By the time six o'clock had rolled around, Sienna was in a bit of a calmer state, more pliant. More willing to listen and talk. The nerves running rampant in her stomach were still there and made sure she was aware of them, but she could hardly say it was as bad as earlier. Especially after her breakdown in Sydney's presence. After warming up her voice, she went through at least two of her more ballad-like tracks off of her EP, attempting to get the right sound for them. But once she was half-way through the second, it was too much. She didn't want to think about the impending release.
So, she focused on playing on the piano, her fingers striking the chords of some of her favorites. She had not even fathomed how much time could pass performing such an act, especially when she once loathed the idea of playing anything for too long on the piano at one point. However, the soothing keys were enough to even get her interested in singing, especially when one of her favorite Beyoncé songs came to mind.
"Words don't ever seem to come out right/ But I still mean them, why is that?/ It hurts my pride to tell you how I feel/ But I still need to, why is that?" Whether or not she could hear it did not matter, but the controlled ease in which she handled the lyrics were more raw than Sienna would have been willing to admit, but she persisted, falling into the chorus with carefully-placed runs and large breaths to execute longer notes. It wasn't until she seemed to be getting into the bridge that Katherine's voice came in through the penthouse's speaker system. Vincent wasn't surprised when he stepped out of the Alvarez elevator and was greeted by Katherine rather than Sienna. He was, at least, happy that it wasn't Esmee or Cynthia or another Alvarez family member. Katherine was close enough with the family that he felt like she was judging him too... even if he didn't really think he had anything to be judged for, but it was far less terrorizing than standing in front of Sienna's blood.
"What?" Sienna asked rather sharply, after clearing her throat. Katherine either didn't hear the bite in her voice at being interrupted or did not care for she answered, unflinchingly, "Señor Mast is here." Sienna glanced back at her phone, seeing two text messages from him, both which contradicted the other. She didn't say anything for a moment and only stared blankly at her phone before setting it back down on the top of the piano. "Send him here. And send some drinks, please. Let us know when dinner is ready," she instructed before going back to playing her song. She almost didn't catch the "Of course" from one of her favorite caretakers and went back to singing, losing herself in the music in the little time she had before Vincent found his way to her little safe haven. And though his visits to the Alvarez penthouse had been far less frequent over the past year, Vincent still memorized the house layout. That didn't mean that he sped straight to the recording studio, though. Although he knew there was no turning back now, he was still on edge about all of this and to make matters worse, he was drawing a blank on what to even say when he did see her.
"It don't matter who you are/ It is so simple, a feeling/ But it's everything/ No matter who you love/ It is so simple, a feeling/But it's everything..."
Luckily, an immediate comment wasn't necessary, since as he stepped in, she was sitting at the piano, singing. He didn't interrupt her, partly because she seemed consumed by the music, and partly because again, he still didn't know what to say. She either sensed his presence and stopped, or the song ended. Vincent was too busy racking his mind for something... anything to say to make all of this drama go away, to really know which of the two it was. He lingered in the doorway, suddenly feeling out of place and unwanted as she looked towards him. "I didn't mean to interrupt. Was that something from the new EP?" Maybe they could talk about her music all night and act like none of the drama had ever happened. Before all of this, Colette had been raving about how hardworking Sienna was and about how great the new music she was making was going to be. Vincent knew music was Sienna's life and with good reason, too, because she was an amazing artist. Not only was her voice impeccable, but she could write real, deep music too. That alone was a talent, and being able to perform those songs flawlessly made her even more of an amazing artist. He wasn't just trying to push off the dreaded problematic conversation because he was genuinely interested in her music. As he used to tell her with a playful smirk, he was her as big of a fan of her in the recording studio as he was in the bedroom. And if the night of Sydney's party was any example, that would make him her number one fan musically, too.
Sienna very much did hear when the door to the studio opened, but she did not cease her piano playing, offering only occasional ad-libbing as the song came to an end. In the midst of her fingertips ghosting over the keys upon the last chord, she finally graced Vincent with a look. It wasn't meant to spell anger or even hurt at the moment, but she knew something was in her eyes because of the expression on his face. Doesn't really matter at this point, she surmised mentally. He was here and there was no running from this. Not that she could have done any running - they were at her place.
