Kiss Land

[Ciel]

(Jasmine Reed continued from Forlorn and Forgotten Knowledge.)

"Stop being such a dweeb Jazz. She's gonna come back; like, why would she bail on you NOW when she could have done it ages ago?"

Jasmine found her skirt tossed onto the floor. All wrinkled and crumpled. She sneered, looking around the room. She mentally scolded herself for not bringing some change of clothes. Jasmine wondered if the terrorists raided the closet too. Her eyes darted, glancing towards the set of sliding doors to the east wall. Then she just decided to wear the same skirt she had on over the past couple of days. Gross. But it wasn't like there was a dress code, right?

Once she was dressed, Jasmine looked up and around. Where were her shoes? Kay's shoes were gone but...

"You're still useful to her. She dumped Oskar for you yanno, ditched him like trash."

The announcements woke Jasmine up. Caedyn was nowhere to be seen; her side of the bed was empty, her stuff gone. That discovery alone sent pinpricks all the way up and down her body, like a thousand needles pricking her skin. Jasmine did not cry. She wanted to, but no tears came. She did not hear Caedyn's name on the announcements, which afforded Jasmine some level of relief. Since then, however, there was no sign of Kay.

".... What, did you think she chose to go with you because she likes you? Get real. You heard the announcements, right? He walked off the side of a cliff."

Jasmine put her skirt back on, the lack of a fresh change of clothing making her irate. She found her sneakers too. She plopped down onto the bed, slipped them on and tried to tie them quickly. Tried. She was rushing and because of that she kept messing up. Kuso. Jasmine knitted her brows.

"Caedyn ditches a boy on the same day he drops to his death? And you want to say they aren't related?"

There was no sense in jumping to conclusions.

She'd talk to Caedyn about it. When she came back, that is.

"And she's GOING to come back."

Jasmine finished tying her shoes and stood up. The girl was there, in a pair of familiar overalls, sitting on the bookshelf across from the bed. She used to wear a bright sundress, a cute sundress, but Jasmine read To Kill a Mockingbird when she was in elementary and the girl started wearing overalls. She, Jasmine, was an avid reader as a kid. Rabid about it. Spent more time reading in elementary than talking. Apart from that, it was all so familiar. Black ponytail, bright hazel eyes, a small nose, thin lips.

The girl looked like she always did, yet at the same time, she looked nothing like her bestest friend.

Caitlyn pouted, letting her legs dangle in the air. There was a bandaid on her knee.

"Hey. I'm just looking out for you. You can be kind of an idiot."

"I know," Jasmine said, to no one in particular.

Jasmine took a quick peek outside of the front door, looking down the hallway. She could have sworn she heard a door close not too far off. After awhile she closed the door, figuring it was just her imagination playing tricks.

[Ciel]

Jasmine waited. And waited. She waited until she was absolutely sure that something must have happened. The sudden rush of panic filled her veins. Jasmine fumbled with her bag, scooping it up and throwing it over her shoulder. She had to go look for her. She couldn't be far. She couldn't. The back of her skull stung slightly as she sat up all the way up, the result of the alcohol from the night prior. It was something she was going to suck up and deal with.

"Jazz."

Once she had everything together, Jasmine threw the door open.

"Calm down. Don't do anything stupid!"

Of course Jasmine did not listen. She was blinded by fear, by anger and guilt. She was operating on pure emotion. Jasmine Reed did not listen.

She should have listened.

(Jasmine Reed continued in The Scarlet Garden.)