I've been excited to upload this chapter (^_^) Thanks for reading and I hope you all enjoy!
Chapter 7 || Lightning
The group of friends was in Sikowitz's class listening to another lecture that no one was paying any attention to. It wasn't Sikowitz's fault. It was the pouring rain, thunder, and lightning outside. Tree branches were tapping on the windows, thunder was rumbling throughout the room every thirty seconds, and the occasional flash of lightning would make anyone who was still paying attention lose focus. Los Angeles didn't get many rainstorms like this, not even in early October.
Suddenly, a crash of thunder and blinding lightning made everyone jump out of their seats. The lights in the room flickered a couple of times before they eventually went off, leaving everyone in the dark. Cat scrambled out of her seat on clung to Robbie. "Oh my gosh, is this an earthquake?" she cried out. Robbie was surprised to have Cat clinging onto his back, but he didn't mind at all.
"The power went out," Beck clarified, trying to calm the girl's nerves.
Tori pulled out her phone and groaned. "No service either. The storm must've hit a cell tower." Andre checked his own phone and saw that he had no service and only twenty percent battery left. He mentally kicked himself for not charging his phone earlier in the day.
Jade rolled her eyes. "No offense, Sikowitz, but does this mean we can go home?"
The entire class started talking to each other, all of them on edge after the scary lightning strike. Sikowitz's stepped forward and tried to calm the class down. "All right, students, don't get your undergarments in a bunch! We don't need electricity to learn something," he said, pacing around the room and full of energy as always. "Power outages are the perfect time to forget about technology and dig deeper into who we really are. We're going to do a little activity I like to call: rainstorm confidants. You're going to be paired up with someone, and you're going to tell each other assumptions you've made about the other person based on an outside perspective. Then, you'll each write each other private notes about something secret your partner didn't know about you. Read them, don't repeat the content out loud! Fun, right?"
The class collectively shrugged, all bummed that they had no power or cell service to keep themselves entertained. "Ah, come one, liven up!" Sikowitz walked closer to the students. "After I pair you all up, go find a private spot in the room to do your activity. Okay, we'll have Tori and Robbie, Beck and Cat, Jade and Andre..."
He went on to name more pairs for the rest of the classroom. Jade and Andre turned to look at each other, getting out of their seats and finding a nice corner of the room to sit down and do their exercise. Jade didn't like this idea for their class activity. She already knew the assumptions people made about her and she didn't need to hear them a million times. "All right, let me guess. You think I'm scary, intimidating, and rude?" she asked Andre sarcastically with a smile while taking a seat.
Andre settled into his spot on the floor in front of her. "You haven't even given me a chance to sit down."
"But I'm right, aren't I?"
"Jade, do you think those things about yourself?"
She made a sour face, crossing her arms. Of course, she thought those things about herself. She didn't mind being perceived this way. Anything she could do to get people to stay away and not get too close, she would do. The piercings, her wardrobe, her attitude, she loved it and she loved the reaction people had to it. It only seemed to bother her once she felt like her friends, and even Beck as of late, were distancing themselves from her because of it. It wasn't fun having no one to turn to when you really needed someone.
"You're the one who's supposed to tell me about your 'perception' of me. So, just spit it out and get it over with," Jade replied. She already heard the other day from him that she wasn't "his type", and she wasn't exactly excited about whatever she was going to hear from Andre now.
Andre wasn't sure how much he should say about his perception of Jade. They were far enough from the others that no one would easily hear them, but he wasn't sure that declaring his love for her in the middle of class was the right way to go about things.
"Well, I think you're not afraid to be who you really are. You wear what you want, say what you're thinking, and you don't seem to care if anyone has something to say about it," Andre said, looking directly at Jade. "That's how I see you."
Not sure how to respond, Jade just kept a straight face and looked down at her lap. "How long did it take you to come up with that?" Though she was conflicted with her feelings about Andre, she was still extremely hesitant to let him get close. There was no way he had feelings for her anymore. Even if he did, it would probably end in someone getting hurt.
