«Jade» First Encounter

[Jason Taylor]

Jason had not been at the hostel very long. He was still very much in the adjusting period, getting used to the new routines. He was more of his own boss now, yet that did not change his persona. Entering the hall, Jason spotted a sofa and hurried over, removing his shoes and lifting his legs onto it. He took out his MP3 player, turned it on, and sat quietly alone in the hall. The music was fairly loud, and could be heard from the other side. He was listening to metal. Jason was very particular over the music he liked. He was very much against these talent shows that guaranteed the winner fame and fortune, he much preferred music that people had worked hard for.

Jason was very typically dressed. He wore a pair of camouflage trousers, tied at the bottom of the leg by the string. He was also wearing a t-shirt of a band he liked, as well as another t-shirt underneath it. There wasn’t really any reason for this; it was just something he had grown up doing. His hair was spiked as normal, anyone seeing him for the first time may find it very odd that half of it was red and the other half black, but Jason was an odd kind of guy. He just continued to listen to his music, and his eyes began to close as he was starting to become more relaxed.

[Jade]

Jade came into the room, she had been at the hostel for about a week now. She was getting better with things, but she was still very nervous. It seemed to her that more people had began to come in. She wore a pair of ripped up old jeans and a long black sweater.

She startled a bit when she saw the guy and startled briefly, and then smiled faintly. She could hear the music that he was listening to from where she was at. It sounded good. Not some pop princess or some cardboard punk rock screaming jack off. She also noticed that they had similar hair colors. She figured he was in his own little world and decided not to bother him.

She walked over to the book shelf and reached up to get a book, cursing under her breath. She despised being short and when the book that she was reaching fell on her head, she let out a irate whimper and attempted to catch it. Alas, either from still being stunned from the head injury or because today was not her day the book hit the ground with rather loud thud. She winced and looked over at the guy hoping she had not bothered him too much.

[Jason Taylor]

Jason had not even noticed the girl come in, such was the almost trance like state he was in. In fact, had it not been for a pause in his music when the girl had dropped the book, he wouldn’t even have noticed her. But the timing seemed to be perfect, and the loud thud snapped him out of his day dream. He had seen the girl about the place before, but had not really spoken to each other properly. He casually took the earphones out, rapped them around his MP3 player and placed it in his pocket, and put his shoes back on before he wandered over to the girl.

It was unusual for Jason to openly go over to someone he wasn’t particularly familiar with; he was very much an introvert. As he walked over, he eyed the girl over; taking in what she was wearing, trying to analyze her as best he could. When he arrived next to the girl, he bent down and picked the book up, and for a moment he froze, not sure what to say. His lack of confidence had caught up with him, and there were a few moments of silence between the two.

Finally the peace was broken, and he handed the book over. “I think this is yours…” Jason said rather sheepishly in a deeper than usual voice. For some reason, his voice would always go deeper when he was nervous or shy, something unique to him. He was a good few inches taller than the girl, so it appeared as though he was looking down upon her.

[Jade]

"Thanks,"She said and took the book staring down at it for a moment, as if she was unsure of what it was.

"Sorry about that,"She mumbled. She was slightly thrown off and her head hurt.There was a faint red mark in the middle of it where the book had landed.

"I didn't mean to bother you," she said, falling back into an old pattern,"I-I was just getting this. The thing fell...I think on my head."

She gestured with the book and nearly hit herself again.

"I'm doing great today," she mumbled ducking her head,"I got the book, and I'll leave you to your music."

She cut her eyes to the door, and then pause, her curiousity taking over the shyness that seemed to surround her in a constant cloud these days.

"What where you listening to?" She asked looking up at him from beneeth her eyelashes, her book clutched tightly to her chest; as if to prevent her from injuring herself futher.

[Jason Taylor]

“Don’t worry about it,” Jason said as he managed to crack a faint smile. He more than anyone had clumsy moments; he knew how embarrassing they could be. A look of concern came across his face as the girl told him that the book had in fact bounced off her head. “Are you alright?” he asked with a slightly concerned tone in his voice, bangs to the head can be nasty. He gave the girl a once over with his deep brown eyes again, she seemed shy, he knew that feeling all too well. He nodded as the girl said she was going to leave, he was a little disappointed, he wanted to get to know her a little better, if he was going to enjoy his stay here, he would have to begin making friends.

The girl turned back, and a small smile crept from Jason’s lips. “Nothing much really,” was his response. “Just a band from near where I was brought up. You may have heard of them... Bullet for my Valentine?” He inwardly laughed at the past few moments, something about the girl made him smile and laugh, but not in a bad way, although there was know external showing of this. He scratched the back of his colourful spikey head, wondering what to say next. He looked at the book in curiosity. “What book were you going to read?”

[Jade]

Jade smiled very faintly at his concerned. It had been awhile since anyone had shown concern for her. She liked this guy, and he had good taste in music.

