The school really is more impressive in person, Kris thinks to himself. Freshly mowed grass, a paved path leading up to the looming school, and the finishing touch of a brickwork pattern around the foundation brought the scene before him to life in more ways than the brochures did.

"I've heard about you before."

Kris glances over at the wavy brown-haired guy with dark eyes who is him around campus. Lay, he thinks his name is. "Is that so?"

He nods. "You're studying piano, right?

"Yup."

There are students sitting off to the side in the grass. Some study, some eat lunch, and others simply talk to their friends.

"Our music students all work very hard." Lay says. He turns the corner with Kris, revealing a section of the school with walls weathered with age. Ivy vines climb the windows, reaching high above where they stood. "This here is the piano room and recital hall. Music students come here all the time."

"It's beautiful," Kris says with awe. Though old and crumbling, The walls of the room have an air of mystery to them.

"The piano room has over 100 years of history." Lay's eyes that once twinkled earlier now suddenly fall. "It's a shame that it's going to be torn down on graduation day and rebuilt.

"That's too bad." Kris makes a mental note to steal an opportunity to visit the piano room before graduation.

They pass a red blossom tree on the way back to the front of the building, and the bright red leaves attract several birds that are nested in its branches. Kris breathes in the fresh fall air. The huge university was in fact a pretty renowned school. Though extremely difficult for most musicians to get admitted in, It was a breeze for him, given that his dad is a disciplinary teacher. And Kris is pretty decent at piano, if he does say so himself. Anyone who studied piano since the age of three would be.

"Your school really is beautiful," Kris says.

"Do you want me to take you to have a look inside?"

"Nah, it's okay," Kris replies. He can manage himself. After waving goodbye, Kris starts up the stairs leading to the main doors. They swing open with a creak and he peers inside. It is dark, and the hallways are empty. Aside from the muffled melody of a piano from afar, The hallway is dead silent and Kris is sure anyone can hear his steps from the other side of the hall.

He walks down, looking into classrooms but finding nothing interesting. Kris is about to turn around and go the other way when something from the last classroom window catches his eye. The door is slightly ajar, and he peeks into the room.

It is a relatively large classroom with a musty old smell hanging in the air, and cluttered in it stands piles of abandoned furniture, instruments, and music stands.

But it is what is in the center of the room that catches Kris's attention. A weathered piano stands with a wooden structure that is discolored from age, and a fine layer of dust covers the top. Sheet music lie littered on the floor, many pages yellow.

So this is where that music was coming from.

Kris steps into the room, desiring a closer look when he suddenly lets out a cry of surprise.

A tall- almost as tall as himself- jet black-haired student who was reaching up to place something back on a bookshelf glances up, startled by the sudden intruder.

"I-I'm so sorry- you scared me," Kris stutters and bends down to pick up a lamp he had knocked over. Remembering the melody he heard playing while entering the building, he asks, "Was...was that you that was playing that song just now?"

The guy chuckles softly, still amused at Kris's reaction. "Nope, you must've heard someone else."

"Oh..." Kris picks up his dropped bag. "It was a nice piece though."

The student grins. Kris notices his perfectly straight teeth, and his attire is also made up of mostly dark colors. "Yeah, it was," he agrees. His voice is smooth and level.

After a few awkward seconds, Kris turns toward the door. "Well...I should get going. See you later, I guess."

He exits the door, but he swears he can feel the guy's piercing eyes on him as he leaves. Kris quickens his pace, feeling his ears grow red over the embarrassment of his clumsiness.

****************************************

"In the 19th century, there was a prodigal musician who was known as the poet of the piano."

Kris absentmindedly doodles in the corner of his paper. The teacher's lecture is just a distant babble in his mind. Classes so far had been so boring; he'd already taught music theory, technique, and composition everything to himself years earlier.

"Sorry I'm late."

Kris glances up. Black shoes, tight jeans, tall figure, shadowy eyes- it's that same guy Kris just met in the piano room.

He's a piano major too?

Kris watches as he hastily bows and sits down in his seat a few rows behind Kris. If the teacher saw him come in, he made no effort to acknowledge him and continues with the lesson, most likely used to tardy students.

Kris finds himself repeatedly looking back at the mysterious guy, sometimes even unconsciously. Several times he catches him staring back. His stare sends a shiver down Kris's back. It's peculiar....his presence is...alluring, almost.

There's something about him that has Kris intrigued- Maybe it was the dark, attractive bags under his eyes. Or maybe his perfectly shaped lips that looked so soft and-

"HEY!" Kris jumps at the sound of his teacher's angry voice. "What are you looking at? Pay attention in class, Mr. Wu."

He forces himself to stare back at his paper, turning red as he hears giggles behind him. It takes every scrap of willpower Kris has not to steal more backward looks the rest of class.

****************************************

Kris feels like kicking himself as the surge of students empty into the hallway. He'd meant to talk to the dark haired guy but he'd left too quickly. Frustrated, he runs a hand through his blonde hair.

Why is it that I'm so eager to meet him again, anyway? He had only met him a few hours ago... It was illogical. Simply illogical. Kris had seen him for not even five minutes, exchanged just a few sentences, and doesn't even know his name. Yet there is a most unexplainable feeling...the feeling to seek more. All Kris knows is that there is something in him he's never felt before, yearning to see his face and to hear that smooth, silky voice.

"Hey you-"

Kris can't help that his heart skips a beat. He spins around, and sure enough it's him, almost right on cue.

