We Can Be Forever

“You did what to her two years ago?” Jesse asked in disbelief.

They were sitting in his car after Nathan and Ruby had left. Jesse’s head was still spinning from the recent series of events. After she punched Adam, a long string of ruckus followed after, mostly from trying to calm the girl down, and the doctor came in to admonish them before kicking all of them out of the hospital for disturbing the peace. When they arrived outside, he half expected the girl to throw another punch at his best friend, but instead she simply asked Nathan to take her home.

Adam scratched his head, burying his face in his hands, and admitted, “I was stupid back then, okay? I didn’t know what I was doing.”

“Adam, she would be the perfect opener,” Jesse groaned.

“I know she would…” Adam remembered how hard he kicked himself after he went home from work and searched for her name on the internet. While she was not celebrity famous, her name was definitely not unknown. There were clips of her performances, her written songs, and the records of her classical training. He couldn’t have felt like more of an ass if he had tried.

“Okay, we’re going to Mickey’s house and meet up with the guys. When we’re there, you’re gonna tell us everything that happened two years ago and we’re going to sit there, all night if necessary, and figure out how to fix this. As much as I’d like to find another person, I’ve got my eyes set on Ruby because she’s perfect for this and I honestly don’t want to give up. From the way she looked when I told her about it, she probably wanted it too.” Without another word, Jesse started the car.

When they arrived to Mickey’s house, he asked about Ruby, the question to which Jesse answered with a shrug. “She’s fine, really. It turns out that she knows Adam from a while back.”

“Well that’s great, when is she coming in on Monday?”

“That’s the problem, she’s not." Jesse glared pointedly at Adam. "Tell them why, Adam."

And he did. It took half a day for them to listen to his story and think of a way to get back in her good graces. It was weird to think that they were, in a way, back in the old days when they had to schmooze in order to get someone to buy their record. Now it was about finding an opener and someone who could sing with Adam. By the time Adam and Jesse left, the band was beginning to feel like a band again and it was all because of a deaf girl who couldn't forget what Adam had done to her two years ago.



Jackson was napping when Ruby saw her phone flash, indicating that the doorbell was ringing. She peeked into his room and felt relieved that he hasn't moved. He was difficult when it came to sleeping because the boy loved to spend every minute of his time playing. She checked her phone again to see if Nathan might have texted to tell her that he was coming or something. Instead, there was no text. Who could it be? She has never had a problem with paparazzi because Carson wasn't so famous as to attract the attention of snoopy tabloids, and even so, Siri and he said that there wouldn't be a problem if people found her living there.

She peeked out the window at the side of the door to see no one. When she opened the door, there was indeed no one. Shrugging, she wandered back to the kitchen again in search of something to eat. In the middle of heating up some soup, her phone vibrated again. This time, she shut off the stove and padded towards the door. For some reason, her heart started to beat. There was something about being at home defenseless with a sleeping child that scared her, so on her way towards the front door, she grabbed an umbrella that had been leaning against the dining room table for a week because of last week's storm. She looked out the window to find no one standing there.

When she opened the door this time, she felt her blood go cold when she spotted the yellow orchid on the ground. Her thoughts ran blank as she realized what that meant. She fumbled for her phone and unconsciously dialed 911 while forgetting that she could not hear the operator on the other door. Help me! Someone is stalking me! Was that what she said? It was interesting how fear could really make a disability she had long conquered come crashing down on her. She ran out the door barefoot, holding the umbrella in one hand and the cellphone in the other. She had to put a stop to this at once.

Never in a million years did she think he could be able to figure out that she had moved, let alone find this place. She couldn't endanger Carson or Siri or Jackson or those people who had cared for her and helped her. She ran blindly. When she crossed the gates that enclosed Carson's house, she found herself colliding with a body bigger than her, sending her backwards. She heard a shout, someone grip her arm, someone fall on top of her, and her head hitting the ground. It happened so quickly but the last thing she remembered thinking before passing out was what a relief it was that he wasn't the one who wanted to hurt her.