"Yeah I've heard of them!" she said her face brightening up at something familiar," I really like their stuff."

She looked down at her book again, "Ummm 'Catcher in the Rye'. It's a pretty cool book. The main character reminds me of a friend of mine," Her face clouded over very faintly and she shook it off ,"Oh and to answear your ealier question I'm fine. My head has hit harder things than a book."

She gave him a nervously shy smile.

[Jason Taylor]

Jason was shocked when the girl said that she knew of the band. Not many people that Jason was acquainted with knew who they were “Cool!” he said in response.

Jason didn’t do a lot of reading, only the occasional magazine or fact book about something he was interested in, so it was no surprise that he was not familiar with the book. “I don’t know that book; perhaps I should give it a go sometime.” He felt slightly embarrassed that he didn’t know the book, and he blushed slightly for a few moments, before his cheeks resumed their regular colour.

“That’s ok then,” he said as Jade confirmed she was ok. “I’ve taken some pretty good whacks in my time too.” Jason paused as he was reminded of his Grandfather’s belt. That wasn’t what he was referring too, but that’s what came to his mind. His face turned blank for a few moments, but he washed the thoughts from his head, and lifted up a tuft of hair that was covering a scar on the top of his forehead. It was about two centimetres long. “I did that when I was a toddler… I was running away from my Grandfather, and tripped over the lead from the vacuum cleaner, and fell onto the corner of a radiator.” Why he was running from his Grandfather Jason did not reveal.”

[Jade]

She smiled a little at him again. He seemed really nice. She missed having a male friend. Female were nice, but she didn't know she just felt safer around guys. Which was odd seeing as the past she had with her father, but that was just with her father. Billy had never been anything but sweet to her.Tobes too, Tobes was her little buddy, and she still didn't understand why he left her. thaat hurt just as bad as Billy's death, was Tobias leaving her.

She hitched a sigh, and looked down at her shoes. Mulling over what he had just told her.

" Ouch. I bet that hurt, did you get a scare from it?" She questioned softly and unobtrusively as possible; looking up at him with her head cocked faintly to the side in a curious manner.

"I used to live in a trailer, and sometimes running through those narrow halls were pretty tricky. Once when I was about nine I came around the corner of the kitchen too fast and popped my shoulder out of place," She paused her face dark.

She chuckled nervously," It does make you good at dodging things in small spaces though," She said attempting for a light tone, but falling short.

[Jason Taylor]

Jason nodded, and pointed up to his scar that was just under the tuft of hair he had previously lifted up. As most scars, it had not taken the colour of the older undamaged skin, and it was about two centimetres long. He had several other scars on his body, but for the moment he would keep them hidden away. “From what I remember, I spent the evening in a hospital too, the first time of many,” he said as he managed to eek a smile from his lips.

The teenager flinched as the girl recounted the tale of when she dislocated her shoulder. He himself had never dislocated anything, and it was the one thing he hoped he would never do. “That must have been awful; I had the thought of dislocations.” A smile came back to his face however as Jade joked about it. “You’d be good in a rugby team then,” Jason exclaimed. “They’re always in need of people who can dodge tackles!”

“Most of the injuries I’ve had have come from sport and some from a few other things…” Jason paused, not wishing to go into any further detail just yet.

[Jade]

She leaned up faintly to get a better look, she was fanscinated with scares and bruises. She was careful not to invade his space any.

She nodded sympathetically,"I only went to the hospital a couple of times. Other than that it was kinda like playing a game of operation on yourself," She giving a faint rolled of her eyes. She didn't mention the reason she never went to the hospital.

Her laugh at his rugby comment was one the first full laughs she had in long time. It was very soft and throaty. It made her sound almost younger somehow.

"I always wanted to play rugby when I was younger, either that or soccer."

She nodded and looked up at him her eyes soft and understanding in a way that said "yeah I know what you mean."

She looked back down after a few moments and said in an almost joking tone," I was clumsy and fell down the stairs alot."

[Jason Taylor]

“For a few years the hospital was practically my second home,” Jason said. He actually preferred being in hospital than living with his grandparents, at least people actually helped him out and cared for him there. “I broke something like seven bones and needed two operations, so it was quite an eventful time for me.” The two operations were actually linked to the same injury, but saying it like he did made him sound more interesting, at least from his point of view.

He smiled as Jade laughed, he felt good when he made people laugh, and it boosted his confidence slightly.

Jason was quite a stocky teenager, not overweight just well built. “My games master always said I was made for rugby, but after the first few injuries I though I should pack it in, I don’t think it would have been long until I was in a wheelchair!” Jason chuckled slightly, although he realised it wasn’t a particularly joking matter. “I switched to soccer then, but that followed the same path… so I went to play cricket, and didn’t pick up any injuries, so I think that was the game for me.”

