Handle With Care

+++++
(Jade's POV)

When I woke up the next morning, my entire body was completely sore and I was feeling exhausted. "I gotta get going babe, I have to meet up with the guys to do an interview this morning. I love you." Chester said groggily as he leaned over to place a kiss on my forehead. I nodded with a loud yawn, rubbing at my sleepy eyes. "No worries, I'll see you later. I love you too." Glancing at the clock I realized it was already 8 and Melody's mom would be home any minute now. "I'll walk you out." I quickly got up from my comfortable spot in my bed before slipping on my shoes and following him to the front door. He bent down to give me another long kiss, promising me that last night was incredibly special to him and that he loved me so much that I possibly wouldn't believe it. "Is this the part where I'm supposed to tip you now?" I joked seeing him roll his eyes playfully at me. "Goodbye babe, see you later." And with that, with perfect timing may I add, he left and Melody's mom pulled up a mere three minutes later. I greeted her at the door, casually asking how her shifts were before offering her a cup of coffee. "It was hectic but I manged. You girls have a good night?" I tried my hardest to hide the ever growing smile that wouldn't seem to go away. She had no idea how much of a good night it was. "Yeah." I stated simply. She eyed me a bit suspiciously but eventually let it go and didn't ask much else.

I headed back to my room, stopping at Melody's door to see if her and KayT were awake yet. I peeked my head in slowly seeing KayT was the only one up. I let myself in, plopping down on the floor beside her. She glanced over at me for a quick second before returning her attention back to her phone. I frowned slightly, feeling kind of hurt. "Um...is there a reason you're ignoring me?" I asked finally, seeing her only shrug. "What do you want me to say, Jay? You're having sex with my favorite singer. You're dating him. You have everything that I don't have. I know I'm not pretty enough like you to have the perfect boyfriend like you or even gain that kind of attention. You just wouldn't understand, you've never been rejected by a guy you really like, I know that for a fact." I practically burst out in a loud yet unbelievable laugh. She had no idea about the things that I had been through, she had no idea about my life before I even met her. She had no idea how hard it was to be raped by someone you truly thought cared about you and in the end fucked you over, literally. Now here was someone who said she was my best friend, being insanely jealous because I finally found that happiness I'd always wanted? I didn't ask Chester to be my boyfriend, he asked me out. I didn't ask him to fall in love with me, he did on his own. I didn't ask him to even be my friend, he insisted. So now here was KayT, guilt tripping me for finally getting what I truly deserved.

"What the hell are you two fighting about so early in the morning?" Melody suddenly added in, stretching her arms out wide. I stood up from my spot on the floor, shaking my head in total disbelief at how KayT was acting. "Apparently our friend here is upset with me for being happy. She says I have no idea how it feels to be rejected well let me just tell you, I do. I've been raped by a guy who was supposedly my best friend, someone who would never hurt me. I've been beaten by my aunt's for thinking I look like a boy because of the way I chose to dress. I was abused by my uncle when I was twelve because he said I was old enough. So don't fucking tell me I don't know anything about struggling, KayT. You have no idea what the fuck I've been through." I could feel the tears building up quickly as I gritted my teeth, my blood starting to boil in complete anger. "It doesn't matter anyways, really. Do you honestly think he's taking your relationship seriously? You're just some girl whose fucked up in the head that he feels sorry for. You're a total charity case. You had horrible parents and tried to take the easy way out and kill yourself. Of course he was going to be there for you, because he felt compelled to. You lay all your problems on people when they don't ask you to. You're seventeen for fucks sake and he's going to be twenty five in a few months, you're just a kid to him. Which is even worse because that's basically rape now that you're fucking him."

I couldn't take anymore of her jealously fueled rant as I proceed to lunge at the next moment, my fist seeming to collide with her jaw in an instant. I found myself on top of her, grabbing her hair in fistfuls and slamming her face into the floor. Blood started to spray gradually from her nose before she dragged her nails across my cheek, ripping open the flesh. I knew I wasn't supposed to be doing anything like this, so when my chest started to hurt again, I knew I had to stop. But KayT wouldn't let up and she held onto my hair tight, slapping me over and over again in the face. I honestly don't even remember how long we lasted before Melody and her mom were in between the two of us, pulling us apart. "I don't know what the hell has gotten into you two girls but I highly suggest you go home, KayT. Jay, you stay here. We need to talk." She stated sternly before taking KayT out of the room and leaving me there with Mel. "Here." She handed me a towel as I wiped at the blood that began to drip from my face and nose. "Thanks. Sorry, Mel. I know KayT's been your best friend longer than you've even known me, it's not fair to do that to you. I understand completely if you want me to go." She shook her head violently before motioning for me to sit down next to her.

