A/N: Another month since an update, but I'm actually surprised this chapter is even being posted. Anyway, I have some Bade goodness for all you fine people, so why keep you waiting any longer?
They're greeted by an empty shore, but several buckets spread out across the sand; the other survivors are nowhere to be found. Fortunately, they hear a loud, high-pitched giggle coming from one of the tents, so they walk toward it. Inside they find the remaining survivors wrapped in blankets and Sikowitz drinking from a coconut.
Tori, Andre, and Beck are noticed, but to their surprise, the others don't begin asking a series of questions. They sit down carefully, feeling disgusting because of their wet clothes, and Cat and Robbie pass their blankets to Tori and Andre for comfort. Beck settles down to Jade, asking her how she feels; she shrugs and hands her blanket to him so he can warm up.
Cat continues to tell her story animatedly. She goes on about how her brother makes special meats for holidays, and when he and his friends gather to eat meat, they call it a "meat-ing." No one really seems to genuinely be listening to her ramble – not even Robbie, because he's heard the explanation a countless number of times. They all just stare and stay lost in their own thoughts until Cat finishes, and then they can properly change the subject. When Cat closes her mouth to swallow, Tori ceases to take advantage of attention.
"We got the transceiver," she begins, motioning to the radio in Andre's hands. "And we found the pilot, too."
Cat looks around the tent and pouts in confusion. "Well, where is he?"
"He didn't make it, baby girl," Andre says solemnly. He hopes to break the news easily for the fragile and not-exactly-all-there survivor. She gasps in response and rests her head on Robbie's shoulder in slight grief.
"He was alive when we found him on the plane," Beck adds. "But that thing we heard yesterday showed up and, erm, we later found him in a tree." He grimaces at the mental picture that suddenly pops up. From his peripheral, he sees Jade smile wickedly, obviously catching on to his subtle description. Then the dead pilot's image is replaced with the memory of Jade's smile from the night before.
"What was the thing?" Sikowitz asks with the straw connected to the coconut in his mouth.
"We didn't get a good look at it. We were too busy running for our lives." Andre leans back to support his weight on his hands. "Pilot just said that no one is going to find us because we're way off course, though."
Always the one to seem cheerful in hopeless situations, Tori grabs the transceiver from Andre's side and says, "But we still have a chance! It got a little wet from the rain, but it probably still runs! Does anybody have any idea how to work one of these things?"
Jade smirks and speaks for the first time since the three returned. "Step one: turn it on."
Tori scowls. Yeah, thank you, Catherine Obvious!"
"Catherine?" the rest of the survivors murmur as they look to one another.
"It's Captain Obvious," Andre replies plainly.
"Huh?"
"The expression is 'thank you, Captain Obvious,'" Jade snaps.
Tori scrunches her nose in confusion, the radio long forgotten. "It's not Catherine?"
"Who would Catherine be?" Beck asks incredulously. He looks around and everyone (but Tori) nods with agreement.
"Catherine could be a captain!" Tori whines in defeat, knowing there is no way she could defend herself any longer. "But really, anyone think they can check this out?"
Robbie raises his hand as if he's in school. "I'm pretty tech-savvy; I could try to get a signal, but there are no promises."
"It's our best bet."
She hands the radio to him, who looks to his girlfriend and suggests, "Let's go to the supply tent and see if we can find anything that might help!"
"KayKay!" Cat agrees excitedly. She stands and helps her boyfriend to his feet in order to allow his leg to remain comfortable, and they vanish from the tent.
The remaining members of the group fall into silence for a few awkward moments. They look at anything but each other, and the only sound is Sikowitz slurping the last of his coconut milk. When he's finished, he pats his legs and announces, "I'm going to go polish my shoes!" And without allowing anyone to reply, he's gone.
Andre furrows his eyebrows. "I haven't seen the man wear shoes since we got him from the plane." Tori shrugs before offering to go fetch the rain water buckets spread out across the shore, and asks for Andre's assistance, in which he is happy to comply.
Then there are two.
Jade shifts from her spot against a tree trunk and inspects her chipped, black nail polish. "Rain water was my idea."
"Clever."
"Of course, I couldn't help; just had to sit here like a bum."
Beck chuckles. "You're injured."
Jade rolls her eyes. "So, tell me about the pilot in the tree."
"He didn't exactly look like a pilot – let alone a human – anymore. Erm, his arms and legs were kinda all over the place and there was blood on the branches."
Beck looks around the tent so his mind doesn't show him what he wants to forget.
