Chapter Nine: A Bitter-Sweet Farewell

The following morning, I made sunny side up eggs and bacon for Jean, and arranged it to make it look like a smiley face.

Jean came downstairs rubbing her eyes. Her hair was frizzy, and her eyes were all puffed up from crying the night before, but even so I thought," you look beautiful," I said, bringing my words out loud.

Jean sat at the table, not reacting to my words at all. "Mmm?" She said.

I fixed her a cup of coffee and placed the food in front of her too.

"Is this for me?" She asked.

I nodded. "Yes it is."

She scarfed down the coffee, and once the mug was out of her face she caught me admiring her, smiling.

"Do I have something on my face?" she asked.

I chuckled. "No. You're just adorable."

She raised her brows, but started eating her breakfast anyway. We chatted over breakfast. We didn't discuss anything huge. Just a happy conversation. I didn't overthink it too much. I was so lost in the moment.

Somehow, the rays of morning light that shone through the window presented themselves differently than the day before, or any other day. Somehow, everything felt comforting and bright. I appreciated every moment of this morning with Jean because I knew it would be my last one.

"Oh shoot, what am I going to wear to school?" Jean asked.

"Well I was looking through my old clothes from junior high, and I know this isn't the kind of think you'd usually wear, but I think it would fit."

I pulled out my old flower-patterned cargo shorts and an oversized black t-shirt.

Jean looked at the outfit and cracked a smile.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Nothing," she said. "I'll wear it."

We drove to school together, and met up with Kaylee and Ryan. Kaylee and Ryan teased me and Jean because it was very apparent she spend the night at my house. It was just like every day. We hung out in the morning, then at lunch, and said goodbye at the end of the day. The only difference was that I knew what was to come next, while the three of them were completely oblivious. At one point I was even silent, just taking everything in and they asked what was wrong. I responded with 'these moments aren't going to last forever'. Ryan scolded me about how I think too much again and I'm letting everything get to my head, and I just let him think that. I let him wallow in his ignorance because I came to the conclusion that was really the only way to stay happy. He wasn't burdened with all the information I had to carry with me.

After school Jean and I went back to her house and watched tv. It was things as usual. We talked for a bit, had some nice moments in between. There was nothing unusual to be going on. Nothing at all. Then came 10 'o clock, and I was being booted out as I usually was during that time.

"I think you have to go," Jean said. "It's already getting late."

I didn't want to go. Then that would mean the day would be over, and I would have to make the wish. I stuffed my face into a pillow. "Do I really have to go now? Can't I stay longer?"

"About last night . . ." Jean was fumbling just to find her words. "When I asked to stay the night at your place, I didn't mean to make that become a recurring thing that would happen between us."

"Was it odd for you?"

"I mean, no . . . Yes? I don't know. Maybe not odd, but . . . intimate."

"I see."

"Please don't take this the wrong way, but I just don't want to get too used to the way things are right now."

"Why not?" I was authoritative in my questioning. Honestly I was getting heated in the things Jean was asking.

"Because Nick . . . The way things are, we both know they can't stay that way forever. I don't want to get used to this."

"Don't you like the way things are?"

"Of course I do, Nick! And that's the problem. Things can't stay the way they are forever, as much as it sucks. I didn't want to say anything, but Jason is planning something. You have to act fast. You have to strike before he does. You have to make a wish or else--"

"Or else he'll be your master again."

"Exactly . . ."

"I see . . ."

"I know you've been thinking about wishing too. I could feel it. What's stopping you?"

"How on earth could I even tell you?"

"What do you mean?"

"How could I just . . . let you go, Jean? I want to set you free, I want to let you be off on your way not knowing anything that happened. I want you to be able to escape from your past and think about your future. But if I make that wish then everything is going to change. Things are going to go back to the way things were before I met you. I know that's what I have to do. I know that's what I need to do, but I just . . ."

"Nick . . ."

"I promised myself to set you free today, so that's what I'm going to do, however it's only ten 'o clock right now. I'll be back before midnight to fulfill my promise. I just need some time to build myself up, then I'll make the wish. While I'm at it I'll erase my own memory too because I would rather not remember all of this once it's all said and done. The time I've spent with you these past few weeks is honestly the most alive I've felt in a long time, and for that same reason that's why I need to forget all these memories. If I remembered all of this, I'd forever be haunted by the ghost of nostalgia."

