Clash Of The Rockbands
Making A Chance
Melrose’s POV
The sound of the waves lapping against the sandy shore soothed me. That’s why I sat cross-legged on the beach, facing the glittering ocean. The moonlight ricocheted off its surface, turning the water illuminated silver in spots. With a quiet sigh, I closed my eyes and rested my hands gently on my thighs. I never had much luck meditating and finding my Zen anymore, but just sitting on the beach, listening to the waves, always calmed me down a little.
You would think it would be easy to go back to the life you had before you met the person you love. I survived just fine before I met James; why couldn’t I survive just fine now?
I didn’t know what I was missing. I wasn’t aware that there was a man out there in the world who I’d love with all my heart, and who would love me back the exact same way. I didn’t know that my perfect guy was out there somewhere, but now I knew, and now he could be with some other chick, loving her like he had loved me.
Irrational jealousy stormed through my heart at that thought. I didn’t want another woman to be with James: I wanted to be James. But, with my luck with love, James probably had a gorgeous wife to go home to; perhaps he even had an infant son or daughter to go home to and kiss good night. Two years had gone by; that was definitely long enough to fall in love, get married, and have a kid.
I snapped my eyes open. I wouldn’t find any peace thinking those sorts of thoughts. I tiredly dropped my head down into my hands. I hadn’t gotten much sleep lately either. I never laughed; I rarely smiled. I’d become almost a completely different person. I wasn’t happy, cheerful, random Melrose anymore, and everyone knew it.
I rocketed to my feet, sudden anger and frustration rising in my chest. I glared up at the velvety black sky, pointing an accusing finger upward.
“It’s all your fault!” I screamed to any God(s) listening. “You’re the one that made this happen! It wasn’t me! It wasn’t James! IT WAS ALL YOU! Fuck you, bastards! I hate you, and don’t be expecting any prayers anytime soon!” I fell back onto the sand, glaring out at the ocean. “Why don’t you just hit me with a fucking lightning bolt and get it over with!? It’ll be so much easier for both of us!”
“And the music world would mourn,” a familiar male voice said from behind me. I twisted around and looked up.
“Don’t you have a wife and kid to go home to?” I asked with a scowl, twisting my torso back towards the ocean. James sat calmly down next to me, staring out at the ocean as well.
“What makes you think that?” he answered.
“My luck when it comes to love is lacking,” I told him.
“You must have more than you realize, because I honestly don’t,” James said calmly.
“You probably have a girlfriend, though, right?”
“No.”
“Looking for one?”
“No.” James paused, and I could feel his eyes on me. I didn’t look over at him, though. “You changed your hair.” I felt his fingers slide through my hair quickly before he retracted his hand.
My hair no longer had the streaks in it. I let it grow out and go back to its natural color: auburn where brown and red mixed flawlessly together. It hung down to the middle of my back now. My bangs weren’t crazy-colored either.
“Yes,” I answered curtly. I drew a circle in the sand in front of me.
“I like it,” James commented. I felt my cheeks blush pink at his compliment—they had a habit of doing that—and tilted my head down more so that my hair slid forward to hide my cheeks. “You’re blushing.” Damn. He caught it.
“Yes,” I said defiantly, raising my head and looking over at him for the first time. My eyes instantly met his translucent blue ones. But there was something different: he wore glasses with thick, black, rectangular frames. “I never knew you wore glasses.”
“I’m connecting with my inner nerd,” James said nonchalantly. He reached up to take them off, but my hand shot out before I could stop it and grabbed his wrist. A tingling shock trickled down my arm as my fingers closed over his skin. I blushed as words spilled out of my mouth.
“I like them,” I blurted out. I blushed deeper, feeling the crimson heat rise up my neck. I quickly let go of his wrist, looking back at the ocean.
“Do you ever think we could’ve worked it out?” James asked after a few minutes of silence. I looked over at him to see him staring at me. Call me narcissistic, but I suspected he hadn’t taken his eyes off of me since we fell silent.
“I’ve thought about it a lot,” I admitted, leaning back slightly to brace my palms against the sand and looking back at the ocean. “And I think we could have. But there was just so much hateful energy on that tour bus no one could escape it. Except Johnny and Kim, of course, but they’re insanely in love.”
“Isn’t it strange that Jen and Matt and Zacky and AM got back together, pretty much exactly two years after they broke up?” James continued.