She almost missed his question in her musing, blinking blankly for a moment before answering, "Huh? Oh...no. Just...me...fooling around." She shrugged a bit and rose, walking from the piano stool to the sofa. Vincent couldn't stand how anxious he was feeling. He hated how he was frozen in the doorway, his body unwilling to even take a few steps towards Sienna, who was now seated on the sofa. Once there, Sienna played with the ends of her hair, not really meeting his gaze and unknowingly sharing in the uncertainty that was overwhelming the guy still standing at the door. She almost wished they could go back to before the Snapchat, at least back to the playful and flirtatious bantering because this? This was suffocating and she cut through the tension with a knife, and it still would be there. "So...should we just cut to the part where you call me an overdramatic, jealous bitch?" She asked, self-deprecating and hurt with a bit of lingering anger in her voice, though very much unwittingly.
Unaware of her self-loathing, She cut to the chase, not bothering with small talk to try to mellow out the uncomfortable vibe before jumping to the point of their dinner. It was like ripping off a Band-Aid, but truthfully, Vincent wouldn't have been ready for this conversation even if they spent two hours here avoiding it anyway.
He definitely hadn't come here to call her jealous or a bitch. Overdramatic... maybe... but he didn't think he would have even said it that directly. He just wanted to know what was going on in her mind and really, he hoped that it would be something that was prove that she was none of those negative adjectives. "What? No... I don't think you're any of that. I just..." His mind clearly still wasn't helping him with this loss-for-words thing. "What did she do to make you post that so randomly? A head's up would've been nice, Sia. I know that what she and I did all those years ago was so screwed up, and I'll say sorry for that again if you want, but why now? I thought we were good after the night of her party, and I went to her place to apologize for storming into her room with you, and it seemed like everything was okay between all of us. Wasn't it?" "Yeah, it was all okay up until she became, and I quote, 'the only girl I would make waffles for.'" She couldn't even help the sarcastic tinge in her voice upon remembering their sickening display.
To be honest, had it been any other girl but Sydney, Sienna probably would have been upset and probably stuck to ignoring him via text until she got sick of him trying to communicate. But it wasn't just some random chick from Biology; it was Sydney and whether or not Vincent knew it, Sienna did still think about what they did behind her back. Hell, she still had the residual scars because of it and no, she wasn't over it. She couldn't just be over the first guy she loved choosing her best friend because Sienna had apparently stopped being good enough due to her absence. When she spoke again, her exasperation and a bit more anger came out. "And you know what? That Snapchat wasn't meant to be friendly or cute, Vince. She was mad at me the entire time after that night and never once did she try to talk to me, and then that happens and I have people texting me wondering either when you two became besties...which I damn sure was never aware of, or how did I feel about the two of you...being whatever you were." She could feel her ire rising along with a few unwanted tears at the backs of her eyes, but she tried forcing them down with a loud sigh. Vincent furrowed his brows, trying to rationalize how she really could be so dramatic over the video, that, in his defense, had portrayed something completely out of context. But that alone made sense, and as Sienna continued, reminding him that Sydney had been angry after that night, he understood where she was coming from more. It still seemed overdramatic, but he was at least able to see her point of view. Sydney had purposely cut off the rest of his speech, not to annoy him in a playful way, but to get to Sienna. She wasn't trying to joke around and make him look like "her bitch" to annoy him, but to make Sienna jealous. It had clearly worked, and while Sienna's reaction still didn't seem to equal the offense, the fact that he understood that she had a right to have a reaction said something."Just tell me if there's something going on between you two already because I can't...feel like I am second place to Sydney with you. Not again."
"No, we aren't anything!" Vincent responded defensively, finally finding the courage to advance towards Sienna. Sienna really wished she could trust Vincent's claims that there was nothing like that going on between him and Sydney, especially after recalling Sydney admitting that she still wanted him earlier in the day. She wanted to just fast forward to them still joking over the bet she had placed and not caring about Sydney. But she did and she was listening, she really was, but her mind seemed settled on the idea that there was obviously something more than friendship between Sydney and Vincent. At least on the former's side. "We never were, and I hate that I haven't been able to prove that to you, after all of this. I mean, we're friends... I'm friends with her, but it's not like what me and you are. It was never like that. And, I get that it doesn't matter now, because, yeah, I see that she was just trying to fuck with you by posting that, but I was being sarcastic when I said that to her in the video and if it didn't end there, everyone else would have seen that too." He could feel himself going from the offense to the defense, because now he realized that maybe he did have something to apologize for. It still didn't seem like something he had directly done wrong. He hadn't been the one to post the Snapchat and he hadn't said anything in real life to make it seem like he loved Sydney, but maybe it wasn't fair to be anything with Sydney. Not after what they had done to Sienna, and especially not now, when everyone knew what they had done to Sienna. It wasn't right to put her in that position and it definitely said something that now, Vincent didn't even have to think about which girl he could drop in his life. "But I won't hang out with her anymore, Sienna. I guess I just thought that after all of that, you were never going to want me again in the way that I wanted you to want me... and she was a good distraction... but I swear to God, Sienna, I won't let her come between whatever you want us to be, ever again." He definitely didn't plan on coming over here to promise to cut Sydney out of his life in exchange for something... anything with Sienna, but now, as Vincent stood in front of her, it just came out without him even thinking.
