Chapter 7
Sadly, I couldn't carry out my fainting plans for he steered me outside the café towards his car, with Penelope trailing behind us. She threw me a thumbs-up when she was sure Jake wasn't looking.
"Hey, you guys match," Penelope said, grinning at us. She indicated our clothes, but from her tone, I could guess she meant something else too. I nervously looked towards Jake and hoped he didn't pick up on her tone.
Jake glanced at Penelope and then at our clothes before his lips broke into a soft smile.
"Yeah, Rebbie knows my favourite colours are black and white," he said, giving me a look I couldn't discern. "Suits her too, by the way."
"Thanks," I murmured, feeling my cheeks heat up. Well, yes, I did know his favourite combination was black and white, but I didn't purposely choose this outfit. Besides, Penelope chose it and she didn't know.
The drive to Jake's friend…er, Leon's house (I keep forgetting his band mates' names), was short but filled with laughter because of Jake. I had first thought Penelope would be uncomfortable, but Jake made us both laugh so much that it looked like all three of us had been really good friends for a long time or something. I wondered why I was afraid that this meeting might become awkward. It was anything but. Jake was just as friendly and carefree as in our IM sessions, and had a way of making me feel comfortable around him.
Jake parked his car in the driveway of a large, three-storied house. It had cream coloured walls with oval-shaped windows and a neat front lawn. A mermaid-shaped fountain was placed in the middle with well groomed flower beds surrounding it. It was quite a large area and was fenced by tall cream coloured walls all around.
We climbed out of the car and Jake led Penelope and me to the front door, which was opened by a plump middle-aged woman wearing a light blue summer dress and a white apron. She had rosy cheeks and blonde hair tied into a slick bun.
"Jake, good to see you again," she said with a smile, rubbing her hands on her apron as she let us inside.
"You too, Clara," said Jake.
"And who are your pretty friends?" asked Clara, looking at Penelope and me with a pleasant smile.
"This is Rebecca," introduced Jake. "And Penelope."
"It's lovely to meet you two," Clara said to us before turning to Jake again, "What do you want for lunch, dear?"
"Oh, the usual," Jake replied with a dismissive wave of his hand.
"Alright. Have fun," said Clara before heading towards another room.
"Leon's mother's nice," I commented when the lady was out of sight.
"Oh, that's not Leon's mother. That's the housekeeper," informed Jake as he started towards a carpeted, wooden staircase. "Leon's parents are hardly around. Busy life."
I felt sorry for Leon, for I knew how it felt to have busy parents. My parents weren't that busy, but being doctors, I didn't get to spend as much time with them as other children.
As we followed Jake upstairs, I realised that the house obviously belonged to someone well-off. It had wooden flooring, and the hallway that we were just exiting was like a living room, with an ornamental grandfather clock ticking at one corner, a plush red sofa and several abstract paintings on the walls. If the hallway looked like this, I wondered what the other rooms were like.
"Your friend's rich," Penelope voiced my thoughts.
Jake chuckled. "Yep. This is nothing; you should see the room where the band practices."
He led us to another hallway and opening a door, he said loudly, "Welcome to our humble abode, ladies."
"You do realise that abode means a place where you live, right?" I stated as I stepped inside the room with Penelope behind me.
"Yeah, but we all practically live here anyway," said another voice.
The voice belonged to a tall, red-head, wearing a black Children of Bodom band t-shirt and denim jeans ripped at the knees, lounging on a black leather couch with his arms behind his head. I would've called him arrogant by the way he was sitting, but he had a friendly smile gracing his lips that reached his green eyes.
"Girls, this is Hayden, our drummer," Jake introduced his friend, thumping him on the head.
"So, which one of you is the chick that sings frigging good, according to Jake here?" Hayden said, smirking at Jake who narrowed his eyes back.
I felt my cheeks heat up. Jake talked to his friends about me?
"That would be Rebecca here," said Penelope, pointing at me with a grin.
"Yo peeps, don't forget me!" said someone I hadn't noticed before on the far end of the room.
The black-haired guy slung his guitar behind him and walked towards us. He was wearing a grey hoodie and black track pants with pink sneakers. At which I noticed Penelope raising her eyebrows. Seeing her line of vision, he looked at his feet and then at her, "What?" he asked, puzzled.
