JADED

A LITTLE CHANGE

Jade glared at the door, her jaw and fists clenched and her muscles tense, wishing that the person on the other side of it would go away. She wanted to be alone. She needed to be alone. Especially after the memories that had flooded her brain, ruining her sleep.

The knocks on the door continued in a rhythmic pattern and she stood up and walked angrily to the door. Muttering to herself that she would slap the maid if she were the one at the door, she reached to open it. Her father was away on a business trip and her ‘very annoying stepmother’ had gone to visit her mother so she and the maid were the only ones in the house.

She pressed the handle and pulled the door open - trying to keep herself from slapping the person at the door - to see Shawn standing at her door. His gold hair was in a messy state and his green eyes looked troubled. Jade took a deep breath to calm herself before asking the ‘handsome stranger’ why he showed up at her house for the second time in a day.

His reply was expected. He got into trouble at home because he was suspended. But what she didn't understand was why a ‘goody two shoes’ like him would leave home. She had always known him to be a person that endured everything, even claiming that discipline were for his own good. Whatever caused him to run away from home was definitely abnormal.

She shook her head as she tried to shut the door on him but he held it. She didn't want to be bothered with him. He chose by himself to serve her punishment so he should bear the consequences by himself. She never asked him for any favor.

“Jade please, I have nowhere to go.” She heard him say and she looked up to his green eyes. The sadness in them was almost pulling her in so she looked away.

Jade left the door and folded her arms across her chest. “Why should I let you in? We're not friends.”

“Uhm.. I'll do anything you want. Just for tonight, please let me in. Please.” Shawn pleaded, sounding desperate.

Jade smirked, her eyes glinting with mischief. “You said you'll do anything I want? I wonder what Principal Dolan would say when he hears his beloved student got an F in his test.”

“I won't do that.” Shawn refused, a frown forming across his face.

“Feel free to get out.” Jade sneered, placing her hands on and pushing the door.

Shawn groaned as he leaned against the door, pushing it back. “Okay fine. How many tests do you want me to fail?”

Jade paused for a while and stared at him. She took a deep breath and opened the door wide. “Hmm.. I guess you're really stranded. Don't fail your tests. When I think of what I want, I'll let you know. Follow me.” Jade said as she walked out of the room into the hallway. She stopped by the door of the room next to hers and opened it, ushering Shawn inside. When he had gone in, she shut the door and went to her room.

Sitting on her bed, she caught sight of the purple bracelet sitting on her table. It was a friendship bracelet Shawn gifted her. She had taken hers off a year ago but she had never been able to destroy it. She wondered if he still had his. She sighed and lay on her bed trying not to think about Shawn but as she closed her eyes, a thought crossed her mind. Was the abuse still going on?

★. ★. ★. ★. ★.

“Hey! Hey!! Bucket!!!” Jade whispered as she tapped a sleeping Shawn. He shrugged away her hand and changed his sleeping position. Giving an evil smirk, she stood up and walked into the restroom. She wet a face towel and took it into the room. She took one look at Shawn as he lay on the bed, clinging onto the pillow, before placing the wet towel over his face.

Shawn jumped up from the bed immediately and she burst into laughter. He had a confused look on his face as he stared blankly at her. After a few seconds, he remembered where he was and began rubbing his eyes and face, trying to get rid of the traces of drool.

Jade laughed a bit more before standing up and walking to the door. She opened the door then turned back to look at him, still amused at his naivety. “Wash up and come out for breakfast. I've decided on what I want you to do.” She mused before walking away and closing the door.

Shawn breathed a sigh of relief as she shut the door behind her. He used to feel very comfortable around her but recently he had begun to feel nervous around her. Maybe it was because of the time they had spent away from each other. Hopefully, everything would go back to normal once they rekindled their friendship.

He sighed again and looked around the room as he had been tired the previous night and hadn't taken a look around. The room was large with walls that were once white but had now been painted with different types of fantasy creatures. It had a large bed in it and paintings stacked at a corner.

He remembered when they were younger and when Jade used to call him into her ‘art room’ to be her assistant while she painted. One time she had painted a unicorn on the wall and her father punished her by locking her out of the room. That was the last time he entered the room.

Up until this moment. He curled his lips up as he stared at the unicorn she had painted then. She had always been talented at painting and she loved it. He was glad that no matter what happened to her, her love for art didn't change.

He moved around the room slowly, assessing every painting on the wall. There were paintings of a fairy, some mermaids, a winged horse, an elf, a dragon, a magical princess, a zombie splattered with blood, eating what seemed to be a...

He squeezed his face in disgust and looked away. She must have painted those gory stuff after her mother's death. He sighed and turned on his feet, walking to the bathroom that was right across him. As he walked beside the bed, he stubbed his toe against something and he bent to look at it. It was a framed painting of him placed under the bed.

He picked it up and looked at it. It was a portrait of him smiling widely and in his eyes was a reflection. Jade's reflection. He remembered it. It was right before the chemistry practical when they had been asked to choose their partner and he tried to team up with her. She had refused him outright, her face stone cold. He never thought she would draw him.

A knock came on the door and he quickly shoved the painting back under the bed.

“Come in.” He said and the door opened revealing Jade dressed in shorts and a tank top, her hair packed up in a messy bun. She held a bunch of clothing in her hands.

“Here. These belong to Jacob. I hope they fit.” She said as she placed the clothes on the bed.

“Jacob?” Shawn quizzed. The only Jacob he knew was Jade's father and the last time he checked, she called him dad.

