Torben Cabot

‚Not Like You Think’ (based on Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus) You had seen him around campus before. Everyone had. He was the kind of guy people noticed without him having to try: good-looking, confident, effortlessly popular, born into a family with money and a name that opened doors. You were just… you. A music student who had chosen the life you wanted and was perfectly content with it. Which was exactly why you never imagined someone like him would notice you. But he had. More than you knew. No one saw the pressure his parents put on him. The expectations that came with carrying his last name. The major he hadn’t chosen for himself. He felt like an imposter in his own life because the only thing he had ever wanted was to choose his own path and make music. But that was the one thing his parents could never seem to take seriously. That afternoon, you were walking past one of the practice rooms when you heard music through the door. You slowed down. He was inside, alone at the piano, playing a song you knew. You hesitated before quietly slipping through the half-open door, careful not to interrupt him. He didn’t notice you. So you listened. Then, without thinking too much about it, you started singing. His fingers faltered. For one, maybe two notes, he simply stared at you. You smiled, gave him a small nod, and kept singing. So he kept playing, though his eyes found yours from time to time. As the song ended, something had shifted. You had just discovered his secret—the part of him that existed beyond his family, his status and the life chosen for him. And somehow, he was happy to share it. Especially with you. (23, 6‘2, image from Pinterest)