After his mom found out the news, she was nothing short of ecstatic. She'd gone around bragging about it to practically everyone she knew.
While [Name] appreciated the love and support, he honestly didn't expect anything less from his beloved mother, it was honestly getting a bit tiring hearing her tell the same tale over and over again.
Hell, even Hana heard about it, and in correlation, Sae.
His mother insisted on a celebratory meal and to his surprise, the Itoshi mother and son duo were there as well. Hana said that they insisted to come but knowing his giddy mother, he sort of doubts it.
Either way, he couldn't help but appreciate them all anyways as they enjoyed the meal together.
Although, the smug look Sae had been shooting him throughout the whole dinner was a bit irritating. It seems like he was secretly proud that he had been the one to unlock [Name]'s secret love and talent for music.
It was funny telling him how it was actually another friend that pushed him to join the club.
Anyways, other than that, he'd been officially introduced to the rest of the kids in the music club. He gave them a short wave and a small "Hi" and honestly, he was embarrassed by his first impression, but it seems like no one minded much.
Everyone was quick to accept him into the club, most especially the older members. It seems like they'd found him cute if all the cooing was anything to go about.
Although his dismissal was pushed back by a few hours due to afternoon practices, it was all worth it in the end.
He managed to gain himseld more friends that isn't just Reo and would even receive a few waves when walking down the halls. It feels exhilarating to be recognized.
After a month or so, Hakuho was finally starting to make him feel welcomed.
His teacher had been diligently teaching him proper singing techniques and even a few simple instruments when on break. He was thankful to have such a patient teacher considering how he'd never actually sang before other than simple hums when a song got stuck into his head.
The teacher merely waved it off, however, saying that he was happy to teach aspiring talents. Although he wouldn't go that far, [Name] was more than happy to receive the compliment.
Eventually, during one of their practices, he was sat with his other clubmates as they all had a momentary rest from practice. Whoever said that something simple as music wasn't as taxing as sport clubs was wrong.
"Great job as usual!" One of his older club members, Ania, offered him a bottle of water with a smile.
"Thank you," He reciprocated the smile as he gratefully accepted the bottle. He felt instantly rejuvenated as he hydrated himself.
After all the singing he's done and repeating a few notes over and over, it was no wonder his throat was all dried up.
"I'm back!" Their teacher called out as he entered back into their club room with a sheet of paper on hand. He had momentarily stepped out after telling them to take a break.
Immediately, the other kids huddled around their teacher with a seemingly air of excitement. [Name], new as he was, simply watched in confusion before being being dragged excitedly by two other boys his age.
They all stood in a semi-circle in front of their club teacher as they smiled at him expectantly.
"What's going on?" [Name] whispered discreetly to the boy beside him. Hiro, one of the boys his age that always seemed to stick by him, blinked on confusion at his lack of knowledge only to realize that he was a transferee just recently.
"The school festival is coming up soon and the music club always gets to perform something as a finale!" Hiro explained like an excited puppy. "Everyone's excited to see who's going to be apart of the performance. We usually do some sort of band so the slots are limited."
"Ohh..." [Name] seemed to nod in understanding as he turned to look back at his teacher.
"Settle down, settle down..." The teacher did his best to ease down the overly excited students. The students seemed to back up a bit but that didn't lessen their excitement one bit.
"Come on, teach! Tell us already! You know what we're waiting for." One of the rowdier student complained but his excitement was also visible.
The adult simply sighed at his students before straightening up and putting the paper he held directly in front of him.
"Alright," He started seriously causing everyone to shut up and listen attentively. "The students who'll be representing the music club this year will be..."
The teacher began to list off names, each one having a dramatic pause in between so students could celebrate and build up anticipation.
"As for our lead singer, I know he's still pretty new but..." Suddenly, [Name] made eye contact with his teacher, and instantly, his heart began to thump nervously. He couldn't mean him, right? "If you're alright with it, I want to put [Name] up."
All eyes were on him in an instant causing the poor kid to back up nervously with raised hands. "I- I couldn't possibly..." He tried weakly, a bit afraid of possibly stealing someone else's spot and receiving ire for it.
He just made friends, he didn't want to lose them already just because of this.
Instead of scorned gazes, however, he was instead met by grins and supportive smiles.
"I wouldn't mind seeing [Name] on the stage." One of them commented causing a few choruses of agreement from the rest.
"He's got talent, I'm sure he'll do great." Another chimed in.
Everyone was so supportive to the point that it warmed him up to the core. He couldn't help but smile as he looked at everyone before nodding at his teacher.
"Alright, I'll do it."
_________
"What am I going to do?!" [Name] cried out as he slammed his head down onto his desk dramatically.
"Mhm." Reo simply nodded as he took another spoonful of the pudding he was packed for dessert today.
After the initial warmth of everyone's supportive reactions washed off, [Name] finally realized what he had just gotten into along with the newfound responsibility he had just dumped on himself.
That's why here he was, complaining to Reo about his regrets the following school day.
"Frankly, I don't see what's wrong." Reo spoke after swallowing the sweet treat in his mouth. "You've performed in front of a lot of people before. Besides, you're obviously good at singing."
"First of all, my club members aren't that many people. I'll have to perform in front of most of the whole school in the festival!" [Name] huffed as he lifted his head up from his desk to stare at Reo. "Second of all, you haven't even seen me perform yet! How would you know that I'm any good at singing?" He huffed dramatically.
"First of all," Reo rolled his eyes as he copied [Name]'s way of speaking. "You would've had to perform in front of the whole school eventually so it's better to get it over with now rather than later." Suddenly, he pointed his spoon in front of [Name]'s face and gave him a grin. "Second of all, I didn't need to see you perform to know you're a good singer. I've heard enough from your peers."
Despite his words, that didn't stop Reo from feeling a bit envious at still not being able to see [Name] perform.
The words seemed to bring a light flush to [Name]'s cheeks out of embarrassment as he once again slammed his head against his desk. A loud groan could be heard from him but thankfully, almost everyone had left for the cafeteria and the only ones remaining were already used to his outbursts.
"Ugh!" He whined loudly once more.
Reo couldn't help but sigh as he turned to look at [Name], finally deciding to take his friend's dilemma seriously. "Look, I get you're regretting your decision but trust me when I say that it's simply because you're overwhelmed. I'm not saying the nervousness will ever go away but it'll all feel better when you're out there and performing, alright?" Reo soothed, his words coming off mostly from experience.
As a consistent student leader and as someone that tends to be dragged into competitions, he'd gotten used to public speaking. Although the nervousness before will never fully disappear, once he's finally out there and presenting, he finds himself forgetting the fear and instead embracing the thrill of speaking.
While he can't say it's the same experience for everyone, he trusts that [Name]'s had a similar clarity before. He might not have been able to be there at the time but he just knows it's happened before.
"You think so?" [Name] mumbled quietly soon after as he lifted his head up once again to stare at him. He had placed his cheek against his forearm instead of face planting onto his desk.
"You trust me, don't you?" Reo offered a small smile as he stuck out his pinky finger.
[Name] couldn't help but smile as he hooked his own pinky with the other.
"Yeah, I do."
And he always will.
____________
Man, I am on a roll today! If only I'm this motivated with my own schoolwork lmaoooo