Beck had spent the day, planning his and Jade's first date. He knew she didn't want anything basic or cliché, so Beck planned a night full of surprises she would like and ones he hopes she'll like. When 6:30pm rolled around, Beck was pacing in his RV. He couldn't leave yet to pick her up because he would be too early and she probably wouldn't be ready, but he couldn't contain his excitement. He tried to gain his composure, knowing she probably liked his cool and collected attitude. By the time he did that, he could leave to go pick her up.
Jade walked out of her house and down the drive way wearing black leggings, a short skirt, and a black halter top. She also added a leather jacket because she wasn't sure if they would be outside during their date.
Beck pulled up just as she made into the end of her drive way, and she quickly got in the passenger side door. She nonchalantly fixed her hair before looking over at him, batting her lashes slightly.
"So, what do you have planned?"
"It's a surprise." Beck smiled.
"I hate surprises." She deadpanned.
"Well, you're going to love these ones." He chuckled.
"I better." She scowled at him before leaning back into her seat.
Beck drove over to the opposite side of town, causing Jade to become bored. Beck noticed and realized he probably wasn't off to the best start. She didn't make anything easy for him, and he liked that.
"So, did you eat already? If not I can swing through somewhere."
"I wasn't sure if food was part of the plan."
"You said you didn't want dinner and a movie."
"Well I meant I didn't want to go to some cheesy restaurant." She complained.
"So, do you want me to stop somewhere?"
"No." she sighed.
Beck looked over at her and figured she would let him know when she was hungry. Jade liked to complain, but she would let him know when she wanted something.
After 20 minutes of driving, they arrived at an animal shelter. Jade frowned, she didn't hate animals, but she didn't understand why Beck would bring her here. It looked closed. Before she could say anything, Beck was already opening her door for her and holding a hand out to her. Jade slapped it away and got out on her own.
"What is the plan here?" Jade asked.
"Well, I figured we could get to know each other better on this date, and I volunteer here a bit." Beck explained, smiling.
Jade rolled her eyes but continued to follow Beck into the building. Inside they saw a woman at the front desk, filling out paper work.
"Hey Jan." Beck greeted. "Thanks for letting us come in for a bit after hours."
"Not a problem, I got a whole bunch of kittens to get settled in anyway, so I'll be here for another hour or so." The woman shrugged and handed Beck a key and clip board.
Beck motioned for Jade to sign the sheet of paper before they walked through a second pair of doors.
Inside there was a center play area with tall walls, half wooden and half glass. Beck motioned for Jade to go in as he walked through a side door that lead to the kennel area. Jade took the moment to gather herself. She played it cool, but this was her first real date with a guy, and it was confusing enough without being in an animal shelter.
Within minutes Beck was back and was being half dragged by a big Rottweiler mix. Despite this dogs energy level, Beck was smiling and giving him pets all over. Beck opened the door and kept the dog on leash as he brought the dog up to Jade.
"This is Badger. He has been here for like a year." Beck said with a huge smile on his face. "He can be a lot to handle."
"I can see that." Jade said, keeping distance from the dog.
"Not a dog person?" Beck asked, as he squatted down to try and get Badger to relax.
"I don't mind them, I just don't know him."
Beck nodded, "I get that. But he is a real lover boy at heart."
Badger had calmed down a great deal and was starting to lay down, half in Beck's lap. Upon seeing a gentler side, Jade scooted closer and gave the dog a few light belly rubs. Badger noticed the addition of hands and rotated over to give Jade's leg a big kiss. Beck could see Jade grimace, but she continued to pet him anyway.
"Yeah, I like you too." She groaned.
Beck laughed before standing up and letting Badger off leash. With new found freedom, Badger took off, sprinting around the play area and grabbing toys out of buckets. Beck ran after him, playing tug of war and keep away. Jade watched, impressed with how gentle the large animal could be even when he was playing.
While Beck played with Badger, Jade began to look around the rest of the room, noticing the other side doors outside of the play area. They had a section for cats, small rodents, and rabbits. These caught Jade's attention and she quietly left the play area without Beck noticing.
