five fat turkeys → hadall
TAGGING → Hadley Forte & Kendall Andersen (@kendallandersen)
TIMELINE → Friday, November 20, 2020
SETTING → ASU Music Hall Piano Room
SUMMARY → Hadley and Kendall share a moment during his last piano lesson before Thanksgiving break.
Hadley had listened to her classmates' excited chatter about Thanksgiving for weeks now, but she hadn't felt any Thanksgiving cheer of her own until she'd stumbled across a list of ten Thanksgiving songs for kids to learn on the piano. Most of her classmates would be leaving for the holiday break the next morning, Kendall Andersen included, but she'd taken a shot in the dark and texted him anyway, wondering if he'd want to join her for one last piano lesson before he headed home to his family. She was probably more delighted than was strictly necessary when he agreed to come meet her instead of spending his last night with other friends instead. Teaching him her favorite instrument had been one of the high points of her semester, and the look on his face every time he successfully got through one of her lessons left her smiling for hours even after he was gone. Maybe Thanksgiving on ASU campus wouldn't feel so crummy, as long as she could imagine Kendall having a great holiday at home, showing off his new talents in the form of one of the silly songs she wanted to teach him. Hadley spread the sheet music for the songs out on the piano as she waited, idly trying them herself while she waited for Kendall to arrive.
Kendall had been so excited to get a text from Hadley the night before the holiday break. Learning piano with Hadley had been great and he'd been hoping to show his family the progress he'd made with her, so one last rehearsal before heading home for Thanksgiving was perfect. With a huge smile on his face, Kendall made his way to the music room where Hadley had been helping him all semester; his smile grew when he heard some notes coming out of the room, since it meant she was already there. "Hey, Hadley!" he greeted with a raised hand, hurrying over to where she sat and sitting next to her, wrapping her up in a big side hug for a moment. "Thanks so much for this! I actually wanted to message you too, but you beat me to it," Kendall admitted. "I'm really glad we get to have one more of these before I go home. You're the best music teacher I've ever had. And one of the coolest friends." He leaned over and bumped his shoulder against her. "So, Ms. Forte, what do you have for me today?"
Between Kendall's enthusiastic greeting and his confession that he'd wanted to reach out to her, too, Hadley felt her cheeks heating up slightly. That seemed to be a recurring thing around him; it had started in the dim firelight at camp, and hadn't stopped back at ASU, whether they were dancing at a crowded masquerade or just sitting side by side on a piano bench like this. Those thoughts were distracting, though, and she'd fought too long to push them out of her head to let them take over now. "I'm glad you were up for it! I found a couple of really cute beginner Thanksgiving themed songs; I thought it would be fun for you to play them for your family when you're home, if you wanted to. More festive than just 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,' you know?" she said excitedly, gesturing towards Five Fat Turkeys Are We and Hooray, Thanksgiving Day! sitting before them. "If I'd found them sooner I would have made the five fat turkeys for you to take home, too, but well... you have way more camp skills under your belt than I do, I'm sure if you wanted props you could make them yourself!"
Kendall took off the jacket he'd been wearing and let it fall to the side of the bench as he listened to Hadley start talking. He never would've thought to look for Thanksgiving songs, but that was one of the benefits of having a friend that was so smart and creative. "That's such a great idea, Hadley! Don't get me wrong, I stan 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star', it was one of my first favorite songs, but these look perfect." He took in the sheet music and laughed a little at the title Five Fat Turkeys Are We, but he was quickly distracted by the idea of making five fat turkey props. "It's okay, I suck at packing so my suitcase is full anyway. There wouldn't be room for five fat turkeys but that sounds so cute! Maybe we can start picking out a Christmas song when we get back from back and make props together!" Kendall suggested animatedly, already trying to think of what would be the most fun to make. Rudolph? A partridge in a pear tree? He was getting ahead of himself, though. He always did that, and he forced himself to focus on the moment. "Um, which of these songs is your favorite? I want to learn to play the one you like most."
