Chapter Text
Darryl walked into his room, and gently placed his bag beside the door he walked into. He sighed and felt relived that the day was finally 'over'.
He collapsed on his bed and took his phone out of his pocket. He opened it and looked through his notifications, there were mainly all Twitter and Snapchat icons spread through-out his screen. He closed most of them apart from the interesting tweets he got peek of in the message.
He knew his mom would walk in the door any second and ask him how school was, then tell him what chores he has to do as she goes shopping for the day. It was a Monday and his mom always said 'No people in the shops on Monday, that means less lines!' but he knew this wasn't true, there were always the same amount of lines in the shops.
Darryl heard footsteps coming up the staircase beside his room, he quickly turned off his phone and put it under his pillow and grabbed his bag. As soon as he unzipped it, his mom walked in.
''Hey sweetie! Just popping in to see how you're doing!'' she said in a cheery voice.
''I'm fine, I was just about to start studying.'' Darryl replied.
''That's great, I'm going to head to the store in a few minutes, anything you need?''
''Maybe just some Coke, or a soda of some sort,'' he said, ''Alright, don't forget to hoover upstairs, and could you please unfreeze the chicken for me while I'm out?'' Darryl nodded in reply.
''Thanks sweetie! When I come back I expect you to be working hard on your studies as always!'' His mother smiled warmly, ''Alright, thanks mom,'' Darryl smiled back.
As soon as his mom left, he sighed once more. He was feeling too tired to do anything. Darryl closed his door after his mom, and sat back down on his bed.
He looked around his room, it was clean and not crowded with posters or stickers of some sort, he only has a small gay pride flag hidden from sight on his wall behind his laptop. If you ever closed the screen it would reveal the flag, and Darryl never closes his laptop when his parents are in the house, just in case. He knows his mum won't barge in and start cleaning or dusting, since he kept the tidiness himself.
Darryl heard his mom's car drive off, and he immediately reached to grab his electric guitar.
He got up and sat down on his computer chair, plugging in his guitar to his speaker and switching the 'on' button up. He turned down the volume on the speaker to make sure it wasn't too loud and strum the strings, he turned the knob up by a little bit and continued to play Mama by My Chemical Romance.
Darryl might not seem like the guy who would enjoy listening to rock music, he has nerdy glasses that always slide down the bridge of his nose, and his hair was always a bit messy. He has small circles underneath his eyes, from all the nights he spent up studying late to keep his straight A's. In all honesty Darryl really liked the most obscure things you would never expect a nerd to like. He listens to My Chemical Romance, Panic! at the Disco and Twenty One Pilots. Once when he was playing NaNaNa out loud in his room, his mother thought he was going to rebel and join a gang, but he reassured her that he just liked the song and that she was over-reacting. His dad never really minded the music, since he himself also had a interest in rock, he is the reason why Darryl has a guitar, as his father offered to give him his old guitar, his mother was dubious of the idea, but reluctantly agreed. Darryl was delighted, and on he first day he got it, he already started learning how to play it, with hours and hours on end.
Darryl practiced so much that he had to get plasters on his fingers because they were begging to be cut by the metal strings. Darryl didn't mind though.
After a few minutes of playing the guitar, Darryl heard a car pull up his drive way.
He looked put the window and saw his mum leaving the car with 2 shopping bags.
'oh no no no!' Darryl thought 'I didn't do my chores! I thought I was only playing for 10 minutes!'
He heard the door click open, a rush of cold sweat swept through Darryl as he could feel himself starting to panic. Instead of doing anything, he just stayed in his room. Shortly he heard the familiar noise of the stairs creaking as someone went up them. His door opened in a flash, and he saw his mom, looking at him with a confused look. ''Why didn't do your chores,'' she said ''what were you doing when I was gone?'' His mom looked at Darryl's hands, and saw he was holding his electric guitar. Her eyes turned into a disappointed and angry look.
''I knew letting you play that thing would distract you from real life!'' She said in a raised tone.
Darryl stared at her in shock, he knew she didn't adore his music interest, but he never knew he would get screamed off for doing what he enjoyed! ''And every evening I hear you play that rebellious music! I don't know what has gotten into you, I never knew that you would ignore me for that damn instrument!'' she exclaimed. Darryl couldn't believe her words, was he really ignoring her for the music? Was he disappointing her?
