CHAPTER 3:
Back in L.A., Jade was at her job at the mall. She was watching the clock, bored stiff by all the golfers, when Michael, whom she had never met before, came in. She found his outfit – all black, complete with leather and silver chains – strangely fascinating.
"Hey – I dig the outfit," Jade said casually.
Michael looked up and noticed her. "Thanks," he said. He almost paused and walked away, but something made him keep on talking. "I'm kind of into goth fashion," he explained.
"Huh! Interesting," Jade said.
"Yeah.. Well, anyway, I'm Michael," he said.
"Jade," she said back.
"So how long have you been working here?" he asked, curious.
"Not very long. How about you? What do you do?" Jade replied.
"I'm a student, actually. I go to Hollywood Arts," Michael answered.
"You go to Hollywood Arts? Believe it or not, I graduated last year from that school," Jade mentioned.
"That's amazing!" Michael said.
"Yeah. Hey, um..not to change the subject," Jade began. "But are you here to play a game?"
"Eh, not really." Michael shrugged. "I don't like the game much."
"It's alright," Jade admitted. "Me either. But why come here, then?"
"I actually collect the golf balls that get lost," Michael said.
"Wait, so you're the guy the manager was asking me to look out for," Jade said, a bit surprised. "You know, I should probably tell him."
"And will you?" Michael asked.
Jade thought for a minute. "Nah, I won't," she said. She looked at the clock. "My shift actually ended five minutes ago. Say, do you want to go out to grab a bite to eat or something?"
"Sure that sounds good," Michael replied.
Meanwhile, at the mall's coffee shop, a female customer approached the counter.
"What'll it be, miss?" Beck asked.
"One latte, two sugars," she said.
"Coming right up," Beck replied.
"You know, I don't know if I should say this while you're working, but…you're cute," she said with a smirk, leaning over the counter. "Name's Kylie. I've had a crush on you ever since we both went to Hollywood Arts," she admitted.
"You went to Hollywood Arts too?" Beck asked her.
"Of course," Kylie said, as one of the other employees handed Beck the finished latte.
"Here you go," Beck said.
"Thank you. Call me," Kylie said, giving Beck a small paper with her phone number on it.
"I already have a fiancee," Beck said, rejecting the girl's number.
"I know. But just in case." Kylie winked, leaving with her drink.
Two hours later, Michael and Jade had said their goodbyes. Jade walked home by herself. She felt different on the inside. What was going on here? Why did she feel strange when she talked to Michael? He wasn't anything special; he was really no different than any of the other boys. She needed to talk to someone. But who could she depend on, other than Cat or even Tori?
And she thought of one person. After entering her house and going to her bedroom, she pulled out her phone and sent Valerie a message.
Jade: Val, you on?
Valerie: Yeah? What's going on?
Jade: I need to talk.
Valerie: Obviously. Come on, spill.
Jade: I think I might be having feelings for someone else.
Valerie: What? WHO?
Jade: You don't need to know.
Valerie: I'm actually going to take a wild guess… It's Michael, isn't it?
Jade: How did you know?
Valerie: So it's him?! And I knew it, because what other guy would you fall for?
Jade: Well, enough with that. What should I do?
Valerie: I'm not good at relationships myself. But I would think really carefully about everything. You have a fiance. Don't you love him?
Jade: Of course, I do. What sort of question is that?
Valerie: idk, you should ask yourself that. First of all, Michael is younger than you, plus Beck is madly in love with you. I see the way he treats you.
Jade hesitated to write her next response. Everything was so true.
Valerie: I know you're there. So what do you like about Michael?
Jade: He shares the same interests as me, I guess…
Valerie: Okay, so what do you like/love about Beck?
Jade took a while to think about everything she loved about Beck. She loved the way he cared for her, the way he stroked her hair and kissed her on the forehead when she was feeling down, the way he always made her the right kind of coffee… Gosh, she loved his smile, his hair, his whole personality.
Valerie: Jade you there?
Jade: Sorry yeah, just had me thinking for a bit.
Valerie: It's okay. What were you thinking about?
Jade: How Beck is my everything.
Valerie: GOOD. I'm not missing out on your wedding.
Jade: Yeah, well, thanks a lot, Val.
Valerie: Anytime. God, I'm good at this.
Jade: Right. I'll see you at the mall later.
Valerie: See ya!