To: Stephanie ( thegoldhat).
With Love, Cat *heart*
A boy with tan skin and raven heair sat in his car, outside a large house. He glanced at himself in the rearview mirror, thinking he looked tired. Ragged. His hair was unekempt, the ends grazing his collar, and the circles under his eyes look a little like bruises. In contrast, his deep brown eyes shone bright, wide awake with fear and uncertainty.
He took a deep breath, then one more. Steeling himself, he opened the car door with a click, and forced his body out into the chilly air.
Climbing onto the big white house's porch, he hung his head, watching his feet and trying to clear his thoughts. As he came to a stop at the door, he knocked delicately. His arm suddenly felt weak. He heard footsteps behind the door, and within a few seconds the door swung open to reveal a brunette woman in jeans and a worn t-shirt.
"Beck," she said. "Hello."
"Hi, Mrs West," he nodded, pulling his thin hacked tighter around himself, feeling as if he were freezing.
"Jade is up in her room." The woman said as she stepped aside to let him into the house.
"Thank you," he said softly, brushing past her. He kept his head ducked still, and a few dark locks fell over his eyes.
Mrs West nodded at the young man and closed the door behind him, starting back towards the kitched.
Beck walked through the living room, focusing his eyes on the cream-colored carpet. Turning into the hall, he climbed the staircase, and followed the small corridor to the very end, stopping before the very last door.
Reaching for the knob, he hesitated. His mind raced in a million different directions, and he did his best to calm his frayed nerves.
Shaking his head in yet another futile attempt to clear it, he pushed the door open, peeking his head in before walking through.
In the middle of the dark room, on the bed, was the thin and frail figure of a girl. Her porcelain skin was flushed, her cheeks hollow, and her long chocolate hair was steadily thinning. She was shivering beneath the plush blanked the covered her shoulder. She lifted her head as he walked towards her and her bright blue eyes locked on him immediatly. Lowering himself onto the bed beside her, he pulled her into his arms, feeling tears prick at his eyes as he took in her fragile state.
Jade, his beautiful girlfriend, had cancer,
xXxXx
Six months ago, the same boy sat in a harshly lit waiting room, in an uncomfortable vinyl chair. Jade sat curled beside him, her head on his shoulder. Even then she felt small. Cat sat in the chair to his right and hadn't let go of Jade's hand since she sat down. Jade's parents were seated to his left, and Tori, Andre and Robbie were lined up against the opposite wall.
Jade was sick. That much, they knew. She'd complained of fierce headaches for the past two weeks, and had been nauseous for just as long. She'd hardly been able to eat anything, and what she did usually came back up within the hour. She'd lost weight, and as Beck ran a hand down her side, he felt again how sharply her hip now protruded, and how planly he could feel her ribs. He suddenly felt sick at the thought of something being terribly wrong with his Jade.
They'd had the basic tests done just under an hour ago. The nurses had offered them a room to wait in, but Jade had always hated hopsitals, so they opted for the uncomfortable waiting room instead.
Jade was currently dozing in his arms, and Beck pressed a tender kiss to her forehead as her parents tried to ignore the easy way he held her.
As he looked up, he saw that Cat was watching him intently with her warm brown eyes. "Beck," she said quietly, her voice barely a whisper, sounding scared, so unlike the happy and bubbly girl he was used to seeing. "Jade's gonna be okay, isn't she?" she asked with the innocence of a small child.
Beck's heart broke for the petite redhead, and he reached out to swipe away a tear that was now making it's way down her face. "Yeah, Cat. She's going to be just fine. I promise." He said to the girl who had been like a sister to him for years. Cat seemed to hang onto his words, and he did his best to sound sure of them.
After a long moment, Cat leaned over and rested her head against Jade's back. Beck smiled wanly at her, trying his damnest not to cry.
Several minutes passed in silence before the door at the end of the corridor swung open, revealing the doctor that had taken Jade in.
Tori, Andre, Robbie and Jade's parents shot up out of their seats, eager to hear what the doctor had to say. Beck and Cat looked expectantly from their seats, as Beck nudged Jade, whispering for her to wake up.
Jade's eyes fluttered open, and slowly, she raised herself into a sitting position. His arm snaked around her waist, and he held her hand tightly.
The doctor looked at Jade, "Ms. West, if you could come with me for a moment."
Jade tightened her grip on Beck and Cat, shaking her head. "No. Anything you need to say to me, you can tell them too." She nodded, motioning to the others in the room.
