Won’t Go Home Without You || Bade
Beck pulled onto Jade’s street, parking on the corner and making sure to keep his headlights off just as he had been instructed. He was really hoping that she was just being overly cautious, that her dad hadn’t actually been up and moving about in the house. That would sure make it difficult for him to get inside and he really didn’t fancy a run in with the guy. Maybe he shouldn’t have come over at all but Jade had mentioned her nightmares and Beck couldn’t stand the thought of her having to go through that alone, especially now that he had experienced first hand just how upsetting they were for her.
He locked his car behind him and approached the house, sending a quick text to Jade to let her know that he was there. He waited a few steps back from the door but even so, he was relieved not to be able to hear any tell-tale signs of movement from inside. The house seemed dark and sleeping from outside but he still hoped that Jade would hurry up, he would feel a lot less exposed when he was safely inside her room.
Jade had already been on edge from hearing her dad lurching around next door, so when her phone vibrated against her leg, she couldn't help but be a little startled. Seeing it was a message from Beck, though, she smiled, getting to her feet and making her way to get him as quietly as possible. She'd snuck him in probably dozens of times at this point, and with her soundproof room, they'd never had to worry about anyone hearing them talk or anything, but it was the initial task of getting him inside that was so stressful. Her dad had never made it a secret that he didn't think much of Beck, or even of Jade, for that matter, so she knew he'd probably all but have an aneurysm if he ever found out about their sleepovers. He never had, but they'd had a few similar altercations in the past that Jade was in no hurry to repeat.
She managed to get all the way down the stairs without making a single noise, but of course the last step gave a loud creak under her foot. She winced, holding her breath, but thankfully her dad didn't appear. She breathed a sigh of relief as she unlocked and opened the door, yanking Beck inside and kissing him before he had the chance to say anything. "You know the drill," she whispered when they broke away. "Stay behind me and don't talk."
Beck nodded that yes, he did indeed know the drill but she had already turned to lead him further into the silent house. They had done this a bunch of times and he knew well enough not to say anything until they were inside Jade’s room. She seemed a little on edge but that wasn’t unusual, her dad finding out wasn’t something that either of them wanted. He wasn’t a fan of Beck at the best of times and Beck doubted that his opinion on him would improve if he caught him sneaking into his house to spend the night in Jade’s room.
He wasn’t blasé about the dangers but they really had done this so many times before that it took Beck a lot longer than it probably should have to notice a slight creaking sound. It might have been nothing but his hand flew out to stop Jade anyway. “Did you hear that?” He whispered as quietly as he possibly could.
"My dad's been pacing around in his office for the past hour," Jade hissed back. "Some big case or something. I don't know. Just hush and come on." She reached back to grab his hand and, swallowing hard, she led him the rest of the way up the steps, taking care to listen for any sudden change of position from her dad. Mercifully, none came, and she and Beck made it upstairs and safely into her room with no interruption.
Beck stayed silent and followed Jade, half-expecting her dad to be waiting at the top of the stairs or something. Thankfully, he wasn’t and whatever sound Beck had heard must have been coming from the man’s office. Once they were inside Jade’s room, he breathed a heavy sigh of relief. “Hey.” He said, still keeping his voice low but feeling that it was safe enough to actually greet her now. A small smile spread across his face at the victory of them making it through the house and never had he been so glad for her having a soundproofed room than he was right now.
"Hi," Jade smiled back. She wrapped her arms around his waist and stretched up to kiss him. "Thanks for coming. I know I ask you to do shit like this all the time but I really do appreciate it when you say yes."
Beck wrapped his arms around her in return, kissing her cheek before responding. “It’s not like spending time with you is exactly some huge burden.” He teased but it was the truth, he honestly didn’t mind doing things like this. It made him feel wanted, needed even, and that was a pretty big deal when it came to someone like her.
Jade smiled happily, enjoying how sweet he was being. "Good, because I want you around as much as possible." She released her hold on him, grabbing his hand and leading him to her bed. "Wanna do the usual snuggling and movie route tonight? Is that cool?"
“Sure. Do you have a movie in mind?” He asked, climbing onto her bed and pretty much making himself at home. He carefully shifted Sophocles out of the way and settled back against the pillows. “And please don’t say The Scissoring.”
