I know that I should be writing my chapter stories, but I just had to write this (while it was still in my mind). I wrote the lyrics to 'Because of you', so please don't sue.

By the way, I guess you could call this a musical, but there isn't that category on the site.

Ever since the Red eye flight, Lisa hadn't been the same person. She would never look at anyone the same way again, she would never think the same way again, but more importantly, she would never act quite the same way again. She had taken in what Jackson had said to her about her being lonely and not getting out much. She didn't want to be told that again for two reasons; one, because it would remind her too much of Jackson, and two, she didn't like the sound of being what he had said she was. After all, at the time, she had valued every word that came from him as much as Cynthia's wise words of 'fun'. Lisa had decided to change her life. She went more places, thought of other things besides work, and she had got into a bit of a habit of going to a bar every weekend with a few friends (including Cynthia).

The bar was dark; classy, but dark. There was a lot of noise and the constant smell of cigarettes and cigars poisoned the air. Even with all of this, the place was pretty popular. They did the best cocktails, the best music, and the (occasional) best people. And once every few visits, Lisa and/or Cynthia would sing on the stage. There music was pretty good, too. The crowd certainly cheered when they had finished.

It was about nine o' clock on a Friday night. Everyone was getting ready to go out, and Lisa and Cynthia had bought new outfits. Cynthia had a short green dress, and Lisa had bought a short black one. Both had spaghetti straps. By 9:30, they were ready and had met each other outside of the club. They walked in together and found a seat, while Cynthia went up to the bar to get the drinks. While she was there, she looked around, as you do, watching the crowd. She wondered if anyone new was there. She saw jocks, sluts, business men, couples, you name it, they were there. She then scanned the crowd for guy for both her and Lisa to hook up with. She found a couple of guys, but after watching them for a few minutes, she got bored with them.

'Here's your drinks, ma'am' the bartender said to her.

Cynthia looked back and paid him. As she went to take them, she saw something out of the corner of her eye (or, someone, if you want to be precise). It was another person that she or her friend could hook up with. He was dressed in a smart suit, had the nicest body (or, that she could see), and to top it all off, he had the bluest, and clearest eyes that she could ever imagine. She was in half a mind not to tell Lisa bout him and just keep him for herself, but then, she wouldn't be a good friend if she did that, would she?

'Thanks…' Lisa said, as Cynthia came back to the table.

Lisa saw the look in her friend's eyes.

'What did he look like?' Lisa sighed, knowing why Cynthia had that expression.

There was no reply, only a finger pointing to the bar. Lisa followed it with her eyes.

'Yes, it's a bar. You met him there, now what did he look like?' she asked, clearly not seeing him.

When Cynthia cleared her mind, she saw that he was gone. She looked around, franticly. Where had he gone? When she couldn't see him, she told Lisa all about him. Usually, she would have thought that he sounded nice, but it reminded her all too much of Jackson. All that she could do in reply was take a long sip of her Bay breeze. Why she had this, she didn't know. It was possibly in spite of Jackson.

It was about an hour later that the 'real' entertainment came on. Lisa loved to watch the crowd listen to her as she sang. What she was going to sing, she did not know, but she was in the mood for something from the bottom of her heart. When she got up to the stage, she quickly thought of something that she had heard a short while back at work. It reminded her about Jack, so that was what she was going to sing. As she was introduced, the lights dimmed on the stage, and all that was visible up there was Lisa and the microphone. Then she started.

I will not make the same mistakes that you did
I will not let myself cause my heart so much misery
I will not break, the way you did, you fell so hard
I've learned the hard way to never let it get that far

Then she opened her eyes to sing the chorus.

Because of you I never strayed to far from the sidewalk
Because of you I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt
Because of you I find it hard to trust, not only me,
but everyone around me, Because of you, I am afraid

In the crowd, someone looked up from his 'friend'. They had been talking about business, and what he had to do next. Tonight was their break. He had looked up because he had recognised the voice. Lisa didn't notice him, but he recognized her.

I lose my way, and its not too long before you point it out
I cannot cry, because I know that's weakness in your eyes
I'm forced to fake a smile, a laugh, every day of my life
My heart can't possibly break, when it wasn't even whole to start with

She sang the chorus again, but his time, scanned the crowd for any familiar faces. It was the best place for doing this. She saw some clients, she saw Cynthia, she saw some other friends, and she even saw some ex-boyfriends. If that wasn't the best part, she saw Jackson. If she wasn't singing, she would have either stared in terror at him, or made a run for it. Circumstances being, she just carried on singing.

When she was nearly finished, the lyrics started to mean quite a lot to her;

I watched you die, I heard you cry, every night in your sleep.
I was so young, you should have known better than to lean on me.
You never thought of anyone else you just saw your pain.
And now I cry in the middle of the night, doing' the same damn thing

(chorus, but slightly different)
Because of you I never strayed to far from the sidewalk
Because of you I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt
Because of you I try my hardest just to forget everything
Because of you I don't know how to let anyone else in

Because of you I'm ashamed of my life, because its empty
Because of you, I am afraid

Because of you
Because of you

Singing the last two lines was pretty painful. She had to fight extremely hard to stifle the tears that were welling up inside of her. As she opened her yes once again, she saw him watching her again. It seemed like he understood her, but that was probably still an act. He was heartless, he was evil, and he wasn't going to get her this time. As she got off of the stage, she said her goodbyes to Cynthia, and went home. She didn't know if he was still watching her, but she couldn't care less.

She unlocked her front door. She just wanted to be safe and get some rest. Hopefully, sleeping would cure some of the pain. As she stepped inside of the house, she didn't bother turning any lights on. She was too tired. As she went past her lounge, she heard a familiar voice.

'So what was that all about?' he asked.

'Jackson, what are you doing here? How did you get in?' she asked, turning around.

'It's easy once you know how. Anyway, will you answer my question?' he asked, walking towards her.

'I didn't know you were there…' she whispered, now feeling a lot more tired.

'Your friend certainly did…' he replied, putting his arms around her. 'You know, you sing pretty well…'

'Yeah, sure…' Lisa yawned. She was too tired to answer properly. She just wanted to sleep, with Jackson here or not.

'You look pretty tired… Are you okay?' he asked.

'Yep…'

Lisa was in danger of dropping off to sleep still standing. He saw that in her eyes. With that, lifted her up and carried her up to her bedroom. When he set her down on the bed, she was nearly asleep.

'Good night...' he said, kissing her.