Love on the Brain

“Thanks for the lift, dad,” Jade curved her glossy lips at her father, meanwhile her fingers tangled around the straps of her bag.

“Of course, honey. I’m so glad that you’re doing this for us, Jade,” he said, his glowing honey coloured eyes glancing over at his daughter while he spoke. “You know how much it means,”

She knew what was coming. She’d heard the speech so many times that she almost knew it word by word. Every time her parents gotten a new offer on their jobs, she’d always been the one who had to sacrifice the most. Jade had probably gone to at least ten different schools throughout her life, and she’d nearly given up on getting friends, as it was impossible to maintain the friendship when she moved almost every year to a new city.

“Don’t mention it,” she forced out a smile on her lips, before her eyes went to look at the landscape that was dragged away from her eyes.

Her parents knew how their daughter felt about moving around in the country every now and then. This time they’d promised her that she would be able to finish high school with her cousin, but their words meant so little when their job was the first priority in their lives.

“You know, wouldn’t it be cool if you invited Olivia over and started painting your room?” her father suggested, his hands still resting on the leather wheel, meanwhile his eyes looked at the road in front of him.

“Do we have time for that?” Jade asked, as she couldn’t resist the urge to ask. She had had way too many different rooms over the last years, and by now she got tired styling her bedroom only to pack all of it into boxes and move away.

“Jade,” he sighed, glancing over at his daughter again. “We know you’ve had to give up a lot in order to give us new opportunities, but this time we’ll make it up to you,” he promised.

“Dad, I don’t wanna be the one holding you guys back,” Jade muffled. Her parents had always been hardworking, and they’d never gotten anything for free. Therefore the idea of holding them back made her stomach twist.

“Sweet, you could never do that. We’re happy that we’re back in Huntington and closer to our family. We don’t want to move away, and especially not when you have such an important year in front of you,” he all but insisted.

“Thanks,” she whimpered, her fingers gripping the straps even tighter, as she felt the car stop in front of the garden that surrounded the school building.

“I’m home early today, so maybe we can make dinner and surprise your mom with a great meal?” he smiled brightly at her, as he looked at Jade, while she unbuckled her seatbelt.

“That sounds great,” the brunette smiled brightly back, before her father pecked her cheek, and watched as the teenager threw her messenger back unto her shoulders.

Jade pulled her hair into a firm ponytail and allowed her eyes to sweep over the place. Olivia had promised to meet her before class, as she had still not learned her way around the school. As the petite brunette glanced over at the benches, her eyes caught the sight of an unpleasant view.

Brian and his girlfriend.

Brian was dressed in a pair of faded jeans, and his hair was hidden underneath a black fedora. His fingers were clutching a half-smoked cigarette, meanwhile his other arm was wrapped around a butter blonde girl, his hand resting on top of her bare shoulder, playing with the thin strap of her tank top. The girl had curly hair that reached her breasts and piercing blue sparkling eyes. Her lips were cherry red and matched the colour of her short mini-skirt.

“You gotta stop smoking,” Maddie said, twirling one of her golden curls around her index finger and looking over at her boyfriend.

“It’s a part of the image, babe,” Brian chuckled, bringing the cigarette to his lips for one last drag, before he tilted his head and looked over at his girlfriend.

“You’re not a rock star, you know,” the blonde cheerleader reminded him, as she allowed herself to dump her head on top his shoulder, meanwhile Brian placed his palm close to the hem of her red skirt.

“Yet,” he sniggered, and moved his dark orbs until they paid fully attention to Maddie, who soon balled her fist into his shirt and drove his lips until they all but collided against hers.

Maddie soon guided her tongue passed his teeth, taking him by surprise as she kissed him hungrily and pushed her chest against his. The blonde cheerleader felt how his palm climbed higher up on her thigh until it escaped under her skirt.

Just as Brian’s hand landed on her hip and pulled her closer, their heads got separated as a shrieking Jimmy approached the two of them.

“You guys are nasty!” the raven-haired boy announced, while he rested his hands on top of their heads.

“Can you fuck off?” Brian growled at his friend, the back of his hand whipping off the stain of red lipstick that remained on his lips.

“Come on, guys,” Jimmy whined, driving his hand through his jet-black hair.

Maddie rolled her eyes, before she looked over at his boyfriend, almost like she was unsure what to do about his friend.

“We’re not bugging anyone,” Brian muttered, his hand still on Maddie’s thigh, as her hand fell on top of his.

“Oh, but you are,” the raven-haired boy chuckled.

“Too bad,” Maddie half-snapped.

