why dont you break my heart|janae

[caden oliver hadley]

Cade walked down the streets of the town plaza, his guitar case bumping against his back, ear buds in his ears blaring music. The boy used his ear buds as a way to block other people out; if he looked pissed off and occupied, no one would bother trying to talk to him. All Cade wanted to do was find a quiet place to play his guitar. He had been staying at an apartment place until he could find a more permanent place to live. He didn't plan on staying in Daeland. The small town thing didn't work for him. Everyone knows everyone and find it offensive if you try to ignore them. Really, he was heading for one of the bigger cities further south, where he could just be another stranger in a crowd. As soon as he had enough money, Cade was out of here. Of course, he had been saying that for a year now.

Cade glanced around. He must've walked into one of the less populated spots of town. There weren't many people around and the ones who were didn't seem to be in the talking mood. Perfect. The young man scouted for a bench, finding one a few feet away. He opened his guitar case and slid his hand over the worn wood of the body. He took his headphones out to be able to hear his playing better and began to strum a few chords. He started to play a few notes slowly, and then repeated, speeding up every time until it turned into a song.

[bree eleanore gisbourne]

I walked with my arms crossed over my torso, my designer flats scuffing against the pavement while I hurried on. Even on a nice day like this, I had the white hood of my flowing, open sweater drawn gingerly over my head, my long brown curls tumbling from the safety of the fabric and around my shoulders and chest. I had decided to wear one of my less conspicuous outfits today; a simple, cute little white sundress with a feather-thin sweater to match and little white slipper flats. Nothing special. Nothing noticeable. I mean, if I would never be caught dead wearing something so simple to school or to a party or anywhere where anyone would recognize me would be. No way. That would ruin my hot and sexy panther-like reputation. But here? Well, I liked to get out sometimes without having to live up to any expectations I had set for myself. On nice, sunny afternoons like this, I enjoyed walking around and seeing the little back-street shops and corner stores and street performers and odd people who enjoyed walks like me. All I had to do was make sure to hide my face and make sure no one knew who I was, because if they did, word would surely get around that Bree Gisbourne wasn't all she was cracked up to be.

I soon reached the town plaza and took in the sights around me. There were some families who were playing with their children, and I saw one in particular. There was a lovely mother, a handsome father, a ten-year-old boy, and a little, little girl. THe little boy was playing with the giggling baby while the mother and father looked on, holding hands, and smiling. I felt a hallow ache in my chest and I smiled grimly. I remember when my family had been that way. Then it happened. I sighed and turned away, refusing to think about that and went on my way. Then something reached my ears. It was sweet and natural, so... raw, but smooth and lovely.

I smiled and turned towards the sound only to spot a guy sitting near the end of the plaza, a bit hidden, his hands strumming a guitar. I watched him for a bit as he tested the sounds, until he started to feel sure of the noise he was making. He then began to strum faster. More confidently until soon, he was making a song. I felt a feeling of peace settle over me, studying the contours of his face, his shiny hair, his lovely eyes with long eye lashes, and listened to the sweet music. This was the sort of thing I loved to find when i went on my secret little outings. Deciding I wanted a little more, I came closer, walking confidently until I was about three feet in front of him. Then hesitated. What if he was from school? Would he attack her there? No way. No one like him would dare make a move like that. I decided. I could take him anyways. I smiled. "It's beautiful." I said softly. "The music. You play wonderfully."

[/size]

[caden oliver hadley]

Cade had slowly slipped into a song without realizing it. He wasn't entirely sure what it was, but it had gotten stuck in his head and the muscles in his fingers had it memorized. He paused, glancing up at a family of four, watching them for a few seconds. Families liked that made him depressed; it was everything he always wished for but never had. Cade shook the thought from her head and turned his attention back to the music. His fingers flew up and down the neck of the guitar, barely pausing in one place unless it was necessary. In a matter of seconds, he was engrossed in the music.

Sometimes it was like he could see the notes in his mind, watching as they slid across a staff. He barely noticed the sun beating down on him, making him sweat slightly under his leather jacket. All that mattered was the music. Cade taped his Converse in beat to the music and let his eyes slip shut.

Suddenly, almost as soon as his peace had come, it was gone. His fingers abruptly stopped racing along the guitar. Cade opened his eyes to see that some girl was looking at her. He glanced up at her, his gray-green eyes making contact with hers for half a second before he looked back at his guitar, letting a bitter smirk reach his lips before it disappeared. He didn't even bother saying anything, but went back to playing his guitar, hoping she'd realize she was dismissed.

It wasn't that Cade knew her at all, but he knew her type. He didn't know much about clothes, but by the look of it, her's were expensive. She was probably one of those rich girls who were used to getting anything and everything she wanted. He had met enough girls like that every time he switched schools. Now that he was out of high school and all that petty drama, he didn't even want to bother with it anymore.

