"Beck: 24, Jade: 1"
Christmas One-Shot
Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious or any of the actors/actresses who portray them. I also do not own any songs used throughout the story- just the idea
MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE~! HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Paring: Jade/Beck
Song(s) included: mentions of "Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence, "Had Me at Hello" by Olivia Holt/Luke Benward, mentions of the Drake & Josh theme song
Summary: The twenty-four presents Beck gives Jade through December, and the one gift that really mattered. Enjoy!
~*~December 1st~*~
With Christmas around the corner, Jade was expectedly in a bad mood. She hated the cheer and constant giggles that came from people who were excited about the upcoming holiday, but what she hated most were the endless lines of shoppers for various places. Really, why did people have to buy their gifts now when they should have done it throughout the year, like Jade did?
Because, apparently, everyone was stupid. It made so much sense to the Goth, and explained everything wrong with the universe.
After all, not many people were cool enough to hang out with her, let alone talk to her.
However, the one individual who was cool enough to have such privileges, Beck Oliver, was leaning against the wall near her locker, so the day couldn't be so bad, right?
Even better- her totally hot knight-in-shining-armor had a cup of coffee in his hand. Things were definitely looking up for one Jade West.
"Hey babe," Beck greeted, smiling warmly at the Goth. He watched with amused chocolate eyes as she smiled lightly at him before focusing on her locker combination.
"That coffee," she said more than asked, her ice-blue orbs never once glancing in his direction as she got her books.
Instantly, he held out the cup. "Yup, made especially for you," he answered, grinning.
Jade slammed her locker closed, a curious yet cautious look on her beautiful features. She crossed her arms under her breasts, a mocking eyebrow raised. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.
"Just try it. You'll like it- trust me."
She snatched the cup without hesitation because yes, she did trust him. Taking a sip of the hot brew, her eyes widened in pleasant surprise.
A bright smile- one he hadn't seen in ages- bloomed, and Beck was struck speechless.
"You made me coffee," she stated, taking another sip. "Your 'special coffee' you swore you would never break out again because you know how much I love it." She gave him a mock-pout at the last but continued sipping.
He couldn't help the mischievous smile that curved his lips up. "Well, I figured now would be a good time as any," he replied casually. "After all, we did just get back together not too long ago."
"Thanks, Beck," Jade said, her eyes softening. Leaning up, she pressed a kiss to his cheek in an affectionate gesture that was almost unheard of at HA.
Positively beaming with happiness, he wrapped an arm around her waist and began leading her to their first class. "You're welcome."
~*~December 2nd~*~
Beck knew he was being suspicious, but the end result would be well worth it. After all, if he knew Jade the way he did, she would be cranky and easily irritable this time of year, so why shouldn't he try to make it as enjoyable as possible?
Besides, after their whole break-up thanks to that game show Sinjin created, he needed to prove to Jade that he was a changed man and could make her happy (since she accused him of being unable to do that, too).
So, here he stood in front of her locker once more with almost dead flowers in hand, waiting for his wonderfully sadistic girlfriend to appear.
And when she did, he breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't look as annoyed as she did yesterday, but that was only speaking in the smallest of terms. Nope, she still stomped and glared at everyone who was dumb enough to be in her path.
"Hi, babe," he greeted, smiling.
Jade stopped where she was, a couple of feet from where he stood. Her eyes immediately zeroed-in on the flowers he held, and a frown pulled her full lips down.
"What are those?" she practically demanded to know, her gaze snapping to look him in the eye. "Why do you have them?"
Beck held them out to her, still smiling charmingly. "They're for you, of course," he answered like it was obvious. Seriously, who else would he get almost dead flowers for?
Carefully, like she was expecting a bomb to go off, she took them and started running her fingers over the petals. "They're almost dead," she pointed out, but a bright smile was starting to perk her expression up.
He shrugged. "You hate fresh ones."
Jade grinned. "I do, don't I?"
Beck thought it was worth being stared at funny by the flower shop employee just for that one special smile only she could pull off.
~*~December 3rd~*~
Despite having complained about Jade only giving him a can of lemonade for his birthday, Beck knew she would understand this particular gift when she saw it. After all, she pretty much hated lemonade, so it said a lot when she actually got him that because he loved the tartly sweet beverage.
So, he peeked at Jade continuously as she opened her locker while getting books and supplies from his own.
"What the chizz?" he heard Jade ask herself, though it was loud enough for everyone near her to hear.
Grinning, he turned to fully face the inside of his locker, holding his breath as he waited to see what she would do next.
Her locker door being slammed shut was heard, then her booted feet making their way towards him.
Beck could feel her presence behind him, but he continued to fiddle with some loose papers and pencils, ignoring the way the air around them thickened with an unknown energy.
Then, "Cute, Oliver," Jade whispered in his ear, causing his grin to grow, if possible, "Very cute." With that, she strode away before he could say anything.
~*~December 4th~*~
Jade raised an eyebrow when she saw Beck. It wasn't because he was dressed differently or leaning weird against the wall- it was because of the object he held in his hands.
