oh, the places you'll go.
beck/jade.

by dramaticstarlet.

i wrote this once, and then i didn't like it so i decided to re-write it again. i do silly things like that in order to improve the quality of my work. :) also, i wouldn say that this isn't really a hardcore bade, but there are definite implications of it.

the title of this comes from a song by whitney wiatt and stephen jerzak by the same name. it isn't based off the song at all, however, mostly because i have no idea what the song is about LMFAO. but it sounds pretty. :)

/

Jade really had no idea how she'd ended up with such a mess of a life. Living in an overpriced apartment complex, working two shitty jobs at Wal-Mart and a pizza place, making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at three in the morning for a 6 year old that just happened to be her son.

When she was 17, she'd always pictures herself landing a starring role on Broadway, married to Beck, living in a penthouse apartment in New York with a super hot butler to match. Those dreams were crushed after 25 failed auditions (yes, she counted) and her and Beck's break-up during their freshman year of college.

At 29 years old, none of her dreams were even close to coming true. But that was kind of okay – without all of her hopes coming crashing down, Jade wouldn't have her son or her best friend or be able to eat extra cheese and tofu pizza every day (no complaints there, carbs be damned).

Without her son, however, she wouldn't be walking through 3 feet of snow in the middle of February to attend a fucking parent. Teacher. Conference.

Because her son kept making fun of some four-eyes little girl's glasses. ("Big deal! Kids are mean!" Jade had said on the phone; his teacher disagreed.)

"Momma, I'm not going to Nana's house after this," her son said matter-of-factly as she dragged him through the snow. His big, blue eyes blazed with determination. "I'm coming with you to work."

Jade didn't know whether to laugh or slap him. "Micah, no. Okay? Just no," she said tiredly.

"But Momma!" Micah insisted, digging his two-sizes-too-big combat boots into the snow. "She makes me EAT CARROTS AND DO FLASHCARDS. I hate Nana!"

Jade smirked. Her overbearing mother was even too much for a 6 year old to handle. Typical.

On the other hand, however, Lisa West had never approved of Jade's decision to keep her "bastard child" with some lowlife wannabe rockstar. So really, her mother wasn't really obligated to like Micah.

"Sorry, kid. This meeting with your teacher's already making me late. You don't wanna spend your Saturday at Wal-Mart and Pizza Hut."

Wal-Mart and Pizza Hut. Jade hated the fact that her kid had to tell people his mom worked at two blackheads on the face of economic opportunity.

"Fine," Micah huffed, stomping up the concrete stairs to the entrance of the school. Jade wondered how he didn't trip, since his feet were practically swimming in his combat boots.

Maybe he was just determined. (He got that from her OBVIOUSLY.)

She watched him stomp down the school hallway, sighing deeply. Jade wondered how so much personality could fit into four feet. Her mother said she wondered the same thing when Jade was 6.

Micah lead her down the linoleum hallway to the last classroom on the right. A sign on the door read Mrs. Kohl in sparkly blue marker. Star stickers covered the wood – Jade kind of wanted to tear them all off.

"Hey. Hold on a sec," Jade grabbed Micah's arm before he had the chance to open the door. "You promise you'll be good? No back talking? No making fun of whoever the hell this other kid's parents are?"

"Promise."

"Pinky promise?"

Micah hesitated, but linked their pinky fingers together. Jade grinned in triumph, because she always won.

Jade opened the door to the classroom, immediately catching sight of a little girl with pink glasses and long black hair with a purple bow in it sitting at desk. "Is that the girl?" Jade whispered to Micah discreetly.

"Yeah. Her name's Lulu."

"She's kinda cute."

"Miss West?"

A gentle female voice resounded.

"Oh. Yeah, that's me. You must be Mrs. Kohl," Jade said as she plastered a huge fake smile onto her features. She didn't have time for this bullshit.

"Thank you for coming. Mr. and Mrs. Oliver are over here," Mrs. Kohl responded in her smooth-as-honey voice. Jade immediately judged her as just another goody-two-shoes bitch polluting the world with rainbows and fairytales. Fucking kindergarten teachers.

Jade was prepared to give this Mr. and Mrs. Oliver a long lecture on how their kid needed to toughen up. Until she saw their faces.

"Beck?" It was barely above a whisper.

Mr. Oliver gave her a stunned expression. And Mrs. Oliver (TORI VEGA OH MY GOD) clasped his hand more tightly. "Jade. You live in Brooklyn, too?"

"Uh. Yeah."

She wanted to cry. She was standing in front of a boy she'd never fallen out of love with, wearing a Wal-Mart uniform with a mysterious green stain on it and no make-up. She wasn't sure what she'd done in a past life to deserve this kind of karmic retribution.

Jade remembered getting a wedding invitation about 7 years ago, but she didn't think they'd actually last. Tori was so...everything. And she wore bright colors and respected Beck's space and didn't like mochi ice cream.

It bothered her that Beck wanted that.

He looked the same, of course. Same shaggy black hair, same flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and a silver thumb ring.

"Hi, Jade."

And Tori was beautiful, of course. Her hair was shorter and she looked curvier – childbirth, no doubt. Jade hated her all over again.

"Beck. Tori. What a coink," Jade finally found her voice, trying to be as casual as possible as she dropped into a chair next to Mrs. Kohl.

The teacher spoke, tucking a dark blond curl behind her ear. "I'm glad we all know each other." No shit, Sherlock. "Now, um, Miss West. Well, Michah's been making fun of Lulu's glasses, and –"

"And she came home sobbing on Wednesday begging to get contacts," Beck finished for her. He sounded protective – annoyed. No hint of his former affection for Jade was in his eyes. She wanted to hit him for making her feel guilty on behalf of her son. Beck. Beck. Beck. I'm sorry.

"We just want Micah to apologize. Lulu's really sensitive about her glasses," Tori continued Beck's speech sincerely, not meeting Jade's eyes.

Jade opened her mouth to speak, closed it. Then clenched her fists and stood up, seriously considering punching Tori in the face.

"Screw you, Vega. My son doesn't own you or your kid anything."

Jade was good at running away from things so that's what she did.

/

Micah seemed disappointed when she dragged him him out of the classroom, because "Momma, I want Lulu to be my girlfriend" and Jade just yelled at him to stop talking and get in the damn car.

He teared up so she bought him a bag of Skittles after work. They separated the colors and then ate them one by one.

/

Beck left a message on her answering machine. You'll never change, will you Jade?

She decided to take up smoking again.

/

aiiiiight so kinda an abrupt ending and jade's OOC at some parts but i think it was okay. hope you liked. :)

please review with more than "so sad" or "i loved it" or whatever, please and thank you! :)