"Twinkle Twinkle Little Star's a classic for a reason," Hadley agreed, buoyed by how excited he was about something so simple. She really needed people like Kendall in her life, to remind her to be excited more often. There were so many good things around her; getting too bogged down in stress would make her miss them. "And we could have totally changed the words to, I don't know, Gobble Gobble Big Turkey or something... but now we don't have to," she beamed, placing the Five Fat Turkeys song in the front. It was lighter and sillier, and it felt more right for someone who seemed as effortlessly happy as Kendall. "And I can help you pack for Christmas! Unless that's weird because like, well... of course it's weird, you have to pack underwear and things like that. But I'm really organized and could help you fit everything, once you hide like... anything embarrassing," Hadley volunteered, ducking her head to hide her blush. It was so easy for her to write herself as being smooth and calm when she wrote her stories, but actually being those things in real life, when she was so close to him she could breathe in his comforting vanilla-rosemary scent? That was another story entirely. "I have a feeling hearing you successfully play them will make either one a proud teacher's brand new favorite song... But we'll start with the turkeys, how does that sound?" she asked, bumping her shoulder against his lightly as encouragement. "I'm sure you can tell me what the first note is, because you're an A+ pupil... but I can also show you, if you want," she volunteered gently, always willing to accommodate whatever learning style he was in the mood for that day.
"Gobble, gobble, big turkey," Kendall sang as closely to the notes to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star as he could before giggling a little bit. "I'm glad we don't have to but honestly? That doesn't sound bad, you just came up with that on the spot?" Maybe he was a little bit easily impressed, but it was more than that -- Hadley was just impressive. It was hard not to find everything she did clever and funny and creative and smart. And nice, too. She was so nice for even offering to help him with this in the first place, or to help him do other stuff, like pack. His face flushed at the mention of his undergarments and he shook his head, laughing a little. "It's not that weird! It's a nice offer, really. And I don't have that many embarrassing things, I promise. I don't want to ask you to do stuff like pack my suitcases but I usually end my packing sessions by jumping on the suitcases just to zip them closed and if you can help me avoid that, well, I'd owe you one." How was Hadley so nice when he was just so awkward? It would've been embarrassing if he wasn't so excited to get to learn a new song. "That sounds great," he said, keeping scooched in right next to her after she bumped against him. It was kind of comforting, feeling the steadiness of a presence next to him, especially when he was only mostly sure what the first note was. It was just so easy to doubt himself and he didn't want to guess just in case he was wrong, because he didn't want Hadley to feel like she'd been wasting her time. "I'd love it if you showed me," Kendall admitted with a grateful smile.
Hadley nodded her head bashfully. If only Kendall knew all the crazy things she thought of off the top of her head... but that would scare him away, and she wasn’t ready for that yet. The more she got attached to him, the more she had a feeling she wouldn’t be ready for that ever , but those were the thoughts of a girl who planned her life out entirely too much and forgot to live in the moment. She didn’t want to do that now, not when this moment involved the sweetest boy she’d ever met and that smile that made her stomach feel a little too fluttery. “If nothing else I could sit on the suitcase for you so you don’t have to sit and zip at the same time,” Hadley promised, giggling at the mental image of him belly flopping onto his luggage. “Or you could just borrow some of my luggage and pack extra; it’s not like I ever really leave ASU,” she added with a shrug. She was fine living vicariously through friend’s holidays and movies and books; it only made her sad if she thought on it too long, and with the way her brain moved a million miles a minute, she could usually forget about it quite quickly. Right now she had music, and Kendall, and once he was gone at home, well, the music would still be there, at least. “Of course!” Hadley smiled sidelong at him before gently resting her fingers on the keys, letting them glide from note to note as she played the short song for him without singing the silly words that went along with it just yet.
