A/N: I had posted this story a while ago, but quickly took it down to make some adjustments to it. I think it's a little better now and the chapters should be coming out a bit faster.
Warning: Slash. If that's not OK with you, don't even bother reading it.
I don't own these characters. Ann M. Martin does, I' m just borrowing them for a bit, and I apologize to her for the bad things I make them do. I don't own the lyrics to Say It To Me Now. As far as I know those are owned by Glen Hansard, Marketa Irglova and/or Swell Season.
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Chapter One: Say it to me now.
I was sitting in a seat of my high school auditorium next to Jordan Pike, my palms sweating, I was that nervous. I had to sit through a few ridiculous dance numbers by some girls. I had to sit through a piano recital's worth of Mozart and Beethoven. Finally the emcee, Adam Pike, got up.
"Marilyn Arnold, ladies and gentlemen! Let's give her another round of applause!" Everybody clapped politely. Marilyn bowed her head shyly and ran of the side of the stage.
Adam turned back to the audience. "Our next performer will be performing a song from the movie Once. I know for a fact how hard he has been working on this performance. He's been keeping me awake with his practicing for weeks now." A little laughter followed. Adam put a big smile on his face. "Welcome, none other than my brother...Byron Pike!"
Byron walked onto the stage. He looked nervous, but he shouldn't have. He could sing and play the guitar like no other 16 year old I knew. And I should know, it's how he won me over
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Do you want to know how we met? How our relationship started? Sometimes I wonder exactly where it began. I had been friends with Byron and his identical brothers since we were ten years old and I first moved to Stoneybrook, CT after my parents' divorce. I moved back to California to be with my dad, but only briefly. I found my way back to the chilly New England winters and to my mother before long.
Byron had always been different than his brothers. He was quieter, a little more sensitive, and a little more cautious. I liked all the Pike triplets. Adam to joke around with, Jordan to kick the soccer ball around with, and Byron to really talk to. Byron is very receptive to people and a great listener. This made him quite a hit with the ladies, or at least that's what I thought.
Last year I began to notice that despite his kind nature and girls flirting with him left and right, he never had a date. Adam and Jordan dated a lot, but Byron seemed, well... to be not necessarily happy to be left behind them, but he sure didn't seem to mind it much. More space for him to strum his guitar, I guess. But that wasn't all I began to notice about Byron. I also began noticing how his body was becoming muscular, how his eyelashes were longer than Adam's or Jordan's, how he had a slight bounce in his step when he was happy (which is often the only way to read his mood, as his face is closed-off from emotion), and how callused his fingertips were from the guitar. I also noticed how he was looking at me the same way I had been looking at him, like he was studying me.
For months, we would find small, seemingly innocent, excuses to touch each other. Tucking tags into the backs of each others' shirts, writing homework reminders on each others hands, or even thumb wrestling. We somehow managed to get ourselves alone more often than normal, which is difficult what with Byron being a triplet and having five other siblings besides his identical brothers.
Eventually, I thought I was going to burst for wanting to hold him, to kiss him. But I couldn't be sure. I couldn't say anything to him. What if those months of finding excuses to touch him really had been innocent? What if Byron didn't realize that I wanted him? I had no idea how to tell him. What if what I had perceived to be flirtations was really just innocent banter? I couldn't say anything. I couldn't risk losing him as a friend. So I kept my thoughts to myself.
One day, Byron called me. "Can you come over?" He asked. "Everyone else is at the mall. I, uh, need to talk to you."
I agreed and made the walk over to Slate Street. I knocked on the door and Byron answered it immediately.
I smiled at him, but he didn't smile back. He grabbed my wrist and started to pull me upstairs to the boys' bedroom. His palms were sweaty.
When we got to the bedroom, I looked around. It was the same as it always had been. Two sets of bunk beds, the triplets shared with their younger brother, Nicky. The room was pretty messy, but then it usually is.
Byron sat down on his bottom bunk. His guitar was laying across his pillow. He wiped the palms of his hands on his jeans. He wouldn't look at me.
"Um." I said, unsure what his silence meant. "Did you need something?"
"I want to play a song for you. I didn't write it, I saw it in a movie and I had to learn it. But I'm singing it for you. OK?"
"Sure," I said and he picked up his guitar, put the strap around him and started strumming. He wasn't playing anything yet, just tuning the guitar, fiddling with those little knobs at the top.
"Ready?" he asked, and finally looked me right in the eye.
I nodded and he started playing the most beautiful song I had ever heard.
I'm
scratching at the surface now Cause this is what you've waited for Cause I'm picking up a message Lord So if you have something to say
And I'm trying hard to work it
out
So much has gone misunderstood
This mystery only leads to
doubt
And I didn't understand
When you reached out to take my
hand
And if you have something to say
You'd better say it
now
Your chance to
even up the score
And as these shadows fall on me now
I will
somehow
And I'm closer
than I've ever been before
Say
it to me now
Say it to me now
Say it to me now
He finished playing and looked me right in the eye. I stood up, walked over to him, took his guitar from him and lay it gently on the bed.
Then I grabbed him by his face and kissed him right on the mouth. God, I hoped that was what he was trying to tell me by singing me that song. Within a second, I knew that I had assumed correctly. Byron wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me back, hard. Our mouths opened and our tongues touched, sending a jolt of electricity through my body.
Finally, we pulled away and stood there looking at one another. I started laughing, not hard but biting my lip and laughing quietly.
"What?" Byron asked, smiling.
"Oh God! Finally!" I said. Well, actually shouted.
Then Byron started laughing too. "I know, right? Jesus, what took us so long?"
I was having trouble controlling the laughter. The more I laughed, the more Byron did, which caused me to laugh even harder, causing Byron to laugh even harder.
"God," I gasped. "I've known, for, like months, you know? I've really known but I was too afraid to say anything to you."
"You were afraid?" Byron asked. "Did you even feel how sweaty my palms were??" Byron stopped laughing. "I thought I could have lost you forever, even as a friend. Forever. But I couldn't stand it anymore, you know? And I saw this movie, Once, and as soon as I heard that song, I just knew that was how I was going to get through to you. I hope you don't mind."
Did I mind? My answer was to kiss him again.
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So that's how it happened, that I ended up falling for my best friend. We've been secretly seeing each other for months now. Nobody knows we're seeing each other. Nobody even knows that I'm gay. Nobody knows that Byron is gay either.
Before he started playing, Byron said in to the mic, "This song is for you. You know who you are." And he started playing Say It To Me Now. Our song. His voice was gorgeous. He had a raw street musician sound about his voice. The kind that a professional voice teacher would take and absolutely ruin. He could play the guitar with as much soul as I've ever seen anyone do.
It's a short song, and when it ended the applause was thunderous. People started standing up. I don't think anyone at Stoneybrook High realized what a talent Byron was. Jordan leaned over to me, "Whoever the girl is that he dedicated that song to just creamed her panties."
All I could do was smile and laugh.