These city lights will never be as beautiful as your eyes..
I'll pick up the pieces that you've failed, and fallen to the ground.
A groan thunders from Jade's lips.
She's draped over the edge of the couch and I'm lingering in the opposite corner. I've been chipping away at her resolve for the past half hour, I think I've almost worn her down enough to learn about this date. It must have been pretty horrible if Jade had buried it so far down.
"Alright, you wanna know? You're gunna know. Beck took me to the beach in the morning, we stayed out in the hot sun all freakin' day. There were swarms of bimbos everywhere, constantly hitting on him. At lunchtime he went and got us hotdogs which were pretty much swimming in mustard…" Jade's on the verge of coming apart at the seams, and she's not even done yet. My fingers twitch and I have the urge to pat her shoulder. I can't shake the urge to comfort her, even if the murderous look in her eyes tells me that might not be the best idea. I'm not even sure if Jade is in this room right now, I think she's lost in the mists of her memories.
"Even when it was over, the horrors didn't cease. On the way home we had to wait fifteen minutes for some stupid ducks to cross the road. There were nine of them. Nine! Man I hate ducks…" In the wake of her diatribe, Jade is a heaving mess, the final stitches that were holding her together coming apart. She's dragging thick breaths in and looks to be on the verge of collapse. My stomach knots with guilt, as I realize that some things are just better left in the past.
"That sounds like a greatest hits of your Slap videos." The words are hollow and my joke clatters into the air like an uninvited guest. My fingers twitch within my lap, and I've never felt less certain of something. Jade's laughter stabs the air for a brief moment before she throws a palm over her lips and stifles it.
"So, you watch my slap videos do you?" She sounds impossibly relaxed, the calm and collected girl before me not resembling the trembling mess of a few moments ago in the slightest.
"Y-yeah, they're always trending and…you know, me always with my finger on the pulse of pop culture." My throat constricts and the words flail from between my lips, I feel as though Jade is the hangman and I've got a noose around my neck; one misplaced word and my feet will be dangling limply. A smirk hitches itself to Jade's lips and all of the turmoil that had clouded her eyes seems like a distant memory.
"Alright then Mr. Pop Culture, whatever you say." She states simply. I heave a sigh of relief, take a step backwards and remove the rope from around my neck. The real world flashes back before my eyes, I remember that I'm not a prisoner at the gallows. I'm just a boy sitting on a couch with a girl. Jade might be terrifying, but she's no hangman.
"Oh, and you can sleep in the bed tonight…seeing as you're half dead and all." Jade's words slip between the silence and drag the air from my lungs. Between two regular people, it's an offer that means nothing. But between Jade and I, it's an offer of the stars and the sky.
"Thanks. Really, thanks. But I'll just sleep on the couch. I don't think I can handle you throwing me off the bed tonight." The words roll so casually from my tongue, that I almost have to double back and make sure that they're my own. I'm lost somewhere between ignorance and bliss when I notice Jade's cheeks puff out in irritation. My nerves drag my limbs into place, and I seize up completely. She's about to tear my head off, I'm sure of it.
"I'll take the stupid couch. I don't want you crying tomorrow about being injured any more than what's absolutely necessary." I watch as Jade struggles to keep the scowl plastered to her face. Tugging at the edge of her lips, a smile threatens to envelop Jade's face before she catches her bottom lip between her teeth and bites down on it.
"Really?" I can't hold the grin from my face. Jade's words had been as abrasive as usual, but the tone had been about as vicious as a neutered kitten. I'm sitting next to her and there's this fuzzy feeling in my chest. It's not the feeling of my ribs settling into place; it's something behind then. I can't stop that certain something from beating faster when two emerald eyes come to rest on me again.
"Yes, really. Now go. We have rehearsals tomorrow." All it takes is one word to chill the warmth that had been rising within my chest. Four sets of eyes are all it will take to drag me away from this wonderful stitch in time. As soon as we step through the door and enter the Black Box Theatre, I know Jade will revert to the girl everyone expects her to be. She'll revert to the girl that loathes my very existence.
"Night Jade." I mumble, dragging myself from the couch and trudging towards my room. My feet are like lead and everything hurts just a little bit more than it should. Never before have I been less enthused to be a stagehand for one of Sikowitz's plays.
"Night Rob…Shapiro." Jade's voice stumbles through the air nervously, tittering and tumbling over my shoulder. Three letters wrap around my heart and suddenly my feet don't feel so heavy. I steal a glance at Jade; between the wisps of her midnight hair I see a pink tinge on her cheeks.