"You...wh-what?" She blurted out, voice notably shocked. It was enough to make her rise and, subconsciously, Sienna's right hand rose to run through her hair - a tick of hers - only to be met with tied back hair. Some small part of her felt more than delighted at Vincent's promise; was it so wrong to be selfish and wanting someone all to yourself? However, a larger part of her did find something wrong with it and the war within showed on her face. "Vince...I've always wanted you," she confessed, swallowing down whatever heaviness that had settled in her throat. "I never didn't...ugh, I hate this! I just...I never didn't want two of the most important people in my life to not be friends. I just..." Sienna paused again before gesturing between the two of them. "If we do this again and I mean, we're really doing this again, then I need to know that you're in this because I can't...I can't do this thinking you want someone more than me." And Sienna meant that. She couldn't handle another "drunken" mistake or some other excuse Vincent's hormones wanted to give her. She just couldn't.
"I will be in it," he agreed, barely pausing a second after she finished speaking to respond. "But if we do it, you have to trust me too. I won't give you a reason to make you think I want anyone more than you... anyone other than you, but I don't want you to try to find a reason either. I want this, Sienna, I really want this, and I know that I've given you reason in the past to not trust me, but if I stop being friends with her... if I cut her off, then you'll stop this drama, right? You'll go onto your blogs and delete those posts and end your war with her?" Whether or not she wanted to acknowledge it, Vincent was right. Sienna couldn't hold what happened in the past over his head, especially if they were trying to make it work. It was a difficult thing to hear as a person who was known for holding grudges and going as far as seeking revenge when she felt particularly offended, but she couldn't help but see his point even with a small pout. "I know, I know," she replied sullenly, trying to rid herself of the pessimism of a few moments ago.
Also, Vincent really wasn't trying to make it sound like he was trying to protect or coddle Sydney, since he had just confirmed that he was going to cut his ties with her, but he didn't want to go out of his way to hurt her either. Vincent didn't think that Sydney really loved him, and especially after speaking with Sienna, he had a feeling that any affection she had ever shown him was to spite Sienna. Still, she was a person, and even more, she was Sydney Vale. Being beaten at anything was bound to hurt her pride ten times more than it would the average person, and while Vincent wasn't cocky enough to consider himself a "prize" to be won, he thought that Sydney would see it this way. Him dating Sienna would prove that even Sydney Vale, the most wanted girl in the Upper East Side, couldn't keep them apart, and that would bother her. The last thing that she needed, on top of that, was for Sienna to be publicly blasting her for it too, especially considering that Sydney wouldn't take that sitting down. After she finished her dwelling in her state of self pity, Vincent was sure that he was going to be on the receiving end of her wrath. And that was something that he didn't look forward to. If he and Sienna were going to try this again, he wanted it to be as easy as possible, and a vengeful Sydney Vale was going to do everything in her power to make that impossible. "I just don't want this to be any harder than it already has been for us."
Sienna sighed and shifted on her feet once more, mind returning - as it had several times in the afternoon - to her conversation with Sydney. "I...already talked to her. Don't know if I really believe her, but...Syd said that there shouldn't be any war or anything like that to be worried about. I don't know if that still counted if…we're together..." Sienna and Sydney had spoken?! That was a good thing. It had to be, since he didn't hear about either of them being sent to the hospital. Vincent felt like with them, things could only go well, or really, really bad, and it didn't seem like they were that bad. Sienna had agreed to meet with him, after all, and now she was saying that Sydney said there would be no war. Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as he thought. Maybe this could work out and their senior year could be as drama free as was possible for the Upper East Side.
Then again, this was Sydney Vale and Sienna Alvarez that he was dealing with. They were competitive in many ways, but out-dramatizing each other seemed to be their specialty lately, and Vincent was just as unconvinced as Sienna that things would be okay if they were officially together again. "I think one of us should tell her. Not that I think she has a say in it or any 'right' to know, but, I mean, you know Sydney. Don't you think it'll at least be a little bit less horrible if she finds out before anyone else? Through you or me, or both of us, rather than through someone's Facebook gossip page?" As soon as the words left Vincent’s mouth, Sienna went through a triad of emotions, each coming out in her blurting, ”What!? No! Whyyyyy?” She hated the sound of whining in her voice at the last question, but she hated the idea of talking to Sydney any time soon.
