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it was raining, a somewhat rare occurrence in sunny california, and a damp jade west stood outside in the cold. the only thing protecting her from the water was a thin jacket she'd thrown on in a hurry. she wiped her face of moisture and worked up the courage to knock on the door of the apartment she spent so long looking for. she'd been searching the complex for door 603 for a while now and was officially drenched, droplets falling to the floor from her hair. slowly, the girl lifted her pale fist and knocked three times, immediately regretting it. she debated leaving and sleeping on one of the benches around the city- the homeless seemed to make it work. but the door opened before she could turn around, revealing a half dressed logan misty, her bushy hair tied up in an unflattering messy bun. her tired eyes widened as she saw who was at her door, opening the door more to let her in as she saw the mascara streaks running down her face, having a feeling they weren't from the rain. jade walked slowly through the door frame and down the narrow hallway following, already questioning why she decided to come here. but it wasn't like she had anywhere else to go, all of her friends lived in the better side of town and not even 15 yet, she couldn't drive.
"im sorry," she turned as soon as she met the living room, logan almost bumping into her. "i shouldn't have came, i'll go." jade tried to walk past her down the hallway but logan grabbed her arm.
"you're fine, you can stay. i can make some tea?" logan started to walk towards the kitchen, giving jade the choice to follow or not.
after a moment's hesitation she followed, toeing her muddy shoes off before she continued dirtying the carpet. she walked a few feet to the kitchen and sat on one of the three tall chairs lined by the counter. jade watched as logan poured water into a kettle and turned the stove on.
"what, are we british now?" jade sassed, walls higher than ever but logan didn't seem to mind her rudeness, only glancing over and snorting.
"i have cocoa if you want that instead." logan offered, pulling a mug from the cabinet above her and looking towards the other girl for an answer. after a nod from jade she pulled another and shut the cabinet.
they waited in silence for a while- jade twiddling with the things sitting atop the counter, and logan readying her tea packet and pulling out a container of cocoa powder and marshmallows. the quiet was broken as the water finished boiling and the kettle started to screech. logan turned the stove off and swiftly made their drinks as jade watched the girl dressed in booty shirts and a spaghetti strap. she took a moment to inspect the girls home. jade sat technically in the living room, her back facing the 'L' shaped couch and tv set. separated by the wooden counter top jade leaned her elbows on was the kitchen, painted a surprising lime green. jade guessed she could walk the length of the two rooms in ten big steps. it was small and it smelled strongly of incense. overall it was underwhelming. but somehow being there comforted her more than any of her rich friends' houses did. this was something she was used to. and right then, she really needed something familiar.
jade came back to reality when logan placed a hot mug in front of the still damp girl, complete with six mini marshmallows.
"it's hot," she warned, and put an ice cube she'd got from the freezer in her tea, but paused as jade picked her own mug up and took a gulp from the steaming beverage. "kay." logan shrugged, throwing the extra ice cube in the sink. logan moved one of the stools parallel to her guest and sat down, slowly blowing on her tea.
they sat like this for a few minutes, both being calmed and comforted by their warm beverages. logan didn't mind the company, as much as she usually would hate being awoken at, well, any hour. she could see jade was going through something and while she didn't know her well, she knew her enough to know that jade west wouldn't show vulnerability unless it was serious. so for that reason logan allowed her to come in and have some tea... cocoa. what logan didn't expect was what came next.
"my mom kicked me out." jade stated, eyes not moving from the dissolving marshmallows in her drink. when logan didn't say anything she forced her self to look up at the other girl. logan looked angry, eyebrows scrunched and lips turned up slightly. "not forever," she clarified but the girls expression hardly changed. "we got in a fight... again," her last word whispered. she looked back into her drink as a pained look crossed her face.
logan wanted to comfort her, but she couldn't help but be angry that a grown ass woman would force a 14 year old onto the cold, rainy streets. she also couldn't really comprehend that jade 'hardass' west was in her apartment quite clearly trying not to cry into her hot cocoa. logan and jade had known each other almost as long as they can remember, they grew up a couple blocks away from each other. but they were never close. they weren't friends. neighbors, accomplices at most. they saw each other when their parents invited the other to a birthday party as kids to fill space, or when mr. day's classroom visited ms. burch's in elementary. and now, as freshmen, they talked only when one wanted to cheat off the other or they were assigned to the same group in drama. what they didn't do was show up at the other's door at one a.m. to talk about mommy issues. well, until then.
"i'm sorry." logan didn't really know what to say. but she saw her lip tremble and decided to try her best. "mom's fucking suck." she blurted out and jade looked at her, eyebrows slightly scrunched and eyes watering before she let out a breathy laugh and nodded sadly. "for real though i don't know why dad's get all the stigma. i've never even met my mother!" they laughed together though really that was the furthest thing from funny.
