Jade!" Beck called as he tried to catch up to her in the parking lot.
Jade felt rage and annoyance, but mostly heartache and regret, rising in her stomach and bursting out of her throat. Beck had no right to talk to her He wasn't allowed to try to fix things; not after what he had done. "Leave me alone," Jade spoke with a sigh and tired eyes.
Jade had cried the first time in two years, after he had left her in front of Tori's house two nights ago. After he had thrown two whole years away, like it was nothing.
"But, I-"
"Don't talk to me, Beck!" She growled, frustrated, storming away from him, toward the entrance of the school, toward anything but him.
Beck felt his heart shatter. His soul felt so black; he felt so full of pain and regret, he wanted to scream.
Beck didn't know what to do. He hadn't expected so much...pain. He hadn't seen her this upset since her father had kicked her out of the house when she was in the ninth grade. It was crippling to see.
He wanted to see her angry. He wanted to hear her threaten to light all the girls that talked to him on fire. He missed it. He missed her.
She was nearly inside the school when remembered why he was trying to get her attention. He took off toward her.
"Jade!" he tried to get her to stop, but she was so far ahead of him.
"Jade, please! I love you!" He yelled, making everyone in the hallway stop to stare.
Beck watched as she stopped walking. She glanced at him. He saw her captivating blue eyes. His words had sifted through her like quicksand. Jade sighed. She took off, rushing toward the Janitor's closet.
Beck watched as the door was slammed in his face.
"Jade," he said calmly. Nothing.
"Jade. Please," he tried one more time, his voice reeking of desperation. He knew everyone was staring but he didn't care. He need to see her. He couldn't stand not being with her.
He knocked on the door, wiping the hair out of his face.
"Just give me five minutes. Please. That's all I need. You'll never have to talk to me again," he pleaded.
He waited, but all that he heard was silence. He growled, kicking the door. It was locked. Of course. He knew Jade had a key. He didn't know how she got it, but he knew she had one.
He made his way to the other side of the hallway, leaning against his transparent locker that faced the Janitors closet.
If she was gonna be like that, then he would just wait. She had to come out into the hallway at some point.
He felt the hard ridges of the locker press into his back as he sank down against the wall. He crossed his arms and stared at the closet.
•
On the other side of the closet, Jade's breathing was uneven. She was wondering if he really meant what he said about loving her. She mentally kicked herself. If he really loved her, he would have chased after her.
The first time Jade had met Beck, It had been at the park that was close to Jade's house, when Jade was in the 8th grade.
Jade had been sitting in the grass, cutting up dandelions as she watched a little girl's father push the little girl on the swing.
Jade had been cutting up grass because she was angry. Jade was staring in a community play, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Jade had auditioned for the role of Sweeney Todd, since she could sing like a man. They had given her the role of Mrs. Lovett, which she was fine with. She had invited her dad to the opening night performance, which he had promised he would come to.
