The Bad Boy's Singer

11.Him

“I believe you make your day. You make your life. So much of it is all perception, and this is the form that I built for myself. I have to accept it and work within those compounds, and it’s up to me.”

– Brad Pitt

My failed attempts to ignore Rayna's existence were second to null. I didn't know why my mind rejected my rational sense. It was like my body and my mind had two different control as I tried to focus on Professor Diana's lecture after what Xavier played on the guitar.

"As you all know, there is the contest coming up and the participants who are accepted from our class are Xavier Adams, Rayna Harrington, Amanda Reeves and Lea Maxwell," She announced with a proud smile once the class clapped. It was no surprise for me, I knew I could get into the contest with the piano but to the others, they couldn't believe it as they cheered for each other.

"All the emails are sent for the training schedule for the upcoming two weeks in preparation for the contest I organized, the prizes will be ten grand with a chance to fly over to the famous Louvre museum in France for the first winner, the second winner only gets a ticket to the trip and the third gets Juilliard's medal with the certificate." She continued. "Thanks for listening and I will see you for training in the evening." She concluded and everyone clapped gleefully.

I didn't really react to the contest because I am used to the stages, lights and attention.

Professor Diana gave Rayna a hug on the way out as she walked with Lea and Amanda to talk about their exciting training. She stopped me to talk to me on my way out of her class.

"Xav, you look exhausted today, are you alright?" she inspected me to see if I was okay and I gave her a grateful smile.

"I am fine, I didn't sleep well, did you want anything?" I asked her politely and she keeps a grim face as she looked at me.

"I was thinking to enter you in the contest as a guitarist, what do you think?" that suggestion she made to me got rejected in my head. I couldn't do that to my family but the hope that she saw me doing better with the guitar made me feel appreciated as an artist.

"I can't," I protested followed by a sigh, "you do know I need to participate as a pianist, my family will be there to watch me and I can't just leave behind my mom's legacy that she went out of her way to give me," I voiced out my frustration and she held me by the arm comfortingly.

"I understand, it's fine, I will make sure to have more guitar events in the future and get your talent signed up." I was glad that she didn't give me a hard time. She was the only professor I opened up to through my three years here. I gave her one final goodbye and walked out to see Dray.

He was with the usual Sasha outside the cafeteria doors, I eyed them as they fought heatedly and she slapped him on the cheek before she flipped her hair and walked away.

"I told you so," I didn't bother to keep my reaction to him, "just leave her already," I added in my opinion.

"We already broke up, she's so clingy," he complained when we both settled on the cafeteria's chairs that are aligned in a circle with a coffee table in the middle.

"Finally, a miracle happened," I mocked him as he punched me on the shoulder. "I am glad that this is over and I get to see my best buddy," I stated and we did our handshake.

"I am a free man, choose my other target," he mockingly lasered his finger towards the rows of students as he squinted his eyes and I slapped him on the back of his neck, he rubbed the harsh red slap and groaned at me. "You are an A-list party pooper," the girls who walked by giggle at the sight and I rolled my eyes at my immature bestfriend.

"I don't even know how are we friends, there's more to life than girls," I lectured him and he just waved me off as his eyes zoomed in at Lea who sat with Rayna and Amanda, my eyes fleetingly glanced at Rayna as she bit into her sandwich with distanced eyes before going back to Dray.

"Man, I need to get the blonde girl," he whistled comically and I just slapped him another time for him to look at me.

"Guess who got into the contest?" I fake cheered and he gave me a surprised wide eyes look.

"You for the third time." He dead-panned and I nodded before getting my yesterday's ordered pizza out of my bag. I hated cafeteria food; it was all fat and no taste.

Dray shared the pizza with me as we ate in comfortable silence. Rayna and the girls walked out and I made myself look at her long hair that dropped down to her waist in smooth waves below before she disappeared.

Give yourself a break, Xavier. She's just a normal girl.

Dray told me he needed to go to his next class as we did our handshake again before he went off to his class.

I still had twenty minutes left for the next class so I walked out to my usual place: the garden. My eyes scanned the girl who was on the bench with a chestnut braid, she stood up in front of the ocean as her feet claimed the railing, she whimpered out loud before and I didn't grasp what she was doing until she let herself fall but I was quick enough to grab her by the wrists as she cried hysterically when my muscles pulled her up from the near death.

My arms wrapped around her tightly as she gushed out painfully what was left in her and my breaths rushed out of my body in pure terror at what almost happened.

"Are you okay?" I asked breathlessly when I held her shaken body. She seemed younger than me by age as her baby blues looked up at me with her red nose and her bruised upper eyebrow from hitting her face onto the railing when I held both of her wrists.

"Y-Yes, thank you," she sobbed out before she hugged me again, "I don't know what I was thinking, nobody cared about me here and I felt lonely and depressed, I am so sorry I made you go through that," she ranted and I held her shaken form in a hug again to calm her down as I sat on the edge of the railing to the view of the ocean.

I couldn't help but think about Rayna's bruises.