Status: Active
If It Means a Lot to You
Monument
Jeremy’s POV:
“Listen, fucker,” I started, taking a step towards Luke. Neil and Josh immediately held me back.
“Get out of here, Luke. You don’t have any business here,” Rachel snapped. Neil put one of his hands on her when he saw her take a step forward. Smirking, he turned around and left with his friends behind him. I immediately turned to Rachel. “At the beach. She’s usually right next to the pier,” she said, answering my unspoken question. I brushed past the guys and headed back to the pier.
“Rose?” I called when I came to the bottom of the slope that lead down to the beach. “Rose?” I looked around, looking for the familiar face. I spotted her a little ways down, curled up against one of the giant posts. She looked small compared to it. “Rose?” I said when I reached her.
“Leave me alone,” she muttered. She sounded like she was crying. I took a seat next to her. “I don’t want to talk to anyone.
“You know that’s exactly what you want to do,” I murmured. Rose threw me a glance, her face streaked with tears.
“That may be the case but that doesn’t mean I’m so willing to.” She wiped her tears away. “Besides, not like you care much. It’s just about past heartbreak.”
“Talk to me. I’m all ears.” I gave her a small smile when she looked at me again.
“We had a thing a few years ago. I had given him three years of my life. He was the first guy to tell me he loved me. I basically gave him my heart and almost every other thing I had. He was my world and I was his. We rarely ever fought and nothing could be better.” She paused, the tears coming on again. “Then one day he started pointing out faults in me. I tried to make myself better but nothing seemed to please him. One night he wanted to have sex to be my first and I told him no. He called me a whore among other names and just left the house. After that, things ended and here we are today.”
Rose’s POV:
“Well, first of all, you shouldn’t be crying over a guy as stupid as that,” Jeremy quietly told me as he wiped the tears off of my face. “And second of all, you should never change yourself for someone even if it’s someone you love.”
“Yeah well I learned that the hard way,” I grumbled.
“But he hasn’t learned what a great girl he’s lost.” I looked away as a light blush spread across my face. “And sorry about the whole saying I was your boyfriend thing. I just wanted him to back off.”
“It’s okay. I appreciate the thought,” I murmured. “God I’m so stupid!” I buried my face in my hands, fresh tears coming.
“Rose…” I felt him pull me up to my feet. I didn’t try to fight back, too busy wallowing in my misery. “Rose, look at me.” When I didn’t move, his calloused hands tugged at my hands, pulling them away. He put a finger under my chin and gently lifted it so that my eyes met his soft brown ones. “You are not stupid. He’s the stupid one for letting you go and making you feel like shit when you’re the farthest thing from shit. You are an amazing girl. Forget about him. You don’t need him dragging you down.” I looked at Jeremy for a moment before wrapping my arms around him in a hug. I could tell he was taken aback; he hesitated for a moment before hugging me back tightly.
“Thank you so much,” I whispered. “You don’t know how much that means to me.” I pulled away a little. He kept a hold on me, pulling back enough to look at me. “Now I feel stupid for letting him get to me.” I laughed a little, wiping away a tear. He smiled slightly.
“There’s some of the smile I’ve grown to love these past few days,” Jeremy said when he saw me smiling. It quickly left when it sunk in that he said these past few days.
“You guys are leaving in four days.” He nodded, smiling sadly.
“All of us aren’t looking forward to leaving. It’s almost like leaving home all over again. Neil is definitely trying his hardest not to think about it. He has it bad for Rachel.”
“That’s pretty obvious.” He let out a small chuckle. “Do you think something’s going to happen between them before you guys leave?”
“Knowing Neil, something probably already happened. But don’t worry about him mistreating her. He’ll do his hardest to make it work even though she’ll be here and he’ll be in Florida when the tour ends.”
“Trust me, Rachel would be willing to move all the way over there if it meant being with someone she loved,” I assured. I looked around. “Hey, you want to go to one of my favorite places? It’s this little café and tonight’s an open mic night. I’m a usual there for open mic nights. I think you’ll like the song that I chose for tonight.”
“Sure,” he answered. He let go of me. I took his hand and started leading the way down Main Street. We walked along until we hit a little café tucked in on a corner. It was full tonight with performers and people here to watch. “Where can you sign up if you want to do a song?” I pointed to the counter. “Be right back.” I went to find a table as Jeremy headed to the counter.
“What’d you sign up for?” I raised an eyebrow when he came back.
“You’ll see.”
“Here you go. One hot cocoa and one coffee,” a waitress said when she came over. “Oh, hey, Rose!” she added when she saw me.
“Hey, Linds,” I greeted, smiling.
“Here to sing tonight as usual?”
“Of course?”
“What are you singing tonight?” I glanced over at Jeremy.
“A surprise. Just know it’s a song to tell my friend a little about me.” Lindsay’s eyes flicked over to Jeremy. Her mouth fell into a little “o” when she recognized him.
“Have fun then.” Jeremy watched her leave before looking at me, his eyebrows furrowed.
“What?” I asked. He shook his head.
