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NOTE:
Editing this book has made me realize how much I miss writing it. Don't forget to vote, comment, and share. Also, constructive criticism is welcomed.

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0 6 | Until There Was You

A pounding split in Jude's skull while he sat at the table filled with food dishes. Jude was pretty sure he wasn't absent long enough for the food to be prepared as quickly as it was. Guess he was wrong. Apparently, it didn't take long to prepare a meal if you wanted to make a good impression. All it took was determination and a mask of absolute ass kissing.

And because of that indefinite quarrel, his parents forced him to sit next to Beverly, which in Jude's head only seemed problematic. He sat there half interested with hooded eyes and an annoyed expression. Every once in a while he could see Beverly stealing glimpses of him. He would scowl annoyingly to himself, fiddling with the collar of the shirt his mother forced him to change into.

The adults were too engrossed in their own conversations to notice Jude's fidgety, odd behavior. According to Jude's ears their conversation was more significant because the discussion involved business deals and negotiations. He frowned at his parent's motive for the dinner. This had nothing to do with Jude or Beverly. They were mere pawns.

Beverly's hand found a spot on Jude's knee and he flinched (not nearly enough for his parents to notice). Clearly, she had found some advantage in this situation and presented no boundaries whatsoever. He stared down at her bracelet. Then, his gaze lowered to her fingers. She was trying to torture him, enjoying this more than she should have. Her hand went higher, lingering on his thigh. He caught some air, afraid that it'd run away.

"I can't do this," Jude snapped. He pushed himself away from the table and stood up. Instantly, Beverly's hand was gone, eyes leveled with Jude. His parents eyed him weirdly, but he didn't miss the hint of disappointment in their eyes. Fuck this.

"What are you talking about, son?" His dad asked, standing up as well. Beverly stood up too.

"I can't sit here and pretend like everything's okay. It's not," he snapped, raising his voice and throwing his hands in the air for emphasis. How could she do something like that? How could his parents use him for something that was apparently more important than their own son. Coming back was a bad idea.

"Jude, calm down," Beverly uttered.

"No," Jude said, forgetting that their parents were right in front of them. "I can't...I can't do this."

He turned, leaving the dining room to go outside. He thought about leaving again, but this time he knew if he did he wouldn't come back. Behind him he heard his mother shouting after him and Beverly's parents telling her to talk to him. It was complete bullshit. He paced the yard and gripped his hair.

"Jude," Beverly said near the front door. "I'm sorry, I got carried away. For a second it felt like we were a couple again."

"But we're not," Jude replied. His eyes darkened and he clenched his jaw. She was always so persuasive. It was no wonder she was in debate.

"I know," she said, taking a step closer to Jude. "But my parents don't have to know that."

She walked up to him and although she was several inches shorter than him she had managed to reach up and touch his cheek, eyes roaming his features.

"Why?" he asked. "Why does it matter when Seth's the better option? You're with him."

"Jude, stop it."

Then hopelessly she reached up on her tiptoes, her lips touching his. Something inside Jude burned as they kissed in the middle of his front yard. It felt like the entire neighborhood had been watching from the depths of the shadows. He found himself kissing her back, foolishly missing the taste of her lips and the sound of her voice. His arms pulled her closer and their chests were pressed together. Jude didn't want to let her go, not this time. He didn't want her to get away and leave him for Seth. Then, he realized what he had been doing—unable to control his hormones. Finally, he pulled away, disgusted with himself.

"Stop," he said and she did. "At one point I loved you. That's not the case anymore," he admitted.

"Love doesn't fade that easily, Jude," she commented and he scoffed, brushing past her to go inside the house. There was truth in her statement, bitter and harsh. He was over the heartache. He was tired of loving her because it only hurt him more.

Instead of returning he went into his room and locked the door, refusing to be bothered by anyone there. The room was dark but he didn't care. He grabbed his phone out of his pocket and deposited a pair of earbuds. He sprawled his limbs on his bed and tucked the entities in. A loud song beamed in his ear and he closed his eyes. He kissed his ex-girlfriend because he couldn't control himself. He realized everything again.

The last thing Jude remembered was his parents shouting for him to open the door when Beverly and her family left. He didn't want to and his actions came with consequences. Still, he ignored them. When his alarm sounded the next morning he wanted to stay there, lingering in the fabric of his sheets.

The sun peeked through the curtains of his room, stashing light in all the places that were once dark and looming—now it was bright. He groaned and threw his legs over the bedside. Rubbing at his face, he prepared himself for school.

Again his parents were gone, not bothering to check up on their only son in his drifted state of mind. He grabbed his Letterman jacket, inserting his arms in the sleeves, then he was out the door with his keys. The weather was in contrast to his feelings, but that was usually the case in the middle of September.

He smoothed out his hair as he slid into the driver's seat and cranked the engine to life. The houses in the neighborhood whizzed past and the trees hovered over the car hood, bathing his surroundings. Finally, he arrived at the school, but his usual parking spot had been occupied by a familiar vehicle he knew all too well. Seth. The nerve of that egotistical asshole. Was he trying to make his life a living hell? Jude found a parking spot much further than the usual, close by the town's bus stop, due to the nonexistent school bus system. The walk from the parking spot to the school building seemed lengthy.

