Categories > Original > Romance > The Keys
Just Another Distraction
1 reviewThis is Victoria's seventh move. She befriends Adam, a bisexual highschool misfit, and their relationship evolves until one night changes it all. Adam Lambert inspired.
0Unrated
The ivory keys were chipped and cracked, yet their smooth exterior still felt comforting. As her fingers glided across the keys, her mind wandered elsewhere. He kept appearing in her mind, whether she wanted him to or not. She closed her eyes and imagined his unnaturally long eyelashes, as if he was wearing mascara made just for men. His sharp nose, leading to his full, round lips…
“Adam”, she breathed. A sharp ache in her heart snapped her back to reality; the mental blow so sudden that her fingers stopped, and the slow mournful tune abruptly ended.
Chapter One: Just Another Distraction
Victoria sighed and stepped off of the yellow hell on wheels. Her mind was blank, focusing only on her feet in front of her. Up ahead, Oak Ridge High School rose, a taunting place full of new faces and halls only too easy to lose yourself in. This was not new to Victoria. After moving several times, being the new student was only part of growing up as the daughter of a petty officer. Victoria continued along the side of the crowded hallways, occasionally bumping into people and offering a small muttered “excuse me”. Her hair, brunette and down past her shoulders, swung alongside her, covering her face from the points and stares that always came.
“Are you new here?” Victoria came to a stop and slowly looked up. The voice had come from a girl with a short black pixie cut, and creepy blue eyes. Victoria stared up at the girl, as she was at least 4 inches taller than her.
“Um yeah, my name’s Victoria.”
“Nice to meet you, my name is Rebecca. Do you need help finding your homeroom?”
“No thanks, I’m good.” She replied, and continued on her way. Victoria’s plan was always the same: fade into the background. By the time people were done whispering and asking who the new girl was, Victoria had managed to fade into the background. What was the point in making friends if you were only going to move again? She turned around to see Rebecca looking after her, with an unreadable mask on her face, before turning around again and continuing her search for room 407.
*
The first four periods were a blur. Come in, sit down, listen to the teacher talk about “what a great year it was going to be”, then leave. Each class Victoria had sat by herself, not raising her hand or talking to anybody. Then the bell rang, signaling the end of fifth. She stood up and made her way to the door.
“Victoria, right?”
She sighed, and stared at her shoes.
“Yep that’s me.”
“Welcome to Oak Ridge High, I’m Adam.”
“Than-“she began in a monotone voice which trailed off at the end. Victoria’s cheek flushed red, and she hurried away, leaving Adam with a perplexed look on his face. Damn it, she thought to herself, you’re so smooth. But before her, had been the most……most guy she had ever seen. What did she want to call him? Intriguing? Drop dead gorgeous? She shook her head. This was not a way to start her first day as a sophomore.
Victoria continued down the hallway looking for History room 210. The halls were empty, except for the occasional student lumbering around. Getting lost and arriving late made her first day even better. Victoria kept on walking, determined to find room 210, when the hallway ended. Nothing was there except for a single classroom, silent and vacant. She stepped inside. In the center of the room was an old baby grand piano. The black finish had faded, and the keys were chipped and cracked. She ran her finger along the side but pulled it away when dust coated her finger. She thought about sitting down and playing a song. A song she could pour her heart into, and imagined a cute young man walking in, catching her by surprise at her private moment. How cliché. Yet it appeared no one was in there, so Victoria turned away and left the classroom. She had made it about three steps before Rebecca from the hallway appeared.
“Are you lost?” Rebecca asked, a warm smile contrasting her cold blue eyes.
“Yeah, can you tell me where room 210 is?” Victoria replied sheepishly.
“Sure, just keep walking then take a right. When you get to the end of the hallway, it’s the last door on your left.”
“Thanks, I really appreciate it.”
“No problem.”
Rebecca turned away, and sauntered back to class while Victoria followed her directions. She found room 210 right were Rebecca said it would be, took a deep breath, and walked in.
Before Victoria was an old stump of a man, with small deep set eyes and a disturbing mustache.
“You’re late.” He barked, and Victoria flinched.
“I’m sorry, I’m new here and got lost-“
“I don’t care. Take a seat.” He interrupted her.
Victoria looked around. The only empty seat was on the right by the window, so she started to make her way over. As she was walking down the row of desks, her breath caught. Adam was sitting right next to the only empty seat available. Victoria sat down, trying her hardest not to trip or do something embarrassingly stupid.
She sat through class, catching only little phrases here and there of what the teacher was talking about. What was it about Adam that made him so distracting? This is stupid, this isn’t some silly chick flick movie, just ignore him, Victoria thought to herself, and tried (and failed) to pay attention to what the creeper teacher was saying.
When the bell rang, Victoria stood up as fast as she could and made a beeline for the door. She was almost to freedom when she realized that her book was still sitting on her accursed seat. With a heavy sigh, she turned around to grab it.
