Out of Time
Disclaimer: I own nothing
A/N:
Chapter 4 (Attempts to Distance)
At Beck's home, Jade was reclining on his bed with a book in her hands. She was trying to clear her mind of all the thoughts and worries plaguing her, but it wasn't easy. Beck had been struggling with the same dilemmas, but he also seemed to be the one of the two more prone to actually researching while part of her wanted to distance herself from it all.
Normally she'd be in guns blazing, danger had never stopped her dead in her tracks before. Still, this time was different; it was personal. Andre, Cat, Robbie, and even the Vega family; if everything was a lie, then she had no choice but to question their friendship from the very beginning.
Flinging her hair back with a deep sigh, she turned her eyes to Beck. He was as his desk, working on his laptop. She could see the web browser open and saw he was researching Spencer Shay. "I thought you were looking at colleges?" Her left knee bent upwards and her lips started to purse. Despite their plan to take some months off after high school, they still wanted to think about the following year. "Beck?"
"I was." His head bowed a bit and he started to shake his head. "I just can't stop thinking about all this." She smiled sadly as he turned in his chair and leaned towards her. "I'm sorry, I know you're not wanting to think about everything either. I kind of wish Sam hadn't told us anything."
"Same, but she had a reason for it." Jade shrugged and closed the book. "The way Mr. and Mrs. Vega are acting towards us, and Trina, makes me think we're on their shit list; and if they are bad people, that might be a list we want to avoid."
"A big if." He rose slowly and walked towards the bed. "I wish I could shut my mind off." Crime and investigations had always been an interest to Beck, so she wasn't surprised he wanted to get to the bottom of this. After all, he was considering a degree in criminology and wanted to join law enforcement during college.
Sensing this, Jade reached up and gently tugged his denim jacket. "Come here." A smile formed at her lips as Beck lowered a bit, his right hand falling to the mattress and his eyes fixating on hers.
"Jade, I-" She kissed him firmly, her arms sliding around his body in a tight embrace. Her chest expanded slowly and she pulled away an inch, opening her eyes to gaze at him. His voice softened. "What was that for?"
"I love you, I know we'll get through this together. Remember, you don't have to figure all this out, it is Detective Malone's case, right? Sam's?" Beck nodded and smiled briskly. "There's no need to throw yourself into this…I'm telling myself that too, because it's tempting."
"Yeah, I just want to know. I want to know what was real, if anything was real. Our friends, our school…I mean hell, Gary and Sam were scoping out that school for a reason."
"True; but we're not there right now, we're not with our friends or at the Vega's place." A breath rolled from her lips and Beck closed her eyes. "It's just us, together, here. Nothing else, nobody else, just you and me."
His body swayed forward, brushing against hers as their lips crashed together. A soft moan rose from her throat and she moved down towards the mattress, feeling his left hand slide behind her back and his right glide along her leg.
"Beck…" His lips trailed towards her neck and she threw her head back, groaning as his teeth gently nipped her skin. His fingers dipped beneath her shirt, hot against her skin. "I love you."
A crash sounded from another room, causing Jade's eyes to dart open and a gasp flew from her mouth. Beck looked over his shoulder, furrowing his brow. "What was that? Beck?"
"Hang on," he growled. Beck rose from the bed, slowly gliding his hand through his hair and cursing under his breath. "It sounded like the front door slamming."
Suddenly a voice called out to Beck, it was Andre. A tinge of fear struck Jade and she dove under the covers as if they could make her invisible. "It's just Andre, relax." He waved his hand low and cast a reassuring smile while continuing to whisper. "For all we know, he's just the same old Andre we've always known…"
"Do we really know him, Beck? Do we?" She poked her head out of her shelter, her entire body trembling. "What if he knows that we know, what if they sent him to kill us thinking we wouldn't expect?"
Beck smirked a bit. "I guess we're both paranoid. I'll go see what he wants."
As he started for the door, Jade reached her arm out and called to him. "Be careful! Don't say anything to make him think we're questioning him."
"I got this." Beck opened his door and stepped outside. Still anxious, Jade remained where she was and could still hear the conversation. "Andre, you're with Dad?" Beck's tone was that of surprise and concern. Startled to hear his father was home too, Jade slowly began inching out from under the covers. "Why is he drunk?"
"I was doing some security at this club he got invited to," Andre replied, "He had a bit too much excitement." Jade pulled the covers away and started to leave the bed, her eyebrows had risen and she was studying the door closely.
