I See Sparks Fly Whenever You Smile

Alex

Waking up the following morning, I sort of felt like I'd been hit by a truck. It would be my luck that the one night I go out with my friends and I don't drink, I still wake up feeling hungover. I figured that was due to a combination of still being sick, a really late night with very little sleep and the semi-bar fight I got myself caught up in after that dick made incredibly disgusting comments towards my girlfriend

I normally practiced the "I'm a lover, not a fighter," motto, but when that guy wouldn't let up, something inside me clearly snapped and I just considered myself very lucky that there were plenty of witnesses at the bar that vouched for me in saying he instigated the entire thing.

My thoughts on the night before were interrupted when Brook began to stir next to me. I felt it safe to assume that she would not be feeling all well this morning.

"Good morning, Sunshine," I said in maybe a little too perky of a voice when Brook slowly lifted her head from my chest and groaned.

"How are you feeling?" I asked with a smirk as she placed her head back down on my shoulder. Her only reply was another groan, which caused me to laugh.

"Alex," she finally said in a super quiet voice.

"Yes dear?"

"Stop talking so loud," she whimpered, pressing one side of her head against me and pulling the blanket up over her head completely.

"I'm sorry, Brook," I said, stifling my laughter, pushing the blanket down and kissing the top of her head. "You should probably remember this the next time you decide to drink the entire bar."

"Alex," she said softly again.

"Yes, Brook?" I replied, lowering my voice.

"Don't be such an asshole," she mumbled.

"Brook Lynn Monteverdi," I gasped. "I do believe that's the first time I've heard you curse, young lady."

"Alex," she repeated in a knowing tone.

"Okay. I'm sorry," I said, squeezing her tightly into my side and kissing the top of her head again.

"Do me a favor, okay?"

"What's that?" I asked.

"If Jack ever comes at me with shots again, don't hold me back when I go to punch him in the nose."

I poorly hid my laughter. "You got it, Brook."

"Thank you," she muttered, lifting her head again and leaning up on her elbows, looking up at me for the first real time and I was worried about her reaction. "Why do you have a black eye?"

"Um-" I bit my lip. She didn't seem to have any memory of what happened at the end of the night. "There was a bit of a fight last night," I explained, trying to play it down.

She was quiet for a few moments and it seemed like she was trying to remember.

"Oh my God," she gasped. "It was all my fault. It was the guy I bumped into."

"It's not your fault," I quickly assured her as she sat up.

"What happened?" she asked, reaching over and running her finger tips lightly over the bruised and swollen skin under and around my left eye.

I sighed. "It's not a big deal. Don't worry about it, okay?" I tried, knowing for a fact that Brook was not going to accept that answer.

"Alex," she replied, her eyes narrowing in my direction. "Please?"

"Look, the guy flipped out and started yelling some really gross things at you, so I snapped and I got up in his face and he decided to shove his fist in mine."

She frowned. "Then what happened?"

"At some point Zack grabbed you and dragged your ass outside because you were trying to separate us and almost got knocked in the face yourself."

"Did anyone else get involved?"

"Well, Zack, Jack and Cassadee were outside trying to calm you down and Rian and one of Zack's room mates were trying to break up the fight. And they did. Until the guy said something stupid about you to Rian this time and before I could react, Rian lunged at him instead."

Her eyes cast downward and I could tell she was still blaming herself when she shouldn't have. "Is he okay?"

I nodded slowly. "He has a broken nose. But it should heal nicely."

Her eyes widened and I definitely could see some tears welling up. "Be kidding..."

I shook my head. "He's fine," I assured her. "He's actually kind of proud. He feels like a bad ass."

She shook her head. "Did anybody get in trouble? Did the owner of the place flip out?"

"Someone called the police. We're not sure who. The owner actually happened to be behind the bar when everything happened. And I guess this guy has a bit of a reputation around here as being an asshole."

Her eyes were still practically popping from her head at the mention of the police. "Did you get arrested?"

"No," I shook my head. "I did have to go down to the station and answer some questions about the whole thing since they were called and they had to fill out a report - especially because Rian ended up in the hospital."

She bit her lip as one single tear slipped from the corner of her right eye. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"Don't be," I squeezed her knee. "No charges were made against me or Rian. It won't go on our records or anything. It was just an unfortunate ending to an otherwise really great night."

"I'm definitely the worst girlfriend on the planet," she huffed, staring at her lap where she fidgeted with her fingers nervously.

"No, you're not," I said, placing my hand over hers and squeezing them gently, causing her to look up at me.

