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Jade West was ten years old when she made a promise to herself, a silent agreement to never fall in love.
She swore that she would prevent any sort of repeat of the first time she ever saw her father cry, a tough and put together man, stood just a few feet away from the front door as the weight of the situation flooded over him.
She promised herself with a strange sense of finality for someone as young as herself, metaphorically signing away a rite of passage as her mother walked past her as if she didn’t even notice the young children sat at the bottom of the stairs, carefully shutting the door behind her without even a glance at the staircase where sat the two people she once treasured over all else in the world, not even a glance at the man following close behind her, coming to a halt only just out of reach from the door. Jade held her younger brother close to her as she stared blankly at her father, vowing to never end up like him, even if it meant giving up on any chance at love, unknowing if that word was any more than a concept made up for the storybooks her mother used to read to her at night, a convenience for the plot that in turn tainted millions of people’s expectations from life.
But not hers, not anymore.
Jade West was thirteen years old when she first laid eyes on Beck Oliver, the same day she stepped foot in the lively hallways of Hollywood Arts for the first time - Jade was born a year before the rest of her classmates, a fact she neglected to tell anyone besides Cat, who was only aware of it because she had known Jade in middle school when the girl skipped a grade in the process of moving to the school where they soon became friends. It wasn't that she had lied to any of them, she had just forgotten to correct them for thinking that she was until Cat finally did so on Jade’s fourteenth birthday - The boy was nothing more than a thorn in her side, or at least that was how she relayed it to her best friend, Cat Valentine. (though if anyone were to ask her, she thinks the concept of best friends to be ridiculous and childish)
No matter how much she resisted, no matter how many times she threw mindless insults his way, or sent him an intense glare that would have any other boy running all the way to the other side of the school, Beck Oliver refused to give up, and it wasn't until 3 weeks had passed of the pair playing some sort of metaphorical-cat-and-mouse-esque game, that Jade finally relented, allowing him within 5 feet of her without a harsh remark directed towards the boy, which soon lead to the moment around a month later when Beck and Jade were sat across from each other at a small cafe near Beck’s house, talking about whatever he could come up with while she nodded along and gave a response here and there, allowing themselves to fall into a comfortable silence the moment Beck ran out of things to say.
A few weeks and many dates - that Jade refused to admit were dates - later, the pair were once again, at that same cafe they visited often, stood right outside of the familiar building when Beck posed the question, hope filling his features as he waited for an answer, immediately faltering when Jade had only blinked at him before running anyway. Beck stood there in shock as she left, losing sight of her before he could even realise what had happened, turning around with disappointment heavy in his chest and made his way home as the sun began to set.
In the aftermath of that moment, the two went a full week without speaking - avoiding each other in the school halls and refusing to spare a glance each others way - until finally Friday arrived, coincidentally also Halloween, when Beck recieved the first text from Jade since exactly a week ago, asking him to meet her at the park around the block from his house, where he found her with her knees pulled up to her chest on a bench a few feet away from the empty playground that had been completely abandoned as the time on his phone read 7:18pm. The brunette girl looked up at him with a surprised look that she attempted to cover with her usual blank expression, as if she hadn’t expected him to actually show up.
Jade watched as he took a seat next to her, willing herself to send a small smile his way, opening her mouth to speak just to let it close again as no words escaped her, staring at the boy as if there was some sort of silent communication happening between the two of them. Beck stared back at her as his eyes wandered slightly, finding solace in her eyes looking back into his, finding himself slowly moving towards her, waiting for any sort of objection as she watched him carefully, a nervous expression revealing itself on her face, an emotion that seemed almost unnatural coming from her. But Beck knew better, and she knew he did.
Which is why she let him kiss her that night, and every other night in the following years in which she allowed his lips to interlock with hers, and although Beck and Jade didn't actually become Beck & Jade that night - it took the pair six months, countless more dates (that Jade finally admitted were dates) and many attempts made by Beck to ask Jade out, before she finally asked him out just a few days before Valentine's Day - there was still some sort of promising sentiment that the two of them shared after that one Halloween, stronger than any promise ring could ever ensure.
Jade West was fifteen years old when she made a promise to herself, a silent agreement to never fall in love, unless it was Beck Oliver that she was falling in love with.