We watched people sing for the next half hour. I grew more nervous with each passing moment. Here I was, about to sing in front of a man I had idolized for so long and had become good friends with in the past few days.
“All right. Up next is one of our favorite customers. She comes every time we have an open mic night,” the owner of the café said. “Give it up for Rose Frumos!” I stood up and headed towards the stage. I gave my iPod to the person who was in charge of sound. I took a step up onto the small stage, standing right in front of the microphone. I put my hands on the microphone, taking in a deep breath. I nodded, signaling to start playing the song. I glanced over at Jeremy in time to see him smile in recognition. I closed my eyes and started to sing.
It’s Monday morning
And I would kill for a chance to drive
Get so far away from here with you my dear
That I’ll never leave your side
Nobody knows the troubles of I’ve seen
In a van, on a soapbox for the world to see
Miles away, and I wish this didn’t mean so much to me
To be a monument for the rest of them
Miles away, and I wish this didn’t mean so much to me
To be a monument for the rest of them
I kept my eyes closed, losing myself in the lyrics and the music.
We’re getting older
I’ve started to fear for my life
Is this the way that it should be?
This whole thing’s riding on me
It’s been a long road so far
With nowhere to turn
There’s no looking back from here
No more dwelling on my fears
Miles away, and I wish this didn’t mean so much to me
To be a monument for the rest of them
Miles away, and I wish this didn’t mean so much to me
To be a monument for the rest of them
My foot started tapping out the beat as the bass pedal kicked in. I looked down at the ground, running over the last few lyrics. I always worried that I would forget the words.
Twenty bucks says you’ll remember me
When you see me on your TV screen
It may be the first time
But it won’t be the last time
Twenty bucks says you’ll remember me
When you see me on your TV screen
It may be the first time
But it won’t be the last time
Twenty bucks says you’ll remember me
When you see me on your TV screen
It may be the first time
But it won’t be the last time
I took in a deep breath, getting ready to show my amateur screaming skills.
And I’ll scream
So loud that everyone in this place
Will hear every word I say
‘Cause this is my time, this is my time to shine
Let nothing stand in our way
And I’ll scream
So loud that everyone in this place
Will hear every word I say
‘Cause this is my time, this is my time to shine
Let nothing stand in our way
I paused to take in one last breath, my throat hurting a little bit.
Twenty bucks says you’ll remember me
When you see me on your TV screen
It may be the first time
But it won’t be the last time
The café cheered loudly when I finished. I smiled at their reaction. I looked over at Jeremy. He had a big smile on his face and was cheering loudly. A blush came across my face upon seeing his reaction. I walked off the stage and headed back towards Jeremy.
“Listen, fucker,” I started, taking a step towards Luke. Neil and Josh immediately held me back.
“Get out of here, Luke. You don’t have any business here,” Rachel snapped. Neil put one of his hands on her when he saw her take a step forward. Smirking, he turned around and left with his friends behind him. I immediately turned to Rachel. “At the beach. She’s usually right next to the pier,” she said, answering my unspoken question. I brushed past the guys and headed back to the pier.
“Rose?” I called when I came to the bottom of the slope that lead down to the beach. “Rose?” I looked around, looking for the familiar face. I spotted her a little ways down, curled up against one of the giant posts. She looked small compared to it. “Rose?” I said when I reached her.
“Leave me alone,” she muttered. She sounded like she was crying. I took a seat next to her. “I don’t want to talk to anyone.
“You know that’s exactly what you want to do,” I murmured. Rose threw me a glance, her face streaked with tears.
“That may be the case but that doesn’t mean I’m so willing to.” She wiped her tears away. “Besides, not like you care much. It’s just about past heartbreak.”
“Talk to me. I’m all ears.” I gave her a small smile when she looked at me again.
“We had a thing a few years ago. I had given him three years of my life. He was the first guy to tell me he loved me. I basically gave him my heart and almost every other thing I had. He was my world and I was his. We rarely ever fought and nothing could be better.” She paused, the tears coming on again. “Then one day he started pointing out faults in me. I tried to make myself better but nothing seemed to please him. One night he wanted to have sex to be my first and I told him no. He called me a whore among other names and just left the house. After that, things ended and here we are today.”
Rose’s POV:
“Well, first of all, you shouldn’t be crying over a guy as stupid as that,” Jeremy quietly told me as he wiped the tears off of my face. “And second of all, you should never change yourself for someone even if it’s someone you love.”
“Yeah well I learned that the hard way,” I grumbled.
“But he hasn’t learned what a great girl he’s lost.” I looked away as a light blush spread across my face. “And sorry about the whole saying I was your boyfriend thing. I just wanted him to back off.”
“It’s okay. I appreciate the thought,” I murmured. “God I’m so stupid!” I buried my face in my hands, fresh tears coming.
“Rose…” I felt him pull me up to my feet. I didn’t try to fight back, too busy wallowing in my misery. “Rose, look at me.” When I didn’t move, his calloused hands tugged at my hands, pulling them away. He put a finger under my chin and gently lifted it so that my eyes met his soft brown ones. “You are not stupid. He’s the stupid one for letting you go and making you feel like shit when you’re the farthest thing from shit. You are an amazing girl. Forget about him. You don’t need him dragging you down.” I looked at Jeremy for a moment before wrapping my arms around him in a hug. I could tell he was taken aback; he hesitated for a moment before hugging me back tightly.
