Symphony of Sound.

“Whoever decided that this school should have a stupid Christmas dance needs killing. Seriously.” Jack says with a frown as he attempts to straighten his tie for the fifth time in as many minutes.

“It’s probably some stupid old tradition that Dr. Walker won’t let them ditch, despite how outdated it is.” Alex says with a shrug.

“I hate traditions.”

“They hate you too, Jack.”

“Thanks, Alex.”

“You’re welcome.” Alex replies with a cheeky smile, elbowing Jack gently. The younger boy frowns, jabs his side lightly in retaliation and sticks his tongue out a little at him.

Alex laughs, glancing back into the mirror and letting his eyes linger on Jack for longer than he’d care to admit to.

“I don’t know why we’re even going to this thing, it’s not like we have dates.” Jack says with frown, finally satisfied with his tie.

“I suppose.” Alex says, looking back at Jack again. The darker haired boy gives him a weak smile, ruffling his hair in an attempt to style it.

The only reason you don’t have a date is because I’m too scared to ask you, Alex.

“We should go downstairs.” Jack suggests, linking his arm with Alex’s and smiling.

“I kind of want to just stay up here and watch movies until it’s over.” Alex says with a small smile, squeezing Jack’s arm gently.

“I’d much prefer to do that too, but the stupid school rules say that if we stay for Christmas, we have to go to this thing.” Jack counters, frowning slightly.

“I hate this school.”

“You’ve said before.”

When they arrive in the common room a few moments later, Cassadee and Rian are waiting for them, and Alex is suddenly struck by how much he misses Zack already.

“So you two are going together now?” Cassadee asks, cocking her head to the side and raising an eyebrow.

Both boys shake their heads.

“Not exactly,” Jack says, “it’s just neither of us have dates and we don’t want to be stood on our own all night.”

Cassadee nods, her hazel eyes fixed on Jack in a way the worries him –the way she’s raising her eyebrows at him makes him wonder if she knows what he really wants.

No, that’s stupid. She’s never really had a conversation with me. And besides, I haven’t told anyone.

“Shall we head down, then?” Rian suggests, taking hold of Cassadee’s hand and leading her towards the stairs.

It strikes Jack how much seeing things like this must hurt Zack, and for a moment he’s glad that the blonde boy left for Christmas. Rian and Cassadee probably factored into it more than they realize.

“What are you thinking about?” Alex says quietly, resting his head against Jack’s shoulder to get his attention.

“Nothing much,” Jack lies, looking down at the younger boy with a slight smile.

“No, you are. I can tell. You always make weird faces when you’re thinking really hard.”

“I do?”

“Yeah. You frown at everything.”

“Oh.” Jack says, looking up and training his eyes on Cassadee and Rian, who are about three feet in front. The only reason Jack can see them is because of Cassadee’s dress –it’s a brilliant white, strapless number with pastel coloured blue, yellow and pink stripes around the lower half, accented with a black belt.

Rian thinks she looks prettier than ever, but that doesn’t stop the niggling feeling in the back of his mind that something’s seriously wrong with Zack.

He shakes his head, unsettling his loose brown curls and Cassadee giggles quietly at him. He fakes a smile, pretends like he doesn’t miss his best friend.

They eventually arrive at the auditorium, where they find Evan and Kara deep in conversation about something, both of them with plastic cups of fruit punch.

“Hey,” Kara says with a small smile, turning to face them, her glittery, sunset yellow dress twisting around her.

Evan gives them a small nod in greeting, raising his cup to his lips before taking a long drink.

Cassadee and Rian disappear on to the dance floor quickly after, the other four only managing to keep track of them because of Cassadee’s dress.

“Is it just me, or does it seem to anyone else like Rian feels like he’s missing a limb without Zack?” Alex says, taking the cup Evan passes him with a smile for a thank you.

“No, I thought that too.” The younger boy says, scanning the dancers quickly and managing to locate the couple in question relatively quickly.

“I think he does miss him more than he’s letting on. It’s weird, not having him around.” Jack interjects, swirling the dark cherry red liquid around in the plastic cup.

“I know what you’re saying.” Alex agrees, his eyes shifting from the dancers on the floor to the younger boy beside him.

Evan is about to say something, but Kara appears before he has chance, tugging at his arm.

“I love this song. Evan, come dance with me!”

Evan smiles a little, before allowing the girl to drag him away on to the dance floor.