As I slip between the sheets of my bed, the faint scent of Jade lingers in the air; it's something like a cross between strawberries, coffee and bitterness. My eyelids grow heavy as thoughts of the girl in my living room dance before my eyes. With sleep beginning to descend over me, tomorrow seems so far away, yet it's shadow looms over me like a malignant specter.
Thick rays of sunlight drift between the cracks in my curtains and rouse me from the embrace of unconsciousness. As I blink the sleep away from my eyes, my emotions dwell somewhere between excitement and dread. The warmth seeps through my skin and seems to light up my bones. The agony that seemed to trail through them all of yesterday is still there, but it's not as bad. I can stand up without screaming for mercy.
I step through the living room and into the kitchen, with a shake of my head, I turn on the coffee maker. I'm no expert, but I like my chances of retaining my existence if I try to wake Jade with Coffee. I amble into the living room and past the sleeping figure on my couch. Lingering behind the couch, my eyes skate over Jade's form. The usual fierceness is missing from Jade's face and her features have softened with the peace of sleep. Her midnight strands tumble over her shoulders in crooked spirals; she's so beautiful when she isn't scowling.
Eventually I drag myself away from Jade, realizing just how creepy it was to be looming over her while she sleeps. As I switch on the coffee maker and wait for it to do its thing, I contemplate trying to wake Jade before it's ready. Common sense roots my feet to the ground and silences my words though. I've heard horror stories from Beck about Jade before her morning coffee. It's in my best interests to greet her with a steaming cup.
"Jade, it's time to wake up." I speak with a creak in my voice. Stepping towards her with a cup of coffee in my hand, I feel my heart thudding against my ribcage. Rounding the couch, I hover in front of Jade, expecting her eyes to snap open like in the horror movie. I keep expecting her to bolt upright, but she doesn't move.
"Jade, wake up." I state with more bass in my voice, throwing all of my courage into the words. Again, the girl on my couch doesn't so much as stir. My eyebrow knit together and I wonder how such a tense girl can be such a deep sleeper. Heaving a sigh, I wonder how I'm going to wake her up without startling her and receiving another black eye.
"Jade, I got you coffee wake up." Waving the coffee in front of Jade's nose, I'm hoping the smell will waft into her nostrils and rouse her from this slumber. Leaning away from her to avoid any knuckles that could potentially come swinging for me, I drum my fingers against the mug in my left hand.
"Coffee?" A faint mumbles passes through Jade's lips, drawing a smirk to my lips. She thrusts her arms into the air and arcs her back, stretching her way into the waking world. Jade's eyes flutters open and even through her long eyelashes I see her emerald orbs peering up at me. It's jarring to see Jade before the cynicism seeps into her expression. I can't help but feel as though Beck was making mountains out of molehills.
"Right here." Drawing out my words with a musical tone, I hold the mug aloft and step towards Jade once again, confident I won't lose an arm or something. Jade hauls herself upright, revealing a lacey black bra. Coughing and spluttering, my limbs seize up and I come to a complete halt, forcing my eyes not to wander below her collarbones. I could swear Jade's doing this on purpose.
"Gimme." She states, like a child that's spotted a present meant for them. When that doesn't yield immediate results, Jade 's fingers shoot forth, flittering through the air and towards the cup in my hand. Taking a step backwards, laughter tickles my throat as I watch Jade's eyes widen in shock. It's as though somebody denying her coffee is incomprehensible to her.
Deciding that pressing my luck with this particular issue is probably not in my best interest, I take a step forward. Before I can pass the mug to her, Jade's slender fingers shoot through the air and wrench it from my grasp. Dropping onto the couch next to her, I flick the television on and try to ignore the fact that Jade is almost topless. Between watching Spongebob, I steal glances at Jade as she drains the mug of its precious coffee. It seems like the lower the level in the cup, the more alive Jade looks.
"You're looking…er, less bad today." Jade states, finally having ingested enough caffeine to speak. I turn to look at her again, only to find her peering into her cup and attempting to act as though she hadn't just spoken. Even still, I can't hold the smile from my lips. My mom used to tell me that sometimes happiness comes in the most unlikely of places, like a flower coming up through the cracks of a pavement. I guess Jade is a little like that, though I'd say she's more of a rose within a lightless room.
"Feeling it." I reply, plucking the words from where truth and lies become one. Honestly, I still feel like a car has hit me. It's an improvement on yesterday though, so I'm not technically lying. I'm fairly confident that through determination and a little male make up, I can hide it though.
"Good. You can drive us to rehearsal then." The statement passes through Jade's lips carelessly. She's peering over at the television now, seemingly sidestepping the fact that Beck's going to be there, that all of our friends there. I feel my heart go into convulsions and my blood begins to burn within my veins. I think I'm freaking out enough for the both of us.
