The house was quiet.
But not for long.
Samuel stepped into the kitchen, hoodie slightly loose, hair still a little messy from sleep. He slipped his phone deep into his pocket, not wanting to risk it with Michael around. Instead, he reached for the old iPod on the counter—a scratched-up thing with a cracked screen and half-working buttons. It was plugged into a speaker, and after a few clicks, Bill Withers' voice filled the room.
"When I wake up in the morning, love… And the sunlight hurts my eyes..."
He exhaled and smiled.
The eggs were on the counter, the pan warming up, butter melting slowly. Samuel rolled his shoulders, then gave into the rhythm, hips swaying slightly, just enough to catch the beat.
He picked up an egg, tossed it into the air with a dramatic arc—definitely too high—and caught it with both hands just before it could crack in the wrong place. A small smirk tugged at his face.
"Still got it," he muttered, cracking it into the pan.
"Then I look at you… and the world's alright with me..."
Another egg followed. He spun around before cracking it, his feet sliding in his socks like he was dancing on stage. It wasn't a good dance. Not even close. But it had heart. The kind of movement you do when no one's watching—and you hope no one ever is.
He dropped a slice of bread into the pan and gently pressed it down with the spatula, letting it soak up the butter while the eggs started to bubble and firm up.
"Just one look at you… and I know it's gonna be…"
"...a lovely daaaaay," Samuel sang along under his breath, completely off-key, totally committed.
Then he heard footsteps on the stairs.
He glanced toward the hallway and froze.
Michael appeared in the doorway, fully dressed in his LAPD uniform. Dark blue shirt, crisp and tucked in. Badge clipped, belt adjusted, everything in place. It was his first real day.
Samuel didn't hesitate.
"Shit—police. Run!" he said, pointing, before doing a slow, exaggerated fake-sprint across the kitchen like a kid caught sneaking cookies.
Michael stopped. "You done?"
Samuel leaned against the fridge. "You startled me, officer. I panicked."
Michael gave him a long look and headed straight for the coffee machine. "It's my first official day, in case you forgot."
Samuel turned the heat down and started plating the eggs. "Didn't forget. Ride-along week, right?"
Michael nodded. "Yeah. Today I'm with Lopez. She's got her own rookie, so it's going to be… interesting."
Samuel raised an eyebrow. "Two rookies in one car? That sounds like a buddy cop movie waiting to happen."
"She's sharp," Michael said, adding too much sugar to his coffee. "No-nonsense. You'd probably like her."
Samuel handed him a clean plate. "She know you eat breakfast made by a twelve-year-old?"
Michael took the plate and sat at the table. "Let's keep that between us."
"Wouldn't dream of ruining your street cred," Samuel said, grinning as he turned off the stove and grabbed his own plate.
They finished breakfast without much more talk—just the occasional clink of cutlery and the soft hum of Bill Withers fading into the next track. It was a rare kind of peace. The kind Samuel didn't get often.
Michael stood first, brushing crumbs from his shirt and tightening his belt as he grabbed his keys from the hook near the door.
Samuel followed him to the front, grabbing his backpack on the way.
Michael opened the door and paused, glancing back. "Don't cause any trouble."
Samuel gave a short salute. "You either. Good luck with Lopez and her rookie."
Michael nodded, a small grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. "You're the one heading into high school. I think you need the luck."
Samuel stepped out after him, pulling his bike from beside the porch. "Nah. I'm going to take it easy this week. Keep my head down. Just a quiet second week."
He swung one leg over the frame and gave Michael a small wave as he pedaled toward the end of the street.
"Quiet week," he repeated under his breath.
Then smirked.
Famous last words.
Tori POV
Tori stepped through the front doors of the school and immediately regretted it.
Tori didn't need to hear the whole thing.
Just a few seconds.
Samuel's voice coming from a speaker near the lockers.
Then her own voice layered in—and suddenly everyone was looking.
She kept her head down and kept walking, pretending she didn't notice the glances. Pretending it didn't matter that her voice was floating down the hallway like some background track to everyone else's morning.
She'd known Haley was going to post it. Haley had told her.
But not like this. Not with that title. Not without checking with Samuel.
She turned the corner and nearly walked into a group of juniors watching the video on someone's phone, laughing and smiling like it was a Friday night premiere. One of them turned to her, eyes wide.
"Oh my god—wait, you're the girl in the duet!"
Tori gave a small, polite smile. "Yeah, I guess."
"You guys are amazing together! Are you gonna perform it live? Like, at the fall concert?"
"There isn't a concert," Tori muttered, already trying to slide past them.
"Yet," one of them chimed in with a grin.
Before she could escape, another voice cut in, louder and way too curious. "Wait—are you guys, like… dating?"
Tori froze mid-step.