Jade stepped into the rabbit room where she immediately saw the tiniest Rex, colored all black. Jade opened the door and carefully scooped the small creature into her arms. She sat down on the floor and set the rabbit in her lap. The rabbit, either out of fear or comfortability, stayed rested in her lap. Jade found some lettuce, cut up on a small plate and began to feed the bunny. She just sat there, watching the animal eat and petting it gently.
After a few minutes, Beck had found her. He gave her a smile when he came in and quietly sat down across from her.
"You like bunnies?" he asked.
"Yeah. I had one when I was really young, but it died and I was never allowed to get another."
"I really want a dog. A Rottweiler, like Badger."
"He is a good dog." Jade nodded.
"I could be into bunnies though." Beck shrugged. "They are cute."
"What are you going to adopt a rabbit for me?" Jade teased, a slightly smirk on her face.
"Maybe. But you would have to take care of it." Beck said in a fatherly tone.
Jade smirked, and picked the rabbit up. It had finished the lettuce she gave it, so she put it back into its cage and locked the door.
"Anything else?" She asked, with a bored expression.
"Only if there is something you want to look at." Beck shrugged.
"Maybe another time." Jade said, trying to hide a smile.
Beck nodded and opened the door for her, following behind all the way out of the building. He raced ahead to open her car door as well, making her roll her eyes but also let another smile peak out.
Next her took her a few minutes up the road, to what looked like a corn field. Jade stepped out before Beck could open her door for her and surveyed the area she was in. It would probably be scary to most girls, like something out of a horror movie, but that's exactly what she liked about it. Beck came to stand right next to her, texting someone on his phone.
"So, what's all this about?" she asked, arms crossed.
"Well, I got some friends, who put on a haunted maze and house every year. They also have people come to review their hauntings and try to win a cash prize for being the best haunted place in LA. I told them that if they could scare you, they could scare anyone and win that prize money this year." Beck explained.
"So, I'm here to be their guinea pig." Jade frowned.
"Technically yes, but also no. I figured you would get a kick out of it. Do you not want to?"
"I didn't say that." Jade said, grabbing Beck's hand and pulling him into the opening in the corn. Beck smiled at the fact that she had grabbed his hand, even if she didn't mean anything by it. He squeezed her hand, hinting that she was holding it. Jade looked down, not giving any reaction.
"I'm not going to spend all night out here, looking for you if we get separated." Jade groaned, continuing to drag him through the tall corn.
Beck was definitely more effected by the haunted maze than Jade. He hated to lose his cool in front of people, especially a girl he liked, while Jade stared down every actor and walked through every part with confidence. Beck almost felt bad, his friends were probably frustrated that they didn't get any reaction out of her. He was telling the truth about her though, they didn't believe him. They were right at the end of the maze and there was a clear path out. Beck lowered his head, feeling like he might have let Jade down by taking her to a boring place.
"Well, that was interesting." Jade said, emotionless.
"Sorry if it wasn't that great. They get really good reviews every year." Beck shrugged.
"It wasn't bad." Jade shrugged, "I've just been-ahh!"
As Jade was turning around to walk back to the car, her leg was grabbed and she jumped straight in the air.
"We got her!" a person in a ghillie suit cheered, standing up from the ground and running off.
Beck laughed, figuring they added this part as a last-ditch effort to prove themselves. Jade was currently pressed up against the car, trying to get her breathing under control.
"I guess they aren't that bad after all." Beck joked, coming towards her.
"Technically they aren't supposed to touch you. So, that doesn't count." Jade stated, getting in the door quickly.
Beck laughed again, nodding his head. He began walking over to the other side of the car, while also texting his friends a 'thank you'. Once Beck was in the car, they drove off, all the way back to his house. They pulled into his drive way, parking next to the RV he called home, and behind the red truck he would hook up to the RV when he needed to move it.
"So, we done here?" Jade said, sort of asking, sort of stating.
"No, I got one more trick up my sleeve." Beck smiled and slid out of his seat.
Jade got out as well and watched as Beck moved over to the truck. He dropped the tailgate and Jade could see him fiddling with a small, black box. He hit a button on top of the box and the machine came to life. It groaned and made motor noises. As it ran, Jade saw a big piece of fabric expanding I the back of the truck, too. After a minute of two, a small sized air mattress was formed in the back of the pick-up truck, and Beck had turned back to her with a large smile on his face.
