Living in Baltimore your whole life was the most boring thing you could ever possibly do. It sucked here, according to Jess. She had been to the skating rink a million times, the same movie theatre a million times, she'd went into the Ottobar a million times, usually with a fake I.D. That place could never really get old, though.
Then, one day, that all changed. Senior year, when everything was beginning to get so overdone she couldn't stand it, a new routine came into her life. One that was never the same routine, just the same face. Alex Gaskarth.
The first day he showed up, there was something about him. Jess didn't say much, she just observed him. She was interested from the first time she saw him, which she knew was wrong and felt rather guilty about, since she was in love with Nick. But, it never came up, and all she did was watch from afar. She wasn't doing any harm there.
The night Alex stood up to Nick in front of everyone made her sick. She didn't want him to ruin Alex like he would if someone messed with him, but he needed to do that so bad. She would admit that he wasn't a very good singer, but she'd listen to it. Because she loved him. She knew not everyone else wanted to listen to that, because they didn't love him like she did. Besides, he kind of never did show up to practice.
When she first heard Alex sing, she couldn't believe he was that good. It was only two lines she got to hear before she was pulled away, but she thought it was incredible. He sounded lovely, and they all just sounded so good together. Finally. Like a completely new band. It was for the best. Now, she had Nick all to herself, anyways. She didn't have to worry that the rumors he reassured her weren't true, were. Because he wouldn't be going to gigs, and kissing girls behind buildings like the rumors claimed. She knew it couldn't be true. After all, they had been together for a while and he wouldn't lie to her or do her wrong like that. Would he?
Now, he was asking her to leave. She didn't want to. She wanted to hear Alex sing more, and besides it was Rian's birthday. She was supposed to be there for him, as one of his best friends. They had marched together for four years straight. They were closer than anyone could be.
When she declined, she felt his nails dig into her arm as he pulled her away, against her will. She didn't make a sound, instead she followed his lead. She could understand why, he was pretty upset. Sometimes people take things out on others, it's just simply a human thing.
After that night, Nick acted like a completely different person. He was distant. He wasn't sweet, he was just mean. Jess told herself over and over that he was just going through a hard time, and he needed someone to take it out on. She would be his person, because that's what you do for the people you love. She told herself that he would be over it soon.
A month had passed, and now he was forcing her into things she didn't want to do. Like, go to parties with him and then he would disappear and she would be stuck there alone for hours until he caught up with her at the end and asked for a ride home.
Jess was a sweet person, and she always let people walk all over her. That was something she'd always done. People felt bad for her, always being the nice girl. She didn't get into trouble that much, but her parents were rather laid back. She never really did anything for herself, but others.
So after a long month of pain and torture, one night came and Nick offered for her to spend the night at his house, saying it was safe, because his parents were going to be out of town. She agreed to it, thinking he was finally getting over it and they were gonna be back to normal. She was right. They watched one of their favorite movies, cuddled on the couch, and ate popcorn. Once it was over, they slowly started kissing, then he led them upstairs. Whenever he started taking her pants off was when she stopped him. She wasn't quite in that mood. Then he tried to convince her too, but she just really wasn't feeling it. Then, when that didn't work, he forced her pants off. Now matter how hard she tried to get him off her, it didn't work. She was strong, but not strong enough. He did what he wanted, while saying some awful words to her, too.
