It was finally that time of year again. Time for every dedicated band geek to sign their name in blood on the clipboard. It was time, for Solo and Ensemble Contest. There are some rules surrounding it if you, dear reader, were not aware of that already. If you sign up for a solo, you have to perform some scales, and then a solo, with some accompaniment. You can back out of these until a certain point. If you choose to participate in an ensemble, then no scales are required, but once you sign up, there's no turning back. It is up to the director what ensemble you are in. The judges can give you a division one, two, or three, division one being the best. Now that that's out of the way, on with the story!

Ralph was very excited. He had participated in Contest ever since he was a puny freshman two years ago. With slightly shaking hands, he signed the clipboard that at the top read "Ensembles." This would be the year he finally got a division one. Sophomore year he had been so close! He only needed two more points, which he would have received if the clarinetist he was playing with hadn't horribly messed up the last twelve measures. Ralph couldn't really blame her though. He had sped up slightly and completely thrown her off. He clutched his flute tightly against himself. This year he would do it. There was no doubt.

Jack was very skeptical. When their director, Ms. Nevins, had announced it, he had thought about signing up for three-tenths of a second, before sitting back in his chair and staring into space. Even if he would, potentially, do well, it held no appeal for him. It meant wasting a Saturday at some school dressed up and wearing a tie, having to play before pretentious pricks. Simon, Jack's best friend, obviously didn't approve of Jack's look of intense disinterest. Simon poked him hard with the pen and passed the clipboard to him.

"Sign up!" he hissed at Jack.

Jack shook his head 'no,' and was about to give the clipboard to Roger when Simon said, "If you don't sign up, I will never 'experiment' with you again!"

This was a very convincing argument. Sighing in defeat, he scrawled "Jack Merridew" on the sheet and shoved it at Roger, while muttering something about pretentious, insufferable trumpet players.

~Next Day~

Jack was attacked outside of the school by a very eager Simon.

"Jack! Hey Jack! Guess what? Guess!"

Jack rubbed his eyes and threw out a wild guess, "You finally got some?"

Simon flushed bright red. When it came to his sex life, he was very sensitive. "No, but you're close!"

"You got a boyfriend?"

"Yes! I did! I did!" Simon squealed.

"Who is it?" Jack was honestly a bit surprised. Simon was cute, but a little… overbearing sometimes.

Just then Roger came up and put his arm around Simon. Jack's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he smiled at his friend,

"Congrats, I better get to class though."

Emotions swam through Jack's head as he opened his locker. He and Simon had been friends ever since they started talking in band. He was first chair saxophone, and Simon was last chair trumpet, so they had to sit by each other. After talking for a while during band, they realized that they lived two streets away from each other. Then came the confessions. Simon was the first person to "come out". Jack had comforted Simon when he told Jack that maybe he kind of liked boys instead of girls. Then came the kissing. There were no obligations, it was just experimentation. Jack banged his head against the locker. Maybe, maybe he had liked Simon. At least a little. But now Simon had a boyfriend and Jack had to get over it. At least Jack had until fourth hour to think up an excuse about why he ran away. As he walked down the hallway absentmindedly, trying to formulate an excuse that sounded real, he bumped into someone, jerking him from his thoughts. He looked up and saw no one. Looking down he could see he accidentally knocked over Ralph, a quiet boy that was in a couple of Jack's classes.

Grinning sheepishly, Jack extended his hand, "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

Ralph accepted his help and got to his feet. "No, it's okay, I wasn't paying attention either. So it's Jack right?"

"Yup, that's me, and I do believe you're Ralph?" Jack was rather flattered that a person that he had probably exchanged five words with knew his name.

Ralph nodded and there was an awkward pause before Ralph said, "So, have you signed up for a solo or ensemble?"

Jack ran a hand through his bright red hair and sighed, "Yeah, my friend Simon made me sign up."

At the words "friend" and "Simon" a flash of jealousy passed over Ralph's handsome features, so quickly that Jack wasn't sure if he had imagined it or not.

"Oh, I just signed up for an ensemble, she's supposed to post the results next week," Ralph said.

Jack was about to reply when the bell ending the passing period rang. Using a wide range of very colorful words, Jack said goodbye to Ralph and hurried down the hall. When he burst into the French room, Madame gave him an odd look but didn't comment. She really wasn't one to talk, being late all the time. As he slipped into the desk next to Simon's, a note fell onto his desk. In Simon's tiny, neat handwriting there was three words.

Where were you?

Thus a note passing frenzy ensued. It was an easy thing to do in French class. You just had to pretend to be taking notes, and Madame didn't do anything. Jack wrote back.

Talking to Ralph.

Ralph, as in the flute player Ralph?

That's him. Do you know him?