And no, it wasn't a cup of coffee or another bouquet of almost-dead flowers again.
No, it was something grey with hints of red. Some kind of thing that was shaped familiarly but she couldn't quite place her finger on what.
Mentally shrugging, she continued onto her locker without a comment. If her boyfriend felt the need to carry around some weird object, she wouldn't complain or say anything. It wasn't like she was normal; her ability to hide scissors on her person case-in-point.
In a teasing tone, Beck asked, "Aren't you going to ask what I'm carrying?"
"Nope," she instantly replied, her gaze never once straying towards him.
"Aw, come on, babe," he whined playfully, "You must be a little curious, right?"
"Nope," she said again, "I don't care what you feel you need to carry around as long as it's not for another girl." At that, she gave him a warning look promising extreme pain.
Beck scoffed, rolling his eyes, "Of course not." He held out the grey-thing, a smile overtaking his features once more. "Actually, this is for you. Took me forever to get, but you're more than worth it." What he failed to say was that it had cost him almost thirty bucks in coins but, like he said, Jade was worth it.
Looking down at the weirdly shaped thing, she finally recognized what it was. "Oh God," she whispered, eyes widening, "Is that-?"
"-Yup, a scissor plushie!" Beck exclaimed cheerfully.
When she snatched it quickly and started fast-walking away, he vaguely heard her coo, "You're my new favorite pair of scissors. I think I'll name you Snip-Snipperson."
Oh yes, definitely worth the thirty bucks.
~*~December 5th~*~
When she woke up that morning, the last thing Jade expected was to see a text from Beck asking her to come outside. But, since it was him, she only grumbled and did what she was told, while wrapping a black silk robe around herself.
She opened her front door, only slightly surprised to see the Canadian-born teen leaning against the front of his GTO, a plaid shirt clasped in his hands.
He smiled when he saw her, and pushed off the hood. "Good morning," he greeted warmly.
"Yeah, whatever," she mumbled, crossing her arms under her breasts to ward off the chill in the air. Seriously, how could Beck be okay in this type of weather? It was freezing! "Why did ask me to come out now? I'm cold!"
"Here, let me help with that."
Shaking out the plaid shirt he carried, he draped it around her shoulders and the thin material of her robe. Warmth instantly embraced Jade, and she unconsciously snuggled into the fabric that was soaked in Beck's natural scent; her favorite.
"How long have you been out here?" she asked curiously.
He shrugged, tugging and pulling his shirt until he was satisfied she was a little warmer. "Maybe half an hour, at the most? I wanted to make sure I got to you before you started getting ready." A grin touched his handsome features as he gazed down at her tenderly. "Don't worry, I made sure to wear this shirt and had the heater on so I wouldn't lose any toes or fingers."
It explained the extra warmth and the scent. "Thank you," she mumbled, burying her head into his chest. "But, seriously, why are you here?"
Beck chuckled, wrapping his arms around her. "I just wanted to give you my shirt. I know it's your favorite, so I want you to have it."
"Really?"
He pecked a kiss to the top of her head. "Really. Now, go get ready. I'll drive you to school."
"Fine," she grumbled, not wanting to be separated. But, she still pulled away and walked back into her house to get dressed and presentable.
When she came back out, Beck grinned when he saw the red and black plaid shirt; her favorite shirt on him, and his favorite shirt on her.
~*~December 6th~*~
When Beck asked Jade to come over to his RV, she hadn't expected it was because he wanted to have a scary movie marathon- her favorite type of marathon of all time. And it wasn't even Halloween!
"You want to have a scary movie marathon?" she asked for the second time that night, not sure she believed what was happening.
Grabbing a bowl of popcorn, he answered, "Yup. Why not?"
"It's not Halloween," she said matter-of-factly. "That's the only time you ever want to have one."
"But this Halloween we weren't dating," he pointed out, taking a seat on his couch and bringing her down with him. "Let's just say we're catching up for lost time?"
Not able to argue with such logic (not that she really wanted to), Jade nodded in agreement as she got comfortable against him. "Okay, you win this time, Beck."
His only response was to grin charmingly before starting the first movie.
~*~December 7th~*~
After their night of horror-goodness, Jade hadn't expected Beck to get her something else, but he surprised her. Normally, she hated surprises, but this one she'd make an exception for.
And it was all thanks to Tori Vega.
Little Miss Perfect was taking up Beck's time again, and Jade was getting irritated with the Latina's need to constantly talk to him. Really, people would think Tori was dating Beck, not Jade.
But, it was okay. Why? Because the Goth now had a trump card for the day.
From behind Tori's back, Jade made sure she was within Beck's line of vision and waved a piece of paper at him, a smirk on her face.
"-So then, I was like-" Tori stopped talking when she noticed Beck was starting to walk away from her, mid-sentence. "Beck? Where are you going? I wasn't finished!"
When she followed his path, she understood. Jade was smiling triumphantly at Tori, while Beck wrapped his arms around the Goth to plant his lips against hers passionately.
