(Sorry for the very inconsistent length of the chapters... Also this is an unedited chapter so I'll revise it soon :D)
---
"Was he always...this bad?" Hailey lets out another gurgle in her throat, a sign that she's crying again.
"Ash?"
"Yeah. I-I mean, I always knew...you were his favourite, but..."
Her words fill me with so much rage I can't speak for a second. "I was never anyone's favourite, nor a part of your games. I was his girlfriend."
"So he liked you, for real," Hailey says, making it sounding more like a question than a statement.
"Your point?" I ask, trying hard to control my hostility.
"I thought he liked me, too."
"Honey, he doesn't like any of the girls he sleeps with," I scoff at her, then realize how cold-hearted I sound. But thankfully,
Hailey ignores the comment all together. "Have you slept with him?" she asks.
"No," I huff. "I may seem like a manipulative, slutty bitch, but I don't fuck around the way you and your girlfriends do."
I can tell Hailey wants to defend herself, but nothing comes out of her mouth. She probably has more things to say, too, but the door opens and Luke finally walks in.
"Jade," he calls in a nervous tone. "Let's go."
"Nice talk," I tell Hailey and join Luke in the hallway. He looks over his shoulder a few times in curiosity as we're walking away. "Who was that girl? Why was she crying? What did he do to you? And Are you okay?" He asks in a jet stream of questions, which I ignore.
"How did you know where I was?" I ask him in return.
He purses his lips. "I heard your screams down the hallway. Kiera left me alone for a while, so I went to check it out."
"How'd you know how to throw a punch like that?"
"Michael taught me a few things." Luke smiles. I identify Michael as one of the band members Cam mentioned.
"Okay...and what did you do with Herbert?"
"Oh, um." Luke bites his lip, looking rather sheepish. "I dumped him in the bushes outside."
"Let's get out of here," He adds hurriedly. "You sure you're fine to stay here after....?"
I nod. "I'm not a coward."
The way Luke sticks by my side down the hallway and the stairs attracts a lot of eyes. Especially of the female population.
When we get to the first floor, the crowd splits in two for us to walk through. Like the Red Sea. Their eyes follow us each step of the way. "So this is what it's like to be the center of attention," Luke jokes, his cheeks turning pink as he waves to a group of giggling girls.
I take Luke to the front foyer and climb up on the table, pulling him up as well. Then I start waving my arms to get the crowd's attention. But it's not even necessary, because the moment everyone sees me, they stop talking. Someone pauses the music.
"Hi," I say, hoping they can't hear the exhaustion in my voice. "I'm Jade, as you guys already know. And I just wanted to announce something."
I pull Luke closer to me, putting an arm around his waist. "This is my boyfriend, Luke Hemmings." I pause, watching the confused faces of my wannabees. The crowd erupts into a sea of chatter, glancing at the two of us together, jaws dropped open.
You better note this down for your gossip site, Hailey.
"Anyway, Luke's band is playing a gig this Tuesday at Club Heat. I better see all of you there. Drinks are on me!" I shout, and the crowd cheers with approval.
"Your first gig with me is booked," I tell a grinning Luke. The music starts again, and we get off the table.
For the rest of the party, Kiera and Brooke cling to us, with no idea what happened upstairs with me and Herbert. There's no more sign of Ashton, either.
"This is Loo Kemmings?" A few curious students walk up to us, eyeing Luke. "And you're dating? What happened to Ashton?"
Luke's shoulders stiffen whenever a new person approaches him, and talks in awkward broken sentences. But overall, he gets through it pretty well. He begins to socialize with the group of girls he waved at before, and they're eating up the attention of the new boy.
...
"You okay?" I ask Luke, checking in on him about two hours later.
"What about you, you're clearly drunk." Luke frowns, holding me up by the elbow. The action makes me stumble on my own feet, almost spilling the drink on Luke's shirt.
"Oops," I giggle. "You want some too?" I raise the cup to his face, and he shakes his head.
"No, thanks, I have to drive."
"Wowwww. You're a good kid, Luke."
"Yeah, okay," Luke says. "Let's take you home now. You look tired as hell." He lets go of my elbow and enters the crowd, a signal for me to follow him.
But I can't.
Just as I take my first step, a pair of hands grab my waist from behind. He appears out of nowhere, as if he knew where I was all along but just didn't approach me until now.
"What did you do to Hailey? She won't talk to me," Ashton says angrily.
"Who says I did anything?" I ask, some of my self control returning. "Oh, yeah. And Brooke said you were looking for me?"
Ashton's face crumples in anger. "Yeah. I wanted to tell you to forget the past few months, Jade. I don't want you back, ever."
That's not going to affect me, Ashton, I lie. To myself. "Good, cause I'm tired of keeping your secrets."
"You should feel obligated to keep those secrets, after all the things I did for you!" Ashton grabs my arm, his eyes burning.
"Why should I?! Half the female body already knows about your little-"
Ashton abruptly puts a hand over my mouth to shut me up.
"Yeah, but you know what? They can keep a secret," He says, his hazel eyes boring into mine.
---
Yup, I'm writing again! :) (But this chapter was a filler and I'm sorry. Bleh)
QUESTION OF THE CHAPTER: WHAT IS THE 'SECRET'?
a) He has a secret fetish for elbows
b) He has an obsession of watching Korean dramas (...then we have something in common)
c) He wants to jump Luke's bones
d) Other/None of the above
Well, hold on to your seats because I'll reveal it REALLY REALLY soon :')
YOU ARE READING
Project Publicity || l.h
Fanfiction[BOOK ONE] Jade and Luke have known each other since childhood. But as they grew older, Jade became glamorous and beautiful, while Luke stayed a loser. With time, the two of them drifted apart, never to speak again. This year, everything changes. A...
