Author: Linz005
Rating: PG-13
Category: Drama/Romance
Disclaimer: I don't own it! Wish I did, but I'm a bit too American to own it.
Summary: It's a Bend It Like Beckham fic!! It's really just a little add on to the movie. It all begins when Jess and Jules come home from Santa Clara for Summer Vacation.Does anyone recall the big announcement Jess had for her parents that she was supposed to make at Christmas? I bet you do..Well she put it off and now its time. (A/N: I made it summer so that they would be there longer). Warnings: None that I can think of.Just minor sexual references right now. Hence the PG-13 rating, but if you saw the movie you can handle this. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Part 1
Jess and Jules stepped off the plane having arrived back home for the second time since they had left for America. America wasn't so different from England. They had been really afraid of being complete outcasts, but people actually thought it was interesting that they came all the way to America and the other players on the team thought they were some of the best players on the team (that always is a nice feeling). It still was nice to come home. Jess was a little more excited than Jules because Jess was going to get to see Joe for the first time since Christmas since they hadn't been able to get home for spring break. Jules, on the other hand, had to leave her boyfriend, Chris, back in California.
"Jesminder!" Jess's mom called her frantically when she and Jules walked into the airport. "We've missed you so much. It's so good to see you healthy and well." Jess frenetically looked around hoping that Joe would have come and made some excuse about wanting to see his two former star players, but he wasn't there. Her smile faded for a moment, but she was still glad to see her mother and father no matter how frustrated she had gotten in the past with them.
"Hi, mum, dad. I've missed you too. How's Pinky and the baby (A/N: I'm naming the baby after my friend partially because its one of the few Indian names that I know and she really wanted to see this movie)?"
"They are both wonderful. Zambeena is getting so big. But we want to hear about you." She hugged her mother still looking around for Joe. "Jesminder, who are you looking for?" Her mother implored.
"No body, Mum." She then hugged her father who seemed to know that she really did want to see someone and the look on his face convinced her that he knew who it was. "Everything is wonderful with football and school. You saw my first semester grades right?"
"Yes, they were very good. I was glad to see you were keeping up with school." Her mother said as they began to walk toward the exit. Jess waved good-bye to Jules who had just found her parents and motioned for her to call her that night.
"Juliette. I didn't think you would ever be home." Jules's mother spoke so genuinely for once and it wasn't about boys. "So first things first. How is Christopher?" She knew it wouldn't last long.
"Chris is fine, Mum. He's home with his family in New York for the summer."
"Well, that's alright. You call him as often as you like. I don't care." Jules would believe her mother not caring about money spent on international phone calls when she saw it, but then again it was for a boy. "You look tired." Her mother's way of saying she looked bad. "Let's go home." Even with her mother's overbearing tendencies she was glad to be going home for real.
It was still very early in the day when Jess and her parents arrived at their home. She got caught up with everyone including the many people who stopped by to see her. Jess never thought she would miss her extended family. "Jesminder, I invited Tony for dinner. Since you haven't met any nice Indian boys in America I thought you two should catch up. You know he's going to be a doctor." Jess smiled. She didn't mind being set up with Tony. Even though he hadn't told anyone, but Jess about being gay, he had told Jess that he was seeing someone (also an Indian who was in the closet).
"That will be nice, mum. Mum, I'm really eager to look around the neighborhood. It's been so long." She tried to sound as sweet as possible. "Would it be alright if I went for a walk for a little while? I'll be back at like 5:30 that's an hour before dinner." Her mother contemplated it for a long moment.
"Well.I suppose so." Jess kissed her mother goodbye and headed for the door. It was only one o'clock and she knew just where to find Joe. She headed to the Club and into the bar. She entered from behind him and walked up quietly.
"Guess who?" She said playfully covering his eyes. Joe laughed, but then decided to have some fun of his own.
"Hmm.could it be that girl I've been seeing behind Jess's back while Jess is in America." Jess came around front hitting his arm lightly.
"That better be a joke."
"Oh, it is." He kissed her. "It definitely is." He kissed her again for a longer period of time this time. "I wanted to come to the airport, but."
"But my parents would have been suspicious and an airport is not where we need to be when I drop the bomb on them." She looked at Joe thoughtfully who was now holding her in his arms.
