An Interview with Mr. Ex

Chapter 4: When We First Met

Chapter 4: When We First Met

(Flashback - fifth day of college)

(Jade)



She was standing in the cafeteria, waiting for the long line to move, for her turn to come, when she saw him again. The guy who had bumped into her and walked away as if he didn't see her. She also unconsciously noticed how handsome he was, with those deep grey eyes and dark blonde hair that was almost bordering on brown. Tall, lean, lithe, he looked like he stalked instead of walking. When he moved, he moved with purpose, with strength, as if he knew where exactly he was going and it almost made her jealous of him, jealous of his confidence.

But it is a shame he is such a jerk! She thought as she showed him her middle fingers, two of them, all inside her head, of course.

Her eyes narrowed automatically as she glared at him—not that she was ever going to go directly to him and confront him or anything, she wouldn't dare. But she could at least glare at him from a safe distance away when he was not looking at her.

It was better this way, because she knew she would just melt into a puddle of wordless wonder if she ever did what she was imagining doing right now. Yes, of course, she had fantasies, too, and in her current fantasy, she was grabbing him by his shirt sleeve and asking him to say sorry to her.

Even your fantasies are so bo...oooring! You can punch him, kick him or kiss him! It is just a fantasy...

She almost smiled. It was that remnant of the part of her that once was... The part of her, this little girl, who had been gloriously bright and full of explosive colors. It was all in the past, before her parents died and left her in her loneliness, thrashing in her nightmares. Sometimes she hated her parents for doing that to her, for leaving her in the cruel, unending nightmare, even though she knew it was actually not their fault. If they could have walked away from that accident, they would have. Just for her. And it was stupid to think otherwise, but she couldn't help it. Help the thoughts that plagued her. She loved them, she missed them and sometimes she hated them. Now here she was, this stranger in her own body.

This girl is not me. But I am so afraid to find the real me, the one who might burn brighter in the darkness of my life... I am such a spineless coward... Jade closed her eyes with a sigh and waited her turn for the food. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, it was her turn.

She ordered salad and a burger—which didn't actually look anything close salad or burger—and grabbed her plate and she walked all the way to the back of the cafeteria and sat down at an empty table and started picking on her food. I don't know how I am going to survive this jungle without anyone. I am so scared to do this. Now that she had finally left the orphanage behind, she didn't even have that flimsy crutch. She was now a grownup, and she was now truly alone.

It had been hard to leave the orphanage, to leave the town she had been living in for so long. Even though it was scary and she was frightened to death, she knew she had to move past that or she would forever be trapped. In that place. Of course, they gave her a place to stay, fed her, clothed her, kept her safe and silent, but it had cost her a lot. It had cost her herself. Her essence. Her confidence. Her thoughts.

They were not exactly bad people. It wasn't like they had abused her or hurt her, but they had curbed her, silenced her, stripped her of her individuality and identity. Now she was this ghost of a girl, this stupid sheep in the herd of sheep.

"Can I sit?" Her thought was interrupted when she heard someone asking her. It was that gorgeous girl from Professor Rutherford's class, the one who had smiled at her. Jade looked up from the mess of food in her plate, which she hadn't even touched yet, to the girl standing in front of her.

"Don't look so scared." The girl said.

Why would she even want to sit with me? Jade thought to herself, as she just stared at her. She didn't know what to do? Do I want her to sit with me?

"When you open your mouth, you actually talk pretty great, you know. So why are you always looking like you are so afraid to even utter a word?" The girl asked, her eyes narrowed in concentration as she studied Jade like she was some weird science project. It made Jade feel uncomfortable and angry. It made her feel like the girl was picking her apart and studying her piece by piece without actually touching her or cutting her. Autopsy of the soul...

She wasn't an experiment. She wasn't some puzzle to be solved. She was just...

She hasn't even said her name and I have to give her my life history? Jade thought with annoyance and shrugged her shoulders. The girl laughed as if Jade had just told her an amazing joke.

"You, you were just screaming at me, weren't you? Inside your head?" The girl said as she pulled the chair back and sat down. "And I can sit if I want to. I asked because I didn't want to be rude." She explained when Jade looked at her with displeasure.

"I am not screaming at..." She mumbled.

"You can talk louder, you know. I won't attack you or anything." She said and then her face fell as if she just realized something. "I am sorry. Did someone actually hurt you when you talked? Sorry. I shouldn't have asked, but I hope you know that was not your

fault."

Jade bit her lips. Not exactly, but everyone had told her how talking too loud or being stubborn would be punished and the punishment wasn't exactly painful, but... it left a deep scar. Jade just shrugged instead. "No."

"I have this feeling you are lying, but I won't ask you to explain. After all, we just met. But you can talk, you know, you can talk here and no one dare hurt you for that." The girl said, her eyes soft and serene.

