April 19th, 2008

"Nuh-uh. You're not leaving in that."

I stared at my brother flatly, doing a little twirl in the dress I had borrowed from Aimee. It was short, probably a little too short, but I didn't really care. It was cute, and I was sure Dallas would think that.

"I like the dress, Austin," my mother informed him, patting on his shoulder.

"Dad won't," Austin said now, and I couldn't tell if that was a threat or not.

Before my brother could go get our father, there was a knock on the front door. I squealed, knowing who it was. My mother looked excited as well, but Austin looked so unhappy, and it was hilarious. I was glad that my father was working upstairs so he wouldn't see, because then he'd probably go make me go change into sweats.

"Have fun, sweetie!" my mother called after me.

"But not too much fun!" Austin made sure to add.

I opened the front door, smiling brightly when I saw that it was in fact Dallas who was on the other side. When he saw me, his eyes widened and he smiled. He looked so good in a tux... But that wasn't very surprising for Dallas.

"Ready to go?" he asked, offering his arm for me to take after his eyes had traveled up and down my body. I nodded almost timidly, taking his arm and walking off to his car with him.

This was going to be the best night of my life. I already knew it.

When we got to his school, it was a lot more extravagant than I thought it would be. I mean, it was a public school. I didn't think it would be as good as dances that happened at my school, since I went to a private school and everything... But I was wrong. The place actually looked really good.

Dallas immediately pulled me on to the dance floor, but it wasn't like I was about to complain. I wanted to dance with him, to be as close to him as I possibly could have. I wondered if Trinity had come, and if she did, I wondered if she brought a date...

Dallas and I danced for three slow songs straight, and I never wanted to stop. My dream was coming true. I was actually on a real date with Dallas. He wasn't dating Trinity anymore. He was dancing with me, not Trinity.

Right after the third song ended, Dallas was suddenly being pulled away from me. I took a step back, almost tripping over in my heels, but caught myself before I could sprawl myself over the floor.

As I had been fearing, the person that had pulled him away from me was Trinity. Couldn't she leave us alone? She was the one that had let Dallas go, not the other way around.

"Dallas," Trinity started, her eyes brimming with tears as she looked between Dallas and me. "Why are you here with Jordan?"

Dallas shrugged, entwining his fingers with mine. "Because I like her, Trinity."

"But we just broke up two days ago!"

"I've known her for the past fourteen years."

Trinity looked over at me, glaring harshly. It was the first time she had ever looked at me that way, since she had always been so kind to me before. But she never saw me as a threat before, so that was understandable.

"You can't really love her," Trinity gulped, fighting back to tears so it wouldn't ruin her makeup. I felt like decking her. "You told me that you loved me, Dallas. Isn't that right? You love me... right?"

Dallas glanced between Trinity and me, as if he was trying to decide. I felt my stomach lurch. What was he going to say to her?

He sighed, looking away from me. "Of course I love you, Trinity."

If felt my heart plunge into my stomach. He just told her that he loved her. But... he asked me to the prom! I had known him for fourteen years! What... what about me?

"I want to go back out with you, Dallas," Trinity begged, grabbing onto his hands now. "I love you so much! I never should have believed Jesse Jacobsen when he said you did anything with Jordan! I'm so sorry for breaking up with you! I want you back!"

Dallas smiled, leaning forward and pressing his lips to the blonde girl's. I felt my heart shatter, and my breaths suddenly got jagged. No, this couldn't have been happening... I had been having such a great time!

"See you later, Jordy," Dallas nodded, hooking his arm around Trinity's.

I stared at him for a moment, trying to process what he had just said. Did he say he was going to see me later? Did that mean that he was leaving me there, at a school that I didn't even attend?

I didn't stop him from leaving with Trinity, because I honestly had no idea what I was supposed to say to him. He had just ditched me. He used me to get Trinity back... This was the person that I had been best friends with for fourteen years?

