This was written entirely on my iPhone. Excuse whatever this is. Bonus points if you can guess the minor crossover ;)
"It was just supposed to be a few friends!"
Isn't that, after all, the line every house party host ever nervously feeds their friends in hopes of trying to invoke pity? Well, at least, until said host joins his or her guests in all kinds of fun activities—and eventually loses all fucks they'd initially given.
Though Shelly Pomeroy had supposedly only invited a select few of her cheerleader friends (and their jock boyfriends, of course), word had inevitably gotten out and almost Hollywood Arts's entire senior class had showed up. It wasn't that big of a deal; the performing arts school is exclusive, and their grade has a maximum of a hundred and fifty students. If you factor out the techie losers and geeks that hadn't been able to get in—plus the kids who had no interest in showing up whatsoever—it only totals to be about seventy people.
Big, but not Andre's party at Kenan's house big. Shelly was just being dramatic.
Andre had been invited by one of the jock boyfriends, and had promptly informed his friends. The only one who hadn't already heard about the party was Robbie; Tori and Cat had been extended an invite from a friend in class, and Jade from a guy (who'd had a crush on her for years, mind you) in an acting workshop. She'd promptly informed her boyfriend, who'd agreed to cancel their date on Friday night to attend the party. (Jade happily agreed to his one condition—that they still do dinner together beforehand.)
Between Beck and Andre, they'd been able to use enough clout to get Robbie into the party as well. So, the six of them ended up at Shelly's house that night, and the host was (not surprisingly) drunk by the time they arrived around 9:30. Despite the size of the party, it doesn't feel all that big. Shelly's house is huge, so people are spread out and everything is under control.
Beck brings his girlfriend a drink and kisses her as he places the cup in her hand. "You look so good tonight," he whispers into her ear, and she only pretends to be bothered by the fact that he's said that probably ten times in the last three hours. As he speaks, he snakes an arm around her waist and pulls her tightly into him.
Andre and Tori are socializing with some people nearby, Cat is flirting up one of the shruggers in their acting class, and Robbie is sitting on the couch alone. They all have drinks in their hands, of course, but Beck still finds himself feeling sorry for his longtime friend.
"Babe," he says, turning to face Jade, "I wanna go help Robbie a little. You know, just get a little drink in him so he doesn't feel as awkward and then help him socialize a bit."
"We rarely socialize at parties, Beck."
"True," he admits, smiling, "but Rob doesn't have a hot girlfriend to keep company and go home with at the end of the night." Jade blushes and takes another sip of her drink.
"Fine," she replies. "I have to go to the bathroom anyways. Then I'm gonna go make sure Cat hasn't had too much to drink. Come find me when you're done."
They kiss again before parting, and then Jade is off to find the bathroom with the shortest line. Beck, meanwhile, makes his way over to Robbie and joins him on the couch. "Hey, man. How's the party?"
"It kinda sucks, honestly. I definitely didn't think my first high school party would involve me sitting on a cou—"
"This is your first party?" Beck asks, before realizing that the question doesn't really offer any use. "Never mind. Let's change that. Whaddya say we get a drink?"
Robbie's eyes get wide. "Like, alcohol?"
Beck chuckles and stands up to lead the way to the kitchen. "Yes, like alcohol," he answers, giving his friend a pat on the back. "Trust me, one drink won't do any harm. You'll feel better, though. Promise."
"If you say so," Robbie mumbles, following Beck over to the counter. There's a plethora of liquor bottles, beer cans, red cups, and sodas strewn across the kitchen, and Robbie looks nothing short of amazed by all of the foreign substances. Five minutes later, Beck has made two drinks—one considerably stronger than the other. He gives the weaker cup to the newcomer, and they head outside to make conversation.
The lightweight that Robbie is, he feels buzzed relatively quickly. As they stand in a circle of other Hollywood Arts seniors, Beck nurses his third drink and scans the area for his girlfriend. He can't see her in the near vicinity, but that could also be due to the alcohol brewing in his system. He isn't looking for long before the girl in question appears on his left.
"Hey," Jade says, and a smile appears on Beck's face at the sight of the girl he loves. He tosses his arm around her and she can tell right away that he's a little drunk. "What number is this for you?" She asks, taking his cup from him to steal a sip.
"Three... I think," he responds. Beck's grin spreads across his face and he grips his hands on her waist. "I'm fine, though. I swear." He leans in for a kiss and she notices that it's a little sloppier than usual.
"Why don't you let Robbie finish this one for you?" Jade offers, handing the cup to the curly-headed boy.
"Jaaaaaade," he whines, forming his lips into a pout.
"Your stomach always starts hurting after your third," she claims, tousling his hair to get it out of his face. "And unless you want to throw up, I'd suggest you slow down."
Beck's lips curve up into a smile again and he slides his hands to rest just above her ass. He presses his forehead to hers and her fingertips tickle the nape of where his hair meets his neck. "You know me too well, Jade West," he says, closing the space between their mouths.
