bade oneshots a-z ~ currently rewriting

Driving

*Rewritten*

Beck got his first driving license after 4 tries, mainly because his family didn't really have that many books on cars. He only passed it when he had read the books from Jade's house about cars.

Jade had passed it on her first try, since she had studied everything weeks before her 16th birthday.

When Beck would drive and someone honked at him, he would roll his window down and just apologize for being slow. When Jade  would drive and someone honked at her, she would roll her window down, yell at them to shut up, slam the horn about 5 times, then yell various colourful cuss words.

Beck was a really calm driver, but Jade would be yelling as soon as she rolled down her window. Beck would only argue when people were honking at him for no reason, and the only time Jade would argue would be if she was in a good mood.

One night, Jade had an argument with her step-mother and her dad about whether or not acting was a good job. "I'm not going to just accept that my daughter is going to become an actor! What do they get? 10 dollars a week?" Mr. West argued, his brows furrowing.

"You just think everyone gets jobs for money, I do acting to be happy! And it's my opinion, not yours!" Jade protested, her chest tightening.

"Don't talk to your father like that," Her step-mother muttered, placing a gentle arm around his shoulder. 

"He's not my father!" Jade said, her voice rising. "My real father would support me. Why did all that change when I wanted to become an actor?!"

Before her step-mother could yell at her, Jade had already ran to the kitchen and took her step-mother's car keys off the counter. She could feel her step-mother already beginning to question what she was doing, about to shape the words to demand her to stay.

Jade quickly ran out of the house and slammed the door behind her. She unlocked her step mom's car and sat into the driver's seat, placed the keys in ignition, turned in to the third position, pressed the brake pedal, switched the gear to Drive D and lifted her foot from the brake pedal and slammed her foot on the accelerator.

She placed her hands at 10 and 2 and started driving as fast as she could, not worrying about the police. She glanced at the mirror on the side of the car and saw her dad's car chasing after her.

"Why does he think that people want jobs just for money?" Jade muttered to herself while still looking in the mirror, not aware of the left turn on the road. Jade turned her eyes back in front of her and saw a metal railing that was curved, trying to signal people that there was a left turn.

It only took a second to realized what was happening. Jade almost yanked the steering wheel off of her step mother's car as she tried to turn left, but it only made the car spin a 180. The back of the car crashed onto the curved railing and the front fell off the road, onto the steep grass hill.

The engine nearly burst into flames when Jade finally got out of the car, her knees bruised from the landing. She stumbled to a tree to hold her balance, even though the branches were scraping the skin on her hands. She nearly toppled off of the tree, back spots of dizziness dancing in her eyes.

Jade steadied herself and waited for her dad and her step mom to come and yell at her for driving so fast, but nobody came. After a long time of blaming her dad for the crash, Jade started to walk uphill, back to the road. Her knees were still trembling a bit, and she didn't have enough energy to run back to her dad's house.

Her mother's house was also too far away, so she sat under a street light, finally realizing how lucky she was that she survived. She placed a palm on her head. The streets were tilting, and every gust of wind hurt her head. The last thing she remembered was seeing a bright red truck pulling up, and then all she saw was black. 

Beck paced back and forth in the waiting room of the hospital. The nurse finally came up to him. "She's going to be alright."

 Beck exhaled, relieved. "Thank you, and can I visit--" 

"Hi!" Cat ran up to him, red cubes around her hands made out of foam."I finally got out of the ward!" She jumped up and down excitedly, then noticed the look on Beck's face. "What-y?"

 "Nevermind, it's.. nothing, I guess." Beck finally opened the door to Jade's room where she was lying down.

The heart monitor beeped slowly as Cat took a seat next to Jade, hitting her head with the cubes cuffed on her wrists. Beck stood next to Jade, his hand resting on the side of her stomach. He suddenly felt a sudden movement on his hand and almost jerked it away. He turned his head back to face Jade and saw her eyes fluttering open, her hand resting on his.

"Am I alive?" she murmured. Cat jumped off her seat and squealed loud enough for the whole hospital to hear. "JADEY!" She wrapped her arms squeezing Jade hard enough for her to almost suffocate. 

"Do you want me to kill you?" Jade muttered, her voice growing as she slowly sank back into the hospital bed. She almost looked feeble, nearly weak enough to pass out.

 Cat released her arms from Jade. "Sorry," she whispered, still smiling. Beck motioned for her to leave.

Beck kissed her cheek, smiling, though there was a worried crease across his forehead. "What happened?" He whispered, squeezing her hand gently. It was a sort of habit Beck had developed whenever he was scared, whether it be getting a part for a play or practicing a speech for his parents to meet Jade. He had just never expected that he would be scared for her.

 "My dad was arguing about how I can't become an actor," she said with the barest shake of her head. There was still an annoyance flashing in her eyes. "I took my step mom's car keys and drove away, and--" She choked on a slight sob building up in her throat. "I wasn't paying attention, and I didn't know if you-- if I would ever see you again and I--" Tears welled up in her eyes as the annoyance suddenly turned into fear.

Beck let go of her hands and felt his arms wrap around her shoulders. It was always a sore subject, her getting touched. He hoped quietly that she didn't mind it. His hand cradled her neck softly as another brought her in as close as he could, as gentle as he could.

"I'm so sorry," she sobbed, almost making an attempt to hug him back before the sheets of the bed gripped her arms tighter and she couldn't leave. Her tears stained the sleeves of his shirt, but Beck didn't mind-- he never did, and he never would. There was a breath between each word, one that never seemed to fully escape her mouth. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Beck whispered as he felt her hands try to hold him closer, as if she was scared of him leaving her. "It's okay, I'm here now. I'll never leave you. I love you. You know that?"

"I'm sorry," she repeated, her voice cracking and shaking.

Jade trembled back to the bed slowly as Beck kissed her forehead gently, sitting by her side, clasping her hand in his and listening to her. He would trace the lines of her palm slowly, humming soft melodies as he waited for her to rest. He was there when she finally fell asleep, and he would always be there when she woke up.

Sometimes, she would turn around in her sleep and whimper. Beck would squeeze her hand and hold her head closer, murmuring that it was alright, that she didn't have to worry anymore, whispered a reminder that he loved her while stroking her hair. Sometimes, when she finally drifted off into peaceful slumber, Beck would sneak away quietly and treat her to shortbread biscuits and extra blankets in the morning, alongside a tall glass of warm almond milk. He would bring novels in the daytime, and watch movies with her at night.

And when she finally got out of the hospital, he was waiting for her at his trailer, with two small platters of brownies and a candle on top, one for him, and one for her. One day, perhaps Beck would need Jade as much as she did, but for now, he was happy to let her be, because they would always be there for each other.

Nothing was going to change that.