Rolling her chocolate eyes, the Latina huffed indignantly before stomping off to talk to Andre or Cat.
When the couple pulled away, Beck was smirking in amusement at his girlfriend. "You know," he said, "I didn't think this coupon would be necessary." He took said piece of paper from Jade's hold, flashing the 'Kiss Me' sign he'd printed earlier. "If you really want a kiss, all you have to do is ask."
Jade smirked with a viciousness that he found sexy. "Where's the fun in that? At least this way, I can get you to walk away from those sluts any time I want."
All Beck could do was laugh.
~*~December 8th~*~
Jade came to school in a fouler mood than usual, which meant no one got in her way and no one dared to talk to her (except Beck). She didn't say anything, only glared with an iciness that rivaled the North Pole.
However, Beck knew exactly what was wrong, so left HA after their first class-block. Everyone thought he'd been smart to run away, but Beck Oliver was un-scare-able. Did they forget that little fact?
Case-in-point, when he came back during lunch, he opened Jade's locker while everyone in the hallway thought the same thing: Dead man walking. But he was in and out before his cranky girlfriend made her appearance to switch books.
From his own transparent locker, he watched as she slammed open hers and pause at the sight of his little gift. It was a harmless brown paper bag with a certain logo that showed it was from their local pharmacy.
Jade ripped open the parcel with greedy fingers and finally smiled that day at the contents.
It was the familiar little blue and white bottle of Midol with a sticky note attached to the top. The note simply read: You owe me. Love you, babe 3
~*~December 9th~*~
"God, I hate the number nine," Jade snarled to Cat, who was skipping beside the Goth happily. "It just sounds so whiny. Ni~ne, ni~ne," she mocked, her ice-blue eyes flashing in irritation.
"I like the number three!" the bubbly redhead said, smiling widely. "Hey, you know, one time, my brother got three hamsters. He experimented on them, hoping he could turn them into the Teenage Mutant Ninja Gerbils."
"Gerbils and hamsters are two different species of rodent," the jet haired girl replied, rolling her eyes.
"Oh," Cat said then giggled. "I knew that!"
"Sure, Cat, whatever you say," Jade replied in an absent tone. Coming up to her scissor-covered locker, she opened it but had to quickly step back when slips of weirdly shaped, colorful papers fell out, like an avalanche.
Cat gasped in delight, clapping. "Oh, how pretty!"
Jade leaned down, picking up one of the papers. She raised a brow when she saw it was a cut out of the number nine. "Interesting."
"Is that a note, Jadey?" The redhead pointed to something that was taped to the inside of Jade's locker. "Oh! Maybe you have a secret admirer! That's so sweet."
"Cat, I'm dating Beck, remember?" the Goth replied, annoyed. Her gaze trailed towards the mentioned note. She smirked.
Happy Cutting! Love, Beck
Oh, her boyfriend was the best. There was no doubt about that.
Eying the numerous nines with glee, Jade pulled out her favorite pair of scissors.
~*~December 10th~*~
"I'm gonna count to ten," Jade loudly said, staring at Beck, "If you're not out there, we're done!" With that, she turned on her heel and walked out of Vega's front door, skirt swishing and boots thumping on the ground.
Slamming the door behind her, she crossed her arms under her breasts and started counting at the top of her lungs to make sure he could hear. "One!... Two!"
The door opened forcefully, and Beck was suddenly sweeping Jade into his arms and lifting her off the ground. She laughed as he squeezed her tightly, almost stealing the breath from her lungs.
Grinning, the Canadian-born boy set his precious package down but kept his arms wrapped around her waist.
"So, are you gonna tell me why we had to do that again?" she asked, her cheeks flushed in pleasure from being hugged like that.
Beck smiled tenderly. "I just wanted to make things right."
When he leaned down to kiss her, the forgotten group of friends watching them from inside the Vega house all released a heartwarming "Aw," since they all got to bear witness to such a sweet scene from HA's best couple.
~*~December 11th~*~
Jade didn't know why but she wasn't about to question Beck's sudden need to have dinner together. She found it cute that he went through so much trouble to make sure everything went perfectly for her- which probably explained why he stated they were eating at his RV. Nothing ever really went wrong there, after all.
Deciding to be polite, she lightly tapped on the door only loud enough to be heard. It wouldn't do to be rude and break down his door again; Beck had been so sweet to her this whole month so far, he deserved not having to fix his door.
The door opened easily and Jade found her ice-blue eyes connecting with confused chocolate orbs that belonged to her Canadian-born boyfriend.
His expression cleared quickly, replaced by the charming grin she was so fond of. "Hey babe," he greeted, opening the door wider so she could enter. "I didn't know it was you. You normally just come in or break the door down."
Cheeks heating slightly, Jade huffed, "What? I can do polite."
Beck pecked her on the lips in a placating manner. Using one hand on the small of her back, he led her to the arranged table he'd set up earlier. It had a white tablecloth and candles- everything, even silverware.
"I know, I know. Now, come sit down. Dinner is just about ready."
