Fix You ~Completed~

Act Six

Eddie couldn't stop staring at my neck on Karaoke Night. The whole time the three of us sat together, watching other kids perform, his eyes were trained directly on the mural of bruises Kyla had left along my skin. I felt so dirty displaying them; I wasn't used to baring any of the marks on my body to others. Kyla saw all of them because he was Kyla and I couldn't keep things from Kyla. Even when we were just friends, he knew all my secrets.

Gale was polite and ignored them. "So, we're gonna perform a Coldplay song!" he announced halfway through the event. Jimmy from the café was almost done singing some Madonna song I only knew because everyone knew. "Do you like their song "Viva la Vida," Clem?"

I took a quick sip of my coffee, a cinnamon latte that Eddie recommended to me when the three of us were ordering together. He'd placed his hand on my back, as gentle as a feather, and pointed it out to me on the board. Of course I told Jimmy that's what I wanted. It's what I needed.

"It's one of my favorites," I said quietly, setting the drink down.

"Good, right?" Eddie asked, referring to the coffee. He'd gotten the same thing.

"Beyond amazing," I informed him shyly. I hadn't been able to drink it since we sat down since Gale talked ninety miles an hour. I was constantly opening my mouth to respond to him. It was so weird; I hadn't spoken this much in years.

"Okay, that means you'll sing, right?" Gale demanded, placing both his hands down on the table in front of us.

I felt my cheeks blaze because Gale was staring at me staring at Eddie and that's awkward. So awkward. Everything about me is just awkward.

"I-I can't," I insisted, dropping my eyes. I outlined the rim of my cup with my finger.

"You can and you will, buddy!" Gale argued, waving a finger in my face to recapture my ever wandering attention. Defeated, I nodded. I couldn't say no again, could I? These were my new friends and they were accepting me. It'd be rude to let them down.

Eddie fist pumped the air. "Yeah!" he cheered quietly, causing only a few eyes to wander our way. The brunette ignored them, opting to instead look at me. "It'll be nice to have a new addition to the team!"

"We can become a trio instead of a duo! We're now Alvin and the Chipmunks instead of Chip and Dale!" Gale trilled, wiggling around in his seat like a little kid.

"Chip and... what?" I laughed, leaning back in my own chair.

"Like, the cartoon chipmunks. I think they were chipmunks? Gale always called us that for some odd reason. It's Gale; you learn not to question it," Eddie chuckled with a shrug.

Gale held up a single finger, telling Eddie to wait, while he explained carefully that the reason he labeled them as Chip and Dale was because the two of them reminded him of the little cartoon creatures. "We're both absolutely nuts," he said, giving Eddie a sly expression. I couldn't imagine calling something Gale did as sly, but he pulled it off quite nicely, until he burst out into giggles seconds later.

The buffer of the two boys simply rolled his eyes. "That wasn't even that funny, Asher," Eddie huffed, glancing towards the stage. "Hey, Jimmy's about done. You guys ready?"

I nodded despite the tumbling in my stomach. Gale was already on his feet.

Jimmy finished his song and hopped off, giving Gale a high-five as he strutted by. Eddie got a simple nod. I got a smile.

The singing in front of people bit wasn't even that bad. I felt as though I were about to drop dead during the first through lines I had to sing, which were barely audible, but when Eddie picked up after me and threw a huge, encouraging grin my way, I felt as though I could honestly do anything in front of anyone.

No, the singing was fine. It was the fact that Kyla decided that that was the perfect time to make an entrance. He walked into the café, hands in his pockets, and stopped dead when he saw me up there with Gale and Eddie. I swallowed but continued. We had maybe ten lines left. I could get through it.

Gale finished us off with a solemn: "Never an honest word, but that was when I ruled the world."

We jumped off the stage one by one to a decent amount of applauds. I had to scan the room looking for Kyla, my heart a jack hammer in my chest. Eddie noticed. "What's up, Clem?" he asked gently, stopping us before we could come to our table.

"I-I gotta go," I stammered weakly. I shifted around him, but he took my arm, squeezing hard against a bruise. "Eddie, p-please don't grab me like that!"

"Are you okay?" he demanded, loosening his grip. I nodded violently. "You're pale as a fricking sheet. What's up?"

The sweetness on his face gave me a toothache. I had to go and find Kyla. "It's just I-I promised I'd be home by now. I caught sight of the clock," I lied quickly.

"Won't your, um, roommate or whatever understand?" Eddie mumbled, his eyes on my neck. I covered them with my hand self-consciously. "Just explain you were having a fun time. They can't be angry with you for that."

I finally saw Kyla, standing near the door again. He looked at me and I knew that was anything but true. Kyla would never take me enjoying myself as a legitimate reason to be late back home. "I can't. See you guys later," I said, bolting away and right under Kyla's arm. He gave me squeeze and a small smile, one that was anything but happy.