𝘎 𝘙 𝘌 𝘠
chapter twelve
"I still don't understand why you guys didn't just tell me we were gonna go to a bar," Harley playfully rolled her eyes as she put her purse down onto the round table, seating herself in between Jules and Zara.
Jules chuckled and sighed softly, "Because you would've backed out by saying you'd have an essay to finish or some washing to do, Mrs. Know-It-All."
Zara chimed in with a laugh, agreeing with what the brunette had said, "We always lure you in with a mint tea, face masks and pj's."
"And we end up shitfaced every single time," Harley laughed and thanked the waitress for their cocktails. The small black straw was swirled around in her mojito as the two other girls made small conversation about a shopping appointment.
Harley looked around the smaller cafe, noticing there were only a few tables taken. A small stage was in the center of the room, a couple of microphone stands placed onto the black wood.
"Hey, are they playing live music tonight?" Harley asked, taking her glass off the table to take a sip before eyeing the girls. "That's nice."
"Yeah!" Zara chuckled after she broke gazes with Jules, both of the girls acting suspicious as hell. "I think you'll like it."
Harley released a sigh, "Please don't tell me you guys secretly signed me up for karaoke."
Both of the girls chuckled and shook their heads, but the grin that formed on their faces was still inevitable. Harley decided to drop it for now, just because she knew none of them were going to talk about whatever they had planned.
"And then he just went face first, kissing the concrete," Zara cried from laughing as she talked about how Corbyn tried to skateboard for the first time, "He's lucky he doesn't have any scars left from that."
Harley laughed and shook her head, fishing out a few chips to dip them into the salsa sauce straight after. Her head shot up when she heard a loud screech coming from a microphone, indicating someone must've turned it on when she wasn't paying attention.
Her eyes widened once she realized that all of her male best friends were currently lining up to sit on bar stools behind their microphones, Jonah sitting behind a keyboard as well. It took Harley some time to realize that her boyfriend was actually seated in the middle, nervously playing with the rings on his fingers while biting away on his lips.
"What is going on?" Harley asked Jules, who was currently Snapchatting the whole thing. "Why didn't you guys tell me the boys were going to be here too?"
"Shhh!" Zara shushed her, waving it off, "Just sit back and enjoy the show."
Harley was at a loss for words, dumbfounded as to why she was sitting in a cafe with her boyfriend only sitting a few meters away from her and her friends, ready to perform something. It was uncommon to see Jack in this state, considering he used to have severe anxiety attacks when he was younger and would never be comfortable in such a crowd.
There weren't that many people, but Harley knew that numbers never mattered - Jack was always anxious and nervous and that's also why he never really performed for anyone besides Harley while they were in their bedroom and he was finishing songs she thought she'd never hear.
Jack cleared his throat from where he was seated in between Corbyn and Jonah. "Hi everyone," He spoke up, his voice slightly stumbling because of the nerves. "My name is Jack and these are my best friends," He announced, causing the crowd to cheer and clap for them before they even started.
Harley curiously sat up straight because she found this entertaining, seeing how Jack slowly became more of his goofy self whilst introducing himself and the boys to the crowd.
"So uh- a couple of months back I did something that hurt someone I really love," Jack cleared his throat once again, sitting up straight onto the bar stool. "She's in the crowd as we speak, because this beautiful woman decided she loved and cared enough to forgive my stupid mistake. And I'm thankful for that. I'm thankful for you, Harley."
The tears welled up in Harley's eyes while a smile grew on her face. When Jack looked at her from the stage she felt nothing but love when he smiled at her and sent her a quick wink. "This is a song I wrote when I was in my darkest days, and I hope you think I write great music when I'm in misery."
The crowd laughed at his joke, and when Jonah started playing the piano and his fingers hit the keys, he started singing as well. "I can't even hide it, I haven't stopped thinkin' bout your lips, your lips."
Jules cheered loudly as the crowd interrupted in an applause, endearing how Jonah sounded so confident and into place while performing. "I'm losing my mind, it's been too long, I'm missin' your kiss, your kiss."
All too soon, the crowd was wowed by Corbyn taking over, "You, you've been there through it all, you answered all my calls. You, I can't believe I let you go."
Zara watched the performance with her mouth agape, and it seemed as if this was the first time she ever heard Corbyn sing. Harley chuckled and wrapped an arm around the stunned girl, only to be stunned herself when Jack started the chorus.
"Tears and slamming doors, I'm falling down on the floor," His voice hoarse but beautiful, a tint of anxiety running through it, "Begging, begging please. You don't want me no more, I've never hurt like this before. I'm begging, begging please."
Harley had been gobsmacked for what seemed like the hundredth time tonight, and she could not believe her ears and eyes. Never in a million years she thought she'd see Jack perform with a song he especially made for her when he was at his lowest.
"Now every day it rains, and I'm the one to blame. Baby, I walked away when you came to stay. Now everything's grey."
Harley felt a tear trickle down her cheek while she intently listened to the lyrics, the words bringing her back to the deepest point of their relationship. It had hurt her too, but she never really knew exactly how Jack felt. This song explained a lot, and it was a musical masterpiece itself, but to know Jack especially wrote this for Harley to hear made her even more emotional.
"I'm so so sorry, I know that's not enough but it's true, it's true. I can't believe that I thought I could ever live without you, without you." Daniel's part caused the shivers to run down Harley's spine. Not only because his voice was angelic and beautiful, but also because Harley remembered Jack once told her he'd never stop apologizing for what he did, and the song only justified that.
She snapped back into reality when Zach took over and sang the same part as Corbyn, only to look at Jack with a small and encouraging smile. Once Jack started the chorus once again, his eyes found Harley's lingering gaze and an immediate rush of confidence ran through him.
With some harmonies from Daniel, the guys lead themselves towards the last time of repeating the chorus all together. Harley was shook with all of them singing like this, because none of them had ever considered performing or even singing by itself besides Daniel.
The song came to an end and everyone in the crowd raised themselves to stand up from their seat, giving the guys a standing ovation. All three girls were the first ones up, cheering them on loudly as laughs and cries left their mouths.
It came to the point where Harley wasn't able to control her emotions and felt the need to speed walk up to Jack, who had made his way down from the stage together with the rest of the boys.
He noticed his girlfriend rushing towards him and opened his arms for her to walk into, engulfing her in the biggest hug ever. It caused both of them to chuckle, Harley's arms tightly wrapped around Jack's neck as they lightly swayed back and forth.
"If anyone has to be thankful, it's gotta be me Jack," She mumbled, lightly pulling back to peck him on the lips for a lingering kiss. "I fuckin' love you asshat, don't ever forget that please."
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IM BAAAACK WITH A LONG CHAPTER HEY HO HEHE
is anyone still reading this oopsies
expect a new update soon!! :)
ily stay safe and sexy !!
