Rival Bands

Befriending The Rival

Narrator's pov

As the light from the windows begins to hold an orange tint, and the guitarists' fingers had started to form a substantial about of blisters , the groups agreed to start packing up . The two bands had played for hours , each playing another song to the other , some joining in and others just singing along . Bags and papers were strewn across the classroom floor , wires snaking over and under the sheets of lyrics and long-forgotten homework . Throwing his sticks into his bag , y/n helps sort out the wires into the bags , while Gareth moves the drum set onto a trolley to wheel back into the music room . While it wasn't the easiest thing to dismantle and transport , he managed to load it all on . It would've been way easier to just use the music room , he thought to himself , sighing . This classroom is, like, miles away . However , he was sure it took enough convincing to let them use the equipment and a spare room , and it worked well enough . He glanced out of one of the windows , the group had already head out to load the instruments into their respective vans , smoke and a faint smell of weed floating around Eddie's , leaving him and y/n in the classroom . The curly haired boy observed the other teen as he swung his backpack over his shoulder and stuffed his walkman into his jacket pocket , headphones still around his neck .

"Hey ," he turned around to face Gareth , his attention now on the other .

"uh , could you help with this ?" Gareth gestured to the drum set now loaded onto the trolley , for some reason , the other's gaze making him lose his words for a moment .

Y/n smiled and nodded , walking over . He placed his hands next to the other's , pushing the trolley through the door with a squeak . The silence between the two lasted a short while , wheeling the drum set down the halls , but all Gareth could focus on was the closeness of the other's hand . He chanced a look again , staring at the small moles dotted on his hands , the rings laced with intricate details and the chipped polish on his thumbs as he tapped them against the metal of the handle . His whole arms were on display as the jacket he had shrugged off was now tied around his waist , causing the other teen to eye up his forearms . God why do I keep doing that ?

The other broke the silence , thumbs still tapping to the beat he played in his head .

"So , when did you learn how to play ?" he asked , looking at the slightly shorter boy expectantly .

Silence .

"Hello ? Earth to Gareth , you there buddy ?" he snapped his fingers in front of his face .

"Shit , sorry , I uh ... blanked out for a second-" he stuttered , completely missing the question .

"Yeah , no shit ," he laughed a bit , a soft , deep chuckle escaping from his throat as he repeated the question.

Gareth's face flushed up at the chuckle , but not more than it had out of pure embarrassment . He'd never been this quiet or nervous around someone , it felt super weird . First the constant glances at the guy's hands or frame - he felt his eyes doing before he even registered it , then the way his chest felt strange each time he talked or came into contact with the boy ; it was all so strange to him , and what was worse was that someone seemed to notice , Joy , snapping him out of his trance a few hours ago . If she didn't , Gareth was sure he'd creep the guy out if he caught him staring for that long , and he wasn't interested in getting beaten up today for someone getting the wrong idea about him .

"Oh uh , I don't know , a while . I started learning when I was a kid ," he managed to spit out , hoping he didn't sound too harsh or rude for what could've been considered a very half-assed reply .