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It’s not common, but not unheard of for Cole to retreat to the old music room at the deserted end of the school. A room replaced long ago by the far grander one on the opposite end, its only purpose now is to house an old piano that gathers more dust than it does people to play it. Cole slips into the room every now and then, mostly at times when needs a moment alone. As he does today.
He’s still not terribly fond of playing the piano—not after hours and hours and hours of practice forced upon him in his youth...but under his own accord, sometimes it’s a more calming outlet than just outright punching something. Beside, he’s got the skill, so why not use them when he can?
Cole settles at the bench, smilingly fondly at the familiar squeak it makes in the process. He brushes his fingers along the keys with a featherlight touch, a bit melancholic at the fresh layer of dust settled upon them. It means no one’s been here since the last time he’d been, then.
He tests the keys—bright, vibrant notes ping out into the air, putting color into an otherwise monochromatic silence. It’s a tiny bit off-pitch from what would be considered normal, most likely due to the lack of use, but not to the point that the average person would notice. And it’s not like Cole’s doing this for an audience anyway. He is strictly in the company of himself.
He takes a deep breath, steadying himself like earth itself. He raises a single hand...and plays a single note.
Over and over again, in the tune of a simple song.
It’s monotonous, and unchanging, similar to his feelings. It never grows louder nor quieter, not faster nor slower; the same tempo in every second. It echoes how day after day, he tries his hardest to gain the attention of the one he wants more than anything, in the way he wants. But the response is always the same, and the risk is too great for Cole to just come out and say it. It could ruin everything, and Cole can’t bear the thought of being at fault for a potential falling out. So he buries the feelings away, as he has an unfortunate habit of doing.
But today, the feelings are just a bit more intense than usual, to the point that Cole had to remove himself from his friends at lunch, and skipped class for reasons that don’t require jumping in a giant mech. He doesn’t know why his heart hurts so much in particular today—why every point of contact feels like electricity to him, yet mere static to the other; why every meaningful glance feels to him like an eternal depth to get lost in and explore forever, yet a shallow, brief, overall irrelevant moment to the other.
It’s nobody’s fault, Cole knows, but that doesn’t make it hurt any less.
“...I used to hear a simple song...” Cole sings out in a low, even voice. Any more forceful and his voice will become broken, squawky—and more terrifyingly, heard.
Yet his gentle playing presses on as thoughts drift into memories of how sad and miserable he used to be, until he ran away, until he became a ninja, until he met...well, everyone else. But he’d met Zane first, and from there, for the first time in a long time...his thoughts weren’t so tormented. And instead, a melody of something far more uplifting has since hummed in its place.
And the song that resonates from those little interactions, those fleeting sparks of hope that something might just ignite if he just wants it enough, that he can break away from this glacial pace of progression and not feel like he’s getting left behind...not feel like he’s being left alone as everyone else carries on...
But now Jay and Nya have each other, and Kai’s got no shortage of people to throw affection unto him with nothing more than a wink to encourage it...
And Zane—
Zane.
Zane.
“...That was until you came along—”
Something shuffles by the door; Cole’s on his feet in a flash, heart pounding in his throat as he instinctively throws up his fists. The door is slightly ajar, even though he had definitely closed it behind him. Cole narrows his eyes; is someone in here with him? And if so, who, when, and...why?
“...sorry, sorry!” chirps a boy in a pink and black hoodie, warping into sight. Cole reels back as the boy floats before him with an apologetic and sheepish smile. “I-I didn’t mean to scare you; I was trying to tell you I was here but then you started singing and I got distracted–PANICKED so please don’t punch me please—”
Cole looks on in bewilderment. “Jesse?”
Jesse does a single flip in the air before landing to bounce on his heels. “Surprise!”
“...how’d you know I was here?” Cole asks, shoulders slumped yet still curious. Leave it to the Master of Surprise to completely catch him off guard like this. Sometimes, though, he can’t help but wonder if that’s just a Jesse thing though.
