Chapter Thirteen

Marcus

Jane hasn't looked at me: she hasn't even spared me a single glance since the day I drove her to school. Nothing directed towards me during our mutual classes, despite the fact that she sits behind me in one and next to me in another. I keep trying to get her attention, just long enough to talk to her, but she always manages to dart right out of sight the moment I think I've finally gotten my chance.

I almost broiled Kristen alive after Jane left. I had to try so hard to get her to relax, and even open up the tiniest bit, and I was finally making headway, when Kristen slammed into me. I'll admit it, kissing Kristen is hot, a superficial feeling, but disorienting no the less, and I got distracted. Unfortunately, by the time I opened my eyes Jane was long gone.

How is it that people keep getting in between us? I genuinely just want to talk to her, and get to know her better. Just to understand that perplexing quality about her. For once, I don't have any ulterior motives with a girl, none at all, and it's biting me in the butt.

Now, standing awkwardly in Ben Palmer's house, I find myself searching for her. I know it's unlikely she'll show up, it doesn't seem like her kind of scene in the least. There's some hard-core celebrating going on, though no one's quite sure what we're celebrating, it doesn't diminish the jubilation in the slightest. It's part of highs school most definitely to go to these kind of things, and even though I'm not entertained, a large number of people seem to be greatly entertained.

The crowds of people mingle and churn among themselves, chatting without any real purpose. Pulsing music, on mixed in with what seems like hundreds of conversations, pounds through the house, and the lights remain dimmed, adding to the fuzzy atmosphere in the room. Somehow, I find myself with a drink in my hand, and wait a moment, before dumping it out the window without a second thought. An angry protest grumbles from down below, and I scramble away from the window, hurriedly dart in the opposite direction.

Weaving my way through the crushing throng of people, I glance around, looking for someone to talk to; at least to momentarily alleviate this obsession with whether Jane is coming or not. With a grin, I spot Anna across the room. Chatting animatedly with one of her friends, she doesn't notice me approaching till I'm only a few paces away. If I had to guess, it's the friend who doesn't approve of me, though they all sort of blend together.

She smiles at me and beckons me over, despite her friend's apprehension. Anna shakes her long hair out of her face, and looks up at me warmly. She always manages to do that, look at someone as if they're all that matters. For a moment I glance at the girl beside her, who rolls her eyes before stalking away with a scoff in my direction.

"She doesn't mean it you know, you shouldn't take it to heart." She tells me, and I sigh, before leaning against the wall beside her. Her gaze drifts across the room, not predatory, just curious.

"Yeah, I know, you've told me before." I remind her, one petty princess holding grudges for something I don't even know about is the least of my problems at the moment. Suddenly, Anna's gaze stills, locking on a lone figure just now entering the room. I follow her eyes and am a little disgusted at what I see.

"I don't like it, Anna, he's dangerous." I warn, trying to discourage her, despite all my earlier warnings on the subject being in vain. A small smile lights up her face, for all the wrong reasons, and I eye the drink in her hand, wondering if the dingy red cup's the problem here. Catching my gaze, she shakes her head.

"It's water." She assures me, before her gaze returns to Jonathan Trenton, whose arrogant smirks are currently directed at the red-head standing beside him. I've seen those smirks directed at Anna too many times to feel comfortable with it. The red-head hangs off his arm, flush against him, but Anna either doesn't notice or doesn't care.

"He's trouble," I remind her, which I shouldn't have to do. His juvie record speaks for itself, and Anna can read just fine. Anna tunes me out once again, and watches him, positively entranced. I know my opinion doesn't matter to her in Trenton's case, but maybe at least some of my warnings will break through the haze. She hands me her cup, not looking in my direction, still gazing after him. "This is a bad idea."

"Yeah, I know, you've told me before." She parrots, slowly slipping off in his direction. She pauses for a moment, turning to face me. "Do me a favor and tell Jane where I went, she should be back here soon." I don't even have time to process her request fully before she slips off, into the crowd without a second glance over her shoulder.

As I watch her long brown hair disappear in the crowd. I'm confronted with two powerful emotions, concern for Anna and whatever that pig-headed snot is going to do to her, and concern for me and what Jane is going to do to when she finds out Anna left her in my care.

…

Zach

There's still a picture on my headboard, one of Jane. Glancing at it now, the memories are still as fresh as the day I took that. She was laughing, the summer breeze whipping through her hair gently, the sun catching the subtle lightened tone that always made its presence known as the season wore on. We weren't doing anything special, just relaxing at the park, as both of us had wanted to get the hell away from our families' for a while. She had kissed me, and I was still getting used to the fact that we were allowed to do that now, since we weren't "just friends" anymore. The sun on my skin and the laughter in the air inspired me for a moment, and I had pulled out my camera that I had somehow remembered to shove into my bag. The moment she saw it, she weakly pushed me back, even though I'm sure she's was putting all her weight into the shove. I knew she hated having her picture taken, something about not liking the way she smiled, but i didn't care, I wanted to keep the memory for as long as possible. Laughing whimsically, she had tried to shield her face, until I had pinned her hands down with just one of mine, and quickly snapped the picture. The laughter was so clearly written out on her face, and I used to look at the print almost constantly, when ever she wasn't around.

My mom hates it, in fact, she's made multiple attempts to have the cleaning lady come in and "accidentally" throw it out. Glancing at my dresser across the room, I walk over; attempting to be stealthy with regard to my mother down the hall, and dug to the bottom of one of the drawers, pulling out the sweater Jane had left at my old house before we both left that town. I run my fingers over the soft fabric, remembering how it had felt against my fingers when I had hugged her to me that one last time. Even then we were feeling everything falling apart, I was moving within the next few weeks, and things just kept getting worse.

I went to return the sweater to her house after that night in my car, but her mom claimed she wasn't home and then soon after, they were both nowhere to be found. Now I know why. Jane had always had rocky family stuff going on, what with her dad dying when she was so young. The last thing she need was another tragedy, and from the hard edge to her personality, I have a feeling she took it just as badly as I'm hoping she wouldn't. There's still an ache when I think about our past, but for the most part, I'm moving on, I had forgiven myself a while ago, now I just want to make peace with her, just to ease my conscience a little.

The fact that she flees when I get within a three-mile radius of her isn't too promising in that aspect. I sigh a little and eye my keys, knowing Palmer's party is tonight, which might be the perfect thing to get my mind of all my heavy thinking.

AN: Thank you so much guest for you review about the song "Better" by Jennette Mccurdy, it was really helpful. I also listen to "All too Well" & "I Almost Do" by Taylor Swift and "Change Your Mind" by Boyce Avenue.