Sighing, I throw my head back, soaking in the way the sun feels on my skin, warm and comforting, beginning to hang low in the sky, streaks of pink and purple painted around it. I'd been up here all day, guitar on my lap as I avoided the rest of the world... or, I guess, two people in particular.

She'd been all over him when we went for brunch this morning, chair scooted as close as she could get it, head resting on his shoulder, and he spoke to me like nothing was out of the ordinary, eyes sparkling as he made jokes like it was any other day. It almost made things worse somehow, how normal he acted when everything felt anything but normal.

"Write your feelings out," Zoe had advised the other night after she fixed me up before the premiere. After that moment in the coat closet with her and Sam, the two of them looked out for me all night. I could feel their gazes from across the room the entire after-party, watching as I chatted with Jamie and Lilly, drink in hand, numbing the pain.

I'd found a guitar in a music room downstairs, something I'd never seen in a hotel before but wasn't going to complain about. It's much nicer than the old acoustic in my room back home. The strings never seem to tune quite right, unlike this one, which sounded perfect. I hadn't realized how long I'd been out here writing until the sun began setting, letting me know that hours had passed since I came up to the rooftop, scattered pages of rejected lyrics piled beside me.

I haven't written a song in ages. To be quite honest, I didn't think I still had it in me until I started, a tune coming to me fairly quickly, lyrics pouring out of my like a waterfall. I wrote the words I longed to say to Jamie out loud, my fingers beginning to ache from holding down the strings for so long.

A door shuts behind me, startling the silence I'd created, "there you are," as soon as I hear the familiar voice, my shoulders relax, head turning to look back at the curly-haired boy that I haven't seen since brunch this morning, "figured you'd be hungry." He greets me, holding up a box of pizza.

As if on cue, my stomach growled, suddenly remembering the last thing I'd eaten was the strawberry French toast at the fancy brunch place we went to, "starving," I corrected him, smiling, "thanks, Jack."

I scoot over on the couch I'd been residing on, placing the guitar gently against it as Jack strolls over, dramatically lifting the lid to the cardboard pizza box, which steam immediately floats out of. He'd remembered all of my favourite toppings. "You play guitar too?" Jack asks as I reach for a slice, eagerly taking a bite.

"Mhmm," I hum, nodding as I finish chewing, "I used to want to be a musician."

The words used to hang in the air between us; I can see Jack's hanging onto them as well, his brow furrowing together as he asks, "used to?" He takes a slice of pizza, leaning back into the cushions.

"Every kid wants to be famous, right?" I question, shrugging nonchalantly. I don't go on to bother explaining anything about my birth father and the way he hated all things art related. I had to teach myself guitar and piano because he thought a guitar teacher was a waste of money, and even after they split, it still felt wrong to long to make music for a living, like a childish dream that would never in a million years happen for a girl like me. A girl like Trinity, sure. My sister is sweet, charming, and talented; she's the whole package and more. Of course, it'd happen for a girl like her. "

"Not you, though," Jack shakes his head, knowing me too well. When I quirk my brow, eating more, he continues, "you're not that type of person," he explains, like it's obvious, "you hate attention, you don't care about fame. If you wanted to be a musician, it was because you really loved it, no other reason."

I did really love it. I think as I glance down at the page of paper on my other side fully written out, a messy scrawl that only I could make out, with music notes written below them, "it's still a farfetched fantasy," I say, looking back over at him, "seems I've got a lot of those."

He frowns, able to tell what I'm thinking, "well, can I hear?" He asks, arm nudging my own, "even if it's just a farfetched fantasy."

He holds my gaze, gaze softened as I hesitate, "I don't sing in front of other people."

Jack gasps dramatically as his hand clutches his heart, "since when am I other people?" He asks, turning his body, so he's facing me, brown eyes shimmering. "You told me once I'm the little brother you never asked for."

That causes me to laugh, a smile breaking out on my hesitant face, "it's not perfect," I say as I pick the guitar back up, placing the instrument on my lap.

Jack's posture straightens eagerly, his hands clasping together with excitement, "I don't care."

"The other night, Zoe told me I should write how I'm feeling," I explain as I turn slightly to make room for the guitar. I delicately run my fingers down the strings, checking to make sure they're still in tune as if I hadn't been playing mere minutes before Jack walked up. "So, uh," I look down at the lyrics, nervously, "this is that I guess."

I begin to strum the melody, delicate and soft, just how it's supposed to be, a soothing tune that makes everything around us feel a little lighter. "Don't wanna be forward, don't wanna cross the line." I begin singing the first line, eyes looking anywhere but at Jack. "But if I were to crash in this plane tonight, I'd want you to know this."

