Of Borrowed Shirts and Messy Ponytails
…
Beck Oliver stared at the teen magazine that rested before him on his bed. He had confiscated it from his niece, Rachel, when he saw it had a hot boy with no shirt or whatsoever on the cover – the girl was ten, for Christ's sake.
Little Rach was spending the weekend with her favorite – and only, for that matter – uncle and his soon to be wife. Jade had gone out to get some pizza, claiming she needed to clear her head and delivery services were overrated anyway.
So, as Rachel was showering, Beck attempted to entertain himself with the previously confiscated magazine, and learn what kids' were into nowadays.
Flipping over the pages, he stumbled upon a "What kind of boy are you dating?" quiz. There, written on printed pink letters, were some questions a girl should ask her "BF" to complete the test and find out if the boy she was dating, was a gentleman who would make her fantasies come true, or a jerk that would step over her oh so fragile heart the first chance he got.
He decided to answer them, and read the first question.
"If you could choose my clothes for a day, what would you make me wear?"
Beck guessed that most guys would answer with slutty skirts and revealing cleavages, but that was not his case.
If he was honest with himself – and whoever the editor of this chick magazine was – he had to admit his favorite clothes on Jade were his own.
Anyone who had a pair of eyes and a brain could figure out Jade looked stunning in about any outfit there was for her to wear. (She even looked hot with that hamburger costume, back in High School, to be honest.)
However, there was no outfit Beck liked to see on his girlfriend more than his own shirts.
It was the way she wore them, that made him forget they were his and believe they were made for her, to fit her body on the best way possible.
Now that he thought about it, the first time he had seen Jade on one of his shirts was way back in Middle School.
She had been walking to his house – her dad too busy to drive her – to work on some assignment they had been paired for. Her heavy combat boots had made a clicking sound with every step she took and she had clutched her bag tight to her side, not a fan of walking alone on wintery evenings, when the sky was dark and she could barely see ahead of her because of the fog.
Out of nowhere, rain had started to pour heavily on thirteen year old Jade, and she had made a run for it, trying to get to Beck's house before she was soaked wet.
Her plan didn't work as expected, tough, and by the time she was ringing his doorbell, her clothes were wet and cold and she could see her bra through her shirt.
"Hey, Jade!" Beck smiled, opening the door, and letting her in, before closing the door behind her. "Oh, you are wet!" He exclaimed, taking a look at his best friend.
"No shit, Sherlock." Jade mumbled in response, attempting to cover her see-through shirt, and failing. (Not that Beck would tell her that.)
"Come on, I have some clothes you can borrow." Together, they made their way to his room, and he opened his closet, taking out a faded red t-shirt and some – too small for him – shorts.
"Thanks, I'll be right back." She took the clothes from his hands and changed into them before studying her figure on the huge mirror located on the guest bathroom. She combed her hair with her hands, and gave up on it a minute later, finally tying it up in a messy ponytail.
As she walked into his room, Beck's breath caught on his throat. He didn't understand how Jade – his all-time best friend – could look so pretty in nothing more than his old shorts and an oversized shirt.
And it was that day, working on a science project together, (Jade did all the work, really, as he kept getting distracted with the way her brown locks of hair swayed back and forth wrapped in that messy ponytail), that he had realized he had a crush on her.
A major crush, if he may.
Exactly a year and a half later, Beck and Jade – now boyfriend and girlfriend – were sitting on his recently acquired RV, eating spaghetti he had attempted to cook and watching old Drake&Josh reruns.
Something about the way Megan smiled triumphantly, after hanging Drake upside down with a rope, made Jade burst out laughing, effectively knocking her plate over her blue shirt and jeans.
"Fuck." She moaned, reaching for some napkins to clear off the mess she had made.
"Don't worry about it." Beck smiled as he took the paper from her pale hand, brushing her clothes himself. "I don't think I'll be able to get that off, why don't you change into some of my clothes?"
"Sure, can I borrow your red flannel shirt?" He nodded and she got up, heading towards the tiny bathroom to change her spaghetti-stained clothes. (She was a klutz sometimes, but no one besides herself or Beck would ever find out about that.)
When she exited the bathroom, wearing nothing but her underwear and his big flannel-shirt, he could help but grab her head on his hands and gently placing a sloppy kiss over her pouty lips. She kissed him back, amazed with the effect his lips had on her.
Beck broke the kiss, staring into his girlfriend's blue-green eyes, and smiling at the messy ponytail that held her hair captive. Unable to control himself – he would forever blame the fact that she looked so good on his clothes – he whispered into her ear. "I love you."
Her smile turned into a frown, and she backed away from his embrace, looking deadpan serious at him. "What did you say?" She asked cautiously, wanting to give him the opportunity to take it back.
"I love you." He repeated – he had never been so sure about anything in his whole life.
Jade smirked, wrapping her arms around his neck and playing with his shaggy hair. He kissed her again, this time, full of excitement for his new discovery.
He loved her, big flannel shirt, messy ponytail and all.
"I guess you are not that bad yourself." She admitted, which was as close as an I love you he would get from her that day – not that he was complaining.
