MELODY

MELODY 04

┏ 𝚒𝚝 𝚒𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚊𝚗 𝚘𝚋𝚜𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗... 𝚑𝚎'𝚜 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 ┐

The meeting took too long for his liking. They ran in circles about how else they were supposed to gather publicity at the off chance Jackson rejected the idea. It didn't make sense why the guitarist would reject to promote the festival. After all, they were going to be performing in it, weren't they?

By the time they came to a conclusion, it was past five in the evening. The muscles in his neck ached as he rolled his head, his hand rubbing a particular spot. Hissing under his breath, he closed his laptop. Amelia shoved her own laptop into her case, standing up with a yawn. She patted his shoulder, catching his attention.

"Thanks for taking over being our secretary for a bit," she said. "I can't handle the finances and be a secretary at the same time."

His heart thumped in sympathy. Smiling at her, he shook his head and groaned a little at a certain crack in his neck. "No problem," he said, waving her off when she giggled. With a slap on his back, she gathered her stuff and tossed him a smile back.

"Well, that was productive," Adam said, clapping his hands together twice.

Bryan sighed, standing up as he stuffed his device into his bag as well, nodding. "Sure. And man, now you owe me two meals. That was mean of you to spring that offer up in front of everybody."

His best friend chuckled, moving around the table to stand next to him. He tossed an arm across his shoulders and dragged the shorter man close to his chest. Bryan tried to twist out of his touch out of pettiness but his best friend hooked his free hand with the one hanging off his shoulder, holding him tight.

"Come on," Adam said, grinning when Brian glared at him. "I promised, didn't I?"

He had half a mind to tell him otherwise but he couldn't change things now if he wanted to. When he had promised to help the team by being their temporary secretary, he had meant it. He just wished he had the time to think about it. Adam snorted from next to him before he let him go and slapped his arm.

"What?" Bryan said, his tone a bit petulant as he hauled his bag over his shoulder.

"Come on, let's get the first meal sorted, yeah?" Adam said, winking when Bryan stared at his face for a second. "How about we go to that shop you like so much? The Korean restaurant."

His stomach grumbled at the thought. He mouthed 'fuck you' at his friend, earning a boisterous laughter back. "Lead the way," Bryan said, gesturing with his hand.

When they exited the building, the sky had shed its blue coat, welcoming the yellow-orange hue. Noting that there was not a single grey cloud, he sighed in relief. At least he could hang his clothes out now and leave it to dry until he went to bed.

"So," Adam said, tapping his shoulder. "MELODY."

Holding back a groan, he tightened his grip on his bag and stared at him with the most unamused look on his face. "What about them?"

Adam's big, round eyes weren't deterring him from the fact that he was suspicious of where this conversation was going. His best friend nudged his shoulder when he refused to continue the line of conversation.

"You don't listen to rock bands," the taller man said, no longer trying to be subtle. "You said they hurt your ears."

"That's the one with the screaming," Bryan said, smiling when Adam rolled of his eyes. "I don't listen to rock music. But..."

Rock music had never been his favourite, that was true. He always preferred calming music than guitars. But now he was forced to swallow that confession, especially when it was Jackson handling a tune and making his heart beat faster than it had ever done.

And he didn't know what to do about this revelation.

He wasn't sure how to phrase it so his friend could understand it. Searching for the right words, he opened and closed his mouth a few times. What was he supposed to say, really? That he had been up all night listening to MELODY while he scrolled through Jackson Star's social media? Cataloging his smiles and laughter, the way his eyes sparkled when he was happy?

It sounded creepy. Especially for someone like him who never once expressed interest in anyone. Clearing his throat, he dropped his gaze on the dusty, greying pavement. Adam hummed under his breath, the silence between them being their companion until he gathered enough courage to speak.

"I don't know, something about them is just nice to listen to," Bryan said, eyes still glued to the squares neatly plastered on the concrete, creating shapes embedding into the walkway. "And MELODY was... is good. Their songs are good. And before I knew it, I listened to them all day." After a beat, he added, "Night."

Adam kept quiet for a while. And then he said, "His guitar skills are amazing. And he's a great lyricist."

When Bryan met his best friend's eyes, he saw something in them that made his stomach squeeze in slight panic. He shrugged, deciding that was the best answer. "I guess," he said, the lie clear in his words.

And if the pink-haired man detected it, he didn't point it out.

The face of Jackson Star floated into his mind and his treacherous heart lurched in his chest. Why was he feeling this way over a boy he had only seen through the screens and once in real life? And he didn't think he wanted to know why either. Burying the thought to a corner in his mind that he never wished to look at, he forced his shoulders to relax and look less nervous.

He could already feel the need to listen to MELODY again, especially the songs sung by Jackson. The lead guitarist with grey hair and dark eyes that had stopped him in his tracks.

Was this an obsession?

No.

No, it wasn't an obsession... he was just too enchanting.

Bryan just didn't understand why.

┏ 𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝙼𝙴𝙻𝙾𝙳𝚈 𝟶𝟺 ┐