Wishing Well

The moment I took Gerard's hand he pulled me deeper and deeper into the woods. It was getting dark already and I admit, I was a bit scared. We weren't in the safest place ever between whatever animals lurked around and the general high crime rate in Jersey.

We walked for a while, probably about half a mile, before we reached a very small clearing. In the clearing stood a little abandoned cabin, and in the front was a well. It looked like something straight out of a story book as both were covered in moss and vines. It looked like no one had been there in years. There was also a very odd amount of fire flies flying in and around the well. It all looked so magical and unreal, I almost couldn't believe it.

We stopped in front of the well where he let go of my hand and leaned on the stone to look inside. "What is this place?" I asked, wondering how he even found it to begin with.

"Sit." He said,turning around and sitting on the well himself. "There's a story behind this well. Want to hear it?" The glimmer of excitement and wonder in his eyes was so innocent and wonderful that there was no way I could refuse. Plus, who doesn't like a good story?

"What kind of story? A real one?" I asked, hoping not. I didn't want to hear about some crazy murder or something, I'd have been much more freaked out.

"Of course it's real." He smiled and winked at me, which of course told me it wasn't. "Once upon a time, there was a princess, betrothed to a man she'd never met. She was to marry a man of royal blood to unite kingdoms and end a war, the only problem was that she fell in love with a stable boy." I couldn't tell if he was making this up as he went or if it was actual lore. Either way I was very interested, it kept my mind off of the fear of being in the woods in the dark. "On her wedding day, she went to the stable boy and begged him to run away with her, but on their way out of the kingdom, her father's knights caught them and took them to the king. When they stood before the king, the princess explained to her father that she wasn't going to marry a man she didn't love, that she was going to give up being a royal and run away with the stable boy. This angered her father and he banished them both to an undiscovered land, to essentially die together." Watching Gerard tell this fairy tale was so entertaining, it was like watching a performer, he tuly was one at heart.

"And let me guess, that undiscovered land was New Jersey?" I said, mocking him a little.

"Of course it was!" He said, a huge smile on his face. "So they came to the new land and found themselves in trouble. Neither knew how to live off the land or fend for themselves, and just when they thought they were doomed, a goddess came to them. She said the treatment was unjust, and to make up for it, she would show them how to llive for themselves. She built them a cabin with their very own well for easy water supply right in the front yard." I laughed a little at how cheesy he was, I felt like a kid does when they ask their dad to tell them a story before bed, I just couldn't help but be interested. "As time went on, they ended up being very happy and the princess got pregnant. But during her pregnancy, the king found out that they had been living well, so he sent his knights to kill them. The stable boy hid the princess from the knights when they came, but sacrificed himself so she would not be found. He told the knights that she had died and he was alone. After they killed him, the princess was so heartbroken that she stayed in the cabin alone until the end of her pregnancy. After she had her baby, she wrapped him up and took him outside to the well. She cried for hours, holding her baby, wishing her stable boy hadn't been killed. When she stopped crying, she looked down at her baby and was filled with a love that only a mother could know, and suddenly the baby laughed for the first time. The babie's laughter burst into a thousand pieces, each one creating a fairy. The fairies lived inside the well, living to make others happy with their magic. One of he fairies approached the princess and thanked her for the life she created and told her she would grant her one wish. Of course, she wished for her stable boy to be alive again. And with a swish of her wand he lived. So the princess and her new family lived in the cabin and protected the fairies until they died, old and grey. And when they died, the fairies took on a disguise as little fire flies, so no one would try to catch them. And that's why fire flies exist. But to this day, they still reside in this well to grant wishes to those who offer coins."

"And let me guess again, that's how wishing wells came to be?" I smiled. I loved how this all tied together somehow.

"Absolutely." I was amazed by the story, it was whimsical and relavent and I for some reason I found myself holding onto that story forever, thinking about it from time to time.

"You are one creative man." I said, making him laugh.

