RNW: Whoot! I finally have XME WITH me, while I put this up! HAHAHA!…. Yes… so she gets to do the disclaimer.

XME: Disclaimer: We don't own Static Shock or any of the bands mentioned in this chapter. If we did, we would be in the show. Yes. And Hotstreak would be the star.

Chapter three: Jobs

Chapter three:

When Jade got home, the front door was locked, meaning her father had most likely, woken up and gone to bed…. There was no way inside the house… And since her father wasn't starting work until Monday, tonight being Saturday, meaning he most likely unlock the doors till noon the next day.

Looking around, a nervous feeling washed over her, she couldn't sleep outside! "What now, Sesshoumaru-sama?" She asked the plushy.

Her eyes trailed from the top of the house to the ground below. She walked around the house, and just hoped that the back door was unlocked… no such luck, her dad had REALLY locked the house up. Jade started to chew nervously on her bottom lip, and she began her search once again….

It took her a few minutes, but she finally noticed a tree, that was placed conveniently near her bedroom window…. She climbed up it, having a little trouble, but managing to get up. She could hear her music still blasting, and her light was on, so she could see once she got higher up. Luckily, her window was unlocked, and just big enough for her to fit through.

Not bothering to change her clothes, or close the window, Jade trudged through the room, turned off her light, turned down her music, and collapsed on the bed, to try and get some sleep.

When she woke the next morning, it was to her father ranting and raving about something or other. From the sounds of it, he had lost his sunglasses, and stepped in something disgusting….. What he could have stepped in, she didn't know, since they had gotten rid of both the dogs, and all their cats, not to mention her rabbit.

Jade loved animals, and had collected a very…. LARGE amount of them, and her father ended up taking care of them in the end. When they moved, he decided that they didn't need the animals taking up space and time, besides, you can't really have that many cats in the city anyway….

She looked over at her window, it was still wide open, letting in a chilly breeze. Jade climbed out of bed, turned her music up louder so that it would block out her father, and walked over to her bathroom, which attached to her room.

After going about the normal morning routine, she walked over to the window, and looked out. She could easily slip in and out of the house every day. Thanks to this, her father wouldn't have to know about her nightly visits to a certain café, which she planned on going back to.

But she needed to be able to afford that, which was something she couldn't do…. Unless she got a job! It would help to take her mind of Ayanna, at least….

Jade looked back at her door, wondering if she should try to calm her father down, "No." She thought to herself, he brought on himself, for once, it had nothing to do with her, and he could deal alone. She was sick of being the one everyone depended on. She had no one to lean on now, so he wasn't getting someone to lean on.

Jade grabbed her backpack, and placed Sesshoumaru-sama inside it, as she climbed out the window, leaving her music on again. Once in the tree, she pulled on a pair of sunglasses, so that she could block out some of the bright light shining down on her.

She tip-toed around the house, ducking carefully underneath the windows, and the running down the street, till she could no longer see her house.

She walked amongst the crowd for awhile, her head phones blasting music loudly in her ears. She looked into windows, looking at jewelry, clothes, and various other things, as she walked down a more shopping-centered area of the city. She bought a newspaper, a soda, and a candy bar, from a cart shop thingy…. She stuffed it all in her bag, and continued on her way.

Jade stopped in front of a store with various paintings, and just stared at them for a moment, her mind traveling to Ayanna, and her Grandfather, both who loved art…. She turned to look away from the artwork, and try and push the thoughts of a happy past away.

As she started to walk, she heard a laugh, that seemed to echo through the crowded street. She looked over, and saw a boy with dark skin, and another boy with blonde hair and glasses, walk out of a CD store, both laughing, the dark skinned boy's arm was around the blonde's waist, while the blonde had his free arm around the darker boy's shoulders.

For a moment, she remembered herself and Ayanna getting into a position like that, in fact they had found themselves in many similar positions. Of course, with these memories, came the awkward feelings she would get when they realized how intimate they looked, when everything they did was meant to be platonic. She shook her head, and continued on her way.

Someone pushed up against her, and for a moment she didn't think much about it, other people had accidentally bumped into her, even though that made her extremely nervous, since she was claustrophobic- or as her and Ayanna had dubbed it 'People-phobic', but she was okay….

Her headphones slipped from her ears, down to rest around her neck, she could just barely hear her music playing loudly….. (It's like I'm paranoid, Looking over my back, It's like a whirl wind inside of my head, It's like I can't stop what I'm hearing within, It's like the face inside, Is right beneath the skin!)

