"Hey, Jade, where're you going?"

Spike's combat boots made heavy thumps as he caught up with the goth. He cut in front of her path and moved his hand through his greenish Mohawk. "Lunch just started," he said breathlessly. "Modessa wants to talk to you. Are you going back to class already?"

"If Modessa wants to talk to me, why did you come instead of her?"

Spike moved his hands slowly from his head to one of the many pockets on his baggy black pants. "You know how Modessa is…"

Jade rolled her eyes. She knew how Modessa was more than anybody, even Spike, who had been her best friend's boyfriend for over three years now.

"Well, tell Modessa that whatever she has going on has to wait. I'm in the process of something urgently important at the moment."

Spike raised his eyebrows in confusion. "What's up? You can tell me."

Jade caught her lower lip in between her teeth. Spike had been her friend for a while now—given, not as long as Modessa, but a better friend nonetheless—but this was too private to let get out in the open. God knew that she loved spreading drama, and He also knew that Jade told Spike everything. But now was not the case.

"No, it's fine," she insisted, shaking her head. She put her hand on his shoulder for a brief moment, then brushed past him. "Tell Modessa that I'll be back in a little while."

She strode out into the parking lot and dove for her black Mercedes. Her hands were shaking as she stuffed the key into the ignition, and they were practically vibrating out of control as she turned it. The engine roared to life, and she gunned it, following the line of people heading out elsewhere for lunch as steady as she could.

She turned the corner and continued on her route.


"Hey, it's… Ivy, right?"

Ivory looked up from her notebook at the sudden voice. A tall, muscular boy with spiked brown hair stared down at her past his dark hazel eyes. His mouth was twisted up into a smirk, just above his angular jaw, and his large but slender fingers were curled around the navy blue backpack strap that was slung over his shoulder. The olive green T-Shirt he wore was wrinkle-free, and his blue jeans were baggy in a non-obnoxious way.

The girl closed her notebook and pulled her long brown hair behind her neck. "Um, it's Ivory, but that's a good guess." She smirked. "My old drama teacher called me Rebecca for a month…" She froze and shook her head. "But, yeah good…" She narrowed her eyes. "Do I know you?"

The boy smiled. "No," he said, pulling the corner of his mouth up some. "I'm new. But you're in my math class." "And apparently, I'm in your English class." Ivory gestured around the room. The boy laughed. "I'm Reed," he said, holding his hand out.

Ivory glanced at it and gave it a sideways high-five. Reed laughed again and dropped his bag on the seat next to hers. Her smile faded as he took out a piece of paper. He started scribbling something on it, and, without looking up, murmured, "So… what do you say… you…" He retracted the pen by jabbing the clicker on his side. "…Call me?" He put the paper on her desk.

Ivory stared at it.

And oh, I try to fall asleep. I hear the floorboards creak beneath my bed. I pull the sheets over my head. And I, I can't be scared tonight. I need to close my eyes and pretend that all the monsters in my room are my dear friends.

The bell rang, and Reed raised an eyebrow at her before sliding into the chair holding his bag. The bag was pushed off and landed on the tile with a "thump." Ivory looked away and pretended to be absorbed in her friend Mallory's long, low pigtails.

Oh, I'll never know why I'm still here, why I can't fall asleep to save my life. It's getting late, but I'm not tired. I tried so hard to make my wish at eleven past eleven, and I'll never tell the whole world what my biggest secret is.

"Alright, class, welcome to English. I'm Mr. Appleby." The elderly, plump English teacher put his brown leather briefcase on the long cherry desk and opened up the gold snaps. "Let's get cracking."

And I want to know what I'll be dreaming of when I get my eyes to close. Someday soon, my secret wish will come true.


Jade pulled up in the high school parking lot a good ten minutes later. She checked the car clock before shutting the thing off. There was still thirty minutes left in lunch. If she hurried…

She shook her head and bolted out of her car. There was no time for thinking.

She pushed through the front doors and barreled into the main office. There were two men standing at the counter, filling out some forms for the three secretaries behind the counter. The skinny one with the long, gray hair and purple sweater was chatting away on a beige phone; the plump, short one in the banana yellow was combing out her short, platinum blond hair; and the redhead in the green and pink was watching the forms with intent as they were being filled out.

Jade waited a few seconds before deciding she didn't have the time or patience for all of this. "Move," she commanded bitterly, and she shoved one of the men aside.

"I'm looking for an Ivory Rodriguez," she announced, pronouncing the name loudly and slowly, as though the secretaries were ninety-years-old and practically deaf.

The redhead began to open her mouth, but Jade shook her hands out and continued on. You know, long brown hair, Filipino-Spanish, kinda chubby?" She annunciated her last point by moving her hands up and down in front of her stomach.

The blond one pulled her hands away from her head. "Do you have a visitor's pass, sweet pea?"

Jade lurched over the counter. "No, I don't have a stinkin' visitor's pass," she snarled. "This is an emergency." She shook her head. "Look, I promise I won't take long, just give me a copy of her schedule and I'll be on my way."


"With a show of hands, can I see who knows about antecedents? Alright, good." Mr. Appleby posed the question without turning away from the chalkboard, or even looking over his shoulder to see the hands that were barely raised before he dismissed his proposal.

"Because, my friends, today is centered all around the things." He moved away from the chalkboard, and the word "ANTECEDENT" was scrawled on it in yellow caps and was underlined four times.

Ivory wrote the word on the top line of the first page in her English notebook. She smiled at it. There was something about the first day of school that made everything seem so… fresh. That there was actually hope in starting over.

"Alright, where is she?"

Jade stormed into the classroom, clutching a schedule so tight that her black nails almost punctured it. She scanned the room, mumbling underneath her breath even as Mr. Appleby began reprimanding her about interrupting his class.

Ivory shrunk down in her seat, but her sudden movements, albeit slow, caught Jade's attention. "Ah-ha!" she cried out. "Shut up, old man. This will only take a second."

Jade stomped over to Ivory and towered over her until her whole shadow consumed the girl. Only when she began talking was when Appleby stopped. "Beck is a wreck without you," she said gravely. "And I know we haven't been the best of friends, or even friends for that matter but…" She inhaled sharply. "I care about Beck. And you do too. And he didn't deserve to be dumped like that—he didn't do anything wrong."

She snorted and shook her head. "So you're getting back together with him," she concluded. "I know you want to. And you're also gonna help me look for him, because after that little stunt you pulled?" She glared down at her. "He disappeared off the face of the Earth, and God knows where he is right now." She smacked her right fist into her left palm. "And if you weren't what Beck needs to survive, I would punch your face in because if we can't find him…"

Jade stopped and laughed bitterly. "I'm sorry. Forget that."

Ivory blinked.

Jade grabbed her wrist and pulled a little. Her expression softened.

Ivory looked back at Reed, who was staring desperately at her backpack, where she'd put his number in.

She shook her head and followed Jade out the door.

okay, i know it looks rushed, and i know it's late, and i know it's pretty bad.

BUT! i've had this idea for a while and i needed to get it down. plus i'm sick. :| so please bear with me!