“Here you go, you forgot your book.”
Victoria didn’t need to see who was talking to her, she already knew the voice.
“Thanks.” She replied, and made the mistake of making eye contact. His right eye was a light blue, while his left was a darker navy blue. Yet something about that made Victoria’s heart flutter. Maybe it was his black hair with the dark blue streak underneath, barely visible yet matching his eyes, and the way it fell into his eyes. Or even his strong brows, thick and angular. Victoria continued to stare and scrutinized his face, until she realized that Adam was standing there shifting uncomfortably.
“Thanks” she repeated again, and turned away to leave. She felt his gaze burning holes into the back of her head, yet refused to turn around.
*
“How was your first day of school?”
“Good.”
That was the standard answer. Whether the day was good or not, it was an automatic response. When Victoria didn’t say anything else, her mom turned around back to emptying the dishwasher.
“I’m going to go do my homework in my room.” Victoria said to no one in particular.
The stairs to their new house were scuffed and creaked when she walked over them, but the creak was comforting. Boxes littered the hallway to her room. It smelled like cardboard and the thick packing paper the movers used to wrap their belongings up in. Victoria’s room was a tan color, nothing too exciting. In the corner was her bed, and on the opposite wall was a simple desk. Nothing had been unpacked yet. Victoria threw her backpack down on the ground and pulled out her binder. Might as well get started with that seven page essay, Victoria thought, but something stopped her. Her fingers were writing the essay, yet her mind was somewhere completely different. She kept thinking back to Adam. Every time she closed her eyes he was there. It was obvious that he was different and not excepted in school, receiving glares and eye rolls in the hallway. His eyes, the different colored eyes, were smudged with an onyx eye liner. In his ear was a black stud, to match his leather jacket. In her mind, her eyes traveled from his face down his body. His arms were muscled, but not in an unpleasant way, but in a way that could only occur from years of hard work. Her eyes drifted further down to his toned legs, clearly visible in his taut jeans….Victoria shook her head. Here she ways imagining him when she barely knew him besides for quick glances in school and those few spoken words. Only the sound of her mom’s voice broke her from her stupor.
“Victoria, dinner’s ready!”
“Kay, coming!”
Dinner was short and silent. Victoria stared at her plate and ate quietly with her mom. The empty seat on the right of Victoria was cold and bare. She hadn’t heard from her dad in over a month. After dinner Victoria went back to her room, in hopes of finishing her homework. When it became apparent that her mind would always wander elsewhere, either to Adam or some other thought on her mind, she gave up and went to bed.
The last thing Victoria saw before she fell asleep was the old piano, dusty and isolated.
“Adam”, she breathed. A sharp ache in her heart snapped her back to reality; the mental blow so sudden that her fingers stopped, and the slow mournful tune abruptly ended.
Chapter One: Just Another Distraction
Victoria sighed and stepped off of the yellow hell on wheels. Her mind was blank, focusing only on her feet in front of her. Up ahead, Oak Ridge High School rose, a taunting place full of new faces and halls only too easy to lose yourself in. This was not new to Victoria. After moving several times, being the new student was only part of growing up as the daughter of a petty officer. Victoria continued along the side of the crowded hallways, occasionally bumping into people and offering a small muttered “excuse me”. Her hair, brunette and down past her shoulders, swung alongside her, covering her face from the points and stares that always came.
“Are you new here?” Victoria came to a stop and slowly looked up. The voice had come from a girl with a short black pixie cut, and creepy blue eyes. Victoria stared up at the girl, as she was at least 4 inches taller than her.
“Um yeah, my name’s Victoria.”
“Nice to meet you, my name is Rebecca. Do you need help finding your homeroom?”
“No thanks, I’m good.” She replied, and continued on her way. Victoria’s plan was always the same: fade into the background. By the time people were done whispering and asking who the new girl was, Victoria had managed to fade into the background. What was the point in making friends if you were only going to move again? She turned around to see Rebecca looking after her, with an unreadable mask on her face, before turning around again and continuing her search for room 407.
*
The first four periods were a blur. Come in, sit down, listen to the teacher talk about “what a great year it was going to be”, then leave. Each class Victoria had sat by herself, not raising her hand or talking to anybody. Then the bell rang, signaling the end of fifth. She stood up and made her way to the door.
“Victoria, right?”
She sighed, and stared at her shoes.
“Yep that’s me.”
“Welcome to Oak Ridge High, I’m Adam.”
“Than-“she began in a monotone voice which trailed off at the end. Victoria’s cheek flushed red, and she hurried away, leaving Adam with a perplexed look on his face. Damn it, she thought to herself, you’re so smooth. But before her, had been the most……most guy she had ever seen. What did she want to call him? Intriguing? Drop dead gorgeous? She shook her head. This was not a way to start her first day as a sophomore.
