Mystery of Love

8

The pine trees lined the sides of the road and swayed in its gentle elegance. The sun was scorching hot. Summertime had its unique way of making everyone frustrated.

In the band storeroom, chaos ensued. The sound of tiny flicking chains could be heard as the members hurriedly grabbed their blazers.

The other members were warming-up in the band room. While the rest were setting up their instruments, Theo was already playing his flute. His instrument only had three parts so it took him merely ten seconds to piece them together.

He played the B-flat major scale while staring at the screen of the tuner. The needle seemed to stray from the middle indicating that it was out of tune.

As he continued practising, the remaining members seated outside were revising the directional plans with the teachers.

The day had finally arrived. The band had prepared two classical pieces for an opening ceremony of the newly renovated garden beside the school. The performing groups were invited to grace the reopening event.

"Just remember to look at me and follow my tempo. The rest will turn out fine." The band conductor reassured.

After the final briefings, everyone carried their instruments, music stands and blazers out to the school carpark. There were two big buses waiting to fetch both students and their instruments to the venue.

"Do you need my help in carrying anything?"

"We're fine but thanks for offering, Theo." Anna replied.

Theo liked the clarinets section more than his own and he often found himself gravitating towards them. In a way, he could relate better to them.

"Can we sit together in the bus?"

"Sure." Kaleb replied.

He felt a tinge of embarrassment as it seemed as though he was seeking for permission to do so. As he glanced around, he noticed most of the members were seated alone. However, it wasn't an awkward arrangement as they needed the seat beside them to lay their instruments down.

"Here, just lay it on my lap." Theo requested.

He grabbed his flute and the clarinet which was long enough to rest horizontally across their laps. They adjusted into a more comfortable sitting position while holding onto the equipment.

"And away we go!" Theo remarked playfully as the bus zoomed off.

The garden was so big that it stretched across the entire district. It had multiple entrance points and was deemed by some as a "magical forest".

𝘚𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘢 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯, 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵? Theo wondered.

As the bus manoeuvred out of the school, a bright ray of sunshine pierced into their eyes. Kaleb yanked the curtain close and heaved a sigh of relief.

"I barely slept last night." He explained.

"Why? Were you busy?"

"I was too caught up watching anime. I told myself just one more episode and you can imagine how it went... It's such an unhealthy cycle."

"Yea I know what you mean. It's like you need to know what will happen next."

"So what anime do you watch?"

Theo was slightly taken aback by the question.

"Um...I seldom watch anime now but I used to watch Psycho Pass, Tokyo Ghoul, Death Note that sort of stuff..."

In truth, Theo also enjoyed reading yaoi. He couldn't reveal that secret to him.

All of a sudden, Randy popped out from the seats behind and rubbed his hand into Kaleb's hair. He reacted by combing his hair back to its original state with his hand.

Kaleb often received the adoration of many as a result of his attractive looks. His relatively short stature welcomed unwanted touches as though he was a toddler.

Theo was frankly annoyed by them as he understood their sexual desires. They simply had a thirst for lust. Theo, however, did not have a single lustful thought when it came to Kaleb. He just found him cute.

The bus arrived at the destination. Upon alighting, the scent of flowers filled the air. It felt as though nature had a unique scent.

The teachers guided the band members into a gigantic tent which was apparently the venue of the performance. A crowd had already formed. Even the stage displayed artificial plants and flowers installed by the event organizers.

The band members were seated by the side of the stage, awaiting for their turn to perform.

"Band members, we arrived earlier than the scheduled time. You can all take a break and come back here in twenty minutes."

"I'm thirsty. Wanna get drinks?" Kaleb asked.

"Me too, let's go." Theo replied. He wanted to escape the place quickly before anyone else decided to tag along with them.

From a distance, they noticed another tent. There were ushers inviting public members into the tent. Following the directions given, they entered the tent and noticed that the vibes were completely different.

Multiple booths were set up by various sporting companies to advertise their products. Before he could decipher his next action, Kaleb had already gone to a booth that gave free samples of their sports drink.

He shamelessly took multiple plastic cups and gulped down the liquid. It felt like 𝘥𝘦𝘫𝘢 𝘷𝘶.

In middle school, he remembered one time when Kaleb was also drinking a sports drink. It was embarrassing for him to admit but he practically had an orgasm watching him swallow each mouthful of liquid. There was something about his well-defined throat with each forceful gulps that radiated some sort of masculine energy.

It was one of those moments where he made decisions with his manhood instead of his brain. He asked Kaleb if he could drink from his bottle, fully aware that he was saliva conscious. He persisted several times before giving up as Kaleb simply replied in an indecisive and low tone: "No...".

It was an embarrassing memory he didn't wish to recall. As they made their way back, they bumped into Randy.

"Where were you guys?? It's our turn soon!"

Upon entering the tent, the band members were already making their way up the stage. Theo joined his section and took deep breaths to calm his nerves. The conductor made the first strike with his baton and the band started playing.

The crowd listened attentively, mesmerized by the sounds that complimented the visuals of the garden, portraying an overall outlook that reflected beauty.

When they finished playing, the band conductor turned his back to face the crowd before making a deep bow. The gesture was followed by a series of applause.

The band members displayed optimistic expressions on their faces as they frequently did at the conclusion of a performance. Their efforts for the past few weeks had not gone to waste.