The person she bumped into, turned to look at her, an angry glare on his face; as she turned to look at him as well, sensing somehow that he had stopped to glare at her, she paused….. The male that had bumped into her, was Francis…. He couldn't recognize her, that was obvious from the look on his face, but she felt very strange having him see her while she was gothed-out.

"Watch where you're going!" He snapped, before pausing as well…. He knew her… where from, he didn't know, but he did know this girl…..

Jade felt her breath quicken, this wasn't good, this didn't feel right. Rather then gesture a 'sorry' or something to mean 'hi, we talked last night, remember?', she turned tail and ran down the street as quickly as she could.

Francis stood, and watched her go….. That was weird…. Something sparkled from on the pavement. Francis looked down and saw a silver charm laying on the ground. He bent down and picked it up; inside the silver charm was a four leaf clover….

As Jade ran down the street, she knocked into other people, and finally, while her eyes were shut, collided with a strong male body… or TWO male bodies.

The two boys she hit stumbled backwards, while she fell back and landed painfully on her bottom, her backpack falling off her shoulders and spilling some of it's contents.

Jade opened her eyes, to look up at the two boys she had been watching earlier. They stared at her strangely, before they bent down and started to pick up her things, as well as theirs.

"You okay?" The dark skinned one asked her, handing her a book; which Jade instantly shoved into her bag.

"You really should be watching where you are going." The blonde sounded a little more annoyed, but still concerned.

Jade nodded her head, letting them know she was okay, before she picked up Sesshoumaru-sama, and clutched him to her chest with one arm, and shoved other things in her bag with her free one. She stared at them, and started to chew on her bottom lip. "Please don't let them be mad at me…." Jade thought to herself.

When the dark skinned boy opened his mouth to say something, Jade bowed her head slightly, before turning and running, again.

Jade turned around a corner, and slowed down; though she continued running until she came to a park, and was out of site. Jade collapsed to her knees, she wasn't used to running so much in one day…. She reached up to touch the charms on her necklace, but paused…. She only had three? Feeling the charms, she realized which one was missing, her four leaf clover…. Her father had given it to her for Saint Patrick's Day last year….

She looked around, maybe it had just fallen from the chain? Not likely, it probably fell when she ran into those boys…. Or maybe when she bumped into Francis? …. What would she do? That was one of her favorite charms!

Jade fell back to lay on the grass, she couldn't hear much City noise from here. HOW there was such a nice place inside a City was beyond her. Jade had never liked Cities, she thought they stank, most people in them always seemed to be snobs, and everything seemed to be closed in, and polluted…. Of course, this was only the fifth time she had actually been in a City.

She might as well have grown up on a farm, compared to all this. She felt like she was being pack jammed into a small room full of people, all talking and making noise, all wanting to make physical contact of some sort, and ALL wanting to ask her questions…. Where was she from, who was she, how old was she, what was her deepest darkest secret?

Jade shivered, at the thought. She sat up, and pulled her bag close. Opening it, she took out Sesshoumaru-sama, and held him tight in her left arm, while she searched inside her bag with her right. Finally she found what she was looking for, the newspaper, candy and her soda. She pulled it out, and looked through the newspaper, while eating her candy.

Ayanna wiped her arm across her face, wiping off the sweat that had collected there. It was amazing how hot someone could get on a cold day if they worked hard enough. Ayanna had been working since dawn, and it was- she checked the clock on the wall- noon now.

She was at the pet shop, where she had managed to score a job. She now DEFINITELY agreed with her sister about this place- when her sister said that this place was evil incarnate she had assumed she was exaggerating, but apparently not. Three/four days a week were WAY too much for someone who babysat twice a week, did all of the neighbors' yard word- at least as much as they could pay for- AND did five hours of schoolwork a day, not to mention her chores, and babysitting her younger siblings when her family went out.

She was working from dawn to dusk every day, leaving her exhausted every night. She had never been very active, resulting in weak muscles and poor sleep, but now she was working so hard she fell asleep the second her head hit the pillow. She woke up aching every morning, and she went to sleep with aching muscles every night. She was actually starting to wonder if suicide might be a better option- she had never been a worker, preferring to sit and read. She was usually as lazy as she could possibly get away with- this life was MISERABLE.

But at least she would see Jade soon, right? She only had to do this for a couple weeks, and then it would be over. Although, she would have to get some sort of job when she got there, too. And even then, if she got caught, she would be sent straight back home. Maybe her parents would have mercy on her, once they saw how desperate she was? No, her mom was too selfish that way; she wouldn't let her stay in Dakota.