When Ruby came back to the waking world, she saw Carson's white ceiling above her and the sunset streaming through the window. She could feel the pounding of her heart and the blood rushing to her head. A loud WHOOSH slammed into her ears and she could briefly pick up the voice of a child drifting in and out of a song, mingling with that of an older man's and before she could say that she could hear again, a sharp pain pierced through her head, sending her bolting up from her spot on the couch. What was that? Was she beginning to gain her hearing back? Or was she just imagining it? It has been so long since she has last been able to hear that the ability to do so felt foreign to her, like learning how to swim.

She stood up quickly, realizing what had happened before she had left the house - she left Jackson sleeping in the house alone! Her head started to spin because she had stood up too fast and she found herself woozy and unsteady until she felt two strong hands cover her shoulders. When her chocolate brown eyes connected with Adam Levine's green eyes, the world realigned again. She wanted to jump back but her body thought differently as it sought refuge in his comforting grip. She sat down on the couch and found herself relived when Jackson came bounding around with his train and a bright smile on his face.

She opened her mouth to speak but was suddenly at a loss of how to do it. It was one thing to be able to communicate with Nathan and Jesse and the others because if they didn't understand her speaking, she could fall back on sign language. Adam's hands left her arm and ventured to the back of her head, where he felt around gently. Ruby felt her eyes slowly close at the way his fingers ran themselves through her hair, massaging her scalp, but she jumped when Jackson suddenly climbed onto the couch and into her lap. His fingers left her head as he muttered something. For the first time since meeting him again, she realized that she couldn't read his lips.

"What?" she said. It was ironic, a deaf person not understanding what a non-deaf person said.

"You're fine." She guessed that must have been what he said when a look of relief graced his features.

She shifted around with Jackson in her lap, looking for her cellphone, but was dismayed to find him pulling out a black piece of junk that was supposed to be her cellphone. It must have been broken when she fell. "Are you serious?"

Adam shrugged, pulling a notebook that had been sitting on the coffee stand and handed it to her along with a pen. Ruby started writing, unable to believe that she was back to this again.

What are you doing here?

Before he could start to say anything, she shook her head firmly and handed him the notebook. He blinked, confused, and frowned when she pointed at his mouth and shook her head. So instead of arguing, he took the notebook and wrote down his response.

I was coming to check on you.

I'm fine.

Didn't seem like it when you were running outside barefoot like a maniac with an umbrella and a cellphone. What happened?

She gave him a look and decided that she didn't want to explain the story to him, the very thing that had been haunting her for the past few years.

So instead she wrote, I thought someone was stalking Carson.

Adam looked at it and seemed as though he was going to start writing again but then stopped, apparently convinced by her explanation. Without waiting for him to think of a reply, she grabbed the notebook from him and write in big letters, Now, why are you REALLY here?

At this time, Jackson had jumped off her lap and ran towards his corner of toys, safely out of the tension that was slowly brewing between the two. Anyone watching the exchange would think it looked slightly romantic, but if they read the words on the pages, they would think otherwise. I wanted to ask you to give this a try - being our opener. Come see our rehearsal.

I'm afraid I'm going to say no.

Why? Are you still mad about that?

Did you think I punch everyone I meet?

Okay, fair point, but we would greatly appreciate your help. If you haven't been reading the entertainment news for the past few months, you probably don't know that Maroon 5 is going through a bit of a downhill slide and we need this next tour to regain our standing.

Right, out of the kindness of my heart, right?

If you go on tour with us, I'll spend every moment we're not on stage making it up to you. You want to sing on the stage, right? You'll be able to do that. If you want to start singing on your own, we can arrange that too. Whatever you want.

Just so you don't waste your time, no.

I didn't want to do this, but since I carried you inside after you fell unconscious in the street, don't I deserve some kind of thanks?

I didn't think you would pull this card. Why do you want me as an opener so bad? Is it to soothe your guilt? Because if so, I'll absolve you of that. That punch really did it for me so thanks for standing still. I don't need charity.