"What are you thinking about?"
"I was thinking about how you're going to realize that I am so not worth it and walk away." She looked down, but Joe put his hand on her chin and raised her face up to his.
"Hey, you are worth it. Don't ever think you're not. And remember I couldn't walk away before when you weren't sure. I love you."
"I love you, too." She kissed him. "Well, I have almost four hours before I have to be home. We need to catch up in person." They talked about everything and anything. It was nice just to hear each other's voices. They were careful to stay away from anywhere where she might be seen by someone who would tell her parent's. Jess looked a little upset after a while.
"Joe, would you come to my house now? I want to tell them."
"Of course. And remember, no matter what they say I won't and can't give up."
"Neither can I."
Jess led Joe into her house. He had been there before, but not in recent days. Every other time he had been there it had been to convince Jess not to give up on her dream. Jess held his hand tightly for moral support. It was only about four o'clock so they had plenty of time before Tony and his family would show up for dinner. "Mum, Dad?" Jess called from the empty living room. They came into the room as did Pinky with her little girl, Zambeena.
"What is it, Jesminder? What is he doing here?"
"You all remember Joe, right? He used to be my football coach." Neither of her parents seemed pleased and looked at her as if to say "What is he doing here now? He isn't your coach anymore."
"Yes of course." Jess's dad extended his hand. Her mother stood still looking sternly.
"Mr. Bharam, Mrs. Bharam. It is very nice to see you again." He was so nervous, but he didn't want to ruin any chance they had by being impolite.
"Yes." Mrs. Bharam said extending her hand. "Jess, we are expecting company maybe Joe should go." Her mother offered politely.
"Mum, I think you and Dad should sit down. We want to talk to you." Her mother was already getting angry. "Please." Her mother sat down with her father crossing her arms across her chest.
"I am very grateful for everything you have done for me especially allowing me to go to America to pursue football. Since before I left, Joe and I have become very close."
"How close?" Her father asked trying to remain calm.
"Not that close, but we care about each other very much. He's like my boyfriend." Her mother looked as if she were going to faint.
"Jesminder, I hope very much that you are kidding. This is completely unacceptable. You can not carry on a relationship with him. What about Tony? He's such a nice Indian boy. We don't ask you for much. All we ask is that you don't break with all tradition. We let you play football. Can't that be enough?" Her mother was almost in tears.
"Mum, I am grateful that you let me play football and as much as I love it, it isn't going to be enough one day. Dad you told me to follow my heart. I have to do that now. I don't have a choice. Mum, you and Pinky, always told me that when you fall in love you just know. I love him. I love him." She looked at him the second time she said it.
"Mr. and Mrs. Bharma I love you daughter too very much so." Neither seemed to hear what they had said.
"Joe, I think that you should leave immediately." Jess took a deep breath, after her father's words.
"Dad, if you make him leave I will leave with him. You have to at least give this a chance. Don't you care that I love him? You didn't promise Pinky or me to anyone because you wanted us to fall in love. And I do." Her mother turned away. Her father didn't know what to say.
"If neither of you has anything to say then I will leave." She went upstairs quickly and grabbed her still packed bag. She came back down.
"Jess, don't do this. You don't want to leave things like this." Joe leaned close to her as both her parents were out of the room.
"I have too."
"Jesminder, where will you go? No one will take you in when they here why you left." Jess was in no mood to argue anymore.
"Mum, I'm a grown woman. You can't make me stay. I'll stay with Jules or Joe for that matter." The last comment was like a slap right in her parents' faces.
"If you walk out of that door, Jesminder, you do not walk back in." Jess slammed the door behind her as she left with Joe. She started crying as soon as they were far enough away from her house and neighbor's that no one would say anything. Joe put his arms around her trying to comfort her.
"Shh.it's going to be alright. I think you made your decision too quickly. Let's go back. You can apologize and I know they'll forget it. They're your parents. They love you."
"If they love me, then it wouldn't matter that I love you. They would understand. They almost took one dream away from me before and I promised myself then that I wouldn't t let it get to that again. I'm not going to sneak around or hide how I feel about you. I can't." Jess looked into Joe's eyes again before hugging him again. "I don't know what I'm going to do though. They meant what they said. I won't be welcomed back. I've never been without my family." More tears formed in her eyes.
