I stood in the middle of the path, letting the cool autumn wind shift my blood-red hair around my face. Trees clothed in shades of scarlet and gold enclosed the space around me except for the narrow ribbon of flat dirt ahead of and behind me and night was beginning to fall. It was all very calming; the soft whispering of the wind through the changing leaves, the faint trickling of a brook somewhere nearby. I hadn't seen anyone walk down this trail in a while, and I thought I was the only one there until a silky smooth, velvet voice spoke behind me.

"What're you doing here? You know everyone's searching for you, right?" I sighed and swept a stray lock of my hair away from my face as I turned toward the newcomer. She stood facing me, clad in black as always. She sounded uncaring and bored, but I saw the concern and relief in her molten silver eyes as she gazed at me.

"I wanted to get away." I stared at her, and I knew my cocoa-brown eyes were hard and firm, as I had learned to make them. I think somehow it intimidated her. Yeah, that's right, Jadelyn August West was intimidated, but it wasn't because she thought I was going to hurt her or anything. It was because I'm me, and Caterina Hannah Valentine wasn't supposed to be anything but happy and cheerful.

"From what? Cat, your life is perfect. You can sing, you can act, your family is nice and...you're beautiful. What could you possibly want to get away from?" I had to think about that. I honestly wasn't sure what I needed to get away from, but there was something that I had to leave behind for a while. It took me a bit to find out how to word it. Turns out, it was pretty simple.

"You." It was true. I couldn't stand being around Jade any longer. She drove me crazy and made it impossible to keep focused on anything. How many times had I sat there staring at her, without her even knowing? Why else would I act so stupid all of the time? She made me nervous; any time I was near her, I was afraid I would say the wrong thing, in the wrong tone, or accidentally let something slip. I was even getting caught up in her now.

The smooth line of her thin studded eyebrow raising, the feisty gleam in her icy eyes, it all made my heart beat a little bit faster. "Me? Cat, if I did something, if I said anything that upset you, you've got to tell me. You realize that your parents, your brother, all of Hollywood Arts, and Tori's parents are all looking for you? They have no idea where you went. They're all worried sick," she finished.

I let the determined light fade from my eyes and I sighed, scuffing at the dirt with my foot. "I'm sorry...no, you didn't do anything. I...don't want to talk about it." How could I possibly admit to Jade that I'm in love with her? Especially when she's so obviously in love with Beck.

I looked up to see that Jade's normally rock-solid eyes had softened. They're usually so thick, like shields keeping anyone from seeing how she's feeling, but now it looks like those walls have crashed. She's letting confusion and worry shine through. "You know you can talk me about anything, right? You're one of my best friends; I care about you..."

"You know what?" That was it. I had to let her know. My mind was made up. It doesn't matter anymore whether or not she rejects me, but I couldn't keep it a secret anymore. I stalked up to Jade, who looked mildly surprised. "If you cared about me, you would pay attention to my feelings. You would notice that I can't keep my eyes off of you, that I am totally and completely in love with you." I spaced out the last seven words, taking another step closer to the startled girl with every one of them. When I finished, almost out of breath, I completely closed the gap between us and leaned in to press my lips against hers. She opened her mouth in surprise and I took the opportunity to thrust my tongue into her mouth.

Jade tasted like coffee and mangos. That was her favorite fruit, wasn't it? I took my own sweet time exploring her mouth, trying to deepen the kiss, but it didn't work. She didn't kiss me back. I drew away from her, my heart sinking. She really didn't like me back.

"Jade, I'm...sorry." Tears began to fall from my eyes and I whirled around, taking off into the forest. I knew Jade wasn't going to come looking for me, after what I did. I leaped over any fallen logs in my way and splashed through a stream when I came across it. It didn't matter that twigs and branches were scratching at my arms or that my muscles and my lungs were screaming at me to stop running.

I don't know how long I was running before I finally tripped and fell. I was amazed that I hadn't fallen before then, but I wasn't expecting the pain that came when I hit the ground. I cried out as a broken piece of a stick lodged itself in my back and my blood welled up underneath me. I tried to roll over and reach behind me to pull it out, but I couldn't move. I gasped as the wood grated against me and I tried to stay as still as possible. Blood soaked through my blouse and I saw it run out from under me, staining the ochre leaves red.

I started feeling sleepy...like, really sleepy. The kind where it's hard for you to keep your eyes open and it's just sweet relief when you close them. I knew that wasn't a good thing. I fought to stay awake, but eventually I just couldn't do it anymore. I sighed and shut my eyes, ready for death to come, because I was pretty sure it was unavoidable.

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I stood still, shocked. Cat just kissed me. And told me she was in love with me. And then ran away. Damn. I snapped myself out of it, trying to remember which way she went. I'd come so close to getting her back at home, where she belongs. I whipped out my phone as I entered the forest, dialing Tori's father's number.

"Mr. Vega, I found Cat," I said. Before he could say anything else, I continued on. "She...she was acting weird and then ran away. Come help me find her." I didn't quite feel comfortable telling him that she'd kissed me.

"Where are you?" Mr. Vega's voice was urgent and filled with worry and I had to think a little before I remembered exactly where we were.

"Um, Talon Perch State Park. I think we're about halfway through Adler trail." I paused. "Please, please hurry! She was so upset..."

"Okay, I'll call everyone else and let them know. Go ahead and start looking, will you?" I nodded into the phone even though he couldn't see me and hung up. I kept on going through the woods, searching for anything that would give me a clue as to where Cat went. God, she could have gotten herself so lost...

I hesitated for a moment when I reached a narrow stream. Was that...yes, it was! There were shoeprints on the damp dirt on either side of the water. I wasted no time in splashing through, not even caring that I'd just made my boots waterlogged.

I followed the trail of scattered puddles of water until they stopped. How far had she run? I stopped in my tracks when I caught the faint scent of lavender. It smelled just like Cat's perfume, so she couldn't be far away. I called her name and explored around the trees, trying desperately to find my friend.

I caught a glimpse of red-velvet red on the other side of one of the trees. "Cat!" I exclaimed, jogging over. Why was she laying on the ground? I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Cat had to be okay, right?

Wrong. As soon as I rounded the tree, I gasped and pressed myself against the trunk. Cat was lying in a pool of blood, limp and pale. Normally, that sight would give me some kind of sick pleasure, but this was Cat. I took a deep breath and circled around her, trying to find out what was making her bleed so badly. I found a stick lodged into her back. I crouched down to feel for a pulse as I got my cell phone back out to call Tori's dad. At first I couldn't feel Cat's pulse at all, but if I didn't move at all I could feel it, very faintly.

"Jade? Jade...are you there?" Oh, right. I had to take a few deep breaths before I could say it out loud.

"Mr. Vega...I found her," I cried. "She's hurt. I...I think she must have fallen on a stick. You've got to hurry! I don't think I can move her. Can you track my phone?"

"God...yes. I'll be there as soon as I can." I hung up and squeezed Cat's hand. This is all my fault. My chest heaved as I sobbed, telling her over and over again not to die on me.

Cat. Will. Not. Die. Just saying. I don't want all my reviews to consist of "NOOOO! CAT CAN'T DIE!" So...now that that's out of the way...what do you think? I don't know how many chapters this'll be, maybe three or four. PLEASE review! I don't care how long it is, or what it says, even if it says "this suks u cant rite go dy in a hole". Because reviews are my motivation :)