I'm back. This is a longer chapter than I've been writing. Just two characters, and to make it clear, Beck and Jade are still together. That is all, except the disclaimer. Which will be on the next line.
Disclaimer: Curse you Daniel Schneider for coming up with Victorious before me.
Chapter 5: Please Take Me Home
2:45 PM
Jade's locker
Jade's POV:
Today wasn't nearly as disappointing as I thought it would be after the way it started. Even though the whole scissor thing was horrible, but I got an A on my math quiz and Gavin was cooler than I expected any relative of Shapiro's to be. Speak of the devil. . .
"Hey Jade. What's up?"
"Just getting my stuff together so I can drive home. Beck didn't give me a ride today, obviously."
He hesitated.
"What?" I said, annoyed.
"Would it be a big deal for us to hang out for a while? Or if not could you give me a ride home?"
Do I really want to? That's not exactly my image. Why the hell not? It's not like he's Robbie. God forbid.
"Sure. What do you want to do?"
"We could just go chill at the beach."
I raised one eyebrow. "We don't have swimsuits."
"I don't like the beach for what people usually do. I like to hang out in the area. The weather is usually great, and the smell of the ocean just kind of cleanses."
"So you just want to. . . talk?"
"I need to get to know someone other than Robbie here. And my aunt and uncle. . . let's just say there's a reason Robbie's the way he is."
I managed to catch myself before I smiled again. How does he do that? "Do you have any certain beach in mind?"
"The only one I know of up here is Venice."
"Then to Venice we go."
5 minutes later
Jade's car
Gavin's POV:
"You mind if I plug in my PearPod?"
Jade glanced over as she pulled on her seatbelt. "Choose something on the heavier side."
I wasn't exactly in a mood for hardcore music. Wait a minute. "I'm in a pop punk kind of mood, but I have a nice middleground." I scrolled through the band's on the PearPod, found Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!, and selected Born For Adversity.
The buildup started, and then in a deep growl, "THERE'S NO PARTY NOW!" with a breakdown immediately after.
"That was sick. Who is this?"
I told her, and mentioned, "Just wait for. . . I think the 3rd song." A few minutes later, it came on.
"It's an interesting line," she said, "The guitar part, I mean. What's this one called?"
"Captain Blood."
"I like it."
4:30 PM
A bench on Venice Beach
Jade's POV:
"So basically, Robbie reviews Trina's play as a comedy!"
Gavin busted out laughing, "That's hilarious! Where'd he get the idea?"
"It was Andre's suggestion," I said with a smile. I'm really glad I agreed to this. It's a lot of fun. It got kind of quiet as we both weren't sure what to say next. "So. . . why don't you like the beach? I mean, I hate a lot of things, but the beach is amazing."
He hesitated with a grimace. "Are you sure you want to know? It's not like it's anything really bad, but I prefer not to tell people."
That confused me a bit, and I guess I let it show.
"You know what, I will tell you," he said with a sad smile, "When I was 10, I was tossing around a football with my best friend in the water at this beach in San Diego. I jumped to try and catch his throw, but it got past me. I turned around and stepped towards it, and, well. . ." He started to pull off his left shoe. I shot him a quizzical look, and he said, "Just let me show you."
He got his shoe off, and then pulled off the sock. He turned his leg, and said, "Under the ankle bone."
I looked, and was shocked to see a reddish purple blotch. My mouth dropped. "What happened?"
He gave me that sad smile again. "That's where the stingray got me. Absolutely the worst pain I've ever felt in my life."
"That's horrible!"
"It's no big deal. It was scary though."
I couldn't believe that that was 6 or 7 years old. The scar looked extremely recent. "Why did that turn you off of beaches?"
"It wasn't the pain. There were two things. Back then I was a total jock. . ."
"Seriously? You?"
"Right? Anyway, my friend freaked out and I couldn't tell him that I was fine, because all he saw was me almost fainting and being helped to the lifeguard station. The worst part was, I couldn't feel the bottom of my foot for, no joke, 3 weeks after. Nothing. I couldn't put any weight on it or anything. That's why. I'm fine with going in the sand and stuff, but I refuse to go in the water. I've tried to, but I freak out."
I was at a loss for words. Then I smiled. "Then we'll fix that together."
His phone rang. The ringtone made me laugh. "Really? Disturbed?"
He laughed. "It's Robbie. He can't stand Down With The Sickness. Not that he likes Disturbed. It pisses him off and I love it. Give me a sec." He picked up the call.
"Yeah, what's up bud? No, I'm at Venice Beach. With Jade. Yeah, she gave me a ride. Yes, I'm still healthy." That cracked me up, but I can see why Robbie would say it. "You sure man?" Gavin looked at his phone. "Give me. . ." He looked at me, "How long would it take to get to Robbie's house?"
I considered. "Maybe. . . 10 minutes?"
Thanks he mouthed at me. "I'll see you in 15? Alright, cool man. See you then." He hung up. "I guess I gotta go. My freaking aunt and uncle are taking me out to a 'Welcome to Los Angeles' dinner."
"After 4 days of you being here?"
That smile again. "I told you."
Almost exactly 10 minutes later
Jade's car, outside of Robbie's house
Gavin's POV:
"We're here."
I was disappointed. I wish we could have talked longer. "Yeah. Hey, could I. . ." I hesitated.
"What?"
"Could I get your number?" She looked back at me, surprised.
"Sure." We swapped numbers. After, I turned around to go inside.
After a few steps I heard, "Hey Baker!" I turned around.
"What's up?"
She smiled at me and said, "You're pretty alright, you know that?"
Please please please review. I need to know what to improve.