Of Scissors And Scooby Doo

Chapter 6

"Vega!"

My sister's chattering about some boy abruptly stopped and just then did I realize that I haven't been listening to one word she had said. My mind was still reeling from the encounter with Jade earlier, that I just couldn't think about anything else. Trina and I both stopped and turned around but as soon as my eyes fell on the person who called out I knew I was spoken to. Jade walked over to us, her eyes meeting mine. "You," she clarified while pointing a finger at me.

I swallowed the nervous lump that began forming in my throat. "What's up?" I had meant for my voice to come out casual and, you know, normal but instead I sounded like someone who just ran a marathon and was dying from a lack of oxygen. Jade glanced over at Trina. "You can go. I'll bring her home."

My eyebrows almost touched my hairline and I was only barely able to answer Trina when she asked me if that was okay with me. "Sure, yeah. Go home," I said without looking at my sister. With a loud sigh, Trina walked away from us, her heels clacking loudly but getting quieter and quieter the more she distanced herself.

"So have you recovered from what I told you earlier?"

Barely. "I um, yeah, I, I, I-"

Fortunately, Jade interrupted my stammering. "Obviously not," she stated while lifting her un-pierced eyebrow at me. "What is it exactly that makes you so nervous? The fact that I said what I said or just... my mere presence?"

"I... You don't make me nervous." I don't think I've ever lied as much as I did in the last few days. "It's just that... I wondered if you really meant it."

She took a look around the parking lot before she shifted her eyes back to me. "Why wouldn't I have meant it?"

"I don't know. I don't know a lot of things about you anymore."

"Yeah... But you wanted to change that, didn't you?"

I couldn't figure out if she really was being honest. After all, she was an actress. A good one. She could probably fool me anytime. But then again, this was Jade. No matter how much she might have changed I didn't think she would ever hurt me in any way. Not in such an extent. I ultimately decided that, whether or not she was telling the truth, there was no way that I would let the opportunity to get closer to Jade slip away. So I nodded my head and just took the risk. "Yes."

"Then let's go."

-OS&SD-

I could have thought of a dozen places Jade had planned to take me, home being the first on the list. But instead of seeing the familiar house I live in, or even Jade's house, I found myself at the beach, silently walking next to an equally silent Jade. We walked and walked but both of us didn't utter a single word. Personally, I just didn't know what to say. I got fidgety after a while, the silence really getting to me. Was it a good or a bad thing that Jade didn't say anything? Barely three words had left her lips since we left the school. You can imagine what a weird – and long – car ride it had been. "Come on."

My heart jumped and my eyes snapped toward her, my feet immediately stopping when I saw her sit down in the sand, knees pulled up to her chest and arms wrapped around them. She looked at me expectantly but I stayed glued to the spot. "What, you just gonna stand there? I won't bury you in the sand if that's what you're concerned about. Come sit with me."

I blushed a little but the bright light of the sun blended Jade's eyes and made her squint, so that she couldn't have seen my embarrassment. At least I hoped so. As soon as I sat down next to her she began talking, her eyes steadily kept in front of her. "You know I saw you at the Big Showcase."

"You did?"

"I did. I recognized you the moment you stepped on stage, looking scared as hell." I smiled at the memory, of how I was so completely terrified of performing in front of so many people. If I had known that Jade was there, somewhere in the crowd, my heart would have probably completely given out. Jade shrugged. "It was easy. You haven't really changed that much."