A/N: Okay, a few things before we begin: Thank you to AcrossTheRiverNotDown, MyHeartStopsBeating, and LUV-MUSIQ for reviewing "I Didn't Say That!" These three, fine readers received a hint for this chapter, and I hope I will be able to fit the whole hint in! :O
And there's Ryder/Jade in this chapter, but it's not in a good way!
Anyway, on to it!
"You shouldn't be doing this."
"Me? We're both here, aren't we?"
Jade West remains silent as the young man behind the wheel comes to a stop. She looks to her right to see a decent home sitting in the peaceful night. "Why this one?"
Her driver grunts in frustration. "Because I just think this is the one, okay? Don't question it." Jade bites at her bottom lip nervously, causing him to lightly slap her cheek. "Stop that; you know how it annoys me."
She recoils from his touch. "I don't want to do th-this, Ryder."
Ryder Daniels then forcefully lunges at the young woman beside him, placing a rough hand behind her neck. He tugs at her hair, but Jade resists the urge to whimper. "Dammit, Jade, you're in on this. You became a part the moment you got in that seat, you hear me. We're doing this."
Jade struggles within his grasp, but he only holds tighter. "Then leave the gun."
"Excuse me?" Ryder breathes, bringing her face close to his.
"Either the gun goes in, or I do. You can't have both," she threatens as menacingly as possible, though she's well aware she'll lose the battle.
He lets out a loud bark of laughter and allows his hand to pull the weapon from his back pocket. Ryder places it at the base of Jade's jaw, still holding her head in place. "Listen closely, Babe. You're my girlfriend, which means that you owe me respect. And I expect to receive that respect by both you and me going into that house and stealing some goddamn expensive shit!"
Jade only nods, hoping that her boyfriend will not erupt into one of his anger management fits.
Ryder smiles slyly. "That's my girl. Now, let's get going, and make sure your fucking boots don't make any noise." He releases her hair with a shove, prompting her head to bang against the window. She waits until he's looking away to sneer and rub the growing bump.
They both exit the vehicle, careful to not slam the doors and avert attention to themselves, and swiftly run toward the back yard to complete their mission. There's a chained fence, which Ryder aids Jade over before hoisting himself up easily, before tip-toeing to the porch's door.
Ryder pulls out his wallet and retrieves a gift card to Nozu, then jams the wallet back into the pocket not containing the hand gun. He slowly begins to slide the card between the openings of the door, causing Jade to roll her eyes.
"Seriously, Ryder? Who told you that was the best way to get through a locked door?"
He peers over his shoulder to glare at his girlfriend, then answers when back to work, "I looked it up on the internet."
Jade scoffs. "Of course you did, amateur."
Ryder stops mid-swipe, knowing he's been greatly insulted. He reaches his hand back once more and grabs the gun, standing to his feet. "Listen to me, you little slut. You're here to help me, and right now, you're doing just the opposite. I'm going to trust you with this," he hands her the weapon before continuing, "and I expect you to not do anything stupid. If you do, I swear this whole situation will be turned on you and you'll never see anything but the inside of a prison ever again. Got it?"
She nods yes, taking the gun and handling it with the tips of her fingers. He gives her a vicious glare and bends back down to attempt entry.
Jade inspects the gun, raising it up to her eyes so she can focus in the dark. She discovers what she's looking for and quietly presses the tiny buttons on either side of the weapon, thus releasing the magazine. She catches the mag before it can fall or make a sound, luckily able to do so without distracting Ryder. Jade dumps the bullets one-by-one into the palm of her hand, dropping them individually into the side of her boots so they don't clang together. Lastly, she clicks the magazine into its original space, hands shaking at the fact that she just got away with that action.
By the time Jade's finished, so is Ryder, as he jiggles the handle with one last swipe. The door swings ajar, thus allowing the couple to enter the strangers' home. Ryder turns to watch Jade place the (now empty) gun in her own back pocket, and leads them inside the dark unknown.
Ryder snatches a handheld flashlight from his leather jacket's pocket and summons Jade to follow in his footsteps. There's tile beneath their feet, so each step of Jade's boots possibly announces their intrusion. He spins on his heel haughtily and snaps in a whisper, "What did I tell you about those?! Keep quiet!"