Jude sat in his car a little longer. He turned his car off and watched the students enter the school, searching for someone in particular. His eyes glazed over the entire environment. If he waited any longer he knew he'd be late. He grabbed his book bag out of the passenger's seat and left the car. He started his walk towards the school, hoping that the person he had been looking for would be there. Behind him he could hear the roaring of the town's bus and the opening of its doors urging him to turn his head. He did. About four students got off the bus, grasping onto their belongings, and the final student was who Jude recognized. Waverly. She was wearing a dark hoodie with some dark, ripped jeans and her bag hanging by one strap over her shoulder. Her hair was wild and she scanned the campus before walking in the direction of the school with what looked like a sigh.

Jude jogged over to her, and this time she wasn't frightened by his surprising appearance.

"Stalking me again, are we?" she teased, flashing him a glance and walking to the building.

Jude ignored this, and somehow, he was walking backwards while she was trying to walk forward. "It's about your offer," he mentioned and Waverly raised an eyebrow with a small smile. "I'm in."

She slowed down her walking as the first bell rang. Clearly, she wasn't afraid of being late for class. "What made you change your mind?"

They were in the building now.

"I thought about it a lot," he admitted.

"Okay. You can start by picking me up from my house," she said, tearing a paper from her notebook which she retrieved from her bag and a pen. Quickly she scribbled her address down, handing it to him. "Be there at 9:45. Don't be late."

"Alright," he replied then they went their separate ways, rushing off to class before the minute bell signaled. Throughout most of the day that was only one thought fuming different scenarios in his mind. He thought about that kiss with Beverly and the altercation with Seth during football practice the day prior to it. He wasn't looking forward to seeing them. Not in any of his classes. At lunch. Detention. Nothing, really. Which was why throughout the day he kept himself hidden from them and realized at the last minute that Lincoln wasn't at school today. He knew something had been off, but he tried his best to ignore it.

Jude's main goal as the day progressed from note-taking to infinite lectures was to avoid Seth and Beverly. His plan worked successfully thus far. Unfortunately, it took a detour when Seth walked up to his table during lunch. Jude was sitting alone because Waverly had still been in line.

"Guess we're sharing her now, huh?" he asked and there was anger and sarcasm in his voice.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" he hissed out, losing his anger at Seth's vague outburst. This suddenly pissed him off as Seth mocked him with his hands pressed against the table.

"Jude, you know what I'm talking about. You kissed Beverly last night, didn't you?"

Jude laughed, standing up to look bigger.

"I kissed her?" He laughed again. "Is that what she told you?"

Seth crossed his arms over his chest, straightening his posture.

"She told me you guys weren't together," Jude mentioned and it was only to push his buttons because in retrospect he could care less if they were or weren't. Then he looked in Beverly's direction, where she was sitting at their usual table with her head lowered and cheeks reddened. It was funny, really, how she somehow had the both of them wrapped around her pretty, little finger. Not Jude. Not anymore. Jude was done with this shit. Done with the drama. Done with Beverly. How could he have loved her at one point without knowing that she was capable of something like this—capable of breaking everything in one mistake.

"That's bullshit and you know it," he seethed. "I thought we were cool, man."

"I already told you. I'm never going to forgive you for what you did. You fucked that up when you slept with my girlfriend."

Heads quipped in their direction, eyes drinking in the abhor that settled between the both of them. Once upon a time these guys were friends that competed to be the better one. Now it was different and a switch had flipped and Seth's entire demeanor changed. He looked at the people around him.

"Did I mention how good she is in b—" he started and Jude was just about to jump across the table and give him a bloody nose, but someone had stopped him. Through gritted teeth and flared nostrils he tried lunging toward Seth, but he was pulled back. He was pulled out of the cafeteria into the corridor. Everything was a blur, and his body was shaking to punch something. Someone. In the corridor his grey, darkened eyes met the ones who pulled him out of the situation. Waverly's dark, brown ones.

"What the fuck was that?" she asked, looking back in the direction they came. "You're fueling his ego."

"He was asking for it," he spat out and before he could say anything else she slapped him. She actually slapped the living fire out of him. It stung as he pressed his fingers against his flaming, red skin. He was astonished by the amount of pain that was caused, but knew that he probably needed that.

Otherwise he would have marched back into that lunchroom and beat Seth to death. He had to admit, Waverly had guts. No one in this entire school would have done that because Jude was known for his anger problems and everything else that was taken away from him. Waverly didn't seem to care though.

"Get your shit together," she stated.

Jude was still appalled by the entire turn of events, leaning against the wall with Waverly, standing in front him, piling up on profanities like a sailor. It sounded distant after a while. And Jude was thinking about himself. Why the hell did he do that? Why was he letting the win? Why had he felt so alone and confused? And who was Jude Lockhart? He wasn't Jude Lockhart without his friends or his starting position or his well-known girlfriend. He was just existing.

