Thursday ; 2:56 PM
all day at school I was a mess.
I fidgeted around in my seat, I did not pay attention to a single lesson, and most importantly claudia didn't show up to school today.
once the 2:30 bell rang, signaling that it was time to head home, I made my way down the long hall and the 3 flights of marble steps to my car.
due to daylight savings, it was already getting close to sunset.
the baby blue california sky turns into a nice orange.
though the weather doesn't get very cold around here, it still is considered to be winter.
finally escaping to freedom, I pulled out of the schools parking lot.
but there was no way in hell I was heading home.
placing my pink sunglasses over my eyes, I rested an arm on the opened window to my left.
the air felt nice.
it was approximately six minutes and 20 seconds to get the 27th street.
and that's where I was heading,
to go see luke.
waiting at the stop signs seemed to take forever, even the rush hour traffic was just taking time away from being at the record shop.
finally, I spotted the shopping center of 27th street and pulled in.
there had been a car right in front of the record shop, which I had figured was either lukes or calums.
I quickly glanced in the mirror, sighing at my pathetic school uniform.
pushing my sunglasses through my hair, I pushed open the car door and into the record shop.
the recognizable bell ringing as the door swung open, and the smell of coffee, though I knew those boys hated caffeine.
"shit," calum cursed beneath his breath, "jade!" calum shouted from the front desk, seeming almost panicky.
I flashed him a slight smile while making my way over to him. I leaned up against the wooden desk, gazing down at the spinning record player.
"what brings you around here?" he seemed very nervous.
I gazed back up, "is luke here?" I came right out with it.
his eyes trailed over me, "I like your school uniform." he spoke with a chuckle.
he completely just ignored my question.
"calum?" my voice got a bit higher.
he looked at me as if he was oblivious.
"calum," my eyes trailed around the shop, "is luke here?"
calum let out an awkward cough, clearing his throat before speaking, "I- maybe."
I furrowed my eyebrows at him, "is he or is he not?"
I wasn't sure why he was acting so weird. he tried avoiding my question at all costs.
he scratched the back of his head, "sort of?" his eyes trailed up to the back lounge where luke and I once went up in.
"is he up there?" I spoke slowly, hoping somehow this boy would come through to me.
a look of panic struck his face, "jade, you can't go up there."
he quickly got up from behind the desk and in front of me, making sure that I wasn't going anywhere. he towered over me, making me feel small.
I placed a hand on his chest and slowly backed away from him, "and why not?"
"just trust me," his eyes narrowed into mine, "you don't want to know."
"well for gods sake calum, is the boy masturbating?"
calums jaw dropped, having to cover it with his large hand. he began cracking up at my comment.
"oh god, no!" he squealed, clenching his stomach in laughter.
i stepped around the 6 foot boy and to the staircase. calum spun around on his heels and followed me, grasping onto my wrist before I could make another move.
"you're not going to like what you're going to see." his tone of voice became very monotoned and serious.
I began sucking on my bottom lip, so confused why it was so dangerous up there.
I gazed down at my wrist, where calum still was holding on tightly.
calum also looked down at his grasp and let go once he realized he was almost hurting me.
I gave him one nod before turning myself around and taking the steps up.
my fingers trailed against the railing, my eyes steadily looking at the door.
and as I got closer I heard talking, no yelling, no screaming.
in fact it was laughter and giggles.
the laugh of a girl.
without hesitation I pushed open the door with my shoulder to reveal the most upsetting sight.
luke and olivia.
olivia sat on lukes lap, in between his long legs. her head rested on his chest, a smile on her face.
and luke holding his polaroid, no surprise there. there were photos scattered all over the floor. the photos held pictures of the two of them. they were kissing and laughing and smiling and having fun.
the two of them glared at me.
olivia judging my appearance because that's just who she is.
and luke looking more confused than ever, which was similar to my reaction.
I turned behind me where the door was still open and looked at calum from the bottom of the stairs.
he shrugged his shoulders at me and mouthed the words, "I told you so."
I shook my head in disbelief and then turned my head back around at the couple.
luke lifted olivia off his lap, whispering something in her ear, before making his way over to me.
he approached me, licking his lips. he rested a hand on my lower back and started guiding me out of the lounge.
