"Who would have thought they'd make us perform at our own graduation?" James grumbled, and Ken laughed as they both walked into the room. James dropped his saxophone case on the table and walking over to the other end of the room to draw the curtains on the window open. Light flooded the empty practice room, and Kenneth was already at a corner tuning his instrument in preparation. James continued to complain, grumbling under his breath as Kenneth chuckled at the facial expressions he was making.

"Why do we have to do this?" James asked, running a hand through his ginger hair before pinching his pink freckled nose. It was the time of the year when he got allergies. He looked over at Ken who hadn't said anything since they walked into the room.

"Is something wrong?" James asked with a small frown, making Kenneth blink before looking straight at him and shaking his head. To be honest, Kenneth was happy. This was an excuse to spend more time with James outside the cafeteria. He wanted to thank whoever made the order of events for the graduation this year, even.

"Let's get started then, we have one stupid song to play before graduating," Kenneth said, trying to make his voice sound unbothered, but his words came out a little shaky. After graduation, he might not see James again. He hadn't mustered up the courage to ask him for anything beyond his phone number, so staying in touch through social media wouldn't be possible. He was worried they would be separated, and that he would be the only one battling with feelings left unaddressed.

"Yes, you're right, at least it's not the national anthem," James said, earning a laugh from Ken. James smiled, taking out his saxophone from its case before they took a shot at the song. They had breaks in between their practice where they talked. It was during little talks like this that Kenneth learned new things about James. It also gave Ken the opportunity to talk about himself, but he doubted that information about him meant very much to James.

"You're an only child?" Kenneth asked, making James look up from his instrument. He led his fingers over the keys of his saxophone, looking over at Kenneth with a mixture of confusion and curiosity.

"What?" James asked, his confused look still plastered on his face. "What gave you that idea?"

Kenneth shrugged. "Well, you keep mentioning your parents, and just your parents," Kenneth mumbled, running a hand through his dark hair. He wondered if James felt insulted by the question and Hen wasn't sure how to show that he didn't mean it that way.

The room was silent for a while, and then James spoke up.

"I have an older sister," James said as he leaned back on the table. The silence that followed the statement was awkward, and James was trying to decide if taking about his sister was a good idea.

"She's a saxophonist based in Greece," he said, deciding that it was okay. If Kenneth was looking for new material to use and tease him, it wouldn't matter much since they were graduating soon anyway. "She went to this college too," he continued, looking down at his sax again. "I don't talk about her much, but I look up to her, and I can only wish to be half as good as her."

It suddenly made sense to Kenneth why James was so uptight about being a good student. Maybe he shouldn't have mocked him for being so stressed up... but what's been done has been done.

"You're a wonderful player," Kenneth said, making James look over at him again. The redhead's eyes were wide as if he hadn't expected Ken's words. Ken walked over to him, standing only a few steps away. He had dropped his saxophone off at a corner, and his free hands were tucked in his pockets. Kenneth couldn't trust himself to not try and hold James—to hug him, kiss him. So, he bit down on his lip, trying to think of something else as he turned his attention to the wood board floor.

"Thanks," James said, making Kenneth look up at him again. The redhead was giving him a little smile now, and it made Kenneth feel flustered.

"It's funny," James started. "A few months ago, you kept telling me I was a horrible player," James said with a small chuckle and Kenneth's face turned a deep red from embarrassment. He opened his mouth to say something, but James stopped him by holding his hand up.

"Don't worry, I know you were like that with everyone," James said, and Kenneth closed his mouth before looking away.

It was different. Ken thought to himself as he blinked back his frustration. How I treated you was supposed to be different. How he had treated James had made sense in Kenneth's head back then. He had thought teasing James and getting on his nerves would get him attention—it did—negative attention, but he didn't care much then. Attention was attention. He had just wanted James to look at him. Now that he thought about it again, he had acted like a confused five-year-old child with a crush.

"You're actually a good musician," Kenneth said out loud, making James look at him again. "You really are, and you work harder than anyone in our department. I'm sure your sister's proud of you," he said, and James smiled at that. The smile made Ken's heart tug—a confession of attraction towards the redhead was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't say it. They had a few weeks left together, and nothing good—not that he could think of—would come from telling James how he felt now.

"Thanks," James said out loud. He was sitting on the table now and swinging his legs as he hummed to himself. "I don't know. I don't talk to her much, she's a lot older than me and she doesn't live in the country anymore. I'm just hoping to get a decent placement," James rambled referring to getting an orchestra to sign him as a musical talent. "You got a contract for winning that contest with All, right?" James asked, looking at Kenneth. Ken nodded, resting his head back on the concrete wall.

James hummed, nodding his head too. "As a pianist or—?"

"I'm trying to get them to reconsider me playing as a pianist, and give me a saxophonist slot," Ken answered, making James nod again. His red ginger hair bobbed up and down with the motion, and Ken's fingers were itching to run his hand through the man's hair.

"Well," James said, getting down from the table. He looked over at ken before looking down at his saxophone. "We should get back to practicing. This little discussion was fun though." He smiled, making Kenneth smile too.

"It was," Kenneth agreed before heading to the corner to grab his saxophone so that the two could continue with their practice.

He had been honest about their discussion being fun. He hoped he'd get to have more with James until they had t say their final goodbyes at graduation.