They're mid-kiss when, from across the backyard patio, Andre starts yelling his best friend's name. Beck ignores him, keeping his focus on his girlfriend as he deepens the kiss. Unfortunately for the couple, Andre continues to shout about how Beck should either reply to him or get a room. Jade finally gets annoyed enough to pull away and shoot a deathly glare towards the offending boy, and Beck turns around with a pained look on his face.
"What, man?" He asks, tossing a free hand up in the air. Across the way, Andre is holding up a ping-pong ball and Beck extends his neck to see that he's standing in front of a table. As he twirls the ball in his fingers, Andre seems to be asking him (or them) to join. Beck turns around to give a hopeful look to Jade, who drags him over to the table.
"We were kind of busy," she huffily informs Andre, who's too busy setting up a game of beer pong. Her boyfriend is holding her from behind, but Beck's eyes are locked desperately on the cups of beer. Jade rarely lets him play the toxic game—and for good reason. By the time the guys start getting interested in playing, Beck has usually already had liquor. And his stomach in particular, Jade knows, does not take well to processing the thick, bubbly beer afterwards.
The one time he'd been to a party without her, as she was out of town, he'd taken advantage of the situation and played pong.
And promptly threw up for the entirety of the next day.
"So here's what I was thinkin'," Andre says, turning around to face the couple. "You two versus me and Little Red."
"No," Jade deadpans. "We'll watch, but we're not playing." Before Beck can open his mouth to plead, the redhead appears in front of the three of them.
"Are you guys gonna play?" She asks, clearly excited for the game ahead.
"No. I don't like beer, and Beck will get sick," Jade retorts. "You can find someone else to play with."
"Babe," the boy pipes in from behind, "I really think it'll be okay. Come on, it's the last party of the summer and I promise I'll drink all of your cups for you."
Jade steps out of Beck's arms and turns to glare at him. "Are you asking me to clean up your vomit tonight?"
"N-no," he stammers. "I just—"
"I'll drink them for you, Jade!" Cat offers, smiling widely at her best friend. "And Beck can drink his own. It won't be that much," she says, winking.
Beck and Jade argue for a few minutes more, while Andre and Cat are all but begging on their knees for their friends to join them. When Jade finally caves, Beck kisses his girlfriend happily and leads her over to the other side of the table.
"You owe me for this, Oliver," she says, hitting his chest. Beck, in an impressively quick (especially considering he's not exactly sober) gesture, catches her hand and uses it to pull her into him for a kiss.
"Uh," Andre says from across the table, "are y'all gonna stand there and make out or play a game of beer pong?"
Jade pulls back from him then, and, grabbing the tiny white ball from where it sits on the table, smirks at her opponents. "Oh, we're not playing—we're whooping ass."
"That's my girl!" Beck says, shooting his fist in the air victoriously.
"Damn right I am," she replies, stretching her head up for another kiss.
"Come on, seriously?!" Andre hollers, tossing his arms up.
"Okay, okay," Beck says, pulling back to face the table again. "We're done."
Jade grins. "For now," she laughs, tossing the ball effortlessly over the net and landing it perfectly into the front cup. "Drink up," she demands, eyeing Cat, who giggles and drains it.
Not surprisingly, Beck is only good until the alcohol sets into his system. Once his vision gets blurrier and his limbs looser, he doesn't sink a shot for the rest of the game. Jade teases him mercilessly as she continues playing with precision. Thanks to Andre's intoxication and Cat's focus on flirting with her partner rather than the game, Jade (and Beck?) are winning rather easily.
All is good and well until Jade feels another pair of eyes on her. Before she can even figure out who it is that's staring at her, she catches her boyfriend glaring harshly at someone standing on the patio. Sure enough, stocky, handsome, blonde Ethan Crane has his blue eyes locked on Jade.
"Beck," she says, rustling his arm to get his attention back to her. "It's your shot." She switches sides with him so that he'll at least be a little further away from Ethan. Beck's had enough alcohol that he doesn't notice, but he tenses up enough for his girlfriend to catch on. "Beck," Jade says again, taking his hand. "Why are you so worked up?"
"Ethan keeps staring at you," he answers through clenched teeth. "Can't he just mind his own business?"
Jade places both of her hands on his upper arms and turns his body back towards her. She knows he's had too much to drink, but she decides that it's more important to keep him calm than it is to chastise him. After all, she firmly believes that Hell hath no fury like a jealous Beck Oliver. "Calm down," she says, rubbing his arms. "I love you, remember? Just relax."
Beck does relax for the time being, but it isn't until after—when he and Jade have won the game—that Ethan approaches the couple. Or rather, one half of the couple.
"Hey, Jade," he says, sipping on his drink. "That was really impressive—what you just did out there. Not even many guys can carry a team on their back for basically the whole game."
Jade laughs, but Beck boils with anger. "Why don't you just back off, alright, man?" He sneers, taking an offensive step forward.
"Chill out," Ethan mutters. "Yanno maybe if you weren't hammered you could at least give your girlfriend a thank-you for winning that game. You were great," he says, turning his head back to Jade before disappearing.
Beck sighs and drops his head so that his mop of thick, brown hair falls sloppily around it. Jade furrows her eyebrows and crosses her arms, as if expecting him to give some kind of explanation.