“Well, for starters, you vanished at lunch, and then you weren’t in art class.” Jesse leans against the door, hands stuffed into the pocket of his hoodie. “And with that being one of your favorite classes, and there being no Shark Attack or anything else of the sort...”
Jesse scuffs his boot along the ground, puffing out his cheeks.
“...I just got a little worried, so I came looking.”
Jesse shuffles around, like he’s embarrassed for saying so. Cole smiles against his will, something warm budding in his chest. Normally he’s the one chasing down the others when they’re having a rough time. It’s not often that someone hunts him down.
...then again, he rarely lets on that’s he having a bad day in the first place. So. Well. That’s probably his fault, then.
“...Aww. So worried about me to the point that you, Mr. Good Boy Councilman, skipped class to find me.”
Jesse, flustered, makes a face.
“You act like I have perfect attendance or something.”
“You act like the type of person who would if he could.”
“...Ugh.” Jesse puffs out his cheeks and glances at the door. “Welp, you seem fine enough, and I’m going to assume you wanted to be alone, so I’ll be off then-”
“No!” Cole yelps. One of his legs whacks against the piano bench as he flinches, causing it to squeak and make Jesse jump. Cole winces, sitting back down. “I-I mean, I did want to just...sort out my thoughts, but...maybe I could use someone to talk to. Since you’re, you know, already here...and if you’re willing...”
Jesse keeps pouting for a few moments more. Cole looks up at him with wide, pleading, marigold eyes; Jesse’s expression melts into something softer, a light grin crossing his lips.
“Oh, fine.” Jesse trudges over to the bench, nudging Cole with his hip. “Scoot, then.”
“...tch, so pushy.” Cole huffs, shuffling over to make room.
Jesse snickers when his elbows bump the keys, making a rather catastrophic mashing of noise blare out. He settles beside Cole, partially leaning against his right arm. Jesse shifts after realizing just how close he’d gotten, opting to sit up straight and stare expectantly instead.
“...Welp, go on then.” Jesse gestures at the piano, eyes sparkling. “Keep playing; keep singing!”
“...you know I can’t sing,” Cole grumbles. “A-And the playing was, like, the most basic thing I could do in the moment—”
“Sounded fine to me,” Jesse insists with a shrug. “And, if you really think you’re that bad at it, which you’re not, a little extra practice won’t kill you. I mean, listen to me!”
Jesse randomly pounds at the keys, purposely this time, and the absolute offense to music that occurs rips a laugh out of Cole. It’s loud, rough, and unexpected, just the way Jesse likes to hear it, and he finds himself chuckling too, even as Cole starts to bat his hands away.
“Creation’s sake, you’re going to get us in trouble with that racket,” Cole scoffs between snorts, shaking his head. Jesse tilts his head back and grins shamelessly.
“Guess you’d better show me how it’s done, then!”
Cole sighs, blowing at his bangs. He eyes Jesse from the corner of his gaze.
“...you’re really not going to let this go, are you?”
“Hey, I’m skipping class for this, so gimme a show already!”
Cole glances away again, shoulders scrunching up. Jesse drops some of his bravado, face softening up. Tentatively, he drapes his hand over one of Cole’s, where it rests upon Cole’s lap curled in a defensive fist.
“...I won’t tease you for it, I promise. I just really wanna hear you play. You know, without creeping by the door, ahaha...”
Cole blinks, glancing down at the gesture, then at the silent yet fierce truth in Jesse’s words. Jesse smiles again, a quirky little thing upon his face, as he nods towards the piano.
Cole has always been terrible at saying no.
With a resigned sigh, he adjusts his posture into something more rigid and proper, but still unmistakably Cole. He hears Jesse gasp in delighted shock beside him, even as he pulls his hands away to lift them above the piano...
And then, very gently, Cole taps at the keys, the barest thread of a melody ringing into the air.