''You better find a different place to play that thing, because I wont tolerate it anymore!''
~
Darryl started to pack his notes when the bell rang, signalling all the students that they were free to go home and enjoy the rest of the day for themselves. Darryl stood up, and picked up his bag slowly putting it on his back. He took out his phone and plugged in his earphones. When he was heading for the door, some students pushed past him, almost causing him to drop his phone, luckily, Darryl cought it before it hit the floor. Darryl looked at the students backs and waited for them to leave the class before him. He said goodbye to the teacher and wished him a good evening and went off.
Darryl thought for a moment, he really was feeling like playing on his guitar today, and he knew he couldn't do it at home, so he decided to check of there was any club in the music room. As he was walking down the stairs, heading for the 1st floor, he put in his headphones and started to play 'Death of a bachelor' by Panic at the Disco. The high school Darryl was attending was surprisingly huge, each hallway had around 5-6 classrooms and many lockers. To get to the music room Darryl had to pass the gym, and as Darryl walked past he saw that some boys were doing a basketball practice inside. He glanced at who was playing, and he recognized a few boys from his Math and Chemistry class.
Darryl reached the music room and took out his earbuds. He gazed into the classroom through the window on the door, and saw no one there. He opened the door and asked if anyone was in the classroom, just to make sure. There was no reply, and Darryl was sure that the classroom was empty. He walked in and pulled a chair next to the speaker that was located in the right corner of the class. He placed his bag against the speaker and looked inside the closet for a electric guitar, and too his luck, there was a white guitar there. He strummed the guitar and he cringed at the untuned sound. He instantly knew that no one had played the instrument in a while. He grabbed the guitar and returned to his seat beside the speaker. Darryl started to tune the guitar, slowly but surely, the instrument was tuned back into its correct sound.
He plugged in the guitar to the speaker, and switched the speaker on. Again, he turned down the volume to make sure the speaker wasn't on the highest setting and strum the guitar once more.
This was perfect! Darryl could bring his guitar to school tomorrow and he could tell his mom that he stayed at the library to finish his schoolwork! He thought for a second, no one knew Darryl played the guitar, and if he randomly starts to bring a guitar in, people would ask him questions. He brushed the thought off and started to play 'House of Wolves' by My Chemical Romance. He started to relax and played his heart out, sometimes singing the lyrics quietly to himself.
~~~~Zak~~~~
''Alright, see ya next time guys!'' Zak said as he left the men's changing rooms. He has just finished his basketball practice, and he was heading out of school to finally go home.
As Zak walked down the quiet hallway, he could hear his trainers gently pressing against the tiles, making an almost inaudible sound. He liked the silence of the school corridor, some may find it eery and unnatural, but it relaxed Zak. Suddenly, the silence was interrupted by some music echoing down the empty hall. Zak, the curious boy he is, investigated where the sound as coming from.
After a few moments of turning around looking into the classrooms, Zak came to the conclusion that someone was in the music room. As he got closer tot he music room, Zak slowly recognized the instrument and song being played. Someone was playing 'House of Wolves' on a electric guitar, and boy were they good! You'd think Ray Toro was playing that! Zak stood in front of the door of the music room, he peered inside and saw someone sitting in the left corner of the room, hovering over a white guitar as it was plugged in the speaker. Zak opened the door as quietly as he could, making sure the person playing didn't hear him. It appeared to be a dirty blond boy playing the instrument. He had a dark red sweater on, and black ripped jeans. Zak walked up to the person and then the boy tuned around, his face red with embarrassment. The boy had a pair of glasses on that were slowly sliding off the bridge of his nose.
''Oh, uhm, I never knew the room was being used today, I-I'll leave and let you do your thing-'' the boy said in a rushed voice. Zak's eyes lit up in amusement and shook his head and put his gym bag down beside the boy's chair.
''No, don't go, I'm just coming back from a basketball practice and I heard you play on the guitar! It was really good- Oh wait, weren't you play House of Wolves by My Chemical Romance'' Zak said. The boy readjusted his glasses and looked at Zak, he looked a bit shocked, but then his expression relaxed. ''Oh, yeah, you've heard of them?'' the boy asked. Zak only nodded in reply and gave the boy a huge smile. ''Yep! Their music is so cool! Do you know their albums? Which is your favorite?''
