MELODY

MELODY 23

 ┏ 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚒𝚝┐

Bryan stood next to Jackson, watching as Starstriker moved around the stage to set up their instruments. He kept glancing at his phone in case Sasha texted him, but to his dismay, she hadn't. A sigh escaped his lips, acutely aware that the lead guitarist of MELODY was nonchalantly fiddling with his phone.

The brief encounter between Kim and him was tense. Tense and particularly awkward for Brian to witness.

He wondered if those two had prior connections. What had happened between them? While the curiosity burned in him, he didn't think he had any right to ask. Still, whatever that had happened, he wished to never be in between them again. That was uncomfortable.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he shoved his phone into his hoodie pockets.

"She's still not here?" Jackson asked from next to him, startling him out of his thoughts.

He shook his head. "She's stuck in traffic still, I think."

"Great." Jackson sounded displeased, his voice flat as he stood straighter.

Bryan frowned before he turned his gaze at the taller man. "You can go back to your band, you know. Aren't you guys in the middle of practise?"

Jackson remained quiet for a few seconds before he shrugged, stashing his phone into his jean's back pockets. "They can wait."

There wasn't anymore explanation for why he chose to stay with Bryan. The shorter male frowned deeper, his heart skipping a beat when Jackson's eyes landed on him. Telling his feelings to behave when they were close to each other wasn't working. Breaking the eye-contact, he looked back at the stage, taking in a deep breath.

Kim adjusted the microphone on the stand before he said, "Hey, Bryan. Can you come here a sec?"

Moving to the edge of the stage, he craned his neck up to look at the singer, pausing when Kim crouched down to look at him at eye-level. Their faces ended up close and Brian had to pull away, nervousness bubbling at the pit of his stomach at the way those eyes sparkled in what seemed like mirth.

"The microphone volume is a bit too soft, I feel like," Kim said. "If you could adjust it now, that would be great."

The thing was, he didn't know how to adjust the volumes. The last time he did the sound check, Adam was with him and had helped him out on the most technical things. He recalled of a speaker-like device located to one side of the stage where multiple cords were attached to it, but what was he supposed to do with that? Giving the singer a brief nod, he tossed an assuring smile and got up the stage. He moved to where the device was and stared at the knobs and buttons. There were a few green dots on the black board and none of the words on it made sense.

Which one was it attached to the main microphone?

"That's the one for the main mic." Jackson's voice was close to his ear, causing him to snap his head at the man who suddenly appeared next to him.

His heart lurched in his chest as he immediately took a step back. The guitarist didn't seem to notice the internal shock Bryan was going through as he pushed a certain knob upwards. It was then Kim's voice became louder, echoing from the speakers right next to them. Cringing at the loudness, his cheeks heated up at the lack of knowledge of these things.

"Thanks," Bryan whispered.

Jackson stood straighter, turning his head to meet his eyes. A small smile played on those lips, surprisingly making the taller man look younger... far more beautiful than he had any right to be. Bryan's breath hitched in his throat as he stared at his face, mesmerised once more, recalling of the first time he had seen him. And how his entire world had stopped spinning with his appearance.

It was then he spotted Sasha rushing up the stage from his peripheral vision, breaking him away from his reverie.

Cheeks becoming hotter, he tore his eyes away from Jackson's face. He smiled at Sasha when she stood in front of him, panting slightly as her wide eyes scanned the stage.

"Is everything alright?" she said.

"Everything's alright," Bryan confirmed with her, smiling when she sighed in relief.

She patted her chest. "I rushed as fast as I could. Thanks, Bryan. I can take over now."

"Can you manage alone?" Bryan asked.

"Adam'll be here in half an hour," she said with a wave of her hand. She tossed him a smile before she glanced at Jackson. Her eyebrows furrowed, her smile dimming a little. "What're you doing here, Jackson?"

The taller man simply shrugged. "Nothing."

Bryan snapped his attention at the guitarist, throat drying as confusion accompanied his fluster. When Sasha gave him a look, he could only shrug as well. Because he had no idea what Jackson was doing accompanying him either.

And he didn't want to look too into his actions. Not when he could easily be disappointed.

Deciding to leave the band to Sasha, he waved at them, earning Kim's grin in the process. A little uncomfortable at that, he got down the stage, shoving his hands in his hoodie pockets as he contemplated on heading straight back to the 'headquarters'.

"Where're you heading?" Jackson asked just as they were about to part ways.

Bryan stopped moving, gesturing at the building where he was heading, a little nervous. "To the Events & Festival Team's headquarters. Well, they call it a headquarter, but it's just a place to do meetings and stuff."

Jackson looked at where he was pointing before he said, "There?"

The shorter male nodded. The way Jackson was eyeing the building, it almost seemed like he was curious. But that couldn't be it, right? Bryan pondered for a second on what he should do before he gathered courage to speak his thoughts out. If Jackson hadn't been curious, Bryan could end his curiosity and get on with his day.

"Do you want to come by?" Bryan said, face heating up when those beautiful dark eyes bored into his.

The shorter man thought for a second that the guitarist would reject it. Would leave him alone without an answer like he liked to do and walk away. Instead, Jackson did the very last thing he thought he would do.

"Sure." Without waiting for Bryan to reply, he walked past him, heading straight to the building.

Standing there, he froze at what had happened. His heart skyrocketed in his chest as his face continued to heat up. His ears burned slightly as he pressed both of his hands against each cheek. Tempted, he pinched his skin, hissing in slight pain. Alright, so this wasn't a dream. When he realised Jackson had almost reached the building's entrance, he quickly forced his body to move to catch up with him.

Jackson had been acting weird today.

And he wasn't sure what to make of it. 

┏ 𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝙼𝙴𝙻𝙾𝙳𝚈 𝟸𝟹┐