Peter was obsessed with video games. It had been the primary thing that bonded him and his sister over the years. He had introduced his younger siblings to Super Mario Brothers fairly early in life but Jonas hated it because he always fell off of things and quickly gave up. He was more likely to play with them once he got older but he wasn't the type to play video games by himself. He only did it as part of a group activity.
"I'm more of a story person too. Actually, my guilty pleasure is all the LEGO games. Batman, Indiana Jones, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Star Wars…you name it, I've played it," Bryce admitted.
"I love those games! I've played all of them. What else do you play?" Jenna asked eagerly.
He told her and they spent the next twenty minutes comparing video games before her attention was caught by someone singing a horrible karaoke rendition of "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion and she changed the subject.
"So…do you ever get up there when you come?"
Bryce shuddered. "Ohhhh no. I can't sing. I prefer the entertainment value over making a fool of myself."
"Boo! That's no fun. I'M going to get up there and sing if you won't," Jenna said resolutely. Karaoke was more fun when you weren't the only one but she would go alone if she had to. Normally she was able to convince Jonas or Evan to get up there with her when she went.
"Tessa!"
She didn't listen to him calling after her and marched over to the signup list. It was her birthday and she would sing if she wanted to! It would be in honor of her twin, who was probably singing karaoke somewhere tonight too with the rest of their brothers.
Bryce sighed heavily as he appeared behind her, stopping her from signing up as a solo act on the electronic pad. "I'll sing with you. I really don't know any duets though."
Jenna brightened immediately. "That's okay! Here, look at the list. Do you recognize any of these?"
"Uh…I think I've heard this one in a movie before. I can probably do it."
The song was "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" by Elton John and Kiki Dee. She was pretty sure which movie he had seen it in too and she cracked a smile. "Alright! We've got this, partner."
His face indicated he wasn't so sure but he joined her back at the bar. The subject turned to what she was studying in school.
"You're in school, right? What's your major?" Bryce asked.
"Zoology. I want to become an exotic vet but that's really hard to do. Vet schools are extremely competitive and I would have to specialize. Plus potential employers want you to have plenty of experience with exotics already," Jenna said with a sigh.
That was why she spent her weekends volunteering since she only worked afternoons. She switched off volunteering at the zoo, the Wildlife Care Network, and the Museum of Natural History's Sea Center. Finding those volunteer opportunities was one of the first things she did after moving here to keep herself sane.
Her ultimate goal was working at the Big Cat Rescue back home. It was a nonprofit focused on ending the big cat trade and caring for those that had been taken out of bad situations.
Taking a guided tour there as a child had enchanted her and she wanted to work there more than anything. She loved all animals but her mom was allergic to cats and dogs so she had pet birds, snakes, and lizards growing up.
As an exotic vet she would be able to care for those sorts of animals too but her true love was the wild ones. She was confident she would get there someday because she was passionate, driven, and wouldn't let anything get in her way. Even the Witness Protection Program.
Bryce seemed impressed. "Wow, that's cool. What got you into that?"
"I love wildlife sanctuaries and animal rescues," Jenna said simply so she wouldn't give away details about where she grew up. "I realized pretty early on that I wanted to work at one when I got older."
"So you like animals?"
"Oh yeah! But especially the ones you wouldn't think of. I had a pet gray parrot growing up named Bingley that was a rescue and his previous owner must have sworn like a sailor because he had quite the vocabulary. My mom hated it but my brothers thought it was hilarious," Jenna reminisced.
Jonas in particular had been in stitches every time Bingley went off and their mom got mad about it. He had always been a bit of a brat but it was part of his charm. Sarah thought so too even if she wouldn't admit it.
The reminder of her twin instantly brought her mood down. She should be with him today not a virtual stranger.
Don't get her wrong, she was grateful Bryce was here. She definitely did not want to be doing this alone. But singing a cheesy karaoke duet with someone she didn't know well wasn't the same as doing it with her best friend since they always made it super dramatic as part of the joke.
Jenna was still feeling a bit down when the MC announced, "Next up are Tessa and Bryce singing Don't Go Breaking My Heart!"
Somehow he seemed to sense that because he gave her a half smile and held his hand out to her encouragingly. "Shall we?"
She took comfort in the contact. She hadn't held anyone's hand since leaving home. Her nieces and nephew used to do it all the time when they were together. The reminder that she wasn't alone today fortified her a bit.
He was clearly nervous when he took the microphone and the intro came on but he sang his part as best he could. His voice wasn't as bad as he claimed it to be either, though he was no professional.
The duet worked primarily by switching off who sang which line but some parts were sung together later in the song. Though Bryce sang his parts hesitantly at first once they got to the parts they sang together he got more into it by taking her hand and spinning her around.
Jenna was so surprised she laughed and almost missed the cue for her next line. If he was going to get into it more, there was nothing stopping her!
She began dancing like she was in a really old music video the way she would if she was with Jonas because they were both dorks and it took Bryce about ten seconds to realize what she was doing before playing along.
They spent the rest of the song totally rocking out as if they were the lovers the song depicted. The audience was going wild but she was having too much fun to even focus on them. They were at one with the karaoke music and all of her problems momentarily faded away.
Bryce wasn't a half bad dancer either. During the longer instrumental breaks he spun her around on stage like a pro and she felt her heart racing in the heat of the moment.
When they got back to singing they got up in each other's faces in the old school push-and-pull style of leaning forward and backward as if it was planned beforehand. Somehow they simply knew how to respond to the other person's moves.
When the song ended he spun her into a dip and the entire bar erupted into cheers. Jenna blinked up at him with a dazed grin on her face as her heart thumped wildly and he grinned right back before pulling her upright.
Bryce accidentally pulled a little too hard so she slammed into his chest and he had to catch her. That only made her heart go crazier.
She was a fairly spontaneous person but she had never done a dramatic karaoke duet with someone she barely knew before. This was a first. And not at all an unpleasant one. For a few beautiful minutes she forgot that she was hiding the fact that it was her birthday from the world and simply let loose.
People in the audience were demanding an encore but Bryce shook his head. "Sorry, I don't know any more duets."
He grabbed Jenna by the hand and dragged her out of there before they could get swarmed by the mob and she couldn't help but laugh breathlessly as he pulled her along. She never had to flee a bar before either.
They stopped, panting, and leaned against a wall about a block away. "Sorry about that. I don't know what came over me," he apologized.
She shook her head fiercely. "Don't you dare apologize. That was amazing! I had no idea you secretly had the heart of a rock star. And you said you were bad at singing! You had them eating out of the palm of your hand."
"We," Bryce reminded her.
"What?"
"We had them eating out of the palms of our hands. I couldn't have done that alone. And to be honest…I didn't do that for the audience. I did it for you because you seemed sad again. I thought being silly might cheer you up. Did it work?"