Chapter Nineteen: Moonlight Confessions

It had just turned 6 o'clock.

More than ten minutes since the couple had departed.

For the first few minutes of their drive, Andre mostly cruised around the brightly lit streets of L.A.

He'd thought that the relaxing drive would calm Jade down a bit.

He was right.

It did soothe her some... but not enough.

She still didn't talk much; but when she did, all she would say was "Mhmm" or "I don't care".

One thing was for sure, Jade didn't look at all angry anymore.

She now had more of a depressed expression.

Not that this made Andre feel any better at all. If anything it made him worry even more about his girlfriend.

She doesn't wanna talk at all! I'd hope that a cruise around town would help some, but it really didn't do much good. Sure, she doesn't look angry anymore, but... Hmm, maybe she'd like some food or something.

"Hey, uh. You hungry? We could get some sushi or grab some burgers or something."

Jade just sat there. Gazing out the window, looking almost as is she didn't hear him at all.

"Jade... did you hear me?" asked Andre, noticing that the car was running low on gas.

Almost as if she was snapped out of a daze, Jade jerked out of her trance and sighed, "I don't care, do what you want."

Feeling even more dejected than before, Andre pulled into the nearest gas station.

With the engine turned off, he looked over at Jade.

She was tinkering around with her phone, occasionally looking at YouTube videos of amateur stunts gone wrong.

Sighing heavily, Andre got out of the car and made his way towards the store.

There was a large amount of people waiting in line to be serviced. Most of them were just there to buy rolls of lottery tickets.

Guess this will take awhile.

Looking around the aisles, Andre gazed about the vast quantities of snack foods and candies.

Hmm, moon pies, gummy worms, Skittles, pretzels. The possibilities are endless.

He had his eyes set on buying some jelly beans, but something else caught his attention.

Back in the car, Jade looked out at the passing motorists.

She sighed as she remembered how the night was supposed to be.

It was intended to be a night of her choosing, but instead she'd chose to start it off pretty badly.

Deep down, she knew that this was a really terrible way to start off their date.

She knew this.

But for some reason, she couldn't open up or apologize for what had happened.

Jade wanted to... but she couldn't.

SLAM!

The sound of the car door slamming startled Jade. She didn't notice that Andre had already finished pumping gas, let alone get back in the car.

Glancing at Andre for a moment, she instantly went back to twittering with her phone.

But before Andre cranked up the car, he handed Jade a paper bag.

"What is this?" asked Jade, but Andre said nothing; he just returned his focus to driving off the lot.

Curious as to what was in the bag, Jade opened it up.

Immediately, a tiny yet noticeable smile eased its way across her face.

Inside, was a pack of her favorite candy.

Sour green apple licorice straws.

(Chuckles) He knows how much I love these... that's so sweet.

Even though she appreciated the kind gesture, this made Jade feel even more depressed about how their night was going.

Andre was so kind.

So considerate.

So forgiving.

At times, Jade really felt like she didn't deserve him.

Like she didn't deserve his love.

I mean, why would a guy that sweet waste his time with a girl like her?

Closing the bag up, Jade sighed, "Thanks, I appreciate it."

And just like that, she'd once again went back to her gloomy demeanor.

What once felt like a small victory for Andre, soon felt like a losing war.

He had to do something.

Quick!

Something that could snap Jade out of her rut entirely.

We live in one of the most entertainment filled cities of the world. There has to be something here to cheer-

Remembering a poster that he saw back at the gas station, an idea came to Andre.

It was advertising an event that he felt Jade would absolutely love.

Andre only hoped that this idea would work for sure.

He was grasping at straws and was betting everything on where they were going.

After about 30 minutes of driving, the couple finally arrived at their destination.

It was a rugged warehouse-like building in a fairly empty part of town.

The only thing that wasn't vacant was the parking lot.

Tons of people were eagerly walking towards the entrance of the warehouse.

Whatever was going on in there must have been pretty exciting.

Jade, however, barely paid attention to any of this and was now listening to music on her phone.

She didn't even notice when Andre said, "Be right back.", and left to go inside of the warehouse.

It wasn't until he came back that Jade became aware of what was going on.

As Andre opened up the passenger side door, Jade simply looked up at him.

