(Bonjour, comment allez vous? That's French for hello, how are you? Anyway, here's a Jelsi songfic I wrote to the Miley Cyrus song Goodbye. Hope you like it!)
Goodbye
Summary: Goodbye is always the hardest thing to say. When Kelsi thinks back on her previous relationship with Jason, she keeps wishing she could forget the day the broke up. But maybe saying goodbye wouldn't be so hard after all.
I can honestly say you've been on my mind
Since I woke up today (up today)
I look at your photograph all the time
These memories come back to life
And I don't mind
"Hey, Kels. What's up?"
"Oh. Not much." Kelsi shrugged as Gabriella and Taylor talked with her at Taylor's locker.
"Um . . . how are you?" Taylor asked slowly.
Kelsi offered them a small smile, and Gabi and Taylor only looked at each other. They both knew, well, all the girls in the gang knew, that Kelsi was still upset over Jason.
Jason had broken up with her just recently; he had supposedly fallen in love with a different girl.
Sharpay came over, and said, "Hey, Kelsi. How are you?" Kelsi looked from one girl to the other, and said slowly, "Well . . ."
"Well what?" The four girls began to walk to class as Kelsi said, "I've kinda been thinking about him a lot."
"Oh."
"Hey, can we stop at my locker real quick? I forgot one of my books."
"Sure, no problem."
They followed Kelsi to her locker, and waited as she spun her combination. When she opened her locker, however, the three other girls looked on, dumbfounded.
Not about the inside of the locker; they'd all seen that, but what was on the inside of her locker door.
"Um, Kelsi? Why do you still have that picture of . . . well, you and Jason?"
"Oh, um, well, I never felt like taking it down."
"Why don't you do it now?" Sharpay was trying to be nice about this, but it seemed a little bossy-like.
"Uh . . . yeah." Kelsi took the picture of her and Jason at the lake and slipped it into her binder.
"OK, let's head on over to drama, then," Gabi said, almost a little too cheerfully. Sure, she was trying to cheer Kelsi up, but it was a little odd, how she kept smiling.
Once they were at drama, Kelsi kept sneaking glances at her favorite photo, and occasionally, at Jason.
Sure, the picture and seeing Jason brought back memories, like their first kiss, their first dance . . . everything.
But Kelsi was perfectly fine with that.
I remember when we kissed
I still feel it on my lips
The time that you danced with me
With no music playing
Later that afternoon, Kelsi sat against her headboard, thinking. Nothing specific, but it seemed that her thoughts always strayed to Jason. Jason, Jason, Jason. She touched her lips subconciously, remembering their first kiss . . .
They'd been at the park, a few months ago. They'd been hanging out, having a good time in general, and then it started raining. They'd run back to Kelsi's house, as fast as they could (they'd only walked to the park), but not without getting soaked to the bone.
They stood under the awning, laughing, and when Jason had been about to walk back through the rain to his car, he'd gone back, and given Kelsi a kiss that she knew she'd remember forever.
She smiled sadly to herself, and pulled out the lake photo again. Kelsi thought back on all they'd done together, and then wondered what could have gone wrong.
I remember the simple things
I remember till I cry
But the one thing I wish I'd forget
The memory I wanna forget
Is goodbye
Kelsi spent the rest of that afternoon doing homework, playing the piano, and thinking about Jason. As she played You Are the Music in Me, she remembered when Jason had asked her to teach him to play the piano, and she had tried, but unsuccessfully.
She remembered all those little things he'd done for her . . . with her.
The kiss on the cheek for good-morning and goodbye . . . Holding the doors open for her, walking at the park hand in hand . . . She knew she wanted to have these memories forever, but the one she really wanted to forget was the final goodbye. That was the only one she wanted to forget . . .
As Kelsi thought back on the day they broke up, she found herself tearing up. She wiped away the few tears and sighed. Why? Why couldn't she just forget?
I woke up this morning and played our song
Ignored my tears and sang along
I picked up the phone, and then, put it down
'Cause I know I'm wasting my time
But I don't mind
The next morning, Kelsi heard on the radio what she and Jason had used to consider 'their song'. She turned up the volume and sang along, despite how sad she was. They may not have been dating, but it was still their song.