"That's so cool," Kendall laughed, shaking his head and making a mental note to try to write a full parody version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to perform for Hadley when they came back from Thanksgiving break. It was kind of silly but the idea sparked joy so he hoped it would spark joy in Hadley too. After all, making a girl who'd be willing to sit on his luggage for him smile was kind of the least he could do. "That would honestly make it so much easier! I'm so not flexible enough to lie down on something and zip around it at the same time. I once accidentally zipped my sweater into the zipper, so, if I can avoid that, I'll be a happy man." His growing smile plateaued for just a second at the thought of Hadley staying at school for the holidays. Somewhere in his brain, he must've known that was the case. She wasn't his only friend from the Isle, of course, and where else would these kids without family go? Still, it pulled at his heart harder than he expected it to. He was kind of glad they were turning to focus on the music for a moment because he'd had to really choke down the reflex to ask Hadley if she was okay with not having anywhere to go, and if she wanted to talk about it, and getting into a serious and potentially depressing conversation wasn't why they were here. Maybe when she taught him the song, he could treat her to a late night coffee to thank her and ask her if she wanted to talk. Maybe he'd even invite her home…
But that would have to wait. Right now, he just wanted to prove to Hadley that he'd picked up some talents over their time together. Watching her play the notes so easily was both intimidating and inspiring, and when she finished, he clapped his hands together for her. "Okay," he said softly, rubbing his cold hands together for a second before putting his hands on the keys in front of him. He gave her a nervous smile before trying the song out. He played it slower than Hadley had, and not as gracefully, but he thought he hit all the notes right at least, enough to smile proudly at her when he was done. "I think I messed up the rhythm in the middle there but I hit the notes so...yay?"
Hadley held her breath as she watched Kendall play the song back for her. It was so impressive, how quickly he picked it up, with only a slight hiccup in the middle. "No, no, it was so good," Hadley promised him, a proud smile on her face when he had finished. "It wasn't perfect, but the best things in life aren't. If things were perfect on the first try, that would be so boring," she informed him matter of factly, bringing her hands back up out of her lap, ready to play with him. "That part in the middle's tricky anyway. Do you want to try it again? I can help guide you through it, until your hands get used to the motion," she offered. Perhaps she should have hesitated a bit more, waited for a response from Kendall, but he'd been so good at trusting her and her teaching methods so far that she thought nothing of it as she rested her hands atop his, small fingers lined up with his longer ones as she instructed, "Starting from the fifth line, ready when you are?"
Kendall hung his head sheepishly, but he couldn't hide the smile that Hadley's words brought. "One thing's for sure, I definitely couldn't have done even that when we first started. And if I'd been perfect our first lesson, this might not have continued, which would have been too bad." He was about to ask her to promise she'd still make time to play with him when he didn't need her help anymore but he held it back. It was a moot point anyway, he wouldn't ever get too good to need Hadley. Like everything else he tried, music was something he loved but it wasn't his Thing. That didn't mean he didn't want to try though, so when Hadley offered, he nodded. He didn't fully grasp what she'd meant when she said 'guide you through it', so the touch of her fingers on his surprised him, but not in a bad way. Just in a way that made his face warm and made him curse his more hopelessly romantic nature. Kendall had an issue with imagining sparks wherever a pretty smile and a kind heart and a good person and the tossing and turning of his stomach popped up. Heck, once upon a time he'd convinced himself that love-averse Claudine was an option, which was a clear sign that he sucked at this kind of thing. He thought he'd gotten better at it in more recent times but more and more sparks came up every time he and Hadley hung out. It had started at camp and followed him through every lesson, every text, every dance at the Halloween ball, and now, when her hands rested on his so comfortably. She probably had no idea that her easy contact sent such electricity down his arms, and she probably wouldn't like if she knew. Swallowing that down, he smiled and said, "Let's do it," before letting his fingers start moving. He took the first note but from then on it really felt like a team effort, to the point where he wasn't sure who was really leading, until they got to the end. He turned to her excitedly and laughed. "Is it just me or was that really good?!"
Kendall had a way of disarming her, of making her feel completely at ease with his warm smiles and his kind words. Maybe that was why it was so easy for Hadley to giggle and admit, "Teaching you became one of my favorite things to do from our very first lesson. Even if you had been perfect, I probably would have pretended you weren't, just so we could hang out more." Oh, God . That was so embarrassing of her to say that, but it was the truth. He was always so earnest, and always made her feel so special without even trying; the least she could do was make sure he knew the sentiment was returned, and tenfold, at that. When they'd first started hanging out at camp, she'd tried to hold herself back from feeling too much, knowing Claudine was so fond of him and not wanting to step on her friend's toes, but lately... Well, it had been harder and harder to fight the fact that she liked Kendall quite a bit more than she liked the average person. Thankfully, it seemed that Claudine's affections were directed elsewhere lately; it made her feel less guilty for the way her heart stuttered at the feel of their hands linked together on the keys, and definitely less guilty for the way her body was buzzing with nervous energy as they moved farther down the keyboard and she found herself having to scootch ever closer to him. "That was amazing," Hadley agreed breathlessly, keeping her hands resting on top of his, soaking up the warmth even though their song was done. "We're kind of an amazing team, huh?" she asked, jolting slightly when she realized that her face was much closer to his than it had been when they'd started, nearly as close as it had been when she'd been dancing with him at the Halloween ball and found her thoughts wandering into thinking it felt almost romantic to her. That was crazy, though; just because she felt like she was maybe allowed to like Kendall now didn't mean that he'd like her, too. He was just being his usual sweet self, and Hadley cleared her throat, finally bringing her hands back to her lap. "Do you want to try it on your own now? I can sing along, so it's still a team effort!"