I looked around at all the older kids that I didn't know, and I took a step back toward the exit. It made me wish that Austin was a senior so he would have been there to help me, but the junior prom had been the night before. He had taken Emily, and she had told me how amazing it had been... I really thought I was going to have that experience, too.

I spun around, running out the door before I let any tears fall from my eyes. I wasn't about to cry in front of people that I didn't even know. But now I had no ride home, it was dark, and I had left my cell phone at home.

I walked away from the gym and through the campus, finally getting to the front before breaking down. I fell against a wall, sliding down with my back against it. I buried my face in my hands, sobbing so loud that I probably was screaming.

I heard the sound of rustling feet, causing me to snap my head up to see who was there. It was dark, but the lights from the parking lot gave me just enough to be able to see. I wiped at my eyes, my eyes widening when I saw the person standing above me.

"Emery?" Jesse asked, his own eyes wide as well.

"You really are following me," I grumbled, not having enough energy to yell at him.

Jesse didn't smirk, he didn't even crack a joke. All he did was continue to stare at me, completely confused and bewildered. I wiped at my eyes again, not even caring if I messed up the makeup the girls spent hours working on.

"What happened?" Jesse now asked, and I sniffed to stop tears from falling. "Emery? What did Dallas do?"

"It's your fault!" I shouted, tears now continuing to stream down my face as I jumped up from my spot on the ground. I didn't even care if he saw me cry. "It's all your fault that this happened! It's all your fault!"

"Whoa, Emery," he tried, raising his hands and taking a step back away from me. "What the hell happened?"

"Dallas used me," I spat, the words burning my tongue. "He asked me to this stupid prom just so Trinity would see us and get jealous! I spent hours getting ready, trying to look perfect for him, and he just throws it all away and ditches me for his ex-girlfriend! That was what he wanted all along! That was all that he wanted! He never liked me, he just saw me as a way to get back together with Trinity! If it wasn't for you, Trinity never would have broken up with him and Dallas wouldn't have ever used me!"

I collapsed onto my knees, sobbing so hard that my chest hurt. I could hear the music that was yards away blaring from the gym, but my sobs seemed to drown them out. I didn't think I would ever stop crying.

"You've gotta calm down, Emery," Jesse informed me, crouching down beside me now. I wasn't about to calm down. I wasn't going to calm down anytime soon. My heart was broken beyond repair. I didn't think it would ever be fixed.

"Just get out here, Jacobsen," I spat at him, slapping his hand away from me as he reached toward me. "Just leave me alone. You've ruined my life enough already! Just get out of here and leave me alone!"

Jesse didn't budge. "How are you getting home?"

I sniffled, wiping my eyes and nose with the back of my hand. "I don't know. I'll walk, I guess."

"No, not by yourself," Jesse told me, grabbing onto my elbow and lifting us both up off the ground. "It's not safe for a girl dressed like you to be walking home alone in the dark. I'll walk you home, Emery."

"Why do you even care?" I snapped, ripping my elbow from his grasp.

Jesse didn't speak, but I knew he wasn't going to leave me alone until he knew that I was safe at home. So I did as he told me, following him all the way to my house. Since he had been there before, he knew where it was. It only took us a half an hour to walk home, and neither of us said anything all the way there.

When we finally got to my house, I was hoping that everyone would be asleep, but I highly doubted that was possible. It was only nine thirty. Usually my father was working upstairs until ten, but my mom was sleeping because her job required her to get up early in the morning. But since it was a weekend, I was sure that Austin was awake. He was probably watching TV downstairs, which meant there was no way for me to get around him.

"Thanks," I thanked Jesse flatly, wiping at my stained cheeks as we got onto my porch. "I felt safer not walking alone."

I wasn't in the mood to really thank him, considering the fact that it was his fault I was the way I was right then. I knew that once I got inside, I would bury myself under my covers and try to never come out again.