"I don't know what you're talking about. That's all historical fact." He winked, melting my heart a bit. I felt like I was being super easy to win over, but how could I not be? Everything felt so perfect and right for once, I just wanted to be happy and my heart cried for it. Giving into temptation every once in a while wasn't so horrible, was it? "Come inside, it's getting cold." He said, taking my hand again and leading me to the cabin.

Inside, there was a couch, covered in plastic, sitting right in front of a lit fireplace. I was happy to see he'd lit it before I came, it was cold. "Here." He said, handing me a coffee he'd probably gotten from the little café close to the enterance of the woods.

I thanked him and sat down in front of the couch, not really wanting to sit on cold plastic.He took a seat next to me sighed, relaxing for probably the first time that day. "I actually wanted to talk to you about all this." He said, maybe a little stressed out.

"Me too. I feel like we put it off as not a big deal too quickly." I said, trying to stay honest about it all.

"I agree. I think I got a little scared and ran away from it, I just wanted whatever happened to be a thing I didn't have to be concerned about, because that's not normally how you start a relationship with someone." He looked at the fire, a serious look on his face. The light cast shadows on his face that outlined his bone structure and I started to wonder if this man ever looked bad, because it seemed impossible.

"Yeah. So I'm going to be really honest with you, okay? I'm not sugar coating anything." I said, to prepare him for what I felt. I didn't want to make him feel bad, but he had to know exactly how I felt.

"That's awesome, go for it." He said, finally looking at me.

"Okay. Well, obviously I like you, I wouldn't have come tonight if I wasn't at least a little interested." A small smirk grew on his face, making me smile. "Pay attention." I laughed, continuing on. "So that's good and well, but our problem is the school thing." The smirk quickly disappeared and was covered by another sigh. "Like I said, I really like you, I think you're sweet and funny and I like being around you, but I have to figure out if this is worth the risks we're facing. I could be expelled, you could lose your job, and we'd both have horrible reputations from it. You'd never be able to teach again, who the hell would hire a teacher who dated a student? And colleges won't want me either, who would want to enroll someone who got kicked out for dating a teacher? You see?"

"I totally get that." He said, calm, though I could tell he didn't like talking about this. "You're right too. We wouldn't be able to tell anyone, not until you graduate or I quit."

"Why would you quit? For your band?" I asked, realizing I didn't even know much about his band either.

"Yeah. That's the only thing that will make me quit, and I'm not trying to be an asshole. Because sitting here saying I wouldn't quit for you probably sounds shitty, but I have to make sure this is worth the risk too, you know? I haven't committed to this completely either, it's more complicated than 'let's go on a few dates and see how it goes.' It's bigger than that." I was glad we were on the same page and that he was being honest with me.

"I know. We need to figure this out. So what do we do? How do we know if it's worth the risk?" I felt a little anxious, like I was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"I think we should keep talking like we do, maybe even meet here every once in a while if you want, hang out with Frank and Lana, you know, stuff we've been doing. We just absolutely have to be careful. We can't slip up and let someone see us or know anything. And I hate how secretive this has to be, because I'm not the kind of guy to hide the relationship I'm in. When I'm with someone I tend to flaunt them to be honest. I am not ashamed of the woman I'm with, and I don't want you to feel like I'd be ashamed to be with you, because that wouldn't be the case." I thought it was sweet that he was already considering my feelings so deeply, probably on a level deeper than I had even gotten to.

"I know." I paused, but quickly broke the silence with a question I'd been dying to ask. "So what happened to kicking girls out of your class who hit on you?"

I got a chuckle out of him, but also a really honest and sweet answer. "Well, that rule went out the window the minute you walked into my class room. I don't know what it is, but I kind of already knew you were different than normal college girls. But don't get me wrong, I never intended to have real feelings for any student, not even you." He admitted.

"Well if it makes you feel any better, I never intended to have real feelings for a teacher either." It was true, I didn't, but it didn't mean I didn't already have a crush on him from the beginning.

