Chapter 1

The Blinded; I was so oblivious

Disclaimer: I OWN all rights to this story. Why? because these characters are my original characters. My original settings and based off actual real live events.

x3Anling's Author Note: Well, This was originally the 2nd chapter but since last post was a prologue (a very long prologue), I has made this chapter 1 (because it would be weird if it went Prologue then chapter 2 lol). And I know this post has many grammar and spelling errors but give me a break please? I just came back from a very long and tiring three day trip... ._.

As a Second year high school student, you know the basic places of your own high school yes? Where the bathrooms are. What classes are where. Who the teachers are (well, your class teachers). Where's the cafeteria? What about the Library. Yes. You know where they all are. You don't need help from Juniors or Seniors anymore. Although, some educational tips are good here and there.

Me? Yeah. I'm a second year high school student now. A sophomore in Mari High school and things can only get harder each year. Considering I joined the Mari High School Marching band again. Ugh. Why do I put myself in more touchier? Maybe because our director, Mr. Wan is always intimidating us to join every year. I swear, he's got some obsessive disorder of making the band bigger. I'm just kidding. Eh, you never know.

It was the third week into the new school year and the final bell of the day rang. Sen Mung and I were just leaving our Japanese class on our way to the bandroom to change for rehearsal. Yes, after school rehearsal.

There's a story between Sen and I. Lots of bad ones but very memorial and hard to forget. In my middle school years, I use to have a huge crush on Sen Mung. I have no idea what I saw in him but I ended up liking him up until my freshman year. It was pretty creepy and he treated me like crap back then. He would pull my hair and tease me. Call me names and be such an ass. He was like a wanna-be gangster in Mariwaki Middle school and that attitude carried him onto Mari High school. A fake (just like the Asian club president in Mariwaki!). However, he would only act like a total douche to me and to everyone else he was all kind and nice-y goody goody. It pissed me off and we often got into lots of fights because of it.
Though after getting over Sen in the beginning of my sophomore year, We became really good friends. Like, really good. But not to the point where we actually liked each other. No no. He wasn't the type of person to be showing affection or hugging me. He's the kind of guy who would want to act all tough.

Sen and his chinky Japanese eyes. You'd think he'd get an A in Japanese but really, he fails most of his test. Ironic because he is Japanese. I'm Chinese yet I pass with A's and B's. Maybe it's because the Japanese language first originated in China some thousands of years ago.

"How'd you do on Nagaki Sensei's Test?" I casually asked him as I tucked some sheets of music under my arm and reaching into my pocket to check the time on my phone.

Sen laughed breifly. "I seriously don't think you'd want to know what I got."

"Heh. A 'C' I bet right." I mumbled.

Sen made a huge gaping smile. He smiled so brightly that the corners of his mouth pushed his cheeks up, which pushed on the bottom lids of his eyes making him have just slits to see. "YUP!"

I pushed open the doors and entered the little hallway connecting the chorus room and band room. The band room was on the left side, Chorus on the right. I could already smell the sour stench of Sunscreen and feet coming from the left side. The sound of trumpeters blasting their horns practicing (It's probably their section leader) and drum line cracking their sticks vigorously on the snares, bases and tenors to test the sound. Sen pushed open the doors leading to the band room and the sounds of all the instruments came like an explosion out the hall.

I saw Kimi and Junie there. They were already setting up their clarinets. Kimi, my best friend who is like a sister to me, caught sight of us come int othe bandroom. "Lin! I brought your clarinet. After you set up, lets go change!"

"Ohhh! Thanks! Let me go put my school crap down and set up my instrument." Kimi nodded her head and took my geometry text book, setting it ontop of hers. Opening my case, I looked at all the reeds I had in the the empty space to put my accessories for my clarinet such as lyres, cork grease and reeds. Rummaging through all my reeds, I noticed that all of that were split and or broken.

"Er, Kimi, do you have another reed? Like, one that you have never used?"

Kimi opened her clarinet case and handed me one of her extra reeds. "Pay me back okay? And hurry up! We've only got 10 minutes to change and you KNOW how crowded it gets in the girls bathroom." Kimi pushed as I stumbled to set up my instrument.

"Okay. Lets go. I'm done." I rushed my words, as I set down my clarinet next to hers. From my backpack, I took out a pair of shorts and a T-shirt to change into. I already saw Kimi walk out of the bandroom without me.

I sprint past all the other clarinets getting set up and leap out the band room doors that lead into the hallway and out of the building. Upon leaving the building, I see Kimi already several yards ahead she was walking with Junnie. I try my best to catch up with them. "Jeez, guys! Wait up!" I say aloud for them to hear me though being the tiny little Asian girl I am they could not hear my voice. Only to continue walking.

I sigh and just when I was about to tie my hair into a ponytail, out comes a random kid carrying black, metallic equipment and a tripod. This kid just randomly comes out from my left (I hadn't even take notice) carrying all this crap and you know what happens next?

Crash.