"You can thank me later, but I gotta go," Waverly declared. She left Jude there when the bell rang. And finally, Jude walked from the spot he was glued to, plastered against the wall with his mind completely lost. Who was Jude Lockhart? He wondered again. He couldn't answer it. He didn't know anymore. He hoped he found out soon. He brushed past several people who gave him curious looks, which made him dart to class. During that class he could hardly concentrate because he had missed lunch and something brimmed inside of him.

When detention scurried along, Jude sat in the corner far away from Beverly and Seth. This time Waverly didn't have detention and this only worsened Jude's mood as he glared at them with glass eyes and a clenched jaw. His heart was beating impeccably fast, almost as if it would just stop in a millisecond. His brain hurt from all the thinking he was doing.

Jude was unaffected by what Seth had been doing with Beverly, and instead was pissed at himself for other reasons. He brushed it off at practice by taking his anger out on the field like the coach insisted the day before. Coach Bergamot, coincidentally put them on separate teams and each time Jude took the opportunity as another reason to tackle Seth.

"Alright, Lockhart. Don't hurt our only good quarterback," he told Jude once he stood up with grass stains on his gear. Jude adjusted his helmet, feeling a bit better. Seth glared at him through his helmet as he laid on the ground with the wind knocked out of his lungs. Jude was satisfied with his handy work the rest of practice, and when he drove home he counted the hours it took to pick up Waverly to initiate her devious idea.

To pass the time Jude played some video games, stocking up on the amount of meals he missed. Then, he called Lincoln to ask if he had been okay.

"Yeah," Lincoln said as Jude tried balancing the phone between his ear and shoulder, chewing a hand full of chips with his game controller in hand. "Just some family stuff going on. You must really miss me?"

"Nah, I just wanted to check up on you."

"Thanks, man," Lincoln thanked. "So what happened while I was gone. Did you and Seth make up yet?"

"You know that's never going to happen," Jude announced, leaning back in the beanbag chair. "Well, I gotta go."

"Alright," Lincoln said. "See you tomorrow."

Then, the call ended.

Later that evening Jude heard someone coming down the steps and he whipped his head in the direction to find his dad, dipping his head to look at Jude.

"Shouldn't you be doing homework?"

"Didn't have any," was his subtle reply. It was enough for his dad to disappear, leaving him alone again. These days that was all their conversation consisted of. Schoolwork, Beverly, or football.

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The sky had darkened and Jude checked the time, deciding that it had finally been time to leave. Silently, he snuck out the house, aware that his parents were probably sleeping in the other room. The anticipation of the idea had been eating Jude up inside. While in his car, he pulled out the crinkled address, typing it in his phone. He listened to the directions and followed them carefully to find that they led him into a neighborhood that wasn't particularly safe or friendly for that matter. The distance it took to drive there made Jude wonder how she was able to attend that school.

It made Jude nervous as he parked in front of a house that looked better than the ones surrounding it. He stepped out of the car, ringing the doorbell with his nerves etching something odd inside him. The door swung open in a matter of seconds as Waverly pushed Jude and slid out the house, closing the door quietly. She was wearing the same hoodie he had seen her in earlier that day and her hair was wrapped up in a curly bun above her head.

"Are you trying to get me caught," she whispered in a yell and walked over to Jude's car. He etched onto her backside as she walked away. He was a guy—it was okay to look and he wasn't dissatisfied that he looked in the slightest. When they were in the car she turned to him with furrowed eyebrows.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she wondered. "Hurry up before my mom wakes up."

He nodded, inserting the key, and drove off. The car ride was somewhat silent besides the low hum of the radio and the evident sound of the heater blasting through the vents. Jude had to admit that even if his parents hardly gave him as much attention as they did when he was younger, they weren't bad when it came to picking a car for his seventeenth birthday, which was the previous year—the latest Ford model.

"So, you kissed Beverly," she started off, angling her head to look at Jude. "Pretty good idea when you're trying to move on from her."

"What? No, she kissed me," he replied and sighed. "Yesterday my parents invited her and her family over for something that has to do with their jobs. I got frustrated because she had her fucking hand on my thigh. So, I went outside to get away from her and she followed me. Then, she kissed me."

"Were you sexually frustrated, Lockhart?" she teased and Jude couldn't help but laugh. It felt relieving to talk about it and Waverly seemed like the right person to say it to. He halted at a red light, tapping his fingers against the wheel to a familiar rap song.

"God, please stop. The cringe is killing me," she admitted and he did.

"I was kidding," she peered out, rolling her eyes.

"You take everything so seriously," she started again. "You shouldn't do that."

"Why not?" He asked, looking over at her for an answer.

"Because you'll never enjoy your life."

He took the words into consideration, pressing his lips into a thin line as he thought about it. Finally they were out of the bad neighborhood and Jude was at ease again. For a minute he was going to ask Waverly about the neighborhood, but he had no right to judge. She was the only one who didn't judge him.

"We're not strangers anymore are we?" she wondered with a smile, head pressed against the window with her eyes lidded and focused on Jude and his driving.

"Not anymore."

"Good," she said.

She leaned forward, putting her hood over her head as they pulled up in front of the store she suggested the day before.

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TO BE CONTINUED

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