Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

~ Saturday, October 24th - 3:14 AM ~

It was several hours after his big performance at school, and André Harris was having difficulty falling asleep. A topic bothering him for the past week was at the center of his restlessness.

"Jade who?" he joked to Tori as he walked away to meet the girl he had met earlier that night.

It frightened André that his mind was again fixated on his best friend's girl.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" he questioned himself, staring at the ceiling of his room.

Immediately, André remembered the other night at the late-night recording session.

He remembered how friendly she was with him and how unexpectedly pleasant her demeanor was. André recalled becoming captivated by her singing voice, which calmed him, and her smile, which warmed his heart and made him doubt all he was feeling. All this rushed through his mind like a whirlpool of confusing thoughts. He needed help, and only one person could provide it.

"Tori!" he gasped, grabbing his phone from the bedside table.

There was a missed call left from her, but even though his mind was now focused on Tori, a recent memory switched it back to Jade.

~ A Few Days Ago... ~

André was sitting on the couch at Tori's house and staring at a Jaded Tori.

"...I'll be way meaner to you," she glared.

At that point, André's mind went blank. The only thing that came to mind was Jade, nothing else. Tori began to resemble her more and more, and André began thinking he was back in the studio. Everyone, including his best friend Beck, became second to him.

Beck who?

He began to lean closer and closer. All he wanted was one kiss. All he needed was just one kiss.

Jade moved closer as he did until their lips almost touched.

"Oh, Jade..." André moaned as his dream was almost a reality. Surprisingly, Jade yelled at that precise moment.

"André!"

But something was wrong with her voice; it sounded... like Tori.

What in the hell?!

Suddenly, André felt a crashing feeling go across his head.

~ Present Day - 9:25 AM ~

He woke up.

Lying on the floor, André realized he had fallen asleep while sitting against the headboard. Not only was his head hurting as a result of the fall, but his thoughts were still ricocheting against his skull. Taking a deep breath, he thought back to last night when he was on stage with Tori. The glances he took of Jade began to flash within his mind. How did Jade become so beautiful to him all of a sudden?

Don't get him wrong: André wasn't blind to Jade's other side. He was well aware that she wasn't all nice and sweet. But at the moment, he didn't care about that. Not really. What he did care about was the look on Beck's face last night. He was completely oblivious to what was going on in his best friend's mind, and that's exactly how André wanted it to be.

He knew it was wrong, but what could he possibly do about it? It was like there was no end to the insanity he was feeling. He had to go somewhere. He needed help fast.

It was almost 9:30 in the morning, and the sun was out.

After getting himself together, André walked down the block and came upon Cat's house. The redhead had set up a lemonade stand in her front yard, but she was apparently trying to sell toothpaste-flavored cupcakes.

André thought it was strange-- Wait, he'd known Cat long enough to be used to her eccentricities.

As soon as Cat saw André, she ran up to him, waving two cupcakes.

"Toothpaste Cupcakes!" she chimed, "The minty flavor of toothpaste inside a tasty cupcake! Want one?"

Not wanting to hurt her feelings, he just told her that he had a very large breakfast.

"You look like you haven't been sleeping well." Cat said as they both walked towards her stand, "Still thinking about Jade?"

André felt as though his heart stopped and his lungs were being squeezed.

How did she... When did she... Gotta play this off and act calmly.

Cat smirked as if she was expecting him to respond with a quick lie.

"Are you kidding me? Why would I be thinking about Jade?" he answered quickly, "I mean, she's a friend, but c'mon. I don't think about her like that."

Cat giggled, "You are such a bad liar. I saw the way you looked at her after you hugged last night."

André remembered it too well.

~ Last Night ~

When he and Jade saw each other, she approached him and they hugged. This wasn't the first time this happened, but something was different about this moment. André could feel how warm she was. How soft she was. The noticeable fragrance that she wore.

Whatever the factor was, it made him want to hold her close to him and never let her go.

But eventually, he knew that he had to. Mainly to not draw any attention from those standing near them. As he pulled away from her, André saw that she was smiling at him. He felt the need to tell her something. Anything. But no word could describe how he was feeling at that moment.

So he remained silent.

~ Present Time ~

"Yoo-hoo! André, are you still there?" asked Cat, waving her hands in his face.

"Oh uh, yeah, it's just something that came to my mind," he replied, "I have to go. Good luck selling those cupcakes."

As he began to walk off from Cat's cupcake stand, he could hear her calling to him.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to tell her anything!"

André didn't know how to feel about that. But at the moment, all he could do was trust that Cat wouldn't tell Jade a thing.

He had to play it off, of course.

"Yeah sure. Whatever you say, Cat."

Continuing to walk down the block, André knew there was one person he needed to talk to.

"Tori."

Chapter Text

~ Saturday, October 24th - 9:48 AM ~

Tori Vega was about to leave her house to attend the grand opening of a new clothing store down the street from where she lived. As she grabbed her phone and clutch bag, something on her dresser stopped her. It was a picture of her and André from the night they partied at Kenan Thompson’s house. Picking up the frame and taking a closer look at it, she chuckled.

I won't ever forget that night.

As she focused on André, her memories of the past week began to flood her mind.

For Tori, André was more than just her best friend. He was one of the first friendly faces she met when she first attended Hollywood Arts. He’s always been a shoulder for her to cry on and was a cheerleader whenever she was at her best. But even greater than that… he was the guy she had grown feelings for.

Time after time, she wanted to admit everything to him and hoped that her feelings would be reciprocated. However, she would always chicken out at the last minute. Sometimes it was because someone would interrupt them, but mainly it was her fear of ruining a friendship that she treasured. So why mess all of that up over some teenage crush, right?

Why even bother? I already have a great friendship with him. I should be thankful for that and leave it as it is.

Ha! That was easier said than done. Once Tori heard of André's crush on Jade, she felt like the absolute cruelest practical joke was being played on her. Unfortunately, this joke wouldn’t end with her joining in the laughter.

Of all the girls for him to fall for… it just had to be her.

Admittedly, Tori felt somewhat jealous of Jade.

It’s honestly not fair. She’s already with a great guy!

Placing the frame back on the dresser, Tori left her room and went downstairs.

She grew tired of these depressing thoughts and saw that hurrying to the store's grand opening was best. But as she rushed to open the front door, Tori bumped into...

Oof!

“André!” Tori exclaimed as the two got off the floor, “I’m so sorry.”

“Nah, it’s cool.” André replied, brushing himself off, “Guess you’re in an awful hurry.”

“Uh, yeah. I’m actually on my way to Shopaholics,” explained Tori, as she walked out onto the porch with him.

“Ah, cool… cool,” said André, as he slowly started feeling awkward being there.

He was only there to discuss his crush on his best friend’s frenemy. What’s so awkward about that?

“So, w-what are you doing here?” Tori asked, feeling somewhat anxious about being late.

“Oh! Well, I was just in the neighborhood and thought I should swing by for a visit.”

The look on Tori’s face told him she didn’t believe a word he said.

“Are you sure about that?”

“No, truth is…” he began.

Tori knew what was coming. She only wishes that André would rip the band-aid off already.

“...I’m in love with you.”

Wait… WHAT?!

Tori just stood there. Completely astounded, she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“Andre, I don’t understand—” Tori began, before being cut off by André walking past her.

Entering the den and turning to face her, André looked to be collecting his thoughts. “I’m helplessly in love with you.”

Wanting to get to the bottom of this, Tori asked, “Okay, so you say… but what about Jade?”

Chuckling softly, André replied, “I realized that I was merely misplacing my feelings for you onto her. Jade’s beautiful singing was only a reminder of the connection that you and I have with our music.”

“I guess that’s possible, but this still doesn’t make sense.”

André sighed and began walking toward Tori. His eyes gave away that he was longing to do something. As he stood there, he gently grazed his fingers across her cheek.

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!

“Ever since our duet last night, I felt something deeper for you. Something that I’m ready to act on.”

Eagerly curious to see where he was going with this, Tori asked, “And what do you plan on doing?”

Moving around her, André walked to the front door and closed it.

Clunk!

The distinctive sound of the door being locked caused Tori to tense up.

The room became so quiet that all she could hear was the pounding of her heart and the sound of André's footsteps. Standing in front of her, André gently brushed Tori’s hair out of the way and slowly moved his lips toward hers. Their shared kiss was gentle and sweet, yet tinged with an overwhelming sense of fulfillment.

“Wow…” she sighed, as they stopped to catch their breath.

“Now do you believe me?” André asked, with his hand caressing her chin.

“Y-yeah.” Tori smiled before they once again started kissing.

As their kisses grew fervent, André slowly began to unbutton Tori’s blouse. The sounds of them heavily breathing filled the room. They knew where things were going, but would rather let it continue to be a surprise.

Grabbing hold of her bare waist, André turned his attention to her neck. Each kiss from his soft, warm lips sent shivers down her spine.

Overwhelmed by the sensation, Tori dropped her phone and clutch bag onto the floor.

The store can wait.

With the intensity between the two growing steadily, André picked Tori up and carried her over to the couch. Taking a moment to help take off his shirt, Tori marveled at André’s muscles as he slowly got on top of her.

A few minutes into their make-out session, Tori remembered something crucial.

“Wait, wait.”

“What is it?”

“My mom is still sleeping upstairs.”

“Well, I guess we have to work quickly.” André grinned.

Whoa...

As they started back kissing, André began to unbutton her jeans. Moving his hand back up her waist, he gently traced his fingers around her belly button.

“Ooh!” Tori moaned, as André turned his attention back to her neck.

Afterward, he brought up his hand and licked his fingers.

Wait, is he…

Slowly shoving his hand down into her jeans, André immediately found his way to her sweet spot.

“Mmh.” Tori gasped as she bit her lip.

The buildup began to drive her insane, but it was just too good to resist.

“Don’t stop,” she squeaked, tensing up more and more until…

“Tori? Tori! Are you alright?”

André looked concerned, as Tori was leaning against the door frame and staring at him absentmindedly.

“Tori!” André shouted again, this time clapping his hands loudly.

The girl finally woke up.

As she looked around, she had come to a crushing conclusion. It was all a dream.

From what André could see, Tori was blushing bright red.

“Uh, are you alright?” he asked again.

“Y-yeah, I’m good. I have… I have to get going, that’s all.” Tori said hurriedly, closing and locking the door behind her and then walking past André.

Not easily swayed, André could tell that something was wrong with his friend, “Wait up. Seriously, tell me what’s wrong.”

But Tori couldn’t keep it in anymore. She had to ask André if he was still thinking about Jade.

“Be honest with me. Are you still thinking about her?”

…

There was nothing but dead silence between the two.

André knew the answer.

Tori knew the answer as well, and it was killing her.

“Tori…”

That was all she needed to hear. Not wanting to stay around any longer, Tori quickly reminded him of her plans.

“Look, I have to go, okay?” she said, rushing down the walkway and slowly disappearing down the street.

Sighing heavily, André seriously wanted to kick himself.

Great job, André. Great job.

Of all the people whom André could talk to, Tori was his number one confidant. Yet here he was sorely missing her advice.

Poor boy… focused on a love he knew was impossible, but ignorant of the one that’s in front of him.

Feeling more depressed than ever, André decided to head back home, get in his car, and drive around the city. Occasionally stopping at various locations, he desperately needed to clear his mind. After wandering for hours, he wound up at the beach.

~ 3:25 PM ~

André gazed at the majestic blue waves that nipped at the beachgoers' feet. The wind blew gently as the sunlight above gave him the perfect balance of warm and cool. Normally, he would have enjoyed such a day… but his heart wouldn’t let him.

Is this just infatuation?

He had known this girl for about three years, give or take a few months. In all of that time, he never found anything “interesting” about Jade to have him this hooked.

At least none that he could remember at this moment…

But André wasn’t in any way saying that he thought she was unattractive back then and gorgeous now.

No, no, no.

What he meant was that Jade never seemed like his kind of girl. The main thing that André disliked about Jade was that she could be unnecessarily rude and petty. There was also her intimidation factor, especially when she looked deep into your eyes. However, this wasn’t the case that night in the recording studio. The longer he thought about it, the more he felt like he’d seen that side of her before, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

All André remembered was that instead of feeling intimidated, he felt...

“Fuzzy,” he said to himself.

“Fuzzy? What’s fuzzy?” asked a familiar voice.

It was none other than Mr. Sikowitz, standing under a tree.

Getting up from the bench, André replied, “Nothing, it’s nothing.”

Not eager to talk with his eccentric teacher, André headed to his car.

Unfortunately, Sikowitz didn’t take the hint.

“Coconuts themselves are fuzzy. They contain delicious milk, taste great in candy bars, and hurt like hell when you drop one on your bare foot. But I love them because they give me profound clarity, and when the time calls for it, they help me focus.”

Once again, André was faced with a deafening silence. Like with Cat, he really shouldn’t have been fazed by this. However, being in the slump he’s currently in has nullified his tolerance for oddities.

“What exactly are you getting at?”

Sikowitz reached into his bag and pulled out a coconut.

“Here, have one,” he said, handing the coconut to André.

“What’s this for?” André asked, holding the furry fruit in his hands.

“What’s what for?”

“This coconut.”

“Oh, that? I love taking long walks on the beach and handing out coconuts to random people.”

“Okay, why?”

“Because it’s Sunday, of course.”

“But it’s Saturday.”

Taking a sip from the coconut he was already holding, Sikowitz replied, “For you, maybe.”

Walking past André, he handed a coconut to a random kid.

Sikowitz was indeed one strange fellow.

Looking down at the coconut he held, André began thinking.

Hmm… maybe, just maybe.

As he got into his car, André saw Sikowitz being chased by some officers.

“Good luck to ya, Sikowitz.”

~ 4:40 PM ~

Once he’d got home, André took a screwdriver out of the kitchen drawer and punctured a hole in the coconut.

This had to be one of the craziest things he was about to do-- well, maybe the second craziest. After all, he was supposedly in love with Jade.

Pouring the milk into a glass, André slowly began to drink it.

Eh. Not bad.

As he gradually finished drinking, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"Focus," he told himself.

André slowly blocked all outside interference that clouded his mind. Family, friends, teachers, and even strangers. All were blocked until all that was left was him and Jade. They both stood there in the void of his own making.

Okay, here goes nothing.

Walking over to her, André gazed deeply into Jade’s eyes.

Focus on that night in the studio. Those feelings. My thoughts. Why did I become so fixated at that moment?

Without warning, the Dream Jade reacted by chuckling softly.

Holy shit!

Backing up a bit, André saw what he was looking for. That soft, warm smile that caressed her lips. The sound of genuine sincerity in her laugh. And finally, that warmhearted look that stared back at him.

André gradually felt the same fuzziness build throughout his body. He’d finally found his answer.

Snapping out of his focused state, André came to a realization.

"There’s no doubt about it… I’m in love with Jade."

Leaning back against the kitchen counter, André looked up at the clock on the wall. It was 4:48, and he could see that the once bright sky had dimmed slightly.

André knew there was only one person he had to go to. As much as he feared doing so, it was the only option.

"I have to speak to Jade. Face to face."

Chapter Text

~ Saturday, October, 24th - 6:11 PM ~

André decided to wait until later that evening to confront Jade. He reasoned that by then, Beck would be volunteering at the community theater, as he does every weekend. Admitting his feelings to Jade would be A LOT easier without her boyfriend having a front-row seat.

Driving down a busy street, André glanced at his phone to see if there were any missed calls.

"Nothing. Dammit," he muttered, as he turned right at the green light.

André attempted to call and text Jade earlier, but his calls were routed to her voicemail, and his text went unanswered. He then decided to stop by her house to see if she was home, but there was no one there. So, at this moment, his best bet was to begin his search in the one location Jade was known to frequent. 

Pulling into Jet Brew's parking lot, André took a deep breath. At this point, he was entirely focused. He knew what he had to do. He knew he had to take the risk, and he knew he had to tell Jade the truth. He only prayed her reaction would not destroy his friendship with Beck.

