Chapter 249: Farewell

"So this is it" I said, smiling at Scarlett and holding her hand.

"It was a nice two months" she replied.

"Nice??!" I gasped, offended. "You spent two months with the incredible me!!" I pointed at myself for emphasis

She bit my lips then kissed me deeply.

Catching my pensive look after the kiss, Scarlett asked, "What’s on your mind, Jake?"

"A sitcom moment" I teased. "You want me to tell you to stay, but if I do, you’ll refuse because the choice isn’t mine."

Mosby moments...

She raised an eyebrow 

"And would you ask me to stay?" Scarlett looked into my eyes

"You already know" I answered.

"Say it" she whispered gently.

"No" I murmured softly. "Would you have stayed if I had asked?"

"You know the answer" she repeated my reply

I nodded slowly.

"You’re soaring too high for me, I can’t see a serious relationship working right now" she admitted softly, "but I’ll catch you up" Scarlett added with determination.

"Don’t take forever, or I might already be taken" I joked.

"I just need to snatch you back," she smirked.

"Ayo, you bad girl!" I laughed and pulled her into more kisses.

After a long while making out, I pouted. "How about staying one more week?" I suggested.

She chuckled and stepped back. "Take care, Jake."

"You too, Lettie"

---

I was returning from the airport. When I entered my house in Santa Monica, my friends were gathered.

“We bought nuggets,” Regina announced. “Milkshakes,” Cher added. 

“Plenty of meat snacks,” this time it was Carly. 

“And sandwiches,” Freddie concluded.

“Wow, guys...” I said, a little surprised. After moving closer to them, I turned to Sam. “Why are you already eating?”

Sam took another bite of the chicken and put it back into what looked like a bucket of fried chicken and bacon. “What? I thought it was a party.”

“And where is your tribute, Paige?” I looked at her, noticing she wasn’t holding anything.

“I will give you a lap pillow,” she joked, patting her legs.

“Who wants to rest on those stick legs?” I teased.

She tried to attack me, but I restrained her by putting both her hands behind her back.

“Girls, Freddie, I’m fine, but thank you,” I said sincerely.

Then I added with a grin, “A sandwich might be what I need, thanks Freddie. No wonder you’re my best friend.”

Cher and Regina snorted, while the rest didn’t really get it.

I let go of Paige and we went to eat.

Cher leaned closer and murmured, “Should we try to contact the Olsen twins?” She grinned.

I flicked her forehead. “I was joking. In the next...” I paused for a moment, “...weeks, I’ll focus on my music and a few other things.”

“Ahh, in three weeks it will be the filming of Avril Lavigne’s video, Complicated,” Freddie mentioned. He would be the one shooting it.

“Avril Lavigne...” I muttered. “You’re not making things easier,” I said, glancing upward, not really speaking to anyone directly.

“Woow, I love that song,” Cara remarked.

"Complicated could reach #1 on the Billboard if it didn’t have to compete with that freak" Regina smirked at me

"Lean On is impossible to beat" Cher remarked. "Marshmello with Britney and Shakira, that’s an unfair combination."

"But Mi Gente is ahead in several Latin countries and some European nations" I pondered

"But back to the filming" Freddie resumed, "are we going to shoot in 1080i and then convert to 480i like in all your previous videos?"

"Yep" I agreed. The oddity is normal. Basically no singer makes clips in 1080i (because it’s much more expensive. Besides, the normal format is 480i, so you still have to pay for the conversion).

Nowadays, only Britney and I (and some from JDS, under my orders).

"Jake just wants to see the clip in his private cinema" Paige revealed

"Hey, it looks much better. In 480i, the clips look horrible on the big screen" I retorted

Only in a few years will people realize the scale of this. While many artists will have pixelated, boxy-format videos, Me, Britney, and a few others I choose will have them in FullHD, not even looking dated. 

---

The next day, I was walking Loki on Malibu beach (now that Loki is a little bigger, I sometimes bring him with me to Malibu).

"Come over here, Loki," I called, watching him dash toward a girl.

"Oh, hey Miley," I greeted when I saw it was her.

"Hi Jake," she replied a little strained. 

"Huh, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you’re not that happy to see me," I said, putting my hand on my heart. "The awesome me."

She rolled her eyes and laughed while hugging Loki. "You know, in the past I might have gotten a little annoyed by you, but you’re a nice guy,"

Then she murmured from the corner of her mouth, "even if your taste isn’t that great." Probably thinking about how I don’t like Hannah

"Okay..."

And she continued, "It was just your name. I broke up with another Jake."

"Wow, you could make a team with Scarlett," I lightly joked as I sat down next to her.

"You broke up too?"

"Yes and no. We already knew from the beginning it was a relationship with an expiration date (at least for now).

She moved to Europe for a new film," I revealed.

"How come you’re so calm about it?" She looked at me. "For me, I thought Jake was the one."

I burst out laughing—I couldn’t hold it in.

She gritted her teeth, "If this cute dog weren’t in my arms, I would hit you."

"I’m sorry, Miley," I apologized between laughs. "Girl, you’re 15. There will be plenty more 'the ones' in your life."

"You never thought that about Scarlett? you two made a cute couple," she turned to me

I shook my head. "I don’t think that far ahead. Maybe in five years I could answer better." 

But Scarlett would be an incredible one.