Rade One Shot: The Sweetest Dream
Damn it, Jade thought to herself, sitting in the Black Box theatre. Why did Beck have to leave me here to deal with all of Vega's Prome crap?
She had just managed to get away from the diaper guy, and was hiding out so no one would see her after the embarrassment. She had been planning to ruin Tori's Prome as payback for ruining her play, but every attempt had failed. To make matters worse, Beck was in Canada at the time, so she had no support in her time of need. Her emotions began to overtake her, as she began to cry.
"Hello?" She heard a familiar voice call out. She quickly wiped her eyes and turned to see Robbie walking through the doors, for some reason, soaking wet and Rex-less.
Great, she thought. If he sees me like this, it'll be the end of me. She put on an agitated face and approached him.
"What do you want?" she interrogated. "Why aren't you out there having fun at the Prome? And didn't you have Rex with you tonight?"
Robbie shrugged. "The rain's getting bad, so everyone's starting to go home. Even Rex decided to go home early without me," he joked, getting no response from Jade. "Did you get caught in the rain too?"
Her expression changed rapidly from anger to surprise. "Why the hell would you think that?" she asked him in a soft voice.
Robbie pointed at her eyes. "Your eye make-up is running down your face… but for some reason, your hair and dress are dry," he said, eyes examining her. Then he asked, "Were you crying?"
"N-n-no!" Jade stammered.
Robbie then moved closer to her, looking deep into her eyes, seeing the redness that surrounded the lightless blue green pools. "You were crying," he concluded. "Is it because of the Prome? I mean, I know that Beck wasn't there to take you, but…"
Robbie was cut off by an angry shove from Jade. "I WASN'T CRYING!" she screamed at Robbie, who was lying on the floor. At that moment, Jade realized that she had crossed the line. As he got up, she broke down. She fell to her knees, letting out heavy sobs.
Robbie wasn't sure what to do. He had never seen Jade like this, and wanted to be there for her like any good friend would, but he was afraid that she would still be mad at him. He had seen what had happened to people like Sinjin, and wasn't going to be able to handle angering her again. After a few moments he summed up whatever courage he had within himself, and approached her. He knelt down, and put his arms around her. She replied by wrapping her arms around him.
"I am so sorry," she whimpered in between soft sobs. "I just feel…so lonely…"
Robbie patted her back. "It's ok," he whispered. "Let's take you home."
It wasn't too long that they were back at Jade's house, her sitting on the couch, Robbie in the kitchen making coffee. Jade was still teary eyed, but the worst of her pain seemed to be over. She looked up as Robbie handed her a cup.
"Be careful," he said. "It's kinda hot." He smiled at her. She reached for the cup, but did not return the smile.
"Thanks," she muttered. Both of them sat there, sipping their coffees, each wrapped in their own thoughts. Robbie wondered what possibly made one of the toughest girls he knew to break down the way she did, and how he could be able help. Jade wondered why Robbie would even bother sitting there with her, let alone take her home.
Robbie was the first to speak. "So," he began, "I'm guessing you're not happy about the Prome?"
Jade shot him a glare, but soon turned back to her coffee, losing all her emotion. "That's an understatement," she said. Robbie then took the opportunity to figure out more.
"What do you mean?" he asked. "I know that the Prome got in the way of 'Clowns Don't Bounce', but I didn't think that it would get you this upset."
She found her voice long enough to shout at him. "Do you REALLY think that I give a shit about Vega's PROME! I could care less about Vega, the Prome, my play, Beck on vacation…" She froze up at the mentioning of Beck. Robbie looked towards Jade, who sat there staring back at him.
"So that's why you're upset?" Robbie asked. "Because Beck's in Canada?"
Jade began to tear up again and nodded at the question. "It's not fair," she said softly. "His family wouldn't let me go with them. His dad's still mad about the incident with the dog."
Robbie let out a small chuckle. Jade shot a glare at him, and as if he could read her mind, he answered, "It was kind of funny, if you think about it." She thought about the incident, and couldn't help but crack a smile. That smile turned into a chuckle, then into a laugh. Before she knew it, she was laughing along with Robbie.