Andre was growing increasingly frustrated with the way Jade thought of herself. He knew there was more to her than she showed on the outside, but she refused to let anyone in. "Why don't you let anyone say something nice about you? You don't always have to have your guard up."
"I don't, I just-"
"No, Jade, listen. We all have our flaws- and yeah, maybe you can be violent and intimidating sometimes. But we've also been friends for years now, and I have a good time when I'm hanging out with you. You're different from a lot of other people I've met, and I like that. I like y-" Andre had to cut himself off, realizing that he got close to blurting out what he was really thinking. Way too close. Even Jade raised an eyebrow at him, unsure of what she just heard. "I mean, I was just gonna say that I like your style. The black-on-black clothing, you know? It's cool." He wasn't sure what else he could say to save the situation. "Anyway, I think it's your turn now!" he said quickly, folding his arms and averting his gaze from her.
Jade didn't know how to process what she just heard Andre say- or, almost say. Was he about to say that he...? She couldn't be one hundred percent sure, but it was a definite possibility. She shook that off of her mind and continued the class activity they were assigned to do. "I think you're one of the few normal people at this school," she started to say, tapping her foot on the floor. "And, I guess, you're the kind of guy that people can trust. Mainly because you can be a pushover."
He shook his head with a small smile. He'd take that as a compliment, considering it was coming from Jade. Just in time, Sikowitz spoke up again. "Once you're done, remember to write your notes and have your partner read them silently. We only have five minutes left of class, so don't take all day!"
Andre peered over at Jade as he was writing his note to her. She was just tapping her pen on the paper, deep in thought. He'd give anything to know what she was thinking at that moment. He also wasn't sure what he wanted Jade to know about him that no one else knew. After jotting down a couple of sentences, he handed his folded note to her. The entire class was silent as everyone began reading.
Jade took the paper from Andre and unfolded it, turning it around so that she could read it. Though it seemed like he had been writing for a while, he hadn't written that much down. It was only three sentences long to her surprise.
Sometimes I have trouble saying what's really on my mind. Keeping my emotions to myself drives me crazy. But lately, it feels impossible to say how I truly feel.
She glanced up at Andre, feeling her heart race. There was no way she was imagining or making things up in her head. He had to be feeling something towards her, right? It was weird because this was Andre we were talking about. Her friend. Beck's best friend. She never considered the fact that they got along well, or that he wasn't completely scared off by her personality like other guys were at Hollywood Arts. She also never considered the fact that he was trustworthy, that she admired his talent for music and songwriting, and that she felt comfortable around him. She couldn't say that for most people in her life. Gazing at him for a couple of seconds too long, she looked back down at her own paper and hurriedly wrote her note for him before folding it in half and handing it over with haste.
Andre wasn't sure what she thought of his note. Did she get the hint? Was she completely turned off by the idea that he might like her? He almost felt sick to his stomach just thinking about it, but he also had to know. He slowly unfolded her note and read the words written in the middle of the page.
I like you, too.
What? What?! Andre did a double take, looking at Jade, the note, then back at Jade with wide eyes. She looked away from him while nervously tapping her foot, a small blush spreading across her cheeks. She liked him back? Was this even real life?!
"Okay, children. This activity is called rainstorm confidants for a reason. Bring your partner's note to the window," Sikowitz announced, opening the big classroom window and letting rain nearly pour into the room. "And you're going to toss the notes out in the storm, never to be read again. Only you will know their secret. Now come on, hurry it up! Some... clients of mine found out where I work and I need to get out of here before they find me."
Everyone lined up, throwing the notes out into the thirty-mile-per-hour wind. The rain was making the ink bleed on the notes, rendering them unreadable even if someone were to find them outside. As Jade and Andre threw their notes into the storm, they knew they couldn't take back what they wrote. They turned to each other, unsure of what to say next. "So..." Andre started, putting his hands in his pockets.
