Chapter Text
their beginnings
The first time they met was unlike any other. Because while Beck Oliver seemed like a boy who was out of this world, Jade West was a girl who settled for anything but normal.
It happened during their freshman year in Hollywood Arts, barely a few days since classes began. Both individuals, respectively earned their spot in the popularity ladder. Jade West being known as the infamous scissor-loving mean girl, who also happened to be one of the few students who passed the Bird Scene on their first try. Beck Oliver, on the other hand, being the stereotypical pretty boy, the aspiring actor who seemed like a prince charming cut out from a picture book.
Contrary to popular belief, they were a lot more similar than what meets the eye. Afterall, while the raven-haired boy had always been sought as the epitome of perfection, the azure-eyed maiden had become an embodiment of fear. And while, they easily caught people’s attention, it was hard to tell what people saw in them. Whether it was the caricature of themselves or whether it was the talent, the truth, and everything else that they hid underneath.
And although Jade West never really gave a shit about everyone else, Beck Oliver had often been the center of attention. That's why, to his surprise, when he meets the girl for the very first time, she was glaring daggers at him as if one look can bury him six feet underground. The boy finds himself dumbfounded, as he takes a moment to recall what had just happened a few seconds back.
He was vaguely able to remember how the bell rang; how he walked out of the classroom, barely able to open the can of lukewarm lemonade he bought prior to class; how he was flocked by both boys and girls before he even realized it; how he bumped into none other than Jade West; and finally, how he manage to drench the girl with the can of lemonade he was holding.
"Crap. I'm sorry" he immediately apologizes, thankful that the people who had been crowding him were at least able to realize that they were in need of space; or rather how everyone seemed to run away at the sight of her.
"You're sorry?" she repeats his words, with a voice laced in sarcasm. "Well, 'sorry' won’t dry my clothes, now will it?"
He was taken a back for once, having never received blatant animosity from anyone, much less a girl. He was Beck Oliver, after all; the object of many people's fantasies, a boy who's path other people worshiped. And not that he was so full of himself, but he had grown up coddled by his parents who had turned so overbearing and strict, he grew up with so many friends and people who was so fond of him.
"Uh..." he attempts to find the right words to tell her, "I really am sorry."
"If you'd like, I have my gym kit in my locker and some spare—" Beck was about to suggest until he finds himself drenched in coffee. It didn't take a genius to put two and two together, the empty cup in the brunette girl's hand seemed to have given more than enough answers.
And without another word, she walks away from him, her pride held high as he catches a glimpse of her long brown hair, clipped in a half up-do.
"Dude, what happened?" Andre Harris enters the scene late, oblivious to what just occurred. He simply finds the boy whom he had befriended on the first day of school, with his oh-so-perfect hair, drenched in what used to be iced coffee.
"Jade West," Beck answers and that seems to be enough of an explanation, because Andre immediately buys it.
"Damn, bro" he looks at his friend as Beck opens his transparent locker in search of his clean towel. "I'm glad you're still alive."
"She can't be that bad" the other boy attempts to reason out, knowing there should be more to her than the rumors say.
"Beck, people either faint, cry or pee their pants when they try to talk to her" Andre looks at him as if he were a crazy person. "You're seriously telling me you're not afraid of her after she just drenched you in coffee?"
"It's iced coffee" he says as if it were better, "and no, I'm not afraid of the Jade West."
In fact, he even found her interesting.
After all, for once in his life Beck Oliver had never earned any antagonism from anyone, much less a girl he had just met. For once in his life he never found anyone like her, and at one point he even wondered if she was kidding around to purposely catch his attention. Because for once in his boring ordinary life, he had never met a girl as extraordinary as her.
And right then Andre Harris could've sworn he was scared for his friend,
"You're crazy."
And Beck couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle.
The first time they starred in a play, Jade West came to terms with the boy's talent for acting. And as aggravated as she was the first time they met, she had to admit that he was actually pretty good. Although, she swore she would never say that to his face.
