Chapter Text
Alhaitham wonders how do normal people deal with the noises that come with everyday life. How are they able to keep their composure without getting overwhelmed by such simple, yet complex sounds that surround them? Back when he was young, Alhaitham always had the constant need of having to cover his ears whenever he found the surrounding sounds unpleasant. As he grew older, he began to recognize the noises that he despises with all his heart, such as idle chatter. He dislikes having to hear other people around him talk and talk just to occupy the silence that hangs over their heads. Why even bother to strike up a conversation when you can read a book in peace and quiet?
The moment he was given a pair of noise canceling headphones before going to college, Alhaitham was thrilled. He didn’t have to put up with the annoying sounds of life anymore, he could simply phase them out and lose himself in the world of books and research. There was no need for him to listen to useless clamor, it was only himself and the words that he reads and writes.
Or, so he thought.
"Lumine and Aether are busy with finishing their final research papers, Ajax is out of town this week, and Nilou is also busy with her upcoming dance performance! I know you absolutely hate loud places, but this ticket will go to waste if I don’t bring anyone with me," Kaveh complained as he waved a pair of tickets right in front of Alhaitham’s face. His roommate knew not to bring him to loud places and would often just leave him alone in their shared apartment whenever he went to gigs, parties, and the like.
Annoyed with his roommate, he rolls his eyes, "You rarely ask me to go to these gigs of yours, so why now? Don’t you have other friends to ask? "I thought you were the kind of person who respected other people's wishes?" the sarcasm in his voice was evident, which made the blonde tick his tongue.
"First of all, I’ve already asked almost everyone that I know if they wanted to come alone, but most have something going on in their life and second, I’m allowing you to use your noise canceling headphones there, I need to bring someone and I’m not going to sell these tickets to some random stranger on the internet, they’re special!" he tried to explain.
Alhaitham raises his eyebrow, "Special? What do you mean by that?" his tone of voice shifted from being sarcastic to genuine curiosity.
"Do you remember my friend Cyno? He’s in a band and he gave me these tickets and as his supportive best friend, I will gladly go to his gig! The only problem is, I need to bring one person along with me, and you’re my last option, Mr. Rationale."
He took a slight glance at the tickets and contemplated for a bit. He could count the number of concerts he had seen in his entire life on one hand, and that was about it.It wasn’t like he disliked music or anything. In fact, it was the one sound that he can tolerate enough to the point of appreciation. Yes, there were bands and artists that he listened to, but had avoided going to their concerts since he knew that the crowd alone was just about enough to send him to insanity. However, there was a part of him that strangely wanted to take up Kaveh’s invitation for his friend’s gig.
A defeated sigh leaves Alhaitham’s lips, "Fine. I’ll go with you," he replied, leaving Kaveh absolutely perplexed. Future him can deal with the consequences later, it is now his problem now, and not his.
And how he wished that he could turn back in time to slap some sense into past Alhaitham.
The moment he stepped inside of the live house venue with Kaveh, he wanted to go home almost immediately. There was no way he could handle the loud cheers, chants and chatter that surrounded the audience area. Yes, he had his noise canceling headphones on but even with them on, it wasn’t enough to fully block out all of the noise inside of the concert venue. Well, there was no turning back now and he doesn’t want his roommate to make fun of him for backing out right away. Alhaitham had no choice in the end, he just had to sit tight, and respect the performers, or Kaveh’s friends, right now.
It was a surprise when the audience’s noise suddenly died down when all of the lights around them were dimmed to the point that it almost felt like it was pitch black and the only source of brightness present was the sole spotlight at the center of the stage, the position zero. There stood a man who was shorter than Alhaitham; he had piercing red eyes, the whitest hair he had ever seen, and his stern but determined expression as he looked at the crowd, followed by his lips curling up into a slight smile.Yes, he had seen him multiple times with Kaveh before, but he could see that his roommate’s friend– no, Cyno’s presence was very different whenever he’s on stage or when he was just a regular college student. Alhaitham never would have thought that Cyno standing alone underneath the spotlight, ready to sing his heart out in front of an audience, would be enough to make his heart skip a beat. His hands slowly reach for his headphones so that he can take them off in order to hear their sound clearly, something that he never thought he would be doing right now.
"Thank you everyone for coming to today’s concert despite the stressful week. We hope that our performance will at least ease everyone’s woes for the time being," Cyno said, and the crowd later cheered for him in return.
With one single note from him. Alhaitham’s world suddenly stopped.
Everyone around him was screaming and chanting, showering the performing band with praise. If it were on a regular day, he would have stormed off the venue, left Kaveh alone, and gone back to their shared apartment to read a book or work on his assignments. Yet, this was different. Alhaitham didn’t feel the prang inside of his head because of how overwhelming the surrounding sound was. His attention was only focused on Cyno alone, who strummed his guitar and sang his heart out for the audience to hear. Alhaitham could tell how genuine he was with every note he played.For someone like him who is indifferent to his own and others' emotions, why is it that he could feel the genuine love for music from Cyno right now?
For someone who claimed to be, oh so rational, is it alright for him to be irrational, just this once?
And just like that, all concerts would reach their end.
The crowd cheers for an encore, Alhaitham even found himself chanting for an encore alongside them. Kaveh, who was right beside him all along, could not believe his very eyes and ears but decided to leave his roommate be, after all, it was a rare sight to see a rational person be drawn to a single note right away.
In the red that ‘thank you’ floated within, is a quiet song. [1]