Hold Me Closer

Chapter 11

Nobody volunteered to be the next to present their outfit, leaving Ms. Winger hanging in the front of the class.

"Well then, let's go with... Clare and Felix. You two look like you've done an excellent job."

Clare's gut dropped as she stood up to grab the dress. I'm gonna have to talk with Felix after our awkward conversation this morning. Taking it off the rack, she noticed that the back of the top had been changed from a zipper, to a corset lacing. "Felix?" She called, "Can you come here?"

Felix walked over. "What's up?"

"What is this?" Clare asked, pointing to the back of the top. "Where did the zipper go?"

"Oh, that. It was a midnight impulsive decision. I found an old corset and thought that it would look good on our dress, so I sewed it in."

Great, Clare thought, Now he's gonna have to help me lace it. She sighed. "Can you come with me to lace this up?"

Felix chuckled. "Of course."

Stepping out of the room together, Felix grabbed her wrist, pulling Clare back from walking to the bathroom. "Where are we gonna go? We can't go into the usual bathrooms because I'm a man. Not the locker rooms either."

 "I forgot about that...

"Oh! How about we run the abandoned wing of the school and go into one of those bathrooms? Nobody will find us there. It's also not too far away."

Clare pondered for a second. "It's not like we have any other option I guess. Let's hurry."

Together, they ran down the hallway, side by side. They made their way over to the wing of the school, which had been abandoned due to lack of teachers.

About five years ago, Withwood High school lost a bunch of employees due to a sickness that was spreading around, and couldn't afford to keep the wing clean and open, so they shut it down. Ever since, nobody dared to go into it, saying it was haunted by ghosts.

Slowing down, they pushed through double doors, meaning they were officially in the vacant wing. Down the hall, there was a sign above head that said: 'Restrooms'.

"There they are!" Felix said, running down the hallway.

"How did you even know about this wing?" Clare asked, panting. "I never showed it to you."

"Some of my friends showed it to me," Felix slowed down, but not in front of the bathrooms. It was a music room. "Yo, look at this!" He slid open a squeaky door, walking into the dusty room.

"What are you doing?" Clare complained, following him in. "We don't have that much time."

The room was flooded with sunlight which was obscured by the white curtains on the windows. In the center of the room was a beautiful piano, coated with a thick layer of dust, and against the wall was a couch that had multiple stains on it from who knows what.

"This is sick," Felix huffed, pulling out a bench under the piano. "Watch this." He placed his hands on the keys softly, then began playing a beautiful jazz piece. With every note he swayed back and forth, like no one was watching. His piece was magical. Then Felix slowed to a stop. "The piano is great. But you know what else is? This room. It could be our new hangout spot!"

"I think this is something to discuss another time, Felix," Clare said, internally not wanting to end the moment. "I need to get changed."

"Right," He stood up, "Let's be quick."

Exiting the room, they sped walked down to the bathroom.

"Just wait out here, Felix. I'll call you in when I need you."