Contagious Chemistry

Ally took a deep breath and fixed her hair before placing her knuckles on the door, but didn’t knock it. Negative thoughts filled her mind. What if Jess wouldn’t accept her presence and spat on her just like she did the other day? She just wanted to revive their friendship just like three years ago, ending the war. When she was about to knock, the door swung open and her knuckles knocked Brian’s jugular instead.

“Shit!”, Brian hissed loudly and covered the spot where Ally’s knuckles made contact. “I’m not the damn door!”

“I’m so sorry, Brian! I was about to knock.”, Ally slurred and led Brian to an empty bench on the hallway. They sat down and he was still rubbing the sore spot while Ally watched him to do so. “Feeling better?”

Brian chuckled and leaned back on the seat. “Yeah, thanks. Anyway, are you come here to see Jess?”

She nodded and looked down to her hands. “I am, but I don’t know if she would accept me.”

“Well, I don’t know about that, but she hadn’t talked about you that much. I’m sorry, but you’re my friend, Ally, and if you walk into that room, you probably would get a heartache.”

Ally furrowed her eyebrows and looked up to Brian. She narrowed her eyes at him, confused on what he was saying. “What do you mean?”

He bit his bottom lip and scratched the back of his neck. “You see, Stephen told Josh and I about… what happened last night. He told us that he wanted to love Jess properly, by meaning, trying to forget about you.”

The words stabbed Ally’s heart like daggers, but they stabbed repeatedly. They echoed against her ear walls and it felt like the air blew through her. “Oh.”

“I’m so sorry, Ally.”, Brian sighed and patted her hand in a soothing manner. “I wish I could do something about it, and don’t take this in a wrong way, but I think it’s the best for all of us. Jess needs Stephen, and well, our band needs both of them to be together and happy.”

She nodded. “I understand, Brian.”, Ally forced a smile. “Like I said to him three years ago, I just want him to have a future.”

“Thank you.”, he smiled a little. “Do you still want to see Jess?”

“Actually, I got something else to do, you know, the band.”, Ally launched on her feet and fixed the hem of her top.

“Yeah, yeah. I got it.”, Brian stood up too and opened his arms, offering a hug. She chuckled and gave a friendly hug to Brian. “Hold on, Al, something better will come for you.”

“Thanks, Bri.”, she whispered back before they pulled away. “I’ll see you later.”

Brian nodded and walked back to Jess’s room. Ally sighed and turned around on her heels, trying to hide her face from everyone because of the tears that were forming in the corner of her eyes. Her feet started the track but stopped when she saw the familiar figure at the end of the hallway.

He still had his right leg wrapped up in a cast and bandage over his forehead, and a crutch to support him. “Ally? Are you okay?”

“I gotta go.”, she muttered as she tried to walk past him, but he caught her by her wrist. “John, please let go.”

“No, I’m done with letting you go.”, he pulled her closer without making his crutch wobble or something. John led her to another empty bench and sat her down while he tried to sit down carefully.

They stayed silent for a few minutes, not knowing what to say. Suddenly, John carefully cupped her cheek in his hand and drew a small imaginary circle with his index finger. Ally tried to shake his hand off, but he wouldn’t let go. She just let him but kept her head down, still trying to fight back the tears that still trying to stream down.

“Will you tell me what happened?”, John asked delicately. She shook her head and hissed quietly when two tears dropped onto her jeans, making two watermarks. “Why are you crying?”

His hand fell from her cheek and his index finger and thumb cupped her chin instead. “Ally, please, tell me what happened.”

“I lost everything. I don’t have anyone else besides my friends and Casey.”, she choked up between sobs that finally let out. “Please, just leave me alone, John.”

Ally let her tears fall and her body trembled from the sobs she let out too. She wiped the tears with the back of her hands. Then, she felt an arm went around her shoulder, pulling her closer to John’s warm body. Ally felt safe when she was near him, so she leaned her head on his shoulder.

John set his crutch next to him, leaning it onto the bench. His other arm went over her, wrapping her securely, making her feel comfortable. Ally was still crying and sobs felt like it wouldn’t stop. He whispered words that probably would calm her down, but he knew that there was no word that could do it now.

“Do you know that it’s hard to pretend that you love someone else that you’re out there with my heart attach onto your sleeve?”, he whispered right into her ear. Ally stopped sobbing and looked up to his green orbs. His voice sent chills and shivers down her spine and she couldn’t believe what he just told her.

“W-What?”

He nodded. “My heart is still with you, Ally, you never give it back, even though I wouldn’t accept it because I want you to have it.”

“What about Lori? All those years…”

“Didn’t you listen to what I just told you? I pretended that I love her, I pretended that I forgot about you, but the big truth is, those are lies. You’re always on my mind and everywhere in my life, do you think I could just forget about you?”

Ally didn’t know what to do and she was through for breaking people’s heart or making them leave someone that loves them. She stood up and cleared her throat. “I have to go.”

Before John could say anything, she rushed up to the lobby and went out the sliding glass doors. She was sick with all the sweet words John, Stephen or even Jack told her. She thought she was cruel to the core and she needed to escape her world.

Ally got into her car, turned on the ignition and drove off quickly. Tears kept streaming down her cheeks and it blurred her vision for a while, but she made it to the studio safely. The studio wasn’t that far from the hospital, and she rushed inside. Willis, the girl in the front desk, smiled at her as Ally ran into studio 5, the studio that had been her second home for almost a month of recording.

The inside was cool and kind of quiet because Pat was doing some of the bass for the final new song. Dana had Casey on her lap while the little girl watched her ‘uncle’ in the recording booth seriously. Lance was napping next to her.

“Mommy!”, Casey exclaimed quietly, more like a loud whisper, because she didn’t want to disturb Sam Hollander while he was working. “Uncle Pat is in the booth!”

She smiled and patted her daughter’s head. “Yes, honey. Can I talk to aunt Dana? Can you seat down next to uncle Lance?”

Casey nodded and moved off from Dana’s lap. “I’ll stay here, mom.”

“Okay.”, Ally smiled again before pulling Dana up and out the studio. Dana was confused with what was up with her friend until Ally let go of her wrist and she leaned on the wall. “I need your help.”

Dana’s eyes widened and she crossed her arms. “What help? You aren’t on the satanic love rectangle again, right?”

“No.”, she sighed. “It’s more for myself.”

“I don’t get you…”

“I need you to keep Casey for probably two weeks. I need to get away.”

“Whoa.”, Dana’s eyes widened more, like they were going to popped out from their sockets. “Where? Why?”

Ally looked down and took a deep breath before getting her head up again. “I need to get away. I’m going to somewhere private. I’ll be back right before the CD release. My part was done, we just need to finish Lance’s and yours part. Please, Dana, you’re the only one I could bear to leave her alone with.”

Dana bit her lower lip and pulled her best friend into a hug. “Okay.”