Ruby watched as he became more tense. The knuckles of the hand that held the pen were now white as he gripped it tightly and imprinted the words onto the page. His eyebrows were furrowed and concentrated, as though there was nothing all that strange about having a silent conversation on paper. Two years, she mused, was a long time. He hasn't changed much since then. There was still that faux hawk on his head and because he was wearing his t-shirt, she could still see his tattoos peaking out from under his sleeves. He was still the handsome mentor whom she had picked while she stood on that stage, the one she had put her trust and faith him to guide her towards her dream, the one who had crushed it with his hubris and greed.

She glanced down at the words on the page when he handed the notebook back to her. I know I haven't been a very decent guy in your eyes ever since we've met. We both know what happened two years ago and I can't breathe right whenever I think about it, but please, give me a chance to make it up to you somehow. Don't think of this as you helping us, think of us as an opportunity for the world to notice you and let me tell you, they will.

Adam pulled out his phone and turned it on, showing a video of her standing on the stage that day. He handed her the phone to let her look at the video. She had been so lost in the song that she had no qualms about her appearance. She looked like a child, belting our her lungs on stage when she was merely lost in the euphoria of those dripping notes. Ruby could almost hear the song playing and her own voice singing along. Somehow she found herself holding the notebook again, this time reading another passage that Adam had written while she watched the video.

Nathan uploaded that video and in one hour, there was over 50,000 views. The world heard you sing, Ruby, now it wants you to do an encore. We need you as much as you need us.

Ruby took the pen from him and started writing. That was the first time I've sung publicly since two years ago.

And you were awesome. Adam reached over and pressed the play button and again they were watching her sing Halo in that dark café. Ruby looked up to see Adam's lips moving while he watched the image. It was easy to tell that he was singing because of the way his Adam's apple moved and before she knew it, she found herself reaching out to cover his throat with her hands. He froze suddenly before she nodded at him to keep singing.

He did and she closed her eyes, imagining the way he sung, recalling the memories of his past voice and the voice she had heard a while ago. Was there such a thing as feeling music? Somehow she was able to feel the notes align themselves into that bittersweet song and imagining him sing it made it all the... sweeter. Adam stopped singing after a while and she realized that it was because he was done. She opened her eyes to see him observing her. Suddenly she felt vulnerable. Usually she was the one observing people. They viewed her disability as something so debilitating that they could ignore her and not know that she was observing them and learning things about them simply through the way they spoke or looked when they moved. Now it was the other way around.

She blushed, pulling the notebook onto her lap as she started to write - Your falsetto is broken. You need to tilt your head back more until you restore your range. And in order to restore your range, you need to follow the honey regiment every time you sing. It warms your throat and keeps it from being worn out. I hope you're no longer drinking alcohol because that stuff can harm your range greatly.

Thank you. How do you do it?

She raised an eyebrow and gave him a questioning look, waiting for him to continue.

Sing the way you could.

I don't know how to explain it. Not being able to hear keeps me from being worried whether or not I've hit the notes. I just think about singing the song the way I want to sing it.

He started to stand up and his eyes looked towards the kitchen where she directed her glance next and when the smell of burnt soup permeated her senses, she bolted up immediately and followed Adam into the kitchen to find him fanning the burning soup. Ruby frowned and pushed him out as she lifted the pot and turned off the stove. There went her lunch. Adam directed her towards the dining room table where she sat watching Jackson play in his corner and the older man disappeared back into the kitchen for ten minutes, after which he came out with three sandwiches. She watched with fascination as he called Jackson to the table and the boy came bounding over.

She stared at the sandwich in front of her, two slices of wheat holding together two slices of turkey, lettuce, cheese, tomato, and lathered in honey mustard. It looked delicious. They ate in silence and when they were done, Adam looked down at his watch before he grabbed the notebook and wrote:

I have to go and get ready for rehearsal. Do you want me to call Nathan over?

