Beck and Jade sign the lease to their new apartment on the morning of their first anniversary. To them, it makes the already momentous day that much more special.
Their new building is less than a block from Central Park. The apartment itself has a view of the great lawn and the Jaqueline Kennedy Reservoir, a serious step up from the street view that both Beck's previous apartment and Jade's dorm had. Their unit has two bedrooms and two bathrooms, and an open living room that is about as big as Cat and Jade's whole college apartment. The master bedroom has a walk-in closet, which Jade falls in love with almost immediately. The bedroom in her dorm apartment had barely fit half of her clothes, and now there's room for everything including Beck's things as well. It all seems a bit too good to be true, but the young couple couldn't be happier.
"It looks so much bigger now..." Jade admits as she looks around the almost-empty living room "There's so much space."
When they had first viewed the apartment, the previous tenant's belongings had still been inside. Now that those people have vacated and Beck and Jade have yet to move any of their own furniture in, the space does in fact look much bigger than it had previously.
"I bet it won't anymore once we move our own stuff in." Beck tells her "Then we'll be complaining that it's too cramped."
"Have you seen my dorm?" Jade laughs "I'll never complain about anything being cramped ever again."
"That's fair." Beck smirks "I do think it's going to look pretty great once we get everything moved in though."
Not that 'everything' is all that much. Beck has some furniture from his old place, but Jade doesn't have much of anything. Living in university housing, all of the furniture in the apartment belongs to the school and will stay there for the next pair of roommates who take the unit. Like all new homeowners, or home-renters in their case, it will take them a while to acquire everything that they need and want to make the space their own.
"I kind of like it like this..." Jade admits with a shrug "Don't you?"
Having only just signed their lease a few hours ago, there hadn't been much time to move much of anything in. Jade is still going to stay with Cat for the next week until graduation, so the two of them can finish out their senior year like they had always planned. Beck and Andre will start moving furniture in the following day, but in the meantime the only personal belongings either one of them have in the apartment are the overnight bags of clothes they had brought for the night and Beck's mattress that lays on the floor in the master bedroom without a boxspring or a frame.
They had ordered a pizza to share and are eating it on the floor of their empty living room, with the lights turned out and surrounded by a dozen single-wick candles. It's romantic, they both think, given the circumstances. They even have wine. Neither one of them would want to be celebrating their first anniversary any other way.
"Yeah, there's something special about it being empty like this...at least for now." Beck admits "Dunno if I would want to keep it this way forever though."
"No, not forever." Jade says as she takes a sip of her wine "Not even for the rest of the weekend...but the whole thing feels very romantic right now."
"Oh yeah." Beck smirks "Happy Anniversary, by the way."
"Happy Anniversary." Jade smiles, leaning over to kiss him "I'm glad you decided to go out to the bars that night."
"I'm glad you decided to go out too." Beck admits "Who knew such a simple choice could change our lives? Mine sure is a hell of a lot better now that you're in it."
"Likewise..." Jade chuckles
A year ago, she had no idea that she would be here...or be this happy. The past year has been the best of her life, both personally and professionally. It makes her wonder what the next year could look like, and if life could ever get any better than it is right now. It has to, she decides. There's so much more in her life that she wants to do, and she hopes that Beck is the one that she gets to do it with. The one that is by her side through it all, thick and thin.
"What do you think..." Beck asks, moving closer to her "S'our anniversary, we just signed a lease on this amazing new apartment...should we consummate the place?"
"Can you consummate an apartment?" Jade raises an eyebrow at him "You can consummate a relationship...but can you consummate a place?"
"We can if we say so." Beck shrugs "What do you say?"
"I say let's do it." She smirks "We might want to move these candles out of the way though. Don't want to knock one over and burn the place down on our first night here."
They end up moving a few of the candles into the bedroom, careful not to drip any of the melted wax into the floor. There are built-in light fixtures in the apartment, and they work just fine, but Beck and Jade prefer the candlelight for right now. It sets the romantic mood, and amplifies the ambiance.
"I love you so much..." Beck tells his girlfriend as he kisses her collarbone, slowly moving towards her chest "You're the best thing that has ever happened to me."
"I love you too..." Jade tells him with a smile as she takes his hand, lacing their fingers together above her head as she lays backwards on the mattress "I'm so excited to start this new chapter with you."
"You and me both, baby."
"Are you awake?" Cat whispers into the darkness of the apartment
"Yeah." Jade whispers back "Are you?"
"Yeah."
Although she and Beck signed their lease, Jade wanted to spend her last week of college in her dorm with Cat. The two of them have been together through all of the ups and downs of the past four years, both academic and personal, and it only seemed fair to finish everything together just like they had started it. Beck and Robbie both come to visit, but every night Cat and Jade sleep in their own bedrooms and every morning they have breakfast together...because they know they don't have many opportunities left to do so.
