Sell Me Out (a 5SOS Fanfic)

5: Kindling Friendships and Old Rumours

LUKE'S POV
If I thought I was worried before, it was nothing compared to this! I should have known that something was horribly wrong. I should have talked to her. I should have been there to support her. I should have done a lot of things. When Zoe came up to me I was really confused. We hadn't really talked that much and since she had probably heard the rumours about Jade and I, I thought she would have hated me. I can tell that she still cares about Jade though, which is odd because why would they have stopped talking to each other? It must've been an accident, whatever it was. It was really none of my business but I think Jade needs Zoe right now, even if she doesn't realise. All I wanted was for Jade to be happy because that's what she deserves. When Zoe told me about their friend, Heather, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. The way that Jade hid her pain earlier this morning was extremely brave of her. I couldn't be more proud but at the same time I just wanted to be the shoulder that she could lean on, the person that she could depend on. Then again, we only just met and we haven't really spoken much since so what was the use? Well shit, how was I meant to find her? She left with Jackson this morning, probably truanting, not that I could blame her. It was nearing the end of recess when I strolled out of the school gates, picking up my pace into a sort of jog.
'You can't run in skinny jeans' my mind told me but I didn't care how weird I looked. I needed to find Jade and see if she was okay. Sure enough, she was across the road, opposite the school. Walking back from the soccer field without Jackson! Where the hell was he?! How could he do this to her? She needs him! I sprinted as fast as I could across the road, shouting out to Jade while trying not to get hit by any cars. When I reached her I didn't really know what to do. I stood awkwardly in front of her while she stared up at me with those blue beauties, I didn't even care about how red-rimmed her eyes were or the smudged eyeliner and mascara.
"Hey Luke. What's up?" she forced a smile but it shattered into oblivion.
"Hey. I, um, heard about what happened and...where did Jackson go? Did he leave you? Are-are you okay?" everything came out at once, leaving Jade taken aback.
"How did you hear about it? Jackson decided to go home but I kind of need to talk to someone who knew Heather. And no, I'm not really okay Luke" she answered all of my questions.
"I am so so so sorry! I shouldn't have rambled like that. I just want to be here for you and I want you to be happy. I need you to be happy."
"Why do you need me to be happy Luke?!" she states angrily.
"Because it makes me happy when I see you happy. You make my day when I see you smile. And I've never felt this happy in my entire life and I'm greedy about it" I stumble through my little speech. Jade stayed silent so I decided to answer her question from earlier.
"Zoe came up to me and she told me everything. She is really worried about you, she cares for you and loves you so much. She thought I would know where you were and I saw you leave with Jackson this morning. I knew something was wrong but I didn't know it was something like this! So I came to find you and see if you were okay" I finish, fumbling with my hands and shifting my weight onto each leg while waiting for a response. Instead, Jade stepped forward, closing the already small gap between us. She slipped her arms around my waist and held me tight. By instinct, I envelop Jade into my chest and rest my chin on her head, whispering sweet nothings in her ear. She sobbed into my chest and I swear, in that moment, I could feel her crumbling underneath me, like a perfect picture within a shattered frame. I pulled the drumstick pen out of her messy bun, letting her blonde hair spill down around her, creating a protective curtain. I ran my fingertips through her hair as tears started to escape from me, dropping onto her head. I gave her a soft kiss on the top of her head as I wished that this moment with her would last forever, the two of us hidden away from the rest of the world.

