Let It Out

Part 6

Out of nowhere, Caleb heard something. A tune, a melody. It was coming from right outside the stall. He's... singing? Caleb thought, still sniffling and crying. The tune was mellow, slow, and soothing.

"I know why you hide...

It eats you up inside
You'll get lost without your light
Well I'll be here for you, your guide"

Caleb slowed his sobs into short, hiccupping whimpers. He listened to Damian's voice echo around the restroom. Damian's voice wasn't the best sounding, but Caleb was calmed by it and the sincerity he put into his singing.

"When the waters turn to oceans
And the lands become the mountains
I will be here by your side
I am here now, don't cry"

Damian didn't sing further, he just hummed the rest of his song. He continued to hum the tunes until Caleb stopped crying entirely.

Slowly, Caleb unlocked the door to find that Damian was teary eyed. Damian was about to say something when Caleb lunged forward and hugged Damian tightly, breaking into a fresh fit of tears.

Damian stumbled back a bit. He awkwardly received the hug, but then returned it, matching the strength of Caleb's hug. They stood there for a long moment then Damian heard Caleb whisper, "Thank you..." Damian didn't respond, but hugged the eighth grader tighter.

When Caleb finally let go of Damian, he had a half smile on his face. "Thanks.... I needed that." Damian smiled too and said, "You ready to show 'em what you're made of now?" Caleb nodded slowly, wiping away a tear. Before leaving the restroom, Damian called to him, "Hey, I think you need to look in the mirror first maybe" Caleb stopped and looked into the mirror then laughed loudly.

"Yeah, you are a mess." Damian commented, also laughing. "Alright, you fix yourself there. I actually gotta use the toilet." Caleb laughed again then they went about their business.

When they left the boy's restroom, Damian looked at his watch. "You probably missed your intermission time. It's fine if you don't want to do it, I'll tell Chelsea I needed your help for something important, which is kinda true."

They found Damian's presents still in a pile in the hallway. Caleb helped him carry the presents as they headed to Caleb's classroom. When they entered, surprisingly Caleb's turn hadn't passed by. Apparently his class wanted lots of encores from Joy. She looked so worn out though, so it looked like he was next in a couple of minutes.

Damian handed Caleb's teacher her gift and asked to stay for while to watch the intermissions. He approached Caleb and asked, "Will you perform today? I can still ask Chelsea to call off your intermission." Caleb thought about it for a while. He shook his head, "I'm fine, I can do this. But I'm gonna ask you a favor. Can you... uh, stay for the performance? I need someone to focus on while I sing, otherwise I'll sound horrible out there."

Damian chuckled, "Yeah sure I'll stay. I'll be your first official fan when you become a famous singer." Caleb smiled, embarrassed that Damian put his arm around his neck to hug him like how his parents usually have him hugs.

Caleb heard his teacher call out, "Okay, that's quite enough from the talented Joy. Give her a break guys, we know she's great but she can't do the guitar and sing forever." The class groaned a little, but didn't push for any more songs for Joy to perform.

Then she called, "Alright next we have an unexpected intermission from Caleb! This is even more surprising because he will be SINGING us a song!" Caleb felt the weight of the entire class' eyes fall on him. A few seconds of silence then he heard a bunch of cheers.

"Yay, Caleb!"
"I thought he was just the smart one"
"Whooo! Go Caleb!"
"I knew you had a talent!"

Caleb made his way to the front of the room, slightly smiling that he guessed some of his classmates' reactions. When he got up front, Chelsea tapped him on the shoulder, "I didn't get the song you were supposed to sing. What's the name?" Caleb just said, "I'm gonna sing an original. Damian helped me make it." Chelsea shrugged and went back to her DJ job.