Zak pulled a chair closer to the boy, and sat down, listening to the boy's answer, Zak then gave his opinion and they had a chat about the band.
''Oh, if you don't midn me asking, what's your name?'' the boy asked. Zak put the palm of his hand on his chin and leaned on it ''Zak,'' he replied. ''Zak Carder, and you?''
''I'm Darryl, Darryl Noveschosch, pleasure to meet you,'' Darryl said with a smile. Zak smiled back then opened his mouth to ask another question.
''Mind if I join in?'' he said. Darryl looked a but confused. ''Can I join in with playing with you?'' Zak repeated and laughed. Darryl muttered a 'oh' then nodded his head. ''Great!'' Zak said as he got up and looked in the closet for a bass. Zak wanted to learn how to play the bass when he found out about MCR. He already knew how to play the ukulele, and he didn't want to learn new chords for 6 strings, so he thought the bass was his next best shot.
After rummaging around in the closet, Zak found a un-tuned bass. ''Oof, it might take a while to tune this, mind waiting?'' said Zak, Darryl only replied with ''Take your time.'' Zak could hear the warmth in his voice, Zak's heart seemed to skip a beat, but he continued to tune the instrument.
Zak finally got the bass tuned and asked Darryl what song he wanted to play. ''Hmm,'' Darryl thought, as he picked up the electric guitar. ''Oh! Can you play 'The sharpest lives' by My Chemical Romance?'
said Darryl. ''Oh my god, I love that song!'' Zak replied enthusiastically. ''Okay, on the count of three,'' Darryl started counting.
''One,''
''Two, one two,''
''Three!''
Zak started to play the starting chord of the song on his bass, and Darryl started basing the guitar, and after the first intro ended, Darryl started playing his chorus. Zak was bewildered at Darryl's talent, and soon he started to fall in the rhythm of the song as well. Zak couldn't help but look at how Darryl was playing the guitar, his fingers seemed to catch every chord perfectly, and they switched without touching a single string, not interrupting the sound the instrument made. Zak also noticed that Darryl's hands looked a bit uncomfortable as he held the guitar, there's another question to start a conversation! The two boys continued to play, then the last riff came, and Zak ended the song with his bass.
''Wow! You play really well!'' To Zak's surprise, Darryl actually was the first to talk. Zak felt his cheeks heat up at the praise and he smiled, ''Thanks! You're not so bad yourself!'' Zak replied happily.
''But, I noticed that you looked a bit uncomfortable while playing,'' Zak said. ''Oh, yeah, this actually isn't my guitar,I just found it laying around here because I didn't bring mine, so I guess I'm just not used to holding it as I am at holding my guitar,'' Darryl said in a smile, he looked over that the clock that was located above the door of the class room. ''Oh shoot, I have to head on,'' he said in a bit of a panic-y tone. Zak looked at the clock and realized he had to get going as well. ''Oh me too, aaAAAah, I lost track of time'' Zak said though a voice crack. Darryl giggled and put away the electric guitar into he closet. Zak done the same with his bass and put back both of the chairs to their assigned desks.
''Before you leave, uh, can I have your phone number?'' Zak asked. Darryl zipped up his bag and looked at Zak as his cheeks flushed into a light shade of pink. ''Uhm, sure!'' Darryl replied, Zak felt relived that the boy didn't deny his offer and didn't take him for a creep.
Darryl reached for his phone in his pocket and dictated Zak his phone number. As soon as Zak made the contact, Darryl threw his bag on his back and headed for the door, ''See you around school,'' Darryl said as he smiled. ''You too!'' Zak replied smiling back.
Zak watched Darryl leave the room, and his heart felt warm inside. He was in a really good mood. Not only after his basketball practice with his friends, but he also found a person with the same interest in music as him. Zak picked up his gym bag and reached for the door handle, he opened the door and walked out, hearing the same quiet noise of the empty hallway.
