Disclaimer: Dont own them. I wish I owned Clu, but well, I dont...
Ok, I have to take a different approach to this chapter- i'm going to give u a few lines from the previous chapter, b/c well, i think it would help:
" Hey Annie?"
" Yeah?" Annie asked, turning around.
"Thanks." Jack said quietly, looking down. Annie smiled, walking out of theroom. Once she got to the kitchen, she let out a shaky sigh, and began to cry.She placed the kettle onto the stove, wiping her tears away with her sleeve.
Now onto the real chapter:
" Annie? Are you ok?" Jack's voice startled Annie as she dried her eyes again, turning to face the teen. " I'm sorry… I didn't mean to-"
" You didn't do anything… I'm fine, really." Annie smiled reassuringly at Jack, leaning against the counter. " How are you?" She asked, emphasizing the last word of her question. Jack shrugged, sitting down at the kitchen table.
" I don't know anymore." Jack whispered, sighing. " One second I'm ok… and the next… I'm so upset, depressed, alone, all in one." Annie nodded, jumping as the tea kettle began to whistle. She quickly got two mugs out, and poured the hot water into them. Jack stood, getting the milk and sugar out.
" It's going to take time to heal." Annie said quietly, looking up at him. " Come on, it's a nice night out, lets go outside, we can talk there." She said, smiling. She placed the tea kettle, cups, milk and sugar on a tray, and opened the sliding door. Jack nodded, running into the living room. He walked out to the Phillip's back yard, finding Annie sitting on the top of the picnic table, her jean jacket tightly pulled against her. Jack grinned, holding up the large quilt blanket that sat on the Phillip's sofa.
" Figured it might be a little cold out here." He explained, hopping onto the table next to the girl. He placed the blanket around the two, then glanced up. " You know… Gabe and I used to do this all the time." He said softly. " We used to sit here, me staring at the stars, pointing them out toher, and she used to just listen. I knew that she couldn't care less about them, but she listened." Annie smiled, nodding. Jack continued, a smile creeping across his face. " One time, we were at the football field, and Gabe and I had snuck in… the first time she had ever done something like that, she was so afraid we'd get caught." He said laughing. " We sat outside for hours, talking, me holding her in my arms… we almost got caught too, we had to run to the car. Then we went back to her house, hid out in the farm, up in the hay loft, and just stared at the stars, talking…" He said, trailing off.
" You miss her a lot, don't you?" Annie asked, turning to face her friend.
" A lot." He said softly. " She was like my soul mate… It probably sounds corny, but besides you, my mom and Fi, she was like my sanity. I could have the crappiest day and she'd find this way to make the day easier, somehow she always managed to help me, no matter what was wrong… now I'm so lost… How am I supposed to go back to go to college, go to the place we were supposed to go together? Everything there reminds me of her… the people, the courses, the dorms…"
" It'll take time Jack… but, you'll get over it." Annie said quietly. " Can I tell you something?"
" Yeah…" Jack nodded, and Annie leaned her head on her friend's shoulder, sighing.
" When I was recording my album, over in Munich, I met a guy. Joshua Franz. He worked part time at the studio, doing odd jobs. We hit it off, and began dating. Then, when my album was finally finished, my manger threw a huge party- DJ, celebs, friends, family, everything. All for me. But Josh couldn't make it, his mom was sick with a virus. I was really upset, and I kind of begged him to come. He said he'd stop by, if his mom was feeling better. She got better, but Josh never came. I was so upset at him, I waited that entire night outside for him, and he never showed. Then my friend told me she'd drive me over, we figured maybe his mom was sick again. On the way there, there was a roadblock… there had been an accident, a motorcycle accident. Theroad had been slippery, and the driver had lost control of the bike. Well, I stepped out of that car, my heart in my stomach, and I knew it was Josh… it was all my fault. He died on impact, just so he could come be with me, instead at home, safe. It took me months to get over that… that's why I didn't come back right away. I couldn't face everyone, I couldn't take the fake sympathy I knew I'd receive from my friends here that I had told…" Annie said quietly. " And I did the same thing you did. I stopped talking to people, became rebellious, cursed out my father quite a few times. Everything and anything reminded me of Josh, yet I couldn't remember anything we had done with each other, or anything he liked. He just haunted me, everywhere I went. But I got over it. And I'm going to help you get over this too, I swear. You wont have to go through this alone Jack, we're all here for you." Annie said softly, a tear falling from her cheek. Jack hugged the girl, smiling a little.
" I'm sorry… I didn't-"
" No one did. Not Molly, not Fi… I only told Gabe, and I told her to keep it a secret." Annie said quietly, looking up into the clouds.
" Why did you share this with me then?"
" Because we're kindred Jack. We've both experienced the same pain, the same problems. Yet we get over them, slowly… eventually." Annie said softly.
" How did you get so good at this stuff?" Jack asked turning to his friend.
" I grew up." Annie said sighing.
" Why?" He asked, looking at her. " You didn't have to do any of these big career choices, your only 16…"
" Why did you go on the road with your mom when you were younger, or study your ass off to get into good colleges Jack?"
" Because I had to."
"That's why I did it."
Sorry this is so short, I'm slowly running out of steam!