I made my exit before anything else could be said. I checked my phone. 10:23. I still had some time to take a walk down memory lane. I walked down the driveway and watched Jean's house from afar. I quietly remembered everything that went on the past few weeks, from meeting her parents, to seeing the wishlist, to just hanging out with her and being with her. It was a lot to process.

"Hello, Nick." Jason was holding a gun at me.

I immediately put my hands up. "Jason? What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm getting Jean back. I've actually been standing here with this gun pointed at you for a long time, but you seemed like you were too deep in thought to notice."

"Put that thing down!"

"I'm giving you an ultimatum. If you don't give me the necklace, I'll shoot."

"You wouldn't get away with murder, Jason."

"Oh I'm not planning on shooting you. Look where I'm pointing the gun."

I glanced down at my chest and noticed that the gun was pointed directly at the necklace.

"You see," Jason continued. "I've been spending a lot of time gaining the trust of the emo kids. They eventually hooked me up with this guy on the black market that has access to unregistered guns. This was my plan all along. If I were to shoot you then yeah, I wouldn't get away with it that easily. But if I were to shoot the necklace? Jean would die immediately, and no one could prove it. Besides, if I can't have Jean, no one can.

"You'd kill Jean just because you can't have her?"

"That's right." He took the safety off, and intensified his locked glare. "What's it going to be?"

"You're bluffing."

He shot the gun up in the air, releasing a loud blast that killed the silence of the neighborhood, and awakened several barking dogs. "I'm dead serious," he said, repositioning the gun.

I had no choice. I slowly took off the necklace and handed it over to him. "Rot in hell," I said.

He took it from me. "I finally have back what's rightfully mine." He smirked. "Finally! After weeks and weeks of premeditation and planning, I finally have--"

Megan jumped from the bushes and snatched the necklace right from his hands. Startled, Jason fired the gun right in my direction. I yelped and jumped onto the sidewalk, but after the initial shock wore off, I realized that I was completely unharmed.

Jason pointed the gun at Megan, who was standing there curiously with the necklace, swirling it around in her hands. "So this is what you guys were fighting over this whole time, huh?"

"Give it back!" Jason shouted. "Or I'll shoot."

Megan laughed. "What? You don't think I know what goes on around the school? I know you couldn't get a real gun from the emo kids, Jason. They didn't trust you. What you've got right there is a blank."

"That was a blank?!" I screamed.

Jason dropped the gun.

"Give it back!" I said, rushing towards her.

Megan pulled out a gun of her own. "Not so fast. Maybe Jason couldn't a real gun, but I could." She shot a rose in the bush to demonstrate the legitimacy of her gun.

I was forced to stop and watch her rant.

"I don't know why, but so many people have been talking about how you two have been fighting so hard over this necklace. Literally every time you guys talk, it's something about Jean, or this thing. Is this Jean's necklace or something? Like what? A family heirloom or whatever? It must be pretty valuable. I mean usually it wouldn't be any of my business, but when Jean decided to beat my ass when I was drunk and defenseless that pissed me off pretty bad. Do you know how humiliated I was?"

"The only reason she beat your ass was because you drugged me," I said. "She was protecting me."

"Oh wah wah, she protected you from getting laid. What a cock-blocking hero. Whatever. This is mine now, as a trophy, but who knows? I might sell it." She single-handedly put the necklace around her neck, and Jason and I simultaneously screamed "NO!" but it was too late.

Jean's screaming and crying could be heard from the outside.

"That's so weird," Megan said. "It's like she knew." She hopped on her motorcycle. "Later losers."

Jason and I exchanged glances.

I ran up to Jason, and just went completely crazy on him, throwing punches and kicks to the stomach. "ARE YOU HAPPY NOW, JASON?" I kept asking him. He didn't fight back. Not even a little bit. He didn't even defend himself. "SAY SOMETHING, YOU COWARD!"

Then, Jason spit up blood. "I deserve this," he said. "Beat me more."

I stopped. I was still angry, but I realized something. "You know what? This is a waste of time."

Jean came running outside. "What happened?!" She examined my neck, then she examined Jason's. "Where's the necklace?!"

