(Quick replay of Chloe/Jan on the pier. Or would that be Janoe?)
Chloe sobbed deeper and brought her knees to her chest. She sat like that for what seemed like an eternity and cried until there were no more tears left in her. She had finally stopped crying and began breathing normally when she heard a set of footsteps coming up behind her. She slowly turned her head and saw a figure emerge on the other side of the pier.
Her mouth opened in shock, "What are you doing here?"
Brady smirked and crossed his arms. "Maybe I should ask you the same thing. What the hell are YOU doing here?"
It was then that Chloe realized what a mistake she had made. This was not Jan's special place, it was Chloe's. Big mistake. Chloe stood slowly and matched Brady's cross-armed stance with her own.
She raised one well-shaped eyebrow and replied, "Why do you care?"
"Let's just say, I'm surprised to see you here. But, maybe not as surprised as I was to see you at that memorial service."
Chloe shrugged nonchalantly and kept on playing the part of Jan. "It's a free country, you know. I can go wherever I want."
"I'm not trying to stop you either. I'm just curious, that's all. From what I've heard, you never cared one bit about Chloe... why would you want to go to her memorial service? And, secondly... why would you just so happen to end up at the place that Chloe always went to when she was upset?"
"Well, first off. I don't really know you, so I don't HAVE to answer your questions. But, if you REALLY must know... I went because I was curious. Sure, we weren't friends... in fact, we were pretty much mortal enemies but it's not like I'm completely heartless. Underneath this cold, hard exterior... I do have blood running through my veins and a heart too."
Brady snickered quietly. "Really? Because I always thought you were some kind of android. Like that robot movie with the Sixth Sense kid. You look like a human being, but you're actually not."
Chloe's eyes narrowed in anger and she pointed an angry finger at Brady. "You don't know ANYTHING about me, Brady. I know what everybody thinks about me, but it's not the real me. I'm sure your sister and her friends have told you plenty of stories about me, and they're all true. But, there's more to me than just being the bitch goddess of Salem High School."
Brady shook his head in disbelief. "Well, you could have fooled me."
Chloe rolled her eyes and nearly spat her words out. "Well, you would know, wouldn't you? You're not exactly the king of fluffy clouds and rainbows, are you? Oh yeah... You think I don't know you, but I know more than you think. Oh, you make with the happy talk now, but it hasn't always been like this. I've heard about the way you treated your stepmother, and the way you've acted towards so many other people. But, now you've changed your ways... and everything is all sunshine and roses. See, Brady... people CAN change."
"A leopard can never change her spots."
Chloe threw her hands up in frustration. "You did. Didn't you? Or was the 'bad boy' thing just an act? No wait, maybe it's the other way around and the 'good boy' thing is just an act... Which is it?"
Brady sighed and muttered quietly, "It's neither."
"Okay then... shut up about me. I'll have you know, I can change... and I'm going to change for the better. The only difference between you and me is that you had something to change for. You have a family who loves you, and a sister... I don't have anything. I just have to do it anyway, or else I'll never have someone."
Brady wrinkled his eyebrows together in confusion. "I'm sure that's not true... you're not alone, Jan."
"That statement just goes to FURTHER prove that you know nothing about me. I have no one. My parents don't care about me. I don't have any friends. Nobody cares about me. Do you want to know why I left the memorial? Because when I was watching all those people talk about Chloe, it just reminded me that if I died tomorrow, nobody would say those kinds of things about me. I doubt anybody would even show up at the church... including my parents."
"So... it reminded you that you have a shred of humanity left in you somewhere?"
Chloe pouted slightly and returned, "Yeah, something like that. I'm surprised you're actually going to admit that I even have any humanity left. Don't tell me you've changed your opinion of me this quickly."
Brady shrugged slightly. "I don't know... only time will tell, right?"
"Well, coming from you... I'll take that as encouragement."
"You can do that... but you never did tell me WHY you're here, at this spot..."
Chloe bit her lip nervously and hesitated. "Well... I didn't know that there was something important about this spot, but apparently there is. I just got upset at the church, and I ran until I got tired... and I ended up here. Period. End of story. Now, why are YOU here?"
Brady glared at her silently and turned around to face the other direction. "Because... this is an important place to me. I like to come here to think, and being here reminds me of someone. And... the rest is none of your business."
"Okay... fair enough. I'm gonna leave you to your thinking and get the heck out of here then."
Brady turned back around and faced her. "And what are you going to do with yourself now?"
