Author's Note: Hello my dear readers. I hope you enjoy this installment. You'll get some answers in these chapters. However, please remember my dear readers, just because one character paints another character in a bad light, doesn't mean that either character is the 'bad one'. There are always two sides to every story. You'll just have to keep reading to get the entire story. Thanks.

Chapter 12

Hollywood Arts High School
Thursday, July 7, 2011

Freddie had searched through most of the school in a vain hope of finding the raven haired teenager. He was hoping that she was actually still at the school and hadn't decided to just grab a bus and leave. She had slipped away he guessed about half an hour earlier without him noticing while the class was involved in another hands on experience with today's lesson.

He was kicking himself for failing to cheer her up just enough to get through the day. He thought that he had done an adequate job last night of trying to keep her mind off of her worries by treating her with dinner and the movie that she picked out. It wasn't necessarily his taste in movies, but she did appear to enjoy herself and tone down the hostile and short tempered demeanor.

Whatever he was able to accomplish last night apparently didn't carry over this morning. He had picked her up this morning, but she remained quiet throughout the ride after he told her he hadn't heard any news yet. She had remained quiet throughout the morning as well, so he didn't notice at first when she wasn't in the theater.

If Sikowitz or the other teachers had a problem with him just walking out, they didn't voice their disapproval and he really didn't care if they did have a problem. He had passed through the same hallway for the fourth time to take another direction, but this time he passed closer to the janitor's closet and noticed that it was slightly ajar.

He carefully pushed the door open and looked around the edge inside the room. He pushed open the door and stepped inside the small room filled with all the expected items necessary for the sanitation needs of a high school. Freddie released a surprised and sad breath as he looked at the teenager sitting cross-legged with her back to the opposite wall and staring forward. In a soft and hopefully comforting voice, he asked, "Why are you in here?"

She looked up with bloodshot eyes and makeup running down her cheeks. "I didn't want anyone cool to see me like this."

Freddie closed the door behind him and took a seat in front of it and using it to support his back. His knees were bent and he rested his elbows on his knees and arms hanging over his legs.

"Worrying about Beck's finally got to you?"

She looked to the floor and refused to answer. Her frown deepened and she blinked her eyes as a few more tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I know how it feels to worry and be heartbrok—"

She snapped her head up and growled out, "You don't know how I feel."

Freddie frowned and replied in a cool tone, "Like someone cut your heart out with a spoon? Yeah, I know exactly what you are feeling."

Jade leaned back slightly as she studied his eyes. Oh my God, he does know. She then looked down at her lap unable to take seeing her owns feelings being reflected back with his eyes. "It's not just the prison thing… Beck and I broke up, but I guess you figured that out."

Freddie released a breath then replied carefully, "I suspected something had happened, but I didn't realize it was that serious. I just thought maybe you two were on the outs then you two would straighten everything out when he got back."

She took a deep breath then released it. She started talking without bothering to think what she was or wanted to say, "No… I was mean one too many times. He… he was just tired of it and a long list of other things. I tried to sabotage Tori's performance in Steamboat Susan then I tried to ruin the Prome and he thought that was too far. How many chances can you give the mean girl?"

"I don't know… but I gave plenty to one girl… so I have a pretty high tolerance for it. Tell me what happened?" he finished asking hopefully.

Those eyes were just so nonjudgmental she hated him for it for a moment. They were so like Beck's eyes yet so different. There was no irritation as there was in the longer haired teenager's eyes when he learned about both instances. "Tori was so… she wanted her prom so bad that it didn't matter to her that it got my performance canceled—"

"What performance?"

She wiped some of her running makeup off her cheeks with the back a hand then took a deep breath. She looked up to meet his eyes then began in a tired voice, "I was going to do a performance art that Saturday on the Asphalt Café, but it got canceled for the prom. She didn't care and thought I was just a baby about it. So I was going to ruin her prom like she ruined my performance. I set up a horror short film, I got the band canceled, but she still won and I got dragged off by Doug the Diaper Baby. Before that, she beat me out of playing the lead role in Steamboat Sally. Ever since she got here, I can't get any lead role if she auditions for it. I'm sick of her beating me out every time because she's little miss perfect Mary Sue that everyone loves with her damn wholesome image."

