🎶People are people, that's all I know ~ Nico & Vinz

●Tara Afua Henrie●

As we stepped outside onto the patio, the cool breeze hit my face, and I took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air. Jax leaned against the wall, wasting no time lighting his cigarette and taking a long drag.

"Couldn't wait, huh?" I folded my arms.

He gave me a shrug. "I need the nicotine for what I'm about to say." 

"And what's that?"

He exhaled a cloud of smoke. "I owe you an apology." 

I raised an eyebrow, surprised by his sudden change in demeanour. "An apology? For what?"

"For being an ass the other day." He sighed, running a hand through his messy hair. "I was wrong about you. About your music."

I blinked, taken aback by his honesty. "I...I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything," he continued, taking another draw. "I just wanted you to know I was an idiot, and I'm sorry."

I pressed my lips together. "If you don't mind my asking, why the sudden change of heart?"

"Because..." He stared off into the distance. "I was at the show last night."

"Really?"

"Yeah." He nodded, a sad look on his face. "Watching you and Carlos play. It sort of reminded me of the good old days, when things were right and...all that mattered was the music."

My eyebrows dipped low, mostly out of curiosity. "I know this is none of my business, but...what happened to you guys? The other day, Roberto showed me videos of your performances, and you were all great, awesome even."

"Yeah, but that was way before shit hit the fan. Back then..." Jax leaned against the patio railing, blowing out another grey puff of smoke. "Everything was awesome. I started The Stars of the Future with three of us: me, Eden, and Ricardo. A few weeks later, Bria..." He paused, like it was hurting him to continue, but he did anyway. "My... my girlfriend, at the time, joined us."

Another drag of the cigarette.

"Trust me when I tell you, those were the best moments of my life." A flicker of nostalgia settled on his face. "Landing several gigs wasn't a problem. Every night we earned over 500 pesos playing our music, the music we loved. We were basically the rockstars of our university, and we were so good that none of us were surprised when RCA Records offered us a solid contract right after our graduation. But before we could even sign it, Ricardo left us for Los Reyes."

"I'm sorry, who are they?" I asked.

"Some lame-ass boy band," Jax scoffed. "Their fans call them the Hispanic version of BTS, though, in my opinion, they aren't half as good. But Ricardo didn't think twice about leaving us to join them." He shook his head.

"What happened after that?" I leaned against the railing next to him. "Did you guys sign the contract?"

"Yeah, we even started working on our debut album and everything. But two months later, we discovered that someone was stealing our songs and selling them to Los Reyes. They released three of our singles, all of them by me."

I frowned. "Then why didn't you guys sue them or something?"

"We did," Jax replied. "But we were a bunch of nobodies going up against one of Mexico's biggest music groups. No matter how much proof we had, no one wanted to believe us. So instead of pursuing that, we diverted our attention to getting rid of the rat in our midst. And even that turned out to be a disaster."

"What do you mean?"

He shrugged. "I had a hunch that it was our manager who was selling our tracks for extra dough. So I...reported him to the label and had him fired. But later, we found out that it wasn't him." He took a soft pause, then let out one simple sentence. "It was Bria."

My mouth just dropped open. "Holy crap, your girlfriend?"

"Yep." Jax plucked out the cigarette and twisted his lips. "That blue-haired devil played us all, pretending to be the innocent and supportive girlfriend."

Silence reigned for a moment.

"Damn," I mumbled. "Do you know why she did it? Why she stole the songs?"

He shook his head. "Nope. Somehow, she found out that we knew everything and before we could confront her, she took off. We never saw again. And that's when things started going downhill. I couldn't handle the band anymore, Eden started having trust issues... Carlos was the only one struggling to keep everything afloat, but even his efforts weren't enough."

Jax pulled in a deep breath and then exhaled, "We couldn't complete our first album, so the record label terminated our contract. Since then, we haven't done anything as a band. Eden has suggested several times that we call the whole thing quits... but honestly, I can't."

His eyes met mine, and the remorse and sincerity gleaming behind those caramel irises touched my heart.

"Music is the only thing that has kept me going these past few years, and I don't want to let go of it. Not after what Bria did."

"Yeah, I know what that feels like," I self-confessed,a twinge of vulnerability colouring my tone, and Jax picked up on it.

"What do you mean?" He shot me a questioning glance.

Hesitation crept up my system. "Let's... let's just say I know what it feels like to be hurt by people you really care about."

Sheeda and Cudjoe flashed in my mind's eye, and I hurriedly willed the image away. "It's...it's not easy getting over it."

"Yeah, I know," Jax mumbled.

As we once again stood in silence, I couldn't help but feel a sense of sorrow and familiarity washing over me. Maybe Jax wasn't as bad as I had thought. Now that I knew a little bit about him, there was probably a lot more to him than just his gruff exterior.

"Thank you," I said softly, offering him a small smile. "For the apology and for opening up to me. I appreciate that."

He shrugged, a light flush of pink creeping up his cheeks. "So... does GuiTara still need a band, or is my sob story a lost cause?"

"Oh, ok," I laughed. "So that's what this is about."

"Had to give it a shot." He chuckled.

"Look, I'm down to help you out," I honestly told him, lifting myself off the railing. "But I think you should rather be having a conversation with your bandmates to see if they're on the same page. Especially Carlos. What you guys did the last time really upset him."

"Yeah, I know." He nodded, stubbing out his cigarette. "But I know he'll come around once he finds out I'm willing to give The Stars of the Future a second shot." He stepped closer, and for a brief moment, there was an undeniable connection between us. Jax must've sensed it too, because he didn't move. The soft afternoon light cast a warm glow around him, making his caramel eyes appear even more intense. 

"Jax!"

I immediately moved back. 

Eden stepped onto the patio. Suspicion flickered across her face, and she crossed her arms, clearly unimpressed.

"What are you two doing out here?" she asked, her tone edged with irritation.

Jax cleared his throat. "Just talking. I was about to call you. Tara here has agreed to help us, but we need to talk to Carlos to see if he's interested."

Eden's gaze shifted between us, her expression hardening for a split second before she spoke again. "Well, where is he?"

"Inside." Jax walked past her into the restaurant and though Eden followed, she didn't hesitate to shoot me a glare before pushing past the doors.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to work with her or if she wanted to work with me. Nonetheless, I steeled myself for what would come. I'd already given Jax my word, and I couldn't take it back. 

*****