"What? What is it?" she mumbled, as Andre unbuckled her seat belt.

"C'mon, Jade. Enough of this pouting, okay?" Andre said, helping Jade out of the car, "You're prettier when you smile; and trust me, you'll smile when you see this.

Growing tired of feeling depressed, Jade decided to just go along with her boyfriend and stop resisting.

The closer and closer they'd got to the warehouse, the more they could hear the sound of a crowd cheering.

The moment that the two had reached the entrance, a fairly built man had blocked their path.

"Tickets?" he asked sternly, as Andre pulled out the tickets he'd bought earlier.

Once they were allowed to go inside, the couple made their way up a flight of stairs and onto a platform.

From the platform, they were able to overlook the event that was happening.

The air was filled with a thunderous roar as the crowd cheered on the numerous women skating around on a track.

Only these women weren't just skating... they were pulling each other into headlocks, slinging each other down the track, and some were even shoving one another out of the way.

Some would think of this as a brutal form of entertainment, but to Jade it was...

"Fuckin' awesome!" she smiled, as she looked down at the roller derby that was going on.

No one but Andre was more than happy to see his girlfriend smile.

"Yeah, it is isn't it?" he replied, focusing more on Jade's newfound happiness rather than the actual game.

After finding an empty spot to sit among the crowd, the couple spent almost an hour enjoying the thrilling matches of the derby.

By the end of the hour, Jade had grown more and more enthusiastic about the game as she continued to cheer on for one of the teams.

"Whoo! Yeah! Throw her off the track! Stop being afraid to get rough with her!" she shouted, as a group of players were trying to block an opposing player, "Oh, c'mon! I can skate better than that!"

Andre himself was even enjoying the game... though he did thought of it as a bit rough at times.

"Whoa! Oh my god, is- is she still breathing?!" he asked, as one of the players was shoved into a rack of folded chairs.

"I don't know- wait, oh, she's still alive." replied Jade, almost nonchalantly.

While the game was put on hold so that paramedics could attend to the injured player, Jade felt that now was probably the best time to apologize to Andre.

"Hey... I'm glad that you brought me here. I'm really enjoying myself." she said, as she reached to hold his hand, "Sorry about earlier, I shouldn't have-"

"Jade, it's okay. I forgive you." Andre smiled, who was glad that things were normal again, "I'm just happy to put all of that behind us, okay?"

"Sure." Jade smiled back.

Deciding to use this intermission to get some more snacks, Andre got up to go to the concession stand.

"Um, do you want another drink or a snack?"

"Just a soda."

"Just a soda, coming right up."

Once he'd got to the stand, Andre had to wait before being serviced.

One of the workers had her back turned to Andre; and from what he could tell, she was busy texting instead of working.

"Ahem, excuse me." Andre said, trying to be polite, "You do know you have a customer here."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I hear that all the time." the blonde girl replied, as she turned around.

Glancing at Andre, the girl immediately knew who he was.

"Well, well, if it isn't Hollywood Arts finest himself." the blonde girl smiled, "Never thought I would see you around here."

Confused, Andre asked, "Do I know you?"

The girl simply giggled and reached out to caress Andre's dreads, "Hmm, I guess it has been a while, has it?"

Moving the girl's hand away from him, Andre said, "Yeah, I honestly don't remember you at all.

The girl looked slightly disappointed by this, "Aww, I would have thought that I made a lasting impression on you. I am an incredible singer, remember?"

After what felt like five minutes of waiting, Jade began to wonder exactly what was keeping Andre.

The next match is about to begin and he's gonna miss it. How long does it take to get a soda?

Tired of waiting, Jade decided to go find out what was going on.

Getting closer to where the concession stand was, Jade stopped short once she heard Andre's voice.

"Look, can I please just have two bottles of Mr. Fizz and a box of Skittles? That's all I'm asking."

"Uh-uh, not until you give me your phone number."

"Ugh, how many times do I have to tell you that I'm already in a relationship?"

"You keep saying that, but I don't believe you really mean it." replied the blonde girl, stubbornly refusing to give up, "Now, I get off in an hour. How about you ditch the girlfriend... so then I can give you something sweeter than Skittles."

