tom sighed, and flopped down onto his bed, arms crossed. he had nothing to do. he had no lessons to go to, his roommates were all off elsewhere and he was all by himself. tom stood up, walking over to the window. it was a rather nice day; the sun shone proudly in the sky, down on the academy. he opened the window, inhaling the fresh air deeply. that one action convinced him to go outside. where, he didn't know, but definitely outside. tom walked back over to his bed, grabbing his dorm key and slinging it around his neck. he then picked up his guitar, grinning, and slung it onto his back.

he locked the dorm behind him, hoping that his roommates would all have their keys with them. they were pretty stupid if they didn't, mind. tom walked down the corridor slowly, enjoying the fact that he didn't have lessons to go to. he looked into some of the classrooms, seeing the students and their teachers, and grinned at them. not to mock them, simply because he could. tom shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked, quietly singing a song to himself. tom didn't know why he sang quietly, it was his major after all. he put it down to not wanting to disturb the classes going on around him.

tom walked through the academy's main door, smiling brightly at the weather. he decided to go to the courtyard, hoping that it was very quiet. tom was planning on practicing a song - a song he very much loved. a song that was his next task in his music lessons. and like always, tom wanted to nail it the first time. of course, if he had to do a song again, he would, but it always felt better if he got it right the first time. the teacher was always very supportive, so tom knew it wouldn't matter much if he did actually screw up.

after a short walk, tom walked into the courtyard, pleased to see that it was totally empty. no-one was around. he smiled, and sat down on the nearest bench, readying his guitar. the song he had chosen to sing wasn't really meant for the guitar. but of course, tom had improvised that, and found the chords needed to play it. smiling, he played the opening chords of the songs, and let the lyrics flow.

"I feel like a song without the words,
A man without a soul.
A bird without its wings,
A heart without a home.
I feel like a knight without a sword,
The sky without the sun.
'cause you are the one.

I feel like a ship beneath the waves,
A child that lost its way.
A door without a key,
A face without a name.
I feel like a breath without the air,
And every day's the same,
since you've gone away.

I gotta have a reason to wake up in the morning,
You used to be the one that put a smile on my face.
There are no words that could describe how I miss you,
and I miss you everyday.
yeah.

and I'm never gonna leave your side,
and I'm never gonna leave your side again,
still holding on girl,
I won't let you go,
'cause when I'm lying in your arms,
I know I'm home."

tom stopped there, grinning. he knew he had gotten the song now. everything about it - tom now knew. he kept his guitar in his arms, half of him wishing that somebody had been around to hear it.

tom kept the guitar in his arms still, looking up from it and taking in his surroundings for the first time. he knew how to get here, but this was the first time he had actually been. and already, it was one of his favorite places in the entire academy. along with his dorm and, of course, the recording studio. tom practically lived in those two places - when he wasn't busy with music, he was with friends in his dorm. when he wasn't with friends, he was busy with music. so tom was rarely bored. but now, he had found himself a place to practice, whenever a song was stressing him out, he could just come here.

"That was nice."

he looked across, somewhat in shock, as somebody spoke. she was actually sat next to him on the bench, so how hadn't he seen her come in? oh well. tom felt like he knew her from somewhere. well, who could forget that flaming orange hair? yes, he knew her. was she in his music class? that could very well be it. it probably was that. tom was usually too into his music to notice people in his music class, but he had seen her before, definitely. "thanks. that song's been bugging me for ages. i think i've got it now though." he said through a smile. he was very pleased that he completely got the song now.

"Oh my name is Joey Hurst."

tom looked down at her outstretched palm. he took one hand off of his guitar and shook it. "tom mosse," he began. "you're in my music class right? i'm sure i know you from somewhere like that." he asked her. tom placed his hand back on the top of his guitar. he adored that guitar. ever since the day his mother had bought it for him. tom had picked it out from the store itself, and his mother had got him it for his fifteenth birthday. it was the best present he had ever received. "yeah, you are in my music class aren't you? i remember you now." he said, sticking his tongue out. tom knew now that joey wasn't a stranger to him.

"It surely didn't sound like you had problems it that song."

tom smiled. "thanks. yeah, i think i've got it now, but it's taken me like five music lessons, plus time after the lessons, but i can relax now." he finished. he was so relieved he had the song down now. all that was left to do was to perform it in-front of his music teacher. then, after that, the teacher would give him yet another to rehearse and perform. it was a good system, and seeing as music was his passion in life, he loved every single second of it.

he smiled again as joey nodded. so they were in the same music class. "cool. we'll totally have to do a duet sometime." he told her, laughing. it was a good idea, even though tom had never heard her sing before. but there was something about her that told tom that she was a good singer. he didn't even have to hear her sing - tom knew she was good. hell, you have to be good to make it into fates, so pretty much everybody here was talented. tom loved that. the fact that each and every student here excelled in their own unique major.

"Well everybody does seem to remember me since i have red orange hair. You can't miss me at all. So how long have you been playing for and singing."

"yeah, it's quite hard to forget the hair i'm guessing." tom stuck his tongue out. "i've been singing for as long as i can remember. even before my parents split up. i went with my mother, who bought me my guitar on my fifteenth birthday. my father...he killed himself." he stopped there. tom didn't like his father, so it shouldn't still have this much of an effect on him. he quickly wiped a tear before it had a chance to run down his face, and erased his father from his mind. "how about you?" tom asked, wanting to take the spotlight off of himself.

"I usually practice and do music by myself. Im so used to it i don't think i could even take lessons."

he smiled, and nodded. tom himself hadn't took lessons from anyone - professional or not. he had simply been singing, by himself, in his bedroom one day. tom's mother had heard, and supported him all the way since then. she got him his guitar, the application form for fates and, most importantly, the confidence he needed to be accepted into fates. tom loved her for that. as for his father, well, he had always been dead to tom. so why did mentioning him still have an effect on him?

"That would be cool."

he grinned. "yeah it would." tom usually went for the slower, softer songs, but was more than capable of hitting the big notes, and singing a rock song when he wanted to. the fact that he had both an acoustic and an electric guitar helped as well. he wondered what sort of voice joey would have. a good one, tom knew that much, but he would have loved to hear it. oh well. maybe they could sing together next music lesson, he thought. yes, that sounded like a plan. it was sure to impress the teacher, that was for sure.

"I guess he's my motivation for playing music."

tom stayed quiet throughout her story. out of respect, and because she had stayed quiet through his. "well, i'll play guitar if we do ever sing, don't worry." tom said, sticking his tongue out. he didn't even know if they were actually going to sing together, but the thought was already exciting him. duets were tom's favorite. with who, he didn't mind at all. he simply loved singing alongside other people.