Mistakes and Regrets

"Uh-oh, John,"I mumbled under my breath, squeezing his hand tighter as we walked into The Maine's practice space. "They're staring."

His lips tugged into a smile as he squeezed my hand back. I could see Garrett's wide eyes and grin as he sat on an amp, Pat fumbled and dropped his drumsticks; Jared was trying to suppress a laugh while nearly falling off his chair against the wall and Mia, who was on his lap, was blatantly staring, a huge grin spreading across her face. Even Tim was blinking at us rapidly, as if we were just a hallucination. The only one who wasn't watching us was Kennedy, who was suddenly very into practicing the bridge of "Identify."

I didn't get much time to dwell on any of this, though, because suddenly John pulled me to him and connected our lips in a heated kiss. Within a second of his lips on mine, I completely forgot where we were, who was watching, and for just a moment, even my name was a bit hazy. I closed my eyes and fell into him, my actions coming like instinct.

The group burst into a mix of cat-calls and groans, bringing me back to reality as John gave me one last peck, his lips grazing over my ear as he whispered to me.

"I figured what the hell, if they're all staring anyways, might as well give 'em something to stare at."

I laughed and gave him a kiss on the check before facing everyone else again, my face burning. By now even Kennedy was staring too, if only to shoot daggers at John. With the hand that wasn't holding onto John's, I covered my face as everyone watched, mostly grinning or laughing.

"Oh, hey guys, what's up," John said casually, bumping into me. I had a feeling he was enjoying this way too much.

"What's up?" Pat repeated in disbelief. "How can you stand there and be all nonchalant when you just made out with fucking Shayla right before our eyes? I mean, I'm not the only one who saw that, right?"

"You definitely saw it," Tim answered slowly. "I saw it, too. That just happened"

"If it happens again in front of me, someone's getting their fucking balls chopped off," Kennedy grumbled, adjusting his guitar strap. John's face paled a shade, and I fought the urge to smile.

"It's about fucking time, John. Seriously, this is more overdue than that library book Pat lost in middle school," Garrett commented before returning his attention to tuning his bass.

"I knew it!" Mia yelled excitedly, pointing her finger directly at us. "I fucking called this!"

I shook my head and buried my face into John's shoulder while he looked between Mia and me. Jared rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head as well, the grin still on his lips.

"What is she talking, or, well, screaming about?" John murmured against my hair, and I groaned.

"I'll explain later, okay?" I whispered

"But Shaaaaay," he whined quietly, and I sighed, lowering my voice more.

"That night at the label's party, Mia and I were talking when she asked me how long we had been together. When I told her we weren't, she said, and I quote, 'I give it two months tops.' And now she thinks she's all superhuman and shit."

"Oh. Well that-"

"So," Jared interrupted, pulling himself and Mia up and walking toward us. "I think you two have something to tell us all?"

I looked up at John and pursed my lips. "I think that kiss said pretty much everything much better than we could've."

John smirked, his eyes crinkling before he winked at me. "If they missed it, we could always just show them again..."

I was up on my tiptoes, close enough to feel John's breath tickling my face, when Kennedy's voice pierced my eardrums and probably broke a window or two somewhere.

"That is not necessary!"

John made a face that looked absolutely terrified, and I giggled into his shoulder as I hugged him instead. He held me tight and kissed the top of my head. The others broke into an appropriate "Awe!" and I could feel my face flushing again.

"So, if we're done with all the PDA, can we just have practice now?" Kennedy asked with a sharp edge, and I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, that's not a bad idea. C'mon guys, bring it in," Tim called, his manager face surfacing.

Mia dragged me over to a couch that had been there for as long as the band had existed and sat next to me as the first notes of a song I didn't recognize rang through the air. Soon enough, the music was flowing together and I heard John's voice, but Mia refused to allow me to listen in peace.

"How long has this been going on?" she asked, waggling her eyebrows at me. I pushed my hair out of my face, trying not to grin or blush as John's gaze wandered to me.

"Well, we've been official for about a week, maybe?" I offered quietly, biting my lip as I stole a glance at John from the corner of my eye.

"A week and you're just telling me this now?" she teased, shoving me lightly.

"Well, we were trying to keep Kennedy from killing him, so that took a bit of time and effort," I joked.

"Well, I think Garrett's right. It's about damn time."

A few songs passed, and I leaned back against the worn material of the couch, finally just taking in the lyrics. "Saving Grace" just happened to be one of my favorite songs, and John's voice was melting my heart all over again. I caught his eye as he sang, and I nibbled on my bottom lip softly. Suddenly he was singing words that made no sense together or in the song. Mia was giggling beside me, and the guys all groaned but continued playing as John tried to get back on track. He made a face and shook his head at me, almost as if scolding aside from the grin.

I held my hands up in defense but couldn't stop the corners of my lips from curling up. He finally found the right words right before the song ended and they moved on to something from the new album. But in the brief moment where everyone was shuffling between songs, he shook his head at me again.

"Your fault," he mouthed before giving me his signature lopsided grin.

"Don't blame me," I shot back silently. "It's not my fault you suck."

He laughed and I winked at him as the music finally started up again. Mia watched with an amused expression, her head resting against her hand as she watched us.

"Man you guys got it bad," she said, looking between us. "This is a real serious case of soulmate-itis."

"Shut up," I chuckled, smacking her lightly with the back of my hand.

"Just admit it Shay, you're head over heals in love with that boy."

I just grinned and pretended not to hear her over the music. However, inside my head I could hear and feel the answer loud and clear, just like I always had when it came to John O'Callaghan. He caught my eye again and raised his eyebrows with a dorky grin, and I could almost feel his answer as well.



"I think that went well," John said calmly as we walked back to his car after practice, his fingers intertwined with mine.

Everyone else was going their separate ways around us, and my ears were still ringing a little from being so close to the amps. My heart still felt like the bass was right next to me, and I was pretty sure that it was just from being with John.

"Yeah," I agreed. "No one died of a heart attack, Pat didn't spazz too terribly, Kennedy didn't kill you..."

"Barely! I thought he would when I kissed you," John admitted

"Almost, but he didn't. That's the joy of almost, my dear. It only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades," I countered in a sing-song voice. John laughed, stopping to look at me.

"Well, even if he had, it would have been worth it. You're worth it," he murmured, tucking a lose strand of hair behind my ear before leaning down and connecting our lips gently. My head was spinning from his touch and from his words. This was all too great, too amazing, too perfect to really be happening to me.

"You're crazy, babe," I mumbled as he pulled away, his hands still caressing my cheek.

He just bit his lip and smiled that beautiful smile at me. "Only about you, Shayla Royce."