TG: jade
TG: please listen to me
TG: i just want to talk okay
TG: i didnt mean it i swear
TG: if youd just hear me out i promise i wont waste your time
TG: and have i ever been one to let you down
TG: wait
TG: dont answer that lets just leave it rhetorical
TG: bury it out back in the linguistic garden next to all the other figures of speech that bit the dust
TG: jade come on
TG: im really desperate here
TG: dont leave me hanging like this
~0~
Jade sighed, closing her laptop as gentle tears dripped down her puffy red cheeks.
It definitely wasn't the first time they'd had a falling out, as all good friends do from time to time. And seeing as how they were the best pair of friends you could find throughout all of time and space, why should they be exempt?
But for Jade, this time was different. She didn't really care so much about what stupid things were said or why. Well, sure, she was ticked off at his offhand stupid comments, but really, those weren't anything she hadn't seen before.No, there was an entirely different issue hanging in the back of her mind, one with far more importance. She'd been doing a lot of thinking in regards to her relationship with him as of late, something she'd never really done before.
With a tender heart, she hesitantly came to the realization that it might have been time for a break from boys named Dave Strider. It was a painful thought, and being a wild storm of emotions didn't help- but, after all, when did being hopelessly in love with your best friend make matters any easier?
The past few days had been packed to the seams with apologies and pleads and the constant bombardment of messages every time she opened her laptop, regardless of what her online status was. She knew she probably should have said something, but she couldn't find any of the words to say it.
Forgiving and forgetting would have been easy, but it was time for her to figure out what she was doing and where she was going, and this fallout seemed like a pretty convenient prompt to do so. They'd been friends for so long at this point that it was not an exaggeration to say that he was a part of her, directly intertwined with her life. She was starting to worry that she wasn't even sure of who she was without him. Maybe it was time to find out.
No, she hated to admit it, but there was yet another issue, one that ran deeper and was seething with pettiness. The real issue that had her in an emotional chokehold was a simple question: how much longer?
Surely all good things come to an end sooner or later. If their friendship had a countdown clock, Jade imagined it was probably ticking down in the single digits now. She wondered if he really still cared about her. Sure, he was attacking her with messages, but he always was all about the reputation. He probably just didn't want the word that he was kind of acting like a jerk to get back to Rose or John. Gosh, her brother was way too overprotective. Now that she started to think about it, Dave had been acting kind of indifferent as of late.
When would he finally freeze over completely and shed her along with his true self, kicking her to the curb in favor of someone….cooler?
A lot of words described Jade, but even she could admit that 'cool' was probably not among them.
Somewhere nestled in the evening hours came the incessant chiming of her phone.
Much to her surprise, the call was not from Dave, but rather, his brother.
~0~
"Harley," he greeted with a smirk and a slight tip of his black brimmed hat as he opened the door.
"Bro," she nodded. "What did you want to tell me- in person, no less?"
She clenched her little fists and steeled her nerves. Aside from her growing curiosity, the only reason she agreed to come over was at his insistence that Dave was most certainly out for the rest of the evening. She definitely wouldn't come over with him anywhere near the place.
"Eh," he said with nonchalance, shrugging. "Not tell you, show you."
"Show me what?"
He laughed heartily as Jade's stony expression remained unwavering. "Little man's been pestering you non-stop, huh?"
She sighed.
"I don't know if coming over here was the best idea…" she began to have second thoughts.
"No worries, Jade. I'm not trying to stir anything up. Nah, I wouldn't want to get your bad side." He grinned, smoothing the stubbly shadow of his chin. "For the record, I'm pretty ticked at him, too. So consider this mutual payback for both of us."
Jade raised an eyebrow. She didn't really have any ill will towards Dave. Perhaps some mild irritation, but nothing big enough to warrant payback. She decided to roll with it anyways.
"Payback? What are you-"
"Come in?"
She sighed. He'd successfully hooked and baited her. She was too interested to leave now. Perhaps against her better judgment, she stepped inside.
"Have a seat."
