Do It for Baltimore, Do It for Me

For the next few minutes, Tay and Jordan worked on figuring out who would sing which part and then finished the rest of the song before running through it once with just their vocals. Tay had to admit that she loved the way their voices sounded together; they just mixed so well. She smiled up at him as she sang the last line.
"So, music?" she asked and Jordan nodded.
"You said you play piano right?" he asked her as he absently plucked at some of the strings.
"Yeah, I play a bit," she said, "why do you ask?"
"Well I was thinking that I could play a few chords throughout the song and you play a few keys to give it a more flavored sound?" Jordan suggested.
Tay nodded eagerly. "Let's try it."
Jordan laughed at her excitement and helped her up, pulling her over to an empty piano as he sat on the bench next to her. "Just play something random and we'll see how it goes?"
"Sure," Tay smiled and started playing a few notes as he strummed.
Jordan's voice came in soon after and Tay grinned, a small blush painting her cheeks as she waited before coming in. "…I can't figure you out, you've got more fight in you than anybody else…"
Her eyes closed as she fought to hit the higher notes as the song progressed, fingers dancing over the keys as she played with him. It wasn't until she'd opened her eyes and saw that everyone else in the classroom had stopped to listen to her, wide-eyed. She instantly stopped singing and playing as she started to shake nervously. The teacher started to walk towards her and she tensed up, excusing herself with a shaky voice and bolted from the room and down the hall before collapsing against a random locker and hugging her knees to her chest as tears burned in her eyes.
"How perfect," she thought sarcastically, "an anxiety attack on my first day at a new high school." It didn't take long before tears were starting to fall down her face and she kept her face buried in her knees. That was, until she saw a pair of shoes stop in front of her and crouch down, a hand placed on her shoulder. Tay immediately jumped, head snapping up to face whoever it was that was staring at her.
"Tay? Are you okay?" Alex said, genuine concern covering his features as he watched her.
Tay sniffled and wiped her eyes, stomach flipping at his closeness. "Y-yeah, I'm fine." she lied, trying to calm down as her hands shook violently.
Alex moved to sit next to her against the locker, hesitantly wrapping an arm around her shoulders. This time, she didn't shy away; the comfort was nice and very much needed at this point. "You don't seem fine," he said softly as he rubbed his thumb over her shoulder. "Does this happen often?"
"W-what?" she stuttered as her heart thudded painfully in her chest.
"Anxiety attacks?"
Tay looked up at him with tears staining her face. "I-I don't have a-anxiety," she stammered.
"Tay, I know what anxiety is like. I have it, too. It's not so bad anymore, now that I take pills for it." he explained and kissed her hair lightly.
"I still d-don't have anxiety." she mumbled and picked at a hole in her black skinnies.
Alex stared down at her, not convinced. He dropped the subject, though, as he saw it was upsetting her further. "You were amazing in there, I had no idea you could sing like that."
Tay shrugged. "It wasn't amazing," she said quietly.
"Yes it was, Tay."
"Thank you," she sniffled, still not thoroughly convinced.
"Don't thank me, but seriously. I mean it, it was fantastic." He said with a genuine smile.
Tay was a little taken aback by his sudden change of heart. He wasn't being the cocky guy he was earlier, trying to sling his arm over her shoulder and drop a line to keep her interested. She had to admit; this side of him seemed a lot more intriguing to her.
"Should we get back?" He asked, standing up and holding out a hand to her. She took it, hauling herself up to a standing position with a little added help.
"Yeah, I'm just going to go clean myself up." She said and bit her lip. "I don't suppose you could show me to the nearest restroom?" She asked softly.
"I'd love to." He smiled and didn't let go of her hand but instead tugged on it gently in the opposite direction of the classroom, taking a short left before finally getting to a women's washroom.
"Thanks," she smiled and let go of his hand, quickly going in and grabbing some toilet paper to wipe the dark streaks of makeup under her eyes. She splashed her face with a little water before drying off and exiting the washroom, not that surprised when she saw Alex leaning casually against the wall as he waited.
"Better?"
Tay nodded and he reached for her hand again, which she didn't fight. She laced their fingers together hesitantly and he grinned as they walked back.
"Hey, lunch is next period. Care to join me? Maybe meet some of my friends?" He asked as they stopped just outside the music room.
"I don't know, I wasn't really planning on staying." She explained as she pulled her hand back, fiddling with her chipped nail polish.
"Why not?" He asked, a small frown upon his lips.
"I don't know, it's just not really my scene. I don't have any friends here, and I never really did at my old school either. I was just going to walk around for a bit." Tay had no idea why she was being so open with him, but she felt as if she could trust him, despite the fact he'd been an ass to her earlier in the day.
"Please?" He said, giving her a pouty look.
Tay bit her lip and finally gave in with an audible sigh. "Fine,"
Alex grinned down at her. "Great, I'll catch you after class." He smiled and ushered her into the room. She went back to Jordan in a slight daze after explaining to the teacher why she'd left, completely embarrassed.
She glanced up at the clock. Only twenty more minutes until lunch.