"I come to visit you when you're sick and end up spending only half the day with you in bed. And then I make you take me out all day and then all night. I shouldn't have drank. It wasn't fair to leave you out."

"Brook, you're being ridiculous. You didn't make me do anything. Stop-"

"And on top of it all, I broke your face," she frowned.

"You didn't break my face, Brook."

"Well, not technically, but that guy did because of me."

"Brook, listen to me okay?" I grabbed her hand again, forcing her to look up at me. "Don't do that Brook thing you do and beat yourself up about this okay? No one blames you. No one is even mad at you."

"Promise?" she asked, looking up at me hopeful.

"I promise," I smiled assuringly.

She shook her head, touching my injured face again. "Do you want some ice or something for this?"

"No," I shook my head. "I'm okay. I had ice on before," I said, gesturing to the night stand next to me where the zip-lock baggy of ice I had used before sat, now a zip-lock baggy full of water.

"You know," she started, scooting a little closer to me. "It's kind of sexy."

I raised an eyebrow. "What is kind of sexy? Getting my ass kicked?"

Truth be told, it was kind of humiliating.

"No. Just the idea in general that you were sticking up for me is pretty hot."

I shook my head. "You must still be drunk."

"That's entirely possible," she said with a shrug. "But it's still true," she finished before pressing her lips fully to mine. "Thank you."

I smiled, kissing the top of her nose. "I'd do it again if I had to."

"Let's hope you don't have to," she said, kissing me one more time before she shifted her position and rested her head on my shoulder. "Did I do anything else ridiculous that I should know about?"

I laughed a little and rubbed my chin as if I was deep in thought. "Wow, there's just so many things to choose from."

"That's not funny," she hissed, hitting me lightly in the chest.

"Well, there was your wonderful rendition of Britney Spears' song Crazy that you and Cass sang karaoke to."

She lifted her head up for a second and looked up at me. "I sang in front of people?"

I nodded. "I'd use the word sang very loosely, but you sure were entertaining."

"Wow," she shook her head. "I'm never even that outgoing with my own friends."

"Hey, those guys are your friends too. Even Cassadee's friends who didn't get to talk to you all that much mentioned how much they loved you. You're a naturally charming person, my dear."

She smiled. It was almost sad to see how genuinely happy she was to have friends again. I know it all stemmed back to that Josh douche bag the completely fucked her up. I promised myself the night she told me everything that had happened with them, that no one would ever hurt Brook again as long as I could control it. I think that was a major reason I flipped out last night.

"Anything else? Do I have to worry about incriminating photos of me popping up?"

I shook my head. "I don't think so. Cass was taking a lot of pictures but those were mostly of you two making kissy faces at the camera. Zack took some too with his new "I think I'm a professional photographer now that I spent four-hundred dollars on camera equipment" camera."

She nodded. "I can handle kissy face pictures," she said with a laugh.

"Oh. And there was one more thing," I said. "You started yelling at me because we don't have a song."

"A song?" she asked confused.

"Yeah. You know like a song... You hear it and you're supposed to think of the other person."

"Oh," she nodded. "I remember now. Cassadee and Rian were dancing to their song."

"Brian Adams."

"Yes. The Robin Hood song."

I laughed. "Right. So that one's not on my list."

"You made a list?" she asked.

"You told me to. You said you didn't want our relationship to be like a dictatorship, so we both should come up with songs."

She shook her head. "I haven't thought of anything yet..." she said, biting her lip.

"Don't worry," I said reaching for the computer on the night stand and turning it on. "I have a lot of songs on the list you may like."

"You did this last night?"

"I started going over songs in my head while I was sitting at the police station waiting for my turn to be questioned. And then once I got back here, I was too worked up to fall asleep and you were out cold... So I put together a little "Our Song" playlist on my iTunes."

She smiled a little and leaned over to kiss me lightly. "Okay. Let's hear it."

"Now I should warn you," I started as I opened up iTunes and clicked on the playlist. "Some are more cheesy than others."

"I'm prepared," she said, settling up against the pillows and resting her head on my shoulder.

I clicked on the first song which was What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction.

"You're kidding," Brook said through a lot of giggles.

"Not for a second. Have you listened to the lyrics? And don't say you haven't because I've heard you sing it under your breath a few times."

"Okay..." she said slowly. "What does this song have to do with us?"

"It ain't hard to tell you don't know you're beautiful... If only you saw what I could see you'd understand why I want you so desperately..." I sang and she laughed some more.