“Thank you so much,” I whispered. “You don’t know how much that means to me.” I pulled away a little. He kept a hold on me, pulling back enough to look at me. “Now I feel stupid for letting him get to me.” I laughed a little, wiping away a tear. He smiled slightly.
“There’s some of the smile I’ve grown to love these past few days,” Jeremy said when he saw me smiling. It quickly left when it sunk in that he said these past few days.
“You guys are leaving in four days.” He nodded, smiling sadly.
“All of us aren’t looking forward to leaving. It’s almost like leaving home all over again. Neil is definitely trying his hardest not to think about it. He has it bad for Rachel.”
“That’s pretty obvious.” He let out a small chuckle. “Do you think something’s going to happen between them before you guys leave?”
“Knowing Neil, something probably already happened. But don’t worry about him mistreating her. He’ll do his hardest to make it work even though she’ll be here and he’ll be in Florida when the tour ends.”
“Trust me, Rachel would be willing to move all the way over there if it meant being with someone she loved,” I assured. I looked around. “Hey, you want to go to one of my favorite places? It’s this little café and tonight’s an open mic night. I’m a usual there for open mic nights. I think you’ll like the song that I chose for tonight.”
“Sure,” he answered. He let go of me. I took his hand and started leading the way down Main Street. We walked along until we hit a little café tucked in on a corner. It was full tonight with performers and people here to watch. “Where can you sign up if you want to do a song?” I pointed to the counter. “Be right back.” I went to find a table as Jeremy headed to the counter.
“What’d you sign up for?” I raised an eyebrow when he came back.
“You’ll see.”
“Here you go. One hot cocoa and one coffee,” a waitress said when she came over. “Oh, hey, Rose!” she added when she saw me.
“Hey, Linds,” I greeted, smiling.
“Here to sing tonight as usual?”
“Of course?”
“What are you singing tonight?” I glanced over at Jeremy.
“A surprise. Just know it’s a song to tell my friend a little about me.” Lindsay’s eyes flicked over to Jeremy. Her mouth fell into a little “o” when she recognized him.
“Have fun then.” Jeremy watched her leave before looking at me, his eyebrows furrowed.
“What?” I asked. He shook his head.
We watched people sing for the next half hour. I grew more nervous with each passing moment. Here I was, about to sing in front of a man I had idolized for so long and had become good friends with in the past few days.
“All right. Up next is one of our favorite customers. She comes every time we have an open mic night,” the owner of the café said. “Give it up for Rose Frumos!” I stood up and headed towards the stage. I gave my iPod to the person who was in charge of sound. I took a step up onto the small stage, standing right in front of the microphone. I put my hands on the microphone, taking in a deep breath. I nodded, signaling to start playing the song. I glanced over at Jeremy in time to see him smile in recognition. I closed my eyes and started to sing.
It’s Monday morning
And I would kill for a chance to drive
Get so far away from here with you my dear
That I’ll never leave your side
Nobody knows the troubles of I’ve seen
In a van, on a soapbox for the world to see
Miles away, and I wish this didn’t mean so much to me
To be a monument for the rest of them
Miles away, and I wish this didn’t mean so much to me
To be a monument for the rest of them
I kept my eyes closed, losing myself in the lyrics and the music.
We’re getting older
I’ve started to fear for my life
Is this the way that it should be?
This whole thing’s riding on me
It’s been a long road so far
With nowhere to turn
There’s no looking back from here
No more dwelling on my fears
Miles away, and I wish this didn’t mean so much to me
To be a monument for the rest of them
Miles away, and I wish this didn’t mean so much to me
To be a monument for the rest of them
My foot started tapping out the beat as the bass pedal kicked in. I looked down at the ground, running over the last few lyrics. I always worried that I would forget the words.
Twenty bucks says you’ll remember me
When you see me on your TV screen
It may be the first time
But it won’t be the last time
Twenty bucks says you’ll remember me
When you see me on your TV screen
It may be the first time
But it won’t be the last time
Twenty bucks says you’ll remember me
When you see me on your TV screen
It may be the first time
But it won’t be the last time
I took in a deep breath, getting ready to show my amateur screaming skills.
And I’ll scream
So loud that everyone in this place
Will hear every word I say
‘Cause this is my time, this is my time to shine
Let nothing stand in our way
And I’ll scream
So loud that everyone in this place
Will hear every word I say
‘Cause this is my time, this is my time to shine
Let nothing stand in our way
I paused to take in one last breath, my throat hurting a little bit.
Twenty bucks says you’ll remember me
When you see me on your TV screen
It may be the first time
But it won’t be the last time
The café cheered loudly when I finished. I smiled at their reaction. I looked over at Jeremy. He had a big smile on his face and was cheering loudly. A blush came across my face upon seeing his reaction. I walked off the stage and headed back towards Jeremy.