Red Lips & Brown Eyes // Jack Barakat

Red Lips & Brown Eyes ~ Chapter Seventeen: I've Got To Save Myself

Song: Stay by Rihanna ft Mikky Ekko

Title Credit: Slowly Freaking Out by Skylar Grey 

Melissa's Pov

My legs and arms felt like spaghetti noodles as we finished up the last song of the set. Sasha and Jimmy brought of the small piano and set it in front of Anna's drum set. The crowd looked confused, probably wondering why the hell we would need a piano.

"Alright everybody," Aleesia said into her mic, "we've reached that point in our set where we chose to cover a random song. Uh, Mel, you take care of the rest." She said and walked off stage. I handed my guitar to Ricky, quietly thanking him as I grabbed the microphone off the stand. A few people were still cheering, but the majority of the crowd had gone completely silent.

"Tonight, my friend, Tyler, and I are going to be covering a song from a different genre," Tyler walked out on the stage and took a seat at the piano, "the song wasn't chosen at random. I've been planning to cover this song for a while now and... Well, this is song for someone that I, uh, really care about," my eyes flickered to the side stage and I felt my stomach turn over once I saw Jack standing near the amps.

I sighed and closed my eyes briefly before opening them once again. "This song is called Stay by Rihanna and Mikky Ekko." The crowd cheered and Ricky placed a small microphone on the piano in front of Tyler.

I swallowed the vile in my throat and sat down at the piano beside Tyler. My eyes watched him play the piano, I closed my eyes and brought the microphone up to my lips. "All along it was a fever, a cold sweat hot headed believer." I rested my head against Tyler's shoulder and took a deep breath. "I threw my hands in the air, said, "show me something"."

Honestly, I don't know why I chose this song to cover. I think it's because of all the times Jack has asked me if he wanted me to let him stay. All those times, I've said yes because I didn't want to be without his company. It's crazy how one can develop feelings for someone in just over twenty days. I just wish it would have happened with someone who wasn't already in a relationship. 

"Not really sure how to feel about it. Something in the way you move makes me feel like I can't live without you," I sang with as much emotion as possible. Tyler kissed the top of my head, a silent gesture of support for me. I opened my eyes and looked at the crowd. The entire arena was lit up by one spotlight on us, and hundreds of bright screens from people's phones. They swayed their arms back and forth, some of them even sang along to the music. 

"It takes me all the way, I want you to stay." I sang the last line as loud as my voice could carry. My eyes darted to the side-stage and I felt my heart break when I no longer saw Jack standing by the amps. 

"It's not much of a life you're living. It's not just something you take-it's given." Tyler's part came up and he sang it beautiful, but I knew he would. The crowd erupted in cheers and I grinned widely, loving the fact that they seemed to enjoy his voice as much as I did. 

~*~

After the song ended, I thanked the crowd and we hurried of stage. I didn't have the energy to tell Jack my feelings, but I needed to. It was the only way I could get any closure, despite the fact that I never really had a chance with him. I say this because if Jack had feelings for me, he would have left his girlfriend. The answer to his choice is pretty evident.

"Jack," I whispered as I stood in front of the guitarist. He sat on the end of the couch, his eyes glued to the wall as if there were something interesting about the drywall. Jack looked up, his expression changed into something unreadable. 

"What?" His voice was sharp, something I hadn't heard from the happy man. 

"I need to tell you something." I said. Jack stayed quiet for a few minutes before he stood up from the couch and followed me into the empty hallway. I turned around to face Jack, my heart practically beating against my rib cage. 

"Say something," Jack pressed, "our set is about to start." I couldn't take in how blank and cold his voice was. He wasn't the Jack I knew. He wasn't the kind hearted man that didn't seem to let anything bother him. There was something different about him, I just had a hard time trying to figure out what it was.

My teeth sank into my lower lip, "I...." the lump in my throat seemed to grow by the second, "I like you, Jack Barakat." I finally said. My eyes stared at his black converse, thinking they were a better view than Jack's expression. 

"And?" He finally spoke. My heart shattered and I felt my eyes burn as I looked up, only to meet my gaze with a complete stranger. 

"Is that all you have to say?" My voice cracked, but I refused to let the tears fall.

Jack shrugged, his expression bored. "What do you want me to say Melissa? Do you want me to sweep you off your feet and kiss you? Do you want me to say that I feel the same and then we go running to the hills together? Do you want me to hold your fucking hand and whisper shit into your ear about how I feel the same? I'm sorry, Melissa, but this is the real world and that isn't going to happen. I have a girlfriend, I don't feel the same." 

Without thinking, I reached my hand out and let my palm hit his cheek. "I didn't expect any of that shit," I snapped. The heart broken feeling was still there, but I felt more angry than sad. "I just wanted to tell you, Jack. I know you have a girlfriend, but I didn't tell you so you could break up with her or anything. I just wanted to tell you so I could move on and find someone else. I'm just so happy that you showed your true colors before I let my feelings turn into something serious." I spat.

"Stay away from me." Jack said, his hand pressed against his cheek.

"Gladly." I turned on my heel and began walking away. It wasn't until I reached our bus that I broke down and let the tears flow freely. 

~*~

Jack is such a douche ;-; But I imagine Tyler sounding like Trey Songz. Actually, Tyler is played by him so... ;-; 

Do you guys still ship Jelissa? or Telissa? Cx