"I can't believe I have to act with Beck-I'm-so-hot-and-perfect-Oliver" she groans in annoyance, beside the quirky redhead, Cat Valentine, who despite having been obnoxious and weird at times, had invaded enough of her personal life until they had turned friends.
"What's so wrong with Beck? He seems like he knows his stuff, doesn't he?" Cat wonders, unable to determine the reason why her best friend seemed to hate someone so much for no specific reason.
"Exactly" Jade snaps, her voice laced with venom, "He's good at his stuff, but he's all humble about it and he's actually trying to improve! That's what makes it so damn annoying."
"But Jadey, you do those things too" the redhead objects, getting a lot more confused as the minute passes.
"Not the point, Cat" her blue eyes flare with irritation, "He has to be hiding something."
"Why?" the innocent girl fidgets, playing with her hands as she strays from the topic, "One time, my brother—"
"Because no one can be that hot and that perfect!"
"Why, thank you" the raven-haired boy interrupts their conversation, and Jade almost pulls him by the collar.
"Eaves-dropping, aren't we, Oliver?" she smiles menacingly, "Not a very gentlemanly hobby."
"Look, I just don't get why you hate me so much." Beck raised his hand in defense, "Is this still about the lemonade? I said I was sorry."
"I don't trust you. So, if you think, I'm going to be one of those girls who'll worship the ground you walk on. Then you're dead wrong. So, scurry off before I cut you up with my new pair of scissors." Jade glares, immediately grabbing her weapon from the pocket of her bag.
"Whoa, easy there" he lowers the sharp tip away from him. "I didn't say you're anything like those girls."
"Pfft, so what? Now that I'm hard to get, you're trying to get my attention? Or are you trying to please me like you do everybody else?" the girl scoffs, followed by an eyeroll, as Cat zips her mouth, knowing that there is no one in the whole universe that could fight against Jade West.
Beck Oliver may possibly be the only exception.
Damn, she really isn't easy, was the first thought that enter his mind, because somehow, she was a tad bit right. One, being he was interested in her and two, being he is trying to woo her over.
"Alright, come with me," he attempts to hold her by the wrist only to be snapped at.
"Never touch me," she hisses, but follows him, nonetheless, allowing Cat to run free.
They stop once he's in front of his locker. But she doesn't see the point of moving all the way there to the other side of the hall.
"What?" Jade snaps at him.
"See? It's clear," the boy ignores the irritation evident in her voice as he knocks on the plastic, as if to prove a point, "I got no secrets just like my locker."
"Well, clearly, that's a lie" she refuses to agree. "And I'm going to expose you."
"Okay" he shrugs casually, despite knowing that there was a tad bit of truth in her words.
"Oh, maybe I do have one ulterior motive" Beck admits before Jade is able to turn back and leave. "Can I take you out for some coffee?"
"Smooth, Oliver" she couldn't stop the urge to roll her eyes at him.
"Is that a yes?"
"No"
And with that he finds himself in a constant exchange of asking her out and getting rejected.
The first time he decided to eat lunch with her, she kicked him from under the table as soon as he sat down. Beck Oliver was popular, it wasn’t even a secret. Girls fawned over him and even some boys follow him around. People always approached him from any corner, although, honestly, he had to admit, he enjoyed his personal time a lot more.
Thus, when he sits in Jade West's table in the Asphalt Cafe, people dispersed as if he took a step into the underworld.
"Go away," the brunette finally speaks after some time, wondering if the boy in front her would take a hint for once.
"Nah" he brushes her off, as if she wouldn't threaten him in a heartbeat.
He was a first, she thinks. The first person who could aggravate her this much. The first who couldn't take 'no'for an answer. The first person who challenged her.
"Why can't you be like other people?" she lets out at exasperated sigh before asking.
"What? Those who quiver at the sight of you?" Beck asks her, as if his brown eyes saw right through her.
