Andre POV

Jade hasn't been to school in two days. Now since Jade is Beck's girl, I usually just wait for him to help her, but that hasn't happened yet. He's been with Cat almost nonstop since Sikowitz assigned them as partners. Even he needs a break from her I guess.

"Hey Andre! What's up?"

I take a deep breath and put on a smile before I close my locker and turn to the beautiful Tori Vega. Sometimes I wonder how she is so adorable and her sister Trina is, well, not. Long dark brown hair past her shoulders, lean body and legs that go for days, she is definitely somethin' to look at. I do a double take today though. With her usually straight hair curled, light makeup on her face and lips painted sparkly and pink, I almost overlook the miniskirt she's wearing. "Woah," I respond, eyes wide, "Where are you goin after school?"

Tori laughs and turns red, "I don't have plans yet actually." My smile grows wider at her cute smirk, "Lookin' like that you'd get a date in no time."

Tori flips her hair and lightly pushes my arm, "What are you doing tonight? Maybe we can hang out at my place."

I grab her hand and give her a dramatic frown, "Sorry Tor, I'm gonna try to get up with Jade to work on our project for Sikowitz tonight."

Tori's eyebrow raises and she pulls her hand from mine. "Why?" Tori's face scrunches up worse than I've ever seen, "You're not gonna make a move on her are you? I thought you were over her!"

This makes my face fall as well, "What do you mean why? She's my partner and if we're gonna do a good job on this production then we need to work on it. Right?"

Tori's eyes narrow for a few more minutes until she sighs and grabs my hand, "You're right. I'm sorry. I just don't want you to get hurt that's all." I smirk and pull her in for a hug, "Don't worry girl. It's all business."

All POV

The last thing that Andre was expecting to see at Jade's door was another guy. The middle-aged man was almost six feet tall, with a face full of stubble that screamed trouble.

"Um," Andre starts, "does Jade West live here?"

The strange man's face scrunches up in confusion, "Hey babe!" He glances over his shoulder, "Who's Jade West?" A petite woman with brunette hair appears at the door next to the man, "That's my daughter sweety." Ms. West turns to Andre, "Are you friends with Jade?"

Andre nods, "Yes ma'am."

Before Ms. West could invite him inside, the strange man gently pushes the woman inside, "Jade can go outside and see him." With that the door slams in Andre's face.

Andre runs his hand through his hair, debating on whether he should just text his goth friend. A few minutes later, after some yelling inside, Jade steps outside in small black shorts with a white tank top. The dark-haired girl stops short when she sees Andre. She looks around seemingly looking for someone else, then finally settles her green eyes on Andre, "What are you doing here?"

The dark-skinned boy's eyebrows rise at Jade's soft tone. She sounds tired, almost sad. "Um," Andre starts as he sinks his hands into pockets, "Well I-"

"Is this about that stupid project Sikowitz has us working on? Cuz I'm tired of it already. Beck is taking it entirely too seriously…" Jade huffs and crosses her arms over her chest.

Andre glances up from the ant on the ground that he was previously focused on and notes the dark circles under the brunette's eyes, easier to see since Jade didn't bother putting on makeup today. He turns his head to the side and studies her face, snorts, shakes his head in disbelief and throws his arms up, "Alright forget it then. Let's just go for a ride. You look like you need some fresh air anyway."

Jade's head snaps up as if she had forgotten Andre was there. A minute later the emotion drains from her face and then she responds with a faint tug at the corner of her lips, "Wow. You sure know how to flatter a girl." Jade starts walking toward Andre's truck, Andre trailing behind as he retorts, "Hey some girls think honesty is sexy. Um," the boy lightly touches the goth's arm, unknowingly sending a shiver down Jade's spine, "Jade, don't you wanna put some shoes on?"

Jade glances back at her "home" and immediately responds, "No," rushing to the car. In her rush she misses the long look Andre gives her, and the faint smile that follows.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I don't think I can take much more of this silence. Jade and I have been riding in my truck for ten minutes and no one has said a word. I haven't been alone with this girl since we wrote that song together the night I thought I fell in love with her. Since then I've been able to realize that it was just a crush, but she still makes me feel a little…wonky.

"So do you wanna go anywhere in particular?" I ask just to break the silence.

Jade breaks her gaze from looking out the window and stares at me, "You invited me, genius. It's your call."

I shake my head. Yeah, she's still Jade no matter how weird she makes me feel. I notice she's still looking at me and I bite the inside of my lip in thought before answering, "How about this: we'll get something to eat then we can go anywhere you want to chill and eat it."

The brunette suddenly sits up straight and excitedly touches my shoulder, "Can we go to a cemetery? I know a great one down the street from BF Wangs!"

My heart speeds up at her touch but I just laugh it off, "Whatever you say Jade."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Twenty minutes and an argument with a drive-thru worker later, Jade and I are walking into a cemetery holding our food as the sun starts to set. Jade is still barefoot, but she doesn't seem to mind.

"Ugh I can't believe that idiot at the drive-thru! If she spent more time doing her job than trying to give you her number then she wouldn't have messed up our orders!"

I hold back a chuckle at her tirade as she sits on the ground next to what I hope is a random headstone, "She didn't mess up our order Jade, she just forgot you asked for no ice in your Wahoo Punch."

Jade rolls her eyes, "Did you or did you not get her number, Harris?"

I smile and avoid eye contact, "Look that's not the point."

"Uh huh exactly," Jade huffs in response and starts to eat. After she finishes she pulls her bare knees up to her chest and stares at me. Since I am not exactly done with my food, I don't notice until mid-chew, "What?"

Jade's eyes narrow, "How could you possibly see love and hope in my play?"

I finish the last bite of my food and wash it down with my drink before I respond, "I'm the 'Love Machine!' I can see love in anything!" I finish with a wink that makes her roll her eyes again. I gather up all the trash we made and scoot closer to her, "Okay, what does Beck bring to your life…when you're not mad at him?"

Jade just glares and drones, "That's a dumb question. Clearly he's useless to me."

I stare at her for a long time, which doesn't help her mood at all. I may not have been in a relationship for as long as they have, but I know it shouldn't be useless. "Jade," I start in a small voice, "being in a relationship with someone is supposed to make you better. Let's say the two love interests in our play are named Caroline and Devin. Since Caroline is tormented by her stepfather and one of her step brothers, Devin has to bring something to the table for her to fall for him."

Jade starts to rip grass from the ground but takes a while to respond, "Clearly Caroline will have to learn to trust again before Devin even remotely has a chance."

I smile and look her in the eye, "That's what I'm here for, to teach her."

Jade's laughter was the last thing I expected to hear. I guess tonight was full of surprises.