"Just trying to appease his needs," said Dom with a crooked smile. "You know we're going to do it his way in the end."

"The maestro knows best," chortled Morgan.

Everyone went quiet again as the slap of the cabin door slamming shut on its spring hinges could be heard in the distance as Matt ambled his way back to the fire.

"And he returns to the living," whispered Dom to Alyne dramatically.
 
Alyne tilted her head a fraction and smiled back at Dom. So, Matt liked the stars? She found that this mystery boy was intriguing her more and more the more that she found out about him, but she severely doubted that he had the same interest. Romance wasn't ever something at the top of her priority list, really, but Matt piqued her interest anyway. Just as friends, she told herself. She didn't know him well enough for anything else.


"I'll be sure to mention it to him," she said quietly, then paused and glanced back toward the cabin that Matt had vanished into as music started to leak out.


It was.. gorgeous. She could sit and listen to it for hours. Normally she had a problem with piano music because she found it boring and always wanted to tap out a beat for it, but this was diffrent. It didn't leave her wanting to yawn at all. She listened with a smile, half paying attention to Dom as he spoke about it and explained that Matt wanted Dom to challenge him. That answered her unspoken questions about Matt's comment earlier.


"It's lovely," she sighed contentedly, listening to the crescendo intently until the music faded too much to be heard.


She gazed at the fire as the slam of a door announced that Matt was coming back, a slight giggle escaping her at Dom's whisper. Once he sat back on the log, she turned to Matt and gave him a smile.


"Welcome back."
 
"Hey," Matt said quietly, then turned to Dom. He spoke quickly, and was difficult to understand. "ThebellsorttogoatthatA,followthechordprogressionandendlightlyandhighattheend. Please we have to do it please twy it!"

"In the morning, Matt," Dom replied with a yawn. He was getting tired and checked his phone for the time. He frowned when he looked at the screen and turned slightly away from Matt as his attention focused on whatever was on his phone.

"Oi! Hey! This is important!" Matt said, waving his hands to try and get Dom's attention.

But Dom was distracted now. "I'm going to bed," he said, somewhat absently and wandered off to his cabin, his posture much more slouched than it'd been before.

"We're going to bed too," Morgan piped up.

"I've got an early flight to catch," Dom said and the last two people wandered off.

Matt sighed and slumped slightly, his face set in a mild angry pout.
 
Though Alyne could barely keep up with what Matt was saying, she had a bit of an idea thanks to Dom already mentioning part of it while they were listening to him play. She picked up on 'bells' and 'chord', which was enough for her to know that her input was not needed. Matt sounded so eager, though, like a child. She couldn't help but smile and want to help him out.


She watched Dom get up and leave with his attention on his cell instead of on Matt, saying he was going to sleep. Well, that made sense, it was the wee hours of the morning. Still, she was a little surprised since they had just been mocking Chris for going to bed so early. Had something changed?


Everybody else started to leave too, and she waved goodbye to them before looking over at Matt. He looked so.. dejected. She wondered if it would be best for her to leave him alone, or wait for him to go off to bed too before trudging back up home. Looking up at the sparkling stars, she sighed a little.


"Your piano playing is beautiful," she commented absently.
 
"Thanks," Matt replied quietly, studying is fingernails in the low light of the fading fire. The sharp angles of his face caused the light to fall across his features in great contrast, his eyes and cheeks cast into dark shadow while the rest of his face was still easily recognizable. He sighed and rubbed at his nose.

"It's late, I'm sure it's a lot later than you're used to staying up," he said. "I'll walk you home if you need."

Then he added, almost inaudibly, "sorry."
 
"Actually, I'm usually up until dawn watching the stars. There's a fantastic spot past the village where you can see the whole valley and every constellation you could dream of. You should go up there if you ever need to get away from all of this," she suggested, standing and giving him a smile.


"I appreciate the offer, but I won't make you walk back up just to come back down again. You must be exhausted. I know my way, I can take myself," she said, shaking her head a little and pausing for a few moments after he apologized. She smiled softly and gave him a quick hug, releasing him quickly in case he had a no-touch policy.


"Don't be. I had a truly wonderful time. Maybe I'll see you again."
 
"You like watching the stars too?" Matt asked, immediately perking up. "What's your favorite constellation?" He had a strong desire to hike up to the very top of the mountain now and see the stars up there. "They're so bright out here!" he pressed eagerly. He looked up and his eyes were bright with dreams and ideas.

"I'm not going to bed," he said. I'll walk with you. "Sleep is stupid and a waste of time. I wish humans didn't need to sleep, y'know? Cos there's so much life to live and we waste literally almost half of it sleeping." He had long ago trained his body to not need as much sleep as everybody else, frequently staying up for days at a time before taking a hard crash.

Dom was always lecturing him on his unhealthy sleeping habits and in truth he probably wouldn't be as moody if he did sleep like he was supposed to. But Matt was stubborn in his reasoning. He had too many ideas to waste time sleeping. He did have to admit though, that sometimes sleeping on his ideas was the way to really make them come alive. Sleeping made his brain more efficient and what hadn't been obvious before he slept became obvious when he woke up.

