(written by Michelle) "Thanks guys for bringing her home safely, I don't know what I would've done if something happened to her," Jess was explaining to Brian and Kevin as they were walking out the door. "It's no problem Jess, we're just glad she's ok. Call us if you need anything," Kevin said. Jess looked to Brian as if he would follow his cousin out the door, but he just stood there with his hands in his pockets, looking uncomfortable. Jess decided to take the first plunge and confront what had happened earlier. "Look Brian, about earlier with the kiss and everything, let's just forget it ever happened." She could feel her insides wrench when she said that, she didnt' want to forget it, she wanted to relive it again and again. When Brian didn't say anything, she just shut the door in his face, right now his face was causing her to hurt and she didn't want to hear his explanation. Jess already knew what he was going to say, he was sorry that he kissed her, he didn't mean it, he was thinking about Jade the whole time; Jess had heard it all before. On the opposite side of the closed door, Brian was thinking something different. "I don't want to forget about it," he whispered into the brown wood seperating himself from the one he wanted to be with.
Sighing in frustration and exhaustion, he walked the short distance from where he stood to Nick's house. Jess went straight to her room and to her corner of the world--her balcony. It seemed that more and more she was isolating herself from the rest of Florida by seeking solitude on her little balcony. She knew that there was no way she was getting to sleep tonight, there was just too much on her mind. Well, not that much, just Brian. He had confused the hell out of her with that kiss, but excited her at the same time. He could offer Jess all of the things she'd ever dreamed of: wealth, fame, a big house, but mostly love.
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The sound of clanging pots brought Jess out of her light slumber the next morning. Walking quite unsteadily from the lack of sleep to the kitchen, Jess found Jade rumaging through the drawers looking for something. "Jade, what are you looking for this early?" Jess knew that if Jade got out of bed on a weekend before 12 then it was a special occasion. "Jess, you scared the shit out of me, what are you doing up so early?" Jess slumped into the nearest chair and stared at Jade as if she were nuts. "Jade it's 8 a.m., you're up and functioning, and making a lot of god damn noise and you're asking me what I'm doing up? Is there something wrong with this picture?" Jess inquired, letting out a long yawn.
Jade looked at the clock that was mounted on the wall, scratched her head, then looked at her wrist watch and gave Jess a defeated look, "I guess you finally rubbed off on me!" Jess shook her head, Jade was not herself this morning. "You better go get ready while I make breakfast, we have a full day of shopping ahead of us," Jade said, getting the eggs out of the fridge. "That's today?" Jess moaned. "Yes, now get moving before I have to haul your ass all the way to the shower!!" Damn, Jess thought, Jess stood in the shower allowing the hot water to run down her body, all the time hoping to wake up and last night be just a dream. Her skin began to resemble that of a raisin, she knew there was no chance of her ever waking up, she just had to face reality. Turning off the water and staggering out to her room, Jess was aware of the light breeze blowing across the room, it was coming from her opened balcony door. "Funny, I thought I shut that on my way downstairs," Jess said aloud. As she shut the door, something caught her eye, lying on her inflatable chair was a single red rose with a note attached.
Dear Jessica,
Watched you from afar, I have. Need you in my arms, I do. See you tonight, I will.
Love,
Your S/A.
Jess inhaled the scent of the rose and allowed her eyes to close, thinking about who would do this. She only knew 5 other people in town, so that pretty much narrowed things down, but which one of them it was, she couldn't see. She looked at the address on the card, she was supposed to be at this fancy restaraunt tonight at 7. Contemplating whether or not to go, she headed back into her room to get ready for the shopping trip.
He watched her from his place in the bushes below her balcony. He saw as the wind rippled through her hair and the green bathrobe she was wearing, he crossed his fingers as she spotted the rose he left earlier. He could see the smile on her face grow increasing wide as she read the words he had written. With a sad heart, he watched as she turned and walked back into her room. He then walked away, with thoughts of tonight in his mind.
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"Come on Jess, we need to get moving. We still have a couple of stores to go through to find you shoes and the perfect dress," Jade screamed to her friend, whose paces seemed to get slower the more they shopped. "Can we just sit down for a second, please?" Jess had no idea what was going on with Jade, she was never this excited about shopping for someone else. Jess looked at the mall clock and noticed that she only had about an hour left of shopping if she was ever going to have enough time to get ready for her mystery date tonight, and yes she was going!!!
Jade glanced over at her best friend, she was glad she had taken that extra pill at lunch time, or else she would have never been able to shop this long. "Well, I think we've accomplished a lot today, don't you?" Jade asked as she started the rental car. "I guess you're right. Regardless of how much my feet actually hurt, I had a lot of fun today, thanks Jade," Jess replied, smiling at her friend. "Jess, can I borrow your water for a second?" Jade asked taking out the white bottle. "Sure, what do you need my water for?" Jess asked, handing her the bottle.
"I have a killer headache, I just wanted to take some aspirin." As Jade downed one of the pills, Jess snatched the bottle from her and quickly popped two into her mouth. "JESS?! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST DO?!" Jade questioned. "What?! my head was beginning to throb, so I just took some aspirin, no big deal." Jade didn't know what to do, she didn't know whether or not to tell Jess what she had just taken. Knowing Jess, she would probably flip out over a couple of pills that would make her feel better. Jade smiled a worried smile at her friend, and began the drive home.
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Jess had told Jade about the mystery date a couple of minutes before she bounded up the stairs to start to get ready. They had agreed that Jade would go up in an hour and fix Jess's hair and make-up and then drive her to the restaraunt seeing how Jess hated to drive in big cities. With a couple of seconds to spare, Jade headed up to Jess's room to help her friend prepare. She couldn't help but worry about her friend, Jade had never taken two of those pills before, but Jess had, she just hoped they had no effect on Jess. Without bothering to knock, Jade entered to find her best friend laying unconscious on the bedroom floor.
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