A/N: This is something I thought about putting into one of my other fics, but I decided to exclude it. Instead, I turned it into kind of a stand-alone oneshot I guess. It is implied that Ray had some kind of involvement/relationship or trouble/run-in with the guy working at the bar. I'll let the reader decide what exactly occurred. But whatever happened, when Zack finds out he isn’t very happy about it.
Song is called ‘Criminal’ by Fiona Apple.
I thought the lyrics of this song fit well. It has religious undertones and the need to repent for sins that really suites Rachel. However, I personally imagine Ray’s voice being a little more sweet and youthful sounding than deep and womanly like the original singer’s voice… Still sultry and seductive, just in a different way? So, I would try to imagine Rachel's voice doing a cover version of this song and not the actual song itself.
Song is called ‘Criminal’ by Fiona Apple.
I thought the lyrics of this song fit well. It has religious undertones and the need to repent for sins that really suites Rachel. However, I personally imagine Ray’s voice being a little more sweet and youthful sounding than deep and womanly like the original singer’s voice… Still sultry and seductive, just in a different way? So, I would try to imagine Rachel's voice doing a cover version of this song and not the actual song itself.
Criminal
Rachel’s blood ran cold when she saw Zack come in through the door of the club, drawing his hood up over his head to shadow his bandaged face. The loud droning sounds of the people around her suddenly felt muted and dulled into the background.
“I need you on stage now,” she vaguely heard the club owner briskly scold her for her delay as he passed by, but couldn’t tear her eyes from the scowling murderer skulking through the crowd looking for her, no doubt.
Taking a breath to calm her nerves, she proceeded onto the small stage to approach the mic in the center. She swallowed hard when the music began to play, and the object of her attention turned in her direction, as did most of the eyes of the patrons in the establishment when she began to sing, her voice soft and sultry.
“I've been a bad, bad girl;
I've been careless with a delicate man.
And it's a sad, sad world,
When a girl will break a boy, just because she can.”
Zack froze, his fierce eyes growing wide when they fell upon her. He’d probably assumed when she told him she got hired at the club that it was a job mixing drinks or serving as a waitress; He obviously didn’t expect to see her on a stage. He looked completely caught off-guard, but she didn’t fail to catch something akin to hurt or betrayal written on his face.
“Don't you tell me to deny it;
I've done wrong and I want to suffer for my sins.”
Cheers and catcalling erupted from the crowd in approval of her vocal performance. Although, the seductive dress that she had on clung to her petite curves in a very flattering way and probably helped a little to win-over their affection. It was cut low in the back to showcase the flawless milky skin of her back. A long slit in the bottom of the dress was cut extra high to showing off an uncomfortable amount of thigh. Long blonde curls fell around her bare shoulder and her lips were boldly colored. She was told her new look would help hold audience's attention but right now, she had a solid urge to dash off the stage and into hiding. Having been accustomed most of her life to being ignored, neglected, and blending into the background, she now could feel the weight of every gaze that had fallen upon her.
She watched Zack bitterly turn away and head for the bar. It dawned on her that she’d been wrong in assuming he was looking for her. She could feel dread creeping up when she realized his motives were to confront the brown-haired man serving drinks at the polished counter. This wasn’t going to turn out well… Still, she forced the next words to the song to spill out of her mouth.
“I've come to you 'cause I need guidance to be true,
and I just don't know where I can begin.
What I need is a good defense 'cause I'm feelin' like a criminal.
And I need to be redeemed to the one I've sinned against,
Because he's all I ever knew of love.”
There was an escalating confrontation between Zack and the young man behind the bar. She couldn’t hear what was being said between the two men but Zack’s demeanor was tense and he held a murderous glint in his wild, mismatched eyes. Her stomach churned, watching it all unfold.
A sly smile crept up on the bar tender’s smug face as he said something that caused Zack to lunge over the counter and pulled him by the shirt over the bartop to throw him to the hard floor.
Rachel had to try hard to keep her voice from shaking or cracking under the subdued stress.
“Heaven help me for the way I am.
Save me from these evil deeds before I get them done.
I know tomorrow brings the consequence at hand,
But I keep livin' this day like the next will never come.
Oh help me but don't tell me to deny it.
I've got to cleanse myself of all these lies till I'm good enough for him.
I've got a lot to lose and I'm bettin' high so I'm beggin' you before it ends,
just tell me where to begin.”
Gasps and screams rose up around them. The crowd backed away from the brutal brawl taking place before their eyes. Zack’s fist fell on the man on the floor over and over, thick blood staining his knuckles.
Onlookers stared on in shock and horror, others turned away unable to keep watching such a vicious display of violence. The bar tender was limp on the floor and far past defending himself, but Zack didn’t relent. Even from the significant distance between them, Rachel could hear the sickening crack of bone breaking. At this rate, Zack was surely going to kill him. No one dared move to stop him though.
What I need is a good defense 'cause I'm feelin' like a criminal.
And I need to be redeemed to the one I've sinned against
Because he's all I ever knew of love.”
There was a break in the lyrics while the music continued to play. Rachel stopped and allowed the music to sustain the song alone.
Out of breath, Zack tried to stifle his shuddering breathing while staring down at the mess he’d made of the other man’s battered body. A small puddle of blood was already pooling beneath the man's head, his face nearly unrecognizable. The haunting music filled the otherwise tense silence.
“Let me know the way, before there's hell to pay.
Give me room to lay the law and let me go.
I've got to make a play to make my lover stay.
So what would an angel say, the devil wants to know.”
The return of Rachel’s sweet, alluring voice pulled him back to reality. He finally looked up to see her staring back at him from the stage. Everyone was staring around him, and a few took advantage of his distraction to rush to the other man’s aid. The vague sound of sirens could be heard approaching from outside. A burly man in a black security uniform was fighting his way through the crowd.
