Ruby's POV

"Ruby!" Sam's head appeared in the doorway of the guest bedroom. "Jack and I were about to play some Guitar Hero, you keen?"
"Can Jack even play now?" I asked. "What with his hands being so fucked?"
"The doctors encouraged it, actually." she replied. "To help him rebuild his motor skills."
"That makes sense, I suppose." I nodded. "Sure, why the hell not."

I left the room and followed Sam out to the living room, where Jack was already sitting with the guitar controller in his hands. Sam handed me the microphone, and sat herself down behind the drum kit. She started up the game, and I shook my head as I saw the old menu come up. It'd been so long since I'd last played, I almost felt sixteen again.

"What're we playing first?" I asked.
"Freak On A Leash!" Jack demanded.
"No, Guest gets dibs." Sam snapped. "Ruby?"
"Oh shit umm..." I trailed off, watching Sam scroll through the playlist. "Heartbreaker."
"Ugh, seriously?" Jack cringed.
"Shut the fuck up, You." Sam scolded him, selecting the song.
I raised the microphone to my lips, and began to sing;

"Your love is like a tidal wave, spinning over my head, drownin' me in your promises, better left unsaid. You're the right kind of dreamer, to release my inner fantasy, the invincible winner, and you know that you were born to be...

You're a heartbreaker, dream maker, a love taker, don't you mess around with me. You're a heartbreaker, dream maker, a love taker. Don't you mess around, no no no..."

I could feel Jack's eyes on me as we played, and smirked to myself; My voice had vastly improved since the last time he and I had jammed together. Even though this was just for fun, I didn't ever half-ass my singing. Especially now, when it'd been so long since Jack had last heard me sing, I couldn't help but show off a little. Brian was on my mind as I sang the second verse, nothing could describe the way he made me feel better than those lyrics;

"Your love has set my soul on fire, burnin' out of control. You taught me the ways of desire, now it's takin' its toll. You're the right kind of sinner to release my inner fantasy. The invincible winner and you know that you were born to be...

You're a heartbreaker, dream maker, love taker, don't you mess around with me. You're a heartbreaker, dream maker, love taker. Don't you mess around, no, no, no..."

***

After playing through several more songs, I'd worked up quite a sweat and left the living room to grab a glass of water from the kitchen. I heard someone clear their throat behind me, and turned to find Jack standing there. A smile spread across his face as he took a seat at the counter.

"What?" I asked.
"Your voice has made leaps and bounds, I'm surprised."
"Thanks?" I replied, slightly taken aback. This was reminding me a little too much of Vegas, when Brian had finally heard me sing again.
"You're welcome." he nodded. "You're much more confident now, and your range has increased heaps."
"Practice." I shrugged.
"Shame we never got around to forming that band way back when." he frowned. "That could've been great."
"It never would've worked." I replied. "You wanted to do Metal, I'm more into Rock n Roll, and Punk Rock."
"Those genres blend all the time." he defended.
"Yes, but, not the kind of Metal you're into." I smirked. "Divine Heresy sucks, by the way, while we're being honest with each other."
"You loved Closure!" he protested.
"Yeah, one song." I stated.
"You loved it when I sang it."
I rolled my eyes. "I loved having you sing to me, period."
"Those were some great times..." Jack sighed, looking down at his hands.
"Long since past."
"Why'd you come back?" he asked, raising his head to look at me once more.
"What?"
"Why'd you come back?" he repeated. "Why now? After how I treated you?"
"Are you owning up to your bullshit?" I blinked, struck with disbelief.
"Being bedridden for months on end kind-of gives you a lot of time to think." he admitted. "I know I screwed up."
"That's an understatement."
"I'm trying to apologize, here." he rolled his eyes. "Cut me a little slack."
"It's gonna take a lot more than you complimenting my vocals and saying you're sorry to make me forgive you." I knew I was being harsh, but I'd grown stronger in the time we'd been apart. "You destroyed me, it took months to recover and re-discover who I was after the shit you put me through."
"I'm sor-"
I cut him off. "I came back because despite what happened, you and I were intimate once, and I did love you. Did."

I quickly left the kitchen, retreating to the guest bedroom to calm myself before I got too angry. My body was already shaking a little from finally standing up for myself and telling Jack what I'd always been too afraid to say when we were together. I was older, I was wiser, and I wasn't going to let him get to me. Not again.

I was here to help him recover.
Not get back together.

Notes

I know it's short but I wanted to update since ya'll were so quick to respond after my hiatus.
This is kind-of filler, but kind-of not. It's necessary.

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Until next time xx