Full Summary: After her grandfather's recent funeral, Jade has to move across an ocean and half a continent to live with her brother, John, in a new city. A new city means a new school, and Jade, after a lifetime of homeschooling, must integrate in to a school full of hipsters, internet celebrities, and misfits, all while struggling to keep her grades up and fighting her rampantly inconsiderate narcolepsy.
Rating: T for swearwords.
Disclaimer: I do not own Homestuck, nor do I claim to. It's just a really great series by a really creative guy.
Jade stepped out of the plane terminal, slightly drowsy, having been woken up by a flight attendant only moments before. She held her homemade Squiddles satchel close to her front with one blue sleeved arm, getting it slightly tangled in her long, flowing skirt. She held her laptop case to her side, and kept her eye out for her brother.
She had walked a way to the baggage pickup conveyor belt when she saw him, waving by the escalators.
"Jade, over here!" John called out, beaming.
"Hi, John!" She greeted, so happy to see him after all this time. Really, he was her half brother through their father, but they regarded each other as good as twin siblings, chatting, skyping and interacting over the internet often.
They hadn't ever lived together before, and Jade was glad that her father was taking her in. The island would be so empty now, without her grandfather there.
Jade had lived on her grandfather's island for as long as she could remember, and the last time John had visited was three years ago, back when they'd had a Nicolas Cage movie marathon under their pillow fort well in to the night.
But now, it was her turn to come to the mainland, her turn to leave her island, because she couldn't very well live there on her own, what with her illness and all.
"Jade, it's so good to see you!" John gushed, pulling her in to an unexpected hug. Jade wrapped her arms around his neck and clutched him close despite her initial surprise.
"It's great to see you, too, John." She smiled in to his shoulder. It felt good to hold someone again. She had felt rather lonely since Grandpa had passed away last Tuesday.
When they separated, John held out a small package wrapped in paper, with a blue bow tied neatly on top.
"Here, this is for you." He smiled as he placed it in her hand. Jade adjusted her bags before she set to opening the present. It was a purple digital watch in the shape of a dog's head. "I thought you could really use a watch, since you're gonna be going to school now, and you might need to tell what time it is more here than on your island."
"Thanks so much! It's shaped just like Bec!" Jade exclaimed, taking it out of the box and fastening it on her left wrist, right above her red actigraph, a small device used to monitor her narcolepsy. "I got you something, too!" She replied, and took a medium sized package from her satchel, flimsy and wrapped with bright paper and curling ribbon.
John took the present and opened it to find a green shirt with the phrase "How do I... get through one night without you?" printed on the front and a picture of Nick Cage's face covering the entire back of the shirt. John proceeded to squeal like a child on Christmas, causing a few passersby to give them strange looks.
"Oh my gosh, Jade! It's perfect! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" He exclaimed, clutching the shirt with both hands to his chest.
Jade laughed at his reaction.
"I'm glad you like it." She replied with a smile. They walked over to the conveyor belt to get her luggage, and picked up three suit cases, one a spanking new purple, one a worn old brown, and one a neutral and plain black. The rest of her luggage was being sent in the mail.
"Dad's getting Bec from the other pick up, and we'll meet up at the car." John informed her.
"Okay." Jade nodded. "I'll go get a trolley!" She volunteered, and did just so.
She returned to find John pressing buttons on his phone excitedly, shirt slung over his shoulder.
John looked up at her and smiled once more.
"That was fast!" He commented, and together they put Jade's bags on to the trolley and wheeled it past the sliding doors and out of the airport, past rows of people and then rows of cars, until there was John's dad's van, with Bec already loaded in the back in his crate.
Jade found herself in yet another hug, from taller man with prematurely white hair and a matching white dress shirt.
"H-hi, Dad." She said in to the shirt, and received a tighter hug in response.
"Jade, you've grown so much!" He lamented when her finally let her go from his tight embrace. "You're such a young lady! I can hardly believe it. It really seems just like yesterday that you were small enough to fit in my arms."
Jade laughed a bit, unsure of how to respond. She hadn't really ever spent much time with her father, and didn't really know him like she knew John.
"It has been a while, huh?" She tried, and then remembered that she had a present for him as well. She dug in to her satchel and removed a small bag. She placed it in his hands. "Here, this is for you. John said you like smoking pipes, and Grandpa had quite a few packed away, so I brought you one. You don't really have to use it if you don't want to, but I thought you might like to have such an old one..."
"Thank you, Jade." Dad replied. "I'm honored you would entrust me with something of your grandfather's." He planted a kiss on her forehead.
John closed the back of the car after he placed Jade's luggage next to Bec's crate. Jade climbed in to the back seat next to him, where he was still gushing over his "amazing" shirt as Dad went to take back the trolley.
Jade leaned her head on the window, feeling the fog of sleep taking her under.
So far, it seemed as if things were going to be okay.
John was still nicer in person than online, and Dad seemed to be agreeable enough. She'd gotten off the plane without losing any luggage or Bec. She sat back in the seat and closed her eyes, falling in to a deep, contented sleep.
A/N: Thoughts and opinions are greatly appreciated. Please review and tell me yours. I'm trying to be better about updates, so let's set the deadline for next chapter as next Sunday. (That's 4/29)