A/N: Sorry for the wait, but I started school Monday, and I'm taking three AP (college level) classes out of my four. So I have a crapload of homework and afterwards I'm braindead and can't do anything. So so sorry! Really, I'll probably only update on weekends or school holidays, although this isn't going to be too long, maybe around ten chapters.
Okay, so Word told me the "I'm" in the first line should be "I are". WTF?
To Emma/Louise Nordoff: Hii! Enjoy your reruns of Pysch! :D
At exactly two-ten in the afternoon, while Beck and Jade were still asleep on the couch, and the rest of the family members were scattered throughout the house doing there own things, it happened.
Jade woke up when the house started to shake. It was gentle at first, and she thought it might be the wind, but it grew violent quickly, and that's when Beck woke up.
"Babe? Why are you shaking the couch?" he asked, sleepy, but when he opened his eyes he found Jade staring at him in shock, and looked over to see the frame of the house shaking so hard it looked as though the window might shatter. He understood in an instant.
"EARTHQUAKE!" he yelled, hardly knowing why, and grabbed a still-frozen Jade, pulling them both off of the sofa and under the oak coffee table. "Jade.. Jade…" he whispered, anxious.
Jade was shaking, but finally broke out of her trance. "Beck", she whimpered, moving closer to him.
"It's okay," he murmured, only realizing how stupid that was when she glared up at him. "Sorry." He whispered. Around them, things were flying off their shelves, becoming hazardous projectiles. The ceiling was actually cracking, and pieces were beginning to fall to the floor. Bookshelves, and the fridge, were in the process of toppling over. This was the worst earthquake both Beck and Jade had ever experienced, and that's saying something when you live in L.A
Beck remembered a random earthquake-safety fact from school: if there is an earthquake, get in a doorframe. He never understood that, and he figured it certainly wouldn't help now. A shelving unit had fallen into the archway between the living room and the hall, and if they had been standing there, it certainly would have killed them.
Something heavy smacked against the top of the coffee table, making an audible crack, and the table shifted four inches. Beck and Jade moved with it. Under it, they would at least be protected from falling ceiling bits. Speaking of which, more ceiling kept falling, coming down around them. One fell so close, he would've sworn it hit Jade's back.
"Jade? You okay?"
"No, Beck, I'm perfectly okay! It's not like we're in the middle of a freakin' earthquake or anything!" she screamed, her voice close to hysteria.
"I just meant.. I thought the ceiling hit you." Wow that sounded weird to say.
"No, it didn't. I'm thinking it might, though."
"Don't say that!"
"Well, Beck," she screamed, seeing as the rumbling noise and the sound of everything falling and breaking was so loud, "this has got to be at least a 7 quake. Which, as you know, is pretty horrible. And potentially deadly!"
"Oh, baby.." he whispered, fear crashing down on him. If this table broke…. They might not make it. The whole roof could collapse in on them. And his family.. little Teddy, and Lyss and Jackie.. his mom and dad.. and Jade. Choking back a sob, he buried his face in Jade's hair.
"Hey, c'mon now…." Jade said, feeling bad for making him feel bad," I mean, I'm not really one to be optimistic" (he smiled despite himself)"but this table's pretty sturdy. If the shaking stops soon we should be okay." The quake had been going on for about three minutes now, a long time for an earthquake. Science was on their side.
After another minute, the shaking did indeed grow less violent, before slowing to a stop. It felt like it had started an hour ago.
Beck scooted out from under the coffee, which was a challenge itself. The space around it was littered with broken knickknacks, toppled furniture, and ceiling chunks. He looked up at the ceiling, making sure it wasn't still cracking (it wasn't), and then helped Jade pull herself out. He wrapped her in a hug, kissing her cheek.
"We should probably go find the family." He said after another ten seconds. They hadn't heard any shouts, and Beck was getting concern. By the look on her face, Jade was, too.
They picked their way across the floor. "Okay," Jade said. "You go that way," she pointed to the hall leading off to the left, "and I'll go this way." Neither really wanted to split up, but they'd look faster that way. Beck leaned down to kiss Jade.
"I love you." He said.
"I love you, too." She answered, her voice shaking. They were both traumatized, but had to get over it to find the family.
They walked away.
xxxxxxxxxxx
Ten minutes later, the family was gathered in the destroyed kitchen. Beck had found Aunt Rachel and Uncle Ken first, trapped in their room because a cabinet had fallen in front of their door from the outside. Beck shoved it aside and they ran out, looking frantic. Aunt Rachel kept shouting her kid's names. Beck too them to the kitchen, where, thankfully, Jade was delivering Teddy, Alyssa, and Jackie.
"Mommy! Daddy!" the three shouted in unison. Tear tracks still showed on their faces, and they were covered in dust, presumably from the plaster ceiling, and, possibly, walls.
"My babies! Are you all okay?" Aunt Rachel asked, falling on them and hugging them. Uncle Ken followed suit.
"Yeah, we're fine." Jackie said.
"We got under the bed, like you told us to do in an earthquake." Teddy said, eyes wide.
"Good boy, Teddy. Good job." Uncle Ken praised.
Beck and Jade looked at each other, relieved to have found a few relatives. They walked into the hall again, and found Beck's mom, dad, and grandma coming towards them. They returned to the kitchen, where more love and joy was passed around. Uncle Ken found a radio, and was about to turn it on, when Jade said, "Hey, where's Jack?"
Everyone paused, confused. Grandpa Jack was so not-present most of the time that everyone had, in their panic and then relief, forgotten him. He wasn't in the kitchen with the rest of the family.
"You know what, I'll go find him." Jade said. Beck watched her walk out, calling Grandpa Jack's name, which, to her, was just Jack. She was all the way at the end off the hall, in the main living room, when she sounded like she found him. "Jack! Your family's all in the-"
Her voice broke off as the building started to shake. Again. Aftershocks. "Jade!" Beck yelled, seeing Aunt Rachel and Uncle Ken pull their kids close out of the corner of his eye. He started down the hall toward her, but soon stopped.
A loud cracking was coming from the infrastructure of the house. Not the whole house, just the part that didn't contain the majority of Beck's family. It got louder, and to Beck's horror, crashing came from the opposite side of the house. Not furniture-falling crashing, but roof-and-walls collapsing crashing. The house, which had stopped shaking when the first aftershock finished, shook again, but in a different way.
A long, high pitched scream came amongst the crashing sounds.
Jade. Jade was in the room with the roof caving in.
A/N: Meh.
Okay, so the ending was kinda cheesy. Whatever. And yes, they were a little bit out of character. Reasonably so. Come on, people, even Jade wouldn't be all "I hate you all" in the middle of a Japan-esque earthquake.
Review for string cheese! New chapter in a week! Or, since Monday is labour day, maybe then.