SERENDIPITY | bxb.

three.

He places his hands on the keyboard and plays a familiar melody, and his warmth leaning over mine makes my breath hitch. "Do you know this one?" he asks, and I nod.

"Uh, Funny How Time Flies," I manage to let out.

Zion chuckles, impressed. "You're real."

I almost blush at his compliment, and I desperately try to make it discreet. "I listen to Janet Jackson a lot," I mumble. "What else can you play?"

He grins, and moves his hands to play some more keys. The song he plays sounds familiar; the melody lurking at the curb of my mind. Yet, I can't seem to give it a title. "Is it something by Mariah Carey?"

He makes a humming sound with his lips. "Mm, nah," he says. "Lemme play it again."

I pay attention to his hands on the keyboard, and I notice he moves his fingers in such a delicate, attentive yet smooth manner. You can tell he's been playing for years. I'm so in awe of the motion that I almost lose focus of what he's playing.

"Did you get it now?" he asks.

"Uh, yeah." I answer. "Maxwell."

He grins, again. "You have good taste."

I smile sheepishly. "Yeah, my mom plays a lot of soulful shit around the house. We have some neo-soul records on CD. Urban Hang Suite is one," I inform.

I don't think I have ever felt so comfortable conversing with someone. With him, it comes so easy. I still feel uncertainty on what to say, though. I worry that I might say something too personal, or discomforting.

Zion continues to play more records, and I know most of them. He really seems to enjoy a lot of hip-hop, as he plays a Roots record, that I don't recognize, and I promise to listen to it for him.

After hearing him play, I say, "You probably been playing the piano for years, huh."

He nods. "Mhm, since I was, like, 9?" Zion tells me. "My mom keeps a piano in the house, and I used to play it and practice on my own."

I can't help but feel mind-blown, and the more I found out, the more I found myself interested. "Wow, that-that's amazing," I stutter in shock. "Why haven't I seen you here before?"

"I signed up over the break. Thought I'd take my eyes away from the ball for a little bit," he informs. I nod, understanding his reasoning. Personally, I wouldn't be able to add new things to my routine, but I could see his perspective.

I really wish I could watch what I say, too. Before I can stop the words from coming out of my mouth, I say, "We should write a song together." I immediately regret saying it. My writing skills were not sharp by any means, let alone songwriting.

But Zion seems to like that idea. "Yeah, for sure! Can you write?"

I stagger. "Not really...but I can always work something out," I say, looking down in embarrassment.

"Hey, it's okay!" he encourages. I look up and meet his eyes. "I'm sure you'll be good enough." I wonder what makes him believe so deeply in me. But it feels...

Nice.

The bell rings for the last two periods. I stand up and almost forget to shake his hand. He pulls me into a short hug, like most men do, but I want to stay there forever. My heart flourishes in my chest to where I'm almost stunned.

"See you, man," he says. "This was fun."

I smile. "Yeah, yeah it was," I say, timidly. "Thank you." Though, I'm not sure why I'm thanking him.

"I'll catch you in last period?" he says, pointing at me with his two fingers.

It takes me a moment to remember what Kam wrote. "Uh, yeah!"