BD: Hey one and hey all! Haven't made a chapter update in a while, but in a sense this is unfortunate, but I feel like making a song-fic-ish thing… Just because this song is really hitting my heart and the muse is now at work and awakened once more. Hmm… And I just got an idea on what I wanna do… But yeah, this is NOT a part of the story. This is just a little special that my muse has urged on. Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Naughty Dog, nor do I have any claims to the words of John Legend.

Chapter Special: We're Just Ordinary People

"I can't believe him," Keira grumbled as she stormed through the Krew family mansion. "Really! As usual, he blows me off!" Clenching her fists tightly, the young woman scoffed at how Jak barely gave her a glance when she decided to finally pay a visit to one of his races. She even spoke and he avoided her! She came to a halt in the hallway and out of pure irritation; she slammed her fist into the wall, causing one of the large family portraits to slump to its side.

"Puh… This slime ball of a family has enough money to fix whatever the hell they please," she muttered under her breath, glancing at the crack she had made into the wall. Still enraged, Keira continued down the hall. She was going to go to Jak's room and finally force something out of him! They never kissed—hell, he ended up kissing Ashelin instead. Not only that, but he never told her he loved her or even made mention of liking her in all the years that she had known him. The old Keira was so naïve and passive… The new Keira would not put up with the crap any longer. She then began to ascend the stairs to where the bed-quarters were located, but soon her hurried, stormy pace slowed as she heard the sound of a piano. Somehow, her anger seemed to slowly pass as a voice followed.

"Girl, I'm in love with you… This ain't the honeymoon… Past the infatuation phase," the person sang. Keira squinted as she looked up the large flight of stairs. The voice was soft, gentle, mellow, and almost to the point of wooing. But more than anything, it was the voice that belonged to a man. Keira stopped in her trek and frowned as she rubbed her chin.

"Hmm… must be a family crony…" she said to herself before continuing up the stairs. The music was emitting from a floor above the bed-quarters floor and due to how faint it was, Keira could estimate that the piano was located outside on a balcony. With a brief shrug, Keira disregarded her idea about confronting Jak.

"I'll forget about him… He's not worth it anymore," she muttered as she clenched the railing tightly. "If Jak doesn't want me, then fine, I'll just find someone else!"

"Right in the thick of love…At times we get sick of love… It seems like we argue everyday," the unknown singer from above vocalized. The melody of his voice and the words seemed to now be seeping into the crevices of Keira's worn and torn heart as she released a soft sigh. "And I wouldn't mind being with a man who can sing…" She decided to slow the pace of her steps so that she could listen to the man sing. She would be even more impressed if he was both singing and playing the piano.

"I know I misbehaved, and you made your mistakes, and we both still got room left to grow," he proceeded. As Keira drew nearer, the intensity of emotion swelled in her heart as she heard the emotion in the man's voice. "And though love sometimes hurts, I still put you first, and we'll make this thing work…" The woman suddenly stopped and clenched her heart. That sounded like the situation she was in. No, no Keira… she told herself while shaking her head, We're not going back to Jak… Ignoring the cries of the love that lied in her heart, Keira proceeded up the stairs.

"But I think we should take it slow," he sang, his voice growing louder as she drew closer, "We're just ordinary people, we don't know which way to go 'cause we're ordinary people… Maybe we should take it slow…" Keira had finally made it onto the floor and before her was a dark room that led out to the moonlit balcony. All she could see was the silhouette of the singer but now she was too mesmerized to leave—she continued forward. He must be my destiny…

"Take it slow, oh ooh ooooh… This time we'll take it slow… Take it slow, oh ooh ooooh… This time we'll take it slow." When Keira was standing in the middle of the room, the man suddenly looked up and missed a key on the piano. He quickly pulled his hands away from the keys and pulled the cover on them before standing up.

"Wait! Wait!" Keira protested as she suddenly ran towards him. The man shook his head frantically and tried to back away but he was soon trapped against the railing of the balcony. He quickly dropped his head as Keira stepped onto the balcony.

"Hey…" she said to him as she inched closer. "I was really liking that song…" Keira smiled and placed her hand on the broad muscular shoulder of the man, causing him to lift his head and smile weakly.

"It…it was nothing," he replied, causing Keira to gasp and step away from him as she covered her mouth. Her eyes widened with disbelief as she stared at the man.

"Th-that…that was you, Jak!"

"This ain't a movie no, no fairy tale conclusion, ya'll… It gets more confusing everyday." Rayne's laugh faded as she took her attention away from the conversation she was having at hand. She was seated on a balcony at one of the ritziest, most expensive pubs in Kras City. She could hear a deep, yet melodic voice resounding from the ballroom that was located on the lower levels of the pub. She frowned as she looked over the balcony. Who in the world could that be?

"Is everything all right, Miss Rayne?" one of the guests she was conversing with asked. Rayne blinked, and then laughed softly before nodding. "Yes, everything is all right… Just excuse me for a bit." The guest nodded and when he did, she placed the champagne glass in his hand before heading down to the ballroom.

It was not that she had a problem with the voice or the singing, for that matter. Behind her false, soft exterior and underneath her strict, dutiful, power-hungry core, the words had crept into her and made her feel… safe, loved. It was the same love and security she had felt when she was Daddy's little girl, the same feelings she felt when she first met Ark. What kind of man would have such a gift as to play music and sing melodies that could even melt Rayne from deep within? She had to find out.