Jade pressed her lips together. “Yes. My father. Why? Do you have a problem?”

Shawn shook his head. “No. Not at all. I just wanted to ask what it is you want me to do.”

“Teach me how to swim.”

“Swim? But...”

“What? Do you want to laugh at me? Then go ahead.”

“Jade, I'm not trying to laugh at you. I just thought you'd know how to since you have a pool in your house.”

“Well, I don't. I'm not like you that knows how to do everything. You're Mr Perfect.”

“You're Miss Freedom. You can do all that you like.”

“Everyone has freedom. It's not a big deal. Riding on a bike and feeling the wind in your hair, looking down at the city from the highest point at a ferris wheel, pranking people at the cinema, attending outdoor concerts, trying new foods, tasting cakes and wines, watching fireflies... These are things everyone has done once or twice or even more.”

“I guess so. They must be really fun.”

“Of course they are. Have you never tried them before?” Jade asked jokingly and Shawn shook his head. She blinked a few times, straightened her face and stared at him. “Do you mean to say that you have never done any of these things?” She asked again and Shawn nodded. “Not a single one?” She added and he nodded. “Why?”

“I'm too busy with my studies. I'll do them after I graduate.”

“Nonsense. You need a life. Freshen up immediately. I'll be waiting outside for you.”

“Uh.. Okay.”

“Do that quickly!”

★. ★. ★. ★. ★.

Shawn could feel the cool humid air rolling down from under a forested hillside, making his hair flutter. He could smell the road dust, the oil, the exhaust, the herby scent of weeds and wildflowers on the roadside. He could hear the humming of songbirds and the whirring of the motorcycle beneath him.

He could also feel the bike rumbling and vibrating underneath him and each time he leaned with Jade to tilt the bike, he felt like it was a part of him. Even though he had been scared at first, when he wrapped his arms around Jade's waist, he had felt safer. And for the first time in his life, he felt alive. He felt free.

The bike came to a stop at a mall and he released Jade. A surge came running in his head and he felt nauseous. He practically jumped off the bike and ran into the restroom to spill out his guts. After he was done, he flushed the toilet and rinsed his face.

He saw his reflection in the mirror and cringed at it. He was looking very different from his normal appearance. His hair was tousled and his under eyes were a little puffy and dark. The clothes he wore were a little oversized as Jade's father had a larger build. And he was wearing two different halves of two different pairs of shoes.

He muttered in his breath as to how he would give Jade a knock on the head for telling him he looked okay before they left the house. He didn't even wear a helmet so everyone would've recognized him. How would the students of Dexterford High react when they hear that Shawn Beckett was riding around town, looking like a frizzled bear?

He smiled as he stared at himself again. They would never believe it.

A knock came on the door and he knew it was Jade. She walked in holding some clothes, ignoring the glare Shawn was giving her for walking into the male restroom. She placed the clothes on his hands and told him to dress up so he could follow her in to pick his shoes. Then she walked out.

Shawn sighed before looking away from the door and then at the clothes. She didn't know his measurements so she had bought him a basketball jersey. He wore it with a smug smile. It had the number seven on it, meaning that she still remembered that he plays basketball.

He ran a hair through his hair in an attempt to make it stay back but it was futile. He didn't apply on his hair the gel that was a part of the routine. Without the gel, his hair wouldn't stay back and the bike ride only made it worse. He shrugged at his reflection and then picked up the clothes he had worn before.

He walked toward the door and out of the restroom to where Jade was waiting by the bike. He gave her the clothes and she threw it into a nearby trashcan. Then she pulled him by the arm into the mall ignoring the uncomfortable stares from the people inside.

Stopping at the shoe row, she pointed at a pair of shoes she had originally planned on buying but didn't buy. Shawn picked it up and checked the size then nodded at her.

She pressed her lips together and took the shoe from him. She checked the size and picked out a couple footwear of the same size. Then she proceeded to the clothes rack and stopped in front of a blue T-shirt. As she reached out her hand to take it from where it hung, a child came running toward her. She moved to her left, trying to evade the child but that didn't do much as the child came crashing into her.

They both fell to the floor, the little girl on Jade's body and her eggs all broken, messing up the both of them. Shawn ran to them and scooped the child up in his arms, her eyes had become teary. Jade stood up and gave him a glare before looking down at her clothes. What she saw almost made her scream. She was covered in eggs and eggshells.

She bit back a groan as she glared at the little child in Shawn's arms and then at the pregnant lady, probably her mother, who had just come to stand beside Shawn. The girl, who looked about seven, was already at the brink of tears and her mother seemed exhausted. They and Shawn apologized to her as she glared at them all. She had just bought these clothes a week ago and now it was ruined. Not completely though. But she was never going to wear it again.

She sighed and waved it off with a smile. It was a mistake and the girl's just a kid. It would be inhuman of her to make things hard for them because of it. She gave the child a tight lipped smile and pinched her cheek playfully before telling Shawn to bring clothes for her and walking into the changing room.

After spending minutes trying to rub off the eggs from her hair, she finally gave up. She reached out to the clothes Shawn had brought for her and flung it away immediately. It was a short violet colored gown and a pair of silver stockings.

She gritted her teeth in annoyance as she called out to him. There was no reply but she was sure she heard his soft giggle from behind the door. Biting her lower lip and wringing her fingers, she paced around the room for some time. Then she stopped and picked up the dress. Holding it over her chest, she smiled at her reflection in the mirror.

It is just going to be this once. She thought. Besides, a little change won't hurt.