"I didn't think so." He laughed, though it was short lived. "So I hear you have a date with my guitarist." He said, cutting right to a point I didn't think he knew about.

"Ray is your guitarist?" I asked, a little surprised, but I really should have known.

"Yeah. How did you get to talking to him?" I could see a little jealousy in his eyes, but he was being nice about it. After all, he wasn't my boyfriend.

"Lana. Honestly I wasn't paying attention to what she was saying at all and I accidentally agreed without knowing what I agreed to. That was 2 months ago. And I guess she's putting her foot down. I feel like I kind of got cornered into it." I felt bad about not saying anything about it, but I really just didn't want to go. I knew it was useless, especially since this whole thing with Gerard started.

"Lana can be that way." He said, looking down at the floor. "But you should go, you know, to shut her up. Otherwise she'll find out why you're resisting."

"And why do you think I'm resisting? Because of you?" I shoved his arm playfully, poking at his supposed arrogance.

"Actually I figured you'd resist because you've never even met the guy!" He shoved me back lightly, though I could see a bit of him was hoping it was because of him I didn't want to go.

"Yeah, that's pretty much why." I shrugged. I looked up and made eye contact with him for the first time in what seemed like forever. "And maybe it's a little bit because of you now."

"Oh really." he said, more than asked. He leaned in close to me, but didn't make any advances.

"Really." I smiled, though my nerves kicked in. I wasn't sure if it was okay to kiss him or not, it was an awfully romantic set up, and he'd obviously been interested in me, but my brain kept me from touching him, even though my finger tips were fighting he urge.

"Would it be totally terrible of me to want to try that kiss again?" He asked, and I was surprised to hear it, only because the first time there was no asking. It was sweet though, he really did care about how I felt.

"Yeah, probably." I laughed. It was true though, it was kind of terrible of him. "But I think I can let you do it anyway."

He smiled and lightly pressed his warm lips to mine, taking his time this go around. It wasn't so rushed and nervous, though my hands shook and heart raced. I kissed him back, pushing everything bad out of my mind. When I was kissing him, it was extremely difficult to remember that he was my teacher, or that we were risking our whole futures for what we were doing, or even that there was a large, almost weird age gap between us. All of that went away, even though it shouldn't have. It should have eaten away at me to the point of disgust in him, but he was so easy to be involved with, easy to fall for. He was making it hard to walk away from him, and a part of me knew that I'd been aware of it for a long time, I just never thought I'd get the chance to be in this situation, but bein in it for real was terrifying, even if I wasn't thinking about it at the moment.

Before I knew it is hands were drawn around my waist and he was pulling me closer. My hands were tangled in his already messy hair, tugging on him as if he were too far away. It was so odd, doing this, and my conscious mind knew it was wrong and I was able to look at myself and think "Oh my god what am I doing?! STOP!" but I refused to listen to myself, no, I wasn't able to listen. It suddenly seemed like someone else was taking over, doing the things my body wanted but my mind said was irresponsible.

He bit my lip, which was something I had just then discovered I liked, and I let out a sigh into him which made him smile again. This was so different than kissing anyone else, and naturally I compared it to Ben. Things didn't really get this way between us, we just made out, it wasn't interesting to say the least. There was no experimenting, no passion, and definitely no biting or pawing at each other like I found myself doing and being done to me. This felt very different and I was afraid of it, afraid of what it meant and how it made me feel. It felt like a commitment, or more so, it felt like me wanting a commitment. I embraced this fear, however, knowing there was not a whole lot I could do about it that minute anyway. Could I have stopped kissing him, left, and never talked about it again? Of course. The problem would be resolved. But I knew if I did that, my heart would slightly ache, I could feel a small emptiness and questions would arise that could never be answered. That's why I stayed. That's why I let him slip his tongue into my mouth and dance with mine. That's why I let every worry I ever had, every fear or regret melt away in those moments. That's why I was able to feel free.