“He likes her, if you didn’t know.” Alex says nonchalantly. Jack nods, taking a long drink from his cup.

“I know. It’s so obvious.”

The dark haired boy scans the floor again quickly, finding the couple after a few long moments.

“He’s so awkward around girls, it’s so cute.” Alex observes, his gaze following Jack’s and finding the blonde boy blushing furiously as Kara tugs him a little closer.

“And what about you then? You’re hardly Romeo yourself, Gaskarth.” Jack says with a laugh, elbowing the British boy lightly in the ribs.

“I get more girls than you.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Yes, I do.”

“Would you both shut it? Neither of you get girls anyway, I don’t know why you’re arguing about it.” A feminine voice says from a foot or so away. Both boys look up to be met with Hayley and her expression of badly concealed amusement.

Hayley is a clarinettist from senior year who is renowned amongst both her grade and the grade below for her bizarre choices in hair colour. Up until recently, it had been bright orange, but she grew bored of that, and the girl that stands before them sports a pretty intense fuchsia shoulder length cut with straight bangs to match.

“We do get girls. You just never see us with them.” Alex retorts, frowning at her.

“Yeah. Sure. You get girls. I believe you.” She replies, rolling her eyes at them. “Not.”

“We do!” Jack says defensively, pouting at her.

“Yeah? Name one girl you dated for longer than a week while you’ve been here.”

“I dated Juliet last year.” Alex replies, smug.

“No, you didn’t. You both liked each other but neither of you did anything, so she started dating Gabe.” Jack corrects him, shaking his head. “I was with Lisa for three months in sophomore year, though.”

“No, you didn’t do that either. You lusted after her for three months. But she was with Michael, so you didn’t bother.” Alex says, shooting the younger boy down quickly. Jack frowns at him.

“My point exactly!” Hayley says with a proud grin. “Neither of you get girls!”

“What are you trying to prove here, Williams?” Jack says, raising an eyebrow at her.

“Two things.” She says, lifting her hand and shifting her fingers into a peace sign to gesture. “One being that neither of you score with girls, so there’s nothing to argue about. And two, that you don’t get girls because you’re so wrapped up in each other, and it’s really kind of cute, and girls don’t want to come between that cute. Think about that.”

She gives them a small, smug, sideways smile and turns, disappearing back within the crowd as quickly as she had come.

Jack raises an eyebrow in her general direction after she leaves, before turning to Alex.

“I swear, she exists to confuse the shit out of me.”

Alex laughs, drinking the last of his punch and throwing the cup into the nearest trash bag. What Hayley had said earlier about how they were so wrapped up in each other is ringing in his head, so much so that it’s almost making him dizzy.

Jack cocks his head at the older boy, concerned by the way that he’s wavering a little on his feet. He sets his cup down on the table that they’re standing beside and rests his hands on Alex’s upper arms, causing the older, smaller boy to look up at him for a second.

“You okay there, dude?” Jack asks gently. Alex reaches up, brushes his bangs out of his eyes and nods stiffly, shoving his hands deep into his pockets.

How on Earth can you tell him you’re okay? You’re anything but! Hayley can tell! And she doesn’t spend time with either of you outside of orchestra!

“You’re freaking out.” Jack says bluntly, squeezing Alex’s arms gently. “Don’t freak out.”

“I’m not freaking out.” Alex replies curtly, shaking his head awkwardly.

“Yeah, you are. Relax. There’s nothing to be freaking out about.”

Yes there is! Hayley can tell! I haven’t even told you yet, and she knows!

Jack can tell from Alex’s facial expression and the way that his eyes are filled with diluted panic that he’s freaking out, whether he says otherwise or not.

He tugs the older boy into a tight hug, relaxing a little himself when he feels his arms wrap around his waist.

He pulls back a little to take in the smaller boy’s facial expression, smiling when he sees that he no longer resembles a deer in the headlights of an SUV.

“Hey,” He says quietly, with a tiny smile, as he leans forwards just a tiny bit and rests his forehead against Alex’s.

The older boy’s heart immediately begins to thud aggressively, to the point where he’s almost concerned it will jump right out of his chest and into Jack’s.

“Hey,” He whispers back, as confidently as he dare.

Their moment to themselves is suddenly interrupted by the sound of Hayley’s voice echoing across the room.

“Just kiss him already!”