I stumbled over my two feet with the force and watched as luke locked the both of us out of the lounge.
calum stared from the bottom of the steps.
the two of us exchanged glances, we were so close to each other that there really was no where to breath.
"w-what the hell are you doing?" these words shot out of my mouth.
he glared down at me, "I could ask you the same question." he spoke in a whisper since we were so close to the door.
"I-" I stopped talking before going on, everything was happening so fast I almost choked on my own words, "I wanted to see if you were okay and if you wanted to go to the pier."
"the pier?" he questioned.
I nodded.
"jade, what were you planning on doing at the pier?" he put a strong hand on my shoulder.
"hang out? i thought maybe we could talk about how you are feeling," i paused and struggled to finish, "a-and I want to get to know you." I shook his hand off my shoulder.
he let out a breath in frustration, "well, im busy." he shot back at me.
"yeah, I see that." I mumbled under my breath, crossing my arms over my chest.
"I'll go to the pier with you!" calum shouted from the bottom of the steps, trying to lighten the mood.
the two of us glanced down at calum, giving him a look that it was not the right time for him to interrupt.
calum took the hint and went back to shuffling records at the front desk.
"jade, I told you what I wanted. I told you that I wanted to be with olivia, and that's exactly what I'm doing." luke spoke firmly with me.
and he was right.
I didn't fight with him over that. at least I tried, but there was no way he was going to settle with an agreement. he was in love with olivia.
"luke," I searched his eyes for some last hope, "I can't let you do that."
he looked down at me, "it's not up to you. you don't know what I want."
I shook my head at him, he was so complicated, so frustrating. he just could not understand.
he was blind to it all.,
"she's controlling you, luke!" i raised my voice, causing lukes eyes to widen.
luke brought a finger to his lips and hushed me to be quiet, "shes right in that door, jade."
I harshly laughed at him, "like I give a shit. she can hear anything I say."
luke clenched his jaw, "goodbye, jade."
I was taken back some, "goodbye?"
I was unsure the meaning of goodbye in this context. I didn't know if he meant goodbye as in goodbye I'll see you over the weekend.
or goodbye, I never want to see you again.
"goodbye." he replied firmly, beginning to open the wooden door.
I swallowed as I watched him enter the dark room, not even turning around to face me again.
and I still didn't know what he meant by goodbye.
I leaned my back against the door and caught my breath.
it just could not cross my mind how unbelievably stupid that boy was.
that girl has cheated on him, not just once, but multiple times.
and he doesn't know anything.
once I got myself together, I took tiny steps down the stairs until calum was in my sight.
calum was sitting down, and turns out he wasn't doing any work. he was listening into our conversation the whole time.
I looked at calum pathetically and he looked back at me,
"so how about the pier?" he raised an eyebrow.
-
5:14 PM
calum and I walked side by side, passing many faces.
the pier was always filled with tourist and families, so it was understandable why luke didn't want to come.
the sun was now gone and lamp posts lit up the boardwalk.
we had a nice view of the pacific, which seemed to always have surfers in it, no matter what time of day.
music softly played in the background and the bright lights from the amusement rides were fun.
"so," calum huffed, "claudias sick, huh?"
from this, I assumed claudia had been texting calum all day updating him about her having mono.
I nodded, "yeah, school sucked without her, I had to sit alone at lunch."
this caused calum to laugh, "what a loser." he looked down at me and playfully ran into me.
this made me stumble on my own two feet, bumping into a woman with a stroller.
I quickly apologized for my idiot friend and then slapped calum on his forearm.
fuckboy.
"I remember high school days." calum chuckled to himself, shaking his head while remembering old remembers.
calum was only a senior last year, he practically just graduated.
"I bet you, you were that loser that actually did sit alone at lunch." I teased him, playing with the loose ends of my hair.
"believe it or not you are not wrong, jade." he replied.
I lifted an eyebrow at him, "seriously?"
calum nodded down at me, "with the exception of one friend and one friend only."
"who?"