“I think it’s fate,” I told him. “They’re clearly meant for each other.”
“Have you thought about that a lot lately too?”
“Yeah,” I answered. “I think a lot about what we all used to be. I have a theory, though.”
“Elaborate, if you will.”
“I think we all took each other for granted. Like, Zacky took AM for granted, and vice versa. It must’ve been the same for all of us. So, the gods decided to break us all up so we could realize and appreciate what we had. They got carried away with our suffering, though, and let it go on for longer than necessary. But, now, two years later, everyone’s getting back together, with a whole new appreciation for each other.” I instantly felt stupid saying it out loud. It sounded logical when I thought it, but hearing it be said made it sound childish and wishful.
“So, the gods are punishing us all for taking what we have for granted?” James repeated.
“Yeah, something like that,” I answered.
“Think the gods will take pity on us?” James asked. He sounded hopeful. I felt his hand rest over mine on the sand.
“Didn’t you hear me cussing them out?”
“Oh, yeah,” James replied. “Maybe they’re more understanding than you think.” He paused before continuing. “Such divine beings as they are, though, I doubt they care much about human affairs.” I looked over at him to find him still staring at me.
“So you think we have a chance?”
“If we make one,” James said.
“Are we making one?” There I go, asking the obvious.
“I think,” he told me.
Then, we were kissing. Only our lips touched: the rest of our bodies remained apart. It was like we were both afraid to touch the other, fearing the other one would be just a mirage, a beautiful mirage. We pulled away after a few moments. I slowly reached up a hand and brushed my fingertips gently against his cheek. His skin still felt pleasantly cool, like I always remembered it feeling. James raised a hand and pressed it to one side of my face, sliding his thumb back and forth across my cheek.
“Because tonight will be the night that I will fall for you, over again. Don't make me change my mind, or I won't live to see another day. I swear it's true. Because a girl like you is impossible to find. You're impossible to find.” James sang the chorus part of Fall For You by Secondhand Serenade.
“You are so cheesy,” I teased, when I actually thought it was really sweet. He sang to me, on the beach, in the sand, beneath the moon! How romantic and adorable is that! WAY romantic and adorable.
“Hey,” he replied with a shrug, “I could’ve sung ‘I Fell In Love With A Stripper’.”
“I think Fall For You was better,” I said. James nodded before sliding his hand from the side of my face to the nape of my neck. He pulled my lips against his. I coiled my arms around his neck as his other arm wrapped tightly around my waist.
He definitely wasn’t a mirage.
We pulled away after a few moments. James smiled at me, brightening my world. He let go of my waist and instead seized my hand. He dragged me to my feet with him before walking towards where I saw his black Camaro parked in the beach’s parking lot.
“You walked here, didn’t you?” he asked.
“How did you know?” I replied, looking up at him. He stared back down at me.
“Your car isn’t parked in the parking lot, babe,” he said in a voice that stated the obvious.
“Oh,” I replied softly, looking away.
“I think you need to be happy again,” James announced as we climbed back into his car. “I’m going to make you happy again.”
“How?” I asked curiously as he started the car.
“You’ll see,” he answered with a wink.
“No sex,” I said solemnly.
“Fuck,” he mumbled. “Uhh...I’ll get back to you on making you happy again.”
“Are all men that way?” I asked as he pulled out of the parking lot and accelerated down the street.
“What way?”
“Do all men turn to sex when a problem arises? ‘Hey, our house just got foreclosed? Let’s go have sex behind a dumpster!’”
James laughed and shook his head. He reached over and captured my hand in his. I ran my fingers over his knuckles.
“How did you know I was there?” I asked randomly.
“I was going home late from the recording studio. I happened to glance over and saw you. I decided to chat you up, praying that you wouldn’t knock my head off.” James answered. He pulled into his house’s driveway. We climbed out of his car and our hands reattached as we met again.
We walked into a dark house. James suddenly turned around and pressed me back against the door. His lips pressed against mine as his fingers brushed against my hips.
“Isn’t it glorious?” James asked as he pulled away again. He grabbed my hand and led me through the living room and into the hall.
“What’s glorious?” We stepped down the hall and began to climb up the spiraling staircase.
“Just being able to kiss you randomly, whenever I want,” he answered as we stepped up onto the landing. We walked over to his bedroom, and he pushed the door open. We strode in before he pushed the door back closed.
