"Jackson, wait, wait, wait." She tells him as they get to the door.
"What?" He tells her as he lets go of her hand.
"Listen, maybe this wasn't such a good idea. I think I'm just gonna go-"
"Well, I'm sorry to say this, but April that is complete nonsense." He says.
"But-"
"I promise you're gonna have a good time."
"You're going to introduce me to some of your friends? You know, so that I don't get lonely?"
"Yes, if I see anybody I know. Now, let's go in." He says impatiently as they go in.
"Jackson!" The entire bar greets.
"Hi, everybody!" He greets back.
"Hey, you handsome piece of meat." A brunette headed woman greets as she walks up to them. "How's life treating you?"
"It's a dog eat dog world out there and I'm wearing no underwear because I want to get lucky!"
"I'll be coming back for you." She tells him, walking away from them.
Jackson growls.
"Slut." April calls her when they are at a safe distance.
"You're a peach." Jackson tells her as they walk to a table.
"What did you want me to call her? Lovely?" She asks sarcastically.
"Well, she is."
"Oh. Then I should have called her the human luge. Better yet, I should have called her a human play ground or a magic carpet." She replies thoughtfully and he simply shakes his head.
"Hi, George. Fellas, this is my best friend April. April, this is Preston, Percy, Alex and Ben."
"Hey, April." Percy greets.
"Fellas, could you please show April a good time? I mean, I would do it myself, but I wanna have a good time myself." He tells them.
"You're- you're a little uncomfortable, aren't you?" She asks Preston. "Uh, to be- to be honest, I'm not really into the bar scene, or any scene to be honest. I-I sense you're not either. I guess the problem is to make that human connection, you know, with the-" She rambles, but they all walk away from her. April sighs.
"Hi." The guy sitting next to her says. He's playing a soft song on the piano.
"Hi." She says back to him.
"I'm George."
"April."
"I've never seen you here before."
"I um, I usually don't come to places like this."
"Well, I can understand." He says sympathetically. "A lot of people feel uncomfortable in a bar."
Somewhere in the back, April can hear Jackson laughing uncontrollably.
"Well, I guess that heathen is the exception." April says, and George laughs.
"I like that. You should've came here a long time ago."
"I guess." She responds, humming to the song that he is playing on the piano.
"You don't happen to sing do you?" He asks her and she does a double-take.
"What makes you think that I-I sing, or would even want to? I mean, you know, some people might enjoy making fools of themselves in public, but, uh, Me, sing? Not in this lifetime. I don't think so."
"You sing a little don't you?"
"A little." April admits.
"Great. Uh, how about some Irving Berlin? Blue Skies? Always?"
"Nah."
"I Want to Know What Love Is?"
"That's a better choice." She tells him and George starts laughing.
"You ready?" He asks and she nods her head. He starts playing the piano and she starts singing. As she starts singing, the whole bar turns to look at April.
I gotta take a little time
A little time to think things over
I better read between the lines
In case I need it when I'm older
Now this mountain I must climb
Feels like a world upon my shoulders
I through the clouds I see love shine
It keeps me warm as life grows colder
In my life there's been heartache and pain
I don't know if I can face it again
Can't stop now, I've traveled so far
To change this lonely life
I wanna know what love is
I want you to show me
I wanna feel what love is
I know you can show me
I'm gonna take a little time
A little time to look around me
I've got nowhere left to hide
It looks like love has finally found me
In my life there's been heartache and pain
I don't know if I can face it again
I can't stop now, I've traveled so far
To change this lonely life
I wanna know what love is
I want you to show me
I wanna feel what love is
I know you can show me
I wanna know what love is
I want you to show me
And I wanna feel, I want to feel what love is
And I know, I know you can show me
Let's talk about love
I wanna know what love is, the love that you feel inside
I want you to show me, and I'm feeling so much love
I wanna feel what love is, no, you just cannot hide
I know you can show me, yeah
I wanna know what love is, let's talk about love
I want you to show me, I wanna feel it too
I wanna feel what love is, I want to feel it too
And I know and I know, I know you can show me
Show me love is real, yeah
I wanna know what love is
Let's talk about love...
April finishes the song and the entire bar starts clapping and cheering for her.
"Wooo! That was impressive!" Alex says.
"Thank you!" April beams, taking a bow.
"You've got some major pipes." Preston compliments.
"Thanks." She smiles.
"Encore." Ben shouts.
"What song do you wanna hear?" She asks them, and they start throwing out song names. In the midst of all this, Percy walks up to Jackson who is absolutely floored by April.
"Your friend's pretty good. Do you mind if I ask you if she's single?" Percy asks Jackson.
"She's taken." Jackson lies.
"Aw man. All the good ones are taken." He asks himself as he walks away from Jackson.
"Better luck next time." He shouts after Percy, boiling with jealousy.
'Everyone is after her, even the ladies. And I'm not even wearing any underwear.' He thinks to himself.
_____
Song Used: I Want To Know What Love Is - Foreigner
YOU ARE READING
Journey to the Center of Attention
FanfictionApril replaces Jackson as the center of attention for the men (and one of his lady friends) at Jackson's favorite nightspot.