For the first half of the song, I look anywhere but the brown eyes locked on me; he knows how I feel about Jamie, none of this information is new to him, but that doesn't make it feel any less vulnerable. My heart is on the table, thoughts his to read. For the entire first chorus, I do this, finally feeling brave enough by the second chorus. "I wanna eat pancakes for dinner. I wanna get stuck in your head. I wanna watch a T.V. show together, and when we're under the weather, we can watch it in bed. I wanna go out on the weekends. I wanna dress up just to get undressed; I think that I should probably tell you this in case there is an accident, and I never see you again. So please save all your questions for the end, and maybe I'll be brave enough by then."

Jack's gaze is both in awe and sad as I sing, my tone breathless and light, quiet as if Jamie himself could hear me from his hotel room floors away from us. I sing every single word I longed to sing to Jamie, my broken heart beginning to ache less with each strum of the chords, as the weight gets lifted off my shoulders. "Well, maybe I won't ever say what's in my head. No, I won't have to say anything. You'll say it instead."

I strum the final note, eyes searching Jack's for some sort of reaction, when something behind him catches my gaze, my somewhat stitched-up heart re-shattering. Shit.

"Jamie," his name slips past my lips so quietly I can barely hear myself, my brown eyes connecting with his like they always do.

Jack's brows furrow together, confused, "yeah, I know it's-" I move my knee up, so it nudges him, my eyes flying back to his, wide and panicked, communicating a message through them. When his gaze flies over his shoulder, his shoulders rise in realization, "oh, hey Jamie, we didn't hear you walk up."

He's just standing there, his eyes wide, in shock. "Trinity told me Eden was up here," he explains, fingers running through his hair, the finger with the missing ring noticeably empty. It takes everything in me not to reach up and fidget with the ring there and then. "I didn't mean to interrupt, sorry."

He walks back toward the door, pushing a smile onto his lips; one I can see right through, "you're not interrupting," I shake my head, hating that he heard that entire thing. "We were just-" I pause, unsure of what to say, shaking my head, "I was just-"

Jamie smiles, sadly, shaking his head back, as if to let me know it was alright. "I get it, trouble," the nickname makes my heart ping, rising and falling. "I'll see you guys later."

He doesn't wait for Jack or myself to say anything else, walking out the door and back down the stairs before either of us can even try to. "Holy shit," I mutter as soon as he's gone, leaning my forehead against the instrument as I try to gather my thoughts. "Holy shit," I repeat, louder for Jack to hear, "he heard that whole thing."

Jack hums, "yeah, that was unfortunate timing," he mumbles in agreement, a sympathetic hand reaching to squeeze my shoulder, "if it helps, that was really good."

I ignore his compliment, unable to get Jamie's face out of my mind, "do I follow him?" I ask. Before Jack can even bother responding, I nod, moving the guitar off my lap and placing it back down on the ground gently. "I'm gonna go talk to him," I state, making my mind up. "The song is pretty obviously about him. I need to make sure he thinks it's just fictional. People write fictional love songs all the time, right?"

Jack nods confidently, "right."

"Okay, good," I stand up, brushing the pizza crumbs I hadn't realized had fallen off my jeans.

I'm halfway across the rooftop and to the door as Jack calls out, "good luck. Text me how it goes." I merely hold up a thumbs up in response, rushing out the door, converse making noise against the stairs as I rush down them quickly.

He's most likely headed to his room, so I walk in that direction, fingers fidgeting with the ring on my necklace, when I spot his figure down the hall, "J, wait up." The nickname Lilly claimed as her own slips past my lips. I haven't said it in so long. It feels both natural and wrong, like it doesn't belong to me anymore. "You ran off so quickly."

He turns to face me, a curious smile on his lips, "I didn't want to interrupt." He says again, the same words he'd said upstairs.

"Interrupt what?" I shake my head at him, walking until he's directly in front of him, the tips of my converse nearly touching his own shoes, looking up at him with the tilt of a head. If I act awkward, he'll feel like he walked in on me singing a song I didn't want him to hear. I need to act chill, the opposite of how I actually feel. "You know, Jack practically had to beg me to sing him that." I say, laughing slightly. "No matter how many times I insisted it wasn't finished."

"Sounded pretty finished to me," he shrugs, and then, he smiles for real, the dimples adorning his cheeks so kissable and close. I could just reach up onto my toes and place my lips right there, something I hold myself back from doing. "That was amazing, Trouble. I mean, I knew you were a good singer from all those times in the car when you sang along to the radio; but that," he shakes his head in awe, "you're really talented, Eden."

