Singing Sight

AN: Ok, some of you might have read my HP fic \"Oh Professor\". It\'s still a WIP, as is this, but I usually like having more than one story going at once. If you havent seen it, and like this, check it out. I\'m not going to dedicate more time to one or the other, but that one already has 9 chapers up, so it\'s more likely to be finished first. Anyway, this is a very breif and overall chapter just to introduce things. I promise I have some good ideas. Please let me know what you think!

SINGING SIGHT


Chapter One: Orientation.

\"Now, you know the deal, Ariadne.\"

\"No matter what happens.\"

\"In any circumstance.\"

\"It doesn\'t matter how uncool you\'ll seem.\"

\"You\'ll be doing the right thing.\"

\"So call us.\"

\"If there\'s any.\"

\"Trouble.\"

\"Drinking.\"

\"Drugs.\"

\"If someone offers you drugs-\"

\"Pot.\"

\"Cocaine.\"

\"Acid.\"

\"Ecstasy.\"

\"Vodka.\"

\"Rum and coke from a water bottle at a concert...\"

\"Whatever it is you kids do these days.\"

\"Just be careful.\"

\"Oh, and don\'t do that thing you do-\"

\"Where you sit in the corner and-\"

\"Snap those rubber bands of yours-\"

\"Or talk about all that strange-\"

\"Just try to make friends.\"

\"Be social.\"

\"And don\'t do drugs.\"

\"Don\'t drink underage.\"

\"But if you do-\"

\"Know that.\"

\"Your mother or I will be there to pick you up.\"

\"Now you have my cell phone number-\"

\"My work number.\"

\"Bob\'s number.\"

\"Linda\'s number.\"

\"Be careful.\"

\"Have fun, sweetie.\"

\"No drugs!\"

\"No sex.\"

\"Really, honey, try to be social.\"

\"In all seriousness, no boys. You understand?\"

\"It\'s hard, but it\'ll get better. Understand?\"

\"Uh, I\'m gonna be late.\"


~*~


Senior year. Last one. I\'d love to say, \"It\'s about damn time,\" like the rest of my peers, but in a way, I\'m ready to make my mark, and I\'m gonna miss the memories I\'ve had in this place.

\"Caine! You\'re running a fucking red light, you fucking idiot!\" Ah yes, my lovely little sister Rachel.
Sadly, she\'s been driving for a week and a half, and she\'s better than I am.

\"Shit!\" I yelled, slamming on the brakes. My secondhand black Honda jerked to a halt, jolting forward
then back, our bodies being thrown forward against the restraint of our seatbelts, then slapping hard against the seats.

\"Fuck, you nearly killed us!\" Rachel shouted. For a fifteen year old sophomore, she\'s got quite a mouth on her. Her intimidating persona is probably the reason why guys aren\'t all over her- she\'s pretty for an awkward little girl. By that I mean not even the \"threat\" of an older sibling watching over her in the same private school means nothing, because my status as a laid back techie is not exactly frightening to my inferiors.

\"Sorry. I wasn\'t paying attention.\"

\"Caine, stop fucking drooling over the new lights equipment I know you\'re imagining and just fucking come back down to the fucking planet already! Fuck!\"

She uses the word \"fuck\" more than anyone I know, which is saying something, as that\'s probably the most frequently used word in tech, and that\'s where I spend all my time.

\"Chill out, Rachel, we\'re not dead or anything.\"

\"I\'m gonna tell Mom we almost got into an accident! She\'ll take the car!\"

\"No, she won\'t. She can\'t, actually, because I\'m 18 and I bought it with my own money. They have no right to take something I worked for, we\'ve talked about it.\"

\"Doesn\'t fucking matter, you almost killed me!\"

The light changed and I lurched forward to throw her off.

\"Oomph! Hey!\" I moved my hand to the volume controls and turned up my Ted Leo and the Pharmacists CD.

