Delicate Love || The Music Freaks AU

Chapter 5: Forgiveness

Hailey's POV:

I woke up to the sound of talking. I lifted my head, my forehead hurting from being pressed against my desk for who knows how long. I rubbed my face, my vision blurry and my thoughts groggy. I'd fallen asleep at work. I pulled myself straight, feeling something loosely hanging off my shoulders, I looked and saw a red-plaid blanket resting on me. 

I gripped the blanket carefully, trying to trace back where I had gotten it. It didn't take long for me to conclude. "Did Jake give this to me?" I felt my cheeks sting. I looked forward to seeing Jake talking to Lia. I hadn't socialized with her much since I'd started working here. In all fairness, neither had she. I stood up slowly, my legs still feeling numb, and walked into Jake's office, holding the blanket in my arms. 

"Why good morning, Hailey," Lia said when she saw me. I ignored her. "Jake," I said. He looked at me, his face flushed red when he saw the blanket. "Did you give me this blanket?" I asked him. Not a hint of anger in my voice. "You looked cold, and I had it on me, so..." Lia looked confused. "Wait? You gave her a blanket?" She scolded Jake. He grumbled. "Yeah, I did, okay?" Lia smirked. "That's odd." Jake didn't respond to this. "Can you leave? I have work to do." Lia looked upset and flashed me a look before storming out. Jake tangled his fingers in his hair.

"Sorry, Hailey." He said to me. I walked over to him and placed the blanket on his desk. "It's okay," I said. "And, thank you." Jake looked up at me. "Oh, u-um, you're welcome." He said. I started to walk away when - "Why were you so tired, anyway?" I heard him ask. I turned around to see him gazing at me with concern. "I didn't get much sleep last night. That's all." Jake stood up and sat down in a chair in front of a window. There was an identical one sitting next to him.

He didn't say anything, but I knew what he wanted me to do. I sat down next to him. "Why did you quit singing?" He asked. "It was a silly passion. It wasn't going to get me anywhere." Jake looked visibly angry at that. "That's not true, Hailey," He raised his voice "You're amazing, you know you are. I know you have stage fright, but -" I cut him off. "Wait. You still remember my stage fright?" I couldn't stop myself from saying it. His face went red. "I-I mean, yeah." He muttered. 

"But, you could've done something great with your voice. Not working here." I smiled at the compliment. "What about you then?" Jake looked confused. "You're great, too." Jake scratched the back of his neck. 

"I don't matter, Hailey. I don't want you to give up on your dreams," I narrowed my eyes. "I don't want you to, either!" Jake and I went silent. 

"I've never been comfortable singing with anyone," He admitted. "I sang alone in my bedroom for years, until I joined the club. It was the only place I felt I could truly be myself." I couldn't help but feel bad. "Jake, I'm so sorry," Jake looked confused. "I shouldn't have kicked you out. I should've given you a chance. I'm sorry." I saw that Jake's eyes became watery and he looked shocked. He laughed and wiped his face.

"You don't have to apologize. I deserved it." I grabbed Jake's hand. "No, you didn't. We were young. I don't know what happened, or what made you say those things. But I wasn't fair to you. None of us were." A single tear rolled down Jake's face as he stared at me.

"If it's all right, would you care to explain now?" I smiled. Jake paused, took a deep breath and began talking. 

"It was Drew. He... he started saying bad things about you. Then my other friends joined in, saying things about Sean and Daisy, and I got stressed out, and I didn't know what to do. I messed up. I didn't know it, but someone recorded me and sent it to you. I never wanted you guys to find out."

I couldn't take it anymore. I got up and hugged Jake. I pulled away from him. "It's okay, Jake. We all make mistakes. A lot of us just aren't brave enough to admit it." He smiled. "Thanks, Hailey." He said.

We both stood up. "Are we good now?" I smiled. "Yeah, we're good." Jake looked happy. "I'm starving, want to head by the lunchroom?" I nodded my head. "Sure," We left the office and began walking together. I'm not going to lie, it felt good having Jake as a friend again. Although, I still had one question for him.

"So, are you and Lia still friends?" Jake looked annoyed. "We're sort of dating now." I felt a little sad hearing that. "Oh," Jake noticed. "I honestly don't know why. I've never liked her." I gave him a puzzled look. "Then why're you dating?" Jake rubbed his neck. "I don't know. I just haven't had the guts to break it off."

I felt pretty bad for him. "What about you? How's your love life?" I laughed. "Pretty disappointing if I'm being honest." Jake chuckled. "That's one thing that hasn't changed." I slapped his arm. 

"Shut up, you."

Jake laughed as we walked side by side.