Chloe nearly laughed out loud. "Wow, you sound like you almost care. That's fantastic. I think I'm going to go off in my little corner and polish the chip on my shoulder for a while. Alone of course, since everybody in this town hates me."
Brady shook his head and spoke with complete seriousness, "Not everybody, Jan."
Chloe almost fell off the pier in shock. "Not everybody? You're not admitting that you might actually like me, are you?"
"Oh no, no and NO. I'm not saying that I like you, because I don't. I'm just saying I don't hate you. In fact, you remind me of someone."
Chloe cringed slightly. "Please don't say... 'You remind me of Satan.' Cause, I've already heard that one before."
Brady laughed out loud and replied, "No, that's not what I was going to say."
Chloe breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled softly, "Oh good... so who do I remind you of?"
"This girl that I used to know. You've got the same fire in your eyes that she did. She used to love to fight with me."
Chloe grinned at him and silently wondered if he was talking about her. "What happened to her?"
Brady looked down sadly. "She... went away, very far away." He paused and breathed in slightly, the next sentence he spoke quietly as if he almost didn't mean to say it out loud, "And I never got to tell her I loved her."
Chloe realized that he wasn't talking about her, she knew Brady had never felt that way for her. They had only been friends, and nothing more. Her expression softened as she spoke, "Well, I'm sure there'll be another chance for you to tell her how you feel. It can't be a total lost cause."
Brady shook his head. "No, it is. I should have told her before, but I never did. And now she's gone, and it was out of my control... one of those 'higher power' things kept us apart."
Chloe nodded understandingly. "Higher power, huh? Boy, do I know about that..."
Brady lifted his gaze and looked at her curiously, "And how is that?"
"Long story... never mind. Forget about it. I'm gonna go now."
Brady continued to glare at her with curiosity, "Okay... see ya around then."
Chloe walked up the stairs and stood at the top of them for a moment. She watched Brady turn and walk towards the water. He stood at the edge of the pier and stared into the dark water. Chloe thought that she could see him wipe a tear off his cheek, but she wasn't sure. For some reason, she felt like she wanted to stand there and watch him all day but decided to turn around and grant him his privacy.
Chloe walked away from the pier sadly, and decided to take a trip to Dot.Com. She desperately wanted to reconnect with her old life in any way she possibly could and although she knew things would never be the same, at least she could enjoy the comforts of her favorite hangout.
Chloe sobbed deeper and brought her knees to her chest. She sat like that for what seemed like an eternity and cried until there were no more tears left in her. She had finally stopped crying and began breathing normally when she heard a set of footsteps coming up behind her. She slowly turned her head and saw a figure emerge on the other side of the pier.
Her mouth opened in shock, "What are you doing here?"
Brady smirked and crossed his arms. "Maybe I should ask you the same thing. What the hell are YOU doing here?"
It was then that Chloe realized what a mistake she had made. This was not Jan's special place, it was Chloe's. Big mistake. Chloe stood slowly and matched Brady's cross-armed stance with her own.
She raised one well-shaped eyebrow and replied, "Why do you care?"
"Let's just say, I'm surprised to see you here. But, maybe not as surprised as I was to see you at that memorial service."
Chloe shrugged nonchalantly and kept on playing the part of Jan. "It's a free country, you know. I can go wherever I want."
"I'm not trying to stop you either. I'm just curious, that's all. From what I've heard, you never cared one bit about Chloe... why would you want to go to her memorial service? And, secondly... why would you just so happen to end up at the place that Chloe always went to when she was upset?"
"Well, first off. I don't really know you, so I don't HAVE to answer your questions. But, if you REALLY must know... I went because I was curious. Sure, we weren't friends... in fact, we were pretty much mortal enemies but it's not like I'm completely heartless. Underneath this cold, hard exterior... I do have blood running through my veins and a heart too."
Brady snickered quietly. "Really? Because I always thought you were some kind of android. Like that robot movie with the Sixth Sense kid. You look like a human being, but you're actually not."
Chloe's eyes narrowed in anger and she pointed an angry finger at Brady. "You don't know ANYTHING about me, Brady. I know what everybody thinks about me, but it's not the real me. I'm sure your sister and her friends have told you plenty of stories about me, and they're all true. But, there's more to me than just being the bitch goddess of Salem High School."
Brady shook his head in disbelief. "Well, you could have fooled me."
Chloe rolled her eyes and nearly spat her words out. "Well, you would know, wouldn't you? You're not exactly the king of fluffy clouds and rainbows, are you? Oh yeah... You think I don't know you, but I know more than you think. Oh, you make with the happy talk now, but it hasn't always been like this. I've heard about the way you treated your stepmother, and the way you've acted towards so many other people. But, now you've changed your ways... and everything is all sunshine and roses. See, Brady... people CAN change."