She plopped down on the couch, which was surprisingly clean, as was the rest of the room. The cushions were free of stray smuppets and Dorito crumbs, making it clear that this was a pre-emptive plan. She wondered what Bro could be up to this time.
He took a seat in the recliner adjacent to her and held up a VHS tape, the words 'Dave-5th birthday' printed across the label in ink long since faded.
"You've known Dave for a long time, but I get the feeling there's probably a lot you don't know."
"Oh? Such as?"
"His paralyzing fear of sheep, for starters?"
Jade couldn't help but laugh a bit at the revelation.
"I have to admit, I didn't know that!"
"And that's only the tip of the iceberg."
She eyed the gargantuan pile of VHS tapes spread out haphazardly across the floor, like some sort of makeshift memory altar.
"Only a few," she decided, "And then I'd better get going."
"Only a few," Bro nodded in agreement.
Jade stared down at her shoes awkwardly as Bro put the tape into the VHS player.
"I can't believe you guys still have one of those!" she teased.
"Says the girl who has one that she routinely uses to watch Squiddles reruns," he teased back.
"Darn it, Dave…" she mumbled under her breath, earning a laugh from Bro.
The lo-fi picture on the television shook with static before it stilled, accompanied with strained audio.
"Blow out the candles."
"Pftfptf!"
"I said blow them out, not hack up spit all over the cake, dude."
He had a big toothy grin on his face, giddy with excitement. Hazy spirals of smoke rose from the candles as the flames flickered out. The cake was a monstrosity, frosting sloppily strewn everywhere. The sugary lump was decorated with clumps of rainbow sprinkles, vaguely resembling a cake.
Five-year-old Dave sunk a tiny hand into the pastry, grabbing a chunk and shoving it into his mouth, smearing frosting all over his face in the process.
"What did you wish for?"
"Hmm…Hot Wheels."
Although she was still in a tangled mess of confused feelings, Jade couldn't stop herself from smiling. This was pretty darn cute. Her eyes were focused on the screen as the little Dave happily made a complete mess of his already messy birthday cake.
The short video finished, and Bro got up to put in another for their viewing pleasure.
"Okay, I'll admit," Jade said smirking, "That was adorable. Pretty short though!"
"Hey, I aim for quantity, not quality."
"What?! Isn't that backwards?!"
"Nah. I tried to tape as much of Dave's childhood as possible," he explained as he fiddled with the buttons on the VHS player. "Just wanted to capture it all as quickly as I could before he inevitably became a butthead."
Jade giggled at the comment as the next video started.
This time, they were in a city park setting. The sun was setting on what appeared to be a warm sunny afternoon, the trees overhead casting gray shadows. Benches surrounded the scene, water spewing out of a centerpiece fountain. The Dave in this video couldn't have been much older than five or six, the only visible difference from the last video being that he had more bruises and scrapes, his arms and legs covered in Band-Aids.
"Bought him his first skateboard that year," Bro mused nostalgically. "He wore the wheels off that thing- and the skin on his kneecaps along with it."
The soft beams of the day's last light gleamed in the feathers of pigeons, a large flock of them meandering around the cobblestone pavement. They cooed, oblivious to the young boy a few feet away who was staring at them with his mouth agape.
He pointed at all of them, turned to look at his brother, then back to the flock. He gazed at them with such awe and shock that you'd have thought he'd just seen a ghost…or Snoop Dogg.
Suddenly, with no warning, he lunged forward, every stomp of his feet glowing with his cheesy light-up shoes. He flapped his arms about wildly as he launched himself at them.
"BIRDS!"
The pigeons took off in a frightened frenzy, screeching.
"CAW CAW CAW!"
A tiny laugh escaped Jade's lips. He still did have quite the thing for feathered fauna, even to this day.
Dave frowned as the pigeons departed into the skies.
"Flew away, eh?"
"I wanted them to stay."
"You scared the crap out of them. No, seriously, I think one of them was like two inches close from pooping on your head!"
The little Dave snorted, cracking up as the video ended.