Her brain short-circuited. "What? No—I mean, we're not—I didn't—it's not like—" She let out a noise somewhere between a laugh and a dying animal. "We're just—we sang. That's it. Just singing. Music. Voices. Normal people things. Totally normal."
The group laughed in a good-natured way, not mean, just amused. But that didn't help the heat rising in her face as she spun away, nearly dropping her phone.
She could feel the stares behind her again. Not just recognition—expectation. Curiosity. Gossip ready to bloom.
She slid into her homeroom seat like she'd just dodged a fireball.
People were still whispering.
Two seats behind her, someone said her name, followed by Samuel's.
She didn't need a phone to know what was going around. Half the hallway had already told her—about the video, about the title, about the comments. They said people were calling it the duet. Like it was a thing now.
She folded her arms on the desk and stared straight ahead, jaw tight.
Samuel was probably losing his mind. He'd barely tolerated the attention from the football rumor—and that was just a few stares and Thad's loud mouth. This? This was different. Bigger. Louder. Endless.
And if people were asking her if they were dating…
God.
Were they asking him too?
She sank a little lower in her seat.
He didn't like being noticed. Not like this. Not by people he didn't know. And now, thanks to Haley, everyone was looking.
At them.
She pressed her lips together and stared at the whiteboard, pretending she was already taking notes.
Haley POV
Haley strolled into school with the relaxed energy of someone who already knew the internet was talking about her.
Because it was.
She hadn't even meant for it to blow up like this.
At first, she'd just sent the video to a few friends. A casual group chat drop, something like "um how good is this??" They went nuts. Within minutes, people were asking if it was on YouTube. Someone even offered to post it for her.
And that's when she'd tilted her head, shrugged to herself, and thought:Why not?
Ten minutes later, it was up. Title and all:Insanely Talented High School Original Song "Paradise" – You Won't Believe This Voice!Tags: #OriginalSong #HighSchoolTalent #ViralDuet #SamuelAndTori
The views didn't take long.
Her phone had been buzzing all morning—likes, comments, reposts. A couple of juniors had stopped her before she even reached the front doors.
"Did you post that song?"
"That duet? That was insane."
Haley had just smiled like she'd been nominated for a Grammy. "Guilty."
The video was barely forty-eight hours old, and people were acting like Samuel and Tori were the next Sonny and Cher. Not that she blamed them. The song sounded original. Raw, even. Samuel's voice? Unexpected. Powerful. He didn't talk much, didn't try—which made it work even more. Tori was sweet, smooth, and blushed whenever someone complimented her.
And Haley? Well. Haley had an eye for this kind of thing.
She passed a classroom and heard the song playing off someone's laptop. Didn't even flinch.
But as she rounded the corner toward her locker, a tiny flicker of guilt tried to creep in.
She hadn't told Samuel. He didn't even know she'd filmed it.
Tori kind of knew. Haley had joked about posting it. But still…
Haley shrugged as she opened her locker.
He'd get over it. Or he wouldn't.
Either way, people were watching. Talking. Sharing.
And Haley Dunphy wasn't about to waste a moment like that.
Samuel Pov
The ride to school was smooth. Samuel liked mornings like this—just him, the road, and a playlist running through his head. He locked up his bike and walked in through the side entrance, backpack slung low, hoodie still halfway up.
He didn't notice it right away.
Not until the second hallway.
People were watching him.
At first it was subtle—just a few glances. Then it spread. A pair of juniors passed him, whispering. Someone at a locker gave a slow nod. Even one of the seniors looked up, smirked, and muttered something to his friend.
Samuel felt it. That pressure in the chest, like stepping on stage without knowing your lines.
He hadn't said anything. He hadn't done anything. So what—
Then it hit him.
Thad.
The gym.
Someone must've said something again. Maybe that rumor about him joining the team hadn't died down after all. He hadn't even gone to tryouts, but with Thad running his mouth, it didn't matter.
He rolled his eyes. Unbelievable.
He made it to his locker and yanked it open, muttering under his breath, "It's football. High school football. Not the Super Bowl."
Dylan appeared out of nowhere like he always did, grinning like he knew something Samuel didn't. Which… yeah, he probably did.
"There he is," Dylan said, leaning casually against the locker next to him.
Samuel didn't even look up. "This is the second week. People are still staring. Is this still about the football team, or did Thad say something about me again?"
Dylan blinked, clearly holding something back. "Thad?"
He started laughing.
Samuel looked at him, deadpan. "What?"
Dylan shook his head, smirking. "That's not why they're staring."
Samuel narrowed his eyes. "Then what is?"
Dylan reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "Haley."
That got Samuel's attention. "What about her?"
"She posted the video."
"What video?"
"The duet. You and Tori. From two nights ago."
