"You Found Me."
I.
Beck only ever had three girlfriends before. Jade, who he only stayed with for so long because she had him convinced that they were really in love, Tori, who he liked because she wasn't Jade, and Penny, who didn't matter because that was third grade and he doesn't even know what she looks like these days.
With Jade it was like this: she told him she loved him and eventually he believed it. He felt like he needed her, like he would die for her, like he could spend forever with her. But when he met Tori, he realized Jade never made him happy. Never let him have fun. So he tried to love Tori instead.
Tori was different. She was normal, a change from all the weirdoes at Hollywood Arts. But she always had plans for them; going to a club, going to a party, going out anywhere. They could never just sit around and talk about anything. Unless talking about their plans for the next three days counted. Tori never wanted to meet his family, his friends, not even his dog. She eventually admitted she only dated him because she knew Jade couldn't stand her. But at least she was nice enough to wait until after he broke up with her to say it.
The one thing Beck needed most, neither Jade nor Tori gave him. He just wanted to be loved back. For once, he just wanted someone to hold that would appreciate being held, someone with whom he could share his feelings and he would hear hers.
Then one night, it happened.
II.
It was sometime around 1 in the morning when he was woken up by sirens. At first he thought it was his alarm, waking him up for school. But when he opened his eyes and saw the red and blue lights dancing across his walls, he knew something was wrong. He threw the first t-shirt he found on the floor and ran out the door of his RV. The lights were coming from the neighbor's yard.
Next door lived a girl named Cat. She was part of Beck's close group of friends, if you could even call them close. She was known as a total airhead and for her candy-red hair. She knew pretty much everyone in the school, but then again, so did everyone else in their social circle. She was one of those people that everyone knows of but nobody is really good friends with. And now there were cop cars and an ambulance in front of her house.
III.
He's not sure how it happened or why he was doing it, but Beck was holding Cat in his arms. She had slowly stopped crying and just sat there, leaning into him with her face in her hands.
"I guess I should tell you what happened..." Cat said while pulling away. He just sat there, wanting to comfort her.
"Cat, if you don't want to tell me then... I don't want to know."
"Well," she began, "I want you to know."
She took a deep breath and told him everything. She told him how her mom's boyfriend was always violent. Tonight they had gotten in a fight, and then he left and came back a couple hours later, drunk. Cat and her older brother, Ben, had been asleep at first. She woke up when Ben started to try to protect their mom. She called the cops, but it was too late. Her step-dad had killed her mom and knocked Ben unconscious. Then he just got in her mom's car and drove off. A couple minutes later, the cops got there.
"Cat..."
"Don't say you're sorry. There's no way you could have helped."
"But I still wish I could've done something."
"People always say sorry. But they never mean it." She said angrily. "I've heard it too many times and I'm sure I'm going to hear it a lot more now." She wiped her face with her sleeve. "I shouldn't be taking that out on you... Sorry."
"Don't be." He said. He'd never seen anyone look so sad before. He wanted to help her some way. "Why don't you stay with me next door until you... figure things out?"
She gave him a questioning look, unsure what to do.
"I've got an extra bedroom in my RV," continued, "or a couch. But between you and me... the bed is way more comfortable."
"Well, I don't think I'll be able to sleep in that house for a while. But I'd feel like I was invaded your space."
"Honestly, it's too empty in that place. I could use a visitor."
"Well in that case..." she began. And surprisingly, she smiled.
2 YEARS LATER.
Beck's dad agreed to let Cat stay with them, but he never cared what Beck did anyway as long as it didn't involve him.
At first, it was awkward, both of them living in the RV. But after driving Cat to school everyday in his red pickup tuck and being together constantly, they got used to each other. After they got used to each other, they became friends with benefits, the benefits being that they alternate making meals everyday.
Then they did things together, like dancing around to the radio while they mixed eggs or mopped the floor.
That's when Cat's biological father decided he actually wanted her. He showed up one day and took her away from Beck. Just like that. One second, they were debating if oatmeal raisin cookies should even be considered cookies (she loved them, they reminded him of old people's wrinkles). Then the next second, there's a knock on the RV door.
Beck never really realized he loved her until she was gone. And this time she loved him too. For real. She didn't have a cell phone. He didn't know where they were going. She was gone.
He walks into his plane and looks around for his seat. Up ahead, he sees a cherry red head of hair. Could it be her? Maybe she kept her hair that color after all these years... Then the lady up ahead turned ever so slightly...
...and took off her red hood. Not hair. He sat down in an empty row of chairs. Excuse me? he hears. Is anyone sitting there?
No, It's just me, he says. Then he looks up.
Cat?
THE END.