My Short Story
When They’ve Won
By: Alison The Cat
Chapter One
Diana was adored by everybody—teachers were "enchanted", parents were "proud", and many boys fell victim to "puppy love" after meeting her. She had never lied, shoplifted, or tried drugs. She was in Student Council, Science Club, and the Honor Society. Her attractive blonde hair, friendly blue eyes, and freckled nose gave her a naturally angelic appearance. Diana’s life was perfect. That is, until she met Jade.
Chapter Two
Jade stood silently and perfectly still in a corner of the library, her arms crossed and her face sullen. The teachers had long ago stopped trying to force her to in the cafeteria with the other students. Diana needed to catch up on some research that day, so she parted with her boyfriend Kevin and her many friends at the library door. Jade watched her enter, and for some reason she couldn’t seem to take her eyes off of Diana’s hair. It flowed smoothly around her shoulders and over the curves on her chest. Jade clenched her teeth and forced herself to look away. "Stop it," she told herself. "Don’t fall in love, and you can’t get hurt. Cliché, but true."
Her vow of indifference lasted about five minutes. As Diana set her books on a table, she accidentally knocked them to the floor. Notebooks came crashing down; papers went flying. As she anxiously bent to gather them, Diana heard a cool, steady voice say, "You dropped your books." Irritated, she snapped, "I am quite capable of realizing that myself, thank you very much. And it wouldn’t kill you to extend the simple courtesy of helping me to…" Diana’s voice cut off abruptly when she turned to face Jade. Before her stood the most gorgeous woman she had ever laid eyes on. Her lips had a very sexy, very alluring...
"You were saying something?" the lips said.
"Um...yeah...well I...I dropped my stuff."
"I noticed," Jade replied. Then she walked out of the room.
Diana spent the rest of the lunch period trying to concentrate on her work, but her thoughts kept drifting towards that beautiful woman. Why haven’t I ever seen her before? How old is she? Why was she such a bitch? Finally, Diana asked the librarian who she was.
"Her name’s Jade," was the reply. "I’m warning you now, don’t get mixed up with her. Just forget you ever saw her."
Well, Diana tried to forget about Jade. In fact, she spent every conscious minute trying to forget about Jade. During class she tried to forget about her magnetic eyes, the way they seemed to pull you towards them.. While doing her homework, she tried to forget about the way she stood perfectly still, not moving a muscle except when talking. Throughout her date with Kevin, Diana tried to forget about her steady, cold voice. And she stayed up all night trying to forget about those deep cranberry lips.
Chapter Three
Diana skipped lunch again the next day. She told herself it was to study, but deep inside she knew she just wanted to catch a glimpse of that girl. Jade. When she reached the library, though, Jade wasn't there. The same thing happened the next day, and the next. For the entire week, Diana went hungry, but her quiz grades improved considerably.
Jade sat naked in the small bathtub, her knees drawn up to her chest. She played with the razor blade, scratching it gently against her wrist. She toyed with the idea of death, turning it over again and again in her mind. She started to cut alongside the vein, admiring how smoothly the blade sliced, and surprised by the sharpness of the pain. Just as she was about to go deeper, to finish the job once and for all, a thought occurred to her. "If I do this, they will have won." Her eyes opened. She got up and wrapped a fresh bandage around her wrist. Tomorrow she would go back to school.
As usual, Jade was standing perfectly still with her arms crossed and an angry fire burning in her eyes. She looked ready to attack anyone who came near her. She watched the throng of students passing by, each of them engrossed in their own little worries and excitements. She saw them as one might see ants--sometimes amusing, usually annoying, but mostly unimportant.
Then she noticed the blonde girl from the library walking by. She was instantly furious at herself for noticing and furious at the girl for making her notice. Closing her eyes, Jade resolved not to look at her again. When she opened them, the girl was standing less than three feet away, looking straight at her.
Suddenly Diana realized what the word "breathtaking" really meant. Just looking at Jade left her completely speechless, totally out of breath. Then Jade's eyes flew open. "Are you all right?" Diana whispered.
"No, I am not, but I haven't been for a long time, so I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. But I'm not you, so that renders the whole argument meaningless." Jade's harsh words covered up the unwanted emotions emerging inside her. Just being this close to Diana made her whole body tense and her heart ache. Now that all the other students were gone, she and the girl were alone.
"Why do you hate me?" Diana asked.
"Why do you ask so many questions?" Jade asked.
"Why do you hate me?" she persisted.
"Because of what you do to me," Jade answered, turning her head and looking away for the first time.
"What do I do to you?"
Jade stared at her for a minute before answering. Then she gently took Diana's delicate chin in her hands…and kissed her. Hard. The entire world was thrown off its axis. Pigs flew, and hell froze over. The electricity in the air was unbelievable; excitement flooded both girls' minds. Then Jade pulled away. "That," she replied softly, "is what you do to me."
Diana was stunned, to put it mildly.
"You kissed me!" she exclaimed in shock.
"I know."
"You're a girl!"
"I know."
"I can't believe you kissed me!"
Jade closed her eyes once more, drained and exhausted-looking.
"Go now."
Chapter Four
When Diana went into the library Monday, after a sleepless, angst-ridden weekend of inner turmoil, Jade was there. Diana got the feeling she had been waiting for her. Without even attempting the pretense of studying, she walked up to that mysterious woman boldly. Nobody had ever done that before. She risked falling under Jade's spell by looking right into those incredible eyes, and then she spoke.
"Jade…that is your name, isn't it?"
"What's your name?"
"Diana. Why don't you ever answer me when I ask you a question?"
"What do you want from me?"
Diana finally dropped her gaze.
"Look, I don't know what you did, or how you did it to me, but you've caused me to question everything I've ever believed, everything I've ever been told." She looked up sadly. "And I think I'm falling in love with you."
"Love? Infatuation!" Jade spat back at her.
"Don't you believe in love at first sight? Soulmates?" Diana questioned pleadingly.
I got these beautiful graphics from www.jaguarwoman.com.
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