"Uh…together?" The words burn my throat as I force them into the air. I feel as though I'm dragging embers from an open flame and throwing them onto gasoline. This feels like a recipe for disaster; a moment destined to go up in flames.
"Yes, together. That's called carpooling." Jade's voice floats through the air as she draws out her words and nods towards me. Reaching over and petting my head like a dimwitted canine, Jade skirts the obvious once again. Peering between the deliberately condescending expression on Jade's face, I know she's aware of what's waiting for us at school.
"But what about the others?" My words fray at the edges, revealing the nervousness straining within me. My mind forces mental images of Jade and I walking through the door before my eyes, dragging the worst possible scenarios into one moment. Next to me, Jade crosses her arms and peers down at her thumb as it rests on her bicep.
"I don't care about them. They can find their own rides." Jade's calm words are like an oasis in the middle of the swirling madness of my thoughts. Dipping into the crystal clarity of her eyes, I see between the lines. I just hope that I'm not falling victim to mirage of what I really want to see.
The hands spiral around the clock as we prepare for the day. My hotel suite hums with activity as Jade and I dart throughout it, dipping and weaving, doing our best to prepare for an oncoming storm. By the time Jade has showered and I've done my best to cover the patchwork of pain embedded on my face, we're just barely going to make it to Hollywood Arts on time.
Trudging towards the door, a familiar figure seeps into my line of vision. Laying forgotten on a tattered seat by the door is my best friend. Rex looks no better than I do. Evidently, the spill he took at Beck's was worse than I had thought. I run my fingers along a crack that runs the length of his wooden face. I search my memories to try and remember how he got back here, but I'm drawing a blank.
"No!" Jade's piercing shriek of disapproval pierces my ears. I almost drop Rex on the spot as I whirl around and come face to face with a plainly irritated Jade West. Her midnight spirals of hair are tucked beneath a bleached blonde wig and her clothing is like something from The Sound Of Music. I suppress the urge to laugh at her appearance; she's about as far removed from Jade as one can be.
"But, I have to bring him. Who will man the lights?" I ask innocently, keeping up the pretense that Rex is a real person. I might speak to him in private sometimes, but even I know he's just a puppet. I'm not really even sure about why I do it. It's just become a habit I suppose. Some people have smoking, others have drinking. I speak to inanimate objects. Jade's eyebrows crash over her eyes and I smile towards her, infuriating her further.
"If you bring him we're not going in there together." Jade states simply. I feel as though we're constantly sparring. With those words Jade has once again taken the advantage. I mull the words over within my mind, realizing that this is the first time Jade has mentioned arriving with me in a negative light. I peer down at my wooden friend, wondering if he's really been that big of an obstacle between girls and I for the past few years.
"So you're embarrassed to be seen with me but not him?" Taking one last stab at convincing Jade to allow Rex to accompany us, I thrust him towards Jade and throw his voice into the air. As Rex comes to life, so does Jade's irritation. Biting down on her bottom lip and taking a deep breath, I realize she's holding herself from unleashing a full force attack on me. It's more courtesy than she's showed Rex or me in the past.
"I'm less embarrassed." She hisses, leaning towards the puppet and snarling. Before a reply can leave either my lips or Rex's, Jade takes hold of him an my heart leaps into my throat. It's only when she places him back into the seat I had found him in that I feel more like a human and less like a hummingbird. With my heart slowing to a regular beat, a smile tugs at the edges of my lips. Jade wouldn't have hesitated to shatter him a few days ago. As she stomps out into the hallway, I feel as though I'm beginning to thaw out her icy exterior and find the girl Beck fell in love with.
"That's almost a complement." I state. There's a glow that seems to emanate from my voice itself as I push my keys into the door and lock it behind us. Jade's silent for a few moments and only the sound of our footsteps fill the hallway. Stealing a glance at Jade, I notice she's holding another mug filled with coffee. Her eyes are once again focused on the liquid within. I'm starting to wonder if it's her way of disconnecting herself from the real world and losing herself in her own thoughts.
"It was not and don't get used to it." The words catch me off guard. It's been a few minutes since either of us last spoke. When Jade finally decides to speak we're halfway across the parking lot and stepping towards my car. Peering over at her, I notice a crimson tinge heating up Jade's cheeks. Shaking my head, I allow a smile that's been brewing since we left my suite to cross my lips.
Life with Jade West isn't so bad.
I know I promised action but real life and writers block are a hell of a combo. Not to mention the damn fluff grabbed me and wouldn't let go. The action was going to take place at the end of this chapter, but now it'll be mid next chapter. Sparks will fly, I promise.
I don't have a lot of free time now, so you guys are going to have to go nuts on reviewing to force me to find more time to write haha. :P