"Do you play?" She questioned, carefully running a hand over a set of guitars over in the corner.
"Me?" He replied, pointing at himself as his eyebrows knitted together in slight confusion. She giggled lightly in response, giving him a short nod before turning her attention back to the guitars.
"Well, uh, I've messed around on the drums a bit, but it's nothing fancy." He stated, scratching his cheek, as a sheepish smile took over his features, "Do you?"
"Mm, I've messed around a little bit, but nothing fancy." She replied, smiling back at him as she lifted one of the instruments and placed the strap over her neck. Her smile softened ever so slightly, as she gently strummed a few chords.
"You know Elvis?" He questioned, recognizing the slight melody from the records Mrs. Medda always had playing. She looked up at him in surprise, still nodding nonetheless.
"My dad used to sing it to my mom every night." She started, returning to strumming the sweet song. A quiet hum left her lips as she found the right notes, losing herself slightly in the music.
Crutchie watched on in silence, letting his eyes fall shut as the soothing sounds washed over him. The peaceful moment didn't last long though, his eyes snapping open just as quickly as a rather sour note rang out. He turned his attention back to the girl as she abruptly stopped. She stood frozen for a minute before practically ripping the strap off, hastily setting the instrument back down and hurrying out of the room, mumbling about having to finish the tour.
He stayed rooted to his spot, blinking in slight confusion at the sudden change in character. His mouth fell open, before closing once more, a frown etching it's way onto his features.
With a small shake of his head, he hurried his way out of the room, finding the girl a little ways out. He took note of the rapid tapping of her finger on her forearm, his gaze traveling up to her face as she bit down on her lip once more.
"Uh, Star?" He called out, slowly making his way over to her. He placed a careful hand on her shoulder, her head snapping up in response. She blinked slowly, her cheeks rapidly becoming redder as her actions began to sink in.
"Let's just keep going." She mumbled, bowing her head, wanting to escape his concerned gaze as she turned on her heel and continued down the hall.
"Hey wait a minute," He called once more, falling forward slightly when she moved out of his grasp. He tried to follow, barely being able to keep up with her long strides. "Star wait!"
She stopped, still keeping her back turned to him as she waited for him to catch up, immediately noticing the heavy breaths tumbling from his lips, as slight wave of guilt washed over her, a familiar weight settling on her chest.
"Why the hurry?" He questioned through his panting, offering her a small smile.
"I'm sorry," She mumbled, avoiding his gaze, "Can we just keep going?"
"Yeah, sure," He replied, pushing away the many, many questions brewing inside. He hesitated for a moment before gently taking her hand, "If you ever need to talk though, I'm all ears."
She blushed lightly at the contact, carefully looking up at him. He still wore that same smile, but she could see the concern swimming in his eyes. Eyes that seemed so familiar, yet so different. She shook her head, pushing away her thoughts and giving his hand a gentle squeeze, offering up a small smile of her own in return.
He gently tugged her along, rambling on about changing rooms and lighting. While she was grateful for the distraction, she couldn't help but allow her mind to wander, unwanted thoughts returning to plague her every step.
...
"She just left?" The blue eyed boy questioned, sliding his tray along the counter, his nose crinkling slightly at the options in front of them. The boy beside him shrugged in response, pushing his own tray along.
"I told you, not exactly left just kind of had a moment and walked out."
"Crutchie that's practically the same thing."
"Well, yeah ok, maybe." He stated in slight defeat, smiling at the lunch lady as he fished his money out of his pocket before turning his attention back to his best friend, "But you know what I mean." The boy beside him, rolled his eyes in response, still nodding nonetheless as he watched him maneuver to pick up his tray, carefully adjusting his crutch again before beginning to move ahead.
"Hey, are you sure I can't carry that for you?" He asked, already knowing the answer.
"Jack for the last time, I can carry my own lunch tray." The hazel eyed boy replied, his smile faltering as he let out a tired sigh. He shot a small glare at the boy before leading him over to their usual table, their previous conversation slipping away.
"I know Crutchie, but I don't want another incident like last year." He pointed out in response, frowning slightly.
"And while I appreciate that, I can take care of myself Jackie. I promise." He assured, his hard expression melting almost immediately. He knew everything the boy did was out of love, but that still didn't take away his own need to be independent.
