Chapter XVI

'This is my time to show everyone what I feel... how I feel...' Briella thought to herself. 'I want to others to feel what I do, even if what I show is a fraction of what I actually feel. It's still something...'.

She swallowed whatever was in her mouth before looking out towards the vast crowd. The cheer echoed throughout the big room.

The way that the crowd moved, it reminded her of the sea. Ocean.

For some reason, the thought of the ocean made her feel some sort of relief.

The cheer continued right until Briella began speaking.

A deep breath. "U-ummm...". The crowd quietened down. "M-my name is Briella, as announced...". A swallow. "And tonight, I will be playing an original...". Before she got a full hold of her words, she spat out, "And I dedicate this song to my ex...". Looking over her words, her eyes widened. But she continued. "T-to the guy that broke my heart... over the phone...". A second of silence. "The song is called 'Just Go'...".

One or two 'woops' echoed throughout the hall.

With that, Briella took in another deep breath, swallowed whatever was in her mouth and allowed her fingers to rest on the piano tiles.

She closed her eyes. 'I hope this reaches you...'. Opening her eyes back up, she began playing.

The intro was played for a few seconds right before...

"These days without you have been a mess,

I cannot sleep at night.

The thoughts of you swirl around and around in my head.

Hoping for there to be some sort of a remedy,

Only to find that all this hope has led me back to you.".

'We will have another moment just like this...'. His words plucked at her heartstrings. 'Are you sure about that?' She asked back.

"Just go away,

Go and leave me alone.

Just go away,

Go and let me be free.

Just go away,

Go, because I no longer want you.

Just go away,

Go, because I no longer love you.".

'I don't hate you, I can never hate you... even after what you did to me, it's not in my nature to hate. But I want to get over you... to forget you...' she added to her train of thoughts. 'I no longer love you...'.

"Just leave me, and go away,

You too know it'll never be the same.

The sadness, the misery.

You had some promises you didn't keep.".

"And just like that,

You go away.

You replaced me with someone else.

While I'm here,

Trying to get over you,

Trying to forget all the things we've been through.".

"Just go away.".

'It wasn't supposed to end this way, right? We weren't supposed to end like this... were we?'. Silence. 'Who am I kidding?... it's too late for me to have these sorts of thoughts... you are gone. You are gone forever and there is nothing I can do about it.'.

"Yeah, we can't bring back time.

But I wish I could go back to the day you and I met.

I wish I could have told myself to stay at home.

Because the night that I met you,

It will always be my worst regret.".

'Once a miracle... now my worst regret...'.

"Just leave me...".

"Just leave me,

Leave my heart be.

Go away and never come back to me.

Burn all the lies you've said to me,

Fool them just like how you fooled me.

All the 'I love yous' you've said to me,

They're no longer worth like they once were to me.

Because now I know that you...

You no longer love me.".

'Her voice... I still remember her voice so clearly... she sounded prettier than me...' she furthermore added to her thoughts.

"Just leave me, and go away,

You too know it'll never be the same.

The sadness, the misery.

You had some promises you didn't keep.".

"And just like that,

You go away.

You replaced me with someone else.

While I'm here,

Trying to get over you,

Trying to forget all the things we've been through.".

"But you and I,

We know it'll be of no use.

Because no matter how hard I try,

I can never forget you.".

"Just shut up, don't say another word.

Both you and I know it's gonna hurt...".

She played the final few notes before letting out a deep breath. She finished her song.

'Goodbye, Dylan. Goodbye for good.'.

Cheer and clapping ejected her out of her thoughts, she looked up at the crowd.

A smile grew on her face.

The applause, the cheer, they were all for her and once again, a tear or two managed to emerge from her eyes before flowing down her cheeks.

Standing up, she bowed and with that, she walked off stage.

-------

The show came to an end not too long after Briella's performance.

Both Nadia and Liam rushed backstage.

"Briella!!". They both wrapped their arms around her.

"You did amazingly!" Liam said.

Nadia followed his words with, "Yeah! You did so, so well!".

Then, they both returned to holding Briella tight in their arms.

"I am so proud of you, Briella..." Liam muttered under his breath.

"We are so proud of you..." Nadia added straight after him.

Then, a knock interrupted their friend-bonding time. They all turned around to the door.

Briella's eyes widen when she saw who it was. Ryan.

"Hey- Oh crap, I interrupted something. I'll come back. Sorry.".

Nadia rose her gaze to Briella, a small smirk grew on her lips. Briella notices this.

Before Ryan manages to walk away... "Oh, it's fine. We were just about to go anyways.".

Upon hearing her words, he stopped in his tracks. He turned around and looked back into the room. "I-it's okay, really. If you guys want to spend a bit more time with your friend, I'll totally understand.". A pause. "I just wanted to ask Briella if she'd like to walk home with me.".

------

It was a cold, cloudy night. Both Briella and Ryan were on their way to the bus stop.

"I-I didn't know you came to see the show..." Briella remarked, a smile forming on her lips.

"Well, I more so came because I heard from Nadia and Liam that you were performing. So I guess you can say that I came to see you play..." he replied.

"Wait, l-like... to see me? Like, specifically me?" Briella asked, her smile dropping.

"Yeah! Isn't that what a good friend does? I wanted to come and send my support too.".

Briella nodded to his words.

From there, silence descends upon them both.

"That song..." Ryan began, breaking the silence. "That was the song I read from that page when you were sick over Halloween, right?".

Briella was surprised that he managed to remember such a thing, her eyes widened as she steered her gaze towards Ryan.

"How do you remember?".

"Hmmmm..." he began. "I don't know... I liked the song. I liked the concept. I guess that's how I remembered it.".

Once more, Briella nodded to his words, but oddly, she felt as if that wasn't the only reason why he remembered the song.

"I'm sorry..." he said, immediately pulling Briella out of her trance.

"W-why are you apologising for?" she asked.

"I remember you telling me how your ex broke up with you over the phone... a very suck-ish way to end a relationship if you ask me..." he elaborated.

"Mhmm..." Briella replied.

"What sucks, even more, is that... now when they are gone - I will assume he was your first kiss - like, you can't have that feeling again when you kiss someone for the first time. You can't re-live that moment with another person who might be a bit more compatible if you get me?" Ryan voiced.

"Yeah..." Briella began. "B-but... here is the thing. I never had my first kiss.".

It was that short sentence that caused him to stop. "You never had a guy kiss you?".

"N-no...".

"Not even your ex-boyfriend??" Ryan asked.

"No...".

From there, they both looked at each other, gazed into one another's eyes.

Then, something caught Briella's attention. A snowflake.

"Snow..." Briella muttered.

"Hmm?". But then, Ryan too noticed the snow. He, just like Briella, looked around them both.

With that, more and more snowflakes fell from the sky, and soon, heavy snowfall blew over and fell upon the big city.

'The first snowfall of the season...' Briella thought to herself. 'The first snowfall of the season... I experienced it with him...'.