"Last one," Bro promised as he swapped videos in the device. "This one is a classic."
This time, Dave wasn't quite so young; he was about ten or eleven, Jade guessed. He hadn't traded out his pointy shades for his signature sunglasses just yet. He was clumsy and awkward, skinny as a beanpole. The parading of crowds and makeshift vendor tents tipped her off to the video's location. It appeared as though they were at a county fair of sorts, standing around fenced farm animals.
"Bro, this is dumb."
"Come on, dude. Just do it. Go pet the sheep."
"No."
"But it's so fluuuuffy."
"I don't care. The answer is still no."
"Don't tell me you're scared!"
Dave tensed, his eyebrows furrowing.
"N-no way."
"Then pet it."
"Fine."
He marched over to the nearest sheep, who was lazily gnawing on cud. It was painfully obvious that Dave was apprehensive about the animal, his hand shaking slightly as he raised it to pet it. He hesitantly smoothed its fur, near trembling.
"S-see? It's just a stupid sheep. Told you-"
The sheep let out a loud, bleating baa and Dave screamed, falling backwards as his brother erupted with laughter.
Jade couldn't help but start cracking up as well.
He dusted his jeans off as he stood, fuming with embarrassment. The video shut off as he began to stomp away.
"That…was…the funniest thing…ever!" Jade said between laughs.
"Pfft. If you think that's funny, you haven't seen anything yet."
"Seriously?!"
"Yeah, but we did have a deal and all. You only had to watch a few, and I am a man of his wicked righteous word, after all."
Jade's smile slipped into a sulky pout.
"Oh….well…maybe, if it's alright with you…I might need to see some more," she suggested. "You know. As payback."
Bro smirked, pleased with both himself and the turn of events.
"I'd better get some popcorn," he said. "I have a feeling we're going to be here for a while."
~0~
He was thirteen now, give or take.
"Dave, you're going to get orange manboobs if you don't knock it off!"
He stood with his toes in the white sand, the sparkling shore behind him. He was sporting a pair of red swim trunks, a sunburn, and two Nacho Cheese Doritos taped to his nipples.
"This is the epitome of irony!"
"No, this is the epitome of stupid."
Jade crammed a fistful of buttery popcorn into her mouth, fully entertained as she watched a hoard of seagulls begin to over swarm overhead, circling around Dave.
"Watch out, little man. You're about to lose your nipples."
"What are you- AH!"
And sure enough, they swooped down en masse, aiming for Dave's pectorals. He took off running and shouting a variety of vulgarities, kicking up dusty white clouds of sand as he sped away.
Jade almost choked she was laughing so hard.
"You know, he always tries to act like he's some coolkid hotshot," Bro said, not taking his eyes off the screen. "It never works out well for him in the end."
Amen to that, Jade thought.
"So, next time he acts all high-and-mighty, you can just remember that he almost got pecked to death because he tapped Doritos to his nipples," Bro said. "You know, he would die if he knew we were watching these right now."
"We'd better keep going, then," Jade smiled.
The next video was hardly a video at all. All that could be seen was a closed door, Bro presumably standing outside of it with the video camera. From the sound of rushing, running water, Jade hypothesized that behind the closed door was the bathroom.
"This was, like, when he was fifteen," Bro smirked. "And yes, he still does it to this day."
Jade wondered what significance this strange video was supposed to have until the song began. Her mouth curled up into a mischievous smile.
"Is that what I think it is?"
"Yes. It's exactly what you think it is."
Dave was singing in the shower. His mid-pubescent voice cracked on all the high notes, but his raspy voice sang out strong and clear.
"I've been to the year three-thousand,
Not much has changed but they lived underwater,
And your great-great-great-granddaughter,
Is doing fine!"
Her mouth fell agape. The shocking truth had been revealed: Dave Strider was a Jonas Brothers fan.
Jade laughed so hard she almost rolled off the couch and fell onto the floor, wondering how things could get any funnier. Her best friend was officially the biggest dork in the universe.