Jesse nodded at me, taking a step away to show that he was going to leave. I nodded now, turning toward the door and letting out a breath before pushing the door open. I was sure I was going to have to face Austin sooner or later... Though I would have rather picked later than sooner.

"You're back early," Austin informed me from the couch before he could even see me. "Did something happen?"

His eyes widened when I came into view, and he sat up from his lying position immediately. My legs were scratched up and dirty from collapsing, and my face was stained with makeup and tears. It was obvious that something horrible had happened.

Instead of denying everything like I usually did, I completely broke down once again and told Austin the whole story. I told him how Dallas had used and ditched me for Trinity, and I told him how Jesse walked me home. Austin looked so angry that it almost scared me, but it wasn't like I would have been upset if he decided to do anything to Dallas.

I had been wrong earlier. This wasn't the best night of my life. This was definitely the worst.

J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J

Jesse's P.O.V.

After I was finished with business involving Hunter and the rest of the gang, I found myself walking home. I remembered how the public school was having their senior prom, so I decided to stop by to see if Jordan really did go with Dallas.

But when I got there, I saw something I definitely didn't expect to see. A girl in a short purple dress was sitting against a wall and balling her eyes out. She had the same hair color as Jordan, but there was no way that could have been her, right?

As I got closer, the girl heard me and her head snapped out. I looked in horror to see that this girl was in fact Jordan, her makeup running down her cheeks along with her tears. Why was she out here crying?

"Emery?" I asked, not sure of my own voice.

"You really are following me," she grumbled, and she seemed a lot more out of it than she usually was. What had happened?

I didn't show any emotion on my face as I waited for her to say something. Obviously something had happened, but I wouldn't have been surprised if she didn't tell me. She wiped at her eyes again, her makeup messy and all over her face now.

"What happened?" I now asked, and she sniffed. She was going to tell me what happened, even if I had to force the answer out of her. "Emery? What did Dallas do?"

"It's your fault!" she burst, tears now streaming down her face as she jumped up from where she had been sitting. This surprised me, and it caught me so off guard that I thought I was going to fall over. "It's all your fault that this happened! It's all your fault!"

"Whoa, Emery," I tried, raising my hands and taking a step back away from her. She was the kind of person that liked to hit when she was angry at me. Though I was sure I had been hit a lot worse than anything she could do, I didn't feel like being slapped. "What the hell happened?"

"Dallas used me," she spat, as if the words burned her tongue and made her sick to her stomach. "He asked me to this stupid prom just so Trinity would see us and get jealous! I spent hours getting ready, trying to look perfect for him, and he just throws it all away and ditches me for his ex-girlfriend! That was what he wanted all along! That was all that he wanted! He never liked me, he just saw me as a way to get back together with Trinity! If it wasn't for you, Trinity never would have broken up with him and Dallas wouldn't have ever used me!"

She collapsed onto my knees, sobbing hard. I stared at her with wide eyes, not believing what she had just said. That bastard... He really did that to a poor little girl like her? Seeing her like this made my chest hurt, causing it to go tight. It was hard for me to breathe.

I wanted to fucking rip his head off. There was never a time in my life when I really wanted to kill someone, until right then. I had been in a gang for months, and yet I never wanted to kill someone as much as I wanted to kill Dallas Berg right then.

"You've gotta calm down, Emery," I told her now, crouching down beside her even though I wanted to just break into that gym and kill Dallas. She didn't stop crying, but it wasn't like I was expecting her to.

"Just get out here, Jacobsen," she spat at me, slapping my hand away from her as I reached for her. I wanted to hold her so much; I wanted her to cry into my chest. I wanted her to stop crying... But I wanted to hold her. "Just leave me alone. You've ruined my life enough already! Just get out of here and leave me alone!"

I didn't move. There was no way in hell I was going to leave her there when she was this distraught. "How are you getting home?" I asked now.

She sniffled, wiping her eyes and nose with the back of her hand. I would have let her use my sleeve, but I knew there was no way she would have done that. "I don't know. I'll walk, I guess."