~
Zak walked into his back garden and approached the back door. He stumbled for the keys in his pocket, and saw that they weren't there. He checked his second pocket and it was empty, a rush of cold blood swept though Zak. He opened his gym bag and looked inside, and then, thankfully, Zak saw his house key placed recklessly in his gym clothes. Zak placed the key in the lock and twisted it, opening the door. He walked in and sighed. He proceeded to take off his trainers and lifted them to put them in the front hall. As he walked past the living room to the hall, he saw the TV turned on. He figured he left the TV on this morning and forgot to turn it off. As he walked in the room, he saw someone sitting on the couch, and jumped a little when the person looked at Zak. ''Jesus Lauren, why didn't you text me you were going home early today?'' Zak asked the person sitting on the couch.
It was only his sister Lauren. ''Thought you were already home, so there was no point in texting.'' She replied, not taking her eyes off the screen. Zak rolled his eyes and put his shoes in the hall, then came back to sit down beside his sister. ''What are you watching.'' Zak asked. ''A show, but the more important question is, where were you?'' she replied. Zak tensed up a bit, but then answered ''Basketball practice,'' he said. His sister turned her head to him, and so did he.
''I know you're lying,''
''Receipts please,'' Zak replied with a smirk.
His sister groaned, and looked back at the TV, while Zak giggled to himself. ''I know you're lying because you got so tensed up, and I can see the fear on your face!'' she said. 'shoot, she knows' Zak thought.
''And what if I am? What would you do with the info?'' Zak said, trying to sound smart. His sister chuckled, ''I'll sell it on the black market'' she said. ''But come on, we hardly see eachother, spill the beans,'' she pleaded. Zak thought for a moment, 'It is true, i mean what harm would it be'
''I was walking down the hall to go home from practice, and I heard someone play the guitar and I was like ''OOoh'' and I found out this guy named Darryl plays the guitar and he knows MCR so we chatted for a while and he gave me his number, he seems cool!'' Zak said with a smile. His sister turned to him once more.
''Is he cute?'' she asked. Zak felt his cheeks get warm, and he stopped for a second ''Um, how should I know? We just spoke for a while I don't get why you're so interested,'' Zak replied looking down on the carpet. He started to think about Darryl's appearance, Dirty blonde hair that was a bit messy, clunky glasses that fell off the bridge of his nose, red sweater and black ripped jeans. He remembered the boy's emerald green eyes and how they shone when he was playing the guitar. Zak felt his face heat up even more, and he lifter his sleeve to his mouth. Lauren chuckled again and opened her lips to speak, ''Zak's got a cruuuuuush'' she sang out loud. Zak turned his head to her and protested, ''You're just being annoying now! No I don't! I mentioned HE as a BOY-''
''That doesn't mean you cant have a boyfriennnd'' she sang out. ''UGHghhGhGhh'' Zak groaned and got off the couch.
''I'm done talking to you, I'm going upstairs.'' Zak said and he stormed off, while Zak was walking up the stairs, he heard his sister yell after him, ''Don't you start texting him! You might find out you're gay!''
''SHUT UP!'' he yelled and slammed his door with a thud.
Zak sighed and collapsed onto his bed. He groaned into his pillow in annoyance, his sister just wouldn't go day without annoying him. Zak turned himself around to look up at the ceiling in a deep thought, recalling all the things that happened today. He remembered Darryl's goofy smile, and how such a nerdy looking boy could ever play the guitar so epicly. He sighed and reached for his phone in his jacket. He unlocked it and deleted all the notifications. Zak thought it would be a good idea to call Vincent and rant to him like he always would.
Vincent was Zak's best friend since freshman year. They both met when Zak saw him sitting alone at a lunch table, and decided to join. Ever since then, they always had sat in the same table for lunch together, and always were there for eachother. Zak opened Discord and pressed his friends name in his DMs.
''Calling A6D#8749..''
''Mhmm, hello?'' Answered Vincent in a sleepy voice. ''Yo! Vincent! Can I rant to you or did I wake you up?'' Zak asked. Vincent sighed, but then Zak heard a different, also sleepy voice, ask a question Zak couldn't understand. ''Hold on a sec,'' Vincent said, then answered in a quiet voice. Zak got a bit confused and decided to ask Vincent after he ranted, because he couldn't keep all the annoyance in anymore. ''Ok I'm back, what do you need?'' Vincent asked.