"She had no right to say those things that she did, Jay. Even I know that, you don't do that to someone who supposedly is your best friend. I'm actually really sorry that you had to be put on the spot like that. It's not her place to know your business. She honestly is just really jealous, she has been since day one when we first met you and you started to instantly become close to Chester. She wanted it to be her who got to know him personally like that and not you. But it still doesn't excuse anything, so I'm on your side completely." I hugged her suddenly, feeling the tears finally fall from my eyes as I sobbed loudly. All I had ever wanted was to make friends who actually accepted me for who I was and would always be there for me, not ones who would spite me in the end and try to hurt me deeply by dragging the people I loved through the dirt. I truly thought KayT was my best friend and saying those things that she did, my heart pretty much broke after hearing that. "Jay, can we talk outside, please?" Melody's mom asked from the doorway. I got up slowly before following her out to the hallway, still trying to stop the blood from flowing down my face. "Care to fill me in on what happened in there kiddo?" I sighed deeply, where the hell do I even begin to start?

"KayT flat out admitted that she's jealous of me, because I'm dating Chester and because he chose me instead of her. She said she wanted to be the one who got to know him, not me. She said I had no idea what it's like being constantly rejected. But little did she know, I've been raped and abused countless times. She rubbed that in my face when I told her, saying that practically that's what is still happening seeing as Chester is older then me. So I snapped and attacked her." Melody's mom put a hand to my shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. I was more than positive after hearing what I had just said she was going to immediately offer sympathy. "Oh Jay. Darling, I am so sorry that happened to you. She had absolutely no right to disrespect you like that. You're almost eighteen years old, you're allowed to make those choices and decisions in your life. But just be careful, I think you two should stay away from each other until things cool off. I talked to her mother, she said she's awfully sorry for the way KayT acted and that she wasn't going to be allowed over for a while. Maybe you should go get that looked at too, your lip is split pretty bad." I glanced into the bathroom mirror, seeing the large cut in my lip. I hated having to go to the hospital, but she insisted that I go. "I'll get a ride don't worry. Thank you again." I gave in and hugged Melody's mom tight, feeling a tear fall freely.

I made my way into my room before changing into some less ripped clothes, texting Chester if he could drop me off at the hospital on his way to the interview meeting. Instead of responding, he called me in a matter of seconds. "What the hell happened babe? Are you okay?" I looked myself over in the mirror again, seeing my eye start to swell and turn purple. Just fucking perfect. "KayT and I got into it, I don't really want to talk about it right now. Can you please just drop me off? I can ask Melody to bring me back home. I'm sorry, I know you're really busy and that you literally just left here an hour ago." I could hear voices in the background, some sounding like a woman's voice. I knew it was probably Shae, asking what had happened. "I'll be right over." Was all he said before hanging up the phone. I fought back the urge to slam my fist into the wall and smash my phone on the ground as I gathered some belongings into my backpack and waited down in the living room for him to show up. "Call me if you need anything, okay?" Melody said as she leaned down to hug me once more. I told her I would and not to worry, that I would be just fine. "Chester's outside." She said with a small smile a few minutes later. I smiled before telling her that I would see her later on.

When I climbed into the passenger seat, I instantly could feel all eyes on me. I turned around slowly, seeing all the guys plus Shae crammed into the backseats. Thanks for the warning, Chester. If I would have known I'd be having an entourage on my way to the hospital for stitches I could have asked someone else to take me. "Nice to see everyone." I grumbled, looking over at him with a slight glare. "Sorry babe, I told you we had to go interview this morning." I let out a light scoff, keeping my attention focused out of the window. I didn't say much else to anyone besides Shae once we pulled into the hospital parking lot. "Are you sure you don't want me to come with you? I'm not really needed." She insisted as I started to unbuckle my seat belt. I shook my head with a slight sniffle. "No no, you go ahead girl. You have more use than I do." I tried to make a lighthearted joke but it ultimately ended up sounding a bit harsh, the air growing incredibly thick with tension as I got out of the car. "I'll call you when I'm finished babe. Let me know what happens." I just gave him a simple thumbs up before turning on my heels and heading inside through the double doors of the emergency department. I signed myself in, seeing that I was probably going to be here a while.