Samuel blinked. "She—wait. She posted it?"
"Oh yeah. Full thing. Title, tags, everything."
Samuel didn't move for a moment. Just stared at the locker door.
Then, slowly: "She didn't even tell me she recorded it."
"She told almost no one, but the second she posted it, she sent the YouTube link to pretty much everyone at school."
Dylan held up his phone, showing the screen. Samuel leaned in.
Insanely Talented High School Original Song "Paradise" – You Won't Believe This Voice!#OriginalSong #HighSchoolTalent #ViralDuet #SamuelAndTori
Samuel stared at the screen like it might explode.
"I'm going to kill Haley," he said. "Not metaphorically. Not in a cute, sitcom way. Like, real crime documentary level."
"People say you wrote the song ," Dylan added helpfully. "They're calling it 'the duet.' It's, like, a thing now."
Samuel thudded his head against the locker.
Of course they did.
He stood there a moment longer, forehead pressed to cold metal, trying to breathe.
He hated this.
He hated people knowing his name when he didn't know theirs. Hated the way strangers looked at him like they knew something about him. And now there was a video. With his face. His voice. Floating through group chats and speakers like it belonged to everyone else.
And they thought he wrote it. Like it was his heart poured out into lyrics.
Fuck.
This wasn't school gossip anymore.
This was attention.
And he'd never asked for it.
Dylan and I walked toward our first class, the buzz of conversation around us just beginning to build. From the moment he sat down, it started.
"Dude, you sing?"
"Was that really your song?"
"Are you and Tori, like… a thing?"
He gave short answers, avoided eye contact, didn't look up once. But it didn't stop.
The questions continued through the entire first 15 minutes. His mind was spiraling, trying not to show how much it all bothered him. He just wanted it to end. The bell couldn't ring fast enough.
But then… just when he thought it was over, their teacher had to bring it up. He thought the teacher would've told them to be quiet and start the class, but instead, he asked, "What are you guys talking about? What song?"
Samuel ignored the question, hoping it would go away. But Dylan, clearly sensing his discomfort, leaned forward with a grin and shouted, "The song's on YouTube!"
Samuel gave Dylan a dead stare, but it was too late. The teacher, with a grin, had already pulled up the video.
And then… the worst hour ever began. The teacher hit play, and the song echoed through the room. It was louder than anything Samuel could have imagined, reverberating through the walls, through his chest. The floodgates opened, and for the rest of the class, it was all about that damn song.
"Did you really write it?""Is that your voice?""Are you going to do more music?""Wait, you wrote that? Dude, that's sick!"
It was the same question, over and over, until it felt like the walls were closing in. His heart pounded in his ears, and every stare felt like a hundred eyes boring into him. He couldn't focus, couldn't breathe right, his skin prickling with a mix of frustration and dread.
He hated this. Hated the attention, hated the idea that his private moment had been ripped apart and thrown on display for everyone to pick apart. Each question felt like it dug deeper, made the spotlight feel hotter, more suffocating. He couldn't escape it.
He just wanted to disappear.
And then, as if his mind wasn't already spiraling enough, the thought hit him: the next lesson with Tori. How in the hell was he supposed to face her after all this? She had to know about the video by now. How could it not be everywhere? The awkwardness would be unbearable. He'd be staring at her, wondering if she was thinking the same thing everyone else was—Did he really write it? The thought twisted in his stomach. How was he supposed to just sit there and act normal after this?
Samuel felt like a walking target as he made his way toward the second class. His mind was still buzzing from the first, from the nonstop questions, the whispers that followed him everywhere. Every step felt heavier than the last, like the weight of the world had settled on his shoulders in those first few minutes of the school day.
He hadn't asked for this. He didn't want it.
He just wanted to be a regular kid, not the subject of rumors or videos that seemed to spread faster than wildfire. He wanted to stay in the background, quietly slipping by with the least amount of attention possible. He didn't need to be the star of some viral duet. He didn't even like people looking at him when he wasn't ready for it. Yet here he was, walking down the hallway, every pair of eyes landing on him like he was the lead in some reality show he didn't audition for.
By the time he walked into his second class, the sting of it all still hadn't faded. He knew Tori was in the room, but all he could think about was how different his life had just become. A week ago, he was invisible. He could walk into a room, sit in the back, and no one would give him a second glance. But now? It felt like everyone knew who he was—or at least, they thought they did.
The door swung open, and there she was—Tori, sitting at her desk, the very same person who was part of this mess. He had already known she was probably going to talk to him today. It felt inevitable, but it didn't make it any easier. Her eyes briefly flicked to him, but she didn't say anything, and for a second, he was grateful for it.