''Oh my god you won't believe what just happened!'' Zak said into the microphone. Vincent sighed, ''Lauren?'' he asked
''It's always her! Why can't she just leave me alone and not annoy me? uGhGH'' Zak replied. He heard Vincent chuckle and then he told Zak to go on.
''So, when I was going back from practice, I heard someone playing the electric guitar and I looked and I saw this guy with blonde hair playing the guitar and I was like 'woah' so I walked in and he was like ''oh I'm sorry I thought this room wasn't busy'' n all that jazz, and I was like ''No its fine,'' and we had a talk, and he knows My Chemical Romance! We played a song together and holy shit he's good! Maybe better than you! So I got his phone number, and I really wanna text him but I don't know what to say,'' Zak said, Vincent was only humming along to what he was saying, signalizing he was paying attention. ''Ok, cool, but whats his name?'' Vincent asked.
''Oh his name is Darryl'' Zak replied. He heard the same mutter voice say something and Zak got too curious and just asked ''Vincent, I hear a voice, is someone there with you?''
''Uhhh, I'll call you back-'' and Vincent hung up.
Zak heard a beep and put the phone from his ear to his pillow and looked at his reflection in the black loading screen. Zak sighed and locked his phone, looking up at the ceiling once more, thinking to himself. 'should I text him? I mean it would be weird if I got his phone number and never texted him.' Zak turned around again and unlocked his phone and pressed the message app. Pulling up his contacts, he typed the letter 'D' and pressed search. He found Darryl's contact and pressed the 'Text' option, and started typing.
Zak pressed send, unsure if the message was a good starter of a conversation. Zak immediately regretted his choice. What if Darryl blocks his number thinking its spam? What if Darryl doesn't feel like talking anymore? Zak could feel himself getting stressed, so he put his phone down and sat down on his computer chair. He grabbed his bass off the desk, seeing it already plugged in, he only need to turn the speaker on and he could play, and that's exactly what he did. He started strumming on his instrument slowly, hearing it make the sound he desired calmed him down. He started to play 'Party Poison' by My Chemical Romance. He fell into the rhythm of the song and started to relax, his mind letting go of all the stress he felt just minutes ago. Suddenly, Zak heard his phone vibrate on his bed.
'A6D#8749 is calling..'
''Hello?'' Zak answered. ''Yeah sorry about that, I can talk now'' Vincent said, ''So whats up?''
''Oh, you heard all the important parts nothing special, just texted him and almost has a panic attack,'' Zak said half jokingly. Vincent sighed ''It's good to hear you're fine''
''Mhm, but, I still wanna know the answer to my question,'' Zak said with a smile.
''What are you talking about,'' Vincent replied, ''Oh y'know, just wanna know who you were sleeping with,'' Zak giggled at the last part of the sentence, ''wh- nO, WHAT?'' Vincent screamed into the mic. Zak laughed at his reaction and instantly fell into a good mood.
''Pfftt dude, I was only joking!'' Zak said though his laughter.
''Well it wasn't funny!'' Zak laughed at Vincent's reply even more.
~
After a few hours of playing Minecraft with Vincent, and laughing at their odd conversations, Zak decided to sign off early this night. The whole day was filled with so many memories he needed time to recall them all before he forgets any of them.
''I'm gonna head to bed now'' Zak said to Vincent. ''So early?'' Vincent replied.
''I'm not the one who had a nap in the middle of the day!''
''True, true, alright sleeping beauty, cya at school tomorrow!''
''You too baguette man!'' Zak replied. ''Don't call me that.''
And with that, Zak ended the call. He sighed and smiled to himself. He changed out of his jacket and put on a random shirt that was laying around, and hopped into bed. He turned off the lights, luckily the light switch as right beside his bed.
Zak closed his eyes and started to remember all things that happened that very day. He got stuck on the memory of Darryl playing the guitar, and couldn't fall asleep. He needed to know if Darryl replied to him. He hadn't checked his notifactions on his phone for the past hour, not to get his hoped up, but, his curiosity got the best of him. Zak got up and grabbed the phone from his desk and, layed back down on his bed. He opened his phone and saw one new notification.
zak carder :p
'hey its me zak from the music room today!'