As he exited his car, André took a moment to scan the people who sat on the cafe patio.

Not one sign of Jade. But before he could go inside, a voice startled him.

"Hey, André."

Beck walked over from the other side of the parking lot, sipping a cup of coffee. André had to play this off well to keep him oblivious to what was happening.

"'Sup, Beck!" André chuckled nervously, "A-aren't you supposed to be at the theater?"

"Nah, not tonight. One of the pipes sprang a leak, and a part of the auditorium was flooded." Beck answered, as they both leaned against the entrance railing, "I'm only here to grab some coffee before I go back and help with the cleanup."

"Ugh, that sucks," said André as he slowly calmed down.

"Yup," Beck replied, taking another sip.

For a second, it got quiet between the two friends.

"So... what'cha doing?" asked Beck with a puzzled expression, "Never took you for a coffee lover."

"I'm not. But I am looking for one."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Jade, have you seen her? She hasn't returned my calls or texts."

"That's no surprise."

"What do you mean?"

"She's at BloodHaus, it's this horror/sci-fi film festival happening downtown. I dropped her off about an hour ago, so she probably turned off her phone to avoid being bothered," answered Beck, as they moved aside for some passing customers. "What do you need her for?"

"Oh, um... I need her to hear a new mix of the song she helped me with," André responded, caught off guard.

"So, do you have it on a flash drive? Because I could bring it to her."

"Uh... well, I couldn't find a flash drive with enough space for the song, so I had to upload it to my phone." 

"Well, can I hear it?"

André was getting tired of making up lies. He just wanted to confront Jade and get everything out in the open. Why was Beck making this so difficult?

"I wanted Jade to hear it first so she could contribute some new ideas. When the song is finished, everyone else can hear it." André sighed, continuing to calm himself. 

"Oh... well, I can give you the address to the theater," Beck replied as he began texting on his phone. 

Receiving a ping on his phone, André said, "Thanks, uh... I'll talk to you later."

"Sure…" Beck replied as he walked over to his car.

Oof, that was so awkward.

~ 6:48 PM ~

Over thirty minutes after leaving Jet Brew, André finally arrived at the theater. It was a challenge pointing out Jade from the rest of the similarly dressed people in the crowded lobby. As he made his way up to the second floor, he passed numerous vendor booths selling horror/sci-fi merchandise and memorabilia. It wasn't long before he heard a familiar voice ring through the crowd.

"What do you mean you're sold out?"

"You heard me. We're out of posters."

"That's bullshit! The two guys ahead of me asked if there were more, and you said there was plenty."

"That's your word against mine."

"I can't believe this."

André saw the opportunity to intervene and took it.

"Excuse me, but what's going on here?"

"I've told her numerous times that we're out of The Angel's Nightmare collectible posters." said the vendor, who looked irritated, "But this crazy bitch won't take no for an answer."

"I'll show you what a bitch I am," Jade fumed, as she tried to move towards the vendor.

Blocking her, André asked, "Jade, are you sure this guy is lying?"

"I'm positive."

"Okay."

Turning to look at the vendor, André asked, "Let me guess: You're selling the remaining posters on AuctionWagon for a higher price?"

"N-no. Why would you say that?" uttered the vendor nervously.

"Okay, then I'm sure you wouldn't mind if we got security involved," replied André with an air of confidence greatly missed from much of that night.

The vendor stared at him momentarily and then gradually caved to his subtle threat.

"Okay, alright! I was gonna smuggle the last few after the festival ended," the vendor confessed, now sweating profusely, "B-but you don't understand. People online will be willing to pay out the wazoo for just one of these."

"You son of a—," hissed Jade as she tried to get around André.

"Now was telling the truth so hard?" asked André, cutting Jade off and continuing to hold her back.

"I'm sorry, I won't do it again," the vendor responded, "Just please don't tell my boss. Please!"

"Deal, now give her the poster," André ordered, as the vendor grabbed one that was hidden underneath one of the tables.

With the situation de-escalated, André now faced the horrific challenge that awaited him.

"Hey, I appreciate what you did," Jade thanked as she held the rolled-up poster. "How did you know he was planning to sell these online?"

"My uncle once told me about vendors illegally selling their merchandise to online bidders." André stated as the two walked over to the balcony that overlooked the first-floor lobby, "So I figured that vendor was probably doing the same shit, too."

Impressed, Jade said, "Well, thanks again. I've had my eye on this poster for quite some time."

"It was nothing. I was being a good friend."

"Good friend, huh?" questioned Jade, now turning her attention to him. "So what exactly are you doing here?"

Caught off-guard, André scrambled for a reason, "Oh, um... I love horror films too. Blood, gore, can't get enough of it."

Not buying it, Jade replied, "No, seriously. Why are you here?"

Taking a deep breath, André decided to come clean: "I came here because I had to tell you something."

"Okay, what is it?"

Not surprisingly, André found it hard to form words once again.

Jade stood there with a curious look, "André? Is something wrong?"

…

The tension was increasing. Words were rushing around in his head. Yet out of the millions that were in there, three simple yet complex words blurted out.

"I love you."

Chapter Text

~ Saturday, October 24th - 7:02 PM ~

André stood there, speechless at what he had uttered. Jade stood there, speechless at what she heard. It was only a matter of who spoke first…

"What did you just say?" asked Jade.

…

André stood frozen.

Tired of waiting for him to respond, Jade pulled him behind a vendor's stand for privacy. "Did you just say… that you love me?"

…

"Talk. Now," she said forcefully.

Jade didn't necessarily look angry at him, but rather at his inability to talk.

"Yes... I did," André said hesitantly.

"André—" Jade sighed.

"Jade, listen… I know you're with Beck, but I needed to get this off my chest." André quickly said, "Which was why I was acting so strange this past week.

At that moment, Jade's eyes widened. "That song! I knew it. That song was meant for me, wasn't it?"

"I thought singing my song to everyone, including you, would help me eliminate these feelings."

"Wow," said Jade, taking a moment to gather her thoughts. "When did… You know, this all started?"

"That night we were in the recording studio," answered André, "Your singing was so alluring and then I got lost in your eyes and I felt... warm and fuzzy."

Jade stood there for a moment. She had never seen André like this before. She knew there was something funny about his behavior the past couple of days, but was she blind to him having a crush on her?

"Okay, since we're being open with each other, I'll admit this." Jade began as she took a deep breath, "I've always found you attractive... and there may have been a few times when I've toyed with the thought of us... together."

Stunned, André had to hold back from smiling so brightly. But deep inside, millions of tiny fireworks were going off.

Calm down, André, calm down. Don't get too excited.

"I-I don't know what to say." André chuckled, trying to compose himself.

"Yes, it's true. I did have a small crush on you," sighed Jade, who briefly looked rather timid, "But remember, I'm still in love with Beck, and that's how it's gonna be."

"Trust me, I know. I'm just glad that the truth is finally out." André said, with a sigh of relief, "Now I can get some sleep again."

When Jade heard this, she felt compelled to add, "Sorry for putting you through all that agony. I mean, I enjoy torturing people, but I didn't intend to torture you."

"No worries, really," replied André, as they both noticed the crowd beginning to move.

Taking a moment to think, Jade eventually came up with an idea.

"Look... I know you're not really a horror fan, but if you're not too busy, do you wanna stick around and check out some movie trailers?" Jade asked as she gestured towards the people entering the nearby auditorium entrance.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Beck would've been here, but he's helping out at the community theater, and it'll be nice to have a friend to watch these with."

Jade wasn't the type who openly acknowledged someone as their friend, so it made André feel rather special that she considered him as such.

"I mean, I didn't have much else to do for the rest of the night." André laughed as he pulled a red piece of paper from his pocket. "And I already paid for a ticket. So, sure. Why not?"

~ 11:33 PM ~

The rest of the night went off smoothly. Both friends enjoyed hours of spine-tingling movie trailers and pulse-pounding short films.

André may have had moments where a jump scare would get the best of him, but Jade didn't mind. For her, it added a bit of amusement to the viewing experience that she normally didn't get.

As much as I love Beck, watching horror films with him can be... boring. Nothing ever scares him. But with André, it feels different.

So, after André drove Jade back to her house, she had one last thing to do.

"Despite the secrets that came out, I honestly had a lot of fun tonight," she said as they exited the car.

"Me too. Although I hope that guy forgives me for knocking his soda all over his jacket."

"Eh, he'll get over it," Jade replied as she and André laughed. "Anyway, now that everything is out in the open, I hope you can move on."

"Yeah, now I can focus on girls who are actually available," smiled André, as he walked Jade to her front door. "That Northridge girl who worked at the theater did seem pretty interested."

"You're way too good to be chasing after girls like that," added Jade, with an air of concern. "If anything, you're more Tori's type."

"Tori?" André asked curiously.

"She may not be my favorite person, but I think she'll be a great match for you," Jade replied sincerely.

"Hmm, I didn't know you cared about me that way."

"Well, I do."

Jade then walked up to André and hugged him. But before she let him go, she kissed him on the cheek.

"Uh, Jade…?"

Quickly pulling away from him and opening the front door, Jade snapped, "This changes nothing, got it?" 

"Yeah… sure."

"Okay, good night."

"Night."

Walking to his car, André thought heavily of what had just happened.

Strange, but then again... it is Jade.

With a smile on his face, André made his way home and was more than eager to call it a night.

~ 11:56 PM ~

Jade had recently gotten off the phone with Beck. Earlier, he had mentioned something about listening to André's new song.

She had no idea what he was talking about, but she went along with it. However, that wasn't on Jade's mind right now.

André was.

Once again, she pondered the idea of her and André as a couple.

It wouldn't be that bad. In fact... not bad at all.

Chapter Text

~ Saturday - October 24th - 11:51 PM ~

After spending the evening watching a horror movie marathon with Jade, André finally made it back home. To his dismay, he was locked out of the house. His grandma just had to pick this weekend to stay over.

Great, just great.

"Grandma! Open up the door! It's me, André!"

"That's a lie! André has been in his room all day!" his grandma shouted as she peeked from behind the curtains.

"Grandma, I've been gone ever since 6. Now, can you please open up the door?"

"No! That raccoon has been out there all day long. He's just waiting to come in here!"

"Raccoon? What raccoon?"

"The one that's been standing by the garage!"

Looking towards the garage, André saw no raccoon, but a soccer ball instead.

A soccer ball.

André picked up the ball and hid it in the bushes. "The raccoon is gone now!"

He saw his grandma look towards the garage and then unlock all the deadbolts on the door.

"Thank you," said André as he headed to his room.

He wasn't in the mood for any more of his grandma's shenanigans; he needed to make a phone call. But after calling Tori three times and being sent to voicemail, André decided to give up and lie in his bed.

"She's busy, that's all," said André, unsure of the situation.

Eventually, he began thinking of what Jade had told him earlier.

Am I actually over Jade? What if it turns out that Tori and I are only "friends"?

These questions riddled him and made him realize he had resolved one problem and created two more.

Regardless, André's night was about to get even stranger.

~ Sunday, October 25 - 12:01 AM ~

Tori was lying in her bed. Her eyes were focused on her phone, which she held over her head.

[Three Missed Calls]

She knew who called, but was afraid of what they would say. All she could picture was Jade making out with André in his room. It made her sick. But she knew that if she didn't find out what he had to tell her now, she'd never be able to live it down. She speed dialed his number, and within seconds, André answered.

{Tori!}

"Yes... What is it?" asked Tori, using her best sleepy voice.

{I told her.}

"You what?"

{I told Jade how I felt.}

"Well, what did she say?"

{It turns out she had a tiny crush on me, too.}

Tori's heart sank.

"Oh…"

{But don't worry, she's still faithful to Beck. No cheating at all.}

At hearing this, Tori felt slightly better, but she was still cautious of what she was hearing.

André continued the conversation by telling her what had happened that night, excluding the kiss with Jade. He didn't necessarily know how Tori would react to that. I mean, could you blame him?

{But in the end, Jade made me think of something.}

"Really, what?"

{Have you ever thought of us…}

She couldn't believe what she was hearing; he was about to ask about them possibly dating. In Tori's mind, she wanted to scream, "Yes!" But then something hit her.

Jade made André consider the thought of us being together. For as long as I've known him, he has never made a move on his own… Yet now, because Jade tells him to, he wants to ask me out?!

She couldn't say no, but the thought of Jade wouldn't leave her alone. It felt like this was her cruelest scheme ever. But Tori knew one thing: She didn't want André to be with her because Jade told him to. She wanted to be with him because he wanted to.

{…dating?}

"Yes."

{Well, I was wondering if… maybe sometime next week, we could give it a try.}

…

{So, do you wanna go out… with me?}

The silence was deafening. It was only broken by Tori's tearful voice.

"No... I can't."

Chapter Text

~ Sunday, October 25th - 12:18 AM ~

Neither one of them could believe what had happened.

André thought Tori didn't understand what he was asking her.

"Uh, I asked if you wanted to go on a real date next week."

{I heard you… But I can't go out with you.}

André felt awkward. Tori had said she could see the two of them dating, yet now she doesn't want to go out with him.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, deeply concerned.

{No, nothing's wrong. It's just that… I'm seeing someone.}

"Oh! Okay, good for you…" André responded, trying to find the right words, "He's a lucky guy."

{Yeah… he is. André, I've got to get up early, so I'll talk to you later. Okay, bye.}

She quickly hung up the phone, leaving André to wonder what had happened.

What the fuck just happened?

He wasn't surprised that Tori was dating someone. He was surprised by how quickly his mind stopped focusing on Jade.

For the past week, his mind had been thinking about her nonstop. But for these last few minutes, it all vanished. So who's to say that André was not acting on his feelings for Jade by listening to her? And who's to say that maybe he was trying to make himself like Tori as more than a friend?

Things just went from messed up to fucked up for the life of André Harris.

~ Friday, November 19th - 1:01 AM ~

A month has passed, and things have returned to normal within the Gang... except for one thing. Once André gave her the final version of 365 Days, Jade became fixated on the song. After all, she found out it was really about her. Hell, it was to a point where she would listen to it at least once a day, and tonight was no exception.

Lying in her bed, Jade felt so relaxed. Her PearPod SpeakerDock was softly playing on a loop. She'd never enjoyed listening to a song like this before.

—Tuesday, I wrote you this song.

Wednesday, I wait outside your door.

Even though I know it's wrong…

Jade felt so different now. Since André had admitted his feelings for her a month ago, she had been thinking about him more than usual. Of course, she knew she already had a great, loving boyfriend, but… She couldn't stop thinking about André.

—I want you all to myself.

(All to myself)…

Slowly, she drifted off to sleep.

Her mind still on…

~ 7:11 AM? ~

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Somebody was pounding on the door.

"Whaaaaat?!" Jade groaned, irritated at being awoken.

"Jade, you have a visitor!" shouted Mrs. West as she continued to bang on the door.

"If it's Tori, tell her to leave. If it's Robbie, call the police. If it's Cat—"

"No, it's André."

Jade quickly jumped out of her bed and ran to the mirror. Her hair was tangled, the nightwear she wore had tears, and she had a bit of drool on her lip, which she quickly wiped away.

"Ah, I look great," she said to herself as she turned off her PearPod and went to open the door.

Mrs. West and André stood there, both surprised at how she looked.

"Hi, Jade, you look… wonderful," said André, who tried to find the right words.

"I seriously need to get rid of those torn-up clothes you love to keep," said Mrs. West, clearly upset at what she was wearing. "You'll be so pretty in a nice pink or yellow—"

"Do you want me to hurl?" asked Jade as she leaned against the door frame.

"Why do I even try?" sighed Mrs. West as she walked down the hallway. "I'm going to work. It was nice seeing you, André."

"You, too. Mrs. West." André replied.

"And Jade, please remember to feed Buckles before you leave!" Mrs. West shouted from downstairs.

"I know, Mom."

"Don't forget to lock up when you leave for school!"

"Alright, already! God."