"I'm sorry," he mumbles, a solid apology for the overreaction. Jade smiles and lifts his head, cupping his face gently in her hands.
"You, my love," she says softly, "have had too much to drink."
"I know," Beck admits sullenly, and his words take her by surprise. "I jus' don't want other guys...yanno, looking at you...and stuff. They're all assholes."
"Oh, right, I forgot," Jade teases. "Every guy except for Beck Oliver is an asshole who only wants me for my boobs."
"You know what I mean," Beck slurs, wrapping his arms around her waist. "You're the prettiest girl in the whole world, Jade. I jus' want you to be mine forever. Will you be my girlfriend forever?"
"Forever? That's a long time to be just a girlfriend. You'll eventually have to put a pretty nice rock on my finger to make me stick around," Jade says, joking only because she knows this conversation will all be a blur to him tomorrow.
"Of course I will," he promises, and she knows that even if it's a drunken promise, it's one he's made sober a hundred times before. It's quiet for a few moments, until Beck snaps back from where he'd been staring off and looks back down at his girlfriend. "Hey, Jade?"
"Don't ask me to marry you."
Beck looks confused. "I—What? No, I… I was wondering if we could at least go over to, yanno, where Ethan is standing and…just…make out?"
Jade's perfect eyebrows shoot up and Beck knows he's misspoken. "I'm going to pretend," she says, speaking through a fake, pissed-off smile, "that you did not just ask to parade me around like some kind of goddamn show pony—so that I don't have to punch you in the face."
Beck nods his head furiously and Jade rolls her eyes. "I am going to give you so much shit for this tomorrow," she says, laughing. "And as for the making out part—you can kiss me anytime you want, just not when your breath reeks of beer." Beck nods again, submitting to her every word, and Jade squeezes his hand. "We need to get you home."
As she walks with him back onto the patio and into the house, they ignore the looks on everyone's faces. The girls are swooning with jealousy of Jade, who gets to take her beautiful boyfriend home and take care of him. The guys recognize the nauseous look on Beck's face and know that he'd somehow convinced his protective girlfriend to let him play beer pong.
Ethan Crane, in particular, stares at the dark-haired girl from afar and curses Beck's name. If he had Jade as his girlfriend, he'd never make her leave the party to take him home.
Little does Ethan Crane know, Jade savors the moments she gets to care for her boyfriend. Ever since she'd started talking him out of beer pong, she rarely finds herself having to babysit a drunk Beck these days. Most girls would find it annoying—because they'd spend their night cleaning vomit and feeding the guy Advil and water (rather than getting drunker and then hooking up)—but Jade loves Beck for more than someone to simply have a good night with.
She was (sort of) kidding about marrying him when she'd spoken earlier, but she has to admit that the part of the traditional vow, "In sickness and in health" is quite applicable to their relationship. Sure, they love each other for the fun parts—like making out and holding hands and spooning and spending time together. But what makes them undeniably different than other couples their age is their love for each other even when things aren't fun.
They take care of each other, no matter the circumstance. Which is why, when everyone is feeling sorry for Jade as she drags her boyfriend out of Shelly's house, Jade herself is simply smiling.
Oh, and supporting almost Beck's entire weight.
The next morning, Beck wakes up to the distinctive smell of chocolate. When he opens his eyes, he's laying flat on his back and someone is sitting up next to him. Jade is running her fingers through his hair, and she gives him a small smile when he makes eye contact with her.
"How're you feeling?" She asks, and Beck notices that her voice is the one thing that makes the pounding in his head go away, if only for a few seconds.
"Like... Like an elephant is standing on my head," he mutters, and his girlfriend laughs softly.
"What all do you remember from last night?"
Beck scrunches his forehead. "Not much... Hanging with Robbie for a bit—I think we did a few jello shots. And then...playing beer pong?"
"Yes, we played—and you sucked. But we won," Jade informs him. "Well, I won."
"I'm sorry," he groans. "I'm sorry you had to take care of me. I should have listened to y—Wait. Wait a second."
"What?"
"Did you," he says, sitting up slowly. "Did you say you'd marry me one day last night?"
Jade immediately flushes. "I liked you better when you didn't remember things."
"You said you'd marry me," Beck says, grinning. He kisses her warm, pink cheek and she rolls her eyes.
"Shut up and eat your Cocoa Puffs," Jade replies, shoving the bowl of his favorite cereal towards his hands.
"You brought me Cocoa Puffs," he says, still smiling. "Will you still bring me bowls of cereal in bed when we're married?"
"We're not going to be married," she insists. Beck looks upset for a few seconds, but then he's kissing everything from her shoulder to her forehead and she knows he won't be letting this one go for a while. "Beck, seriously," she squeals out as his lips press to the sensitive spot on her neck. "You're gonna spill your cereal."
Beck reaches an arm across her body to set the bowl back on the dresser, and the next thing she knows he's pulled her to lay on top of him. He kisses her deeply and suddenly his headache doesn't feel so bad. When they finally come up for air, Jade is the first to speak.
"Beck?" She says, hovering over him.
"Yeah?"
"I'll still bring you Cocoa Puffs when we're married."