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Onyx
Jade.
Her name sounds so sweet on her tongue. I want her to say mine in the same breathy voice. I can't help but watch her obsessively, while she walks to her class, weaving through the crowd, seemingly oblivious to the stare down I’m receiving from herbest friend.Corey Patterson. I did my research before coming to this school, finding out anyone who might feel threatened with my presence, considering my familial ties. Corey is linked to Rip and Rip is the biggest gun in this city.
I have zero interest in their activities or my grandfather’s. My plan is simple. Write my songs, put them on a track and turn it into one of the five top label executives scouting me. The one who fears my family less will be the one I choose. Before today, I was able to lie low, avoid the spotlight and any paps who might have caught wind of me being sent here. Now my presence is known and I can no longer go around hiding at Ms. Patti’s in the recording studio every day. The place where I first saw Jade.
My little star didn’t have to tell me her name. I already knew it, been dying to hear her say it. The moment I arrived in this hole-in-the wall town, I was angry. I wanted nothing else except to escape to the one thing that gave me purpose. Music. I thought it was a joke when I walked into Ms. Patti’s and heard a song off my very first album pounding in the speakers. Except no one knew I was coming. It was past closing time and the building was empty. Like a thief, I snuck through the privacy door, down the corridors to the last studio room. The hall was dark and I stayed in the shadows, watching Jade dance like her life depended on it. Like my lyrics were bringing her back to life, while her body twist and bent, keeping rhythm to the beat. My song bled into another and she never stopped. I watched her for hours when I should have been working on my music. The thing about Jade is that once I looked, I couldn’t look away. I started obsessively arriving late once the building closed, just to see her. I was acting like a fucking stalker. The more I watched, the new melodies and lyrics began to piece themselves together. The vibe was nothing I had created before and I knew then it was because of her, my little star.
“Rip said he already spoke to your grandfather.” Corey’s voice parades through my thoughts. My eyes flash to him and I see the darkness lurking there. I wonder if Jade sees it too?
“Sounds about right.” I nod to him, letting his worry roll off my shoulders. I could care less what his gangbanger friend says or deals with my grandfather. I’m here to finish my album. Their turf wars do not interest me.
“So we won’t have any problems then?” His gaze slides past me and down the hall, where his best friend walked away before glancing back again. The gesture is subtle, but I get his meaning. As long as I keep to myself, there will not be a problem. Unfortunately for him, I don’t take being threatened too well. It is my first day at a new school though and several people are hanging on every word between us. I shrug him off and smirk before walking away.
I make it halfway down the hallway before I feel a clap on my shoulder. “I wouldn’t stare too long at her if I was you.”
Gage Monroe. Wide receiver for the football team. He seemed pretty chill, and only tried to recruit me for the season halfheartedly, once he knew I wasn’t interested.
“Who?” I glance at him and watch as my cousin, Terrance, tries to hide his smirk in my peripheral vision.
“That's good. Keep pretending. Because Corey may look like America’s boy next door playing a dangerous adult game, but you haven’t seen him unhinged. And trust me, nothing makes him more unhinged than when it comes to Jade.” Gage gives me a nod before sauntering into the crowd like he didn’t just threaten me.
I clench my jaw and let out a half laugh, letting him walk away, knowing that if I wanted to, I could have his spine ripped out and he’d never play football again. I might not want my grandfather’s lifestyle, but that doesn’t mean he raised me to be weak. Things here are getting interesting.
I manageto make it through the day without dying from boredom or maiming anyone, so I count this as a win. It's partly my own fault that I have to participate in mainstream school anyways. My mother gave me the opportunity to be homeschooled or have a private tutor, but I acted out one too many times. They thought punishment was sending me into a building with other teens and forcing me to suffer through the basic education system. Jokes on them because I’ve never been the outcast or found it hard to blend in at a public school. It took me three class periods and I was being invited to sit with the football team and by the kids who I have come to learn reside in the wealthier part of town. Like I could give two shits. Jade sits at neither of these tables.
