Conversations With The Moon (Bruno Mars One-Shots)

Muse pt. 2

With his fingers pressed firmly to the frets and his opposite hand poised over the sound-hole Bruno focuses on his hands. He plays a set of notes then repeats them a second time. He shifts moving one hand to the tuning pegs. You sit back a little as he turns the nobs and picks at the strings squinting as he listens for right sound for each sting. Just then there's snapping noise and Bruno pulls his hand back from the soundhole.

"Fuck," he says under his breath shaking his arm. Your eyes follow his arm and catch a glimpse if a thin red line that now runs up his forearm. He sets the guitar aside to have a look when you reach for him.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, its just a--"

You take his arm at the wrist with both hands and gently turn it over. He lets the weight of his arm rest on your knees as you have a look. The mark is thin, bright red and raised; it spans from an inch or two from his wrist to four inches from his inner elbow.

"You'll be alright, all you can really do is ice it."

You look up and Bruno's eyes are on you. For a moment you can't look away; the look in his eyes holds you and looks into you as though he's searching for something. Its suddenly harder to breathe and you temperature seems to rise. You look away and release his arm. He pulls it arm back and looks at the mark for a minute. You stand quickly swallow hard as you notice your heart ramming against your chest.

"There are replacement strings around here somewhere right?" you inquire without looking at him.

"They're in that plastic set of drawers by the guitars," he chuckles. "It was the E string." You return to his side, take the guitar and start to put the new string on. When you finish, you hand the guitar back to him.

"I could have done that." He shakes his head and begins tuning the guitar again. "Since you've been Brandon's temporary replacement, you've done everything you can to make sure things are convenient for me and the guys."

"I'm just doing my job," you reply nervously settling back into the couch beside him. You look down at your hands and he bows his head as he looks at you drawing your eyes to his.

"You've done more than that." He sets the guitar in his lap again and prepare to tune it again. 

"You didn't have to, but you did and I appreciate that. Especially since I haven't been the easiest person to work with since Jess."

"I know its really none of my business but...I'm sorry."

"There's nothing for you to be sorry for," he says quickly. As the his words hang in the air, he appears as though he is going to say something else but he doesn't say anything. Instead he finishes tuning the guitar and begins playing the notes again. "You know what she told me before she left?" he changes keys but doesn't look at you. "She said that I wasn't putting enough into the relationship," he pauses and stops playing but holds the guitar in place. "She said that I was spending too much time with you and the guys and not enough time with her." He looks ahead incredulously then looks back at you and back at the guitar. "But, even though it hurt when she left and it still does, I couldn't help but feel relieved. Like a weight was taken off my shoulders." You lean back alittle and raise your eyebrows at him in surprise.

"But the two of you have been together for a long time, I thought she would've gotten used to how it is to being with you by now." Bruno shakes his head.

"Don't take this the wrong way, she's great. A really good person and I do love her; part of me always will but, she's too much for me...I thought we could make it work and I was willing to try but, I just don't think we would've worked out, you know?" You nod but look away as you think back to the day you witnessed the end of his relationship with Jessica. She walked down the hallway leaving him alone at his studio room door. You hadn't meant to hear or see any of it, but the door was cracked and you we're there when he called out to her and she ignored him. "Sorry for off-loading on you," He moves away from you some, allowing more open couch space between you. "I just had to say all that to someone." He runs his hand across the back of his neck.