The sound of the back door shutting could be heard, and then it was quiet.

Jade then motioned to André to come into her room. "So what did you come here for?" she asked as she sat on her bed.

"Uh… I came here to say thanks for helping me with my song." André said hesitantly, sitting in the nearest chair.

Jade knew he was lying. Why would he come over at 7 in the morning to tell her thanks?

"Stop that."

"Stop what?"

"Lying about why you're here."

"You could easily tell, can't you?"

"You suck at lying," smiled Jade, "So, yeah, I can always tell."

André stood up and began pacing back and forth.

"André, sit down." Jade said, grabbing his arm and making him sit on the bed, "Now… tell me what you have to tell me."

Taking a deep breath, André looked deep into her eyes.

"Okay... I thought I could finally move on with everything in the open," he said, holding her hand. "But I was wrong."

"André, we talked about this—"

"Please, let me finish," he interjected with a serious expression. "I can't picture myself with anyone else."

Jade just sat there, unprepared for what she was about to hear.

"I don't care about Tori, and I don't care about Beck," André added, becoming more at ease, "I want you."

Jade didn't know what was going through her mind, but it was like a spark had been ignited, and she had no control over the flames.

She leaped onto André and began fervently kissing him. Nothing turned her on more than feeling him eagerly return her affections. With each lust-filled kiss, the pair released so much pent-up sexual tension and was anxious to go further. They knew they were wrong, yet they still kept going. Soon, clothing was shed, and they dared not go back.

As he kissed Jade's neck, André whispered, "Let me go first."

Slowly moving downward, he laid a trail of kisses that went from her nipples to her navel and then to her thighs. His teasing nearly drove Jade insane.

Fuck he's good...

It took her even more by surprise once André started eating her out. He was steady with his technique, yet there was still a sense of urgency. An urgency to please the one he loved as best he could. The buildup sent chills up Jade's spine. Her fair skin took on the faintest shade of red. Involuntarily, Jade gripped her sheets tightly as she let out a soft moan—

~ 4:56 AM ~

"André…" Jade sighed as she woke up, realizing it was all a dream. "What the hell?"

Confused and out of breath, she noticed she was also sweating profusely.

Wait... Sweating?! All because of a dream about André?

"This can't be happening," she panicked as she got up and turned off the PearPod. "No, this cannot be happening."

Standing in front of her vanity mirror, she gazed at her reflection. The song was still playing in her head.

I want you all to myself.

Jade couldn't take it anymore.

"Fuck!" she yelled, shoving the dresser's contents onto the floor. She collapsed into a crying fit and knew things were now more complicated than ever. Her once tiny feelings for André have now erupted into something unfathomable.

Chapter Text

~ Friday, November 20th - 5:03 AM ~

Jade West had just experienced something that horrified her. Something that has never happened before…

She had a very passionate dream about André Harris.

But believe it or not, that was the least of her worries. What petrified her was that she enjoyed the dream… even to the point where she moaned André's name.

How could she look at Beck and André the same after this dream?

"You're in love with Beck, not André," whispered Jade, trying to reassure herself. "André's just a friend. Only a friend."

She had to find something to get these thoughts out of her head. Something. Anything to keep her mind off of him. As Jade went through her movie collection, she came across one of her favorites: My Sweet Sixteen Massacre 2: Sweet Teen Screams. After watching the first fifteen minutes, Jade began to feel relaxed.

"So far, so good," she thought aloud, as the gym teacher in the movie was killed and left hanging from the basketball court's basket.

Eventually, Jade began to get sleepy, yet she quickly decided she needed to stay awake.

"I need some coffee," she said, going to the kitchen.

To Jade, a cup of coffee was the greatest thing in the world. She didn't know why she loved it so much, but she loved it.

As she waited, a thought crept into her mind.

Why am I now starting to like André… more than a friend?

He was only a good friend who rarely annoyed her, and it was true that Jade once had a small crush on him. But that was it. Nothing more, nothing less. So, where did it all start?

Once the coffee was done, Jade went back to her room and continued to watch the film.

One of her favorite scenes had started: The narcissistic cheerleader was being attacked by a swarm of wasps planted in her family's apartment by the killer. To escape the agony, the cheerleader leaps from her apartment balcony and lands in the pool. She survives the jump but is humiliated by the wasp stings, which turn her once-perfect face grotesque. 

As Jade watched the scene, something came to her mind.

Birthday party. Swimming pool. Humiliation. That's where all of this started... Beck's 14th birthday party.

Why would she have repressed this one particular memory?

It was only the first time she had met André Harris.

~ More Than Three Years Ago ~

~ Sunday, May 6th - 3:11 PM ~

It was a warm afternoon. Sunny, with a gentle breeze now and then.

Jade West was reluctantly on the way to Beck Oliver's house. You see, today was Beck's birthday, and even though the two had been together for about two months, Jade hated attending birthday parties. But for her new boyfriend, she made an exception.

Another reason why she was willing to go was because of all the girls who would be flirting with Beck at his party. Jade knew some girls wouldn't acknowledge that "He has a girlfriend" meant "He's off limits." But she couldn't worry about that right now, Jade had to focus on remembering how to get to his house.

Was it "turn right at the gas station, then go three blocks"? Or was it, "Go straight past the gas station, then go three blocks"?

"I'll just call him," sighed Jade as she dialed Beck's number on her PearPhone.

After waiting a minute and receiving no answer, Jade hung up and decided to go straight past the gas station. It didn't take long for her to see that she had chosen the right way. She began to see other kids with presents going down the street. Eventually, the group grew to the size of a large crowd. Jade knew Beck was popular, but not this popular. Minutes later, they finally reached Beck's house. But before she even walked through the front door, a guy with dreads rushed into her and caused her to fall.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't see you there," said the guy, extending his hand to her. "Are you alright?"

Jade, picking herself up from the ground, thought that the guy was being sarcastic.

"You asshole! Watch where the hell you're going," she spat, shoving him into the bushes.

"Hey! What's the matter with you?!" asked the guy. "I said I was sorry!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like I care," responded Jade, walking into the house.

There were so many people at this party, most of whom Jade didn't even know. After a while, she began to think she would never be able to find her boyfriend.

"Jade! Over here!" yelled Beck, who was outside by the pool.

He was talking with some friends when Jade walked up.

"I'm glad you made it," he said, as he hugged and kissed her, "Jade, these are some old friends of mine, Parker and Chester."

The two guys named Chester and Parker stood there and stared at Jade. Probably thinking she was the weirdest girl they'd ever seen.

"I thought you said you had a girlfriend, not a… whatever that is," laughed Parker.

"Yeah, I didn't know you lowered your standards and chose the Blair Witch over here," chuckled Chester.

"Hey, that's enough," said Beck, getting defensive. "I don't crack any jokes about any of your girlfriends."

"That's because none of ours are freaky looking," sneered Parker as he and Chester continued to laugh.

"It's alright, Beck. I'm pretty sure the stray dogs they date are ten times prettier than I am." Jade said sarcastically. "Speaking of which, aren't the two of you late for your dates at the animal shelter?"

Both Parker and Chester began to get angry. They both looked as if they were coming up with a quick remark, but then decided to leave.

"Bitch." muttered Chester as they left.

"Nah, that'll be the girls at the pound," smirked Jade, getting one last laugh.

"Don't listen to those jerks. Any real friend would see that you're beautiful, no matter what."

At that moment, Beck's dad approached them.

"Hello... Jade. Uh, Beck, your grandparents are on the phone," he said as he looked uncomfortably at Jade.

It was probably because the last time Jade was at their house, their dinner was ruined by her constant talk of blood and gore, and their friendly game of Life was turned into a discussion about how life always ends in death.

"Oh, okay. Jade, I'll be right back," said Beck as he left.

While Jade walked around the area, she noticed that Chester and Parker were following her.

"What the hell do you two want?" she asked, turning around to face them.

"Oh, not much," said Parker.

"Just one question: can you swim?" asked Chester.

"It's none of your business," she said, turning around to leave.

Without warning, Chester and Parker ran behind Jade, picked her up, and tossed her into the pool. The rest of the partygoers suddenly broke out in laughter. Not one of them tried to help Jade get out of the pool. She despised the sensation of being drenched while fully clothed. Despite her tough exterior, Jade was embarrassed on the inside.

I knew I shouldn't have come to this party. It was a huge mistake.

"No, no, no. You're gonna stay right there and swim for us," said Parker, preventing her from getting out.

"That's right, freak! You're gonna—" started Chester as someone pushed them into the pool.

Thank goodness it's Beck.

But it wasn't him. Beck was still in the house on the phone.

This guy was nothing like her boyfriend. This guy had dreadlocks.

"You!" Jade yelled, completely stunned.

"Yeah... It's me," the guy smiled.

Chapter Text

~ More Than Three Years Ago ~

~ Sunday, May 6th - 3:27 PM ~

"I don't need your help," muttered Jade, pulling herself out of the pool.

The guy with dreads smiled, "Sure, because things were going your way."

"Stop being such a smart ass." snapped Jade, frustrated at how things were going, "Get out of the way, I need to go dry off."

She rushed past the guy and made her way back into the house. Even though she was soaking wet, Jade didn't want anyone to see her tearing up. As she ran into the bathroom, she quickly locked the door and began sobbing.

What exactly was going on with Jade? She was the girl that no one wanted to piss off—the girl with the tough exterior. But to the naked eye, that's all that could be seen—someone who didn't let anything trouble her. Now, the girl on the inside was a different story.

After calming herself down, Jade removed her clothes, wrung them dry, and hung them from the shower curtain rod. Luckily, she found a bathrobe to wear while her clothes dried.

This is ridiculous! There's no way I can go back out there.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!

Jade seriously wasn't in the mood to be bothered.

"Fuck off!" she yelled, hoping that the person would walk away.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!

Sighing heavily, Jade ripped the door open. "What part of 'fuck off' do you not—"

But something stopped her. The presence of the guy with dreads bothered Jade.

"Look, before you yell at me, I came here to say I'm sorry," spoke the guy with dreads. "I saw a pretty girl who was minding her business, and then two jerks bothering her."

This was completely unexpected. Jade was reminded that this guy was the only one willing to assist her.

"Um, look… You don't have to apologize," said Jade, swallowing her pride. "I shouldn't have lashed out at you. I was angry and—"

"I get it. You'd rather defend yourself than let someone else protect you," he replied, with a sense of understanding that astonished Jade. "I embarrassed you even more, didn't I?"

"A little, but you were trying to help me. It just took me a while to appreciate it."

This made the guy with dreads smile.

"For what it's worth, even if I knew I would embarrass you... I would have still helped you."

"Why?"

He smiled again, this time with a slight blush. Quickly, he looked away. "Never mind. Just forget it."

Jade could tell he was lying. The constant smiling. The slight blushing. Calling her a pretty girl. It could only mean one thing.

"Look, I'm flattered, but I have a—"

"Boyfriend. I already know."

"You already know?"

"Yeah… he's my best friend."

The guy with dreads began to look guilty, but it quickly disappeared.

"That's the reason why I helped you," he continued. "I knew you were Beck's girl."

Well, that explains a lot. Doesn't it? There can't possibly be any other reason for him to help her. Is there?

"Oh…" said Jade, trying to move the conversation along, "You never told me your name."

"Sorry bout that. The name's André."

"Jade," smiled Jade, as she shook André's hand, "I don't know why I said that, you already know my name."

It was odd. Just five minutes ago, this girl was crying. Now, look at her! She felt happy and at ease, all because of this guy's kindness. However, something kept nibbling at her. Even after André had explained his actions, Jade suspected there was something else he wasn't telling her. She eventually decided that there were more important things to be concerned about, such as how she would dry her clothes.

"Uh... André, it was nice meeting you, but I gotta find a way to dry my clothes. You know, those soaking wet ones?" said Jade, gesturing towards the clothes hanging on the shower rod.

"Why don't you take those to the dryer?" asked André. "It's on the other side of the house. So no one will see you in a bathrobe."

"Thanks," said Jade, as she gathered her still-damp clothes and followed André.

As they walked through the empty part of the house, Jade thought of how things were going. Strange how things got better once André showed up. It was like he was her very own knight in shining armor.

More like a handsome knight with dreads.

This thought made Jade chuckle.

"What's so funny?" asked André as he opened up the door to the laundry room.

"Nothing… uh, are you sure it's okay for me to use their dryer?" asked Jade, trying not to blush.

"Sure, trust me."

Trust. The one thing Jade often had trouble with.

She'd only hoped that André wouldn't be another example for her to regret.

~ 4:12 PM ~

Lost in their conversation and forgetting their reason for being there, the two spent the last half hour enjoying themselves.

"That's ridiculous!" André exclaimed in response to Jade's story about the paperboy who harassed her, "But I can't say he didn't deserve it."

"Hey, I tried to warn him," chuckled Jade, clearly having a good time. "Come to my house sometime, and I'll show you where his shoe got stuck in the wet concrete."

BUZZER!

"Finally," Jade sighed, taking her warm and dry clothes out of the dryer.

"I should leave you to… get yourself together," said André, as he began to leave the room.

"Wait!"

Turning around, André saw Jade walking toward him.

She seemed hesitant. Almost as if she were trying to calm herself.

"Thank you for everything," Jade said as she held out her hand.

"No problem," André replied, shaking her hand.

After letting go, Jade said, "I guess I'll be seeing you later."

"Yeah… I guess so."

After Jade closed the laundry room door, André returned to the party. Not paying attention to anything around him, he bumped into Beck.

"Hey! Watch where you— Oh, nice to see you made it!" Beck exclaimed as three attractive girls stood behind him.

"You know I wouldn't miss your birthday," laughed André, as the two hugged, "Who are they?"

"Oh, this is Chloé, Lissa, and Karlee," answered Beck, gesturing towards the blonde, brunette, and raven-haired girls. "Karlee came from New York, while Lissa and Chloé came from Atlanta and Seattle."

"Wow, I didn't know you knew people that far out," André said, astonished.

"I don't. They somehow found out about this party," chuckled Beck. "Anyway, I've been meaning to introduce you to Jade."

"Oh, I've already met her." André smiled, "She's edgy… but also rather lovely."

Chapter Text

~ Present Day ~

~ Friday, November 20th - 5:15 PM ~

Honk-Honk!

André Harris was startled awake by the sudden sound of a car horn. He jumped up from the couch and looked out the window to see his mother waving from her car as she drove away to work. Waving back, André realized that he had been napping ever since he'd gotten home from school.

"Didn't mean to sleep for that long," he yawned as he stood up and stretched.

The school day had been particularly hectic with students ready for Thanksgiving break. André, especially, was exhausted from trying to complete all of his schoolwork in time.

Grabbing his phone off the coffee table, André saw that Tori and Jade had left him some messages. After showering and getting dressed, he decided to listen to them.

"Might as well listen to Tori's first," he said, scrolling through his phone.

{You have six unheard messages: First message…}

Tori: {Umm… whenever you get the chance… call me, okay? Bye.}

{Next message…}

Tori: {Okay, there's something I must get off my chest. Only I don't know whether I should tell you over the phone or— Mom, what is it?! Okay, I'm coming. I'll call you later. Bye.}

"Something off her chest?" André thought aloud, "What could she mean by that?"

{Next message…}

Tori: {Meet me at the park at 6. I'll be near the lotus flowers. *sighs* Bye.}

It was 5:23, so he had plenty of time to get there.

Time to listen to what Jade had to say.

{Next message…}

Jade: {… ...}

{End of message.}

It was strange, Jade was saying nothing and then hanging up.

{Next message…}

Jade: {… ... ...}

{End of message.}

Was she going to say anything at all?

{Next message…}

Jade: {*sighs* Be at the park at 5:30. I'll be by the boathouse.}

Looking at the time again, André quickly dashed out of the house and got into his car.

