Chapter 8: Only One 

 

It was a miracle, but somehow Mick managed to make it through the rest of the afternoon's practice session without acting out of the ordinary. He was even praised by the rest of the group for how quickly he managed to pick up the songs they'd chosen. After Om had left them once again It had taken a lot of Mick's willpower to not keep staring at Mum throughout the entire session. His mind was in turmoil. Was it just Mum acting alone, or were his two friends in on it as well? Mick hoped they weren't, he really liked Heng and Loy, and they'd been nice to him despite the teasing. In the end he just kept his head down and concentrated on the music.

 

By the time they decided to call it a day, It was past five in the evening and Mick was feeling exhausted but pleased at his own progress. He'd never been part of a band before, and he enjoyed the camaraderie and the awesome, unexplainable feeling when all the disparate sounds of the instruments and vocals came together to create beautiful music.

 

"I think if we practice every day for the next two weeks, we might have a chance at one of the top three spots," Mum said eagerly as they wrapped up their session. Everyone else groaned.

 

"Be realistic, Mum. We'd never beat p'Oak and his band," Heng said, referring to last year's music club president and his very experienced and talented band, who were all music club alumni now in 12th grade and about to graduate.

 

"P'Queer is strong this year too. Remember p'Earn's song to p'Noh during the preliminaries? Even I got goosebumps from that!" Loy said. Mick hadn't been present during the preliminary rounds, but had heard that their current music club president had been sweetly serenaded by the cheer club's president, much to the former's embarrassment. 

 

"Yeah but I really think we could have a shot," Mum insisted. "Come on guys, let's do it. We'll prove that even though we're the youngest, we're no pushovers."

 

"Alright, alright, if everyone's in then I'm in too," Loy sighed, and everyone agreed to intensify their training before the event, even Mick. His mom would grumble about him coming home late, but she'd be pleased to hear he was going to be on stage, he was sure of that.

 

"Hey, where's p'Om?" Fin asked. He was their lead vocalist, but not a member of the music club. 

 

"Sleeping, probably. I'll go get him to let us out, then we can hang at my place and play video games," Mum said, leaving the room.

 

"Sorry guys, but I need to go home soon. My mom's picking me up," Mick said apologetically.

 

"Aw come on, Mick," Loy groaned, and the rest joined in to convince Mick to extend his evening with them.

 

"Mum's got a real huge Japanese collection, if you ask him nicely he'll lend some to you!" Heng whispered conspiratorially, to loud laughter from the rest.  

 

Mick had no intention of walking right into the lion's den, but he was flattered at their attempts to make him stay. He really felt like he was one of them now.

 

They waited at the living room and soon Mum returned with a sleepy Om in tow. 

 

"Hey, you're supposed to be our Snow White, not Sleeping Beauty!" Loy quipped, to more laughter but Om merely yawned and gave him the finger. 

 

"You guys done? Good, get out of my hair already!" He said grumpily.

 

"We're going next door to watch Mum's collection!" Heng offered cheerfully, prompting a yell from the chubby boy. "Except Mick, who wants to save himself for you, Om."

 

Mick blushed furiously, enduring the whistles and catcalls from the rest. "My mom's coming to get me now," he told Om quietly. 

 

"Alright you midgets. Clear out!" Om called, opening the door for them.

 

"We're not midgets! We're the Seven Dwarves! Yeah!" Loy pumped his fist as he left, earning a slap on the head from Om.

 

Mick was the last to leave. "I'll just wait outside, p'Om. See you tomorrow," Mick waved at the older boy.

 

"I'll wait with you. We can sit on the front porch," Om said. Mick felt a surge of happiness at that, and desperately hoped his mom would be late.

 

They waved at the chattering bunch of teenagers as they left Om's house, with Tako running ecstatic circles around them. Mick felt Mum's gaze linger on them for just a moment longer than he should have, but soon they were alone, except for the dog. They sat on a narrow bench facing the gate so that Mick could spot his mom's car.

 

"How was it?" Om asked. 

 

"It was really good. Tiring, but good," Mick nodded happily.

 

"I'm glad to hear that. It looks like you managed to charm them as well," Om said.

 

Not all of them, though, Mick thought. He couldn't think of anything to say without sounding stupid, so they sat in silence for a while as the evening shadows lengthened, watching as Tako finally gave in to the heat and sprawled himself beside Mick. The schoolboy reached down and scratched the big brown dog behind its ears absently.

 

Mick felt Om's presence beside him very keenly. It seemed as if the senior wanted to say something, so he just kept quiet. But Om merely clasped his hands in his lap and stared at the garden. His knees were just barely touching Mick's, as the bench was quite small, and neither boy moved away from that slightest of contacts.

 

Mick was dying to say so much to Om. Words could not express the gratitude he felt towards the older boy who'd gone out of his way to help a nobody like Mick feel welcome and accepted. He wanted to tell Om about the threat he'd received online, and the weird messages from the other seniors. He wanted to share his life with Om and to hear Om's in return. 

 

Above all, Mick wanted to tell Om that he liked him.

