"Gorgeous!"

"She's sitting right next to me!"

"Why can't I stop staring at her? I look like a weirdo!"

Yeah, well, this is Jayden Holmes. He's right now in a park, sitting on a bench.

So, why's he here?

Who's the girl he can't stop staring at?

Let's go on a time skip to the past to know what's happening!

10 days ago

"Mom! For the last time, I won't be unsafe just because I'm living out of the dorm!" Jayden annoyedly reminds his mom on the phone for the nth time while dragging his suitcase to the reception area of a grand apartment in which he rented a flat.

Not by himself, of course! His roommate from the dorm, surprisingly rich, had suggested they rent a flat in an apartment near their college.

The college dorms were twice as pricey as the both's share in this single flat of the posh apartment.

His mom finally stops the nagging and cuts the call. Jayden walks up to the receptionist for getting the spare key for his flat. His roommate, Thomas, had gone home right after arranging his things in the flat this morning.

But poor Jayden couldn't go home. His dad was home. He and his dad have a strained relationship.

The receptionist, chewing a gum, her phone stuck to her ear, legs on top of the table, while filing her nails, glared at him. "Welcome to Le Chant Des Oiseaux. How can I help you?" She asks in a nonchalant tone.

"Uh... May I have the spare key to the flat #211, please?"

"And why would I give it to you?"

"Oh, sorry, But I think I mentioned that I'd be moving in #211 today and will be collecting my spare keys from you."

"Is it? I'll check the schedule."

"Well, yeah it's mentioned in here that Jayden Holmes will be moving in #211. Are you Jayden Holmes?"

"Yes, and here are my documents for verification"

She checks the documents and nods in approval.

"Well, Here are your keys, you're good to go!" She says as she gets back to talking on her phone, leaving no gap for anymore queries.

Jayden, slightly embarrassed by the awkward conversation he just had drags his suitcase and rushes to the lift.

******_______******

He gets inside his flat and sighs deeply. "Still can't believe that I'm renting a flat in such a posh apartment! I can't even spell the name of this place!"

He starts arranging his things and freshens up for starting his songwriting.

Yes, he really loves writing and composing songs. But his conflict with his dad led him to choose electrical engineering in a city college.

There were several contests which were going to be held in the college at the starting of the new year.

Jayden planned to apply for the music contest. So now he's trying to prepare beforehand for the contest. He had to try his best in this. Students from other departments were really talented, so were his seniors.

He settles on his bed, a notebook and pen in his hand.

"When the sun sets low, and the stars begin to shine.. Um.." He scratches his head in frustration.

"I have no fucking idea how love works! Why did I have to choose 'unrequited love' as my topic!"

He slams the notebook and the pen on the side table and aggressively pulls the blanket over him.

Phone rings.

He picks up his phone. Caller ID displaying 'Rich Bich'. He attends the call and places it on his ear.

"HOW'S MAH BOY DOIN?" The person on the other side yells.

"THOMAS FREAKING WILLIAMS! LOWER THAT DAMN VOICE OF YOURS!" Jayden yells back.

" Alright how's it going with the arranging? Is our flat comfortable for you darlin'?" Thomas asks in a sly tone.

"Yeah our flat's fine. By the way... do you know something about unrequited love? Like love shown in the movies. One sided type and so on?"

"Unrequited love? Hmm interesting! Well... haven't you fallen in love before? With someone or something? It's hard to explain. You need to have experienced it to understand it."

"Ugh I don't know dude! I'm stuck. I have no clue about how people feel when they fall in love! Do you have any tips that I can follow to understand this?" Jayden asks in frustration.

"I don't know either. Just go out and get some fresh air. You might get some ideas. Go to that park near the 'Soobermarget Grocery Store' there's some art fest going on there. That might be helpful in some way."

"Yeah I'll go there tomorrow. And did you have your dinner?" Jayden asks

"Yeah I ate a lot dude. What about you? Did my babe eat well?" Thomas asks

"I ain't hungry. Also tone down the affection. I ain't your babe. And goodnight I'm gonna sleep. Don't call me until 9 am or something."

"Alright dude. See ya soon. Miss you. Mwah!"

"Yuck! Tom! You're the weirdest!"

He cuts the call and drifts to sleep.

The next day

Jayden wakes up and gets ready to visit the park.

He stops by a street vendor to grab a sandwich and starts walking towards the park.

"A very good morning to everyone present here! We, the members of the art club are very happy to see you all being present here on the 3rd day of the art fest!"