We kissed for a long time, though it felt fast, like we had barely even started. He ended things with a few soft kisses and his hand on my face. "I should get you home." He said quietly. "It's late, I don't want Lana to ask questions."

"You're right." I said, having a hard time even speaking. "But I definitely wouldn't mind staying here longer. Is that too forward of me?" I felt weird asking, but it did feel pretty forward.

"Well sugar, my tongue just went half way down your throat, pretty sure being 'too forward' is out the window about now." He chuckled, making me blush. I was still a little shy about talking about it.

"Right." I paused, letting myself breathe for a second after quickly reliving it again. "We should go. Walk me to my car?"

"Of course." He said, standing up and offering out a hand for me to take. He poured a bucket of water he had sitting by on the fire to put it out, leaving the whole cabin extra dark. "Let's go."

He took my hand again as we walked through the woods. It felt good to have someone hold my hand again. Things with Ben weren't the greatest at the end of our relationship, he was distant, the romance gone, so when I told him that I wanted to leave for college, he wasn't too upset, but I was. It had been a long time since I felt the care that I was feeling coming from Gerard, and it was incredible to feel again. It was like the way things were before Ben got so cold, except I somehow knew this wouldn't go away if I didn't want it to.

We made small talk until we got to my car, where I brought up the essay. "So now how the hell am I going to get that essay done?" I laughed as he looked at the gravel in embarrassment.

"I guess I could let it slide for now. But don't you be late again Ms. Brandon" He winked.

"I wouldn't dream of it Mr. Way." I mocked, opening my car door and sitting down.

Gerard stepped in front of the door before I could close it and planted a hard, fast kiss on me, kind of out of the blue, shocking me a little. I was always afraid someone would see. "I'll see you tomorrow. Bright an early."

"O-okay." I stuttered, still taken aback.

"Goodnight sugar." He said, shutting my car door for me and getting into his own car, parked across the street at the café. My head was spinning form everything that just happened, but I had to push it aside and make my way home.

When I got home, Lana and Frank were in the living room, sitting on the couch. I was slightly scared that they knew or thought something, even though there really wasn't a possibly way they would. "Hey, how's Jeremy?" She asked, turning to face me.

"Uh, he's okay. We had a good time." I lied, trying to remember what I'd told her earlier.

"What movie did you watch?" She asked, though I felt like she was interrogating me.

"Oh, we watched uh, Bambi." I mentally slapped myself for the last second movie title. Was Bambi really all I could think of?

"What the hell? Why?" She laughed, probably thinking it was pathetic.

"I just wanted to and he likes Disney too so yeah." I started making my way to my room, wanting out of this situation as quickly as possible. "Anyway, I'm tired. Good night."

"Hey! Don't forget, tomorrow is Friday. You have a double date with us and Ray, got it? He'll be here at 6." She reminded me, though I wasn't too thrilled about it.

"Uh yeah, sure. I'll be ready." I said, slipping into my room. I couldn't have been more relieved to see my bed. I snuggled in and relieved the last few hours in my head, lulling me off to sleep.

I woke up late again the next morning, though this time I couldn't blame it on Gerard for keeping me out too late. To be honest I'd gotten plenty of sleep, I just didn't get up in time. I hurried and got ready to go and rushed out the door, making it literally just in time. I met Gerard a few feet from the door to his room, making him laugh at how rushed I probably looked.

"Late again Ms. Brandon?" He asked in his perfect professor voice.

"Not if I walk in the door before you do Mr. Way." I smiled, finding it weird that I was calling him that when all I could think about were images of him kissing and holding me. It was an awfully strange thing, especially since I had to act like nothing ever even happened.

I took a few steps ahead of him, though he made it a little easier by slowing his pace for me, and I sat down in my desk, a little out of breath, just as he walked in and set his coffee down, ready to start the day.

