Symphony of Sound.

“Not really, no.” Zack replies, sniffing and wiping at his nose with the back of his wrist.

Rian pushes open the door and his expression softens when he sees his best friend in tears.

“What’s wrong?” He asks, moving over to him quickly after shutting the door, sitting down on the bed beside him.

“I... I don’t really know, to be completely honest. Everything just kind of... hurts.”

Rian grimaces a little, and gently takes the violin from the blonde boy’s grip, packing it up carefully and setting the case back on the floor before enveloping him in a tight hug.

“Hey, come on. It’s alright. You’ve just had a rough week, I guess.”

Zack shrugs, his shoulder rising and falling just slightly, because honestly, how would Rian know if he’s had a bad week or not? It’s not like they spend much time together any more. Not since Cassadee came along.

“You never usually get like this. What’s wrong? I’m really starting to worry about you, Zee.”

You’re what’s wrong with me, idiot.

“Like I said, I don’t know. It just hurts to wake up lately, I guess.”

Rian tightens his hold on the younger boy subconsciously, because he can’t stand the thought that he’s hurting and he can’t do anything about it.

“I... I could go, if you want to be on your own for a while.”

Zack shakes his head furiously –that’s the last thing he wants.

“No. No... Please don’t.” Zack says, tugging at his bangs again. “I don’t want to be alone.”

I don’t want to be alone, but you’re hardly helping the situation.

“Alright.” Rian replies, giving into the strong urge he just felt to hold Zack even tighter.

Rian feels almost as if he’s the only thing holding Zack together right now, the only thing that’s stopping the younger boy from just crumbling into pieces and never being able to rebuild himself back to his former glory. And that’s kind of the case, because Zack is so afraid of being alone in this moment that just having Rian hold him is enough to stop his mind from tearing him apart from the inside out.

He sniffs again, blinks to force the tears that sit heavy on his lashes to drop to his cheeks and cascade down until they fall onto the sheets or Rian’s shirt.

“Hey, come on now. Stop crying. You’re fine.”

No, really, I’m not fine.

Zack rests his head on Rian’s shoulder, staring off at the doorway opposite him as he cries quietly –more to himself than to Rian, because it’s not like the older boy would listen to him anyway.

Rian takes hold of a few strands of Zack’s hair and twists it around his fingers absently, not realizing that this isn’t aiding Zack’s situation whatsoever.

Stop it! That’s not helping!

Zack bites at his lip, blinds a few times in a pathetic attempt to stop the tears before he explodes, starting to sob and shake.

Rian internally panics then, mind and heart racing together at lightning speed as his best friend breaks in his arms.

“Zack, it’s okay.”

“It’s alright, everything’s fine.”

“Please stop crying. I’m really worried.”

“Zack, dude, please calm down. You’re starting to scare me.”

Zack hiccups and his tears slow a little, and Rian holds him tight still and refuses to let him go.

“Are you okay, Zee?” Rian whispers, rubbing Zack’s back and nuzzles against his hair.

“I... I don’t know. It’s kind of difficult to tell right now.” Zack whispers back, burying his face against Rian’s neck and closing his eyes. “It just hurts. Please don’t go.”

Zack figures that’s how they end up curled up together with his laptop switched on and playing some action movie from about twenty years ago that Rian dug out of his bag.

“I think Dad must have snuck this in when I wasn’t looking.” Rian says, wrinkling his nose at the terrible cinematography. “There’s no way I’d ever pick up something this terrible.”

Zack makes a quiet noise to show he’s still listening but has nothing to add, and shuffles further back against Rian’s chest.

Rian’s eyes flit from Zack, then back to the laptop screen, where the movie is flickering away, more to itself than to either of them.

“Do you know something, Zee?” Rian says against the younger boy’s hair, brown eyes still trained on the movie.

“What?” Zack murmurs, voice barely audible.

“The existence of flamethrowers tells me that someone, somewhere said ‘I want to set that on fire, but it’s too far away.’”

Zack rolls his eyes, laughs a little, quiet and not at all like usual.

“God, you’re so weird, Rian. Why am I friends with you?” Zack asks, and it makes Rian smile, because that’s more his Zack than the younger boy has been lately.