Jayden turns to look who's speaking on the stage.

Floral dress, her slightly wavy hair and cute smile. The wind made her look more cute. She isn't the most beautiful person he's ever seen, but just a small glance at her made him feel warm in his chest.

"She's cute... Wait, why do I feel a bit ticklish in my tummy?"

Oh dear! Jayden is really puzzled about what's going on with him.

He walks into the place where the different art collections were displayed. There weren't many people. Just some old people and a lot of nannies with the babies in the crib. Most of them were on their phones.

An old lady, approximately in her 60s approached Jayden. "Hey dear son! Look at this lady in this portrait... she's a bit underdressed. What if she catches a cold?" The woman on the canvas she was looking at was wearing a crop top with a mini skirt, walking alone in a lonely street at night with a dim street light shining upon her.

"Um I think so?" Jayden replies in an uncertain tone clearly surprised by her approaching him.

"My dear! Are you puzzled about something? Look at your eyebrows! They need some relaxation." The lady exclaimed.

"It's just that I need to make a song about unrequited love, but I have no idea about love" He sighs.

"Oh my! That's it? Don't stress too much on it, son! Unrequited love doesn't always mean about loving a person. We can love something so much even though we can't have it. That's unrequited love too! That's a love that isn't returned. It doesn't have to be romantic."

"Oh! That's quite informative. Thanks for the encouragement! By the way my name's Jayden Holmes. What's yours?"

"Such an adorable name you've got my son! I'm Melissa Smith. Call me Mel or Melly!" 

"Mel is such an awesome nickname! I'll call you Mel!" Jayden said in a cheerful tone.

"By the way, Jay, Can I call you that?"

"Yes! Also shall we go and see the other artworks?"

"Sure sonny!"

Both walk together, sharing the sandwich Jay brought, talking about the paintings and sculptures and making funny remarks about them.

He felt a warm feeling within himself. This was much different from the feeling he experienced when he saw the girl. He felt his cheeks heat up as he thought about her. He didn't know her, but had a familiar feeling with her.

******_______******

The sky started darkening. Mel waved goodbye to Jayden as her caretaker had come to pick her up.

"Let's meet up tomorrow Jay! Don't forget gramma Mel. Bye!"

"Bye Mel!" Jayden cheerful waved back.

Mel left the park. The sky darkened into a beautiful hue of dark blue and black. Jayden got up to leave and notices the girl he saw a while ago sitting alone on a bench.

She was doodling in a notebook. He wanted to approach her. She was really familiar to him but at the same time she wasn't. 

He turned the other direction and walked out of the park.

After reaching the apartment, he noticed the receptionist glaring at him.

Weirded out by her glare, he rushed to the lift.

******_______******

Inside his flat, he freshens up and calls Thomas for guidance on cooking something simple.

Tom had already brought the groceries and sanitary items required for the time he's away and stacked them neatly before leaving. So Jay didn't have any concerns about missing necessities.

The cooking session went in a chaotic way. Apparently, Tom was much worse than Jay.

"Look at this! How am I supposed to eat this!" Jay annoyedly says, showing Tom the food made through his guidance.

"What kind of tarnation is this?" Tom exclaims from the other side of the video call.

"Whatever! I'm hungry. I gotta eat this." Jay takes a bite of it.

"I bless your soul to find peace child" 

"Disgusting!" 

"When did that thing on your plate 'not' look disgusting?"

"Alright I gotta go Tom! Talk to you later!" Jay cuts the call immediately and rushes to the sink to spit out the disaster of a food he made.

He orders takeout and finally fills his hungry tummy.

"Finally, Some food made for humans!"

After a while, he settles down on the couch, with a notebook and pen to continue writing his song. He had written a few lines with the help of Mel.

"Son, close your eyes, think about the thing or person you admired the most. But the admiration wasn't returned back."

"Write the words you'd like to say to them when they finally realise the love you had over them. Or if they surprisingly returned the admiration, what'll be the things you'd tell to them?" 

"That's it! Just write those thoughts as a song and make it catchy. Your song would surely be a hit!" Jay reminds himself the words Mel had told him this evening.

He remembered the time when he was a kid, admiring how his dad would speak politely and treat everyone with kindness, no matter the struggles he faced. Now, his dad had become the complete opposite. He was mean, cold, and absolutely despised Jay and his passion for music.

Jayden drifts to sleep as he reminisces his memories.

- To Be Continued

YOU ARE READING: Heartstrings!