"Why're you looking for me?" He asks, and Kris feels panic wash over him.

Wha- how does he know? Is it really that obvious?

Kris scoffs. He can't let his guard down. "I'm not looking for you."

"You're not?" They guy tilts his head to the side and smiles innocently. "Goodbye then."

"H-Hey!" Kris calls out as he stars to leave. He frantically racks his brain for anything that would hold up a conversation. "Actually...I have a question. You heard that song that was playing earlier in that room today, right?" Kris wants to slap himself for sounding so lame. "Did you happen to recognize the song? I'd really like to learn it."

He visibly hesitates as if contemplating whether he should answer the question or not. Finally, he slowly leans in, drawing close to Kris's ear. Kris thinks his heart will burst out of his chest. "That is an unspeakable secret," he whispers. His lips linger there for a moment, as if letting the words sink in before pulling back.

What....what's up with him? Kris clearly wasn't expecting that kind of answer. He shakes his head, snapping out of his trance and realizing that the mysterious guy was already walking away, his figure quickly being swallowed by the crowd of students. "Wait!" He yells. "What's your name?"

"Lay," came a reply. "I thought I told you already.."

Huh?

It takes Kris a couple of seconds to see that Lay, who was just passing, must've thought the question was addressed at him.

"I-I wasn't talking to you," Kris mumbles with growing annoyance, another chance to talk to the mystery guy lost.

****************************************

The rain is merciless, and within minutes Kris is soaked to the bone. "Damn it, why is it raining all of a sudden..." Kris grumbles. He has nothing but his school bag to shield his face. Needless, to say, it was difficult doing so while riding a bike.

Further down the road, Kris can make out a figure standing under the shelter of a tree, brushing off splashes of rain as he struggles to stay dry. It is unmistakable who it is.

"And so we meet again," Kris murmurs and pedals closer. His stupid nerves are starting to get unsettled and excited again. "Need a ride?" he calls out.

"I doubt my house is on your way home," He says quietly and looks at the ground when Kris screeches his bike to a stop in front of him. Kris gets off and joins him under the tree.

He can see him shivering and notices that he hadn't done a very good job keeping dry. "Forgot your umbrella?" He asks.

"Yeah." He studies Kris. "And by the looks of it, you didn't either.

20 minutes later, the rain has turned into a barely noticeable drizzle. Kris maneuvers his bike down the wet roads with the dark haired guy sitting behind him, still slightly wet. It had taken a while to persuade him to get on.

"It's fine," Kris had said. "You look in need of a ride anyway."

"I can take care of myself, thank you very much," was the guy's haughty reply, but got on the bike anyway.

Kris just hopes he didn't seem like a creep or anything.

By now there is only the slight pattering of the rain followed by sloshes when the bike skims a puddle.

"Hey.." Kris hears the voice behind him say.

"Hm?"

"Why aren't you saying anything?"

Kris mentally does a victory dance inside his head....the guy was actually starting a conversation with him.

Outside, Kris sighs as if he's annoyed."'Cause whenever I ask you something, you always say it's a secret." Silence. He sighs again. "Okay then, what musician do you like?"

There is a long pause his passenger ponders the question. "I like them all," He finally answers.

Kris tries again: "Do you like clear skies or cloudy skies?"

"I like them all~"

He scoffs and decides to give up. "Since you're a piano major as well," he says, trying to change the subject, "Why don't you play for me next time, okay?"

"Oh! This is my house here," He exclaims. He points to an old-looking house with yellow paint peeling off and overgrown weeds. Kris's heart sinks, knowing their short conversation is coming to an end. He brings the bike to a stop in front of the chipped fence of the house.

His passenger hops off the bike. "I can go in myself now, thanks." He says.

Kris frowns. "You sure?" Deep inside, he secretly just doesn't want to leave his side.

"It's fine, I'll manage." The guy unlocks the fence and its rusty hinges creak open.

"Wait!" Kris almost forgets, and he isn't letting it go by again. "What's your name?"

The guy gives a slight smile before answering. "Tao," he says.

"Tao..." Kris sounds the word out. "My name's Kris."

"Well, see you then, Kris," Tao says as he waves goodbye.

Kris grins at the sound of his name coming from him. He watches until Tao disappears into his house before reluctantly turning his bike around towards home.

Before long, Kris is riding through the busy streets of the market, thoughts of his first day and his encounters with that weird kid Tao floating around in his mind.

Kris can safely say that he's never met anyone like Tao before. He is strikingly secretive-very, very secretive, Kris can tell. He has a feeling that that's what drew him into Tao in the first place. Kris has a burning curiosity for all those secrets that seem to lie under him. He also has that taunting demeanor to him- it challenges Kris to delve deeper. And if there's one thing Kris can't ignore, it's being taunted.

"Aren't you buying dinner tonight?"

"Oh!" Kris slams the brakes to a halt. "The groceries...almost forgot."

An short elderly lady hands two bags full of groceries to him. "I've already prepared the food for you," she says.

"Thanks Nai Nai, you're the best!" Kris takes the bags and searches for his money. "I thought I had my wallet somewhere here..."

The old lady waves her hand dismissively. "It's alright," she says cheerfully. "You can pay tomorrow."

"Really? Thanks!"

The old storeowner chuckles as Kris puts the groceries in a basket. "Wel,l you seem to be all smiles today."

"Is that so?" Kris asks, a smile played on his lips. He says goodbye and rides off, feeling that stupid grin linger on his face. He wonders just how noticeable it is.