City Hall Melodies

Unpopular opinion: Lin actually has a nice voice.

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Everyday commute would've been gruelling to anyone else. But Y/N basically grew up on public transport. The New York subway was her little dirty, stinky home, where she could spend the time thinking about the big questions of life, as the silver cars rattled through the tunnel. She preferred the seat in the end of the car. And this was one of those evenings.

Y/N sat in the corner of the subway car on Line 6, watching that one guy doing a tiktok trend in the door. Or the woman with the two kids, who couldn't keep seated. Or the tourists furiously pointing at the detailed map of the subway system, trying to figure out where they are even headed. It was one of those cars, that don't show the next station on huge TV screens on the side, so no wonder they were so frustrated. Y/N smiled. For a moment she thought about helping them, she knew all the stations by heart. But the tourists got off at the next stop.

She sighed and rested her head against the wall. It was not comfortable. She could feel the unevenness of the subway tracks in her bones. It was not comfortable, it was annoying, but it was also strangely soothing. Still, she didn't remember falling asleep, or how she even managed to fall asleep. Neither was she glad to have fallen asleep as she finally woke up.

She quickly checked around in her tote bag for her phone, wallet, and keys. What a relief they were all there. It would be genuienly a problem if she lost any of it. She would have to sleep in front of her door on the ground, until her friends woke up and let her in. She could not call them if her phone was gone. And she couldn't even get to the door actually, without her credit card, as Line 6 didn't really go the direction she would've needed. At that point she would just need to have enough luck to find a MetroCard in the dirt on the ground. But luckily she didn't need to have that luck.

After this overthinking rush she looked outside the window to see where she was exactly. Brooklyn Bridge, City Hall. She settled back onto the dead-orange seat. It doesn't matter. The next station is the same station anyway. Just a short loop. As she laid her head against the wall of the car again, she heard faint singing. It was not particularly good, more like a normal person in the shower. At first it was just quiet singing. But it seemed as though the person singing concluded they were alone and could do it somewhat louder. He didn't sing particulary good, but somehow it didn't feel off either. And actually... on some notes it sounded good. Soothing in the background. Actually... his voice was relaxing and smooth. Y/N opened her eyes again.

She looked over to the other side of the car. He's sitting with his back to her. He most likely didn't know that she's there. She blinked as she observed him.

Such an interesting person.

Her eyes scanned his figure with curiosity. He had a dark brown sidepart, and wore a simple grey hoodie. His headphones sat shifted to the side, not covering his right ear. So that he can hear himself, she concluded. She slowly stood up, walking as silently as she can towards him, without falling over in the moving subway car. Just a few feet away from him she stopped, stopped and listened. She didn't know what she wants to say. Something. A compliment. But she couldn't think of any sentence that wouldn't sound weird. So she just waited, waited until he finished. Then she quietly clapped. Of course in an empty subway car any noise is noise. She was clapping with an awkward smile, as he turned to her. He seemed caught in the act.

"Oh, I didn't know someone was listening..." - he laughed a little embarrassed, like any singer who doesn't know the size of their audience. - "I thought the car was empty!"

"Well, it - apparently - isn't." - Y/N answered trying to say something substantial, to have an actual conversation. - "But your singing made my day."

"Then I'm happy!" - he exclaimed with a weirdly endearing spark in his eyes.