"I can't help it that they have tile!" she bites back just as icily, raising her voice a little. He scowls at her mistake when he hears footsteps come from down the hall. Ryder clutches Jade's bicep and yanks her to his side, wrenching the gun from her back pocket and pointing it in the direction of the clatter. Jade rips her arm from her boyfriend and stands firmly behind him.
The hall light is turned on and a man in his mid-forties appears with a baseball bat in hand. "Who's there?"
Ryder doesn't hesitate to answer. "I would put that down if I were you, sir."
The man's wife approaches fearfully, stammering, "P-please leave us alone. W-we'll call the police!"
"I don't find that necessary, ma'am," he responds, giving a charming smile as if he was having a normal conversation.
Behind Ryder, Jade widens her eyes and makes eye contact with the man, bringing her finger to her lips to shush him. He doesn't move, not entirely sure what the female intruder plans to do. After all, she was in his house.
Ryder smirks. "We're just going to do a little shopping, then we'll be on our way, alright?"
But before he walks, Jade has stepped forward and kicked him square between the legs. Ryder falls to his knees, after dropping the gun, and his hands fly to his area of pain.
The home owner grabs the gun and aims at Jade, who's not paying attention, but rather grabbing a fireplace utensil and hitting Ryder on the head. He collapses onto the tile with a groan, allowing his girlfriend to tackle him and turn him onto his back.
Jade sits on his chest, laying her knees onto his shoulder to prevent Ryder's movement. She tugs a pair of metal scissors from the depth of her combat booth and sets the sharpened point at the side of his neck. "Move and they go in, understand me?" she bullies angrily. Jade raises her head to find the gun still in her path. "Call the police!"
Neither the man, nor woman – who now holds a preteen boy in her arms – moves at her command. She grunts at Ryder's skirmish underneath her. "What did I say, Daniels?!" Jade screams almost in tears, as she digs the scissors far enough into his skin to make him squeal. She keeps her voice loud when she yells at the home owner's again. "Dammit, call the police! NOW!"
The husband wraps his free arm around his son as his wife scampers off to find a nearby phone. All the while, the gun is still unfired and the only injured body is the one of the main intruder.
Jade West wakes with a start, feeling a cold sweat at the base of her forehead. She never sweats, unless she has those unwanted nightmares of that fateful night – but she still never claims to perspire.
Her breathing is staggered and her side shoots in pain again, causing her to double over. She hears muffled protests from voices around, but her mind won't process where she is at the moment.
One voice stands out beyond the rest. "Jade?! Jade, can you hear me?"
"Beck?" she strains, turning her head to the left, where she's slowly making out a figure.
"Jade, sit up, you'll only hurt yourself more!" he starts, placing a hand on her shoulder and slowly pushing back so she's against the suitcases.
Jade places a hand over her ribs carefully, hoping to not discomfort them. When her vision is stable, she takes in her surroundings. All of her fellow survivors are sitting around a warm fire, under blankets, and staring intently at her. She notes that Robbie and the balding man are there and feels herself become angry, "Robbie, what the hell?! Beck and I went into that unknown jungle to look for you and that guy and now you're sitting here, not a scratch on your body–"
She's cut off by Beck clearing his throat and motioning to the large gash that Tori had sewn up.
Jade ignores him and blurts on, "We almost died, mop-head. For you…that's not even an honorable reason to lay down your life! My God, my head hurts!"
Tori offers Jade some pain killers and a water bottle silently, sharing a small smile in the process.
The black-haired girl sneers and snatches the pills from the other teenage girl. "I'm taking these because I want to."
"Dang, woman, what's got your chizz all twisted," a new opinion retorts, cackling at himself.
All eyes shoot toward the figure in Robbie's lap, which prods the curly-haired boy to say, "Rex!"
Rex only laughs more, bouncing on his ventriloquist's knee.
"Oh my God," Jade says, not knowing how to respond.
Beck clears his throat again and bends his head to whisper to her, "Yeah, it's been talking non-stop for twenty minutes. Tori almost threw it in the fire and it's been having a nervous breakdown…"
"It's a puppet!" Jade whispers back incredulously.
Beck sighs. "I know."
The group falls back into silence, watching the fire spark to life before them. Tori, ever the leader, suggests, "Why don't we try to get to know each other? Maybe, like, your name, age, siblings, hobbies, and why you were going back to L.A."
"No."
"Jade," Beck scolds.
Jade goes quiet immediately.