"Yep. He's a real JoBros fan," Bro confessed. "He pirated every last episode of their freakin' Disney Channel kiddie soap opera, too."
She couldn't muster the words to reply. Every last breath in her lungs was spent on hearty chuckling, the most genuine laughter she'd had in years.
"Yep. He's the coolest kid around, for sure," Bro teased as she composed herself.
"Give me this Dave over the 'cool' one any day," she beamed. Even though it was a light-hearted comment, she really did mean it. These goofy idiosyncrasies made him the person she knew and loved, and she hated nothing more than when he tried to conceal it.
Her eyes fell to the floor, glossing over the ample collection of video tapes. With riveting titles such as "Dave Calls the Shopping Channel" and "Dave Eats Thirty Chicken McNuggets," every single one of them seemed to be a classic. But, even amid the comedy gold chaos, one in particular caught her eye.
"Can we watch that one?"
As soon as he saw which one she was talking about, Bro grumbled.
"I dunno, kid. I value my life."
His facial expression was extremely apprehensive, as though Dave really would murder his brother if anyone saw what was on that tape. And considering what Jade had seen up until this point, it must have had to have been pretty bad.
Jade was determined to see what was on that tape.
"Oh, stop with the puppy dog pouts. Stop. Stop!"
"Please, please, PLEASE?"
"…fine," he sighed. "Make sure to come to my funeral, okay?"
"Of course," she beamed.
He groaned a myriad of incomprehensible statements under his breath as he removed the video entitled Dave's First Girlfriend from the case and queued it up.
"Dang, looks like I have to rewind this one."
"Oh? That's interesting," Jade mused. "We haven't had to rewind a single video yet!"
"Yeah, well, I guess you could say I've used this one as torture material from time to time," he admitted.
Jade's interest with the contents of the video grew exponentially as they waited. She didn't look up at the television as the movie rewound. With her eyes to the floor, she decided not to spoil it. In waiting, she came to the realization that Dave had never even talked about an ex before- at least, any specific ex. She estimated he'd had a humble amount, though; from what she'd gathered, he had somewhere between three to four thousand old paramours.
"So this is the first of many, huh?" Jade disguised the very serious question beneath a mocking voice, remaining nonchalant as she twirled a stray strand of her hair around her idle fingers.
"What?" Bro furrowed his eyebrows and shot her an incredulous look. "What are you talking about? He's never even had a real girlfriend before."
Jade was thankful she had long since finished her popcorn snack; otherwise, she would have choked. Her mellow act shattered into pieces.
"Seriously?!"
"I can't believe you would think otherwise…" He rubbed his temples and mumbled something that sounded a lot like Dave, you idiot.
"Then, the title of this video?..." Her voice trailed off quietly.
The VCR clicked, signaling its readiness.
"You know what? I'm literally doing him a huge favor by showing you this," Bro decided as he hit the play button. Jade propped herself up on the couch and leaned forward with anticipation.
~0~
Dave was sitting at his computer in his room, typing away furiously, smiling like a goofball.
"Yo, little bro. I'm calling an intervention. You've been running back to your room lately and parking yourself in front of your computer, smiling harder than the first time you saw Space Jam. What gives?"
"Go away."
"Are you talking to that John kid? Or Petunia whats-her-face?"
"Her name is Rose," He corrected. "And no. Neither of them."
"Dude, you know I warned you about Chatroulette-"
Jade imagined Dave was rolling his eyes behind his familiar shades.
"Not talking to a stranger."
He refused to look up from his screen, his fingers flying across the keyboard all the while.
"Alright. I know when something is up. You don't just grin like a chump for no reason- unless maybe if you're talking to the Snoop."
Dave gave no response, totally engrossed in whatever he was doing.
"Wait. You're not talking to the Snoop, are you? So help me if you are and you didn't invite me…"
Silence.
"Tell me or I'll pull the Wi-Fi." Ouch. When Bro played hardball, he didn't back down.
He had acquired his brother's attention now. He stopped and turned to Bro, obvious irritation displayed on his face.
"Jade Harley. Duh."