~ 5:41 PM ~

Once he arrived at the park, André rushed towards the lake. As he walked along the promenade and headed towards the boathouse, he searched for Jade. Eventually, he spotted the dark-haired girl sitting on a bench by some trees. What was peculiar was that Jade wore shades even though the sun was setting.

"'Bout time you got here," sighed Jade as she glanced at him. "You know I don't like to be kept waiting."

"Sorry about that. You know how traffic can be around here," André said as he sat by her. "So, what is it you need to tell me?"

Jade, for the first time, was at a complete loss for words. Whenever she would begin to say something, she quickly stopped herself.

So, André decided to say something first. "Jade, you're starting to worry me. I mean, whatever you have to tell me can't be that bad."

Jade stared at André with surprise and then quickly, with a look of frustration, "D-don't do that. Just stop."

This confused André. "Jade, seriously. What's wrong?"

As André placed his hand on her shoulder, Jade quickly turned around, "I like you, okay?!"

Shocked by what he was hearing, André was completely silent.

Fighting back tears, Jade continued, "I remember everything."

"Remember what?" he questioned, feeling more confused than before.

"Three years ago at Beck's birthday party? You and me in the laundry room?"

The look on André's face said it all. It was slowly coming back to him. The repressed feelings cascaded upon him like a rushing waterfall. Stunned, he had to sit down on the bench nearby.

"I can't believe it. All of those memories..." he chuckled, incredulously.

Finally giving in to her emotions, Jade removed her shades and cried, "W-we cannot be having these feelings for each other at all. We just can't."

Glancing toward her, André could see Jade's eyes welling with raw emotion as the tears streaked makeup down her face. If anything, it explained why she was wearing her shades. Jade couldn't bear to look him in the eyes and reveal this vulnerable side of her.

"Jade, when we were in the laundry room, I wanted to ask you out so badly." André explained, "But I couldn't."

Calming down a bit, Jade began listening intently.

"Over time, it became easier to bury these feelings... until that night we were alone in the recording studio," he continued. "Now everything's come flooding back and—"

"S-so what exactly do we do? I'm still with Beck..." Jade asked nervously as she wiped her tear-soaked eyes. "I mean, I'm not fuckin' naive to think I can have you both."

Sighing heavily, a thought came to André's mind. One that he hated but knew was the right choice.

"Jade... I think we should just be friends."

A couple of tears streaked down Jade's face.

"Even though you say you like me... You still love him." André sighed heavily before he continued, "Maybe one day— I don't know, but I don't see anything happening anytime soon."

"And what if that day never comes? What then?"

"Then all I can wish is for Beck to make you very happy."

A tear began to swell in André's eye, but he quickly wiped it away. Seeing this, Jade felt the overwhelming need to hug him. But she couldn't.

"I have to go. I have somewhere else to be," Jade said as she walked away from him.

This was honestly one of the worst days André had ever experienced, but then he remembered he was supposed to meet with Tori.

Looking at his phone, he saw it was already 5:52. Leaving the site of pure heartache, André began looking for her.

But unbeknownst to André and Jade, Tori was within earshot of their entire conversation. Arriving earlier than the other two, Tori saw them meet up and grew curious about what they were doing. After listening to what the two said, she sat quietly on a bench further down the promenade. Unsure of what to do next, Tori gazed blankly at the fountain lights that danced in the lake.

Chapter Text

~ Friday, November 20th - 5:55 PM ~

"Tori, there you are."

Caught up in a state where the outside world didn't exist, Tori had no clue that André was standing there. All that was on her mind was André and Jade's confession to each other.

It replayed over and over and over.

Why? Why does he love her?

"Tori… are you alright?"

For so long, they had wanted to be with each other. How can I compete with that?

"Tori!"

She woke up, startled at André's presence.

"Oh! Hey… I was deep in thought," she said, as he sat down with her.

"You had me worried there for a second," he replied. "So what was so important that we had to meet up?"

Tori knew she couldn't go with her original plan, which was to confess her feelings for André. She had to come up with something— quick!

"Yeah… I wanted to tell you that you should be seriously careful with how you handle things with Jade."

André felt bad hearing this after what had just happened.

"Wouldn't it be better if you found someone... less risky?" continued Tori, even though she knew the truth. "You know, a relationship where you don't have to sacrifice a friendship?"

"You're right. My friendship with Beck is more important than an affair with Jade." André answered, "I've decided to move on... no matter how hard it hurts."

André had to swallow hard while saying this. It was so disturbing to him.

Tori, however, felt relieved to hear him say this.

Finally! Maybe things can still go as planned.

"It's getting a little too gloomy around here." Tori said, standing up, "How about we brighten things up by going to the movies? My treat."

André would have rather gone back home and drowned in his sorrow.

"I appreciate it, but I'm not really in the mood," André sighed, looking down at his feet.

But Tori wouldn't give up. Grabbing his hands and dragging him to his feet, she ordered, "Well, you're not going to stay here and pout all night. We're going to see a movie, and that's final."

André didn't feel like arguing with Tori, nor did he want to upset her. Causing one girl to cry was enough for him.

"Okay, fine. I'll go. So long as I get to buy the snacks."

~ 6:27 PM ~

As the two arrived at the nearest movie theater, Tori became hopeful about how things would go for that evening.

We'll see an action flick. It'll liven him up. I'll try to keep his thoughts FAR away from Jade, and then when the time is right… I'll tell him.

"Two tickets for Fullmetal Daycare," she said, as the cashier gave her the two tickets.

"I didn't know you wanted to see that movie," said André, shocked by Tori's choice.

"I like action movies, too. The more violent, the better." Tori lied as the two ordered their drinks and popcorn. "Sure, I was a little uneasy about them, but I've grown to love them.

No, Tori. You've grown to love André. We all know it.

"Not gonna lie, I am starting to feel a lot better," said André as they sat down while the previews began to play.

"Glad to hear that," smiled Tori.

Once the movie finally started, André could slowly feel the thoughts of Jade slipping away.

Nothing is going to get me down. I'm gonna sit back, relax, and enjoy the night.

~ 6:33 PM ~

Even after driving around town to clear her mind, Jade couldn't shake the memory of what had just happened. After much denial, she admitted that she loved another guy... who happened to be her boyfriend's best friend.

She loved Beck. She did love him, but she loved André even more, making her sick.

As she continued to drive, she became nauseous once she remembered what André had told her.

"I think we should just be friends."

It killed her to hear him say that.

Exhausted by her current train of thought, Jade sighed, "I have to see Beck."

Once she arrived at his house and pulled into his driveway, Jade noticed him in the garage, fixing his car.

"This is quite the surprise," Beck smiled, stepping out and walking towards her. "I thought you were gonna be busy with your mom tonight."

"T-that's not important right now." Jade began as she fought back tears. "I have to tell you something."

Concerned for his girlfriend, Beck replied, "Sure, what is it?"

Jade was again at a loss for words as she stared into her boyfriend's eyes. "I-I was just at the park and..."

She then slowly began to cry again.

"Hey, what's wrong?" asked Beck as he held her. "What's been bothering you?"

The voice of André began ringing in her head.

"Just be friends."

It conflicted her mind so much. She couldn't take it anymore.

"...friends."

She snapped.

Lunging at Beck, Jade began kissing him passionately.

"I love you," she said, with a look of resentment.

"Whoa! I love you, too," said Beck, finally able to catch his breath.

Making their way over to the RV, the two continued to kiss each other with fury. Pushing Beck onto his bed, Jade began taking off her shirt and bra, and then got on top of him. Beck had no way of knowing what was in Jade's mind. And at the moment, he didn't quite care.

"Never seen you this intense before," he smirked as he grabbed a condom from the drawer under the bed.

"Shut up," she commanded, "Take off your shirt."

Taking off his shirt, Beck began kissing Jade once again as she started to take off his belt and pants.

She was angry. So very angry.

Confused. Fragile. Scared. There were too many adjectives that could describe how Jade West was feeling.

As she rode Beck, she found the sensation both soothing and painful.

"I think we should just be friends."

That's all she thought as she moved faster and faster.

Beck began to groan with pleasure as he drew her close to him. Jade kept grinding harder and harder, breathing heavily with each motion. She could feel herself climaxing and began to grip his back tightly. Beck, to be honest, didn't mind her nails piercing him. It only added to the excitement. Jade, however, was caught up in a maelstrom of emotions.

So he wants to be just friends? So be it.

Tensing up and inhaling sharply, Jade stopped grinding and then exhaled raggedly. The two tried to catch their breath as they fell back on the bed.

"That… that was insane," chuckled Beck. "Awesome, yet insane."

"Yeah… it was," Jade sighed as she rolled off him.

Within minutes, Beck had fallen asleep. Still wide awake, Jade grabbed her phone and scrolled through her photos. It wasn't until she came across a photo of her and André that she stopped to look at it. The photo was of them, drenched from their recent trip to the water park. They looked happy, which made Jade smile briefly. But soon that smile disappeared, and Jade became tearful again.

"André…" she cried.

Turning her phone off, she turned over and cried herself to sleep.

Poor Jade...

~ 9:56 PM ~

After watching what he considered "the funniest movie of the year" and eating delicious ice cream from The Polar Icecap, André was quite satisfied. Tori enjoyed the evening as well, especially since André didn't mention You-Know-Who.

No, not Voldemort.

Jade.

But from Tori's point of view, they were both the same.

As the two friends were ready to call it a night, they chatted for a moment in the parking lot of the ice cream parlor.

"Tori, I enjoyed tonight." André smiled as he leaned against his car. "You were right. I needed to get out and clear my head of all that bothered me."

"See what I mean? You should listen to me more often." Tori giggled as she brushed some hair in front of her face. "We should do this again soon."

"Definitely."

Out of nowhere, Tori kissed André, who immediately pushed her away.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Tori exclaimed, not entirely shocked by André's reaction.

André looked surprised at first, but then slowly saddened by it.

"Tori, I'm flattered but…" sighed André, "I seriously wish you didn't do that."

As André got into his car and drove off, Tori somberly walked over to her car.

Overwhelmed by the thoughts of her impulsive decision, she began to cry as she got in.

Why did I do that?! God, I'm such an idiot!

Even though she knew that André's heart was with Jade, she sadly could not contain her emotions.

Poor Tori…

Further down the road, André was seriously pissed off.

I finally decided to be just friends with Jade, and then Tori unexpectedly kissed me?! This is so fucking stupid!

HONK!

He was so upset that he angrily honked his car horn.

"Why is all of this happening now?! Jade and Tori. Tori and Jade," he spoke aloud, as he sat at an intersection, "Will this nightmare ever end?"

He sighed heavily as he stared at the never-ending red street light above him.

Poor André...

So, to sum up this entire situation:

Jade was in Beck's RV, crying to sleep because of her split feelings for Beck and André.

Tori was sobbing in the parking lot of The Polar Icecap after her spontaneous kiss and André's rejection.

And André was on his way home, annoyed that Tori and Jade wanted to be with him.

They were all in the nightmare of their own making, and only time would tell if they would ever wake up.

Chapter Text

~ Wednesday, December 7th ~

The Gang has splintered in the two weeks since that chaotic evening. They still hung out for lunch or whenever classes required it, but other than that, they mostly hung out in smaller groups. Jade spent most of her time with Beck and Cat. Tori hung out with Cat and Robbie. And André… well, he would mostly stay to himself. Although Beck, Cat, or Robbie would occasionally spend time with him.

It's funny how conflicting emotions can damage bonds between close friends. It's even funnier how you can get yourself out of one situation and end up in another.

Whenever André was near Jade, she ignored him. But if Beck were with her, she would find some way to flirt with her boyfriend. Sure, it was cruel, but André felt as if he had deserved it. As for André being around Tori, she would act busy and distracted or simply go somewhere else. He felt like he deserved that, too.

In the end, these feelings were killing his holiday season buzz. Although the upcoming deadline for his Creative Writing project wasn't helping much either. Normally, André would be happy writing a Christmas song. He loved the holiday season and the holly jolly feeling that came with it. But considering how great things have been going lately, he just wasn't in the mood.

It didn't help that he was occasionally distracted by thoughts of Jade and Tori, particularly those involving Tori.

André felt really bad that things had to go sour between him and his best friend.

Things can't go on like this anymore. I settled things with Jade. I now need to fix things with Tori.

~ 11:23 AM ~

As explained earlier, Tori has been trying to avoid being alone with André. This was simply because she was still embarrassed by the surprise kiss she had planted on him weeks ago. But deep down, she knew she would have to confront him someday.

Unfortunately, that day was today.

Sitting on the floor by her locker, Tori tried to study her notes for her English exam, but it was pointless.

I can't focus on anything! It'll be nice if I could have just a moment of clarity from—

"Tori, how are you?"

Looking up, she could see André standing before her.

"Mind if I sit down... and this time, can you please not run away?"

Tori closed her textbook and gestured for him to sit down.

Sighing anxiously, she spoke first.

"Look… I'm really, really sorry I kissed you, okay? It was wrong of me to come at you after your talk with Ja—."

Tori quickly realized that André had never told her about his moment with Jade under the park tree.

"Uhh…" she uttered, turning red.

"How did you know about me and Jade? Tori... you were there, weren't you?"

She couldn't lie quickly enough and decided to tell the truth.

"Yes, I was there. I arrived earlier than I said, and saw you and Jade talking. So I grew curious and listened in, but I did it only because I was concerned… Please don't be mad."

André wanted to be angry, but he knew better. He wanted to mend things with Tori, not further the silence between them. Two weeks were enough for him.

"I'm not mad," he said, calmly, "So I guess you know everything now, huh?"

"Yeah… but there's one thing that you need to know," said Tori, fumbling with her pen. "I haven't exactly been seeing anyone, as I told you. In fact, I haven't been out on a date since I broke up with Steven."

André was surprised. He was confused about why Tori would lie about this.

"So when I asked you out that night, you lied and said you were dating someone... Why?" 

Looking down, Tori was quiet for a moment, "Because it was Jade's idea for you to ask me out."

"Oh..." said André, realizing where he went wrong. "I didn't mean to make it sound like she influenced me—."

"I understand. You were trying to move on."

André laid his head back on the lockers and sighed, "Tori, for us to have something, I'd have to be completely over Jade, but as of now... I'm nowhere near that point.

Tori hated every bit of what was said, but it was what she needed to hear.

"You deserve someone whose heart would be truly yours, because right now... I'm not that guy." André continued as he spoke from his heart, "And I've realized how much I've taken our friendship for granted. That's why I'm hoping we can remain friends."

For a moment, there was complete silence between the two. But after some deep thought, Tori sighed.

"I understand. I may not like it, but I understand. Things were simpler when we were just friends, and I can't tell you how much I've missed those days."

André nodded in agreement.

Holding out her hand, Tori smiled, "Friends?"

Returning his best friend's smile, André replied, "Friends," and shook Tori's hand.

"What are you guys up to?"

Tori and André quickly looked up to see Beck and Jade standing there.

"Nothing… just talking, that's all," said Tori, getting up.

"Yeah, like she said. Just talking." André added, getting up as well.

"Okay…" Beck replied, with a curious expression, "Anyway, are you two still coming to my Christmas party?"

"Wouldn't miss it!" smiled Tori.

"I don't know if I can make it this year. I'm still trying to get this Christmas song together." André replied as he noticed Jade gazing at him.

"That sucks." she grinned, while not losing eye contact, "Everyone knows it's not a Christmas party without you."

It was strange how she was referring to him. André could have sworn Jade was upset with him, but he couldn't tell what was going through her mind.

"She's right, you make every Christmas party exciting," added Beck. "I even have my cousin Aislinn coming from Manitoba. She's bringing her deluxe sound system to the party, and I know you'll have fun with that.

Even Tori had to join in on the prodding, "Not to mention all of the girls from other schools who will be attending. It would be a shame to deny them the chance to hear you sing."

After thinking for a moment, André finally gave in. "Fine! I'll come to the party. Ya happy?"

"Very," Jade smiled deviously.

"Can't wait to see you there," said Beck as he and Jade left.

