~ Friday, December 9th - 7:09 PM ~

André Harris was lying on his couch, still unsure about going to the party.

He was still worrying about what Jade had up her sleeve and whether or not he was making a big fuss over nothing.

She was acting too calm when she talked to me. I could just feel a sinister plot building up inside of her.

Staring at the ceiling fan, he contemplated what he was going to do.

Should I stay or should I go?

He really wanted to go to this party.

All of his friends were going to be there and every previous Christmas party has been spectacular.

But on the other hand, he was really worried about what vindictive scheme Jade was going to unleash on him.

Many vile and cruel punishments ran through his head, ranging from filling his pants with fire ants to pouring Ipecac into his drink.

(For those who don't know what Ipecac is, it's a liquid that causes you to vomit uncontrollably.)

Better to be vomiting uncontrollably than to be poisoned.

He then started to think about the possibility of Jade poisoning him.

But that was ridiculous, Jade wouldn't poison him… would she?

"That's it! I'm not going! I'm definitely not going." he stated, continuing to lie down, "They can all have fun without me."

DING-DONG!

"Now what?" asked André, getting off the couch and heading towards the front door.

To his surprise, it was Robbie and Beck.

"What are you doing here?" André asked as the two entered the house, "Shouldn't you two be at the party?"

"We could ask you the same thing." said Beck, "Are you still coming to the party?"

"No, I can't… I'm not really in the mood." lied André, trying to sound serious.

"No, no, no. Beck and I knew you would try something like this." responded Robbie, as he and Beck grabbed Andre and forced him outside, "You've been depressed for weeks."

"And this party will be the perfect way to make you feel better," added Beck, locking Andre's front door and carrying him towards the car.

"Guys, seriously. I'm busy. I have too much homework. Uh... my grandma needs me to help her paint the oranges…" pleaded André, trying to come up with any reason not to go to the party.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're still going to the party." Robbie said, as they finally got André in Beck's car, "Trust me, it's going to be phenomenal!"

André decided there was no point in fighting it.

He realized that Beck and Robbie were right, he definitely needed something to cheer him up.

And nothing brings more cheer than a Christmas party!

~ 7:15 PM ~

As they pulled up in Beck's driveway, André continued to think about how things were going to go at the party.

I'll just have to avoid her. Simple as that.

When they finally entered the massive backyard, André was shocked to see just how many people were there.

There had to have been hundreds of people there.

Some of them didn't even go to Hollywood Arts.

Some didn't even live in the same state.

It was that much of an extravaganza.

The first face that André recognized was Cat.

She was particularly easy to spot because she was wearing a Christmas stocking cap wrapped in neon lights and was carrying around a large, over-stuffed bag.

"Wow, you sure do look… festive," spoke André, as Cat walked towards them.

"Thanks! I got this bag from my brother ever since he got fired from his job at the mall."

"Oh yeah, wasn't your brother the mall Santa?" asked Robbie.

"He used to be, but ever since he did some things, the cops arrested him."

"Exactly what did he do?" questioned Beck.

"Well, it involved some of the mall elves, a rabbi, a toaster, two reindeer, a soccer mom, a stolen van, a satellite dish, and a lot of peanut butter."

Knowing this would turn out to be one story that they would regret hearing, André said, "Okay, I think we get the point."

Rustle... Rustle...

They were shocked to see that the bag that Cat carried was moving.

"What's in the bag?" asked Robbie.

"To be honest, I have no clue." Cat smiled, "Have a very, merry Christmas!"

As Robbie and Cat disappeared among the other partygoers, André spotted Jade walking toward him.

"I have to use the bathroom," he said, as he took off running into the house.

"What's the matter with him?" asked Jade, as she walked up to Beck and kissed him.

"Apparently, he had a mighty need to use the bathroom." replied Beck, with his arm around her, "So, how's the party going?"

"Pretty good, but I predict things will get very intense as the night goes on." smiled Jade, deviously.

Not sure what she meant, Beck simply said, "Okay…" and the two went to join the others in the house.

