5 05: The Day I Met Him

JADE

She felt a searing pain at the top of her head, a result of something round, hard, and bouncy hitting it. Briar and Maxine gasped from either side and Jade paused. Her fists clenched in barely suppressed anger and she swiveled around to meet a blond guy surrounded by his friends. His eyes were wide with shock before his facial features morphed into something like a frown.

Oh so he was gonna play like that, huh?

Stalking toward him and huffing through her mouth she said, "Hey. Aren't you going to apologize or something for throwing that at my head?" She raised a brow and stopped directly in front of him.

His eyes narrowed and he stared at her almost haughtily.

"Don't think for a second you're innocent here, miss. I recognize you."

Jade's own eyes also narrowed in confusion and suspicion.

"What do you mean?"

"You probably don't remember but there was a day after school hours where you ran me over and left me to pick up all the metal rods."

Jade blinked and thought back to a day like that. If he said after school hours, yes she was definitely present since she was looking for her guitar. But no one else was there except for a janitor and a guy...

She gasped and looked to him. He smirked.

"Remember now? You ran into me."

She scoffed. "Well I at least yelled out an apology. And that was past. Right now, I want an apology from you, buster." She pointed a finger at him. "I don't care if you did that intentionally or what but I want to hear you say you were sorry."

"Well too bad 'cause you're not getting it."

He stuck his tongue out and laughed, looking to his friends who also chuckled. Jade huffed. Was he really going to be petty and deny her the apology she deserved? Fine.

"Jerks like you need to be taught a lesson." She kicked his groin and watched him yell out a curse and collapse on the ground, clutching the spot she hit and looking up at her with rage and pain in his gaze. She smirked and flipped her hair. "Oops my bad. Guess you should've apologized way sooner."

With that, she left him and his friends who crowded him asking questions and demanding answers, Jade linking arms with a giggling Briar and an amazed Maxine as they left the gym, intent on changing from their gym clothes to their usual attire.

"I'll get you for this, you! Kicking me like that!"

Jade only smirked and believed those threats to be just that: threats. It's not like he'll act on it or anything.

"Oh my God I can't believe you just hit Jackson Arden on the groin!" Briar exclaimed, a trill in her voice. "Aren't you scared he'll like... exact revenge on you or something? It looked like that was what he was trying to do for Jett too."

Jade rolled her eyes.

"He hit me and didn't apologize. I just gave him a taste of his own medicine."

Maxine cackled. "You rock, girl. Yes, no regard for school hierarchy and crap."

"Oh don't encourage her, Max," admonished Briar although she too was grinning. "Let's just go before we get involved in some school gossip with the popular boys."

She was right about that.

And when lunchtime rolled around news had spread fast, everyone in their own tables gossiping about what happened and fleeting glances given to the three girls, especially Jade.

"Haven't received this much attention since after I wore a Barney costume for a school event," mused Maxine with a smirk as she winked at a passing guy who turned red and scurried away.

"We all know Jade's the center of attention."

Jade raised a brow as she picked at her lunch.

"I could care less. You two can bask in the attention. I'm not liking how everyone is looking at me like they're waiting for something interesting to happen." She met the eye of a younger girl who she squeaked and turned away. Jade sighed. "Honestly, why can't people mind their own business?"

Maxine smirked and leaned on the table. She was a strange girl, unlike anyone Jade has met before. The girl was new in eleventh grade, being Senior High School and Jade was captivated by how laid-back and easygoing she seemed. Meanwhile, she had been friends with Briar starting eighth grade, bonding over their shared favorite bands and even going to a few concerts. Briar, sweet and proper Briar, had also almost immediately taken a liking to Maxine thus the three of them became friends. And now it was nearing summer which meant Jade had plenty of time to go look for her guitar.

If push comes to shove, she might just have to start saving money for a new guitar.

"People are always looking for drama," Briar said as she took out her stick of Chapstick and puckered her lips to apply an ample amount. When she was done she bared her teeth and smiled.

Maxine barked out a laugh.

"Why do you bare your teeth like that? Are you like Carmilla the lesbian vampire?"

Briar chuckled as she scooted forward in her chair to eat her own food. Jade watched them interact in amusement as Briar tossed a witty reply back that made Maxine laugh even harder.

Man, she loved her friends. She wasn't very vocal about her feelings but she always tried to convey through actions that she appreciated their friendship and company.

But then a large palm slammed itself on the table from behind her, startling all three girls and causing Jade to turn in her seat and look up, scowling immediately once she saw who it was.

"Need another kick?" she sneered, removing his hand from the table. "Go bother someone else please."

Why was the guy here again? And truth be told, she forgot his name. She knew he was popular since he was almost always seen around Jett Levisay who was arguably the most popular guy in the school, even surpassing the Student Council President. She liked Jett; he was friendly and approachable with charming smiles. What Jade admired most about him was that he was especially kind to the ladies. Jade remembered an incident where her locker wouldn't close because it was overflowing with her things and Jett came almost out of nowhere, asking if he could be of help. So he closed her locker shut and reminded her to be careful when opening it. She liked him. And he was standing right behind his buddy along with three other guys.

But this idiot? He was unlikable in her eyes. He was rude and prideful.

And he was glaring at her and looming over her so ominously Jade felt threatened.

One of his friends must have sensed her discomfort because he pulled him back by the shoulder and said, "You're scaring her, dude. Maybe not crowd her personal space?"

"I wasn't glaring or anything, Dirk."

"Yeah, what your friend said." She turned to Jett and gave him a friendly smile. "Hi."

She didn't expect Jett to smile back and greet jovially, "Hey! I remember you! I helped you with your locker, right?"

Whoa... he remembered! And that incident happened like, two or three months ago! What an impressive memory.

Jade felt heat creep on her cheeks, suddenly shy and feeling girly.

"Yes," she said almost softly, lips curling into a pleased smile. "I'm Jade Alderson; pleased to meet you. This is Briar Hiegel—" she waved, "and Maxine Barlowe," she gave the boys a two-fingered salute.

"Cool beans," said another guy with wild black hair. "Mind if we guys sit by you?"

"Oh not at all." Her pleasant expression turned sour once she turned to the blond. She pointed at him. "You're not invited."

His jaw clenched and it looked like he was torn between leaving and sitting in the table. His eyes darted around and Jett stood by him, blinking. It was as if he was waiting for something to happen.

Then he snapped, "Fine. Go have your stupid lunch." He grabbed Jett by the collar and pulled. "Let's go."

As they left, most of the student body in the cafeteria had their eyes on them and were most definitely murmuring about them.

One of the guys blinked and exclaimed as he sat down, "The name's Rodney, ladies."