Jade couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Who the hell is this chick? And how fuckin' lame can she be?!

Hearing enough of this, Jade made her way over to the stand.

"Ahem!"

Turning around to see his ever so curious girlfriend, Andre knew that he should explain the situation... quickly.

"Jade... you remember our old friend from the Karaoke Dokie?" he explained, as the blonde girl began to look quite infuriated at the sight of Jade.

"How could I forget?" said Jade, instantly remembering the irritable blonde, "Tone-deaf Tara Ganz. I'm surprised to see you working here; at least you're not scarring anyone with your terrible singing."

"You're one to talk. You and your little redhead friend had to cheat just to beat us." Tara quickly responded, not caring that there was a build up of customers waiting in line, "But you know, it's still funny how technically you didn't beat us because of your singing-"

"Oh god, please don't bring this back up!" sighed Jade, growing tired of dealing with Tara, "Why am I not surprised that someone like you loves to live in the past?"

"Yeah, that was well over a year ago anyway." Andre added, eager to prevent an argument from starting, "Why can't we all just move along from it? It doesn't matter anymore."

Stunned to see Andre take up Jade's side, Tara moved from behind the stand, "No, it does matter! And why are you agreeing with her... wait, is she your girlfriend?"

"As a matter of fact, I am. Not that it's any of your business." replied Jade, with a smirk.

"Seriously? Hmm, and here I thought you had great taste in women." laughed Tara, as a few of the customers started to get irritated.

Feeling insulted, Jade asked, "And what do you mean by that?"

"Well, which would you rather prefer? A classy, sophisticated girl like me or some cheap hooker wannabe like you?"

Sensing Jade was about to jump on Tara, Andre moved as quickly as he could...

THWACK!

But not before Jade was able to get a swing at Tara, which landed directly on her cheek.

"Ow! You crazy bitch!" cried Tara, as she fell to the floor, "What the hell did you do that for?!"

"Not bad for some cheap hooker!" Jade shouted, as some of the agitated customers started cheering.

Only fans at a roller derby would be happy to see an irresponsible worker swung on.

As Andre continued to drag Jade out of the building, she wouldn't stop wringing around, "Let me go, Andre!"

"Only if you've calmed down!" he replied, worried that Jade would rush back inside.

"Okay, okay! I'm calm." said Jade, as Andre slowly loosen his grip around her.

Seeing his girlfriend quickly wiping away a tear, Andre asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just... who gives a fuck what she thinks?" sniffled Jade, as she walked towards the car, "Can we just go, please?"

Taking the car keys out of his pocket, Andre sighed.

He'd finally got Jade all cheered up and back to her normal self... yet it was all wiped away just like that.

What else could he do?!

They went for a relaxing cruise around town.

He bought her some of her favorite candy.

He even took her to a roller derby, which she really enjoyed.

The more Andre thought about it, the more he felt like giving up.

What was the point? Nothing was gonna break her out of her rut... again.

Eventually, Andre got in the car, cranked it up and drove out of the lot.

Once again, the couple found themselves cruising down the freeway in a quiet car.

Never has there been a more painful silence.

By now, all hope had seemed lost for Andre.

His girlfriend was once again unresponsive, so what was the point in even trying?

Looking at the clock on the dash, Andre saw that it was half past eight.

He'd slowly grown frustrated of the dire situation.

It got to the point where he was beginning to question whether or not this date was really salvageable.

In desperate need of some fresh air to think in, Andre turned off at an exit and drove towards one of the local parks.

Finding an empty parking space, he was quick to get out of the car and began to walk up a wooded pathway.

After spending a minute hiking up some stone steps, Andre came across a small clearing.

It was dimly lit by a small light post; enough light to see what was around him, but not enough to block out the emerging stars.

As he walked towards the wooden fence post that surrounded the area, Andre saw that it was the perfect spot to see most of the city's skyline.

He slowly breathe in the cool, fresh air and began to think.

What if this is how all of our dates turn out to be? Jade being upset by something. Me trying to find some way to cheer her up. Only to end up failing miserably. I mean, I knew what I was getting into when I got in this relationship. I knew that Jade wasn't like most girls... I knew that it would be more difficult at times.

