Chapter Text
Matt’s world was loud in all the right ways.
Not the kind of loud that came from crowded hallways or stupid parties with cheap drinks and people he didn’t care about, not the kind that followed certain groups around like a constant echo of laughter, shouting, and attention. No, Matt’s kind of loud was different. It was the hum of old speakers in a too-small room, the sharp sound of guitar strings being tuned slightly too tight, the uneven rhythm of drums that never quite stayed steady but didn’t need to. It was messy, imperfect, and real in a way the rest of the school never was.
The band room sat at the far end of the building, tucked away where most people didn’t bother going unless they had a stupid reason. Dust settled in the corners, wires tangled across the floor, amps pushed aside like they had been there longer than anyone could remember. It wasn’t much, but it was theirs.
Matt leaned back slightly, fingers moving lazily over his guitar strings as he played the same riff again, quieter this time, half-focused while Beyond argued with the drummer across the room.
“You’re rushing it,” Beyond snapped.
“I’m not rushing, you’re just off,” the other shot back.
Matt didn’t even look up. “You’re both bad,” he joked.
There was a brief pause before someone scoffed, offended, but Matt only smirked faintly to himself and adjusted his grip on the guitar, playing louder this time, letting the sound fill the room and shut them both up. This was easier. This was better. No expectations, no pretending, no people watching and waiting for reactions he wasn’t going to give them anyway.
Outside of that room, things worked differently.
The hallways were always too loud, too crowded, filled with voices that blended together into something meaningless. People moved in groups, always in groups, like no one knew how to exist on their own. And there were the ones who stood out without even trying, the ones everyone noticed the second they walked in, like the entire place shifted just slightly around them.
The basketball team was like that.
You could hear them before you saw them most of the time, loud and careless, moving through the halls like they owned them. People laughed louder when they were around, talked more, looked more. It was annoying, honestly. There were four of them that everyone paid attention to. Names people repeated like they „mattered“.
Mello.
Denis.
And the other two, Matt didn’t care enough to remember the rest.
He only remembered one.
Denis.
That was his fucking ex.
It had started quietly, something easy to ignore at first, something that wasn’t supposed to turn into anything serious. It had stayed hidden long enough to almost feel safe, like it didn’t exist outside of a few moments that didn’t mean anything.
Until it did.
Until it ended.
Badly.
Now it followed him around like something that refused to let go. It wasn’t obvious enough to call out, never direct, never something teachers would notice. Just looks that lasted a second too long, comments thrown out casually, the kind of laughter that didn’t need to be explained. Sometimes it was a shove passing by in the hallway, just enough to throw him off balance before anyone could say it was intentional.
Matt never reacted, that was the only rule that mattered. Ignore it. Keep walking. Don’t give them anything. Because if he did, they’d take it and turn it into something worse.
So he didn’t look at them. Didn’t acknowledge them. Didn’t care. Pretended they never existed.
At least, that’s what it looked like.
Back in the band room, the music picked up again, louder this time, drowning out everything else. Matt focused on that instead, on the rhythm, on the feeling of the strings under his fingers, on something real. For a while, it worked. Until it didn’t. The final note rang out, fading slowly into the quiet that followed, and for a moment, everything felt still again. Matt exhaled quietly, adjusting the strap of his guitar before glancing toward the clock on the wall.
“Again?” Beyond asked.
Matt shrugged slightly. “Yeah. But try not to ruin it this time.”
“Shut up,” Beyond chuckled, but there was no real bite behind it.
Matt smirked faintly, lowering his gaze back to his guitar, fingers already finding the strings again. Outside, somewhere down the hall, voices echoed faintly, distant but familiar, the kind he didn’t need to hear clearly to recognize. He always would try to ignore them.
…
The bell rang not long after, sharp and loud, cutting through the last bit of sound still hanging in the room. Matt let his hand fall from the strings, the guitar going quiet as the noise from the hallway slowly started bleeding back in.
