Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)

Never Thought I'd Meet A Girl Like You

Day 15 – Overhearing The Other Singing

"Love's so strange, so real in the dark; think of the tender things that we were working on."

XxX

Like Zero, Vin tended to think he was too cool for a lot of things. Because, while being a complete, utter dork when they were alone, he felt the need to uphold some sort of suave, charming "Jesse Katsopolis" kind of vibe when interacting with other people. Despite that however, he never, never sung on principle. It seemed that, dork or not, it was something that he never wanted to be caught doing.

So, naturally, Zero had no idea what the hell was going on when she heard him mumbling to himself in the library rather late at night. She had gone looking for him, figuring that he was going to pull an all-nighter to finish the Biology assignment that was due tomorrow, and sure enough, found him in his own corner of the library, books strewn out around him, with his earphones in and clearly tired as hell. He didn't notice her standing a litte while away (though she didn't exactly make her presence particularly obvious), and after a while of watching she realised that the mumbling had a tune to it.

Oh.

He didn't have a bad voice, actually. It was . . . well, it was nice. Slightly surprised, seeing that this was somethig she hadn't exactly thought about before, she folded her arms and leaned against the wall, hidden in the shadows. Vin was clearly still in his own bubble, and didn't notice.

'. . . drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry . . .'

Zero wasn't a natural-minded romantic, so it didn't occur to her how profound this moment was until a lot later. At the time, all that really crossed her thoughts was "Well, whaddya know," in that affectionate kind of way; that strange, "deep and meaningful" kind of feelings she had reserved just for him. It was a bit difficult to explain.

'. . . and them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing this'll be the day that I die . . .'

Unable to keep a small, rueful smile from tugging on the corners of her lips, she tilted her head a bit, closing her eyes and just listening to him. She stood there for a long while, drifting between her own thoughts and the words he was singing, feeling – for the first time in a while – peaceful. It was contentment, she realised; what he made her feel, it was content. She was at home, and while not in the literal sense, it was all that she really wanted – all that she needed.

She stood there for a long time, but she didn't really notice. It wasn't important.

'So bye, bye Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levee . . .'

XxX

'She is so damn lucky everyone's outside right now,' Vin muttered, following the heavy sound of bass guitar reverberating through the halls which, funnily enough, led him straight to Zero's room. He paused just outside, slightly surprised that the door had been left wide open – almost like she had forgotten that anyone else existed at the moment.

Not entirely surprised that the music she was blasting at full volume was in fact Nickelback, he peered cautiously around the doorframe. The whole room was in chaos, as per usual, and Zero was in the middle of it all, too busy enthusiastically singing alone to notice him.

That was a good thing, mind you, because if she caught him watching her doing something as odd as this, she'd probably castrate him. And it was definitely odd behaviour for Zero. She wasn't an "enthusiastic" kind of person. It seemed that was something specially reserved for Nickelback. Odd.

He grinned slightly, rather delighted to be witness to such an occasion. And whether she was a good singer . . . well, that was a matter of opinion. He certainly thought so, but that was probably bias on his part because he didn't actually mind her taste in music. It was defintiely a subjective kind of question.

'. . . 'Cause nobody wants to be the last one there; 'cause everyone wants to feel likes someone cares . . .'

He moved back out of the doorframe, choosing instead to stay just out of sight and sit down in the hall, leaning his head back against the wall. He closed his eyes, still grinning a little. That wasn't something he could really get rid of easily. Seeing her so carefree always made him feel a special kind of happy – one he'd never been able to explain properly. But he loved it. He damn well loved it, and he wouldn't change that for the world.

'. . . someone to love with my life in their hands; there's gotta be somebody for me like that . . .'

XxX

Chapter Title: "I Ran", Flock of Seagulls

Vin's Song: "American Pie", Don McLean

Zero's Song: "Gotta Be Somebody", Nickelback

Quote: "Don't You (Forget About Me)", Simple Minds