Fight or Flight [Rooster x OC]

Chapter 2

"Don't Stop Believing!"

"No, Bohemian Rhapsody. Bohemian Rhapsody or nothing, Bradshaw."

"Free Biiiiird!"

Bradley grabbed the bottle of beer sitting on the bench beside him and took a swig while people lobbed more sloppy, slightly-drunk song suggestions at him. So far he had played mostly non-stop rock and roll, but he had gotten a break when the new guy, Bob, had been shoved onto the bench once he admitted to knowing "a couple tunes."

The glasses-sporting WSO had shyly played a few Ed Sheeran songs, and he wound up having an excellent voice. More than one person had been shocked. A few celebratory beers later, he had tried to play that overly popular song from that Disney movie about ice and reindeer and sisters. There had been a short-lived sing-a-long. After that was a small revolt staged by people who weren't into sing-a-longs, and that's when Bradley found himself getting shoved back to the piano since no one else was brave enough (or maybe dumb enough) to touch Penny's jukebox to plug it back in.

He let his fingers roam over the keys, playing a random tune while he considered their ideas. While a lot of them were fun, he wasn't confident he could well enough to keep the crowd happy. He was good at the piano but out of practice.

"If you're waiting for tips, I think you might be out of luck," Natasha said, leaning against the piano.

He tapped out a jazzy melody. "Only because I forgot a jar. Maybe I can borrow one from Penny."

"Good luck," Nat said, her tone sarcastic, "I think she's still deciding on how to punish you for touching the jukebox."

"Hey, it was for a good purpose."

"If that's what you're calling showing off these days."

Bradley grinned. "My callsign is Rooster..." And nah, he had thought it would be fun to play the piano and add a little extra liveliness to the bar. Plus, if Kate happened to wander in while he was playing—well, she had always liked it when he played the piano.

It had been sort of crazy seeing her on the beach that morning. He knew she liked going there when she was home with her parents, but he hadn't expected to find her there that early. Or really at all. He wasn't sure what was going on at the Kazanskys' house, but Kate seemed to think it was serious, maybe. Then again, there was always the chance her mom had just wanted everyone home for a while.

"You better play something or figure out the jukebox," Nat said, raising her eyebrows at him. "You're the one who started this."

Bob draped his arms over the back of the piano then dropped his chin onto the wood, a droopy smile on his face. He was about eight out of ten sheets to the wind. "I could sing something 'sides Frozen," he said, "I don't have to let it go. I can...not let it go." He giggled.

Nat arched an amused eyebrow. "Yeah? What would you sing?"

He shrugged and blushed. "Does everyone know Sweet Caroline?"

"That's going to be a lot of really loud singing. Basically yelling. Or screaming," Bradley said, "And I think you're already going to have a really terrible headache."

"Aw, no, really?"

Natasha patted Bob on the shoulder and looked at Bradley expectantly. "It's okay, Rooster's going to play something. Aren't you, Bradshaw?"

"Working on it," Bradley said. He quirked a smile and let a melody dance across the keys. A classic by Billy Joel from the late 80s, this one was almost as likely to get as much yell-singing as Sweet Caroline, at least from anyone who recognized it. The real trick would be remembering all the lyrics, which was the true feat.