Jade woke to the sound of rain and the smell of waffles drifting past her nose. She cast a fuzzy, blinking glance towards her door as she heard the soft click of the lock sliding into place. Beck had slipped out silently as to not wake her, she realized.

Jade stretched, relishing the feel of the warm sheets on her skin. There was no better feeling than being in bed, especially when she woke up to a Saturday off of work. She pulled her black sleep shorts and tank into place before pushing the covers off of her, expressing her irritation at her pajamas lack of ability to stay in place through an incoherent mumble.

Shark lifted his head as she passed to the door. Jade scratched behind his ears for a moment before she left the room, her faithful Shepherd following just behind her. Her dark hair hung in tangles over her shoulders, giving her a wild look.

The air in the main room of the apartment was nice for a summer day. Without the sun breaking through the glass, the atmosphere retained the chilliness from the previous evening. It was refreshing.

Drake was already up. That was a rare sight. Jade eyed him warily. He had woken up before her three, maybe four times in all the weeks they had lived together. "You're cooking?"

"If putting frozen waffles in the microwave counts, then yes, I am cooking." Drake said drily, pulling out a steaming plate of soggy, yet slightly burned waffles. "Want one?"

"You're not supposed to do that, you idiot." Jade growled. "That's all wrong." She grabbed the plate from his hand and threw it out before taking four fresh waffles from the box and setting them in the toaster oven. "Nothing beats a homemade waffle, but I think that's a little too much to ask from you."

"Be nice." Beck arrived, fresh and awake from the shower he had just finished. "He gave it a shot, didn't he?" Beck draped his arm around Jade, kissing her on the cheek. "Morning, babe."

"Don't call me 'babe.'" Jade protested. But, she was smiling as she laid her head on his shoulder, kissing his jawline sweetly.

Drake opened the refrigerator, rolling his eyes as soon as his back was turned. He could suddenly relate to how Josh must have felt when he had brought girls over. Being a third wheel was awkward, to say the least. Drake decided to ignore it. He'd been the cause of said awkwardness several times before. This wasn't going to get in the way of his plans.

The toaster oven dinged. Jade pulled out the waffles, putting two on each plate. She handed one to Beck, and left the other in front of her, drowning hers in maple syrup.

Drake popped three more in the microwave out of spite.

"So, the good news is, I can fix my car when the rain lets up." Beck said, taking a sip of juice. He moved his chair over to make room for Drake, who slid into the last remaining chair.

"You do car repair?" he asked.

"Since high school. I like being able to take care of my ride myself. She's a good car… I wouldn't trust anyone else with her, you know?"

Drake nodded. He knew how much better he would feel if he could take care of his beloved Mustang himself. He hated handing her over to mechanics.

A few minutes passed before Beck excused himself to go make a call. The opportunity Drake had been waiting for had arrived.

He took the plates, dumping the leftovers in the trash and the dishes in the dishwasher. Before Jade could leave, he asked her to take a seat. "We have got to talk."

"About?" Jade groaned inwardly. Her morning had started so nicely. Drake would mess that up. She hoped he'd finish quickly. She had things to do.

"If you're going to live here, you need to relax." Drake said. "And you need to be less… intense. Don't bring home attack dogs. Yell at me for eating your food, don't dye my hair pink. Don't-"

"Purple." Jade corrected him.

"It looked pink in some- whatever. Not important. Jade, you're … nice," he choked out, "and seriously hot, but-"

"I know." She smirked.

"But I can't let you stay if you keep making my life a living hell."

"Your life?" Jade stood up, crossing her arms over her chest. "Excuse me? Am I the one playing guitar all hours of the night when my roommate has an early shift in the morning? Am I the one writing crappy songs and singing the same words constantly?" Jade glared at him. "How many times can you find a way?!" she demanded.

"Calm down!" Drake snapped. "My songs are awesome, first of all. Secondly, I didn't know you could hear me. Look, the fact is, you don't have a place to go, and I need a roommate, so let's make life a little easier on each other, okay?" He threw his hands up in frustration, his irritated expression matching Jade's. "You've been in a bad mood since you moved in. If you don't like it, go live with Beck or something. I don't know why you didn't just do that in the first place."

"I don't have to explain to you." Jade hissed. "You ruined my morning. I hope you're happy."

Drake's retort was cut short by a vicious growl. He felt his stomach drop as he realized eyes were on him, burrowing into his back. He didn't have to look to know for sure. Shark had been affected by the thickening tension. He was ready to sink his fangs into Drake.

"Call him off." Drake said. Shark growled again. "Jade, call him off!"

"No." Jade replied calmly.

"Call this dog the hell off me!" Drake yelped, climbing up the counter. The events of the previous night were still in his mind. He saw the dog's twisted grin even when he blinked. The nightmares had not helped. Enhanced by the bit of alcohol still in his body, they had become downright horrific.

"You're such a child!" Jade snapped. "Shark…"

Please let her say 'down.' Please let her say 'down.' Drake prayed fervently.

"Down."

There is a God!

Tension sagged out of Drake as Shark once again became a quiet, mild mannered dog. The change between that Shepherd and the one from before her command was ineffable. Drake could hardly believe it to be the same dog. Yet, it was, and Drake knew his resolve to avoid it had only been strengthened.

"Jade, listen." Drake said, trying to reason with her. "If you soften up a bit for me, I'll do the same for you. Deal?"

He hesitated, waiting on her next word. The scare, coupled with his lack of sleep, had left him drained. He was ready to go back to bed, intending to sleep all day. But, he had woken up early to make peace with her. He wasn't about to retire with his purpose unaccomplished. Drake gritted his teeth, determined to wait as long as he needed, to negotiate whatever it took, if possible.

The dog and the hair dye were only two of the problems he had been having with Jade. The good moments, what little there were, had been few and far between. Living with her was like living with a psycho, in his opinion. She was never predicable, a bit scary, and very dangerous. He still knew so little about her. He recalled the time she had taken his car without his knowledge, because hers was in the shop. That lead him to remember how upset she had gotten when he 'forgot' to bring her to pick up her car. He had wanted to show her what it was like to be inconvenienced like that. Because of her, he had missed an important meeting. Because of his retaliation, she missed a date. Because she missed her date, she bought a dog. Because she had bought the dog, Drake lived in fear of what lay beyond his own front door.

Not anymore.

"Well?"

Jade met him with an even gaze. "Good luck making rent this month."

She picked up her keys and left.

A/N: Hello! It's been a while, and I'm sorry. I meant to update this much sooner! But, thank you for the flood of reviews encouraging me to update! I assure you, they were the match that lit the spark. I do hope you like this chapter and what happens next! Thank you so much for reading!

Love,

Mirage