He says my name instead of the nickname, making his statement sound more serious. "I was just playing around," I brush off the compliment, my cheeks growing warm.

Jamie rolls his eyes playfully, his smile not leaving his face, as the corner of his eyes crinkles slightly, "playing around?" He questions teasingly, "sure."

I laugh, encouraging him to do the same, the sound of his laughter like music to my ears. My eyes widen when a snort escapes past my lips mid-laughter, an unflattering sound that would never come out of Lilly. This only makes Jamie laugh louder, "quit it," I smack him, cheeks on fire now, "it's not that funny."

"That was somehow the funniest and cutest sound I've ever heard," he explains, shaking his head with laughter. I roll my eyes, fingers reaching to fidget with my necklace, a new habit I've developed over the last few days since having it. I watch as Jamie's laughter dies down, a soft smile replacing his wide smile as he glances down at the chain and then back up at me. "You like the gift then?" He says, tone quieter than before.

"This one's always been my favourite," I nod, looking down at the ring. Jamie hums, already knowing that. Something floats between us, a thick fog that had been growing for days, building and building, begging to be talked about, "so, uh," I run my fingers through my hair, "you and Lilly. When did that happen?"

Jamie takes in a breath, his relaxed expression shifting into a nervous one. "I guess there wasn't any time," he shrugs, gaze shifting away from mine, as he pauses, waiting a few seconds before speaking again. "The other night," He explains, "she asked, and I, uh, said yes."

"So, you like her?" I ask, shaking my head, answering the question before he can. "I mean, of course, you do. You wouldn't be dating her if you didn't like her."

Jamie chuckles, an awkward sound that feels nothing like the laughter floating through the hall moments ago. He steps closer somehow, the tips of his shoes now pressed against mine, blue eyes more grey than anything today. "Are you doing anything right now?" He asks, a mischievous glimmer in his eyes.

"That depends," I shrug, tilting my head to the side, "what do you have planned?"

"I finished editing the video I've been making," he admits, laughing when my eyes grow wide with excitement, "you want an exclusive screening?"

I nod eagerly, "hell yeah, I do." I move my arm forward, nudging him slightly, "lead the way, Flatters."

We begin walking down the hall together, arms brushing against one another's, neither bothering to move away to break the contact. He's telling me about the editing process and how he's gonna show everyone else the video tomorrow night when someone else turns the corner, a familiar blonde that makes my heart sink. "Just the people I was looking for," Lilly cheers, smiling.

She moves to stand beside Jamie, interlocking their fingers effortlessly, like it's a normal occurrence. I watch as Jamie flinches; physical touch is still not something that comes easy to him. Lilly will learn that eventually... I hope. "You were looking for us?" I question, almost guiltily.

"Well, more you than Jamie." She chuckles, smiling so genuinely it's hard not to love her. She then looks up at him, shooting him a playful wink, "he's just an added bonus," she knocks her hip against his before looking back at me. "I just wanted to thank you. We wouldn't be together if it weren't for you."

Her comment only makes me feel worse. I did this to myself. I'm the reason Jamie is with Lilly, and my heart is broken.

"I didn't do anything," I brush her words off, waving my hand in the air, not wanting any credit for this. "Seriously, it's nothing."

"Well, I'm still really grateful to have a friend like you," she smiles, reaching forward with the hand that's not holding Jamie's to squeeze mine, letting it go after a second or so. "We both are." When I look back up at Jamie, he's already looking at me, an almost blank expression on his face, one that he quickly replaces with a smile, nodding in agreement. "So," she looks back at Jamie, "what are we doing tonight?"

"Oh, uh," his gaze flickers from her to me, unsure of what to do. He's trying to spare my feelings; I can tell. "Actually-"

I cut him off before he can finish, wanting to make it easier for Jamie, "I just remembered I left that guitar on the roof," I say, more to him than to Lilly, a friendly smile on my face as I back away from the two of them, hopefully coming off as cool and nonchalant. "I should probably return that."

"Right, of course." Jamie's expression falls, and in that instant, I realize he was going to choose hanging out with me over Lilly or maybe invite her to hang out with us. I'd completely read him wrong, something I didn't think possible... It makes me wonder if I've ever read him wrong in the past.

Still on vacation, hence the infrequent updates. One more week and then I promise they'll be more frequent. Thank you so so much for understanding.

Hope you all enjoyed this one!!

Also this song came on shuffle the other day and immediately made me think of Jamie and Eden, and then the idea for this chapter was born.
I've put a link at the top for u all to take a listen