I'd Rather Live My Life Through Honest Eyes

[Elise’s P.O.V.]

Wearing my proclaimed ‘trademark’ Black Tide hoodie, I walked through the auditorium doors, quickly finding my way through everyone that was already there to sit next to my band. Though instead of passing Terrick like I normally did, I passed Gabe.
His gaze meeting mine, I saw his lips curve upwards into a smile before waving at me. Just seeing him made me noticeably happier, as I returned both gestures before setting down my case and plopping down into a chair next to Brett.
“You look happy today.” he chuckled, placing an arm around my shoulders. “What’s the occasion?”
I grinned, the pink rising in my cheeks. “Oh, nothing special.” I almost sang, directing my gaze towards Gabe, who was now seated a couple rows away from me, and winked at him.
Brett noticed this, and turned to me. “You two work things out?” he asked, and I thought I heard a laugh in his voice. I giggled.
“Yeah, you could say that.” I responded, shrugging one shoulder and leaning back in the chair. Unconsciously, once more, my gaze transfixed on the form of Gabe. I didn’t blame myself, but also started to wonder why I couldn’t get him out of my head. Just that one part of the day shouldn’t have meant too much, yet it did. The touch of his hand, the feel of his arms around me, the sound of his voice… those things and more drew me to him like a dying moth to a blazing fire. I couldn’t get away.
But that didn’t mean I wanted to, either.
I heard Brett call out to him. “Yo, Gabe! Why don’tcha come over here and sit with us?”
Shut up, Brett! Shut up! I mentally shouted. But I didn’t say anything. Before long, I felt a body ease into the seat to my right, and came face-to-face with Gabe. He smiled a breathtaking smile that made me weak in the knees.
No greetings needed to be said. I simply rested my head on his shoulder and waited for Mr. Martin’s instructions for the day.
“Hello again, everyone! I assume things went well yesterday, because the band’s still here.” He chuckled, causing us to laugh with him. “Anyway, you guys and your bands are going to perform another song for them today, so whoever’s ready can come up now if they want.”
Not to my surprise, Terrick jumped up with his bass and scurried onstage, the rest of his band following him, though not as enthusiastic. He was still probably trying to show off as always.
Katie stepped up to the microphone, almost seeming unsure of what to say. “I guess the song we’ll play today is Paramore’s ‘The Only Exception’.” She spoke.
While they played, I saw Gabe sort of nod, then shake his head again. I looked up at him from the position my head was in, wondering what was going through his mind.
“It’s just not what I think we’re looking for.” He whispered to me, answering my unvoiced question. I gave him a nod and snuggled closer to him, listening to the song.
My thoughts of Terrick seemed to nearly wash away…
…until after the song was done, and I heard his voice break the enjoyable silence.
“Hey, Dark Waters! I challenge you to come up here and play better than us! Not like you will, anyway!” he bragged.
That set me off. And the rest of the band knew, and felt the same.
I grabbed my Jackson and led the guys down the isles, giving Gabe another quick wink and a smile before turning serious again as I stared at the curly-haired boy.
“You’re nothing but a cocky, arrogant son of a bitch.” I told him through gritted teeth so that only he could hear, before I spoke louder. “You’re gonna eat your words. I’ll make sure of that.”
He laughed before stepping off stage. While his band members sat down and gave him dirty looks, I smiled towards Gabe and Mr. Martin, before signaling to my band.
“Since Mr. Perfect over there dares us to play better than him, we will.” I informed, smirking. “This is Black Tide’s ‘Shout’.”
I saw Gabe smile wider as I played and sang.
“When you feel the world is above you… when you feel like screaming your lungs out… When you’re in the darkness all alone… don’t wanna let it eat you alive… you’ll never be alone… a man’s gotta do what he’s gotta do… as long as you shout… scream your hearts out… don’t let nobody take you down where you ain’t belong… yeah!”
My fingers glided across the fretboard, soloing with ease. I looked up just in time to see the smiles not only Gabe’s face, but on Zakk’s, Steven’s, and Austin’s faces get bigger.
“Why don’t you fight for once in life… don’t wanna live your life through someone else’s eyes… you’ll never be alone… a man’s gotta do what he’s gotta do… as long as you shout… scream your hearts out… don’t let nobody take you down where you ain’t belong… yeah!”
I lost myself in the sounds of the guitar riffs, closing my eyes and enjoying the beauty of the music. At the next set of words, my eyes bore right into Terrick’s, the lyrics now directed at him. I wanted him to get the message.
“Now that I’m here, I’m gonna face my fears… I’m tired of hiding and I’m tired of running… all that was part of me, the fear that was in me, I’m strong enough to finally break free!”
His face contorted into that of a savage growl, his eyes glinting with rage as I smirked, playing the following solo. I felt the smiles of Brett, Tyler, and Nick boring into the back of my head. They couldn’t have been more proud of me.
And neither could Gabe.
“Shout… scream your hearts out… don’t let nobody take you down where you ain’t belong… yeah! It’s your time to shout, so shout! It’s your time to shout… yeah!”
As the song faded out, the sound of applause drowned out everything else. I was victorious.
For now.