"That's not the only movie I like," Jade replied, somewhat defensively. In truth that had been exactly what she was planning to suggest but she couldn't hardly do that now. Turning away from Beck, she surveyed the small shelf of movies she had that acted as a bedside table. They were the most organized of all of her possessions, probably because she watched them so often and wanted to have them readily available. She skipped over the top shelf, which was her horror and suspense section, instead heading to the slightly more sparse selection of rom-coms toward the bottom. Surfacing with a copy of Silver Linings Playbook, she turned back to Beck, holding it up so he could see. "Hey, how about this?"
“I know, babe. I was kidding.” Maybe it wasn’t the only movie she liked but it was the only one she seemed to be completely obsessed with. Everytime they finished it she had that look on her face that made it seem like she would be happy to just watch it again right away. “Looks good.” He replied, it was one he had never seen and the cover didn’t make it look like it was going to give him nightmares so it definitely had his approval. “What’s it about?” He had heard people talk about it before but not enough to glean any sort of basic plotline.
"Kinda a long story." Jade plucked the disc from the case and put it in the player before grabbing the remote and snuggling in beside Beck. "It's about two people and how they are super different and they both have issues, but it's okay, because they have each other, and that's really all they need. But it's not sappy at all. It's really good. It was nominated for all five major Oscars, you know. I think you'll like it."
Beck wrapped an arm around Jade, pulling her close as the movie started. “Cool. It sounds good.” He said, it didn’t really sound like the kind of thing he would usually like but then she had assured him it wasn’t as sappy as it sounded. Besides, it didn’t really sound like Jade’s kind of movie either but she seemed to like it. Not that the movie was that important, he was snuggled up with his girlfriend and that was all he really cared about. This was their standard thing, cuddling and watching a movie, they did it all the time, but Beck still loved every second of it.
They were only about fifteen minutes into the movie when the doorknob turned. Jade had forgotten to lock it like she usually did. She had been so preoccupied with the movie and with finding the perfect spot to rest her head against Beck’s chest, she didn’t even hear it. The next thing she knew, her dad was standing in her doorway, looking down at her and Beck all cuddled up together, his initial expression of confusion quickly transforming into one of rage.
“Oliver!” he thundered, “What the fuck are you doing in my house at this time of night?!”
Beck’s heart just about flew out of his chest. This was pretty much worst case scenario and Jade’s dad looked absolutely livid. Well, actually, worst case scenario might have been them making out or something when he burst in, but this was a close second.
“Look, it’s really not what it looks like-” He tried to say but was immediately cut off.
“It looks like you are in my house, with my daughter, doing God only knows what, without my permission or knowledge!” He turned his attention to Jade, who was half sitting up, but still had her arm draped over Beck, her hand clenching a fistful of his shirt. “I always knew I’d failed with you,” he intoned. “I always knew that you'd be a whore just like your mother; that I had a daughter whose only talent was seducing absolute scum." Jade winced at his words, but he didn't seem to notice. "I knew it since you came home half-naked and drunk as hell after that night you spent at the neighbors’ when you were fourteen, but I never thought you could be this disrespectful. How many times has this happened? How long have you been sneaking boys in here?” When Jade didn’t immediately reply, he stormed over to her and shook her by the shoulder. “Answer me, dammit!”
A sick feeling settled in the pit of Beck’s stomach as he realised just what night the older man was talking about. His daughter had gotten drunk and taken advantage of and he thought that she was the disappointment? Where the hell had he been to have let any of that happen? It pissed him off just to think about, that Jade’s dad was throwing something like that up for no reason but it wasn’t until the man approached them and physically shook Jade that he opened his mouth.
“Get your hands off her!” Beck wasn’t shouting but his voice wasn’t quiet by any means. He was tempted to forcibly remove the man’s hands himself but he held back for a moment, knowing that that would only lead to even more trouble and giving Jade’s dad to let go himself first. “Honestly, sir, I get that this looks bad, but we weren’t doing anything but watching a movie. You need to calm down.” He hoped that his use of the term ‘sir’ didn’t come out quite as sarcastic as he thought it, he could hardly respect the man standing before him but this seemed to be quickly getting out of hand.
Jade's heart sank at Beck's words. She knew he was just trying to diffuse the situation and protect her, but she also knew the kind of person her dad was, and he was not the kind who liked being told what to do.
