Chapter Four: Be There Still

(A/N: "The other woman's" name has been changed to Rosalie.)

"So, do I finally get to drive Red?" Rosalie asked rushing to the driver's side of Jordan's car.

"Are you serious?" Jordan Catalano responded, not ready to let anyone drive his car, yet. He took another puff from his cigarette ready to get away from this school.

"Hell yeah. And stop smoking. It's really bad for you." Rosalie was starting to like this guy, which was really stupid because he was totally in love. With Angela. She didn't even know her, but she knew how his whole demeanor changed when she talked about her. Like she was everything. Like that was it, all there was in life.

"Look, I..." Jordan began, but his voice trailed off as he looked for the right words to say. "Nobody's driving Red but me."

"I thought ... what's the big deal?" Rosalie jumped in the driver's side, touching the wheel.

"Hey! Out now." Jordan demanded, showing real emotion for the first time.

"No. Chill out."

"You're really pissing me off." He added.

"And you are such a baby. It's just a car Catalano." Rosalie slid over to the passenger's side, rolling her eyes. Little boys were so touchy with their toys. "Wait." She got out of the car. "I left something important in there. I really need to get it." Rosalie explained, not believing that she had just left her diary for anyone to read it ... it wasn't really a diary, just a list of personal thought and things that were very personal.

"Do you wanna go or not?" Jordan continued smoking the cigarette, waiting impatiently.

"Just give me two minutes. I'll be back. Promise." Rosalie took the opportunity to kiss Jordan again, but this time less forcefully. "Just wait." She rushed towards the building as fast as her fishnets and mini would carry her.

Angela had been watching from the side, missing the first warning bell, just so amazed by what she was seeing. The girl Jordan Catalano was with was ... beautiful. She was the kind of girl that you saw on the model runaways or something. She had a grace that Angela could only hope for.

"Is she like ... was that your girlfriend?" Angela forced herself to say what was on her mind. "Is that your new girlfriend?" She repeated, moving closer to Jordan. "She's really pretty." Jordan looked away, sighing inside with relief. He thought she would make a big deal out of it, but instead, Angela had just been so cool about it. She looked at him intensely with her wide-eyed innocence and he couldn't help but look back at her and wonder what was going to happen next.

"I'm not with her ... we're like ... No." He rushed to finish in barely understandable phrases.

"Oh." Angela laughed a little too loudly. "It's not like I care or anything. You're free to see whoever you want. I mean you don't have to like consult me or anything." She stumbled, wondering why she was even there. JordanandAngela didn't exist anymore. They had both decided on that.

"I know. Shouldn't you be in school? Class has started." Jordan Catalano lit another cigarette, feeling a little stressed.

"Those are bad for you." Jordan stopped as Angela looked at him with so much concern. Why did she have to care so damn much? Why did she always have to get involved with her naïveté and curiosity with everything he did? Angela's eyes examined Jordan Catalano's body as she waited for him to say something ... ask her to stay ... something, anything.

"Yeah, I know." Jordan responded, taking a couple of puffs before putting it out.

"Are you like going somewhere?"

"I'm like ... waiting for someone." Jordan put his hands in his pockets, trying to calm down. He was getting all shaky all of a sudden. He noticed that she was shaking too in her thin plaid short and overalls.

"Do you ... can I ... come?" Angela wondered, feeling like those clingy girls she always hated on those teen movies. The same girls who never seemed to understand that the lead guy didn't like her. "I mean, if what you have with this ... person ... is platonic, then it wouldn't be like I was intruding."

Platonic? Intrude? What language was this girl speaking, Jordan thought. Part of him wanted her so bad. He wanted her to come closer so that he could kiss her and live like it used to be for a little while. But Jordan knew that he couldn't. Angela always thought everything meant something. And she wanted ...

"No, you can't." I spat out rudely, upset that he had put his cigarette out for her. And where the hell was Rosalie. "Damn it Angela, don't you get it!" He screamed, trying to convince himself that he wasn't into her anymore.

"Okay. I'll just go now." Angela turned around, trying to shield the tears in her eyes. He was probably going to go off and kiss this girl and hold her and do whatever else they felt like and Jordan Catalano wouldn't even be thinking about her. "I'm like really sorry..." Angela tried to explain it to Jordan Catalano, but couldn't. Jordan watched her lips tremble as Angela tried to pull it together. Even after everything ... she was still the same. So innocent. So pure. So ... beautiful.

Swept up in the moment, Jordan Catalano, took Angela's hand in his, caressing it and hugging her soon after. This was his chance ... as they let go of one another, he cupped her face, releasing everything that he had felt for her in one kiss.

Angela pulled away slowly, but she wasn't upset. She was smiling. "Let's get out of here." Jordan suggested, opening the door for Angela. Jordan took the chance to kiss her again before the opportunity was lost. As he looked past her, he saw Rosalie. Just standing there. But it was like she wasn't there. Because ... Angela was in his car and it was like ... paradise.