The Goth took a seat, arms crossed curiously as she eyed the set-up. "What kind of dinner are we having?" she asked, trying and failing to sound disinterested. Hey, it wasn't often Beck put this much thought into a romantic evening! Normally, he popped in The Scissoring, which was enough for her.
"This kind," he answered and, with a flare, set down an expensive-looking black plate with glittery red designs. Her favorite colors.
Jade stared at the food being presented to her for a couple of seconds before a wide smile broke out across her features.
It was shrimp pasta with no tails. Her favorite.
~*~December 12th~*~
"I heard this movie was supposed to be really good," Beck casually said while he and Jade stood in line for the movie theater, "A real four-star film, with a lot of known actors and actresses."
She hummed distractedly, hands clasped around his arm to steal some of his warmth. Why LA had to be so cold during winter, she'll never understand. At least Beck was warm, like her own personal furnace she could hug for hours.
"And you know," he continued speaking, ignoring how close-lipped his girlfriend was being, "Lots of people are eager to see it. Do you think it'll be good?"
Jade finally rolled her eyes, wishing he'd talk about something else. "You know I hate movies that are popular with everyone else," she stated, beginning to pull away from him. She'd rather freeze than listen to him continue to ramble. "It's like Twilight all over again! Get it right, people- vampires do not sparkle!"
Beck chuckled, wrapping an arm around her waist to drag her back to his side. With his free hand, he pulled a piece of paper out of his inside jacket pocket and gave it to her. "Here, read this," he gently instructed, knowing how she got about people (or signs) telling her what to do.
She snatched it from his hand, her eyes skimming through the printed words. Before long, said orbs widened as she continued reading, slower this time.
"These are- reviews?" she softly said, glancing back up to him.
Beck grinned, simply saying, "Yup. This movie I'm taking you to? It bombed in the box office. Everyone pretty much hates it."
Jade returned the grin, leaning up to kiss him quickly on the lips. "Oh, I love that!"
~*~December 13th~*~
When Beck walked through the doors of HA that morning, he expected the stares and whispers that followed his arrival. He even expected the way someone would start to approach him, think better of it, and beat a hasty retreat in the opposite direction.
Good, that was exactly what he was going for.
"Beck, what the chizz do you think you're wearing?" Jade asked from behind the Canadian-born teen. "And, what happened to your hair?"
He turned around, grinning, and gestured at his body like nothing was wrong. "I don't know what you mean, Jade," he replied innocently.
Jade gave her boyfriend a suspicious look, taking a small step back. Really, she wouldn't consider dark skinny jeans, bright red suspenders, a checkered neon yellow shirt, and scruffy high-tops to be attractive.
But what really offended her was his hair! Gone was the fluffy awesomeness that she loved running her fingers through and, instead, she had to look at its limpness and mop-like appearance.
A sudden thought occurred to her, so her ice-blue orbs glared icily at him. "If you wanted to break up with me, you really shouldn't have made it so freakin' easy, Oliver!" she fairly roared at him, her anger and irritation evident.
However, Beck seemed pleased by her outburst which made the Goth want to stab something with her scissors… Possibly him.
"So, you're saying not even you would want to date me? That you would dump me right here, right now?" he eagerly asked, grasping her hands in his so she couldn't escape.
Jade yanked her hands back, but to no avail. "Yes, alright?" she finally sneered out, glaring at him. "Satisfied?"
"Yeah," he answered, dragging her closer until he could lean down to whisper the next in her ear, "If you would dump me for dressing like this that means no girl would approach me either."
Pulling back just far enough to look him in the eye, she asked, "You did this on purpose?" Her tone easily showed she was incredulous about his confession.
Beck grinned, "Well, I know you hate how girls always flirt with me, so I decided to look my worst so that doesn't happen today."
Jade bit her bottom lip, touched he would do that for her. "Why would you do that?"
"I love you. What other reason matters?"
~*~December 14th~*~
This had to be the second or third time someone stared at Beck funny, or like he was an escaped mental patient, but today was too important to worry about that.
He only had so much time left to get to school. It also meant he may miss his chance at giving Jade her daily present, and that was not acceptable, not to Beck!
"Can I please just have this?" he practically begged, his hand holding up the small container that held a piece of lumpy something in some clear liquid. He didn't care what it was- he just needed it.
The nurse gave him a look that said she was close to calling hospital security. "Why would you want that lump of fat, or whatever it is?" she asked, incredulous.
Beck sighed, but answered as patiently as he could, "My girlfriend wants it, okay? She likes weird stuff like this."
"Well, you're a fine looking boy," the nurse tried to encourage, thinking no girl would want something like that. "I'm sure you can find yourself a real girl-"
"She is real," he protested, looking slightly offended she would suggest otherwise. He was not some crazy person who wanted this lump of fat (or whatever it was) for himself! He was getting it for his girlfriend!
