~ Saturday, October 24th - 7:02 PM ~
André stood there, speechless at what he uttered.
Jade stood there, speechless at what she heard.
It was only a matter of who spoke first…
"What did you just say?" asked Jade.
…
André stood frozen.
Jade, tired of waiting for him to respond, pulled him behind a vendor stand for some privacy.
"Did you just say… that you love me?" she asked again.
…
"Talk. Now," she said forcefully.
Jade didn't necessarily look like she was angry at him but rather tired of his inability to talk.
"Yes... I did," André said hesitantly.
"André-" Jade sighed.
"Jade, listen… I know that you're with Beck, but I needed to get this off of my chest." André quickly said, "Which was why I was acting so strange this past week.
At that moment, Jade's eyes opened up slightly.
"That song! I knew it. That song was meant for me, wasn't it?"
"I thought singing my song to everyone, including you, would help me get rid of these feelings,"
"Wow." said Jade, taking a moment to gather her thoughts, "When did… you know… this all started?"
"That night we were in the recording studio. " answered André, "Your voice was so calm and alluring. And then I got lost in your eyes and I felt... warm and fuzzy."
Jade stood there for a moment.
She had never seen André like this before.
She knew that there was something funny about his behavior the past couple of days, but was she really blind to him having a crush on her?
But at the moment, that didn't matter.
Because Jade had a little secret of her own.
"Okay, since we're being open with each other, I'll admit this." Jade began as she took a deep breath, "I've always found you attractive... and there may have been a few times when I've toyed with the thought of us... together."
Stunned, André had to hold back from smiling so brightly.
But deep down inside, millions upon millions of tiny fireworks were going off.
Calm down, André, calm down. Don't get too excited.
"I-I really don't know what to say." André chuckled, trying to compose himself.
"Yes, it's true. I did have a small crush on you." sighed Jade, who briefly looked rather timid, "But remember, I'm still in love with Beck and that's how it always gonna be."
"Trust me, I know. I'm just glad that the truth is finally out." André said, with a sigh of relief, "Now I can actually get some sleep again."
When Jade heard this, she felt compelled to add, "Sorry for putting you through all of that agony. I mean, I enjoy torturing people, but I didn't intend to torture you."
"No worries, really," replied André, as they both noticed the crowd beginning to move.
Taking a moment to think about what she was gonna ask next, Jade eventually came up with an idea.
"Look... I know you're not actually a horror fan, but if you're not too busy, do you want to stick around and maybe check out some movie trailers?" Jade asked as she gestured towards the people entering the nearby auditorium entrance.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Beck would've been here but he's helping out at the theater, and it'll be nice to have a friend to watch these with."
Jade wasn't the type of person who openly acknowledged someone as their friend, so it made André feel rather special that she considered him as such.
"I mean, I didn't have much else to do for the rest of the night." André laughed as he pulled a small red piece of paper from his pocket "And I already paid for a ticket to get in. So, sure. Why not?"
~ 11:33 PM ~
The rest of the night went off pretty well.
Both friends enjoyed hours of spine-tingling movie trailers and pulse-pounding short films.
André definitely had his moments where a jump scare would get the best of him, but Jade didn't mind.
At least, not when it came to a friend like him.
To Jade, it added a bit of hilarity to the viewing experience that she normally didn't get.
As much as I love Beck, watching horror films with him can be... boring at times. Nothing ever scares him. But with André, it feels different.
So after André drove Jade back to her house, she had one last thing to do.
"Despite the secrets that came out, I honestly had a lot of fun tonight," she said as she got out of the car.
"Me too. Although, I hope that guy forgives me for knocking his soda all over his jacket."
"Eh, he'll get over it," Jade replied, as she and André shared a laugh, "Anyway, now that everything is out between us, I hope you're able to move on."
"Yeah, now I can focus on girls who are actually available." smiled André, as he walked Jade to her front door, "That Northridge girl who worked at the theater did seem pretty interested."
"You're way too good to be chasing after girls like that." added Jade, with an air of concern, "If anything, you're more Tori's type."
"Really, Tori?" André asked curiously.
"She may not be my favorite person, but she can be okay at times." Jade said sincerely, "And I think she'll be a great match for you."
"Hmm, I didn't know you cared about me that way."
"Well, I do."
Jade then walked up to André and hugged him.
But before she let him go, she gave him a tiny kiss on the cheek.
"Uh, Jade…?"
Quickly pulling away from him and opening the front door, Jade snapped.
"This changes nothing, got it?"
"Yeah… sure."
"Okay, good night."
"Night."
~ 11:56 PM ~
Jade had recently gotten off the phone with Beck.
Earlier, he had mentioned something about listening to André's new song.
She had no idea what he was talking about but played along with it anyway.
However, that wasn't on Jade's mind right now.
André was.
Once again, she pondered the idea of her and André as a couple.
It wouldn't be that bad. In fact... not bad at all.