Worthwhile: The Sequel (A Jonah Marais Fanfiction)

Chapter 4

"It was alcohol or you, but I was drunk all the same."

The music in the club was blaring. Sweaty bodies danced against each other. Cheers of people over the silliest things filled the room. Lights flickered. At the bar, several people ordered drinks and flirted with their fellow customers and the distressed bartender. But no one stuck long enough.

However, a tall brunet stuck to the sidelines the whole night while his bandmates partied to relieve the stress of the past few tiring days. 

Glass bottles full of the intoxicating liquid were drowned by the brunet. He drank till his body was numb. He didn't want to feel the pain and ache that was troubling him. The memories of a grey-eyed brunet were engraved in his heart and soul.

Jonah never thought he would resort to drinking. He had quit it for particular reasons, including the dislike of a beautiful musician towards it. 

He was just fighting one addiction with another. 

He could imagine her reaction to it.

"Jo, really?... Keep it to a minimum... Drunk Jonah isn't my type."

He chuckled knowingly. 

Almost forgetting she wasn't his anymore... 

He chugged down another glass at that thought. The alcohol was starting to have an effect on his senses. He searched around the room for someone to hook up with. Somehow, he believed that it would save him from the heartache. 

His eyes landed on a short blonde standing in the corner all by herself. He checked her out as he poured himself another glass. However, the girl was blonde and not a brunette. 

He looked around again. This time he found a brunette. But she had hazel eyes which weren't exactly similar to the stormy grey eyes that haunted him.

Another girl was short. Too short for his liking. He wanted someone who was as tall as the girl who broke his heart but shorter than him.

His eyes landed on a girl exactly the same height as the girl he wanted. She had brown wavy hair and grey eyes. Her eyes didn't have the same swirling storm in it but that will have to do... for now.

He approached her with a smirk and asked her to dance. The stranger did a double take as she took in the handsome brunet, immediately agreeing to his offer. 

Jonah and the stranger danced to the beat of the club music. The stranger would make jokes and statements that Jonah would forcefully laugh to. 

All he could think of was how she wasn't her. He could only focus on how the girl he was dancing with was a bad replication of the girl he truly wanted to be by his side. 

Unintentionally, he began comparing.

He observed how her eyes were a darker shade of grey than the ones that consumed him. He noticed how her words didn't hook him. He noticed how her voice was a sharp contrast to the one that soothed his worst nightmares. He noticed how her smile didn't take his breath away. He observed how she bite her lip every time he complimented her. He noticed and observed everything that was different from what he craved for.

He realized how apart the two girls were.

Then he did the unthinkable.

He kissed the stranger, assuming that it would help him disregard the thoughts of the girl who broke his heart. He kissed the stranger, assuming that it would set his raging soul at ease. He assumed that this would help settle the ache he felt every time he saw Corbyn and Christina or Gabbie and Jack or Zach and Kay. 

He assumed this would make everything normal.

But boy, he was so wrong.

Because when he crashed his lips onto the stranger's, all he could think about was how her lips weren't the ones he wanted. She didn't taste like her. Her kiss wasn't as comforting yet fiery like hers. Her kiss didn't mend his his broken bones. Her kiss didn't warm up his body like she die. Her lips didn't fit against his like hers did.

Because she wasn't her.

He pulled away abruptly. The stranger looked offended because she clearly enjoying the effect Jonah was having on her. He apologized and excused himself.

He walked out of the club, panting. Dropping to his knees, he held his face in his hands. He hated the effect she still had him. He hated that he still held onto to her. 

So, he took out his wallet and glanced at the picture once again for the momentary feeling of comfort. He bedazzling smile always seemed to clear his head. Her stormy orbs calmed every nerve in his body.

And he was fine with the temporary alleviation it provided. He decided to hold onto that shred of sanity till he finds himself again. He decided that he will hold onto her as long as he lived. 

He decided that if can't have her, he doesn't want anyone less. 

He firmly resolved that there was only one of her and no one would ever compare to her.

And he needed to stop looking for her in everything and everywhere.

Zach saw the whole thing. He saw Jonah drowning himself in alcohol and grief. He saw the older boy try to forget the grey-eyed brunet by hooking up with someone else, failing miserably at it. He saw how the memories haunted him. 

He saw how Jonah looked for her everywhere in everything and everyone.

Accidentally, he thought out loud, 

"That's how you know you love someone, I guess."