01: Chance Mistake

Jade Keys sigh exhaustedly as she fell on her back to the bottom bunk bed of her dorm room. After pulling a mere ten pounds—or was it fifteen, she didn't know, her arms were shaking and her breath were coming out in gasps. Add to that, her ankle was throbbing from being overused.

Perhaps, it was time to really start exercising again…?

She closed her eyes, steadying the rhythm of her heart and breathing deeply. Two months ago, carrying fifteen pounds wouldn't have given her any problems actually, and her leg wouldn't have hurt as much, but now…. Well, now her leg was throbbing. Automatically, her fingers reached down to massage the muscles. Two months ago, she would have been up and about, unpacking, but now…now she had to take a rest. Her body demanded it, especially when she had just gotten out of physical therapy and her doctor had advised her against any sort of rough exercise for another two weeks if she ever wanted to be able to play sports again.

"You're leg is healing along fine," the doctor's voice echoed in her mind. "You'll be able to walk normally again, but you'll never be able to play sports—any kind of sports, the way you used to. It's a miracle that the damage wasn't as much as we had originally thought it was."

Jade's face tightened as she turned over on the bed and curled herself up into a small circle. Take me away; take me away from this reality, from this pain. Take me to a place where there are no pain, no feelings, where I can't feel any thing, where my existence has a meaning.

Jade turned her head, smothering her face into the pillow that was provided. When will life cease to exist? When will my memories fade into nothingness?

Never.

She took deep calming breaths and struggled to not think. It was the thinking that was the hardest. It plagued her mind, hurt her head, and caused doubts about herself that she never had before…all because of him.

"Oh, so you're finally here?" the voice surprised Jade out of her thinking and had her sitting up on bed, facing the door.

A guy…?

Of course it's a guy, she berated herself, immediately recalling the conversation she had just had with the resident hall assistant and principle:

"We're extremely sorry for the confusion, but a mistake was made and you were set up with a male roommate even though you did not request for a male," the residence hall assistant had apologized to her.

Too shock to do anything else, Jade had kept quiet.

"We're really sorry about it," the principle continued. "The new recruit made a mistake when she entered it into the computer, so you're stuck with a guy as your roommate."

"Can't I just simply change or switch with someone else?" Jade managed to ask once she got over the shock of being paired off with a male roommate. She had requested for a female roommate, probably one of the few girls who actually came to this school to actually study.

"No," they both shook their heads. "If you manage to find someone, maybe we could attempt it, but because we are an equality school, you'll probably be better off trying to get along with members of the opposite sex. It is, after all, why this school was created."

Jade had tried to argue her point. Tried being the keyword, but they were both stuck on their views and she was told that she could request for a change after the semester was over, and that was that.

"Hello," Jade answered quietly.

The guy in the doorway walked in, hands in pockets, with a white t-shirt and black trousers. "You're not Youiko."

Obviously.

"Who are you?" He asked.

Jade took the time to observe him. His shoulders were slump in a nonchalant way, but the way his eyes narrowed at her told her that he missed nothing. The arrogant tilt of his head told her also, that he was full of himself. Strong sharp jaw and straight nose, he wasn't too bad looking either. His eyes were a striking grey that regarded the world as if it existed to please him and his lips were curled into a sort of smirk. Even now, he was looking at her like she had no right to be in the room.

Jade lowered her head. What the hell have I gotten myself into?

"Yo, I asked you a question," He stopped, standing right in front of her, looking down on her.

"Leave me alone," Jade stood up and winced inwardly from the pain on her leg. Her face revealed nothing as she walked towards the center of the room where she had dropped her baggage: a large suitcase that consisted of her clothes and accessories, and a medium size box that contained her notebooks and utilities.

"If you're not Youiko then what are you doing here? How did you get—" his words stopped, and then a mutter, "You're not cute!"

Jade blinked. Cute?

"I specifically requested for a cute mini-skirt freshman," he frowned. "And they give me you?"

Jade had no idea whether to be amused or insulted, but the pain in her leg was getting in her way of thinking. She needed to massage it, but not in front of him.

"Klick Kentron," Jade mused as she leaned down to pick up her suitcase and carry it over to the bed. "Junior, apparently twenty years old."

If he was surprised, he didn't show it. "And you are…?"

"Jade Keys," she answered. "Freshman, and apparently, stuck with you as a roommate for a semester."

His grinned," I'm not that bad."

I'm sure you're not, but I'll be the judge of that.

After a moment of silence, he rubbed the back of his neck, "You're not one of those annoying talkative girls, huh?"

What do you think?

"I suppose it's a good thing," he plopped himself on the bed in front of her and grinned. "All girls love to talk, so I'm sure you'll get around to it eventually."

Don't bet on it.

