Dare || m.c.

➵ 3.6 - jade

"Alright." And that was that. She quickly walked to Michael's house and rang the doorbell, expecting Michael to open the door but found herself staring at a blond woman.

"Hi," Jade smiled at her politely. "Is Michael home?"

"He is," the woman smiled back at her with warm eyes. She looked slightly like Michael, hints and traces of his faces evident in her features. "And who would you be?"

"I'm sorry, I'm Jade," Jade said and mentally face palmed herself.

The woman, who Jade assumed was Michael's mother, opened the door wide. "I'm Karen, come on in."

Jade stepped into the house and Karen excused herself to go and get Michael, leaving Jade alone. This was her second time coming inside and this time she actually looked around. Michael was rich. Ashton had a decent house, big enough for them all, but this was literally a mansion. From the outside it didn't look too big, but from the inside it was obvious Michael's family didn't have a limited bank balance. The fact that he had a pool in his house spoke for itself.

Someone cleared their throat and Jade turned out, coming back to reality. "Hey," Michael said, giving her a small smile. He was wearing clean clothes and looked like he was about to head out.

"Hi," Jade said, stuffing her hands in the back pockets of her pants. "Are you busy?"

"Not really," Michael said, crossing his arms loosely over his chest. "Why?"

"Can I ask you a huge favor?" This was a little weird for Jade. She didn't normally have to ask people to do stuff for her. She was pretty independent, and if she ever needed anything, Ashton was always there.

"Yeah, of course."

"I need a ride," Jade said, staring down at the carpeted floor. She felt a little embarrassed, but he was really the only person she could ask. "Do you think you could drive me to Sheila's house?" Michael didn't say anything for a moment and Jade panicked, thinking she was only annoying him and he clearly had other plans before she came along. "It's fine if you can't, that's okay. It's just that Ashton can't make it back on time and I don't have my own car, so I would-"

"Jade, stop," Michael said abruptly, cutting her off mid sentence. Jade looked up and Michael took a few steps towards her. "I'll take you. Relax."

Jade shook her head once, positive that he was just lying to her to be nice. "No, really, it's alright, if you were going somewhere, I understand."

Michael put his hands on her shoulders and she stopped talking, sucking in a quick breath, trying to calm her heart. "Stop. What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Jade said, a little too quickly. She didn't want Michael to see her like this. She would much rather lose her mind in front of Ashton; at least he didn't judge her. She was honestly freaking out now and it was only somewhat justifiable. She was asking Michael to take her to her mother's house. Michael, the guy who played her like a toy, the guy who bled himself out over her, the guy who kissed her just a few days ago, the guy who said "Trust me," and then gave her a reason to trust him.

"You're nervous," Michael said simply, using one hand to tilt her head up. He stared at her without saying a word and Jade had to close her eyes. She couldn't look at him without her heart threatening to burst out of her chest. This wasn't normal. She wasn't supposed to feel this way.

"I'm scared," she whispered without thinking. But it was true. She was scared. For so many things.

"You don't need to be," she heard Michael whisper back and then felt his lips against her forehead, his touch making her toes curl. Without meaning to, she stepped closer to him, her body betraying her and craving his warmth. "Come on, let's go."