Right.
Jade West was downright terrifying, the same way people made her seem, the same way she made others believe she was. Barely a few weeks in school, she already intimidated others with her presence, be it her multiple talents or the way she presented herself as an untamable shrew.
The azure-eyed girl was a personification of fear because she liked it that way. Because if people were scared of her, no one would come closer. No one would enter her life without warning. No one would leave her. No one can hurt her.
Because deep down, she wasn't as brave or strong as she appeared to be. She was as fragile as anyone else, and she would never let anyone know that.
"That's the way I like it," Jade insisted, before feasting on her burrito.
He shrugs, "Well, I don't get scared."
Everyone has a fear of something. Either he's just too prideful to admit it or he doesn't know.
"That's a lie" she calls him out immediately, refusing to buy his claim.
The boy, nevertheless, looks unfazed as he tells her, "I told you, I don't lie."
"That's another lie" she calls another bluff. "Two in one day, wow, Oliver."
"Why do you even want people to be scared of you?"
"Because I don't like people"
"To some extent, I don't too."
"What?" Jade looks at him, dumbfounded.
Beck Oliver, Mr. Popular, the pretty boy, the aspiring actor loved by all?
Jade couldn't find the exact words she was finding, but it was certainly hard to believe. After all, if he wasn't always fond of people why didn't he just tell them off? Why was it so hard to say no? He didn't exactly seem like a pushover, but was he?
"I just want some quiet time sometimes, you know?" He looks at her as if he knew she understood him. "And with everyone awfully fond of you, it's pretty hard to say no."
Beck Oliver was a people pleaser, she could tell. He was too nice; too perfect. And it irked her to no end. For someone who always openly expressed her dislike for everything, she couldn't fathom what goes in the mind of someone who was nearly the exact opposite of her.
"If you want them gone, then say so," Jade rolls her eyes at him. "Now leave before—"
"You stab me with your scissors? I know you a little bit better now, Jade West" he continues for her, with smug grin. And she swore she hates him.
She hates how he keeps asking her out for coffee. How he was trying so hard to get close to her. How he was able to predict her.
Jade West hates surprises but she also hated it when she seemed predictable; when people act like they know her.
"I was going to say I'll cut you up" she corrected him.
"Whether you like it or not, we'll be stuck together for the play. You can’t get rid of me just yet" he reminds her of the next four agonizing hours they'll spend rehearsing together.
"Obviously"
"I'm glad you’re my partner"
"I'm not"
"Why? Scared I might outshine you?" he teases, and the girl almost throws her burrito at him.
She narrows her eyes at him, "You're asking for it, Oliver."
"I'm kidding." he raises his hands up defensively, a habit he often did around her, "I just wanted to ask for a favor"
"What?" she snaps, quirking up an eyebrow.
"I've been thinking of rehearsing our parts together. I wanted to make sure everything's perfect. It's our first time being the leads, and all."
He immediately had her at rehearsal.
After all, she worked so hard to get her spot, and if anything, Jade West didn't do half-assed. Because she treasured her passion more than anything, she always gave her all for her craft. And after all the snide remarks she gained from her parents about going to an art school, she knew she had to prove them otherwise.
And so, in the span of a month, despite having her reject him for a total of 21 times to grab coffee together, for the very first time, she agrees to his offer to spend time together after school.
"Fine. Your place at 6." she agrees almost immediately, sounding more eager than before, as she warns him, "I'll meet you at your locker. Don't make me wait."
"And then coffee right after?" Beck tries to push his luck, knowing how much the girl loves her coffee.
But nevertheless, fails.
"Don't push it."
The first time they kissed wasn't exactly caused by anything romantic. It was simple, really. They were the lead roles of the biggest play of the first semester, despite the fact that they were only freshmen. The Hollywood Arts yearly tradition was a Shakespearean play directed by the seniors, the second most important production prior to the final senior production.
