Just so you guys know, Morgead isn't emo. He cut himself by accident, OK? Picking up the glass from the broken mirror and all that. Sorry for not explaining it more fully.

I don't own Night World or the characters, but I do own this storyline.

Jez and Morgead: SuperStar

Chapter 6

Jez POV

It was the 28th June.

My seventeenth birthday.

I probably should have been happy, but all I could think of was the fact that it was going to be my first birthday without Morgead that I could remember.

I woke up at about four in the morning, and just lay there. I couldn't bear it any longer.

I hadn't opened my diary or my photo album since before I'd left San Francisco.

That had been four months ago.

I turned on my bedside lamp and got up to get the books, then sat cross-legged on the floor. I let my eyes linger on the cover of the photo album, the photo of Morgead and I. I'd taken it before he'd known, and his handsome face was slightly annoyed. I opened the photo album, chuckling to myself at the memories.

One I kept going back to was my thirteenth birthday. It was a photo that my uncle Bracken had taken, just as Morgead drenched me with a bucket-load of water. I'd pushed him over and we'd started a massive fight, but we were laughing by the end of it.

I smiled at the old memory, and turned to my diary.

I flicked through the earlier entries, reliving my life with Morgead, the happiness and laughter. When we went to town and embarrassed ourselves by playing dares, when we slept round each others houses, when we had fights, but one of us always phoned a couple of hours later

I stopped at an entry and read it carefully.

6th January 1994

Morgead's mother left.

Apparently, she's been gone since Monday. I don't understand why he didn't tell me before, but he said that it was because he didn't want to make a fuss of something that might have been silly. We're supposed to be best friends!

The reason I didn't write yesterday was that Morgead came round to sleep over; he didn't want to sleep in an empty house again. He's probably going to sleep round again tonight.

I really hope Morgead's mum comes back soon; he's really worried – I can tell. He's my best friend; it hurts me to see him hurt.

I sighed and snapped the book shut. Morgead's mum didn't come back. Ever since then he'd been slightly withdrawn with everyone else. He opened himself up when we were alone together, thankfully, but he still wasn't the same.

"Morgead..." I whispered. I hugged the diary to my chest and leant back, closing my eyes, but not sleeping.

The job at the pub had gone well; I now sang every couple of days. I was going to be singing today. Everything else was good. I'd told Claire almost everything about Morgead and I. It had been easier to deal with when I'd gotten it off my chest, but it was still hard.

It would probably be easier if I just gave up... I thought to myself.

"Happy birthday!" a shriek came from my door.

I jumped violently, banging my head on the wall.

"Oops..." Claire said apologetically. "Sorry 'bout that, Jez."

I rolled my eyes and shut my photo album, sliding it face down under my bed.

"Presents!" Claire shouted.

"Presents?" a small voice said from just outside the door. Ricky. "Can I come in?" he asked.

"Sure," I said and laughed as he launched himself into my arms.

"Happy birthday, Jez!" he said. He gave me a small wrapped present.

"How about we wait for your mum and dad?" I said to him. I kissed the top of his head.

"OK!" he said chirpily.

Claire sat on the edge of my bed. "How are you?" she said. Her eyes searched my face.

I looked down. "OK, I suppose."

Since Claire had known about Morgead, I'd been a bit better. It was nice to be able to talk to someone about it. I had always kept things bottled up. Quite a few things I never even told Morgead. It was stupid. I always got annoyed when he kept things from me, but I kept so many things from him. I was just better at hiding my hurt. Morgead was more open, and didn't hide as much as I did.

Aunt Nanami and Uncle Jim came in with a few presents. I smiled and thanked my way through opening all of them. The nicest was a blue topaz necklace.

"You'd better get ready for work. You've got to be there in a couple of hours."

I nodded and got up off the floor. I put on my new necklace and a blue blouse, with a pair of black trousers. I left my hair down, as usual, but clipped a hairclip the shape of a flower into it, holding back a couple of strands out of my face.

I rode over there on my bike, and got ready to go on stage as usual, talking to Mike, the 'introducer'.

It got to my turn to go on stage again. I was singing Fearless by Taylor Swift, the same as I had when I first sang to Claire.

The audience clapped, like usual and I walked off stage and sat down in my usual seat. Mike came to see me after a bit.

"Jez, there's someone who would like to see you. An old man."

I took a deep breath. "Send him in, please."

Mike nodded, smiled and went to get said 'old man'.

The man wasn't that old; about fifty, and he had auburn hair with a receding hairline.

"Jez Redfern?" he asked. His voice was soft, with a strong British accent.

I nodded and stood up. He held out his hand and I shook it.

"My name is Ernest McCleod. I'm a music producer."

I watched him for a second. "Music producer?"

"Well, I work in a firm that produces music. My job is mostly to try to find talent." He looked at me penetratingly. "And to be honest, you have a great talent. You sang that very well. I think you could make it big, and we'll probably try you out on some harder music to sing."