"A leopard can never change her spots."
Chloe threw her hands up in frustration. "You did. Didn't you? Or was the 'bad boy' thing just an act? No wait, maybe it's the other way around and the 'good boy' thing is just an act... Which is it?"
Brady sighed and muttered quietly, "It's neither."
"Okay then... shut up about me. I'll have you know, I can change... and I'm going to change for the better. The only difference between you and me is that you had something to change for. You have a family who loves you, and a sister... I don't have anything. I just have to do it anyway, or else I'll never have someone."
Brady wrinkled his eyebrows together in confusion. "I'm sure that's not true... you're not alone, Jan."
"That statement just goes to FURTHER prove that you know nothing about me. I have no one. My parents don't care about me. I don't have any friends. Nobody cares about me. Do you want to know why I left the memorial? Because when I was watching all those people talk about Chloe, it just reminded me that if I died tomorrow, nobody would say those kinds of things about me. I doubt anybody would even show up at the church... including my parents."
"So... it reminded you that you have a shred of humanity left in you somewhere?"
Chloe pouted slightly and returned, "Yeah, something like that. I'm surprised you're actually going to admit that I even have any humanity left. Don't tell me you've changed your opinion of me this quickly."
Brady shrugged slightly. "I don't know... only time will tell, right?"
"Well, coming from you... I'll take that as encouragement."
"You can do that... but you never did tell me WHY you're here, at this spot..."
Chloe bit her lip nervously and hesitated. "Well... I didn't know that there was something important about this spot, but apparently there is. I just got upset at the church, and I ran until I got tired... and I ended up here. Period. End of story. Now, why are YOU here?"
Brady glared at her silently and turned around to face the other direction. "Because... this is an important place to me. I like to come here to think, and being here reminds me of someone. And... the rest is none of your business."
"Okay... fair enough. I'm gonna leave you to your thinking and get the heck out of here then."
Brady turned back around and faced her. "And what are you going to do with yourself now?"
Chloe nearly laughed out loud. "Wow, you sound like you almost care. That's fantastic. I think I'm going to go off in my little corner and polish the chip on my shoulder for a while. Alone of course, since everybody in this town hates me."
Brady shook his head and spoke with complete seriousness, "Not everybody, Jan."
Chloe almost fell off the pier in shock. "Not everybody? You're not admitting that you might actually like me, are you?"
"Oh no, no and NO. I'm not saying that I like you, because I don't. I'm just saying I don't hate you. In fact, you remind me of someone."
Chloe cringed slightly. "Please don't say... 'You remind me of Satan.' Cause, I've already heard that one before."
Brady laughed out loud and replied, "No, that's not what I was going to say."
Chloe breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled softly, "Oh good... so who do I remind you of?"
"This girl that I used to know. You've got the same fire in your eyes that she did. She used to love to fight with me."
Chloe grinned at him and silently wondered if he was talking about her. "What happened to her?"
Brady looked down sadly. "She... went away, very far away." He paused and breathed in slightly, the next sentence he spoke quietly as if he almost didn't mean to say it out loud, "And I never got to tell her I loved her."
Chloe realized that he wasn't talking about her, she knew Brady had never felt that way for her. They had only been friends, and nothing more. Her expression softened as she spoke, "Well, I'm sure there'll be another chance for you to tell her how you feel. It can't be a total lost cause."
Brady shook his head. "No, it is. I should have told her before, but I never did. And now she's gone, and it was out of my control... one of those 'higher power' things kept us apart."
Chloe nodded understandingly. "Higher power, huh? Boy, do I know about that..."
Brady lifted his gaze and looked at her curiously, "And how is that?"
"Long story... never mind. Forget about it. I'm gonna go now."
Brady continued to glare at her with curiosity, "Okay... see ya around then."
Chloe walked up the stairs and stood at the top of them for a moment. She watched Brady turn and walk towards the water. He stood at the edge of the pier and stared into the dark water. Chloe thought that she could see him wipe a tear off his cheek, but she wasn't sure. For some reason, she felt like she wanted to stand there and watch him all day but decided to turn around and grant him his privacy.
Chloe walked away from the pier sadly, and decided to take a trip to Dot.Com. She desperately wanted to reconnect with her old life in any way she possibly could and although she knew things would never be the same, at least she could enjoy the comforts of her favorite hangout.