For a brief second, he could feel his mind start to wonder exactly how Beck-

No... no, I'm not gonna do that. I'm not gonna compare myself to him.

Blocking his mind of that thought, Andre sat down on one of the wooden benches and stared up at the twinkling stars.

It's so easy to give up. So damn easy. But what does that give me? A relationship that failed well before it even started. So why give up now? I have to be patient. I was patient when it came to finally being with Jade... so who's to say that I can't endure just a little bit longer.

As he looked back down from the skies, Andre could see Jade arriving at the clearing.

From what he could tell, Jade, too, had been thinking about their horrible date night.

Once she'd sat next to him, Andre could tell that Jade had been crying.

She was trying her best to not make him notice it, but it was pointless.

For a good minute, they said absolutely nothing.

They had so much on their mind, yet couldn't find the right words to say.

"Awesome date night, huh?" asked Jade sarcastically, breaking the painful silence.

"The best I've ever been on." Andre replied, unable to shake his moodiness.

Looking as if she was trying to find the right words, Jade said, "You know, I never meant for the night to turn out like this."

Andre kept quiet. Somewhat interested in hearing what she had to say.

"It was wrong of me to give you the cold shoulder like that." continued Jade, "All you've tried to do all night was make me feel better, and what do I do? I kept acting like a little baby!"

Remaining silent, Andre simply glanced over at Jade.

"It may not mean much to you now, but... thanks, Andre. For everything." sighed Jade.

Slowly, Andre began to ease out of his dourer mood. It was one thing to hear Jade apologize for what happened, but it really meant something that she was grateful of what he tried to do.

Any other guy would have probably called Jade a "bitch" from the moment she snapped at them; either that or just given up on her and the date entirely.

But not Andre.

"I-I know that I'm not the most sensible girlfriend or the most gracious, but... you don't know how much it means to have someone like you in my life. Especially with how I am sometimes." said Jade, growing more comfortable with what she was saying, "And for that, I'm truly sorry for snapping at you earlier."

Seeing that her boyfriend wasn't up for saying anything, Jade sighed, "If what we have together is ever going to work, there's one thing that you need to know. Even though we have a close bond, there are certain things that I don't like talking about with anyone."

Starting to understand her reason for her behavior earlier, Andre finally spoke up, "Okay, I understand now. Wished I figured it out earlier, but I'm glad that I know now."

Happy to hear her boyfriend speaking up, Jade simply smiled.

"Whatever it was that was bothering you earlier, it wasn't any of my business or my place to keep asking you about it." Andre continued, "So I guess I should apologize for that too."

It slowly felt pretty good for both of them to get on better terms. Being all upset wasn't going to get them anywhere.

Now that she was more calm and her mind was now clear, Jade felt that now was the time to say how she really felt.

"Thanks, but you were only doing that cause you cared." said Jade, seemingly nervous about her next choice of words, "So if I'm ever cold like how I was earlier, it doesn't mean that I don't... love you."

Those last two words rang loudly in Andre's ears.

Try as he might, he couldn't help but smile.

"So... you love me?"

For the first time ever, Andre saw that Jade looked a little shy about what she was about to say.

But eventually, her confidence shown through.

"Yes. I love you."

Taking a moment to think of what to say, Andre held Jade's hand, "Well, what if I were to say that I love you too?"

With a small chuckle, Jade replied, "I would love that very much."

"I love you too, Jade West."

Hearing those words returned to her had definitely made Jade's night.

Hell, it made both of their night's.

With their confessions of love to one another out in the open, the couple shared a sweet, tender kiss under the bright moonlight.

Who knew that a date could start off terribly, yet end so perfect?

Rumble. Rumble.

"Hmm, I guess someone's hungry." chuckled Andre, as the two laughed at Jade's rumbling stomach.

"Well, a girl's gotta eat." smiled Jade, as they got up to leave the clearing, "I get to choose where we eat though."

"Of course, it is still your night." agreed Andre, as he reached to hold her hand as they walked down the steps, "So what will it be? Burgers? Sushi? Tacos?"

"You'll just have to wait and see." smiled Jade, "But I think you'll love it."

As they made their way to the car, Andre thought of how he had to be patient for things to get better.

Jade is well worth the wait.