Jade took several deep and quick breaths as she let her anger wash over her. The thoughts made her blood boil and she felt empowered and ready to take the brunette's head off if she had been there at that moment. It gave her strength, but then the wave crest and pulled back dragging her anger away with it when Freddie whispered, "I'm sorry."

Her head snapped up and saw those same nonjudgmental eyes and she felt deflated. She was about to snap back a reply to rally her anger once more, but he continued, "I'm not saying that was the best way of handling how you felt about the Prome canceling your performance, because it wasn't, but… we all get upset and frustrated… hurt and sometimes we get mean."

He took another breath and shook his head. "I think Beck should have realized that instead of just thinking you're being mean. You're not mean just to be mean and I know the difference, oh do I know the difference. I figured out that's just how you reacted when you get frustrated or hurt: you lash out and you get mean, not just because you can be mean. That's why you acted the way you did all day yesterday, but… I think deep down you're a good person that cares in her own way."

She frowned and her anger returned as she thought how presumptuous he was in trying to figure her out. She snapped, "Maybe you're just an idiot."

Freddie grinned then pointed a finger at her. "That's exactly what I'm talking about. I'm not trying to hurt you Jade. I'm not your enemy."

She clenched her fists in her lap and growled out, "Stop that! Stop being so damn nice! I'm mean to you; you're supposed to be mean back."

He lowered his head slightly as he looked back at her and replied in a firm voice, "No. I'm not going to do what I'm suppose to do just because you and Carly expect of me. I'm going to do what I think is right and what I want to do, not what you and her think I should do!"

The actress' anger vanished as quickly as it had reignited as she looked into his resentful eyes, but she didn't hold the gaze long as he lowered his head to look at his knees. She looked down to her lap and frowned. She didn't care, she didn't care, she didn't— She whispered without looking up, "Why are you here? Really, why are you here in L.A.?" Then she made the mistake of looking up and meeting his eyes.

Freddie took a deep breath and looked at the soft eyes. The anger was gone and replaced with something akin to curiosity. There was no judgment either in those eyes, just patient sympathy in her bluish/green eyes. He found it a little amusing that her eyes could shift in color of bluish/green depending on the light and a part of him thought that they could change depending on her mood like a glorified mood ring.

He spoke as if the words were foul for him to say and a lingering hint of disgust in his voice, "Sam kissed me… about a few weeks or so after we were down here, she woke up one day and decided she liked me romantically and still hated me at the same time."

"I didn't know what to think at first after the kiss, but she ran off and checked herself into a mental hospital before we could talk about it. We finally found her and we talked. She told me about the part of liking me and hating me at the same time. She thought she was crazy. I found that kind of insulting: she had to be crazy to like me so much so that checking herself into a mental hospital was suppose to be the rational solution." He snorted out sarcastically, "That's exactly what a guy wants to hear even if it was from her."

Freddie shook his head and frowned deeply. "Then Carly got involved." He took several breaths help calm himself. "Carly said I should give Sam a chance… she likes me now… that I should give the girl that has made it her life's mission to make my life a living Hell every chance she got for the last four years a chance."

He looked in the direction of the singer, but his eyes seemed to be looking inward, than actually meeting her eyes. "At that moment I truly thought Carly was insane or…" Freddie cleared his throat. "Was that what she really wanted to happen? Sam and I to get together?"

He shook his head, "Yeah, I'll admit Sam and I have our moments… meatball golf… some moments of hanging out just fine, but those are far and in between and that doesn't wash away every insult, every humiliating instant she caused… every physical assault. You said I should be mean back, maybe I should have because that's what being nice and helpful and caring about Sam got me: an emotional or physical beating when she needed to get off."

Jade spoke up, "Like with the whole Fred thing?"