"Ooo, 'Jade?'"
"Yeah, Jade. Now go away."
"Jade's the one you always talk to when you're grinning like a chump, right?"
"Yes, you big loser. Now scram."
"I wonder why that is….hmmm…"
It didn't take a genius to figure out that the great onslaught of teasing was about to rain down.
"I bet she's pretty!"
"You're a creep."
"Ah, so she is pretty!"
"Why do you care so much?"
"Just happy to see my little dude found himself somebody he likes."
"So you're videotaping it like a big weirdo?!"
"Of course. Gotta add 'Dave's First Girlfriend' to the collection.'"
Dave's face heated into a feverishly red blush.
"She is NOT my girlfriend!" He protested.
"Yeah, but you probably wish she was."
"STOP!"
"Oh, oh! I bet you dream about her too," his taunted in a singsong tone.
"STOOOOOP! GO AWAY!"
He stood up and chased his brother out of the doorway, practically hissing. His brother was too fast, however. The tables humorously turned, with Bro in Dave's room and Dave in the hallway. He lunged for his brother again, only to repeat the situation. Off-camera, the sound of Dave slapping his forehead in exasperation could be heard. Bro flopped down on Dave's bed, laughing.
Dave sighed and trudged over to the bed, joining his brother.
"I give up."
He scowled as his brother ruffled his blond locks of hair, laughing.
"Don't be so distraught, loverboy."
"Call me that again and I will personally light every smuppet you own on fire."
"Geez, just because you got a girlfriend now makes you think you can be all testy."
"For the last time! I don't have a girlfriend!" He slapped his hands over his face in some combination of embarrassment and annoyance. "Jade is way too cool for me," he admitted with a hint of sadness in his voice.
"Someone too cool for you? Nah."
His brother mussed his bangs down over his shades again, Dave grumbling all the while.
After slapping Bro's hands away, he stared up at the ceiling with a blank expression.
"How do I get her to like me?"
"Pssh. That part's easy-"
"Will you turn that freaking camera off?!"
"Nope. I'll tell you the secret to scoring the ladies, but camera's gotta stay on."
"Ugh."
"The secret is….being yourself! Weirdness and all."
"…that sounds like something they'd say on an episode of Full House."
"Dude, never question the wisdom of Bob Saget. That guy has wisdom falling out of his ears."
Dave laughed and shoved a hand into the camera, making the screen go black. The video ended a couple seconds after.
Her eyes must have been as wide as the television, her cheeks glowing pink. She had to remind herself to breathe. Even though the video had ended, she couldn't rip her gaze from the screen.
Bro carefully gauged her reaction, his mouth slowly curling up into a mischievous smile.
"He still thinks you're cooler than him, to this day. He's right, too."
Bro swept stray popcorn crumbs off his pants as he stood, stretching.
"If you ask me, that's why he always screws up six ways to Sunday. Too eager to impress you. Poor dude falls all over himself when it comes to you."
Six millions words hung on the tip of Jade's tongue, not a single one escaping her lips.
"Well kiddo, it's been a time and a half, but I have to be going. Things to do and whatnot."
He plopped the large, clunky VCR remote in her lap.
"You're more than welcome to watch to your heart's content, though."
"Is that…I…would that really be okay?"
"Go for it. Make yourself at home," he assured with a wave of his hand as he walked away, leaving Jade curled up all alone on the couch with nothing but silence, time, and a pile of videos.
Okay, she told herself. A few more.
From outside, the sun began to set.
~0~
The sky was dark with night when Dave returned home with a heavy heart.
He kicked off his muddy shoes and left them on the doormat, hanging his jacket in the closet.
"Bro," he called as he flipped a light switch on. "I'm home-"
He froze when he saw Jade Harley happily snoozing away on his couch, snoring softy.
He flipped the light back off.
He fetched a blanket or two from the hallway closet and spread them out over Jade, her face bathed in the blue light reflecting off the television screen. He gently removed the remote that was still in her grasp and turned the screen off before sitting down next to her, only to get up again a few seconds later.