[bree eleanore gisbourne]

My eyes narrowed when he didn't answer, simply giving me some kind of smug smirk. Did he just...? He just dismissed me? Oh no damn way. No one dismissed Bree Gisbourne like some kind of slave dog. I recalled the way I used to be, back in junior high in Beverly Hills, when I let that Bailey Howard do whatever the hell she wanted to me. Then eighth grade rolled around and stomped her out like a used-up cigarette ass in the dirt. Ever since, I've be the ruler wherever I went. No one ever told me what to do. Not even my parents. I mean sure, I wasn't stupid. It's not like I did drugs or ever passed out drunk. It's not like I had sex with every guy that crossed my path, even though everyone seemed to think so. I was smart. I was sensible. And I was the boss.

So, I stood my ground. I didn't move. I simply stayed, watching this beautiful boy play. He was clearly a few years older than I was. Maybe he just graduated or something? Haven't see him around school. I mused. And I knew everyone, so that was saying something. He must not go to Daeland High, then. That is, if he is even in high school. I wondered what kind of talk would go around school if I ever got with a college student. All the girls would be so jealous. I half smirked to myself while I watched him, remembering how he didn't even speak to me after I complimented him. So maybe it wouldn't be him, but I decided to make it my goal to have a college guy in my clutches by the end of this summer to start off senior year with a bang.

I continued to listen to this song he was playing. It wasn't anything I'd ever heard, so maybe he wrote it? As I continued to watch him, I recognized the look on his face. Like he was lost, but not in the bad way. Lost in a land of creation and thought. One where you're in charge of everything and there's nothing that could go wrong. Everything is right. It's the same feeling I got whenever I played the piano, making up everything on the spot. The corners of my mouth curled into a small smile while I watched him play his music, feeling a small connection to the feeling of playing an instrument. Creating a sound so beautiful and so wonderful, and knowing that it's you that made all this come to be. Without even realizing it, my fingers gently moved at my sides as if I were playing a piano.

[/size]

[caden oliver hadley]

The girl was still standing there. What the hell did she want from him? Normally, if Cade ignored a girl like he just did, she would take it as a major blow to her ego and walk off in a huff, getting her friends to comfort her and tell her that he wasn’t worth the time. And really, that was the best thing for them. It wasn’t anything personal towards the girl herself; it was just Cade’s way of protecting them. They had no idea what sort of person he was. A loser, a reject his own mother didn’t want. A kid no other family ever loved enough to call their own. And really, Cade couldn’t blame them; he thought he was a monster.

So when this girl didn’t leave, he was really caught off guard. Why didn’t she just leave like every other person? Cade tried to ignore her by playing louder, his fingers moving faster. Maybe she thought he’d crack and apologize for being rude. He wouldn’t give that to her though. Finally, he began to get nervous. It was one thing to sit and play his guitar with people around him to hear it, but it was a completely different thing to have an audience with their attention directed straight at him. So Cade’s fingers gradually slowed until they stopped all together. He flicked his dark hair out of his gray-green eyes and glanced up at the girl, trying to get a better look at her. He wasn’t checking her out at all; he was trying to figure out what her issue was and maybe know why she was still standing there. The girl was pretty. Cade would admit that much. And she looked stubborn. With stubbornness like that, she was probably used to getting want she wanted, not being blown off.

Then he glanced at her hands. He saw that she was moving her fingers in even, graceful movements, like she was playing an instrument. ‘Piano,’ Cade guessed, not being able to think of another instrument that had the same hand movements. Cade had started to learn how to play piano in his first foster home, but he never really got past the song ‘Old MacDonald’ in his lessons. He used to love to listen to his foster mom play though, watching her fingers fly across the keys without making a mistake. That, however, had been before the accident. After that, Cade never tried to continue his lessons. He would ask this girl if she played piano, but then he would show interest and if he ever wanted her to leave, that wouldn’t be a good thing.

Instead, Cade kept his face carefully blank, a trick he had almost perfected while in the orphanage. It was important to show that, no matter how many homes didn’t accept you, you were never bothered by it. The kids who did show that were picked on mercilessly. And the more you pretended it didn’t bother you, the easier it got to act like it didn’t even matter. He raised his face to look at the girl head on, locking eyes with her. “What the hell is your problem?” he asked, trying to sound indifferent with a hint of anger behind it. If ignoring her didn’t work, maybe pissing her off would.

[bree eleanore gisbourne]

I smirked, easily slipping into the roll of nonchalant and not really caring about what he said. I've had much, much worse said to me. My eyes glinted with a defiant fire in them, standing my ground and unflinching under his clearly angry gaze. I had to admit, it did hurt a bit that he didn't want to accept my compliments, and I hardly ever gave compliments. Ever. I held my head high, gliding smoothly into the Bree from school, proud and right. I mean really? He thought I had the problem here? It took everything to force myself not to laugh out loud at what he said. He was the one who was flipping shit 'cause I calmly complimented him and then stood to listen to his beautiful music.