Jake and Hayden burst into laughter, to which the guy looked even more confused.
"Girls…this is Kurt…" Jake said between his guffaws.
"Named after Kurt Cobain, guitarist of - " Kurt started saying proudly.
"Oh, shut up you pansy, you're not named after Kurt Cobain," interrupted Jake.
"Pansy?" Kurt exclaimed indignantly, putting his hands on his hips…and looking more like a pansy than ever.
Jake pointed at Kurt's shoes as Hayden started rolling with laughter.
"Dude…pink?" Jake said dubiously.
Kurt huffed as Penelope and I joined in on the guys' laughter.
"So, what? Real men wear pink…hmph."
I heard the door open and another male voice said loudly as he bounded inside, "Oi, is that lazy bum here yet – oh, he is."
"Hi, I'm Leon," he introduced himself, waving at Penelope and me.
If I had thought of the other guys as tall, Leon was the tallest. He looked around six feet, with spiky chestnut-brown hair and blue eyes. He had a sharp, handsome face with a pointed nose and thin lips. His baby blue polo shirt and white shorts showed off his broad chest and strong arms and legs.
Did all the good-looking men decide to form a band or something? I thought, as I smiled at Leon and Penelope said 'Hi'. Kurt and Hayden weren't near Jake and Leon in the looks department, but they both had certain features that any girl would fall for. Hayden had that bad-boy attitude with an earring in his left earlobe, but a round, plump face and a smile that melted arrogance away. Kurt had more of a square shaped face and a scar on his eyebrow, but I think any girl would fall for his goofy nature. However, they paled considerably when it came to Jake and Leon. Those two were just…hot.
The guys started setting up their instruments, as Penelope and I took seats on the couch. The practice room was indeed quite lavish. It was padded, soundproof and the floor was covered with a maroon carpet. There was a bar at one corner and a flat screen TV was fixed to the wall facing several beanies.
Hayden took his seat behind the drums, while Kurt stood a few feet beside him, strumming his guitar lazily. Leon stood ready with the microphone and Jake was setting up his black and red electric guitar. I didn't know about guitars, but I liked Jake's one. It was of a sleek black colour with red flames on it.
"Okay…ready guys? 1…2…3…" Leon spoke into the microphone and the guys started playing.
It was a tune I recognised. And when Leon started singing, I was awed.
"I was young but I wasn't naïve,
I watched helpless as he turned around to leave…
And still I have the pain I have to carry,
A past so deep that even you could not bury if you tried…"
His voice was…I couldn't describe it in words. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Penelope gaping at Leon. She was more of a die-hard Lifehouse fan than I was. And the way Leon was singing, it was enough to make a girl swoon. His voice almost sounded like the lead singer of Lifehouse. With half closed eyes, he sang the song passionately, as if he meant every word.
The guys were in their element. Hayden nodded his head to the music as he played his drums; Kurt handled his guitar as if he was holding a girl, and Jake's long fingers strummed across his guitar fluidly. They were experts.
When they finished, Penelope and I started clapping.
"You guys are frigging good!" I exclaimed, as Hayden chortled at my choice of words.
Jake ran a hand through his hair. "Nah, we're just fine," he said, but he was beaming at me and was obviously pleased that Penelope and I liked them.
"You have a really good singing voice," Penelope complimented Leon, who bowed, grinning. "And Kurt…bad choice of shoes, but awesome guitar playing," she added.
We all laughed lightly at that. The guys practiced several more songs which they wanted to do for the gig at their university. After each one, Penelope and I either clapped or threw thumbs-ups at them.
"You should've introduced Rebecca and Penelope earlier to us, you selfish sod," Leon said to Jake after finishing a song and us complimenting them. "They're an awesome audience."
Jake chuckled and threw a wink in my direction. "Yeah, but a biased audience."
I 'hmph-ed' in mock indignation. "How are we biased, eh?"
"Well, you like me, so you automatically like the band," he stated, a smirk forming on his lips.
"Oh, please, who said I liked you?" I said, flicking my hand dismissively. "Everyone likes a band because of the singer, you know."
Leon laughed as Jake rolled his eyes at me. Hayden and Kurt chuckled softly and Penelope gave me a 'you go girl' look.
"Okay, missy, since you're such an expert, let's hear you sing," said Jake, coming towards me.
