"Cecil!" Carlos shouted as he ran down the hall towards Cecil's locker where the person in question was putting his textbooks away. "Have you seen this yet?"
Cecil took the piece of paper that Carlos held out to him and studied it carefully. The top of the flyer read, "The 'One Year Later' Talent Show" and below it were various pictures of some of the previous years' talents. At the bottom was the date and time.
Looking back up at Carlos, Cecil shrugged and hand the paper back. "Yeah," he said. "The end -of-year talent show. They put it on every year. It's mostly for the people in musical classes to showcase how much better they've gotten."
Carlos's shoulders dropped a little and he let out a quiet, "Oh, I didn't know that."
His disappointment made Cecil let out a small chuckle as he shut his locker and put his hand on Carlos's shoulder. "That's alright. I mean, you just got here this year, so I wouldn't expect you to know."
Carlos nodded his head slightly and then Cecil saw the devious smile return. "Well, now that I know about it, I think that you should enter! You're amazing on the guitar and you have the best voice."
Cecil took a step back. "I don't know, Carlos. . . ." he trailed off. Carlos threw his arm around Cecil's shoulders as he led him down the hallway towards the lunchroom.
"Will you at least think about it?" he asked, not willing to give up until Cecil has agreed with his plan.
"Yeah," Cecil told him, only somewhat reluctantly. "I guess I will."
"Good!" Carlos grinned. "Let's go to lunch then."
The next full week, Carlos made sure to bring up the talent show at every opportunity. Cecil could almost laugh out loud since he had decided a couple days ago that he would do it, but he forgot to talk to Carlos after he had talked about it with Dana, so Carlos didn't know that he had already technically agreed.
When Carlos came up to his locker at the end of the day, worried about the quickly approaching event, he exasperatedly said, "Cecil, it is only two weeks until the show! At this rate, you're not going to have enough time to pick and learn a song!"
Cecil laughed as he shut his locker door and began walking down the hallway, causing Carlos to bound after him.
"Yeah, actually, I've spoken with Dana about an idea that I had," he told the excitable boy.
"Really?" Carlos said, grabbing Cecil's arm in excitement. When Cecil nodded his head energetically, Carlos gave a cheer of victory and said, "Yes! I knew that I would wear you down. So what song are you gonna do?"
"It's a surprise."
Carlos stopped and blinked for a second before taking a few large steps to catch up with Cecil again, who had kept walking forwards. "You're not gonna tell me?" he asked.
"No, not before you hear it at the show," Cecil told him expertly. Carlos shook his head.
"I'll just ask Dana then," he said defiantly. Now it was Cecil's turn to shake his head.
"Nope. She won't tell you either."
Carlos huffed as they both slid into Carlos's car and drove off.
Carlos hadn't seen much of Cecil after school after that. And when he asked him about it in between classes, Cecil merely said, "Just busy," and then walked away.
Even though Carlos knew that Cecil wouldn't willfully ignore him if he wasn't really busy, he still felt hurt. When he spotted Dana down the hall after lunch, Carlos ran to meet up with her.
"Dana!" he called. She turned towards him and smiled.
"Oh, hey, Carlos," she greeted.
"Hey, do you know why Cecil has been so busy lately?" he asked. Dana's smile dropped off her face and she became very awkward.
"Um, he probably just has—like there's some stuff going on, or something," she hesitated. "Like with finals and stuff coming up. . . ."
Carlos sighed. "You know, don't you?" When she didn't answer, he sighed again and donned his 'kicked puppy dog' face. "Is—Is he ignoring me for some reason? Did I do something wrong?"
Dana practically jumped at Carlos. "No! No, Carlos, that's not it! Um, I really shouldn't tell you this—Cecil wouldn't want me to, but. . . ." She took a deep breath before saying, "He's working on his song for the talent show. It's only a few days away now and he's really nervous."
"Oh," Carlos said softly. "Well, he shouldn't be nervous. He's amazing."
Dana chuckled as they began walking down the hall towards their classes at the sound of the bell. "Well," she said. "You know that and I know that. Hell, even Cecil knows that. He just really wants it to be perfect."
"Yeah," he laughed. "That sounds like Cecil."
Dana stopped him with her hand on his arm. "Carlos," she said urgently. "Please, don't tell him that I told you any of this. He really wants it to be a surprise."
Nodding slightly, Carlos agreed to keep it their secret and they parted ways to class.
The night of the talent show was both exciting and terrifying for Cecil, as Carlos knew. The only thing that Carlos didn't understand was why Cecil wouldn't let him help him with anything. Cecil didn't even let Carlos pick him up; that job was reserved for Dana. So Carlos promised him that he would meet him there, but as the principal called for the start of the show and Carlos hadn't seen Cecil around, he sighed and took his seat in the front row.
Apparently, Cecil's going last, Carlos thought to himself as he watched the clock nearing the end of the night. A few people had left already, but that would probably just make Cecil less nervous in the long run.
Finally, the principal announced the last act of the night, but no one came out onto the stage for a minute. Then Dana peeked out from behind the curtain, giving the her a 'One minute please!' sign.
Carlos was worried. Had Cecil decided that he actually didn't want to do this? Had Carlos pushed him too hard to enter? As he was about to get out of his chair and run backstage, suddenly Cecil came on stage with his guitar and gave the crowd a sheepish smile.