"Let's go up there!" he cried, ignoring this train of thought. It had been almost 2 days now since he'd last slept and he was probably due for a crash very soon, but he jumped up from his spot on the log, eager to go with Alyne stargazing.
 
Alyne blinked at his sudden interest, realizing now why Dom had mentioned that Matt would like to know she enjoyed the stars. The change in him was immediate, and she couldn't help but giggle as he mentioned how bright they were.


"Well, the lack of smog helps. Sometimes you can even see the ribbons of the galaxy woven in," she said with a smile, then tapped her chin. "Hm.. My favorite would probably be ursus minor," she added.


"Alright, but you can't tell anybody where it is! It's my secret spot and I don't want other people to steal it," she said, laughing a bit as she went over to the trail and started walking back up around the lake. They'd have to pass through the town again to get to the spot, but it would be completely worth it in the end.


She was just happy to spend more time with him, which was something that she hadn't expected.


"What's your favorite?"
 
"Well it's not weally a constellation, exactly, more like a star cluster but my favorite is the Pleiades," he said, trotting swiftly behind her on short legs. "We're gonna play a gig up there someday," he announced proudly "Or in space somewhere. We'll play in space. For the aliens and all the universe, not just Earth."

"And you don't have to worry about me telling. I won't tell. Well, maybe Dom, but that depends on how he's acting. So long as he's not being a royal cunt…" He paused, "it's okay if I tell Dom, right?"

The jaunt up the mountain went quicker since they followed the trail, but Matt was breathing hard when they reached the top. "'m not in shape like Dom is," he said. Not that he was fat. In fact, he was a bit on the underweight side. "my legs are short, that's my excuse," he said, panting.
 
"Really?! Play in space?! Oh that sounds so wonderful! You'll have to come back here and tell me all about it," she declared, then laughed a little. "Just Dom! Nobody else!"


She led him up through the path, then they tiptoed through the sleepy little village. The road ended, but there was another trail that wound up through the little trees. Soon they emerged onto a rock top that jutted out over the side like a cliff. Spread below like an explosion of green and black was the valley. Up above, a horizon-to-horizon stretch of the stars, with the moon smack dab up in the middle. She turned and grinned at Matt.


"So? What do you think?" she asked, sitting down with a happy sigh.
 
"It's perfect!" he declared, flopping back in the grass with his arms spread wide. "Feel like I'm on top of the world," he said, dreamily, letting silence fall over them.

His hand patted the ground next to him and he sat up. "Ooh- he said, plucking a mushroom off the ground. Liberty caps!" he popped one in his mouth before holding another out to her. "Want one?"
 
Alyne smiled and laid back, her arms crossed behind her head as she looked up at the stars. Everything seemed possible from up here. It was where she came to yell out her anger at the world or sing praises. This was where she had taught herself the bodhran years ago, too.


"Liberty caps?" she asked absently, looking over at him and seeing him offer her a mushroom. "Oh! Sure," she said with a smile, taking it and pointing back toward the trail. "There are several large bushes over there filled and ripe for picking. Mostly raspberries, but there are some blackberries too that are really good. Want some?" she offered, sitting up a bit as she looked at him.
 
"Mmm," he hummed, "nah. These are good," he said, laying back in the grass and waiting for the high to come on. This was one of his favorite activities, getting high while star gazing. He sighed happily and let his mind drift to some of his deepest thoughts, letting silence wash over them again. Soon he could feel the mushroom take effect and his breathing was loud to him. He glanced over to Alyne to see how she was doing.
 
"Alright," she said with a shrug, swallowing her mushroom absently and laying back down to look up at the stars. The problem with never leaving a small village and not having friends was that it created a very.. sheltered lifestyle. Alyne had no idea that the mushroom wasn't exactly the type that one would throw on a salad, so when the stars seemed to be moving, she blinked a few times in startled bewilderment.


"W-What..?"
 
"Are you alright?" Matt asked, concerned, not at all realizing that she'd had no idea what she'd eaten. He rolled in the grass to face her, blinking at her in the moonlight.
 
Alyne blinked a few more times and rubbed her eyes, then stared in fascination as the stars not only danced around, but started changing colors. Alarmed but also incredibly amused, she rolled onto her belly and giggled at Matt.


"I think I'm hallucinating," she whispered to him, as though it was some massive secret.
 
Matt joined in her whispered secret. "Oh! Me too! Is this new to you?" He giggled and rolled to look at the sky again. "They're changing colours. Only they're not, cos they're always that colour it's just we can't really see it with the naked eye and now we can. They feel so close too, like I can touch them," he said, still in a whisper, and reached a hand out to touch the stars.

[oh my god I can't even imagine what her brother is going to say when he finds this out. I bet he's going to like, ban her from Matt]
 
[Yeah, Matt's going to get punched in the face, I think xDD]


Scrambling over to lay right next to him, Alyne nodded and looked up at the stars again with wonder. He could see the colors too! She attempted to touch one, but they were too far away.


"Aww, I don't think we're up high enough!" she whispered, pouting slightly before she got an idea. "Come on, I know how we can reach!" she declared, scrambling up to her feet and going over to the large boulders that stacked atop one another in a pile to the peak of the mountain.
 
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