The first time I heard it I was walking my dog
We were walking down the road my house was on, heading toward the school
My dog, Miya, stopped to sniff something for a minute
And that's when I heard it
The most beautiful music, floating through the summer air
Even with the oppressive heat, the melody sent shivers down my spine
It sounded like a violin, but I thought it must've been a recording
Nobody around here could play that well
Nobody would be caught dead playing a violin, either
Not if they didn't want to get shit from everybody in town about it
I stood there, listening, for what felt like ages
But it couldn't have been
Because Miya pulled me along again a moment later
That night, the music drifted through my dreams
And left me with only more questions when I woke up
Who was playing?
Where did they learn to play like that?
The next week, school started again
Everyone was grumbling about being stuck indoors when it was perfect swimming weather
Even the teachers seemed too hot to teach
I was sitting in math class, bored out of my mind
So I asked to go to the bathroom
The teacher said yes, I don't know why
Everyone knows that kids who ask to go to the bathroom during math aren't going to come back
I wandered down the hall to a water fountain, then glancing to make sure nobody saw me, darted up the stairs toward the music wing
I didn't take any music classes
My buddies would've never let me live it down if I did
But that didn't stop me from enjoying it if I could
I slipped down a darkened hall, into one of the empty practice rooms
They weren't used anymore, only for storage
But they were almost soundproof, which was better than most other rooms in the school
Just as I was about to shut the door and lock the world out, I heard a sound
It was very faint, almost wasn't there
But as I held my breath, I could barely hear the same haunting melody I'd heard a few weeks before
Tiptoeing down the hall, I crept closer
As I got closer, I could hear the music a bit more clearly
It was just as beautiful as I remembered, but now I was sure it wasn't a recording
I peaked into the window of the very last practice room on the left, and there was a boy
He was dark-haired and thin, with these deep brown eyes that made him look so much older than he was
I didn't see them until later, though, because he was playing with his eyes closed
He drew the bow across the strings with such focus it seemed he'd never played the song before, but the lack of music told me he was playing from memory
My curiosity growing, I could hardly contain myself from bursting in
Who was this boy?
Just as I peaked through the window to look again, his eyes fluttered open and he dropped the bow to his side
He was serene for a moment, before he caught my eyes
Jumping, he backed into a music stand, sending it clattering over with a loud crash
In the choir room next door, I heard the piano music stop
Not wanting to get busted, I wrenched open the door to his practice room and flicked off the light
I all but tacked him to the floor, and as we hit the ground his eyes went wide
He was about to say something when we both heard the unmistakable sound of a teacher's high heels clicking down the hallway
I urgently held a finger to my lips, and he nodded hesitantly
The footsteps got closer and closer, and we both held our breath
But just before she reached the door we were crouched behind, they stopped, and turned back where they came from
Once she was clearly gone, I let out a sigh of relief
Only to be roughly smacked in the arm
"Ouch! What the-" I started, but the boy cut me off
"What in the world do you think you're doing, creeping on somebody like that?" He demanded
His phrasing brought a smile to my lips, which I immediately tried to hide
I didn't want him to think I was laughing at him
"I wasn't creeping!" I defended
"Oh? Then what do you call a football player peeking in windows in an abandoned hallway?" He asked
I was about to answer, when something caught my attention
"Hey, how did you know I play football?" I asked
He turned bright red at that, and started to stammer. "I- uh- your jacket. You're wearing a football jacket."
I looked down, surprised he could see it in such low lighting.
"Huh. Guess I am. But I wasn't creeping, I promise. I just heard your playing, and wanted to see who it was" I told him
He raised an eyebrow at me, and asked, "But what were you doing down here in the first place? I don't suppose you're in the band?"
I scratched the back of my neck, embarrassed.
"Uh, no, I'm not." I answered "I'm supposed to be in math."
Flicking the light on, he cocked his head at me.
