Sell Me Out (a 5SOS Fanfic)

3: Skinny Jeans and Reputations

The Next Day
MICHAEL'S POV
Lots of rumours had been going around about Luke and Jade lately and it had me kind of worried. Our group doesn't and shouldn't be associating with the popular group. Jade was a nice girl and we got along really well but her reputation just didn't work for us...or so I thought. Ever since Jade and Zoe stopped being friends, everything changed for the worst. They used to be inseparable and now Jade was with the bitches. I know she isn't like that, which is what pains me the most. If the rumours were true about her and Luke coming out of the bathroom together, it would only frustrate me because she sits with them. I had to talk to Luke. I made my way over to the Visual Arts cola where the four of us sat at lunch. As soon as I spotted the familiar, blonde hair and insanely long legs, I hurried over to him.
"Mate, we need to talk" I glanced around to make sure no one else was listening in on our conversation.
"What's up?" Luke was worried. It was plastered across his face.
"I've been hearing things" I look at my shoes and scuff them on the concrete.
"What things?" Luke seemed annoyed now.
"About you and Jade" I looked up to find a guilty look on Luke's face as he tried to look past me, avoiding the subject.
"Nothing is going on, okay? Her friend played a joke on her and left her concert tickets in there. I was in the bathroom so we crossed paths when she came in. I was just helping her find her tickets, that's all" he finished, shoving his hands in his jean pockets.
"You know we shouldn't talk to people like her. You may have been helping her out but we can't afford something like that on our rep, okay?"
"She's a nice girl, even if she does sit with the bitches. She's not like them. She's one of us" Luke stood his ground, straightening his spine to look intimidating. He couldn't play that card on me. We've been friends for years.
"How do you know?" I asked curiously.
"Well she acknowledged me and she likes the same music as us. She's going to an All Time Low concert. She offered me to go with her. One day you'll see past labels, Michael. You're my friend and all but this little conversation of ours isn't going to stop me from talking to her so if you don't mind you can kindly fuck off for now, thanks" he rolled his eyes at me before turning his back sharply and exiting the VA cola.
"Well holy fudge knuckles. That didn't exactly go to plan, did it Michael?" I practically yell at myself. I was so stupid and selfish. I shouldn't have said those things to Luke about Jade. He didn't deserve that, hell, she didn't deserve that. I slowly made my way over to our table to get advice from the rest of the boys. They'll know what to do, they always do.
***
JADE'S POV
It had finally started raining. I could wear my black skinny jeans without getting disturbing glares from my peers. I also liked to pretend that I could pull off all black but...let's just leave it at that. I had thrown my reasonably long, dirty blonde hair into a messy bun with a drumstick pen running through it. I hadn't really bothered with trying to look alive today. All I wanted to do was listen to music. So that's what I did. I had both earphones in with my music blaring, I wouldn't have even noticed if someone tried to say hello to me or sneak up behind me. I had made sure to put my black eyeliner on a lot thicker than usual to give me the "don't mess with me otherwise I'll summon a demon from hell to skin you alive" look. It wouldn't have really worked though because I was seen as a pretty good student, even if I didn't exactly agree with it myself. I didn't bring an umbrella. I had the choice but politely declined my parents' offer because there were enough sheltered areas around the school. But I just stood in the middle of the quad, head down at my converses, wondering why the hell did this have to happen to me? I feel someone yank my earphones out, cutting me off from my own thoughts.
"Hey! what do you think you're-"
"Oh...hey" I say apologetically to my best friend.
"What's up your ass?" Jackson takes in my appearance, I covered myself from his vulnerable eyes. He looks taken aback by how I look and attempts to try a different sentence.
"What's happened?" he places his hands gently on my shoulders, letting me know that he's there for me.
"It's a long story" I sigh, looking up into the rain as the droplets spill down my face like wanted tears.
"We've got plenty of time. We are going to ditch today, alright? You're obviously not in the mood for school" he took one last glance at me to reassure himself that I was still in one piece for the moment before he took my hand and walked me slowly out of the school gates.
***
The sun had started to come out from behind the clouds but that wasn't why my palms were sweating. I wiped my shaking hands on my jeans to draw my attention away from Jackson's reaction to what I had just told him. We were sitting in deafening silence across from school, in the middle of a soccer field. I concentrated on the goal posts, trying not to let any tears slip away from me while I clung to the ends of my cardigan's sleeves. I desperately tugged them down to the tips of my fingers, not wanting to show an inch of skin. My fingers were trembling so bad that I eventually gave up and hugged my knees to my chest instead. I looked to my right to see Jackson sitting right beside me, running his hands repeatedly through his -now messy- hair.
"So?" My voice cracked from not being used for a while.
"I just d-don't understand w-why" he tried to let out. He collapsed onto his back, looking up into the sky but I knew he wasn't actually interested in the sky. I lied down next to him, curling into his side, head on his chest.