"yeah i didn't get too lucky in the dad department either." jade said, thinking of how the only thing she got from her dad recently was tuition to hollywood arts and even that took forever to make happen.
logan hummed, "could be why you turned out such a psychopath." her teasing tone purposefully made obvious, not wanting to upset her further. jade broke out into a smile and rolled her eyes.
"neglectful parents is usually what does it." she nodded jokingly and logan giggled.
jade jumped, banging her knee against the underside of the countertop, when a multi -colored silky creature leaped onto the counter. logan snorted.
"ow," jade somewhat whined as she rubbed her knee.
"this is marcus. he's almost like a therapy cat." logan swiped up the little calico, cradling him like a baby and pressing their foreheads together before moving around the counter and plopping him into jade's unwilling arms.
"i'm not a cat person," jade deadpanned, about to set the cat down but stopped when she felt him vibrating. she looked down at the cat that was squished on her chest and was surprised when he looked back at her. she didn't spend a lot of time with cats and was shocked at how big his pale green eyes were. he blinked at her and she blinked back before he rubbed his two-toned orange and black face on hers, his purring very loud and weirdly comforting. he continued to rub his cheek to hers, alternating left and right and headbutting her here and there. jade closed her eyes and just let it happen, feeling oddly emotional.
by the time she finally opened her eyes logan had sat back down across from her, but wasn't looking at her, instead focused on running her finger around the rim of her mug. it was then that jade realized she had started crying. she quickly sat the cat down and wiped her face of tears, putting her cold hands on her cheeks to cool them off.
"logan why are you up? i've got work, i can't drive you once you oversleep." logan's dad tristan appeared from the hallway that didn't lead to the front door, wearing a blue plaid robe and a pair of slippers, having been woken up. jade immediately found interest in her cup again, not wanting him to see any sign of her crying, but of course he did and paused. he seemed to put enough together. "do you girls need anything at all?"
"no dad, we're all good. go back to bed." logan could see that jade was uncomfortable with anybody seeing her like that, logan herself included.
"alright, tell me if you need anything," he looked at jade as he said this, eyes sympathetic. "and don't stay up too late. love you, lo." smiling at them both, he turned back towards his room.
"love you too," logan called after him.
after he left they sat finishing their drinks for a while longer, before logan stood up, taking the two mugs and rinsing them before placing them in the sink. she turned to watch jade, who seemed to be zoned out staring at a stain on the counter.
"come on." logan started down the same hallway her dad disappeared to, footsteps nonexsistent on the soft beige carpet. jade waited a second before following, stopping at the open door that wasn't a bathroom.
she stepped into the small, tidy room, painted a dark red. in one corner, taking up a lot of the room was a queen sized bed, covered with black sheets. a nightstand stood next to it, holding a plethora of things including a lamp, some gum, a bottle of sweet tea, and a couple of jars filled with something 14-year-old jade knew nothing about- those of which were quickly stuffed into a dresser drawer by logan.
before she could continue inspecting the room, logan stepped in front of her with a pair of dry clothes. "these should fit, bathroom is open." she handed the clothes to jade and though jade hated charity, she hated damp clothes more.
when she came back she was dressed in the much better sleeping option of pajama pants and a t-shirt. she held her wet clothes, which she had folded neatly to buy time before returning. she wasn't ungrateful, it was just an uncomfortable situation for her to be in, to have to ask for help.
but when she saw logan already throwing blankets to the floor, she knew this was better than a wet bench.
"thank you," jade said from the doorway, arms crossed but actually thankful for once.
"it's no problem," logan said, busy laying layers of blanket on the ground. "you can lay down if you want, i'll turn off the light as soon as i'm done." she waved toward the queen sized bed, leaving jade confused.
"i'm not taking the bed," jade tried to make clear.
"yes you are." logan ruffled through her closet, pulling out a body pillow.
"it's your bed, no i'm not." she tried again.
logan sighed, "look, you've had a long night. you're getting the bed. that's how i was raised." the bed was big enough to share but she didn't know jade enough for that to happen and she assumed jade felt the same. she pulled one more blanket from the closet to cover her and turned off the tiffany lamp on the nightstand, having officially made her bed. then, she lied in it.
"wait! no for real, take your bed." jade, still standing in the doorway, only got very fake, very obnoxious snores in return. "logan!" she tried again before realizing it was no use when the snores got louder. she huffed, thinking she could reconsider the bench and then remembering that that was ridiculous. so alas, she slid into logan misty's bed, and thought back to how she got there. she wouldn't be surprised if this turned out to be a sleepless night.
she got her answer when the smell of bombshell perfume and marcus' purr- who had hopped up to sleep on the pillow beside her- lulled her to sleep, thankfully, dreaming of nothing at all.
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