(Chester's POV)

I felt pretty bad about leaving Jay by herself at the hospital, especially since I have no idea exactly what happened or went on that caused her injuries but I knew that this interview was desperately needed in order to get more publicity out for us before the tour begins in January. I could tell everyone was keeping their attention focused on me though as I looked over every few times and seen that mostly Shae was giving me a somewhat of a death glare. "I think your wife is trying to kill me with her thoughts." I said lowly to Mike who started to laugh abruptly rather loud, obviously catching her attention as she stared even harder. I nudged him hard in the side, telling him to not to be so obvious that I was talking about her. "I can tell you're talking about me Bennington so don't even try to hide it. Yes, I am pissed at you but we'll talk about this later!" She practically shouted from the other side of the room as we waited for the interviewer to be ready for us to go inside the main office. I just kept my head lowered to the ground and covered my face with my hands. This was going to be a long day, that I was completely sure of.

Thankfully with not a minute to spare, a young receptionist came out and announced that they were ready for us. We all filed one by one inside, sitting down at a large table that had our names placed where we were supposed to sit. We were greeted by a younger looking guy in a nice suit, introducing himself to us as James. He started off asking your average questions like how do we feel about the album being number one on a lot of charts, how do we feel about our videos being featured on MTV, but only when he started to ask the personal questions did I start to feel uneasy about the whole thing. I didn't want to necessarily bring Jay into this so soon, seeing as she didn't need that kind of stress being put on her and the fact that she was a bit young but I also didn't want to not include her either. She meant a lot to me and last night was the highlight of our relationship going to the next level. I loved her and she loved me, but I knew anything that I could say could be taken completely out of context and turned around greatly. "So Chester, do you have a special lady in your life like Mike?" And cue to that dreaded question I was trying desperately to keep avoiding.

I hesitated greatly before looking over at Mike who just gave me a "Say whatever you want to say." type of look. I drew in a long deep breath before answering him. "Well, I'm not saying anything definite but I do have someone in my mind." Wow, that sounded completely like I was trying to hide her away from everyone. Way to go, Chester. Now you just managed to sound like a complete cocky and arrogant asshole like people think all musicians are like. I prayed hard that this interview would be over soon because I wasn't sure how much more of these type of questions I could handle without saying something that would just sound entirely bad. I felt my phone buzz in my pocket, glancing down quickly to see Jay had texted me. She had to get three stitches in her lip and two in her left cheek below her eye. She said she was in a pretty good amount of pain and just wanted to go home as quick as possible. I texted her that I was still in the interview and that it might take longer than originally had planned. I returned my attention to everyone briefly, seeing that they were now on the topic of the tour. Just great, another thing I really didn't feel like talking about today.

I felt my phone again seeing she had replied only with a simple "I'll take the bus then.", instantly breaking my heart some and making me feel terrible that I couldn't be there for her. But I only hoped that she would understand though, that this was going to be a daily part of my life now until the end of it. That random interviews, the long work days in the studio, the video shoots, the month long tours, the last minute shows. I knew it was a lot of pressure to put on one person but I knew that Jay was just the person that I wanted to share all of this with. She was my biggest fan and I wanted it to stay that way, exactly how Shae was with Mike. I wanted the perfect relationship if not better that they had. I wanted to spoil Jay with everything that she could possibly ever want or need. And with only a week until Christmas and the tour, I knew I needed to act fast in order to make sure things stayed perfect between us. I had to be honest and open about everything, especially about with how long the tour was going to be and exactly when I thought I'd be home.

I knew she was going to be graduating soon and her birthday was right around the corner in a few months, I wanted to be there to celebrate that all with her. But that all depended on the circumstances, because if I ever had to make a choice between being with her and being on tour, I honestly don't know exactly what I would choose to do.

(Jade's POV)

As I sat on the long bus ride back to my house, I started to think about all the things that I had to take into consideration about being Chester's serious girlfriend. I had to deal with him being gone on tours, talking to people constantly, being asked for pictures, autographs, meeting people at all times, girls trying to flirt with him. The list dragged on and on in the back of my mind as I glanced down at my phone, seeing that he had replied with a sad face and that he was incredibly sorry he couldn't be there but that he wanted to make it up to me. I didn't bother replying, instead I turned it off and shoved my phone back into my front pocket. I just needed some time to think, especially after what KayT had said to me, because it really got under my skin and started to work its way into my thoughts and began to start clouding my judgment.

I loved Chester and I was more than happy that I got to share that special moment with him last night but now, regardless of everything, I wasn't quite so sure I wanted to be a part of it anymore. And it absolutely shattered my heart to ever have to think or say that.