A roiling sick had started cramping her stomach up like soured milk, her hands felt hot and clammy at the same time, Kae thought she might puke but managed to breath through the strange sensations. Mentally still reeling from her flashback to the day they first met, she didn’t know why she’d thought of it but it had worked her up so badly her body chose flight mode. Sebastian was kneeling in front of her saying something, but she felt like her head was underwater muffling his voice, she stared hard at him and tried to hear the words he was saying. With one last whoosh inside her head the tide broke, and it was as if she had finally surfaced to hear his panicked voice. “For fucks sake Kaeri are you there?”
“Wha-?” Her brain kicked in gear with the usual ‘what?’ before she could process what he was talking about but fell short as she wondered where he was talking about. A little hoarse from a suddenly dry throat she rerouted her own questioning response, “Where’s there? I didn’t hear what you said.”
Her brain wasn’t moving at regular time just yet but he sounded angry worried and the music starting around them, it made more sense than her best friend did in that moment. Familiar lyrics filtered through her mind’s hazy landscape and started to burn away the fog, one of her favorites as the lyrics told of a boy wanting to move on from his current girl but he just can’t say no to her, and things never change. The best part of the music was just how relatable it could me, no matter what pronouns you used someone else can relate to it, so it soothed her flight response enough to focus on her best friend once again. “…do you feel better now? You just made me think you collapsed and you wouldn’t respond to anything I said… when I did get an answer out of you, you sounded like the one that flew over the cuckoo’s nest!..”
Sebastian sounded a lot more worried than angry right now, but she couldn’t help feeling like she wanted to cringe away from an angry male raising his voice. Kae couldn’t remember ever having a meltdown like that before, but she’d gone from 0 to 60 on a mental landscape she hadn’t thought about in months, not since they made her see a therapist. The crowds energy was starting to pick up as the band moved on to another mainstream favorite, one I don’t usually listen to anymore, it’s his song. Our song. I hadn’t thought of it like that in months since the last time he’d iced me out and took off with Cambria again. This time was going to be different, and I wasn’t going to go back to a relationship where the other person used my own emotions to manipulate me, but that wasn’t the problem right now. “He looked at me.”
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If not for the active live music playing, she could have heard the sharp intake of breath as Sebastian knew exactly who she meant, if she was to guess she’d say he’d been planning for this kind of thing all night just not how it would happen. Wolf’s voice growled on about a cold love growing colder as the narcissist partner pushed the emotionally damaged partner into a psychotic break, all to play the victim when they’re finally hurt for all the pain they’ve caused the emotionally damaged partner. Sebastian’s eye’s held hers as they stood up, Kae didn’t want to stand too tall and catch anyone’s eyes by mistake while feeling so exposed with bodies crushed around her. The bass player never lost his place, didn’t stumble over any chords, he never did, and he never would trip over the lyrics that sang of what had happened between us.
Creative as it was for Jacob to write the song together with Wolf just made sure that Kaeri wouldn’t be trying to get it off the radio any time soon. There was no reason to take it out on Wolf when he was just venting his own relationship woes in tandem with his bandmate, it only really hurt enough to matter because she’d just been triggered. The song in question continued on, lilting into the second chorus where they would harmonize and also leads into Jake’s small bass solo.
All it did was make my gaze travel up to the stage but before I could look any higher than the bands feet someone slammed into me and sent me into Sebastian’s arms, where I snuggled in with a sad squeak and a strange thud in my chest. It wasn’t the first time she’d felt this feeling echo through her chest but it had never happened when her friend hugged her. Then he spoke first chastising the person who was angrily wading through the crowd. Rude as the gesture was, they must be a groupie fan trying to reach the front row where they might be lucky enough to get noticed by the band, there was always that one person. “What the hell, if you’re gonna be an asshole you could at least not be a fucking problematic one.”
This time his angry voice almost made me too excited instead of scared, his hands were holding me tightly and protectively, clearly not wanting to let me fall this time. She could tell by the tone of his voice it was some stranger, but he seemed more aggressive than he usually was, Sebastian was like a natural teddy bear. All fluff and no claws. Pressing my hands on his chest to give a little space, “Hey, it’s okay Seb I’m fine.”
“No. They could have said something even if it wasn’t an ‘excuse me.’” Sebastian’s voice was just too icy compared to her friend’s normal sunny but doormat like demeanor. He wasn’t making eye contact with me so I twisted away from him as I turned myself around to speak to them myself. It was clear whoever it was had him on edge but she couldn’t have expected it to be the exact same person she’d been planning on introducing him to tonight.
“Freddie!?”