"Thanks, Robbie," Jade said warmly. "It's nice to have someone to talk to."
"No problem," Robbie said.
"Now I have a question for you," Jade said. Robbie nodded his head. "What were you doing in the Black Box theatre?"
Robbie looked down at his shoes. He knew the answer to her question, but he had no idea how he could answer her. He snapped out of his trance when he felt something warm touch his hand. He looked down and saw Jade's hand holding his, and looked up to see her eyes.
"Come on, Shapiro," she said. "I spilled my guts, now it's only fair you do the same."
While her words seemed rough, Robbie noticed that her eyes seemed different than what she was trying to show. Rather than malice or her usual indifference she had with the world, they invited him to feel comfortable with her and tell him what was on his mind.
"I had asked Cat," he began, "to go to Prome with me, but she claimed to have already been asked by a guy named Tug. At first, Rex and I didn't believe her, but I went to Prome anyway thinking she was just shy about it. Then I confronted her, and she still denied it…" He stopped for a moment to wipe his eyes and continued. "I had thought that she was still lying to me, so I gave up asking her. Then I saw Tug and how happy she was, I just had to get out of there."
They sat there in silence, Jade looking at Robbie, Robbie looking at the floor, both still holding hands. Suddenly, Robbie took his hand back and muttered, "I better go." He got up and began to walk towards the door. He didn't make it far before he felt two arms wrap around him, holding him in place. He turned his head to see Jade resting her head on his shoulder, crying silent tears.
"Please…" she whispered to him, "Please don't go."
He turned around to face the Goth teen, who didn't seem to care that her tough façade had been forever destroyed in the eyes of her nerdy friend. As if he were acting on pure instinct, Robbie wrapped his arms around Jade, and both of them stood in her living room, holding the other as tightly as they could as if to keep each other from disappearing. After a few minutes, Robbie put his hand under her chin, and she looked up at him with her blue-green eyes shining. At first, he got lost in her eyes and didn't know what to do, but soon found himself.
"We both had a long night," he told her. She let out a small smile, and wiped the streaks of makeup off her cheeks.
"Yeah, you're right," she whispered. "Maybe we should just go get some sleep."
He nodded, and walked back with her towards the couch. They sat down, Robbie with his arm around Jade's body, and soon began to drift into a deep sleep.
It was almost four in the morning when Robbie woke up from his slumber. He rubbed his eyes and began to search for his glasses. When he found them and put them on, he looked at his left arm to find Jade clinging close to his chest.
Well, this is one interesting dream, he thought to himself. At that moment, he felt Jade reach her arm across his stomach and cuddle him. His eyes widened and he soon realized that this wasn't a dream. He suppressed his squeak that he did when he got nervous, and began to focus on Jade.
At first, it seemed strange to Robbie, staring at someone he knew for a long time. Then he started to realize this was the first time that he was ever alone with Jade. Usually, there was always someone around, usually Rex or Beck. As he focused on his sleeping friend, a small thought crept in his mind.
Wow, I never noticed how…beautiful Jade is, he thought. He looked at the way her hair cascaded over her face, and brushed it back. She moaned softly and nuzzled her head into his chest and began to form a soft smile. Robbie noticed a small blush in her cheeks, something that he knew many kids at school would never see in their lifetimes. Soon he began focusing on her lips, and the thought of kissing them began to take dominance in his mind. This made Robbie's heart beat faster, and he immediately began to worry.
What am I doing? He chastised to himself. This is Jade West, who just happens to be Beck's GIRLFRIEND! I'm not going to hurt him, or take advantage of her.
As he was thinking, Jade began to let out a whimper and a look of sadness took over her smile. Robbie began to silently panic, hoping that she wouldn't wake up. He began stroking her hair in hopes to calm her down.
"Shh…" he whispered into her ear. "There's nothing to be worried about. I'm here for you."
His words began to calm her down, as the smile returned to her face. This made Robbie let out a sigh of relief. He continued to stroke her hair until his body began to yearn for sleep once again. But before he reentered his dreams, he took one last look at Jade, because in his mind he knew that he might never get the chance to see her like this again. He then gave in to his emotions, and gave her a small kiss on the lips. He then took off his glasses, set them on the table, and looked back at Jade.