Tori raises her eyebrows at Beck's effect on the enigmatic girl. "Okay… I'll go first. My name is Victoria "Tori" Vega. I'm eighteen years old and I have one, annoying older sister; my hobbies include singing, dancing, and life-guarding. And I was going back to Los Angeles because I have been studying abroad and just finished, so I was going home."
Andre, who's sitting next to her, begins an awkward clapping – which everyone reluctantly follows suit. Tori points to him to go next, so he does. "My name is Andre Harris. Like Tori, I'm eighteen and I, too, have a sister, but she's younger than me. I really like singing, playing the guitar, and writing music. It's, like, my passion! And I was going to L.A. to stay with my grandma who's sorta lost her mind…"
Tori claps much too happily, causing the others to stare at her sudden outburst for Andre. When all falls quiet, Sikowitz crosses his legs gawkily. "My name is Erwin Sikowitz, and as I told you earlier, I tend to go by my last name only. I'm thirty-seven and don't you dare saying anything about me balding. I am a high school teacher at Hollywood Arts, where I do acting and improv. My guilty pleasure is coconuts, and I was going back to L.A. to reconcile with an ex-girlfriend."
More awkward clapping for the awkward man, who then gestures toward Jade to take her turn. She sips her water bottle and swallows before tightening the lid. "My name is Jadelyn West, but call me Jade or I will not respond. Eighteen, little brother, horrible home life, but I love to sing, act, and write scripts. Oh, and scissors; can't get enough of those… I was going back to live my mom since my dad is an asshole."
No one claps but Beck, who's quick to stop when Jade glowers at him. "I, um, am Beckett "Beck" Oliver. I am eighteen, too, and an only child. Sometimes cool, but sometimes not! My reason for living is acting, and I so desperately want to make it in the business. I was going home for another audition, which I've obviously missed…"
By now, no one is in the mood to clap when someone finishes. Rex feels as if it's his turn, so he speaks, "Name's Rex Powers. I'm eighteen years old, and I've never had a family…" He pauses to place his face within the crook of Robbie's neck. When he looks up, he continues, "My interests include partying, singing, and my Northridge girls! I'm going home because these two lovebirds are!" He raises a hand to hit Robbie and Cat.
"Thank you, Rex," Tori says uncomfortably.
"Anything for you, baby," Rex replies, snickering at her disgusted expression.
Robbie squirms uneasily. "Anyway, I'm Robert Shapiro, but you may call me Robbie. I'm eighteen like the majority of you, and I have a sister. I like to play the guitar, kind of sing, act, hambone, and be the comic relief. Cat and I were headed home from our one year anniversary trip to Europe."
By the time he's barely ended his sentence, Cat has begun, "I'm Caterina Valentine! You can call me Cat, though!" She giggles obnoxiously. "I'm eighteen and I have a brother who's super funny and does crazy things all the time and gets into some weird stuff and… But I love to sing and dance and giraffes and pink and make costumes and… Wait, what was I talking about?"
The group groans in annoyance, but Cat still smiles in oblivion. Robbie wraps a protective and reassuring arm around his girlfriend's shoulders to hold her close. She snuggles into his side and giggles again at her happiness, despite the circumstances.
After the meet and greet, the majority of the survivors retire to their respected shelters for the night. Tori asks Jade if she needs help getting to the hut, but Jade declines tiredly, claiming she's going to wait for the fire to die down. The brunette nods in approval, telling the other girl to call if she needs assistance.
However, Beck lingers behind and keeps his seat in the sand next to the girl who saved his life. They're still and unspoken for a few minutes before Jade starts conversation with, "What do you know about me?"
"Enough," comes his answer, but he never breaks his attention from the flames in front of them.
Jade laughs bitterly. "I'm sure that's not the case. I'll tell you what you want to know as long as you tell me what you do know."
Beck exhales heavily, digging into his pocket and pulling out a folded piece of paper as well as a few other items. "I found these in a purse while searching the plane.
Jade stiffens.
"Oh, those."
A/N: Okay, so there's a bit behind Jade, but there's more coming next chapter! This chapter is nearly 3,000 words and I still didn't get everything I wanted in there! :O But next chapter will be up soon!
Thanks for the 15 reviews last chapter! I would like 13 (or more) again before the next one is up! I have no doubt that it will happen, because y'all are great :)
Please review! Thanks in general!
XxLadyStrengthxX