The other could do nothing but nod in response, a slight huff escaping his lips as he plopped himself down in his chair across from a certain (E/C) eyed girl, Crutchie quickly claiming the spot next to her. She seemed to be paying almost no mind to the slight chaos around them, her nose buried in a book, yet he still noticed a slight pink tinting her cheeks upon the arrival of the boy beside her. He smirked slightly, taking a bite of his apple before pulling a pen out of his pocket, busying himself with doodling on his napkin as he listened in to the conversations around him.
"Man, this damn essay is due tomorrow but I only got two words written."
"That's your name Race, it doesn't count."
"Well thanks for ruining that Davey, now I've got nothin." The boy replied with a roll of his eyes, pouting slightly, "Spotty, tell Davey to quit being rude."
"Back off, giraffe." Was the immediate response, resulting in Race childishly sticking his tongue out, a content smile on his face as he snuggled up to his soulmate, whose lips tugged up ever so slightly.
"Just bring it over here, I'll help you." Davey stated with a heavy sigh, rubbing a tired hand down his face in exasperation, it quickly being replaced with a stern expression after a quick glance around the table, "Romeo, stop playing with your food and eat it. Crutchie, don't you have some math homework due next period?"
Jack snickered quietly, quickly turning away when he got a look shot his way, instead pulling out his own homework and sliding over to where Crutchie had turned away from the girl and moved next to Specs, grumbling about stupid numbers. Romeo pouted, mumbling out a quiet 'yes mom' before shoveling a fork full of food into his mouth, staring Davey down as he chewed. The boy paid him no mind, turning his attention to Race and his essay.
The girl smiled to herself as she gently shook her head, not sure if she would ever get used to their antics. She turned her attention back to her book, attempting to block out the slight argument that was taking place across from her between Spot and Albert over what started as a friendly game of tic tac toe.
Her eyes focused back on the page before her, wanting nothing more than a distraction from the incident that had been replaying in her mind all morning, but the words began to blur together, the thoughts relentlessly taking their place. She felt the heavy weight began to build in her chest again as she recalled his hurt expression, the guilt returning in waves. She quickly shook her head reminding herself of his reassuring words, and the gentle hold he had on her hand, until she felt it slip away, the weight becoming heavier, the waves beginning to grow stronger the more she thought about it.
She shook her head once more, squeezing her eyes shut tight in an attempt to shut it all out. She took in a deep breath, expecting to open her eyes to the busy cafeteria, instead finding herself standing back in a familiar room, the old wooden floors creaking beneath her feet. She blinked in slight confusion, the loud chatter was replaced with small laughter and even smaller voices. The weight of the book in her hands became heavier, a soft warmth taking it's place, radiating from the baby sleeping peacefully against her chest. She couldn't help but look around, letting out a small breath of relief she didn't even know she was holding upon noticing the little girl's twin laying in the worn out crib beside her.
"(Y/N), play for us!" A quiet voice called out. A chorus of yeahs followed, accompanied by the shuffling of feet. A slight chuckle escaped from her lips as she gently placed the sleeping baby down in the crib before turning her attention to the children in front of her, gladly allowing the peace that fell over her as the waves began to slow, forgetting where she originally was as an odd sense of de ja vu washed over her.
"What's the magic word?" She questioned, a soft smile tugging at her lips.
"Pretty please?" He exclaimed, the others chiming in with their own similar pleas. She chuckled once more before gently pulling the guitar from his grasp, taking a seat on the edge of one of the beds, the children giggling to themselves as they gathered around her feet.
She strummed a few chords as she hummed quietly, attempting to find the right notes. She let her eyes fall shut as she began to lose herself in the sweet melody, happily singing the words that had once brought her peaceful dreams.
A loud bang immediately caused her to open them once more, her head snapping up as a sour note rang out from the instrument in her hands. She felt her breath hitch in her throat, the sharp clicking of heels drawing closer. She felt the waves begin again, pounding her into the ground as scared eyes bore into her from below, no one daring to move.
"(Y/N)?" A shrill voice echoed. The waves became impossibly stronger, dragging her under as she felt herself begin to gasp for air.