"You want me to be a singer?"

"I would like you to try. I really think you could be one."

"Could I have your number or something? I'd want to think about this and talk about it to my aunt and uncle."

Ernest smiled. "Of course. This isn't a decision to be made lightly." He pulled out a small card and handed it to me. I looked at it quickly.

Ernest McCleod – NW Music Producers

Mob Num. 07981878460

"Thanks," I said quickly as I pocketed the card.

Morgead POV

28th June.

Jez's birthday.

We'd made a promise years ago that we'd never miss the other's birthday. We were best friends, I thought she'd uphold a promise we'd made on my fifth birthday. She'd almost had to break that promise when she'd gone away on my thirteenth birthday.

She ran away, and travelled four miles just to see me on my birthday. Her uncle Bracken had been so angry at her, he'd grounded her for a month. We didn't mind, though. We'd upheld the sacred promise, and she'd sneaked out a couple of times anyway so that I didn't die of boredom.

I closed my eyes, and remembered that day.

Flashback

I looked at my phone in annoyance. Jez had just texted me.

Im realy sory, M. bracken forcd me 2 go wiv him 2 a flowr festival of som sort. ill c u tomoz. postpone bday til then? lyxxx

I mumbled curses to her under my breath as I got up and shook my hair out of my eyes. I had nothing to look forward to now. My mother had probably forgotten that it was my birthday, and wouldn't give me anything.

I lived for Jez to light up my day.

I got an orange juice out of the fridge, noting a piece of paper that my mother had wrote that said that she was out with one of her boyfriends, and she wouldn't be back until tomorrow. I supposed I would be alone today.

I didn't eat anything, just drank the orange juice and went to the piano to work on a piece I was learning. The phone ringing interrupted me.

"Hello?" I said.

"Morgead, I'm really sorry," Jez's voice whispered through the phone.

"Yeah. Whatever."

"I am! I didn't want to do this stupid flower festival. I mean, come on! I hate anything to do with dirt, and you know that as well as I do," she whispered.

"Jez, why are you whispering?"

"I'm not meant to be phoning you until later, but I couldn't wait anymore. I am bored to death."

"And you expect me to alleviate your boredom?"

"Well, if it's not too much to ask."

I laughed. "I'm making no promises."

"I know you're a boring person usually. I've gotten used to it. Mostly."

"That's kind of you. I thought it was my birthday?"

"Didn't you get my text? We're postponing it until tomorrow, right? I don't want to break our promise. I'm just being as nasty as I can today, so that I can bear being nice to you tomorrow."

I could almost hear her shuddering theatrically. I laughed again. Jez was making my day brighter, even by just talking over the phone.

"Is your mum there?" Jez said gently.

I sighed. "No. She's coming back tomorrow because she's with one of her boyfriends." I couldn't stop the sour edge that came into my voice.

Jez grumbled something under her breath.

"What?" I asked.

"That's it. You are not spending your birthday alone, or your birthday's eve or whatever. I'm coming back down."

"Won't your uncle be disappointed?"

"I won't tell him. It'll take a bit of time. I'm about four miles away. I'll run there."

"You won't get lost, will you?"

I recognised the determined edge in her voice. She wouldn't be persuaded to do otherwise, so I always just went along for the ride when she got into a mood like this.

"Me? Lost?"

"Yes. You. Lost. It's happened before."

"I won't get lost. I promise."

"Good. I'll see you in a few."

"Yep!" Jez said chirpily. She hung up the phone.

I smiled and shook my head in wonder. Jez was really the best friend anyone could ever have.

End of Flashback

I looked out the window. My reflection glared back at me. His eyes were accusing, as if blaming me for Jez leaving.

Even my reflection was suffering.

I sighed and closed my eyes again, to try and escape into the memory again.

Flashback

The doorbell rang, and I leapt up to answer it.

It was Jez, of course.

"Happy birthday!" she yelled, and she threw herself into my arms.

I hugged her back. "Thanks for this."

She pulled back and grabbed me hand. "No problem. Your present is at my house, and I didn't really feel like breaking into it."

I smiled at her. "Don't worry. You can give it to me tomorrow, as of course that is when my birthday is postponed to."

She grinned and pulled me into my apartment, not needing an invitation. Actually, more just not waiting for one.

"What will we do to celebrate, then?" She deliberated for a second. I stayed quiet.

"I know!" she shouted suddenly. "Park."

She pulled me back out the door.

End of Flashback

The expression in the window was now annoyed. I pushed away from the window and walked through the rooms, seeing Jez out the corner of my eye every time I turned a corner.

I ended up back at the window.

I slapped my forehead with the heel of my hand. This wasn't healthy. I had to stop obsessing over lost love. It was a dangerous thing to do.

It would be wrong to forget her, but I had to stop obsessing over her. I had to.

I sat down at the piano and forced myself to play, though it felt wrong.