When Jade was upset
Or sad
Or lonely
(Or whatever)
She had certain places
That she'd go
To get a clear head.
When her dad ditched her
She'd usually go out with Cat
To sing karaoke
Or eat a burger
(Or whatever.)
Cat hated that her dad was a jerk,
But she absolutely loved hanging out with Jade
So she didn't try to talk too much
About what had happened
And for that,
Jade felt grateful.
There was also a tiny hipster cafè
About two blocks from Hollywood Arts
For when she lost a role to Tori
Where she'd get black coffee
("With two sugars,
And when I say two
I frickin' mean two.")
She'd sit at the window spot
In a cramped little booth
And write
Or do homework
(Or whatever.)
But neither of those places would do right now,
Jade realized,
As she sat
In her car
In the Hollywood Arts parking lot.
She didn't have a designated spot
For breakups.
After a minute,
She decided that
Just staying still wouldn't help
So she put her key in the ignition
And drove.
It took Jade almost an hour
Of turning at random lights,
And trying to see
How high over the speed limit she could go,
Or whatever,
Until she decided she should eventually stop.
The question was "where."
Beck's place was out
(Obviously.)
Jade's dad's house
Was off the table-
Too big,
Too empty,
And of course,
There was the definite negative
That it belonged
To her father,
Whom she hated
With a passion.
She wasn't in the mood
To see her mom...
Or Andre,
Or Tori,
Or even Cat...
Wait.
Jade took a sudden left turn,
Earning a honk from a navy SUV
And an electric lime sports car.
(Jade ignored them.)
In third grade,
Cat had invited her over
For a sleepover.
They'd stayed up all night
To have a Disney marathon,
And Jade remembered
Cat's backyard had a treehouse,
Which neither of them were allowed to go into
(It was left behind by the previous owner,
And Cat's dad said it could be dangerous
Or dilapidated
Or old
Or whatever.)
It probably hadn't been used in ages.
To some people,
This meant it possibly had a hole in the floor.
To Jade, this meant a place to be alone.
Jade reached Cat's house in about six minutes
(She almost got pulled over, but didn't.)
The driveway was empty, so nobody was home.
She walked around the house to the backyard
And there it was, in all its chipped-red painted glory.
Jade, hesitant at first,
Began to climb the ladder
And sat down awkwardly
On the wooden floor.
It was tiny-
Maybe three by five feet?
But it seemed familiar,
Even though Jade
Had never been up there before.
Her phone buzzed.
Cat was calling her.
"Jadey?"
"Don't call me that," Jade said automatically.
"Are you okay?"
"Sure, I'm fine," Jade said.
"Trying to chill, you know?
Get the drama out of my system-"
"Jadey,
I can see you
In my treehouse."
Jade tried to slide further down the wall,
Trying to get as far below the little window
As possible.
"You have a treehouse?" Jade frowned
In faux incredulous-ness,
Before she realized
Her acting skills were going to waste,
Because Cat was on the phone
And therefore couldn't see her face.
"Jadey, I know you remember.
You remember everything..."
"No, I only remembered
Because your dad said
I couldn't go up.
I remember
When people try to control me."
Jade smiled.
Then sighed.
"Shoot."
"It's fine," Cat chirped.
"I'm coming up."
Jade heard
A creaking sound
In the old ladder.
"Whatever," Jade sighed,
Turning off her phone
And stuffing it in her pocket.
Soon, Cat's head popped up,
Then the rest of her
(For once she wasn't smiling.)
"You okay, Jadey?"
"Duh," Jade said indifferently.
"It wasn't even a big breakup."
"I heard," Cat shrugged,
"But I still thought you'd need company."
"Appreciate it," Jade mumbled.
"And you can't just sulk around,
You know," Cat said,
Kneeling down next to Jade.
"I know.
I really don't even know
Why I'm here..."
"You just needed a moment.
But you still need to get up."
Cat smiled sympathetically.
"I am," Jade said defiantly,
Brushing dust off her hands.
"So where you wanna go?" Cat chirped,
Starting the climb down the ladder.
Jade waited a moment
Then followed.
"I don't know.
Sing karaoke,
Get a burger,
Whatever.
You pick."
"Yayyy!" Cat squealed,
And the two departed
Leaving the treehouse
Once again
Empty.
AN: Honestly wasn't sure how this was going to turn out, sorry if it sucks . I might continue this as a multi-chapter fic, one for every character, let me know if you think that's a good idea!
Leave a review, please? xx, Orangest Blossom