Hello there, my lovely readers!

I'm really excited for this story, and I hope you all are too! I am really satisfied of how this chapter turned out, and I'm going to try to update as frequently as I can this summer, while I have nothing better to do than read and write fanfiction. But anyway, your feedback will always be appreciated so please don't be shy to review.

Yes, I got this idea from The Vow.

Enjoy!

Unbroken

Chapter One

I was on my way to Hollywood Arts on a Friday night. I'd normally spend my Friday nights with Jade, but she's starring in the school musical. As a boyfriend, I of course have to go support her. I would have auditioned for the musical as well, but I was already part of a play that opened last Friday. I'm not too fond of singing, but people have told me I have a good voice. I've sung a small part with Tori in one of the musicals once, and Jade made me sing a duet with her for one of the school's showcases.

I pulled into the parking lot, parked, and exited my car. I was holding a bouquet of red roses I was going to give to Jade after the show. Red roses were her favorite. She liked them because the color reminded her of blood. When I entered the building, I stopped by my locker to put away the bouquet since I did not want to be holding them for the duration of the evening.

The Blackbox Theatre was already crowded when I got there. The play didn't start until 8:00, and the doors opened at 7:00. It was only 7:15, so I was surprised with the audience size that was already present. More than half of the seats in the theatre were already occupied. Luckily, I didn't have to worry about getting a bad seat or not. The cast was allowed to reserve seats for guests. Jade reserved five seats for me, Andre, Cat, Robbie and Tori. I'm sure Rex was going to be attending also, but he wouldn't take up one whole seat. As I was wandering around the theatre, I noticed our seats were in the front row. Perfect! I get to see my girlfriend clearly. I love watching her perform. I'm excited!

After I checked out the seats, I wandered around again. I'm glad I did, because I happened to bump into Jade. I didn't expect her to be out here. She's supposed to be backstage getting ready. Nonetheless, she looked beautiful. I can tell her hair and makeup had just been done. She was wearing a light brown wig, which was very similar to her natural hair color, and the wig also had bangs. She looked cute with bangs. It definitely did not suit her personality though if she were to actually get them. Her makeup was very light, with neutral colors that just enhanced her facial features more. She was wearing her regular clothes still, so I'm guessing that she's going to the wardrobe department next to change into her character's clothes.

"Babe!" Jade cheerfully greeted, giving me a tight hug. She had her arms around my neck, which I loved because then I had no choice but to hug her tightly around her waist. After the hug, we held both of each other's hands, standing directly in front of each other.

"Hey babe," I flashed a flirtatious smile that only she gets to see. "You look beautiful."

"Excuse me? Are you implying that I'm not beautiful any other day?" She let go of my hands to fold her arms and shift her weight onto one side. Jade doesn't really take compliments that well. Either way, she already knows she's gorgeous.

"No, babe. You know what I mean," I began to explain myself. She's heard this explanation so many times, and yet she still doesn't get it. "I'm just saying that you look extra beautiful tonight. Your makeup's different from the way you usually wear it, and you're wearing a wig."

"Oh." Jade replied in a flat tone. She ruffled my hair. I hate it when people touch or play with my hair. Jade was the only exception.

"By the way, I love where the others and I are sitting," I tried to talk to her as much as possible before she rushes to finish preparing for the show.

"Good," She flashed her infamous mischievous smile that I find cute, while others find creepy. "Trina's new boyfriend was supposed to sit there. She wanted to save him five seats."

"What did you do?" I asked in a concerned voice. I know what she's capable of doing to other people.

"Don't worry, I didn't do anything to her boyfriend," Jade assured me. "I threatened to sabotage her only scene in the show. She was quite stubborn, though. I had to yell at her numerous times at the top of my lungs. I'm surprised I'm still able to speak because this was only a few hours ago."

"Why did Trina even get a role?"

"Because it was a role she couldn't mess up. Trina's character is exactly like her. Talentless and irritating."

"Ah, that makes total sense."

"Yeah, they auditioned lots of girls for the part, but they were too good to be horrible," Jade explained. "It was actually Sikowitz's idea to cast her. She was on the audition list anyway, but it was for the lead. You know, my part. But obviously she did not do well at that audition. Trust me, I was there."

"I take your word for it."

Trina's a horrible performer, of course I know what Jade's talking about.

"Anyway, I have to go to my dressing room to get dressed. I'll see you after the show." Jade hugged me and kissed me.

"Good luck, babe." I said. We shared another kiss before she ran off. She didn't need me to wish her good luck; she's the most confident person I know. She never messes up. I just wish her good luck anyway because it's what I'm supposed to do. I could choose not to say it, but she'd yell at me.