Just out of thought, Kelsi picked up the phone, ready to dial Jason's number.
And then she put it back down.
She was probably wasting her time even thinking about him. Jason was probably happy with Sandy. Stupid, perfect, snobby Sandy.
Maybe I shouldn't think of her like that, Kelsi thought. She might be pretty nice . . .
Kelsi sighed again, and worked on a little bit of the homework that was left from the night before. She and Jason had done homework together a few times.
I bet Sandy can't even do homework. What's in that head of hers other than clothes and gossip? Geez.
Kelsi tried not to, but she couldn't help thinking bad about Sandy. She was jealous.
If Sharpay were there at that moment, she would have told Kelsi to stop thinking about Jason; that she was wasting her time. That she should think about other things.
Kelsi knew that she may have been wasting her time, but once again: she didn't really care.
I remember when we kissed
I still feel it on my lips
The time that you danced with me
With no music playing
FLASHBACK
"Hey, Kels, what's wrong?"
"I'm in a bad mood."
"I figured that. Why are you in a bad mood?" Jason stepped in front of Kelsi in the hallway after school, and Kelsi sighed.
"Mr. Brown didn't like my song." Mr. Brown was their music teacher, and he had a reputation for being . . . cranky at times.
"What'd he say about it?"
"That it was too repetitive, and that the lyrics didn't make sense, and that the tune was just like everything else I wrote."
"Well, that's not true. All of your pieces are unique, and your lyrics always mean something, and I bet that song is a one of a kind."
"You're just saying that."
"And why would I?" Jason crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows at her."
"You're my boyfriend."
"If I were 'only' a boyfriend, would I dance with you?"
"Dance with me? There's no music. Besides. I can't really dance."
"Well, now you do." With that, Jason took her hands and began to dance with her around the hallway, twirling and spinning with her. Kelsi began to laugh.
"Well, there's finally a smile! Are you still in a bad mood?"
"Not really . . ."
"Well, good. And don't pay attention to that old crank. Just keep writing your music. You know I'm your biggest fan."
"That sounded really corny."
"I thought girls liked that kind of stuff?" Kelsi smiled again, and she and Jason kissed.
END FLASHBACK
I remember the simple things
I remember till I cry
But the one thing I wish I'd forget
The memory I wanna forget . . .
FLASHBACK
"La, la, la . . ."
"Gotcha!"
"Ah! Jason, you scared me!" Kelsi turned around in the piano seat and looked up at her boyfriend.
"Well, that was kinda the point. But anyway, the piano sounded very nice."
"Thanks."
"What were you playing anyway? I couldn't really tell by the lyrics. Unless the song is called La, la, la."
"Oh, it's that one song Mr. Brown said he didn't like. I'm changing some of the lyrics."
"Can I help?"
"Uh . . . Sure?"
"Yes!" Kelsi smiled and then suddenly said, "Oh, I didn't realize the recording was going . . ."
"So, everything we just said got recorded?"
"Pretty much." Kelsi turned off the recorder and re-played it, and like Jason had asked, everything played back.
"Oh, cool."
"Sure," Kelsi smiled.
END FLASHBACK
"I wonder if I still have that CD," Kelsi said to herself. She rifled through the things in her room, and found the case that was labeled "Mess-up" She played it and smiled throughout it, but then began to think, I wonder if he gives Sandy gifts.
She knew that she'd gotten a thoughtful gift from him sometimes . . . Like that music note necklace he'd gotten for her because he knew she'd like it.
Kelsi messed with the necklace she still wore and felt the stinging tears prick at her eyes again. She wiped them away and said to herself, "Stop crying. He's not worth crying over. You're just wasting your time."
But she knew Jason was worth a lot. And she knew, somehow, that she wasn't wasting her time. Somehow, she knew things would be OK.
And suddenly my cell phone's blowin' up
With your ringtone
I hesitate but answer it anyway,
You sound so alone
And I'm surprised to hear you say . . .