"Cool," Jade groans in approval, smiling from ear to ear.
Beck turns his body so he's now facing her directly. "What is it with you and weird stuff?"
"Dunno," she answers honestly. Ever since she was a small child, the sight of blood and horror movies didn't scare her. She always found the graphic scenes fascinating and the girl in distress quite hilarious, much to her parents' disapproval. Then middle school came around, and she acquired an obsession with scissors and dark clothing and they didn't know exactly what to think. "My dad took my brother and me to the circus a few years back in an attempt to bond with us, and it inspired me to write James a bedtime story when I got home."
Beck doesn't really know where she's going with the story, but he listens intently.
"I called it 'Clowns Don't Bounce.' It was about a clown and a parachute…that didn't open. I scared my little brother so badly that he wouldn't sleep alone, which made my dad mad and his wife furious. He signed me up for therapy, but it was a waste of time, really." Jade digs her hand into the sand and lets it run through her fingers smoothly.
"And what did the therapist say?"
Jade cracks an amused smile. "To find a different therapist."
He laughs whole-heartedly – something he rarely does – because that seems to him like the initial reaction to meeting Jade. "Seems logical!"
"Shut up," she mutters, annoyed once again. "I wish I could've gone with you."
"Were you afraid Tori would make a move?"
Jade's head whips up in shock and she snaps, "No!"
"Were you scared for me?"
"No!" she barks again, her face turning red despite her pale skin. "Stop being a fucking asshole, Beck. I just want to see the monster."
Beck sighs, knowing his teasing was a bit much, but he still likes when she gets worked up. "It was frightening, honestly; not something you could've taken down with a pair of scissors."
Jade shrugs as if she doesn't really believe him and pulls her scissors out of her boot, promptly cutting up leaves she pulls from the bushes around her. "You know what I miss the most?"
"Family," he answers immediately, suddenly realizing that he hasn't talked to his mom in a few days. His heart sinks, but her answer pulls him away from his gloom.
She makes a gagging noise and sticks her tongue out. "God, no, Beck; have you not been listening when I talk about my dad?"
His face falls slightly. "Sorry… What do you miss then?"
"Coffee." She snips a plant stem in half. "Black with two sugars."
"I forgot about coffee." Beck nods and moves so his head is lying in Jade's lap, causing her to widen her eyes in response. She stops cutting up random objects around her and freezes as she feels the young man she only met yesterday make himself comfortable across her thighs. He adjusts his head to fit between her legs and places his hands on his stomach. When Beck finally makes eye contact with Jade, she's staring at him, traumatized.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Resting."
Jade fumes. "And what makes you think it's okay to rest on my body? Do I look like a pillow?"
"Yes, and a very soft one, in fact." He smiles jokingly.
"Get out."
Beck exhales dramatically and sits up to fulfill her command. "Alright, but you're going to get bored very quickly just sitting here all by yourself."
He's met with a glare so cold that he swears a chill ran down his spine. Feeling confident, he bends over and kisses her on the cheek and swiftly crawls to the opened flap of the makeshift hut. "Just yell for me when you're ready to admit that I'm right."
Jade watches him leave as her mind runs at a million miles per hour. She's glad he's gone because he was being arrogant and way too easy-going. But for some reason, Jade finds herself already regretting the moment she told him to get out, and her legs become surprisingly colder where his perfect hair had been. She's suddenly aching for him to return, but catches herself before she can call his name.
Jade West places her hand where he had pressed his lips moments before, and feels her stomach flip. She widens her eyes at the realization: Beck Oliver gives her butterflies.
No guy has ever been able to do that.
But it can't be… Jade attempts to force the idea out of her head.
Shit.
She can't be falling in love with him.
No.
But she swallows when she figures that she doesn't want to stop herself from falling in love with Beck Oliver.
Fuck.
Now what?
A/N: Yay! Chapter 12 is complete, and I hope you all enjoyed the Bade. I was really excited to write them! Next chapter will pick back up with the radio bit, but I'll try to add Bade in there, too!
Okay, so as a little experiment out of curiosity, I didn't put a review goal on the last chapter. Last chapter only got 7 reviews – and while I cherish each and every single one of those 7 – I was shocked to find that it might have been the result of no review goal.
So, in response to that, let's set the goal back at 13 reviews (but again, not mandatory) and see what happens. Plus, I gave you Bade, so give me some sugar for that, ha!
Thanks so much for keeping up with the story everyone! I get people following and adding it to their favorites every day, which makes me so happy! Keep it up!
Until next time,
XxLadyStrengthxX