“...I used to hear a simple song,” Cole begins again, now with ten times the nervousness. He can hear every creak in his voice, every single point of weakness, but Jesse makes no show of pointing out. “...That was, until you came along.”
Jesse grins cheekily; Cole gives him a quick nudge, beginning to play just a bit more intricately. A grander harmony emerges, if only by a few brisk notes, but Jesse hangs on every one. He watches in awe as Cole’s fingers dance across the piano as he would a ballroom floor, entirely mesmerized.
“Now in it's place is something new...I hear it when I look at you.”
Cole swallows, still hating the way his voice sounds, and dares to peek over at Jesse. He dreads witnessing a look of disappointment, only to be surprised when Jesse’s simply staring wide-eyed in wonder, and with a bit of pink in his cheeks. Jesse’s gaze snaps up to meet Cole’s; Cole hurriedly looks away, throwing himself a bit deeper into his playing.
A more complex tune fills the room, Cole’s hands flitting about the piano with far more vigor than before. It’s a much richer sound, yet nothing spectacular. Cole hums under his breath, keeping to his own beat, all while Jesse leans back, eyes closed and taking in the sound and the moment.
But after a couple minutes of that, Jesse finally asks,
“...so, why were you hiding away in here, anyway?”
Cole hums, disgruntled now, as he continues to play. His face twists with uncertainty, unsure of whether or not he should say, or he’d even be able to put it into proper words...but not saying so is just going to make all of this pretty awkward otherwise. He’s told Jesse some deep stuff about himself in the past—even back when he hadn’t known it’d been Jesse himself hidden beneath a fuchsia hood—and he’s always been pretty supportive, so...
“...Jess,” Cole begins, absently dragging his fingers across the piano keys. Jesse, as always, perks up upon being acknowledged, giving Cole his full attention. Cole squirms under the intensity of his gaze. “Can I ask a potentially...personal question?”
“Hmm.” Jesse pretends to ponder deeply, tapping at his chin. “That depends on what it is, I suppose.”
Cole chuckles, shaking his head. His playing starts to become a bit dissonant, compared to before.
“It’s nothing that deep, but it’s just—it’s probably kind of stupid, but—I’ve been wondering...have you, um...ever had a crush on someone, even if you’re pretty sure they don’t, or won’t, like you back?”
Cole pauses his playing, looking to Jesse for his answer. Jesse, startlingly enough, has gone somewhat pale, face twitching as he scrambles to string together some kind of response.
“...ahahaha. Ahahaha. Um. Hmm.” Jesse looks like he’s just choked on a lemon. “Ha...Haven’t we all at some point?”
“I mean, maybe not everyone but, like.” Cole’s foot bounces nervously. “I’m asking you specifically.”
Jesse yelps; Cole recoils as Jesse straight up disappears, having warped away, only to blip back in place seconds later. His face is scrunched like it’s taking everything in him to not run away, forcing himself to stay in place.
“...if that’s too much, you don’t have to answer—”
“WELL, if you really wanna know–” Jesse suddenly can’t sit still, fidgeting and shuffling and looking everywhere but at Cole. “—I suppose there’s this one guy who wouldn’t know I was flirting with him even if he was sitting right next to me. But, ahaha, on top of that, I’m pretty sure he likes someone else anyway, sooo...”
Cole wilts with sympathy. “Oof, tough break on that one.”
Jesse buries his face in his hands, repressing down a scream.
“...you’re telling me.”
Jesse peels his hands away, feeling the distressed sparkles building in his eyes. This isn’t supposed to be about him. He glances wearily at Cole with a frown.
“...why do you ask? Having some...reservations about your own crush or something?”
“Not exactly,” Cole begins. He swears Jesse’s eyes flash an intense pink for a split second; Cole blinks, and the light is gone. “But, I dunno...I’ve been trying to be more...direct, lately? And I don’t think it’s...working. Today I tried to ask him to come with me to go to the aquarium, just us, because I knew everyone else would be busy, and he still said ‘We should wait until we can go with the others! It will be more fun!’...Augh.”
