Jade was walking towards Beck's place. She didn't know what to think. How she should tell him. This was an opportunity of a lifetime for her. She would direct her own movie. It could become be a hit. It could be the start of a career as a director, something she always wanted to do. She wrote and directed so many plays so she could be prepared as much as possible if that dream came true. And now it is coming true. But for that, she had to go to Florida for 6 whole months. 6 months she wouldn't see her boyfriend of two years with who she reconciled not a month ago. 6 months without making music with Andre. 6 months without Joking with Robbie. 6 months without her and Tori having these deadpan remarks at one another she so enjoyed. 6 months without Cat. Without her best friend. She wanted to cry. But she was at Beck's place now. She needed to talk to him. She needed to hear what he thinks. She didn't know. She knocked on his door, trying to stop herself from crying. After a moment he opened the door.
"Hey." He greeted with a happy expression, but it instantly changed when he saw Jade barely keeping it together. "What's wrong?" he asked as he placed his hands on her shoulders. He led her inside and she started crying. He sat her down and wrapped his arms around her.
"Did something happen? They didn't deny your script now, did they?" he asked, worried that it might be that. But she only shook her head.
"No. Far… far from that." She sniffed.
"What happened then?"
"They… Jacob… the producer offered me to direct the film too. He… he said he liked the way I wrote it… and believed only I could transfer everything… everything on the screen." She explained.
"Jade, that's wonderful!" Beck said, not understanding her reaction. "This is what you always dreamed about."
"Yes, but… but the filming is in Florida. If… if I accept, I'll work there for 6 months." She explained. Beck's expression changed. Now it made sense.
"Jade. You have to accept this." He calmly said as he looked into her green eyes. She looked at him, surprised at his calmness.
"But… I won't be able… to see you… anyone… 6 months." She said trough her tears.
"I know. I know… But Jade, This is your opportunity. This is your chance."
"Beck, we just got together. And now I would have to leave you for another 6 months. What will happen with us if I leave?" she said, finally getting her crying under control. He shook his head and smiled.
"What will happen is that I will wait for you to come back as a famous director and screenwriter. And then we will be together again and I will brag that I am banging a celebrity." He said with a smirk. She punched his arm playfully. He made her laugh. He always knew how to do that.
"Jerk! I'm serious!" she said, still laughing.
"What? So am I." he said, biting his lip so he wouldn't laugh again.
"Idiot!" she said and hugged him. "How can I make it 6 months without you?"
"Hey. I'll call you whenever you have time. We won't loose contact. I have faith in this relationship. That's why I wanted you back. I know we can make it. And I also know that you will make one of the best movies this world has ever seen." He proudly told her. She only leaned in and kissed him.
"I love you." She told him. He put his both hands on her cheek and looked her into her green eyes.
"I love you too. And you are going to take that offer. I won't allow you to throw away this opportunity."
"But what about the others? What are they going to say? I'm going to miss them too." She said.
"Well, ask them yourself. We are having poker night at their place tonight, so there is your opportunity."
"You're right. Thank you." She said before kissing him again. She wanted to kiss him as much as possible before she left. She was afraid that their relationship wouldn't work for this long on that distance. But if Beck had faith in it, then so would she.
"I have to get home. My dad will want to hear how it went."
"Your dad?" Beck said, completely stunned. "As in Mr. West? Your father? The cold, judgmental guy you never said a nice thing about?" he said, completely taken aback at the though that he was interested in his daughters activities.
"Yeah, that guy." Jade chuckled. "When I told him about my script getting accepted, he hugged me and told me how proud he was. I was as stunned as you are now."
"Hell might freeze over how this started." Beck said, shaking his head, earning another punch in the arm.
She arrived home not too long after that. Mr. West was sitting on the couch, reading the newspapers. Jade sat down on the sofa. As soon as she sat down, he put down the papers and looked at her, a curious expression on his face.
"How did it go?" he asked.
"It went well. They are buying my script for 20,000$." She proudly said.
"Well, that's not bad. Although I thought they paid more these days. Maybe another company would have offered more for it, you know." He said a bit disappointed. He believed his daughters work would be worth more.
"It's a low budget movie, and it's my first script, so he couldn't offer more. But that's not all."
"There is more?" Mr. West wondered.
"They want me to produce it, too. They believe that only I can transfer the movie completely from the script onto the screen."