“Yeah,” I agreed. Suddenly, James grabbed my waist and threw me gently onto the bed. “Hey!” I exclaimed. He sat on my legs and started to tickle me. I couldn’t kick my legs now because he was sitting on them, so I tried to shove his hands away with my hands.
He seized one of my wrists, still tickling me with his free hand.
“Stop!” I gasped out around my laughter. It felt nice to laugh again. “Please?” In the darkness, I could see James shake his head. He captured my other wrist with his other hand. “Ha! You have no free hands to tickle me with!”
“True,” he agreed, leaning down towards me. He pressed his lips against mine, still holding my wrists. My heart thumped against my ribcage. How could I survive without this for two whole years? “You are happy now, correct?”
“Yes,” I breathed. James smiled triumphantly like a little kid who had just accomplished something. He placed another kiss to my lips before peppering gentle, light kisses across my jaw and down my neck. I sighed in contentment as his lips ventured back up my neck, across my jaw, and found their way back to my lips.
James then pulled away and released my wrists. He got off of my legs and instead sat on the bed next to me. I sat up before stretching and yawning. James reached out and stroked my cheek.
“I guess you’re ready to go to bed,” he said. I nodded. “Do you need clothes to sleep in?”
“No,” I answered, climbing out of the bed. “I’ll be fine.”
I dragged my black and white Converse All-Stars off of my feet. Behind me, I heard James climb off of the bed as well. Then, I casually started to unbutton my zebra-print shirt whose cuffs I’d rolled up to just below my elbow. I heard James stop moving. I looked around to see him staring at me, looking slightly alarmed.
“What?” I asked innocently as I slipped the shirt off. “You sleep in your underwear. What stops me from sleeping in mine?” James appeared to not have an answer for that, or he wasn’t able to talk anyway, because he looked away and continued to pull his shirt off.
I pulled off my short black shorts and then shimmied out of my black fishnets. Yes, my outfit that day was very random. I folded everything up and placed it in a neat pile next to the bed. I pulled the covers of the bed up and slipped beneath them. A few moments later, James climbed into the bed as well.
He reached out and snagged an arm around my waist. He pulled me against his body, and I rested my head on his cool chest. A few minutes later, I fell soundly asleep to the lullaby of his heartbeat.
The sound of the waves lapping against the sandy shore soothed me. That’s why I sat cross-legged on the beach, facing the glittering ocean. The moonlight ricocheted off its surface, turning the water illuminated silver in spots. With a quiet sigh, I closed my eyes and rested my hands gently on my thighs. I never had much luck meditating and finding my Zen anymore, but just sitting on the beach, listening to the waves, always calmed me down a little.
You would think it would be easy to go back to the life you had before you met the person you love. I survived just fine before I met James; why couldn’t I survive just fine now?
I didn’t know what I was missing. I wasn’t aware that there was a man out there in the world who I’d love with all my heart, and who would love me back the exact same way. I didn’t know that my perfect guy was out there somewhere, but now I knew, and now he could be with some other chick, loving her like he had loved me.
Irrational jealousy stormed through my heart at that thought. I didn’t want another woman to be with James: I wanted to be James. But, with my luck with love, James probably had a gorgeous wife to go home to; perhaps he even had an infant son or daughter to go home to and kiss good night. Two years had gone by; that was definitely long enough to fall in love, get married, and have a kid.
I snapped my eyes open. I wouldn’t find any peace thinking those sorts of thoughts. I tiredly dropped my head down into my hands. I hadn’t gotten much sleep lately either. I never laughed; I rarely smiled. I’d become almost a completely different person. I wasn’t happy, cheerful, random Melrose anymore, and everyone knew it.
I rocketed to my feet, sudden anger and frustration rising in my chest. I glared up at the velvety black sky, pointing an accusing finger upward.
“It’s all your fault!” I screamed to any God(s) listening. “You’re the one that made this happen! It wasn’t me! It wasn’t James! IT WAS ALL YOU! Fuck you, bastards! I hate you, and don’t be expecting any prayers anytime soon!” I fell back onto the sand, glaring out at the ocean. “Why don’t you just hit me with a fucking lightning bolt and get it over with!? It’ll be so much easier for both of us!”
“And the music world would mourn,” a familiar male voice said from behind me. I twisted around and looked up.
“Don’t you have a wife and kid to go home to?” I asked with a scowl, twisting my torso back towards the ocean. James sat calmly down next to me, staring out at the ocean as well.