\"Why do we have to listen to this fucking shit? Can I put in one of my CDs?\"

\"No, you brat, it\'s my car, my music. If you want to walk, listen to your fucking ipod, I don\'t care.\" I made a sharp turn onto the street of our school and continued to barrel down the road towards the parking
lot.

\"Speed bump!\" Rachel reminded. Too late, the car had already bounced over it too fast.

\"You\'re the worst fucking driver ever, Caine. How you ever got your license is beyond me.\"

\"Everything goes beyond you, Rachel.\" I muttered, looking for an empty parking space.

I started to turn the wheel to the right to turn around, when Rachel shouted, \"One on your left! Get it before that Volkswagen!\" I turned the wheel sharply, snatching up the space, then hit the brakes, put the gear in park, and turned off the car. Ted Leo stopped singing, I took off my seatbelt, and got out of the car. Rachel did the same. I slid the drivers seat forward so I could reach into the back and grab my backpack, standing up and brushing my hair out of my face as I stood up.

\"God, Caine, it\'s a miracle we haven\'t died already.\" Rachel whined.

\"Shut the hell up.\"

\"ME, shut the hell up? We need six seatbelts each, not one!\"

\"Rachel, not this early.\" I grumbled, my headache returning as we walked towards the three story building.

Rachel continued her dumb blonde sailormouth antics until we almost got run over by a red convertible, and then she shut up. We began to climb the steps up to the patio, and Rachel ran ahead to her little sophomore friends.

\"Caine, buddy!\" I turned to see my friend Jake Harper sitting casually on the high wall surrounding the patio, talking to my other friend, Trey Ravenstern, who was blinking in the sunlight.

\"Hey!\" I called back, and walked towards them. The two were both theater guys, more actors than anything else. Jake was the kind of pretty-boy, multitalented guitarrist, singer and actor that all the girls swooned for. He\'s a cool guy, don\'t get me wrong, but I have no clue why he\'s so great. He wears birkenstocks, jeans that he belts in but fall down low on his hips nonetheless, and old t-shirts that are tight enough on his frame to show off muscle to the girls, as he likes to put it. He stands about six three, with short, light brown hair and a good sense of humour. Trey is his fellow sketchball, with floppy brown hair, a skinny, almost premature build awkwardly matching his six foot body. He wears band t-shirts underneath suit coats or corduroy jackets that make him look even shadier than he already does. The two are some of the biggest stoners I\'ve ever met. And our school is full of them.

\"Seniors, dude!\" Jake shouted, hopping down from the wall.

\"I know.\" I replied. Trey took a sip of his coffee and winced.

\"It\'s strong.\" He muttered in nonchalant explanation.

\"Dude, where have you been the past week?\" Jake asked me.

\"Well, I was in Boston with Natalie for a few days.\" I remembered, my mood suddenly plummeting.

Jake nudged Trey. \"And, how\'d that go?\" He smirked suggestively.

Natalie was my girlfriend. Her parents, after catching us having sex in her basement, decided to send her to boarding school for her last year of high school. So she\'d be far away from me. Personally, I thought it was ludicrous, since we were both- well, Natalie was almost a legal adult, and if anyone was likely to break anyone else\'s heart, it was probably her. She kind of did, too.

\"I went to help her unpack at boarding school, and we decided to break up. The distance thing wouldn\'t work.\"

\"Bummer.\" Jake replied, brushing his hair out of his eyes.

\"Sorry to hear that, man.\" Trey agreed. \"You okay?\"

I remembered sitting in my room for three days straight, before the year started, trying to be optimistic and smoking cigarettes.

\"Took up cigarettes.\" I laughed aloud.

Trey chuckled. \"For real, dude?\"

\"Yeah. Pathetic, huh?\" I realized.

\"Nah.\" Trey disagreed.

\"Sides, you smoked pot and hooka enough as it was, not like your lungs are in great shape!\" Jake laughed.