"I need to calm down?" he repeated. He released his grip on Jade's shoulder, leaving her to rub the spot where his hand had been, and circled back around to Beck. "How can I possibly calm down when I come in here, simply wanting to ask my daughter to borrow her phone charger, and instead I'm greeted with her hanging all over the likes of you? I'm just glad I caught you when I did," He said pointedly. He shook his head. "I told you once before, Beckett, you are not right for her. All you'll ever be is some washed-up nobody, and I'll be damned if you're going to drag her down with you."
“I know, and I stand by exactly what I said then.” It hadn’t been a pleasant conversation and Beck had never mentioned it to Jade, something he assumed he was going to be paying for in the near future now that she had witnessed this exchange. He had had to agree with Jade’s dad a little, maybe he wasn’t going to be a famous actor and he might very well end up ‘washed up’ as it were. There was some degree of truth in it, after all and it wasn’t like acting was the stablest of professions; Beck knew that. But he also knew that he wasn’t going to stop trying and he would do his damndest to be someone that was worthy of Jade. He cared about her more than anything and that had to count for something, right? “Have you ever actually met your daughter? As if she’s ever going to let herself be dragged down by anyone. She’s amazing and talented and just because it’s in something you don’t understand or whatever doesn’t make it any less valid.” He took a deep breath to try and calm himself before continuing. “I’m sure this is a shock to you, I’m sorry about that. But we were honestly just watching a movie.” Beck said, feeling the need to defend the implications of the other man’s comment about catching them when he did.
Jade was puzzled at hearing her dad and boyfriend reference some previous conversation they'd had without her knowledge, but her confusion went away when Beck started defending her. He always spoke highly of her, she knew that, but hearing him do so to her father meant so much more. "Yeah, Beck's not gonna drag me down. Not that I'd let him," she agreed. "I'm sorry I snuck him in, but we weren't doing anything-"
"I don't believe you," her dad said flatly. "Get out," he told Beck. "I don't want to ever see you here again. And as for you," he turned to Jade, "you're grounded. You're going to learn, by God. My house, my rules."
"Then I'm not staying at your house anymore," Jade said simply. She had no idea where her sudden burst of courage was coming from, but it was too late to stop it now. She gathered up Sophocles and grabbed Beck's hand. "Come on, baby. Let's go."
Beck got up to leave, having realised that Jade’s dad had no intention of listening to him no matter how apologetic or respectful he tried to sound. He was still standing by the bed, close to Jade as she argued with her father. If he was going to have to leave then he was only doing so once he saw that the man was a little calmer. And then Jade was picking up Sophocles and grabbing his hand. She had stood up for herself, for the both of them, really, and Beck couldn’t tell if he was more proud that she’d done so or worried about the potential consequences of this. Either way, it was done, and he followed her father’s order to get out but tugged Jade along behind him.
Jade's dad just stood speechless as they made their way by him and out of the house. She kept expecting him to run after them and demand that she come back inside, but it never happened. By the time she got to Beck's car, she was nearly shaking, from the experience in general, from relief that he hadn't chased after them, and from her own act of defiance in walking out on him. It was a lot to process, so she buckled her seatbelt and hugged Sophocles close, trying to find a way to wrap her mind around everything that had happened.
Beck started the car and headed back towards his house, not sure whether to break the silence that had fallen between them. He didn’t even ask if that’s where they were going, just started heading that way on autopilot. “Are you okay?” He asked finally, when he couldn’t stand the silence any longer. That had been a huge thing that she had just done, he was in shock a little himself but that was probably nothing compared to what she was feeling. He just hoped that she wasn’t sitting there thinking that she’d made a huge mistake because it would be a little hard to take any of it back now.
Jade had been absently stroking a hand over Sophocles' fur, but stopped when she heard Beck's question. She paused a moment, trying to give herself enough time to think about it. "Yeah," she said slowly. "I'm alright. Just a little... overwhelmed, I guess. I've never said anything like that to my dad before. I can't help but wonder how long he'll let me get away with it." She reached over and grabbed his hand like she always did when he drove. "I'm sorry he was such a jerk to you."