"Uh, okay." The doctor consulted her clipboard, then looked back up, glancing around the room. Jade watched him with steady, defiant blue eyes.
"Well, uh, not all of the tests have come back yet, and there's still alot to be checked. But, Jadelyn, it looks as though you have breast cancer."
Time seemed to freeze, as everyone tried to process what they'd just been told. Beck's mind spun in every direction. Looking at Jade, he saw she looked just as dazed as he felt.
Cancer. The word bounced around in his head and he tried frantically to comprehend.
"As I said, not all the tests are conclusive, and we'll need to bring you in for several scans," the doctor continued. "And if they are found to be positive, there are several treatment options we can talk about. It looks to be in the early stages, and the chances are slim that it would be fatal, since we caught it at this time." he paused, taking in the shocked and terrified faces around theroom. "I'm sorry." He said quietly. "We'll do all we can."
xXxXx
That had been four months ago.
As the doctor had promised, they had done, and were still doing, all they could to rid Jade of the awful disease. Recently, they'd suggested she undergo chemo therapy, at least for a little while.
In the beginning, they had been advised against it, the nurses explaining how abrisive it is. But as Jade gradually got worse, the doctor finally told them that it could be for the best.
And Jade was getting better. The slow spreading cells had stopped moving, and they were slowly being killed off. Only the effects of the chemo were taking their toll on her. Her hair was falling out, she was always tired, her muscles were weak and she always seemed to be freezing. But she was getting better.
Now, as Beck pulled away from their embrace and gently held her at arms length, a small smile graced his lips at how beautiful she still was.
"How'd it go?" He asked. She just come home from another round of treatment.
"Uneventfully. Same as always. I'm tired." She said, her voice was still the same as it had always been and Beck held onto the sound of it. She leaned forward and propped her small frame against his chest, and he leaned them both back against the headboard of the bed.
They talked for several more minutes, about her day, then his, before she eventually fell asleep. Beck was used to this by now. Being halfways through a sentence and looking down to find that she'd dozed off. Sighing, he ran his fingers through what was left of her dark locks. It was in these moments when he finally allowed himself to break. When she was sleeping in his arms and the only thing he could think was that that this could be the last time her ever holds her like this. The last time he feels her skin against his. The last chance he gets to kiss her and tell her he loves her, and to see that love reflected in her blue, blue eyes.
And it's the thought of losing her forever that shatters his hear tinto peices, sends his emotions into a franzy, and makes his head spin.
She's not going anywhere, he tells himself. The doctors said she's getting better. She's going to make it through this.
But what if they're wrong? another voice would whisper back. Just because they're doctors doesn't mean they know everything.
Jade awoke a few minutes later. Though he had done his best to stay quiet and let her rest, the gentle shuddering of his shoulders had woken her.
"Hey, babe. You okay?" She asked him quietly, a thin finger reaching up to brush away his tears.
His eyes took her in once more, and a fresh set of tears began to show themselves. Slowly shaking his head, he choked back a sob and held tightly to her hand.
"Why you, Jade?" He asked, not really looking for an answer. "Why does it have to be you? There are billions of people on this planet, and you had to get cancer..." He trailed off, using the sleeve of his shirt to wipe his eyes.
Jade responded with a tender kiss to his lips, then leaned her forehead against his, closing her eyes.
"I'm getting better, Beck. They said I shouldn't have to do the chemo for much longer. I'll be back to normal before you know it. I promise."
He nodded, but he'd be lying it he said he believed her completely, even if he desperately wanted to.
"I love you," was his only reply.
xXxXx
"Nothing makes me happier, and nothing makes me sadder than you."
xXxXx
a/n:
The general public: So. This was for the BadePrompts Christmas gift exchange. I hope you enjoyed it.
Stephanie: I know this probably isn't what you had in mind when you sent in your prompts, and it's not Christmas-y at all, but I don't know. I guess I just suck. This was all I could think of. Lol(: You said no character death, so I'm just letting you know that Jade doesn't die! Hehe. She gets better and they live happily ever after and have three kids and a dog and they go to water parks in the Summer and their little girl dresses up like Ariel on Halloween and everything is perfect and Bade is still just as adorable as they were when they were kids!
Anyway, if you don't like this, I'll write another that might be a little more suited to what you wanted *heart*
Lovelovelove,
Cat ^.^