"That's just one example in a long list of things she's done to me. What could I really do about it? What am I suppose to do get her to stop? Hit her back? 'You can't hit her, she's a girl and you're a boy.' It doesn't matter to anyone that she used me as a punching bag for all that time, it would still be considered 'wrong' to have the nerve to defend myself. She gets to use her vagina as a damn shield and an excuse for what she does to me and everyone else and I don't want any part of that anymore… not after what Carly did to me. I didn't have anymore reason to put up with it or her."

He clenched his jaw tight for a moment as his anger flared. "But that's what was expected of me: give Sam a chance at love." Freddie shook his head. "That's not how I always imagined love: a girl that openly admits she hates me and hurts me whenever possible. I want something more than that in love. I want somebody that will love me for me, to actually care about what happens to me, someone… I just want somebody that will put me first for a change and really return my love. I thought that could be Carly since I was in sixth grade, but I was wrong. She had all my love... and it wasn't enough. That was the one area in my life I was not going to compromise for her: what I wanted in a loving relationship. Carly had the nerve to try to take that from me with wanting to get with Sam. How dare she try to do that to me! I nearly died for her and this is how she wanted to return the favor?"

He took a deep breath and released it slowly as he continued, "I also realized something very important: Carly will never love me or put me first when she said I should get with Sam because Sam wanted me… always Sam first. It didn't matter what my feelings were in the situation. It is always what is always best for Sam. Never, never my feelings in consideration if Sam's in the picture. Who am I kidding? She's put total strangers before me. She took the Seddies' thoughts into more consideration as if they should have a say in how I run my life and to Hell with any Creddie too if they think they should have a say in my life too. Carly will put a cute boy's feelings whenever he passes by her before mine. She treated Steven better than me. She's shown more concern with her enemies than with me. She'll let Sam beat the shit out of me on a regular basis, but wouldn't let Sam touch Steven after she found out he was cheating on her. She didn't even know Tori and she stopped Sam from hitting her with a butter sock."

He gave a brief laugh then continued, "That was the last straw: Carly saying I should give Sam a chance and forget what Sam has put me through. I just found the quickest way I could get away from them and didn't tell them I was going or where. I don't need them in my life anymore. I found out about the workshop after glancing theSlap page, so I'm here."

Jade just stared at the teenager. He just bared his soul to her; probably far more than Beck have had with her. She didn't realize it at that moment, but he had just let her inside and maybe he got inside her as well. She licked her lips then whispered out, "She breaks your heart then to rub salt in the wound tells you to get with her best friend that treats you like dirt?"

Freddie smirked, but it wasn't a happy one. "That sums it up."

"And they say I'm a cruel bitch."

Freddie frowned and stared at the teenager.

She shrugged as shoulder, "You've been honest with me, thought I'd return the favor."

Freddie snorted out and shook his head.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Jade whispered, "I'm sorry Freddie."

He lifted his head and met her surprisingly soft eyes. "Thank you… I'm sorry about Beck."

"Thanks… look at us: two moping teenagers sitting in a janitor's closet about our loves that got away. Sounds like some stupid teenage drama."

Freddie got up and walked the brief distance between them and took a seat beside her. He gave her a brief smile and bumped his shoulder with her shoulder. "Maybe so, but I'm glad I'm in the closet with you."

She closed her eyes and snorted out a hitched breath. "Charmer."

He gave her a smile in return the reached up and grabbed a wrapped roll of toilet paper. He tore open the wrapping and a few sheets then turned back to the pale teenager. He lifted up some balled sheets in his right hand and cupped her chin in his left hand. He started to wipe the tears and makeup off her cheeks as gently as possible as it was the cheap stuff and not particularly soft tissue.

Once her cheeks were cleaned off and let go of her chin, he looked to her and gave her a smile. "And you have the beauty of an angel… I guess we all have our problems."

She let out a snort as she did her best to hold back a laugh. However, before she could respond, he asked, "So you think I'm cool? You didn't want me to see you like this."

She sniffled a moment, but the smallest of smiles formed on the teenager's face. She rested her head on his shoulder and whispered, "Yeah, I think you're cool."