MELODY

MELODY 32

┏ 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚋𝚎 𝚊 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚎 ┐

Bryan had to give Adam some kind of a head's up, just in case everything went south. He simply warned that MELODY would be at the bar when he suggested for a drink. Adam had tossed a smirk, almost as if he was unaffected by the request. But Bryan knew better. He was a bundle of nervousness as they walked into the bar, the anxiousness rescinding a tad when he noted that there wasn't much of a crowd. His eyes immediately found the band sitting at one corner of the room. Visibly, Adam tensed from beside him as they walked up to the table.

"Yo," Francis said, sitting on a cushioned, long chair, one leg against his chest as he had a hand wrapped around a drink. "Jackson mentioned you guys were coming."

Speaking of the man, the guitarist was sitting next to the bass player, sipping a glass of beer. He tossed a smirk at Bryan when their eyes met. Flustered under his gaze, Bryan narrowed his gaze at the taller man. Jackson didn't hesitate to nudge the person sitting next to him; coincidently the very person they were here for. Tay.

"Move," Jackson said.

Tay huffed a breath, rolling his eyes as he got up to sit on a chair right next to the couch. Jackson gestured at the empty seat at them both. Adam was quiet as they took a seat; Bryan picking the spot next to the guitarist.

"Do you want a drink?" Jackson said, voice quiet as he glanced at him.

"Not really," Bryan said, smiling when he was handed a glass of water.

"Heard about the competition," Adam said, his voice breaking through the brief silence that had fallen on the group. He leaned forward to grab a drink. "The prize will be good for you."

"Being able to tour with Fright would be a dream come true," a man with green hair spoke, his piercings on his lips caught Brian's attention. "Imagine rubbing that on Starstriker's face."

A round of laughter accompanied that. "Fuck yeah," Adam said. "Heard rumours y'all have new songs planned for a mini album. That you gonna use one of that for the competition."

"Rumours?" the green-haired man said, narrowing his gaze before he snorted, tossing a shot into his mouth. "Tay told you."

Almost as if the mention of his name could spark life in the lead singer, Tay slammed his beer on the table, rattling the contents on the table. "I don't snitch, man. Fuck off."

"No one said you snitched," Francis said, his face a careful mask of blankness that reminded Bryan of Jackson's face time to time. "We're just saying you don't shut up about shit when you're close to someone."

"What the hell does that mean?" Tay said, his face turning red as a frown crossed his lips.

"He didn't tell me anything." Adam cut in without missing a beat, shrugging. "I heard it from my other band friends. Tay's not the only lead singer I hang out with, man."

Bryan could detect the slight malice in those words. He was tempted to pat Adam's back and let him know that his tone wasn't matching with the relaxed posture of his. Though, he refrained. It was not his battle and that was why Bryan wanted him to meet with Tay. It was clear their friendship strained beyond what Bryan had originally assumed.

"Yeah, we're planning on using one of the songs from our new album," Jackson said, his voice soothed the tendrils of anxiety building within him. "We're working on two things at once at the moment. If we win, that'll be a good rapport for us." He then added a second later after a sip of his drink, "We wanted to go national before we graduate, anyway. This would be a good stepping stone."

"We will win," Tay said, the redness in his face hadn't dimmed but there was less anger in those eyes. "We haven't lost shit yet."

Jackson snorted under his breath. "At this rate, we might."

A few seconds of silence echoed before the green-haired man cleared his throat, standing up. "I'm heading out for a smoke," he said. "Amber's gonna come around after cheerleading practise. If she gets here before I do, let her know I'm at the back."

"You can smoke here, Justin," Tay said.

"Nah," Justin said, tossing a look at the group. "I'mma catch fresh air too."

The irony in his statement had Bryan almost wanting to point out that smoking was the exact opposite of catching fresh air. Almost. He glanced at Jackson, who simply rolled his eyes as he went back to drinking his beer.

"Fuck, I want a smoke too," Jackson whispered from next to him.

Bryan didn't hesitate to nudge him then, earning a wince from the taller man. "You're going to die quicker with that habit."

The guitarist looked at him before he went back to drinking, quietly. When he turned back to look at the group, he found that he was under their sudden attention.

"What?" Bryan asked, frowning.

"I've been meaning to ask," Tay said as he hunched forward. "You two together or something?"

Jackson tensed from next to him and he followed suit in that reaction. Before he could open his mouth, the taller man simply said, "No. We're friends."

Bryan supposed that was true. They weren't together and it was clear from the look given to him by his new friend when he glanced at him that this wasn't about them. He trusted Jackson to know what he was saying. Adam simply raised his eyebrows.

"Right," Tay said. "Still didn't straight shit out then."

"Don't clump me with you," Jackson said, his voice tad lower.

Tay frowned, sitting straighter. "What the hell does that supposed to mean?" It was then he glanced around the table. "In fact, what the hell are y'all's problem with me? You guys haven't stopped criticising me for everything since we got here."

It was clear that the situation was going to escalate. Bryan didn't intervene though. He still didn't think it was his place and he didn't want any trouble.

"I'm going to come out and say it," Francis said. "Since you and Adam decided to butt heads over a girl, our performance as a band have been going down the drain. I'm here for the music, not to watch soap opera with moping characters. Grow some balls and talk to each other before the next practise so I don't have to waste my time at our lousy practise, 'kay?"

With that said, Francis slammed his share of money on the table and stood up. It was then Jackson nudged his arm, standing up as well. When he looked at the taller man, he was startled when he was pulled to his feet. Adam frowned, uncomfortableness clear in his body language.

"Is this a fucking intervention?" Tay asked, disbelief in his voice. "We're not school children, the fuck?"

"Then stop acting like one," Jackson said as he finished his beer and placed it on the table. "We have a competition to win and a tour to get to by the end of this year. If we played like shit, we're going to do neither."

Before Bryan could said anything, Jackson had grabbed his wrist and pulled him away from the table. Adam simply had his head bowed and the last thing he heard as he was dragged away was him uttering Tay's name.

As they exited the bar, he sighed at the cold air brushing against his face, the suffocating atmosphere from inside dying. Bryan watched the guitarist, the touch on his wrist relenting, turning to look at him.

"Come on, I'm craving for some instant noodles," Jackson said as he walked away from the shorter man, heading down to the convenience store that was no doubt located just around the corner of this street.

He turned his attention at the bar one last time before he took in a deep breath and followed the taller man, hoping that Adam and Tay would work things out before tomorrow.

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