“Hey, you don’t have to be sorry about anything.” He told her seriously, squeezing her hand in an attempt to reassure her. “It wasn’t anything that I haven’t heard before. And I mean, he wasn’t completely wrong about me.” Beck made it sound like he didn’t care and in a way he didn’t, Jade’s dad wasn’t exactly someone whose opinion he took all that seriously - not when he was such an asshole to his own daughter. Even so, after he had calmed down from the confrontation, the thought wouldn’t leave Beck’s mind that maybe he really wasn’t good enough for Jade. He wanted to tell her that all the things her dad had said to her were completely untrue but he didn’t want to bring it all back up again so he kept quiet. “We’re going back to the RV, right? I’m kind of just driving aimlessly here.” He supposed that it was possible that she would want to go to her mom’s or maybe even just keep driving. “Unless we’re going looking for a circus?”
"No circus tonight," Jade laughed. "Just the RV. Play your cards right, and I'll even make out with you for a little while."
“Oh, yeah?” He would have raised his eyebrows at her if he hadn’t been so reluctant to take his eyes off the road. It was only a few minutes later that he was pulling into his driveway, parking in his usual spot behind the RV. He turned off the engine but he didn’t get out of the car immediately, needing a second to organise his thoughts properly. He didn’t want to make a huge deal out of what he was about to say and he was trying to figure out how to say it as casually as possible. “You know, uh, that you’re always welcome here right? And I mean, you can stay as long as you want. I do still have a bedroom in the main house too, if you get sick of me or want your own space or whatever.”
Jade smiled at him. "I know," she said, "i think I might want to stay tonight, at least. I don't feel like being alone, and besides, my dad is a jerk who totally ruined our evening and I want to make it up to you." She undid her seatbelt so she could lean over and kiss him. "As for getting sick of you, don't expect that to happen anytime soon."
Beck sighed quietly. “You don’t have to 'make up’ for anything.” There was an edge to his voice that wasn’t really directed at her but that he couldn’t stop from creeping in. He was really just still pissed about the whole thing, though he couldn’t pinpoint what it was exactly that was bothering him so much. “Let’s just go inside, okay?” He added more softly, staying in the car clearly wasn’t helping him process or anything so he climbed out into the cool night air.
Jade was surprised by the sudden hardness that had appeared in Beck's voice. Having done nothing other than kiss him, she wasn't really sure where it was coming from. " Um, alright," she agreed. She grabbed Sophocles and got out of the car, following him up the few steps into the rv. Once inside she went directly to the couch and sat down without a word, clamping her arms around her dinosaur. She'd wanted to come in here and snuggle back up with him, maybe even make out for a little while, but his sudden attitude had shot that all to hell.
Beck noticed Jade move over to the couch in his peripheral vision and he could tell that she was less than impressed with him right now. Not that he could blame her, really. He made his way over to his bedside table, plugging his phone in to charge. It still had about half its battery life left and Beck knew full well that he was stalling. He moved back into the living area of the RV but leant against the counter instead of joining her on the couch, feeling like he was a bit too full of energy or something to sit down again so soon. “Look, I’m sorry. I just- I don’t know.”
"You don't know what, exactly?"
“Don’t know what my problem is, I guess.” He answered rather unhelpfully, running a hand through his hair.
"Well, if you don't know, I sure as hell don't." Jade snapped. "Look, just take me to my mom's. I'd rather be alone there than here with you when you've got your ass on your shoulders."
“God, could you just give me five seconds before you give up and storm out on me as usual? I said I was sorry and I’m trying to-” He cut himself off, not even sure what he was trying to say. “You know, what? Fine. If you really want to go to your mom’s then, fine.”
"So you're just gonna kick me out, then."
“You’re the one who said she wanted to leave! What, you want me to refuse to drive you home?”
"I don't know!" Jade hugged Sophocles closer, squeezing him tight like some kind of security blanket. "The only reason I'm thinking about leaving is because you decided to start being a total dick and I don't have any idea why!"
“Yeah, well that would be right wouldn’t it? I can’t fucking do anything right.”
"Oh, stop with the fucking pity party! You know that's not true, just tell me what your fucking deal is so we can fix it and move the hell on!"
“Just forget it.” He said, voice dropping in volume so that he was practically mumbling.
Jade stood up, tossing Sophocles onto the couch and walking over to Beck. Placing her hands on his shoulders, she looked into his eyes, trying to figure him out. "Talk to me," she pleaded. "Please."
Beck shrugged. “It’s seriously nothing,” he had a wry smile on his face as he met her gaze, “Like I said, I don’t really know what my problem is. Lot’s of things, I think. And it didn’t help that you kinda made it sound like…” He trailed off, not even sure how to finish that thought.
Jade stepped back, feeling a little self-conscious. "Made it sound like what?"
