Handle With Care

(Jade's POV)

"No no no, no way is that whore going!" Shae seethed as we stood around the building, waiting for the director to tell us when the video was finished. I stayed quiet and out of the way, not really wanting to get involved anymore. I texted Melody asking her to pick me up and not much else. Chester insisted he would take me home and that he wanted to spend more time with me but I just wasn't in the mood anymore. Especially not after the things I had saw and heard already today. See, this is why I fucking hate wealthy people. They think they can have whatever the hell they want just because they have the money and the connections. Well not on my watch, bitch. Chester wasn't going to be anywhere near you if I had anything to do with it. Thankfully in about fifteen minutes the girls had shown up. I said my goodbyes to Shae and the others, her hugging me tightly saying that she wasn't going to let that girl get anywhere in between us which I was thankful for as Chester walked me to the car. He kept his head low as he said hi to each of them, giving me a long hug before I had got in the backseat. "Please don't be mad at me Jay. I promise you nothing is going to happen, she's not going. I-I lo-I'll see you later babe." I stared in disbelief at KayT as she had caught on to the same thing I had. Not wanting to get too worked up over it, I brought up the real subject at hand as we started to drive home.

"So I'm guessing it went okay?" Melody asked as she glanced at me through the rear view mirror. I tried my hardest not to cry but ultimately lost when a few tears trickled down my cheeks. Fuck. "Chester's ex...she's here." Was all I could get out as I started to sob hard, throwing my head down in my lap. "What?! When did this happen?!" KayT shouted, turning in her seat so she was facing me. "At the fucking video shoot. She magically appeared out of thin air. Her dad is apparently one of the record labels head people. They are trying to put a tour together but let her go!" I now ugly cried, sobbing harder than before and struggling to take a deep breath. The urge to slide a razor across my veins and just end my life seemed so fitting but I told myself I couldn't. I couldn't think like that anymore, I couldn't let that kind of thinking control me. I was better then that, I had an amazing boyfriend and friends who couldn't love me more then anything in this world. "Jay don't cry dude, we won't let that happen! I promise." KayT leaned over to hug me, wiping my tears with the sleeve of her sweater. I just wanted to go home and sleep already, this day was taking too much out of me.

Thankfully Melody's mom let KayT stay over as usual so we all had piled into the living room in a heap of blankets with tons of snacks and soda. We ended up watching 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' which was another one of my favorites. I was glad that they didn't bring it up anymore but when my phone started to buzz loudly on the coffee table beside me, my thoughts instantly shot back to that moment. It was Chester. "I hope you know that you have this way of making me tongue tied, Jay. I can't imagine being anywhere without you or even just being without you in general. I am falling head over heels for you Jade Garbiela, you have no idea. I hope you're okay and I'll call you in the morning to see if you want to go out to breakfast with Shae and Mike. Goodnight sweetheart. CB" Tears poured down my face as I read that message over a dozen times, showing it to both KayT and Melody who in return both had tears in their own eyes as well

"Oh my God that was so beautiful Jay! He really does like you so much!" I laughed now as I tried to control the tears. I couldn't believe he had said that. I leave him tongue tied, I have him falling for me hard. Now I know I wasn't going to give up this war without a good fight. Chester is mine and I am his, I'll be damned if anyone thinks that they can get in the way of that and take him from me.

The next morning seemed much of a blur as I struggled to wake up, the sunlight glaring down in all of our eyes. "Shit!" I screeched suddenly, remembering that Chester was going to be calling me soon to go out on a double date with Shae and Mike. I scrambled into my room, throwing around clothes that littered my entire floor. I had no idea what to wear and I sure as hell was in dire need of a shower before anything. I eventually grabbed a random shirt with my red skinny jeans and bolted for the bathroom. To my not so surprise, the water was freezing cold when I had decided to just jump in. Instead of screaming I initially just dealt with it and was done in a matter of minutes. I ran a brush through my wet hair before tossing it into a simple long braid. I made my way back over to my room where I saw both Mel and KayT now sprawled out across my bed. Chuckling under my breath I maneuvered around them carefully as I finished getting ready. I applied a little bit of eyeliner with a hint of red eye shadow before slipping on my black flats. I gathered my stuff together in my backpack before gently waking KayT to tell her I was leaving. "Good luck love." She yawned before soon falling back asleep. I crept out of the room quietly and headed downstairs to wait.

