Ch. 8

Alright, they were going to do this, goddammit. They were going to do this. They were going to make this fucking happen. Dave let out a breath to calm his nerves, going over their last conversation in his head.

GG: dave are you sure you gave me the right coordinates?

TG: jade i have googled this shit and done the calculations

TG: i got this

TG: i even gave you the exact number of feet i am suspended off ocean level

TG: and i have graciously specified to the centimeter how far up you would have to go to land on my literal floor

TG: shit is the plushest of carpets

GG: thank you :) i am just making sure!

He fixed his tie and checked his phone. Jade still wasn't online.

Was this too formal? Usually when people were planning on an island "vacation" they dressed a little... less business-like probably? Whatever. He could pull this off. Suit and tie all the time. Bringing the class up in this joint.

Still, he wondered how it would go over. Did it look like he was trying too hard? Not that it mattered if she was impressed, but did it look like he was trying to impress her? Was he? Nah...

TG: yeah so how exactly is this going to go down again

TG: you do your flashy dog deal and poof over to my place?

GG: um basically?

TG: then are we chilling in strider town or what

GG: i thought you said you wanted to come over here!

TG: yes that is the plan

TG: but like is it gonna be all

TG: beam me up captain

TG: just dropping by the NYC to rangle me up that cool fellow dave strider

TG: then off we go

GG: pretty much! i dont like staying in big cities much. too risky.

GG: is that ok?

TG: yeah its all good

He gulped a lump down his throat as he went over his personal check-list. Extra clothes, snacks (Doritos, duh), phone, laptop, chargers for the phone and laptop, toothbrush, toothpaste, passport. He wasn't sure he needed a passport, but hey, who the fuck knows?

The agreed time was 6:00. It was 5:51 now.

He sat on the edge of his bed. Wait, fuck. He gave the coordinates for his living room.

Quickly Dave walked out of his bedroom. Should he wait in the living room? He was essentially getting picked up, but was he supposed to wait there for the Glow Dog Express or was that weird? Okay yeah, it was already weird, but still. This whole thing was a stupid mess of an idea. Jade had questioned why he wanted to go back to the island, and he had told her that he wanted to better document stuff, movie inspiration, blah blah. Free vacation with no press. He had done a marvelous job of avoiding saying anything sappy like, "I am fucking desperate to see you." No, no. He was way cooler than that. Nothing of the sort had ruined his I-am-above-this-all attitude and nonchalance.

Jade seemed slightly hesitant at first, but she relented after a ridiculous slideshow presentation he explained over video chat. Always need to appeal to these science types with logic. In Jade's case he could usually slip in a shit ton of irony and humor for her to laugh off. Then she'd go along with whatever idea he was spewing her way. That's precisely how he'd gotten her to watch so many shitty movies with him.

5:54.

Cool, cool. Everything was cool. He was the picture of cool. Take a snapshot, this shit is basically Antarctic. Hell, use an infrared camera to measure the levels of absolute coolness this guy is currently displaying.

Dave frowned, running that metaphor into the ground hard. Time to distract himself with other thoughts.

Rose had teased him incessantly about the trip, mocking his inability to be upfront about wanting to see Jade. Gotta play it closer to the vest, woman. He could just imagine the smirk on her face and roll of her violet eyes.

5:56 and forty two seconds.

Oh shit, should he have gotten her a present? Too late to run to the store now.

Dave strutted to the shelves under his plasma television and proceeded to shuffle through his dvd collection, the movement expelling only a little bit of his pent up stress induced energy. He finally settled on one of the HD editions of the second SBaHJ movie. He shook it to check if the disc was actually there before deciding that it was probably a good idea to check if it was even the right disc. He opened the plastic case and gave a curt nod. There was the disc in its shitty, gaudy jpeg style covered glory. There was a lot of work that went into making it as perfectly conksucky as it was. The artists he hired just didn't know what wonders the graffiti tool could do. Amateurs. You'd think they didn't know how to get the most out of MSPaint. Photoshop? Get that shit out of here.

The hour was upon him. Six o'clock struck, and Dave didn't need his watch to know that three seconds had passed. Misplaced thoughts became to stir in his head as the anticipation kicked in like some grade A meds. What if she wasn't coming? She thought it was a bad idea and backed out, and now she would just stop talking to him because shit had gotten too deep. Maybe she got lost? Fuck he had checked those coordinates like twenty times. What if she ended up wit half her torso in the couch? Can you get lost in teleportation land? How the fuck could her dog understand coordinates?

6:01 and thirty six seconds is the marker for an alien flash of neon green. Dave feels fortunate that his sunglasses are on permanent display at the Strider museum of suave, aka his face. Still, he can't help but squint as the light invades his vision. He makes sure to fix his composure as the S.S. Harley materialized in front of him.

In the aftermath of teleportation magic, she looks wild with glowing eyes and a wide grin.

"Jade, you're late."

She doesn't ask what time it is, but grins wider.

"Aw, Dave. Did you want to see me that badly?"

Yes, he thinks.

"Nah. I bet you were just nervous, it's all cool. I forgive you, Jade. You know, for making me wait. Even though that's rude as fuck. You were pacing around all fidgety, like when the nerd tries to ask the super hot girl-next-door cheerleader to prom."

"Dave, why are you always a woman in these scenarios?" she asks with a scoff.

God did he miss that sound. It was so much better than how he remembered it.

"And did you call me a nerd?"

He grins up at her unwaveringly, knowing that the roles were reversed but trying his hand at conviction.

Jade rolls her eyes and extends her hand, and Dave has to ruin the moment because that makes it easier to handle. She knows to expect something from him and she gives a waiting look.

With a natural smile he settles for, "To infinity and beyond, yo."

As the room fuzzes away, Jade's laugh bounces around in crevices of Dave's mind. It repeats on what seems like an infinite loop until it's burned into him, searing hot like the way his body feels, especially at the point where their hands are joined.

In the next instant they're in Jade's living room. He feels like static, like sand, but he grounds himself around the place where Jade has her palm against his wrist until he feels whole again. He's completely back on planet earth by the time that she lets go, and yet the instant she detaches herself he feels like he's missing something.

She's giving him a look. There's a smile on her face; an intensity in her eyes that's looking him over to make sure he's alright after their flash trip through the time space continuum or whatever just happened.

A small lump forms low in his throat as he swallows the words that want to escape. I missed you.

-x.x.x.x.x.x-

Sorry for the long wait. I just got out of school a little over a week ago and have been doing a lot of relaxing and drawing! Thank you for all the super sweet, supportive comments. They drive me to keep writing, even when I'm not feeling so great, so the encouragement is so, very appreciated. Please continue to do so if you feel so inclined. Congratulations to anyone who has graduated, anyone about to, and my best to those still stressing at school! Again, thank you sooooo much!