And besides, who would give her a job with no references? She'd end up living on the streets! She had heard too many stories of that sort of thing to want to be left to that life.

But even if that happened, she might as well do this and see Jade again, even just this once, before she died, right? Ayanna slumped down on the floor, hiding her face with her hands. Why go through all this? She was tired. All she wanted to do was sleep.

But then there was Ja-

"AYANNA!" A voice shrieked, knocking her out of her thoughts. "Where are you? You'd better be working on cleaning out those cages, or Lord help me-!" Ayanna jumped up and quickly returned to what she had previously been doing.

"I'm WORKING on it!" She called back, interrupting the voice mid-phrase. This whole thing would be so much easier if her boss wasn't such a witch. Couldn't she take it just a little bit easier on Ayanna? After all, this was her first job, and she was having a hard enough time of it as it was. But no, her boss just HAD to be a neat freak and a perfectionist- as long as she wasn't the one trying to be perfect or neat, of course.

She was lazy, too, always giving Ayanna the worst jobs- cleaning out the restrooms and the cages, taking out the dead fish and the trash, taking the animals out so the customers could see them. The last one didn't sound so bad, but Ayanna's poor, scratched up arms were proof that, A: It wasn't easy, as B: the animals were cruel, sadistic beings that loved to scratch poor, defenseless employees.

And to make it all worse, she'd get home and have to do four hours of school, then go to Japanese class, and then she'd have to go and baby-sit three kids for six hours. Three loud, annoying, trouble making kids, nonetheless. Oh, well, tomorrow would be better.

She'd be watching some better-behaved kids then, at least. And no pet-shop work! Only a few hours worth of digging...

Maybe she should just hitchhike...

After calming down, Jade packed her stuff back up, and started to walk around the city again. This time, with something to look for….a job. She looked at many shops, and found several places that would hire her, if she filled out an application….

By the time she got home, it was getting dark, her backpack was filled with applications, and she had to carry Sesshoumaru-sama around in her arms again, not that she minded.

It was getting to dark to see out, so she finally took off her sunglasses, and let them rest on top of her head. When she got to the house, the lights down stairs were all on. She could see her father walking into the living room through a window.

Sneaking around the house, Jade was once again, able to get inside unnoticed. As she climbed through her bed room window, she was met with the music of Drowning Pool yet again. Jade dumped her bag on the floor, and went over to her bed. She got out her CDs and changed it to Linkin Park.

As much as she loved Drowning Pool, she didn't want to completely wear out the CD…. After taking off her shoes, and grabbing Sesshoumaru-sama, she left her room, and for the first time since they had moved in, she went down stairs while her father was awake.

Jade's dad sat on the couch in the living room, looking through a couple boxes… She leaned into the room, being careful not to be noticed… He was looking through pictures…. What of, she didn't know, but probably pictures of her mother, since he was almost in tears.

Jade pulled herself out of the room, and leaned against the wall. Guilt found it's way through her. How could she do this to her father? Even after all this… He only wanted the best for her, and all she had done to repay him was to treat him like a horrid, horrid monster….

"Maybe I should talk to him?" Jade thought to herself, as she peeked back into the room real quickly. 'Everyone thinks he's just a bully! But he has a soft side too! You should have seen the look on his face when he told Static about when he was little, and had lived in the hospital for TWO YEARS! It was so sad!' These words flew through her head, and caused an unimaginable pain to hit her hard. Jade grabbed her head, and slid down to sit on the floor, she bit down on her bottom lip, before a groan of pain could slip out.

"Jade, is that you?" Her father asked, from the living room. The sound of him walking across the room, and towards her, brought Jade back to reality.

Jade jumped to her feet, and dashed up the stairs. She could hear her father at the bottom of the steps, as she made her way to her room.

"Jade?" He asked, not bothering to go up the stairs. He let out a sigh after not getting a reply. Turning on his heel, Mr. Tailor walked back into the living room.

When Jade had sworn never to speak to him again, he hadn't thought that she was serious. After all, she had never done something like this for this long…. But he couldn't blame her, could he?

He had moved her away from everyone she knew and loved, and it killed him to know that she hated him…. He didn't have a choice though…. Staying there, in that house, was killing him inside….

Now, as he looked through the pictures, he was reminded of how much the two most important women in his life, were truly alike. They had the same eyes, the same smile and the same personalities for the most part. Yeah, Jade was a little like him, but she was more her mother.

She had the same problems with speaking in public, the same problem with shyness, with social-anxiety-disorder. There was no doubt, that Jade truly was her mother's daughter.

