A Bittersweet Love || The Music Freaks || Jailey

Chapter Three

The next morning, Jake walked into the school building to find the five other band members near the lockers, laughing about something.

Something pierced him in the heart, and he wasn't sure what. He wished he could be there too. He wished he was never friends with Drew and he had always been part of the club. He wished he could laugh as easily as them, be as happy in his friend group as they were.

His mind drifted towards his performance yesterday. He really did mess up, and now that he thought of it, maybe he was being a little bit harsh. Hailey deserved an apology.

He walked towards the group, and tapped Hailey's shoulder. She turned in surprise.

"Hey, uhm," Jake said. "Hailey, can I talk with you for a moment?"

"Oh... yeah, of course," Hailey dropped her gaze towards the floor, just how Jake had done yesterday.

The two turned the corner where there were less students.

"Look, I'm sorry about yesterday..." said Jake. "You were right, I was pretty nervous about Daisy being there, and I should've controlled my nerves. I'm sure I'll perform better today."

A moment passed before a brush of a smile crossed Hailey's face.

"Ah, well, thanks, Jake," she sighed. "But it isn't me you should be apologizing to. It's the whole club. They will all be impacted if you keep performing like that. Especially at the competition, Daisy will definitely be there."

"You're right," said Jake. He suddenly had a stroke of inspiration. "Hey! How about you try to help me perform better when Daisy's around!"

Hailey looked surprised. She clearly wasn't expecting that response.

"Wait - what?"

"You can pretend to be Daisy and I'll try to perform better. You can give me tips on how I can improve!" said Jake excitedly. Hailey's face told him she wasn't so sure.

"But... why me? I'm not even sure if I can act as Daisy..."

"Can we just try? I really want to do well in this competition - for you guys!" he grabbed both of her hands in his. "Please?"

Hailey looked down at their intertwined hands, and then into his eyes.

"A-Alright," she stuttered.

"Great! Can we meet in the music room after school?" Jake asked, letting go.

"Right, I'll be there," she straightened up and was about to go back when she turned and smiled at him. "Thanks, Jake," she said. "It means a lot that you care about this competition."

Before he could say anything, she had already turned the corner and disappeared. Jake could feel his heart beating faster, but he wasn't sure why.

++++

"Right, Jake, are you going to come to my house today? We're going to watch a movie," said Drew. Jake and his friends leaned against the lockers, planning what to do after school.

"Oh, uh... I actually have to meet Hailey in a few minutes, sorry," Jake replied, checking his watch.

"You mean that music freak?" Drew's eyes turned into narrowing slits. "I don't know what's happening, Jake. You've been spending more time with them than with us. I hope you're not turning into one of them."

"Of course not!" said Jake defensively.

"Then why -"

"I'll see you guys later, I have to meet with Hailey," said Jake quickly, and walked down the hallway to the direction of the music room.

"What's gotten into him?" Henry asked, staring after him.

++++

Hailey was already there when Jake arrived.

"So... you ready?" Hailey jumped off the table she was sitting on.

"Yep," said Jake, grabbing the microphone. "You think you can try and act like Daisy?"

"I'll... try," Hailey hesitated. She closed her eyes, and then opened them up again.

"Oh, hey, Jake!" her voice was suddenly higher, and she was staring right at Jake with a sort of puppy dog eye look. "I can't wait for your performance!"

The effect was immediate. Jake could feel a redness forming across his cheeks as he stared into Daisy - wait no. Hailey's eyes. The moment was broken when Hailey laughed.

"Well... that certainly worked," said Jake, still red. "Uh - you okay with doing that?"

"Yeah, it's actually a lot more fun than I expected," said Hailey. "Now that we figured it out, we need to help you get better around Daisy. I noticed that you almost dropped your microphone and..."

Time flew by, and it was only two hours later when the two realized what time it was.

"Wow, we definitely stayed here for too long," said Hailey, glancing at the clock.

"Yeah... but I think we did good!" Jake felt a sudden new stroke of confidence, and he straightened up. "Thanks a lot, Hailey!"

She smiled, and it was when Jake realized how he barely saw Hailey smiling. Most of the time when he was around her, he had been calling her a freak and laughing around her. But now, her smile seemed really pretty. It wasn't a cutesy smile that he saw on girls all the time, but a genuine, warm smile.

No! What are you thinking, Jake! You like Daisy, don't you? Hailey's just a friend.

Right?