The music room was like my safe haven. The music teacher noticed that I was always there, and he thought that I wanted to have a space of my own without being disturbed by the other band students. So he gave me one of the practice rooms that no one ever uses so I could practice my music in peace. So I peak into the music teacher's office, and to my relief, he was there. I knocked lightly, and he looked up from his pile of music sheets and smiled brightly.

 

"Ah, Steven, come in. We have a lot to talk about," He said in his usual loud booming voice. I can never get used to that man's voice. 

Mr. Evans was an older gentleman around his early 40's. He had medium grey hair and a big grey beard. He can pass off as stylish Santa Claus without the big belly instead, Mr. Evans is tall and fit. You could tell by the tight button-up that he was always wearing. He is a nice guy, and he was the only person I could talk to about music and how to improve my songs. I tried talking to Tia about it but only fell on deaf ears. So I slid into the seat in front of Mr. Evans's desk, looking down at the music sheets displayed on his desk.

 

"So, what did you talk about?" I watched Mr. Evans look through his mess of papers and pull out a paper handing it to me. It was a music competition. I looked at it and looked back at Mr. Evans, waiting for him to explain why he gave it to me.

 

"So this competition for each high school recommends a student to represent the school. You have to present a song that you made and perform it. If you make it into the top ten, they will fly you out with the other nine contestants to Florida. You will perform in front of judges and win a trophy," Mr. Evans said, almost bouncing in his seat.

 

"I don't know. Shouldn't you ask one of your students in the band?" I said, handing the paper back, but he shook his head, pushing the paper back to him.

 

"I did ask them in class earlier today, but nobody was interested. I was going to ask you regardless because none of my students can play like you," Mr. Evans said.

 

"But I am not that good," I said, and Mr. Evans let out a loud laugh.

 

"Now, that was a good joke. Listen, how about this you write up a song and present it to me, and I will let you know if it is competition worthy. Okay?" Mr. Evans said, giving me a warm smile.

 

"Okay, but don't get your hope up," I said, getting out of the chair.

 

"Too late. I expect something on Monday," Mr. Evans said.

 

"Maybe," I said, walking out the door. I walked down the hall toward my practice room with this competition on my mind. That old man is crazy if he thinks I will write a song worthy of representing the school. That is a lot of pressure on a 16-year-old boy. Maybe If I play for a bit will help me clear my mind and help me figure this out. I threw the door open and realized that I wasn't alone. Caleb was sitting on the ledge of the window with a shocked look on his face.

 

"Well, I thought  I was going to be here alone," Caleb said, rubbing the back of his neck.

 

"Yea, I had the same thought, too," I said, closing the door behind me and Caleb turned to me.

 

"I can leave if you want me to. It is just that Tia said if I wanted a place to hide out, I could just come here," Caleb said. Okay, so mentally not kill Tia when I see her tonight.

 

"No, it is fine. I hope you are okay if I practice my music?" I said, and he smiled.

 

"No, it's cool Tia said that you play music, but she didn't say what instrument you played," Caleb said.

 

"Um, well, it depends on the day," Caleb tilted his head, confusion on his face. " Well, I play the piano, violin, guitar, drums, and, um, much more," I stopped Suddenly, feeling embarrassed.

 

"Wow, you are talented," Caleb said, and I swear I thought my heart had stopped.

 

"W- well, I am not t-that talented," I struggled to say, stupid nerves.

 

"Are you kidding me? I can't even play one. Do you think you can teach me to play the guitar?" Caleb asked.

 

"Um, sure. I mean, if you have the time don't you have football practice and stuff" I said.

 

"Well, yea, but I can make time for you," Caleb said. God, this man can give me a heart attack. He said that he could make time for me. Maybe I am just reading into this but is Mr. popular interested in me?

 

"Uh, sure, I am here almost every day, so whenever you are free, you can stop by," I said, and Caleb gave me a big smile.

 

"Cool, thanks, Steven," he said, looking back out the window.

 

I looked at him, and I was in awe that a good-looking guy could look like that, but the longer I stared at him, the more I realized that the feeling I had for him were just fantasies. So I shook my head and looked down at the piano key before pulling out my music book and placing it up. I flipped to the song that I was working on. Once I settled on the page, I rested my hands on the key. I let out a long breath, and I started to play. The piece started slow but gradually got faster, and the mood shifted from a sad tune to anger. The quicker the song became, I stopped abruptly and resumed, but the melody became slow, sweet, and sad again this time. I finished and sighed because I felt the song was missing something, but I suddenly felt like I was being stared at. I looked up and saw Caleb staring at me with a looked of conflict. He pushed himself off the ledge and walked up to me, not taking his eyes off me and sliding onto the bench, making me move over to make room for the guy. The bench was small, and he was pressing his thigh against mine, and my heart stopped. He finally broke eye contact, and I felt like I could breathe again. I watched him stare at my book and then back at me.

 

"You wrote this?" He asked.

 

"Y- yeah, but I- it is n- not finished," I manage to say, almost getting lost in his eyes.

 

"Steven, you are talented," He said, and I almost sputtered.

 

"No, I- I still have a long way to go," I stared, but I soon stopped when Caleb grabbed my hand into his larger hand.

 

"Steven, you are amazing," Caleb said. I nodded, and everything was fading away, and I was getting lost in his grey eyes. I blinked and realized that Caleb was leaning closer to my face, and I felt my heart stop. 

Wait, is Caleb so going to kiss me?