MELODY

MELODY 19

┏ 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚜𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗 ┐

The backyard was often a quiet place. Located behind Arts Building, it was a large place created just for students to hang out and enjoy the outdoors when the weather was nice. The ground was covered with fake grass where at each feet there were real trees planted, all creating a breathtaking scenery. The sky dying in yellow-orange gave the place an almost ethereal glow, bringing forth its beauty even more. Benches and tables were placed strategically so one could enjoy the breeze of tall, and additional roofs created to further help shade the seats.

Jackson decided to sit on the grass floor in front of a bench, tossing his bag on it before grabbing his guitar from his case. Bryan hesitated for a second, biting his bottom lip when the taller man gestured for him to over where he was. Placing his bag on the bench, he sat next to the taller man. He eyed the guitarist, unsure of what he was truly doing here. But as his heart continued to skip a beat at every tune Jackson created with his dexterous fingers, he couldn't find it in himself to complain.

Cheeks heating, he sat straighter when those dark eyes that continued to haunt him even in his dreams landed on him. His chest constricted when Jackson lifted the corners of his lips upwards, a smile making him look years younger, happier.

"You said you liked my songs," Jackson said, his deep but soft voice settled in his mind like a warm blanket.

Swallowing past his dry throat, Bryan gave him a muted nod.

"I," Jackson said, stopping for a brief second before he continued with, "need an opinion on this. They're only a few chords and there isn't any lyrics in mind but getting a fresh perspective on my work helps." His dark eyes had long left Bryan's face, focused on the strings he was plucking to create a melody.

Brian frowned. "Why me?"

Jackson shrugged, not lifting his gaze from his guitar. "Just because."

It wasn't a satisfactory answer but... part of him felt light, as if he could float to cloud nine at what Jackson had said. While he knew he was acting like an idiot, and that this didn't mean anything, he couldn't help but to feel happy about it. That Jackson was trusting him to listen to a song he was writing.

"Do you want to help me or not?" Jackson said, catching him off guard with the question, eyebrows raised as his eyes trained on Bryan's face.

"Yes," Bryan said, not hesitating as he leaned forward.

The guitarist searched his face before his lips quirked upwards once more. "Good," he said, looking back at his guitar. "Then..."

It was silence for a few seconds and the gentle breeze so unlike the weather he grew up with caressed his face, creating an ambience that him relaxing. His heartbeat slowed down and all that he could think about was Jackson. The familiar concentrated look appeared on his handsome face, the peaceful look that always made him look... untouchable. Not even to someone like Bryan. Especially to someone like Bryan.

The first few notes that strung along to create a melody echoed into the sky. What he didn't expect was Jackson's soft voice to hum along. It was a sad song, he realised. It tugged his heart, piercing through his senses and creating a home amongst his thoughts. And then... he realised that Jackson was looking— lonely.

Desperately lonely. Like he had been every time Bryan stared at him.

The image of the woman and him crossed in his mind and he briefly closed his eyes, hanging his head. Rubbing the back of his neck, he took in a deep breath.

"What?" Jackson said, breaking through what had been a beautiful, heart-wrenching song.

Snapping his eyes open, he looked at the guitarist, shaking his head. Suddenly, he didn't want to be here. But when those eyebrows furrowed and a frown was crossing on the beautiful face, Bryan stayed put.

Desperate to make things right again. To remove that look from his face.

To make him smile again.

"It's beautiful," Bryan said, throat clogging up from the emotions he was experiencing, especially the sudden onslaught of warmth when Jackson's shoulders relaxed. "And sad."

Jackson hummed, looking back at his guitar before he plucked a few more notes. "Sad, huh?"

"Heart-wrenchingly so," Bryan said, his voice so low that it came out as a whisper.

Jackson graced him with his attention once more and for a second, the shorter man thought he saw a shadow of loneliness, one that Bryan could relate to so much, pass his face. And then it was gone, replaced by the stoic blankness that he had begun to realise hid a lot of Jackson's true self.

"I see," the guitarist said, whispering as well. "I guess that makes sense."

Bryan blinked. "What do you mean?"

Jackson sighed, leaning his back against the edge of the bench, tilting his head to look at the sky. "It makes sense. After all, it's my escape from heartbreak."

Bryan's heart stuttered to a stop for a millisecond. And because he was an idiot, he said, "Is it because of the girl I saw you with last night?"

Jackson looked at him, sitting up straighter. "What?" Before Bryan could correct himself, the guitarist ran his fingers through his hair, his undercut showing when he combed the grey strands backwards. "So, I wasn't imagining you there."

"What?" His heart skipped a beat at that. What did Jackson mean?

The guitarist remained quiet for a few seconds before he sighed. "Yeah," he said, plucking a grass from the ground. "She's the reason why."

Bryan didn't know why Jackson was telling him this. But he didn't question it. Not when the look of loneliness settled back on the guitarist's face again. At the end, all he could say was, "I'm sorry. That you had to experience heartbreak, I mean."

Jackson hummed. "Yeah, me too."

┏ 𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝙼𝙴𝙻𝙾𝙳𝚈 𝟷𝟿 ┐