"You have me and you always will." Jess crushed her tear stained face against Joe's strong, fit chest. He let her cry, holding her gently. "Shh.Shh." He whispered occasionally trying to calm her down. After a little while, she was calm enough to walk. Joe kept his arm around her waist. Feeling his strong arm against her body was in itself comforting. "Where do you want to go Jess? Do you want to go to Jules's house or.like you said before, you could come with me to my home."
"I have to tell Jules what happened." Jess didn't want to decide right now. She wanted with every fiber of her being to follow Joe to his place, but she was afraid of what she would do. She had to talk to Jules first. As they walked up the front path to Jules's door, Jules burst out.
"Jess, your mother just called all upset. She wanted to know if you were here, I told her that you weren't, but she wouldn't tell me why she was looking for you." She noticed Jess's tear stained face and the fact that Joe was with her. "What happened?" Jules asked and Jess recounted the entire story. She hugged Jess and assured her that everything would be alright. "Do you want to stay here? I mean I don't know what my parents will say if they find out what happened with your parents, but I'll hide you in my room if I have to." Jess didn't want to get Jules in any trouble with her family.
"No, I have a place to stay." She looked over at Joe and smiled. Jules pulled her aside for a moment.
"Look, I am in no way trying to tell you what to do and I know that you are more than old enough to do whatever you want. I mean I do, but just don't do anything just because you're upset. I don't think that you will or ever would, but I just wanted to tell you." Jess didn't get upset. She was just glad to have a friend who cared so much. She hugged Jules again and promised that she wouldn't make any mistakes before leaving with Joe.
Jess had never been to his place. It was a nice flat not that far from the club where she had played on her first real football team. She walked in and looked around. It was neat and well put together, but small having only one bedroom. Joe put her bag on the bed in the bedroom and came back out.
"You ok?" He asked. She nodded trying to convince herself as well. "Well, you can stay in there and I'll sleep out here." Jess began to protest.
"No, this is your place. I'll sleep out here. Really." Joe shook his head no. He told her that as long as she was staying there that he would take care of her and this was the first thing that he was going to do.
Part 2
Jess woke up the next morning in Joe's bed half expecting to wake up in her bed back home or even in America to find that the previous day's events were merely a dream. It was late morning (she had been so exhausted and jet lagged from her trip) and she walked out into the other room looking for Joe. He was in the living room where he had spent the entire night.
"Hi." Jess almost sighed the word so that it was barely audible. Joe stood up and walked over to her. He looked at her for a moment. Even though she had only just gotten up and hadn't even changed her clothes to Joe she was just as beautiful as the night that he had almost kissed her for the first time in Germany. He put his arms around her and held her close.
"Hi. How are you doing? I mean in retrospect." Jess took a deep breath and stayed pressed to his body.
"I don't know yet. Let's start with an easier question." She half laughed while the other half of her soul longed to burst out in tears. Joe loosened his grip on her a little, but still kept his arms around her.
"We can do an easier question. How did you sleep?" She smiled at him. Jess loved that Joe was willing to do anything for her. He didn't press her about what had happened. He just moved on. He gave her space to make her own decisions even if he knew it wasn't the right one (A/N My friends disagree, but I think that all he ever did was tell her what he knew she should do because he loved her).
"I slept fine. Your bed was very comfortable. How about you?"
"I slept like a baby. I think I actually like the couch better than my bed." She hit him playfully.
"Stop it! Seriously, tonight I'm sleeping on the couch." He nodded, but even Jess knows that she'll end up in his bed again while he sleeps on the couch. Jess went into the bathroom and took a shower before changing her clothes. Joe did the same thing (at a different time of course) and then he had to get to the Club to open the bar.
"So what are you going to do today?" He asked Jess.
"I'm going to go to Jules's and then I don't know. Why?" Joe smiled at her.
"Well, I thought you and Jules might like to come to training for the day. Catch up with the other girls. I meant to ask both of you yesterday, but then." He didn't need to finish the sentence Jess knew what he was talking about. She also knew that this might cheer her up.
"That would be fantastic. Thank you." Joe shrugged, but smiled out of delight all the same. "I don't just mean for inviting me to training, but for everything. For everything you have ever done for me. Giving me a place on the team, getting me my place in America."
