Long time, no see! I had a lot of fun writing this story and I hope you all enjoy it.
She sits at the edge of her bed unmoving. Just last night had been one of the worst nights of her life. She was struggling to believe that her life would ever be the same again.
That damn door. Why didn't he just open the door?
She thought they had something special. She believed they were going to outlast. She had constantly heard from adults that relationships in high school didn't last, but they were going to be the exception. There was an exception to every rule and they were going to be it.
But they weren't.
He had left and now she was alone.
Or, technically she left.
But he didn't open the door.
Jade ran her hands through her hair once more before lying down in her bed. She was not going to go to school today. She felt sick. And no sick person should ever go to school.
Just as she was about to fall back asleep there was a knock on the door. That door opened without her permission. On the other side stood her best friend, Cat. Whether Cat was actually Jade's best friend was up for debate. Jade cared deeply for Cat and never wanted her to get hurt but there was always that edge that their friendship had.
Cat's eyes held the deepest sadness had ever held in them. She looked like she had been crying and Cat wasn't even the one who got broken up with.
Jade wordlessly held up the blanket and Cat immediately ran to be next to her. Cat hugged Jade's middle and became the big spoon for her. Jade started crying. She hadn't cried before because it hadn't seemed real. There was no confirmation from any outside source that what happened last night had actually happened. But as soon as Cat hugged her, last night was a confirmed reality.
"It's okay to cry, Jade," Cat whispered, "You and Beck were together for a long time."
Jade never one to cry was thoroughly embarrassed by her emotions. "Logically, I know. But Cat, I don't want to cry over Beck. He chose to not to continue to be with me. He was the one that gave up on me."
"So that's where this stems from,"
Jade's life had never been particularly happy. Her dad had left her mom when she was only five. And then her mom had left Jade when she was eight. Jade got her dad back that night but had lost her mom.
"I'm still here," Cat said, "And I'm never leaving. You can call me stupid and push me away a thousand times, but I'll still always come back. I know why you do it. I understand because I do it too."
The bond that Cat and Jade had gone far deeper than just performing arts students. They had met each other in kindergarten when their teacher had paired them up. They were the only two without a friend because Jade was too scary and Cat was too friendly.
Cat hid behind her ditzy attitude. She hid because of her brother and her parent's accidental neglect. She was also scared of people leaving her because her parents did so often. Jade hid behind her tough exterior because she was also scared of people leaving her. They made a silent pact the day they met that they would always be there for each other.
"I just wish I knew what went wrong. We had always argued and this felt like no different. What changed? Did I do something wrong?" Jade wondered aloud to Cat.
"I don't think you did anything specifically wrong. I think that Beck decided he didn't want to argue anymore. I think he just wished that you were more easygoing. But you didn't need to do anything different."
Jade sat up rapidly and stared down at Cat. "If that's the truth then we should have broken up a long time ago. I've always been this argumentative. I've never been easy going. God! If he got tired of arguing, then he got tired of me. Same as everyone else does. No one can ever stick around because I'm too me and I hate to break it to everyone but I can't just fix who I am. I'm just so done with life and with Beck and I wish I could wave a magic wand and go back three years and say no to Beck. I should have never started dating him. I should have known he was going to cause heartbreak. Of course, he was! He's gorgeous and perfect and cool. And I can pretend to be all of those things, but I'm not. I'm always going to be the mean girl. God, I hate myself."
"You don't have to be mean. You're always nice to me when we're alone. Maybe you can do that when you are in public too."
"Cat, I've built up an image that I really do not want crumbling down." Jade laid back down next to Cat and the conversation ended.
It had been the start of freshman year. That was the first moment Jade saw Beck. He had stood next to what she would soon learn was his locker talking to a boy named Andre. She remembered thinking that Beck was semi-decent looking. Jade was never one to give out a full compliment. Cat, who had been standing next to Jade, saw how Jade looked at Beck and knew that they were going to get together.
Cat had been the one that orchestrated Jade and Beck meeting. Cat had decided they were in a new place but she was still going to be the same outgoing person that she always was. So, three days after Jade first saw Beck, Cat skipped over to Beck and asked him to sit with her and her friend Jade. Beck, never one to turn down a nice offer accepted immediately.
