The Friendzone

S E V E N

When Jade left, Ethan went inside to talk to Grayson. He walked to Grayson's room. He knocked on and walked in. He saw Grayson lying on his bed. He sat on the edge ad looked at his little brother.

"I'm sorry" he apologised. "I shouldn't have dared you to do that. I know you're just friends, but I thought it would be interesting. I guess not. I'm really sorry. I regret ever saying it. Do you forgive me?"

"Where's Jade?" Grayson asked.

"She went home" Ethan replied. "I tried to apologise to her, but she just ignored me. She said it was best if she left. She left about two minutes ago. I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I swear! I would never want you two to fight or argue!"

"It's fine" Grayson said. "Can you just leave me alone for a while?" Ethan nodded as he left his room. Grayson fell asleep thinking about Jade. How is she feeling? Is she okay? Did he upset her? Is she going to hate him? What if he ruined their friendship?

***

It's been a week since Grayson had last spoken to Jade. He had tried to speak to her, but she was shutting him out. She kept saying she was busy, or she was too tired, or she had to be somewhere. He missed her.

Grayson woke up to a text from his friend, Jack Dail. He was confused. They haven't spoken in a while, why was he texting him? But the text was even more confusing.

Jack Dail
Hey, you need to come to the club now

Grayson
Why?

Jack Dail
Jade's here

Grayson
What?!

Jack Dail
And she's drunk

Grayson
I'm coming now

He jumped out of bed and ran to his car. Quickly, he drove to the club. He parked outside and snuck inside. He looked around to find Jack or Jade. He finally found Jack at the bar. He ran to him and asked where Jade was. Jack pointed to the middle of the dance floor. Grayson saw Jade dancing with a guy. The guy was looking at Jade while licking his lips.

Grayson pushed past everyone and came to Jade and the guy. Grayson ripped the guy off jade and punched him in the face. Everyone stopped and watched what was happening. Grayson turned to Jade. "You're coming with me!" He demanded as he pulled her arm. She trailed behind him.

"Get off me!" She resisted, but he pulled her out the club. He released her and looked at her. She frowned at him. "You ruined my fun!" She exclaimed, slurring her words. Grayson could tell she was drunk.

"What do you think you're doing?!" He yelled. Jade looked up at him in shock. "Under-aged drinking?! What happened to you?! You're not like this! What's gotten into you?! You're usually mature! But this is the most stupidest thing you've ever done!"

"Oh well! No one cares about me anyway!" She replied, turning around.

Grayson grabbed her by her shoulders and forced her to look at him. "I care about you! I always have! What on earth made you think no one cared about you?! Many people care about you!" Jade pushed his hands off her and began to walk away. "What has gotten into you?! If there's something wrong, tell me! I'm your best friend! And best friends don't keep secrets from each other!"

Jade sighed as she grabbed his face and kissed his soft lips with so much passion. She pulled away and whispered in his ear, "Some things are best kept hidden". She walked back into the club. Before she entered, she turned to the guard. "Keep him out, he isn't 21".

Grayson tried to follow her into the club, but he was thrown out. He waited by his car for Jade to come out. It was 3am when he saw her walking down the street. She was stumbling as she walked. She walked past him, and he walked along side her.

"Had a fun night?" He asked. Jade looked up at him. She sighed when she saw it was Grayson. "Why did you kiss me?" Jade ignored his question. "What's wrong with you?" She ignored him. "What's going on?" Once again, she ignored him. "Why were you drinking?" He asked.

She sighed. "I want to forget everything, drinking was the only option".

"Drinking is never the only option!" Grayson exclaimed. Jade stopped and glared at him. He saw the pain in her eyes. He could smell the alcohol in her breath. She tried to keep her anger under control, but failed.

"You don't understand what I'm dealing with!"

"How can I understand when you keep shutting me out?!" He asked. "I have tried talking to you for the past week! But you keep shutting me out! You lie about being busy, or being too tired to talk to me! But I know they were excuses so you don't have to speak to me! Tell me what's wrong before I tell your parents that you were out drinking!"

"My parents are getting a divorce!" She explained. Grayson was shocked. "Yeah, they are splitting up! And they don't worry about how I'm dealing with all of this! Nope! They only care about themselves! They aren't even worrying about who's getting custody of me!"

"Why didn't you tell me?!"

"You had other things to worry about! Your dad with cancer, finding your dream girl, looking after your family. I didn't want you taking care of me as well as yourself and family! What kind of friend would I be if I depend on you for help? I need to be able to care for myself!"

"Depend on me?! I've always depended on you! You were always there for me when I needed you the most! How can you not come to me! I will always be here for you! You can always talk to me! Whether I'm mad at you or not! I will always care about you, I promise!"

"I didn't know what else to do" Jade admitted.

Grayson sighed. "Come on, I'll take you back to mine so you're parents don't find out you got drunk". He led her to his car. He opened the car door to the passenger's side, but she slide in the back. Grayson walked around and drove home.

When he parked in front of his house, he looked in the back to see Jade asleep. He smiled as he carried her to his room. He placed her in his bed and placed the duvet over her. He slept on the floor for the night.