As she looked up towards him, his eyes locked with hers for a passing moment, he could see that she somehow knew what he meant. It felt strange, he always thought that no-one had gone through the same as him, but it seemed someone had proven him wrong, at least that’s how he felt. The eye contact broke, but her next comment added more certainty to Jason’s thoughts. “I lived in a bungalow, so I didn’t have any stairs,” he said with a fairly dry voice. He often had a habit of saying the wrong things at the wrong time, he hoped he hadn’t offended her in any way.

[Jade]

She looked at him,clearly impressed, that was alot of broken bones.

"I only had a couple, those where the only times I went to the hospital, " She said softly.

"I've always wanted to try Cricket," She said with enthusiasm," I loved playing soccer when I was little. It was nice just to be able to throw the ball around and kick it a bit. I was never able to get on an official team, unfortunately, just couldn't afford it."

'Yeah Dad's booze was more important,' She thought bitterly.

At the comment about the bungalow, she couldn't help help herself and began to laugh a little. It was a very pretty sound, and seemed to take the perpetually worried look off her face. After a few moments she had calmed down, and heaved a great happy sigh.

"Yeah the trailer didn't have stairs either unless you count the front porch stairs," She said rolling her eyes. She hated talking about her house. She always felt like she was nothing but white trash,and she was afraid that people would only see that.

[Jason Taylor]

“I know exactly where you’re coming from,” Jason said in reply to Jade’s comment about soccer being an expensive hobby. “It was the same for me with cricket… my grandparents wouldn’t pay for my kit, or my membership costs. I was lucky I found a team that loaned me kit, and I paid the membership from a part time job. I really should have returned the kit when I came here… but it was in my bag, and I didn’t know where I was going…”

“It’s only really a good sport if you don’t mind standing around for about five hours if the sun, although it’s a good way of getting a tan, and also a good way to get away from the house for a few hours,” Jason said with a rye smile, which masked how he was feeling on the inside. He was reminded of the long and boring days when he was stuck in the house with his grandparents, he would count down the seconds until he could go and play cricket. “If you –really- want to try it, I guess I could teach you the basics some time.” He emphasised the word ‘really’, as he wasn’t sure if the girl was joking or not. Many a time had his friends sarcastically said they would like to play.

Jason smiled as the girl began to laugh, and it exposed some of his teeth, they had a very faint staining, although his dentist had told him that they were genetically that colour. There was also a small chip in one of the top front teeth, another one of his ‘battle scars’. She had a nice laugh, and it pleased Jason that he was able to make her laugh, it had been a very long while since anyone had done anything but frown at scowl at Jason.

“Cool, a trailer!” he said. “I used to holiday occasionally in a caravan. I liked it, and for a time I wished I could live in one, at least there would be fewer places to clean.” His comment referred to a time in his past. “So, what’s your name?” Jason asked casually.

[Jade]

"Yeah, I think I have a couple of unreturned librarry books that I had from my old school. Just walked out with them. I feel kinda bad about it but," She lift it off there and instead finished with a shrug; as if to say "You know how it is."

Jade's dark eyes brightened, when he said he could teach her about cricket.

"You could, that would be great!" She said happily and then paused, and looked down, slightly insecure, suddenly," That is if you would want to, I wouldn't want to bother you or anything."

She casually noticed the chip in his tooth and didn't say anything, figuring it was something that he might not want it brought to his attention. Heck, she had stuff like that, things that only embarrassed you if they were pointed out. She unconciously pulled her sweater sleeves down over her hands.

She looked up and had a slightly surprised look on her face. She had never heard anyone think of it like that. She had always heard rude and mean comments about coming from the home she had, everything was talked about when people hadn't known she was listening. It still hurt Jade allot and made her feel very insecure, though she hid it well with sarcasm and humor. Get them before they can get you.

"It was pretty easy to clean, except on Mondays, it was always a mess on Mondays," She said in a quite murmur.

She blinked and looked up at him,"Oh I'm sorry, it's Jade. What about you?"

[Jason Taylor]

Jason nodded. He suspected that his gear had a much higher value than the library books, but the principle was the same. “One person’s loss is another’s gain I suppose,” replied Jason with a shrug. “The amount these places charge for membership, I’m sure they can afford replacements,” was Jason’s final comment on the matter.

Jason took a quick look out of one of the windows on the other side of the room. It was the closest he had got to the outdoors since he had been at the hostel, most of his time had been spent indoors either listening to music or watching television. “Sure, I wouldn’t mind, would do me good to get a bit of fresh air as well.” He took another look outside, it was very sunny, and from his view there was not a cloud in the sky, and it also looked very warm. “I’ve heard that there is a park somewhere around here, it would be a good place to start,” Jason said with an eager look on his face, almost dropping a hint that he quite fancied the idea of teaching her a few things, and that he would quite like to start now.

Jason didn’t ask any further questions about the trailer, he felt that if the girl had wanted to reveal why it was harder to clean on a Monday, she would have openly said so. He just nodded sympathetically.

“My name is Jason Taylor,” was the boy’s response. “But some people call my Jay or JT.”