Diamond in the Rough (WattpadPrize14)

Chapter 1: Where'd You Go?

Nothing—absolutely nothing happened as I completed a staring match with my phone, hoping it'd ring any second. But it never lit up.

Where was my best friend?

A couple police officers walked around the house again, trying to look for clues that may lead to her whereabouts. They somehow convinced her parents to go to work today, which I'm glad of. They needed something to get the fact that their daughter was missing off their mind. Worrying that much wasn't healthy.

Only I was allowed to do that.

Day three: No trace of from Jess. No one was getting anywhere. They knew nothing about her, not like me, which is why soon enough I'll start my own investigation. These people honestly couldn't figure out a thing, and time was being wasted.

I shifted myself on Jess's comfy purple desk chair that stood out in her room. I was the only one who had the courage to go in here. It was hard at first—I couldn't face the fact that my best friend was gone, for the time being of course. She would come back. We'd find her.

Eventually, I grew a pair and entered what everyone now saw as, the "forbidden room." I felt a little better, because it was like having part of her with me this time. This was where she spent doing only God knows what besides watching TV, doing her homework, or laying on her bed reading on her phone.

It was like all her secrets lie here, that this room, hidden for no one to find. Which made it more difficult to look for her.

In my eyes, her room was a typical teenage girl's room. There were band posters on the wall, bent and faded at the edges. Small polaroids were on a cork board, and her bed was unmade. It was all her.

Jess, where'd you go?

I brushed my eyes over the mess she called a desk, fingering loose papers and colored pens. Then I saw it. A leatherbound journal, saying 2013-2014 on the front cover.

I swiveled closer to it and slipped it out of the crevice it was wedged in. My eyes scanned the desk for anything else that might be suspicious, considering I had nearly missed the journal.

I layed it flat out and swiped the thin layer of dust, which lead me to comfirm that she'd written in it recently. I wondered if she wrote in it right before she disappeared.

Before I knew it, I was staring at the precious journal challengingly, trying to make it open on its own.

Should I read it?

Part of me wanted to find out what went on in her mind, and what happened out of school. The other part knew this was something extremely personal and risky since it was supposed to be blended in, out of sight.

In the end, I decided that I'd rather take the chance and read it to see if it could lead me to actually finding her. I didn't care if she was mad, or if I was invading something. It couldn't be that bad.

I just wanted my best friend back.

I placed my finger tips on the edge of the leather cover, and slowly lifted it.

"What are you doing?"

At the familiar voice, I cursed under my breath.

"Heard that."

"Don't care."

I turned around to face the annoying guy I despised since middle school; the same one who embarassed me in front of my crush and attempted to beat me in everything. The one who thought he was better than me. But he was also Jess's best friend. At times, we fought over her, and were reluctant to even be in the same room with one another, but Jess was up for the whole people-should-bond thing.

"You shouldn't be snooping around her stuff," he sneered, gradually looking around the room on his own accord.

"It's called investigating. What if there are answers?"

He didn't say anything back and I turned to the journal, opening to the first page.

"If you come across this by accident, put it down right now and continue on with your life since this will not affect yours. Goodbye." I read aloud. I smiled sadly. It sounded exactly like something she'd write.

I flipped to the next page to see her messy hand writing. It looked like black pen markings all over the paper, and I could tell she didn't bother to write neatly at all—just maneuvered her hand in any way that didn't require effort. I knew she honestly didn't give a damn. That was my best friend for you.

"Even after that note, you're still reading it? God, how selfish can you be?"

"I'm actully trying to do something to find her! Unlike you!" I countered without a second thought.

Whatever he said next didn't effect me, nor did his feelings if I hurt them, because the first page of the journal left me in shock. And the next page....and the next page.

Only one question roamed through my mind as I read in between the lines: How well did I really know Jess?

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