Chapter Text
'Gail, c'mon, it's gonna be great!'
'Chloe, it's karaoke, it is most definitely going to be terrible'
'Holly's going to be there, and I'm pretty sure she's going to sing!'
'Holly can sing?'
'Gail are you kidding? Holly is the best singer I know, we used to go camping with all our friends when we were in high school and Holly always brought her guitar and would sing for us. Sometimes she even wrote her own songs. It was amazing'
'I've never heard her'
'Gail then you have to come! I know you like Holly more than you like me, even though I am the mutual friend so you should both want to be my best friend not each others, but you guys clearly get on really well and I want to go out with my friends so please come and I will deal with my insecurities that you guys are going to freeze me out and make me the third wheel'.
'Well fine. I suppose I can make it if Holly's going to be there. But you should probably invite some other people for when we abandon you'
'Wow thanks Gail' Chloe responds with a deadpan expression.
//
'So is this place just a karaoke bar? I've never been here before' Gail asks Holly as they walk in the door later that evening.
'Actually it's more a half karaoke, half open mic, so you can basically do whatever you want, just get up on stage and it's yours to do with as you please'.
'So how will you be entertaining us tonight Hols? I hear you're quite the singer, you kept that pretty quiet'
'Yeah I don't sing so much anymore, but Chloe asked me to, so I said I would just this once, I'll probably just do a cover of something old. I'm not sure yet'.
Holly thinks back on her friendship with Gail, they've been friends for awhile now, Chloe and Holly have known each other for almost 10 years and about 2 years ago Chloe started working at 15 Division, where she met Gail. When Chloe introduced Holly to Gail they had clicked straight away and become very close friends, after awhile it had become torture to Holly, she had fallen so hard for Gail, but knew without asking there was no reciprocation of her feelings. Gail dated men, she had still been with Nick when Holly first met her, Holly kicked herself for doing what she always promised herself she never would, falling for her straight best friend. No matter how hard she tried she could not quit Gail, so they became best friends and Holly wallowed in her feelings whenever she was alone.
The gang all settle in for a great night out, plenty of drinks all around and they are thoroughly entertained by the strange mix of awful, mediocre and actually very good singers. A few hours in Gail notices Chloe giving Holly what seems like a very vigorous pep talk, Gail is intrigued but stays seated as she notices Holly head towards what seems to be a backstage area.
Chloe comes back over and Gail asks 'Everything ok with Holly?' 'Oh yeah she's fine, just a bit nervous, I talked her into doing an original song and she panicked a bit, but I don't think she's going to regret it. At least I really hope not' Chloe looks nervous too, but hopeful and Gail is even more intrigued.
Before she has a chance to ask anymore questions the lights go down and a spotlight lights up the stage, Holly steps out holding a guitar and gets settled on a stool in front of the mic.
'Hi everyone, eh I haven't done anything like this in a long time, but my best friend talked me into it, so here goes, this is an original song, it's called Not In That Way. To my friends at the back table over there, try not to read too much into it'.
Gail watches enraptured as Hollys fingers begin to move smoothly over the guitar strings and is absolutely floored when Holly begins to sing.
'And I hate to say I love you, when it's so hard for me, and I hate to say I want you, when you make it so clear, you don't want me'.
The whole bar goes silent as Holly's voice carries across the room, everyone, except Chloe it appears, seems stunned by Holly's smooth, sweet voice.
'I'd never ask you cause deep down, I'm certain I know what you'd say, you'd say I'm sorry believe me,I love you but not in that way'.
Gail can only stare, she knew Holly was wonderful, and there was nothing she had seen Holly attempt that she hadn't been pretty decent at, but this was completely different. Gail could tell she was completely lost in the words she was singing, her eyes were shut and her fingers moved effortlessly over the guitar. This was Holly entirely in her element.
'And I hate to say I need you, I'm so reliant, I'm so dependant, I'm such a fool.
When you're not there, I find myself singing the blues, can't bear, can't face the truth.
You will never know that feeling, you will never see through these eyes'
Gail can feel the song coming to a close, and is completely overwhelmed with thoughts of who Holly could possibly feel this way about. Who could have inspired her to write such stunning but heartbreaking lyrics? Gail looks up as Holly repeats the chorus one final time.
'I'd never ask you, cause deep down I'm certain I know what you'd say, you'd say I'm sorry,
believe me, I love you, but not in that way,
You'd say I'm sorry, believe me, I love you, but not in that way'.
As Gail watches, she notices tears softly falling down Holly's face. When the song finishes Holly looks up, catches Gail's gaze and runs off stage straight out the door of the bar. The look in Holly's eyes is enough for all of Gail's previous questions to be answered and she is out of her chair and out the door like a rocket, ignoring all the looks she is getting from everyone at the table except for Chloe who is just smiling knowingly.
'Holly wait!' Gail calls after Holly's retreating figure. Holly slows down and Gail catches up with her.
'That song, Hol, that was the most beautiful song I've ever heard'
'I'm glad you liked it' Holly has managed to get her crying under control, now just a few stray tears fall down her face.
'Wh-what was it about?'
'Gail, I really don't think you would have come running after me if you didn't already know the answer to that question. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ruin our friendship'.
'Holly, you should have told me how you felt'.
'I just cut my heart open right in front of you Gail! And why should I have done it before?' Holly yells, losing her composure slightly again 'You were with Nick, and then you weren't but you kept going on all those blind dates all the time, you're straight! I know that, and I told myself this wouldn't happen, but it did and it's killing me!'
'I only went on those dates to get my mother off my back! I broke up with Nick a year ago because it just wasn’t the same anymore, I couldn't commit myself to him because I couldn't stop thinking about you!'
'Then YOU should have said something' Holly retorts, her voice breaking with the possibility of what Gail is saying.
'I didn't want to just assume because you're gay that you would be attracted to me. Even my ego isn't that big'.
Holly walks closer to Gail, bumping their foreheads together 'God Gail we're such massive idiots'.