I Don't Care
This is not a song-fic. This is inspired by a song, yet again.
All characters present are property of Stephenie Meyer. The song played is I Don't Care and I mean no copyright infringement whatsoever towards Fall Out Boy, their record label, nor Stephenie Meyer.
Well, to me, it's Australia Day tomorrow. Maybe no posts tomorrow. Also, I start school on Thursday, so when school picks up, I'll have to slow down a bit.
Note: Set during Eclipse. Jessica's Point of View. A minor change of events, and here we are.
My salty tears dropped onto the back of the page. I threw the letter down, unable to accept her...words.
I winced in pain, and bit down on my tongue. This kind of rage was not easy to stop. My body shook as the tears fell. I opened my eyes, still blurry from the tears. My throat was locked in place, shivers running down to my toes. I peered to the side. I grabbed my iPod, my refuge from such harsh words. I put it on shuffle, and then came the last song I wanted to hear. The words echoed. Thanks for the memories, even though they weren't so great.
I shrieked and pressed pause. I wiped my eyes dry, and came up with something I believed to be ingenious. I went through my songs, finding another Fall Out Boy fable to blast into my ears. I hopped off my bed, grabbed the closest pair of shoes, and in my rush, dashed down the stairs. I explained nothing to my onlookers, just snatched my keys and exited the door.
When I saw the exterior from my house, I had realised what I was about to do. The sky was darkening, so I stepped through the puddles to shelter in my car. It started with a whisk of the keys. The keys jingled, my car throttling to life. I haphazardly reversed from the wet driveway, and sped down the street.
Bella's house wasn't hard to find, but the longer I took getting there, the more I realised what I was getting myself into. The instincts inside of me forced me to push harder on the pedal. These same instincts weren't going to avert from an accident, the way that I felt now.
I had no idea what I was going to say. The music blasting into my brain was sort of distracting too. I figured I would just storm into her house, and go. I don't expect her father to be there, and hopefully, not her boyfriend. Just imagine what he would do if he were mine...
My psuedo-delirium had just sent me flying through a red light. I braced, moving forward slightly, not sparing a side glance to the bystanders I had just passed.
After the adrenaline-induced driving, I had arrived at the front of her house. It looked...lonely. And quiet too. I saw nobody inside through the windows, but a familiar car sat in the driveway.
Mike Newton. I took a long breath, and went up the steps. The door was open. It was eerily silent before I stepped in, but upon arrival, I had heard a voice.
"Jessica, is that you?" Mike. I rolled my eyes before he saw me. I didn't remove my earphones, the same song repeated.
"Mike, I need to see Bella. Where is she?" I refused to make eye contact with him. His stance read "protective" over and again. I casually stood in the door, barring him from leaving, if he were to try. I tensed.
"She's...over there." He pointed towards the small kitchen. I removed one of the two earphones, and marched in. Mike followed, almost obsequiously.
Bella was standing over the sink, hands on either side. Her eyes read guilt. It smelt awfully like burnt toast.
I stood metres away. I inhaled sharply, and her neck snapped towards me. She was suddenly apologetic. A pang of sympathy was radiating into me. My music was all I could hear as I was about to speak. I leant forward, placed more of my weight on my front foot. Bella's hair was in slightly damp tendrils, it looked to me that she was crying. The chorus was about to round off the song. The last I heard of it was this:
I don't care what you think
As long as it's about me
The best of us can find happiness
In misery.
"Look Bella, truthfully, I don't care what you think." As long as it's about me. I continued. "You could be happy, for all I care." Or miserable.
"Jess, she's-" I grabbed his arm in an effort to make him pause. This was up to me. He scowled. He walked over to Bella to put his arm around her. She seemed even less comfortable.
"What I wanted to say, was that we can be friends...but-" I was interrupted by a door swinging open.
"Bells?" This foreign voice began. I figured it was her father, Chief Swan. I still kept my attention on Bella, who was looking in the direction of her father. "Is everything ok? I smell burnt toast." Silence still. Mike looked between Bella and I for help. "Did Edward do something here? I saw cars outside." She looked at her feet, now unsure. She looked down.
"Bella," I whispered, "forgive me?"
The light in the kitchen flicked on, and Chief Swan stepped in with a suspicious look on his face. He eyed Mike especially. He had his hand on his holster, ready to deploy. Bella looked relatively unscathed, and Edward wasn't around. Chief Swan relaxed.
"Ow...Dad, I have burnt toast in my eye." She grumbled. Ahh, that explained a lot more. I laughed, and Chief Swan chuckled. The situation was less awkward now, though the chief was still suspicious of Mike's position.
"Bells, go lie down, I think I can wait." He left to take off that belt, carrying the gun. He paced up the stairs. Halfway, he called out, "Bells, don't forget, you're grounded." She smiled weakly at his remark.
"Oh yeah, I have to go home. My mom wants me to do help with dinner." I reminded myself...as well as Bella. She smiled apologetically.
"It's ok, Jess. I'm sorry too." I smiled, in a friendly way. Her face lit up with hope. So I bid her a kind farewell, along with a hug. She looked like she needed it. Mike followed my lead, a quick goodbye, and followed me out. He said nothing. I didn't even know why he was there in the first place. I waved as he got into his car. I jumped in my car, just waiting for Mike to pull out. His car barely made it out without a scratch. I laughed. I took a long breath before turning my keys.
She said it was ok to be friends, but her eyes had told me she needed them. I was glad to go home happier than I left. And so I should be.
End