"Gonna hurt your neck sleeping like that, Har," he muttered as he readjusted her position, propping her feet up on the couch. She barely flinched. He had no fear of waking her; it was a secret to no one that Jade was the heaviest sleeper since Rip Van Winkle.
He slummed down in the floor, his back to the couch. His eyes wandered around the dark room, noticing the tape collection in the floor. The instant he recognized the films was the same instant his cheeks flushed with a pink glow. He buried his face in his hands and groaned. This was his brother's doing, no doubt.
Alright, time to see what the damage was. There was a clear dichotomy within the movie mess; one pile of opened, watched tapes, and another of ones she hadn't seen yet. The open, empty container in front of the VCR- presumably the last one she'd watched- had been "Dave's First Zoo Trip." Okay, that wasn't SO bad. Not like there were any sheep at the zoo, after all…
He sighed with frustrated embarrassment as he began digging through the piles.
Okay, so she'd watched him almost get his nipples torn off by hungry birds, but she had yet to watch "Dave Meets His First Clown," which was pure, raw trauma caught on video.
Geez, she'd plowed through a few hours' worth of material. It was quite the feat; Bro had enough home movies to make seven feature length films. Perhaps under normal circumstances, the idea of Jade watching every last embarrassing moment of his life might strike fear into his heart and make him want to pee his pants, but things were different somehow. He knew he had really screwed up, and the realization that Jade might have been fully ready to throw him to the curb had reared its ugly head and grew stronger with each passing hour. If she was here- even to watch stupid videos of him being a complete moron- there might have still been hope. Maybe she still cared about him at least a little….
His heart did Olympics-worthy gymnastics as he thought about what he would say when she awoke from her little nap. She had to wake up sooner or later.
He leaned his head back against the couch and began to think of possible things he could say. He didn't think any of them were good enough.
With the sound of her soft breathing soothing his tense nerves, the lids of his eyes found themselves fluttering shut. With a thousand thoughts heavy on his mind, he began to doze off.
~0~
She woke up in a warm, hazy stupor, swaddled in blankets and quickly aware of the boy on the floor.
Her eyes wandered over to the clock; it wasn't too late. She wondered if she should take this most fleeting of moments to quietly make her exit, but decided against it. For one thing, unlike her, he slept as light as feathers and would definitely catch her in the act. And…as much as her stubborn heart didn't want to admit, she didn't want to go.
In the silence of the dark, she thought over the way she'd spent the afternoon and came to realize the true intention behind Bro's scheme. It wasn't about payback at all. It was about reminding Jade how much her best friend mattered to her.
And it had worked. Darn it, Bro!
The more she started thinking it over, the more ashamed she grew. The realization came to her that she hadn't told Dave what it was all really about; he probably still thought it was over their little spat, the likes of which Jade could no longer even remember what it was over in the first place. She'd been acting so petty. Had the storm of emotions brewing inside her really clouded her judgment so much?
Maybe Dave would get tired of her eventually. Maybe they weren't going to be this close for forever. Maybe he wouldn't ever love her back in the way she longed for, or realize her feelings. But all of this was alright; she was thankful for every moment, good and bad, and happy to even have met him in the first place. That was more than enough.
She sat up and gave the tufts of blond hair peeking over the edge of the couch a little poke.
"Hey," she whispered hoarsely, a wolfish smile on her lips. "Are you awake?!"
His posture stiffened at the touch.
"Hey," his voice was deep and throaty, warm with drowsiness. It was unusual for him, Jade took it into careful notation. It was rare for him to be sleepy, and even rarer to see him in the act of sleeping. 'Tired' was not a notable characteristic of Dave's.
He straightened his back and pushed his shades up to the bridge of his nose. She couldn't see his face, but in the dark, it probably wouldn't have mattered anyway.
"Uh, Jade?"
"Yeah?"
"I just wanted to tell you that I'm really sorry for what I sai-"
"No worries," she cut him short. "I've been acting like a huge baby."