I went to sit in my seat. My friends didn't arrive yet. I wonder why. They normally arrive when the doors open. I just sat there quietly, playing with my PearPhone. I updated my status on The Slap: At the Blackbox Theatre. Waiting for Jade's show to start. Good luck, babe! I set the mood to 'excited.' I proceeded to check updates on The Slap. A few moments later, I got a notification. Jade commented on my status. Thanks babe! I'm excited for you to see it! You'll never guess what my character gets to use! Jade never let me watch her rehearsals. She wanted me to be surprised. I knew what the musical was about, though, obviously. But judging by my instincts, I commented back: Oh, I don't know… Scissors? I added a winky later, she commented back again. … Maybe. I softly chuckled by her response and commented back with a kissy face. Jade replied a few minutes later. SHUT UP! Oh, Jade. I didn't bother responding back.

My friends finally arrived. They arrived together. They took their seats, and I ended up sitting in between Andre and Robbie. Beside Robbie (and Rex) was Cat, and beside Andre was Tori.

"I thought you guys were going to be here earlier," I stated.

"We would have been," Rex began, "but Andre had to stop by his grandma's after we went out to Nozu for dinner."

"Yeah, if we knew how to hotwire a car, we would've been here sooner," Tori commented. "And without Andre."

"I had to drop something off at my grandma's, but then she wouldn't let me leave until I tried some disgusting soup she made. And believe me, she did not put up without a fight. That soup was awful," Andre explained, wiping his mouth. It's as if that would help get rid of the taste. "And they stayed in the car. Knowing that they'd want to leave if I took too long, I took the keys with me so they wouldn't."

"It was a long twenty minutes," Cat added in her cheerful voice.

"It was," Robbie agreed. "Cat wouldn't stop telling us about what happened the other day."

"Do you wanna hear about it?" Cat asked me in a hopeful tone.

"Uh, maybe later…" I replied and reached over to pat her head. Hopefully, she'd forget about it. "Wait, why wasn't I invited to Nozu?"

"We did ask you," Robbie said.

"You said you had to do some errands before the show," Tori reminded me.

"Oh, that's right," I suddenly remembered. I had to pick up Jade's roses, and I did some grocery shopping for myself since my parents were out of town. I barely had time for dinner since I left school late to help Jade with some stage stuff for the musical. I ended up eating at Inside Out Burger for dinner. There was a group of Northridge girls there that wouldn't stop staring at me. I'm just glad that none of them came up to me.

The show didn't start for another half hour, so we just chatted for the remainder of the time.

"These are such great seats Jade reserved for us!" Robbie praised.

"Yeah," I agreed. "These were supposed to be Trina's new boyfriend's seats."

"She has a new boyfriend?" Tori asked in confusion. She's her sister, wouldn't she know?

"Apparently," I shrugged. "Jade's the one who told me. If she does have a boyfriend, I doubt he's a student here. Everyone here knows how crazy Trina is."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and a couple of "that's true" were said.

"He probably goes to Sherwood," Andre added.

"Maybe even Briarwood," Robbie suggested.

"Or the school next door to Hollywood Arts!" Cat added cheerfully as always. It was adorable.

"That's a preschool," Rex pointed out.

There was a short silence because we were confused. Seconds later, everyone agreed that it could be possible, considering Trina acts like a child sometimes.

"So did you see Jade yet?" Cat questioned.

"Yeah, I talked to her before you guys arrived," I answered. "She seemed really excited for this."

"Didn't she co-write the play?" Tori wondered aloud.

"Yup," Andre responded. "I remember being there with her during the writing process since I had to write songs for it."

Cat turned to me and asked, "Can I tell you my story now?" I looked at the others. They clearly didn't want to hear the story a second time. But we had time to kill, and Cat's very sensitive, so I let her tell the story anyway.

"Okay, so, my brother was babysitting a bunny rabbit named Cupcake," She began. "He left Cupcake in my room while he took a shower, so I was playing with it. I'm not sure if it was a boy or a girl though. Anyway, as I was playing with Cupcake, I got to thinking about cupcakes and how my favorite is red velvet—" she paused to show us a section of her bright red hair, which she colored after her all-time favorite cupcakes. "—and I also got hungry, so I took Cupcake with me to the kitchen and—"

"Don't tell me you dyed the rabbit red and ate it," I interrupted. Everyone gave me a look. "Sorry, it was a thought I wanted to share…"

"No…" Cat seemed traumatized that I would think she'd eat a pet bunny. "I made red velvet cupcakes, and Cupcake helped!" She giggled at the un-amusing connection between the two. "Get it? I made cupcakes with Cupcake!" She paused and waited for my reaction. I awkwardly laughed. The others face palmed in perfect unison. "So yeah, then my brother fell in the bathtub while he was showering and broke his leg, so I called an ambulance because my parents were out with the car and then the ambulance came and took my brother, Cupcake, and me to the hospital." She smiled.

"Is that it?"

"Oh, and I brought the cupcakes to the hospital and shared them with everyone! They loved it! And now my brother's in a cast and is walking on crutches."

"You're very well-known at the hospital, aren't you?" Andre commented.

"Yeah, my brother's in there all the time. He's very clumsy." Cat giggled.