Mr. Tailor leaned back and rested on the couch, a frown on his face, as he remembered the two females fighting jokingly at each other. They would rarely actually fight, and when they did, it was about school…..

"Smart alec!"

"Just remember mom, I'm just like you in every way." He smiled at the words, he had heard them many times….

"Sucks to be you, doesn't it?"

"Oh, shut up, mom!"

Mr. Tailor's eyes started to close, and soon, he was fast asleep….

Jade slipped out of her bedroom window. She had decided against the cowgirl hat, and used some spray on hair dye that she had bought last Halloween. She hadn't gotten all of her hair, she knew that, but most of it was black….. Other then the roots and the bottom layer.

Jade climbed down the tree. Once on the ground she looked her outfit over quickly. A pair of blue jeans, her normal boots but she had painted over the green buckles with red paint; a red tank top, a red headband to hide the purple crescent moon she had done with marker, and, of course, Sesshoumaru-sama.

She had managed to get some more money, thank the Lord and Lady that her father had fallen asleep on the couch. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to sneak into his room, and take another forty bucks.

She wondered silently to herself, how long would it take before he noticed that she kept taking money from him? Probably not long, since this was the last forty….

It didn't take long to get to the café, but it did take a while for her to get the guts up to go in again…. Maybe he had recognized her, and just hadn't said anything? No. She wouldn't think to much into this. She had come here for a reason! She planned on going along with that reason!…. Or maybe she could just eat somewhere else, and come back afterwards? Maybe around, oh say, tomorrow morning?

"Coward." She could hear Sesshoumaru-sama say to her, making her pout.

"I'm not a coward! I just… don't want him to get mad at me…" Jade shot back.

"That makes you coward. One that this Sesshoumaru is ashamed to know." The plushy replied, speaking just like he would in the show.

Jade let out a sigh, this was getting weird now! She just had an argument with a inanimate object….. Maybe she was really losing it, it was bad enough when it came back with small replies, but when it started to reply without her wanting it too, that was just weird.

Jade wondered if the things her father got mad at spoke back to him too, as she walked into the café. She glanced around, not seeing Francis, she went and sat down at the same booth as last night. Deciding that she wanted him to know her as something, she got out a piece of paper from her pocket, and a marker that always seemed to be with her; and started to write down various nicknames that she had come to be known as since the age of eight.

Francis walked into the Café, looking for the girl he had seen the night before. His eyes locked on the booth she had been sitting at, and saw a girl with black hair, and pale skin, writing on a piece of paper…. He didn't think it was the girl he was looking for, until he noticed the plushy doll in her arms.

A smirk on his face, Francis walked over and sat down across from her, "Hey."

The girl looked up at him, and smiled brightly at him, something she hadn't allowed herself to do the night before. He still hadn't learned her name, and from the looks of it, he wouldn't be learning it any time soon….

Jade looked down at the paper, making sure she had all the ones that she could think of, before reaching out to hand him the paper.

Francis took it, and looked it over curiously. 'Serena, Ivy, Okami, Rin, Kia, Jade, Jazz, Rahne, Rain, Willow, Angelica, Raven, Rhiannon, Nicole, Kayla, Crysta, Jubilee, Rogue, Wanda, Scarlet, Faye,' And the list went on and on. He turned it over, there were four more names on the back…. And from the look on the girl's face, she had forgotten some, and wanted to write them down, but wouldn't take the paper from him. "These can't all be your name." He stated.

Jade shook her head no, but took the paper, and on the back she wrote something else, and handed it back to him.

Francis turned the paper over and read, "Nicknames, pick 1, I answer 2 all of them." He frowned, this would be hard to choose. What should he call her?… He looked her over, his eyes locked on the black stripes on her cheeks, two on each side, "Stripes." He said out loud.

Jade tilted her head to the side, and blinked, "Stripes? That's not on the list…Is it?" She wondered to herself.

"I'll call you Stripes." Francis nodded to himself, pleased with the nickname. Before Jade, or 'Stripes' could reply, he spoke again, "What do you say we go somewhere else?"

Stripes/Jade looked at him a little uncertainly…. But then her eyes studied the Café for a moment, maybe it would be a good idea? She looked at him again, and nodded her head.

Francis smirked, and stood up, he walked out of the café, with Stripes/Jade next to him.

End Chapter.

RNW: We would do the Shouts Outs too, but we're totally zonked, so thanks to everyone for reviewing! Means loads ta us! And PLEASE review for this one too!

RNW and XME