It was nearing two months since they began rehearsals, and things were getting serious soon. Jade West knows how important this was for her, and in the same way Beck Oliver gave it his all. He wasn't lying when he said acting was his passion, because what they did, they both did it seriously.
So, when their upperclassman and director tells them they'll change up the kiss scenes, there was no room for complaints.
"Cut!" the twelfth grade director shouts as he looks down on his copy of the script, before giving out remarks. "It's too stiff. Clearly fake"
"I know you kids are freshmen and this is your first big production. Normally, we adjust for the rookies, but it needs to be perfect. So, we need you to do an actual kiss. A stage kiss" he turns to the couple on stage, waiting for a response.
"Got it" Beck and Jade answer simultaneously, and although he expected more complaints, he was equally surprised they didn't have any. After all, the last thing everyone knew, Jade West hated Beck Oliver's guts, and he never relented.
"Really?"
"Let's get it over with," she shrugs, keeping a calm facade on her face despite how she was internally screaming in fury.
"Okay! Take 9. Act 1 Scene 5" the director calls, and everyone returns to their positions.
They reenact the scene without their scripts, having been rehearsing both inside and outside rehearsals. Jade takes one step forward according to her part, looking at Beck in the eye.
She doesn't break eye contact, quirking her eyebrow as she recites Juliet’s line, "Saints don't move, even when they grant prayers."
"Then don't move while I act out my prayer," Beck responds as Romeo, his hand lifts her chin as another hand finds its way on her waist. He leans in as she keeps still. His lips meet hers and Jade could've sworn she felt butterflies in her stomach. She hated it.
"Now my sin has been taken from my lips by yours" the boy continues and lets out a small smile.
"Then do my lips now have the sin they took from yours?" the azure-eyed maiden returns the smile almost teasingly, as she maintains character.
"Sin from my lips? You encourage crime with your sweetness" His face inches closer towards her again, "Give me my sin back."
And they kiss once again, though she returns the kiss, with her hand on his neck. And at that moment they both could've sworn something hit them both. Though, Jade West would never admit that, and somehow Beck Oliver doesn’t either.
"Scene!" their senior calls and the couple on stage immediately pull apart, avoiding eye contact. "That was perfect guys! Keep it up."
The first time he actually witnesses her jealousy, she grabs him by the collar as some sophomore girl follows him around. It had been weeks since the showing, and without the ability to use rehearsal as an excuse to spend time with Jade, the most he could do was ask her out for coffee. But with no surprise, she had always turned down his advances.
While she found it easy though, when it came to Beck Oliver, he always had a hard time turning down other people's invites. And the manner in which he always failed to tell others 'no', couldn't help but piss her off as much as she hated it when he didn’t settle for 'no'.
And at that exact moment, he was at a lost for words.
"Meet me after school. Jet brew" she pulls him away from the girl, who was throwing herself at him, and almost immediately he gives Jade a smile. A part of him wonders if she was the same Jade West he'd been trying to woo over for the past months.
"What?" Jade snaps as she quirks an eyebrow, and he could definitely tell that this was the girl who caught his attention the first time he met her.
"Nothing" he tried to sound as casual as he usually did, despite the smile that formed on his lips "You just stole the words right out of my mouth."
She hates his smile. It makes butterflies flutter in her stomach, and she hated that feeling more than anything else. But for once she lets it pass.
"Told you, you don't know me" she smirks, believing she has the upper hand.
"Well then, I'd like to know you more" he counters, and immediately, the scowl on her face returns.
"Don't make me wait!" she warns him before walking away for her next class, and likewise he responds.
"I know!"
That afternoon, with free period being her last class, the brunette arrived an hour earlier than the boy would. And although she did tell him not to make her wait, having left out the last detail, she wasn't honestly expecting him to do so. But she didn't mind, she liked being left alone with her thoughts in a bustling cafe.
She'd preferred that over her own home. The home she grew up in, with vivid memory of her parents' constant arguments. The home that split apart as the years passed. She'd prefer the busy cafe accented by the aroma of coffee, over the empty house that awaited her or the other house that she didn't have a place for.