Just as Jade opened her mouth to say something, the other friends came walking toward them. "The power is expected to be out for another couple of hours, so we're being let out early from school," Robbie spoke up, looking at his pear pad. "I was able to get connected to a radio station for a few minutes before it went out again, and they said not to expect any changes until at least nine tonight."
"So I was thinking everyone should come over to my place," Tori said with a grin. "Trina bought a small backup generator a couple of months ago and left it at our place. We could probably hook my tv up to it and watch a movie, buy snacks, hang out?"
Everyone agreed, Jade shrugging but deciding to go along. Without power, there was nothing to do alone at home anyway. The group of friends ran to their cars, trying their best to stay out of the rain.
Later that evening, everyone was sitting on the red couches in Tori's living room and watching "Stranger on 13th Street". Given the rainy weather, power outage, and that it was October, it seemed like the perfect time to watch a scary movie. It was dark in the room, save for the light from the TV and the candles on the coffee table and dining table. They had popcorn and soda cans for snacks, but the majority of the group hadn't eaten any since the movie picked up the pace and got to all of the gory scenes.
Beck, Tori, and Robbie were on one of the couches. Tori was sitting between the two guys, hiding half of her face behind a blanket while Robbie had another blanket draped over the top of his head, sitting with his knees to his chest. Beck was eating popcorn out of a big bowl, not phased by any of the gory scenes. When he was with Jade, he had to sit through countless of her favorite horror movies all the time and eventually got accustomed to the genre. It wasn't his favorite, but it didn't scare him either.
On the other couch, Cat was huddled up next to Jade while Andre was sitting to the side of Cat. Usually Jade would've gotten mad at Cat for invading her personal space for too long, but how could she be in a bad mood when they were watching a good horror movie? She leaned forward and watched the movie with intense eyes. On the other hand, Andre was trying his best not to freak out over the movie, among other things. Even though they were watching a good movie, his mind was still reeling over Jade's note she wrote to him in class earlier. He knew there wasn't much they could talk about now with Beck around, but what was he going to say when they finally got a moment to talk alone? He had a massive crush on her and didn't want to screw anything up.
In the movie, the villain revved up his chainsaw and started running through an amusement park, taking out anything and anyone in his way. Cat screamed and hid her face in Jade's side. "Can we do something else now?" she cried out, not liking the violence she was seeing. Jade shushed her, grabbing a small bowl of popcorn from the coffee table and shoving it in Cat's arms. Reluctantly, the small redhead ate some of the popcorn with a frown. "Oh, I know!" she exclaimed with enthusiasm. "Why don't we tell each other what we wrote on our notes in Sikowitz's class?"
"Those are supposed to be secret, Cat," Tori reminded her, lowering the blanket from her face just a little. "That's why we threw them into the storm, so we'd never see them again."
"But what if someone went and picked them up?"
Beck shook his head. "I don't think that'd even be possible."
"Plus, we wrote our notes with marker," Robbie added, turning towards Cat with his blanket still wrapped around his whole body. "There's no way the notes are even legible after sitting in rain for hours."
"But," Cat said, reaching down into her backpack and pulling out a small stack of papers, "I have them right here."
They all turned and looked at her simultaneously. "Cat!?"
"I'm sorry! I just felt bad for all the notes just sitting there on the school lawn in the middle of a storm. I had to save them!"
Jade and Andre both felt tense at the exact same time. Their notes were most likely in that pile. Granted, they didn't attach their names to it, but it wouldn't be farfetched to think that one of their friends might recognize their handwriting. Andre turned to Jade and gave her a look, something along the lines of "What do we do!?".
None of them were paying attention to the movie anymore as they were all focused on Cat. "You can't read those, Cat. We wrote some personal things on there," Tori said, letting her blanket fall to her lap.
Oblivious to her friends' concern, Cat eyed the soggy note at the top of the stack. "But look! This person wrote that they have eleven toes! How crazy is that?"
She started flipping through the stack to look at more, so Jade decided to take matters into her own hands. Pulling her favorite pair of scissors out of her purse on the floor, she stood up and snatched the stack of notes from Cat, snipping them into little pieces. Once she was done, she threw the last piece onto the floor and sat back down on the couch.
