THE JOCK JUST WANTS THE NERD [2]

20

||ETHAN||

I took a deep breath as I looked at the screen, tuning myself into the mood of the song. As the intro of the song played it piano, I snuck a quick glance at Jackson who was watching intently. I found it charming that he wants to listen to me; might as well give him a show.

"What would I do without your smart mouth? Drawing me in, and you kicking me out You've got my head spinning, No kidding, I can't pin you down..."

For me, singing is another one of my favorite passions. I remember that my mother would sing a dreamy melody to me to help me sleep when I was young. My parents encouraged my talent for it, and so I stuck with it, and my friends would compliment me as well. I don't know why, but I felt a bit relaxed but also oddly happy to be performing for Jackson. It's almost as if I'm serenading for him. I went a little off as I let out a small chuckle at the silly idea.

"The world is beating you down, I'm around through every mood You're my downfall, you're my muse My worst distraction, my rhythm, and blues..."

My voice echoed through the speakers, though blended nicely and soothing. I began pouring my emotions in as well as I neared the ending of the song.

"Even when I lose I'm winning 'Cause I give you all of me And you give me all of you I give you all of me And you give me all of you."

As I breathed out calmly, seeing that I barely scored with a 98 as it was displayed the screen. Not that it mattered, I had fun. Turning to Jackson, he looked amazed, stunned, and all the other sorts of emotions to describe how surprised he was. His mouth was even a little ajar, "you're an angel..." he said in quite the mesmerized tone.

Jokingly or not, I couldn't help but blush at his compliment, "heh, thank you," I smiled back at him. With a blink, my eyes wandered down to the songbook laid on his lap. Looking back up to him, I gave a little tap to his arm, "you should give it a try," I suggested.

He looks at me with a pout, "I-I'm not good at singing," his shoulders lowered with his frown.

"It's okay. I'm sure my ears will be fine, let's just not give a single care about anything that makes us embarrassed," I stared at him. His eyes sparkled, lashes fluttered as he blinked. Though, I was so in deep at helping him build the confidence to sing, that I hadn't noticed that I had placed my hand over his that was between us, "oh, sorry," I apologized.

"N-no, don't be, it's fine," his face looked like he was burning from the inside.

"Are you hot? There might be a thermostat around here somewhere," I tilted my head in concern.

He shook his head, "I'm fine, no need to worry," he laughed it off. Seeing as he appears to really be okay, I let him be. Apparently, he didn't give the list a check so we thought of looking for something to sing together to ease him. We found a possible duet as we held out mics as the lyrics began filling the monitor.

From what I've observed, Jackson has potential. He has a nice deep voice, no signs of any voice crack. A little off-key at certain points, but other than that, he can actually sing pretty well than what his low confidence is characterizing himself as. After a few more songs, he was starting to loosen up. I'm glad that he isn't being hesitant anymore, and I along wasn't taking it as seriously too. We both sang our hearts out, also almost screaming as if we were in a rock band. Hopefully, none of the other people in the facility are bothered by our rowdiness.

As time flew by, we manage to burn through our remaining minutes and the tv display showed a "time's up," reminding us of our expiration. Jackson turns to me, "I'm beat, my throat's a bit sore," he chuckles while rubbing his neck.

"Same here," I grinned.

Jackson pulls out his phone to look at the time, "oh what? It's already 8:39," he says in surprise. He walks over to the door and opens it, holding it for me. Smiling, I gave him a nod and exited with him trailing behind. We both got out and the night's breeze cools us down. I stretched myself a bit, "I had a lot of fun!" I say happily.

"I'm glad you did," Jackson gave a relieved smirk. A sudden rumble groaned out, though it seemed to be his stomach, "sorry," he says.

"Wanna get a snack?" I said.

"Sure," he says, and we both headed towards his car. I was walking at a normal pace, and it was a bit unexpected when Jackson jogged a bit faster to open the door for me. Looking at me with a delighted expression, I thanked him as I entered the passenger seat. He's so caring.

Jackson drove as around the city. I barely get to enjoy the night like this. Usually, it's with my Dad or when Noah treats us out; but now, it's with Jackson. There's really something about him; he seems to really act nice and more open to me now. It would have been good if I interacted with him back then during high school. At least we get to make up for our lost time now.

He's actually a sweet and decent guy.