I'm Gonna Die Before I Fold.

Sean held the door open for Ian and he smiled in return gratitude. But Sean didn't return his gesture. The earlier wave of panic flushed over Ian. What if Sean didn't like him? Had he acted like a bit too much of a show off? Sean hadn't said much in the way of conversation at break. Had Ian done something wrong? Or was Sean always this quiet?

Ian trailed behind Sean into the classroom. "Sean, you're late. Oh, hello Ian." Ian was almost confused for a second, but he didn't let that bother him. It didn't really surprise him that the teacher already knew his name, knowing this school. "I'm Mr. Jones. Welcome to Vocals. An underrated subject, in my opinion. Over the next few lessons, we will be focussing on breathing patterns and the like. Sean, can you stick with Ian this lesson, show him how we do things here?"

Sean paused then nodded. He was pulling two microphone stands out of the cupboard awkwardly, trying to untangle the wire single-handedly. Ian shuffled over. " Here, lemme help." Ian took one of the stands, twisting and flipping the wire so it was free. They pulled a stool each from under the desks. Sean dodged around a girl, giving her an apology with a smile as they bumped arms. Sean's smile faded almost instantly as he sat next to the watchful Ian.

Ian looked down at his lap. He'd never sung in front of others, not ever. Not even his own mother. He began playing with this fingers, linking them together then winding them around one another. The wave of panic washed over him all over again.

Sean glanced at Ian. His head was down, eyes on his hands in his lap. He could feel the alarm that Ian felt, the fear that shrouded his figure. He frowned and turned back to his mike. It wasn't his business to intrude on Ian's life. He knew that. He had sworn not to involve himself with anyone apart from his close friends.

The music started playing, and Sean put all his focus on singing. The thing about you and your bestfriend writing your own songs is that you can put any twist on it, and if you know the song well enough, it'll sound alright.

"Take your lies, and walk through the door." Originally, this song wasn't written acoustically, but it sounded a lot gentler, a lot nicer when it was so. "Run for, run for your life, take all that you can." He looked up and got a thumbs up from Mr. Jones. Curiosity radiated from Ian like a bright light, and it distracted Sean a little. Enough to make him miss the start of the next line. Mr. Jones stopped the music.

"Alright Sean, I know these are Gavin's lines, but you can sing them just as well. Concentrate please." Sean nodded and wiped his palms on his jeans. No more distractions now, Sean.

The bell rang and Ian heaved a sigh of relief. He had done no singing this lesson. He had sat back and gazed at Sean singing, taking in the way the moved as the words spilled from his lips, like a fountain of pure gold. Ian smiled to himself as he put the unused mic stand away. Did Sean realise how nice his voice was? Probably not. Maybe Ian could tell him he thought Sean had the voice of, well, an angel.

After singing, Sean went back to being quiet. When his attention wasn't on the music, every unwanted emotion came at him like a speeding bullet. It took almost all of his concentration to shield his mind from everything. When he sung, it didn't matter, his passion for music over-powering everything else. Well, almost everything. That distraction Ian's curiosity had caused bothered Sean slightly. Being an empathist, Sean felt every emotion of those around him. But growing up with it, he'd learned to protect his mind, set up barriers so it wouldn't get to him. But that distraction, for a split second, made Sean doubt his barriers were as strong as he though.