Just The Three Of Us | The Music Freaks

Chapter 3

Golden light sprinkling into the room, invading it with sunlight, the bright sun glistening against the window of the dining room.

A pair of step-siblings sat at the table, silently doing their homework.

"So..." Hailey was first to speak up, quite curious over a topic that had stumbled across during their rehearsals earlier, "Are you going to tell him?"

"What?" Zander glanced up from his textbook, raising an eyebrow. His expression was simply unimpressed, rather annoyed.

"You know what I'm talking about," His aqua-haired sister continued, managing a small smirk, "Are you going to tell either of them, for that matter?" She quipped.

Zander let out a small sigh of defeat, lowering his head back down. Another eerie silence came across them, lingering there for a few moments before the lilac-eyed teenagers finally spoke up, "I'm not telling him until I'm one-hundred percent positive he returns my feelings," He explained, his eyes still glued on his homework, "I don't wanna ruin the friendship we've already built. If that happened, I'd not only lose him, but Stacy would be his best friend, and they'd probably grow closer, and then..." He stopped himself, sucking in a sharp breath, "I don't think I could manage that."

"I get that," Hailey replied simply, averting her attention back to her notes.

Zander desperately wanted her to ask a question, one that he's been terrified of asking for years, yet he wasn't sure to bring it up. "Do you..." The ebony-eyed girl raised her head, glancing back at her brother, "Think he... Likes me?" He faltered, whispering the last two words.

"Honestly," Hailey hummed, "It's hard to tell. It could be you..." She took a moment to deliberate, silently deciding if her thought was worth proclaiming,  "Or Stacy... I have no clue." After seeing her brother's saddened look, she quickly added, "But he's pan! So you do have a chance!" She nervously grinned, "It still could be you!"

"Yeah right," Zander scoffed back.

"No, I'm serious!" Hailey reached her hand forward, placing it onto her brother's, "Zander, I think you should confess. If you really want to be with him, just tell him. Speak from your heart. If he rejects you, that's his loss."

The mauve-haired teen hesitated for a moment, "But, it's putting our entire friendship at risk..."

"Zander, you guys are close. A crush isn't gonna destroy your entire friendship!" His step-sister assured, "Maybe he's the one? You'll never know unless you try!"

Taking a deep breath, Zander breathed out, "I'll consider it."

---

Stacy rushed down the path that led to school. For whatever reason, Zander hadn't waited for her like usual. She stopped by his house, assuming he was late, but his mother explained he had already left.

Though confused, Stacy took it as a small misunderstanding and was going faster than usual, in hopes of catching up with Zander and Luke.

Unfortunately, she was too late, as she hadn't seen them when finally arriving at school. She was confused as to why Zander had completely abandoned her, if not a bit mad. They were supposed to be best friends, right?

Once she entered the school, she was heading to her locker, when she saw Luke on his way to his first-period class.

"Luke!" The brunet perked up at the sound of his name. Upon seeing the navy-haired girl, his lips curled into a smile.

"Hey, Stacy!" He called, speeding up his pace to catch up to her. "Why didn't you walk with us this morning?" He asked, slightly tilting his head in confusion.