"I don't understand why either" I burst into a collection of tears and sobs. Jackson clung on to me for dear life, like we would never see each other again.
"Why would you inflict harm upon yourself? You know you could have talked to me. You can talk to me whenever you want" he whimpered into my ear, trying to suppress his own tears.
"I just felt like no one was there. I felt so alone. Like nothing would ever go back to the way it was and I would never be happy again" I moved my head into the crook of his neck, hiding myself from his judgement. I slung my arms around his neck carefully, afraid that he wouldn't accept the gesture.
"You're never alone, okay? I will always, always be here. And things can only get better in life" he murmured so that his voice was only just audible for the two of us.
"I just took it so hard. I never would have thought that this would happen. Especially with Heather, you know? She was just so...bubbly and alive. She never deserved this. I think the whole 'things happen for a reason because God has a plan for everyone' thing is just complete and utter bullshit" I mutter, feeling slightly annoyed at God, even though I wasn't religious at all.
"Maybe things do just happen out of the blue. Maybe there's no reason. But at least we know that she isn't suffering. She's watching over you, Jade. She loves you like a sister and now she can always protect you" Jackson started babbling to try and make me feel better.
"Well she didn't protect me from harming myself" I mutter. Jackson sat up from under me, bringing me up with him and pulling me into his lap. He rests his forehead on my back.
"Can you show me?" I shift uncomfortably in his protective grip and nod slowly. I reach for the sleeve of my cardigan and hesitantly tug it to my elbow. I raise my left wrist for Jackson to see, spinning myself around in his lap so I'm facing him, his arms still loosely wrapped around my waist. He takes in the scars that I left, a couple fresh tears spilling down his red-rimmed eyes. He must've cried a lot more than I thought. He looks at me, asking for permission to take my arm in his searching hands. I reach my arm closer to him, begging to be in his protective and gentle grasp. He takes my arm wearily into his sympathetic grip. He brings it up to his lips, ghosting over each and every scar down my wrist, like he was marking his own territory on me but in a protective brotherly instinct kind of way. He glanced up at me the whole time he gave his last kiss on my wrist.
"Promise me that you will try not to do this to yourself ever again" he brings me into a shielding hug.
"I promise" I manage a weak smile.
"Thank you. For everything" I say to Jackson, pulling out of the hug and kissing him lightly on the cheek. I really hoped he wouldn't take that the wrong way, it was just a friendly gesture. Then again, he had a girlfriend. He probably thought that I had taken it the wrong way.
"I'm always here for you" he imprinted his message in my brain.
"I know" I say firmly. I wrap my arms around him one last time.
***
LUKE'S POV
I really liked Jade. She was so nice and it was so weird how much we just connected, the way she understood me so well. Michael can go fuck himself. He shouldn't have said those things about her. Who cares about a reputation? I can't believe he would go that far! I can be friends with whoever I want because it's my choice and I will deal with the consequences. He really has nothing to worry about. She's like us anyway. More of a tomboy than a popular girl, I'd prefer her that way for the record. I couldn't stand the way that everyone looked at her now that everyone had heard these rumours about us. They probably thought that she was stupid for even walking past Luke Hemmings, the complete punk idiot of the school. But I couldn't help myself. She was so addictive, like my own personal heroin. Oh shit! That's her now. Maybe I should say hello. Wait, she was talking to Jackson. I couldn't help but be a little jealous of their kindling friendship. I'm reassured by knowing that he already has a girlfriend but who would pass up an offer like Jade Atkins? She looked different today, disconnected from the world. She wore the same converses from the day we met. Her long, skinny legs were covered with black skinny jeans and she wore a black cardigan over the top of a blink 182 shirt. She was perfect. Yet she looked drained, wearing so much black but that wasn't how I noticed. It was the way she stood in the middle of the rain, looking right up as the droplets hit her face, her closed eyes relaxing under the water. It was also the way that Jackson looked at her as if he would've done anything in that moment for Jade, to take her pain onto his own shoulders, as I would've loved to. The pair started making their way out of the school gates, Jade tugging down on the sleeves of her cardigan, probably colder than usual I think. I was seriously worried about her, all I wanted to do was make her the happiest girl alive but maybe I wasn't capable of doing that for her. Maybe she only needed and wanted Jackson to do that for her, it was obvious that he could always be there for her when I hardly even knew her. I want to treat her like she's the only girl in the world because that's what it felt like to me. She could light up the room with her smile and her laugh was contagious. I absolutely adored her and I don't deserve someone like her. I never will.

A/N: Hey guys! I'm Payton and I wrote this chapter and the first one. Tess and I were planning on co-writing a chapter together soon, what do you think? I'm sorry that this chapter was so long and depressing, I felt like it was needed. Please vote, comment and tell ya friends! Haha you don't actually have to do that if you don't want to but it would make our day :) I love you all and can't wait to write more! Comment what you think so far ~ Payton xoxo 💋❤️🐧🍤🙈🍆