She wasn't fond of people, but nevertheless, sometimes, blending into the crowd was the best hiding place. And as she basks in the comfort of coffee and the background noise, she grabs her black leather notebook, and scribbles down her thoughts into a song, like she always did.
And though, at first glance, she didn't seem like the type to immerse herself in a journal, before everything else, Jade West was an artist. She wrote stories with ink and embodied her thoughts into songs. Although she was known as a performer, before everything else she wrote before she sung, she came up with ideas before she acted for roles. It was the part of her that people failed to acknowledge.
Thus, when Beck Oliver arrives, he wonders what it was that she was so busy working on that she failed to notice how he was standing right behind her. And as he hears the sound of a hum escape her lips, as he glanced down on the lyrics written on her journal, he could've sworn that at that moment, he realized he liked her more than he thought he did.
It was a different side to the snarky Jade West he was accustomed to. She still put her guard up around him, but the girl sitting in front of him was softer than the image she put up. And his friends would probably call him crazy but a part of him knew he wouldn't have seen this side of her if he hadn't persisted in getting to know her.
It was one of those moments that he didn't regret having accidentally poured lemonade on her or having been drenched in coffee when they first met.
And so, he catches her attention, to let her know that he was there, as he spoke up from behind her.
"Hey."
The first time he sees her go on rampage, had nothing to do with Beck Oliver. It wasn't due to her bouts of jealousy, or even about being rejected for a role she deserved. And as unreasonable as Jade West seemed to be, she always had her reasons. It was something he realized having gone on a number of coffee dates that almost spanned for half a year.
They weren't exactly official, but they've gone on more than enough dates despite her reluctance, and eventually it was easy for people to tell that there was something between them. After all, it wasn't easy asking her out for coffee, but it hadn't been that difficult when their dates escalated to movies, arcades and even their own homes.
But don't get them wrong, they weren't official, Jade always insisted.
Thus, the reason why the blue-eyed girl was running around on campus in hellbent rage was completely unknown to him, until he finds the redhead chasing after her from behind, barely managing to catch up.
He gets even more puzzled, when he pulls onto Cat Valentines's arm, and realizes the girl looked like she had been crying a few moments ago.
"Whoa. What happened, little red?" Andre Harris looks at her from beside Beck, asking before his friend was able to. "Did you get into a fight with the ice queen?"
"No!" the shorter girl exclaims in a moment of panic as she lost sight of her friend. "Jadey plans to kill someone!"
"Who?" the two boys ask simultaneously, having difficulty deciphering the quirks of the redhead like everyone always did. Although their group of friends had somehow gotten close together (courtesy of Beck and Jade), Andre Harris was not completely used to her weirdness, but having met Robbie through Cat and Beck, a part of him thinks that everyone fit together. She didn't seem that crazy amongst the puppet boy, the scissor-loving girl, and his friend who actually has a thing for the said goth.
Nevertheless, everyone knew better than to make Cat cry. In fact, who would even dare to make the sweet innocent maiden cry? It was a mystery to both of them.
"You know this guy I've been seeing who I've been talking about the past few days? Well, we broke up because it turns out he just played me. And—" the crimson haired girl rambles, as they barely catch up on what she was saying, "And now Jadey is furious. And she promised me she'd kill him and cut his wiener off, and I don't want her to get in trouble! I don’t want to see blood! Beck, you have to stop her!"
"Me?" Beck looks at her, unsure of what could happen. He was barely able to grasp the subject, what more when Jade's fury was evident in the sound of her stomps?
"If anyone can do it, it's you man," Andre assures him, because he knows that other than the fact that the boy isn't afraid by anything, there was something special between the two from the way he talked about her.
If anyone could tame Jade West, it was no doubt, Beck Oliver.
And from this, he runs a hand through his hair as he says, "Watch Cat for me, Andre."