"Star?" A sweet voice called out, accompanied with a gentle tap to her arm. She whipped her head to the side, Crutchie already staring back at her with a slight frown on his face, concern washing over him in an instant, "Are you ok? You were just kinda staring at your book mumbling something."
She looked around with wide eyes, realizing she was in the cafeteria, the loud chatter returning. The boys were each still in their own worlds. She could see Davey scolding Spot and Albert for drawing the attention of the lunch monitor followed by Specs still lecturing Jack about his math while Romeo and Race attempted to stack up containers of supposedly hummus, the essay long forgotten in the absence of Davey's watchful eyes.
A heavy breath escaped her lips as she attempted to focus back on the book still in her hand. She felt the rapid beating of her heart from where the other was placed, clutching onto her locket. The waves slowly retreated as she took deep careful breaths, turning her attention back to the boy beside her, immediately noticing the look of concern that had taken over his usually happy features. She plastered on an obviously fake smile with a nod of her head, wanting nothing more than to escape his watchful eyes that reminded her so much of the ones that awaited her elsewhere.
He raised a brow in her direction, studying her slightly as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. He could tell she was faking, the twinkle in her eye replaced with something he wasn't even sure he could explain.
"Are you sure? You look kinda pale. You ain't getting sick are you?" He asked her, keeping his voice low in an attempt not to gain the attention of the others around them, knowing it would be hard enough to get her to talk as is. He brought a gentle hand to her forehead, his eyes widening at the heat radiating off of her.
"I'm fine, Crutchie. I promise." She replied just as quietly, avoiding his eyes as she carefully removed his hand from her head before turning away in a horrible attempt of hiding her rapidly reddening face. His frown only deepened in return. He opened his mouth in an attempt to respond, but was interrupted by the shrill sound of the bell filling the room.
The girl practically flew out of her chair, hastily grabbing her bag and shoving her book in, mumbling a quick goodbye before rushing off to their shared math class. The boys followed one by one, accompanied with their groans and a few words of complaints.
"Crutchie, you good?" Jack asked from beside him, giving him a soft pat on the shoulder. He blinked quickly with a small shake of his head, tearing his gaze away from where the girl sat moments before.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied, offering a smile to the boy beside him, not so sure he could even begin to describe the odd interaction he had just had, instead following the other out into hall. They walked to the class together, making dumb jokes along the way. He immediately scanned the room for the presence of the (H/C) haired girl upon their arrival, but couldn't find her anywhere.
"That's weird. Star never misses class." The boy beside him mumbled as they took their seats in the back of the room, "Aye, any idea where she is Crutch?" He gave a small shake of his head in response, frowning slightly as he looked at her empty desk on the other side of Jack.
"She wasn't looking to good during lunch, maybe she went to the nurse."
The other boy only shrugged in response, grabbing the paper the other had placed on his desk, quickly copying the last few answers off the homework Specs had assisted him with during lunch, since he hadn't bothered to put it away in his haste to see where the girl ended up.
He attempted to brush it off for now, sure he was overthinking things again and instead turning his attention to the cheating boy beside him, shoving him away and grabbing his paper back resulting in a whine from the brown headed boy as he complained about being to focused on art which got him nothing but an eye roll in return. Of course he did eventually give in, but he couldn't help but let his mind wander back to the girl, especially once the late bell had come and gone with still no signs of her appearing.
...
The girl bolted into the bathroom, immediately running into the first open stall and locking it shut, breathing out a sigh of relief that no one else was there. She let the bag she was carrying fall from her shoulder, a wave of emotions flooding over her. Her head fell forward, causing her to wince slightly as it hit the door, yet she made no attempt to move, aggressively wiping her eyes before any of the pent up tears could fall.
Her mind felt like it was running a million miles a minute as she took heavy breaths, memories of the day and her past blurring together, resulting in her letting out a small scream of frustration as she reeled her fist back, striking the white stone wall with as much force as she could muster.
Blood trickled from her knuckles, the pain slowly setting in, traveling from her bloody fist, up through her hand and radiating through her arm, yet she paid it no mind, welcoming the new sensation as she let out a dry chuckle. She fell back against the wall, sliding down to the floor where she placed her pounding head into her hands that she had propped up on her knees.
"Idiot."