André felt uncomfortable with how Jade had been staring at him. He had a feeling she was plotting something sinister for him.

But what?

What exactly was Jade planning, and what was up with the complete 180° she just pulled?

Only time would tell, and André was terrified. 

~ 3:02 PM ~

The school dismissal bell rang. Students began to exit the classrooms and made their way to their lockers.

"What do you think Tori and André were really talking about?" asked Beck as he got some books out of his locker.

"I don't know. Why do you ask?" Jade replied, mindlessly flipping through the pages of her textbook.

"Well... I've always wondered why they never hooked up."

SLAM!

The sound of Jade closing her textbook rang throughout the hallway. "What do you mean?"

"I just always thought they would make a nice couple," Beck answered, closing his locker. "They've always looked great together. They have insane chemistry. And sometimes the best relationships start as great friendships."

"That doesn't mean they would be perfect together."

"That may be so, but you can't deny that they sometimes give off romantic vibes."

"Since when are you concerned about their relationship status?"

"Uh, ever since I noticed that most of their relationships don't end well," replied Beck, placing his arm around Jade. "I mean, c'mon, don't you think that's kinda sad?"

As the two began to walk out of the school, Jade responded, "Yeah, it is… but Tori's not right for André. He could do so much better."

"Wow. Don't you think that's a bit harsh?"

"Not at all," answered Jade, as they got into Beck's car. "And why are you siding with Tori so much?"

"I'm not siding with anyone; I just don't understand why you're so negative about this."

"I'm not being negative. I'm just being honest," stated Jade as they drove off. "André's a really great guy. He's talented, dependable, funny, thoughtful... sweet. I-I mean, he deserves better."

"Okay, so if not Tori, then who?"

Jade wished she could yell "Me!" but she knew better and blurted out, "Lana Cooper! She would be perfect for him."

Beck was in disbelief. "Lana Cooper?! Robbie's kleptomaniac cousin? Are you being serious?"

Jade didn't know what to say. "She may have been expelled from H.A., but I think she's… capable of stealing… André's heart."

Beck looked even more confused by this. "Okay, just forget I even brought up this conversation."

He turned up the radio and focused on driving.

Relieved, Jade looked out the passenger-side window.

Lana Cooper? I seriously couldn't think of anyone else?! Ugh, and what was André talking to Tori about? Were they really thinking about getting together?!

Jade began feeling even more conflicted than ever before. One minute, she hated André for suggesting they only be friends. The next minute, she becomes jealous of seeing him talk to other girls. At times, Jade acknowledged that her feelings had clouded her judgment. Sure, she wanted to stay with Beck, but she also wanted to be with André. However, at the moment, Jade felt more aversion than affection towards André.

So now she was planning something big to surprise him at the party.

A very special Christmas present he would never forget.

Chapter Text

~ Friday, December 9th - 7:09 PM ~

André was lying on his couch, unsure about going to the party. He worried about what Jade had up her sleeve and whether he was making a big fuss over nothing.

She was acting too calm when she talked to me. I could feel something disturbing build up inside of her.

Staring at the ceiling fan, he contemplated what he should do. 

Should I stay or should I go?

He wanted to go to this party. All his friends were going, and the previous Christmas parties had been spectacular. But on the other hand, he was worried about what vindictive scheme Jade planned to unleash on him. Many vile and cruel punishments ran through his head, ranging from filling his pants with fire ants to pouring Ipecac into his drink.

For those who don't know what Ipecac is, it's a liquid that causes you to vomit uncontrollably.

Better to be vomiting uncontrollably than to be poisoned.

He then started to think about the possibility of Jade poisoning him. But that was ridiculous, Jade wouldn't poison him… would she?

"That's it! I'm not going! I'm definitely not going," he stated, continuing to lie down. "They can all have fun without me."

DING-DONG!

"Now what?" asked André, getting off the couch and heading towards the front door.

To his surprise, it was Robbie and Beck.

"What are you doing here?" André asked as the two entered the house. "Shouldn't you two be at the party?"

"We could ask you the same thing," said Beck. "Are you still coming to the party?"

"No, I can't… I'm not really in the mood," lied André, trying to sound serious.

"No, no, no. Beck and I knew you would try something like this," responded Robbie, as he and Beck grabbed André and forced him outside. "You've been depressed for weeks."

"And this party will be the perfect way to make you feel better," added Beck, locking Andre's front door and carrying him towards the car.

"Guys, seriously. I'm busy. I have too much homework. Um... my grandma needs me to help her paint the oranges," pleaded André, trying to come up with any reason not to go to the party.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're still going." Robbie said, as they finally got André in Beck's car, "Trust me, it's going to be phenomenal!"

André decided there was no point in fighting it. He realized that Beck and Robbie were right; he needed something to cheer him up. And nothing brings more cheer than a Christmas party!

~ 7:15 PM ~

As they pulled up in Beck's driveway, André continued to think about how things would go at the party.

I'll avoid her. It's as simple as that.

When they finally entered the massive backyard, André was shocked to see how many people were there. There had to have been hundreds of people there. Some of them didn't even go to Hollywood Arts. Some didn't even live in the same state. It was that much of an extravaganza.

The first familiar face André recognized was Cat. She was particularly easy to spot as she wore a Christmas stocking cap wrapped in neon lights and carried a large, over-stuffed bag.

"Wow, you sure do look… festive," spoke André, as Cat walked towards them.

"Thanks! I got this bag from my brother ever since he got fired."

"Oh yeah, wasn't your brother the mall Santa?" asked Robbie.

"He used to be, but ever since he did some things, the cops arrested him."

"Exactly what did he do?" questioned Beck.

"Well, it involved some of the mall elves, a rabbi, a toaster, two reindeer, a soccer mom, a stolen van, a satellite dish, and a lot of peanut butter."

Knowing he would regret hearing the full story, André said, "Okay, I think we get the point."

Rustle... Rustle...

They were shocked to see that the bag Cat carried was moving.

"What's in the bag?" asked Robbie.

"To be honest, I have no clue." Cat smiled, "Have a very merry Christmas!"

As Robbie and Cat disappeared among the other partygoers, André spotted Jade walking toward him.

"I have to use the bathroom," he said as he ran into the house.

"What's the matter with him?" Jade asked as she walked up to Beck and kissed him.

"Apparently, he had a mighty need to use the bathroom," replied Beck, with his arm around her. "So, how's the party going?"

"Pretty good, but I predict things will get rather intense as the night goes on." Jade smiled deviously.

Not sure what she meant, Beck said, "Okay…" and the two went to join the others in the house.

~ 9:41 PM ~

After hours of partying, which included a fiery duet with Tori, André decided to take a breather, snacked on some Christmas cookies, and hung out by the big Christmas tree. Sure, he was still on the lookout for any tricks that Jade might pull, but he started to feel like maybe it was nothing at all.

"Hey, André."

Horrified by her voice, André turned to see that Jade had snuck behind him.

"Jade! H-h-hi!" he stammered, calming down from the mini heart attack he'd just had.

"Are you avoiding me?" Jade asked in a sing-songy tone, "Because whenever I get near you, you always have some reason to leave."

André was trying to keep himself from panicking.

"N-no, it's just that things are extremely hectic around here," he lied, "So I haven't had time to talk to you."

"Oh, okay… well, here's some eggnog," said Jade, handing André a cup. "I hope you enjoy it."

As she walked off, she continued to smirk at him.

Jade had such a lovely smile, but at times, it looked rather malicious. 

When she was out of sight, André tossed the drink over his shoulder, not knowing that he had accidentally hit Sinjin.

"Mmm, pumpkin spice," Sinjin muttered as he wiped his face.

~ 11:41 PM ~

Within the past couple of minutes, the crowd had started to diminish. As he was getting ready to call up a Drft driver, André received a text from Beck.

[Need help. A drunk guy passed out in the RV.]

It's not one hell of a party unless you have a passed-out drunk somewhere.

André laughed at this and walked out the back door.

The night had gone spectacularly well. He had the most fun in quite some time and got some numbers from some pretty fine ladies. There was one, a girl named Hope, who seemed particularly interested in him.

Might have to call her up later.

André had just had the time of his life, and now he was about to help his best friend get a drunk guy out of his RV.

Talk about a hilarious way to end a great night.

Before he was about to knock on the door, André noticed that the door was slightly open. Not seeing this as strange, he opened the door.

"Okay, I'm here. Where's this...?"

But he couldn't finish his sentence. He rushed out of the RV and didn't look back.

Traumatized, André tried to shake off what he witnessed, but the image was burned into his mind.

~ 11:49 PM ~

After being dropped off by his Drft driver, André rushed into his house and got a drink of water. He felt like he wanted to throw up after what he had just seen. When he got to his room, he sat on his bed and tried his hardest to forget what had happened. He took out his phone and looked at the text that Beck had sent him.

"Why would he text me to come to his RV if—"

And it was at that moment that André realized the ugly truth…

Jade smiled as she read the text message on the phone.

Everything went exactly as planned.

She quickly deleted it as she heard someone coming toward the RV.

"That's the last of them. Everyone is gone now," stated Beck as he came in. "Have you seen my phone?"

"You left it on the table," replied Jade, handing it to him.

"That… that was weird, wasn't it?" asked Beck, as he buttoned up his shirt. "I wonder what caused André to burst in here like that."

"I have no clue," said Jade, trying not to laugh. "Maybe he was looking for you or something."

"Could be." Beck responded, "I thought you locked the door."

Jade was waiting for Beck to ask this. She had every little detail planned out.

Without hesitation, she answered, "That lock has been pretty faulty. You really need to get it fixed."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. It has been acting up lately," said Beck, sitting by Jade. "You should get dressed so I can take you home."

After Beck left the RV, Jade began to get her clothes together.

Nothing could wipe away her smile, and it was all thanks to André.

"Son of a bitch!" André yelled, throwing his phone at the wall, "This was her plan… she wanted me to see the two of them… ugh!"

He paced around his room and began to collect his thoughts.

That look on her face. She was waiting for me to come into the RV. Her eyes— Fuck! She was enjoying it and… what kind of sick twisted game is she playing?

After calming down a bit, André sighed, "This is so fucked up."

~ 11:58 PM ~

Pulling up to Jade's house, Beck kissed her and said, "I'll call you in the morning; I have to spend the rest of the night getting a pest out of the RV."

"What do you mean?"

"A cricket found its way through the door that was open," Beck explained irritably.

"Good luck with that," Jade replied, almost nonchalantly.

"Thanks. I'm gonna need it."

Getting out of his car, Jade walked up her walkway and waited for Beck to be out of sight. Once he was out of view, she turned around and began walking down the street. She had someone important to visit first, and they were only a few houses away.

~ Saturday, December 9th - 12:03 AM ~

Calmer than he was earlier, André watched cartoons while lying on the couch in the den. But not even the zaniness of Tom and Jerry could distract him from what he had seen earlier.

DING-DONG!

Turning off the TV, André got up to answer the door.

Hmm, Mom probably got off work early again.

When he opened the door and saw who was standing there, his rage returned.

"Hi there."

As André began to close the door, Jade placed her foot out to stop it.

"Isn't that a bit rude?" she smirked, pushing the door open and strutting into the house.

"You're one to talk, especially after that stunt you pulled."

"Stunt? Why, I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Cut the bullshit! You took Beck's phone, texted me to come to the RV, and then—"

"Go ahead… say it."

"You're disgusting."

"Aww, don't be shy. Just say it. You saw the two of us fuckin' around, and it made you soooo jealous."

In disbelief at what he was hearing, André had to walk away from her.

"God, your expression said it all!" taunted Jade, as she stalked after him. "You wanted to be him so badly, didn't you?"

"I knew you were capable of many things, but this… this is your lowest point yet," stated André, turning around to face her. "But what I still don't understand is why. Why are you so angry at me? What the fuck did I do to deserve this?!"

"BECAUSE YOU REJECTED ME!"

Within an instant, Jade's mischievous smile had vanished and was replaced by a look of pure rage.

As he slowly got over his shock, André became aware of the tears streaming down her face. At first, he assumed it was just her acting, but something didn't feel right.

"All of these feelings I have for you, and you say so casually, 'Let's just be friends.'"

"What did you think I would say? Did you think I would jeopardize my friendship over a fling?!"

Jade huffed and walked away from him.

After a moment of sobbing, she turned around and shouted, "I confessed everything to you! Everything, but you didn't care at all! *sniffs* And it k-killed me to have to go through that!"

André stood there, remaining silent.

"That's why I did this. That's why I came up with this grand scheme. I had to hurt you the same way you hurt me."

Hearing this, André walked over to her.

"For your information, I did care. I knew things would be more difficult now that our feelings were out in the open. But I knew it was best if we stayed just friends, not because I wanted to, but because I had no choice."

Jade felt strangely sad. That rage-filled, ecstatic feeling had vanished. Somehow, André's words had given her some clarity for the first time in weeks.

"André, I—"

"Let me finish… After tonight, I regret believing anything meaningful could ever happen between us. Now that I've seen how despicable you can be, I don't want anything to do with you."

André walked over to the front door and opened it.

Jade looked completely flabbergasted. She couldn't comprehend what was happening.

"You can't be serious…"

"I'm dead serious. Don't speak to me. Don't text me. Don't call me. Don't even look at me. I'm done."

"N-no, wait… this isn't supposed to be happening. You're not supposed to be like this!"

"So, exactly how am I supposed to be? What exactly is my final part to play in your big plan?"

Jade began feeling confused and scared. "I-I don't know! I didn't want you to hate me… I can't be here anymore."

Rushing out the door, Jade quickly made her way back home.

Not concerned for her, André shut the door and sat back on the couch.

I'm done with all of her bullshit. If peace of mind meant not being friends with Jade, so be it.

~ 12:16 AM ~

Once Jade got home, she ran to her room. Sobbing uncontrollably, she curled up in her bed.

Nothing more could be said from her.

It was such a miserable sight.

Her ploy of revenge backfired on her.

She continued to cry until she was finally able to go to sleep. But not even her dreams could wake her from this nightmare.

Chapter Text

~ Monday, December 14th - 9:21 AM ~

The weekend was over, games had been played, and people had been burned. But that didn't bother André at all. He had other things to worry about, like the D on his Creative Music project.

The song was good— No, better than good. It was perfect! How in the hell could it get a D?! A D?!

He also had to come up with the perfect gift for Beck.

Anything's better than going Christmas yodeling with Sikowitz.

But even though André had these two issues to deal with, he was thankful to be free of the one burden that had plagued him for months.

~ 1:12 PM ~

Jade sat quietly in the school's library. She aimlessly scanned the pages of her textbook as her focus drifted elsewhere.

How could I do something like that? What's wrong with me?

The aftermath of last Friday night had snapped Jade out of her rage-filled delusion, and now she was dealing with the crushing reality.

The look of disappointment bothered her the most. She got enough of that from her father, but when it came from someone like André… it was devastating.

I wanted to make him pay. I wanted him to hurt! But when it happened… I didn't like what I saw.

At that moment, Jade received a text from Sikowitz, along with the name of her Secret Santa recipient.

"Vega?! Seriously?" huffed Jade, as she stared at the message, "You've got to be freakin' kidding me."

A student who was trying to study loudly shushed Jade.

"Oh, shush yourself!" she snapped, gathering her things and storming out of the library.

Sikowitz is fuckin' nuts if he thinks that I'm getting Tori a gift—

Not paying much attention to where she was going, Jade accidentally bumped into André. Wanting nothing to do with her, he simply kept walking. It was like Jade didn't exist to him or something. Deeply, she felt upset that things had turned out like this. It was all her fault, and she only hoped to fix the mess she had made.

~ 4:02 PM ~

[Perfect Christmas Gifts for Guys]

Read the title of the article Tori was reading. She recently found out she was André's Secret Santa and was desperately trying to find The Perfect Gift.

"Does André like toasters?" Tori asked herself, scrolling down the list of gift ideas, "Maybe a nice toaster would be perfect for him."