Who wasn't with him to back up his story, but that didn't matter. He wanted to give her something she'd like, that's all! This experience made him respect Jade more when she'd asked a doctor for a lump of fatty tissue when Rex was in the hospital. Sure, she'd gotten strange looks but she'd still gone home with it.
"Look," he sighed, causing the nurse to pause in her slow reach for the phone, "Can I just have this and leave? You were going to throw it out anyway, right? I'll even give you money for it."
The nurse bit her lip, unsure what she should do. The handsome young man did have a point, however; they did throw stuff like that out.
Sighing, she waved a hand in a dismissive way. "Fine, take it," she tiredly said, "Just don't come back with the same argument. It didn't work."
"Thank you," Beck sighed in relief before quickly making his exit before she changed her mind. Man, if he'd thought buying the Midol was bad, this would've been his worst experience this month.
Well, Jade would appreciate all this torture I'm going through, at least.
~*~December 15th~*~
When Jade's alarm went off that morning, she groaned but shut it off and started getting ready. In her personal bathroom, as she was brushing her jet tresses, she noticed her nail polish was chipping and she needed to redo them.
Urgh, if there's another thing she hated it was when her nail polish chipped. What made it worst was that she had used her last bottle and hadn't had time to buy another one at the store.
Well, the Goth could tell today was off to a bad start already. It could only go downhill from here.
Rolling her eyes at the annoyances that would further ruin her mood, she got dressed in extra dark clothes to match her sour disposition and pulled on her red Doc Martins. Snatching her keys from her dresser, she shouldered her messenger bag and stomped downstairs to exit her house.
Only, she almost tripped over something that was placed on the doorstep.
Releasing a few curse words that would have sailors blushing, she looked down to see what had almost caused her to eat porch and cement.
Her brows rose when she saw it was neatly stacked nail polish bottles in her favorite brand and color- black. But what really caught her attention was what they were on; if she wasn't mistaken, it was a rather good-sized can of obsidian paint.
"What the chizz?" she whispered to herself, glancing up to see if anyone was watching. She swore if it was Sinjin…
Not seeing anyone suspicious, Jade looked once more at the gifts that were left on her doorstep. It was then she noticed a little slip of white paper sticking out from under the paint can.
After carefully maneuvering it out, she opened it.
Babe, I noticed you didn't buy any black nail polish, so I bought you some. The black paint was just a bonus. Love you always, Beck. P.S. please don't do anything illegal with the paint; at least, not without me ;)
Jade grinned while she stuffed the note into a pocket. Her boyfriend was the best. Oh yes, she would do something with the paint.
Painting Tori Vega's books sounded like fun…
~*~December 16th~*~
"Beck, what are you doing?" Jade's annoyed voice rang out in the hallways of Hollywood Arts. The couple came into view in the next second, Beck gripping onto her hand gently but firmly. "You know I don't like being pulled!"
The Canadian-born teen flashed a grin at his girlfriend, who returned the gesture with a glare. "I know, but I really wanna show you something," he replied, continuing to drag her along behind him. "We have to get to Tori's locker before she does."
Jade dug her heels in, which jerked him to a stop. Her brows were pinched together in extreme irritation, her eyes frozen like ice chips.
"And just why do I have to waste my time in Vega's presence?" she spat out, "Isn't it bad enough I have to breathe the same air as her?"
Beck only smiled calmly. "Trust me, babe, you're gonna want to see this."
Sighing, the Goth allowed him to once again tug her along until they were standing in front of her scissor-covered locker casually, like Beck hadn't just dragged her around half the school to get there.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" she snapped, arms crossing under her breasts.
When he caught sight of Tori, he adjusted his posture until it looked like he was merely having a conversation with Jade, while said girl glared at the Latina for Beck's weirdness.
Quietly, he whispered, "Just watch what Tori does, okay?"
Sighing loudly and rolling her eyes, Jade complied but she mentally hoped this was worth her time; otherwise she would have to find herself a new boyfriend…
It wasn't long before the Goth got her answer. The moment Tori opened her locker, her face was pelted with flour, thanks to the spring that had been carefully set up inside.
Putting everything together, Jade burst out laughing while Beck grinned down at her.
Oh man, no one would ever believe that Beck Oliver just pranked Tori Vega.
No one, except Jade West, anyway.
~*~December 17th~*~
Beck watched as his girlfriend lazily kicked her legs back and forth in the air, lying on her stomach on his RV's floor while he did his homework. She'd finished hers some time ago and, while a bit envious, he found it adorable the way she looked in that moment. It was the only time she could really relax, and he liked having her where he could see her.
"Are you bored?" he asked in amusement.
Jade hummed nonchalantly, her legs kicking a little faster, "Yup."
"Want to play a game? I just bought a new one yesterday."
She perked up, her legs stopping their constant motion. Ice-blue eyes looked at him over her shoulder and, slowly, she nodded. "Okay," she answered, "What kind of game you got?"
Beck grinned, standing from his spot to get the board game he'd purchased just for her. "Oh, I think you'll like it," was all he said while he rummaged around for it.
When he turned back around, Jade's eyes widened in appreciation while a beaming grin formed on her face.
