Author's Note: I lost a bet, so here we are! Also I thought writing something else would help me out a bit =3 enjoy!
The rest of the day passed at a snail's pace for Eli. He hated it at school already.
And it wasn't because of the classes or the teachers, or even the other students. It was because there were so many people.
He wasn't good with crowds at the best of times. Being around well over twenty at a time? Hell no.
It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to anybody. He'd seen quite a few people that he'd wanted to start a conversation with over the course of the day, but he was too shy. Whenever he thought about actually walking up to them and talking, waves of anxiety would go through his chest and stomach.
It didn't matter anyway. Nobody had expressed any interest in talking to him that day.
Which is why he was surprised when he found the note on his desk. He didn't know who put it there. He'd reached under his desk to pull out his history book, and it was just there when he looked back to the desk. It was a folded up piece of notebook paper, just sitting right in the middle of the desk.
Eli briefly looked around, hoping to see who might've put the note there. Upon seeing nobody looking his way, he quietly opened the note and read it.
'Meet us in the band room after school. It's the last door on your left, to the left of the office.'
Roy read the note twice, then searched for a signature of any kind. None.
Well, what've I got to lose? He folded the note back up and slipped it into his pocket. At least it gives me something to do.
That afternoon, he followed the note's directions and found himself standing in front of the band room door. After hesitating for a moment, he opened the door and stepped inside.
"Ryder, stop screwing around!" A female voice yelled. In front of Roy, her back turned to him, was a petite girl with strawberry blonde hair tied back into a ponytail. Ryder was standing in front of her, holding a saxophone with a big grin.
"Aww, but Cassie!" He protested. "I thought you loved Jazz music!"
"Not when you play! You have no idea how to use a saxophone! I'll bet you don't even know its tone!"
"Uh...soprano?" He guessed. Eli spoke up, his voice so soft he wasn't sure that they heard him at first.
"Uh, hi..." The two looked at him, and Ryder's grin only widened.
"Hi Eli! It's great to see you!" He took a breath and blew into the saxophone, blaring out a sour note. Cassie covered her ears.
"Cut it out, Ryder! Put the sax back!" The blue haired boy stuck his tongue out, but cleaned the mouth piece and put the instrument away. While he did that, Cassie turned to Eli with a sweet grin and stuck her hand out. "I'm Cassie. Ryder's already told me a bit about you." Eli frowned as he watched Ryder put the instrument away.
He probably told her about your little outburst earlier. "Anything good?" Cassie gave him a mischievous smile.
"Oh, it was all good." Ryder looked at them both and blushed.
"Okay...uh...why did you guys ask me to meet you here?" Eli asked. Ryder smiled at him.
"Well, you seemed like you were having a bad day, and we can't have you hating this place, so..." Ryder's smile grew to a grin. "I thought we'd give you something to look forward to every day!"
"...to you badly playing the saxophone while your friend yells at you?" Ryder and Cassie both laughed.
"No, not exactly. We're both in the school band, so I thought maybe you'd want to join?" Ryder suggested hopefully.
"You...actually want me to join?" Ryder nodded.
"Of course!"
"I...I don't know how to play any instruments...and I can't read sheet music..." Ryder smiled.
"Do you think I was born knowing how to do either of those things?"
"Uh..." Eli tried to keep a straight face as he pretended to think about it. "Yes." Ryder grinned.
"Don't worry, I'll teach you how. You can even come over to my house for a bit if Freddy allows you. But for now..." Ryder searched for something, then picked up a trumpet with a large grin. Cassie's eyes widened in horror.
"Ryder, don't you dare."
"What's so fun about being in band, anyway?" Eli asked quickly. Luckily, Ryder heard and put down the trumpet, which brought a sigh of relief from Cassie.
"Well, you'll be able to play during games and pep rallies. I know they might not sound fun, but they are if you participate." He smiled. "It'll give you something to look forward to here, and it's a great way to make friends."
"Well..." Eli chewed on his lower lip. "What instrument would you be teaching me?" Ryder looked at Cassie.
"Well..." She said. "I do flute, Ryder is drums, Mariana has the trumpet..." She trailed off for a bit. "Maybe you could do the saxophone?" Eli looked at the instrument.
"Um...okay...but you said Ryder's bad at playing it..." Cassie laughed.
"Oh trust me, he is when he wants to get on my nerves. But he's actually good at it. You'll be fine. I think." She looked at Ryder. "Are you a good teacher?" He grinned.
"I'd like to think so." Cassie gazed at Eli with dread.
"You're doomed." Eli couldn't hold back the laugh that bubbled up from his chest. Cassie and Ryder shared a smile.
"Anyway, you shouldn't keep-" Right on cue, Brandon opened the door.
"Eli, why the Hell are you in here?" He asked, frowning. Eli stepped back a bit, his heartbeat speed increasing a little.
"I...uh..." He couldn't think of what to say for a moment. "I'm joining the band." Was the first coherent thought that came through, so he blurted it out. Brandon looked surprised first, then he grinned.
"That's great! I'm glad you found something you like! But how about you tell me next time you're going to take a while to get to the car, okay?" Eli made a face.
"Don't talk to me like I'm six years old." Brandon's face went a little red.
"Right, sorry. Come on, let's go." He looked at Cassie and Ryder with a friendly smile as he left the room. Eli followed him, but was surprised when Brandon almost immediately started asking questions. "Was this Ryder's idea?" Eli nodded.
"Yeah. Is that bad?" Brandon shook his head.
"Not necessarily, no. It's just..." He stopped speaking. Eli looked up at him as they walked through the front doors of the school.
"Just what?" Brandon shook his head.
"It's nothing, don't worry about it." They both got into the car. Eli spoke again as Brandon started it and began the drive home.
"Isn't Ryder your friend?" Brandon nodded.
"My best friend since we were little kids."
"Then why do you act like you don't like us hanging out?" Brandon shook his head.
"That's not the problem, Eli. I'm perfectly fine with you guys being friends, it's just...well...I think he has a thing for you." Heat crept into Eli's ears and cheeks.
"A thing...? You mean he likes me? As more than a friend, I mean?" Brandon gave him a quick glance and nodded.
"Yeah...are you okay? You're bright red." Eli nodded quickly and looked out the window.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He said. Brandon didn't say anything else, so Eli retreated into his thoughts.
Brandon thinks Ryder likes me...? Eli smiled a little. Someone actually likes me...
He didn't know if he liked Ryder back (it was a bit too early to tell, by his standards), but it did feel good to know...
He actually looked forward to school the next day.