He took his seat beside her, trying to ignore the way the class seemed to quiet down for just a beat when he walked in. Maybe it was all in his head, but the space around him felt like it had shrunk. The buzzing from his first class hadn't stopped. The weight of their stares hadn't gone away. And now, with Tori sitting beside him, the whole thing felt like an episode of a show he never asked to be cast in.
Tori was different, though. She wasn't like the others. She didn't stare, didn't make him feel like some kind of circus animal. But still… it didn't make the situation less uncomfortable. The moment she leaned in to talk to him, all his emotions boiled over like the lid had been lifted from a pressure cooker.
The instant he saw her, the awkwardness hit him full force. The last thing he wanted was to face her, but there she was, looking like she was waiting for something to happen, maybe the same thing he was—How do we even talk about this?
He wasn't mad at her. Not really. Not even close.
It wasn't her fault. Not really.
It was Haley. And the people. And the pressure. And the way everyone looked at him like he was some open book they couldn't wait to flip through.
Tori didn't look over right away.
Tori leaned in slightly, her voice quiet, hesitant. "Hey, can we talk?"
Samuel paused for a moment, then nodded, his expression softening. "Yeah, of course."
His tone was quieter now, less flat, but still carrying that exhaustion. He was ready to hear her out, even if he didn't know exactly what to say.
Tori chewed on her lip, her eyes searching for the right words. "I'm sorry. About the video. I should've done something. I should've stopped Haley…"
Samuel kept his eyes on his desk, feeling the weight of the situation settle over him. He didn't know how to fix it, but he knew they needed to talk.
He tapped the end of his pen on the desk, staring at the whiteboard like it might erase the last twenty-four hours.
"Did you know she was recording?"
Tori hesitated for a moment, then nodded slightly. "Yeah. After the song, Haley told me she was gonna send it to a few friends."
I stopped tapping my pen and looked up, a bit stunned. She could've stopped this. She could've told Haley she didn't want it out there, that it was meant to stay between them. But instead, she probably didn't think it would go beyond a few friends. How much harm could it do, right?
But I knew Haley from the show. I knew what kind of attention seeker she was. She thrived on that stuff—posting, sharing, making sure the world knew. She'd done it before, and she'd do it again.
Tori couldn't have known that. She didn't have that experience with her. She hadn't seen how far Haley could push things, how far she would go.
Tori's expression softened as she watched him. She opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it, like she was choosing her words carefully. Finally, she looked at him, guilt flooding her eyes.
"I didn't think it would go this far, Sam. I thought it was just… for fun, you know? Just a song. But I should've stopped her. Should've said something." Her voice trailed off, and for a moment, they both just stood there, the noise of the classroom fading into the background.*
Samuel's hand paused over his notebook. His thoughts scrambled for a moment, a mix of surprise, frustration, and something else—disappointment, maybe? He stared at her, a little too long, feeling the weight of her words. He let out a slow breath, trying to keep his voice steady.
"You knew?" He said it like he wasn't sure whether to be angry or just… hurt. "She could've told me. Told someone. I didn't ask for any of this."
"You didn't think it would blow up? Tori, sure, it's my song, but I never thought other people would hear it. That was never the point. I didn't want people looking at me like I'm some kind of performer. I never wanted to be in the spotlight, especially not for something that was just supposed to be between us. If I'd known it was being recorded, I wouldn't have gotten involved. I didn't want anyone to know about this, least of all the whole school."
Tori opened her mouth like she was going to respond, but then the bell rang, signaling the start of class. The moment was over.
The teacher walked in, arms full of papers, muttering something about pop quizzes and broken printers. The room filled with the sound of students shifting in their seats, the buzz of the usual chatter settling in.
Samuel leaned back in his chair, feeling the weight of everything pressing on his chest. His gaze drifted toward the ceiling, and he let out a slow, tired sigh.
"Let's just survive the day," he muttered.
Tori nodded, but didn't speak. The class started, and they both stayed quiet.
When the bell rang at the end of the period, Samuel stood and grabbed his bag, still not looking at Tori. He wasn't sure what to say. But as he started to walk toward the door, he felt her presence beside him.
As they walked side by side, the weight of the day's events seemed to lift, if only slightly. Samuel couldn't help but feel a sense of gratitude for Tori's quiet presence. She hadn't asked for explanations or apologies; she had simply been there, a steady companion amidst the chaos.
Samuel had never been one for the spotlight. The idea of being in a video, let alone one that went viral, was enough to make him want to disappear. But as he glanced at Tori, he realized that if he had to be in this moment with anyone, he was glad it was her. Her voice had complemented his in a way that felt natural, unforced.
Maybe it wasn't so bad, after all. Maybe this unexpected journey into the public eye wasn't the end of the world. With Tori by his side, perhaps it was just another chapter in a story they were both learning to navigate.