Kind of, we've hung out before, but not that much. I've heard he's gay.

Oh really?

Are you going to go for him?

I dunno. He's cute, but he seems like a big geek.

Don't use geek as a derogatory term. Ralph seems perfectly nice and cute. You should go for him.

Sorry, I forgot you're sensitive about using the g-word. And why don't you go for him?

Roger.

Sorry, I was paying attention to you earlier, trust me I was, but I kinda forgot after talking to Ralph.

You forgot your best friend got a boyfriend because you talked to Ralph? You like him!

Shut up, he just seemed pretty cool. So you're not mad?

I'm kinda mad, but I'm excited for you too.

He just seems cool. That doesn't mean I like him. I've barely talked to him.

At that moment, Madame gave them a death glare. Simon quickly switched the note for the meticulous notes he had been taking the whole time. The discussion would have to continue later.

Unfortunately enough, the only other class Jack had with Simon was band, and that was after the two classes he had with Ralph. Maybe that wasn't so unfortunate Jack mused. He could quietly observe Ralph, as he never paid attention during Algebra or Biology. Making up his mind, Jack quickly gathered his books and left without talking to Simon.

Sitting in the sweltering Algebra classroom, Jack noticed that Ralph sat two seats diagonally from him. Perfect. He prepared for forty-five minutes of creeping without being caught, getting out a piece of paper that he was not going to write on and a pencil that was not going to be used, yawning hugely.

"What's the matter Jack?" asked Emily, a girl who sat across from Jack. Emily was a bit odd, but nice to everyone she came across.

"Aw, is ickle Jackie-kins sickypoo?" Emily's friend, Hope asked. Jack, liked her all right, even if she did tease him at every opportunity.

"I am not sick, I'm just tired after getting two hours of sleep last night," this was a blatant lie. Jack had in fact slept for nine hours, but blatant lies are all part of the strategy to zone out during class while staring at a guy that you maybe like. Hope suddenly pinched him. Hard.

"Ow! What the hell was that for!" Jack shrieked.

She grinned a devilish grin, the light bouncing off the metal of her braces. "Just making sure you stay awake for English's lecture today."

"Hey, be nice to him!" Emily intervened.

Hope sighed dramatically, "Fine, but I think I was doing him a service."

"Well, you weren't!" Jack yelled. This caught Ralph's attention, and he turned around. Their eyes met for a moment, and Jack blushed furiously. This did not go unnoticed by the two girls.

"Jack is blushing!" Hope announced to the entire classroom.

"I am not!"

"Jack, do you like Ralph?" Emily stage-whispered conspiratorially.

"I think he does," Hope whispered back.

"Do you think we should formulate a plan to get them together?" Emily said in a hushed tone.

"Yes, but why are we still whispering?"

"Dramatic effect," Emily said.

"Oh, right. But I designate this class period, 'The Class Where We Formulate Plans To Get Jack With His Crush.' We will think of plans, and at the end, we will compare and pick the best one!" Hope announced.

"Do I get any say in any of this?" Jack said in a resigned tone.

"Nope," they said at the same time.

He sighed, then yawned. He had completely forgotten that he was supposed to be sleep deprived. Hope took this opportunity to pinch him again.

Jack was about to yell what she should be pinching, when Mr. English walked into the room. So, he had to settle for glaring at the back of her head before remembering his mission.

Ralph had fabulous hair. Jack groaned. That was the first thing he thought when he looked at him? Jack was getting gayer by the day. But it was gorgeous. It was dishwater blond and was so shiny and soft-looking. Resisting the urge to jump out his seat and see if it was as soft as it looked, Jack moved onto his other features. From the angle he was at, Jack couldn't tell what color his eyes were, but he imagined them to be a brilliant blue. There was the soft curve of his cheek, the hand resting on the desk, tapping out a beat, the other hand propping up his head. In Biology, it was another story. In this class, Ralph was attentive and took notes intently. Jack was at a better angle this time because he was one seat up and to the left of him. It appeared Ralph had extraordinary handwriting, all flowy, Jack thought dazedly.

A piece of paper hit him in the back of the head, snapping Jack out of his Ralph-laden reverie. He jerked up, realizing that it was time for Band. Time to face Simon. Time to face the fact that he probably did like Ralph. Shit.

Author's Note: Thank you to my wonderful beta, aggirl53! And thank you to you, for reading! If you enjoyed it, there is a review button that you can use to extol my brilliance, and if you didn't like it, why are you still reading? There will be more chapters, if you couldn't tell by the cliffhanger-esque ending, so if you want to follow, that is also greatly appreciated, as are favorites. If you would like to check out other stuff I've written, go ahead! No one's complaining! Have a fabulous day!