 

"P'Om -" Mick started to say.

 

"Mick -" Om turned and said at the same time.

 

"Oh...you first, p'" Mick said.

 

"I just wanted to say - take care of yourself in school tomorrow okay? The guy who trapped you in the toilet on Friday...he's still out there. I haven't forgotten," Om's face clouded over. "And when I catch him he's gonna wish he'd never been born."

 

He's closer than you think, Mick wanted to say, but he kept quiet. He had no proof at all it was Mum, unless he somehow could get access to Mum's phone and check the photos on it. He still didn't know Mum's motive, either. Why did he want Mick to stay away from Om? Was it jealousy? Were they secretly already together? They sure didn't act like it. 

 

"I can't keep my eyes on you all the time, Mick. I wish I could," Om said sincerely, looking at Mick. "So just promise me you'll be extra careful when you're alone."

 

"I will, I promise," Mick said solemnly. He didn't want Om to worry about him, but he was glad that he had offered.

 

Om smiled. "Now what was it you wanted to say?" He asked.

 

Mick's throat dried up. How could he put all his feelings into words? What would be Om's reaction if Mick told him how he really felt? What if - what if Mick disgusted him?

 

Thankfully, a loud honk saved Mick from having to answer. He scrambled to his feet, surprising Tako in the process. "My mom's here!" He yelled, a bit loudly than he should have.

 

"Okay. Well, see you at school then," Om said, standing up as well. 

 

"Bye, p'Om. Bye Tako!" He gave a final pat to the dog before rushing out to his mom's waiting car.

 

"Did you have a nice time, dear?" His mom asked. 

 

Mick looked back. Om was standing at the gate, watching as their car pulled away. 

 

"I had the best, Ma," he said softly. 

 

***

 

The week passed quickly, and thankfully without further incident. Mick dutifully stayed back every day, and grew closer to the rest of the Dwarves as they started calling themselves, especially Loy and Heng. Loy was the loudmouth joker, while Heng was the quiet ert, but somehow Mick got along very well with them.

 

He also noticed that although Mum wasn't exactly cold toward him, he also never talked to Mick unless he was prompted. And he never invited Mick to go back to his place and hang out, though it was clear the rest spent a lot of time at Mum's after school.

 

He decided to let matters lie. After all, now that Mum knew he suspected him, maybe he wouldn't do anything more. Besides, they were still in the same band and club and Mick didn't want things to get more awkward than they already were.

 

Mick was also getting more and more attention from the older students at school. Some of them had made the move from messaging him online to actively seeking him out to talk to him at school. Almost all of them were nice and polite to Mick, who never quite knew what to say to them. One or two seemed more intense, though, and kept giving Mick snacks or drinks even when he told them politely that he didn't want any. Worse still, some of the more persistent ones insisted he go out with them, but he always found excuses to rebuff them. Naturally, this sort of behavior didn't endear him to his classmates at all. Mick was more alone than ever.

 

It seemed that the more attention Mick got, however, the less he saw of Om. It was disappointing that he didn't get more time with Om. He looked forward to their lessons in the horn, but Om could only make time for him twice a week, and there always seemed to be other people in the club room during those times, especially Film.

 

He was true to his word, though, about keeping an eye on Mick. No matter how late their practice sessions were, he made sure Mick was never alone after school hours, even staying back to make sure Mick's mom picked him up.

 

Everyone was tense in the run-up before the finals for the Live Show. Mick had worked hard on their band's songs, but had been disappointed to learn that his french horn was going to be featured in only one song out of the three they had to perform. It was no big surprise to learn which of his bandmates had lobbied hard to include songs without the horn. 

 

Mum's argument was quite foolproof, unfortunately. As Mick was the most recent member to join, and had only recently learnt the horn, they should pick a more rounded selection, he reasoned. Basically he was trying to say if Mick screwed up, at least they'd still have two more songs as backup. The argument had gotten quite heated, with Heng and Loy on Mick's side, adamant that all members should perform in all three songs, even though it wasn't strictly a requirement. In the end, Mick decided to just give in to Mum for the sake of the group's unity. 

 

Therefore, it was quite a frustrated Mick who went to meet Om for practice that Wednesday  afternoon. He was running late because of the meeting with the band that would have dragged on even longer if not for Mick's compromise. He skidded into the club room, out of breath.

 

"I'm sorry p'Om!" He said. "The meeting took longer than I expected."

 

Om didn't answer. Instead, he was staring at his phone with a frown. Had something happened?

 

Mick entered the room and bumped into Per, but it looked like the tenth grader was just leaving. "Watch out, he's in a bad mood," Per whispered to him. "I'm bugging out, good luck!"

 

Mick nodded, and Per slipped out of the club room, leaving him alone with Om, who made no sign of having noticed the boy. He put his bags down and quietly took a seat in front of Om.

 

The senior finally noticed Mick. "Oh! You're here. And you're late!" He said, looking at his watch with an irritated expression.

 

"I'm sorry, p'. The meeting with the other Dwarves ran a bit long," Mick said again.

