This was the type of silence that just filled up your ears and devoured your soul. It ate at your bravery endlessly, until you were no more but a quivering ball of mush. In this silence, every breath was like a heavy sigh, every blink a monstrous thud. Houses got so quite when suddenly, or not so suddenly, there were fewer people in it. It was like with the absence of people, the house forgot it was still supposed to have noise.

That was what Edward thought anyway. He'd woken up and clattered around like usual. It wasn't until now that the silence hit him. His house was usually so loud, even when there was no one there. Back when his parents were alive, it was always filled with music. But no, even the symphony of creaks and groans was silent. After starting to hear his heart beat, he had to get out. Get away from the silence before it consumed him and left nothing behind.

There was one place he could think to go. The hotel. The crowds were not the thing that was enticing him there. Their mindless chatter meant nothing. In the ballroom was the most amazing piano Edward had ever seen. And luckily, he happened to have a key to the ballroom. He slipped through the crowds of people, not looking up. He looked up once. In that instant he saw her. She was standing in the middle of the crowd, but he'd never seen anyone look so alone., so lost He wanted to talk to her for a moment, wipe that look off her face. But then he just offered a smile, tugged his cap down, and kept moving. He didn't notice his shadow, a large black dog shot through with grey, lumbering slowly after him.

The piano seemed to glow in the dim light. Edward was seated in front of it, gazing at it's splendor. His fingers traced lines across the dust on the keys. He let the silence reclaim his ears, closing his eyes. Then, he started playing. He didn't need any sheet music, just let his fingers fly. The music chased the silence away and filled up his soul. He didn't even realize the tune he was playing was what he felt that woman he'd seen was feeling, he just played.

The music swirled around him. Everything soon faded away. All the worries, all the thoughts, all the normal everyday feelings that weighted you down until you could barely move an inch. The music lifted it all away. It made him free.

He was broken out o his reverie by a sudden weight on his leg. His fingers froze, the music disappearing into the dark. He opened his eyes, looking down. "Benji, what do you think you're doing here?" he asked the dog looking balefully looking up at him. "Silly old dog, you can't fool me, I know you're in pain. You really shouldn't follow me around like this,"he chided him kindly. He ruffled the fur on his large head, and Benjamin walked away to go lay down. Edward shook his head, that dog never left him alone, no matter how often he told him to stay.

He was about to go back to the piano, closing his eyes and poising his fingers above the keys. But the notes didn't come to his hands. For a moment, he was confused, never before had he not been able to play. Then he realized the problem. There was the feeling around him like there was someone else was there. He opened his eyes, turning to search the room. For a moment, he saw nothing. But his eyes caught on her in the dim light by the door. It was the same woman from the lobby. How strange. A heavy blush crept up his face as he realized she must have heard him talking to his dog. He rose slowly, lost for words. He took his hat off his head, twisting it between his hands. "...S-sorry miss, did i...bother you?" he stuttered out, knowing his voice barley carried across the room. He watched her carefully, hoping his blush didn't show in the light.

Usually, nerves left him alone. He was quite, sure, but not that nervous. But now, they tangled around his tongue, and left his brain clogged with thoughts. Without his music he felt suddenly vulnerable, like it was a cloak wrapped around him, keeping him safe, and had been suddenly torn off. His eyes appraised her warily as he waited for an angry answer. That was what he was sure he would get. He was sure he'd bothered her and she'd come to tell him to stop playing.

So of course he was surprised when she rejected his thoughts. He watched her walk closer, listening to the click of her heels. In his head, notes sprung up to go with the beat. His eye's flashed to her hand as it flashed out and gently touched the piano. Her skin looked pale and soft against the contrast of the piano. He titled his head at her request. He would have played, but the pleading look in her eyes made the smallest smile appear on his face.

As he sat down to continue playing, his fingers didn't move, once more. He never got nervous in front of an audience. He even sometimes enjoyed sharing his music with people. He didn't really know what stalled his fingers. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He stared to play, first it was halting and reflected how he felt. As he went, it got more smooth and flowing. He played a soft graceful song, letting his fingers flow across the keys, ignoring the impulse to look up and check the womans reaction.