And she didn’t think it would do any good saying anything to Sydney or anyone else this soon, now that she was silent and in her thoughts. As selfish as it was, Sienna wanted to keep them to herself. They were just starting and she didn’t need five billion people questioning her about her choices. Charlotte, Jane, Carolina, Piper - not to mention Esmee. Hell, even her fans would jump on it the second someone blasted them on social media...the idea was settled as she closed the small distance left between her and Vincent, fingers inching slowly up his chest in careful measures. Sienna tugged at her lower lip lightly, the perfect visage of innocence on her face. ”Maybe...we shouldn’t tell her,” she finally said, in a low voice. But before Vincent could interject, she continued, hurriedly, ”Not just Sydney and hear me out on this.” She paused again, all careful, all precise and thought out. It had to be, if she wanted this idea to play out. ”Sydney and I talked only a few hours ago, and that post was sent three days ago. Even if I get it deleted now, it’ll still be on people’s minds and what are everyone gonna think seeing us together so quickly after...that? And Sydney? We...talked about...things…” Sienna flicked her gaze back up to Vincent, the sadness that crept onto her face more than genuine. ”She’s not going to react to this well. Not this soon. So, we keep this,” she clutched the fabric of his shirt in between her fingers, pulling Vincent closer, ”between us. Just us. Not because I’m keeping you a secret, but to help cool things down and give us time...to well, be us. Like you said, we don’t need this to be any harder than it already is and...everyone…Sydney will react better if we keep quiet for a little while. Just a little while. I promise.” She finished her plea off with a slight pout of her lower lip and a pleading twinkle in her eyes, nudging Vincent’s nose affectionately with her own.
It was like she cast over spell on him, because as cliché as it was, Vincent could feel his body tingling as her fingers moved across his chest. The way her voice sounded so smooth, how she bit her lower lip, pulled him closer, pouted... It was asking for trouble and Sienna surely knew it. All it took was a few moves like that for him to be hers, unquestionably hers. He wasn't necessarily proud of it. For someone who boasted about how great it was to go through girls like water with absolutely no feelings attached, the look of admiration and a bit of desperation too, that he couldn't wipe off his face was fairly embarrassing. He would have punched himself if Rick or any of the lacrosse guys were there to see it, at least. As if he were in a trance, he could feel his eyes set on hers and a weak nod coming through as he listened to her proposal. And Sienna’s Cheshire grin in response spoke of nothing but pleasure at her victory.
It didn't sound like a bad idea. Maybe keeping their relationship off the radar until they knew it would work would be best for everyone. What if, for some reason, Sydney wasn't the only problem between them? Was there a chance that they would suddenly be incompatible and stating that they were in a relationship so soon could do more harm than good? The other night had him knowing that the spark between them was still alive and well, but maybe she was right. They didn't need this to be public, especially after that scandal had just come out.
Then again, Vincent had learned his lesson with keeping things from Sydney. He knew that she didn't have any authority over he and Sienna, but he knew that she thought she did. She thought she had an authority over everyone, and this was the type of news that she felt like she deserved to know. It wouldn't simply be looking out for their own interests by not telling her. It would be taking a shot at her position of power, at her ability to rule the social ladder. And he still wasn't sure if it was even right of him to have told Sienna about he and Sydney, before giving her a chance to tell Sienna. Or, even after telling Sienna himself, at least telling Sydney that she did, so she didn't look like the fool for pretending she was innocent when Sienna knew the truth. What if something happened like that again, where Sienna used Sydney's ignorance against her? Sydney would surely act like Sienna had done something unforgivable, when again, she probably deserved it, but Vincent didn't want to give either girl weaponry to use against the other. "And what happens when she finds out?" And she would. Sienna had to know that after this revelation had just come to light, Sydney would be looking for reasons to slander both of their characters. As Vincent slipped his arms around her waist, his lips so close to touching hers, he didn't really care about the consequences of Sydney Vale finding out, though. The sensible part of him had disappeared when he breathed in the all too familiar scent of her perfume again. Sienna only hummed softly, brushing her lips against his - gently, and without pressure - before whispering, ”Then she finds out.” She pulled away only for a second to stare at him, dead on, and vowed, ”And then we talk. Not just me and her, not just you and her. All three of us for once.” Finally, she allowed herself to smile, a big one and her teeth flashed and she felt as bright as the smile that formed on her face. ”Now, how about we check on that dinner?”