Darryl N ^^
'oh hi! didn't expect you to actually text me 0-0'
zak carder :p
'oh, do you not want me to?'
Darryl N ^^
'no! thats not what i meant :p'
'i just wasn't expecting you to actually text me because i would waste your time'
zak carder :p
'pfft, please! ive got nothing better to do xd'
Darryl N ^^
'that could be a good and a bad thing hehe ^^'
Zak felt his cheeks warm up. Darryl did want to talk to him!
Zak rolled over to the left side of his bed and smiled at his phone. He looked at the time on his clock and it read 23:43pm. Zak figured he could talk to Darryl tomorrow, because as much as he wanted to talk now, his eyelids were closing by themself.
zak carder :p
'its getting l8, wanna talk tomorrow?'
Darryl N ^^
'sure thing, ttyt :p'
Zak smiled once more and locked his phone, putting it under his pillow. He closed his eyes and let himse;f drift off into a deep slumber.
~
Zak woke up to a dreading sound ringing in his ears.
Beep, Beep, Beep!
Zak groaned and turned his alarm off. He layed in his bed, trying to open his eyes, and when he finally did, the sunshine from his window blinded him. Zak sat up on his bed and let out a sigh. His body was aching from the basketball practice he had yesterday. Zak sat there on his bed, contemplating if he should go in today of if he should call in sick, then the memory of texting Darryl flew into Zak's mind, and he immediately got a pump of energy to go to school for once in his life. He stood up and grabbed a hoodie and jeans as he headed into the bathroom. Zak brushed his teeth and quickly got dressed. He went downstairs and headed for the kitchen. He saw his mom on her phone, and his sister eating cereal on the other side of the table. ''G'morning,'' Zak said, making his mom look up from her phone to look at him. ''Good morning! Someone is in a good mood!''
''He has a boyfriend that's why'' Lauren said while chewing a mouthful of cereal.
His mom looked at Zak with a bit of shock, and Zak shook his head ''NO, I don't, Lauren is just over exaggerating,'' Zak explained. His mom's expression relaxed then smiled at Zak. ''Oh alright sweetie, just letting you know I will accept you if you decide to date boys-''
''MOM!'' Zak said in a annoyed tone, ''What? I'm just being a supportive mother!'' She said though her smile. Zak rolled his eyes and grabbed the bread ''You've ruined my mood now.'' Zak muttered underneath his breath. He grabbed the butter and made himself a butter sandwich. He grabbed a plate and sat down in between his sister and his mom. As Zak bit into his master meal, he asked his mom where his dad was, she replied ''He's gone to work early today, he should be home at around 7 o'clock''
''Mhm'' Zak said with a mouthful of his sandwich in his mouth. As he took the last bite, he looked at the clock and told his mom he was heading to school. He grabbed his bag and wished his mom well.
Zak made it to the bus stop and waited for his bus to arrive. To kill time, he decided to scroll though his phone. He eventually got bored and plugged in his earphones. He put the earbuds in and started to blast Danger Days by My Chemical Romance. He imagined himself and Darryl playing the song, and Zak found himself getting flustered at the thought, so he brushed it off. A few minutes pass and the bus arrives, Zak hoped on and sat down on a empty seat. He put his head on the window and looked out on the world passing him.
What after felt like hours, the bus finally arrived at the school Zak was attending. Zak got off the bus and walked through the school gates. The cold breeze flew though his hair, making him more awake by every passing second.
As he was was walking, he saw his two friends, Vincent and Clay walking up farther before him. He took out his earbuds and decided to sneak up on them. As he got closer, their conversation was becoming more and more audible.
''Really, that was close,'' Zak heard Clay say.
''Mhm, it wouldn't have been that risky if you kept your mouth shut!'' Vincent said playfully, ''Hey, don't blame me! I was half asleep and so were you!''
''Yeah but if Zak heard you while he called me he would get the wrong idea,''
''Pfft, so? We can't keep it a secret forever.'' Clay said,
''Yeah I know honey, but can we tell him when we are not half asleep?'' Vincent asked with his thick french accent.