As I flipped through the TV channels, I soon felt my phone buzzing in my pocket. "Good morning babe." Chester's sweet voice rang through my ears. I smiled to myself "Morning, is everything ready?" I asked as I kept my attention focused on both the phone and the TV screen. My favorite movie, Nightmare Before Christmas, of course, was on and making it difficult for me to pay attention. Damn attention span of a mouse. "Yeah Shae and Mike are going to meet us someplace downtown. You're up and ready?" I took one more quick glance at my outfit and at the clock before answering. "Yep, I'm just watching a movie. Everyone else is still asleep more or less." It was barely nine in the morning. He laughed some before saying he was on his way for me and that he was excited for us to go out on our first double date with his friends. I wasn't going to lie, I was more nervous then excited even though I've hung out with Shae a couple of times already and we were pretty close. Things are just different when you have your significant others around, some people tend to act the complete opposite of how they really are when they're around others. Not me, thankfully.

After a good twenty minutes and the movie almost half over, Chester sent me a text saying he was outside. I made my way out to the backyard, seeing Mel's mom was already doing her morning yoga. "Um, Chester and his friends invited us on a double date to eat, so I'm going to get going now, okay?" I still felt scared and uneasy every time I had asked her to go anywhere even though I knew the answer was always going to be a yes. "Have fun, dear. Just be careful." She said with a small smile as she continued to stretch. I just nodded before rushing back to the front and out the door. I grinned almost instantly as I got in the passenger seat, leaning over to kiss him. "You smell nice. Did you sleep good?" He asked casually as we started on our way to the restaurant Mike and Shae were waiting for us at. I shrugged my shoulders, I don't even remember falling asleep honestly. "We sort of had a binge night after I went home. KayT stayed over and we watched movies and stuff." He rested his free hand on my knee giving it a squeeze. "I'm still really sorry about what happened yesterday." And here we go again, just when I thought this was going to be a normal day out.

I kept my stare fixed out of the window, not really even wanting to talk about yesterday at all. So I just kept the conversation light. "It's okay. I told you I'm fine." He obviously didn't believe me though as he looked over at me once we stopped at a red light, taking my hand in his. "I'm serious Jay, you didn't deserve any of what happened. I meant what I said to you in that message last night. You do make me happy, I am falling for you." And cue the nauseating explosions of butterflies in my stomach. Don't get me wrong, I was incredibly happy that he had said those things, but the thought of Ashley still being here and always lurking around somewhere we may be, just really got under my skin. But as I've said already I'm not letting anyone or anything take Chester away from me. "Let's just enjoy ourselves today. I don't want to bring up yesterday or any other day from the past up anymore, okay? It's just a day for us." I said finally with a sigh as we pulled up to a small diner nestled in between a few tall skyscrapers. He smiled before getting out to open my door for me, kissing the side of my face before we walked inside. We were immediately greeted by Shae's ever so bubbly voice, a grin on both of their faces as we walked over to them. I said my hello to Mike before hugging onto Shae tightly, scooting inside so I was in front of her. "Nice to see you bright and early, mistress of the dark." She teased as we sat down, a young waitress bringing over our menus and glasses of water for Chester and I. "Good morning to you as well. I'm starving." I said with a yawn, looking over the small menu. Everything seemed delicious sounding as my stomach roared loudly.

Eventually I settled on pancakes while Chester got bacon and eggs. I was never a huge fan of it but of course I wasn't going to decline his offer whenever he asked if I had wanted some. Our conversations were lighthearted and funny, definitely something I needed to help me get through this day. "So, when can we expect to see you two lovebirds out again?" Shae asked with a giggle as I rested my head on Chester's shoulder. I looked up at him with a small pout, saddened that our double date already was over. "Whenever you guys want to. It's Mike who never wants to go out unless Shae makes the plans." Chester teased now, earning a quick glare from Mike which made all of us laugh. "Wow, I like totally didn't expect to see you guys here!" An ear piercing voice came suddenly from behind us which almost on point made my blood start to boil hot. It couldn't be that damn girl again, there was no way! "Ashley, what a not so pleasant surprise to see you again." Shae greeted her with a deathly stare causing Ashley to back up some. "Chesty, Mike, so great to see you again. And I didn't catch your name, little girl." I bit down on my tongue hard feeling blood start to pool. No one fucking disrespected me like that and I mean no one.

