|Hailey's POV|
*Flashback from 3 days ago*
"One, two, three, go!"
Why can't I breath
When I'm around you
And every time you leave
I don't know what to do
I don't want anybody else
And no matter what they say
You and me
We're meant to be anyways
So I don't need to say much
To get this through
So I'll just let my heart
Skip a heartbeat for you
"Oh my gosh, Hailey, that was amazing!" Milly squealed. "You are so good! We are definitely gonna win this competition!" I giggled at the 'what about me' look that Jake gave her.
"I was great too, right?" He tried. Milly blinked, confused, then smiled.
"You were okay too." She said, earning an offended look from Jake. I glanced towards Luke and Sean, who were both grinning and giving me a thumbs up, while Zander was nodding proudly.
We've come so far, I thought. Even if we don't win, I'll still be proud.
*Flashback over*
"Hi, guys..." I said quietly, hesitantly walking into the empty music room. The room felt... well, different without Jake. Milly, who walked in behind me, glanced to the side, avoiding her gaze from me.
"Hi, Hailey." She whispered, crossing her arms. I sat on a chair near Luke's drums, accepting Milly's hesitance. The rest of the group followed, Sean after Milly, and Zander and Luke arriving together, holding hands.
"So... should we... start?" I said, looking towards Luke and Zander. Luke was averting his gaze, same as Milly, and Zander was giving me a look of sympathy and guilt. They all slowly nodded, and then walked towards their various instruments. Zander placed his fingers into position onto the white keys of his piano.
"Three, two, one, g-" Zander started, almost immediately cut off by a female voice.
"Wait!" Milly shouted. "Guys, who are we kidding, we can't just go on like this and pretend everything's normal!" She looked me with a furious glare in her eyes, causing me to wince under her fury.
"Hailey, I don't get it!" She said, throwing her arms up. "What do you see in that... that as*hole?!" The guilt and fear bubbling in my stomach turned to anger in an instant, for absolutely no reason.
"What do I see in him?!" I cried. "I see a generous, amazing, kind person in him! He helped Luke and Zander get together, kept you from being banned from the music club and the contest, and offered to give his laptop to Sean after he lost it!" Milly's eyes widened a little, and then flushed with guilt. She looked down and let her crossed arms fall beside her. I sighed and blinked back the tears that rimmed my eyes, looking up to Sean, who looked like he wanted to say something.
"Guys? I- I need to say something." He sighed. "I've been thinking... maybe we should quit the competition." I blinked in utter shock, processing the words I had just heard.
"WHAT?!" Milly exploded, her eyes widening even more than they had before. "We can't- we just can't do that! We've practiced so much, we deserve this!"
Sean lowered his eyes and continued speaking.
"This feels wrong. It- it isn't right- I know I'm not the only one who thinks this..." Sean glanced at me, causing me to wince for the second time around. "Honestly... I think it's better to quit than to have to go through this."
"I think you're right." Zander whispered, looking down. Luke turned his head to Zander and let go of his hand in shock.
"Z-Zander... we've worked way to hard for this!" He gasped. "We can't just... just quit!" I bowed my head and rubbed my arm, realizing what Sean said was right. Suddenly, a ringing sound started to echo through the room.
"Oh. Well, it's time for class, guys." I said quietly, pulling a strand of my hair behind my ear. I exited the room silently, followed by the rest of the club. We were all quiet, not a single word escaping from our mouths. I looked up towards my next class, Math. Just by the lockers near the room, was a peach-haired boy apparently trying to yank his books out of his locker. They finally released their hold and he went flying back with them.
"Aw, man!" He sighed. I was about to go and help him when he expertly grabbed them all from the floor and shoved them back into his locker. He was shoving the last book when he realized- the book he needed for his next class was now back in his locker.
"Seriously?!" He groaned. I giggled and waved at him when he noticed me. He smiled and waved back. I felt like there were little butterflies bubbling in my stomach.
What is happening? I thought, panicking. Oh no... am I falling in love?
Hello, my Blueberries! 🦋 🫐
So, as you probably know, I had already written and published this chapter. But for some reason, (I wonder what) it didn't save. (I just didn't let it save 😂)
So I re-uploaded it. I wasn't able to upload this week because I was out for my birthday 🥳 🎂 🎉
And at the hotel I was at, the internet SUCKED.
SOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Bye, my Blueberries! 🦋🫐