If You're Hurt They Bleed

Do You Believe?

"What-"

"Yup."

"But-"

"Uh-huh."

"And Robinski knew?" Molly finally managed a somewhat articulate sentence. 

"Yeah. At least, if he is telling the truth." I shrugged, hugging my stuff tighter to my chest. We were heading to choir, and I had a feeling something was going to happen.  I mean, what Mr. Robinski told me isn't exactly something you can just tell a person. I don't even know if he's telling the truth. I don't even know if I want to know the truth right now. Grayson is just so... confusing, and infuriating, and adorable and... 

Wait. Scratch that last one. I just... Do I tell him?

"Duh! If it's true, then that's absolutely incredible!" Molly exclaimed, and I realized I had been speaking out loud. 

"What did I say?" I turned to her, praying she didn't hear anything before the last question. 

"You asked if you should tell Grayson." She stated. "Also you called him cute." She added before I could breathe a sigh of relief. I rolled my eyes and turned to her. 

"I did not!" I lied, hoping she would drop it. 

"Okay, okay! Touchy, today, are we?" She said nothing else on the topic. 

...Until we walked into the choir room. 

"So, are you going to tell Mr. Cutey-Pants-" Mr. Robinski cut her off. 

"I would appreciate if you just called me Mr. Robinski, Molly." He smiled at her, and she quickly looked down, embarrassed.

"Hey, Maya." Grayson shot me an awkward grin before going to his old spot in the corner. His spot before all of this. He used to sit right next to me...

"Alright, class!" Mr. Robinski walked up to the front as the bell rang. "Today is a solo and duet day! Those of you not performing a solo or duet, please go practice. You'll all be in the band room today. Kailey, you're in charge. Fly, be free, my children!" He ushered them out, turning to us. 

Okay, we'll start with solos. I expect you've all been working on them?" He gave us all a stern look. We quickly nodded, and he turned back to his list. "First up, Grayson with If I Didn't Believe In You." 

Grayson walked up, shaking, and started to sing. As soon as the melody began to flow, he looked right up at me. I quickly averted my eyes, determined to not let a connection be made. To prove Mr. Robinski wrong. There's nothing there. 

"I think you'll be fine!" His voice broke, and I lost my concentration. I looked up, and saw the pain in his eyes, staring right into mine. 

"This is the life I choose..." He looked down, but I couldn't tear my eyes away. 

He ended the song, and went back to the corner, not looking at me. Everyone but me clapped. I was awestruck by the emotion in his performance. 

"Molly, Popular's up next." Mr. Robinski snapped me out of my thoughts. 

"You'll do great," I whispered as Molly walked up to the front.

"Oh, that's right. Who wants to be Elphaba?" Robinski asked, not looking up from the music. 

"Maya?" Molly asked eagerly. 

"Sure." I hopped up, taking a deep breath. 

The music started, and we went to Shiz. 

"Elphie, now that we're friends, I've decided to make you my new project." Molly smiled. 

"You really don't have to do that." I looked out at the other kids, making a face. I heard Grayson snicker. 

We acted out the song pretty smoothly, mimicking the actions we'd practiced since third grade. 

"Just not quite as popular as me!" Molly did jazz hands, and I stifled a laugh. She could make the funeral march bright and jazzy. 

"Alright now, Maya since you're up here why don't you do No One Else?"

I listened to the melody for a minute before coming in. I saw this show when we went to New York last year. Denee Benton did an incredible job with it. As the music led me along, I found myself looking over at Grayson. I realized and quickly turned my head, careful to keep a look of wonder on my face. 

All of a sudden, the song was over. I hurriedly took my spot, avoiding eye contact. 

The others killed their solos, as I expected. 

"Duets!" Mr. Robinski was practically jumping with excitement. "We'll start with Right Hand Man with Grayson and Maya! Keep it PG, kids." He winked at me, and I widened my eyes threateningly. 

"So, you good?" Grayson pestered. 

"Let's just get through this. We can worry about specifics later." I looked straight forward. 

A/N: Hey! I'm aiming for another chapter today, especially since I'm not done with this fun situation here. Is Maya going to tell Grayson? Or maybe he already knows...