After a while, Tori realized how stupid she had sounded.

A toaster? Really? What's next? A pair of socks? Spoons?

Tori was at her wits' end trying to find André something.

"It has to be meaningful. It has to be spectacular."

But it was impossible. No gift seemed to be good enough for André in her eyes. It wasn't until she saw an advertisement for Color Me Pot that she came up with an idea.

Looking for the perfect gift for that special someone this holiday season?!

Then how about a gift that comes straight from the heart?!

For this weekend only, get 50% off any ceramic item of your choice!

"Straight from the heart?"

Finally coming up with what she thought was the perfect gift, Tori rushed out of the house but returned shortly when she remembered something.

"My car is in the shop," she said, as she ran upstairs, "Mom! I could use a ride to the mall!"

~ Wednesday, December 16th - 5:55 PM ~

André was sitting on his front porch, quietly strumming his guitar. The rain softly poured outside. He loved this type of weather because it had a soothing effect on him… one he'd been craving for the past couple of days.

Along with that, he was finally done with Jade. Out of sight, out of mind. However, being Beck's Secret Santa made him struggle with ignoring You-Know-Who.

No, not Voldemort. Haven't we been over this before?

What kind of gift would he like?

Gazing at the calming rain, an idea crept up on André. He chuckled at the simplicity of it.

He could use a good night's sleep. Something to calm him down, especially with that cricket in the RV...

"That's it!" he yelled cheerfully, "All I have to do is get the cricket out of his RV. It's perfect!"

It also didn't hurt that the gift wouldn't cost him a penny. Besides, this wasn't a contest to see who gave the most expensive gift. So you can't say that André is being cheap here.

With his mind still on gift-giving, André began wondering who his Secret Santa was and what surprise they might have for him.

As long as they don't gift me something lame... like socks.

~ 6:21 PM ~

Jade has been sitting in her driveway for the past five minutes. She was originally going to stop by André's to talk to him, but she quickly decided against it.

I can't face him, at least not now. I don't want to see that look on his face again.  That look of disappointment. That look of regret. I can't put myself through that again.

Wanting to distract herself, Jade took out her phone and began strolling around The Slap, where she came across the posts that Tori recently updated.

Ugh, she's still whining about not finding André the right gift, and who the hell buys someone a ceramic guitar for Christmas? I swear she is so clueless!

Jade began to think of exactly why she had to give Tori a present. Why couldn't it have been André? She would have easily known what to give him, but the chances of that happening were very— Wait! Maybe she could do it. At that moment, Jade finally figured it out.

My gift to Tori would also be a hidden gift to André… damn, I'm good!

Jade started her car, pulled out of the driveway, and drove to Tori's house.

I finally have the solution to both of my problems. I'm not wasting this one chance!

~ 6:36 PM ~

When Jade finally got to Tori's house, she wasn't surprised to see that, like always, something weird was going on. Robbie and Trina were spraying god-knows-what on a Christmas tree, and Tori was… well, being Tori.

"Okay, so what's this plan of yours?" Tori asked.

"You know how André's song got a D, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, the plan is to persuade his teacher to give him a better grade."

"Sweet! How?"

"Me, you, and Cat are gonna sing his song… in front of the entire school."

Tori's eyes opened up.

"That's brilliant. Like really brilliant."

"That's not all, we'll have tons of Christmas decorations, a band to perform with us, and backup dancers."

"Jade, you're a lifesaver!" rejoiced Tori, as she hugged her.

Jade felt it was fair to allow the hug for only a few seconds, and then quickly pushed her afterward.

"Just because I'm your Secret Santa doesn't mean that I like you," she stated, "To say the least, I tolerate you."

Not letting Jade ruin this wonderful moment, Tori replied, "Well, I tolerate you, too."

"Good!"

"Fine!"

"Whatever," scoffed Jade, "Anyway, we have a day and a half to get the band and dancers together, decorations set up, and choreography done."

"But how do we get André's song?"

"I got it covered. Cat's gonna get a copy from him without drawing suspicion."

"Are you sure Cat can do this?"

"Let me worry about that. We gotta start preparing for this if we want it to be perfect."

Even though Tori was eager to get started, she wondered why Jade was so willing to participate in this plan. She understood the idea was Jade's gift to her, but could there have been an ulterior motive for this?

When Tori later asked Jade about it, her only answer was: "Let's just say I'm trying to get back on his good side."

His good side? What could that mean?

But Tori decided to put that aside and continue planning the big surprise. There were more pressing matters at hand.

~ Friday, December 18th - 2:05 PM ~

It was an hour after the spectacular Christmas performance. The students were ready to leave for Christmas break, and Tori was still excited about helping André pass this semester with an A.

"Hey!" smiled André, walking up to Tori as she gathered her books. "Just wanted to tell you thanks… again."

"You don't have to keep thanking me," Tori responded, closing her locker and slinging her book bag over her shoulder. "I was just fulfilling my Secret Santa duties."

"I know, but you didn't have to go that hard with it," smiled André, as he hugged Tori, "I can't tell you how lucky I am to have a friend like you."

As much as Tori wanted to enjoy the moment, she couldn't shake the fact that it wasn't entirely her idea. Slowly, she realized it was more than enough to have played a role in André's smile. Jade may not have been her favorite person, but even she deserved to have her efforts be known.

Pulling away from him, Tori confessed, "André, I have to tell you something."

~ 4:25 PM ~

Sitting under the large oak tree in her backyard, Jade was drawing the scenery of her mom's garden. The cool air and cloudy skies were the perfect weather for her to relax outside. This period of tranquility grew even stronger as her mind drifted towards André. Even if he never knew she was the brains behind that performance, Jade didn't care. She was just glad to know she helped make him happy again. Looking at her sketch, Jade noticed she had unknowingly begun drawing André's name. She smiled as she closed her sketchpad.

"Jade."

She looked up, surprised to see André walking towards her.

Getting up, Jade uttered, "André… Hi…"

For several seconds, it was quiet. The silence was broken when André said, "Um, Tori told me everything."

"Yeah?" responded Jade, with an air of hopefulness that André had never heard from her before.

"And... I thought it was incredibly sweet of you to do that."

"I-I didn't do it for the praise," Jade clarified as she stepped towards him. "I just couldn't stand seeing you so upset. Especially since I caused most of your grief with… well, you know."

"Yeah. Let's not talk about that ever again." André chucked, as Jade laughed with him.

After their brief moment of levity, it was once again quiet between them.

This time, Jade broke the silence.

Choking back tears, she said something that was quite the rarity for her. "André... *sniffs* I know I fucked up, okay? And I'm not asking for your forgiveness, but I just needed you to know that I'm so sorry... for everything."

Hearing this, André pondered carefully about how strange a sight he was witnessing. I mean, this was the Jade West, tearfully apologizing to him. For as long as he has known her, she has always been strictly unapologetic, sometimes even for the pettiest things. Yet here she was. Not the person who plotted a revenge scheme, but instead, someone who went above and beyond to redeem themself.

"I had no right to hurt you the way I did." Jade continued, clutching her sketchpad, "We were put into a difficult situation, and you made the right choice. And even though I still have these feelings for you... I should have accepted the choice and moved on."

Deep down, Andre felt so relieved to witness this. She was showing that side of her that he deeply fell in love with. The side that he once feared was just an illusion he made up. But she was still there. 

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that." André sighed as a grin eased its way onto his face.

Delighted to see his smile again, Jade wiped her tears and eagerly returned his gesture. Her once heavy heart was now uplifted by his heartwarming charm. She couldn't deny that she missed this feeling for so long. The same feeling that warmed her over in that laundry room all those years ago.

"Come here," André laughed as he opened out his arms.

Without hesitation, Jade rushed into his embrace. As they tightly held each other, the two friends couldn't help but feel as if all was right with the world again. The icy tension that once surrounded them had melted away, and all that lingered was the flickering flame that gasped for air.

"You forgive me?" she asked with a teary smile.

"I forgive you, Jade. I forgive you."

Chapter Text

~ Thursday, April 7th - 7:46 PM ~

"Exactly what is your problem?"

"My problem? My problem is I'm tired of hearing you bitch about that dumb game show. You've been at it all day."

"Well, can you blame me? We can't have one conversation without you yelling at me."

"Just stop with it. You're giving me a headache."

"Not as bad as the one I've had all day."

It was your typical late April evening, and Beck and Jade were driving around looking for their friends.

Friends who were trying to keep as much distance from them as possible. Why, you ask?

For several days, the couple has been at each other's throats. Sure, they were known for their occasional bickering… but this was different. Almost every time you saw them together, chances are they would be arguing, and last night didn't make things any better. During Sinjin's game show, Beck admitted he wasn't happy with their relationship. It was an embarrassing moment for Jade, which only furthered her bitterness.

"You just keep going on and on and on about our problems."

"Well, aren't you tired of arguing? 'Cause I know I am."

"Couples argue. We're arguing. This is normal. Get over it!"

Beck grew tired of hearing Jade completely twist the conversation around. It was like she didn't want to take anything seriously.

"Ugh, you just… drive me crazy sometimes."

"So what are you saying? You wanna break up?"

"Jeez, you sound like a broken record! 'You wanna break up? You wanna break up? You wanna break up?' It's annoying."

This enraged Jade even more.

"You did not just mock me."

"Uh, I just did."

"Listen, smartass, I'm sick of your whining. This conversation is over."

"Fine by me."

The brief moment of silence was something that Beck hadn't felt in a long time. He only wished it lasted longer.

"Where the hell are we going anyway?" asked Jade.

"We're going to Tori's house. They're bound to be there." Beck answered as he tried to focus on driving and avoid another argument.

But Jade didn't need Beck to start a fight. She could do that herself.

"Why do you even care about hanging out with them?"

"Because they're our friends, that's why."

"Who gives a shit about them?"

"So you're honestly saying you don't care about them?"

"Yup."

"Well... what about André?"

Hearing that name caused Jade to hesitate. She found it hard to think. It didn't take long before Beck caught on.

"So you do care for someone!"

Jade began to panic. She had to come up with some excuse. Something to get Beck off her case, but her mouth wasn't moving. For the first time in days, Jade was speechless.

"I'm glad you at least care about one of your friends."

…one of your friends…

"Uh… yeah. André's a good friend," sighed Jade, relieved that her panic attack had ended.

That was too damn close.

To keep the conversation from going back to André, Jade did the only thing she knew would keep the focus away from him.

"Why can't we go somewhere else? I don't feel like seeing the Prissy Princess in all her prissiness."

"Why must you always pick on Tori?"

"Why must you always defend Tori?

"Please don't start this again."

From that point on, Beck and Jade constantly bickered about numerous things. Their argument didn't even falter when they finally reached Tori's house.

"Let me hold your keys. I left my phone in the car," ordered Jade as they stopped halfway up the front lawn.

"Why do you always forget something in the car?" asked Beck, handing Jade his car keys.

"Because I fuckin' can!" she shouted, unlocking the passenger side door and grabbing her phone from the cup holder.

Once Jade retrieved her phone, the two continued towards the front door.

"I bet you anything that all of them are in there," Beck stated as he rang the doorbell.

"When are you going to realize that I... Don't... Care?" said Jade, wishing she were somewhere else.

"Can you please get over yourself? For once?" Beck sighed as the front door opened.

Jade had a feeling that tonight would be horrible. If only she knew how bad it would become.

~ 8:03 PM ~

"1!" she yelled, waiting for Beck to come out.

He knows I'm not joking around. He'll come out soon.

"2!"

He'll open up that door around 3 or 4.

"3!"

Here it comes. He's about to open the door.

But the door didn't open.

He'll open it at 4, I'm sure of it.

"4!"

The door still didn't budge. Jade began to worry.

Come on, Beck… you know I'm being serious.

"5!"

I'm halfway to ten. He's gotta be toying with me. Typical.

"6!"

Jade felt herself choking up a little when she said--

"7!"

She was in disbelief. She'd never seen Beck behave like this before.

He should be out here already.

"8!"

Beck, where are you?

"9!"

Beck…

"10..."

She stood there waiting for her boyfriend to open the door. After a brief moment, she reached for the door handle, hoping that Beck would open it. But these hopes were quickly dashed, and she decided to leave. To her, it was the only way to spare the embarrassment from increasing further.

~ 10:31 PM ~

Jade spent the next few hours driving around the city and hanging out at some of her favorite spots. She tried to clear her mind of what had happened hours earlier, but found it difficult to do so in Beck's car. So she brought it to his house and left it in the driveway. As she walked down the sidewalk, Jade began thinking about what was happening and what she should do.

Is this happening? Did we really break up... for good?

She didn't feel like going home because of the many memories she shared with Beck there. Which was the last thing she needed to be reminded of, so she decided to call home.

{Hello?}

"Hey Mom... Listen, um. I'm spending the night over at Cat's, okay?"

Just by hearing her voice, Mrs. West could tell something was bothering her daughter.

{Jade, are you alright?}

Fighting back tears, Jade replied, "I-I'm good, I'm good. Things didn't work out with Beck, so I'm trying to clear my head."

{Are you sure? Do you want to talk about it or...}

"Yes, I'm sure. I'm fine. I'll see you in the morning."

{Okay… Remember to be safe over there, and tell Cat I said 'hi.'}

"I will."

{Love you.}

"Love you, too."

{Bye.}

Once Jade got off the phone with her mom, she called a Drft driver to pick her up. After being driven to the neighborhood where Cat lived, Jade was dropped off at a pale blue bungalow.

The only thing was... this wasn't Cat's house.

~ 10:58 PM ~

André Harris was getting ready for bed. He just had a very long day and witnessed a drama-filled night, so he looked forward to finally getting some sleep. But as he lay in bed, he couldn't shake the thought of what had happened earlier that night.

Jade and Beck broke up… and I had nothing to do with it. We could all see it coming from a mile away, yet it still was a surprise.

André turned over to face his window.

I'm not even sure how to feel about this. I'm upset to see the two of them like this, but—

Tap-tap-tap... Tap-tap-tap...

André could see the silhouette of someone projected against the curtains. Quickly jumping out of bed and turning on the lights, he grabbed his old baseball bat from the closet and walked cautiously toward the window. Slowly pulling back on the curtains, André prepared for the worst.

Gotta be ready for anything. Gotta be ready to swing!

But as he pulled the curtain back, he noticed it wasn't a burglar at the window but a troubled, dark-haired girl.

"Jade?" asked André, putting down the bat and opening the window. "What are you doing here?"

As Jade climbed through, André could tell she was trying to hide that she had been crying.

"I didn't feel like going home just yet," replied Jade as she sat on André's bed.

Closing the window and locking it, André said, "How come you didn't go to the front door?"

"It's late and I didn't wanna wake up your mom."

"You do know my mom works at night, right?"

Shaking her head, Jade remembered, "Yeah, forgot about that."

Getting on his bed and sitting up against the headboard, André further questioned her. "Does your mom know you're here?"

"No, she thinks I'm at Cat's spending the night," answered Jade, taking off her boots, "I decided to come here after wandering the city."

"You could have called me earlier. I would have given you a ride after I dropped Beck—"

André quickly stopped himself from finishing his sentence. He didn't want to bring Beck's name up anytime soon.

"It's okay. I'm not bursting into tears from hearing his name," Jade stated as she sat by him.

"Oh… cool," uttered André as he realized how close they were, "Is there anything I can do?"

"Just... keep me company."

Suddenly, a jolt ran through André's heart. Jade's simple request spoke volumes and reminded him of one glaring fact: She was single now. He gulped as he found himself locked in her entrancing gaze. The gears in his mind started turning as he noticed she was inching closer to him.

"Company? I-I can do that," he reassured, moving closer as well. The awkwardness between the two had disappeared, and they were now acting on nothing but raw attraction. Jade cupped André's cheek as she pulled him closer. Their lips were mere centimeters from each other. The two closed their eyes as they waited for the moment to—

BRRRZZZT! BRRRZZZT!