She nodded and took the notebook from him. Adam left for the living room to call Nathan though he didn't know why he even did such a thing, especially since she couldn't hear the conversation anyways and as it turned out, she couldn't read his lips either. After he made the call and told the younger man what happened, the man on the other end of the phone freaked and announce that he would be coming over soon. When he came back to the dining room, he almost found himself calling out to her when he saw the dishes were gone and heard the sound of the water in the kitchen. Just when he was going to go into the kitchen, he saw the words written on the notebook -

Since my phone is broken, send an email to the following address below an hour before you come to pick Jackson and me up for rehearsal next Monday.

His heart lifted when he saw the email address and right then, she was walking out from the kitchen, her expression guarded and observant. Adam flashed her a smile as he walked towards her. When he started to hand her the notebook, she said, "I still haven't decided to join you guys yet, but I don't see any harm in going to see you guys rehearse."

"You're right," he nodded.



He couldn't believe his palms were sweaty.

Adam brushed his palm against his jeans as he parked the car. It felt like he was going on his first date or something. He hasn't heard anything from Ruby ever since the day he had left her house and for some reason, it made him feel even worried when it came to impressing her with his band. When she had touched his throat with her hands, he had that reflexive thought of jerking away until he realized that she was only trying to feel what he sounded like. Even as he went to bed that night, the concept fascinated him - the idea that a singer could still be amazing even after the most important sense was lost to them.

He had no idea why or how they had ran into each other that way but she didn't seem particularly comfortable with sharing that detail with him so he didn't see the need to push. He imagined that she had probably deal with that when Nathan came over. The younger male seemed oddly protective of her when he heard about her plight. Adam started to push on the honk until he remembered that she couldn't hear and kicked himself mentally. How long was he going to go through these bouts of forgetfulness? He always felt like an ass when he would start to do something that was inconsiderate towards her, like yell her name or something. He had already sent the email prior to getting into his car when he still hasn't gotten a response, so he wondered if she had been able to check it at all.

Adam got out of the car and started towards the house. After he got through the gate, he could see movement by the window as she started toward the front door. Ruby had opened the door before he was able to knock and without letting him put in a word, she handed him a white iPhone with a disgruntled expression on her face and said slowly, "Put your number in there. I don't know how to use it."

Without another word, she turned around and headed back into the house, calling for Jackson to finish getting ready. She was wearing a rose pink dress with a beige cardigan and white flats that made it seem like she was going on a picnic instead of into a studio to watch five guys play pop songs. Adam obeyed and followed her into the house, noting the dark surroundings that she had prepared for going out and he laughed when the boy came running at him from the kitchen, giggling and calling his name. "Hey buddy! Are you ready to go out today?"

"Where are we going, Adam?" the boy asked with a wide smile.

"We're going to my studio, you like to hear Ruby sing, right? You'll get to hear her sing today!" he answered, grinning.

When Jackson pointed towards the living room, Adam looked over to see Ruby with a blank expression on her face, staring back at him. She had Jackson's yellow hoodie in her hand and holding a thin cardigan for herself. Adam felt a tiny shiver go up his spine under her stare, but he persisted and flashed her a questioning look, to which she shook her head and continued her way towards him. Adam felt a bit dismayed when he had to put Jackson's child seat on the leather seats of his Mustang, but if that was what it took to get Ruby to the studio and eventually on tour with him and the boys, it was worth it.

Twenty minutes later, they were parked in the back parking lot of the rehearsing studio where they were meeting. Jackson and Ruby followed him inside until they came to the studio room. She greeted the band when she came in and Jesse was the first to come up to her and suddenly Adam felt a strange feeling of being left out and abandoned when they started signing to each other. Jackson left her side and went to the rest of the band when they started to ask him how his summer as been. Adam watched the two fall into deep conversation until Ruby signed something and pointed to her ear. Jesse's eyes brightened as he said, "Really? Does it work?"

Ruby shook her head and responded slowly, "I'm still getting used to it. I pick up random noises every now and then but it's not the same."

Jesse smiled and responded, "Well, that's okay. You could sing well without it anyway."

"I guess you're right," she replied. They both started towards the group and Adam followed along, wondering what they were talking about, especially with the noise thing. Was her hearing slowly coming back?

