Broken Guitar Strings

Chapter 13

(ALLIE’S POV)

The rest of break was pretty relaxed (thank God).

Then came the day when Mr. Morse decided to play me and Lay’s composition piece in front of the class. Which means that everyone gets to hear me sing. Yay. It turns out that we were the only group who wrote lyrics and actually recorded it. Of course, there’s also that whole thing where Mr. Morse totally loves Lay. When he announced that our group did the best job on the assignment, literally all eyes went to me. I think only IU looked at Lay but the rest of the students’ attention was all on me. Well, I mean, people usually look at me a lot in class, but this is so different. It’s for a different reason than just “wow look it’s the gorgeous heir of Adidas.”

I turn to say something to IU and out of the corner of my eye I can see Chanyeol sitting in the back with a disapproving look on his face. There was a hint of sadness in his eyes, along with jealousy.

Then we hear “Looking out the window…” coming from the speakers next to the teacher’s desk. “Ughhh,” I smile into my hands that are now covering my face in embarrassment. At first people grin at me, but as the music progresses, I see that they fall silent and all of their attention is on the piece. IU looks at me and smiles kindly. “The flow is perfect,” she says in a low voice. I smiled back. As the music ends, the whole classroom bursts into applause. We really did such a good job?!

I look across the room at Lay. He’s casually dressed in a plaid button-up. He looks adorable, but his sharp-as-ever jawline give the handsome edge to his appearance. He looks sheepishly down into something he’s fiddling with under his desk.

“Alright, that was the perfect example of a student composition. The chords and inversions were placed well and the music flowed. Good lyric-writing, too.” Mr. Morse claps his hands together. “Yeah, good job you guys,” Savannah adds loudly. “You work together really well.” That’s like the first compliment with a somewhat non-sarcastic, real intention she’s ever given me. I’m worried.

Wait…

Ah, nevermind.

As class ends, I walk over to Chanyeol and say, “How did you and Whitney do?”

He frowns in disgust. “Let’s just say that we didn’t fail but I did all I could from not tearing her throat out.”

I raise my eyebrows. “Uh, whoa there, Wolverine.”

He laughs. “I think I’ll be fine. As long as you are.” He gives me one of those toothy smiles that show off his perfect, white teeth. Then at that moment, Chen yells at the door, “Come on, Yeol! We have a bio lab today.” Chanyeol waves a “later” at me and rushes to join Chen. I put on my backpack  and head towards the door.

“Allie?”

I turn around. It was Lay. I notice that his bluish-gray Vans match his shirt, and his khakis are very fitting. (Everything is on point about him today.) Both of his hands are behind his back and the corners of his lips curl up in a tiny little smile. Even like this, I can faintly see his dimples. From behind his back, he takes out a red rose and extends his arm. He stands there shyly with his other hand behind his back, saying, “I know you’re already Chanyeol’s, but I have to let you know that I think you’re the most wonderful girl. Please just accept this rose, even if you don’t feel that way towards me.”

Oh my god. I’m completely and utterly shocked. “Oh my gosh, Lay.” I reach out my hand and place my fingers just beneath the flower, on top of his hand. “Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me.” I cup the rose in my palm and slowly lift it away, taking the rose. I hold it with both hands close to my heart. He gives me a sweet, innocent-looking smile. I mean, a lot of people have asked me out. A lot. However, in my whole entire lifetime, I’ve only dated two guys. And neither of them were like Lay (or Chanyeol, in fact). Just this...it’s so simple and sweet. I love it. “Lay…”

“It’s okay if you don’t feel that way about me. I just-”

I rush up to him and crush him with a huge hug. I don’t hear him start breathing until about three seconds later. “No, Lay. I like you. I really do.”