All of a sudden, Kelsi's cell phone began to ring, and when she looked at the screen, she was surprised to see Jason's all-too-familiar number on it. Should I answer it? Kelsi made to press the button, and then stopped, but then decided, It can't hurt. What harm will it do?
"Hello?"
"Uh . . . Kelsi?"
"Uh, hey, Jason."
"Um . . . so, what's up?"
It seemed so . . . normal, how they were talking. But Jason's voice sounded different. not . . . well, not cheerful like it always used to be. But . . . kind of, lonely, Kelsi admitted.
Weird.
"Um, well, not much, really."
"So . . . "
"So, what?" Kelsi didn't really know where this was going, but . . . she might as well hear him out. A conversation never hurt anybody. Well, physically at least.
The other end of the line was silent for a while, and she said, "Hey, you there?"
"Oh, uh, yeah."
Jason paused, but then . . .
You remember when we kissed?
You still feel it on your lips
The time that you danced with me
With no music playing
"Do you remember our first kiss?" Kelsi was caught off guard and said, "Well, of course I do. It was that one time we went to the park, but then it started raining. And you kissed me before you left for your house."
"What about that one time we dance in the halls?"
"Yeah. That was after Mr. Brown gave me a bad review for the song I wrote."
Was he just thinking about these things? Maybe he was.
"And what about . . . the first time we hung out? As friends, I mean."
"Yeah. I tried wearing high heels and fell . . . Why are you calling me, Jason?"
The question, Kelsi admitted, sounded like she was mad. She was not mad at all. Especially not at Jason.
"Jason?"
"Look, Kelsi, this isn't working out for me. With Sandy, I mean. I can't be myself around her! She keeps wanting me to be some other guy, some perfect guy that I'm not. I can't . . . do the things I used to do with you . . . with her. If I give her a gift, she'll think I want to marry her or something. If I hold the door open for her, she won't let go of my hand the rest of the date."
Kelsi stayed quiet. What could she say to that? She settled for saying, "Oh."
"Kelsi, this is going to sound weird, but, I broke up with her, and I kinda wish -- no, really wish -- that we hadn't broken up. That was stupid of me, and I'm sorry I hurt you."
Kelsi stayed quiet again. Not because she couldn't think of anything to say, but because she couldn't say anything. Was he saying he wanted to get back together?
"Kels?"
"Um, yeah, I'm here."
"Are you OK?"
"I'm fine. And . . . you don't need to be sorry for anything."
"But I am, Kels."
You remember the simple things
We talked till we cried
You said that your biggest regret
The one thing you wish I'd forget . . .
"So, how'd uh . . . how'd Sandy take the break up?"
"In a word? She flipped. She was so sure we were meant for each other or whatever."
"That wasn't really a word."
"Whatever, Kels." Kelsi smiled.
"So, how's that one song Mr. Brown didn't like?"
"Oh, I'm still working on the lyrics."
"I could help you if you want."
"Yeah. Maybe you could come over later?"
"I don't need to."
"Huh?" Kelsi was confused. He offered to help her, but he didn't need to come over to her house? Was he thinking of helping her over the phone?
The doorbell rang, and Kelsi ran down to answer it, still holding the cell phone to her ear.
When she turned the knob and threw the door open, she nearly dropped her phone. Jason was standing right in front of her.
Jason hung up his phone and smiled. Kelsi was still in a bit of shock, but was recovering quickly.
"Jason . . ."
"I really am sorry, Kelsi."
"But you don't need to be," Kelsi repeated.
"Yes, I do." Jason leaned down and kissed Kelsi, and Kelsi got a warm feeling all over. When they broke apart, Jason smiled, "So, do you think you can forget the goodbye?"
"I think I might be able to."
"I hope so." He kissed her again, and Kelsi knew right away that forgetting goodbye wouldn't so hard after all.
Is saying goodbye
Saying goodbye, ohh . . .
Goodbye
(A/N: Sorry for the slight repetitiveness of the story, but I hoped you liked it. As always, reviews are very much welcomed an appreciated. Oh, yeah. If any of you have any further ideas for Coming Back With Time, I'd really love them. Bye for now!)