Keys to his heart

I

I dashed through the chilled winter air, wind nipping at my exposed skin. Shoving open the school door, I was greeted with an exhale of warm air from the building. I stopped just inside the doors and took a deep breath. I made it.

At a significantly slower pace, I began trekking to the music room. The halls wound around in what seemed to be a labyrinth manner, easy to get lost in if you didn't know where to go. I followed the path that had been engrained deep in my brain. I'd followed this series of hallways for almost three years now to the band hallway; if I didn't know the route yet, I was a lost cause.

I passed by each empty classroom, the desks vacant of bored students. Some classes didn't even have their teachers yet. The hallways were empty, save for the occasional footsteps echoing through the hallway. The school was a ghost town.

It was always a ghost town when I got to school; I liked it that way. This early in the morning, it was tranquil and inhabited, the only people that would arrive would be the sports guys to fool around in the gym before class. But it was only 6:57, and they wouldn't arrive until 7:15.

The stairs echoed loudly as my sneakers connected with them, the stairwell filled with noise. I hit the last stair jogging, finally having my breath back. I made my way through the lower hallways to the music room, ripping open the door.

The intense heat of the band room hit me like a wall. In less than a second, I had gone from barely comfortable to scorching hot. By the time I was sitting at the piano bench, I had stripped off both my jacket and sweatshirt, yet I was still starting to sweat.

"Stupid mouth instruments," I muttered, fanning myself with loose papers from my folder.

I set my papers down and clicked the power button for the piano, patiently waiting for it to turn on. It was disappointing that the band room only had an electric piano, but I didn't mind much. A piano was a piano.

"Hey Callum!" Mrs. Harin chirped, poking her head in from her office. "Practicing for the talent show?"

"Not today," I said, smiling lightly. "Just messing around."

"Sounds good!" She stepped from her office, adjusting her glasses. "I have to run to a faculty meeting, I trust you'll be good."

"I'll try, but you know me."

She rolled her eyes, smiling. "Ah yes, I always forget you're the trouble student. Just try not to burn down the building."

She swiftly exited the room, the door clicking shut quietly behind her. I turned back to the piano, my fingers finding their way to the ivory keys. Without a thought, my hands began to play, guided by an invisible force. It was as if they had a mind of their own.

The piano, despite being an electronic impersonation, rang out beautiful notes. The melody floated through the air like a gentle river, serene and calming. My eyes closed as I listened to the music that my hands had decided to make, basking in the warmth of the song. It was soft and comfortable, almost like a lullaby. The melody gently guided my mind through a loosely imagined scene, filled with bright blue skies and a perfectly still lake. I could feel my muscles relaxing the further I got into the song.

"Never have I ever," I let my voice sing, letting it find its own words. "Felt so unclever, than the moment I began to play."

My fingers fluttered across the piano, lightly grazing each note to give it a light and airy feel. My foot quietly pumped up and down on the pedal, the notes resonating before being cut short, only to ring out once more.

"If only I had stopped to think, maybe then I wouldn't be on the brink; the edge of brilliance."

I heard the door open beneath the slowly climaxing melody. I wanted to turn to acknowledge whoever it was, likely Mrs. Harin, but it was taking most of my brain power just to keep the melody going. I ignored the presence I felt in the doorway and kept going.

"Writing's harder than it seems, and composing causes screams, so maybe I should stop right now."

My hands were slamming on the keys by now. "My brain pumps out these tunes, but it's as dry as those old dunes, so someone please give me an idea!"

The piano became softer, returning to the calm feel at the beginning. It was only a short tune, but I could feel myself losing the spark that drove me forwards. It was better to wrap up the song where it was than to try and limp it out.

"At this piano I will sit, and never will I quit, till the moment the last note's sung."

For the first time since I had entered the room, there was pure silence. The only noise I could hear was the sound of my quiet breathing and the light pounding of my heartbeat. I suddenly remembered the person standing in the door, silently waiting. I took a deep breath and turned.

"Sorry, I just haven't been feeling super creative lately-"

My words died away as my eyes landed on the figure standing in the doorway. It was not Mrs. Harin, who I had previously expected to have walked in, nor was it any music kid. Instead, it was the muscular body of Oskar Hashim.

His dark blue eyes were wide in amazement, a small smile dancing on his lips. He ran a tan hand through his honey-colored hair, letting out a nervous chuckle. My heart rate spiked as I looked at him with a mixture of confusion and anxiety.

"S-sorry, I thought you were Mrs. Harin," I muttered, my hands wringing in my lap.

Oskar glanced down at his lean, muscular physique, chuckling as his gaze met mine. "I'm not sure I see the resemblance."

I felt my face heat up. "I couldn't tell who walked in, I was lost in the piano."

He hummed in understandance, his eyes flicking to the piano. "I would imagine you were, you looked like you were really enjoying it."

I shrugged. "I like music."

"I can tell."

I looked at the piano, focusing on its ivory keys. I could feel Oskar's gaze turn back to me, but I felt too nervous to return the look. It was hard to look your crush in the eyes, especially when you were alone in a room with them. Even more so when it was a room that they shouldn't have ever found their way to.

"Why are you in the band room?" I blurted, turning to return his gaze. He smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I kinda got lost."

"Lost?"

"Yeah, I took one or two wrong turns and ended up way away from where I was supposed to."

I nodded. It was no secret our school was a maze, so much so that even the teachers sometimes got lost. "I think if you follow the hallway to the left you'll eventually find your way to the soccer field."

He nodded, but made no move to leave. I watched him curiously for a moment, waiting for him to be on his way. Instead, he hooked his thumbs in his pockets, his hands hanging against his legs. He smiled hopefully, his expression radiating warmth.

"Could I maybe listen to you play a few more songs?"