We all loaded into Beck's RV at five in the morning.

Why? Because, he's insane. For months since the breakup, all he's been doing is acting awkward around everyone.

I mean, I could understand being awkward with Jade around, but it was all of us. And also the months part. It's socially acceptable for you to be down for a few weeks, but most people will get over it eventually.

So, we made the decision that it would be a good idea for the whole gang to have some adventure together – skydiving, community service, I don't know. That way he'd come to realize that things have barely changed at all. Even between Jade and him.

Robbie wanted to bring him to Bermuda. Andre said we should all write a song together, which is his answer to every problem there is. Cat said we should go hunting for aliens. Jade figured we should have a picnic in a graveyard. I couldn't think of anything.

The only thing we could agree on was not to invite Trina.

We decided to discuss it at a later date and went home defeated.

But then Andre called me at four in the morning saying Beck just called him crying. And I decided it couldn't wait any longer.

I told Andre to come over and then proceeded to call Cat.

"Hi!" she yelped into the phone, excited.

I then proceeded to tell her to show up. Why she was wide awake at that point in time is unbeknownst to me.

I called the others as well, getting the expected reaction. Basically shock and then defeated agreement.

Then Jade.

"'Ello?" she muttered groggily.

"Hey, Jade."

A groan. "Vega, what time is it?"

"Like... four-fifteen," I responded honestly.

There was a pause. Then, "Why exactly am I not sleeping right now?" in an annoyed voice.

"Um...," I started, second-guessing contacting her. "Beck's crying."

Another pause came. "Over me again?" she asked, her voice coming out sadder than I'd ever heard it.

I bit my lip. "Look... Jade, just come over, okay? We're gonna go to his place and try to cheer him up."

She cleared her throat, the softness gone from it when she spoke again. "Are you sure it's a good idea for me to come?" she asked seriously.

"Jade, it's been months! He needs to be able to be around you by now. I'm not going to spend any more time hanging out with you separately."

"You say that like we often hang out," she said condescendingly.

I rolled my eyes. "Get over here, West!"

And like that, all of us were soon cramped in a car on the way to Beck's RV. And then, when we got there, we broke in using the knowledge Jade had about the whereabouts of the spare key.

And that brings me to my previous statement.

Naturally, when we all herded in, he fell out of his bed in surprise. "What are you doing here?" he yelped, sprawled on the floor in his pajamas.

Suddenly, and completely unplanned, Cat yelled out, "ROAD TRIP!" in that insanely loud high note she has.

Beck gaped at all of us, standing up. "We are not going on a road trip. Ever."

"Sure we are," I responded on instinct. "Any objections?" Before he could respond, I said, "Great, road trip then."

"No!" Beck yelled. "No... road trips! All of you, go home!"

"Actually," Jade chimed in from a corner that she had wandered to at one point. "We're going," she stated, turning around with his car keys in hand.

Beck's eyes darted around. Then he sprinted toward the door. Before he could get there, however, Andre pulled him back and pushed him onto the couch.

"Well," Jade started happily. "Now that that's settled, I'll drive first."

We drove to everyone's house to pick up their supplies, much to Jade's annoyance. All the while Andre kept close watch on Beck. I don't know why he was even trying to escape – we'd take his house. You'd think he'd be a bit more protective of that.

When we were finally ready to set off, I jumped in the passenger's seat.

Jade stared at me for a few seconds. "Is there a problem?" she asked gruffly, not showing any sign of moving the car.

"Not at all, thanks for asking," I responded sarcastically. Her expression did not changed. "Oh, come on, Jade. You'd get lonely up here all by yourself."

She huffed, but nonetheless put the thing in drive.

A couple awkward minutes into the drive, I decided to break the silence. "So...," I started, unsure what to say. "Where are we going exactly?"

"No idea," she responded.

I glanced over, alarmed. "What if we get lost?" I interrogated.

"No idea," she responded once again.

I sat up, further alarmed. "Hasn't someone thought of these things?"

Stopping at a red light, she gazed at me intently. "No idea."

"Don't you know any other words?" I yelped.

Then, she started to talk in a foreign language that I couldn't pinpoint.

After she stopped, I must have stared for a few minutes before she said, "Bet you're regretting deciding to keep me company, eh, Vega?" with a smirk on her face.

I crossed my arms over my chest. "Not at all."

We were silent again, so I turned on the radio. Some rap song I've never heard came on and she immediately turned it off. I didn't object, because, frankly, there was no point.

"What language were you just speaking?" I asked with the intention of filling the disturbing silence again.

She cleared her throat, and waited so long to answer I thought she might decide not to. "Latin."

"Latin?" I pondered.

"That's what I said," she responded – but she didn't sound annoyed at all.

I drummed my fingertips on my thigh. "Where'd you learn Latin?" I asked curiously, tucking my hair behind my ear to occupy my hands.

She shrugged nonchalantly, shifting in her seat. "The internet."

"You learned to speak fluent Latin in your spare time?" I asked disbelievingly.

She shrugged again. "Yeah. I thought it'd be cool to know. But I know colleges don't like you to switch languages and all, and I'd already taken French for two years when I thought of it. So I just learned on my own, and here we are."

That was literally the longest and most interesting thing she's ever said to me. There was a silent pause. "Can you say something?"

"Something like...?" she trailed off, the hint of a smile on her face as she tried to focus on the road.

"I dunno," I said, a bit overexcited. "Just... whatever."

She stopped at a red light and glanced at me once again. Her mouth twisted up, as though she wasn't sure about what to say or whether or not she should say it. Finally, she cleared her throat. "Vos es decorus."

I raised my eyebrows, keeping eye contact. Her lips twitched up again.

She seemed to be coming off softer than usual, now that I think of it. Probably just tired.

But she's always like that when we're alone.

Just as I was about to ask what it was she said, someone slammed on their horn behind us and she, in turn, slammed on the gas pedal, sending us flying through the now green light.

After that, we stopped the conversation for awhile so Jade could focus on her swearing.

I waited a while to bring it up, until her tense muscles relaxed. "Jade?" I called out.

"What?" she muttered curtly, almost discouraging me from my question.

"What did that mean?"

She glanced at me nervously but didn't make any motion to respond.

I laughed humorlessly. "What, you won't tell me?" I asked incredulously.

"Google it," was all she said.

So, I took out my Pearphone and typed in 'google translate.'

She looked over, a bit panicked. "Wait, you're actually gonna Google it?" she muttered nervously.

"Yep," I responded. "Why? You didn't cuss me out or something, right?"

She sighed and refused to watch my face while I read the translation.

"Awwwwwww!" I exclaimed once I'd finished.

She rubbed her eyes and then rested her cheek on her hand, elbow on the door.

"You really think I'm beautiful?" I teased.

She twisted her lips again, but this time in annoyance. Then she flicked the radio back on, too loud for conversation.

A/N - Yep. I'm alive.

And I happen to be here. Writing. As opposed to reading Chapter One Section Three as I should be, or doing my science expirement, or preparing for my game tomorrow, or getting business ads for Yearbook.

Nope. You're that important to me.

Actually, it's more to say that I enjoy the thrill of blowing off responsibilities. And you're the perfect excuse for it.

So thanks.

Not to say you're not important to me. You are. You're like... the Bible.

Considering my blatant atheism, that was a terrible example.

You're more like a water fountain in the middle of the desert. In that I get overexcited and drink gallons and gallons of you.

But then I have to pee really bad, and I can't do it there because there's a camel who looks really pervy, and no matter how far away I walk, he can still see me because... well, it's a damn desert.

In the end I end up exploding. It's all your fault.

Maybe I'll write a story about that next.