 

Om just shook his head, but he was still frowning. "Well, what are you waiting for then? We don't have much time and the finals are this week."

 

"Oh, sorry!" Mick scrambled to take out the horn. They ran through a band song, which the younger boy managed to screw up spectacularly on several parts.

 

"How is it possible that you're doing worse than before?" Om said exasperatedly. "Haven't you guys been practicing every day?"

 

Mick hung his head in shame. It had been a grueling day, and he'd been looking forward to his time alone with Om so much. He shouldn't have let Mum get to him, that's why he couldn't seem to concentrate at all.

 

"Maybe you should have been spending less time flirting with all the seniors," Om muttered suddenly.

 

Mick looked up sharply, confused. "What?"

 

Om looked away uncomfortably. "Don't think I haven't noticed all the attention you've been getting."

 

"But- but I haven't -"

 

"No, forget it, it's none of my business anyway," Om shook his head. "Let's try again."

 

Mick made no move to play the horn. He just stared at the floor in front of him, stunned that Om would actually think that he'd be flirting with anyone.

 

"P'Om," he said in a shaky voice. "They- they just come up to me sometimes and talk or give me stuff. I haven't - I haven't done that thing you said, I swear."

 

"Well you can always tell them to off, can't you?!" Om said angrily. "Or get Film to do it, he's always hanging about you anyway like some mother hen."

 

Tears threatened to spill from Mick's eyes, but he was getting angry too. What right did Om have to judge him? Hadn't he been bending over backwards for Om's approval since day one? He'd thought Om was the only one who could see past Mick's exterior but it turned out he was the same as everyone else. 

 

"There's only one senior that I like," Mick said quietly. He raised his tear-filled eyes to look at Om. "I think he's so talented, handsome and kind. I thought he's the only one who could see the real me. But he's wrong if he thinks I'm the type of person who goes around flirting with just anyone. So maybe I was wrong about him too."

 

Mick stood up and quickly started to pack his horn. Hot tears splashed onto his hands but he ignored them as he fumbled with the straps of the case.

 

"Mick..." Om called, but the boy was too upset to answer. He just wanted to get out of there.

 

"Mick, I'm sorry," he heard him say, and Om reached out to take the trembling boy's hands in his own. Mick resisted but of course Om was stronger. Suddenly Om pulled him towards his body and Mick found himself being hugged tightly by Om.

 

"I...I don't know what came over me," Om said over Mick's shoulder. "I just kept seeing all those people hanging around you, and...please don't cry." He gave a sigh.

 

"They don't mean anything to me, p'Om. You should know that," Mick said against the senior's shoulder.

 

"I know now, but I couldn't help myself when I see you... Mick..." He released Mick from the hug and held him at arms length. "Did you really mean what you said? About liking..." His eyes searched the younger boy's face.

 

Mick swallowed, and nodded once, slowly. He really did have feelings for Om. Deep, unexplainable feelings whenever he was near the handsome senior, like now. Even though he was still angry at Om, he couldn't deny that fact.

 

"Mick," Om said, looking away. "Listen to me. I don't think I'm gay." 

 

Mick closed his eyes, and nodded again in understanding. He had expected this, hadn't he? Why would Om like him back? He had the whole world before him, why would he choose Mick of all people?

 

"But you make things so complicated for me," Om looked back at him with a small smile playing on his lips.

 

"Complicated how?" Mick asked, his voice hoarse. He tried not to let a surge of hope overwhelm him.

 

"At first I thought I only wanted to be around you as an older brother - as a friend - but lately..." Om was visibly struggling to put his feelings into words. 

 

"Lately what, p'Om? You can tell me," Mick insisted, his anger all but burnt away. He put a hand  on Om's.

 

Om raised his hand to Mick's face and brushed away the tear tracks with a gentle thumb. "Lately I've found myself slowly learning to like a cute, shy, nervous boy with a good heart. Liking him more than just a brother, and liking him more than just a friend," he whispered almost inaudibly. 

 

Mick's heart pounded loudly in his chest as he bent his face towards Om's fingers. He looked up at Om with hopeful eyes.

 

"Liking...me?" He whispered.

 

"Learning to like you," Om corrected him with a smile. "So...can you give me some time to get used to the idea? Do you still want to be with someone as bad tempered and quick to judge as me?"

 

Mick smiled. The entire world could end and he'd still want to be with Om. 

 

"I don't know...is he still going to scold me if I don't hit the right notes- mmh?"

 

Om had kissed him. Om had kissed Mick right in the middle of his talking. 

 

Mick's eyes widened in shock, then closed as he gave in to Om's lips against his own. He felt his whole body come alive, then melt against the older boy's. He knew his entire face was reddening but this time he didn't care. 

 

He'd only just parted his lips when the sound of a door slamming jolted both of them back into reality. They looked around, but they were still alone in the room. Om released Mick reluctantly, leaving the younger boy dazed but happy.

 

Mick couldn't believe it. He'd just had his first kiss. And it was with Om!