"Jade, that's wonderful!" he said as he got up and hugged her.
"Yeah, but there is a downside." She said, her voice loosing it's cheerful tone it had a moment ago.
"Ah, yes. There is always a downside." The businessman shook his head as he sat down. "What is it?"
"They are shooting it in Florida. I would work there for 6 months." She said.
"Oh. Well, that is quite something."
"Jacob, the producer, told me that he would handle things with the school and the hotel would be paid for me. Also, the pay isn't bad. 30 grant a month and a 3% share from the total profit." She explained, studying her father who had his businessman pokerface on.
"I understand. Do you want to go?" he asked, looking back at his daughter.
"I do. It's been my dream to do this for so long now. I've worked on that script for years. I've written theatre and directed my plays only to be prepared for such a situation. And now it's here. But 6 months without Beck, my friends… you." She said in a sad tone as she looked up at her father.
"Jade, you have to take this opportunity. If the only obstacle is that you won't see some people for a while, then it is worth taking the risk." He said as he leaned back. "If your boyfriend loves you, and if your friend love you, than they will be happy for your opportunity and will wait for you to come back."
"Beck already gave me his okay."
"And you have my blessing too. I know I didn't pay attention to your work before. But it was mostly because I had no idea about or interest in art. But since I saw your play about the girl in that fell in the well, I understood. And now, I'm giving you my full support. I'm proud of you, Jade." He said with a smile. A proud smile. She never believed she would hear these words from him. That she would see him smile like this because of her.
"Thank you." She said as she hugged the man.
The evening came fast. Beck was driving to Jade's place to pick her up. He didn't tell the others about Jade leaving. Jade had to do that. He was thinking about her. 6 months. It wasn't a long time objectively, but 6 months without the love of your life feels like forever. He knew it. When Jade and him broke up it took them 6 months to get back. Those were the worst 6 months of his life. But they were back together now. And he could make it. He would do it for her. It was her dream after all. It was her opportunity.
He parked into her driveway. She came out after a moment and sat down on the passenger seat.
"Hey." She greeted him before giving him a quick kiss.
"Hey." He answered back. "And? What did your dad say?"
"He gave me his blessing." Jade said with a smile.
"Wow. If anyone had told me this a week ago, I would have called him crazy. Hell, I can't believe it now. And you are telling me." He said shaking his head.
"Yeah, I know. Guess how I felt yesterday. And it was the same today. To hear him say that he is proud of me… he really sounded as if he cared."
"Maybe he did, but simply didn't know how to show it."
"You are right. He did say that he didn't take interest into art until he saw my play."
"That with the girl that fell into the well, and drowned in her tears?"
"Yeah, that one."
"Another masterpiece you wrote." Beck said with a smirk. Jade smiled at the compliment. She wasn't really used to it. "Here we are." He said as they drove into the Vega driveway.
"Is no one here yet?" Jade wondered.
"No idea." Just at that moment Beck's phone rang. It was Andre.
"Yeah? Where are you? Aw man! Alright. Alright. I'll pick you guys up." Beck sighed and hung up.
"What happened?" Jade asked, concern in her voice and on her face.
"Andre's car broke down after he picked up Cat and Robbie. I'll go get them. You go in. Tori is there." Beck sighed. Great. Now the surprise party, surprisingly, wouldn't happen as planned. Stupid car! he thought.
"Oh. Okay. I guess I can tell Tori the good news. She is probably going to love that I'm leaving."
"Why do you think that she doesn't like you?"
"Why would she? I always make fun of her." Jade shrugged. Beck, already a bit frustrated, pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Well, talk to her and you'll see her reaction." Beck said as Jade got out of the car. He drove out of the driveway and towards Robbie's place. It would take at least 10 minutes to get there.
"I guess today nothing goes right." He said to himself as he drove off.
Jade knocked on the door.
"I'm coming." Was heard. It was Tori. A few seconds later, Tori opened the door.
"Hey Jade." She said as she looked around. "Where is Beck?"
"Andre's car broke down so Beck went to pick them up." Jade said as she got into the house. She sat down on the couch. She heard Tori curse under her breath.
"What's the matter?" Jade looked over at Tori. First Beck is all fussed up about having to pick the others up and now Tori.
"Oh, nothing. How did the meeting with the producer go?" Tori changed the subject as she sat down. Well, so much for the surprise party. What else could go wrong? She thought.
