It was now Friday which made Blake really happy. She loved knowing that she didn't have to get up early the next day.

There was now seven days until the big pep rally, homecoming dance and homecoming game.

All the teachers apart of the pep rally were scattering around before school started to prepare for it. It seemed like everyone was excited for the big day next Friday except for Blake. She really could care less about the school she was now attending. She hated the school, she didn't like a lot of the teachers she had and she hated ninety nine percent of the students that actually go to the school. They were all up in everybody's business and personal life. At her old school no one acted like this. No one cared about one another. Everyone talked to everyone or didn't talk to anybody at all, it was a normal high school. This one wasn't, very far from it.

Putting on her winged eyeliner she finished her usual makeup look and nodded in approval. She was blessed with steady hands so she was able to perfect her winged eyeliner over the years and to her she was like a professional. When she first tried it, oh was it hideous.

She laced up her combat boots and hummed in approval. She liked the way her lip, nose and belly button piercing stood out to all the black she was wearing since it was shiny silver.

Blake combed through her hair before grabbing her bag, headphones and phone. She sprayed perfume on herself before walking out the door.

Annoying jock: U at school today

Blake💜: nah

Annoying jock: Hang out after school

Blake💜: eh maybe

Annoying jock: Okie dokie

Blake💜: don't ever say that again

Annoying jock: Copy that Sargent
read

Blake rolled her eyes at her phone before tucking it into her back pocket.

§

Blake avoided all contact with Jace today, making sure that he didn't see her in school. She was lucky that he wasn't in any of her classes. She just didn't feel like talking to people at school today.

"Blake?"

"Fuck" she hissed under her breath.

She turned around to see Jace heading towards the locker rooms.

"You said you didn't come to school today" he said quietly.

"I lied."

"Why though?"

"I didn't want you knowing that I was here."

Hurt went through Jace's body as he nodded.

"Oh, yeah okay."

She stood there for a few seconds and sighed.

"Well see ya."

"Wait, do you wanna stay for my practice?"

"Not really, it's cold outside."

"I know, but you can have my football jacket."

"I'll pass for both."

Jace masked his hurt and nodded. He did want her to wear his jacket.

"I'll see you at your house then?" he asked.

She nodded and walked off.

§

Blake immediately worked out for half an hour in the gym before taking a shower. She turned up the heat in her house since she was wearing spandex and a dark red shirt. It used to be her dance shirt but she stopped taking dance right after her dad died.

She peeled a banana and went into the living room. She brought one knee up to her chest while the other was bent beneath her. Blake scrolled through the tv channels before stopping on a rerun of full house.

A loud knock came from the door and she stood up.

Jace walked in when she opened it for him and he smiled at the teen girl who looked just as beautiful as she always does. It's like every single time he saw her she somehow got more beautiful than she already was.

"Hey, so what do you wanna do?" Jace asked.

"Well I have homework. So you can either watch tv or do whatever work you have to do."

She grabbed her backpack from upstairs and walked back down before sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table.

"Where's your mom?" Jace asked as he unpacked his things.

"At work."

Jace only nodded and a few minutes of silence Jace didn't know if he should ask the question that's been on his mind or not. But he decided to anyways.

"Who's Jack?"

Blake looked up from her English homework and furrowed her eyebrows.

"What?"

"That guy you were talking to yesterday, you mentioned someone named Jack. I just wanna know who he is" Jace shrugged as he looked anywhere but her.

"So you were eavesdropping on my conversation?" she asked him as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"No, I was just there and well I heard you talk about him" Jace shrugged like it was no big deal.

"Jack is his son if you really must know."

Already over the conversation Blake went back to her homework.

"But how old is he?"

"He is eight, why do you even care?" Blake asked with a groan.

"I was just curious" Jace mumbled.

She rolled her eyes and they sat in silence for another hour before Susie and London came home from work.

"Hey guys" London smiled.

Blake waved and Jace smiled at Susie.

"Hello Mrs, sorry I don't know your last name" Jace said awkwardly.

Blake never mentioned her last name to Jace. Her last name is very well known to everyone all over the world who has ever heard of Adam Sterling. Yeah it's a somewhat popular last name but whenever you hear Sterling you think of Adam Sterling.

"Just call me Susie" she said with a smile.

"And I'm London" London smiled at Jace.

She thought the two teenagers would be such a cute couple.

"Hello, we haven't properly met yet. I'm Blake's friend Jace" Jace smiled at London.

"Nice to meet you, I'm surprised Blake let you be her friend. She wasn't much of a friend type since January" Susie said with a sad tone.

