Do You Know Me?

Advice

Tori's POV

It's been a few weeks since Jade told me she wanted to be friends with me. Since then, we've been hanging out together outside of school a lot. We even spent some time together over the holiday break! I still get the feeling that she wants to keep our friendship a secret, but I don't mind. I'm just happy to have a Jade who no longer wants to make my life as miserable as possible.

I sit in Sikowitz's class, watching Cat and Robbie get onto the stage at the front of the class. Today's lesson is about improv, something I've found myself to be less-than stellar at.

"Okay, I need somebody to pick a setting," Sikowitz says, facing the class.

"How about a slaughterhouse?" I hear Jade answer, a hint of boredom in her voice. I smile slightly. My friend's bluntness never fails to amuse me. Sikowitz looks at her for a moment with a slightly awkward expression, then turns back to the class.

"Okay... our scene takes place in a slaughterhouse," he says "Now, can someone else give me a situation?"

"How about... escaping a fire?" Andre suggests.

"Oh! One time my brother started a fire in the middle of a Skybucks!" Cat chirps from the stage. The class goes quiet. Usually, Cat then explains why her brother does the crazy things he does, but today she just stops mid-sentence and refuses to elaborate, which doesn't make her statement any less worrying.

"Alright then!" Sikowitz tries to get the class back under his control "our scene takes place in a slaughterhouse where there is a fire. Cat and Robbie... go!" My friends start screaming as they act out their scene, pretending to run away from the fire in the slaughterhouse. Suddenly, the lunch bell rings, and class is over.

"Oh c'mon, we were just getting to the good part!" Robbie whines, as the class begins to leave the room. As I walk down the stairs in the main hallway, I hear the sound of Beck and Jade arguing. I walk a little faster, hoping to find out why friends are mad at each other.

"You need to stop freaking out over every little thing I do!" Beck says. I hear him slam his locker. My worry only grows, as Beck never does that. He's too calm for that. Slamming locker doors is more Jade's style. She must've pushed him super far to get him to this point.

"Every little thing you do? How about every little thing you don't do?!" Jade barks.

"I do plenty for you! If there's anyone who's not keeping up their end of the relationship, it's you! You're jealous, you're possessive, you're mean-" I can hear the defeat in Beck's voice.

"Of course I'm possessive, I have to be! It's like every time I turn away, even if it's only for a second, it seems you're running off with some other chick!" Jade practically screeches.

"I was running away from her, not running off with her!"

"So you admit you were with another girl last night?"

"What?! No! Jade, you know I'd never do that to you! You know it! "

"We'll maybe if you'd actually put up some boundaries around our relationship and stop letting every girl that lays eyes on you to flirt with you, I'd be inclined to believe that." The hurt in Jade's voice is well hidden, but I can tell it's there. I reach my friends just in time, right before they decide to walk away from each other. I grab their arms and lead them both to the janitor's closet, as I know it's the only way I'll get Jade to talk to me about what's going on. I'm not so sure about Beck, but I know that Jade is very selective when it comes to the people she chooses to be vulnerable with. As we enter the closet, I turn on the light and close the door, standing in front of the door handle so neither of them can escape.