Author's Note: Sorry that this chapter is so long... I compared to the other one. Thank you to Ash, whose comment inspiredthe first few lines of my fic. I hope you guys like it! (oh, and there's another disclaimer at the bottom. I put it there because it might give away part of the chapter)
"Couldn't you dress like a civilized person?" asked Neela as she and Ray hopped out of the car. "I mean, couldn't you just wear normal pants?"
"Scrubs were the only thing in my car, sorry." replied Ray, with a smirk
"And you couldn't turn around, go back upstairs and get regular pants? I mean, what kind of person leaves the house in their boxers?"
"Well, you didn't stop me from leaving."
"I try not pay attention to that region."
"Try?" asked Ray with a complacent smile on his face.
Neela cringed at her word choice. "Whatever. At least your wearing pants right?" asked Neela, trying to put an end to the conversation.
"Right." said Ray, keeping his stare on Neela, just before he broke it to look up at the sign in front of him. 'Here we are. Greg's Karaoke Bar. Perfect."
"Oh no. Ray, I don't sing, let alone sing in a bar." pleaded Neela.
"Come on, it'll be fun." Ray grabbed Neela's small hand and led her into the bar. "I'll have a Heineken, and she'll have..."
" Alcohol at 6 o'clock at night?" Ray gave her a look. "I'll have a Coors Light," Neela replied, She thought to herself "I'll need a drink to get through this". Neela was a bit scared. She doesn't sing, or at least not in front of people. It all started when she was a child, when her brother would laugh at her constantly for being tone-deaf. Ever since then, she never so much as hummed in front of others.
"So, here's what happens. You go up to the stage, and the machine randomly chooses a song for you. The lyrics come up on the screen, and you just sing them. Ready?" Ray seemed pretty excited. He rarely got a chance to see his roommate hang loose. Except for that one time when he saw her dancing through the door crack, she was always strict Neela.
"Ray... I can't do this." Neela said with the nervous look.
"Neela —"
"No, Ray... I– I can't do this."
Neela looked so scared. She looked imperfect, a look new to Ray. He lived with girl, and everyday, she was the perfect roommate. She never made a mess, she was never too loud, always at work on time, and knew everything from every medical book. But at this moment, it was a whole new Neela. One that has flaws. It was actually a relief to Ray to know that she wasn't prefect. What fun is perfection?
"It's cool. Let's just go sit down, and have some drinks." Ray put his hand on Neela's back and led her to an available booth.
After an hour, Ray and Neela were having a blast. Booing people off the stage seemed to amuse them
Ray looked at Neela and said, "I think I'm going to go up." Ray winked and started to go up.
Neela looked at him and jokingly said, "I wish I had tomatoes."
Ray got to the stage and turned the machine on. He started to laugh when the name of the song turned came on his monitor.
"Um, this song goes out to my roomie. Neela, this is for you." He gave her wink before he started to sing.
"The real me is a southern girl
With her Levy's on and an open heart
Wish I could save the world
Like I was Supergirl"
Neela began to laugh profusely at Ray's display. She could not believe that he was singing "With You" by Jessica Simpson. He was punk and black nail polish, not blonde and pop star.
"But with you
I can let my hair down
I can say anything crazy
I know you'll catch me
Right before I hit the ground"
Ray and Neela met eyes as he continued singing. Neela never realized the lyrics of the song, until she heard them coming out of Ray. After only a few lines, the men in the corner began to boo Ray, and he decided to step down from the stage. The men would rather see a girl up there than the talented Ray.
When Ray got to the table, he looked at Neela and asked, "Well, how was I."
"You were ok." Neela lied right through her teeth. She thought Ray did a fantastic job.
"Care to do better?" Neela got a nervous look on her face, and Ray just told her, "Face your faces. Come on." He grabbed her hand and led her to the stage. "You can do it."
Ray backed up and let Neela turn the song on.
Neela began to chuckle as she looked up to Ray. She quietly whispered, "Ok" She lowered the microphone so that it met her lips. "Um, this song is dedicated to Dr. Ray Barnett." Neela cringed as she pressed the start button.
"I know I can be a little stubborn sometimes
A little righteous and too proud
I just want to find a way to compromise
'Cause I believe that we can work things out"
Ray began to laugh. It amused him just how much someone could ruin a song with their vocals. This laughter made Neela loosen up and enjoy her embarrassment.
"All I know is I'm lost without you
I'm not gonna lie
How am I going to be strong without you
I need you by my side
If we ever say we'll never be together and we ended with goodbye don't know what I'd do...
I'm lost without you"
As Neela finished the chorus, the men in the corner began saying obscene comments about Neela. One man said, "Yeah, you lookin' fine girl". Another said, "Can't wait to tap that." The third said "Shake that booty mama!"
Ray turned to face them, just as Neela got off the stage in huge discomfort. Ray grabbed her arms, and began to walk her over to the booth. The three gentlemen got up and walked over to Neela.
"Hey girl," The tallest one said while eying Neela.
"Look –" Ray began to say.
"Were we talkin' to you?" the fattest one said.
"I'm not interested in —" Neela tried to say to make the men go away.
"Oh, you'll be interested," said the tall one again as he began to touch Neela's hips. Trying to get away, she backed up and bumped into Ray.
"Why you running girl?" the taller man said again.
He got closer to Neela, and grabbed her butt. At that moment, Ray pushed the man who didn't talk out of the way and punched the man trying to grope Neela. When the man went backwards, as a reaction, Neela ran behind Ray. He whispered for her to get out of the bar. Now. Neela turned and began to jog, out, turning around to see her roomie. Ray noticed that she was hesitant about leaving, and mouth the words "go".
A few minutes later, Ray came out, with a bleeding lip.
"Oh my god, Ray are you ok?" asked Neela to of deep concern for him
"I'm better than the other guys," Ray said with an attempt at a smirk
"Ray, I'm so sorry, I –"
"Hey. This is not your fault. Those guys were just being jerks and got what they deserved. You can just called this lip a victory wound."
"Thank you" Neela said as she leaned in to hug Ray. After a few seconds, the hug was broken.
"So, seeing as how this probably isn't making your day any better, do you want to go home?"
"Nah, we still have my stop." Said Neela, as she grabbed Ray's hand and began walking over to the car.
After about fifteen minutes of driving, the two reached their destination.
"Here we are," said Neela with a smile on her face.
"This is where we're going? Oh my god..."
Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own "With You" by Jessica Simpson or "Lost Without You" by Delta Goodrem