Chapter 6
A/N: Hey guys! Sorry that I haven't updated in soooo long, but my Internet was off. It's still a bit on/off so I won't be able to update a lot. But, I will update multiple chapters at a time :)
Anyway, time for shout outs!
Badefan – You're not gonna like me much… I'm a HUGE Bade shipper, but this is not a Bade story. You'll see what I mean :)
imagirlwholikesrockproblem – I haven't gotten to reading your story yet, but I promise I will (:
karlaserna – Thank you for all the awesome comments! (: Like I told Badefan, this isn't a Bade story, but my next one will definitely be Bade (:
syngates – That sounds creepy :P But awesome, and thanks ;)
Guest (no name)- That's a really good idea, I might incorporate it (:
And thank you to EVERYONE who has reviewed. You keep me writing (:
Sorry for the super long A/N. On to the story!
Beautiful Stranger
Jade walked through the huge double doors of Hollywood Arts High School, carrying her Gears of Wars bag close to her. Today was the day she'd been dreading. Today, she had to go see Lane about the marks on her arm and possibly get her father arrested. As if that bastard deserved to go to jail; he deserved to perish in the fiery pits of hell. She shook the thought from her mind and walked down the hallways, which seemed endless today, until she reached a door.
Room 15 had a plaque on the door that read 'Lane Alexander. Guidance Counsellor.' Jade suddenly felt anxious. What if Lane pitied her? The last thing she wanted or needed was pity. What if he sent her away to some crazy asylum? She'd be away from people, but for how long until she started going mad? She sighed and knocked on the door. 'Now or never.'
After what felt like hours, Lane finally opened the door. "Ah Jade, come in please" he said to her with a smile. She frowned and walked past him, into the room that smelled faintly like…lotion? Before she could figure out where it came from, Lane closing the door snapped her out of her dream world.
'Jeez, that seems to be happening a lot these days' she thought to herself. Lane went and sat on his basket chair, at least that's what Jade calls it.
"Why don't you sit down Jade? This might take a while." Jade shrugged and sat on the couch. "So Jade… How was your day so far?" Lane asked carefully, as if he's afraid she'll go insane and chew his foot off.
'Tempting' she thought, but then realized she still had to answer. "It was good," she answered flatly, not really wanting to be here. It seems as though he didn't pick up on that.
"That's good," he answered as cheery as always. It made Jade sick. He spoke again. "Do you have anything planned for today?"
'Just sitting in this hellhole then I'm going to go home to get beaten again. Nothing special,' she thought sarcastically. "No," she answered with even less emotion than before.
"Why not?" He asked. He was talking in circles, avoiding the actual topic. Jade was getting fed up.
"Lane, stop asking these unnecessary questions. We both know why I'm here. Let's just talk about it and get it over with so I can go home." She didn't mean to be rude, but she couldn't take it anymore.
Lane didn't seem to mind though. "Alright then. Jade… tell me a bit about your home life."
'Well my mother died in a car accident I caused and my dad is a lousy drunk who's been blaming me for that for years now. Nothing out of the ordinary.' These thoughts were really getting on her nerves, but only because she wishes she could really say them. "My mother died when I was five, and I live with my dad."
Lane wrote something down and went on questioning her. "How is your relationship with your dad?"
'I hate the bastard with everything in me, and he likes using me as a punching bag. Normal father-daughter relationship.' Jade looked emotionlessly at Lane. "Strained, I guess." Lane wrote something down again. 'What is he writing?'
Her thoughts got interrupted again. "Why would you say strained, Jade?"
'He verbally and physically abuses me when he feels like it.' "We just don't talk much." He writes something down again. That's how it goes for the next hour. Ask pointless question, random sarcastic thought, answer not completely the truth, not completely a lie, writing something down.
After what felt like an eternity, Lane told her their time is over. He scheduled another appointment and she walked out of the classroom, out of the doors of the school and finally got to her car. She got in at the driver's side and lay her head against the headrest, relaxing for a few minutes.
'Enough of this.' She thought, starting the car. She decided to take the long way home, because she didn't want to go home yet, but she also didn't have anywhere else to go. She was so distracted by her thoughts that she had forgotten to watch the road.
She saw a shadowy figure in the distance. Looking closely she saw it was a person standing next to car parked on the side of the road. Slowing down, she came to a stop next to the person and rolled down her window. "Hey, need any help?"
The person turned around, and she saw that it was a guy. "Yeah, my car broke down and now it doesn't want to start." Jade got out of the car, remembering she had jumper cables.
She opened the trunk and got them out. "I'll plug these onto my battery, and then you do the same to yours." The guy nodded and took half of the cables. Jade plugged the other half onto her battery, and then motioned to him to do the same. "Now go start your car."
He got into the driver's side of his car and tried starting the car. Nothing happened. "It's not working," he called out to Jade.
She had a little experience with this sort of thing, so she decided to see for herself what's going on. "I think your battery's fried. We might need to get a tow truck out here."
"Shit! How long is that going to take," he muttered.
Jade wasn't sure if he was asking her or talking to himself. She answered anyway. "Probably an hour or so."
"That is so great." She took the cables off of her battery and he did the same, handing them to her. "Thanks for helping." She took the cables from him.
"No problem." 'Hold on a sec… Why was I helping him? Jade West doesn't help people. What makes him so different?' she thought to herself. 'Maybe it's the sincerity in his eyes. She's never seen that in someone's eyes, not even Beck's.' She shrugged it off and watched him as he called the towing company.
When he was done, she asked him how long they will take to get here. "Thirty minutes. It seems as though they're not really busy today." She smiled… wait, Jade smiled? This day was getting weirder.
"Cool, so you're set now? Or do I have to wait with you so you can have some company?"
He chuckled a bit at that. "No, I'm fine. But, I do want to repay you for helping me."
She smiled at him. "You don't have to."
"But I want to." He smiled back at her. "Why don't you give me your number, and I can take you out sometime. Just as friends and just to repay you. Don't want to get your boyfriend mad." He chuckled and took out his phone, handing it to her.
She smiled and typed her number in, handing it back to him. "Nice to meet you…" he looked at the phone, "Jade."
He smiled and held his hand out to her. She shook his hand. "Nice to meet you too…" She trailed off.
"Brian. Brian Haner."
