hold me really tight (until the stars look big) - I

Tate nods. 'You can use mine. It's in the bedroom.'

Jael gives him a tentative smile. 'Thanks…' she says, her voice really quiet. Polar notices she's a bit upset and pushes his nose against her knee.

Mica rolls her eyes at Tate, but smiles as she catches his gaze anyway. She knows he's trying to do the right thing. She also knows he has no idea what he's doing. Tate nods curtly and waves as a goodbye. 'I'll be back in two hours tops,' he says. 'I am going to have a good talk with Vincent Brass.'
'Just talking, Tate Hale!' Mica yells when he opens the front door.
Tate groans. 'Stop ruining my fun!'

Jael is cuddling Polar absentmindedly. She looks troubled, is thinking about who to contact. Not her parents, or any of her distant friends. The only person left is Denny, but it's been weeks since they had contact for the last time. She misses him, though, and now there's an opportunity; her parents won't be here to check on who she's texting.

Mica sighs, leans back into the livingroom couch and closes her eyes.

Jael looks up to Mica. 'I'm going to call Denny.' Her voice is a bit unstable. 'I want to see what he has to say.' She gets up from the armchair.

Mica nods, watches her a bit suspiciously. 'Remember what Tate said.'

Jael gives her a reassuring smile. 'Yeah… It's hard not to keep in mind.' She turns at the door. 'I'll be back soon. Like, thirty minutes tops.'

Mica nods. 'Sure thing.'

Jael leaves Mica alone in the living room and sits down on the bed in the guest room. It still smells like Tate's shower gel in here.
She turns off every gps signal on the phone and then, after a little hesitating, she calls Denny.

To: ASSHALE (11:37AM): She's calling a guy named Danny.

From: ASSHALE (11:38AM): kind of half ex boyfriend

To: ASSHALE (11:40AM): Bad half or good half?

From: ASSHALE (11:43AM): think bad. panic attack after mention of him. keep an eye on her

TO: ASSHALE (11:45AM): Sure thing, Boss.

Jael comes back twenty five minutes later with a beaming smile on her face. 'He wants to meet up,' she says, her eyes glistening. 'He said he's been dying to call me, after I went missing. I told him I ran away and that I'm staying with friends. I think he really missed me. Sounded like he did.' She's standing in the doorway, phone clenched in her hands.

To: ASSHALE (12:07PM): Danny guy wants to meet up. She seems happy. Good for the I'm-not-dead-or-taken-hostage rep.

'Oh, really?' Mica asks, looking up from her phone, like she didn't just text Tate the exact thing.

Jael nods enthusiastically. 'Yeah. Would… would Tate let me…?' She sits down on the armchair again, Polar immediately coming for kisses.

From: ASSHALE (12:08PM): not alone

From: ASSHALE (12:08PM): maybe with one of us present

From: ASSHALE (12:09PM): or both

'Not alone,' Mica shrugs. 'Maybe with us observing from afar, or something.'

Jael nods. 'Yeah, that would be best… Denny said I should call back tonight.' She smiles again. 'I couldn't even properly say goodbye to him, you know.'

To: ASSHALE (12:12PM): She's smiling A LOT, you have competition.

Mica smiles at her, stays silent for a while. 'He'll be glad to see you again, Jael.'

From: ASSHALE (12:16PM): its not competition if im not in the game mica shut up

Jael nods again. 'He's really sweet, you know. Vince reminded me of him.' She realizes that's probably not the best thing to say right now and shakes her head.

Mica raises her eyebrows. 'Interesting.' She cocks her head to the side. 'What did Tate do this morning that got you out of the panic attack? Out of curiosity I mean.'

Jael doesn't say he's also the one getting her into it. 'He just… told me to breathe with him. He pushed me against his chest with my back and told me to breathe with him.' She smiles a little, but it's a more absentminded smile than when she spoke about meeting Denny. 'I don't know, I think it was mostly his voice that did the thing. He has… a nice voice.' She laughs a bit.

'Ah,' Mica says. 'He does, doesn't he?'

To: ASSHALE (12:20PM): SHE IS BLUSHING WHILE TALKING ABOUT YOU SAVING HER FROM THE PANIC ATTACK

To: ASSHALE (12:20PM): SHE SMILES WHILE THINKING ABOUT YOUR LIFE SAVING HUG

To: ASSHALE (12:21PM): SHE THINKS YOU HAVE A NICE VOICE YOUR NICE VOICE SAVED HER LIFE

From: ASSHALE (12:22PM): i didnt save her life she had a panic attack i helped her calm down

From: ASSHALE (12:22PM): mica wtf

Jael heaves a deep sigh. 'Yeah, he does…' she murmers. 'You're texting him now. I know you are.' She smiles a little.

Mica raises one eyebrow, opens the notes on her phone and shows the half-done grocery list on it to Jael. 'I'm making a grocery list,' she sneers.

'Oh.' She shakes her head. 'I didn't know making a grocery list could make you smile like you just did.' She smirks and pets Polar a little.

Mica rolls her eyes. 'You're talking about my best friend's voice being nice. Why wouldn't I laugh.'