"Aw, now we don't get to read them," Cat pouted, turning to Jade. "Weren't you at least a little interested in reading them?"
"No, Cat. It's wrong to share other people's private notes."
"Wow," Tori commented. "I never thought Jade had morals."
Jade rolled her eyes at the girl. "Oh, I'm Tori Vega, and I never ever thought that Jade West could have morals," she mimicked with her old Hollywood accent.
"I don't talk like that!"
Cat giggled, poking Jade's shoulder. "You know, Beck's note was about you," she revealed, a big smile on her face.
Beck whipped his head around and looked in their direction. "Cat, why would you say that?"
With an intense stare, Jade looked at Beck and then back at Cat. "What did it say?" It was probably something embarrassing about her. Beck knew all kinds of embarrassing things about Jade.
"I can't tell you. It's wrong to share other people's notes," she replied, a playful look on her face. Jade realized that Cat used her own line against her. Cat was learning a lot from her best friend, and Jade wasn't amused. "You're gonna chase me now, aren't you?"
"Three," Jade began counting. "Two..."
Cat squealed and scrambled from her seat to make a break for the stairs of Tori's house. Jade followed after her, determined to catch the girl and make her say what Beck wrote about her.
Andre looked at the two girls run upstairs, hearing thudding and crashing as they ran down the dark halls. He couldn't help but wonder why Jade was so intent on finding out what Beck wrote about her. She didn't still have feelings for him, did she? He wasn't sure what to think.
Tori sensed the weird vibes coming from the room and tried to diffuse the air. "Pizza run?" she asked, looking around at her friends.
"I'll go with you," Beck said, standing up. "What about you, Robbie?"
He shrugged. "Are they even open without electricity?"
Tori spoke up and said, "There's a wood-fired pizza place down the street."
"Oh, well in that case, can you make sure to get me a gluten-free crust? Extra thick, not thin! And ask if they have a robust tomato sauce with garlic and-"
"Just come with us," Tori commanded, not wanting to jot down every little detail about his order. "Andre, you staying here?"
He was deep in his thoughts and didn't feel so hungry anymore. "Yeah, I'll just wait for y'all to get back," he replied, picking up the remote from the coffee table and pausing the movie. "I'll move these snacks and make room for the pizza." Andre got up as his friends walked out the door, clearing off the table and putting the snacks on the counter.
Not long after they were out the door and gone from the driveway, Jade and Cat came sprinting down the stairs. "Jade, stop chasing me!" Cat yelled, trying to go as fast as her small legs would take her.
"Then tell me what it said!"
Cat ran as fast as she could, opening the front door and running out into the rain. Frustrated that she let her redheaded best friend escape, she yelled after her. "Yeah, you better run!" Slamming the door, Jade sighed and walked over to sit on the armrest of Tori's couch.
Though he didn't want to, Andre couldn't help but feel a little concerned that Jade was still worried about what Beck had to say about her. If she was truly over him, would it even matter? Was her confession to him just a lie and a waste of time? As he was growing frustrated at his own thoughts, he didn't realize that he was dumping out the old snacks with a little too much vigor.
Jade turned to see why he was making so much noise. "Having fun there?" she teased, wondering why Andre seemed to be irritated. Did something happen while she was upstairs chasing Cat around?
"I just don't get it, Jade," he said, not looking up at her yet.
"Get what?"
"You." He looked over at her from the kitchen. "One minute you say that you like me back, and the next you're chasing Cat around to find out what Beck said about you?"
"I just wanted to know what he told her. Is that so bad?"
"Do you still care what Beck thinks about you?"
Jade raised her eyebrows at him, somewhat amused. "Wait, you're not jealous, are you?" That wasn't an emotion people felt towards Jade very often, so she wasn't sure whether to feel good or bad about that.
"Jade, I'm tryna be serious right now," he said, slightly frustrated with the way she seemed amused.