Jade looked at the strange girl in front of her. Her eyes were smiling and she looked like she belonged in the front page of a really glossy magazine. Jade didn't understand why she was wasting her time, sitting here, talking with her!

"You are wondering what I am doing here, right?" The girl said as she flicked her bangs back with a small twist of her neck, looking really amazing doing so.

"Can you read minds!" Jade asked and then her eyes widened.

She shrugged and her shiny red hair danced along with her. Everything about her screamed money. Rich. Big time. She was only wearing a T-shirt and jeans, just like Jade, but somehow the girl's T-shirt looked like they were made exactly for her. Maybe it was. Her jeans had holes, but the holes were just a little bit well placed than Jade's.

"If you become my friend, you can find that out." She said as she pushed her hands forward.

"Do you think I need saving? I don't need your pity."

"Ah, she talks." The girl giggled as she opened her backpack and pulled out a brown bag. Yes, of course, no cafeteria food for her. She shrunk her nose when she noticed her sandwich, as if those delicious things were somehow offending her. Jade looked at her plate full of squiggly vegetables that were on their last breath and sighed. The strange reality of life!

"And how can we be friends when you don't know my name and when I don't know yours," Jade said as she looked hungrily at the sandwich and the girl waved it in front of her. It smelled mouthwatering and Jade wanted to grab it from the girl and gulp it down, but she didn't. Even though she was ravenous, she just didn't have the guts to do any of that.

"You don't know me, yes. But I know your name. You are Jade. You are pretty smart and wise for your age, but really, really quiet. I am loud. We can balance each other out. Oh, and yes, my name is Megan Chase and you can have the sandwich. Don't look at it like it is some hunky guy or something." The girl said as she pushed both her hands out. Jade ignored the free one and hungrily stared at the hand that held the sandwich.

"Ok." Jade said and grabbed the sandwich and bit into it. Jade couldn't afford to be glib about food.

"Are you going to shake my hand or can I pull it back? I am confused. You just grabbed my sandwich and left my hand."

Jade hesitated for a moment before she took Megan's hand and shook it.

"Friends?"

"Ok." Whatever.

"Oh, come on, don't look so interested," Megan said sarcastically and Jade laughed softly as she took another bite of the world-changing sandwich. "Your laugh is pretty." Megan said.

Jade blushed. "Thanks."

"Now, tell me why Jared Wilson is looking at you?"

"Who?" Jade blinked in confusion as chewed the sandwich. She had never eaten something this good in her life. This must be what they served in high end restaurants.

"Turn back and look. The guy with ridiculously handsome face and stormy grey eyes and dark blonde hair that looks like they are made of silk threads... that one." Megan said, her words a slightly hoarse whisper. Jade looked at Megan and shook her head. She knew exactly who Megan was talking about in that breathy voice and Jade's heart and hands trembled.

"Shit." Jade cursed as she finished the last piece of the sandwich and licked her fingers.

"What did you do?" Megan asked. She placed her steepled fingers in her chin and looked at the nervous girl in front of her with interest and intrigue. The girl made her curious.

"I- I should go." She said as she stood up from her table and almost ran out. Jared Wilson stood up, as well. She was almost sprinting by the time she reached the door of the cafeteria.

Please God, don't let him catch me.

"Hey, you." Jade almost exploded when he caught her sneaking out of the door. He looked at her with those grey eyes that made her breathing hitch and her flight response went overdrive.

She turned and almost sprinted, but realized she couldn't move. She helplessly turned around, her eyes pricking, to find that he was grabbing at her bag and his eyes were amused and laughing at her. He looked like he was very much enjoying the show. "Are you really planning to run away?" He chuckled and she wanted to disappear. Vanish into thin air. Then she wouldn't have to make a fool of herself in front of him. He already looked like he was enjoying her humiliation so damn much.

Jerk. Ass. Jerkass. She cursed him on the inside.

She shook her head. No. But they both knew she was lying and he shook his head, his eyes glimmering as he leaned closer to her. She could smell his woodsy scent and see the silver dots in his grey eyes. Up so close, the eyes were almost like magnets, pulling her, attracting her. She just couldn't look away from them. She felt like she could get lost in them and nobody would ever find her.

She gasped. It was a soft, soft sound. She just hoped that he hadn't heard it.

He looked at her for a second, his brows knotted and took a step back from her as if he was worried that she might attack him—maybe she wanted to, but she was too afraid.

"You are lying, but okay, let's come back to it later. Now tell me why you keep staring at me? I have been noticing you for a few days now and you kept staring and looking away when I caught you staring. Do you think I am hot, sexy? I know I am good looking, but... do you want to date me, be my girlfriend?" He said as he looked at her and she almost wanted to punch that delicious looking lips and watch them bleed. It would be amazing.

Wow. What arrogance!

She shook her head again. No. No. Not at all. But it looked like he missed it. What a self-absorbed jerk.