“Now that’s an oof,” Jesse agrees, feeling some of the sparkles fade. Mainly he just feels bad now. “But, ah, given who you’re talking about, I’m pretty sure he just didn’t want anyone to feel left out from a fun time, especially while they’re working or whatever.”
Cole nods, fiddling with sleeves.
“...Yeah, I know. And that’s what kind of makes it harder...” Cole smiles to himself; Jesse’s eyes turn sharp. “He’s just so thoughtful and kind, to the point that it kind of blinds him from everything else, and it’s a little bit endearing, and I know if I just explained he’d be quick to apologize, but then I run the risk of saying too much and then what if he takes it the wrong way or–”
Jesse’s got his eyes squeezed shut tight, hiding the all-too telling signs of a potential outburst. And yet, there’s no hiding the way the piano suddenly screeches out of nowhere—cutting off Cole’s tirade—or the way the lights begin to go on the fritz...or how the bench they’re sitting on begins to quake. Cole stills in the midst of the chaos, turning towards Jesse with concern.
“...was that you?” Cole asks. “Are you okay? Do you—?”
“...it...just...hurts...” Jesse takes a deep breath; the lights begin to calm, and their bench settles once more. He slowly opens his eyes; the glow in them has faded, thank the Master. “...to hear you have to talk like that. I know things are complicated right now, but, I still just wish you could...just be happy, that’s all.”
The silence in the room becomes suffocating; a contrast to the light melodies and laughter from before. It becomes far too much for Cole, and for want of something to distract from the weight of the moment, his hands finds purchase in the keys of the piano once more.
“I’m not exactly mad or anything, but...like I said, I wanted to sort myself out before I had to see Zane again.” Cole grimaces, his second verse growing frantic. “...which is really hard when I have nearly every class with him.”
Jesse blinks away his own inner turmoil, beholding as Cole’s own starts to bubble to the surface. His face is neutral yet grim, with only the smallest signs of inward frustration peeking between the cracks. Cole only stares down at the piano, refusing to let his focus waver elsewhere.
...still:
“...I guess I shouldn’t be too upset he didn’t want to go with me, honestly. I don’t really make for the best company anyway.”
Jesse balks as Cole quickly abandons the conversation, swinging right back into an intricate showcase of instrumentation. And, as per Jesse’s previous request, he continues to sing.
“With simple songs I wanted more...Perfection is so quick to bore...”
“No, stop, go back!” Jesse demands, leaning up into Cole’s space. Cole keeps plinking away on the piano, maintaining the progression. “Why would you say that about yourself?!”
“Because...I’m pretty boring, all things considered? It’s usually the others that keep things interesting, not me.” Cole shrugs, stating it as one would an obvious fact. Jesse gawks at him like he’s turned into a ghost. He sputters, flailing around in a torrent of disbelief.
“What?! You lead a team of ninja, you’re literally got full command of the earth itself, you can dance, you can draw, you can make the most insane mixtapes, you can punch out an entire wall cuz you’re buff and stuff—!”
“That’s...not—”
“—you can play piano and I think you sing well enough, and you’re funny, and clever, and you’re super selfless and good at making plans in a pinch and you like food—”
“Everyone likes food though??”
Still, Jesse throws up his hands in exasperation.
“Just...how can you think any of that is boring?! You’re just unapologetically you, flaws and all, and you...you’re a beautiful person!”
Jesse blurts it all out, definitely not meaning to go that far, but. Well. He’s here now and he’s going to stick to it. Cole’s eyes widen at the declaration, face going red, hands freezing halfway through a note.
“...me?!” Cole squeaks out in disbelief. “I...I’m not—”
“Yes, yes you are!” Jesse insists, doubling own with his fists clenched before him. Cole balks, officially taken aback. “I refuse to let you sit here and say bad things about yourself! You’re being very mean to one of my favorite people right now, you know! And I won’t let it happen!”