“What I need is a good defense 'cause I'm feelin' like a criminal.
And I need to be redeemed to the one I've sinned against.”
The depth of her words suddenly made his chest constrict. He'd been hearing her song the whole time, but he hadn't really been listening until now. Her blue depths bore into him from across the room and he got the feeling she was trying to convey something specifically to him.
“Because he's all I ever knew of love.”
“I need you on stage now,” she vaguely heard the club owner briskly scold her for her delay as he passed by, but couldn’t tear her eyes from the scowling murderer skulking through the crowd looking for her, no doubt.
Taking a breath to calm her nerves, she proceeded onto the small stage to approach the mic in the center. She swallowed hard when the music began to play, and the object of her attention turned in her direction, as did most of the eyes of the patrons in the establishment when she began to sing, her voice soft and sultry.
“I've been a bad, bad girl;
I've been careless with a delicate man.
And it's a sad, sad world,
When a girl will break a boy, just because she can.”
Zack froze, his fierce eyes growing wide when they fell upon her. He’d probably assumed when she told him she got hired at the club that it was a job mixing drinks or serving as a waitress; He obviously didn’t expect to see her on a stage. He looked completely caught off-guard, but she didn’t fail to catch something akin to hurt or betrayal written on his face.
“Don't you tell me to deny it;
I've done wrong and I want to suffer for my sins.”
Cheers and catcalling erupted from the crowd in approval of her vocal performance. Although, the seductive dress that she had on clung to her petite curves in a very flattering way and probably helped a little to win-over their affection. It was cut low in the back to showcase the flawless milky skin of her back. A long slit in the bottom of the dress was cut extra high to showing off an uncomfortable amount of thigh. Long blonde curls fell around her bare shoulder and her lips were boldly colored. She was told her new look would help hold audience's attention but right now, she had a solid urge to dash off the stage and into hiding. Having been accustomed most of her life to being ignored, neglected, and blending into the background, she now could feel the weight of every gaze that had fallen upon her.
She watched Zack bitterly turn away and head for the bar. It dawned on her that she’d been wrong in assuming he was looking for her. She could feel dread creeping up when she realized his motives were to confront the brown-haired man serving drinks at the polished counter. This wasn’t going to turn out well… Still, she forced the next words to the song to spill out of her mouth.
“I've come to you 'cause I need guidance to be true,
and I just don't know where I can begin.
What I need is a good defense 'cause I'm feelin' like a criminal.
And I need to be redeemed to the one I've sinned against,
Because he's all I ever knew of love.”
There was an escalating confrontation between Zack and the young man behind the bar. She couldn’t hear what was being said between the two men but Zack’s demeanor was tense and he held a murderous glint in his wild, mismatched eyes. Her stomach churned, watching it all unfold.
A sly smile crept up on the bar tender’s smug face as he said something that caused Zack to lunge over the counter and pulled him by the shirt over the bartop to throw him to the hard floor.
Rachel had to try hard to keep her voice from shaking or cracking under the subdued stress.
“Heaven help me for the way I am.
Save me from these evil deeds before I get them done.
I know tomorrow brings the consequence at hand,
But I keep livin' this day like the next will never come.
Oh help me but don't tell me to deny it.
I've got to cleanse myself of all these lies till I'm good enough for him.
I've got a lot to lose and I'm bettin' high so I'm beggin' you before it ends,
just tell me where to begin.”
Gasps and screams rose up around them. The crowd backed away from the brutal brawl taking place before their eyes. Zack’s fist fell on the man on the floor over and over, thick blood staining his knuckles.
Onlookers stared on in shock and horror, others turned away unable to keep watching such a vicious display of violence. The bar tender was limp on the floor and far past defending himself, but Zack didn’t relent. Even from the significant distance between them, Rachel could hear the sickening crack of bone breaking. At this rate, Zack was surely going to kill him. No one dared move to stop him though.
What I need is a good defense 'cause I'm feelin' like a criminal.
And I need to be redeemed to the one I've sinned against
Because he's all I ever knew of love.”
There was a break in the lyrics while the music continued to play. Rachel stopped and allowed the music to sustain the song alone.
Out of breath, Zack tried to stifle his shuddering breathing while staring down at the mess he’d made of the other man’s battered body. A small puddle of blood was already pooling beneath the man's head, his face nearly unrecognizable. The haunting music filled the otherwise tense silence.
“Let me know the way, before there's hell to pay.
Give me room to lay the law and let me go.
I've got to make a play to make my lover stay.
So what would an angel say, the devil wants to know.”
The return of Rachel’s sweet, alluring voice pulled him back to reality. He finally looked up to see her staring back at him from the stage. Everyone was staring around him, and a few took advantage of his distraction to rush to the other man’s aid. The vague sound of sirens could be heard approaching from outside. A burly man in a black security uniform was fighting his way through the crowd.
“What I need is a good defense 'cause I'm feelin' like a criminal.
And I need to be redeemed to the one I've sinned against.”
The depth of her words suddenly made his chest constrict. He'd been hearing her song the whole time, but he hadn't really been listening until now. Her blue depths bore into him from across the room and he got the feeling she was trying to convey something specifically to him.
“Because he's all I ever knew of love.”
A/N: Honestly, I think this was pretty meh, which is why I removed it from the fic that it was originally supposed to be a part of. But I still posted it just cause... Idk, I felt like it? Possibly cause I haven't updated anything in while and I just wanted to post something?
Check out my other stories if you want to and haven't already. And as always, leave a kudos or comment if you're feeling charitable :)
Check out my other stories if you want to and haven't already. And as always, leave a kudos or comment if you're feeling charitable :)