"And I always will be," he whispered.
The sun shone through the windows and beamed on Robbie, who slowly stirred to consciousness. He didn't feel anything on his left side, and began to panic. He reached for his glasses, and as he put them on, he noticed Jade standing above him, holding a cup of what he could only guess was coffee.
"Rise and shine, Shapiro!" she shouted, causing Robbie to cringe. As he got up, he noticed that she had already changed her clothes and reapplied her makeup.
"What time is it?" he asked groggily. She rolled her eyes, and pointed towards a clock that read 10:34. He stood up and stretched, and began to look at Jade.
"Beck's coming back from his trip and he will be back sometime soon," she told Robbie. "You should probably go."
Robbie felt his heart begin to drop like it was suddenly anchored to a boulder. He worried that things would go back to the way they were, but he had hoped for at least a little change. He opened his mouth to speak his mind, but closed it, and instead nodded his head. As he grabbed his jacket, he began to sulk towards the door.
Maybe it would've been better if it were all just a dream, he thought.
As Robbie began to walk down the hall, Jade noticed that he forgot his keys. She set down her cup, picked up the keys, and began to walk after Robbie.
"Hey!" she shouted, causing Robbie to stop and turn towards her. She jingled his keys in front of him. As he reached out for them, Jade decided to tease Robbie by keeping the keys away from his hands.
"Very funny, Jade," Robbie muttered, becoming annoyed with the joke quickly as she kept playing Keep Away with his keys. She dangled the keys near her face, and smirked at him, daring him to keep trying. In an attempt to get the keys, he reached towards where she held them, only to have her pull them out of his reach again. In his attempt, however, he managed to brush her hair back behind her ear, causing Jade's eyes to widen. For some reason, she felt a strange warmth spread from the spot that Robbie touched to her cheeks, and onwards to the rest of her face.
She then dropped the keys in Robbie's hand, and muttered, "Here."
He grabbed them, and turned towards the door without saying a word. Jade began to feel a sensation that she wasn't sure where it was coming from. As she stood there, touching the spot where Robbie's hand brushed, his voice began to speak in her mind.
I'm here for you…and I always will be…
Before she could call out to him, he had already shut the door. She then ran toward the door, opened it and called out, "Robbie!" Her friend had just made it halfway down the walk before he came back to her doorstep.
"What's up?" he asked her, faking cheerfulness.
"Look," Jade began, "Just because last night happened, doesn't mean that we can be different around school, ok?" As she said those words, she saw Robbie's face darken.
"Yeah, I know," he told her. "It was just a dream, nothing more." He turned to walk back to his car, but he felt a hand grab his, keeping him there. He turned to see Jade looking at him, with the same eyes he saw right before they went to the couch.
"That doesn't mean that we should ever forget it," she told him. "I'm grateful for what you did for me, Robbie."
Robbie was speechless as Jade reached out to hug him. He returned the hug, searching for something to say to her, but couldn't find the right words. As he tried to speak, Jade moved towards his ear and whispered the words that he told her.
"And I always will be."
A look of surprise crept over Robbie's face as Jade then turned his head. He soon felt the warmth of her lips as they pressed against his own. He then closed his eyes, and returned the kiss, Robbie holding his arms around Jade's waist, while she wrapped her arms around his neck. For what seemed like days, they stood there enjoying that kiss, feeling all the warmth, the electricity, the passion that they never knew could exist between them. All of the sensations caused the two to deepen their kiss, and both hoped that it would never end.
They soon parted, and gazed deep into each other's eyes. Soon, Jade turned to reenter her house, while Robbie stayed glued in his spot. She turned to him, gave him one last smile, and shut the door. Robbie then jogged back to his car, and cranked up the engine.
Before Robbie put the car in drive, he grabbed his PearPhone and logged on to TheSlap. He went to his status updates and began to type: Had the sweetest dream last night. I hope I'll get to have it again. When he got home, he noticed that he had one notification on his Slap App. He checked it, and smiled.
Jade West likes your status.