Chapter 21

Carter tried to pay attention to what the teacher was explaining, but he kept dozing off in his thoughts and getting lost in them. Though he knew he should be paying attention since exams were nearing. Even so, he wasn't that worried about those; his grades were decent and he always had good scores on tests.

But then again, recent events have been keeping his mind off his schoolwork. If he wanted to pass his exams he'd have to find a way to concentrate on his homework better, which was going to be a hard task if this kept up.

The next class got canceled because the teacher called in sick so he now had a free period. He should probably use it to study or make homework, but instead he found himself roaming the hallway. He had never really had the opportunity to explore the building and now saw his chance.

Hayland High wasn't a very big or very special looking school, but it was quite roomy despite the rather old-fashioned looking building. He had heard that it was built somewhere in the 1950's, right after the second world war. He had looked up pictures and information online when he was still in Middle School, and was curious about the school's history and interior, but that was until he heard he was moving away.

He walked past the auditorium and remembered his talk with Alyssa, suddenly starting to feel a little bad. She really did try to make Josh happy again, and thought that she had succeeded in doing so. But in the end, she only aided to help Josh hide who he really was. Unintentionally, of course.

Carter walked outside the building and towards the sports field. There was a large football field with a row of bleachers right behind the building. It reminded him of his time in Minnesota, where he'd always sit on the bleachers during free periods to read when the weather was nice. He liked sitting up high.

As he walked closer to the bleachers, he noticed the football team was currently using the field to practice. Curiosity got the better of him and he decided to watch from the bleachers. The weather was nice and he had nothing better to do anyway. Actually, he had, but procrastination was an infamous trait of his.

He walked up the bleachers and sat down at one of the highest benches so he had a good view over the entire field without getting noticed so easily. Even though it was mid-autumn and winter was nearing, it wasn't all that cold at the moment. There was a chilly breeze but the sun rays soothed the cold away almost instantly each time the breeze occurred.

"Carter!" He then suddenly heard coming from below. He looked down to see someone from the football excitedly waving both his arms at him. He squinted his eyes a bit to see that it was Paxton, then realizing that he had told him he was on the football team. Carter waved back at him. The other then did a crazy dance before getting scolded by his coach, causing Carter to burst out laughing. He had a nice view from above and watched how they trained for an apparent upcoming match.

He occasionally checked his phone to check the time before realizing that after the hour was over, so he'd have more than enough time.

"Aren't you lonely up there?"

Carter knew whose voice voice that was, and immediately turned to where it came from. His lips curled up into a smile when he met with the blue-eyed gaze of Josh.

"Not all those who are alone are lonely," Carter replied, though he felt a lot happier with the other near him. Josh went to sit down next to him and looked out at the field. "How did you know where I was?" Carter asked him.

"Paxton pointed at you when I came. I was actually planning on waiting for him to finish with his training so we could get lunch together. It's taco day," the blond explained.

Carter suddenly felt the desire to kiss him, but stopped himself before he could lean forward. They were in public after all. Sometimes he had wondered how different and easier everything would have been if he was a girl. Nobody would tease him for wearing girly clothes, and he could openly show his affections towards Josh in public without having to worry about rejection or threats.

"Is the team any good," Carter asked.

"Sometimes. Though they have improved since last year. Last match was our first victory in two years. Everyone became so ecstatic after we won," Josh replied.

"I can imagine," Carter said. "I wish I could have been there to see it."

He gave a soft sigh and looked at the guys from the football team running across the field and tossing each other the ball. He figured it must be exciting yet tiring to be in the football club, though he could imagine how amazing winning a game must win.

It was then that he felt a warmness surrounding his hand. He turned to look at what was going on and saw Josh placing his hand over Carter's own. His fingers slipped underneath his palm and slowly slid between Carter's. They laced together onto the wood of the bench and Carter got that familiar feeling within his lower stomach again. Josh's hand was warm and big, and warmed Carter's up in the nicest way. The corner of his mouth tugged up and he looked down, wondering if anyone could see them holding hands from up here. Though if anyone could, Josh probably wouldn't have done it.

They sat like that in silence for a moment, though it wasn't an unpleasant silence. If anything, Carter enjoyed the quiet while watching Paxton train with the football team, and having his hand warmed up by Josh's. He always wished that moments like these would never end, and that time could just stand still like this. But time went on, and nothing could last forever.

Josh then let go of Carter's hand and raised to his feet. "I want to show you something," he said. "Follow me."

Carter got curious and went after Josh, walking off the bleachers and walking back to the building. "What is it?" he asked, having to walk a little harder to keep up with the taller blond.

"You'll see, just follow me."

