Lights

Chapter 3| Human

I doubt anyone y'all will read this, but I'm typing it anyways. I'm currently to lazy to edit this thoroughly, so some parts may be choppy. THERE WILL BE MISTAKES. So um... yeah. You may continue reading.

Chapter 3| Human

~

"You okay?" Jake asks as I hurriedly walk up to my locker.
I nod, feeling flushed. "Yeah, I'm fine."
Being the great boyfriend he is, he helps me with my books and my bag. He is the sweetest guy I know.

He walks with me to history where Lace and Jack are waiting inside, and hands me my books.

"I'll see you later." he says, giving me a sweet, slow kiss.
"I have to go to class." I inform him, finally pulling away.
He breathes out a sigh.
"Alright."

I walk into class, and take a seat in between Jack and Lace. Ms. Jane starts to teach, but my mind starts to drift off. I start to think about song lyrics, and I can't concentrate.

A heart made out of glass, will surely shatter. So I step away, from it all- so I can make it matter.
Bullets-

"Ms. Clarence, could you please come back to Earth?" Ms. Jane says, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Sorry ma'am." I say, feeling my cheeks heat up. "I'll pay attention now."

She just gives me a stern look, and continues teaching.

~

After school I am invited to band rehearsals. I will not take part, but I will watch. When I get there, only Jake and Caleb are there. I head down to the basement and see a brand new piano next to the guitars. None of them play piano, so I'm not sure why they have it. I walk over to it an lightly graze my fingers over the keys. I take a seat and stare at it. I look around the room to check if it's empty. Seeing no one, I hesitantly start to play. I play the song, "With Love" by Christina Grimmie. I sing softly, my voice just above a whisper.

"You call me out, and taught me tough- with love. With love."

I make it to the chorus when I hear a sound. That's when I stop playing. Suddenly, Jake and the rest of the guys come down the stairs.

"Nice piano." I say, patting the top of it, hoping they didn't hear me.

"Thanks." Jake says. "I got it so you could play with us."

"No." I deadpan, immediately stepping away from the piano. Jake frowns.

"Come on Maya, for once could you play with us?" Jake looks at me with pleading eyes, and grabs my hand. "Please?"

I sigh. I guess I will only be playing the piano.

"Okay."

"Yes!" The all cheer grabbing their instruments.

~

By the time Friday comes, I am extremely excited to see Blame perform. The guys give me a ride in the band van, and I try to be supportive.

"You guys will do great, I have no doubts." I say encouragingly as we pull up to the place. We go around the back and start to unload. I grab Jake's guitar and start to head in.
The inside is dark, and has blue concert lights as the only lighting. There are multiple tables and bars, and there is a lit water wall behind the main bar. The large stage is in the back, with a big piano. I bring the the guitar over to the stage, and take it out of it's case. I am putting it in the stand when I hear a voice.
"Nice guitar." I whip my head around to see Dalton standing directly behind me. My eyes widen and I step back.
"Will we keep meeting like this?" I say laughing nervously.
He laughs. "Maybe. Do you play?" He asks pointing to the guitar.
"Oh, uh, yeah. But that's not mine." I say looking down at my hands. "It's my boyfriend Jake's. His band is playing tonight."
"Tell your boyfriend he has good taste." Dalton says.
"Thanks." Jake says from behind Dalton. Jake stares at Dalton with a stony face.
"So you're the boyfriend." Dalton says, and Jake grumbles a yes.
"Dalton." He introduces himself, sticking out his hand.
Jake quickly shakes Dalton's hand, his eyes narrowing at Dalton. "Jake." He says firmly. I roll my eyes at Jake's protectiveness and help unload the rest of the stuff. Once we are finished, the place has filled in. I find Lace in the audience and take a seat next to her.
"You nervous?" Lace asks.
"A bit." I say, chewing on my lip. Eventually it's time for them to perform. When they are called out, Jake gives me a quick kiss and walks onto stage with Jack, Caleb, and Alex. Everyone claps as they get their instruments. Jake steps up to the mic.

"How is everyone doing tonight?" He asks, and the crowd goes wild.
So far so good.
"Well, we're Blame, and we're going to be performing for you tonight." The crowd applauds and he chuckles. Then the song starts. I slowly recognize it as he starts to sing.

"Forget about, everything that went wrong.
It's over now, nothing to dwell on."

His voice sounds gorgeous as he continues to sing. The song starts to pick up and he gets to the chorus.
When they finish, the crowd cheers. I grin. They were amazing.

As they launch into the next song, I am totally in love with Jake's voice. His eyes wander through the crowd as he sings and he finds me. Our eyes meet, and I give him an encouraging smile. When they finish the crowd applauds and cheers. They hop of the stage, and Jake heads over to me. He engulfs me in a big hug. He is taller then me, so my head reaches his chest. I look up at him and smile.
"You were amazing." I say. He smiles back as he cups my cheek, and closes his lips over mine. His arms wrap around me and he pulls me close. Our tongues meet and I melt into the kiss.
"Hey! Lovebirds! We don't need to witness your make out session, we have fans to meet!" I hear Caleb complain.
I pull away, laughing at Caleb's seriousness.
Jake sighs. "I'll see you later." He says, walking away to greet his fans. I turn around to see a smirking Lace.
"What?" I ask.
She points behind me. I turn around to see Dalton behind one of the bars.
"What about him?" I ask.
"He was staring at you." She says.
"So?" I ask, not really understanding her point.
"Never mind." She says shaking her head.
Eventually- after many hours- the place clears out, and only Lace, Jake, Alex, Jack, Caleb, and I are left. Well, and and Dalton. We clear out the instruments as Jake talks with Dalton's dad about performing again at Light's. Once we're all packed up, Jake comes over to us with a huge grin on his face.
"We got the job! We get to play here every Friday!" He says, overjoyed. I give him a hug, and Lace congratulates the guys.
"Hey uh, guys? Sorry to ruin the moment, but we're closing." Dalton says from behind us, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck.
"Sorry." Jake says, stepping away from me, but he keeps his arm around me. "We were just heading out."

I suddenly have the need to pee.
Bad timing bladder.

"Hey, uh... do you have a bathroom?" I ask Dalton.

"Uh, yeah. Down the hall." He says, pointing to a dome shaped hall by the stage. Dang this place is fancy.

"Thanks." I say. "I'll be right back." I tell Jake.

"Okay, we'll wait for you out back." He says.

I quickly head off to the bathroom. My bladder just wants things to be awkward... that was extremely awkward. Once I am finished, "releasing my liquids" I walk out into an empty restaurant. I then notice the beautiful stage. I look around to see if anyone is there and slowly step up onto the stage. I can't help it. I sit down, and stare at the piano, debating whether it not I should play it. I finally take a deep breath and decide to play it. I mean I'm not hurting anyone by playing a little, right?

I lightly touch the keys, my fingers brushing them lightly. Mustering up all the courage I can, I start to play the song, "human" by Christina Perri. I start off slow, and start to sing.

"I, can hold, my breath.
I, can bite, my tongue.

I can stay awake for days, if that's why you want. Be your number one.

I, can fake, a smile.
I, can force, a laugh.

I can dance and play the part, if that's what you ask. Give, you all, I am.

I can do it.
I can do it.
I can do it."

I close my eye and launch into the chorus.

"But I'm only human.
And I plead when I fall down.
I'm only human.
And I crash, and I break down.
Your words in my head,
knives in my heart,
you build me up,
and then I fall apart.

Cause I'm only human."

I suddenly hear applause. My eyes snap open, and I see Dalton.

Shit.