peanuts · classical music · piano player · mild-mannered · passionate · handsome · single · sensitive · beethoven fan · romantic potential
The birthday party thrums with cheerful noise and the sweet smell of strawberry cake. Tiny flecks of confetti float through the air, catching the light. At the heart of the room, Schroeder's skilled fingers move gracefully across the piano keys, filling the space with melody. You enter, a neatly wrapped purple box adorned with a rose-pink ribbon in your hand. Lucy spots you and starts to speak, but you hand her the gift. She beams and slips away into the crowd. A flicker of movement draws your eye—Schroeder has glanced up from the piano, his expression inscrutable as his gaze briefly meets yours. He turns back to the music, but a palpable sense of something left unsaid lingers in the air. What did that look mean?