The night before they graduate, both girls drag their mattresses out of their bedrooms and set them up on the floor in the living room. This isn't the first time they have done so, they've had many 'living room sleepovers' in the time that they've occupied the apartment, but this one is special...because it's going to be their last.
In a few hours, they'll have to leave to attend their graduation ceremony at Yankee Stadium...one of the biggest perks of attending NYU, they both think. Then they'll return to the apartment one last time, with their parents and with Beck, to start moving their belongings out for good. They'll both fall asleep in different apartments tonight...Cat in the small studio a few blocks off campus that she had talked Robbie into renting, and Jade in her new Upper West Side apartment with Beck. Two girls headed in two very different directions, but two girls who will always remain the very best of friends.
"What time is it?" Jade asks
"S'early..." Cat sighs, looking at her phone "4:42."
Jade groans in response. It's too early to be awake, but the sunlight slowly starting to creep through the curtains will make it hard to go back to sleep. Not to mention the adrenaline of the day is already starting to course through them both.
"I know..." Cat agrees as she sets her phone down again "Jadey...?"
"Yeah?"
"We're graduating college today..." Cat points out "Can you believe that?"
"No, I can't." Jade admits "I've spent my whole life calculating out how old I would be when I finally graduated college and what year it would be...and now it's finally here and it all feels so surreal."
"I never thought this day would come."
"Neither would I."
"We're not going to live together anymore..." Cat frowns
"I know..." Jade sighs "We're both going to be living with boys."
"Ew." Cat laughs, but she's only teasing
They both love their respective partners very much, but there really is something that just feels so...grown up...about living with them. Spending the night at someone's apartment and then returning to your own the next morning is one thing, but going to bed together every morning and waking up together every night, sharing living expenses, having toothbrushes in the same cup by the sink, mail that comes to the same address...that's something completely different.
"We'll still see each other though." Jade assures her friend, and soon to be former roommate "I mean, you're looking for work on Broadway, right? We'll be working in the same neighborhood."
"And we'll both have our days free to meet up for lunch." Cat adds "It won't be so bad, right?"
"Right." Jade agrees "Not to mention, I'm still your Maid of Honor...and we have a lot of work to do over the next few weeks."
"That's true." Cat smirks "God in all of the excitement, I almost forgot about that."
"How could you forget about your wedding?"
"I dunno, nerves...I guess?"
"Hey, thanks for putting up with all of my bullshit for so long. You're the best roommate a girl could have ever asked for."
"Back at ya." Cat laughs "It's a shame we missed out on a whole freshman year together."
"Yeah, but we made up for it, didn't we?"
"I guess we did."
"And, uh...thanks for forcing me to give up on that paper for the night last year and go out with you guys." Jade says "If you hadn't done that, I probably wouldn't have met Beck...and my life would be so much different."
"I'm always happy to be a negative influence." Cat teases, reaching out and taking Jade's hand "I hope you get everything you've always wanted and more, Jadey. You really deserve it."
"Thanks, Cat. So do you."
"So, they just rent out the whole stadium for the day?" Beck asks as he looks around the crowded baseball stadium "They can do that?"
"Sure can..." John nods "They've been doing it for years."
"That's really cool." Beck admits "I'm kind of jealous."
"I am too." John smirks "I graduated outdoors, on a rainy, forty-degree morning."
"You went to Columbia, right?"
"I did." John nods "S'where I met Kaitl...Jade's mother."
"Was she a law student too?"
"No, business." John tells him "She thought about going back for her MBA at one point, but it just never worked out."
"Oh, gotcha..."
The conversation lags a bit, as it has been doing on and off for the past thirty minutes or so. Beck's relationship with his girlfriend's father has definitely grown stronger over the past ten months or so since she first introduced them, but it can still have its awkward moments at times. Usually Jade is there as a buffer, but she's somewhere else within the stadium walls getting ready for her graduation ceremony to begin.
"So, when does your show start filming again?" John asks Beck
"We go back right after the Fourth of July." Beck tells him
"S'a decent chunk of time off." John smirks "What have you been doing in your free time?"
"I've read a lot of books." Beck laughs "And I've been doing a lot of work making the apartment livable, getting furniture put together and whatnot. I have a small cameo in a movie coming up, I'll be in LA for about two weeks at the end of next month to do that."
"Sounds like a decent enough plan to me." John shrugs "I'll admit, I don't know much about the whole auditioning thing. Jade has tried over and over to explain it to me but...it all seems so overwhelming. I don't know how you both can stand it."
"S'definitely exhausting." Beck sighs "Physically and emotionally. I was auditioning constantly for two straight years before I booked this job."
"I guess Jade is lucky she found work as soon as she did then."
