A/N: Heyo. Sorry this took so long…I was having a hard time figuring out where I was going with this. Also, sorry for the lack of bade togetherness…next chapter is where it should start getting a lot more badey… hopefully I'll have that up soon now that I know where I'm going. Also I've been watching a lot of How I Met Your Mother recently…lol can you tell..? MORE BADE NEXT CHAPTER I PROMISE! (:
Beck's POV
I woke up the next morning (well technically the same morning since I hadn't gotten to bed until five) feeling much more optimistic than I had been the previous morning. I rolled out of my bed, and after a quick breakfast and some coffee to keep me functioning, I brushed my teeth, pulled on a clean shirt, and got out my 'old friend' the Yellow Pages.
I flipped through the pages, bookmarked now to various Jades (all for nothing, I reminded myself painfully) and found Cat Valentine. I beamed, thanking God the name Chris remembered actually did exist. I ran my finger over the page and grimaced as I found a coffee stain covering the phone number. I was so delirious last night, flipping through the pages, I must not have noticed I spilled. My finger went to the next best thing, the girl's address. And it was close enough to walk.
I had a mini battle inside my head then. Part of me argued that it was just plain weird to pop up at a random stranger's house, asking questions about a friend they probably didn't know you knew. However, most of me made the point that it could be the only way to ever find Jade. And God only knows how bad I needed that. I had my lead. Now I just had to follow it.
Finally making up my mind, I grabbed my RV keys and stepped outside, locking the door responsibly. I ran over to the house to tell my mom I was going to my friend Jake's house (she always told me to stay away from strangers' houses) and then set out to find the Valentine house.
It was about a ten minute walk, which gave me plenty of time to plan out what I would say. I'd say, 'I know it sounds crazy, but last night I think I fell in love with your friend, and now I can't find her. Please help me, I'm desperate. I need to talk to her again.' And then she'd melt, because girls always melt at cheesy romantic things like that, right? And she'd give in and give me Jade's phone number, and I'd call her, and we'd go on a date, and she'd fall in love with me because I know she felt that spark when we kissed too, or else she wouldn't have kissed back.
There was a moment when I was crossing at a street corner and, not looking where I was going, nearly got hit by a car in the middle of a police chase. That was the thing about police chases- people always got hurt, I thought absently as I continued my walk a bit more cautiously.
I looked up to see I had wandered, luckily I might add, into the correct neighborhood. I scanned the houses, locating number 209, and walked up to it quickly. I took a deep breath and raised my hand to knock on the hard wood. No sooner had my hand knocked than the door flew open. Yep, that was her alright. I could have recognized the artificial red hair anywhere.
"Hi!" she said excitedly. It almost sounded as if she knew me, but I could tell she didn't really recognize the boy that she had caught sucking face with her presumably best friend.
"Cat?" I said, making sure it really was her, and not some kind of doppelganger or twin or something…
"Whatty?" She said, sounding naïve and confused. It was hard to believe Jade was friends with her. Well, opposites attract I guess. Polar opposites.
"I-I'm looking for-Jade." I stuttered out, smacking myself mentally. So much for my big romantic speech.
"Jadey?" she said, her eyebrows wrinkling.
"Yeah…" I said, unable to help chuckling a little at the nickname 'Jadey' . "I'm the guy she was hanging out with the other night. While you were with my friend, Chris."
"Oh, you're Beck!" she said, realization coming across her face.
"Yeah." I said, beginning to smile, "She talked about me?"
"Yeah. She said you were… well, my mom doesn't let me use those words." Cat said, looking embarrassed.
"Oh." I said, unable to keep the disappointment out of my voice. "Well… is there any chance you could give me her number or something?" I said hopefully.
"Um… She said she didn't want to see you again. She said if I ever run into you, to not tell you her phone number." Said Cat, looking a bit sad.
"Well what if you…gave me her address? She didn't say anything about that, did she?" I said, feeling guilty about trying to trick this obviously ditzy but sweet girl.
"Well…she didn't really say anything, but I'm not sure she'd want…"
"Please. I just want to…give back something of hers that I have." I lied, stumbling over the words slightly. I had never been a good fibber, but it looked like the red headed-girl, or Cat, wasn't picking up on anything suspicious.
"Oh, well I guess in that case…let me go get a pen!" she said, skipping off happily and I sighed in relief.
"Here ya go!" she said, returning and handing me a folded up slip of paper and smiling.
"Thanks so much," I said graciously, starting to unfold the paper to look at the address. "You really have no idea how much this means, because I've been looking for-"I stopped short as I opened the paper, frowning at the words on the page.