"No, not by yourself," I told her immediately, grabbing onto her elbow and lifting us both up off the ground. There was no way I was going to let her walk home by herself. I didn't know what gangs were out there, but I was sure there were a few members wandering around town. They always did at night. Either guys from Hunter's gang, or rival gangs. "It's not safe for a girl dressed like you to be walking home alone in the dark. I'll walk you home, Emery."

"Why do you even care?" she snapped, ripping her elbow from my grasp.

I wanted to tell her how I felt. I wanted to tell her that I loved her. She needed to know that Dallas wasn't ever going to be a good guy, and he wasn't ever going to feel the same way about her. But I, on the other hand, was already so in love that I was willing to die for her. I was willing to do anything for her.

I didn't speak, but I was sure that it was obvious that I wasn't about to let her walk home alone in the dark. I wasn't about to leave her until she was safe, and she knew that. She did as I told her to, and she followed me all the way back to her house with neither of us even saying anything to each other.

"Thanks," she thanked me flatly and unhappily, wiping at her stained cheeks as we stepped onto her porch. "I felt safer not walking alone."

I didn't know if she was being serious or not when she said this, but it wasn't like I was going to ask her. She definitely wasn't in the mood to deal with me right then, so I knew I just had to leave her alone for a while. I didn't know how long I could go without seeing her, but I knew that she just needed her space for now.

I nodded at her, not even saying anything as I took a step away to show that I was going to leave her be. She nodded afterwards, turning toward the door and letting out a long sigh before pushing the door open and making her way inside. I didn't leave until I saw that she was safe inside her house, after the door was locked.

I let out a sigh now, turning around and walking off of her property. I wanted to kill Dallas so badly, and I could have gotten it done easily. But I knew that would have just hurt Jordan even more, so I wasn't going to do that. She was... in love with that bastard, so hurting him at all would have just hurt her as well.

To think that she loved him... Not only did it piss me off, it hurt me as well. That guy treated her horribly. I might have treated her badly, but I truly loved her on the inside. She just couldn't know that...

When my phone started vibrating in my pocket, I didn't want to answer it. It was probably just my mom or Camilla calling to ask where I was. I'd have to lie and tell them that I had just gotten lost or something, because they both would have grilled me for answers about Jordan.

I picked up my phone anyway, not wanting them to think that I had gotten killed or anything. That would have been worse than them asking me about Jordan.

"Hello?" I asked, not even looking both ways as I crossed the street.

"Jesse," the familiar voice said, and it definitely wasn't my mom or Camilla. "We're about to go to a brawl. You want to join?"

Did I want to join Hunter and his buddies for this fight? There was a large chance that I would come out bruised, but an even bigger chance that someone would come out bruised from me. Maybe I could pretend that it was Dallas's face I was bashing in...

I needed to hit something, or someone. I needed to get all these mushy thoughts of Jordan out of my mind. Love was not something that I needed in my life. Not yet. It was all this damn girl's fault that I was acting like a complete lovesick idiot. It was her fault that I was in love. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have felt anything at all, except for hatred. That was all you needed to feel when you were in a gang. It was going just fine until I met Jordan Emery. Damn it... I needed to stop acting like a girl and just hit something.

So that was exactly what I was going to do.

"Yeah, sure," I nodded, even though I knew he couldn't see me. "I'll be right over."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I feel so freaking bad. Like, this was heartbreaking to write. I didn't want to do it, but I did. I've been writing about this night for so long... Going into detail was really difficult because I just felt so bad for Jordan.

But in all honesty... Dallas really loves Jordan. And he had since they were kids. He was just too freaking stupid to see it. Kind of like Jordan. She started falling for Jesse in the twelth chapter of Thin Line, and yet she didn't realize it until chapter nineteen.

But Dallas loves Jordan like Hunter loves Jordan... Except, you know, Dallas isn't obsessively in love with her like Hunter is.

Please COMMENT, VOTE, and FAN! :)