“What makes you think that?” he answered.
“My luck when it comes to love is lacking,” I told him.
“You must have more than you realize, because I honestly don’t,” James said calmly.
“You probably have a girlfriend, though, right?”
“No.”
“Looking for one?”
“No.” James paused, and I could feel his eyes on me. I didn’t look over at him, though. “You changed your hair.” I felt his fingers slide through my hair quickly before he retracted his hand.
My hair no longer had the streaks in it. I let it grow out and go back to its natural color: auburn where brown and red mixed flawlessly together. It hung down to the middle of my back now. My bangs weren’t crazy-colored either.
“Yes,” I answered curtly. I drew a circle in the sand in front of me.
“I like it,” James commented. I felt my cheeks blush pink at his compliment—they had a habit of doing that—and tilted my head down more so that my hair slid forward to hide my cheeks. “You’re blushing.” Damn. He caught it.
“Yes,” I said defiantly, raising my head and looking over at him for the first time. My eyes instantly met his translucent blue ones. But there was something different: he wore glasses with thick, black, rectangular frames. “I never knew you wore glasses.”
“I’m connecting with my inner nerd,” James said nonchalantly. He reached up to take them off, but my hand shot out before I could stop it and grabbed his wrist. A tingling shock trickled down my arm as my fingers closed over his skin. I blushed as words spilled out of my mouth.
“I like them,” I blurted out. I blushed deeper, feeling the crimson heat rise up my neck. I quickly let go of his wrist, looking back at the ocean.
“Do you ever think we could’ve worked it out?” James asked after a few minutes of silence. I looked over at him to see him staring at me. Call me narcissistic, but I suspected he hadn’t taken his eyes off of me since we fell silent.
“I’ve thought about it a lot,” I admitted, leaning back slightly to brace my palms against the sand and looking back at the ocean. “And I think we could have. But there was just so much hateful energy on that tour bus no one could escape it. Except Johnny and Kim, of course, but they’re insanely in love.”
“Isn’t it strange that Jen and Matt and Zacky and AM got back together, pretty much exactly two years after they broke up?” James continued.
“I think it’s fate,” I told him. “They’re clearly meant for each other.”
“Have you thought about that a lot lately too?”
“Yeah,” I answered. “I think a lot about what we all used to be. I have a theory, though.”
“Elaborate, if you will.”
“I think we all took each other for granted. Like, Zacky took AM for granted, and vice versa. It must’ve been the same for all of us. So, the gods decided to break us all up so we could realize and appreciate what we had. They got carried away with our suffering, though, and let it go on for longer than necessary. But, now, two years later, everyone’s getting back together, with a whole new appreciation for each other.” I instantly felt stupid saying it out loud. It sounded logical when I thought it, but hearing it be said made it sound childish and wishful.
“So, the gods are punishing us all for taking what we have for granted?” James repeated.
“Yeah, something like that,” I answered.
“Think the gods will take pity on us?” James asked. He sounded hopeful. I felt his hand rest over mine on the sand.
“Didn’t you hear me cussing them out?”
“Oh, yeah,” James replied. “Maybe they’re more understanding than you think.” He paused before continuing. “Such divine beings as they are, though, I doubt they care much about human affairs.” I looked over at him to find him still staring at me.
“So you think we have a chance?”
“If we make one,” James said.
“Are we making one?” There I go, asking the obvious.
“I think,” he told me.
Then, we were kissing. Only our lips touched: the rest of our bodies remained apart. It was like we were both afraid to touch the other, fearing the other one would be just a mirage, a beautiful mirage. We pulled away after a few moments. I slowly reached up a hand and brushed my fingertips gently against his cheek. His skin still felt pleasantly cool, like I always remembered it feeling. James raised a hand and pressed it to one side of my face, sliding his thumb back and forth across my cheek.
“Because tonight will be the night that I will fall for you, over again. Don't make me change my mind, or I won't live to see another day. I swear it's true. Because a girl like you is impossible to find. You're impossible to find.” James sang the chorus part of Fall For You by Secondhand Serenade.
“You are so cheesy,” I teased, when I actually thought it was really sweet. He sang to me, on the beach, in the sand, beneath the moon! How romantic and adorable is that! WAY romantic and adorable.
“Hey,” he replied with a shrug, “I could’ve sung ‘I Fell In Love With A Stripper’.”