"No, honestly, I'm the biggest moron-"
"I'm a bigger one," she interrupted.
"Dang, Jade. Lemme finish."
She laughed lightheartedly, but stopped when he didn't join in. Apparently he was serious.
"You don't have to finish anything, Dave. I was being really dumb, y'know."
He slapped a hand to his forehead and groaned.
"Jade," he moaned. "Seriously? I'm the one that royally screwed up and you're the one apologizing?"
"Well, actually…" her voice trailed off. "I can't really even remember what happened in the first place! I mean, yeah, it might have ticked me off a little bit, but that's all."
He didn't say anything. He let her words hang awkwardly in the air, and Jade wished she could see his expression.
"You're lying," he decided.
"What? No I'm not."
"I obviously sucker-punched your feelings in the face like the idiot I am. You're just too nice to let me have it like I deserve."
"No, Dave, really. It's all fine, I promise!"
"Why were you so upset then? You were avoiding me more than one of John's bargain bin D-list flicks?" His voice was baffled and confused.
"Ah," she tried to blow it off. "Nothing really. I was just going through some stuff, I guess."
He was quiet again, calculating.
"Tell me what I did."
"What?"
"Tell me what I did, Harley."
"You didn't do anything, you butt!" She grabbed a pillow and gave him a light bop to the head with it. "This one was all me. Now, let's just forget it ever happened."
"I still don't believe you-"
She slid off the couch and scooted next to him, wrapping her arms around him and throwing them into an awkward little hug. Jade could have sworn she saw his face turn bright pink, even in the dark.
She let go, ending it just as fast as she started it.
"Uh, did you…did you get any dinner?"
"Huh? No! I didn't! But I have to admit, I am hungry."
"I'll go call a pizza," he said, standing up. "Do you want to stay and maybe watch a movie or something? One that preferably does NOT star me?"
"I'm surprised you're taking that as well as you are!"
"Yeah, well, let's just say I had bigger problems on my hands than humiliating videos of my pre-teen orange manboobs."
Jade couldn't help but laugh.
"Don't worry," she winked, though he couldn't see it. "I won't tell a soul."
"Oh good. That's pretty reassuring. I was only, like, ninety-percent sure you'd made 2006-esque memes about them and slapped them all over the internet by now. Phew." His voice was rife with his token brand of sarcasm, making her laugh even harder.
He flipped on a light and fumbled around for the phone, Jade all the while smiling to herself and thinking of Jonas Brothers songs and Hot Wheel dreams and sheep nightmares and all the little things she had learned that afternoon.
Her feelings made a lot more sense now.
~0~
She crammed another hot, cheesy piece of pizza into her mouth as they watched Jurassic Park together, feeling perfectly satisfied with it all. The boy seated next to her, however, did not seem to share the same feelings of contentment.
She sensed him tense up.
"Jade," he began again. "Seriously, I'm REALLY sorry."
She rolled her eyes.
"Not this again! I told you, everything is all hunky-dory!"
"Yeah, if it was all 'hunky-dory' in the first place than you wouldn't have been mad at me."
Gosh. He didn't even take up the perfect opportunity to taunt her for using a phrase her Grandpa would say. Whatever was on his mind, he was all bent up about it.
"For goodness' sakes, Dave. I told you that it was pretty much all me! It really wasn't you, okay?"
The grimace on his face didn't seem too happy with that answer.
"…really?"
"Yes, really!"
"So...if you weren't mad at me, then…."
Jade almost wished she had just lied and pretended that it wasn't the case. The look on his face, although he tried to hide it, was full of anxiety and anguish she couldn't understand.
"I get it," he scoffed with false humor, feigning the coolkid act again. Only this time, he was doing a pretty poor job of covering up the layers beneath the surface. "Just got tired of me. That's cool though, not everyone can handle the full Strider experience, after all. You gotta work your way back up to it, condition yourself to handle all the awesome."
His voice wavered as he averted his gaze from her.