Just as Brian was about to open his mouth again, his eyes fell on the brunette from yesterday. Jade was standing in front of the school, dressed in a pair of loose flowery shorts and a black top. The top she was wearing didn’t exactly meet the waistband of her shorts, as Brian’s eyes trailed down to her toned and slender legs. It was almost hard to believe the girl had recently moved to Cali with such a sun-kissed skin, and as he guided his eyes up to her face he noticed how mildly confused she looked. Her fingers had hooked around her messenger bag, and her darker than chocolate brown eyes scanned the school as though she was waiting for someone.

“Brian!” Maddie snapped her fingers in front of him, driving him back to reality as he glanced over at his girlfriend that now looked furiously at him. “Pay attention when I talk to you,” she demanded.

“What did you say?” he scratched the back of his neck, and leaned back on the bench again.

“We’re hanging out after school, right? My parents aren’t coming home until late,” she smirked, her delicate fingers already playing with the hem of his v-neck.

“Oh, that sounds like what I need,” Brian mused, bringing his lips closer to hers and sucking on her bottom lip.

“Too bad we have practice!” Jimmy chuckled, once again ruining their kiss, as the couple scolded at him.

“Today?” the guitarist cocked his eyebrows at his friend.

“Yeah, I mean, you guys practiced yesterday, right?” Maddie sounded almost nervous, while she glanced back at her boyfriend.

“Matt’s got news for us, so we better be there,” Jimmy muttered, ignoring how Maddie all but rolled her eyes.

“You can join us, and then we’ll go back and finish our business later,” Brian offered to his girlfriend, driving his hand up her thigh again, before her hand fell on top of his and stopped him.

“Actually when I think about it, Amanda called us in for practice. You know, the championship is right around the corner and she’ll kill us if we lose,” Maddie shrugged. “Maybe another time,”

“Shit, that sucks,” he sighed and soon moved his hand away from her bare thigh. “I can come over tonight?”

“We’ll see,” she curved her lips into a sincere smile. “Well, I gotta go and find the girls,” Maddie bent closer to him and placed firm kiss on his cheek, before she grabbed her purse and got to her feet.

“That girl,” Jimmy rolled his eyes, as he replaced her spot on the bench and allowed his arms to rest at the back of the bench, his fingers dangling in the air.

Brian decided to ignore his friend, and therefore allowed his eyes to return to Jade. Her hazel brown hair had been tied into a high ponytail and her fingers had clasped around the strap of her bag. It was like a hint of innocence that hovered over the petite brunette, as a little group of people walked towards her. He noticed how laughter soon surrounded her, and how her dark-haired cousin linked their arms together, meanwhile she studied a piece of paper that Jade had just pulled up from her bag.

“You have it bad for this girl, Syn,” the drummer sniggered, clearly noticing how Brian had laid his full attention on her.

“That’s bullshit,” Brian muttered.

“Is not,”

“Are you really that dumb that your brain can’t recall the memories of Maddie and I making out minutes ago?” he cocked his eyebrows at his friend and glanced over at him for a brief moment.

“I’m not stupid! I just concealed the image of you guys, I tend to use that ability a lot when I’m around the two of you,” Jimmy confessed dryly, once again causing Brian to roll his eyes at him.

Brian looked at Jade again. The girl tugged some her hair behind her earlobe, exposing her golden earrings, as she listened to her chatting cousin. Meanwhile Brian kept studying her appearance, taking in the sight of how well-build her body was and how firm her ass looked in those shorts, the brunette suddenly caught him looking at her. Brian felt like a deer caught in headlights when her darker than chocolate brown eyes crossed his gaze for a brief moment. The guy leaned back in his seat, looking as though he had no idea what to do with his eyes, meanwhile the brunette curved her lips into a sweet smile.

“Dude, she’s looking at you!” Jimmy cried out, poking Brian’s ribcage with the tip of his elbow. “Fuck, she’s even smiling at you!”

“Yeah, and so what?” Brian muttered back, as he tore his gaze off the girl as though he tried to avoid the sincere look she sent to him.

Jade could feel the irritation boil in her veins. Seconds after she had smiled into his direction, the guy had decided to brush her sincere gesture off, and instead grab his bag and leave the bench.

What the hell was the matter with him?

*

The way Brian had ignored her had been bugging her all morning. She had no idea why he acted the way he did towards her, nor what she had done in order to deserve that treatment.

As Jade gathered her belongings after what felt like the longest biology class, she stuffed them into her bag and slung it over her shoulder. Brian kept circling inside her head, the annoyance creeping under her skin as she stepped into the already crowded hallway.

