Harmony and Melody

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