Jar of Hearts

♡ 10 ♡

"You know this guy?" Carlos gets up from his stool and walks around his drums, sticks still in hand.

Emily nods. "Yeah. He's new." She shifts her gaze away from Luke to find Carlos looking him over.

His jaw is tense, and she can see the slightest tick at the side. Carlos raises an eyebrow. His happy-go-lucky demeanor, which Emily is used to seeing on a regular basis, is nowhere in sight.

Emily glances back at Rory who also wears a confused expression. They share a look and Rory shrugs, signaling that she also has no clue what's got into him.

Luke lifts up the black case in the shape of a guitar. He catches the Nigerian-Mexican's attention. "A little birdie told me that you desperately need a guitar player."

Carlos rolls his drumsticks in his hand and his expression softens. "Yeah, actually." He glances over at Emily briefly before looking back to the boy with bronzed skin. "You know the song Don't Let It Break Your Heart by Louis Tomlinson?"

The corners of Luke's lips turn up. "Yeah. A little pop for my taste, but I know it."

"Cool." Carlos turns on his heel and walks over to a black case lying open on the ground. He pulls out a chord and connects it to one of the amps.

Simultaneously, Luke puts his case up against the wall and unlocks it. He pulls out a shiny black electric guitar.

Carlos hands him the amp and Luke plugs it in.

Luke moves to stand next to Rory. He catches her lingering gaze and smirks.

She looks away quickly, but Emily catches the deep blush on her face. It's even more profound than when Carlos hugged her earlier. This signals to the brunette that her friend has the hots for the new guy more than she thought.

Emily catches Rory's honey eyes and the laugh she was holding back finally escapes her lips. She coughs when she receives a harsh glare and tries to cover up her enjoyment. She likes not being the embarrassed one this time more than she should.

They begin the song and Emily watches them from her place on the floor. About halfway through she takes out her phone to take a short clip of them. Through her phone, she notices Luke looking at her.

She looks up from the screen to meet his eyes. A slight smile appears on his lips. Then, he goes back to focusing on the chords.

Her phone buzzes so she stops recording to see who it's from.

Dad: I can't wait to see you tonight. I miss you.

Emily's face falls and she sucks in a sharp breath. She hasn't seen him in months, and she isn't exactly looking forward to seeing him anytime soon. She readies her fingers to text back.

Emily: I'm busy tonight. Sorry.

With that, she shuts off her phone and looks up to see everyone focused on the song except for Carlos.

He gives her a swift head nod, subtly asking if she's okay. His dark eyes show concern. He already knows what's wrong. He's only seen that look on her a couple of times.

Emily nods and gives him a tight smile. She isn't okay. But, she'll get over it. She always does.

She feels her phone buzz on her leg again but doesn't bother looking at it this time. There's nothing he can say that will change her mind.

Her dad only comes into town now for two things: her birthday and the day that Elijah died. She is surprised he even shows his face at all, considering everything he's done to their family.

The song ends and Carlos wipes a little bit of sweat off his brow. "Nice job, new guy. I guess you're not that bad." He chuckles, his light-hearted personality quickly returning. He swivels on his seat to face the other members of the band. "Noodle?"

Grant grins. "He's a great guitar player, dude. Why is there even a vote?"

Carlos ignores him and looks at Rory. "Roar?" He calls her by her nickname.

Rory shrugs. "I vote yes, Simon Cowell." She gives him a sassy look and places one of her hands on her hip.

Carlos spins around to face Luke again. "Welcome to Alienated, I guess." He offers him a smile.

Luke chuckles. "Thanks, but I have one question."

"Shoot." Carlos crosses his arms over his chest.

Luke moves his gaze to settle on Grant. "Noodle?"

Everyone burst out laughing, including Emily.

Grant wiggles his arms at his sides. "Because I'm skinny like a noodle."

Luke nods but doesn't say anything else. However, a slight smile plays on his lips and his obsidian eyes hold an amused glint.

While Rory begins to go into detail about why Grant perfectly resembles a noodle, Carlos leaves them to check on his other best friend.

He slides his back down the wall and plops down on the floor next to Emily. "He's coming back for his anniversary, huh?"

Emily nods and turns her head to look at him. Their eyes meet in a knowing gaze. Her mouth turns down into a frown.

"My phone and my house are always open. Call me, or just come over if it's ever too much," he says softly, his eyes searching hers.

What he's searching for, Emily doesn't know. A weird feeling sets in her stomach and she can't shake the feeling that maybe Carlos' words mean something more.

"Okay," she tells him.

Carlos nods and smiles before jumping up from the ground.

Emily's gaze turns back to the group and sees Rory already looking at her with an odd expression on her face. Her lips are pursed and her eyebrows are furrowed.

Refraining from rolling her eyes, Emily picks up her phone from her lap. Rory has always been one to get jealous easily, even if absolutely nothing is going on.

Two messages are displayed on her screen.

Dad: Well, I'll see you tomorrow then. I love you.

Jack: I'm on my way, should be there in 20.

She glances at the time at the top of the screen. Jack sent that text five minutes ago, so he'll be here at about seven o'five. She quickly calculates.

Fifteen minutes pass in almost an instant. When she finally receives another text from Jack, she's on her feet in a second.

"I'll see you guys Monday," Emily says to everyone as they pack up their gear.

Everyone says goodbye to her except for Luke who acts like he didn't hear anything and doesn't even look up from his guitar case as he clicks the locks into place.

She exits the room. Eventually, she finds her way out of the maze of hallways and at the front doors of the school.

The door isn't even open all the way before she sees the brilliant smile of Jack Tatum. His hazel eyes shine from the sun that's setting just behind the school and he leans against his car that glistens from the light of the sunset.

Emily's heart skips a beat. She walks toward him, smiling on the outside, and a nervous wreck on the inside.

A/N

QOTD: Team Luke, Team Carlos, or Team Jack?

AOTD: They're all beautiful specimens, do not make me choose (Jack, jk, or not?).