Class went on as normal, but every once in a while I would catch him looking at me, though his face normal and professional, his eyes had a glimmer of sweetness in them, like he was missing someone, and maybe that someone was me, I could only hope. But I would be lying if I said I wasn't taking this opportunity to stare at him a bit, as creepy as it sounds. He was teaching a lesson after all, and what kind of student would I be if I weren't paying attention to him?

After class, I approached his desk, which is something I found myself doing more and more often as of late. "Hey you!" I greeted cheerfully.

"Hey princess." He smiled, leaning against the wall behind his desk.

"Thanks for not assigning homework today. I don't think I would have been able to focus on it." I sighed, thinking about the date with Ray I had in just a few hours. It made me nervous, mostly because I hated blind dates and I was already "seeing" someone else, kind of. I was really into Gerard, which was amazing because I didn't think I'd be able to move on very quickly after Ben, even though the relationship I had with him wasn't the best.

"I figured. So where are you all going tonight?" He seemed a bit cold to the subject, like he didn't like it very much, but he kept a cool composure and hid any negativity best he could. He was a good actor though.

"Oh, I don't really know. I hope nothing too romantic. I just don't want to deal with it, I hate not knowing who I'm going on a date with." I rubbed my temples, stressed out.

"Ray is a good guy. He won't pressure you into anything, so don't worry about that. Honestly, I'm not even sure if he likes blind dates either. Just be real with him, he won't be a dick about it." He spoke very highly of his friend, which made me happy. I felt a little relieved that Gerard knew and liked him.=, though I didn't know why I felt better with his approval. It seemed silly, I didn't need anyone's approval but my own, I just wished I had my own!

"Thank you." I said, the relief probably showing on my face.

"For what?" He asked, crossing his arms, a little confused.

"Making me feel better. It just helps knowing he's at least a nice guy. Lana wouldn't really tell me anything about him." I shrugged.

He laughed for a second and shook his head. "Lana never talks to him. She doesn't know much about him at all. I don't even know why she set you guys up." He seemed incredibly irritated with Lana, and I found that very surprising.

"Don't you like Lana?" I asked, feeling a little weird.

"She's okay. She just gets a little annoying. She's constantly poking her nose in business it doesn't belong in and she always thinks she knows best. Don't get me wrong, I think she's a nice girl, but there's no way in hell I could deal with her like Frank does." He chuckled, shaking his head again. "Poor bastard."

"I know what you mean. I like her too, I just wish she wouldn't be down my neck about everything. She always has to know where I'm going or who I'm with. She's probably just concerned though." I tried to reason, though her constant interrogating did get on my nerves.

"Probably. But you should get to your next class, we won't be alone much longer." He said, eying the door.

"Okay. Well, I'm sure I won't be able to see you until Monday, unless you make plans with Frank again." I didn't really want to go the whole weekend without seeing him, but I had to deal with the fact that that would happen. I couldn't just go see him whenever like a normal guy. I was still coming to terms with what him being a teacher meant.

"I'll see what I can do sugar. Text me after your date, okay?" He smiled, though it looked a little forced.

"Promise. See ya." I smiled and waved as I exited his room. All through my last two classes, I did nothing but worry about the date and think about what the hell I was doing with Gerard. How could something so wrong feel so right?

I got home around 2, a little earlier than normal, and laid in bed, getting eaten alive by anxiety. I stalled until about 5:30, then started getting ready. I tidied up my already loosely curled hair and make up. I changed into a skirt that went mid almost to my knees, to keep it modest but still a little dressed up, as I didn't know where we were going. I matched it with a long sleeve, a jacket, and a nice pair of flats. I figured this way no matter what we did I wouldn't be too dressed up or not dressed up enough.

"Ashley! Let's go! Ray and Frank are here!" Lana called from the living room. She was wearing something similar, a skirt, though much shorter than mine, a vest, and short heels.

