MELODY

MELODY 26

┏ 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔 𝚜𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚜 ┐

Bryan had managed to stop Adam from drinking after an hour, watching him like a hawk as his best friend sipped on water. They remained sat next to each other, the discussion of Tay and him left hanging in the air with the briefest hint that Bryan had been right about them. At least, he had been right about Adam's feelings towards Tay.

"Yo, Adam, thought it was you," a man with blond hair moved towards them, breaking the silence; a few people following him.

He looked familiar with his tan skin and sparkling brown eyes, but Bryan wasn't sure where he had seen him. It was only when Kim appeared from behind the man, patting the his shoulder that everything clicked. Starstriker. They were here.

Adam merely lifted his glass of water. "Going to let loose tonight?" After a second, he jutted his chin at the empty seats surrounding them. "If you haven't gotten a table yet, you can hang out here."

"Don't mind if I do," the blond-haired man said, not even pausing in his movement as he took a seat.

"You're fucking shameless," Kim said, though taking up the offer and sitting next to him, followed by three other people. Those dark eyes landed on Bryan and the taller man's demeanour changed. A grin slotted on his face before he said, "Bryan, it's good to see you."

"You too," Bryan said, a tad uncomfortable under his gaze.

Adam tossed an arm across his shoulder and brought him close to his chest like he usually did. And this time, he welcomed it. It made him feel less weirded out at the attention from Kim. Adam tightened his grip on him as if he had read his mind, making him smile. "What's the celebration?" his best friend asked.

"Nothing," Kim said, his eyes finally leaving Brian to land on Adam. "Just want to drown our stress."

"Shows back to back," the blond-haired man said. "Needed a break."

"Look at you complaining," Adam said. "Already growing as popular as MELODY."

At the mention of the band, Jackson's face flashed in Bryan's mind, causing him to swallow the rest of his water. Kim's grin dimmed into an unamused look.

"We're close to dethroning them," Kim said. "Would do well to kick down their egos."

"Especially Jackson's?" the blond-haired man said, still not even offering his name.

Kim stiffened. "Why do you have to bring up that bastard's name?"

Bryan blinked at the words, trying to analyse the tenseness in the tone. Curiosity bubbled in him as he recalled how Jackson had reacted to Kim just a few days ago. They both disliked each other, that had been obvious. But for the sake of confirming, he leaned forward a little, the arm on his shoulder slackening. "You don't like Jackson."

Kim snapped his gaze on him and immediately, Bryan regretted ever speaking up. Kim leaned forward as well, hunching his back as he placed his arms on his knees. Staring into his eyes, almost too directly for his liking, the man smirked.

"No and he doesn't like me," Kim said. "But I guess I can't blame that asshole. Not when the girl he liked chose me over him."

Bryan's heart clenched in his chest at that.

"Yeah, until she realised what an asshole you were and left you," the blond-haired man said, earning snickers from the rest of the people around them.

"Leah deserved better," Adam said, slurring a little. "You don't know love, Kim."

Kim leaned back, his lips thinning. "And you do? You're one of the worst playboys out there. How many people have you fucked and left?"

Adam winced at that, tossing a glare at the other man. "Fucking shut up."

Uneasy at the exchange and the slight sizzle in the air from the building tension, he grasped Adam's arm. Meeting his best friend's eyes, he shook his head subtly. Adam sighed before he leaned his head on his shoulder, continuing to drink his water.

"I'm not a playboy anymore anyway," Adam said. "Tried to be good and got my heart broken."

Kim remained quiet for a few seconds before he said, "Sorry, I went too far."

Bryan released a quiet breath as the conversation moved onto ordering drinks and getting sloshed for the night. His mind though was stuck on what he had heard. Leah, he remembered the name. It was the name that Jackson had uttered once. A woman's face flashed into his mind as he recalled of a post. Unable to hold back the curiosity, he pulled out his phone to open the social media application, tapping into Jackson's profile and scrolling through the pictures before he found the one he had seen.

The one with her showing off her bracelet. 

When he clicked on the name tagged on the woman, his breath hitched in his throat as his suspicions for the second time tonight had been confirmed.

The woman who Jackson had kissed, the woman who had drunk himself over. That woman's name was Leah.

"...After all, it's my escape from heartbreak." Jackson had said that to him when he had shown him the new song he was working on on that rooftop.

Biting his inner cheek, he wondered briefly if Jackson had moved on from her or if he was still holding onto her like she was his lifeline. He glanced at Adam. Like how Adam was at the moment.

He patted his friend's shoulder. "I think we should head back."

"Yeah," Adam whispered, already looking slightly out of it.

"Do you need a ride back?" Kim asked, catching his attention.

Immediately, he shook his head. Tossing an apologetic but thankful smile, he said, "My dorm's not too far from here. I can have him crash at my place."

Kim searched his face before he nodded, allowing Bryan to manhandle Adam until the man had an arm across his shoulder and one of Bryan's arm around his waist.

The trip back to his dorm room had been a little tiring but he was proud of himself when he managed to toss his best friend on his bed, having finally reached to his place in one piece. Adam sighed as he lay on his back, looking at the ceiling. Quietly, the dark eyes met his and they remained staring at each other. Bryan raised his eyebrows when his best friend slowly sat up, body hunching forward.

"Heartbreak sucks," he whispered.

Bryan looked away, heart clenching tight at the broken tone in his voice. He sat down next to Adam. "Yeah," he said. "It does."

Adam leaned forward and pressed his forehead against his shoulder. Bryan was transported back when they were in high school. Whenever his friend got sad, all he needed was a shoulder to lay his head on. Bryan often wondered if that was enough, but he never questioned it when Adam sought him out for it. If it helped, he was more than happy to provide the safe space for his best friend. He let the weight on him settle his thoughts for the night. As Jackson's face flashed into his mind, he hoped Adam and him both would heal from this pain. 

┏ 𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝙼𝙴𝙻𝙾𝙳𝚈 𝟸𝟼 ┐