Jade West was a girl with a lion-heart. She was brave, despite all the insecurities she kept hidden. She was the type to speak up about what she hated up to your face rather than stabbing you in the back with underhanded tactics. Oftentimes she was mean, but Jade West wasn't entirely unreasonable. And although she often schemed or said words that were out of hand, it doesn't make him like her less.
So, when she finally calms down, much to his suggestion and Cat's insistence, she settles for cutting up pictures of her best friend's ex-boyfriend, after vandalizing them with a thick black Sharpie marker.
What surprises him though, was when Cat runs up to him as soon as the bell rings, signaling their next period.
"She always does that" she tells him out of the blue as they walk together towards a mutual class.
"What?" he asks her, trying to get just a bit more context out of the redhead.
"Jadey is mean sometimes. And she's always bossy, but she always protects me, even before we went to Hollywood Arts. It's why were friends. I worked so hard to be her friend" Cat rambles, and Beck wonders what it was she truly wanted to tell him.
"It's really hard to get close to her but, Jadey is nice sometimes. She's my best friend." the girl speaks up before mumbling, "Don't take her away from me."
He softens up when he realizes how much he was monopolizing the brunette with blue eyes.
"I won't take your best friend, Cat." he assures her, before asking for her permission, "But is it fine if I date Jade? I really like her."
"M'kay." Cat hums, seeming content with his answer, "But don't hurt her. I'll get mad if you break her heart. One time, my brother met this girl and he really liked her but then he—"
"I'll take care of her." he cuts her off midway, with a smile on his face, "I promise."
The first time tries to tell her he loves her happens after a series of unfortunate events. To begin with, Jade West had been avoiding him for a week. And Beck Oliver didn't have any clue as to why— or maybe he did, but he wanted to hear it from the girl himself.
After all, when he asked her if he could kiss her on their last date, one look into her eyes and he knew he messed up. He couldn't completely read her mind, and although he had a vague idea, he could never be too sure. But something in his gut, definitely told him that she was afraid.
The girl who embodied fear with her dark clothes and ganky personality—The Jade West was scared of something, but he couldn't tell what. Though, despite having been avoided like a plague for the last few days, if he learned anything in the span of months that he knew her, it was that giving up was never an option.
So, when she screams "trespasser" as soon as she finds him in the balcony of her room, he knows better than to remove his hand that covered her mouth.
"I'm gonna call the police!" she says through muffled words, as she tries to escape from his grasp.
"Your brother let me in, calm down," Beck assures her and finally lets her go when she softens under his touch.
"That brat, I told him not to answer the door," the brunette curses under her breath, as she tries not to squirm under the gaze of the boy in front of her.
Beck knows better than to back off, so he changes the topic and doesn't beat around the bush, "Why were you avoiding me?".
"Because I do what I want."
Ha. Ha. Typical Jade West. He had the greatest urge to roll his eyes at her, but there were other issues to be discussed.
"Jade," he pries, knowing that she'd do anything to avert the topic.
So, he waits until she's ready. Beck takes her hand in his, until Jade musters up the courage to tell him. Although when she does speak up, the first thing he hears from her felt like punch in the gut.
"I don't want this. I don't do relationships, Beck." Her voice cracked, and somehow, he couldn't tell which hurt more: her words or her weakness.
It was the most fragile he'd ever seen here. After all, Jade West didn't flaunt the fact that her parents were divorced. That while her dad was happy with his new wife and their yappy little dog, her mom tries to play a happy family with her half-brother and her new boyfriend. But she wasn't happy.
A part of her cursed them for making her miserable, for putting her through all those sleepless nights and all those gruesome fights a little girl could barely take. A part of her was scared that history would repeat itself, and someday people would leave. She was absolutely terrified, that in the same way they acted their characters in the first production they starred in, like Juliet, she would risk her life for Romeo.