\"You\'re one to talk, Harper.\" I replied, punching him on the arm.

\"It\'s chill.\" He replied slowly, leaning against the wall.

\"I\'m gonna go unpack my shit, I\'ll see you guys later.\" I told them.

\"Oh, Caine!\"

\"Yeah?\"

\"Meeting for the fall play, after school.\" Trey called.

\"I\'m there.\"

\"Chill afterwards?\" Jake added.

\"Yeah.\"

\"Later!\" Trey called, before checking out a couple of girls in flirty skirts who giggled at the sight of Jake.

That morning was the same as every other first day back- greeting friends, asking how summers were, learning curriculums of your classes. It was a relief when lunch came, I needed a break. I headed outside towards the patio, twirling my keys on my fingertips and noticing a group of my friends sitting by the wall.

\"Let\'s get food. I\'m fucking starving.\" Trey grumbled.

\"Where should we go? We have forty minutes.\" Our friend Julia, commented while brushing her honey blonde hair over her shoulder.

\"Let\'s pick something up and bring it back here.\" I suggested. \"I have my car, I can fit you guys in the car, if you don\'t mind the squeeze.\" Julia and the other girl, Bethany shrugged.

\"Let\'s go to Chipotle.\" Trey said. \"I want a burrito.\"

\"You fucking crazy, man? Let\'s go to Volsheim\'s.\" Jake argued.

\"I don\'t want Jew food, Jake. Sushi.\" Bethany said, hanging on him.

\"Yeah, I\'m all for a California roll.\" Julia agreed.

\"I agree with Jake.\" I argued back. \"Bagels.\"

Bethany sighed. \"Fine, I guess I admit I missed their fries.\"

\"Atta girl!\" Jake grinned, pulling her in for a hug. She smiled and squealed in delight. Even though all of
Jake\'s friends have more or less grown accustomed to his flirtatious antics, it doesn\'t mean gay guys or straight girls don\'t enjoy them.

\"So that\'s three outta five. Majority rules.\"

\"Fine.\" Julia said, throwing her hands up in the air.

\"I still want a burrito.\" Trey mumbled, hands shoved in his pockets.

\"Too bad. We\'re running out of time, so let\'s pile in.\" I said, jingling my keys. My keychain probably
describes me best out of anything. It has a keychain from the local alternative radio station, my house key that happens to be bright orange, a mini-wrench for lights, keys to my car, keys to everything in our school\'s theater that I inherited at the end of sophomore year from a graduating senior named Billy, who happened to be my idol, and a charm Rachel made me that spelled out in wooden block letters: BAD DRIVER.

We began to walk towards the stairs when I heard a familiar, bratty voice call my name.

\"CAINE! HEY, CAINE!\"

I groaned and turned around as Trey muttered in Bethany\'s ear, \"Attack of the MiniCohen.\" Bethany giggled and I stepped forward as my group hung behind.


\"What, Rachel?\" I asked.

\"Can you drive me and my friend home today? After your theater meeting? Cos she\'s going, too, and
she doesn\'t have a ride.\"

\"There\'s no way in hell I\'m driving you and Eliza back. Besides, I thought you hated my driving. Take the bus.\"

\"Ca-aine! First of all, it\'s not Eliza. Second of all, bus? Don\'t think so. Mom and Dad would throw a shitfit if you just left us here to fend for ourselves. Thirdly, I prefer your driving to a thirty minute walk from the bus stop to home. Please?\"

\"So who is this if not Eliza? And why is she coming to our house?\"

\"She\'s new, I wanted to reach out a little, be nice.\"

I gasped in surprise, grabbing my heart. \"Nice?! I feel faint!\"

\"Fuck you, Caine. So are you giving us a ride or not?\" She said, standing with her hands on her hips.

