***

Jesse's POV

I thought about how Jade had stormed off in anger a few minutes ago.

Is she okay? Did I do anything wrong?

My mind was completely absent as I tried to find anything that could explain why she would be angry at me. I mean, she's the one who tried to play me. I should be the one who's pissed off.

I'm sure she couldn't possibly be jealous. Right? I mean it's Jade we're talking about.

"Is something wrong?" Millie asked with genuine concern on her face.

Realizing my eyes had been wandering around those four walls for what seemed to be ages now, I forced my gaze back at her.

"Huh?" I muttered. "I... Y - yeah."

I didn't notice how deep my frown actually was until Millie reached a finger out and poked on one of the dimples that had formed in my brow.

"Those cute ass, little dimples suggest otherwise," she said, scrunching her nose with a soft grin. "You're a terrible liar, you know that right?"

I gave her a weak smile, not being able to help my eyes from drifting off to the scene surrounding me.

Millie tilted her head and cupped my face with her hands. "C'mon, Jess. What is it?"

"I-I don't know," I sighed in frustration, "I haven't seen Jade for a while now, I think something's wrong."

"You're overreacting, Jesse. She just had one of her tantrums," she said. "Jade can't handle the fact that you chose me over her."

I wasn't really paying attention to her. Instead I went back to my thoughts.

"You should relax a little." Millie put both hands on my shoulders. "I think I know what could make you feel better," she said before brushing her lips softly against mine.

To be honest that did make me feel better.

She had to have picked up on my positive reaction, because she leaned in for another kiss.

This is good, it helps take my mind off things.

I brought a hand up to her cheek and kissed her back, which made her smile for a split second. She wrapped both of her arms around my neck and deepened the kiss.

Why would she storm off like that, though? It makes no sense.

I mentally kicked myself.

There it is again.

I pulled away from Millie's kiss abruptly. "Sorry, I can't do it."

She frowned in confusion. "What? Why?" Millie ran her hand through her hair. "Did I do some-"

"Oh my god, no!" I held her hands. "No, you did nothing wrong. You're perfect."

Then why are you still thinking about her?

I hate myself.

"It's just I'm a little tired, I haven't been sleeping well," I told Millie.

I subconsciously glanced around the room a couple of times.

Where the hell did Jade go?

Millie gave me a sympathetic smile, but I feel like it didn't quite reach her eyes. "You're too hard on yourself." She stood up straight and produced a slight grimace. "To be honest I'm not feeling too great myself."

I shifted my attention back to her. "Are you okay?" She did look a little pale. "Maybe you should sit back down," I suggested.

"No, it's alright," she said holding my hand. "I think it's best if we call it a night."

"Yeah, maybe you're right."

***

Jade's POV

My smirk slowly died at the guy standing in front of me. The dim lighting was making it hard for me to see his face.

I narrowed my eyes to take a better look at him and as he came closer, realization struck me. It was Sawyer - the most annoying guy ever.

But something was off, it didn't feel right. There was something about his vibe that just didn't sit well with me. A lump started forming in my throat as I found myself freezing on the spot, trying to find the right words to say.

Keep it together, Jade. You've dealt with guys like this.

I raised an eyebrow and recovered my smirk, hoping the dim lights from the porch didn't betray me as I felt my lips twitch just a little.

"And just who might you be?" I calmly asked, with my usual, dismissive tone.

Curly boy chuckled deeply. "Don't act like you don't remember me," he started.

He's drunk.

"From what I can recall, you didn't seem to get enough of this that night," he said as he waved his hands at his own body.

Sawyer took a step forward.

His smirk was now clearly visible as he tilted his head. I figured he was trying to make sense of my conflicted expression.

I tried to calm myself down by clenching my jaw repeatedly. Now is not a good time to be speechless, I thought.

"Nice try but I only remember those who are worth it," I raised both my eyebrows with a stern expression, hoping he would take a hint.

He ignored my warnings and took another step forward. I felt my muscles tense and my heart start to beat faster. "I do love a girl that plays hard to get," he said before a mischievous smirk formed in his lips. "I bet you've been missing my texts."

It's been him the whole time?

I felt my hands start to sweat. Now, more than ever, I needed to put my lack of emotion to good use.

I had to.

I chuckled. "Of course it was you, I should've known."

Blinking once, I said with an empty look, "You guys really don't know how to take a hint, do you?"

That stuff wasn't working at all and Sawyer frowned in confusion, then grinned after a short pause. "You're good," he admitted after a few nods. "But I know deep down you want me."

Another step. Now we were just 4 feet away from each other.

"That depends on what side of me you're talking about. And, trust me, you're not on my good side right now," I said with a more threatening tone this time.

I had unconsciously been taking small steps back the whole time, which was probably my body's automatic defense mechanism against this type of situation. I couldn't help mind from going back to the texts he'd sent me:

Have you never wanted to get revenge on anyone?

He said nothing, but kept slowly coming toward me until the distance between us was almost completely closed.

I'm going to get you back for what you did.

As I took a bigger step back this time, I felt my back hit a rough surface behind me.

Damn it.

He had me pinned up against a tree. Sawyer brought his hand up to my cheek, caressing it softly while he let out a quiet, "shhh", in a failed attempt to soothe my nerves.

Inevitably, my shoulders tensed up, even though I tried keeping my nervousness hidden. My shitty try at a smirk probably looked more of like an absent, slightly forced smile.