“I think Fall For You was better,” I said. James nodded before sliding his hand from the side of my face to the nape of my neck. He pulled my lips against his. I coiled my arms around his neck as his other arm wrapped tightly around my waist.
He definitely wasn’t a mirage.
We pulled away after a few moments. James smiled at me, brightening my world. He let go of my waist and instead seized my hand. He dragged me to my feet with him before walking towards where I saw his black Camaro parked in the beach’s parking lot.
“You walked here, didn’t you?” he asked.
“How did you know?” I replied, looking up at him. He stared back down at me.
“Your car isn’t parked in the parking lot, babe,” he said in a voice that stated the obvious.
“Oh,” I replied softly, looking away.
“I think you need to be happy again,” James announced as we climbed back into his car. “I’m going to make you happy again.”
“How?” I asked curiously as he started the car.
“You’ll see,” he answered with a wink.
“No sex,” I said solemnly.
“Fuck,” he mumbled. “Uhh...I’ll get back to you on making you happy again.”
“Are all men that way?” I asked as he pulled out of the parking lot and accelerated down the street.
“What way?”
“Do all men turn to sex when a problem arises? ‘Hey, our house just got foreclosed? Let’s go have sex behind a dumpster!’”
James laughed and shook his head. He reached over and captured my hand in his. I ran my fingers over his knuckles.
“How did you know I was there?” I asked randomly.
“I was going home late from the recording studio. I happened to glance over and saw you. I decided to chat you up, praying that you wouldn’t knock my head off.” James answered. He pulled into his house’s driveway. We climbed out of his car and our hands reattached as we met again.
We walked into a dark house. James suddenly turned around and pressed me back against the door. His lips pressed against mine as his fingers brushed against my hips.
“Isn’t it glorious?” James asked as he pulled away again. He grabbed my hand and led me through the living room and into the hall.
“What’s glorious?” We stepped down the hall and began to climb up the spiraling staircase.
“Just being able to kiss you randomly, whenever I want,” he answered as we stepped up onto the landing. We walked over to his bedroom, and he pushed the door open. We strode in before he pushed the door back closed.
“Yeah,” I agreed. Suddenly, James grabbed my waist and threw me gently onto the bed. “Hey!” I exclaimed. He sat on my legs and started to tickle me. I couldn’t kick my legs now because he was sitting on them, so I tried to shove his hands away with my hands.
He seized one of my wrists, still tickling me with his free hand.
“Stop!” I gasped out around my laughter. It felt nice to laugh again. “Please?” In the darkness, I could see James shake his head. He captured my other wrist with his other hand. “Ha! You have no free hands to tickle me with!”
“True,” he agreed, leaning down towards me. He pressed his lips against mine, still holding my wrists. My heart thumped against my ribcage. How could I survive without this for two whole years? “You are happy now, correct?”
“Yes,” I breathed. James smiled triumphantly like a little kid who had just accomplished something. He placed another kiss to my lips before peppering gentle, light kisses across my jaw and down my neck. I sighed in contentment as his lips ventured back up my neck, across my jaw, and found their way back to my lips.
James then pulled away and released my wrists. He got off of my legs and instead sat on the bed next to me. I sat up before stretching and yawning. James reached out and stroked my cheek.
“I guess you’re ready to go to bed,” he said. I nodded. “Do you need clothes to sleep in?”
“No,” I answered, climbing out of the bed. “I’ll be fine.”
I dragged my black and white Converse All-Stars off of my feet. Behind me, I heard James climb off of the bed as well. Then, I casually started to unbutton my zebra-print shirt whose cuffs I’d rolled up to just below my elbow. I heard James stop moving. I looked around to see him staring at me, looking slightly alarmed.
“What?” I asked innocently as I slipped the shirt off. “You sleep in your underwear. What stops me from sleeping in mine?” James appeared to not have an answer for that, or he wasn’t able to talk anyway, because he looked away and continued to pull his shirt off.
I pulled off my short black shorts and then shimmied out of my black fishnets. Yes, my outfit that day was very random. I folded everything up and placed it in a neat pile next to the bed. I pulled the covers of the bed up and slipped beneath them. A few moments later, James climbed into the bed as well.
He reached out and snagged an arm around my waist. He pulled me against his body, and I rested my head on his cool chest. A few minutes later, I fell soundly asleep to the lullaby of his heartbeat.
♠ ♠ ♠
There.The one you've all been waiting for.
I hope you're happy again now. =} I know I am.