"Sorry about that," he said into the mic. As he sat down on the stool in front of the microphone, Cecil took a deep breath before he began to strum his guitar. And then he began to sing and Carlos recognized the tune.
There I was again tonight forcing laughter, faking smiles
Same old tired, lonely place
Walls of insincerity
Shifting eyes and vacancy vanished when I saw your face
All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you
Cecil's eyes drifted to Carlos in the front row and Carlos blushed slightly before giving an encouraging nod as he sang.
Your eyes whispered, "Have we met?"
Across the room your silhouette starts to make its way to me
The playful conversation starts
Counter all your quick remarks like passing notes in secrecy
All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you
Oh Carlos I was so enchanted to meet you, too
It felt like Carlos's heart stopped for a moment. What? he thought as Cecil continued his song.
This night is sparkling, don't you let it go
I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew
I was enchanted to meet you, too
As Cecil ceased singing in between the chorus and the next verse, he looked over at Carlos daringly and smiled, which Carlos greatly returned. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something move right next to him and saw that it was Dana, who had come out from behind the stage curtain to sit next to him as Cecil performed. With only a grin of acknowledgement, Carlos turned back to Cecil as he again began to sing.
The lingering question kept me up
2 a.m., who do you love?
I wondered 'til I'm wide awake
Now I'm pacing back and forth, wishing you were at my door
I'd open up and you would say,
"Hey, it was enchanting to meet you"
Oh, Carlos, I was so enchanted to meet you, too
Now Carlos knew that it hadn't been a trick of the mind. And he was honestly very glad to hear it again. Smiling widely, Carlos wondered somewhere in the back of his mind if he actually looked as dumbstruck as he felt.
This night is sparkling, don't you let it go
I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew
I was enchanted to meet you, too
Cecil stopped everything for a second before he began to strum lightly, getting louder as he approached the bridge of the song. They again met eyes and both smiled at the other.
This is me praying that this was the very first page
Not where the story line ends
My thoughts will echo your name until I see you again
These are the words I held back as I was leaving too soon
I was enchanted to meet you, too
Please don't be in love with someone else
Please don't have somebody waiting on you
Please don't be in love with someone else
Please don't have somebody waiting on you
Cecil hadn't looked away from Carlos in the last verses of the song and Carlos could feel his heart swelling at the prospect that Cecil was insinuating.
This night is sparkling, don't you let it go
I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew
This night is flawless, don't you let it go
I'm wonderstruck, dancing around all alone
Carlos, I'll spend my whole life wondering if you knew
I was enchanted to meet you, too
Cecil's strumming became quiet again as he began to finish the song.
I was never in love with someone else
I never had somebody waiting on me
'Cause you were all of my dreams come true
And I just wish you knew
Carlos, I was so in love with you.
At the end of the song, Cecil dropped his hand and lifted the guitar strap off of his shoulders as he stood up. Suddenly, Carlos was filled with courage and shouted, "Wait!" as Cecil began to leave the stage.
Quickly, Carlos ran to the side steps and climbed onto the stage, running over to where Cecil stood stock still. Once he was right in front of him, Carlos took Cecil's hand in his and looked into his eyes. Carlos could see the blush creeping up Cecil's cheeks and wondered if he looked just as pink.
But Carlos decided that he didn't care as he whispered, "I love you, too," and leaned in, kissing Cecil right then and there. For a few moments, Carlos couldn't hear anything except the blood rushing through his head. Although, when they pulled apart, Carlos could very clearly hear Dana leading the cheers and applause that had sprouted from the audience.
Cecil, still holding Carlos's hand, pulled him offstage, where Carlos immediately turned to him and asked, "How long have you felt . . . like that?"
At this, Cecil merely shrugged. "Ever since I met you at the beginning of the year," he said nonchalantly.
"Really?" Carlos asked surprised. At Cecil's drop of the head and slight nod, Carlos chuckled and placed his hand on Cecil's cheek, successfully lifting his face back up in order to kiss him once again.
"That's actually really sweet," Carlos told him softly. Cecil smiled widely and threw his arms around Carlos's neck.
"Come on, lovebirds," they heard Dana call from the stage door. "Let's go home."
Cecil released Carlos and followed him out to his car. Carlos drove them back to his house and Dana followed in her own car.
Once they were inside, sitting on the couch in Carlos's basement, Cecil plucking idly at his guitar strings, Carlos sat straight up and turned to him.
"Will you play it again?" he asked and Cecil looked at him, confused. "Please," he added, successfully.
Cecil began to strum the tune from the beginning and gave Carlos and Dana their very own private concert, which ended much the same as the original.
Imagine your OTP are just friends. Person A has a crush on Person B (their feelings can be mutual, but they're just too shy and don't know to admit it). There's a school talent show coming up and Person B suggests that A enters, playing guitar and singing (whether they're good or not). Person A agrees to do it. B begs A to tell them what song they're going to do, but A won't tell. Finally the night of the talent show comes around, and it's A's turn to go. They enter the stage with their acoustic. They sit down, adjust the microphone, and begin to sing. The song they sing is Enchanted (by Owl City/Taylor Swift). But instead of the name "Taylor", they sing it with Person B's name instead (unless B's name happens to be Taylor). What B does after/during the performance is up to you.
(OT3 Bonus: Person A and C do a duet.)