It was good to hear that Hadley got joy out of these piano lessons just like he did, and it made warmth spread all over Kendall's chest. "We would've hung out more anyway," he promised, trying not to think that her confession reminded him of a thought he'd had at their last lesson, that even when he got better, he might pretend he hadn't just for more of this. More of laughing together over a piano and finding happiness in music together, of the little butterflies he felt when their fingers grazed or when her side was pushed against his. She came even closer as they played and he found himself grateful that she didn't scooch away once they were done. Physical touch was one of his big love languages, so being so close to her definitely made him feel like they were a united force. "We're the definition of an amazing team!" he assured her, his thumb briefly searching for Hadley's index finger atop his own to rub it a little bit in silent assurance. He made himself quickly stop though, because that was probably way too intimate, especially with how close their faces were now. He swallowed but found it hard to look away until he pulled her hands back, and he cleared his throat too with a nervous laugh as he looked back at the sheet music. "I'd love if you sang along," he agreed, waiting for a second before starting the song again, a little faster than his first try but still not as fast as it ought to go. Hadley had such a pretty voice and it was all so fun that he couldn't help himself from quietly joining in after she sang the intro. They really were a good team. He'd never thought he was a particularly good singer but his voice sounded like a nice soft background for hers, and he loved it.
For so long, Kendall had felt like such a separate entity to her, someone who was Claudine's friend and not really hers. She was so glad that had changed, but it was a little bit scary sometimes, too. It was entirely too easy for Hadley to understand why her friend was so fond of this wonderful boy; it was obvious in the way her brain got carried away the second he said they would have hung out more anyway, even without the piano lessons. She could picture it too easily; sitting across the table, staring into his eyes too long at nice dinners; walking across campus, maybe even hand in hand; cuddling up to him watching movies, or just staying up late talking to him about anything and everything; dancing, wearing matching costumes like they had on Halloween, only this time on purpose... Hadley had a feeling her cheeks were flushing red again just thinking about it, and she was glad for the song to distract her. Singing about five fat turkeys couldn't possibly be romantic... And yet, when the words were done, Hadley let Kendall repeat the song instead as she made up a next verse on the fly, anything to stay close to him, their hands brushing as he played, her eyes drifting from his hand back up to watch how cute his face was when he was concentrating on getting the song right... "Five fat turkeys are they," Hadley giggled, hoping she didn't confuse him too much by creating more of the song. "They played piano all day... When they gobbled along, people loved their song, and they're friends not food that way." It was a ridiculous attempt, but Hadley had a feeling Kendall would appreciate it. The fact that he always seemed to, no matter what it was she was doing, was part of why she kept gravitating towards him... like now, when she realized her face was close to his again at the song's close. This time, though, she didn't turn back to the piano; instead, she just smiled softly, not wanting to break their gaze.