“Finally,” Naomi muttered, already grabbing her bag. “I’m starving.”
“Shocking,” Beyond replied dryly.
Matt didn’t say anything, just slid the strap off his shoulder and set the guitar down carefully. For a moment he stayed where he was, like he wasn’t in a rush to leave. The room always felt different once the music stopped, quieter, but not in the same way as before.
“Lunch?” Naomi asked, glancing back at the redhead.
Matt shrugged slightly. “Sure.”
Beyond raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t expect that.”
“Don’t get used to it.” Matt shot back.
Naomi snorted softly and pushed the door open, the three of them stepping out together into the crowded hallway. Voices overlapped instantly, lockers slamming shut as people moved around them in groups. Matt stayed close enough to them without really thinking about it, hands in his pockets while Naomi talked about something neither of them were fully listening to.
“…and I swear if she gives us another fucking assignment-“
“You’re not even going to do it,” Beyond cut in.
“That’s not the point.”
Matt let their voices fade into the background as they walked, his gaze drifting lazily over the crowd without really focusing on anyone. Lunch passed the same way, sitting with them, half-listening, occasionally throwing in a comment when Naomi complained about something or Beyond corrected her just to be annoying.
By the time it ended, the hallways filled again, students moving toward their next classes. Matt adjusted the strap of his bag as they stepped back into the flow of people, Naomi heading in a different direction after a quick “see you,” Beyond already complaining about his next class before disappearing into the crowd as well.
Matt continued on his own, heading toward js maths class, not thinking much about it until he turned the corner and slowed down.
They were standing right there. Denis and his stupid friends.
Denis leaned back against a locker, talking casually while the others stood around him, taking up more space than they needed, laughing at something that probably wasn’t even funny. Matt’s grip tightened slightly around his bag. For a second, he considered turning around, taking another way. Then he didn’t. He kept walking, straight ahead, like they weren’t even there. He almost made it past them when suddenly a voice cut in.
“Hey.”
Matt stopped just enough to acknowledge it, turning his head slightly. “What..”
Denis pushed himself off the locker, stepping forward with that same easy smirk. “Didn’t see you at lunch.”
“You weren’t supposed to.” The redhead sighed.
A few quiet laughs followed, sharper this time. Denis didn’t react much, just watched him. “Still avoiding people?”
“Only the annoying ones.”
That got more of a reaction. Someone shifted, but Denis barely lifted a hand, stopping it before it could turn into anything else. “Careful,” he said lightly. “You’re getting bold.”
Matt clearly didn’t have the time for this nonsense. “Move.” he hissed.
For a second, no one did. The space felt tighter, like the hallway had shrunk around them. Denis stepped closer, just enough to be irritating. “You’ve been busy?” he asked. “Haven’t seen you around.”
“Good, it should stay like that.“
Another pause. Then Denis let out a quiet laugh. “Still acting like nothing happened.”
Matt’s fingers tightened slightly, but his expression didn’t change. “Because it didn’t.”
That shifted something. Small, but noticeable. Denis’s smile dropped just enough to matter. For a moment, everything went still. Then Matt felt something, the feeling of being watched. He glanced up, and there he was.
Mello stood a little further back with the others, quieter, not laughing, not saying anything. Just watching. Their eyes met for a second to long to mean nothing. He quickly looked away, „weird.“ Matt thought to himself.
“Done?” he asked, stepping forward. This time, no one stopped him. Denis moved just enough to the side, like it had never been about blocking him. Matt walked past them without another word, not slowing down, not looking back, but the feeling stayed with him, that look stuck somewhere in the back of his mind.
By the time he reached the classroom, it still hadn’t gone away. He stepped inside, heading straight for the back like always, dropping into his seat with a quiet exhale. He hates maths, just a couple hours more and he will be gone out of this place. He leaned back slightly, gaze drifting toward the window, trying to ignore everything else. Then the door opened and that feeling came back. Matt didn’t look up but he already knew who it was..