"So, Will is secretly gay? I'd never have guessed." Jared snoops through some unsuspecting dude's personal life.
I stand about five feet away from the locker so that, provided we're found out later, my fingerprints won't be on this thing.
"I don't see any charger. Just a bunch of photos with his boyfriend." Jared continues looking through the locker and then shuts it with a huge sigh.
"We're not getting anywhere Blondie." He tells me.
"Maybe we should call it a night." I suggest.
"Uh-uh! We are not giving up like this. If you want to, go right ahead." He says.
This is the twentieth locker we've...he's examined.
I refused to touch them but I couldn't help peeking at the notes popping out of them.
"Fine, just one more locker and then we're outta here." I order him.
"Okay." He says surprisingly agreeing.
"'André needs to get a nose job done.'" Jared reads out at point and I look over his shoulder to find him flipping through a wad of sticky notes.
"'Matt is like the worst boyfriend ever.'"
"What's this? 'Jared's just a stupid coward and idiotic show off.' Hey!!!" He shouts angrily and I chuckle to myself. Until he reads out the next one...
"'Karen is a hopeless hooker who needs to get a life.' Bullshit! Who is this?" Jared curses almost crushing the paper.
"Excuse me?" I gasp in horror. Who would say this about me?
"Who wrote this?" He flips through the books and the name Megan pops up.
"It's my ex." He gasps at the revelation. Is he talking about Megan Fitz his girlfriend from the sophomore year?
"Megan? But she doesn't even know me. Why would she write something like this?" I demand.
Jared stuffs the notes back in at flings the locker shut with a resounding bang and avoids my question.
"Jared? Why would she do this? I think there's more to the story about you breaking up with her, isn't there?" I say.
He doesn't answer but fidgets with the hairpin.
"Here, you can take it back." He says. "We've done enough searching for today."
"Answer me, Jared. Why has she used such an impulsive word for me?" I shout trying to blink back tears fiercely. "Why?"
Jared reaches out and puts an arm around me. I burst into tears wetting his T-shirt.
"Tell me, why Jared?" I sob as he strokes my back silently.
"Because she's a bitch." He says in a hard voice. "She won't get away with this. I promise you."
He holds me closer to his chest and leads me back to the teachers' lounge.
We sit down on the couch where I continue crying my heart out until I run out of tears and strength. Jared keep patting my back soothingly and I soon drift into a bleak and pensive sleep.
***
*Lock-In: Day 3*
I open my eyes at about midnight to find Jared gone. I can't feel his presence anymore. The couch feels cold and empty now. I miss his feel. Where could he be? He's not on my couch or any other couch as a matter of fact.
I scan the area and spot a lighted lamp in the corner of the room. Jared is sitting on a chair deep in thought.
His brow is furrowed in frustration as he sits with a hand clasped over his mouth.
He doesn't even look up when I approach him.
"Jared..." I tap his shoulder lightly and he recoils at once like I just shook him awake from a bad dream.
"I didn't see you there." He says.
"I woke up and found you gone." I blurt out.
"Yeah," he sighs. "I couldn't sleep after all that."
"Do you wanna talk about it?" I ask sitting down on the chair in next to him.
"No, yes maybe. I don't know." He holds his head in his hands. "I feel awful."
"You don't have to."
"Why not?"
"Because people are always calling each other things like that. I'm not the only one targeted like this." I say and he looks up.
"Did I feel bad about what she called me? Yes." I say and we lie on the carpet side by side staring at the ceiling. "But I know it's not true so why should I brood about it?"
Jared is silent.
"Listen, hooker is simply nothing." I face him and say, "I've heard of slut since the sixth grade; even used it a few time until I found out what it meant in eighth grade."
Jared meets my eyes but doesn't say anything.
"I always say this, what other people think of you is none of your business." I tell him.
"But what if they spread rumors about you? Ones that you can't stop." He says almost to himself.
He's talking about himself. He's known as the player even though he's never hurt a girl in his life.
"You fight back?" I say questioningly.
"What if you can't? And what if they become so big you start thinking you're that person?" He asks again.
"Like I did." He suddenly says.
"Don't change yourself because of what they say." I tell him. "You can't let them get to like this."
Jared exhales a long breath.
"I'm really sorry you had to go through this. It's all my fault." He says and then quickly adds. "I never should've forced you to snoop through lockers."
"No, it's not your fault." I object and he just grunts and turns away.
"The question is, why? I've never spoken to Megan in my life or done anything bad to her. Why would she do that?" I frown in concentration as I try to figure out the puzzle in my head.
Jared sighs, "Yeah, we should sleep."
And he gets up from the carpet to walk towards a random couch.
I think he's keeping something from me. In fact, I know he's not telling me the truth. He's holding some secret in his head. What's he trying to hide?
Is it something to do with what Megan wrote?
Does Jared have something to do with it?
I shake my head and return to reality. What would Jared have to do with what she wrote?
It's crazy late and I still can't sleep.
"Jared." I call when I hear him sigh and roll over in bed for the fifth time.
"What is it?"
"Let's watch a movie." Mostly, because I need to get my mind of things.
"Okay," he gets up at once and turns on the T.V.
"Do you want a horror movie?"
"No, thanks."
"So, you don't wanna cuddle with me when you're scared?" He cocks an eyebrow at me.
That's the same old Jared all over again.
"How about a romantic movie?" He asks winking at me.
"Ew! No!" I almost gag when he says that.
"What? I thought you were a girly girl."
"I'm not!" I feel offended.
"We'll see," he says with a laugh and plays the first horror movie that comes up.
"Oh come on!" I mutter under my breath but after the first ten minutes find myself scooting closer to him.
What? Zombies invading your bedroom is scary, okay!
***