The song was silly and the lyrics were borderline ridiculous, so it was even more ridiculous of Kendall to be feeling all fluttery, right? It was a testament to how much work they'd done on piano since summer that he was able to keep playing even though every time they accidentally brushed hands his face got a little bit warmer and his heart beat a little bit faster. At least it helped his playing speed up. Hadley's singing also helped him keep tempo, but he was more interested in the words she was singing than the tempo she was singing them. The words she was singing weren't coming from the sheet music -- she was making it up on the spot! And it was so good! "Oh my gosh!" he laughed, a huge smile on his face as he was visibly awed, once again, by her talent. "That's brilliant!" Which it was. It was also funny and clever and made him smile like crazy, just like Hadley herself; it was weird, but it made him feel special by association to be someone she made time for, someone she gifted with her brains and laughter and charm. And right now, it was so easy to imagine being the guy who could play piano while she came up with her unique songs. Maybe if he got better, they could do this more often. Maybe they could go to open mic nights, or karaoke, or maybe some day they could go to his house and show his parents... and wow, as always, he was getting ahead of himself, but that was so easy to do with Hadley. He'd always known she was pretty and talented, but the more he got to know her, he kept finding more and more things to like and it was getting him flustered. It also somehow kept getting him much closer to her face than he'd expected. "You're brilliant," he added, quieter now that they'd stopped playing piano. His eyes flickered down to take in all of Hadley's face before he could help himself. They were about this close when they were dancing together at the Halloween Ball, and on that day, he'd wondered if the warmth in his cheeks and the fluttery feelings in his stomach meant that something like a kiss might be a good idea. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't thinking about it right now too. She was probably just being nice and he was taking it all out of proportion, but it really did feel like something might be happening and he let himself get closer to her a little bit; even if nothing happened, Kendall found himself unable to resist indulging in the sparks between them for just a little bit longer. Hadley smelled so nice, as always, and she was so pretty, whether it was from as far away as spotting her across the room at a ball or as close as they were now, the closest they'd ever been.
This moment somehow felt so entirely different from the sort of thing Hadley had ever experienced with anyone else, and yet oddly familiar when it came to Kendall. The more time she spent with them, the more they got closer and closer to... something, that she couldn't quite put a name on. Their faces had been this close at the Halloween ball, too, and the nearness of him had made her feel fluttery and dizzy and exhilarated. Then, though, they'd been in a crowded room full of people, where anyone could see... including Claudine, whose feelings had been unclear to her. But her friend had gone on a real, actual date with another boy and had a good time! That meant she didn't have to feel guilty for wanting this moment to turn into something more, didn't it? That she wasn't a bad friend, and she wouldn't be hurting anyone if she stopped wondering what it would be like to close the distance between them and actually did it? If she was half as brilliant as Kendall said she was, she'd stop running away from something that was right in front of her just because she was scared. The scariest things in life were usually the most important ones, after all, and Kendall had already become so important to her in such a short period of time. The more she learned about him, the more she wanted to know... and right now, she desperately wanted to know if kissing him in real life would be as great as it was in the occasional daydream she allowed herself. Before she could second guess herself any longer, Hadley tilted her head upwards, until the space between them no longer existed, and her lips were pressed gently to his.
Kendall had been planning on letting himself linger in Hadley's space a moment longer, just because it felt so good to be so close to her. He wasn't really sure how long they were looking at each other; it felt like no time had gone by at all, or like maybe Thanksgiving had passed them by and so had Christmas, and New Year's, and everything else. He couldn't remember the last time he'd let himself indulge in these butterflyish feelings, and it seemed like they got stronger the longer he stayed. It was so much tension that when Hadley's lips actually touched his, it felt like a huge sigh of relief. He couldn't actually believe this was happening, but he wasn't complaining. He'd been curious about what it would be like to kiss Hadley since the bonfires at summer camp and his curiosity had only grown more and more as he'd gotten to know her, and it was sweeter than he could've imagined. It was soft but sent static all the way down to his toes and back up again. He kept the kiss gentle as he closed his eyes and leaned in a little bit, his hand finding one of hers on the piano and lightly resting on top of her fingers. It probably wasn't the correct kissing technique to have a large smile spread across his face but he couldn't help it; he always smiled when Hadley was involved. He pulled back when he was just about out of breath, because he didn't know whether to open his mouth and breathe against her or what. "Umm... that was.... awesome," he said happily and softly. "Is... can we? Again? Or...?" He wasn't even sure if words was coming out of his mouth coherently or not but he hoped Hadley understood him. She always made it feel like she did.