Jesse pulled out a notebook from his backpack along with a folder full of music sheets that they had been using to compose. "Here are all of the things we've written so far. Adam told me what you said about his voice, do you think that he could hit these notes if he follows that regiment, especially by December?"

Ruby perused through them, every now and then tapping at a certain spot that caught her attention. The group paid attention as her lips moved even though no sounds came out. After a while, she finally finished and she looked around the group and said, "Can anyone here sing tenor? Besides Adam?"

Slowly, James raised his hand, as though uncertain as to whether or not the group wanted him to volunteer. Ruby studied him before she reached across the table and wrapped her hands around his neck, making everyone jump in surprise until Adam told them to stop. Firmly, she said, "Give me some chords."

Ruby closed her eyes when James started to belt out the notes and it was then that Adam came to the realization that someone in the group had that potential to replace him. Ruby opened her eyes and nodded, as though somewhat satisfied. She stood him and beckoned over to the studio room as they all watched the two go inside. Ruby started to sign something but remembered that James could not understand her so instead she spoke clearly, looking him straight in the eyes as she said, "I'm going to sing A minor, tell me if I'm there."

James nodded and Ruby rested her hand against her own throat as she sang. When she did, he nodded indicating that she had hit the notes.

"From the top," she instructed.

The group watched as the two started to sing, a mellowed version of Adam's voice and Ruby's voice, harmonizing just like they said it would. Was this what he could have had if he didn't start drinking? Adam wondered. James would trip every now and then because his strength had never been in singing. He was not a foreground voice, but a harmonizing one, and besides, the group loved him for his guitar skills. Right now, Adam wanted to be in that room with her. He found that passion for singing return to him, the ability to harmonize with someone so perfectly. The two voices mingled and intermingled, mixing and unmixing in a way that made people know that there could be no other match. Even so, it was imperfect. Ruby's confident voice overpowered James's voice by mere experience. While she sang the verses smoothly, James would trip or quiet down. Even if his voice had been better than Adam's, there was no way for him to match.

"Jesus," Mickey stared at the scene before him. He didn't believe it when he was at the poetry bar, but now he had no choice. She was simply breathtaking. She just walked into the room and took control of everything like it was something she did everyday. He was getting new bursts of inspiration as he heard her voice. Everyone in the band knew how flawed James's technique was even though they weren't really listening for it, they were listening to the meshing between his voice and her voice, Adam's voice and her voice, and it gave him new ideas for songs.

"I told you she's worth it," Jesse said, grinning. Jackson ran up to him at that time with his eyes wide with surprise and wonder and Jesse picked him up, asking, "Look Jackson! She's singing!"
When the song was over, Ruby looked over to James and nodded before she walked closer to him and tiptoed up to his ear and said something that went unheard to the group. James's eyes widened when she said that before he nodded and got out of the room. He nodded at Adam and jerked his thumb towards the studio room. "She said for you to give the song a try and do what she told you."

Adam went into the room and found Ruby marking some of the pages. Suddenly they could hear Mickey's voice on the other side saying, "Hey Adam, give that song a try, okay? I know the notes are high, but just do your best."

He nodded and they started singing the song. It was really an amazing quality. The song was meant to harmonize and that it did. It has been a while since Adam truly felt confident that the song he was performing did not need auto-tuning, that somehow his voice hadn't fallen so far after all. Ruby's voice weaved in between the lines, leaving him to bold sing the song regardless of the high notes. He had difficulties at some parts but nonetheless, knowing that she was there with her accompaniment, her support, made him feel encouraged to take the chances. Right when they reached the chorus, he found that Ruby's voice didn't join him. When the sound of the headphones hit the ground, he looked over to see the girl holding her ears in pain. He came to her and grasp her arm gently while asking, "What's wrong?! Are you in pain?!"

Much to his surprised, she looked up at him, her eyes wide with shock. She came closer to him until her face was mere centimeters from his and Adam was suddenly bombarded with the scent of wild flowers as she demanded, "Say that again."

"What?" he blinked, unsure of what was happening.

"No, before that," she said.

"What's wrong? Are you in--" Adam stopped suddenly, realizing what she had just said. "You can hear again."