Dare || m.c.

➵ 1.7 - michael

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Almost two weeks had passed since Jade's mom died and Richard still wouldn't say what happened to her body. He said it wasn't any of Michael's business. If he wanted to know, he could ask Jade, but obviously he couldn't do that. Well, he could, but he didn't want to. This whole week Jade had been really weird and Michael didn't know why.

The day after the party she didn't go into the woods. Michael thought maybe he just didn't see her, so he actually went to check and waited there for about half an hour before giving up. She showed up on Sunday, but didn't say anything. Michael tried making some stupid jokes to get her to crack, but she wouldn't give. It was like someone had locked her inside of her own body; she couldn't come out even if she wanted to. Then she disappeared and didn't show up at all. At school, she was, well, to put it bluntly, she was a bitch. She said hi to him if he said it first, but other than that, there was nothing. Every time Michael tried asking her why she was being that way, she said she wasn't being any way. They weren't friends. She didn't have to talk to him if she didn't want to.

And it all really pissed Michael off.

With her guard somewhat down, Michael had started to genuinely like her personality. She was a strong person, no one could argue that, but she was more than that. She was clever and witty, and more than anything, she was honest. She didn't take shit from anyone and stayed true to herself, which was why he was so bothered by this. If Jade said that they weren't friends, then she really believed that. And, yeah, they weren't exactly good friends, but they were something. It really fucking stung every time she reminded him they weren't anything but classmates. Just a week ago, hadn't she totally broken down in front of him and asked him to sit with her against that damn tree? Didn't she say that she liked it, that she needed something stable like that?

And the party. The way she had no problem dancing with him. Didn't that count for anything? Granted, she was drunk, but still. The way she looked at him before Ashton came. There was no way Michael could have imagined that. And why was it all so important? Was it because Michael actually wanted to be her friend? Or was it because he needed Jade to be his friend so he could win? If that last one was true, then Jade would be right. She was just a challenge. But Michael didn't want her to be a challenge. He wanted her to be more than that.

"Michael!"

Michael blinked and looked up from his guitar, confused about why Calum was suddenly yelling. "What?"

"You keep blanking out," Luke said, sounding extremely frustrated. "What's up with you, man? You've been acting weird."

Michael sighed. He could lie and brush it all off and say that he was fine and nothing was up with him, but he felt tired. He wanted to tell someone about everything that was happening with Jade. And there were only two people he could really talk to. "I'm sorry," Michael said and leaned his guitar against the wall. "I'm just really annoyed with Jade."

Luke shook his head. "Just let it go, dude. She's way out of your league. Forget it."

He was talking about the dare. Of course he was. That's not what Michael was thinking about though, not really. "It's not the dare," he said. "She's just so fucking difficult to figure out. I don't know what to expect from her."

"Expect the unexpected," Calum shrugged.

"Very helpful," Michael glared at him.

Calum didn't know about her mom dying and Michael debated the pros and cons of telling him. In the end, the only con was that if Jade found out she might be pissed because it wasn't Michael's news to share. The rest were pros. But Michael didn't care if she got pissed, he was pissed too. So he told Calum. And Luke too. The whole story, starting from that fateful Friday and the evenings in the woods and the party. And how she wasn't even talking to him now.