"I know I am good looking, but I am sorry. I didn't come here to date or find love. I came here to study, to find my place in this world and I can not afford any distraction. Even a pretty distraction such as yourself, okay?" She didn't even notice he had just called her pretty—neither did he, actually.

She blushed in embarrassment. She wished the floor would open and engulf her inside. She would have gladly given every penny she had—not that she had that much—for that to happen. She felt hot and feverish and she rubbed her cheeks. He looked at her flushed face and narrowed his eyes. "What? Are you mute?" He looked at her, suddenly curious about this wide eyed, freckled girl in front of him. She looked flushed and freaked out, to be honest. He shrugged.

"No." Her voice was soft, timid.

"No what?"

"No, I don't think you are hot, but I think you love the sound of your own voice." She said it without a second thought and closed her eyes again with a sigh.

His eyes widened and he stared at her as if he couldn't believe her. She looked at him like a startled deer, and turned away.

"What?"

"No-nothing "

"Bullshit. Tell me what you meant or you are not leaving here," he threatened with a flippant smile and she groaned.

"Just that...you talk too much."

"Me? I talk too much?" He shook his head at her as if he couldn't believe the audacity. He looked at her and she shrunk back from him and this time, her eyes were wide with fear. Yes, fear.

This girl was such a weird contradiction of bravery and fear and it made him feel something he had never felt. It made him curious. Made him want to dig deep and find her secrets, the skeletons, everything she was hiding under this shy, timid mask. He had never felt curious about anyone in his life. He only had one goal and he never let anyone derail him or his plans for his life.

"I am not planning to hurt you. You don't need to be scared." He said and she looked at him with a soft sigh and lightly poked at his fingers. "But I am not letting go. You still haven't answered."

"I am not scared." She muttered as she looked down on her sneakers. It was new, only because her old one had become completely obliterated.

"Ok, enough of that. Just tell me why you were looking at me—or more like glaring. Even today, you were staring at me and when you realized I noticed it, you sneaked out of the cafeteria!"

"I-" she mumbled. "I did not-"

"Wait. Do I know you?" He looked at her again, his eyes scanning her face. His lips were pressed together and his eyes were narrowed and there was this small crease at the side of his eyes that made him look so adorable. "Have we met before somewhere?"

She shook her head. You don't know me. You don't see me. No one sees me. It is not new for me. I live in the shadows, and I don't want to blame you... But I do. I do blame you and myself and everyone.

"You are that girl. That was why you were glaring at me. You were not looking because you thought I am hot, you were glaring at me because you wanted to punch me in my nose. Oh, s**t. You are really good at this."

"..." Jade didn't have the heart to refute his claim. After all, she did want to punch him in his sharp, sculpted nose, but she was not audacious enough to do that or even admit to that. She hated confrontations, she would rather take it all and fade back into the shadows. It had always worked well, but suddenly here she was, forced by a handsome jerk to admit to her feelings, her anger.

"You are the girl I bumped into on Wednesday, aren't you?"

It actually surprised her that he could recognize her. Of course, it took him so long, but just knowing that he could actually remember her was like a grateful relief and it gave her a strange sense of liberation.

"So you actually knew you bumped into someone." She spat and then bit her lips, again. God, she really needed to install a filter between her brain and her tongue—it was so unlike her to say everything she was thinking—when she was with him. Her eyes widened in surprise and fear, as if she could not believe that she had actually said that. Her body went stiff. She looked at him in horror, her eyes wide and fragile and his heart gave a very strange twitch inside.

"Hey. It is okay. You can say that. I am not a psychopath, I am not going to murder you for saying that. Don't look so horrified." He said, his voice soft and calm. He gave her a sweet smile and she relaxed.

"I am sorry." Her voice was air, and if he had not been listening, he would've missed it, but he was listening, he was suddenly so attuned to her.

"Actually I am the one who has to apologize, right? So why are you saying sorry?"

"I have to go." She looked away from his grey eyes. They were so intense and she couldn't look too long into them. It made something in her pulse and throb. She didn't actually understand what it was, but it made her stomach tremble.

"Wait, I am sorry for that. I was in a hurry and that is not an excuse. I should have apologized. But... can you forgive me?"

She nodded and gave him a timid smile.

"Can I go now?"

"Okay." He said, and watched as she walked away, or more like ran away. She didn't even look back and it was strange, but he wanted her to look back. He stood right there and watched until she disappeared from his eyes. He stood right there, unmoving, as his heart frantically thumped inside.

"Hey, what are you doing here, staring into the emptiness?" Tom Foley, his best friend, punched him in his shoulders and he jerked away.

"Nothing." He said as he shook his head with a frown, as if he was dispelling the thoughts of the strange girl who had left him transfixed and speechless. He was never speechless.

"Ok, if you have done daydreaming, let's go."

"I am not daydreaming." He snapped and walked away, but his mind was still stuck in the place where she had just left.

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