It was 8:00 now, and the musical finally began. I was getting very anxious. I couldn't wait to see my girlfriend give one of the best performances of her life. The red velvet curtains opened, and there she was. Jade was sitting in a desk in the back of the classroom set. She played a cheerful girl, much like Cat, but with light brown hair, named Alison. She was often ignored, and not very many students were too fond of her. The opening scene began with a musical number. It was a song about being in the shadows, and not being noticed. Jade's voice fit perfectly with this song, and it was all thanks to Andre.

The play proceeded, and the story got intense. Alison just wanted to be and feel important, but no one bothered to get to know her because she was too quiet and kept mostly to herself. She did have a best friend though, whose name was Abigail, portrayed by a girl that Robbie once had an unhealthy crush on. Abigail was a very supportive best friend that knew about Alison's talents, and her problems. She was the one who tried her hardest to convince Alison to join the school talent show. Alison refused and broke down into tears, venting to Abigail about how she didn't deserve to live because no one liked her, and that her singing isn't good enough to enter the talent show, as she's been made fun of because her voice is different, and apparently not the good kind. Alison just puts on a façade at school. She's not the cheerful girl that few people acknowledge. In reality, she's a depressed girl that gets bullied by the only people who actually acknowledge her, and she wants to fit in. If it wasn't for Abigail, she probably wouldn't be there right now.

Jade never failed to amaze me. Those were real tears that her character cried. It's kind of hard to cry on cue, but for Jade, it just came naturally. There was no background story as to why Jade cries realistically on cue. She was just a phenomenal actress.

It was the final scene of the show. Jade, as Alison, appears on stage, with a backdrop of the Asphalt Café. Alison looks frightened and nervous. She gripped onto her microphone with both hands, and didn't dare to look at the audience. Abigail was standing on the side, waiting for Alison to look up. The scene took place at the end of the school talent show, and Abigail had just finished talking to a teacher to let Alison perform because she had not signed up at the allotted time. The teacher agreed, and now Alison's facing her fears. She's hoping that people will finally notice her and her talents, and to prove others wrong.

Jade started to sing the first few lines, and I already got chills down my spine. Yeah, that's how good she was. She reached the chorus and that's when it happened. Sinjin, who was in charge of the stage lights, noticed one of the lights started to shake and loosen. Inconveniently, it was the light right above Jade. I wish I'd seen it sooner, otherwise, I would have run up onstage just to push her out of the way and then comfort her for the trauma it would have caused her. But sadly, it didn't happen that way. Luckily, Jade also noticed the loose light, for at one point, everyone was staring above her head. Confused, she looked up, and just in time, took a step forward, as the light made a huge crash on stage. She turned so that her back was to the audience. She looked up at the ceiling again. Part of the light was still attached to the ceiling, but shortly after, that fell too. Due to her reflexes, Jade tried to move out of the way (she was already scratched severely on her face and other parts of her body from that piece from the light), but noticed that she was already standing at the edge of the stage. Noticing too late, she took a plunge off the stage. As soon as she hit the floor, everyone stood up to see what had happened and where she had landed. The entire theatre was silent, as nobody could believe what was happening in front of their eyes. There were many gasps from the audience, but everyone was too shocked to do anything. As soon as I realized Jade was going to fall, I rushed to the front, but the fall was so quick, and I was too late.

I dropped to my knees when I got to her still body. She lied there, face up, eyes closed. Her wig fell off from the fall, revealing a wig cap on her head. I took the wig cap off her head to reveal her black curly locks with the turquoise highlights. I took her head into my hands and gave her a soft kiss on her forehead. By this time, more people have surrounded me and Jade's unconscious body. They were mostly concerned teachers, and my friends.

"Call an ambulance!" Sikowitz yelled out. Several phones were taken out, and many phone calls were made. Many people even left the theatre to go outside to wait for the ambulance to arrive.

As I cradled Jade's head in my arms, I felt a tear roll down my cheek. I couldn't just have a breakdown like that, but I felt it coming. I couldn't believe any of this just happened to Jade. I felt more tears form in my eyes, and I had to struggle to keep them from escaping. Eventually, I couldn't hold it in any longer and just cried.

I wasn't the only one crying. The others were already crying when they got to my side. I so badly wanted to say something to Jade even though she wouldn't hear it, but my breathing wouldn't allow me to get any words escape my mouth.

I looked at Jade's face. Her face was perfect. Except for a few scratches, she was perfect. It seemed like she was just one of those princesses who were in a deep sleep, waiting for their prince to wake them up with a kiss. In a desperate attempt to make Jade conscious again, I placed a kiss on her lips. Nothing happened. I cried even harder. Andre started to rub my back in an attempt to comfort me, failing to hold back his own tears. On the other hand, Tori and Cat were crying helplessly in Robbie's arms as he also cried. I couldn't get one thought out of my head: What if Jade never woke up?

Yay, you're done reading! Now all that's left to do is to review please! I'd love to hear from you guys! I also accept any ideas for future chapters, if you may have any.

Remember, reviews = love!

By the way, do you guys like the cover I made for this story?

- Trisha :)