"Operation!" she exclaimed, sitting up eagerly, like a child opening a Christmas present early. Beck supposed that analogy would apply here, at the moment.
So, for the next couple of hours while he finished his homework, he fondly listened as Jade purposefully touched the metal edges, thus making the buzzing noises that marked her 'errors' in the game.
What he found most charming was when she would giggle at the sound.
~*~December 18th~*~
Curses flew out of Beck's mouth as he waved a hand frantically in the air to clear the smoke, tears stinging his eyes from said cloudy substance. His other hand covered in an oven mitten, he almost pulled the oven door off the stove in order to yank out the pan he had placed in there some time ago.
Working frantically (because hello, he didn't want to move back into his parents' house), he threw the entire pan into his little sink and blasted cold water onto the small flames.
"Shit, this isn't turning out right, at all," he grumbled under his breath, chocolate gaze never leaving the sink and its contents.
Once the pan had been thoroughly doused in water, he grabbed the box again to read the directions to see what he'd done wrong this time. First, he hadn't added the right amount of sugar, so it came out tasting weird. The second time, he hadn't set the oven at the right temperature, so it came out gooey, disgusting-looking products of toxic waste.
You would think the third time was the charm, right? Not for Beck Oliver! His third charm came in the form of almost burning his RV down.
"If Cat can make red velvet cupcakes, then I should be able, too!" he exclaimed, running his mitten-covered hand over his hair in frustration. "It can't be this hard to make something Jade likes."
He was not going to give up, this he swore. If he could humiliate himself a few times, he would not surrender to the delicious pastry known as cupcakes!
~*~December 19th~*~
When Jade opened her eyes after her boyfriend untied the blindfold he'd placed on her, the last place she'd expected was a cemetery. The best part- this was her favorite one to visit! (especially around Halloween)
"What are we doing here?" she curiously asked, glancing in Beck's direction.
Instead of answering, he walked over to a headstone and leaned down to pick something up. When it came into view, she was confused. It was a battery-powered CD player, if she wasn't mistaken. Weren't those, like, extinct?
"Beck?" she questioned, wondering what he had planned.
Again, he didn't answer her. Casually, he plugged in some speakers that were, at least, up-to-date compared to the player and pushed the play button.
Immediately, the sound of hauntingly beautiful music began to spill from the speakers, and Jade cocked her head to the side when she recognized the song. It was "Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence; her favorite band.
The Canadian-born teen held out a hand, a charming grin on his handsome face. "May I have this dance?" he asked graciously.
Jade beamed with happiness and accepted his hand without hesitation. "You may," she replied. With that, Beck swept her into his arms and began dancing around in the cemetery, avoiding headstones and plaques gracefully.
~*~December 20th~*~
As he walked up to the stage that overlooked the Asphalt Café, Beck knew the stares of everyone present were upon him. How could they not be? They knew exactly who he was and they also knew Beck Oliver did not sing. He acted, period.
Sure, he did that one play with Tori back when she was still considered 'the new girl' but he hadn't sung since, except when he and Jade tried to but ended up kissing each other senseless instead. Ah, such good memories. However, that wasn't the point.
He was carrying a guitar, which meant he was going to sing something, which got everyone's' attention. He didn't mind- he wanted everyone to know.
Grabbing the microphone stand that was in the middle, thanks to Andre, the Canadian-born teen looked at his captive audience before clearing his throat.
"Hey, I'm Beck Oliver for those who don't know me. I'm Beck for those of you who do." He smiled sheepishly, knowing that's exactly how his profile started. "Anyway, I'm here to sing a song for a certain girl I love, which I also happen to be happily dating- Jade West."
Strumming his guitar lightly to make sure it was tuned, he added, "This is called "Had Me Hello. Hope you enjoy it."
Had Me at Hello:
"I can feel you comin' from a mile away
My pulse stops racing from the words that you say
And you say so many of them like you don't have a clue
That I'm signed, sealed delivered with a stamp on
You don't have to try too hard
You already have my heart
You don't got a thing to prove
I'm already into you
So
Hold, Hold, Hold, hold me tight now
Cause I'm so, so good to go
Don't say Don't say good night you know
You had me at hello [X3]
Don't say Don't say good night you know
You had me at hello"
Jade had moved to the very front where Beck could easily spot her, and she smiled at him. She'd always known his voice was smooth and deep; just right, in her opinion. The fact he was singing now, to her, made her feel like the luckiest girl alive.
"Close your mouth now baby don't say a word
Cause you ain't saying nothing
I ain't already heard
Plus all them words get buried when the beats so loud
And the speakers blowin' up to this dance song
You don't have to try too hard
You already have my heart
You don't got a thing to prove
I'm already into you
So
Hold, hold, hold, hold me tight now
Cause I'm so, so good to go
Don't say Don't say good night you know
You had me at hello [X3]
Don't say Don't say good night you know
You had me at hello"
Smiling at his girlfriend, Beck continued to sing, his slim fingers easily moving over the chords he needed to play for the song. He'd always known Jade liked it when he sang, so he did it infrequently as possible so it would feel that much more special to her.