''Sure thing'' Clay replied with a laugh.
Now Zak was just confused, what were they talking about? That didn't matter now, he needed to be sneaky. After a few moments of stalking them, Zak jumped between the two boys and yelled,
''BOO!'' Vincent screamed and Clay jumped, while Zak was laughing his ass off. ''Not cool dude.'' Clay said to Zak in a grumpy tone. ''Yeah, I know, but its funny as hell!'' Zak said, tagging along with the two boys. Shortly they entered the school building.
~
Zak bought his food and headed to the lunch table his friends were seated at. He placed his food down on the table and sat down, facing Clay and Vincent as they sat next to each other. ''So, I already told Vincent about everything, but Clay, you need to hear this!'' Zak said in a excited voice. Clay only gave Zak in interested look while Vincent continued eating his apple.
Zak told him everything, how he met Darryl, the teasing his sister made, and the text messages in the evening. He was making little hand gestures, and his eyes lit up when he said that Darryl wanted to talk to him. When Zak finished, Clay and Vincent looked at each other and smiled, Zak felt like he knew what was coming next. The two boys turned to look at Zak and their smiles slowly turned into smirks. ''No, nu-huh, I already got this talk from my sister,'' Zak said, he was slowly getting annoyed. ''No, NO don't even mention it!'' Zak wanted to sound fierce but his voice cracks ruined it. Vincent started to laugh and Clay joined in.
Zak's face was heating up in embarrassment, he hated it when his friends laughed at him. He crossed his arms and made a annoyed face. The two boys opposite of him slowly started to die down from their laughing fit, and the both of them tried to catch their breath. ''Oh, so, you have no idea how love struck you sound?'' Clay asked as he was trying to catch his breath. ''I'm NOT love struck, okay? It's just exciting to meet someone with the same interest, y'know? A new possible friend!'' Zak replied. Clay just smiled and nodded.
''What ever you say.''
''If you really want to see him again, you should go to the music room and find him!'' Vincent said. Zak looked at Clay, who started to nod. ''Hmm, I don't know.'' Zak said.
''Come on! You said he could be a new possible friend!'' Clay added. ''Yeah, but-''
''Definitely, you should totally go!'' Vincent cut him off. Zak sighed, but gave in. He didn't want his friends to pressure him anymore. ''Fine,'' Zak said in a sigh, ''I'll go to the music room, but I won't tell you guys what happened if you're going to laugh at me again!''
~
The bell rang and Zak started to panic. He started to pack up his books, and ran out the door, ignoring anything the teacher was saying. He rushed to the class Clay and Vincent had. Their schedule was almost exactly identical. As he approached the door, he saw Clay and Vincent walk out the door, both laughing and smiling. In the matter of seconds, Vincent saw Zak coming close and his face changed expression. ''Y'know, Zak,'' Vincent said as Zak approached them, ''This Darryl guy seems to be a bit too perfect, y'know?'' He said. Zak looked at him, confused. ''I mean, who can play the guitar better than me?'' Vincent said with a smirk. Clay smiled and gently punched the french boy. ''Oi, don't be like that,'' he said, Vincent just continued to snicker. Zak groaned and sighed, ''Really motivational, Vincent.'' He said.
''Hey, I've told you not to use such confusing words around me, you know my English isn't perfect. Vincent said in an annoyed tone. Clay giggled and ruffled Vincent's hair, Vincent pushed Clay's hand away angrily and gently slapped him on the shoulder. Clay let out a over exaggerated gasp and then smiled, looking in the direction the three teenagers were walking.
The boys were heading to the music room, and half way there, Clay and Vincent took a turn and left Zak to walk to the music room by himself.
''Good luck!'' Clay yelled after him, Zak just rolled his eyes and sighed as he felt a shiver run though his spine.