---

[Gabriel’s P.O.V.]

My god, Elise and her band sounded amazing performing Shout! The stage was definitely where she belonged. She looked beautiful in her hoodie and skinny jeans, holding her shiny blue guitar, smiling that breathtaking grin of hers…
Oh no… it’s only been two days and I’m already falling for her.
“That was great, Elise! Dark Waters is really coming a long way.” Mr. Martin praised them, clapping.
She hopped down from the stage, slinging her Jackson over her shoulder and walking back over by me.
“You were amazing.” I whispered in her ear as I pulled her into a hug. I felt her relax in my arms before she hugged me back, burying her face in my neck. I could feel her breathing in the scent of my hair.
“Thanks.” she replied, a giggle somewhat present in her voice.
After the other three bands performed, Mr. Martin walked up to the microphone again.
“Nice job as always, everyone. Now, we’re going to split you up into groups to help improve your individual skills. Drummers, go with Steven to the backstage area in the band room. Bassists, follow Zakk into the choir room. Guitarists, Austin will take you to the orchestra room. Vocalists, stay here with Gabriel onstage. We‘ll meet back here at the end of the period, okay?”
I watched the guys nod and take the members of each band, including Dark Waters, all except for Elise. Being a singer, she got to stay right here with me.
And I didn’t have a problem with that at all.
Katie ushered herself into the seat next to Elise and started engaging in conversation with her about something. It was good to know she had someone other than her bandmates to talk to. When everyone was gathered in a small area in front of the stage, I pulled over a chair and sat down in front of them, leaving my guitar on a stand and replacing it with a microphone, turned off for the moment.
“Alright guys. For this part of class, I’m going to help you with improving your voice skills, which includes your endurance, range, and tone. Rock singers normally have a wide variety of octaves in which they have to sing in, and it’s important that you keep a clear, steady tone so your notes sound good…”
While I was talking, I unconsciously noticed that my gaze kept drifting back to Elise. Her faint smile and the curious twinkle in her eyes presented to me the fact that she was hanging on every word I said, mentally taking notes and listening carefully to everything that came out of my mouth.
She looked strangely adorable like that. Almost as if she was a puppy.
I wanted to cuddle with her.
When it came time for vocal demonstration, everyone followed me on to the stage, to which I told them to attempt singing a couple verses from an older Black Tide song, Give Me A Chance.
“The reason I picked this song,” I started, “Is because it has a low range that will quickly change to higher, and then back to low again, and so on. I want to see how you all work with the rapid pitch changes.”
And hopefully, I thought, It’ll send a message to Elise.
Listening to the first couple people sing made me want earplugs. One girl’s voice cracked, while another boy sang it like his balls hadn’t dropped yet. When Katie sang it, she did well, but of course, her voice was too feminine and soft.
Then, it was Elise’s turn. But before she opened her mouth to sing, she shut it and hopped offstage, which confused me at first, until I saw her pick up her guitar. I had a feeling that she felt most comfortable singing when she had something to back her up.
She then pulled up a chair and sat down, playing the opening notes to the song. She started singing shortly after.
"Have you ever felt this way before, felt this way… pushed to be someone you don’t know, I don’t know…! Oh, I’ve never felt this way before… forced to be someone I don’t know. People tell me lies all the time… another part of this pointless game… I don’t want to be a part of your lie. Give me a chance, and you’ll know… give me a chance to figure it out…”
Once again, this girl made my head spin. It was almost like she was a female version of me, with that voice of hers.
I couldn’t stand it any longer.
I had to tell her. I wanted her to be mine. And hopefully, she’d feel the same.

---

[Normal P.O.V.]