Andre had been the one to point out to Beck that Jade was the scary girl that nobody wants to get involved with. Andre then spent about 12 minutes talking about the different rumors about Jade.
"She stabbed a girl because she was annoying her. She killed her mother with her own scissors and then ate her," Andre had said in a terrified voice. Beck had laughed and then dragged him to the table with Jade and Cat.
As it had turned out Jade had not done anything that Andre had said. Instead, she just seemed very scary, dressed in her head to toe black and dark outlook on the world. But Beck could see past all of that. He was able to see the true Jade. And that Jade was one that he wanted to get to know.
So, over the next few days, he did. Turns out Jade was incredibly talented in all areas of performance. She could act, sing, dance, but her real passion was in writing and directing and Beck could tell she was going to make it huge.
The night before Beck asked Jade out she called him. Her dad was out of town and Jade wanted to do something with someone. Cat was busy and Jade wasn't friends with Andre at this point. Beck was her last option. Which she made sure to tell him about 1000 times.
But she came over and they hung out. They watched movies together and then Jade forced him to act in a movie that she was creating. One about two young teens who were being chased by a monster. Beck, seeing nothing better to do and absolutely loving whatever Jade did, agreed to do it. They spent the whole night filming and it was the most fun that Beck had ever had.
After that night Beck knew he had to ask her out. He felt it in his bones and his heart that this was the girl for him. This was the girl he was going to spend the rest of his life with. Jade was it for him and he told her as much when he asked her to go out with him.
Jade had at first rejected him. "Why can't girls and boys just be friends?"
"They can, I just think we'll work better together,"
And then she had accepted. And it was some of the happiest times of his life. When he was just with Jade he felt as if his life could never be better. That changed after three years.
Beck's not sure why he didn't open the door. He loved Jade with all his might and he so wanted to spend his life with her. But he couldn't bring himself to open it. No matter how hard he willed himself he just couldn't do it.
Beck did cry the night he and Jade broke up. He drove back with Andre to his RV and as soon as he sat down on his bed he started sobbing. Andre, who had followed him in, had no idea what to do with a sobbing Beck. Beck didn't cry, ever.
Andre tried to lay a comforting hand on Beck's back but nothing seemed to help.
Maybe Beck was tired of being with Jade. He had promised her they were going to spend the rest of their lives together and instead they broke up. He had broken one of the only promises he ever intended to keep.
"God, Andre, why didn't I just open that door. That damn door,"
"Beck, I can't answer why you didn't answer the door. That one has to come from you,"
Andre left a few moments after that and then laid down in his bed. He'd see Jade in the morning, maybe, and then maybe they can forget about this whole thing.
Except when he woke up he was felt sick and didn't go to school.
Beck and Jade skirted around each other for months. They were never ones to interact when they were apart but now their break up seemed amplified. Jade had become better friends with the others and so now they were often hanging out in groups.
Beck was pleased to see Jade was doing okay but also angry that Jade was doing okay. What was the point of their relationship if Jade was okay without him. He was not okay without her and would do anything to have her back in his life. God. He wanted to hold her again so badly.
Jade was not doing okay. She was pretty good at concealing that part of her though. People who looked at her would never have any idea that she was struggling with the fact that she and Beck broke up. Jade wanted nothing more than for Beck to hug her. But that was probably never going to happen again.
It took months of Jade and Beck separated before they were finally reunited. Jade had decided that she was done with this breakup but she knew she couldn't come crawling back to Beck. Instead, she was going to make Beck come back to her. And come back to her he did.
As soon as Beck saw Jade perform he was a goner. He loved her so much and knew at that moment what Jade was trying to get him to do. And to be quite honest, Beck didn't mind one bit. He wanted to be back together with Jade. He wanted to have the moments that they had together again. He wanted to laugh as hard as he could because Jade was hilarious. So, Beck went up on that stage and kissed her and all was right in the world.
Years later Beck would come across a tape marked 2008- Beck and Jade. And he would place it into the player and watch his 14 year old self fall in love with the magic that was Jade West. He would force Jade to watch it even if it meant listening to her complain about how terrible it was. But he knew she would see the same thing that he did. She would see that love that was being given to her at such a young age.
And so they knew. They were the exception.