"So why aren't you?" He asked
Distracted by getting a good look at him for the first time, I didn't really process his question
"Why aren't I- what?" I stuttered
He laughed, a delicate sound that was just as musical as his playing
"Why aren't you in math?" He elaborated
I blushed at that, shuffling my feet "I was kinda bored..." I admitted
He giggled again, and I'm sure I must've blushed even deeper
Finally remembering my manners, I held out my hand to him
"I'm Austin, by the way."
He took my hand, surprising my with how soft his skin was
"I'm Lex" He replied
We stood there awkwardly for a moment, neither one of us knowing what to say
"I'm real sorry about the sneaking up on you, and the tackling you" I told him
"No biggie." He answered
We fell silent again, both glancing from our feet, to each other, back to our feet
"Well, what did you think?" He asked after a while
"Think? Of what?" I asked dumbly
He smiled, the corners of his eyes and his nose crinkling as he did
"What did you think of the song, the one I was playing?" He elaborated
"Oh!" I realized what he was asking
"It was really beautiful. I've never heard anything like it- that's why I had to come find out who was playing.
The key, and the way you held those long notes with just a bit of vibrato- it just gives you chills." I gushed, stopping myself abruptly when I realized how embarrassed he looked
"Thanks." He mumbled, "It's really nothing... but how do you know so much about music?"
I squirmed at that, having not meant to give away so much in my praise
"Oh, I don't know much of anything, I was just-" I tried to cover, but he wouldn't let me
"No, you've definitely been taught. Do you play?" He asked, seeming excited
"Oh, no, I don't do instruments" I answered truthfully
"Then what?" He asked
I turned bright red, unable to form the words
I'd hidden that part of myself so well, for so long, it's not like I was just going to blurt it out to a stranger-
"I sing." I blurted out to the stranger
His eyes went wide, flicking up and down my body
I knew I didn't look the type, but wasn't quite sure why his breath hitched or why he blushed all of a sudden
"Y-you do?" His voice squeaked out, timidly
I just nodded, unable to form the words
Trembling, he picked up his violin from where it lay on the floor, and tucked it under his chin
"Prove it" He whispered, raising his bow
As he began to play, I recognized the notes as belonging an Ed Sheeran song
"Really?" I asked, but he just smirked at me, so I took a deep breath and began to sing
When I first started to sing his eyes went wide, but as we continued our duet we both got more and more into it
By the time we reached the end of the song, we were standing so close our foreheads were almost touching, both grinning from ear to ear
And at that moment, I knew I was a goner
After that day, Lex and I met in the practice rooms every third period
He told me I had the most beautiful voice he'd ever heard, which made me blush
But when he played and I sang, neither of us could deny how perfectly our music fit together
When the sign for the talent show went up, the full scholarship prize was the only thing that convinced both of us to perform
Well, and the fact that when Lex looked up at me with such excitement in his eyes, I couldn't say no
We performed to a standing ovation, to the surprise of us both
Nobody gave me shit for my singing, or Lex for his playing
In fact, the girls were actually all over us after our performance
Unluckily for them, practicing wasn't the only thing Lex and I had been doing while we prepared for the talent show
A week into daily rehearsals, I couldn't take it anymore and kissed him
That was the day after he told me about the song I'd first heard him playing
His mom had written it, before she died
He said playing it made him feel close to her
After hearing that, I spent the whole night in my room writing
And in the practice room the next day, I asked him to play her song for me
I was terrified that I was intruding on something sacred, but when it came to the sweet high part of the melody, I couldn't resist
And I sang him the words that his song had built in me from the first time I heard it
It was a love song, of course
But a universal one
Mother and son, or two lovers, an owner and dog, or two sisters, it didn't matter, it worked for everyone
When the song came to an end, we were both crying
Him from the words
Me from his tears
That was when I kissed him for the first time, and tasted the salt of his tears on his lips
But the sweetness of the kiss more than made up for it
He kissed me back, if you were wondering
And being boyfriends was just a perfect of a fit as our music
After all, there's just some things that go together
Melody and harmony
Mother and son
Voice and violin
Lex and Austin
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