"She is." Beck agrees "But she's so talented, Mr. West. I'm not surprised at all that she booked something so soon."
"Neither am I." John smiles
"I want you to know that I'm going to take care of her." Beck tells him "Not that she needs taking care of, because she's Jade and she's amazing...but I'm going to do right by her. I know that living together is a big step and-"
"I'm not worried, Beck." John stops him "You seem like a very responsible and well-rounded young man. You and Jade are a good fit for each other. I know you'll do right by her, or at least that's my hope."
"Mr. West, I-"
"It's been a year and you and my daughter are going to be living together now..." John interrupts him again "You can call me John."
"John..." Beck nods as he tries not to smile too greatly at the thought of his new privilege "I love your daughter very much, and there isn't anything I wouldn't do for her."
"Even work a job you hate? Heaven-forbid the acting should stop working out as well as it as?" John raises an eyebrow at him
"Yes, even that."
"It almost sounds like you're asking for my blessing, Beck." John chuckles "Is that what you're doing?"
"No!" Beck blurts out "God that sounded bad, I'm sorry. No, I'm not asking for your blessing. We just moved in together, Jade and I aren't anywhere close to that yet. But I promise you that if we do ever get there...I swear, I'll ask you."
"S'good to hear..." John nods "Noted."
The two men make small talk for the remainder of the time left before the ceremony starts. A few people approach Beck and ask him for autographs and selfies, but he turns them away. He explains that it's his girlfriend's day, not his, and he doesn't want to take away from that by making it about him. Everyone seems understanding, and John is impressed with the young man's choice to make sure that Jade's day really does stay her day.
The ceremony begins when the graduates start filing onto the field, all clad in purple graduation cap and gowns. Beck and John both wave excitedly to Jade when they spot her and she tries her best not to laugh at how ridiculous they look when she waves back.
There are a few speeches to sit through once the ceremony begins, and Jade feels herself growing restless with each minute that passes. Sure, she knows that she should be taking it all in, because her college graduation is something that she'll always want to remember...but she's also anxious for it to all be over. She wants to have her diploma in her hands, proof that she actually did the damn thing, proof that she earned it. When they start dismissing rows of students to walk across the stage, she finds herself breathing a sigh of relief. Although her last name is towards the end of the alphabet, at least now she's on step closer to the finish line.
Jade doesn't know any of the students around her in line, the University is much too big. Cat is a few yards ahead of her with the rest of the students whose last names start with 'V', and she turns around every once and a while to wave as the line moves towards the stage. With every name that is called, Jade's heart beats faster and faster until finally...the name they call is her own.
"Jade West."
She climbs the stairs to the stage and walks proudly to the university president, shaking his hand as she takes the diploma holder from him.
"YEAH!" She hears someone from the crowd yelling "THAT'S MY GIRL! WAY TO GO, BABY!"
Jade looks out into the stands and isn't surprised in the slightest when she sees Beck jumping up and down, waving his arms to get her attention. She grins as she holds the diploma holder up for him to see, and he pumps his fist in the air in celebration. Her father, grinning as he stands beside him, flashes her a thumbs up that she returns before walking back to her chair.
"Congratulations, sweetheart." John tells her later as they find each other in the outfield "I'm very proud of you."
"Thanks, Dad." Jade smiles "Thank you for supporting me in this, I know you weren't overly thrilled about my choice to study drama."
"It seems like it's worked out for you so far." John chuckles "Keep up the good work."
"I'll try."
"And, uh...for what it's worth..." John continues "Your mom would be real proud of you too. I know she's looking down on us right now just...beaming with pride."
"Thanks, Dad." Jade says again "I know she is too."
"I'm proud of you too..." Beck says as he approaches her "Congratulations, babe."
He picks her up and spins her around a few times, which makes her squeal, before setting her back down in the grass and pressing a kiss to her lips.
"Thank you..." Jade smiles up at him "For coming, and for being the best cheering section a girl could ask for."
"You could hear me?"
"Long Island could hear you, babe." Jade chuckles
"See, John?" Beck grins "I knew she'd hear me."
"Oh?" Jade turns and raises an eyebrow at her father "You two are on a first name basis now?"
"We are..." John nods "He's earned it."
"Well I guess 'congratulations' are in order for you too then." Jade says as she turns back to her boyfriend
Both John and Beck take turns taking pictures with Jade, and eventually they find Cat and Robbie so they can all take pictures together too. Before long, the stadium is slowly starting to empty out, and it's time to head back to Cat and Jade's dorm one last time to get all of their belongings moved out.
"Ready to face the real world?" Beck asks her, taking her hand and lacing their fingers together
"I think so." Jade admits "As long as you're here to face it with me."
"Oh, I'm here." Beck assures her "Don't you worry."
"Then yeah..." She nods "I'm ready."
"Alright then." Beck smiles "Let's go."