Sparks and a Girl (Rewritten to publish)

15. Sharing Playlists

Cass suddenly slapped her palm on the monitor by the bed, then the room's television burst to life, yodelling Lewis Capaldi's 'Leaving my love Behind'. Jeisa felt like she'd finally slammed into that brick wall she'd been speeding towards. Her mind raced, putting together all those small pieces she'd missed out on. In the maelstrom of thoughts, one settled down as the final puzzle piece: there was no other way Cass could have sparked her awake after she died on that forest floor.

As they stared each other down, the only sound was Lewis' Capaldi's crooning voice.

"...I was just wondering, could you tell me is it all a waste of time? Are you leaving my love behind? Baby, say the word and let me know..."

Without saying a word, Jeisa walked to the nearest wall socket and let her nanofiber tendrils sink into it and finding Cass'. The act was a lot more intimate that Jeisa had been ready for, and she struggled to keep her composure. She pulled her focus to the television, cutting off Cass' song choice and playing 'Broken Strings' by James Morrison.

"...you can't play on broken strings. You can't feel anything that your heart don't want to feel. I can't tell you something that ain't real..." was as far as the song went before Cass switched it up again.

Gracie Abrams. 'I miss you, I'm sorry'.

Jeisa had to admit, that was a good follow up.

"...You said 'forever', in the end I fought it. Please be honest, are we better for it?..." Gracie sang.

Jeisa couldn't let the words pull her in, no matter how much she wanted it to. She played her Ace in the hole. Her winning hand. One Republic. 'Apologize'.

"...You tell me that you need me, then you go and cut me down. But wait. You tell me that you're sorry, didn't think I'd turn around and say, 'It's too late to apologize'..." the words hit with the force of a tsunami.

There was no way Cass could beat that!

And then she did.

"...I'm alone in my head, looking for love in a stranger's bed, but I don't think I'll find it because only you can fill this empty space."

The ultimate trump card.

James Arthur. 'Empty Space'.

Damn.

Cass was good.

Jeisa pulled her hand from the socket and let the song play to its end, the words reverberating around and through her. The song ended and Cass pulled her hand from the monitor, resting it on her lap. They stayed in silence for a moment.

"I liked Felton in the video." Jeisa finally said.

"Yeah. He's great in pretty much every role he plays." Cass said with a smile.

"Maybe we should talk? Like, have a normal conversation?" Jeisa said, giving a smile of her own.

Cass chuckled. "Aww. That won't be nearly as fun. Not even close to being as fun as hijacking all of Wraith Hamlet's radio frequencies to stream an 'I hate you, but still miss you' playlist."

Jeisa chuckled and felt her face flush.

"I thought it was sweet." Cass said. Then she pointed at the television. "What would have been your next pick?"

Jeisa thought about it for a while. "In the end."

"Linkin Park. Solid choice." Cass nodded. "That would have been hard to beat."

"Hard? More like impossible." Jeisa asserted.

"Nah. I'd have just gone completely left field." Cass said with a shrug. "Something absolutely inappropriate and totally irreverent. Something like... 'Shoop', Salt n Pepa."