April 28th, 2017

Mark's POV

I walked down the Fine Arts hall after tutoring to find Jack. He called me a nerd for getting good grades and still doing tutoring, but he waited for me every day in the theatre room. I was about to push open the doors to the classroom next to the music room, but I heard the soft melody of the piano ring out into the hall. I turned around and walked in to see Jack playing a song I had never heard before on the piano. Finally he started singing.

"Maybe I'm odd
Maybe I'm insane
Maybe it's the voices in my brain
Maybe I don't know
But baby do I know
Why we're so scared." He read off of a folded piece of paper as he sang and played a beautiful melody on the piano.

"Oh I love you
And I hate you oh so much
I'm old and mature
Controlled by immaturity

We don't know what we want
But we want it all
We don't understand
But we're know-it-alls
Love is love
And love is hate
We're the Odd Ones Out
We're quiet and we're loud
We're the Odd Ones Out
We're mature and immature
Maybe we are bipolar
Maybe we are insane
But love is love
And love is hate." He seemed to move with the music, feeling the rhythm of the piano and the melody of his own voice.

"I know who I am
But I don't understand
I know the ones I love
But maybe I'm confused

I don't know what I want
And I want it now
My voice is so quiet
But it's very loud

We don't know what we want
But we want it all
We don't understand
But we're know-it-alls
Love is love
And love is hate
We're the Odd Ones Out
We're quiet and we're loud
We're the Odd Ones Out
We're mature and immature
Maybe we are bipolar
Maybe we are insane
But love is love
And love is hate." I moved just slightly to see his face. His eyes were closed and he smiled brightly as he sang the chorus.

"I'm the brightest light in the room
But my smile is filled with gloom
I'm big and I'm tough
But I'm so small

Maybe I'm not the only one
That feels this way
There are thousands of others
Marching to the beat of my heart

We don't know what we want
But we want it all
We don't understand
But we're know-it-alls
Love is love
And love is hate
We're the Odd Ones Out
We're quiet and we're loud
We're the Odd Ones Out
We're mature and immature
Maybe we are bipolar
Maybe we are insane
But love is love
And love is hate." He ended the song with a single beautiful chord. He had tears in his eyes and a soft smile on his face. I walked around and folded my arms over the lid of the piano. He scribbled something down on his paper then looked back to the piano. He gasped when he noticed I was there, quickly closing the piano and grabbing the paper to hide in his lap. He leaned to look over my shoulder and sighed at the clock.

"I keep forgetting that piece of shit is broken." He looked back at me. "Hi." He laughed nervously.

"What was that?" I smirked at him.

"What was what?" He shifted uncomfortably in the seat.

"That song. I've never heard it before." I put my chin in my hand and looked down at him.

"It was just something I wrote..." He muttered under his breath.

"You wrote that?" I stood up straight, my jaw dropping.

"Y-Yeah... It was just something I wrote for fun, then when you got me the piano I wrote an accompaniment. It's not that good." He fiddled with the paper in his hands.

"Jack, it's absolutely amazing! I love it!" I sat down next to him and hugged him tightly.

"You're acting like it's gonna be famous one day." He sighed and leaned into me.

"I'm not saying it won't be." I kissed his cheek.

"There's no way..." He sighed. "I'm not nearly a good enough singer." He unfolded the piece of paper and looked it over. Different musical signs were written above words and little notes were scribbled off to the side.

"You're an amazing singer, piano player, and actor. I'll be surprised if you aren't successful." I lay my head on his shoulder. He held my hand in his, playing with my fingers as he thought.

"I don't know. I don't have the best reputation. I just wish I could go back in time and change who I was." He held my hand and intertwined our fingers.

"You're a better person now." I looked down at our hands.

"Thanks to you. If we hadn't started dating, I'd still just be an introverted jerk." He leaned his head on mine. We sat in silence for a while, listening to the still piano and empty halls. The only noise was our breathing and the soft whir of the air conditioning above.

Finally I took a deep breath and whispered softly, "Jack, if you're so talented, why did you hurt people?"

He bit his lip and sighed, "I didn't think I was talented. And I was scared. I'm short, skinny, and geeky so I was an easy target for bullying. I didn't want people to hurt me. I had enough going on at home. So... I became the bully." I small tear trailed down his cheek. I wiped it away and hugged him close.

"You're so talented. I love you so, so much, and I'll do whatever it takes to protect you." I kissed his cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too." He giggled softly. "Forever."

~AN~

The song that Jack sang is actually something I wrote. Do you guys like it? I'll try to make a video soon with how the song actually sounds.

Also, I figured out the ending to this book! I feel like my chapters are getting worse and worse and the plot is really fuzzy. Do you guys want this book to end soon or do you want it to be longer? And do you guys want a third book in the series or no? Please let me know!!!

Anyway, thank you guys so much for reading and if you liked it PUNCH that vote button in the face, LIKE A BOSS! And I will see all you bosses IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!