As the week went on, Gabe and Elise were talking to each other and spending time during school more often, with the member of both bands quickly becoming friends as well. The auburn felt her smile grow by the minute whenever either Austin, Zakk, or Steven would greet her and converse with her in the hallway. Everything was going extremely well for her.
But all that was going through the mind of Gabe was how he was going to tell her how he really felt about her. All he wanted was to be able to hold her hand. To hug her. To kiss her and whisper sweet nothings in her ear. With Terrick out of the way, Elise could become a definite potential girlfriend.
About three weeks went by, with the two secret admirers growing only closer. The members of Black Tide had eventually stopped hanging around Terrick and his band, and more with Elise and her band. Steven would even make comments about how friendly and pretty she was, despite the curly-haired boy’s twisted words, which would cause her to blush and giggle.
Gabe thought her laugh was one of the cutest sounds ever.
But he knew he couldn’t handle being just friends with the auburn for much longer.
He had to tell her. He had to let her know. Even if she didn’t feel the same.

“Bye guys, see you on Monday!” he heard Elise’s cheerful voice bid goodbye to her bandmates for the week and shut her locker, walking downstairs to the door. Quickly, he ran to catch up with her and tapped her shoulder, seeing her smiling face locking eyes with him.
He had to control himself so his knees didn’t buckle underneath his weight.
“Oh, hey Gabe. What’s up?” she asked. Now was the time to make his move. Gently taking her hand, he started leading her down another flight of stairs to the auditorium.
“Come with me,” he responded, pulling her along. “There’s something I want to show you.”
When the two had reached the auditorium, Gabe ushered her onstage with him, to where Elise had left her guitar from class and various practices earlier in the day. Silently gesturing for the auburn to sit down on one of the two chairs left from this morning, Gabe grabbed Elise’s blue guitar from where it was placed in its case next to the chair she was seated in, gave it to her so she could sling it across her chest, and sat down to face her.
“I, uh… kinda wanted you to play the song we had gone over a few weeks ago.” he spoke, linking his hands together and moving his fingers up and down.
“You mean Give Me A Chance?” she pondered, making sure. He nodded, to which she almost seemed to tilt her head to ask, “why?”
His only response was to run his fingers through his hair and reply, “You’ll see.”
Not pushing it further, she simply nodded and began to play the opening sequence of notes. Unconsciously, she almost started to open her mouth to sing the words, but the boy across from her beat her to it.
Gabe was singing.
“I’ve told you what I have to say, I told you… You never listened, and you pushed me away. You’re telling me lies all the time, another part of this pointless game, I don’t want to be a part of this lie… Give me a chance and you’ll know… give me a chance to figure it out…”
He’s singing from where I left off four weeks ago… Elise thought. But why? Is there something he’s trying to tell me?
“Now, just give me my life back, so I’m taking it back now, no, you will never take me in vain!”
In a sudden act of shock to the auburn, Gabe stood up from the chair and pulled her up with him, placing his hands on the girl’s shoulders and staring into her eyes as she kept playing. Her blue eyes widened as his green ones softened.
“I’ve told you what I have to say, I told you… I hope you listen, and don’t push me away. Give me a chance, and you’ll know… give me a chance to figure it out…. Please give me a chance and you’ll know… just give me a chance to figure it out.”
The last word of the song lingered on Gabe’s tongue as Elise let the last note ring out. Then, when she lowered the guitar, Gabe reached out to take one of her hands in his, while his free hand moved to hold her face, fingertips tickling her cheek. Her free hand moved to wrap around his shoulders as the two simply stared into each other’s eyes.
Then, Gabe closed his eyelids, leaned forward, and kissed her.
Elise nearly jumped at the touch of his mouth on hers, silently cheering as her eyes closed along with his. He’s kissing me! She mentally screamed. Holy shit, he’s kissing me!
His lips were soft, moving gently against hers and forming a bond that neither wanted to break. Slowly, Gabe smiled when he felt Elise kissing back, the ends of her mouth curving up to match his smile. It was only a simple, light kiss, but to them, it was something that they thought only happened in those sappy romance movies. The first kiss that changed everything. That moment of perfection that was now happening to them and only them.
Reluctantly, the kiss broke, but their lips still brushed against one another’s, almost placing them both under a spell.
“That’s all I’m asking of you, Elise.” Gabe whispered against her mouth. “Just give me a chance. To prove that I can be the one for you.”
Her smile broadened as she leaned in and kissed him again, quickly, but enough to answer the question he had been wanting to ask for so long.
“Your chance is granted, Gabe.”
He had never smiled wider in his life.