Sing With Me (Noam)

[Michael Arceneaux]

Michael has known Noam for a while. Between Drama Club, Choir, and their jobs at The Globe, they've had a lot of time to get to know each other. Plus, Noam is cute, and Michael is always willing to get to know cute guys. Then again, who isn't?

For the past few weeks, he had been working on his choir solo piece, and he realized that if he was going to get better, he needed some criticism from someone who knew how to sing. Noam was an obvious choice. Michael admired the boy's talent, and if anyone would know how to make the piece better, it would be him.

Michael invited Noam to an empty, unused rehearsal room for the afternoon and set his sheet music up on a music stand for easy viewing. When his friend arrived and settled in, Michael began singing through the entire piece, making sure to implement everything he has practiced thus far.

"So how was it?" Michael asked with a nervous grin on his face when he finished. "Not too terribly bad, I hope."

[Noam Goldstein]

Noam knew Michael well. In a way, Noam looked up to him - he had courage, for being open about his sexuality. Though, Noam did respect most who were open - his roommates, for example. Though, he was certain that they knew about it already just from being around him. Oh well. He was hoping that they'd be surprised when he finally mustered up the courage to tell him. That day probably wouldn't come very soon, though one day, he'd impulsively tell someone. And he was hoping that that day wouldn't come soon.

Though, Noam trusted Michael not to tell anyone if he told him. Maybe he'd muster up the courage to tell him today, he thought. It'd be alright. He'd get it off of his chest, and things would be better. Though, what if Michael would tell people? Noam had decided against it, though his impulsive side would probably kick in later...

He listened to the piece. "I like it," he commented. "Just keep the same energy that you have in the beginning. Without it, it sounds lame," he joked. "Not lame... but as my sister would call it, 'meh'."

He scratched the back of his curly head. Maybe he could tell him.

[Michael Arceneaux]

"Energy, right, I can do that," Michael told himself. It was something he was very capable of. He learned from acting in various plays that could be quite energetic and spontaneous when he needed to. It was like a switch he could turn on and off in times of need. "I just need to practice a little more and I'll be fine for the next recital."

Michael grabbed a bottle of water and took some sips. He always tried having a cold bottle of water on hand when he practice his singing to help soothe his throat. "Do you have anything you want me to hear?" Michael asked as an opportunity to return the favor. He figured if Noam came all the way here just to hear him sing, he would at least try to make it worth his while.

While Noam scratched the back of his head, Michael noticed something. To him, Noam appeared to be thinking about something... or maybe Michael was just delusional... he really didn't know. Either way, he decided to ask about it. "Is there something on your mind?"

[Noam Goldstein]

Noam gave a grin and a thumbs-up. It sounded like a logical plan; as cliched as it was, practice did make progress. However, Noam was hesitant to say the word "perfect", for such a thing was almost impossible for almost anyone (except for himself, Noam believed that he was practically perfect in every way, or at least pretended to) to be perfect at anything. Perfection was rare - as were perfect circles, no one could draw those. Not even Noam.

"Well, yeah," he replied with a nod. "Of course I've got a piece for the concert." A smirk crossed the teen's face, and he began his piece - which was preformed well, except a minor lyric slip-up. He'd figure it out soon enough.

"Well, yeah," he admitted. "Something...big."

[Michael Arceneaux]

"You sound great," Michael explained, "I'm a bit jealous. That was awesome!" He wasn't really jealous though, he was happy for Noam. He did good and he deserved praise for his performance, despite the minor lyric slip up, which could happen to anyone. "I guess I picked the right person to get advice from."

Michael was concerned when Noam said he was thinking about something big. Something big meant that it was something very personal or extreme. He hoped he didn't ask about something he wasn't equipped to discuss, but being a good friend that he was, Michael asked about it anyway. "Is it anything you want to talk about?" He leaned against a wall to get ready for a long conversation if needed.

[Noam Goldstein]

Noam gave the other teen a grin. "Thanks. I've been practicing," he said with a grin. "Though I think I need to learn the lyrics. They're haard, especially that one verse." A rather dramatic sigh came from Noam, with a facial expression to match it. "Of course you did," he added, smirking. "I'm practically perfect at giving advice." Whether Noam was joking or serious was unclear - he usually called himself practically perfect, yet this time, there was a bit of a joking-ness to it.

"Well.... what if I told you something big?" Noam started, taking a deep breath. There'd be a very slim chance that Michael would tell someone if he specifically told him not to tell too many people, or better, none at all. Maybe it'd end in a snog of some sort. "Like.... that I'm...." he was struggling to get it out, though he knew that once he finally got it off of his chest, it'd be a huge relief. Taking another deep breath, he decided to just spit it out. "that I'm....bisexual."

[Michael Arceneaux]

Michael was a tad bit shocked by Noam's theoretical confession. He has known him for quite a while yet never would have guessed that Noam liked both guys. He always thought he was completely straight. "Well, if you did tell me you are bisexual," Michael began explaining with a very friendly tone, "I would want you to know that I and a lot of other people around here would be totally fine with that. We would accept you for who you are no matter who you liked."

After giving him a friendly smile, Michael walked over to Noam and gave him a pat on the back. "And if you didn't want me to tell anyone else, I would respect that and keep it a secret."

Michael knew exactly what Noam was going through. He knew what being in the closet felt like and how relieving it was to open the door, so to speak. He also knew that it was best for Noam to tell people at his own pace. "I'm here for you, buddy, you know that right? You're a good friend, and you can tell me anything."

[Noam Goldstein]

Noam exhaled. He was okay, at least Michael didn't take it in a bad way - it would have been rather awful if he'd simply stared and said nothing, frozen by shock. He would've turned bright red, and probably left stammering apologies and telling the lie that he was seeing how someone would react, saying that he promised his 'bisexual younger brother' that he'd see what any normal person would say if he admitted to an outsider his sexuality, but no, it wasn't necessary. And thankfully that. It would have been much more awkward to do such a thing.

His hand went to the space behind his neck, rubbing it slightly. "Thank you," he said quickly. "Thank you. Really. Because... I am bi. And I'm just scared to admit it to someone," he added in a quiet voice.

It felt amazing to get it off of his chest. The feeling of relief overwhelmed the teenager. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner... found out a few years ago, kissed one of my musical theatre friends during a break," he admitted. "That's when I started questioning it... and yeah."