London wrapped her arm around the poor widow and gave the teen boy a smile.

"Yeah I'm so sorry about your loss."

Susie was shocked that Jace knew about her husband and Blake just sat in the living room staring at the family pictures with blurry vision of her zoning out.

"You know about Adam?" Susie asked him.

Jace nodded and glanced over at Blake who was staring off into the distance.

"Oh, I need to go lay down."

London brought her up to her room and Jace looked down at the pile of mail Susie just brought in.

Blake Sterling.

He went back to the living room and Blake still stared at the wall.

"You okay?" Jace asked softly.

Blake blinked twice before looking at Jace.

"Yeah, I need a break I'm going to the roof."

She stood up and hopped up her stairs to get a blanket. She grabbed her phone with her and went into one of the guest bedrooms that had a an easier access to the roof. Jace followed behind her and even though she was only wearing spandex and a t-shirt she sat on the tiled roof as she wrapped the blanket tightly around her.

Jace sat next to her and stared at the cloudy sky and the bare trees with leaves all over the ground.

"I don't like talking about my dad" Blake whispered extremely quietly.

If Jace wasn't sitting where he was he would have missed what she said.

"I'm sorry for bringing it up" he said softly.

"It's just, it's about to be ten months in two weeks and it's still fresh. It gets me sad."

He glanced at the beautiful girl next to him and admired how strong she truly was.

"You're a strong girl Blake."

They sat in silence and she puffed out air as it came out into a small white cloud before fading away into thin air.

"The holidays will be the worst, my birthday was awful. I mean he has been there for every single one of my birthdays besides this one. He won't be there for anymore of them."

Jace just sat there and let her talk. She needed to let it out.

"Christmas and Thanksgiving is going to be awful. London is going to go back to her family when it comes time to the holidays so I have to try and deal with my mom and make her not sad and not drink but it's hard because she doesn't care if she drinks."

He stared at the girl as she wrapped the blanket tighter around her. He hasn't seen her look this upset since he saw her cry that one day in the woods.

"You know you don't have to watch her like you seem to do. You have to let her take on the mother act."

"But I can't! You don't get it, she doesn't need me anymore when London is around. She just lets herself go when she is around me, it's like she doesn't even care. I have to look after her and make sure she is doing okay."

"Blake-"

"It's so hard, it's so fucking hard. I lost him at sixteen Jace and I had to look after my mom. I didn't have anyone to lean on besides Chris but he had his son to look after and he had to deal with his best friends passing. My dad's side of the family hasn't tried talking to me since the service and same with my moms side and I'm all alone."

Blake couldn't stop pouring her heart out. It's like something clicked and she needed to let it out. She felt bad to lay this all on Jace but she just could not stop. But Jace didn't care, he wanted to take her pain away.

He reluctantly pulled her into his arms for their very first hug and she let him hold her on top of the roof. She squeezed her eyes shut and breathed out slowly.

"Let's stop talking about him okay? Let's listen to post malone."

Jace pulled out his phone and picked his twenty-sixteen album and turned it up all the way. He held the teen girl as she was wrapped in a blanket. Despite his ass turning numb and his entire body shivering he stayed where he was because after all he finally had Blake in his arms.

"I'm sorry for laying that all on you" Blake said softly.

She was never one to open up to people, but for some odd reason this gut feeling was telling her to trust him. So she began to.

"That's okay, I'll always be here for you Blake."

Blake let out a small smile and after a couple more minutes they went back inside. Jace warmed up a bit before having his mom text him saying he needed to come home.

"Thank you again for comforting me, you didn't have to do that" Blake said somewhat embarrassedly.

"It's okay, we are friends now and that's what friends do."

She nodded and wrapped the blanket tighter around her.

"Can I get another hug?" he asked her.

He didn't want to just pull her into a hug if she didn't want it.

"Uh, I guess."

Blake awkwardly wrapped her arms around Jace and he smiled into her hair. Since she wasn't wearing her combat boots she was an inch shorter than him.

"Bye Blake."

She waved when she pulled away and shut her front door behind him.

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blake: i need a friend who is comfortable with silence and doesn't mind me not talking most of the time... i think i found that friend

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Jace liked her Instagram picture and smiled. He was the person she was talking about after all.

They always sat in silence together a big majority of the time. Blake wasn't a big talker and Jace was okay with that. As long as he was hanging out with the beautiful teen girl he was okay with it.

He would really do anything for her. After all he was in love.
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11-1-20