Crimson High – The Jane Story

A/N: I'm so sorry it's taken two weeks for me to update this, but life has just been so hectic at the moment, that the possibility of updates is irregular at best. I will try to catch this up to the original story, and then I will continue to update 'Crimson High' once the two stories are at the same point. Enjoy this next chapter.

Chapter three

Every week, I wrote a note and slipped it into Teresa's locker. I could see she was enjoying the attention I was giving her, and that made me happy. I was glad that she had something to look forward to every week. I could tell a lot about her personality just by watching her interact with her friends. She had a good heart, struggled to lie, and couldn't help looking after her friends. She had weaknesses she didn't want people to see, and she refused to ask for help herself. I was aware she was struggling financially, as she had lost a little bit of weight during the holidays. I figured she had given up on some meals to send presents home to her three brothers. She truly was selfless, and I envied her.

Valentine's Day had come, and I sauntered through the front doors of the school that Thursday morning, whistling to myself. I half expected to see Lorelei waiting for me at my locker, but she was nowhere to be seen. I opened my locker and a large pile of heart-shaped bits of paper fluttered to the floor. I picked them up and shoved them back in; I would read them later. The desperate pleas for attention made me feel bad, because there was only one girl who truly held my attention. I smiled when I remembered the note I had left for Teresa in her locker the day before.

"Teresa, in this, the season of love, your radiant glow outshines that of everyone around. Your glowing eyes light up my day, and haunt my dreams. A single smile from you has me flying sky high. Happy Valentine's Day, darling Teresa."

I shut my locker and headed in the direction of Science. I glanced to the side and paused. Teresa had just come through the door, and she looked exhausted. Her face was drawn anxiously, and I noticed dark blotched patches of engine grease on her favourite jeans. She hurried to her first lesson, stifling a yawn in the process. She clearly hadn't had her coffee that morning, and that stressed her out more. I entered my classroom and sauntered to Miss Hightower's desk. She looked up at me and smiled. "Good morning, Mr Jane."

I smiled back. Miss Hightower had a habit of calling all of her students by their last names. "Miss Hightower," I said. "May I please leave your lesson ten minutes early? I need to run an errand for a friend."

She raised an eyebrow at my request. "This had better not be some trick, Jane."

I shook my head. "No trick, ma'am. I genuinely need to do this."

She nodded. "You can go early, just don't get caught."

I flashed my best grin. "Thank you, ma'am."

I took my seat as other students began to enter. JJ came over to my desk. "Lorelei is upset you didn't get her anything."

I shrugged. "I don't need to. We broke up months ago."

He frowned. "She's still not over you, you know that?"

I nodded, and JJ turned away. The lesson began, and I glanced periodically at my watch. Ten minutes from the end, I stood up. Miss Hightower glanced at me and nodded. I left the room and headed in the direction of the teacher's lounge. I knew they had a coffee machine, and I had to try soliciting coffee from one of the teachers. I knocked quietly on the door, and Mr Bosco answered. The ageing history teacher glanced down at me and frowned. "What do you want, Mr Jane?"

I looked back up at him. "A cup of black coffee, no sugar."

He blinked in confusion. "Who for?"

I thought on my feet, and had a response ready. "Red John."

Red John was the school janitor, so named because of the crimson overalls he always wore. No-one knew what his real name was. Mr Bosco nodded suspiciously and disappeared. He returned with a disposable cup containing the pitch black brew, and handed it to me. I thanked him, and he shut the door. I headed over to Red John's office and knocked on the door. He opened the door a crack and peered out at me. "Whaddaya want?"

I smiled politely at him. "I need a locker combination."

Red John sneered down at me. "Anything you get from me will cost you a lot, Patrick. You of all people know that."

I suppressed a shudder. I remembered the last time I had been to Red John's office. It had cost me a lot more than money, and I still had the scars to prove it. The seemingly harmless, if not eccentric, janitor had a somewhat sadistic side to him, and I had been on the receiving end of that the previous year. Nothing could be definitively proven, but I avoided having to go to Red John if I could help it. I pulled out my wallet and counted out two hundred dollars. "Is that enough, Red John?" I asked, handing it to him.

He counted the money himself, the sneer still on his face. "Sure, Patrick," he said, putting it into his back pocket. "For now."

I stood my ground. "Locker 397."

He shuffled over to a filing cabinet and pulled open a drawer. He pulled out a sheet of paper. "Teresa Lisbon," he said, turning to face me. "Her code is on the bottom of the page."

I took the page from him and read the code. Satisfied that I knew the code, I handed the page back to him. "Thank you, Red John."

He turned away. "Any time, Patrick. Any time."

I hurried away and pushed him from my mind. I needed to get to Teresa's locker before the bell rang. I reached her locker and opened it quickly, looking around. Placing the coffee inside, I pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. I scrawled a note onto the paper and propped it against the cup.

"Teresa, you looked positively exhausted this morning. Thought this would cheer you up a little. I have no idea how you like it, but I can tell from your personality that I've got it close. Enjoy your caffeine kick, and have a beautiful day."