"I really was hoping for more of a cutie-pie," he put his arms behind his head as he leaned back. "You're not cute. You seem too…uptight."

And how did you come to that conclusion?

"Just curious," Klick asked her. "How did you know about me?"

You're just full of yourself, aren't you? Jade grabbed a handful of her clothes and, not bothering to fold them up, stuck them into one of the dresser drawers that were next to the bunk bed. She struggled to keep a straight face even as she tried to cover her bras and under garments beneath the clothes.

"That one is mine," he stopped her before she could open the drawer. "You get the next one. The one who arrives here gets first dibs, don't they?"

Well, then. Aren't you the lucky one? Jade took a deep calming breath. She wanted to sit down, she wanted to massage her ankle, her leg…she wanted, but no in front him.

"I suppose it's fair to tell you too, that the bottom bunk bed is mine."

Jade stopped, turned around. "I want the top bunk anyways."

Klick nodded, stood up and stretched. "Good. I'm glad I don't have to fight you to get what I want."

I wouldn't fight with you even if the world depended on it.

"Anyway, nice meeting you," Klick extended his hand forward in front of him.

Jade, on the other hand, looked on as if he was daft, unsure of what to do with the hand he extended. She didn't want to touch another guy's hand for the rest of her life. She didn't want anything to do with him, or any other guy in the world.

Klick looked on amused. "You shake it? You know, like on TV." He made a grab for her hand.

Maybe it was because the memories of someone else reaching for her flooded her empty mind or maybe she was reacting from instinct because the wound was still fresh, but she moved back, brought her hand out and slapped his away.

He looked just as surprised as her, but something had changed. His posture became taller, stricter. He was mad? No, no, he body wasn't coiled with tension. Amused then? No, there was nothing in his face that told her he was amused with her behavior.

"Don't…touch me," Jade finally said, cutting the silence with her curt, soft voice. It was all she said. She gave no reason, no explanation to her reaction. Just one simple command: don't touch me or you'll die.

"You could have just said so," Klick's lips curled. "Touché, aren't we?"

You wouldn't know.

"I'm going out," Klick stretched, the conversation forgotten. "If Youiko comes in, tell her my clothes are in the usual place, and to rearrange my things so exactly the way it was last year."

I'm not your messenger. "Tell her yourself."

"Oh man," he ran his hands through his hair. "You really don't know me at all, do you?"

And I really don't care. "No."

"Well, fine," he sigh. "I'll forgive you this once, but make sure you know who you're dealing with before you start a fight."

I never said I wanted to fight you.

"What do you know," Klick said more to himself than to her as he walked out the door. "It's going to be quite a semester after all."

"

"You're really a pain in the butt to find," Tabitha Meyers chuckled as she came running towards Klick. "I've been looking all over for you!"

"Have you now?" Klick's serious face turned into a smile as soon as he spotted his best friend for the first time that week. "I thought you would be too busy with that boyfriend of yours to have time for me."

She smacked him on his arm with her hand, "I always find time for you. You are my best friend after all."

And I probably always will be just a best friend to you, he thought as he took the punch good heartedly and masked the usual feelings he felt towards her whenever she was around. "Of course."

"Now come on, everyone is waiting for you at the usual table. You are the star of the school, aren't you? It's time for you to give us one of your motivational speeches."

Klick frowned. "You know I hate those things."

"And gatherings and such, but you can't help it," Tabitha was practically dragging him along now. "You're famous. You can't help but be in the spotlight."

"Sometimes, I wonder," Klick muttered. "Why I bother with such things."

Tabitha gave him one of her charming smiles, the same one that had attracted him to her in the first place back when they were in high school. "Because you love me."

"Perhaps, a bit too much," Klick hid the truth behind a grin, and as usual, Tabitha laughed because to Klick, everything was a joking matter, and this was, obviously, just another teasing joke of his.

They were still standing in front of the residence building where Klick had just come out of, and for no apparently reason, Klick looked up to where the window of his room was: the third floor to the left, second to the last one.

Just for a fleeting second, he thought he saw Jade, hidden in the shadows, her turn to look down on him, but with a blink of an eye, she was gone.

-
Yo, guys! First chapter of this story is out! Sorry about keeping this story from you guys, but a couple of you guys have inquire about this and the other new story that I'm writing, so I'm working on getting these chapters up!

Just as with 2 Hearts, if you wish to be e-mailed of updates on this story, please e-mail me at my address (which can be found all over my profile and such) and let me know you wish to be updated when this story is updated!

Thanks for being such loyal readers (hugs and kisses) I adore you all and hope that you'll continue to read my stories…and maybe one day you'll be able to brag to your friends that you knew her before she was famous (grins)

alwaz-n-4ever,
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