you drive me wild (judd birch x f reader)

14: Believe

TW // sexual harassment

Disclaimer: I write about Matthew's interest in Cher not because he's gay. If you look at his locker in some of the Big Mouth episodes, he has a Cher poster. 

{Believe - Cher}

-

The party has been going on for at least 30 minutes now and nothing interesting has happened. People were having fun, though. They were chattering and grabbing the nearest alcohol. I saw someone already sloppily running towards the bathroom; they probably wanted to purge. Suddenly, a younger kid with near blond hair, wearing a sweater vest, sat next to me on the couch.

"Ugh. This party is a snoozefest." He rolled his eyes and took a sip out of his red cup.

"Tell me about it. I hardly know anyone here," I replied. Leah had been running around making sure everything was alright and conversing with the other kids. Apparently, the Bridgeton Middle kids, especially their drama department, were also there.

"Hmm...do you sing?"

"Not professionally?" I didn't know how to answer. I'd taken lessons before but they amounted to nothing but shower shows.

"Do you like Cher?"

"I know one song from Sonny and Cher and 'Believe'. I also like the ABBA covers she did."

"I like you," he said as he linked his arm with mine and dragged me to the karaoke area that had been abandoned since Jeremy and Daniel sang a duet of "I Feel Pretty" from West Side Story just five minutes ago.

"I don't even know your name!" I breathlessly screamed from panic. I haven't sung in front of people for so long. If they were a bunch of nobodies, I'd be alright with it because if I fucked up, they'd continue living their lives not knowing who I was. But these were the people I went to school with. AND THEY WERE THEATER KIDS WITH GODLY VOICES...well, most of them.

"It doesn't matter! It's time to worship Cher," he exhaled as if to mentally prepare himself to present a gift to god herself. He prepared the song and grabbed two microphones. He handed me one of them and I could feel my heart palpitating. I could feel my heartbeat in my head and for a second I thought I had suffered from some sort of disease. I told myself that it was just me being severely anxious. My legs were jelly and made no effort to escape the circumstance. "Fuck," I cursed under my breath. I didn't realize that the mic was so close to my mouth when I cussed.

"You'll be fine, honey. It's just singing."

Just singing? Yes, I'd performed in front of a crowd...school talent shows, to be precise. But to say that it was "just" singing was outrageous. I never got around to working on my nerves when it came to singing in front of the crowd. Just as my legs started working again and the jelly feeling faded, the music had already started.

"I'll start, okay. You'll go when I give you the cue."

My mouth was dry and I didn't have time to reply to the boy. He just started singing.

No matter how hard I try
You keep pushing me aside
And I can't break through
There's no talking to you

People had their eyes on us now. Nobody bothered to get closer though. I let out a tiny breath of relief despite still thinking that this was a violation of my rights to remain quiet and still in a corner as I drink a bottle of Jay's shitty Cotton Candy Brandy.

So sad that you're leaving
It takes time to believe it
But after all is said and done
You're gonna be the lonely one, oh

He pointed to me.

Do you believe in life after love?
I can feel something inside me say
I really don't think you're strong enough now

I could feel the theatre kids gluing their eyes onto me. There was no telling whether they were judging me for the tension in my throat or if they were impressed that I wasn't tone deaf. Either way, it made me slightly uncomfortable. The boy put a hand on my shoulder as if to comfort me amidst my raging anxiety. It didn't work, but I appreciated the effort. He was sweet.

I could feel myself getting more comfortable throughout our performance. My throat wasn't as choked up as it was in the beginning. As the song ended, the boy finally introduced himself to me.

"I'm Matthew," he held his hand out to shake me. "Not bad for an amateur," he complimented.

"Y/N," I shook his hand. "And thanks. Maybe I should try Mariah next time," I joked.

"Oh please. Don't get too confident yet," he rolled his eyes jokingly and we both laughed.

"Bridgeton Middle?"

"Yes. First year and I'm already over it."

"Wait till the next years torture you."

"Ugh. Wait, I thought you're new here? Bridgeton High?

"I am. But high school is universally a messy experience. And yes, I go to Bridgeton High. Junior."

"By the way, can I have your number? Not in the 'I wanna fuck you' kind of way. I like dudes. I just think that you're worth being friends with."

I laughed. "Sure!"

"Wanna go for another song?" he offered. "We better get to the mic quick before Nessa Lopez sings Total Eclipse of the Heart again." He pointed over to Nessa on the couch who was clearly eyeing on the mic stand.

"Let me go get a drink first."

I made my way to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water from the cooler. I washed down my throat that dried up from being nervous. The red plastic cup I was holding fell onto the floor, spilling the water. I had bumped into a person. I looked up and was met with a pair of mischievous eyes.

"Hey, Y/N. You'd look good bending over," Daniel commented.

My throat dried up again at the comment. Not from being nervous, but from being furious. He had the audacity to say that. I could care less if it was his drunken thoughts or not. The urge to punch him in the face and balls was massive and highly tempting. My heart was beating so fast from my anger. Sadly, I only ended up giving him an unpleasant glare.

"Ciao, bella," he gave me the ugliest fucking smirk.

I have to warn Leah.