"Wow, Alex. That just might be the first time you've sang in front of me."

"Really?" I suddenly felt like my cheeks were getting warm. "Did it make you swoon?"

She nodded slowly. "A little bit."

"Do you get it?" I asked, leaning my head down on top of hers as I played the chorus of the song for her.

"Yes," she sighed. "I get it. You think I'm beautiful and I'm incredibly insecure."

"I don't think it. I know it," I said, skimming through my list and playing a few seconds of Just The Way You Are by Bruno Mars and Who Says by Selena Gomez.

"Okay," she sighed dramatically. "I'll try and embrace my inner amazing and perfect side, happy?"

"Yes," I smiled, kissing her gently before scrolling through the list again and deciding which to play next.

I played her clips of When I'm 64 by the Beatles, Coming Home by New Found Glory and I'm Yours by Jason Mraz.

"Out of those, definitely the Beatles."

"I think so too," I smiled before playing her a few more. No One by Alicia Keys, Faithfully by Journey and Bless the Broken Road by Rascal Flatts.

"Hmm..." she paused. "This is tough. But I think I'd pick the Alicia Keys one."

"Yeah? I would have gone with Rascal Flatts."

"Really?" she looked up at me. "I do love that song."

I played the next three, each making Brook giggle more than the last. Give Your Heart A Break by Demi Lovato, Ours by Taylor Swift and This I Promise You by Nsync.

"Oh god," she laughed. "All three."

"Oh come on! That Taylor song is perfect!"

"You think?"

"Absolutely. They're apart a lot. Some people don't think they're going to work out. Some people say shit that they shouldn't. We both of ghosts in our pasts."

She looked at me confused. "Who says shit they shouldn't?"

I bit my lip. "No one."

"Alex," she narrowed her glare at me.

"Okay fine. There might be some talk on the internet amongst fans about you."

"Oh." she said with little emotion.

"You okay?" I asked slowly.

"Yeah," she shrugged. "I guess I'm just glad it's not your friends talking bad."

"Not at all," I smiled to reassure her. "Oh! And what about this part," I said, changing the subject and playing another part of the song. "I don't exactly have a gap between my teeth, but some of them are a little jacked up. And you're always whining at me on the phone when I start rambling and you say you need a code to crack what I mean... And come on! The tattoos? I know your dad wasn't completely okay with the fact that I have them."

Admittedly, I was way too excited about this.

She laughed a little. "You've really given this a lot of thought, huh?"

He nodded. "I really think it's perfect."

She nodded slowly. "I have to say it's probably my favorite so far."

"Okay... There's only a few left," I said as I clicked on the next song and The World Has It's Shine by Cobra Starship started.

Immediately a smirk spread across Brook's face. "I've always loved this song."

"Yeah... You know what though... I'm not too sure it's a good idea."

"What? Why? It actually really is a good-"

I cut her off. "Yeah. But you want to birth the future offspring of Gabe Saporta. Anytime you hear the song you're going to think of him before me and that's just awkward."

She nodded. "This is all true. Very, very true."

"Thanks Brook," I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, don't be so dramatic," she laughed, nudging me with her elbow. "I don't really want to have his babies. We can just safely do the activity that sometimes results in the birth of babies a few times and then I'd be good."

"Brook, that's not funny," I frowned. "He's a good friend of mine. And chances are you'll meet him eventually. I don't want to worry about you two running off."

She matched my frown. "Oh, silly. I was just playing," she leaned up and kissed me quickly. "You're the only super tall, lanky, skinny jean wearing lead singer for me."

"Thanks," I rolled my eyes.

"But if you want to guarantee that you should probably learn Spanish and work on your dance moves," she said with a giggle.

"Okay," I turned back to the computer screen. "Moving on. Here are the last three. And I think you're going to like them."

"Okay," she nodded as I played three Bon Jovi songs for her: Always, I'll Be There For You and Born To Be My Baby.

She looked up at me for a second before she smiled. "Without a doubt the last one."

"Why 'without a doubt'?"

"Duh... The first two are breakup songs."

"Technically..."

"Come on... Always... 'It's been raining since you left me, now I'm drowning in the flood.' He sings about the girl being with another guy!"

I laughed a little. "Okay. Okay. I guess I didn't listen to the lyrics as carefully as you. I'll keep that one on hold until you leave me for Gabe."

She nodded. "And then it will fit perfectly."

I glared at her. "What's wrong with I'll Be There For You?"