I went out to the car with her after grabbing my purse, where Frank was driving and Ray sat in the back, waiting for me. "Hi." I greeted him. His big, fuzzy, orange/reddish hair took me by surprise. He reminded me a bit of Slash from Guns 'N Roses.

"Hi, Ashley right?" He said, shaking my hand. "Ray."

"Good to meet you." I set my hands in my lap, grasping my purse handles, trying to deal with the turning in my stomach from the nerves.

The drive wasn't awkward, but I kept pretty quiet, not really sure what to say. This was already not my world yet. This was a literally a car full of people Gerard befriended. These where his people and I felt like I was somehow meant to be in that group of people. If Gerard hadn't brought me into it, Lana would have, and did. I just had to wonder if it was coincidence or fate. My thoughts were stopped abruptly when we came up to an Olive Garden. Thankfully I really liked Olive Garden and the nerves subsided a bit with the familiarity.

We all went in and sat down at a booth, couples sitting next to each other. I felt a bit awkward, but kept myself together. I tuned out a lot of the conversation going on between Lana and Frank, as it was a lot of inside jokes, some even Ray was in on, and romantic slurs. Honestly it just made me miss Gerard a little. I just wished it could be him instead of anyone else. I would have felt much more comfortable with him by my side.

Our food came and it looked incredible. I stayed relatively quiet while we ate, though Ray did try to make some conversation, asking about where I was from and general things like that. About half way through the meal Frank and Lana both got up to use the restroom, leaving us by ourselves. I felt super awkward as it got quiet between us until Ray broke the silence. "Hey, I'm sorry about all this. Blind dates aren't really my thing." He smiled, trying to make me feel better.

"It's really nothing personal at all." I started, not wanting him to feel bad. "You seem really sweet, but blind dates are not my thing either!" I laughed, both of us already knowing that Lana set us both up against our will.

"Well, let's stop considering this a date then, you know, take some pressure off." I couldn't have been more relieved at how cool he was being. Gerard was right, he was a good guy.

"That sounds good. I'm sorry too. Like I said, it's really nothing personal. We just don't know each other." I felt like I had to over explain, but he made it clear that he understood and actually felt the same.

"To be honest, I'm actually trying to get with someone else, I have been for a while." He laughed, making me laugh too.

"That's a relief because I've been kind of involved with someone else too." I couldn't believe how things had turned! It seemed awful, probably to any outsider listening in, but the tension between us had broken and we both were able to relax a little bit.

"Okay cool. So we can just do this as friends? No romantic obligations?" He asked, looking hopeful.

"Absolutely. I really have to thank you for being so awesome about it. And for the love of everything you do not have to buy my dinner!" I would have felt bad if I'd asked him to pay anyway, since we'd decided this wasn't a date.

"I'll buy your dinner tonight, because you're my friend. You buy next time?" He offered.

"Deal!" I was happy to have made him my friend. He seemed really nice and trustworthy. I liked him a lot, just not the way I liked Gerard.

Frank and Lana came back to us smiling at each other, though they definitely got the wrong impression. "Ooh! Getting along are we?" Neither of us had the heart to break hers, so we just nodded and went on with the dinner.

After dinner we all caught a movie, some cheesy romantic chick flick that pretty much only Lana wanted to watch. The rest of us tuned the whole thing out. Ray and I played games on his phone, which was more like a tablet if you asked me, and it was actually a lot more fun than a traditional date. I had a feeling we'd be very close friends.

The guys dropped us off back at home, and honestly I was glad I'd gone on the date. I made a great friend out of it, even though that wasn't the point. Lana drilled into me about how I felt about Ray and about if I was going to date him. "So are you two going o get together? Do you like him?" She ended, out of breath.

"No, we aren't going to date. Ray and I decided we just want to be friends. He's trying to get with someone else anyway, and I've been hanging out with Jeremy, remember?" I only half lied, but I had to, to keep stories straight.

"What the hell??" She whined, shrill. "I thought you guys hit it off!"