When they got back inside the building, he realized that it lunch break had started. Students walked out of the classrooms and the halls soon enough willed themselves with the teenagers. Carter followed Josh through the crowd and wondered where they were going. They went up the stairs and entered the part of the school building where Carter hadn't been before. This part was mostly empty, apart from a few students walking out of the classrooms and towards the stairs to go to the cafeteria.

"Shouldn't you be getting taco's with Pax?" Carter asked, looking around in the hall as they were still walking.

"I'm sure he'll forgive me," Josh replied and kept walking into the hallway. After a short period of more walking, he stopped in front of a classroom and carefully opened the door slightly, before completely opening it when he saw that it was empty. "Here we are."

Carter entered the classroom and was surprised to find what was inside. Apart from a few chairs and tables, there were music instruments everywhere and a small stage at the very end of the classroom. On said stage stood a large piano. "Wow," Carter said, still looking around.

"Cool, right?" Josh said and walked up to the stage and went to sit down at the stool, motioning for Carter to come closer and sit next to him.

Carter was a bit hesitant, not sure if they were allowed to be here in the first place, but he decided to walk up to Josh anyway. He went to sit next to him on the stool, party having to support himself with his leg since there wasn't enough room for both their behinds. "You play piano?" he asked Josh.

Josh nodded and pressed a few of the keys with his fingers. "I do," he said. "But I haven't played in a while. I started learning it after you moved away. Mostly to distract myself, and partly because I've loved piano music.

This was something Carter knew; Josh would also completely doze off whenever piano music was on, and saying how beautiful he thought it sounded.

Josh then placed both his hands above the keys and spread his fingers before he pressed down on them and started playing. Carter watched how his hands moved over the piano and pressed the keys, creating a beautiful melody that had sent Carter in almost immediate awe. What he played sounded beautiful. There was something about that song that instantly took Carter back to the days that they played on the beach, splashing water at each other and making angels in the sand. The song Josh played created a certain atmosphere and created all sorts of feelings. Feelings of carelessness and youth, infinite glee and the beauty of the memories they shared. Listening to it had Carter mesmerized and he listened intently.

There was something about the way that Josh played. His fingers moving over the keys as if he was expressing his very feelings into the melody. Carter's eyes briefly left the piano and traveled over Josh's strong, flexing arms and up to his face, which was in deep concentration. Though he wasn't frowning. Instead, it seemed as if he was on the verge of crying. Carter looked back at the keys and swallowed a he continued listening. He wasn't sure why it suddenly brought back so many memories, and made him think back of all the happy times he shared with Josh. And even so, there was also something sad about the song. Despite bringing back the feeling of all the happy memories, it also brought the familiar sadness of knowing that those times were in the past. As if one was looking back at his own memories on a screen, wishing for those times to come back but knowing their wouldn't. It made him sad, yet in the most beautiful way.

When the song was over, Josh kept his hands on the piano for a moment before he slowly retreated them. He cleared his throat and kept his eyes on the keys.

"That was beautiful," Carter softly said. "Really beautiful."

Josh gave a small smile and leaned back a little. "A Simple Life, by Brian Crain," he said. "One of my favorite piano pieces." His eyes met with Carter's and he rubbed the back of his neck. "I've been working on it for almost a year now. I still made a lot of mistakes."

"I thought it sounded amazing," Carter said, gliding his hands over the white keys. "I always thought you were talented, but really took my breath away."

"Thanks," Josh smiled, looking back at the piano. "I take this piece to heart."

Carter looked up from the piano to look around the room a bit. There was something calming about this classroom. His eye then fell on a poster that was attached to the wall. As he read it, he realized that it was the announcement of the Christmas Prom next month. "Right... The prom," he said softly. "Almost forgot that this school does Christmas Proms."

"Yeah. Alyssa's in the Prom committee as well. She's really looking forward to it."

"She's in the Prom committee?" Carter asked surprisedly. "I didn't know." He thought Alyssa was really amazing. How she managed to do her drama club activities and also be in the Prom committee while still keeping her grades up was beyond him.

"Do you want to go to prom?" Josh asked, causing Carter to look back at him.

"I don't know," Carter answered honestly. "It seems nice, but I'm not the party type, as you know. Though if everyone wants me to go, then I will."

Josh bit his lip and pressed a few more keys, sitting up a little. "...And what if I want you to go?" he asked softly. "I mean, we can't really go as dates, but being with you during prom sounds nice."

Carter's mouth formed a smile upon hearing his words and he softly nudged Josh's upper arm with his shoulder. "Then I'll probably go," he answered. "But I don't have a tux or anything. I'd have to buy one."

"Yeah, or you could go naked. Which is fine with me."

Carter smacked Josh on the back of his head and shook his head. "Pervert."

Josh laughed and rubbed the spot where Carter had hit him, looking at him with a playful smile. "I thought you knew that by now."