And she hated that cliche. She hated many things, but most of all she couldn't understand how one person can give nearly everything for someone else. She was scared of the fact that one day she would too. And right in front of her was Beck Oliver, who seemed like the first candidate she would ever fall for.
So, she does what she does best. She fights. And perhaps Jade West was a fighter, but more than that, if all else fails, the only thing left to do was running away from it all.
But Beck always manages to catch up to her; always manages to lower her guard down. Because for once she lets herself be vulnerable in front of him; for once, she lets him know how she feels despite how hard it was for her.
"I don't like what I'm feeling. I don't want to get attached to you. I don't want to give you the opportunity to hurt me. I don't want to spend every minute feeling scared thinking that there will come a day that you'll just leave." she rambles, and her voice cracks again as she admitted, "I don't want you leave"
"Hey." he lifts her face to look her in the eye as he does what he can to assure her, "I don't know where those words came from but I won’t hurt you. I won’t leave you. Jade, I—"
"Don't say it, Beck. Please," Jade cuts him off.
He loves her. And she knows it.
But the moment he says it, everything would feel real, and she isn't confident that she could still put her guard up around him. And she also knows that those were the same words her father used to tell her mother. Nevertheless, her mother left with her in tow and her father didn't care enough to chase after them.
She didn't need to hear those empty words again.
"Okay." he obeys her, but he doesn't pull away as his brown eyes meet her blue orbs. "But I’ll stay. And if you don't like me expressing how I feel about you then, I won't say it unless you ask. But, can we put an end to this vague relationship? I'd really like to introduce you as my girlfriend, yeah?"
She doesn't say another word, but her grip on his hand tightens, and he takes it as a sign to kiss her.
"Okay" she breathes when they pull apart, she doesn't let go of his hand. And at this, Beck Oliver smiles.
The first time she tells him she loves him came to him as a surprise because it was one in the morning and it had been raining that evening. And for once, she knocks on his RV door, despite the fact that she had a key, despite the fact that more often than not, she breaks the door rather than uses the key.
So, he opens the door, surprised to find her out in the rain. Whether it was tears that ran across her face, or raindrops, he couldn't even tell, because for all he knew they were fighting earlier that morning and she refused to talk to him after her angry outburst.
It was the first time they broke up. And although, a part of him knew she might have been joking, or she may have been lost in her emotions that she wasn't thinking rationally, the other part of him was nervous and trying to keep himself in check by thinking about ways he could get back together with her. And he did plan to make up with her first thing in the morning, but he didn't necessarily expect that they would literally make up, first thing in the morning as soon as he woke up.
"I love you" were the first words that came out of her mouth, as soon as he faced her.
Having just gotten up from bed, he couldn't tell whether or not he was dreaming. But the way her voice cracked, and the way he felt a pang in his chest when she spoke, was enough to tell him that everything was real.
Jade West rarely gave sincere apologies, but even if this weren't one, he'd choose it over a 'sorry' any time.
"Say you love me. Please" she pleaded, snapping him out of his thoughts, and as soon as he looks into her desperate blue eyes, he couldn't even remember what they fought about. She looks unsure, as if she thought he was still upset her, as if she doubted that he’d even get back with her.
"I love you" he assures her, and pulls her close thereafter, initiating a kiss.
They barely recall the fact that they were standing in the middle of the rain, when they hear a car pass by and its headlights blind them, and they pull away from each other.
They don't say anything else, but Beck makes sure to kiss her forehead before leading her into his RV. He lends her a clean set of his clothes, and he changes into his after they take a shower. He leads her to the bed and tells her how much he loves her before she even dares to ask. He peppers her with kisses and shows her how much he does love her. Their fingers intertwine, her free hand reaches towards his beautiful hair she was so fond of, and their bodies wrap against each other's.
And despite their lack of sleep that night, despite the lack of words, despite how tired they felt through it all, for once Jade West was completely assured that Beck Oliver loved her. And in the same way, even though she didn't say it as often, he knew she did too.