Two weeks had passed since the party, and many days had come and gone without incident.

It was an exceedingly-average Monday morning. Oscar walked into the band room and sat down in his usual seat to prepare for practice. He tugged open the large, black case that was at his side, and from it, removed a sizable, brass instrument. Oscar was first chair trombone, one of his proudest achievements.

After just minutes of warming-up, the door opened, and in walked a familiar face. The individual had light golden blond hair, and yes, eyes bluer than the Indian Ocean. In his own flustered manner, the student walked up to the band instructor that stood at the front of the room, drumsticks in hand, and asked "Is this uh..." he paused to look down at a piece of paper that he was holding.

"... Mr Knight's class?" Mr. Knight confirmed, and told him, "take a seat in the back, with the other drummers."

Oscar, too focused on his breathing exercises, didn't notice the other boy's presence until he walked past his chair and stole a glance in the opposite direction. Oscar's eyes bulged, his face went slack, and his breaths quickened, causing his trombone's pitch to flatten out.

"Oh god..." He thought.

"Why is he here?" Oscar discretely peered over his shoulder.

There he was, just like before. Noah. Blond hair, blue eyes, and sitting only 10 feet away.

Oscar tried his best to regain his composure, and kept his eyes to the front of the class. The hour continued as usual, but with every second the pit in Oscar's stomach seemed to expand. He felt a hotness on the back of his neck, like eyes staring straight through him. Despite his growing uneasiness, he managed to continue his breathing and play his instrument as instructed.

However, not without pausing every so often to peek over his shoulder, his intent gaze studying Noah's movements with great caution.

There were many things that Oscar had not noticed about Noah during their previous interactions. For instance, a small scar, just above his right eyebrow, and the fact that there was a green tinge to his hair, or how his nose wrinkled when he drummed fast.

"Cute," Oscar proclaimed, subconsciously while watching Noah.

"What?" said the girl with painfully unnatural red sitting next to Oscar.

He stammered, "Oh I, I like your hair..." he fumbled out the words, before shrinking down in his seat and looking back briefly at Noah.

A smile spread wide across the girl's face. "Thank you," she preened. In close succession was the high-pitched ringing of the hour bell.

Oscar carefully slipped his instrument into its case, and began making his way to the door. When he was merely inches from freedom, he heard a female voice announce, "Everyone come get your permission slips for the field trip that we will be taking to the Flagstaff Amusement Park next month."

With a heavy sigh and a slight hunch, Oscar stopped in his tracks and shuffled across the carpet, and back into the sea of students. While waiting in the seemingly endless line, Oscar felt a small tug on his backpack. He turned, scowling and expecting to see no one, but was rather unfortunately greeted by the smiling face of Noah.

"Hey, I got you one."

"What?" Oscar asked.

Noah extended his hand and Oscar saw that he was holding two permission slips. "It's for you," Noah confirmed.

Oscar slowly slid it out of his hand and said, "Uh, thanks."

"Yeah no problem," said the generous boy, then turned and began making his way to the exit.

A feeling washed over Oscar. Not an unfamiliar feeling. The same feeling that he had experienced on the night of Serenity's party. He stumbled but kept his composure.

Oscar headed for the door close behind Noah, but the crowd still hadn't thinned. He stood in line, taking small steps, slowly and painstakingly making his escape.

Noah, who was still close enough to talk to said, "Some line, huh?"

"Yeah," Oscar replied and looked away, noticing that a small gap had appeared in the crowd. Before Noah could get another word in, Oscar had bolted toward the door and disappeared into the hall.