Once more, Zak was greeted by the empty hallway of the school, only the soft clack of his shoes filled the silence. The walk seemed much longer without anyone beside him to talk to. Zak reached the music room and stepped inside, ''Hello?'' he asked. Silence, he was alone. Zak put his bag down beside a desk and looked around the room more closely. He looked at all the posters about music, and he saw some pictures of the band club hung up on the wall. He took a closer look and saw the picture was taken in 2012. Zak continued his scavenge, and then he came across a certain guitar case. He walked over to it and unzipped it open. As Zak lifted up the top part of the case, he saw a red electric guitar inside. He look a closer look, and saw that the paint was a bright glossy color, with some scratches around the bottom. There were two white angel wings on each side of the strings, and the bar was a light brown color. He touched the strings, and they were made of pure metal. He picked it up and held it tight, making sure it didn't fall. He strum the stings quietly, and the instrument was perfectly tuned. Zak turned the guitar around and looked at the back of the instrument. 'New York, 1998, Sam Ash Music Store, 012125792.'
Zak widened his eyes, and he processed what was on the back of the instrument. 'This was made all the way in New York? Not to mention how old it is, 1998, woah..'
Zak hear the door of the music room click open, and he sharped his head up from the guitar and directed his gaze to the person standing at the door.
''What are you doing with my guitar?'' It was Darryl, his tone was much harsher than the day before, and that startled Zak. He tensed up and quickly put the guitar back in the case. ''I was just uh, looking around the room and I saw this and wanted to check it out,'' Zak said. Darryl eyed him and the walked over to his guitar, and held it tightly in defense. Darryl looked down on the ground and then sighed. He looked up at Zak and opened his mouth to ask, ''Why are you here again?''
''Just wanted to play with you again,'' Zak said trying to be cheerful, but failing. He didn't expect the boy to be so defensive about his instrument, and decided to not pull this point on anymore.
''So, uh, wanna play?'' Zak asked in an awkward tone, Darryl looked at Zak and thought for 2 heartbeats, eventually he said, ''Yeah, sure, but please don't touch my guitar, it's really important to me.'' Darryl said, and Zak just nodded. ''Alrighto'' he said and walked over to the closet to look for a bass. As he was walking to the instrument closet, Zak face palmed internally, he wanted to scream in embarrassment. He didn't want to make Darryl feel uncomfortable around him, he just met him! He could lose a potential friend. He opened the closet door and peered inside. The bass Zak tuned yesterday was left in the same place Zak put it the other day. He grabbed it and checked if it was still tuned. 2 stings were untuned, but that is expected for an instrument that wasn't played in a while. Zak tuned the two stings and pulled a chair over to the speaker Darryl had already set up. He got a electrical cord and plugged it in the speaker. He played a little tune to make sure it was working, and it was.
He sat down and looked up at Darryl, who was checking the sound of his strings. Zak gripped the bar of the bass as he looked at Darryl. He started thinking about what his sister and his friends taunted him about. 'Do I really sound love struck when I talk about Darryl?' he thought.
''Uhm, Zak, is there a problem?'' He heard Darryl ask him. Zak snapped out of it and realized he was staring at Darryl. Zak felt his cheeks flush up and he looked down. ''Oh yeah,'' he said as he put his hand on his neck, rubbing it, ''I just zoned oUT-'' Zak's bass almost fell out his lap, but he managed to grab it before it fell on the ground. Zak sighed in relief, and he heard Darryl start to giggle at Zak's clumsiness. Zak looked up at Darryl and pouted.
''Don't laugh at me!'' he said though a voice crack, that did nothing but only make Darryl put a hand over his mouth as he tried to resist laughing. Zak's face went all red out of embarrassment, and Darryl couldn't keep it in anymore. He burst out laughing and Zak sunk into his chair.
''UghgHGHgHg, whats with people laughing at me today?'' Zak said in a groan as he stared at Darryl laughing. Zak's face wasn't red because of embarrassment, it was now starting to get red at the Darryl laughed. His cheeks puffed up into a light pink colour, and Darryl's eyes were filled with tears. Zak started to stomp his feet on the ground in annoyance, acting like a child. Darryl eventually stopped laughing to catch his breath. ''Oh, my goodness-'' Darryl said as he was catching his breath, ''I'm so sorry, I just-'' he giggled under his breath, ''You are just too clumsy!'' Zak sat up and held the bass.
''Are you going to continue laughing at me, or will we actually start playing some music?'' Zak said while getting a grip on his bass. Darryl smiled and looked at Zak's face. ''Okay, lets play!''
(End of Chapter 1)