Hadley had only been kissed one other time in her life, and there was simply no comparison between the two occurrences. Until right now in this moment, she'd thought all the silly over-the-top phrases she used in her fanfics were just exaggeration, but no. Kissing Kendall made it clear that things like fireworks, and tingling lips, and feeling like you were a puzzle that had found its missing piece were very real feelings. Maybe inadequate, even, for describing the bliss she experienced, to have him kissing her back, returning her action in a way that made her heart feel like it was flying right out of her chest. When he held her hand on the piano, she accidentally played a random note, but she was so lost in the way their lips fit together that she hardly even noticed. She would have been disappointed that the kiss ended if she hadn't been in need of a breath herself, and she giggled when he called it awesome. "So awesome," she agreed breathlessly, "Like, awesome doesn't even begin to do it justice." With anyone else, she might have worried she seemed too enthusiastic, that she was being over the top... But this was Kendall, and she was on too much of a high from the kiss to overthink. "I'd love to -- you know, again," she nodded emphatically, squaring her body fully towards him on the piano bench. She'd had more songs she'd wanted to teach him before he went home, but suddenly, she couldn't imagine possibly sitting beside him and focusing on music when she'd just be thinking about how badly she wanted to kiss him. It was the best feeling in the world, quite possibly the greatest experience of her short life, and she brought her hands up to rest on his shoulders this time as her eyes fluttered closed and she kissed him again, more confidently this time.
Kendall had not gone into today expecting to kiss Hadley -- in fact, he tried really hard never to go into any social interactions with any expectations that fell on the other person -- but now that it had happened, he just wanted it to happen again. He'd had moments in his life where he thought a kiss might be on the horizon but there were enough factors in his mind that kept him from going for it, and the other people had never taken the initiative either. Sometimes that left him feeling unwanted, like he just wasn't the guy people took chances on, but it was hard to think about that, or anything really, when Hadley's lips against his filled his body with too many good feelings. No matter what happened after this, Hadley was the girl who'd taken a chance on him. And that made him want to take chances back, like asking to kiss again, and he could scarcely believe it when she agreed. Maybe falling for somebody wasn't supposed to be filled with nerves that he was doing everything wrong, or that he was being selfish, or the crushing guilt that he wanted things the other person probably didn't; maybe it was meant to be as easy as kissing and liking it and kissing again. And again, and again. His hands came up to rest on her arms but they eventually found their way to her waist, like they were slow-dancing. They kissed and kissed and kissed until his head went light and his face almost hurt from smiling so much, but it was so nice, one of the nicest feelings he'd ever had. It was so nice, in fact, that he got lost in it, and eventually it was late, much later than he'd expected. He wouldn't have even noticed if it wasn't for the clock in the room but when he did, he pulled back reluctantly. "I uh... I have to go home and get some sleep. I'm leaving pretty early tomorrow and it's way later than I thought. Time flies when, you know, you're with someone that makes your heart happy," he smiled. "But that...you... thank you. For the song and everything else." The blood rushed back to his face, coloring it a warm pink as his hand mindlessly took hold of one of hers. "Can I walk you back to your dorm, maybe?"
It was hard to imagine that when this night had begun, Hadley had been sad about everyone leaving her here alone for the holidays, and worried that Kendall had better things to do with his evening than see her before he left. Instead, this had turned into a magical evening she’d never forget, complete with what she planned to count as her first real kiss... and second, and third, and more. Kissing Kendall was just as intoxicating as talking to him was, maybe even more so, and selfishly she wished they could stay right here like this forever. He was right, though; it had grown late, and he had places to be even if she didn’t. She felt lightheaded and giddy as he took her hand in his and walked her back to her dorm, like the real gentlemen she daydreamed about. It was nearly as romantic as kissing him had been, the way their fingers stayed intertwined the whole time as she chattered nervously about the five fat turkeys and how she couldn’t wait to hear about how his family reacted to his performance. There was more she wanted to say as they approached the dorm she shared with Claudine — things she wanted to ask, like what this meant for them and if it could happen again, the sooner the better. That might be asking for too much, too soon, though, and Hadley didn’t want to ruin her perfect night by asking and getting answers she might not like. Instead, as they reached her door, she wrapped her arms around his neck to steady herself as she pressed up on her tiptoes and kissed him again, lingering there as long as she could, savoring the taste of his lips and the floaty feeling that she had a feeling would stay with her the whole time he was home. “Happy Thanksgiving, Kendall,” Hadley told him, pulling him tight for one last hug before finally putting her hand on her door and twisting the knob to go inside and dream of him instead.
