ficlets of characters you don't know

1. strumming. [vinyl]

hi hello yes this is the start of a string of a couple highschool AUs (taking place in the same high school)

[copy-pasted directly from google docs.]

[Fluids by Michael Medrano]

Flynn sits in the empty Music room after school hours, strumming a guitar and humming some song they can't recall the name of, just what it sounded like.

Viv walks in curiously during the chorus and quietly pulls up a stool to sit down next to her, listening to how every note blends together with each other.

"What song is that?" he asks when Flynn stops humming to look at Viv. They glance at him from the corner of their eye.

They mess up just barely and wince, looking away from Viv and back at the guitar. "Not sure. It's pretty, though, isn't it?"

Sort of like you, he decides not to say because he's not a complete and utter loser. "Yeah. You've always known how to play?"

"Mm-hmm. Was born with the skill, really."

He laughs airily, and they wonder in the back of their mind whether any song they play could sound half as perfect. (That's so gay. Gross.)

"Sure, I'll believe that," he says with a roll of his eyes.

"It's true," he hums as it shifts over to the bridge. "Been playing for as long as I can remember."

Viv props his head up with his arms atop his knees, watching Flynn's fingers dance across the strings with soft intent. The faint noise from lingering people in the halls fades back in as the song ends, students walking past the door of the Music room and away. ("... for the ducks!" "What is it with you and ducks? It's...")

Flynn's gaze flutters from the guitar up to Viv and finds him already looking at him with open wonder and adoration. His eyes widen and he looks away quickly just as Flynn does, laughing slightly.

"So, uh."

"I liked it," Viv mutters lamely.

They smile stupidly, arguably lamer.

"Well, that's. Good." They giggle slightly.

Viv glances at them, folding his arms on his knees. They strum a couple of random chords.

"What's your favourite song?"

He blinks, surprised. "What."

Flynn's eyebrows go up. "Your favourite song," they repeat.

"Um. I don't really... have one?"

"You don't have one?"

He shrugs a shoulder. "Nope."

"Too many to pick from?" They joke.

"No, I just. Don't listen to music?"

Flynn pauses, genuinely surprised. "Huh. Okay, uh, last song you heard? Or just the one playing in your head right now?"

"Last song I heard was in Math a couple days ago when we played Kahoot, if you can even count that as a song. And, uh. No musical-sounding thoughts currently."

"You don't have songs playing in your head?" They tilt their head curiously. "That's weird."

"Hey, I'm not a very musical person. For all I know, I'm tone-deaf. Did horrible enough in Music that it makes sense."

"What, Music class?"

"Yeah. My worst class. I think I got a consistent B minus."

Flynn smiles widely. "Well. Better than my grades in Math."

"Why, what do you get in Math?"

"Nah, not important. Come on, don't you know any songs?" They tap the body of the guitar, making a soft thumping sound against the hollow wood.

"Uh. What's your favourite song?"

"Cop-out," they call.

He laughs, raising his palms in a surrendering manner. "I'm serious! Favourite song."

She tilts her head, stopping to think about it. "Hm. Fluids or The Sharpest Lives, maybe?"

"Play it. The- uh, the first one. Fluids."

Flynn glances down at their instrument, up at Viv, then back down again. "Alright," they say, playing a chord. They frown a bit, move down, and play a different chord.

"Here," they nod to themself, and from there the song starts.

Viv doesn't expect him to start singing, but when he does, he flushes a bright red and has to look away. Flynn has to stop singing to laugh.

"What? There a problem?" They raise a teasing eyebrow, still easily picking note after note.

"You could warn me," he mutters, his curtain of hair hiding how red his face is from Flynn. "Just. Keep singing."

"Why, you like it? Thought you didn't listen to music."

"Shut up, I like your voice."

"You like my voice but you want me to shut up?"

"No, I–. Just–. Could you just sing? Er– if you want to." (Loser.)

Flynn stares at him for a couple more moments with a smug grin as they play out the rest of the pre-chorus before picking up their singing again.

They manage to get through the whole song without any more pause, though Viv doesn't exactly recover. She's laughing pleasantly by the end of it, and he is— well, this little gay loser is struggling.

"That's a. Um. It's a... nice song," he mumbles, fidgeting with his hair.

"That, it is," they say softly through laughter.

"Yeah, um." He needs to find a way out of this situation. This is horrible, who gave them the right to be so... Flynn? It's unfair.

He glances up at the clock, reading an hour or so after school hours. "Er. I'm gonna. Head home, now," he mutters, standing up with his hand still combing his hair. "Have a– uh. Have fun. I'll see you tomorrow."

Flynn watches him walk into the door and he has to try hard not to laugh at him. "Uh-huh. Yeah, uh– hey," they call out before he can figure out how to open the door.

He stops and glances at them over their shoulder. They bite their lip for a second, thinking for a second. "Viv, you wanna. Walk home together? We can stop my ice cream or something on the way."

Stare. They laugh nervously, putting away their guitar and fixing the chairs to keep themself busy. "It's fine if you don't want to, obviously–"

"No! It's um. Yes. Let's go," Viv says hastily when he realises he hasn't said anything. Flynn laughs again, this time a bit more relaxed.

"Good," he hums, grinning helplessly.

Wow, they're both such absolute losers. But it's fine, long as they've got each other.