"Oooooh Ooooh ooh ooh [X5]
You don't have to try too hard
You already have my heart
You don't got a thing to prove
I'm already into you
So
Hold, hold, hold, hold me tight now
I'm so, so good to go
Don't say Don't say good night you know
You had me at hello [X3]
Don't say Don't say good night you know
You had me at hello"
Finishing, Beck grinned when Jade practically ran up on the stage to throw her arms around him. He ignored the roar of applause he got from the audience, his entire focus on the girl who hardly showed him public affection of this magnitude.
"Beck, that was wonderful," she said, smiling up at him hugely. "Thank you- I loved it."
He chuckled, his arms wrapped around her waist to hold her close. "Hey, at least this time, I was able to finish the actual song," he joked.
~*~December 21st~*~
When Jade got to school that morning, she wasn't surprised to see Beck already leaning near her locker. It was quite the norm this month, so she stopped questioning it (not that she thought much of it, anyway) and mentally gave a shrug.
"Morning, Jade," he greeted, smiling softly. His hand was hidden behind his back, but she didn't give it much attention. Again, it was the norm this month for Beck to surprise her with something.
Really, the guy was spoiling her.
"Yeah, morning, Beck," she replied indifferently as she opened her scissor-covered locker. She froze, however, her mind processing what she thought she'd seen.
Slowly, almost cautiously, she closed her locker and took another good glance-over at the front. More precisely, the scissors decorating it.
There. That one, with the black handle, was new. Not only did the blade gleam in the hallway light, but she knew she would remember shoving such a beautiful gem into the metal.
"Did you do this?" she softly asked, voice awed in admiration.
Beck grinned, sticking his hand out to reveal the old pair that used to occupy the place the new scissors were. "Do you like it?" he asked back.
Jade grinned. "I love it!"
Like she'd been saying so far this month: Best. Boyfriend. Ever.
~*~December 22nd~*~
"Can I turn on your radio?" Jade asked as politely as Jade West could- which wasn't saying much, if anything.
Beck shrugged casually, his gaze focused on the road. "Sure, babe, but I burned a new CD for the car, if you wanna listen to that instead of commercials," he suggested helpfully.
She rolled her eyes, but started looking for said CD in the various spots he normally kept them for easy reach. "Don't tell me you put all Canadian music on it," she sneered, wrinkling her nose at the thought of torturing her ears. It wasn't even the good kind of torture!
Seriously, if she wanted to punish herself, she'd just wear those black boots she'd worn during the week they got back together.
Chuckling, he shook his head. "Nah, something you'll enjoy. I promise."
Jade finally found the burned CD, her brows raised when she read what he'd printed on the front. Jade's favorites- told you it would be something you'd enjoy. Love you, Beck.
Well, at least this note was better than the ones he'd been leaving recently.
Eagerly, she put the CD in to see what he'd put on. Her ears were thankful when it was, indeed, her all-time favorites.
From his seat, Beck smiled fondly when Jade began singing the Drake & Josh theme song.
~*~December 23rd~*~
He wasn't sure how to exactly give her this specific gift, but he knew he had to do it soon before it decided to chew its way out of the box he'd placed it in. It already made him late this morning, he didn't need it running around school because it secretly hated him.
Well, the joke was on it- Beck already knew it hated him! And believe him when he said the feeling was mutual.
Struggling slightly to open the door to Sikowitz's classroom, Beck had to make a game out of being able to balance the box in one hand, make sure his backpack didn't fall off his shoulder, and open the door without dropping anything.
Did he mention how the box wiggled and thumped around? Because, really, it just proved how much the contents hated him, and it made his job harder.
Like he said, the hatred was mutual.
Grumbling but managing to keep everything from falling, he walked into the room where his friends were staring at him curiously. Jade, especially, looked like she wanted to know where he'd been, but her ice-blue eyes were locked onto the box in his hand.
Heavily taking his seat, Beck practically threw the box into her lap, and he almost pouted when she caught it to keep it from crashing onto the ground.
Okay, he did pout, but he wiped the expression from his face quickly before anyone saw it.
"Beck, where have you been?" Tori asked worriedly. Yeah, she still didn't know he'd been the one to pull the prank on her; otherwise she wouldn't be talking to him right now.
The Canadian-born teen ran his fingers through his hair, sighing, "I've been struggling with that thing," he replied, pointing accusingly at the box still in Jade's lap. "It's the devil incarnate, I swear."
Cat gasped, her hand slapping over her mouth. "You shouldn't swear," she whispered in reproach, sending her friend a scolding look. "Swearing is bad."
In response, Beck gave her a dry look but didn't comment.
"So, what's in the box, Jade?" Robbie curiously asked, looking down at the cardboard.
Jade rolled her eyes but opened the box carefully. Beck noticed the damned thing hadn't moved since being placed into her care, and he narrowed his eyes in disgust. Oh, so you know when you're beaten when it comes to evil, don't you? I hope she cooks you!
