I love Pink, and I love Fun., so when the song Just Give Me A Reason came out I fell in love with it. I decided to use it because whenever I listen to this song I somehow think of Jarley.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The sound of the piano seems haunting to Marley's ears. She grips the edge of her wooden stool until her knuckles are white, trying to avoid looking at Jake, sitting a few feet apart from her.
Right from the start, you were a thief, you stole my heart,
And I your willing victim
I let you see the parts of me that weren't all that pretty
And with every touch you fixed them
Her soft, angelic voice fills the silence in the choir room as she sings Pink and Nate Ruess' new ballad Just Give Me A Reason. All eyes are on her and Jake. They all can sense that something is wrong. After all, they have not talked for almost three whole days. Brittany and Tina had found Marley crying in the bathroom yesterday, and Jake had been missing Glee practice for a couple of days. It was Ms. Pillsbury's idea for them to do this duet. After some persuasion, Jake finally agreed, but it didn't really make Marley feel any better.
Now you've been talking in your sleep, oh, oh, things you never say to me, oh, oh
Things you never say to me, oh, oh
Tell me that you've had enough of our love, our love
Just give me a reason, just a little bit's enough,
Just a second we're not broken just bent, and we can learn to love again
It's all in the stars, it's been written in the scars on our hearts,
That we're not broken just bent, and we can learn to love again
As she finishes her part of the song, she glances expectantly at Jake. He keeps his gaze straightforward as he sings his line.
I'm sorry I don't understand, where all of this is coming from,
I thought that we were fine
Your head is running wild again, my dear we still have everything,
And it's all in your mind
Their voices finally blend in as they sing the next chorus. Marley tries to stop her tears from flowing down again, while Jake keeps on his stoic expression throughout the song.
You're holding it in, you're pouring a drink,
No nothing is as bad as it seems, we'll come clean…
Marley's eyes catch Ryder's, who gives her a worried smile. Her heart aches. She can't look at Jake in the eye. She feels like a horrible, ugly monster.
Just give me a reason, just a little bit's enough,
Just a second we're not broken just bent,
And we can learn to love again
It's been written in the scars, it's been written in the scars of our hearts,
That we're not broken just bent, and we can learn to love again,
Oh, oh, and we can learn to love again…
Brad the piano player finishes the ending of the song, and the choir room falls silent.
Jake rubs his hands on his jeans. "I wish I could believe in that song, but… I think our lines were a little bit… switched." He glares at Marley for a second, who looks down at her lap, chagrined. He stands up from his stool and returns to his seat at the back row without saying anything else. Marley twists her fingers together as she gets up from her stool and sits quietly between Artie and Brittany on the front row.
"All right, that was… great," Mr. Schuester says, getting to his feet. "Thank you, Marley, Jake, that was beautiful. I hope whatever's going on with you two are finally going to be over after that duet."
Marley shoots him a grateful look, but Jake looks away and pretends he didn't hear a thing.
"All right, we'll practice some choreography for Regionals tomorrow, don't – be – late." Mr. Schue claps his hands, excited to pronounce the word Regionals.
"Um, Mr. Schue?" Gina's hand shoots in the air. "I don't think I can come tomorrow."
Mr. Schue raises his eyebrows. "Why?"
Gina shrugs uneasily. "Family business?" she says. "I have… something to do."
"If by something you mean someone…" Kitty begins.
"Gina, you've been missing Glee practice for some time now," Mr. Schuester tells her. "I know I was sick last week, but the other kids practiced, and you weren't there. This can't go on forever. We're going to Regionals in a few short weeks, and we can't lose our focus. We need to use every possible moment to perfect our performances. You and Ryder should be using your spare time to practice your song. And you still need to learn the dance moves for Regionals. You're one of our star dancers, Gina. You have responsibilities Missing practice is crucial for you."
"I know," Gina blushes. "I'm sorry, Mr. Schue. It won't happen again. I won't miss any more practice."
"Good," Mr. Schue says, pointing at her. "Starting from tomorrow's practice."
Gina is about to open her mouth to protest, but seeing that she can't possibly win this argument, she decides to just keep it to herself. She'll have to come to Glee practice tomorrow, whether she wants to or not.
"What does Tweety bird wants with you tomorrow?" Ryder whispers as they leave the choir room.
Gina shoots him a murderous look. "Shut up, Ryder. It's none of your business."
"So now he's asking you to skip Glee practice? What's next, asking you to ditch school just to go on a date with him?" Ryder presses on.
"I said shut up." Gina hisses. "Just to make you feel any better, he's been giving me vocal lessons so we have a better chance at Regionals. Happy?"
She leaves Ryder alone, speechless.