She thought back to his brother's words from earlier. "He still thinks you're cooler than him, to this day. He's right, too," he had said, along with the variety of other things. Was he seriously concerned that she was moving on? The thought was so bizarre it could have driven Jade to laughter. Was it at all possible that, maybe, just maybe...she might not be alone in feeling the way she did?
She took an ounce of bravery and decided to venture into risky territory.
"Me? Get tired of the 'Strider experience?'" She teased. "You do realize I just watched, like, hours-worth of the 'Strider experience,' right?"
She moved an inch or two closer to him, but it felt like she had moved miles.
"No way." Her voice was playful and teeming with flirtatiousness she had been holding back. "I've had years' worth of time to get equipped to handle you."
"Y-you're saying that but I'm still just as confused with what the heck happened these past few days."
His abashed response only made her more audacious. He continued, to her pleasure.
"If you weren't mad and you're…you're not sick of me, then…what?"
"Oh, I dunno," she shrugged coyly. "It might have been some confusion about what I should do."
She was riding on a high wave of false bravado, and she hoped and prayed it wouldn't falter for the next part of her stupid, ill-conceived plan. She needed every ounce of bravery she could muster.
"About?"
"About a crush on a coolkid I've had for a couple years," she smiled from ear to ear, her words so bathed in confidence that they sounded foreign to her. She was amazed to hear her own statement out loud, something she would have never said prior, even if her life would have depended on it. She was so amazed with herself, in fact, that she hardly noticed that her best friend's cheeks were redder than the pepperoni of his pizza slice as he stammered incoherently. So much for being cool.
"I…uh…you…what…crush…huh?"
"Yeah," she smirked with dashing courage. "I just didn't know what to do. I was wondering, do I continue to ignore it like I've been doing for all this time? Or…do I do this?"
Her hands found themselves entwined with honey-colored tufts of hair, her cheeks feeling the intense heat being reflected off his cheeks as she placed her lips on his. His eyes were wide and bewildered. Adrenaline pumped through her veins with wild abandon as she savored the embrace she'd been pining after for years.
Unfortunately, her fearless feelings maxed out as soon as the kiss was over and she'd realized what she had done. She'd thrown their entire friendship on the tracks, sacrificing it for one sweet moment.
She pulled away, refusing to make eye contact as guilty feelings washed through her.
"Haha," she laughed quietly, without any trace of humor. It was all she could do to fight the tears that would inevitably come along with the paralyzing embarrassment she was feeling. "Crazy, right?"
He didn't say anything.
He only pulled her right back.
Up until a couple seconds ago, she'd never kissed anybody. She didn't expect that she'd be gaining so much experience all at once. This kiss was a lot different than the last; in contrast to her soft, timid kiss, his was forceful and passionate and it tasted like pizza. Actually, it was kind of gross and slobbery, in the sweetest and most loveable ways possible. If she wasn't so tied up in the moment she might have cracked up at the discovery that he was a really bad kisser. Not that it made the moment any less fantastic.
"Jade, you have NO idea…I have been waiting to do that for so long," he stammered as soon as his lips were free.
"Darn right you have," Bro said, who was standing with video camera in hand.
"W-what the-?!" Jade hadn't even seen him enter the room!
"Bro, so help me if you don't hightail it out of here right now-"
"Hey," he shrugged," "I had to add 'Dave Gets Smooched by His Dream Girl' to the collection. It's probably a once in a life time event, so of course I had to catch it on video."
Dave chucked a pillow so hard at his brother that it knocked the camera right out of his hand.
"HEY!"
His brother was sent scrambling for his scattered equipment.
"There," Dave nodded, satisfied. "Now, back to the best movie in all of cinematic history."
"Which is?"
"Isn't it obvious? 'Dave Gets Smooched By His Dream Girl 2.' "
"Of course," Jade grinned, leaning in.
"Actually I'm planning on more sequels in that franchise than those stupid Ice Age movies. Like, so many sequels we can put the Halloween series to shame-"
"Dave! Lights, camera, action," Jade exclaimed, which was fancy talk for "Dave, shut up and dish out those slobbery kisses, you fool."