~ 9:41 PM ~

After hours of partying which included a fiery duet with Tori, André decided to take a breather, snacked on some Christmas cookies, and hung out by the big Christmas tree.

Sure, he was still on the lookout for any tricks that Jade might pull, but he started to feel like maybe it was nothing at all.

"Hey, André."

Horrified by the sound of her voice, André turned to see that Jade had snuck behind him.

"Jade! H-h-hi!" he stammered, calming down from the mini heart attack he'd just had.

"Were you avoiding me?" asked Jade, with a mischievous grin, "Because whenever I get near you, you always have some reason to leave."

André was trying to keep himself from panicking.

"N-no, it's just that things are extremely hectic around here." he lied, "So I really haven't had time to talk to you."

"Oh, okay… well, here's some eggnog." said Jade, handing André a cup, "I hope you enjoy it."

As she walked off, she continued to smirk at him.

Jade had a lovely smile, but it could look quite evil at times.

When she was out of sight, André tossed the drink over his shoulder, not knowing that he had accidentally hit Sinjin.

"Mmm, pumpkin spice," Sinjin muttered as he wiped his face.

~ 11:41 PM ~

Within the past couple of minutes, the crowd had started to gradually diminish.

As he was getting ready to call up a Drft driver, André received a text from Beck.

{Need help. A drunk guy passed out in the RV.}

It's not one hell of a party unless you have a passed-out drunk guy somewhere.

André laughed at this and walked out the backdoor.

The night had gone spectacularly well.

He had the most fun in quite some time and managed to get some numbers from some pretty fine ladies.

There was one, in particular, Hope Quincy, who seemed really interested in him.

Might have to call her up later.

André had just had the time of his life and now he was about to help his best friend get a drunk guy out of his RV.

Talk about a hilarious way to end a great night.

Before he was about to knock on the door, André noticed that the door was slightly open.

Not seeing this as strange, he opened the door.

"Okay, I'm here. Where's this drunk-"

But he couldn't finish his sentence.

He simply rushed out of the RV and didn't look back.

Traumatized, he tried to shake off what he just witnessed, but the image was burnt into his mind.

~ 11:49 PM ~

After being dropped off by his Drft driver, Andre rushed into his house and got a drink of water.

He felt like he wanted to throw up.

He felt so sick after what he had just seen.

When he got to his room, he sat on his bed and tried his hardest to forget what had happened.

He took out his phone and looked at the text that Beck had sent him.

"Why would he send me a text to come to his RV if-"

And it was at that moment that André realized the ugly truth…

She smiled as she read the text message on the phone.

Everything went exactly as planned.

Jade quickly deleted it as soon as she heard someone coming toward the RV.

"That's the last of them. Everyone is gone now." stated Beck, as he came in, "Have you seen my phone?"

"You left it on the table," replied Jade, handing it to him.

"That… that was really weird, wasn't it?" asked Beck, as he buttoned up his shirt, "I wonder what caused André to just burst in here like that."

"I have no clue." grinned Jade, trying not to laugh, "Maybe he was looking for you or something."

"Could be." Beck responded, "I thought you had locked the door when we came in here."

Jade was waiting for Beck to ask her this. She had every little detail planned out.

Without hesitation, she answered, "That lock has been pretty faulty lately. You really need to get it fixed."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. It has been acting up at times." said Beck, sitting by Jade, "You should get dressed so I can give you a ride home."

After Beck left the RV, Jade began to get her clothes together.

Nothing could wipe the smile that she wore.

And it was all thanks to André.

"Son of a bitch!" he yelled, throwing his phone at the wall, "This was her plan… she wanted me to see the two of them… ugh!"

Andre then paced around his room and began to collect his thoughts.

That look on her face. She was waiting for me to come in the RV. Her eyes- Fuck! She was enjoying it and… what kind of sick twisted game is she playing?

After calming down a bit, André sighed, "This is so fucked up."

~ 11:58 PM ~

Pulling up to Jade's house, Beck kissed her on the cheek and said, "I'll call you in the morning; I have to spend the rest of the night getting a pest out of the RV."

"What do you mean?"

