Chapter 2
"I'll lift you up, I'll never stop
You know I'll take you to another world
I'll build you up, I'll never stop
You know I'll take you to another world."
-One Direction
Jade
Conversation around the table surrounded me. They were different from what I expected. They were all nice and all but . . . I just didn't understand why Perrie was doing this to me. Or harry. All morning he kept on making suggestive remarks, and flirting shamelessly.
I didn't really talk much at lunch. Except maybe once when I'd been spoken to directly.
"So how long have you been here?" Zayn asked casually.
I shrugged and before I could answer someone else did for me.
"Since year nine," Liam blurted. Everyone turned to him with quizzical looks and he blushed. He looked at me. "I uh, I knew you sort of in the first year of year nine. You were in my music class."
Everyone then turned to me. For a moment I stared at the ground trying to remember him and when I did I smiled brightly. "Oh, yeah! You're a great singer, Liam!"
He smiled warmly. "You too."
I was now blushing too as I fidgeted uncomfortably. "I only sang once in that class," I mumbled.
"Our loss, eh?" he joked.
"You sing?" Perrie asked.
I shrugged. "During free time, I guess."
"No way! We do too! Like all of us! It's quite ironic, really."
"That's nice," I said feeling my usually walls slowly making themselves back up and around to caging me in. I was now shifting and my eyes darted around almost looking for an escape.
Niall then started a conversation and I shot him a grateful look that he responded to with a cute braced smile. I was happy that the attention was now shifted to something else.
"Yes! Music is next!" Perrie cheered excitedly. "And we all have this period together." She beamed at us as we found the music room. We entered
"Isn't that exciting?" Harry smirked at me with a wink. I rolled my eyes at him.
"Super," I deadpanned super annoyed with this curly haired man whore. Why he's been pestering me all day I don't know. Sadly I have almost all my classes with him. Except for math, my sanctuary.
But of course, in this music class is the rest of the five and the trio. For absolute joy.
"Hello everybody. I'm your music teacher, Miss Lora," the lady up front greeted as we settled ourselves into a seat. She was a bit tall, but after closer accession I realized that she was wearing skyscrapers for heels. She had short, full, bouncy hair the color of coffee, grey eyes, and a motherly smile. "Now that we are in a new term you have new schedules and classmates. At first I didn't get it, but then I realized it's supposed to 'broaden your horizons' I guess." She air quoted with a smirk as she shook her head. "But long as I get paid, I don't argue." She continued, "So everyone here is to participate in this class. No slackers what so ever are allowed. There will be singing, writing, playing, and I'll give extra points for dancing.
"Now. I'm not saying you have to do everything. Make no mistake, I will form groups, pairs, and if you prefer so, there will be solo acts. But if you're in a group I wouldn't mind if one of you wrote, the other sang lead, another designed clothes, plays an instrument, I don't care. There just has to be work and effort. Participate. Make yourself useful somehow. Heck, do the makeup or just be a backup singer or dancer. Just don't be a tree stump, 'kay?"
People mumbled their yes around the class and Miss Lora smiled graciously. "Excellent. Now heres the fun part. All of you are going to come up here and perform something for me."
No. Way.
None of us were eager to get up there. I mean no one. People shifted in their seats looking up, down, just anywhere but the front of the class or the peers they were going to end up performing in front of.
Miss Lora sighed. "Alright. Guess I need to call names."
Everyone tensed further. Please don't call me, please don't call me, please! Don't. Call. Me! was all I thought as she picked up her clip board.
Miss Lora sighed again as she looked down at the clip board in her hands. "Lucy Anderson. You're up."
And so it began. To be honest I felt like I was in an opening episode for a new season of Glee. Or even X-Factor! But then again not everybody sang. Perrie sang Ain't No Other Man by Christina Aguilera showing off just how strong her vocals were (and vocally flirt with her boyfriend), Niall did Justin Timberlake's Cry Me a River on the guitar and it reminded me of Justin Bieber's cover of it. . . Zayn sang Adorn which even I swooned just a little over as all the girls glared daggers dripping with envy at Perrie who was smiling genuinely at the boy singing to her. Jesy sang Your Song, Liam did Buble's Cry me a River, Leigh Anne did Pon de Replay a song that I've always loved, and harry sang one of my all-time favorite songs The Scientist from Coldplay.
But like I was ever going to tell him that.
"Jade Thirlwall."
No! Crap! Heads turned and I was not surprised that they didn't know where to turn. They had probably never heard my name before. Only the people I had begun speaking to today looked to me. I swallowed as my palms began to moisten. I was on autopilot as I stiffly stood up from my chair and made my way to the front of the room.