I couldn't even bare to look at her face. "It's a long story, but there were a lot of guns and now Megan has it."

Jean covered her mouth, her eyes lit with horror. "How could you let this happen?!"

I tried to explain, but before I could she stormed into her house and locked the door, not letting me speak to her.

"I feel like shit," Jason said.

I wanted to say 'you should' or 'this is all your fault' or whatever, but in that moment all I said was," yeah, me too."

The next morning I'd been trying to get into contact with Jean, but she didn't answer any of my messages or calls. I showed up at her house, but her parents told me she already went to school, so I went too so I could look for her, and to see if there was anything I could do to set things right. No sign of her anywhere. Then it was lunch.

"Nick!" Kaylee and Ryan ran up to me. "What the hell?"

"What?"

"Why is Jean hanging out with Megan all of a sudden?" Ryan asked.

"It's complicated . . ."

"What happened?" Kaylee said. "Is Megan black-mailing Jean with her nudes? She did that to me once too."

"Uhh, I guess it was something like that."

"That bitch!"

"Why? What's Megan doing?"

"She's acting like she owns Jean or something. Like I tried to say hi to Jean, and Megan was all like, 'nah, you aren't allowed to talk to your friends, you're my bitch now'. And I think Megan's beating her too. Jean got hella bruises on her face. I think this is revenge because of that time Jean whooped her ass."

"What are you gonna do, Nick?" Ryan asked.

"I don't know what to do, alright? Megan's got Jean's necklace--I mean, nudes. What can I do?"

"I would hack her and just delete them, but I think she���s probably got back ups, huh?"

"Kaylee . . . You were best friends with Megan once, right?" I asked. "What's her weakness?"

Kaylee shrugged. "To be honest, she doesn't reveal her weaknesses to anyone. She's hella good at acting like a good girl, and anytime she does something shady you can't prove it to no one because she covers her tracks."

"How did you beat her the times she blackmailed you?"

"I didn't. I just stayed away from her."

"So how do we save Jean?"

"I don't even know if we can."

"Shit."

"Why don't you try talking to the principal?" Ryan asked.

"That's just gonna make things worse," Kaylee said. "Megan hates snitches."

"I think it's worth trying," I said.

"You need some solid proof if that's whatchu wanna do."

I thought of it. "I don't have any 'solid proof'. It's just going to turn into a game of 'he said, she said', and we all know who's going to win that. I'm just another random troubled kid at school, and Megan is a 'school asset.' It's my word against hers."

"It's our word against hers." Jason got in on our group circle, dropping the jaws of both Kaylee and Ryan.

"What do you want, Jason?" I asked.

"I want to team up. You and I have had our differences, but I think right now we both want the same thing: to end Megan's entire career."

I requested that Ryan and Kaylee leave us alone to talk in private, and they left the circle.

"You're out of your mind if you think we could ever work together after all the things you've done."

"Do you have any better options, genius? Megan may be a star pupil, but so am I, and even if you are basically nothing to the principal, you'd be helping my case. And do I even need to show you the way Megan is treating Jean?" He pulled out his cell phone with a video of Megan publicly humiliating Jean in front of the entire cafeteria without having to make herself look bad. "I'm certain she ordered Jean to embarrass herself."

"What the fuck?" My hands balled into fists. "Why doesn't she just make a wish like a normal person? I'm sure she's the kind of girl that knows exactly what she wants. Why is she dragging it out like this?"

"Keep watching."

Jean went into detail telling the entire cafeteria things to humiliate me.

"I don't understand."

"Let me spell it out for ya. Megan is still pissy about that night where you refused her advances and when Jean knocked her out. This is revenge on the both of you. I'm sure before she makes a wish she wants to get some hardcore revenge on you both before she wishes for money and leaves the school or whatever."

"You think that's what she'll wish for?"

"I don't know. All I know is before she whole genie thing she's been paying at least some time and effort into school, and now she isn't. I think the only reason she's still here is to get back at you."

"So how do you plan on taking her down? Talking to the principal? What's that going to do?"

"I'm thinking the two of us talk to the principal and tell him as much as the story as possible without the magical elements. The bar, the drugs, even the part about the guns. We tell him that Megan is holding that necklace, which is a Wu family heirloom, against Jean, forcing her to do the things in this video, and we show the principal."

"You really think that'll work?"