The two snapped out of their trance. Back to his senses, André reached for his phone on the bedside table.

"Oh! It's Hope," he said as he looked at the text message he'd just received.

"Hope?" asked Jade, still trying to process what almost happened.

"Hope Quincy. I met her back at the Christmas party." André replied while responding to Hope's text.

"Oh, are you two dating?" asked Jade, curiously.

André stopped texting for a moment.

He'd only been exclusively seeing Hope for about three weeks, yet they hadn't decided whether they were a legit couple or not.

It was just talking and texting… with the occasional sext between the two.

But as of late, things were becoming serious between the two.

"Whoa!" exclaimed André, whose face lit up.

"What?"

"She wants me to meet her dad."

"And?"

"Jade… her dad's Shawn Quincy."

"The producer?"

"The world-famous producer, and I'm gonna meet him!" André shouted, filled with excitement as he jumped off his bed.

But his excitement quickly faded when he saw Jade sitting with a half smile.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have… especially with what happened last night."

"I told you already, it's okay." Jade replied as she paused, "But can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Are we seriously going to ignore what almost happened?"

André remembered the kiss that almost was.

The kiss that he always longed for.

"Jade... we can't. I wish it could happen, but it can't. You've just broken up with your boyfriend. Don't you remember that?"

"Of course. It's the one thing I'm trying to forget." she cried, wiping the tears from her face, "But what's bugging me the most is that… I don't know how I should feel about this."

André put down his phone and sat back on the bed.

Jade needed someone to be there for her.

No kissing, making out, or possibly having sex.

Just talking, listening, and comforting.

~ Friday, April 8th - 1:22 AM ~

After spending the past few hours talking and listening, André grew even more concerned over Jade.

"Were we a horrible couple? I mean, we did argue a lot, but… he didn't have to tell everyone that he was unhappy with us. It was so embarrassing." Jade sighed, "But when I look back at it, I wasn't eager to talk with him about our problems, so maybe I'm to blame for this."

"Stop it." demanded André, "Just because you weren't willing to talk about your problems, doesn't mean he had the right to just blurt it out--."

André had to stop himself from shifting all the blame onto Beck. He didn't want to make it look like he was antagonizing him to have Jade all to himself.

"Look at it this way, maybe this is something you both needed. Give yourselves some much-needed breathing room to think and possibly reunite… and if not, you can move on," he stated, with a bit of distaste in his mouth.

As much as he liked that Jade and Beck broke up, he also hated it.

It was difficult enough for your best friend to break up with his girlfriend, but when that girlfriend is also your friend and the one girl you wanted to be with... things become a little more complicated.

It was difficult choosing between helping Jade get over the breakup or helping her reconcile with Beck.

"Maybe you're right." sighed Jade as she laid her head on André's shoulder, "Maybe this breakup is something we both need."

As Jade slowly began to get sleepy, she asked something of him.

"Can you do something for me?"

Not sure what he was about to be asked, André replied, "Sure, what is it?"

"Can… can you hold me? That's all. Until I fall asleep?"

It was a strange request coming from Jade.

It took André by surprise, yet he remembered her current situation.

"Sure," he replied.

Turning to face André, Jade wrapped her arm around him and laid her head on his chest.

Once he saw that she was comfortable, André placed his arm around Jade and then turned off his bedside lamp.

After some time, Jade finally dozed off while André lay awake, still holding her in his arms.

Considering the night she had, Jade could use a good night's sleep.

The moonlight from the bedroom window enveloped the room in a soft white glow that brought on a sensation of pure tranquility.

André could slowly feel the serene effects wear down on him as he lay there.

Glancing down at Jade, he uttered, "Things will get better."

Stirring up, she lightly moaned and then went back to sleep.

André chuckled softly.

Eventually, he surrendered to the calmness and finally fell asleep.

Both slumbering soundly within each other's warm embrace.

Chapter Text

~ Friday, April 8th - 6:52 AM ~

She felt warm. Safe. Comfortable.

As if all of her troubles had just disappeared.

It was almost unreal.

Last night, Jade West had endured one of the most embarrassing nights of her life, yet here she was waking up from one of the best night's rest she has ever had.

Opening her eyes, she yawned and looked around the room.

It was quiet.

Dimly lit.

Gazing toward the window, she could tell that the sun hadn't risen yet.

Must be around six o'clock.

As she slowly got up, she could feel André's grip gently brush her shoulder.

He was sound asleep, completely unaware that Jade was awake.

Slowly moving his arm off of her and making sure not to wake him, she got off of his bed and placed her boots back on.

I really don't wanna leave, especially after sleeping in that bed. I haven't felt that way since...

She briefly thought about the times she and Beck would snuggle together in his bed, but quickly shook it off.

I have to get back home and get ready for school.

Grabbing her phone off of the bedside table, she was just about to sneak out of the window, when she stopped herself.

She turned around and peered over at the slumbering André.

He was completely out of it. You could have played some power chords on his electric guitar and he would have still been knocked out.

Jade crept around the bed and hovered near him. Lightly grazing her fingers against his soft dreads, she slowly caressed the side of his face.

Leaning closer to him, she gently kissed André on the cheek.

Tip-toeing away from him and towards the window, Jade carefully opened it and sneaked out of André's room.

~ 7:03 AM ~

Casting a purplish-orange hue across the morning sky, the sun was gradually starting to rise.

When Jade arrived at the backdoor of her house, she realized that she had left her key in her room.

Looks like I have to sneak in again.

Getting into the house wasn't hard for Jade. She's done it loads of times.

All she had to do was climb up the oak tree that had the thick branch that hung closest to the attic window, carefully lift the window while watching out for bits of old broken glass, walk across the creaky attic floor until she got to the rug that covered up a huge hole, carefully climb down the well-positioned ladder that's in the hole, and finally exit out of her bedroom closet.

See? It wasn't hard at all.

After taking a quick, refreshing shower, Jade felt much better.

It wasn't enough for her to be eager to go to school, but she still felt pretty good.

Entering her room, she noticed that her phone was buzzing.

As she checked it, Jade saw that there was a notification from The Slap.

{Beck Oliver is no longer in a relationship with Jade West}

She gripped at the towel that she was keeping wrapped around her.

A feeling of sadness and regret swept over her.

This is really happening... Might as well accept it.

With every keystroke, Jade felt more and more heartbroken.

She never thought that she would see those words again.

{Jade West is no longer in a relationship with Beck Oliver}

There. It's done.

~ 7:14 AM ~

The sun was now shining brightly over the city.

Morning commuters were on their way to schools and businesses.

An air of busyness rushed through the air.

He felt so relaxed being splayed out across his bed.

The warm sunlight woke him, causing him to instantly turn away from it.

All he wanted was five more minutes of sleep.

Five more hours wouldn't be that bad either.

But André knew that he had to get ready for school, so he slowly turned back around and stretched.

As he yawned, he noticed something wrong.

Someone was missing.

"Jade?"

Looking around the room, he saw that she was nowhere to be found.

Quickly jumping out of bed, André made his way around the house, looking for any sign of his Goth friend.

With her nowhere to be found, he returned to his room.

"Was she really here last night or was I..."

As he walked towards his window, he stepped on something metallic.

Looking down at his feet, André saw that he stepped on some scissors.

Crouching to pick them up, he examined them.

The handle color was originally orange, but someone tried to color it with a marker or something to make them black.

Turning them over, André noticed the letters "j.w" were carved into the plastic grip handle.

She was here! She must have dropped these when she left.

Still holding the scissors, he looked out of his window at the bright morning setting.

"She could have at least said--."

At that moment, a feeling of warmth overcame André and it wasn't from the beaming sunlight.

He didn't know why, but he gently felt the right side of his face.

It was rather strange. He couldn't put his finger on it.

Just then on the other side of the room, his phone began vibrating.

Checking to see what it was, he saw that there were two status updates from Beck and Jade.

He didn't know what to think of it.

It was as bittersweet as you can get.

Looks like they've made it official. Beck and Jade are no more.

~ 3:07 PM ~

At school, Jade isolated herself.

She didn't feel like talking to anyone. Including André, who decided to just keep his distance from her.

It wasn't until the end of the school day that Jade got a surprise.

Walking to her car, she was surprised to see something on the hood.

It was her scissors, the ones she had been looking for all day.

Underneath them laid a note.

You left these at my place.

I accidentally stepped on them, so I hope that they're not too bent.

If they are, then I would be more than happy to buy you a new pair.

Taking a look closer at the blades, Jade did notice that they were slightly crooked.

Normally, this would enrage her, but not this time.

After placing both the note and her scissors into her messenger bag, she got into her car and drove out of the school's parking lot.

As she left, Jade gradually entered a complete state of serenity.

Similar to how she felt when she was lying in André's bed.

Things will get better... always.

~ Wednesday, May 11th ~

It was now a month after the breakup.

Not much has changed... except André was now in a relationship with Hope Quincy.

For some strange reason, he kept this a secret from his friends. Maybe he was embarrassed or something.

Whatever it was, it did little to excite his bleak relationship with her.

Behind that pretty facade was something unimaginable.

He never anticipated that a girl that attractive would be so...

Harsh. Controlling. Overbearing.

Of course, there were times when she was somewhat... okay.

But those were brief and they usually lasted for just a few minutes.

Even making out with Hope felt like a chore.

She would occasionally criticize him by saying:

"Hold me like this.", "You're kissing too lightly.", "It's like you're not even trying to turn me on." and "How can you not be in the mood with someone like me?"

What made this even worse was the three reasons why André was even putting up with this shit.

#3) He was terrified of her

Now before you say, 'She can't be any scarier than Jade.', hold up a second.

Jade and Hope were in completely different categories when it came to the art of frightening people.

Jade is the type who thrived off of making you fearful of the inevitable and then leaving you in a constant state of sheer panic.

Hope, on the other hand, is the type where she made you feel like an incompetent child who's incapable of doing anything right in her eyes.

But there was an even bigger difference between the two.

Jade had a gentle and caring side... she just didn't like showing it to every Tom, Dick, or Harry.

André was one of the rare few who was privileged enough to have seen that side of her.

Hope, however, has not shown any sign of a sweet or tender side at all.

Which made being around her in private, more of a living hell than in public.

#2) Her father was Shawn Quincy, the world-famous music producer

André knew that dating Hope in hopes of getting a record deal was wrong.

It ate at him nearly every time he would kiss her or when he got to talk with her father.

André was using his girlfriend for his own personal gain!

Like seriously, what the fuck?!

That's like... okay, I can't think of any clever examples to explain that, but you know it's wrong.

#1) It was to distract himself from the newly single Jade.

Yup, you heard right.

Ever since the night of the breakup, André felt the urge to just go for it.

He constantly told himself that it was too soon; that he needed to wait just a bit longer.

Purely because he had no intentions of being the rebound due to Jade's lingering feelings for Beck.

But it was too much... Jade was too much.

~ 4:57 PM ~

After a very uneventful day at school, André met up with Hope over at Jet Brew.

It was pretty quiet for the afternoon crowd. Usually, there would be more people around that time.

The couple sat on one of the sofas that were in the lounge of the cafe; the scent of coffee, lattes, cocoa, and baked goods filled the air.

Hope was strangely at ease at the moment. She was just talking about her day and blah, blah, blah.

It was one of those "Look at me. Listen to me. This is all about me." moments.

All André could do was tune her out at times and occasionally gaze out of the cafe window.

"...so she has the nerve to ask if she was invited to my birthday party. Which is stupid, because she didn't invite me to hers last year. She claimed that she had misplaced my invitation, but that's bullshit. That bitch didn't send me one because I dated her ex two years ago, and she was always jealous of that..."

This had been going on for what felt like two whole hours, but it was only two minutes.

André was inching closer to the edge of madness.

That was until he saw someone walking outside...

Her dark hair glistens in the bright sunlight.

Her skirt moved to and fro as she walked with purpose, eager to smell the aroma of freshly made coffee.

As Jade West entered the cafe, André found it rather difficult to even fake paying attention to Hope.

There was something about Jade being single that made her intoxicating to him.

"Coffee, two sugars," she ordered, giving her order to the barista.

"Right away," they replied, rushing to start the order.

Patiently waiting, Jade began tapping her foot to the music that was softly playing in her earbuds.

Turning around, she leaned against the counter and looked around the cafe.

André truly felt captivated by what he was seeing.

Fuck, she looks so damn fine!

Almost as if she had heard him, Jade immediately caught sight of André and from what he could tell, she smiled.

Quickly looking away, André began acting like he was paying attention to Hope's continuous story.

"...the dress didn't look great on her, to be honest. Just imagine a whale with lipstick and really bad acne." continued Hope, taking a sip of her cup of coffee, "So anyway, how was your day?"

"Y-yeah. That's really interesting." André replied distractedly, as Jade got her coffee and began walking toward them.

She didn't expect to see André while she was at Jet Brew, but that wasn't what surprised her.

It was that André was there with a girl she had never seen before.

Are they dating? I mean, they are sitting pretty close to each other... wait, could she be that Hope girl that he was talking about?

"Hey." smiled Jade, taking out her earbuds and standing casually in front of the couple.

"'Sup, Jade?" replied André, giving his undivided attention to his friend, "What are you doing here?"

"Uh, to get coffee?" Jade answered, holding up her cup and giving him a puzzling look.

André immediately took this as "That was a very dumb thing for you to ask".

"Oh yeah! Coffee." he chuckled, feeling quite dumb in front of the girls.

Feeling left out of the conversation, Hope decided to jump in.

"Ahem! Aren't you going to introduce me?"

Remembering that Hope was still technically his girlfriend, André quickly replied, "Oh! Hope, this is my friend from Hollywood Arts, Jade West. Jade, this is my girlfriend, Hope Quincy."

The two girls glared at each other. It was as if they were sizing each other up; preparing for the other to strike first.

Jade didn't like Hope one bit. Not because she looked like a rude and insensitive bitch, but because she didn't look right for André.

"So this was the girl you were talking about?" Jade smirked, "Eh, I've seen better."

André's face was etched with complete shock.

While Hope's just morphed from a state of surprise into a state of pure rage.

"Jade!" yelled André, knowing that nothing good was to come from this.

"What? I can't be honest about your choice of girlfriend?" replied Jade, smugly, "You could have done much better with a Northridge girl."

"Excuse me?!" exclaimed Hope, standing up to confront Jade, "Exactly who in the hell do you think you are?!"

"Jade Fuckin' West." Jade responded, with a prideful smile, "Could have sworn your boyfriend mentioned that already."

André just sat there. Fearful of getting in between the two bickering girls.

The argument went on for a good five minutes.

Insults were thrown back and forth like it was a tennis match.

Nearby lounge patrons were either hanging on to every word of the argument or minding their own business.

"What kind of bitch would just walk up to a guy she claims to be her friend and criticize their girlfriend?" asked Hope, looking really pissed.

"This one, right here." answered Jade, taking a sip of her coffee, "What kind of slut walks around wearing that?"

Looking down at her turquoise blouse, Hope ranted, "This cost me $500! Only someone with no sense of style would say that. Then again, what can be expected from a girl who wears cheap leather and biker boots?"

"$500? Let me guess, daddy dearest bought it for his little princess?" laughed Jade, "Guess you won't have to worry about this one being a gold digger, André."

André chuckled at this, but as soon as Hope glared at him, he quickly straighten up.

"Am I a joke to you?!" snapped Hope, looking irritable, "I am your girlfriend, you're supposed to defend me!"

"Aww! Is the honeymoon phase over already?" Jade laughed, taking another sip.

But what happened next stunned André.

With a heavy sigh, Jade's smile and laughter disappeared until all that was left was a look of disappointment.

"Seriously, André... what is this? Tell me that this is some kind of joke."

Jade's plea left André feeling so conflicted.

All he had to do was stop with the charades and be honest with himself.

André could have easily sided with Jade, but he couldn't.

Not now.

Not yet.

He slowly got up and stated, "Jade... I really am in love with Hope and even though you're my friend... you're way out of line."