“Hush up, you. You know you love me.”

Yes, I do. Thank you for noticing.

“I suppose.”

“You have to love me! If you don’t, then who will?”

I’m pretty sure Cassadee would be more than happy to step up to the challenge if you ask her.

“Your mom will. But only because she has to.”

Rian looks horrified and elbows Zack in the side jokingly.

“You’re so mean to me.”

“Yeah, I know. You tell me all the time.”

Rian smiles, happy that Zack is being himself for longer than one sentence.

Their eyes fall back onto the laptop screen, despite having no idea what is even going on in the stupid movie any more.

Both boys wince when someone they presume to be the main character falls and stumbles over, landing awkwardly on his crotch.

“That’s all kinds of nasty and seven flavours of wrong.” Rian hisses, blinking. Zack laughs at him again, moving his arms so they rest under his head.

“You need better phrases, Ri.”

“Oh shut up. Just because you’re not as witty and enigmatic as I am doesn’t mean you have to get all jealous.”

“Who said I was jealous? You’re so stupid sometimes, I swear to God.”

Zack rolls over onto his back and away from the brown haired boy, laughs, and sticks his tongue out.

“You’re such a dork.”

“Why thank you.”

Rian makes his move then, hands reaching out and his fingers wriggling over Zack’s stomach, making the younger boy squirm and giggle, shaking his head and closing his eyes.

“Rian! Quit it!”

“Why should I?” Rian asks, sticking his tongue out and moving closer to Zack, almost on top of him. He tickles further, pushing up under his shirt and tapping across the younger’s skin.

“Rian!” Zack squeaks, thrashing around and trying to push Rian away, his hair falling over his face and into his eyes.

Rian pauses then, stopping to take in exactly what the Hell has just happened.

He’s ended up quite literally on top of Zack, his knees at either side of his hips, with his hands tucked up his shirt. Zack’s breathing heavily, with his hair ruffled and in his face. He blushes.

“Uh, sorry.” Rian says sheepishly, looking down and ruffling his hair awkwardly. He silently thanks God that Alex and Jack aren’t around right now because they sure as Hell would never let them forget this. Ever.

Rian pulls his hands from where he’d situated them on Zack’s tiny hips, straightening the younger boy’s shirt as he moves himself off of him.

Zack sits up then, fiddling with the hem of his shirt and crossing his legs, staring at the laptop screen blankly.

“So, this is awkward.” Rian comments after a good five minutes of stony silence, save for the background noise of the movie that’s still playing away in the background.

“And it’s now even more awkward now that you’ve pointed it out. Thanks for that.” Zack says, rolling his eyes and tutting quietly.

“Hey, Zee, relax.” Rian says, poking him in the side gently. “You’re over thinking things again, aren’t you? You should really stop doing that, it worries me.

Zack makes a little noise and tries to get Rian away from him pushing at his shoulder lightly.

“Zack,” Rian whines, dragging out the ‘A’ sound in his name, “talk to me. I’m sorry, I know that probably made you freak out a little.”

‘Freak out a little’? It made me freak out a whole lot, thank you very much.

Rian rests his head on Zack’s shoulder and pouts, blinking when the younger’s hair threatens to fall into his eyes.

“I’m sorry, Zee. Next time just push me off if you get worried, okay? I’m sorry.”

If I get worried? How about if you’re giving me so many mixed messages I don’t know where to turn or what to believe!

Rian’s arms wrap around Zack’s waist and the younger boy freezes, stiffening up and frowning over at the wall. The elder of the two blinks his eyes shut and sighs quietly, shifting slightly so his forehead rests on Zack’s shoulder.

“I’m really sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Zack says finally, but it’s only quiet and Rian struggles to hear it despite his proximity to the younger boy.

“Do you want to change the movie? I’m no critic but the director of this thing needs locking up somewhere far, far away.”

Zack nods, and Rian leads over the side of the bed and fishes out Zack’s copy of Ghostbusters, handing it to the other boy before settling himself comfortably.

It’s not long before they’re almost asleep, the movie still playing to itself in the background.

They’re rudely awoken around a half hour later by Alex hammering on the door before letting out a yell.

“Are you two done making sweet, sweet love in there or should we back away to prevent future scarring?”