~ More Than Three Years Ago ~

~ Sunday, May 6th - 3:27 PM ~

"I don't need your help," muttered Jade, pulling herself out of the pool.

The boy with dreads simply smiled, "Sure, because things were definitely going your way."

"Stop being such a smart ass." snapped Jade, frustrated at how things were going, "Get out of the way, I need to go dry off."

At saying that, she rushed past the boy and made her way back into the house.

Even though she was soaking wet, Jade still didn't want anyone to see her tearing up.

As she ran into the bathroom, she quickly locked the door and began sobbing.

What exactly was going on with Jade?

She was the girl that no one wanted to piss off.

The girl with the tough exterior.

But to the naked eye, that's all that could be seen.

A girl that didn't let anything trouble her.

But the girl on the inside, now that was a different story.

After calming herself down, Jade took off her clothes, wrung them dry, and hung them from the shower curtain rod.

Luckily, she found a bathrobe to wear while her clothes dried.

This is ridiculous! There's no way I can go back out there.

She slowly began to cry when suddenly-

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Jade seriously wasn't in the mood to be bothered.

"Fuck off!" she yelled, hoping that the person would walk away.

But they didn't take the hint.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Sighing heavily, Jade ripped the door open.

"Do you not know the meaning of fuck off-"

But something stopped her.

The presence of the boy with dreads bothered Jade.

She didn't know whether she was bothered because he was the one knocking on the door or because she was kind of hoping that he would show up.

"Look, before you yell at me, I just came here to say that I'm sorry." said the boy with dreads, in a serious tone, "I just saw a pretty girl who was minding her own business and being bothered by two jerks."

This was completely unexpected.

You see, during the time that Jade was crying, she was also reminded about how while everyone else was laughing at her when she was thrown into the pool; this boy was the only one who was willing to help her.

"Um, Look… you don't have to apologize." said Jade, swallowing her pride, "I shouldn't have lashed out at you. I was angry and-"

"I get it. You'd rather defend yourself, rather than let someone else protect you." he replied, with a sense of understanding that astonished Jade, "I embarrassed you, even more, didn't I?"

"A little. But I still shouldn't have said all of that to you. You were trying to help me. It just took me a while to appreciate it."

This made the boy with dreads smile.

"For what it's worth, even if I knew that I would embarrass you... I would have still helped you."

"Why?"

He smiled again, this time with a slight blush on his face. Quickly, he looked away, "Never mind. Just forget it."

Jade could tell that he was lying.

The constant smiling. The slight blushing. Calling her a "pretty girl". Him not explaining his other reason for helping her.

It could only mean one thing.

"Look, I'm flattered, but I have a-"

"Boyfriend. I already know."

"You already know?"

"Yeah… he's actually my best friend."

The boy with dreads began to look guilty.

But it quickly disappeared.

"That's the other reason why I helped you." he continued, "I knew that you were Beck's girlfriend."

Well, that explains a lot. Doesn't it? There can't possibly be any other reason for him to help her. Is there?

"Oh…" said Jade, trying to move the conversation along, "You never told me your name."

"Sorry bout that. The name's André Harris," he replied, holding out his hand.

"Jade West," smiled Jade, as she shook André's hand, "I don't know why I said that, you already know my name."

It was odd. It was but five minutes ago that this girl was crying and now look at her! She was calm and smiling.

And it was all thanks to this guy's help. But something kept nipping at Jade.

Even after André explained his actions, Jade had the impression that there was something else going on.

A part of her wanted to find out, while the other wanted to leave things as they were.

She eventually decided that there were more important things to be concerned about, such as how she was going to dry her clothes.

"Uh... André, it was nice meeting you, but I have to find a way to dry my clothes. You know, those soaking wet ones?" said Jade, gesturing towards the clothes hanging on the shower rod.

"Why don't you take those to the dryer?" asked André, "It's on the other side of the house, so no one will see you in a bathrobe."

"Thanks," said Jade, as she gathered up her still-damped clothes and followed André.

As they both walked through the empty part of the house, Jade thought of how things were going.

She thought it was strange that at one point things were going horrible and immediately when this boy arrives, things get better.

Almost like her own knight in shining armor.

A really cute knight with dreads.

This thought made Jade chuckle.

"What's so funny?" asked André, as he opened up the door to the laundry room.

"Nothing… uh, are you sure that it's okay for me to use their dryer?" asked Jade, trying not to blush.

"Sure, trust me."

Trust.

One word that Jade often had trouble with.

Yet here she was trusting a stranger. Well, he was her boyfriend's best friend, but a stranger nonetheless.

But that wasn't what was out of the ordinary.

~ 4:12 PM ~

For the past 35 minutes, Jade and André spent the time having a lively chat.

Lost deep in their conversations and forgetting their reason for being there, the two were enjoying themselves more than if they were with the rest of the partygoers.

"That's ridiculous!" André exclaimed in response to Jade's story about the paperboy who harassed her about going on a date, "but I can't say he didn't deserve it."

"Hey, I tried to warn him," chuckled Jade, clearly having a good time, "Come over to my house sometime and I'll show you where his shoe got stuck in the concrete."

BUZZER!

"Finally," Jade sighed, taking her now warm and dry clothes out of the dryer.

"I should leave you to… get yourself together," said André, as he began to leave the room.

"Wait!"

Turning around, André saw Jade walking toward him.

She seemed hesitant. Almost as if she was trying to calm herself.

"Thank you, for everything," said Jade, holding out her hand.

"No problem," André replied, shaking her hand.

After letting go, Jade said, "I guess I'll be seeing you later."

"Yeah… I guess so."

After Jade closed the laundry room door, André went back to the party.

Not really paying attention to anything around him, he bumped into Beck.

"Hey! Watch where yo-. Oh, hey, nice to see that you made it!" said Beck, who was surrounded by three very attractive girls.

"You know I wouldn't miss your birthday." laughed André, as the two hugged, "Who are they?"

"Oh, this is Chloé, Lissa, and Karlee." answered Beck, as he gestured towards the blonde, brunette, and raven-haired girls, "Karlee came all the way from New York, while Lissa and Chloé came from Atlanta and Seattle."

"Wow, I didn't know you knew people that far out," André said, astonished.

"I don't. They somehow found out about this party." chuckled Beck, "But anyway, I've been meaning to introduce you to Jade."

"Oh, I've already met her." André smiled, "She's edgy… but also really lovely."