“Jade!” a high-pitched voice bellowed, as the brunette threw a glance over her shoulder and saw Michelle, who was hurrying towards her.

“Hi!” Jade smiled, trying to not let her bad mood get to her, while Michelle caught up with her.

“Hi! You know, since you’re new and stuff, I thought it would be cool if I showed you my little hiding place,” Michelle sniggered, running her hand through her light blonde hair.

“Oh, a hiding place?” the brunette repeated, almost like she didn’t quite understand what the other girl was getting at.

“Yeah. The halls are always stuffed and the cafeteria can sometimes be a little hectic place, so sometimes I like to just chill out by myself, and that room is a perfect place for studying as well, so come on!” Michelle hooked her fingers around Jade’s wrist, touching upon the golden bracelet Jade had gotten from her mother, as the two girls raced down the hallway.

Jade had attended a numerous of schools throughout her life, but she’d never been presented to a hiding place before. Michelle kept chatting about how useful and handy it was, as they reached the end of the hall, and the blonde girl pushed open a red heavy door, revealing a staircase that led up to the next floor.

“Are students allowed to be here?” Jade cocked her eyebrow, as she climbed the staircases, her fingers hooking around the strap of her bag.

Michelle only smiled sweetly, before she opened another door and brought her new friend into what looked like an abandoned classroom. All desks had been put away, leaving only a couple of chairs inside a room that had been decorated with different kinds of instruments. Acoustic guitars covered the white walls, and in the middle of the room Jade noticed a huge black piano that seemed lonely under the chandelier that hung from the ceiling.

“Wow,” she let out, her eyes running towards the drum-kit and the sticks that had been placed nicely on top of the black leather stool.

“Isn’t it cool?” Michelle asked, while dumping her bag unto the floor. “Johnny and I like to spend some time up here,” she added.

“Johnny?” Jade looked confused at the blonde girl, as she too decided to leave her bag on the cold floor.

“Johnny Seward! He’s a sweetheart, and a freshman! You should meet him,” the other girl explained, her lips curving into a gentle smile.

“Sure thing,” Jade agreed.

Her eyes trailed off to the piano again. She didn’t usually tell people, but she had actually been playing piano for quite some years now. The brunette walked over and sat down by the end of the chair, her eyes glistering as she looked over the tangents.

“I think that piano is at least ten years old,” Michelle giggled, as she sat down next to Jade, who had her full attention resting on the tangents in front of her.

“Doesn’t look that old,” Jade muffled back.

“Do you play?”

“A little,”

“What does that mean?” Michelle cocked her eyebrow at the brunette. She’d already realized that Jade was a genius, and now she wouldn’t be surprised if she happened to play five different instruments as well.

“I learned to play when I was a kid, and we actually had a piano when we lived in Nebraska, but I sort of had to leave it there when we moved to Florida,” Jade admitted, placing her fingers on top of the tangents and pressing them down as the tone approached the two of them.

“God, that sucks. Play something!” Michelle encouraged, a broad smile taking place on her pinkish lips, meanwhile Jade chuckled.

“I’m a little rusty now, though,” Jade warned, while she ran her fingers down the board and playing the infamous Harry Potter-theme song.

“Rusty my ass! You’re great,” Michelle exclaimed. “Do you play any other instruments?”

“I can play the guitar, but I'm not really good,” the brunette answered, her fingers still pressing down the tangents, as she glanced over at Michelle who was cocking her eyebrow at her. “I promise! I’m absolutely useless!” Jade cried out, raising her hands up in surrender.

“Okay, I believe you,” Michelle chuckled, but didn’t look quite convinced, while she watched as the other girl swept her fingers over the piano, making the entire thing look ridiculously easy.

Brian buried his teeth into the red apple, as he walked down the hall, music blasting through the headphones that he had shoved into his ears in order to give himself a moment of peace.

Just as the dark-haired boy rounded the corner, his ears were greeted by the sound of piano that overpowered Kerry King’s guitar solo. Brian knitted his eyebrows, and used his free hand to pause the song on his Mp3. His feet soon started to chase after the sound, before the apple almost fell from his hand as his eyes glanced through the opening of the door.

His dark orbs fell upon Jade’s back, as the brunette’s fingers were traveling over the board of the old piano he’d seen so many times already. Brian looked in awe at her, meanwhile Michelle’s eyes were glowing with interest at her new friend.

Brian had always had a thing for passionate musicians. That was just how it was when he came from a family with educated musicians. The way Jade so effortlessly filled the entire room with powerful chords really brought along a new side of her.

Maybe there is something cool about her.