Flatline // TopGun Maverick ff [DISCONTINUED]

「 Chapter Four // Can't Help Falling 」

WHEN BRADLEY STARTED PLAYING and singing Can't Help Falling in Love with You by Elvis, Briar didn't know how to react. That was the first song he played for her when he confessed to falling in love with her.

Briar wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. But she did neither. Instead, she watched him from the bar while she cleaned a glass. Bradley met her eyes from across the bar and kept singing, not breaking eye contact for a second.

The minute the song was over, Briar walked out of the bar. She didn't know what else to do. She was overwhelmed with all different emotions; anger, sadness, hope, bitterness, and happiness. But the one that stood out to her was hope.

She had hope that they could work things out, and that emotion was the reason she didn't stay in the bar. It was that emotion that made her sit in the sand and just start to cry. How could she have hope for them after he blamed her for what her dad did, for something she had no part in whatsoever?

Of course, Briar knew the answer. She refused to say it aloud, but she knew the reason she had hope of all emotions she could possibly feel at that moment. Phoenix and Bob were right. Briar Mitchell was still in love with Bradley Bradshaw and she had no idea how to come to terms with it. Let alone how to tell him her feelings.

She was so lost in thought that Briar didn't even realize her dad had shown up. She stared at the water, not realizing tears had started to fall when Maverick sat next to her.

"Briar?" He said softly, making the poor girl jump. "Hm?" She hummed, quickly wiping her face to rid herself of tears. "You okay?" He asked softly, watching his child with that worried father expression every dad has.

Briar honestly thought of lying. She knew she could and Mav wouldn't push. But there was that little girl in her that urged her to tell her dad and communicate how she felt, so she did. "Bradley just sang Can't Help Falling and I just... I don't know how to feel about it. I was so caught off guard that I.. I just stared at him." She stumbled over her words, clearly emotionally distressed.

"I mean, what else was I supposed to do? And then after he was done, I just... I walked out. I didn't even say anything when I know that he sang that song on purpose." She stated, rushing a bit since she had no idea how to calm down at that moment.

"He couldn't have just come in, dressed in the nicest clothes he probably has, and started singing just because he knew it would make me emotional, right? I mean, he can be a dick but he's not that big of one."

"Briar, I need you to breathe for me," Mav said before she could open her mouth again. "Okay? Can you do that?" He asked softly.

Briar nodded and inhaled through her nose, exhaling through her mouth. Pete waited patiently until she closed her eyes and her body relaxed.

"Listen. I know how you and Bradley ended things weren't the best, and I know he blames you for what I did, but you gotta understand that since you've been ignoring him, he's been miserable. As immature as it is, I think he enjoys picking fights with you because he knows he can't live without you." He said softly, but Briar was shaking her head. "I should go home, I need to sleep." She said softly.

Mav frowned. "He came to me today." He told her. She whipped her head around to look at her dad. "What?" She asked softly.

"Bradley came to me and asked what he could do to make you stop ignoring him. I told him honestly that I didn't know if just anything would work, but I may have given him an idea." He said softly.

She stood. "I'm going home, my head hurts and so does my heart." She whispered, moving to her car. But there, in front of her car, was Bradley who seemed to be waiting for her. "Briar-" He started but the blonde shook her head. "I'm going home. Talk to me tomorrow about this. Please." She whispered, getting in her car. Bradley frowned but let her drive away.

THE NEXT MORNING, Briar didn't feel like going anywhere but when her dad texted her about what he had planned for the day. She sighed and got out of bed, texting her dad and asking what he had planned. Her dad just responded with the following; 'Just wear something you don't mind getting sandy or wet.'

Briar blinked but shrugged and put on a Nike Pro workout set and asked where she should come to. 'Behind the HardDeck.' Maverick responded. She was a little surprised but again, didn't think much of it as she slipped on a t-shirt and grabbed her sandals.

Once she had shoes on, she left her dorm at the same time as Bradley, who was in jean shorts, sandals, and an open Hawaiian shirt. They both paused and just kind of stared at each other for a moment.

"Hey.." Bradley said softly after a long, awkward silence. Briar blinked and looked away as she put her hair in a ponytail. "Hi, Rooster." She said softly.

He frowned a bit but shook off the fact that she said his callsign and not his actual name. "Can we talk..?" He asked softly. "Last time you asked me that, it led to an argument." Briar reminded him as she stepped into the hallway, shutting the door behind her. "Technically, you did most of the arguing." He reminded her.

Briar glared at him but stayed quiet since she knew he was right. She looked away. "Fine, let's walk and talk." She said before she headed down the hallway, Bradley following her.

"About last night..." He started and Briar tensed ever so slightly. "I should've just talked to you about things instead of going to your dad, I'm sorry for basically putting you on the spot like that." He apologized, which took the girl by surprise.

"What?" Briar asked, looking over at him. Bradley glanced at her. "I'm apologizing. For last night." He said softly. She couldn't wrap her head around it.

"Why?" She asked, watching him. "I just figured I made you uncomfortable by singing that song since it has a meaning behind it for... for us and- and I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable if I did. I just didn't know how else to... to express myself." He admitted.

"Bradley, you didn't make me feel uncomfortable." Briar told him, making him look over. "I didn't?" He asked. "Of course not." She said, giving him a small smile. "I just wasn't expecting it." She explained, making him nod.

"Right.." He said softly, a slow smile making its way onto his face. "Does this mean we're cool..?" He asked, glancing at her. She shrugged. "Maybe. If you can get over what my dad did, I'll think about it." She told him.