A pleased gasp escaped the Goth as she looked inside.
"Oh, I love rabbits," she said, reaching in to take the small creature out. When the pile of fluff emerged, Tori and Cat immediately cooed over the soft animal with floppy ears. Its coat was snow-white with brown spots ranging from tan to dark chocolate; its eyes big and dark. It looked exactly like the rabbit she'd used in her latest What I Love video, only smaller.
A few minutes later, Tori and Cat were once more in their seats, with Jade petting her new rabbit, Beatles. Sikowitz had finally arrived and was teaching (which anyone would use loosely), and Beck started to snake his arm around his girlfriend.
He paused when he heard something.
Did that damned rabbit just growl at him?
Beck turned a glare onto the small, seemingly-innocent creature. Oh, it was on!
~*~December 24th~*~
Beck was glad when Jade agreed to spend the night at his RV. She also agreed to have Christmas with him and his family because, despite his father disliking her, his mother was absolutely insane about her. He didn't know why, but he figured he shouldn't question something this good.
So, here the young couple sat, exchanging gifts. Rather, Beck was giving her another present while she explained he would be receiving his the next morning. He didn't mind- Jade always had her reasons, so he wasn't going to question it.
Besides, he wanted his last gift to her to be special, too.
Greedy fingers tore apart the black wrapping paper and blood-red ribbon, and Jade smiled happily when she saw what he'd given her (as her twenty-fourth present, she might add).
"You got me The Scissoring 2! Thanks, Beck," she exclaimed, hugging him tightly. "This isn't even out on DVD yet. I checked! How did you manage to get a copy?"
Beck proudly smiled, his chest puffing out. "I have connections," he playfully answered.
Not caring that he hadn't actually given her a complete answer, Jade grabbed his hand and began tugging him to his couch. "I don't care anymore- let's watch this now!"
Smiling indulgently, he sat and watched as she tore apart the plastic covering and put the DVD into the player. He released a light chuckle when she bounced back into her seat, her energy vibrating around her in an almost physical manifestation.
He wasn't tooting his own horn here, but he claimed the title of Best Boyfriend Ever.
~*~December 25th~*~
The next morning, aka Christmas Day, Jade was the first to wake from sleep with a content smile on her face. Last night had been amazing- they'd watched The Scissoring 2 so many times, she was sure she'd memorized the lines of each character. The best part?
Beck hadn't complained! Not even once, and he normally did after the third time of seeing the same movie in a row.
He definitely deserved the title of Best Boyfriend Ever.
Quietly, she snuck out of bed, thankful he was a semi-heavy sleeper, and took out the supplies she needed for her Christmas gift for him. She'd put a lot of thought into it and hoped he liked it as much as she did.
Beck awoke an hour later, his arms instantly going out to wrap around Jade. He frowned when he didn't feel her next to him but shrugged. She was never one to lie in bed all day, unlike him, so he assumed she'd gotten up and ready by now.
Stretching, he got up, washed his face and brushed his teeth. When he came out of his small bathroom, he found Jade sitting patiently on the couch. No doubt he'd completely missed her person while still half-asleep, but he wasn't anymore. He smiled.
"Merry Christmas, Jade."
She smiled, her fingers playing with something in her lap he couldn't see. "Merry Christmas, Beck."
He started walking to where he'd hidden her twenty-fifth present. "Let me grab your gift. I hope you like-" He paused when he felt something being placed on his head, gently by Jade.
"Jade?" he softly questioned, turning around to face his beautiful, Gothic girlfriend. His eyes glanced upward, like he could actually see what she'd placed on him. "What are you doing? What is that?"
Almost shyly, she began playing with the hem of her top and bit her bottom lip. "This whole month was filled with wonderful gifts, Beck, but you didn't give me the one thing I wanted the most."
His chest felt tight at her admission, but he had to ask the obvious. "What did you want, Jade?"
She stared directly into his eyes, ice-blue clashing with chocolate-brown.
"You," she answered honestly, "Just you."
Beck felt the grin that curved his lips impossibly up, his heart fluttering wildly in his chest. He was surprised she couldn't hear it and that the organ was still in his body. His hand reached up to remove the small object from his fluffy hair.
When he looked down, he saw it was a medium sized, plaid patterned ribbon. The interconnecting stripes were all his favorite colors and Jade's were thrown in too. It made a perfect combination of the two of them; their yin and yang, so to speak.
Beck trailed his eyes up until they connected once more with hers. "So, does this mean…?" he asked, grinning happily.
Jade answered, with a bright smile of her own, "You're my Christmas present."
~*~The End~*~
HAPPY HOLIDAYS, EVERYONE!
Thank you so much for reading! Please leave me a review and tell me what was your favorite day :3
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Also, sorry I haven't updated any of my other stories, guys! I've been so busy with final exams and holiday shopping- time is slipping by :P on a good note, I've been working on new material I'd love to share once it's complete :3
Happy Holidays again, and have a Happy New Year!