Breathe. In. Out. In. Out, I mentally instructed nervously. But what was I going to sing? Okay, shower playlist. What have you sang recently under the steam? Think, Jade, think! Before I had time to think, the fifties fashioned tuned played in my head as I began to sing the lyrics to the cover of a Rihanna song.
I had placed my hands on my hips and bent my left leg, moving my hips to the beat in my head.
La, la, la, la
La, la, la, la
I want you to love me
Like I'm a hot, hot pie.
Oh, you thinkin of me,
I tapped the side of my chin in a thoughtful way.
Doin what you like.
I continued to do the dance like I remember from the video and at the times Ariana held the mic or it's stand I kept my hand on my hip.
So boy forget about the world
Cuz it's gon' be me and you tonight
I'm gonna make you beg for it
I'm gonna make you swallow your pride.
I want you to make me feel like I'm the only girl in the world. (la, la, la, la)
I want you to make me feel like I'm the only one you'll ever lo-o-ove.
I placed my hands over my heart and shimmied my shoulders and hips getting me a couple whistles. I giggled.
I want you to make me feel like I'm the only one who knows your heart
I want you to make me feel like I'm the only girl in the world.
I returned to a more natural, casual stance and then everyone cheered and whistled at me. I laughed and couldn't help the exuberant feeling that overwhelmed me. This was something different.
"Wow! Jade! That was brilliant! What is it you were singing, love?" Miss Lora asked me when she stood by me.
I blushed. "Um, its Ariana Grande's version if Rihanna's Only Girl in the World."
"Well, it was a wonderful performance there." She smiled warmly at me and I smiled back before taking my seat. As everyone gave me thumbs ups and a couple boys looked at me funny I only had one thought.
What the hell just happened?
"So I will be looking over your performances that, yes, I did record. And then I will decide whether or not I want you in a group of sorts or just as a solo act." Miss Lora looked down at her wrist where her watch was secured. "We have about five minutes so you are free to do anything in this room only that isn't loud, rude, or disturbing. And keep it PG, alright?" she added. I almost exploded in laughter as her gaze averted to Harry pointedly. He raised his arms as if in surrender with a smirk.
As everyone else took this time to socialize I went back into my book. After about six years of invigorating anticipation, I finally decided to see what all the fuss was about with the whole Twilight series. Yada, yada, yada, I'm too dangerous for you, I'm a monster, Bella. I rolled my eyes. He had a lot of nerve saying that even though everybody knows that in about three to four books later she'll be giving C-section birth to his hybrid daughter.
"Twilight. Never pegged you for one of the girls to read that."
My eyes lifted from the millions of words scattered all over the pages. I turned my head and my breath hitched when my nose touched Harry's. I tried not to let him see how it'd momentarily affected me and frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"
He smirked. "You just don't seem like you'd. . . really understand the plot of the story."
I rolled my eyes. "Oh and you would? Why don't you enlighten me, Harold?" I said with a snarky tone.
"Say it again."
I blinked in shock at Harry and his darkened eyes. His voice had shifted even lower and it was safe to say I was intimidated. Wasn't that a threat? Don't people usually say things like, "Say it again" or "Say something else" as a warning. I swallowed in fear unsure of how to respond. But of course with I, jade Thirlwall, when in doubt, contradict your report cards by saying intelligently, "Huh?"
He leaned into me causing my eyes to widen as I leaned away. Woah. "Say. It. Again," he growled.
My brain was becoming fuzzy as I looked around for help. People were watching us and I screamed mentally, hoping my eyes got the message through. Please! Help! Hep me! I'm an innocent! Please! Those bastards! I couldn't believe they were just watching this like it was some sort of IMAX movie!
"Um- uh- I -er, Harold?"
He smirked and leaned back as if nothing happened and some of the tension left my body.
"The story is basically about how one can never truly get over fascination and attraction. It's a dangerous feeling that even vampires apparently are cursed with." His eyes looked directly into my wide ones. I didn't like it. I didn't like the way he was looking at me, or the way he talked to me, and I especially didn't like the way he made me feel and act.
But. . . what exactly is it he's making me feel?
I scoffed. "No wonder you're failing English. That sounds more like the theme not the plot."
He smirked seeming not at all affected by my insult. "See? Look at that. We've already started our English lessons. I'll be outside your dorm twenty minutes after the bell rings. See you later, love," he said after the bell rang and he then left before I could protest, or at least tell him where exactly my dorm is.
I sighed. "Oi."