\"Uh, let\'s see... no.\"

I turned and began walking towards my friends. \"Come ON, Caine! Mom and Dad won\'t let you hear the end of it!\"

\"I\'ll take my chances. Last thing I need after the first day back is to hear you and your bratty little friends chit chatting about how hot Jake and all the other senior boys are.\"

\"Ugh! She is so not like that! Come on, Caine, please? Come on, just meet her quickly right now, it\'ll only take a second.\"

\"I\'ll meet her at the meeting, I\'m running late to lunch with my friends.\"

\"Where are you going?\"

\"Volsheim\'s.\"

\"Can you drive me and Aria?\"

\"I drive a Honda. I have five friends, and five seats in said Honda. I do not think so. Unless you want to sit on Jake\'s lap.\" Rachel blushed angrily.

\"Fine. Can you at least buy me a bagel?\"

\"I\'m driving you home, aren\'t I? I am not obligated to feed you, you leech of privilege.\"

Rachel stomped off.

\"Thank you, Caine, for saying yes to my obscene request?\" I shouted after her. She flipped me the bird and walked over to a picnic table out on the patio.

As we left, I caught sight of someone that Rachel was talking to. The girl was sitting on the wall by the tables, her feet dangling in her black flip flops. Her light brown hair was flying back in the wind, pushing the long, soft strands away from her face. She was pale, with big eyes and nice full lips, it looked like. She was smiling and I could hear her soft laugh from where I stood. She wore jeans that were too long for her and frayed, covering her thin legs with worn faded denim. A soft looking black t-shirt clung to her tiny waist and generous cleavage, her hands played with each other and the glint of silver rings in the sunlight nearly blinded me. She had an array of bracelets on, mainly leather and worn, and was smiling in such a way that even from the distance, I could tell she was beautiful. THIS was Rachel\'s friend? I\'d have to remember to be nice.


~*~


We\'d met in first period chemistry, and had been assigned as lab partners. She seemed nice enough, but would not stop talking. She\'d ask me questions, about what I liked doing, what school I\'d come from... she was friendly. The kids in my other classes had been friendly, too. Some of them seemed to be kind of tools, but others were pretty cool. I liked my classes, the school was turning out okay so far. Rachel had found me at lunch, putting my things in my locker on the first floor. She\'d dragged me outside to have lunch with her and some friends, boys and girls. All of whom were perfectly nice... and overwhelming.

She asked if I wanted to come over after school, and I said yes, knowing if I went home, I\'d just be locked in my bedroom till I finished my homework, then interrogated by my overbearing parents about my day. So I said yes. And she breaks out into this huge smile, and then says we\'ll get a ride with her older brother, who was also in theater. She\'d told me about the meeting, which we planned on going to together in chem. I was more of a singer and dancer than an actor, but the way Rachel made it sound, I\'d wanna get involved in theater right away. She kept babbling about her brother, who was a big technician around the theater, and that was who we would get a ride from.

\"CAINE!\" she shouted, running towards a group of boys. I saw one who looked like he could be a techie, in a jacket with greasy hair and skinny as could be. But a different guy turned around, and my heart dropped to the bottom of my chest and stopped beating.

Tall, really tall, especially compared to Rachel, who was about three inches taller than I am. He had broad shoulders, and looked pretty built from where I was sitting. But a lean kind of buff, not too annoyingly jock-like, but nice. He had nice arms shown off by an old, faded t-shirt, and wore baggy jeans that slung low and wore beat up converses. He had shaggy dark hair, that he pushed out of his eyes, and played with a keychain in one hand that glinted in the sunlight. he had a nice bone structure, and was pleasantly tanned. Another guy in his group of friends was totally jumpable also, with the same kind of look, but shorter light brown hair, almost my colour. But for some reason, the other one caught my eye. THAT was the techie? Sign me up for lights crew, baby!


AN: Ok, its short, its shitty.. yeah yeah. Let me know what you think. Cool?

CHAPTER TWO: INITIATION. Aria is introduced to the culture of theater, and sparks fly at the Cohen household.