"Well, not only are they going to buy my script, but they offered me a job as the director of that movie." Jade summarized. Tori's eyes grew and so did her smile.
"Jade! That's wonderful! You are making your own movie." Tori said full with enthusiasm. She was really happy for her. This was even better than she had expected. But Jade's expression did not match that same enthusiasm.
"What's the matter? Aren't you happy?" Tori asked, worried about Jade's expression. Jade looked up at her.
"The movie is filmed in Florida. I would be gone for 6 months." Jade said. Tori's smile faded. It was replaced by shock.
"6 months? In Florida?" she gasped. Jade only nodded. She got up and walked a bit trough the living room, not being able to sit still.
"I've already talked to Beck and dad. They both want me to go. To live my dream. To take my chance and make the best of it."
"Your dad?" Tori said with a raised eyebrow. Jade chuckled weakly.
"Yeah, he is supportive of my goals ever since that play you helped me put on. Since then, he grew more interested into my work. I didn't notice. But when I told him about my script being bought, he said how proud he was. He had a smile on his face. Thank you again for helping me with that play. It really opened his eyes." Jade said as she looked at Tori.
"No problem. Go on." Tori told her, wanting to hear it all.
"Beck said he know that we can make it trough it. That he has faith in us. I have his blessing. I have my fathers blessing. But then there are you guys. You. Robbie. Andre. Cat…" she said, looking down at the memory of her best friend. "I will miss you all. And I'm not sure if I want to go. I don't know if I can make it without you guys." Jade finished, looking back at Tori. Tori got up from the couch and walked over to Jade. She stood in front of her and placed her hand on the Goths arm, rubbing it gently.
"Jade. This is your chance. You will go there, you will make your movie, no, the best damn horror movie ever, you will become a famous director, and then you will come back here. And when you come back, Beck will be waiting for you. The others will be waiting for you. I will be waiting for you. And just so you know. I'm going to miss you. Honestly, I don't want you to go. I hate the idea of not seeing you for 6 months. But that would be selfish from me. And a real friend doesn't do that. So I'm telling you, go. Make your dream come true." Tori said with a smile. She meant every word she said. She was proud at her friend. She knew how much effort she put in each one of her works. And it finally is paying of for her.
"Thank you." Jade said, slowly tearing up as she leaned in and hugged Tori. Tori hugged her back.
"I'm proud of you. You deserve this chance. We are all on your side." Just as Tori finished, the door opened. Beck, Andre, Robbie and Cat entered the house. They all froze still when they saw the crying Jade hugging Tori.
"Hell freezing over." Beck yelled, earning a glare from Jade, to which he responded with a smirk.
"Well, so much for the surprise party." Andre sighed.
"Surprise party?" Jade said, looking at her friends.
"Yeah. It was Cat's idea. We wanted to throw you a party for your script. Stupid car!" Robbie said.
"Hey man. Don't talk like that about my car." Andre told him, acting hurt. Cat walked over to Jade.
"I'm sorry it didn't work out with the party. But at least you have success with your script. How did it go?" Cat asked.
"Everyone, I got an announcement to make!" Jade said. The others sat down. Beck glanced at Tori, who only nodded, signaling him that she knew. He nodded back and turned his attention back to Jade.
"I've been offered to direct the movie. The producer told me that they wanted me to transfer my idea to the big screen." Jade said.
"Jade, that's amazing news!" Robbie said.
"Congratulations!" Andre uttered.
"Jade! You've always wanted to do this. I'm so happy for you!" Cat said as she got up and hugged the taller girl around the waist.
"But…" Jade said, earning the attention of everyone. "The filming will take place in Florida. And it will last 6 months. So if I agree, I will be there." She finished, looking at them. They all sat there in silence. Cat let go of her friend and took a step back. She was shocked.
"Jade, you should take it." Andre said as he got up.
"I agree." Robbie joined in. "6 months will fly by."
"Robbie is right. And when you come back, we all can go to the premiere of your movie here. Even if I'm sure that it will scare me to death." Andre said with a smile.
"Thank you guys." Jade smiled back at them. She then looked over at Cat, who hasn't said anything. Cat only shook her head and ran upstairs. After a moment, Tori got up.
"I'll go talk to her." Tori offered.
"No. I'll go." Jade said and went upstairs. She did expect this to happen.
