PROMISES » #MeToo ✔️

ONE

A/N: Alright, here is the updated present tense version. I took the old ones down, so feel free to re-read and re-comment on this one! I would love to see you Picah shippers freaking out again ;)
If you see any slip-ups with past and present tense in here, please please don't be scared to comment and let me know. You aren't being rude, I promise (no pun intended). Trust me, it's a huge help.
Happy reading! :)

WHO THEY ARE

Piper Lee knows something is off the moment she walks in the choir room.

That is Piper's best skill, actually. Detecting the different air in the room. She hates it more than anything. Noticing a shift in tension typically only makes the situation more awkward than it already is.

"Everything alright?" Piper asks her friend, Taylor.

Taylor shrugs, clicking her phone off. "Miller said he has some things to tell us today." She pauses, biting her lip anxiously. "It didn't seem like it was gonna be good news."

Piper nods nervously, fidgeting as she sits in her chair and waits for class to begin. The bell eventually rings, after what seems like ages, and then the choir director – Mr. Miller – is standing in front of the class taking attendance.

Everything is happening as it usually does, so Piper doesn't understand why she feels so anxious. The news couldn't be that bad, could it?

"Alright everyone, I have a couple of announcements for y'all today," Miller begins quietly, but everyone hears him. They were all waiting anxiously for him to speak. "As you know, the year is going to come to an end and seniors are going to graduate." The three seniors in the class cheer. "I'm glad you're ready to leave, but unfortunately it isn't such a good thing for the choir family."

Everyone stills. Piper takes a deep breath. He's not leaving, is he? He said he'd wait until I graduated. I swear to God, if he's leaving—

"The advanced mixed choir is in danger of not existing next year," Miller finally stops stalling and says it.

"But..." Taylor trails off, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. This isn't what any of them had expected to hear.

"I know," Miller sighs solemnly. "I don't want it to leave either. But I'm looking at only having four guys, as a contrast to twenty four girls. And my four guys are two tenors and two basses." He makes a face that resembles a pained grimace. "I'm only getting one guy from the middle school, and even then he needs to be in the regular men's choir before he is in an advanced one, so I'm in a sticky situation."

The room is silent as everyone tries to think of a way to fix it.

Miller's eyebrows raise as he thought of something. "So I need your help." Every student in the room perks up at that. "You all have more luck than I do with recruiting guys from in the school," He pauses as a couple of girls giggle quietly, knowingly. "So really do that this semester. Find some guys that want to sing." He sits down on the piano bench, resting his fingers on the keys. "But hey y'all, make sure they want to sing. If they don't want to, I don't wanna fight with 'em."

"Gotcha," Taylor nods triumphantly, uncrossing her legs so they could stand and warm up for the day.

Piper begins thinking about who she could recruit, but comes up with no one by the end of the class period. Luke is already in the mixed choir, and Tyler, who Piper knows because of Taylor, couldn't carry a tune to save his life. All of her other friends are girls, most that don't really want to sing.

Girls – for some reason – aren't as hard as guys to get into choir. With boys, they always think choir is too feminine, or that they don't want to sing 'like that.' Which always makes no sense to Piper because no one sings a certain way. They sing like a choir, not in any way that would be off putting.

Piper furrows her eyebrows as she tried to think of another guy, but no one is coming to mind. She doesn't really talk to boys. The only reason she knows Luke and Tyler is because of choir. Other than that, boys sort of...scare her. Not in a funny way, but more in a weird way. She knows the cause for the discomfort toward them, but she doesn't want to think about it.

So she doesn't.

+++

"Alright boys, homecoming's next week. So I need you focused and ready to go. We don't wanna lose this game again this year, do we?"

A few murmurs of "no, coach" can be heard among the team, but no one speaks too loudly. Truth is, they are tired. With the homecoming game coming up, the normal off-days had been rescheduled as work-out days. The boys aren't exactly getting a break and it's really taking a toll on some of them.

"Alright, wake up!" The coach roars, but he isn't angry – yet. Only frustrated, for now. "If you're my varsity team, you need to wake up and act like it!"

More grumbles are heard from the team, but their picture would still be next to exhaustion in the dictionary.

"Alright, well, if ya aren't goin' to work, go home."

Micah, who is standing near the back, rolled his eyes when two of his teammates mutter a string of profanities under their breath before walking off the field. He shakes his head at them, watching the two walk away without a hint of regret in their footsteps.

Once the two are out of earshot, Coach Matthews speaks up again. "Well those two aren't playin' homecomin', that's for sure." He shook his head. "Five laps. Go."

Without hesitation, Micah turns and walks onto the track, breaking into a jog once his feet were off the grass. He untangles his headphones as he goes, planning on listening to music and doing as many laps as he wants before he joins his team on the field. At least he is doing something, right? Instead of just walking off the field.

He shakes his head just thinking about it. Those two are going to pay for it tomorrow at practice. He can hear Coach's lecture already.

"You were chosen for this team because you have potential. That potential is wasted if you're gonna walk off and choose not to work. I didn't choose lazy sons of—"

"Hey."

Micah turns his head at the sound of the voice, raising his eyebrows. It's Tyler. "Oh, hey. S'up?"

Tyler shakes his head, changing his pace to jog beside Micah. "Nothin'. What're you doing this weekend?"

Micah shrugs, finally getting his headphones untangled. "Prob'ly run. Get caught up on homework. The usual. You?" He plugs his headphones into his phone, searching through his music for an album good enough to run to.

"Dunno," Is Tyler's response.

Micah nearly rolls his eyes. "If there's another party, I can't make this one. Sorry, man."

The older of the two shakes his head, "S'fine. Don't worry."

Micah nods in reply, but doesn't say anything as he puts both his earbuds in. Tyler takes that as his cue to leave, and he does, quickening his pace to leave Micah alone.

The sound of Lane Boy by twenty one pilots blasts through Micah's headphones as he continues jogging, eventually breaking into a run as the chorus rolled around.