Sky Media One Shots

Life of the Party

John (ThatGuyBarney) X Reader

~~~

(John's P.O.V.)

My gaze never falters from the woman on the stage. Her (h/c) hair being tossed by slight headbanging and not caring that some strands are getting caught in her eyelashes. The carefree way her hips sway to the beat of Halestorm's You Call Me a Bitch Like it's a Bad Thing, really emphasizes the lyrics and seriousness of what she's belting out to the crowd in front of her. Every little movement has been effortlessly planned and practiced to put on a show; like this isn't the first time she's conveyed her emotions through the corresponding song. Smiling at the (e/c) eyed beauty, I leave my beer on the table in front of me to applaud and holler among the patrons on the lower floor. (Y/n) brings her body to a standing position from the bow she gave and lightly blushes, still not used to the positive attention from a crowd this large. The grin that was plastered on her face made my insides melt from the sight of it. It was refreshing to see her smile genuinely again. Since recent events, she's felt pretty down about herself. I've tried my hardest to help get her back on her feet but there's only so much one person can do. Considering the entire time I've had to hold myself back from tearing a new one into Joseph. While he does deserve the rages of the 7th pit of hell, (Y/n)'s well-being is more important and always will be. I'm glad I convinced her to come tonight to Karaoke. This always lifts her spirits and puts the bounce back in her steps.

My cluttered thoughts are wiped as soon as I see the main host taking the mic from her delicate hands and hyping up the crowd for one last applause for her talent before moving on to whoever was next on the list. As I watch the slightly short female make her way past the slightly drunk crowd, she makes her way back to our table. I hop off the tall chair to give her a supportive-friend hug, which is immediately returned the moment my arms wrap around her torso with hers wrapped around my neck and broad shoulders. Slightly picking her up, I twirl her in a small but fast circle. With an eruption of giggles, I feel her tapping my shoulder; a sign to let her back down. "John! I'm already buzzed, I don't need to be any dizzier than I already am!" Letting out a defeated sigh, I lower (Y/n) to the ground safely. Pulling back, I look into her shining eyes wishing I could be the reason they sparkle everyday with life. Feeling a slight push, (Y/n) backs out of my embrace and hopes onto the opposing chair on the other side of the table. I climb back up and turn my sight to the stage to see another drunk blonde with her top half off while trying to sing Miley Cyrus, attempting to get the crowd aroused and failing hard. Chuckling, I turn back to the beaming girl to my left. We share a glance and start to laugh about the mess that's happening on stage. Calming down, (Y/n) moves her cocktail to the side to prop her elbows on the table allowing her forearms to lay across the dark oak wood. "Okay John, I need you to be honest with me. How did I do?" Seeing the sly smile on her face, she already knows she did amazing. But having your closest friends' praise you can be a guilty pleasure sometimes.

"You were amazing, (Y/n). You were so in-tune with the lyrics and every action and reaction you did made it 1000x better." Grinning from ear to ear, I see an unrecognized emotion cross her eyes for a split second. Could she have possibly not believed me?

"Thank you. It means a lot coming from you, especially." A small smile spreads among her lips.

"You know I always mean it. I'd never tell you anything but my honest opinion." The people around us become loud again, meaning that whoever was on stage had finished their piece of music and it was time to move on. It wasn't until now that my nerves realized that I was going to be next on stage to sing in front of the people that currently surround me. Slight dread settles into my throat as I turn to (Y/n), with eyes pleading to get me out of it. With a playful glare in return, I groan and chug the remainder of my drink. Placing down the glass bottle, I slide out of the chair and make my way towards the stage that (Y/n) had been on not only a few songs ago. I am greeted by the DJ, who makes sure my song choice is correct with what he has linked up to the speakers. As he finishes up last minute sounds tweaks, I'm handed a wireless microphone that'll allow me to project my mediocre voice out loud to the general public in front of me. I walk onto the stage to the center, immediately looking back to the spot I was just recently sitting at. My vision allows me to see (Y/n) giving me a smile and thumbs up as last minute encouragement. Letting out a shaky breath, I give the DJ the signal to start the music. A slow piano melody begins to flow from the surrounding speakers. There's no turning back now. I close my eyes and begin to sing the starting verse of Shawn Mendes' Life of the Party. I allow the tune of the piano to overtake me as I pore my emotions into the lyrics, my body making complimenting actions to what I'm saying while I belt out my feelings. The entire time there is only one thought crossing my mind- (Y/n). The way she makes me feel when she embraces me, how she genuinely smiles after I shower her in compliments, all of her "imperfections" that to me are what make her beautiful. The strive she has to use her voice to speak up for those that don't have their own voices yet, the determination to battle stigmas from childhood disabilities and to educate those that simply just don't understand. To me, she's what makes this cruel world a much better place. Even if it's by helping one child at a time.

As I'm slowly fading the last verse of the song, the crowd remains silent like they're in a trance that they can't break out of. It wasn't until one by one the clapping, hollowing, screeches, and whistles are echoed throughout the walls of the bar. To anyone else, it could be deafening with how loudly they were cheering. But my focus wasn't the crowd- it never was. It was always her. As I glance to the woman I've been falling in love with for over a year, I notice that she was emotionally moved by my performance. Tears threaten to fall against her pink dusted cheeks. She knew deep down that I wasn't singing that for the sake of the song, but I was singing it for her. As I continue to keep my gaze with (Y/n), I start walking to the edge of the stage and jumping down to the main level. I had my microphone to the closest person to me without breaking eye contact from her. As the crowd starts to create a line to allow me to get past, (Y/n) has climbed down from the chair to make her way towards me. In this moment nothing could be heard but the shaky breathing that's beginning to overwhelm my lungs from pure adrenaline. The closer the two of us get to each other the harder my heart beats. I reach out to caress the cheek of her delicate face, feeling our breaths intermingle. Dipping myself down to her level, I dive straight into her awaiting lips. As the crowd re-erupted in cheers, the kiss we're sharing is exploding in its own way. The fireworks and sparks that they talk about in romance novels came to life within the two of us. Slowly, we parted and gazed into the others eyes. There was no more hiding our feelings for one another. As I smiled towards the woman that captured my heart, I bring her close to me and whisper into her ear, "You're the life of the party, (Y/n). Please, keep it going by being mine." Needless to say, no words needed to be exchanged to understand what her answer was.