So, this chapter is going to be a flashback. It won't be that long. It's all going to be from Cat's POV. I've been planning this chapter through the whole thing so, yeah. Anyways, sorry if you hate it. Please review.

Cat's POV:

9 years old. I was sitting, very lonely, on the swings. I drew small designs in the dirt. I heard the rattle of chains and looked up to see a girl about my age, sitting in the swing next to mine. She was watching me. She had long, wavy, brown hair down to her waist. It was pretty. I always wanted long hair, as my darker brown hair only went past my shoulders. The girl also had bright, ocean blue eyes. They even turned green sometimes. Another thing I wish I had. She was pale, but didn't look sickly. If she had black hair, she would look exactly like Snow White, I thought to myself.

"Hey." The girl spoke.

"Hi, what's your name?" I asked, rather shyly. I saw her smirk at my nervous look.

"Jadelyn. But I don't really like that name." she said, shrugging and looking at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Well, what's your name?" Jadelyn asked, widening her eyes as if to say 'duh' .

"Oh sorry. My name's Caterina. But I don't like my name, either."

"I know, I'll call you Cat, for short."

I smiled at this. "Yeah, okay! I'll call you, Jade."

Jade smiled at this, pleased with her new name. We swung and laughed for about fifteen minutes, until we got bored.

"Hey. Want to see something cool?" Jade asked, smiling.

"Yeah, sure!" I said, obviously excited about what she was going to do. She backed up. I started to follow her, but she held out a hand for me to stop and stay where I was. She took a running start. I watched, confused. What was she doing? She leaped. Jade did a cartwheel into a round-off. She ran again and did a back-handspring. She landed in a perfect split.

"Whoa! That was awesome, Jade!" I screamed, running over to where she stood.

Jade laughed. "Thanks. So, what do you like to do?"

I just shrugged my shoulders. "I don't do anything that cool. I just draw and sing a little."

"Can you show me your drawings, then sing for me?"

"Um, yeah." I said, nervous of what Jade would say or think. I wanted to impress her. We sprinted over to the picnic table where my things were. I opened my notebook to a picture I drew of a dinosaur with a superhero cape.

Jade smiled.

"This is great, Cat."

"Thanks."

"So," Jade asked, "can you sing for me now?" Her eyes were really pretty. I had to tear myself away from them. She looked at me questioningly.

"Okay, what do you want me to sing?"

"Give It Up."

I giggled. "Okay." I cleared my throat before I began the song. I took a deep breath as the words came to my mind.

"Someday I'll let you in, treat you right, drive you out of your mind, ooh oh oh, you never met a chick like me. Burn so bright, I'm gonna make you blind…" I trailed off. Jade smiled more.

"That was amazing! I wish I could sing."

"Have you ever tried to sing?" I asked, tilting my head to the side like a puppy.

"Well, no," Jade admitted. "I don't think I would be able to, though."

"Oh."

After talking for another few minutes, I heard someone yell Jade's name. Jade turned to see who it was. A grim expression crossed her face. She began to gather her stuff. I opened my mouth to say something when a man grabbed her arm. She looked like she was in pain. He half walked and half dragged her away. She turned and waved bye. I waved back.

That was the first time I ever met Jade West.

The flashback raced through my mind. The memories slammed into my brain while I watched the fight. We were so young and innocent. Ten years later, this is happening. I could have laughed. Ten years of friendship. Jade's ten year old brother, Jackson, dying. My mom getting arrested when I was ten. Ten. Our lives revolved around ten. A single tear slipped from my eyes as I looked back on our terrible childhoods. I opened my mouth to yell when Beck rushed through the crowd.

"Jade!"

Tori was laying on the ground, heaving. Jade had a red mark on her cheek and a small bruise beginning to form by her chin. Beck got to the front of the crowd. They stared at each other. Beck only broke the gaze to glance at Tori, trying to stop her nosebleed. As their gaze met again, Jade backed away slowly, then turned and ran. She ran fast. I knew where she was going. I ran up the stairs and turned the corner. I sprinted through the auditorium. I slowed and climbed the ladder carefully. I tried not to make noise as I reached the small door. I pressed my ear against the metal. No sound. I opened the door and walked in. The lights were off. I pulled the string to turn the dim light bulb on. The sight made my heart shatter. Jade was balled up in the corner, new cuts trailed her arms. Blood ran down to her hands. I made my way over to the corner, being extremely careful. I gently brushed the hair out of Jade's face. The bruise was becoming darker, but the slap mark was gone. As usual, she wasn't crying.

"Cat, I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" I asked, tears beginning to form. I tried not to let them fall.

"I cut myself. I promised I would never do it again. But I did." Jade dropped her eyes. "I'm sorry for fighting. I couldn't help it. I'm so sorry." The last part was almost a whisper.

I took her hands in mine, the blood had dried. A few tears fell as I remembered that day.

We were in middle school. A girl, Erica Simmons, had begun bullying me for being an idiot and dyeing my hair red. Jade had found me in the bathroom, crying. She had said nothing at first. Jade had just walked over and put her arms around me. For about ten minutes, neither of us spoke. She finally asked what had happened, after I calmed down.

"Erica was making fun of me again today." I said.

Jade sighed. "It's just teasing, Cat. You have to learn how to be tough."

"She pushed me this time. Into a locker." I showed her my shoulder, it had a large bruise on it.

Jade got mad.

"I'll be back, Cat."

When Jade left, I followed her. I was curious to know what she was doing. She turned the corner sharply and grabbed Erica by her neck. She slammed her against the lockers. I watched, scared. Jade punched Erica in the face, and dropped her. Jade turned and stiffened when she saw me.

"Cat, I-"

I didn't give her time to finish. I ran, tears falling. What if she did that to me? What would I do? Is Jade a bully now? Those questions raced through my mind. I turned and almost ran into Jade. She caught me.

"Cat? Are you okay?" she asked me.

I tried to answer, but couldn't. The tears were hard to see through. My voice was stuck in my throat.

"No…you're scared of me, aren't you?" Jade asked, letting go of my arms. She looked hurt and scared. I wanted to say something, but I couldn't. She turned and walked away.

We didn't talk for days after that. I cried every night, because I thought my best, and only, friend, had gotten over me. That changed when she had shown up at my house, bruised and bloody. She was slightly crying. I let her in, a shocked expression on my face. That was the night I learned about her dad. We were closer than ever after that one night.

Here's Chapter 10. I've been trying to make things 10-related because I wanted there to be a special Jade and Cat chapter. I was literally crying when I was writing this. I'm working on making a chapter so sad, that Jade West might tear up. *wink*. Rape. I mean, what? Anyways, please review. ~SabrinaMarie