How To Save A Life...

Ianto just sat at the piano, randomly tapping the keys. He was in the music room the band used when they rehearsed. The band... Owen, Lisa, Jack and Gwen were stuck in the Principal's office, being yelled at. Ianto felt guilty... the Principal had let him go, because of his young, innocent looks. The Principal refused to believe that Ianto wanted to perform the song just as much as the others, and so he was let go. Ianto wished he was with the others... he had waited for an hour outside the door, practically begging to be let in with the others, to share in their misery, but eventually he gave up and returned to his place of solace- the music room. He was scared for them- before he left, it had sounded like somebody was going to get hurt, and he couldn't have that. Blood on his hands- something he just couldn't stomach.

He kept tapping the piano keys, his mind wandering. Suddenly, he had an idea. He got up, rushed over to the desk and picked up a pen and some lined paper, and began scrawling the words in his head. After about five minutes of writing, he transferred the songs onto a sheet of piano music, and began hitting the notes with care. He started singing, first in a hushed whisper, then, without knowing it, he was singling out loud. He didn't even notice the door open, or the young, dark-haired teenager walking in, but he did notice the hand on his shoulder, causing him to jump, and the piano lid to slam down, causing a gigantic 'crash' of the keys.

"Don't do that!" He squeaked, angrily eyeing the American behind him.

"Oh, come on!" Jack laughed, "I wanted to see what the Hell was going on in here. I must say, that sounded quite heavily. Mind if I have a quick read?"

Ianto was blushing for some reason he could not fathom, handing over the sheet of music he had written. Jack looked at it, smiling politely as his eyes skimmed the words. He replaced the sheets onto their resting place after a few seconds, before commanding; "Play it." Ianto wouldn't normally have obeyed a command so curt, but something about Jack just made him want to follow the rules. He played the introduction, and after a few moments, began to sing;

Step one you say we need to talk
He walks you say sit down it's just a talk
He smiles politely back at you
You stare politely right on through
Some sort of window to your right
As he goes left and you stay right
Between the lines of fear and blame
You begin to wonder why you came

Jack couldn't believe it- Ianto was brilliant! He was a whiz at piano-playing, and his voice carried the song so well. While he was being yelled at by the Principal ("I cannot believe that you would have allowed your band to produce such satanic filth! Have you no shame? No compassion? No emotion?") Jack had gone a step ahead and wanted to look through Owen's book once more, just to check if there was anything with more emotion. But, as he slid onto the bench with Ianto, he could feel that he had the emotion he needed to even things out.


Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

Ianto felt himself blush again as Jack sat next to him on the bench. Even more so when Jack seemed to catch onto the rhythm of the song;


Let him know that you know best
Cause after all you do know best
Try to slip past his defence
Without granting innocence
Lay down a list of what is wrong
The things you've told him all along
And pray to God he hears you
And pray to God he hears you

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

As he begins to raise his voice
You lower yours and grant him one last choice
Drive until you lose the road
Or break with the ones you've followed
He will do one of two things
He will admit to everything
Or he'll say he's just not the same
And you'll begin to wonder why you came

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
How to save a life
How to save a life

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
How to save a life

They sat there in silence for a minute, before Jack finally asked; "What spurred that on?"

"You know what." He whispered, sounding ashamed.

"I would have let you go too, if I were him." Jack admitted.

"Why?"

"Because he was right- you do look too innocent. I supposed you are too innocent, really. You've got these really big blue eyes, and whenever you look at someone directly in the eye, you make them feel really warm and smiley."

"No I don't." Ianto whispered, keeping his eyes downcast. "Besides, how would you know?"

Jack shrugged, "That's how you make me feel when you look at me. Your eyes are pretty. And, just so you know, after we got out of his office, we were all worried about where you went. We thought you'd gotten all panicky and suicidal on us, so Owen and Lis went to check the Beacon Tower, just to make sure you didn't throw yourself from it. Gwen's in the Library, and me, well, this was my first guess." Ianto looked up at him, a weird, stirring sensation in his gut.

"Seriously?"

Jack gave a weird smile, almost as though he were admiring a bouquet of roses. "Yeah. I know you're a very private person, Yan, but I like to think I know more about you than you've let me."

"Like...?" Ianto asked, challenging the American, but was caught by surprise when he found Jack's lips resting softly on his own, and Jack's tongue gently easing its way into his mouth. The kiss lasted for all of seven seconds, when Jack broke it, leaving Ianto feeling light-headed and giddy.

"Like that." Jack smiled, getting up and leaving the room, leaving Ianto alone with his thoughts...