I paled. Jake noticed this, and his smirk grew wider. He stood in front of me and raised an eyebrow. "Well?"
The others were looking at me expectantly, but I sat stiffly on the couch. Jake sighed and took my hands in his, raising me up from the couch.
"Com'on, you will sing," he said, and still holding my hand, he led me towards the microphone stand.
And throughout this, I was screaming inside. OH MY GOSH! HE'S HOLDING MY HAND! I was surprised I hadn't even uttered a sound or a gasp. I couldn't help but notice that it felt so right. His hand enclosed mine so perfectly.
Jake handed me the microphone and took Kurt's acoustic guitar. He then began playing a tune that I had begun to love recently. Penelope smiled at me encouragingly, and the guys looked on expectantly as I gulped, unable to procure a sound out of my mouth. Jake raised his eyebrows, pleading me to sing.
Jake's eyes made me decide that I had enough of this stage-fright of mine. I took a deep breath and, closing my eyes, I started to sing. I had finally memorised the words by heart, and as I sang, my nervousness slowly ebbed away.
"Because maybe…
You're gonna be the one that saves me?
And after all,
You're my wonderwall…"
I heard Jake sing softly to those particular lines every time I sang that verse, and it made me smile. It felt like we were singing those words only to each other, and meant it. I opened my eyes, and looked at him when I reached that paragraph for the second time, and I found him looking at me with a smile. I held his gaze until the song ended, my heart beating wildly the entire time.
Penelope and the guys clapped when we finished, and I tried to control my breathing and tore my eyes away from Jake.
"That was…wow…" Leon muttered in awe. I was amused by how he gave the same reaction as Jake had when he first heard me sing. No wonder they were best friends.
"Told ya she was frigging good." I heard Jake say, and then felt his arm around my shoulders. My heart rate accelerated further and I clasped my hands together to stop them from shaking.
"You know what, I want to do that duet with you, now," Leon said determinedly, and went towards the instruments again.
"What duet?" I asked. "I might not know the words…" I trailed off uneasily.
"Haven't you heard Broken by Seether and Amy Lee?" he asked, holding an extra microphone.
"Yeah, she did," Jake answered for me. "I gave you the song, remember?" he looked down at me.
I nodded meekly, avoiding his eyes. If I looked into his eyes, I'd surely melt, especially because his arm was around my shoulder, and I'd realised that his slightest touch made me feel…weird…in a good way though.
"Great," said Leon. "Com'on, guys, let's set up."
Jake's arm slipped off my shoulder and he and the guys took their places once more. This time, Leon stood behind a keyboard that I hadn't noticed before in a corner, and set up the microphone stand so that he would be singing and playing.
"Rebs, today is your luckiest day," Penelope whispered, nudging me. I grinned at her, but was saved a reply when Leon started singing the first verse.
"I wanted you to know, I love the way you laugh,
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain away…
I keep your photograph, I know it serves me well,
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain…"
I started singing the next verse together with Leon. I noticed that our voices sounded quite good together. His one was deep and soft and he had a way of making you feel the music. I didn't know about my voice, but I gave it my best.
"Cause I'm broken when I'm open,
And I don't feel like I am strong enough…
'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome,
And I don't feel right when you're gone away…"
The next verse was a verse done by Amy Lee only, and so I had to sing solo.
"The worst is over now and we can breathe again,
I wanna hold you high, you steal my pain away,
There's so much left to learn, and no one left to fight,
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain…"
And then Leon joined me again in the next verse. I had always liked this song, always felt something when I'd hear the words, but singing it was a different matter entirely. The guys played really well, and during the chorus, music would pound at my ears and my heartbeat would try to match the beat. I watched in awe as Leon's fingers moved deftly across the keyboard. I knew how to play the keyboard as well, but I wasn't anywhere near as good as him.
It felt wonderful when the song ended and I was showered with compliments once more. Never had I felt this much appreciated in my life as I had in one day.
But what made me the happiest was the proud look on Jake's face as his friends praised me and scolded him for not introducing us all earlier. The smile on his face hardly left.
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Author's Note: I just want to give a huge thanks to the readers who've read and commented on this story! Makes my day everytime I see a comment. :D And I wanted to dedicate this chapter to RisingStarPromotions because they've really helped me to promote my story! *salutes*