MELODY

MELODY 13

┏ 𝚜𝚞𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚕𝚢, 𝚝𝚘𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚠 𝚌𝚊𝚗'𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚕𝚢 𝚎𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 ┐

Bryan sighed when the music ended, the cool night breeze being the only other companion besides Jackson and him. He glanced at the taller man, pulling his side of the earphone away from his ears. Fumbling with it between his fingers, he dropped his gaze at them, noting that it looked a little worn out with the whiteness of the wire darkening into grey. The lead guitarist shifted from beside him, catching his attention. But he didn't make any move to speak so Bryan let the silence stretch.

Keep the Distance remained a melody in his head. Jackson's voice continued to loop in his mind, playing the best parts of the song for the umpteenth time causing the edges of his lips to quirk upwards.

"You have a good voice," Bryan said, twirling the earphone between his thumb and forefinger, his cheeks heating up at what he had said. Perhaps the quiet had stretched his patience to thin after all.

The guitarist simply hummed, not replying. Bryan looked at him, handing the earphone piece back when Jackson shifted again to sit straighter, pulling the wire out of his hands. The taller man rolled the earphones around his phone before he placed it next to him. Bryan catalogued how he looked and was acutely aware that he didn't leave yet.

Slightly confused and... flustered at the fact he was still next to him, he cleared his throat.

"It's getting late," Bryan said, pointing to the night sky when Jackson turned his head to look at him.

The dark eyes remained staring at him impassively before the taller man snorted, moving to stand up. He grabbed his phone, before he said, "It's late for you too."

He stood up, shoving his hands in his hoodie pockets as he continued to look at Jackson. "Yeah, thought to get some fresh air after studying for midterms."

Jackson nodded. "Well," he said. 

And he waited for the guitarist to say something else but the man simply let the quiet to once again wash in. Once Jackson adjusted his guitar case over his shoulder again, he glanced at Bryan once more. They remained staring for a bit and for a second, the shorter man thought he would get at least a 'Good luck' out of him. But no such wishing came through when Jackson tossed him a wave and started to walk away from him.

 Watching him leave left him wanting to stop him. It was a weird sensation, not wanting to watch Jackson's retreating back. Almost as if he wanted to be by his side a little longer. His stomach clenched at that thought. 

Before he could hold himself back, he opened his mouth and blurted out, "I'll see you tomorrow."

The lead guitarist of MELODY halted in his steps, looking over his shoulders at Bryan. He raised an eyebrow, saying, "Tomorrow?"

With his heart skipping a beat, he told him, "Your band's going to do sound check for the festival tomorrow. You'll be there, I assume?"

Jackson stared at him for a few seconds, his eyebrows furrowing. Bryan realised quite quickly that the taller man loved to stare. And it had him feeling conscious of himself more than anything. Shifting his weight to his other foot, he gave Jackson an awkward smile, his heart now thundering against his chest. His ears burned.

"Right," Jackson said, his voice so quiet that Bryan wouldn't have heard it. Then he said something else, making him frown. 

"What?" Brian furrowed his eyebrows, noting that it was a different language because there was no way the English dictionary contained such ways to pronounce a word. "Did you say something?"

Jackson quirked one corner of his lips upwards, shaking his head. It was a clear sign he wasn't going to elaborate. Instead he said, "See you then." 

Tossing another wave at him, Bryan watched as his long strides carried him away from his sight. He sighed, a smile stretching on his lips a second later as he looked at the now empty bench.

He had shared music with Jackson Star. And it was nice.

Suddenly, tomorrow couldn't come quickly enough.

┏ 𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝙼𝙴𝙻𝙾𝙳𝚈 𝟷𝟹