Keith Oliver could be heard stammering and bumping into the furniture. Beck's father was always a more reserved and quiet man, not as much as her own father was but definitely not the type to indulge.
She grabbed her coat off the floor nearby and wrapped it around her body before making her way out of the bedroom. Andre's eyes fell onto her and widened. "Am I interrupting something?"
Beck turned around, his gaze worried as he looked to her, but softening upon seeing her there. "You're fine, Andre." Jade walked up to him and he slid an arm around her. She wanted to lend him her strength in the moment and needed to have his. With how nervous they were apart, they were by far better together.
She glanced to Keith, his normally coifed brown hair was a frazzled mess, his pupils were dilated and eyes bloodshot. His nose was running and his blue button up shirt was stained in multiple colors. "Jesus," she said with an exhale, "Someone did a number on him."
Keith tried to say something, but dropped to his knees, grabbing an end table on the way down. The man blinked multiple times, shaking his head. His entire body was violently trembling and he looked around, seeming confused.
Andre put his hands to his hips and clicked his tongue. "Yep, like I said, a bit too much excitement."
"I didn't know you were doing bounce work," Beck said with intrigue in his voice. Jade nudged him and he waved a palm, mouthing 'trust me'. She nodded and watched Andre look up and over to them.
"Yeah, I've only just started. It's a part time gig to save up a bit for college." He crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "Seems my dad's not too eager to pay for much, wants me to put some money forward too."
"That seems fair."
"I guess." Andre bent over, wrapping his arms around Keith. "Come on man, let's get you to bed." As he started to guide the man, Keith looked over his shoulder to Beck.
Beck walked forward, raising a hand. "Actually, let me help him out. He is my dad, after all." Andre huffed and took a step back to let Beck support his dad.
"Suit yourself. I got him here."
"Thanks for that, Andre."
"Well, I'll uh…" Andre looked at Jade for a second, then back to Beck. "I'll leave you two lovebirds to it."
Beck draped an arm around his father's shoulders, chuckling a bit. "That moment's kinda been ruined. Thanks again, Andre." Andre flashed a quick grin and started to leave, waving his hand in the air. Keith started to sink and Beck let out a quick yell.
Jade rushed over, taking Keith's other arm and draping it over her shoulder. They guided the man to his bedroom and helped him into it. "I've never seen him so out of it," she muttered, "Definitely not a partygoer."
"He told me about it earlier, some kind of business party at this random club downtown. Never seen it, never heard of it; but I know he wasn't feeling like going but wanted to go as a show of support for his boss."
"I hope this shape he's in doesn't affect his job."
Keith reached into his pocket and pulled out a credit card, frowning as he held it up. "Son," he whispered meekly, "I took the wrong card. I'm sorry." Beck raised an eyebrow and Jade gripped the card, muttering as she read Beck's name.
With that, the man passed out and Beck began to pale. The couple rushed to his laptop and he quickly opened up his bank account, praying that the charges weren't too steep.
To their dismay, several hundred dollars had been drained from his savings. Beck screamed in alarm and started pacing the floor. "Shit." Jade focused on the charges, her brow furrowing as she studied the tender.
"Cha Cha Bar and Girls?" She tilted her head and started to hum. "I think I've heard of that actually." Beck turned to her, still pale and covered in a frenzied sweat. "My dad got an invite from there once but he turned it down, said it was some sort of smutty underground brothel type place that he had no desire being anywhere near."
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah, looks like your dad had a lot of excitement." She looked over her shoulder at the doorway, her lips pursing. "Not sure why Andre would want to be seen dead there either." Realizing it was Andre, and the one truth they were sure of was that Andre was a playboy, she instantly dismissed that statement. "Nevermind, it might be Andre's scene."
"A brothel? Like an old school sex club place?" He groaned and fell to his bed. "Oh my god." His hand flew towards his forehead and his fingers sank into his hair. "I hope Andre doesn't know my dad used my card, something tells me this place isn't something we're supposed to know about."
Jade took a deep breath, pushed herself away from the computer desk and moved to sit beside Beck. "Yeah, let's hope." She was curious though, if this place really was underground. It sounded like a legitimate business, but she'd been downtown several times and never saw a company with that name. If it was a secret location, that meant it was hidden inside a different business. "So much for spending a time not thinking about all this recent shit."
Well, something definitely happened to Mr. Oliver at this place, and Andre showing up certainly didn't help matters. Right when Beck and Jade were about to have some alone time. Guess this won't be the last we hear of this location