"We're not having sex." Jade deadpanned.
Beck chuckled, "I know that, just come on." He waved her over.
Jade approached, cautiously, and allowed Beck to help her into the back of the truck before following along. Beck sighed as he plopped down on the mattress, laying all the way back. He put one hand behind his head and looked up at Jade, before motioning for her to join him.
She rolled her eyes again, adding an exasperated sign, before gently settling down next to him. Beck gave her a small smile before turning his attention back up to the night sky.
"What now?" Jade scoffed.
"I don't know. Do you know any constellations?" Beck shrugged.
"Do I look like an astrologist?"
"Well, there's the big dipper, and right next to it is the little dipper." Beck explained, tracing the path between the stars. "Then, there you can see Orion's Belt."
"I don't even know where you are looking" Jade complained.
"Here." Beck grabbed her hand and folded it into a pointing finger, ignoring Jade's angry glare.
He used her finger to trace the patterns in the see from her point of view. Of course, this meant he had to become very close to Jade, leaning his head right on the side of hers.
Jade couldn't help the blush that crept onto her face and she pulled her hand away before inching away from him. Beck looked at her, questioning expression, but decided to let it go. He honestly had no idea about her past. He didn't know much about her family, school life, past relationships, or even interests, well except for her love of scissors. Beck figured he needed to change that.
"Jade, tell me about yourself." He said, putting both hands behind his head.
Jade frowned, "Why?"
"Because, usually people get to know each other on dates."
Jade scoffed, "I thought I said I didn't want a normal date."
"Yeah, but I am asking nicely."
Jade once again, rolled her eyes and groaned, "Okay, I'm 16, last name is West, I identify as female, and I like to cause others pain."
Beck nodded, a small smile, "Okay, I guess I need to be more specific. What is something, other than pain and bunnies, that you like?"
Jade shrugged, "That's the main things, but I guess I also enjoy acting. I'm a good singer too, but I don't want to be like a pop star. I'd like to be on broad way, maybe be a director and writer."
Beck nodded, happy Jade was letting him in, and he liked what he was hearing. He wasn't a good singer, but he was a good actor and wanted to be an actor.
"Nice." He said. "What is your favorite drink?" he asked, giving her an easy one.
"Coffee." She stated quickly.
"I should have guessed after the way you almost killed Robbie when he made you spill yours."
"Well, that was also because it got spilled on me!" Jade groaned.
"I know, I know, I was there!" Beck laughed awkwardly, remembering how he asked her out moments later and was promptly rejected. "By the way, why did you say no to going out with me? At first?"
Jade stared down at her fingers, fiddling with them, thinking about how to answer that question.
"Well, honestly, I thought it was a prank at first." She shrugged.
"Really? You think I'd do that?" Beck frowned.
"I mean, I don't know you that well. It could've happened."
Beck lowered his eyes, considering that she probably didn't have many positive experiences with others. She was the enemy for a lot of people, or at least a person no one would care to hurt. People looked at her like she was a tiger, and treated her badly because they feared her, and figured they should get her before she got them. But Jade wasn't the person to cause pain for no reason, her reason may be obscure, but they were there in her mind.
"Well, I would never do that. To you or anyone."
Jade gave a small smile, but said nothing, just looked at him. Beck also looked toward her and made direct eye contact. He could feel the energy in the air, and knew it was the best moment of the night to kiss her. As he leaned in though, he saw her face, she looked afraid. At the last moment, he pulled back. He wanted to make sure their date went perfect, and didn't want to push her too far and scare her off. Granted, he would probably find a way to lure her back in again. But why go through the headache.
The two directed their attention back into the sky, both breathing steadily. Jade was the first to break the minute-long silence. She cleared her throat and sat up, straightening out her clothes.
"Um, I'm gonna get going home." She said quickly.
Beck sprung up to sit next to her, "Oh, okay. It is getting late."
"See ya." Jade breathed out before hopping down and starting her walk home.
Beck watched her walk out of sight before falling back on the air mattress and groaning.