"Beck. Beck, wake up," Jade mumbled, shaking his shoulder a little more violently than necessary. He winced as he lifted his face from the pillow, the light hitting his eyes far too bright for first thing in the morning. The bedside clock read 5:38. On a Saturday morning. He wasn't exactly a late riser, that was usually Jade's department, but even he couldn't think of a good reason to be up this early. He could think of bad ones, though.
"Is everything okay?" he croaked in his raspy morning voice, growing increasingly worried about why exactly she had woken him up. But she just smiled, which was weird. She was sat crosslegged beside him in bed, wearing one of his old t-shirts with her messed up bun flopping to one side.
"It's raining," she grinned.
Jade had always loved the rain. Growing up in LA, she didn't always get to experience it much. But when it did rain, if no one else was around, she loved to just go outside and be in it.
"It's raining?" he repeated, running a hand through his too-long hair, only to make it look worse than it had before. Jade tilted her head at him, staring him down until he eventually got up. As soon as he was on his feet, she grabbed his hand and practically dragged him out the door.
Once they were outside, she stopped, perching on the steps of the porch. Beck frowned for a moment. Usually, she would run straight out onto the driveway, dancing in the rain in a way that somehow still looked cool. Unsure of what else to do, he took a seat next to her, pulling his knees into his chest.
They remained like this in silence for what felt like forever until she found the courage to speak.
"About what I said...yesterday," she mumbled, keeping her eyes glued straight ahead. She had said a lot of things yesterday, but Beck knew what she was referring to. He hadn't been able to get those last words she said before the crash out of his head. Three years they'd been dating, yet still she felt she had no idea what a healthy relationship looked like. And he wasn't sure he could say she was wrong.
"We're not my parents," she spoke suddenly, more to herself than to him. Saying it out loud, she hoped, would make it feel real. "You're not gonna leave me for someone else."
"I'm not," he replied. It wasn't really until then that he realised how little he'd told her that. To him it seemed obvious, that he's only ever really tried to make her jealous because it was the only time she openly admitted that she cared. He could admit that it wasn't the most mature thing to do, but even being yelled at was better than being shut out. Sure, he hadn't let himself play games since they had gotten back together, but he should've known better than to think Jade's trust issues would just fade away too.
"I'm sorry about Moose."
"I'm sorry about Tori."
"It's not really the same thing," she sighed, guilt creeping up on her as she lifted her hand to play with her necklace.
"I broke up with you. You didn't owe me a thing. Shit happens."
"Are we okay, Beck?" she asked, finally turning to face him. She felt herself wanting to ask if they'd ever truly be okay again, but she didn't think that was an answer she was yet ready for.
"Yeah. We're gonna be just fine." They had some healing to do, but it actually seemed like they were finally getting there.
He pulled her into him, so that her head was rested against his shoulder. It was clear to him, why she liked the rain so much. They sat there together, watching it fall, breathing in its smell. It was calming. He was sure there was some saying about life's imperfections that he could probably relate to it, but right then his mind could only really focus on her.
I found this draft from years ago and thought there's probably no harm in posting it. It's incomplete, and I honestly don't know if this story will ever be finished, but thank you so much to everyone for reading.