Jade wearing his shirts had become like a habit for them – she even wore one to bed every night. However, it never ceased to amaze him how sexy they made her look. (He wondered if they had the same effect on him, although he knew it wasn't likely.)
Nevertheless – ten years together, two apartments and a bunch of sucky acting jobs later – Beck was still not used to the beauty that irradiated from Jade each and every morning, and he often found himself mesmerized by his girlfriend.
That's why, on a warm July morning, he put the little velvet box he had bought with Tori the week before on his pocket, and made his way to the living room, only to find Jade sitting on the couch, an amused expression adorning her features.
"Morning, sleeping beauty." She said, sarcasm dripping from her words. "Are you aware it's three in the afternoon?"
"Hey, babe." He smiled and plopped down on the couch beside her. "Jet lag catches on me way to fast."
Beck had been away on tour, attending to the European premiers of his newest film, while Jade had to stay home to write and edit her almost finished play – that she would be directing on Broadway.
He glanced over at his – hopefully – soon to be fiancé, she was wearing nothing more than one of his deep blue flannel shirts, which stopped at her upper thigh.
Jade laughed out loud, her eyes fixed on the huge TV before her. None other than Tori Vega was being interviewed by some News channel, and she was talking about the latest role she had landed, a place on Jade's play.
"She is saying she considers me her best friend, for Christ's sake!" She continued to mock Vega. "That girl is crazy."
Beck tuned her off, thinking about what the best way to propose to her would be. He knew for a fact she wouldn't like sappy things like airplane banners or rings on the cake. He needed something unique, but simple at the same time, a way to show her he loved her more than anything else.
"You ok?" She asked, looking straight into his eyes.
Maybe it was the fact that she was wearing nothing more than his shirt, or the way her dark locks fell on his shoulder, wrapped in a rubber band. Maybe it was her flashing smile, or her amused expression – that never failed to make him smile as well. Maybe it was the hotness of the living room (the AC wasn't working anymore) or just the fact that he loved her so damn much.
Whatever the reason was, she watched in awe as he kneeled down in front of her – Tori's interview long forgotten.
"Jade – I – I love you the way I never thought I could love anyone. You are the most important thing on the world to me, and I can't even begin to imagine my life without you. I adore the way you stand up for what you believe, and the way you make me feel every time you are near me. I love you, all of you. Jade, babe, will you marry me?"
Her eyes lit up with unshed tears, and she wiped them away with the hem of her borrowed shirt, looking down at the ring on his hands. "Yes." She mumbled, unsure of what to say.
That was enough for him, as he swayed her off her feet, clutching her frame to his chest. Jade wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, not wanting to ever let go. She laughed against his neck, before laying a kiss behind his ear. "I love you so much."
"I'm home." Beck was thrown out of his musings by the front door swinging open. Jade appeared on their room, a box of pizza on her hands. "Where's Rachel?" She asked, laying on the bed beside him. "And why are you reading the magazine I bought for her?"
"You- you bought her this?" He asked, motioning to the shirtless wannabe on the front cover.
"Yeah, I knew it would drive you nuts." She laughed, taking said magazine from his hands.
He glanced at her – he was trying to glare, honestly – failing to keep a serious face and laughing at her antics. "I love you, you know that, right?"
Jade smirked, reaching over to play with his hair (ten years later she still couldn't keep her hands away from his awesome locks). "Yeah, I do. Where does this sudden proclamation of affection come from?"
"I don't know, teen magazines tend to have that effect on me." He grinned back at her. Jade sighed, closing the distance between them and capturing his lips on a passionate kiss. He kissed her back, pulling her to him so she would straddle his waist with her legs as she placed light kisses along his jaw and neck.
"Guys, not the time or place." Rachel interrupted their make-out session.
Jade quickly climbed off of her fiancé, her cheeks burning red. "Oh, hey Rach."
Beck looked over to where his niece sat, her small body wrapped on one of his old flannel shirts and her blond her tied up on a messy bun.
"I took this from your closet. My pajamas were dirty." She explained, situating herself between her uncle and Jade – she didn't need to see more than she already had.
He just watched in awe as Jade and Rachel chatted, eating their slices of pizza and wearing his clothes, like they were their own.
Rach fumbled with the long sleeves of his shirt, and Jade helped her roll them up like she did with the one she was wearing.
Sitting there, with the two most important girls on his life, he wondered when he had gotten so lucky.
Maybe they didn't own his clothes, but they owned him.
(He was sure they knew; they took advantage of it every single day.)
He loved them, big flannel shirts, messy ponytails and all.
A/N: I don't even know what this is, really. Credits to my sis for the flannel shirt idea, I was lost when I looked for something borrowed to write about.
This was written for Save the Bade's Silver Sixpence challenge, third phase Something Borrowed.
Your opinion is always appreciated. By the way, I need a beta for a three shot I want to write, if anyone thinks they are capable of putting up with me, PM me, or tweet me or anything.
My twitter is GillianForLife.
Much love, Andrea. : )