"Stop it, you earned all of that yourself."
".And for loving me." He kissed her again vehemently. After he held her face eyelash close,
"You deserve it and it is my pleasure." He kissed her one more time before he absolutely had to leave. Jess left almost immediately afterwards and went straight to Jules's house. She exchanged pleasantries with Jules's mom before Jules came down stairs. Jess followed her back up to her room.
"So." Jess pretended not to know what Jules was talking about.
"So."
"So what happened with you and Joe last night?"
"Nothing." Jules knew Jess well enough to know that she was telling the truth. Now it was time for harder questions.
"How about your parents? Have you talked to them?" Jess shook her head.
"I've been disowned, Jules. They told me not to come back. The only way that they might even consider it would be for me to break things off with Joe and even then it would be like I had brought shame on my family. I can't give him up. I love him, Jules." Jules got a little uncomfortable when it came to talking about Joe still. He had been one of her first crushes and even though she cared a lot about Chris, she wasn't sure that her feelings her completely gone for Joe. She just smiled when Jess said these things about him.
"What are you going to do?" Jess shrugged she hated thinking about it. The only answers that she could come up with had a whole lot of Could's and If's involved.
"I'll stay with Joe until we go back to America. All our expenses are paid for. I'll get by." Jules just nodded. She couldn't make Jess see what she saw. She saw pain to come and regret. "Anyway, I wanted to tell you that we have been invited to train with the Hounslow Harriers today!" Jules forgot everything else and got very excited about seeing her old friends and playing where she had for so long.
"Oh! This is so great. I mean I was so upset when they didn't become a professional team. It'll be nice to see where they're at." They left taking there football stuff with them and went down to the club figuring that they could wait in the Club with Joe until the training began. They spent most of the day catching up with old friends most of whom they hadn't seen since they left. It was nice and all, but Jess was still thinking about everything else. They played a little football with the girls and told them all about America before the others left. Jules and Jess stayed with Joe in the club. Everything was fine for a while, but then the conversation shifted to the previous day. "Jess maybe you should go home and at least try to explain it. I mean your father and mother didn't understand why you loved football, but then they came around." Jules always thought that she knew what was best for Jess and though she usually told her to go against her parents in the past, this was different. This was her entire life. "I can't. They aren't going to change their minds." "Besides we can get by on our own." Joe added trying to support Jess's decision. He agreed though too. After everything he had been through with his father in the past, he knew that Jess couldn't let her parents dictate what she did. He was, also, afraid that Jess would feel alone because know one seemed to agree with her so he wanted to be the one to assure her that she had someone who loved her and supported her. He kissed her gently on the lips after he spoke. Jules was a little upset by that. "Look, I'm just being honest about what she should do. Maybe you would understand if you weren't trying to sleep with her!" Jess was utterly shocked by her outburst. She was trying to think of what to say when Joe began to argue with Jules. "That is none of you damn business, Jules, and you know it! Are you so insanely jealous that you honestly think her parents are right?!" Jules was furious now and Jess was still in shock. "Oh please! Jealousy has absolutely nothing to do with this! I could care less what you two do. But can you say the same thing. Asking her to stay with her, telling her that you'll get by. Yeah, I'm sure you're just trying to look out for her!" "Jules," Jess finally spoke up, "Joe is right that is none of your business. You don't know what your talking about either. I asked Joe if I could stay with him. He wanted me to go back and fix things. I said no." Jules shook her head emphatically out of anger. "Then maybe you're the one with other things on their mind!" She was even angrier than she had been when she saw Joe and Jess almost kissing. Jules stormed out and Jess started crying. "I am so sick of crying and feeling like I'm wrong in everything I do." Joe hugged her as he had since they had been reunited. She took a deep breath trying to calm herself down. "Do you know what they worst part is? I know I'm right. I know that this is what I need to do. I know that I love you." Joe went to say that he loved her too, but Jess already knew. "And I know that you love me." "I do and no matter what everyone else says whether it's Jules or your parents remember that we love each other. I, also, wanted to say that about what Jules said." Jess shook her head trying to tell him it wasn't necessary, "It isn't true. I really love you and I am not going to push you into anything to fast or before your ready for it." Jess smiled. "I know and I never thought that you would."
Continue on...