"Jay, my name is Jay. And you must be Ashley, the heartbreaking skank I've heard so much about." I spat as I gripped onto Chester's hand tightly under the table. "Chester told me so much about you. Must be hard to see what you missed out on, huh?" I flashed her a genuine smile, seeing Shae grin wickedly. "Oh don't you worry about that. Daddy needs to see the band at the office sometime today, if you guys can make it. Chesty, I'll see you soon." The barbie doll then did the unthinkable and placed a kiss on Chester's cheek before walking away. If I wasn't squished between him and the wall, I would have jumped over this table and smacked the fuck out of this bitch. Shae obviously had the same idea as she tried to wiggle free from Mike's grip but couldn't in the end. "Fuck that, I've had enough of this bitch." She growled angrily, slamming her fist on the table. I sighed, shaking my head. "We'll get her some other time Shae. We can't mess up the guys future right now." Everyone's eyes landed on me instantly as I said that, a look of disbelief clear on their faces. "Oh fuck that. Of course I care about their career but she can't just get away with this again." I threw my hands up in defeat, not saying much else. Because honestly, I was out of things to say at that moment.

We finished up our food in silence the rest of the time, only Chester and Mike seeming to make conversation while Shae and I just glanced at each other every so often. I knew that the guys ultimately didn't have a choice and had to go to the meeting because their career hung in the very balance if they didn't go. Regardless of whether she thought she was winning or not, I wasn't doing it to show that I was weak. I did it so Chester knew that I was more than supportive of him and his dream of becoming known throughout the world. "I'll meet you at your place around two Mike. Shae, please don't be too pissed at me." Chester said as he hugged her once we were back outside. She didn't say anything back to him as she walked over towards me, giving me an extra long hug. "Don't worry hun, I know we'll get her another time. You're being so mature Jay, I swear sometimes I forget how old you really are. Only five months to go." She said in my ear with a wink as we pulled away. In all honesty, I always forgot how old I really was too. Everyone was either a good six or seven years older than me and it sucked when I truly was reminded that I was still just a kid sometimes whether I liked to believe it or not. Shae promised she would throw me the biggest eighteenth birthday party known to man but I was definitely more of the old fashioned cake and ice cream with a couple friends only type of person. The less people knew how old I really was, the better.

Once we started on the drive back home I was determined to forget about what had just happened all over again but of course, Chester wouldn't have it. "I don't know how the hell she keeps finding me Jay but I swear, I don't want anything to do with her. She's old news." I fought back the urge to cry, suppressing all my true feelings as I've learned so hard to do. "Is that what I'm going to be soon too, Ches? Old news?" He then pulled over to a lone street, shutting off the car before taking a hold of my hands tightly as I said that. Looking back it probably wasn't the smartest thing I could have come up with. But I was just so sick and tired of this woman already, I was starting to think that things just weren't worth it anymore. "Jay, I don't know how many times I have to tell you that you're not going to go anywhere. You mean so much to me and I have honestly never been happier with anyone than I have with you. Please don't be this way, please. I would never let anyone, especially some girl who crushed me, come between us. You're it for me Jay, I don't want to be with anyone else. I want to be able to show you off to the world, I want to give you the life you've never had. I love you, Jade. I'm falling in love with you, I don't care what anyone says, I love you."

I must have blinked about a hundred times as I tried to comprehend what he had just said. He loved me? He was falling in love with me? But that couldn't be possible, we had only been together for such a short time. How could anyone love me that quickly? I wasn't worth it, I was only going to probably end up doing something to hurt him in the end and then Ashley would have him right back where she wants him to be. "Chester..." I looked at him, my eyes widened completely in shock. He just pressed his lips to mine in a much needed kiss, wrapping his arms around my neck and deepening it as much as he possibly could. But when he pulled back I still didn't have anything to say, so he did all the talking "I don't care how many times I have to say it to you, I don't care if you don't believe me or if you think that I'm crazy, but I love you Jay. I love you, I love you, I fucking love you."