-Better

10- r e a l f r i e n d

A/N: okay so I accidentally lied when I said it was going to be the last chapter with LJ(Leo and Jade) at the age 17, but it was an accident, so it wasn't really a lie, right? Either way, this chapter definitely has some stuff going down in it (hehe), so that's good, right? I hope you enjoy it because I wrote it for you guys! Its short and not very good, but its not quite a filler either, so it kinda has to be read.

Barcelona, Spain- 17 years old

Leo and Jade ended up laying in bed for almost an hour before their relaxation was interrupted by a slew of loud and incessant tones from his phone. He had tried to ignore it, seeing as this was his time to be with Jade and he didn't want to cut it short, but whoever was texting him sounded really urgent.

"Maybe you should just answer the damn phone..." Jade muttered from her place on Leo's shoulder. He looked down at her, surprised that she was even awake.

Lionel finally complied and reached for his phone, just as another group of messages began pouring in. Groggily checking the name attached to the texts, he quickly shot up, sobering up from the sleep that had invaded him.

Mari: Leo where are you???

Mari: I know you don't have practice today

Mari: I've been sitting in this stupid coffee shop for an hour already!

Mari: It's not nice to leave your girlfriend all by herself in a public place

Mari: if you don't contact me in the next 10 min I'm leaving.

There were more before then, but Leo didn't bother to look. He totally forgot he had a girlfriend, let alone that they had a date today. The thought completely slipped his mind when Jade had come into the picture for the first time in two years. His fingers were speedy as he typed up a short reply and sent it, not wanting to anger her more than she probably already was.

I'm so sorry. I'll be there in 5 minutes!, He sent and instantly got a reply.

Mari: If you're not here by then, I'm leaving.

He didn't reply after that, seeing as he needed to get ready to go before she left him. He slipped out of the bed, quickly lacing up his shoes and turning to Jade, giving her a quick kiss to her forehead before running out, not even giving her an explanation when she had asked.

Though, without his knowledge, Jade had looked over his shoulder at what was on his phone, she couldn't help but feel even more confused and helpless than before.

Leo has a girlfriend? If so, why didn't he tell me about it?, she sighed, And why do I feel so empty all of the sudden?

But Jade knew. She knew all too well why she felt this way and she didn't like it. The way she felt for him hadn't ever changed since that night when they were 15. She still loved him and cared for him, but did he do the same?

Jade suddenly felt sick to her stomach as she thought about the problem currently arising. What if he no longer loves me the way he used to? What if I'm still just his best friend?

Her heart sunk down to her knees, taking her stomach with it as she curled up into a fetal position under her covers. I have no right to feel this way, he wasn't even mine to begin with, she thought as a surge of anger pulsed through her, directed at this "Mari".

Her pillow was soaked with tears and her eyes were irritated from swiping them away by the time she had finally decided to get out of bed and do something other than wallow in misery. She sat up and blinked the remainder of her tears away before making her way into the bathroom with a change of clothes.

Shutting the door, Jade placed her clean clothes and the counter before stripping and entering the shower. The water was cold—she needed to be woken up and refreshed— and she didn't bother shaving this time around, not concerned with looks right now.

By the time she had left the shower, it was already 19:03 and her mouth fell open. Had I really spent that much time on him, without him even being here? Jade grabbed her phone from her night stand and turned it on, finally acknowledging the many notifications she had received while she was upset.

Leo: I'm sorry to cut our hang out short but I forgot that I had an important meeting today.

Is that all he thought she should know? That instead of him having an actual girlfriend, he had a "meeting" to attend? She scoffed as she scrolled past that.

Leo: I really hope we can hang out again soon. Maybe next week?

Leo: Jade???

The two messages were sent pretty far apart, so she knew he must have been at least little bit worried about her, now that it was a few hours later. She tried not to laugh sarcastically as she typed her response into her phone.

Maybe. Is all that she sent. After that, she turned her phone off so she wouldn't be there to witness the millions of questions she knew he would send. Exiting her room, she made her way into the kitchen, rummaging through the fridge for something small to eat before bed.

Pulling out a tub of strawberries, she grabbed a few, running them under cold water, before putting them in a small bowl from the cupboard. Jade took a bite out of one as she moved into the living room, relaxing on the couch for a bit.

Her thoughts shifted seemingly three billion times by the time she was done with her strawberries and went back to her room. The last thing it landed on before she fell asleep was not Leo, but Kila. Kila was a real friend and told her everything that went on in her life. It had her wondering just how real of a friend Leo actually was.