Hello Bade shippers! First time writer here...hopefully you guys will find some potential in my little story here. Enjoy! And let me know if you'd like to hear some more =)

-I own nothing-

1 CROSSROADS

It was a beautiful, breezy summer night in Santa Monica. Beck looked up at the clear night sky, laying comfortably on his car with an arm under his head. Everyone else

was at the pier playing games, riding rides, enjoying the night before graduation. He laid there to think; nervous about his future. He had gone to many auditions in the

past year but only one he really looked forward going to. It was the lead role in a much anticipated Dale Squires movie and he'd been waiting for weeks to hear back from

them.

He knew that he had to pay his dues and start somewhere but he couldn't wait to start any longer. But, also, he knew that if he landed this role, his life would change

forever.

And amidst all his thoughts about work, there was Jade. The only person who sees and wants to see pass the physical. The one who gets him, the one who'll stick with

him, the only one he wants to be with forever. He knew that the business they both wanted to be a part of was an evil, cruel industry and that every decision he made

could make or break them. He was scared, but he couldn't tell her that.

He broke his gaze from the stars when he noticed a bright red dot circling his jeans. He didn't have to turn his head to know who it was.

"Hey babe." He said looking back up at the sky with a half smile.

Jade smiled as she walked towards him, turning off the laser. "Good thing I kept your keys." She said playfully, waving the set in front of his face. "I would have killed

myself if I had to hitch a ride with Vega. That girl has had too much cotton candy tonight."

Beck chuckled as he sat up. "Hi." He said, turning to her to give her a kiss.

She looked into his eyes. "What're you doing?" She asked, their faces still so close to each other he could smell the sweet cotton candy from her breath.

He leaned back against the windshield. "Thinking." He answered.

Jade looked at him. She knew this was one of those moments where he didn't want to talk; and she was fine with that. She positioned herself up next to him, not a word

uttered but there was nowhere else they'd rather be.

Beck was surrounded with a sea of white. He looked around trying to look for his friends and family but it was just impossible in this crowd. The room was buzzing with

fresh graduates, still high off the just concluded ceremony. He fought through the crowd, congratulating acquaintances that walked by.

"Hey!" Said a couple of voices from behind. He turned around to see Tori and Andre greet him.

"Oh my god, I've been looking all over for you guys!" He said, relieved. "Where's everyone else?"

"We're all going to Andre's grandma's house for dinner and then Cat's throwing a party at the Hilton. You in?" Tori asked.

"Yeah man. My grandma's been cooking up a storm. You most definitely need to come through." Andre added.

"Yeah, yeah, of course I'll be there." He answered, still looking around. "I just need to find Jade and my dad."

"All right man. I'll see ya later on tonight." Andre said, as they did one of their handshakes.

"We did it!" Tori said with a big smile, giving him a hug. "See ya later."

Beck eventually found his dad. The crowd got smaller and smaller and still no sign of Jade. He tried her cell but she wasn't picking up. He figured he'd let his dad go on

ahead to Andre's and let everyone know he was still waiting on her.

When the crowd was small enough for him to recognize every face, he decided to finally leave. "Where are you, Jade?" He said to himself, giving her phone one last call.

"Babe! I'm so sorry I haven't been answering. Meet me outside, I have some news!" She said vaguely. He figured it wasn't anything bad since she seemed pretty excited;

something only he experienced.

"Hey!" He yelled, spotting her from a distance. She turned around and started running towards him. "Where have you been?" He asked. She jumped and gave him a big

hug as he caught her.

"I got it! I got the deal!" She exclaimed with so pure joy. "They like my stuff and they wanna sign me!"

Beck put her down. "That's amazing, baby." He said with the biggest smile on his face. He grabbed her hand, "Let's go tell everyone at Andre's. They've been waiting for

us."

"Ugh, do we really have to go? Such a buzz kill." She said, rolling her eyes. Beck's phone rang.

Beck smiled and kissed Jade on the lips. "Looks like it's your lucky day. Andre's grandma freaked out and won't let anybody inside her house."

"Aww..." She replied sarcastically with a huge grin on her face.

"My place?" He asked. She agreed.

Beck was laying down, staring into space again. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. His mind just wandering off. He thought about the day and his dad. He wore his uniform at the ceremony and he couldn't help but think about how his dad used to dress him up in all camo when he was a little boy. Beck used to tell him all the time he was gonna be just like him when grew up. He thought he wanted to become an army man being in the little get up. He realized later though, that, he just loved acting like a soldier. Beck has no other greater passion besides acting. But seeing his dad proudly wearing his uniform made him feel like he owed something to him and his country. He wanted to feel that pride and accomplishment for himself. He wanted his kids to feel what he was feeling at this moment about him one day. Acting can wait; and if all fails, he'll have this under his belt. That's why he met with a recruiting officer a couple weeks ago-to nobody's knowledge of course. Especially Jade's.

Jade slammed the fridge shut. "Your fridge is disgusting, babe." She said scoffing. "Gimme your keys. Imma get us some food."

"What do you think about me going away?" He asked blankly.

She raised an eyebrow. "What are you saying?" She replied, getting on the bed with him.

"I-" He paused, knowing what her response would be. "I met with a recruiting officer."

"Beck..." Jade said threateningly. "Get to the point."

"I wasn't gonna go if I got the part but now that I've thought about it some more-"

"No." She interjected. "No. You're not going." She said firmly.

"Jade." He said in a pleading manner.

She stood up. "You're being stupid. Now give me your keys. I'm starving." She said, reaching her hand out.

He took her hand and pulled her back down. He pulled her face close to his and spoke softly. "I have to do this. For my dad, for us."

She pulled away and shook her head. "For us? What do you mean, 'for us'? Because last time I checked, 'us' consisted of at least two people, Beck. Two people!" She was in hysterics. She couldn't believe leaving would even cross his mind. Not after they'd talked about their future in Hollywood together. The fame, the house, the kids...and she knew that if she let him leave there was a possibility that he'd never come back. And she couldn't let that happen.

"Shh..." He said, pulling her slowly back towards him. He placed his forehead on hers and caressed her cheek with his thumb. "You're just gonna have to trust me, baby. You know all I want to do is make you happy. And when I come back, I promise you will never have to feel lonely, sad, mad, worried, insecure..."

She stood up again. "Wait," she said as she wiped her tears. "What do you mean, 'when I come back'? You didn't sign a contract yet, did you? Without asking me first?"

He got up to meet her eyes. "Of course I didn't. That's why I'm telling you now. I have a meeting with my recruiter tomorrow afternoon to finalize things."

Jade snatched up her purse from the floor, slow tears coming down her face. "I can't do this, Beck." She said quietly.

Beck grabbed her arm as she started to walk away. "Jade, don't do this." Sadness on his expression.

Her light eyes pierced his dark browns. "If you loved me, you'd sign the right contract." With that, she pulled her arm away and was gone.