"luke."
a slight smile creased on my lips, picturing the two boys in their high school days.
obsessing over 'hot senior cheerleaders',
going over each other's houses for study dates,
and playing video games until four in the morning.
"but man was luke smart, he seriously could solve all the problems in the world if he wanted to." calum crossed his arms over his chest while we walked.
"how so?" I was curious.
"he skipped two grades ahead in math, and he practically didn't even need to take a science class since he got easy one hundreds on all the tests!" calum had a smile on his face the whole time while he was talking about this.
"why did he throw that all away just to come to America?" I shook my head in confusion, "and please do not tell me it's just because of the polaroids."
he laughed at me, "it's so complicated"
"teeelllll meeee." I practically whined.
calum shot his hands up in surrender, "well first off luke is not just here doing nothing but working in a record shop, niether am I, we were both offered to study one year in America."
"like at a collage in california?"
"mhm," calum proudly nodded, "while you two girls are in school, we also are getting our education on." he chuckled.
I nodded, trying to process this all.
"now you must be wondering, where does olivia come into play?"
"actually, yes i do" it really didnt make much sense.
"olivias dad has a huge law firm, which caused him to have to move to Australia at one point, and that's when luke and olivia met." calum spoke and spotted a cute little boy and gave him a wave.
"she lived there for two years?" I imagined how amazing that would be, even though I love the west coast.
calum nodded, "her dad got Luke and I the opportunity to study in America, mostly so that Luke and Olivia could stay together." he shook his head in how pathetic that sounded.
I gazed up at the stars and the moon.
I stuck my thumb up in the air so that it was lined up with the moon.
calum looked at me as if I was insane.
"no matter what I am doing or where I am, this moon will always be the same size as anyone who looks at it, half a world away."
calum stuck his thumb up in the air and did the same thing.
"huh," he spoke when he realized my theory was true, "that's deep, jade." he then began teasing me, ruining the moment.
we walked in silence for some time, just enjoying each others company.
though me and this boy have not been friends for long, i really could tell we were going to be close.
the pier was so lovely at night.
I swallowed deeply before speaking, "when do you plan on heading back to Australia?"
he scratched the back on his head, flexing a bit, and thought about his answer
"luke and myself are practically getting our education thanks to Olivia's dad, so whenever he pulls the plug."
I played nervously with my finger tips, "I hate asking this, but what happens with luke and olivia?"
calum shook his head and chuckled, "I have no fucking clue."
"I mean he seriously can't stay in America forever." I spoke with my opinion.
it would be absolutely ridiculous if he overstayed his welcome because of that,
girl.
and since Olivia is a senior herself, she'll be going off to collage as well. it just doesn't work that way.
another pause came between us. that topic was a conversation ender.
"hey jade?" calum spoke up, breaking the silence between us two.
"mhm?"
"does, um, does claudia ever talk about me?"
my eyes widened when I realized what was going on. a smile couldn't help but creep upon my face.
I played it cool, "why are you asking me this, calum?"
he nervously kicked his feet around, "I don't know, I mean, I don't care, it's whatever."
I glanced at him through the corner of my eye, "you like her, don't you?"
calum shot me a look, "what? I didn't say that!" his cheeks began to get red.
I bit down on my lower lip, "it's alright, buddy, your secret is safe with me."
I shot him a wink, even though I had no clue how to wink. I probably looked creepy.
and then calum smiled,
claudias name caused him to smile like an idiot.
"I mean, she's a nice girl, she's really nice. but we've only known each other for a few weeks now." he shrugged it off as if it was no big deal.
"and? you and me have only known each other for a few weeks and we are here alone, talking just fine."
calum nodded like he was impressed. I mean, I did have a point.
"I just don't want to ruin things between us." he swallowed harshly, the thought of being alone with her making him nervous.
I gave him forearm a reassuring squeeze, "then just give it some time."
he nodded at me, "I think she's hot, jade."
moment ruined once again.
"calum!" I hit him for what seemed like the millionth time, "that's my best friend."
he grinned at me, "I mean hey, just stating the obvious." he threw his hands up.
"well," I stopped walking, "I'll see what I can do about this."
calum stuck out his pinky, "pinky promise?"
I linked his pinky with mine, "pinky promise."