Jesse folds his arms, as if punctuating his point. Cole snorts, bewildered by the entire exchange, and sets to singing once more.
“...You are more beautiful by far,” he hums, making sure to catch Jesse’s eye as he does. Anything that remains of Jesse’s fierce aggressive pep talk vanishes, stricken by such words sang by Cole. Of all people. At him. Cole grins coyly as Jesse sputters, only to chuckle when Jesse starts punching his arm.
He continues to snicker, until Jesse rolls his gaze up, making sure Cole’s looking dead at him this time, and in the most surprising move of all–
“Our flaws are who we really are.”
He sings back.
Unlike Cole’s gravelly voice that just sounds like a bag of rocks being throttled around (in Cole’s opinion), Jesse’s voice is smooth and rings with dulcet tones, immediately pleasing to the ear in just seven words. Cole’s heart seizes for just a moment, caught off guard both by how sudden and how good it was. He swallows, fingers suddenly twitching to get playing again. He’s never been so eager to do so before now.
“...so you know this song too, then.”
Jesse’s eyes sparkle, this time with mischievous mirth. “Maybe. Might be yet another one I’ve taken a liking to after hearing it on your playlist.”
Cole smiles to himself. He takes a moment to crack his knuckles, flashing a confident grin Jesse’s way before fully, and finally, throwing himself completely into his playing.
Jesse’s eyes widen as a complex melody echoes throughout the room. Full and harmonic, like ten people are playing instead of just one. The notes spiral and tumble about in a dazzling crescendo that Jesse, and Cole, both find themselves caught up in. It’s a moment of magic that not even Jesse would have been able to conjure up by himself.
And just as Cole finds himself lost in the music, to the point that he can just barely imagine other instruments theoretically accompanying him in an envisioned orchestra—
“...I used to hear a siiiiimple soooong...!”
Jesse sings from the very bottom of his diaphragm, hitting every word at a perfect pitch that compliments Cole’s piano like a duet always meant to be. Jesse’s words make Cole’s verses from before seem so bland in comparison, but no less meaningful or beautiful.
“That was until you came aloooong~”
And Cole can see it—hear it—feel it; a chorus of violins singing with all they’ve got, flutes whistling with all the air in their lungs, the beat of a drum that races to match Cole’s heartbeat, the applause from the cymbals as they come together to ring in greatness, all crashing together in a glorious show of harmony.
“You took my broken meeel-oooodyyyyy~”
Jesse draws out each word like an angel drawing out the string of a bow, each syllable striking with such potency that they pierce Cole like an arrow to the heart. Even as Cole plays furiously to match Jesse’s tempo, he can’t take his eyes off the other, entirely captivated by the sound.
A golden afternoon glow from the window pours in as Jesse blinks, pausing for the briefest of breaths. He turns to Cole with a shimmering smile that outshines every light in the room.
“And now I hear a symphonyyyyy...!”
Jesse’s eyes fall shut as he hits high notes that are way out into the stratosphere—and ones Cole could never dream of reaching. But Cole does his best to follow along with the beats of the piano, framing Jesse’s voice with the sound of the orchestra in his mind. The instruments rise and dance the more Jesse draws out his riff—
And Cole’s just a little overwhelmed by it all.
Jesse eventually rounds off his note; the violins fade, the flutes simmer down, the cymbals cease their crashing, the drums decrease, and Cole’s piano calms into the less-layered tones from before. The golden shine that once seemed to flood to room vanishes as well, replaced by the shoddy lighting of an abandoned school music room.
Jesse opens his eyes again, a pleased smile on his face. He turns to Cole, and accidentally catches his gaze on Cole’s utterly stunned one. Cole sits with eyes the size of saucers, subtly glowing despite the fact his face doesn’t betray just what’s going through his head right now. Jesse squirms, suddenly feeling abashed.