Yes. We run into each other. The tripod rolls to the side and the black equipment falls loudly on the concrete. A piece of equipment fell against my shin making me yelp in pain. I press my palms against the spots I had collided with. It throbbed with pain but It went away after several second. Shaking my head clear, I pick up the item that hit me. It was a black metal rod. "Sorry! Sorry! Here, let me help you." I exclaim and pick up the pieces of equipment that were closes to me.

I saw from the side of my eyes that it was a boy with medium length hair that fell just above his ears (or at the most, midway). His hair was highlighted with a numerous amount of thin golden streaks that blended so well with black hair, Styled rather casually with his bangs slightly blown out and the rest of his hair down (not falling past his ears).He looked like the height of a junior boy. However, I could not see his face.

"Hopefully nothing has been severely damaged." I said and held out the equipment to him. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah yeah. I'm fine." He said and looked up at me. Our eyes connected and there was a short silence between us. Like what happened in movies when someone would fall in love at first sight. That was what was going on right now but things were different. Slightly different. This boy. I feel like I've seen him somewhere. Like a stalker? No. Studying his face more carefully My eyes widened a bit and my lips trembled to say what was on my mind. "A-Alex? Alex Lao? Is. Could it . . .be?" My words were so unstable when I said them. Like I was about to cry.

"Lin?"

And before I even knew it, He hugged me. Hugged me like I died though some how my spirit got reawoken. I had no other choice but to hug him back. My lips were still trembling at the shock of seeing Alex again and I found myself burrying my face in his neck.

"Lin. I haven't seen you for so long!" He whimpered and broke the embrace we shared to look at my face. "Not much of a change. You still got that innocent face." He said with a bright laugh.

Blushing, I let out a short laugh to hide the red. "Heh. Wow Alex. I haven't see you in...Well, a year. You've certainly changed. A lot."

"Oh, You know, growing." He said and took the equipment from me. "Hey! Where were you at My matriculation! I didn't see you." He said with a slight tug at his lips. Disappointed.

"Er. I'm sorry, Alex. I totally forgot." It made me sound so guilty for saying that to his face.

Alex shrugged. "It's okay I guess. I thought I would never see you again but here you are. Uhm, where are you going with those?" Alex pointed to the shirt and shorts in my hands.

"Oh, these? I have Marching band rehearsal today. I have to go change."

Alex's eyes widened. "You're in the marching band? That's so cool! Video-Tech club is going to be filming the band practice today. I get to watch you rehearse. Wow. I've never seen a marching band practice before. Heh. I've never seen a marching band ever preform before either." Alex laughed and stood up. He helped me stand up as well.

"Yeah. It's some pretty bad ass stuff.I get so exhausted after every rehearsal but its all totally worth it." I pulled out my cellphone from my back pocket to check the time. Only 5 minutes left to change and run back to the band room. "Shoot. I'm going to be late if I don't change right now. It's was nice seeing you again Alex. I'll talk to you some other time, okay?" I said.

"You to, Lin!" He gave me another two armed hug around my neck and I responded with my arms around his waist, burying my face into his shoulder and taking in his smell. I tried to memorize it and cherish it until the next time I saw him again. He had a very delicate scent of mint and some sort of sour fruit. It does sound wrong or gross when I try to explain It but really, it's a very clean and sweet scent to it.

I bid him farewell and run up to the girls bathroom. Kimi and Junie were almost done changing. Kimi saw me just enter the bathroom and swiftly slide into an unoccupied stall. "Hey Lin where have you been?" Kimi's voice echoed in the tiled bathroom.

"Catching up." I simply said as I remembered Alex's new appearance pop into my head.

Throughout the entire rehearsal outside in the blistering hot sun, I tried my hardest not to smile. My eyes always followed Alex's body as he walked around the field with a camera video taping us. Mr. Wan would scold me for not keeping my eyes forward. I'd blush as Alex wuld tape Mr. Wan's lecture.
During breaks for water, Alex would come around some sections to video tape them during their break and what they do on their time. Occasionally he would pass by and wave at me. I waved at him back with a very casual smile while walking to the field when Mr. Wan would call us off break.

That''s how it went for several rehearsals. Alex would show up and video tape us then I'd never see him again till next rehearsal. Funny thing is? I never saw him around school during school hours. Either I was to busy to ever notice him or we never really did cross paths with each other when heading to classrooms. Probably going opposite directions. That's what made marching band so fun. Seeing him there.
But you know what they saw. Good things must come to an end eventually. After the homecoming field show performance, Alex stopped video taping us and coming to our rehearsal. Sigh. All that was left were two performances for the marching band Competition trip in Hawaii and the festival of marching bands then the season would be over.

Ever since Alex stopped coming to watch us, I slowly started to stop thinking about him. Bigger priorities like catching up on school work and focusing on the competition was on my mind. However, he did cross my thoughts once in a while during rehearsal. Whenever I thought about Alex, I kept wondering to myself when I will ever see him again. I had to let fate decide when we'll cross paths once more.