“Never mind.” She seemed genuinely confused and he was starting to think that maybe he had been overreacting, being weirded out over something that he was reading into what she had said. Or maybe she just didn’t understand why it could have made him uncomfortable in the first place.
"No," she insisted, "clearly I said something wrong. Tell me what it was so I can make sure not to do it again."
“You didn’t say anything wrong. It’s just that the whole ‘making it up’ to me thing sounded kind of weird.” He couldn’t bring himself to say sexual instead of weird, even though that was what he actually meant. It had just sounded suggestive and it wasn’t that he was so opposed to that but rather that the phrasing made it sound like it had all of the wrong reasons behind it.
“It sounded like you thought you owed me or something like that.” He stared at the floor instead of looking at her as he said that, completely uncomfortable with the turn this conversation had taken even though he was the one bringing it up.
"...Oh." Jade bit her lip, feeling her face flush red with embarrassment as it finally dawned on her just what Beck had been thinking. "I didn't-- I didn't mean it like-- like that. But I get why you thought I did." She crossed her arms and stared down at her feet, not wanting to look at him. "I'm sorry," she muttered.
“It’s fine. I really shouldn’t have assumed that that’s what you meant. I think I was just a bit keyed up already.” He edged towards her slowly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you or anything.”
"I just wish you'd be more open with me. I feel like every time I try to flirt with you or even just be nice to you, you freak out and won't talk about it, and I'm left wondering what the hell I said wrong."
“Yeah, maybe you’re right. But it’s still not exactly helpful for you to not even give me a minute to try and think through what it is exactly that I’m feeling. I can’t really attempt to explain it to you on the spot like that giving me a freaking ultimatum.”
“I’m sorry, okay? I just-- when we were in the car, and I kissed you, and I said… that… your whole demeanor, it changed. By the time we got inside, I didn’t even feel like you wanted me here anymore. And yeah, maybe I shouldn’t have gotten so defensive or demanding, but I…” she paused, trying to figure out how to proceed. “I didn’t know what else to do.”
Beck let out a deep breath. “Well that’s just ridiculous, I always want you here. Even if I am being weird and freaking out over nothing.”
“It’s not nothing if it upsets you.”
“It is kind of nothing though, I don’t know. I think it’s just been a long night.”
“Yeah, it has,” Jade said quietly. “So… what do you want to do?”
“Uh, I’m not really sure.”
“I mean, I still want to stay, if that’s alright.”
"Oh, yeah. Of course that's alright."
Jade shuffled her feet, unsure of what to do. The tension between them was still there and she didn’t know how to resolve it. “Okay, cool.”
“Well, we could finish that movie,” he offered, “we were kind of interrupted.” For some reason, whether because of the way he said that or just from the stress of it all, Beck started to find the whole situation hilarious. He tried to muffle his laughter behind his hand but he wasn’t doing a very good job of it.
“Silver Linings Playbook is not a laughing matter!” Jade exclaimed, swatting him on the arm. “It’s a beautiful fucking love story, you insensitive jerk!”
“I’m not laughing at the movie!” He replied, laughing even harder. “Just, oh my god. Jade, your dad’s face. And the entire thing and I shouldn’t be laughing because it’s terrible, it really is but-”
Jade started laughing in spite of herself. “-I know, I thought he was going to, like, bust a vein in his forehead or something! And then you just came out of nowhere like some kind of knight in shining armor to defend me, and-” she stopped laughing, edging closer to Beck and wrapping her arms around his waist. “And it was probably the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for me.”
Beck smiled at her, immensely glad that she had seen the humour in the situation as well and that he hadn’t ended up looking like the ‘insensitive jerk’ she’d jokingly accused him of being moments before. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and leant down to drop a kiss on her forehead. “Well, no one talks about my girl like that. Even if he does happen to be your dad.”
“Aww, so I’m ‘your girl’?” Jade teased.
“Yes,” Beck nodded seriously but there was a smile on his face, “I’m afraid you are, babe. There’s just no getting around it.”
“Even when my dad yells at you, or I get jealous, or say the wrong thing?”
“Yeah. It’s kind of an unconditional kind of thing, you know.” His tone might have been a little patronising but he was being completely honest. “The whole ‘being in love with you’ thing isn’t exactly subject to change. Not for anything.”
Jade stretched up to kiss him. “I love you, too.”