He noticed my stiffness, then drifted his fingers across my skin from my cheek to my left shoulder.

I just stood there rigid and in silence, my body refusing to react.

What the hell is wrong with me?

For the first time in a long time I was panicking to a guy's touch. I could feel his warm breath reeking of alcohol as he breathed down my neck, and planted a trail of kisses on it.

Everytime I tried to shove him away, his grip tightened. I felt powerless as Sawyer unfastened my belt. It was in that moment I realized that no one was coming to save me. I made a promise that I wouldn't retreat, not again.

I had to save myself.

Closing my eyes, I tried to push all anxious feelings and thoughts aside. I needed to clear my head if I wanted to come up with something. Something that could actually be useful to me right now.

Anything.

Instead, beautiful memories from the past came rushing in. My first day of middle school, those sunny Sunday mornings at the park with my parents, the smell of freshly made waffles from my favourite stand...

Then my nightmare returned.

***

Jesse's POV

"By the way, have you seen Jade?"

Liz snapped her head up. "I thought she was with you."

"No, she disappeared a while ago. I'm pretty sure she went outside, but I haven't seen her since."

She made a brief pause to catch her breath. "That's not like her."

"You're right." My stomach gave a little twist. "It's not like her to just vanish, she usually makes herself known first before she leaves."

Liz dialed Jade's number and waited eagerly for her to pick up with no luck. "She's not answering."

Millie tugged on my arm. "It's Jade, she can take care of herself."

I stood my ground without taking my gaze off of Liz. "You don't think she could be in trouble, right?"

Her eyes faltered and her casual expression turned into a deep frown. "When was the last time you saw her?" she asked, avoiding my question.

Millie sounded a little unamused. "I saw her walk out the door about twenty minutes ago."

I felt my hands start to sweat and my chest tighten. I didn't want to jump into conclusions but everything just felt wrong.

"I don't like this." Liz turned back to glance at Victoria and apologized to her, then went up to me and put her hands on her hips. "Something's off."

After taking a small pause to think, she took a deep breath and started getting more and more agitated. "This can't be happening."

"I don't get it." Millie chimed in. "Isn't this what Jade does? Go to parties and wander off on her own, then come back with a new toy under her arm?"

Liz shot her the most intense of scowls and took a step in her direction, almost lunging at her. Thankfully, I was quick to get between them and Victoria held Liz by the arms before anything ugly unfolded.

I raised my voice uncharacteristically. "Guys, now's not a good time."

Liz's scowl never left her face. "She always brushes past my arm or something along those lines before taking off with someone." She sounded extremely worried. "It's not like her to just disappear like this."

I winced at those last words. They made my heart develop a life of its own. It began to pounce uncontrollably in my chest and I noticed my hands had started to sweat.

My stare fell absent onto the ground while I took in the scent of alcohol, sweat and barf. The mix made me light-headed. I felt my cheeks and my forehead burn as my mind inevitably jumped into worst case scenarios.

To say I was overwhelmed wouldn't even begin to encompass everything that was going on in my head.

I gulped and took a sharp breath. "Okay, you take upstairs, I'll take a look in the kitchen and the other rooms down here. Call me if you find her," I ordered.

Before I could finish, Liz had already flown up the stairs, Victoria following closely behind her. Springing hastily towards the kitchen I bumped aggressively into those who got in my way, which earned me a few glares and a couple of vigorous shoves in response.

"Jesse, you're getting worked up over nothing," I heard Millie say.

I ignored her and went on to check the rest of the rooms. No sign of her.

C'mon Jade, where are you?

Soon I was back where I started, pulling on my hair in desperation.

Millie scoffed loudly. "I'm done being treated like shit. Call me when you stop putting Jade before everyone else."

With that she stormed off.

I clenched my jaw and forced my eyes shut.

What the hell am I supposed to do?

"Shit," I whispered before chasing after her.

I called for her as I caught up. "Millie wait!"

She didn't even look back at me, instead she just sped up her pace.

I ran up to her and grabbed her arm. "Hey."

My soul fell to the ground when I saw a tear run down her face and my expression softened immediately. "Why would you say that? It's you I'm with, isn't it?"

She couldn't even look in my eyes as she wiped a tear off her cheek.

"I'm sorry, but Jade is my friend. Friends worry about each other," I said. "I wouldn't be acting like this if I didn't think it was serious."

Millie found the strength to drift her stare up towards mine but didn't say anything.

"That doesn't mean I put Jade before anyone, especially you."

She pursed her lips and frowned. "Then prove it to me."

I sighed. "What do you want me to do?"

"Forget about Jade, drive me home."

"What?" I felt my stomach twist. "Why?"

"Because you've chosen her over me time after time." She took me by the hand. "Make the right choice this time."

"I- I- can't."

"See?" She chuckled dryly. "I should've known. It's always going to be her." She shook her head and started walking away. "Goodbye, Jesse."

I feel like an asshole.

"Wait!" I shouted, making her turn around to face me.

"No, I'm done playing along with your games Jess," she said firmly. "It's either Jade or me."

My heart stopped as I locked eyes with Millie. I didn't want to lose her. My mind then went to Jade. Whether she had been genuine or not, she had really helped me through a tough time.

I was torn.

I tried to justify the choice I was about to make. Was there any real threat? Was I overreacting? To be fair, she did know how to handle herself.

I released a loud sigh.

I am so sorry...

***