"Breakup song," she huffed. "It starts 'I guess this time you're really leaving, I heard you're suitcase say goodbye'."

"That could be me leaving for tour.."

"And what? Left me to crying a thousand rivers? Drowning in my tears?"

I sighed. "Okay. Fine. But what about the chorus..." I fast forwarded through the song until I got to the part I was talking about.

I'll be there for you
These five words I swear to you
When you breathe I want to be the air for you
I'll be there for you
I'd live and I'd die for you
I'd steal the sun from the sky for you
Words can't say what love can do
I'll be there for you

She smiled a little. "That is nice."

"And it's true! When you get drunk, Brook I want to be the wine," I said with a smirk and she giggled.

"Cute. Real cute."

"I mean... He sings about missing Valentine's Day," I paused to raise my hand. "I did that. He sings about missing her birthday," I paused to raise my hand again. "I did that too."

She looked up at me. "Well, it is one of my favorite Bon Jovi songs... So I guess if we disregard the part where they're breaking up, we can use this song."

I smiled. "So that's it? We have a song?"

She laughed a little. "I think we have a few. Is it appropriate to have multiple songs?"

I nodded. "I think we can make an exception."

"Good," she smiled, leaning up and kissing my chin before looking back at the screen. "There's one more song on there you didn't play."

Immediately my cheeks flushed and I minimized the iTunes program. "No. I played them all," I said quickly.

"No. You didn't," she said, shoving my hands away and reopening iTunes herself.

"Oh hey. You used a computer on your own!" I teased.

She glared at me and clicked on the song called Kiss Me Again. "Who is this she asked?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but then the actual vocal on the song started and Brook's eyebrow raised. "Is this you?"

I sighed. "I did some writing with this newer band on our label. It was supposed to be a two sided song where the girl is all about making the relationship work and the guy is not into it being serious. I was supposed to write the guy part."

She paused the song and started over. "This sure doesn't sound like a guy who's not interested."

"Yeah... Well that's because every time I tried to write something uninterested I was distracted by this neurotic, 80's hair band, 90's boy band, Disney channel loving neat freak with the most incredible smile and beautiful eyes."

She stared at me, blinking a few times. "This song is about me?"

A small laugh escaped my lips. "How many neurotic, 80's hair band, 90's boy band, Disney channel loving neat freaks with the most incredible smile and beautiful eyes do you think I know?"

She didn't seem to find the humor in my question. "Alex, you wrote a song about me?"

I shrugged. "I technically only wrote half a song about you. The band wrote the other half."

Slowly a smile spread across her face before she went back to the computer and played the song again from the beginning.

I gotta say
Something I've been thinkin bout
I can't wait
To lay around with you
And tell you all
The secrets I've been keeping to myself

It's been awhile
Since I've felt butterflies
Do you feel the same way too

If every single second
Could last that much longer
Would you hold me

And kiss me again
Underneath the moonlight
You're more than a friend
I knew it from the first sight

Hold me feel my heartbeat
Put your arms around me

And kiss me again

I've gotta say
I wasn't expecting you
To come this way
And fall into my arms
And now I know
I can't deny this feeling any longer

I close my eyes
I can't stop thinking bout you
Crack a smile
I just can't lose
At a mile-a-minute
My heart beats to the limit
When I'm with you

So kiss me again
Underneath the moonlight
You're more than a friend
I knew it from the first sight

Hold me feel my heartbeat
Put your arms around me

And kiss me again

I can't let you go
Can't let you float away
Cause that would be a mistake
I'm not ready to run
Can't let you go
To waste, no

And kiss me again
Underneath the moonlight
You're more than a friend
I knew it from the first sight

Hold me feel my heartbeat
Put your arms around me

And kiss me again

I was nervous when the song ended and she looked up at me. I immediately saw the tears that were pooling in her eyes and I really, really hoped they were good tears.

"You okay?" I asked her, touching her cheek lightly and wiping away one of the tears that successfully slipped passed her eyelashes.

She nodded quickly. "That has got to be the sweetest, most wonderful thing anyone has ever done for me."

I smiled. "I didn't mean for it to happen. It just sort of did," I shrugged.

"I don't care," she sniffled. "It's perfect."

I smiled as she crawled into my lap and wrapped her arms tightly around my neck. "Thank you," she whispered in my ear.

"You're welcome," I whispered back, slipping my arms around her waist. "What are you going?" I asked as she showered my entire face with kisses.

She pulled away and smiled at me. "The song says kiss me again and again and again..."