Jael is silent for a moment. 'Yeah, you're probably right.' She bends over to give Polar a kiss on his ear. 'Tate had a nightmare tonight,' she then says, carefully noting how she reacts.

Mica drops the phone. She picks it up again, quickly. 'He had what?'

To: ASSHALE (12:30PM): YOU HAD A NIGHTMARE??????????

'I… don't know he'll be happy I told you,' Jael admits. 'He almost slammed me in the face when waking up. Didn't tell me much… but he seemed really… bad…'

From: ASSHALE (12:32PM): yes dont worry about it it was nothing

To: ASSHALE (12:32PM): Was it the Macy dream or the Tina dream?

'Yeah, he gets like that, sometimes.'

From: ASSHALE (12:33PM): tina

To: ASSHALE (12:33PM): She was worried.

Jael smiles a little. 'I figured, yeah. It's okay, though. I'd… gladly help him through that, if he allows me to.' She pushes a lock of her hair back behind her ear.

Mica shrugs. 'Would sure surprise me.'

(From: ASSHALE (12:40PM): she was scared

Mica Island Beach House

Jael can't help but laugh. 'He's stubborn, yeah. But I am stubborn too,' she says. 'He just needs to get over himself a little, I guess.'

Mica rolls her eyes. 'When it comes to allowing someone to help him, that guy has a stick up his ass the size of the statue of liberty.'

To: ASSHALE (12:42PM): She wants to help you.

Jael grins, but turns serious again right away. 'I hate it when I see someone struggle. I know how fucked up it is to be fighting alone.' She shakes her head a little. 'He shouldn't do that on his own.'

From: ASSHALE (12:42): dont care. found vinnie ill check in later

Mica shrugs. 'He's been fighting for a long time, Jael.'

Jael nods and heaves a quiet sigh, decides she wants to talk about something else. 'Do you play duets? With your guitar…?' She gives Mica a bright smile.

Mica smiles, nods happily. 'I know a few, but I've never actually played with anyone else before. Vince... Vince played drums, and he taught me, but just drums and a guitar isn't really... yeah.' She shrugs helplessly.

Jael smiles a little. 'We should try. Tate said you play really well,' she says. 'And I play quite good, not to brag but I've been playing since I was six…'

'It's never bragging when you're really good,' Mica shrugs. She stands up and gets her guitar from the corner. 'Come, show me.'

Jael smiles. 'Wait up, I'll get mine.' She jumps up, causing Polar to bark at her while she rushes out to get her guitar and sheet music. A few moments later she comes back and sits herself down on the ground before the couch.

Mica looks expectantly.

Jael goes through her music. It takes a while for her to pick something to play. 'This one, do you know this one?' She gives Mica a sheet with a well known guitar duet. 'One of the first things I learned when I was going to play with others…'

Mica scans over it quickly, then nods. 'Can I keep it in front of me? I've never played it before. I know how it goes, though.'

Jael nods. 'Yeah, sure.' She plays the first chord and hums the melody first to get into the song.

Mica hums along, strums the first chords and tries to get a feel of it.

Jael forgets the time, playing with Mica, sometimes singing with her, sometimes not doing anything at all. It's like witchcraft, listening to Mica. Her fingers work magic with the guitar and her voice is beautiful.

Jael is good, Mica concludes. She didn't want to brag, but honestly, there's nothing to brag about when you're actually talented. Mica's singing is good. Her guitar playing is good. She knows how to change chords smoothly, plays with a certain confidence she has only seen when alone with the girl. Yeah, Jael is good.

Jael goes through her sheet music to find the next duet song as she comes across her favorite: Gravity. "Oh... I want to play this one," she decides. "It's a solo piece, though. Do you mind...?" She looks up to Mica and gives her a slightly shy smile.

Mica shakes her head, gestures, 'no, please do, go ahead!'

Jael starts playing, an absentminded smile crossing her face. She can dream this song.

"Something always brings me back to you.
It never takes too long.
No matter what I say or do I'll still feel you here 'til the moment I'm gone.

You hold me without touch.
You keep me without chains.
I never wanted anything so much than to drown in your love and not feel your reign.

Set me free, leave me be. I don't want to fall another moment into your gravity.
Here I am and I stand so tall, just the way I'm supposed to be.
But you're on to me and all over me.

You loved me 'cause I'm fragile.
When I thought that I was strong.
But you touch me for a little while and all my fragile strength is gone.

Set me free, leave me be. I don't want to fall another moment into your gravity.
Here I am and I stand so tall, just the way I'm supposed to be.
But you're on to me and all over me.

I live here on my knees as I try to make you see that you're everything I think I need here on the ground.
But you're neither friend nor foe though I can't seem to let you go.
The one thing that I still know is that you're keeping me down.
You're keeping me down, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
You're on to me, on to me, and all over...
Something always brings me back to you.
It never takes too long..."

As the last tones of the guitar quiet down, she realizes she's been completely off the world. She opens her eyes and her heart skips a beat as she sees Tate standing in the doorway. He's been in her mind all the time as she sang. Her cheeks go bright red.