Victoria continued down the hallway looking for History room 210. The halls were empty, except for the occasional student lumbering around. Getting lost and arriving late made her first day even better. Victoria kept on walking, determined to find room 210, when the hallway ended. Nothing was there except for a single classroom, silent and vacant. She stepped inside. In the center of the room was an old baby grand piano. The black finish had faded, and the keys were chipped and cracked. She ran her finger along the side but pulled it away when dust coated her finger. She thought about sitting down and playing a song. A song she could pour her heart into, and imagined a cute young man walking in, catching her by surprise at her private moment. How cliché. Yet it appeared no one was in there, so Victoria turned away and left the classroom. She had made it about three steps before Rebecca from the hallway appeared.
“Are you lost?” Rebecca asked, a warm smile contrasting her cold blue eyes.
“Yeah, can you tell me where room 210 is?” Victoria replied sheepishly.
“Sure, just keep walking then take a right. When you get to the end of the hallway, it’s the last door on your left.”
“Thanks, I really appreciate it.”
“No problem.”
Rebecca turned away, and sauntered back to class while Victoria followed her directions. She found room 210 right were Rebecca said it would be, took a deep breath, and walked in.
Before Victoria was an old stump of a man, with small deep set eyes and a disturbing mustache.
“You’re late.” He barked, and Victoria flinched.
“I’m sorry, I’m new here and got lost-“
“I don’t care. Take a seat.” He interrupted her.
Victoria looked around. The only empty seat was on the right by the window, so she started to make her way over. As she was walking down the row of desks, her breath caught. Adam was sitting right next to the only empty seat available. Victoria sat down, trying her hardest not to trip or do something embarrassingly stupid.
She sat through class, catching only little phrases here and there of what the teacher was talking about. What was it about Adam that made him so distracting? This is stupid, this isn’t some silly chick flick movie, just ignore him, Victoria thought to herself, and tried (and failed) to pay attention to what the creeper teacher was saying.
When the bell rang, Victoria stood up as fast as she could and made a beeline for the door. She was almost to freedom when she realized that her book was still sitting on her accursed seat. With a heavy sigh, she turned around to grab it.
“Here you go, you forgot your book.”
Victoria didn’t need to see who was talking to her, she already knew the voice.
“Thanks.” She replied, and made the mistake of making eye contact. His right eye was a light blue, while his left was a darker navy blue. Yet something about that made Victoria’s heart flutter. Maybe it was his black hair with the dark blue streak underneath, barely visible yet matching his eyes, and the way it fell into his eyes. Or even his strong brows, thick and angular. Victoria continued to stare and scrutinized his face, until she realized that Adam was standing there shifting uncomfortably.
“Thanks” she repeated again, and turned away to leave. She felt his gaze burning holes into the back of her head, yet refused to turn around.
*
“How was your first day of school?”
“Good.”
That was the standard answer. Whether the day was good or not, it was an automatic response. When Victoria didn’t say anything else, her mom turned around back to emptying the dishwasher.
“I’m going to go do my homework in my room.” Victoria said to no one in particular.
The stairs to their new house were scuffed and creaked when she walked over them, but the creak was comforting. Boxes littered the hallway to her room. It smelled like cardboard and the thick packing paper the movers used to wrap their belongings up in. Victoria’s room was a tan color, nothing too exciting. In the corner was her bed, and on the opposite wall was a simple desk. Nothing had been unpacked yet. Victoria threw her backpack down on the ground and pulled out her binder. Might as well get started with that seven page essay, Victoria thought, but something stopped her. Her fingers were writing the essay, yet her mind was somewhere completely different. She kept thinking back to Adam. Every time she closed her eyes he was there. It was obvious that he was different and not excepted in school, receiving glares and eye rolls in the hallway. His eyes, the different colored eyes, were smudged with an onyx eye liner. In his ear was a black stud, to match his leather jacket. In her mind, her eyes traveled from his face down his body. His arms were muscled, but not in an unpleasant way, but in a way that could only occur from years of hard work. Her eyes drifted further down to his toned legs, clearly visible in his taut jeans….Victoria shook her head. Here she ways imagining him when she barely knew him besides for quick glances in school and those few spoken words. Only the sound of her mom’s voice broke her from her stupor.
“Victoria, dinner’s ready!”
“Kay, coming!”
Dinner was short and silent. Victoria stared at her plate and ate quietly with her mom. The empty seat on the right of Victoria was cold and bare. She hadn’t heard from her dad in over a month. After dinner Victoria went back to her room, in hopes of finishing her homework. When it became apparent that her mind would always wander elsewhere, either to Adam or some other thought on her mind, she gave up and went to bed.
The last thing Victoria saw before she fell asleep was the old piano, dusty and isolated.
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