JADE'S POV
"I'll see you in music, okay?" I ask Luke as we walk back through the school gates.
"Yep. Text me if you need me."
"I don't have your number" I giggle softly.
"If you give me your phone I can put it in?" he suggests to me.
"Sure thing" I grab my phone out of my back pocket and hand it to Luke. He stares at my phone for a while, typing madly at the keys. When he's finished he hands back my phone.
"What are we supposed to be in right now?" he asks me.
"English I think" Zoe was in my English class and I really needed to talk to her.
"Okay. Remember I am always here for you whenever you need me" he reassures me, making me smile sheepishly by how much he actually cared about me.
"Thank you by the way, Luke. For supporting me through this. I needed it" I give him a quick hug then pick up my school bag and folder.
"It was no trouble. Anytime, really" he replied soothingly. I walk up to my English room, not sure of how I'm going to get Zoe and I out of class so we can talk about Heather. I get to my English room, knocking three times before opening the door quietly. I achieve a collection of glares so I cough to clear the awkward silence.
"Hi Mrs. Crowley, sorry to bother you. I was wondering if I could speak to Zoe for a moment outside, it's a personal matter. That's also why I haven't been in school all morning."
"Oh don't worry about it darling! Yeah sure you can take Zoe. Take however long you need sweetie" she gave a quick wink before returning her attention back to the class. I watch eagerly as Zoe quickly jumps up from her seat and practically fumbles her way out of the classroom. I couldn't suppress my laughter.
"Hey Zo" I quiet down as she shuts the door to the classroom, leaving us alone in the dirty hallway.
"Hey. Are you alright? I heard about what happened and couldn't stop thinking of you" she searched my eyes in concern.
"I'm okay. I couldn't stop thinking about you!" we burst into fits of snorts and giggles. We both sigh at the same time which makes us smile at each other from ear to ear.
"I didn't know who else to go to so I approached Luke. Seemed like a good choice"
"Yeah it was. He made me realise how much you guys care about me. Thank you for that" I genuinely loved Zoe as a person but what she did had formed frosted glass over our friendship. I'm just glad that Tyler told me when he did otherwise it may have gotten a lot worse.
"Thank you for what?" she furrowed her eyebrows.
"For always being there" I looked down at my shoes nervously, wondering why our friendship couldn't still be like this.
"God, I miss having this. Having us. What ever happened to our friendship Jade? What did I do?" she must be joking! How could she not know?!
"You don't know what you did? You broke me Zoe! It didn't seem like you and I miss our friendship too but it still happened. You got carried away" I tried not to raise my voice.
"I swear I would never mean to hurt you Jade! I care about you, practically adore and worship you. It must have been a misunderstanding. Please tell me what happened" Zoe begged.
"At the end of last year, before the start of Summer holidays, some rumours went around. They were so horrible and they were about me"
"Yeah I heard those rumours. The one about you sleeping with the whole football team so you could be popular?" wow. No wonder she remembered them so well, she made them up!
"Zoe, you remember them because you made them up!" I yell at her, tears threatening to spill just thinking about how she ruined my life. When I looked at her she looked offended. She couldn't play that card on me!
"I would never do that. Not to anyone, especially my best friend" she looked genuine and I knew Zoe like the back of my hand. I could tell when she was lying.
"Well that's not what Tyler told me" I say to Zoe, realisation hitting me like a train.
"Tyler!" We both gasp in unison.
***
TYLER'S POV
Zoe and Jade came to my English classroom, together! What was going on? They looked angry, no, furious. Great! Two hormonal bitches to deal with. They asked to talk to me in the hallway. My teacher excused me but I didn't really want to go if this had anything to do with what happened in their friendship.
"Tyler. We're gonna be quick about this. Cut the shit, you started those rumours about Jade last year, didn't you?" Zoe was clearly upset that she had lost her best friend because of me and she didn't even know it.
"This was only meant to hurt Jade, okay? I actually like you Zoe and I only did it because I wanted to get closer to you. Jade was taking you away from me, can't you see?! And Jade, don't act like you don't enjoy the thought of sleeping with the football team" they both gasped from shock. At what I said, I suppose.
"How could you?! I never took her away from you. You took her away from me, our friendship was put on the line and you broke it! You little whore!" Jade screamed at me, her face was tomato red. You could almost see the steam coming out of her ears.
"Did you hear the way she just spoke to me?! Come on Zoe, we don't need this childish brat in our lives! Let's just stay on our own" I tried to reach for Zoe's hand but she snatched it away from me. Tears were spilling down her cheeks before she continued.
"How could you?! I never want you to speak to me or my friends ever again, you worthless piece of shit!" Zoe spat at me, the last of her words hitting me like a punch in the stomach.

A/N
Hey guys! It's Payton, Tess and I were gonna have a co-written chapter but it was too long. Tess didn't write an authors note because cliffhanger bitches!!!
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~Payton xoxo 💋❤️🐧🍤🙈🍆