Take a right at that one park; go straight until you get to the store with the really cute shoes. Turn left, and keep going to that spot on the road with all the weird cracks. Then go left and keep walking until you get to Jadey's neighborhood, and it's the big house with the prickly bushes!
"Um…Cat?" I said, "I- I'm not sure if I can follow these directions."
"That's how I always find it." She said, looking upset and confused.
"Well, yeah, but I don't know-"I stopped and sighed, "Do you have her actual address? Or at least her street name?"
"Nope, sorry!" she shrugged, giggling at something as she did. I have no idea what.
"Well thanks anyway." I said with another sigh. "If you remember anything can you call me?" I asked, handing her my number.
"Sure!" she said perkily, grabbing the slip of paper out of my hands.
"Thanks." I said, feeling dejected, as I turned to leave.
"Bye-bye Beck!" she shouted behind me.
"Bye Cat." I said, shaking my head with a small smile, realizing maybe why Jade and this girl were friends.
After that failed attempt, I decided to go to the diner nearby to think up my next plan of action. I was far from ready to give up, even if every one of my efforts so far had been to no avail. After a long walk, which definitely helped to clear my mind and chase away some of the discouraging thoughts, I reached the diner: Jerry's.
I walked inside, the little bell on the door chiming and alerting everyone in the building of my entrance. I went over to one of the booths in the corner and slid inside, ordering a soda before leaning back into the fake red leather and exhaling loudly. I began to shut my eyes, still exhausted from the night before, but before they closed all the way, I saw a flash of brown, streaked hair out of the corner of my eyes.
My eyes shot open and I bolted upright, suddenly wide awake. I saw the figure more clearly and determined yes, this was definitely her. I shot out of my seat like it was fire, ignoring the waitresses' cries behind me, ordering me to stop where I was. So what if I may never be able to go back? There was no way I was going to let her get away from me a second time.
I pushed past a family of screaming toddlers and irritated adults and out onto the sidewalk. I looked around furiously, trying to spot where Jade could have gone. I spotted her shoving through the crowd, running down the sidewalk hurriedly. So she saw me. And she wanted nothing to do with me.
I turned to run after her, even more determined than before. A heavy rain had started to fall, blurring my eyesight and I cursed, my feet splashing up more water on me as I ran. 'Always sunny in Los Angeles' my ass, I thought angrily as I ran.
I felt like I was the cop in a police chase, trying desperately not to let my suspect get away. I remembered that morning, how people always got hurt during police chases. At that point, as I hopped over obstacles and dodged annoyed strangers, I was praying I wouldn't be that person.
I could still see the back of Jade's figure as she made her way frantically down the sidewalk, shoving people mercilessly out of her way as she did. Suddenly, she stopped short, and I looked up, seeing she was stuck at a crosswalk with a red light, and speeding traffic blocking her path.
I saw my opportunity and took it. I sprinted as fast I could down the sidewalk, approaching Jade quickly. I saw her glance back with a look of panic, and thinking she might not know it was me, called out after her.
"Jade! Hey, Jade! Wait up!" I yelled, still running.
Either she didn't hear me or she didn't care. The light turned green again and without hesitating she threw herself into the street, kicking up water and paying no mind to the people shouting at her from behind. If I wasn't sprinting before, now I was. I knew if I didn't make it to that light before it turned red for pedestrians again, I would have lost my chance, and I'd be back to square one.
Ignoring the pain I was beginning to feel in my chest, I put my head down and ran, as fast as I possibly could, to the same street corner where this morning I had almost been hit by a police car. Unfortunately for me, traffic lights in LA change fast. I didn't make it.
The light turned red just as I reached it, and I stopped short, breathing heavily in the blue light of the rain.
"Damn it." I hissed, kicking the light pole angrily. Looks like I was the one who got killed in the chase today. I was beginning to feel like I'd never talk to this girl again. Every time I felt like I was getting closer to finding her, something set me back again. Whether it was a phone book, a ditzy red-head, or a damn traffic light. Whatever it was, it made me feel like I was chasing after something I could never catch.
I sighed, closing my eyes, and leaned up against the wall of the building near me, letting the rain fall on me without caring. I felt my pocket vibrate, and reached in to pull out my phone. I frowned as I saw I had a message from an unknown number. I quickly opened up the text and read:
Hi hi! This is Cat! I have her neighborhood name!
I had my new lead.
A/N: So as I said, now that I have more of an idea where I'm going, I'll try to update more often. Plus, don't worry you'll get a lot more Bade in the chapters after this. Promise. If you liked it, please review, follow, whatever. If you didn't like it, please review anyway (: Criticism is my friend.