"A cricket found its way through the door that was open," Beck explained, irritably.

"Good luck with that," Jade replied, almost nonchalantly.

"Thanks. I'm gonna need it."

Getting out of his car, Jade walked up her walkway and waited for Beck to be out of sight.

Once he was out of view, she turned around and began walking down the street.

She had someone to visit first.

And they were only a few houses away.

~ Saturday, December 9th - 12:03 AM ~

Much calmer than he was earlier, André watched cartoons while lying on the couch in the den.

Not even the zaniness of Tom and Jerry could get his mind off of what he saw earlier.

DING-DONG!

Turning off the TV, André got up to answer the door.

Hmm, mom probably got out of work early again.

When he opened the door and saw who was standing there, he felt his rage return.

"Hi there."

As André began to close the door, Jade placed her foot out to stop it.

"Isn't that a bit rude?" she smirked, pushing the door open and strutting into the house.

"You're one to talk, especially after that stunt you pulled."

"Stunt? Why I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Bullshit! You took Beck's phone, texted me to come to the RV, and then-"

"Go ahead… say it."

"You're disgusting."

"Aww, don't be shy. Just say it. You saw the two of us fuckin' around and it made you jealous."

In disbelief of what he was hearing, André had to walk away from her.

"God, your expression said it all!" taunted Jade, as she stalked after him, "You wanted to be him so badly, didn't you?"

"I knew you were capable of many things, but this… this is your lowest point yet." stated André, turning around to face her, "But what I still don't understand is why. Why are you so angry at me? What the fuck did I do to deserve this?!"

"BECAUSE YOU REJECTED ME!"

Within an instant, Jade's mischievous smile had vanished and was replaced by a look of pure rage.

As he slowly got over his shock, André then became aware of the tears streaming down her cheeks. At first, he assumed it was just her acting, but something didn't feel right.

"All of these feelings I have for you, and you say so casually, 'Let's just be friends,'"

"What did you think I would say? Did you really think I would jeopardize my friendship over a fling?!"

Jade huffed and walked away from André.

After a brief moment of sobbing, she turned around and shouted, "I confessed to you that I couldn't get you out of my head. I revealed a part of me that I rarely show anyone else, but you didn't care at all! *sniffs* And it k-killed me to have to go through that!"

André simply stood there, remaining silent.

"That's why I did this. That's why I came up with this grand scheme. I-I had to hurt you, the same way you hurt me."

Hearing this, André walked over to her.

"For your information, I did care. I knew things would be more difficult now that our feelings were out in the open. But I knew that it was for the best if we stayed just friends; not because I wanted to, but because I had no choice."

Jade felt strangely sad.

That rage-filled, ecstatic feeling had vanished.

Somehow, André's words had given her a moment of clarity for the first time in weeks.

"André, I-"

"Let me finish… After tonight, I regret believing that anything meaningful could ever happen between us. Now that I've seen how despicable you can be, I don't want anything to do with you."

André walked over to the front door and opened it.

Jade looked completely flabbergasted.

She couldn't comprehend what was happening.

"You can't be serious…"

"I'm dead serious. Don't speak to me. Don't text me. Don't call me. Don't even look at me. I'm done."

"N-no, wait… this isn't supposed to be happening. You're not supposed to be like this!"

"So exactly how am I supposed to be? What exactly is my final part to play in your big plan?"

Jade began feeling confused and scared, "I-I don't know! I didn't want you to hate me… I can't be here anymore."

Rushing out the door, Jade quickly made her way back home.

Not feeling concerned for her, André plainly shut the door and sat back on the couch to watch cartoons.

I'm done with all of her bullshit. If peace of mind meant not being friends with Jade, then so be it.

~ 12:16 AM ~

Once Jade got home, she ran upstairs to her room and slammed the door.

Sobbing uncontrollably, she curled up in her bed.

Nothing much could be said from her.

It was such a miserable sight.

Her ploy of revenge backfired on her.

She continued to cry for several minutes…

…until she was finally able to go to sleep.

But not even a peaceful dream could wake her from this nightmare.