"Right back at ya hot shot." I said simply, batting my eyes in mock innocence. I considered him for a moment, taking in his dark, luscious eyes. They had an angry look to him, but I could almost imagine what they would be like if he weren't angry. If perhaps he was feeling happy. Or compassionate. I could almost see that warmth in his eyes, but the longer I looked into that angry, almost un-caring gaze, the more that comforting image faded from my mind, taken over by this cold, chilling stare. I quickly shoved away how much it bothered me, though, refusing to let him see me weak. I was not weak. I was Bree Eleanore Gisbourne, heiress to a massive fortune that would put the queen of England to shame. I was the daughter of an ex male-model and a beautiful lawyer, getting the best of the genes in the family. Far better than my older sister who decided to run off and be an artist. A shame. No, I was the best of the best. And just one, beautiful boy was not going to shake my solid ground.

I chuckled a bit. "I don't think I'm the one with the problem." I said smoothly, being careful not to let the malice in my voice. I couldn't help the little hint of bitterness, though. "Remind me again who the one is that gave the compliment and who the one is that's being a total jerk?" I stared down at him, feeling fully confident. After all, I as right. I hadn't done a single thing wrong. I mean usually, people had a right to be pissed at me (not like I let them though), but this guy, no matter how hot or perfect he looked, had no right to be angry at me. I recalled the first time someone at gotten angry at me for something I did. Alisha Garlend. She called me a bitch once, so I told everyone about how her mother cleans toilets for a living. My family's toilets. It ruined her reputation completely, made her hate me, but she never dared wrong me again. I had been so proud of myself. She was never even a nice girl. She was always saying how her mom spend her days with the stars in mansions. Well she wasn't lying, just not telling the whole truth. I did that for her.

So yeah. No one can really touch me.

[/size]

[caden oliver hadley]

Cade stared at this girl, not sure what to make of her. So much confidence was oozing out of her, feeling like thick waves. He might have been amused, if he wasn’t as nervous as hell. See, Cade really had no idea what to do in a situation like this. Usually, people stopped bothering if he looked pissed because they just didn’t want to deal with him. But no one had ever really stood up to him. And as much as Cade pretended to be a “tough guy”, he was really a sweetheart underneath. He could only hold onto that façade for so long before it disappeared. Fortunately, he never got to that point. But now? He was being pushed to his limits. Cade even felt his mask slip a little, losing his blank composure. Soon, he’d be trying to apologize for being a jerk.

Because he really hated being one. He hated hurting people’s feelings and he hated having people dislike him. But it was for the best. The best for him, the best for this girl, the best for anyone he ever met. Because no one would benefit from actually getting to know him. Besides, Cade wasn’t going to stay in this small town anymore. There was no way he could. People were going to start recognizing him, and in a small town like this would push to make him open up. He had to get out. He needed someplace to hide, to melt into the background. He had to get out, and it would start right now. He couldn’t stay here, feel a connection, get attached. Because sooner or later, everything would blow up in his face. It always has, and it always will. The most Cade could do was to try to avoid every possible situation.

With these thoughts churning in his mind, Cade’s resolution to continue acting hardened. He buried his feelings of regret and felt his face steel over again. Trying to ignore the girl? Disaster. And confrontation? Got thrown back at him. ‘Time to try a new approach,’ he thought. Cade carefully laid his guitar back in its case, being as careful as a mother would be with a child. He closed the case just as gently and stood up, swinging the case back over his shoulders. He shoved his hands in his pockets and realized with some satisfaction that he was a slight bit taller than the girl. He could hear that the girl was offended because he didn’t accept her compliment. He figured that her self-righteous personality wasn’t just going to take that either. Maybe he could try to use that as a weakness against her, a downfall.

“You really think you’re something, don’t you?” Cade asked, trying to make disgust lace his words. He knew it wasn’t as convincing as he could make it, but hopefully this girl wouldn’t realize it. He hoped she would just get upset over what he was saying now and was going to say so she’d be distracted and think irrationally. Let her feelings take over instead of her logical mind. “Am I supposed to bow down and thank you from my knees because you gave me a compliment? Or would that still not be enough? Should I kiss your feet too?”

Cade started to walk away, but stopped to look at the girl. He wanted to drive his comments home, to make them stick so she wouldn’t try to approach him again. “I can’t stand people like you. People who believe that they’re better than everyone else because you're beautiful, and by the looks of you, rich. News flash, Princess. You’re not.”

With that, Cade turned away again, shoving his headphones back into his ears. He was ashamed with himself, ashamed for saying those things. It would be one thing if she deserved it, but she didn’t. All she did was try to give him a compliment. He really was overreacting. But Cade was acting out of pure desperation now. He really didn’t think he could handle this situation in any other way, and he needed to get out of it now. She had to realize this. Cade would beat himself up later for this, but not here, not now, and not in front of strangers.