"Ooooh… Sometimes it's heaven-sent… Then we head back to hell again… We kiss, and then we make up on the way," the man sang. Rayne's pace slowed down against her will: she wanted to get to the ballroom quickly to discover who the singer was, but the tune, his voice; it was all dragging down her steps. "I hang up, you call, we rise and we fall, and we feel like just walking away…But as our love advances, we take second chances… Though it's not a fantasy, I still want you to stay…"

"What a sensational voice he has…" Rayne said to herself as she finally reached the ballroom floor. The room was dimly lighted as she slowly crept in, seeing the large build of the man's body, but she was unable to see his face.

"We're just ordinary people… We don't know which way to go… 'Cause we're just ordinary people… Maybe we should take it slow…" As he sang, Rayne's eyes widened as she recognized the face of the giver of melodic tunes: it was Ark. Even as she stood by him dumbfounded, Ark merely looked up from the piano and smiled as he continued singing.

"Take it slow…oh ooh ooooh… This time we'll take it slow… Take it slow… oh ooh ooooh… This time we'll take it slow…" Ark nodded for Rayne to come closer and, being in her pre-mesmerized state, Rayne drew closer to him.

Jak laughed nervously as he rubbed his neck. "Yeah…um… it was me…" Keira shook her head as she paled, becoming overwhelmed with guilt at the very thought of going to another man. She quickly tried to brush it off.

"I didn't know you could play the piano… Let alone sing, for that matter!" she exclaimed. She forced a laugh as the guilt began to consume her. Had the Wastelands ruined her heart and turned her into a shallow being? How could she think of abandoning her love for Jak?

"Well, I… It's just something I prefer to do on my own time…" he said meekly as he pushed himself away from the piano. "I don't think I'm all that good…" Keira pouted. Could Jak, the egotistical superhero, actually doubt himself? Her girlish, Sandover nature took over and the woman smiled something that caught Jak by surprise. Dark makers might start falling from the sky at any minute…

"Jak, you're awesome! You just seem to be good at anything you do!" she urged on as her smile broadened. Jak laughed weakly, and then smiled sadly as he dropped his eyes.

"Yeah… Other than…" he began before trailing off. He summed up his courage before saying, "Other than showing you that I love you…" The all the blood in Keira's body seemed to rush to her face as she stared at him in disbelief. Jak did not say he loved her. Nope, he did not. Those three words could not have escaped his mouth. Keira could keep telling herself that but the truth had come to pass and she had almost grown teary-eyed.

"Jak…" she choked out as she clenched her chest. She quickly closed the distance between them and buried her head into his chest. Jak was momentarily startled but he soon regained himself as he wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on Keira's head.

"I'm… I'm sorry it took so long… I do love you, Keira," he murmured. Keira lifted her head to look at Jak as she placed her hand on his cheek.

"Then play for me…please?" she asked quietly. Jak smiled at her, a true genuine smile that she had not seen since Sandover, before guiding her over to the piano. Once they were both seated and Keira was comfortable between Jak's arms, he proceeded to play the song from before, though singing in a more quiet voice.

"Take it slow… Maybe we'll live and learn, maybe we'll crash and burn, maybe you'll stay, maybe you'll leave, maybe you'll return," he cooed as he rested his head against Keira's, "Maybe you'll never find, maybe we won't survive… But maybe we'll grow…" When Keira tilted her head up to look at him, Jak rested his forehead against hers as his voice quieted down to almost a whisper.

"We never know, baby, you and I…"

"We're just ordinary people… We don't know which way to go…Heeey… 'Cause we're ordinary people… Maybe we should take it slow…Heeey," Ark sang as Rayne sat down next to him on the piano stool. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his shoulder as she closed her eyes. His singing came to an end when Rayne raised her voice to vocalize.

"We're just ordinary people… We don't know which way to go… 'Cause we're ordinary people… Maybe we should take it slow…" she sang lowly as she nuzzled his shoulder. Ark pulled his hands away from the piano, then lifted Rayne's chin before kissing her. When he pulled away from her, he grinned.

"You can slap me for that later…"

"Take it slow… oh ooh ooooh…This time we'll take it slow… Take it slow… oh ooh ooooh… This time we'll take it slow…" Keira sang between sobs. Jak completed the song on piano before wrapping his arms tightly around Keira and hugging her. The woman closed her eyes and leaned towards Jak; he leaned in, took a chance, and kissed Keira. The two sat that way for a while until Keira finally pulled away and smiled at Jak.

"That's all I ever wanted…" The blonde blinked, and then frowned a bit before resting his head on top of hers. "All you wanted was a kiss?" Keira gave Jak a punch to the stomach, causing her to laugh softly when he grunted.

"No… All I wanted was for you to return my love…"

Rayne slapped Ark, and then folded her arms over her chest. "Really! I've been trying to figure out who was playing the piano around the house over the past couple of months! What do you have against being direct and immediate with me, Ark?"
It was at this point that both brothers smiled sheepishly and rubbed the backs of their necks before replying, "I just wanted to take it slow."

BD: Yes… Out of the blue, but it makes me happy. D: The muse attacked so there! Hope you enjoyed… I promise the end will be much loving. XP I shall try to continue with the story tomorrow. :D Wish me luck and thanks for your support—Reviews are greatly loved!