I shut the locker and walked away as the bell rang. I had guessed at Teresa's coffee from her personality. She was a no-nonsense, no-frills person, and that made me settle for unsweetened black coffee. I passed Lorelei in the hallway, and she smiled at me. "Happy Valentine's Day, Patrick."

I paused momentarily, looking coolly at her. "Good morning, Lorelei."

Her smile vanished, and I continued to my Geography lesson. Mr Kirkland was sitting at his desk when I entered, and I headed automatically to my seat. Craig was just behind me, his face blank. "What's up?" I asked, turning to him.

He scowled. "Rigsby gave her a teddy bear this morning."

I sighed. Of course this was about Grace. "So?" I asked.

"They're now 'official', which means that I no longer have a shot with her."

I patted him on the arm. "There will be other girls, Craig."

He sighed, and turned away.

The cafeteria was noisy, and I sat in silence with the popular crowd. I watched as Teresa handed the note to Grace, whose eyes went wide as she read it. she said something to Teresa, who shrugged in response. Lorelei's loud talking drew my attention. "So I went over to her, and asked her who gave her the stuffed rat. She told me that Rigsby had, and I was like, 'how can he give you something so ugly and worthless for Valentine's Day?' The look on her face was priceless."

The entire group laughed, and I stood abruptly. I left before Teresa could look up and see me there. I wanted no more part in their nasty games. I had had enough. I had to find a way to redeem myself and make Teresa see that I was better than that. A plan formulated itself in my mind, and I smiled in anticipation.

XxxxxxxxxxxX

I pulled my car up to the apartment block where Teresa lived and cut the engine. She wasn't home yet, and so I got out of the car and walked into the building. I found her room easily, and tried the handle. It was locked. I could easily pick the lock, but that would leave evidence and alert her, and so I did the next best thing. I headed around the back of the building and climbed the fire escape. I found her apartment and crawled through the window. I glanced once around the room and noted that there was very little furniture. An old desk sat against the wall opposite the door, and her tiny bedroom contained only the bed. There was a framed photo on the desk of three smiling boys, her brothers. I was still looking for more pictures when a noise disturbed me. I heard a key turn in the lock, and stood behind the door as it opened. A tired Teresa entered the room and kicked the door shut behind her. she sat down at her desk and rested her head on the surface. I stood for a long time watching her, when she suddenly stiffened. She sat up and opened the top drawer on the desk. She pulled out a gun, turned in her chair and pointed it squarely at my chest. "Who are you?" she asked.

I felt myself go cold when I saw the gun, but I ignored the feeling. This was more important.

XxxxxxxxxxxX

I pushed myself away from the wall, and I could see her eyes widen in the dim light from the desk lamp. "Is this really the way to treat you guest, Teresa?" I asked.

"Patrick Jane," she said, lowering her gun. "What the hell are you doing in my house?"

I glanced around, amused at the description of the tiny room. "Well," I said with a grin. "I wouldn't exactly call it a house. An apartment, maybe, or even a shoebox. But not a house…"

Teresa raised the gun again, and I stopped speaking. "Either you tell me why you're here, or get the hell out before I pull the trigger."

I raised my arms in surrender, and decided to tell her the truth. "I just wanted to check if you were okay. You seemed upset this morning. You're usually much happier this late in the week."

She dropped the gun back into the drawer, shutting it slowly. She had a lot of questions on her mind. "How do you know my name? Or where I live? Or how I felt this morning? Or how I feel on any morning?"

I grinned at her, dropping my hands again. "Magic."

She rolled her eyes. "Answer the questions, or I'm taking the gun out again."

I raised my hands in surrender, but decided to mess with her mind a little. Teresa was a fun person to mess with, because her reaction was always so funny. Plus, I was enjoying the casual banter. "I might tell you that I'm stalking you. I could tell you that I've been following you home for about three weeks, and that I've been watching your every move, but I get the feeling that you would probably pull that gun out again, and possibly use it. Judging by your mood, you're just as likely to club me to death with it as pull the trigger."

She was stunned, and somewhat taken aback at my response. "You're part of the popular crowd," she blurted out. "Why me?"

I was not expecting the question, and I blinked rapidly in surprise. I couldn't tell her the truth – at least not all of it – so I settled for a half-truth. "You're different from the rest."

She stood up, thoroughly irritated with me. "This is wasting my time," She muttered, walking to the door. She flung it open. "Get the hell out of my apartment or I'm calling the cops."

I sighed and walked to the door. I decided to reveal that I knew more of what she was suffering than she thought, at the same time baffling her. That was always so much fun. "You would think that holding down two jobs while still attending school would be beneficial, but it's really quite stressful on the system. Try to relax more, maybe spend a weekend away…"

Her mouth hung open in shock. She was speechless. I turned at the door and chuckled at my favourite expression. Shock mixed with irritation. She scowled at me as I pulled the door closed, and I whispered, "good night, Teresa," through the wooden door. I turned and walked back down to my car. The drive home was long, and I thought a lot about her reactions. Teresa Lisbon was fun to annoy, but I knew that I would have to do more to convince her I was not like the rest of the popular group. All I needed was time.

A/N2: I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, and that it was worth the wait. Please leave me a review and tell me what you think of my efforts. Thanks.