Jack Kelly x Reader

Chapter Twenty-Two

(y/n)'s POV

"So I've picked a couple options for a song for each audition, so you can pick one for each." I said, laying out the covers of sheet music. I had 3 songs for each audition, and I was stoked.

"So for Bonnie and Clyde: Dyin' Ain't So Bad, Steps of the Palace, and Kindergarten Boyfriend... Addams Family: Crazier Than You, I Know Things Now and The World According to Chris. Why is one of them a duet?" She said absentmindedly.

"Because there's enough to get a good cut from before the other character starts singing, so I figured it was good. Same goes for the one with ensemble singing." I answered her question, smirking. She looked up, confused.

"Wait, did I say that out loud?" She asked, looking like a total deer in headlights.

"Yeah, you did. Which songs do you wanna hear?" I asked her.

"Wow okay, well I wanna hear Steps of the Palace and The World According to Chris." She told me, handing the front pages of my sheet music back. I grabbed the songs she requested and lead her to the grand piano.

You see, Katherine was a really good pianist so she liked to accompany me when I sang. We both would get good practice out of it, so it was a pretty mutually beneficial system.

"So I highlighted the cut I'm using since my voice teacher wanted me to do that instead of get specific sheet music for it." I mentioned to her as I flipped towards the middle of Steps of the Palace.

I sang, focusing on making sure my head voice sounded good.

I was almost done, when Lily decided to get in the way and jump up on me. I laughed, but continued while petting my needy, dumb dog that I loved oh so much.

When we were done, Kath glanced over to see me holding my dog up by her front paws. Her face lit up and a giggle escaped her at the sight of Lily casually standing on her hind legs.

"My god, Lily is just the most precious thing. Are you gonna get a cat or something in college?" She asked, her face glowing. She always looked that happy after singing and playing together. It was our thing, after all, and we both loved to do it.

"Yeah, and I plan to name it some swear word in French or something, and of course I'll come back and visit this big baby as often as possible, since I won't be too far." I told her, gently rubbing my dog's ears. I loved this idiotic little fluff ball. She was a stupid not-so-little thing and I loved her for it. Who wouldn't love this marvelous being? Truly, she was the most precious thing to ever exist.

"Are you ready for college?" She asked, suddenly more serious. I looked up to see her watching me intently, waiting for a response.

"Are you?" I asked.

"No." She confessed. "I'm really worried that we'll all fade apart and all I'll have is my parents. I've had you as long as I can remember and the guys for a couple years, and now we're all splitting up. A lot of people will be out of state." She confessed, shrinking in on herself at the thought. Her eyes were glassy with tears, making me tear up a little too.

I reached over, enveloping her in a tight hug, so forceful that she tumbled backward and fell. I clambered up with her following suit.

"You're not getting rid of us that easily, Kath. We'll all keep in touch. It won't be the same, but it'll be enough. We'll make everything work. Always have, always will. And hey, we'll be near each other, and I'll visit you in your stupidly tiny dorm every weekend and we'll get coffee and hate ourselves afterward because we'll be poor college students. We got this." I said quietly. She nodded, but I saw the fear and sorrow still lingering behind her eyes.

She pulled me into another hug, tightly grasping my shoulders as if I was her dead lover that had just come back to life.

"You just mentally compared this hug to a cheesy romance movie didn't you." She asked in a low, unamused yet knowing tone.

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't." I said, pulling away with a smug grin.

"Ughhh, you're such a moment-ruiner!" She groaned, but I saw the laugh she was trying to hold back.

"That's me!" I giggled, sticking out my tongue playfully. She snorted, breaking into a fit of giggles too. It escalated until I was laughing my ass off alongside her, both of us laying on the floor clutching our stomachs as we cackles.

She lunged into me, landing on top of me in a bone crushing hug.

"You make all this 'life' crap so much easier." She whispered after a moment of calming down. I smiled up at her, winking playfully.

"That's what I'm here for, right? Best friends forever doesn't mean nothing ya know." I said lightly, still feeling a little giggly.

"Yeah, as ridiculous as you are, you never fail to make me laugh. Thank you." She said earnestly, still grinning.

"No problem. I have a naturally charismatic personality, you've just fallen victim to my many charms." I joked.

It's funny because I was the opposite of charismatic or charming. I was far more awkward and annoying than cool and intriguing.

"Yeah, you do. Now let's work and get this practice going, I wanna hear a million more songs." She said, pulling me up and scurrying to the piano.

Yeah, we'd be busy for hours. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

(961 words)