She breezes into the cafeteria, linking arms with another girl with curly hair. I watch as she talks animatedly with her friend, an easy smile on her lips. Right as they grab their trays, Corey slides his arms around their necks, the three of them talking, as they sit at a table close to the exit doors. My fingers grip the plastic fork in my hand tighter. I can’t look away. She smiles easily and rolls her eyes at something one of them says to her. When she reaches into her backpack and pulls out one of those e-reading devices, I almost choke on the water I just sipped. Corey’s eyes slide over her, but he doesn’t move. He and the other girl continue their conversation until the table is full and Jade reads her book, ignoring everyone, while biting into her sandwich. My whole body tenses, watching as people shuffle around the table, sometimes bumping into her. My jaw clenches when one fucker accidently hits her back with his bag and barely stops to apologize. Jade glances up with a frown on her face before shaking her head and going back to reading. Not once during the whole lunch period does that twat Corey Patterson even move closer to her or shield her. All this does is prove my theory from earlier. He doesn’t deserve her.
* * *
“She'sin the back studio room,” Terrance announces into the mic from the recording studio. His words vibrate in my headphones and I glance up and see him motioning above us with his hand through the glass window.
Before jumping into the studio and putting these words in my head on paper, I told him to let me know when Jade was done with her normal session time and if she stayed to work on her solo. Ever since this morning, I’ve been aching for a few minutes with her. To stare in her emerald-colored eyes and feel the way she makes my pulse beat to a different rhythm.
Nodding my head, I unplug my headphones and slip the notebook I’d been doodling on for the past two hours back into my backpack before zipping it up.
“Clean up the transition on track four.” I bump my fist on Terrance’s shoulder, and he just smiles knowingly at me.
The corridor is dark as I make my way up the stairs to the main level. The area is deserted at this time of night, especially for a school day. All the ballerinas are home with their families, eating dinner and doing their homework. Then there’s Jade. I can faintly hear the bass of an older Nelly song through the studio door. I crack the door open to watch her, not that she would notice; she’s lost in the words, her body twisting and swaying to the beat. Her hair swings loosely around her face, and I can’t take my eyes off every inch of tan skin on her bare legs, thanks to the black body-suit thing she's wearing. Sweat builds on her arms and chest, but the grin on her face, while she struts to the jazzy beat, makes my lips twitch. Jade was made to dance. Even while I watch her from the shadows, I know I’ll always be her biggest fan.
She leaps into the air, her body twisting before falling to the ground, her legs pushing wide and oddly seductive. My brow rises. My hands move together clapping slowly. Her green eyes flash at mine, widening in surprise, as she scrambles up off the floor to her feet. “I’m so sorry,” she says.
Smirking, I cup my ears, as if I can’t hear her. “What?”
She runs over to the side panel, where the stereo is tucked away. The music dies off and she turns back to me. Her cheeks are pink from the exercise and I catch the guilty expression in her eyes. “I’m sorry. I forgot I'm not the only one here in the evenings. I hope I didn’t mess anything up for you.”
My shoulders lift and I glance around the room. It’s practically dark, except for the few lights on where she was dancing.Dancing in the shadows for me.I bring my eyes back to Jade, trailing them over all her features. She really is beautiful. “I was bored,” I finally admit. “I heard the music up here so I decided to see who else was enjoying the night like me.”
“It’s the only time I can concentrate,” she admits with a little laugh. Her face lights up and her eyes lose a little of the edge in them.
“Same,” I nod my head, my hands clasping together, “well, usually anyways. Tonight I can’t seem to get the words to come together.”
“It’s the worst when you have something in your head but can’t make it come out right.”
I tilt my head to the side, contemplating her words. “Are you working on something?”
“My piece for this year's showcase.” She nods. Her dark hair falling around her shoulders. Goosebumps rise on her skin from the motion and she folds her arms against her body.