"We did! As friends! I will definitely be hanging out with him again, just not in a romantic way." I explained, confused by her disappointment.

"Whatever. I'm going to bed." She sulked, making her way to her room. I rolled my eyes and went to my room, a little irritated with her.

I laid in bed and dug my phone out of my purse an sent a text to Gerard. "I'm home."/

"How did it go?" He asked, though I knew that he already knew how it went.

"It was good! You were right, Ray is really nice. I think we'll be good friends." I probably should have explained a little more, but I figured he'd ask anyway.

"Does he know that you just want to be friends?" His concern made me smile, though it probably shouldn't have.

"Yes :) He brought it up before I did." I answered.

"Good! I'm glad it went well then." His responses seemed a little off, short.

"You okay?" I asked, hoping he wasn't upset with me.

"Yeah! Sorry, I'm actually recording something." I was a little happy to hear that. I was dying to hear his voice, but I knew nothing about his band at all and I really didn't want to ask Lana.

"So when can I hear? ;)" I said it like I was kidding, but I think we both knew I wasn't.

"Maybe I'll email the recording to you. Or maybe I'll just sing it for you in person." I would have loved to hear him in person. His talking voice was already something worth listening to, so I couldn't wait to hear what he sounded like singing.

"Maybe you could send it to me so the wait doesn't kill me! lol" I really did want to hear it, but I really wanted to hear it in person.

"Up to you. You pick." I felt like this night could not get any better.

"How about you send it to me and then next time I see you alone you have to sing it to me?" The ideal would be for him to come sing to me now, but again, that was something I had to sacrifice because of who he was.

"I'll send it to you for free. You're going to have to work for a live version! lol!" I wondered what he meant, automatically thinking he meant a sexual favor, but I should have known that wasn't the first thing on his mind.

"And what do you want in return?" I asked, not really thinking I'd get an answer.

"Artwork. I want you to paint something just for me. I've seen your portfolio, and I want a piece from you." For some reason I was surprised, but again, I shouldn't have been. Art for art, it was actually very classic Gerard Way. How did I not figure that out before he said it?

"Deal!! Send it!" I didn't know what I was in for. I thought I'd get something I didn't know or even just something a bit more rock or alternative, but what I received in that email was very, very different than anything I expected. It was labelled "Superstar - The Carpenters cover" and I was automatically more interested than before.

The moment I hit the play button I knew I was in for something incredibly different. I was right. Literally the first 30 seconds into his singing I was ready to cry. His voice was pure completely unaltered, beautiful. The emotional and almost heart wrenching chorus came in and I broke. I hadn't cried like that in who knew how long, and I didn't even know why. There was an incredible amount of emotion he'd poured into this song, and it was so easy to tell that it meant something to him. It was an incredibly sad song, but hearing him sing "Don't you remember, you told me you loved me baby?" made my heart ache and it laid a heaviness on my shoulders that I didn't even know was possible through something as simple as a song. I could barely focus on it anymore after he sang "Loneliness is such a sad affair, and I can hardly wait to be with you again. What to say to make you come again? Come back to me again and play your sad guitar." The chorus kicked in again and he continued to sing with that deep and heavy emotion and somehow I couldn't focus on the song, nor could I focus on anything but the song. It was such a strange feeling that I didn't even know I could feel. Something was so different about him and his voice, and that was amazing to me. My head was everywhere and I didn't know what to think anymore.

"Was it that bad?" He asked. I realized after the song ended I just sat there for about 10 minutes, my mind reeling.

"My god no. That's incredible, I've just been gathering myself. I don't think a song has ever made me feel like that. You are absolutely incredible." The words spilled out but I didn't feel like they meant enough. There's was no way to explain to him how I felt, but it was crazy to feel such emotions through something so normal.

"Thanks Lulu." He said. We talked for a few hours before I fell asleep, listening to his cover. I just couldn't stop. I fell in love with his voice that night and I couldn't wait to hear it in person.