MSPA Fanfiction - Orange Shirt

The challenge was to write a short fanfiction based on a random song from my music collection. The song I got was "Orange Shirt" by Discovery. So I drew this while listening to it on repeat, and came up with the story below.

LISTEN: [link]

STORY:
Under his cool guy front Dave was on the verge of freaking out. Jade was looking at him with tears in her eyes.

"Dave I can't be late! Bec will be soooo mad I just don't know what I'm gonna do if I'm not home on time!"

He put his hands on her shoulders to steady her. "Calm down, it's gonna be okay. Take a deep breath."

The two kids inhaled simultaneously and slowly exhaled. Dave would never admit that he was doing this to calm himself down as much as to help her.

After the Homestuck incident, Jade had made it her mission to visit each of her friends for real, in the real world. Dave had pulled himself out of bed at five in the morning to get dressed and ready to meet her at the airport at nine. Despite the complaints he had grumbled it was worth it to be greeted by a flying hug when she exited the terminal.

The two spent a long day together. A very long day together. Much longer than Jade had intended. The plane would leave in three hours and the airport was on the other side of the city. If Jade missed her plane... Dave cringed internally. It was his fault. He had seen the clock, he just didn't want to give up those extra minutes.

"We still have time," he said, his voice more confident than he felt. "We'll catch the train and we'll make it to the airport. Bec will never even know you were almost late. I promise." He pulled off his sunglasses so that Jade could look him in the eyes.

She blinked away her tears and smiled. "Okay."

Dave broke his Bro's Miss Piggy bank. There would be Hell to pay later, but he pocketed the money and put the punishment out of his mind. Jade scrambled to gather her things in her bag. The two rushed out the door and down the elevator.

Dave was almost to his apartment lobby's door when he realized that Jade was no longer right behind him.

She was asleep on the lobby floor.

Dave groaned. "She couldn't have picked a better time."

He hoisted her up and carried her out of the lobby. "Thank God you aren't that heavy," he muttered, kicking the door open and starting down the sidewalk.

Jade might have been fairly light, but the nearest station was two blocks away and Dave was carrying both her and her bag. He stopped twice to catch his breath, but only briefly. If she didn't make the plane he wouldn't be able to forgive himself. He hurried down the sidewalk, girl in arms, brushing off the curious glances of fellow pedestrians.

It was sheer luck that he managed to reach the station right as the train was arriving. He paid the fair and hauled Jade into one of the cars. He placed her next to him on the seat and sat down to catch his breath.

The doors shut and the train jerked to a start. Jade's eyes flickered open. "Where are we?"

"We're on the train heading to the airport," Dave answered, hiding the breathlessness in his voice.

"Oh no I feel asleep, didn't I?" Jade looked as though she was about to break into tears again. "I'm so sorry! I'm sorry, Dave!"

"Don't worry about it. I'm here for you. You can count on me get you home before your carriage turns back into a pumpkin."

"What pumpkin?"

"Nevermind," he sighed. "You can go back to sleep if you want. It's going to be a while before we get to the airport."

She rested her head on his shoulders. "Thank you."