"So am I!" Jade didn't mean to act as if she found it funny that he might be jealous. She just couldn't believe someone would be jealous over her. Not even Beck would get envious if she spent time with other guys. He had a strong trust in her when they were together. Probably because most guys were deathly afraid of her. Jade, on the other hand, did not trust Beck that well. Or anybody, for that matter.
"Look," Andre started, walking over to her. "I'm not jealous, I just don't wanna be wasting my time- or yours."
Jade crossed her arms and looked up at him now that he was standing in front of her. "I don't know if you realized, but you still haven't said how you feel about me now. How am I supposed to know what to do next if you don't say what's really on your mind?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Just say it, Andre! Enough with all that talk about not being able to express your feelings. I need to hear what you're feeling out loud."
Jade was also growing increasingly frustrated with Andre. She liked him, but she needed him to express himself and how he really felt without hesitation. If he really liked her back, he needed to say it to her face. Not on a piece of paper, not by "reading in between the lines", but through his own words.
He felt tense from the pressure being put on him to finally say everything out loud, but he ignored it and decided to speak up. "You told me you liked me, right?'
Jade nodded. "Yeah, I did."
"And you don't care what Beck thinks about it?"
"I don't."
"I've been going back and forth on either telling you the truth or doing the right thing by Beck," Andre said, making direct eye contact with her now. "But I like you, Jade. I can't help the way I feel about you."
She immediately went silent, looking at Andre with wide eyes. She couldn't believe she actually heard the words come out of his mouth. At first, she thought he wouldn't ever get the courage to say it. Andre was never good at expressing his emotions when they were really intense. Jade could appreciate someone who had the guts to lay it all out like that.
Andre continued talking, feeling like he couldn't stop now that he was going. "I don't know if you'll still feel the same way if Beck wants you back, so I need to know right now if you want to try things out or not. Because if you think you're still not over him, my answer is no. I can't."
That's all Jade needed to hear. Only seconds after he finished talking, she stood up from her seat on the couch and placed her hands on either side of Andre's face. She brought him closer to her, feeling the heat radiating from his cheeks. Soon their faces were so close that their lips gently brushed against each other. She wasn't sure what came over her, but she let impulse take over. It felt right and that was all that mattered.
Andre could feel his heart skip a beat at the sensation. Was this really happening? The storm outside seemed to get louder, but neither of them was paying attention. All Andre could focus on was how Jade's face was so close to his, her pale skin illuminated by the candlelight. Jade closed her eyes and leaned into him, her lips gently pressing against his.
Sparks. Lots of them. That's all Jade could think as they kissed. She let her hands drop to his shoulders and then proceeded to wrap her arms behind his neck, pulling him closer. She noticed how warm his body felt against hers, how soft his skin felt, and wondered if he was able to feel her heartbeat skyrocketing. Shivers were sent down her spine as he lightly placed his hands on her waist, one of them moving to her lower back. Seeing that she had initiated the kiss, she hadn't expected him to be so... passionate. If she wasn't sure before, she was definitely sure now that the feelings he had for her were real.
Andre had been waiting for this moment for so long and it didn't disappoint. Her lips were just as soft and gentle as he had imagined. Everything about her was overwhelming his senses in the best way- her pressing against him, arms wrapped behind his neck, a subtle scent of vanilla every time he breathed in. He was sure he wouldn't be able to get enough. Just as he leaned closer into their kiss, they were interrupted by a door slamming open. "Hi! I got lost in the rain and-"
Cat gasped and looked wide-eyed at her two friends kissing by Tori's couch. Blinking a couple of times, she watched as they scrambled from their embrace and stepped away from each other. Andre and Jade looked at their redheaded friend standing in the doorway who was soaked from the rain. Jade didn't know how to feel other than upset that such a special moment was so short-lived. "Get out!" Jade yelled, eyes wide and pointing at the front door. Cat yelped and ran back outside, shutting the door behind her.
Jade and Andre looked at each other knowing one thing for certain: Cat couldn't keep a secret to save her life.
