Sweet, Morbid Music

Introductions

 A simple, quiet day in the Literature club room. Edd is conversing with Tom about 'Curiosity: A Morbid Tale', a novel that Edd had really liked and recommended to his friend. Tord is curled in the corner, his nose buried in a manga with several others stacked off to the side. Everything seems peaceful, and relatively normal.

"Guys!!" Matt's voice echoes loudly, making everyone jump and whip around to look at the ginger who had burst through the door. "I found our club a new member!!" Matt chirps excitedly, grabbing his friend's hand and dragging him inside.

Tom and Tord stand up from their desks, each walking over to the "new member" and eyeing him closely. Edd smiles as he stands up, walking over as well. "He seems lovely, Matt."

"..." The unknown male remains silent, staring at the ground. Matt frowns, looking at him and huffing. "Come on, don't be like that!" He whines, "I already told you, these guys are nice!" The guy still seems unconvinced.

Edd smiles, laughing softly, "That's okay, Matt. We'll let him warm up to us, and the club room."

Tom nods, to which Tord scoffs. "We're sure he's even going to be a member? It doesn't seem like he really wants to be here." Matt looks over at the unsure, nervous brunette. He's slightly squirming in place, and really seems like he'd rather be anywhere else.

"I'm sure he'd be a great addition to the club." Edd chimes in with a grin, picking up his and Tom's previously discarded novel and neatly placing it back on the shelf. Finally, the anxious, nameless brunette spoke up.

"Not trying to be rude, but... what exactly is your club?"

"Oh, no..." Tom murmured. "Great, now you've done it..." Tord sighed, shaking his head. Edd turned around with a bright, wide grin plastered on his face.

"I'm so glad you asked!! We are the Literature Club of Lakewood Academy! We strive to get students more interested in literature of all sorts-- reading, writing, poems, stories, plays, et cetera! I'm Edd, the club's second in command. Matt here is our president." He stopped to grin almost coyly at Matt, who puffed out his chest. "He started this club our freshman year, actually! He thought it would be a great way for us to hang out and bond over our favorite things."

The nameless brunette glanced at Matt, who seemed to falter for a moment and avoid his eyes before grinning almost sheepishly. Their attention was quickly snapped back to Edd as he kept talking, "This lovely guy here is Tom! Why don't you say something about why you joined the club?"

Tom sighs, grabbing a flash from inside his hoodie pocket and uncapping it. He took a long swig before staring at Edd, then the nameless brunette Matt had unfortunately dragged here. "I think I joined a couple days after Edd did. I didn't have a fucking clue what he was getting me into, but I figured, 'Hey, it's a place to hang out, so why not?' I guess reading was just a bonus."

The brunette nodded as he listened to Tom, then almost expectantly looked at Tord, who immediately tensed up. "Don't look at him like a lost puppy, it makes you look desperate." He rolled his eyes before continuing, "And I'm sad to say my reasoning isn't much different form Tom's. Matt dragged me into the club a week or so after the teachers had approved it, and I just thought it would be a fun hangout after school."

He looked at Matt, "And... why did you make this club in the first place, Matt? I didn't think you liked reading..." Matt only grinned as he dove into his explanation.

"So... Yeah, I'm not the biggest reader. But!! School is about learning and improving, right? So, I figured we could learn what we all like to read, experiment with different types of books that we wouldn't usually read, and improve our mindset when it comes to things outside of our comfort zone!"

The four stared at Matt for a few minutes, making him gradually lose his confidence he had during his small speech. "Uh... did I say something stupid...?" Everyone quickly shakes their head, causing Matt to perk up again.

"That's probably the smartest reasoning I've ever heard from you." Tom mumbles before taking another swig.

Tord nods in agreement, "I didn't expect your reason to be so... intellectual. I mean, you spend half of our classes staring at your reflection and fixing your hair."

Matt, Edd, Tom, and Tord all stare at the brunette expectantly, waiting for his verdict tensely. The unknown male feels awkward with all of their eyes on him, making him stare at the ground. "Uh... Um... I..." He sighed, "Fine... I'll give it a go."