"Of course not, Nick," Jason's voice wavered. "We'd get in some insane amounts of trouble, and there are holes in our story that don't add up, but this has all got way out of hand, and I would rather take this risk than go on knowing Jean is out there serving a narcissistic maniac. Are you in, or not?"

"It's not like I have much of a choice."

Jason and I shook hands, and reluctantly went to the principal's office together.

"The two of you are stirring up some incredible allegations together," said Mr. Brown after we told him our story.

"It's the truth, sir," said Jason. "And believe me, I wouldn't be sitting here teaming up with Matthews if it weren't true."

"So what do you want me to do? Expel you both? Because from what you've told me that's all I can do with the information you've presented me with."

"How about, investigate?" Jason asked. "Take the necklace back, and give it to Jean's mother or something. Megan's holding it hostage."

"If the necklace wasn't taken on school grounds, it's not the school's responsibility. If Mrs. Wu wants to file a police complaint then she should take it up with the police. Though with everything going on with your story, I would highly recommend you didn't go to the police."

"This is bullshit!" I said. "You want to sit there and act like you care about your students, but you don't. All you care about is the school's reputation. That's it, that's all. All you want to do is act all high and mighty!"

"Get out of my office," Mr. Brown said.

"I've got more to say."

"Honestly Matthews, I'm tired. I'm not in the mood to expel the two of you and create drama after all I've heard today, but I will if you want to press this issue."

Before I can even begin to start telling him off, Jason said," thank you for your time", and pulled me out of the office.

"I had more to say," I said.

"We have to stay focused. There's no sense in getting expelled if we can't get what we want."

"Then what do you suggest we do next?"

"We wait."

"Wait for what? I'm not standing around here doing nothing while Jean is--"

"Well you got no choice, alright? When you stole Jean from me, did you see me busting down your door demanding you to give her back? No, I messed with your head a bit and stalled until I had a plan. And you know what? It would have worked too if Megan hadn't gotten in the way. Don't go running around without plans, Nick. It won't end well."

"I don't see how any of this could end well."

"If we just work together--"

"I don't want to work with you. You've done enough, Jason." And with that, I walked away.

I went to the cafeteria and sat with Kaylee and Ryan.

"So what happened?" Ryan asked.

"We went to the principal with our story, and to simplify things, he basically said he doesn't care enough about this matter to look into it and that we shouldn't go to the police with our story because then we might get arrested."

"Damn," Kaylee said. "So what are y'all gonna do?"

"I have no idea. Jason wants to sit around and wait. I don't know what I can do."

Eventually, the topic of conversation shifted and Ryan and Kaylee were off in their own little world. Meanwhile I was the third wheel. The outsider. Usually the conversation would split off into pairs, but I didn't have that right now. The only thing I had was the constant ringing of my thoughts. This is all my fault I told myself. If only I had just set her free immediately instead of being so selfish. If only I knew what Jason was planning that night. If only things had been just a little different. I wish I would've done things differently. I didn't have the luxury of wishing anymore though. It felt odd that I ever did.

At the end of the day, I sat next to Jean in history class. I forgot about that. I tried to speak to her, but she wouldn't look at me. I tried to touch her, but she pulled away from me. Kaylee's words were true. Megan was preventing her from communicating with us.

"Jean," I whispered. "I know you can't talk to me, but I want you to listen. I swear, I'm going to get you out of this. I'm going to fix this if it's the last thing I ever do. I promise."

She said nothing.

"I wish there was a way you could respond to me somehow. Can't you say anything? Can't you send me some kind of sign or signal to tell me what's going on?"

"I'd like to answer the question," Jean said to the teacher.

I was too preoccupied thinking about Jean that I hadn't even realized a question was being asked.

"Go ahead," the teacher said.

Jean went to the front of the class. "When some slave-owners in the North realized that owning slaves would soon be illegal, they moved to the South,��� she said, emphasis on the word 'move'.

"Okay . . . That's hardly relevant, Jean," the teacher said.

Jean went back to her seat.

"Wait, is that it?" I asked. "Megan's about to make a wish, and then you're going to move away!"

Jean said nothing still.

"I'm going to fix this. I swear because . . ." I guess this was as good a time as any to say it. "I love you, Jean."

Her face became red, and she cried on the spot.