*Chapter 1: The First Note*
*Story Title: _Between the Notes_*
*Genre: BL | Romance | Drama | Music School AU*
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The music building at Varnell Arts Academy always buzzed with quiet energy—soft piano keys, plucked guitar strings, and the occasional off-key trumpet echoing through the halls. For River Han, the transfer student with a classical piano scholarship and a history he never talked about, it was both a refuge and a battlefield.
He walked with his earbuds in, drowning out the world, fingers twitching as they played imaginary chords in the air. River wasn't here to make friends. He was here to win the national piano competition, prove he was worth the scholarship, and disappear after graduation.
But life never followed sheet music.
As he turned into practice room 7, he froze.
Someone was already inside.
A guy sat cross-legged on top of the piano bench, headphones around his neck, strumming a beat on the polished surface of the grand piano like it was a drum kit. Tall, messy-haired, dressed in ripped jeans and a hoodie that read "Don't Talk to Me Unless It's About Music," he looked up with sharp green eyes and a smirk.
"You're late," the guy said.
River blinked. "This is my assigned room."
"Mine too. They doubled us up for the winter showcase." The guy stood and offered a hand. "Skyler Reyes. I compose. You must be the new prodigy."
River ignored the hand. "I play piano. I don't do collabs."
Skyler's grin widened. "You will."
River hated how sure he sounded.
But as Skyler dropped his hand and turned back to the piano, effortlessly playing a melody River instantly recognized—his own composition—River's pulse skipped.
"How did you—?"
"I heard you practicing last week. You're good. But something's missing."
River's pride bristled. "Like what?"
Skyler leaned close, his voice a whisper over the keys. "You're playing from memory, not from the heart."
River stared at him, something cold and tight in his chest beginning to thaw—and it scared him.
Maybe sharing a room with Skyler would ruin everything.
Or maybe… it would save him.
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