Duet (Ben and Summit)

Summit Adams

The next day was a Wednesday, which meant that Ben had piano practice. He loved playing piano, but the practices were a bit of a nuisance. Before his lesson however, 8 more hours of "nuisance" awaited. He drove to school every day, so at least he wasn't on that dreaded bus. As he pulled into a space at the student parking lot, he turned off his radio and unbuckled his seatbelt. He walked up the long hill to the high school, signed in, and headed to his first period class; a college class named Art 120.

Winterwood High, being a school in a small rural Kentucky town, was not the friendliest place. Farmers, tobacco chewers, and drug dealers littered the school, in addition to your everyday popular kids, "E-girls," and toxicly masculine pubescent boys. Some of the ceiling tiles were stained from leaks, and most of the bathroom's stalls had bent locks. Classrooms were hot near the center of the school, and freezing around the edges if the building.

So needless to mention, Ben was already annoyed to have to be at Winterwood today.

He was more annoyed when the office called for him over the intercom. All the students in his class watched him leave the room.

As he arrived at the front office, they directed him to a counselor's room, where another teen boy and the Counselor, Mrs. Stonewall, waited for him.

"Hello, Mr. Taylor, please sit down."

Ben did as he was told.

"You must be wondering why you are here today. Let me explain." Mrs. Stonewall paused for a moment to find the right words. "I have talked to your father about your situation with your mother, and I think you would benefit of having Mr. Adam's here as a friend."

"He has been in your shoes before, and he could help you sort out your feelings." The counselor smiled awkwardly, waiting for one of the teens to speak. Summit was the first to break the silence.

"My mom passed away four years ago from lung cancer. I know we don't really know each other, but out of everyone here, I hope you can feel comfortable enough to talk to me."

Ben hadn't taken a close look at Summit when he first walked in. He was slightly taller than Ben, with a more muscular frame. His dark, wavy hair and tan skin brought out the whites of his eyes and teeth, and it was obvious that he put effort into his skincare and eyebrows. He looked a bit like a Instagram photo that could move.

Summit blushed for a moment, and awkwardly smiled, revealing a single dimple on the left side of his face. He scratched his neck, and the silence in the room was thick.

Ben suddenly realized he had been staring at this guy's face, and turned beet red. "I, uh, zoned out, sorry. But yeah, it could definitely be nice to meet up sometime."

"Well," said Mrs. Stonewall, who had witnessed the entire one sided staring contest, "Y'all should head back to class. I hope you guy do actually talk to each other."

As Ben walked back to Art 120, he felt an odd sensation. He had never seen Summit in his life, yet he stuck in Ben's mind. His wavy hair and dark eyes, his slightly toned, naturally muscular arms...

Ben blushed to himself, and waited till he felt his face cool before entering the classroom.

The rest of the day was relatively normal, aside from the times that Ben had nothing to do. That was when his mind wandered back to Summit. He could tell that he wanted to be friends with Him, but something was different than his relationship with Bailee or Zach. He had a yearning to see him, to be in his presence, for no other purpose than to see his eyes.

He was scared as to what these feelings might mean, but when he started to think about it too deep, he shrugged it off and shoved the feelings to the back of his mind.