As Mikey was drunk like a pirate, Jamie sent him home with a cab. 

Jaime is the blame. Had he known his roommate has poor alcohol tolerance, he wouldn’t let him touch that fermented rice liquor which Mikey insisted was good for health or some other bullshit Jaime regrets to believe.

Jaime refuses to go home with him, he doesn’t want to deal if he’s puking in the cab, besides he needs fresh air to refresh his mind, maybe walking around can help or probably he can find some café that needs a part-time waiter, who knows?

To be honest, he’s considering getting another part-time job since he doesn’t expect winning the competition going to be this complicated, the dynamic of the group seems not quite right, it is obvious they can’t focus on the band and got distracted by personal issues. He can’t blame them, since he is also basically the same.

Jaime walks through the street. Watching people interact never makes him bored. How they laugh with their peers, how couples kiss their lover, or some drunk teenagers tease each other. Sometimes being in the middle of the crowd makes him less lonely until at some point he realises that he doesn’t belong to any of these crowds and all the pretending games have to come to an end.

Jaime notices a huddle of people making a circle under the tree. He hears music from distance, from the crowd to be precise.

It must be a busker

Since he doesn’t have a certain destination, Jaime walks closer to the crowd. After a minute the music become clearer; a guitar, to be precise. A sound of a guitar chord floating beautifully on the spring breeze of night.

Jaime tries to sneak between the crowd to get closer to the source of the sound

As he gets closer, his case comes in sight—fills with a fair amount of earnings, for good reason—as well as the man and his voice alike grow clearer. a voice that Jaime swears increases the pace of his heartbeat. A man’s voice specifically, raw yet beautiful all at once.

Repeated seesaw game

Now, I’m so sick of this

Repeated seesaw game

We’re getting sick and tired of each other

Jaime stands in the front, his feet roots to the ground as he sees a familiar face stand behind the stand mic. Those fingers moving with purpose across the guitar’s strings, a smile lingering on the man’s face, clearly a lover of the music he so beautifully creates. The pouty lips as he sings, the eyes close and sometimes open with a hooded gaze staring at the crowds in front of him, his body sways with the guitar in his embrace, sailing among the waves of his own melodies. If there’s a word how to describe what Skylar looks like at that moment, it should be ‘mesmerising’.

If it was love, and if this is what love means,

Is there really a need to keep repeating ourselves?

We’re tired of each other, yet seem to be holding the same cards

Jaime never realises when he starts drawn into Skylar, it’s so fast like a hurricane, sweeping him into the whirlpool of unfamiliar emotion and raging passion. Piercing him into the bottom of the seabed of Skaylar's own ocean; Jaime doesn't have a chance to resurface and is drawn deeper into Skylar's complicity.

Since when? Jaime asks himself.

Maybe since he punched a guy who was trying to assault him.

Maybe since he found Murakami’s book on his locker

Or maybe he already likes him since he met a pair of stormy eyes with thunder-like gazes at the shitty party.

He likes him and his blazing passion, his explosion of confidence on the stage that fuels Jaime’s adrenaline rush makes his heart thump madly like a drum of war.

He likes Skylar and his bluntness in what he believes.

He likes Skylar and his tear-jerker book preference

He likes Skylar when he protects the people he loves 

The unpleasant feeling toward Stella wasn’t disgusted; it was a jealousy

He likes Skylar before he realises; he likes him but sometimes hates his decisions.

Jaime likes Skylar like a hurricane.

We know someone gets hurt if the other is gone

But because we don’t want to be the villains

In the midst of a series of vague responsibilities,

We became so sick of each other that we finally became parallel

Although this wasn’t the kind of parallel that I wanted

Jaime doesn’t come back to reality properly until Skylar’s eyes flicker to him, his smiles grow and… a wink.

oh god.

What’s with that flirty mischief wink???

Everyone claps as he finishes his song. Skylar stares at him with an intense look, and Jaime feels bare under his gaze.

“Thank you, everyone, I’m Skyrim, nice to meet you” Skylar grins, showing his sweet gummy smile that Jaime just realises he misses. People clap and Jaime does the same without realising. “Some of you may be already familiar with me since I almost busk here, at the same spot, every weekend.” The crowd gives him another ovation and some cheer boisterously. His eyes scan every single pair of eyes there until he meets Jaime’s again and his playful smirk grows.

oh no

“This is such a pleasant night, right? The weather is nice, the air is so fresh and I’m so glad that I just found my good friend over there” Skylar pointed his palm in Jaime’s direction. Jaime’s eyes widen.

Fuck

Everyone clapping to him and Jaime doesn’t know where to look, why Skylar even can find him among dozens of people

Don't you dare Skylar!

“My pretty friend over there really has a beautiful voice” everyone cheers loudly and Jaime sure his face as red as a freshly picked tomato “The most beautiful voice I ever heard”

In any other circumstances Jaime would appreciate the compliment, but not now when everyone set their eyes on him. Jaime glares at Skylar as he keeps pulling his strain smile and nodding to his left and right as people keep cheering him.

“How about we hear his pretty voice?” he asks the crowd as he still smiling at Jaime, a smile that makes his eyes disappear and Jaime also want to disappear with them, drown in the pair of ink pool eyes of his

And everyone, of course, shouting ‘yes’ out of their lung

God, Jaime wants to run away and take a cab and hide under his comfy duvet. But, Skylar's warm gaze makes his feet stuck there, his playful smirk gone and turns only a genuine smile, his expression screams nothing but fondness. Skylar may not say it aloud, but Jaime knows he’s encouraging him.

“Everyone please give a big applause to my friend, Jaichi!” He shouts to his mic and people respond to him with louder cheers.

Who's the hell 'Jaichi'? It's not me, right?

But why is everyone looking at me??? What do they expect me to do???

Fuck fuck fuck

Jaime knows there’s no escape way, he can’t say no except he wants everyone boo-ing him. Skylar gives him a couple of nods as he gives a signal that he can do it. Jaime doesn’t know what makes him finally dare to step to the front, maybe because he likes Skylar too much and he knows better than embarrassing him in front of dozens of his audience. 

So Jaime sighs and takes the mic.

Jaime grabs the mic with both of his hands so he’ll stop his trembling, he takes a quick glance at Skylar who is ready with the guitar in his hand, he’s nodding and smiling at him. There’s no hostility or malice, only kindness. The warmness spreads on his chest and sweeps all of his worries away.

Liking Skylar is like sailing through the storm, so chaotic and unexpected, but Jaime only lets him take it wherever he brings him because Jaime trusts him.

So Jaime sings-