“...what? Is that not how the rest of the song goes?” Jesse says when Cole’s piano playing comes to a halt. His face pinks as he fiddles with his bangs. “You knew I could sing, so...despite who I am, it shouldn’t have been that surprising, ahaha...”
“Yeah, but I, you, just...” Cole struggles to not just sit there like a gaping fish. Even when Jesse’s not really trying, he still manages to surprise Cole at the most unexpected times. “...I’ve never...heard you sing so brazenly before. Normally you would’ve sprinted out the door before squeaking out a note.”
“Hey.” Jesse pouts, even while knowing it’s true. “It’s just...I made you sing earlier, so...I thought it’d be fair to join in.”
“It’s not very fair when you have the voice of a god. How do you hit such high notes?! I could never.”
“Hnnnng...” Jesse turns away, failing at hiding his red his face is, and also pushing away the desire to hide his head in his hoodie like a turtle. Cole watches Jesse for a while longer, then turns back to the piano. His fingers twitch again, and his chest feels tight.
“But...when you sang, it...it...”
Cole swallows, throat suddenly dry. His heart’s racing and he doesn’t know why.
“...it sounded like you genuinely meant it.”
The room grows quiet; a stark contrast to the full orchestra playing out in Cole’s mind moments ago. Jesse pulls out of hiding, suspiciously quiet, because how do you respond to something like that?! And yet, Cole’s not even sure how he wants Jesse to respond. Is he going to just play it off, or...or is he actually going to—
“...I’ll take that as a compliment, then.” Jesse hums, eyes falling closed as sparkles flit about him. “Guess I am just that good after all!”
“...ha, glad to see at least one of us can take a compliment sometimes,” Cole laughs back, but it falters. Why does he feel somewhat disappointed?
“...anyway,” Jesse carries on, casting his gaze out towards the window. “Try not to beat yourself up so much, ‘kay? You are a great person to be around, and it’s not like you were outright rejected. Just...try again, I suppose. Ninja never quit, remember? And...especially not when there’s still a shred of hope.”
Cole ruminates, folding his hands together. Jesse’s not wrong, so...
“...okay,” Cole concedes, nodding once. “I won’t be so quick to feel defeated. But...I think I’ll stick around here a little bit longer. Still not ready to head back to class, heh.”
“All right, then.” Jesse stands, stretching out his back. “Just don’t stay too long. We’ve got that review quiz in Social Studies later.”
“Ugh, don’t remind me.”
“Hee.”
Jesse twirls on his heels, folding his arms behind his back.
“I should probably go though; I’ve got a test next period. But like I said, don’t stay too long, all right?”
“Yes sir, I promise,” Cole agree with an exaggerated salute. Jesse rolls his eyes, a smile fighting on his face as he heads back for the door.
“...but, wait.”
Jesse halts, frozen by the call of Cole’s voice. Cole tugs on the ends of his sleeves.
“The, um, the guy you like...I think he just might come around sometime too. I mean, um, it might not seem very likely, given the circumstances, but...hey, even the Master of Surprise can be surprised too, right?”
Cole makes a face, failing at trying to cheer Jesse up in turn. He’s usually better at these kind of speeches, but finds himself at a loss for the proper words. Jesse giggles at the attempt regardless, expression lighting up with a warm smile.
“...Yeah, ahaha, I really hope so too.” Jesse glances at the ground, heaving a small sigh. “But it’s okay if he doesn’t either; I just like being around him. And...that’s enough already, I think.”
Jesse has the audacity to wink before officially heading for the door, giving Cole a brisk wave over his shoulder.
“See you later, Cole.”
Cole sits in somewhat stunned silence as Jesse takes his leave, left to watch the other boy go.
The notes of a soft piano dance about in the air, chiming in Cole’s ear, and Cole doesn’t even have to touch the keys.
“...And now I hear...a symphony.”