(Diana is just a side character I made up since in the show Jane doesn't even have potential other friends, besides Billy. xD )

„I'm going to school now." I said, grabbing an apple from the bowl, as I passed by a Ben that was still staring at his cereals as they circled around in the milk, looking at them as if they were about to come to life in front of his eyes. He'd explained to me something about that, how they wouldn't taste the same unless he let them be for a while. But it's not like I understood what any of that meant, I mean, come on. The man stared at cereals. "Weird. So weird." I muttered as I smoothed out the dress I picked for today; it was a simple black tight dress that stopped about 6 fingers above the knee, with a pair of new pumps I bought with my last pay-check and a color-ful necklace. It was simple, but I liked to think it was also stylish.

"Have a good day, Janie." He said as I reached the door, causing me to flinch. "Oh, sorry, I don't know how that came out, Jane." He added and laughed, probably puzzled by his choice of nick-name considering he'd never given me one before, almost as much as I was. It had probably just slipped out, to be honest it wasn't the first time. I think both of us kind of missed feeling his presence in this house – it seemed more lonely without him, somehow.

"Yeah. Don't be late for school. Bye. " I said, and walked into the glistening sunshine of the world. The sound of my heels clicking on the pavement followed me to the slightly run-down car one of my only friends drove – a car that was pretty much a life-saver because there was no way I could walk to school in these shoes. It's kind of weird how, some shoes, are just not made for walking – or at least walking too much.

"Hey Di." I smiled at her as I pulled open the door and hopped inside.

"Hey back at you, love the outfit today." Diana smiled back and kicked the car in motion as we started towards the school. "So, you wouldn't believe what my dumb brother did this time. My parents went completely crazy this weekend. He-" She continued talking as she always did. Maybe that was why we clicked together. We both talked more than others liked. And I usually let her take the lead in the car. It gave me time to think and prepare myself for school.

I didn't have many friends. Truth is, I didn't want to get attached to a certain friend, a mistake I'd made before and vowed never to repeat again. I had a few people that would keep my company during lunch, and Diana would drop me off at the train station for my part time job, but that was about it. And I kind of liked it that way, despite the pang of pain that constantly lingered in my chest. I refused to admit I missed it. The feeling of a best friend. The closeness.

"There's Nick and the gang again. Don't you just love his face…" Diana mused as she parked the car at the parking lot.

And there he was. Laughing, running his fingers through his hair that seemed unusually bright in the sunlight, a face I'd known so well all my life, a face I always looked at from afar. There it was. The pain.

"And there's Lulu, God, she seems like she's attached to the hip with him. I can't believe Billy doesn't mind her hanging all over him all the time." His name still caused the shiver to pass through my body. Not one of the pleasant shivers; a shiver of loneliness and emptiness and sadness.

"Why would he mind? She's perfect." My tone was icy, after all I'd never gotten along with Lulu, ever since that time when we were kids. She always loved making my life miserable. And she always made sure I saw her clinging onto Billy.

As we walked by them, there was an odd feeling in the air as there usually was whenever I walked near him, or he walked near me. It was like time had slowed down, and sounds would dim, and there would be an echo of my loneliness in the place where Billy stood, surrounded by people. But then the moment would pass, and his laughter would reach my ears, and the sight of his friends would enter my mind, and I'd know I was just imagining it. Why would he ever feel lonely? He was one of the most popular guys in school. So I thought.

…..

I was tired after work – Gray had given me another list of demands that seemed to lead into eternity. Even now, I wasn't completely sure whether she just learned to trust me so much, or she just enjoyed the thought of torturing me. Walking past the park I used to play in as a kid, I saw him sitting there. His face was staring up at the sky, and the expression on it, probably wouldn't leave my mind for a long while. It was empty - like a replica of what I felt on the inside, and never let out.

Unconsciously I walked towards him, it was a mechanical reaction – like breathing. I didn't care if he was meeting Lulu and she was just about to show up, or whether the whole gang would pounce on him the moment I reached that bench. I didn't think of anything, I just walked.

"You okay, Billy?" It was the first time I spoke to him, in two years. The first time I actually said his name, and my voice was shaking.

His face snapped towards me, and his eyes looked at me in a way I'd never seen him look before. With sadness, hope, longing, despair, anger. It was like a whirlpool of emotion was happening in his body, and I was afraid of getting sucked into it all, getting sucked into his eyes.

"Not even close…" his voice was silent, and even more so when he added, "Janie."

I felt it shatter, the pieces of me, shattering inside me. Or perhaps, they had been shattered all along, and were now moving again, trying to find the right piece to cling onto, to glue back together, to be a whole.

I sat down on the bench next to him, and stared at the sky. His eyes bore into me a while longer, I could feel them warming my cheeks with a shade of red, before he looked up at the sky again.

"This is the first time you've spoken to me in what seems like forever." His voice was tense as he said it, hoarse, like he had a trouble holding all those emotions back.

"I wasn't the one who stopped talking." I reminded him, trying not to sound bitter or angry. "Or did you forget that part." And failing miserably.

He let out a breath that sounded like quite a desperate sigh, mixed with sadness.

"I know. I'm sorry. Things just… they got out of control. My brother and the way he was, I didn't want to end up like him. I couldn't be the guy I was." He said, his hands squeezing the bench we were sitting on so hard, I honestly thought he'd either break the bench or his hands.

I'd heard this before once. Though back then he'd worded it a little differently. "I'm sorry Jane, I can't be like him. The guy you know… it's not me." Those words were engraved in my mind ever since.

"Yeah, that makes complete sense. Because you didn't want to be like your brother you changed yourself. I can't believe you were so stupid. You were never like your brother. You were always just you. Why would you even try and change who you are, how could you-" The rest I couldn't get out of me, because I was afraid of tears spilling over – and my pride wouldn't allow that.

"You don't understand, you don't know anything so who are you to talk? You don't even know me." He spit, his words angry. But I could tell he regretted it the moment he let it out.

"Shit, Jane, I didn't mean it like-"

"You're right. I don't even know you, Billy." I said, wounded, my pride, my heart, my body. Wounded. "Not this Billy. You're not the one I called my best friend. You're not even alike."

I got up and started walking away so fast I was almost running.

"Wait! I'm sorry! Wait!" he said and I could tell he was walking behind me. "Janie!"

That did it, my legs hit the ground faster and I was sprinting away. Away from this boy I no longer knew but longed for nonetheless. Away from the name that kept haunting me, and the memory of the kind smiling face and hug that used to follow it.

Janie.

(Hope you liked this! Review and let me know. It'll probably give me more inspiration to write and finish this since I tend to get lazy. I have a lot planned for these two. Lots of angst. Oh and, the sort of background song, or song I base this on, and the chapters will have the lyrics as names is Pieces by Red. If you don't know it give it a listen, it's beautiful. And listening to it you can try and imagine how this will be going. :D Also, there's gonna be more JaneatWork stuff, just as long as I get this story going.)