Jade & January
Jade thinks he’s in love.
Jade thinks he’s in love because of the odd way his heart flutters whenever January is near. Jade thinks he’s in love because every time a word passes from those perfect lips, Jade feels like he’s drowning and flying at the same time. Jade thinks he’s in love because every time he closes his eyes, January is there.
Elaine doesn’t think Jade is in love. If anything, she thinks Jade has some sort of obsession. Jade proclaims Elaine a non-believer and an enemy of love; and afterwards, he slips notes into January’s locker.
Time passes, and Jade is more and more sure with each passing day that he is really in love. He starts putting rose petals and ewords of undying affection in January’s locker.
One day, January speaks to Jade. It’s nothing important, nothing personal (“Hey, do you have a pencil I can borrow?”) but it makes Jade’s heart go wild and for a moment, he can’t speak; instead, he nods frantically and, with shaking fingers, hands January the one pencil he has that isn’t sharpened to pieces. January gives him a weird look (Jade forgives him immediately; after all, January’s just ignorant, it’s not his fault) and takes the pencil without another word.
In lunch, Jade excitedly tells Elaine what happens (“and oh my god, can you believe he asked me? I swear, I thought I was going to die or have a heart attack or something, seriously—”). Elaine sighs, and hates January for what he’s doing to her best friend.
Jade’s notes become more and more graphic.
Days merge into weeks, and Jade’s becoming desperate; he keeps bottling up his love, but he’s running out of bottles.
“Hey J, do you still get those weird stalker-notes?”
“Yeah,” January replies and Jade’s heart starts thudding wildly from his hiding spot. “Kinda creeps me out, man.”
“Know anything about who it is?”
“Nah, dude. I guess I just have to ignore them or something.” The other guy—Jade doesn’t know or care who he is, he’s ugly and doesn’t deserve to be friends with January—nods. The pair continues down the hall, and Jade abruptly starts to breathe again.
Another couple of days, and Jade is approached by January.
“Hey,” January says awkwardly, and Jade begins to stammer. Is this it? Will January’s next words be of love, and they’ll finally be able tostart their lives toge—
“Here’s your pencil. Sorry you didn’t get it sooner, I lost it and just found it yesterday.” January holds out the now severely shorter pencil, and Jade is struck speechless for a few seconds before he jolts back to life and somehow manages to say “thanks.”
“No problem.” January smiles at him, and starts walking in the other direction.
January is such a kind soul. Jade’s heart bursts of happiness and love.
Elaine, predictably, gets fed up with the way her friend is always moaning and bitching about January. “Just tell him how you feel; I’m getting sick of listening to this bullshit.”
Jade throws her a wounded look, but she has hatched the egg inside him.
It takes a handful of days before Jade works up the courage to do what he is going to do, and another few of planning before he is ready.
Then, after hours passing too slowly and too quickly, it is time.
“January?” Jade says, and is for a second immensely proud over the fact that his voice doesn’t quiver (that much).
“Yeah?” The angel—because that’s what he is—says, and Jade hurries on before he loses his nerve; “I need to tell you something.”
“Fire away.”
“Uh, can we go somewhere else? It’s kind of personal..”
“Sure,” January agrees with a shrug and follows Jade to an empty classroom.
Jade closes the door, and just looks at January. He can’t believe he’s here, with him—
“So what is it?” January asks, a flash of irritation in his voice.
Jade forgets the plan entirely, and fists his hands in January’s t-shirt, opening the cork on all his bottles and kissing January with a ferocity that surprises them both.
January freezes for a few seconds before yanking Jade away. “Dude, what the fuck?”
“I love you,” Jade says, desperately. “I love you so much, and you just wouldn’t see—”
“Wait,” January interrupts him. “So you’re the one who’s been putting all that stuff in my locker?”
Jade nods, a hopeful expression blossoming on his face.
“Christ, that’s gross.”
It feels like someone replaced his blood with ice, and Jade can’t do anything but stare as the love of his life rips his heart out.
“Seriously. You don’t do that to people.”
“But I love you—” Jade breaks, and hot tears are racing down his face. “Please, just—”
January looks at him with a face of absolute disgust, and slams the door after him on his way out.
When Jade finally manages to walk home, he is convinced that it was all his fault; he acted out of place, and he shouldn’t have talked to January like that, and he always messed up somehow and January didn’t do anything wrong; after all, January is god.
The next day at school, January ignores Jade completely. It’s okay, Jade thinks; January must be feeling guilty—this makes Jade’s patched-up heart swell up like a balloon, because January loves him.
So in a break, when Jade slips another note into January’s locker, it’s okay; because Jade is in love.
I forgive you.