Hope walked over to him and placed her arms around him. She smiled gleefully as if she had been crowned the victor.

Distraught by what she just heard, Jade simply shook her head and scoffed, "Fine, do whatever you want. Be miserable if that makes you happy."

As she proceeded to storm out of the lounge and leave the cafe, André could have sworn that he saw Jade start to cry.

Was she really that devastated to see him with a girl as horrible as Hope?

"About time she left." Hope smirked, giving André a hug and kiss, "Let's go back to my place, I still have lots to plan for my birthday party."

"Yeah, sure thing," he muttered, as they left the cafe.

For the rest of the day, André couldn't get his mind off of how Jade reacted when he said that he loved Hope.

*sighs* Brilliant move, André. Brilliant move.

~ Monday, May 16th - 2:51 PM ~

After a weekend of dog sittings, birthday parties, earthquakes, broken guitars, and concussions, André was quite relieved that he had finally broken up with Hope.

It was like the weight of the world was lifted off of his shoulders.

He felt free and able to breathe!

Yet he still wasn't talking to Jade.

They pretty much kept to themselves and barely looked at each other.

It wasn't until several minutes before the school day ended that something finally happened.

He was alone in the recording studio.

Leaning over the piano, André was pressing random keys absentmindedly.

His mind was drawing a blank, unable to come up with any sort of idea.

The sounds of disjointed chords plodded throughout the studio.

André had no clue what his next move was or if he should even make one.

I'm so fuckin' stupid. Why did I let that relationship go on for that long? I probably ruined any last shot I had with Jade.

Sighing heavily, André slammed his fingers on the keys, causing the piano to let out a cacophony of notes.

"Not your best work, if you ask me."

Snapping out of his funk, he turned around to see Jade entering the room.

As she walked over to him, André closed the fallboard of the piano and moved over so Jade could sit next to him.

"Not gonna lie, I'm a little surprised you came here."

"Well, I may have heard a little something about you and Hope."

"News travels fast on The Slap." chuckled André.

"Yeah... so I wanted to give you your space before I confront you."

Curious to see where she was going, André wondered, "About what?"

Getting up from the bench and pacing around for a bit, Jade took a moment to gather her thoughts, before she turned around and asked...

"What the hell were you thinking? Why did you go out with her? Everyone and their mom could see that you were unhappy, so why put yourself through that?!"

André had a feeling that Jade was dying to ask him this. However, deep down, he was still too ashamed to admit to it all.

"It was all for the record deal. Simple as that. Was I wrong for using Hope in that way? Definitely, but it's all over now and I would love to move on from it all."

"Okay, let's say I believe any of that." Jade responded, crossing her arms, "There's more, isn't there?"

I have to tell her... everything.

"I wanted to distract myself. Once I knew you were single, I wanted to just do something. Anything."

"Well, why didn't you?"

"Because it was too soon! You had just broken up for goodness' sake!"

"It's already been over a month. How much time do you need?!"

Growing more and more frustrated by the minute, Jade began pacing once again before she stopped and returned her gaze to André.

"Look! I don't care about Beck anymore. We broke up, okay? He's moved on and so have I."

André just sat there, looking away from her.

"I just don't get it. Months ago, you would have jumped at this opportunity and now... you're acting like a bitch!"

André was starting to get pissed off.

There's nothing quite as fun as having the girl that you're in love with scolding you for having cold feet.

But at that moment, he had had enough.

Quickly getting up, he walked over to Jade.

The two stood firmly in front of each other. So much intensity bridged the gap that lay between them.

For a couple of seconds, all they did was look deep into each other's eyes.

Jade finally spoke up and asked, "Are you finally going to do something or--"

Catching her by surprise, André grabbed Jade by the waist, pulling her closer until...

He kissed her.

He actually kissed her!

Her lips were so soft and tender against his.

His grip around her waist was firm yet gentle.

Slowly, Jade began to ease into the kiss and placed her arms around him.

She couldn't believe that any of this was happening, but she dared not question it.

They didn't care if anyone walked in on them. This was their moment.

As they gradually stopped making out, André went back in for one last kiss.

"Does that answer your question?" he smiled, as the end of the school bell rang.

Completely speechless, all Jade could do was shake her head in agreement.

She felt so relaxed in his arms that she didn't want him to let her go any time soon.

Once the two finally separated, André went to gather his things, but before he walked out of the studio, he looked back at Jade, "I'll call you later, okay?"

"Okay." she smiled, as André left the room.

Jade had to sit down for a moment.

The memory of the kiss and the embrace danced through her mind.

This is really happening.

She had finally moved on.

Beck was just a thing of the past and now all she could think about was André.

No one, but André.

Chapter Text

~ Monday, May 16th - 11:34 PM ~

When in the hell is he gonna call? *sighs* Please tell me he didn't chicken out again... especially not after that kiss.

Jade West was sitting up against her headboard, waiting for a certain someone to call her for some time now.

Throughout the day, Jade couldn't stop thinking about the kiss that occurred earlier.

The kiss with the one guy whom she'd been longing to be with.

But it actually happened and it was something that Jade would never forget.

One thing that she wishes she could forget was the long wait she'd endured throughout the day.

You know, waiting on André to call.

She'd wound up doing numerous things to pass the time and to keep her mind off of her phone.

It didn't work, but it was worth a try.

He is really pushing it! I swear when I get my hands on him--

{A musical chime plays on Jade's phone.}

She just sat there, staring at the ringing phone in her lap.

Can't wait to hear his excuse.

Picking up the phone and answering it, Jade quipped, "Thought you would never call."

It was difficult for her not to be angry at André; she just didn't like having to wait on anyone.

{Yeah... sorry, 'bout that. Some stuff came up.}

Jade could distinctly hear what sounded like an intercom go off in the background.

"What kind of stuff?" she asked, "Where are you?"

{I'm at the hospital, waiting in the lobby.}

Slowly growing concerned, Jade asked, "Why? What happened?"

{It's my grandma. She had an accident.}

Jade took a deep breath, knowing how much his grandma meant to him.

She could hear the concern in his voice and knew that now wasn't the time to be a jerk.

"Is... Is she alright?"

André knew that Jade would be pissed that he took so long to call her.

But what he didn't expect was for her to ask how his grandma was doing.

{She's good. Thank God. Something on TV frightened her and she ran out of the house and accidentally into a cyclist. As soon as I left school, my mom called me to the hospital, and I've been here ever since.}

"That's good. It's good that your grandma is doing fine." uttered Jade, who was having trouble with this kind of conversation, "How are you... about it?"

Quickly picking up on how Jade was acting, André replied:

{Jade, we don't have to talk about this if you don't want to. Thanks for asking, though. But we can talk about other stuff... like what happened earlier.}

Immediately, Jade remembered back to that memorable afternoon.

~ Earlier That Day... ~

Standing in front of her, André looked so conflicted.

Jade stood there growing hopeless by the second.

"Are you finally going to do something or--"

Her train of thought was broken by the sudden feeling of André's hands grabbing her waist.

They were so close now.

So close that they could practically feel each other's heart racing.

Jade's mind began trying to comprehend whether or not this was actually happening.

The look that André gave was having a strange effect on her.

He looked relieved that he finally made a long-awaited decision, and was now eager to carry out that choice.

With that one passionate gaze, he directed every ounce of emotion that he was feeling toward her.

He didn't have to speak a word because Jade knew exactly what he was saying.

Inching closer to her, his lips lightly met with hers.

Tensing up slightly from this move, Jade was still in awe.

Her harsh, yet honest words actually worked.

At long last...

They finally had their first kiss... and Jade was all too eager to indulge in it.

After a few seconds of mindless kissing, Jade wrapped her arms around André and began taking over most of the action.

I'm sure he won't mind if I take over for a while.

As a matter of fact, André liked it quite a bit.

Considering how close they were, Jade could tell he was getting excited.

The more she persisted with him, the more he tighten his grip around her.

If they weren't careful, things could have gotten way out of hand in that recording studio.

After what was deemed the best moment of the day, the two gradually stopped kissing while remaining embraced.

But before they parted, André gave her one last tender kiss.

He smiled as he looked deep into Jade's eyes, which made her smile back.

Perhaps it was because they had finally progressed to the next level, or maybe it was because he looked so damn cute when he smiled at her.

Who knew?

"Does that answer your question?" André asked.

Jade couldn't even say the word "Yes" because the euphoric feeling wouldn't go away.

In the end, all she could do was nod her head in agreement.

Once the school bell rang, the two finally separated and André began to gather his things.

It was kinda funny, Jade was already missing being in his arms just seconds after he let her go.

She really felt like walking up to André and telling him to stay.

But that damn ecstatic feeling was keeping her from saying what she wanted.

She felt like a complete moron, just grinning and not saying much.

But André didn't seem to mind.

"I'll call you later, okay?" he smiled, giving her one last look before he left the studio.

"Okay." Jade giggled, trying to hide her smile.

She felt so weird but in the best possible way.

Taking a seat back on the bench, she took a moment to calm herself from this elated state.

She didn't want to leave out of that studio practically beaming with happiness.

Some might have found it out of character.

She had a reputation to hold up, after all.

After bringing herself back to her normal self, Jade finally left the studio.

Upon opening the door, she immediately bumped into someone who was crouched down.

"What the hell-- oh, it's you."

She found herself staring irritably at her ex-boyfriend, who was tying his shoes.

I just had to bump into him ...

Standing up and straightening the book bag that hung from his shoulders, Beck simply replied, "Jade."

To which she responded with, "Beck."

The two just stared at each other for a couple of seconds and then went on their separate ways.

There wasn't much to say between the ex-couple, and Jade preferred it that way.

She had nothing to do with Beck anymore.

As of the past few minutes, there was someone more important on her mind.

~ Present Time ~

"That was a really great kiss." stated Jade, continuing her conversation with André, "I really wished we could have kept it going."

{I felt the same way. In fact, I wish I could be there with you right now.}

"Oh, really?" Jade inquired, seductively.

{Yeah, just us. Me holding you close as I gaze into those beautiful eyes of yours, and--}

Before he even got a chance to finish, André's engaging description was cut off.

{Jade, hold on for a second.}

Slightly annoyed that her moment with André was being interrupted, Jade sighed, "Sure, whatever."

After about a minute of keeping Jade on hold, André got back on the phone and apologized.

{Sorry about that, my grandma's being released and my mom wants me to take her home.}

Agitated that this would mean that their conversation would end, Jade asked, "So I guess I'll talk to you later?"

{Yeah... but listen, I've been up all night, and when I get home, I'm going to bed.}

"And your point is?"

{My point is that once I've gotten enough sleep, how about you and I meet up at Jet Brew before school? Where we can talk more... about us.}

Feeling slightly better, Jade chuckled lightly at this, "Sure, as long as you promise that we won't be interrupted by anyone."

{I promise, no one will bother us. I'll meet you there on the second floor at 7:15.}

"7:15. Got it."

{Okay, bye.}

"Bye."

~ Tuesday, May 17th - 7:14 AM ~

After getting some much-needed rest, André arrived at the cafe and was eager to meet up with Jade.

Stepping out of his car and walking down the block, he began thinking about his situation.

I still can't believe that this is freakin' happening. After months and months of what felt like torture, Jade and I are actually about to start something together. *sighs* It can't get much better than this!

As he entered the packed cafe, the warm scent of fresh coffee and baked goods hit him like a tidal wave.

The rush of the early morning commuters was a common thing for the cafe, but today just felt busier than the others.

Going upstairs to the quieter, less crowded part of the cafe, André looked at all the seated customers either sipping coffee, reading a book, listening to music, or engaging in small talk.

On the far side of the room, Jade was sitting quietly on a couch by the window.

With her music blaring through her earbuds and her piping hot coffee on the table beside her, she was deep into drawing in her sketchbook.

It wasn't until André sat next to her, that Jade closed her book and took out her earbuds.

"Hey." she smiled, giving him a hug, "You're looking pretty good."

"Thanks, you're looking pretty damn good yourself." responded André, taking a moment to admire how Jade looked, "Um... I slept really well, probably because I had a lot on my mind... good things, that is."

"Same here." uttered Jade, practically beaming, "What was it that you wanted to talk about concerning us?"

Remembering once again why they were there, André replied, "Yes, a lot has changed in the last week.
Hope and I have officially ended our relationship, and... you and I have finally--" 

"Yeah, I know." spoke Jade, brushing some hair from her face, "I was kinda there."

Chuckling, André continued, "Anyway, the way I see it... if we're going to have anything serious, we have to take this slow."

"Slow as in?"

"We don't jump and tell the others about us... just yet."

With a look of understanding, Jade asked, "Because you're worried about how Beck might react?"

"No. I mean, yes. But not only him. Tori may be affected by the news as well."

"Why should I care what--"

Before Jade finished her question, she figured out why.

"Oh, she likes you... a lot."

"Yeah, and for her to hear that we're together..." André sighed heavily.

Rolling her eyes, Jade seriously didn't feel like having a pity party for Tori of all people.

"Tori and Beck will both learn to get over it. Why should we waste our time concerned with their feelings?" she insisted, moving to hold his hand, "Besides, how about remembering the girl that you're finally with?"

Caressing her hand, André chuckled, "How could I forget? She's pretty damn memorable."

Upon hearing this, Jade blushed.

André loved that she could be comfortable with being herself around him.

It seriously meant a lot.

"Since we are taking things slowly... does this mean we can still do this?"

Moving onto André's lap and wrapping her arms around him, she began kissing him.

It wasn't full-blown, passionate kissing, but the affectionate, tender kind.

In just those few kisses, Jade was practically telling André how much she loved him.

"Yes, we can definitely keep doing that." André beamed.

Placing his arms around her, the two went back to kissing.

Squeezing her waist, André accidentally caused the PearPod that was in Jade's lap to start playing.

As the music came out of her earbuds, they drifted into their own world.

It might not be the right time

I might not be the right one

But there's something about us I want to say

'Cause there's something between us anyway

With not a care who was looking, they enjoyed being in each other's arms and they looked forward to what was to come.

Chapter Text

~ Thursday, June 2nd - 7:07 AM ~

Slowly picking himself off of the floor, André Harris realized that he had fallen out of his bed... again.

What a klutz!

The rising sunlight was peeking through the closed blinds, filling the room with a fuzzy blue glow of light as it was filtered through the purple curtains.

However, his mind was completely hazy of what happened the previous night.

Rubbing his head, he wished that it would stop throbbing.

Ugh, my head is banging. What happened--

Before he could finish his thought, André caught sight of something that immediately clarified what was going on.

On the bedside table beside him was a clear container about the size of a small can of soda. The container was filled with a watery liquid and what strangely looked like a huge wad of fat.

I've seen that before. It's the-- Which means that I'm not in my--

Looking over at the bed, André could distinctly make out what looked to be someone sleeping.

With the bed sheet covering most of them, gentle breathing could be heard.

Fighting through the aches of his muscles, André inched over to the bed and carefully pulled the sheet from over them.

With her hair draped over her face, Jade West was sleeping soundly... in all of her nakedness.

Placing the sheet back over her, André sat back down on the floor.

When he looked down, he saw that he, too, was naked except for the bed sheet that was loosely wrapped around his waist.

Leaning back against the dresser, André started to remember what happened yesterday.

To start things off, let's just say that it was a REALLY long day.

~ Wednesday, June 1st  ~

More than two weeks after their long-awaited kiss, André was spending his Wednesday afternoon with his... wait for it... girlfriend!

After declaring themselves boyfriend/girlfriend a few days ago, the couple spent the day unsuccessfully trying to inform the rest of the gang of the news.

They decided to tell their friends on the last day of school, which was earlier today. The only problem was that Beck had unexpectedly left the previous night to spend his summer vacation in Australia with his cousins, and Tori missed the rest of the school day preparing to leave for her family vacation in Miami.

That left only Robbie and Cat, and the two of them were barely paying attention to anything.

The couple then agreed to just put off the announcement until all of their friends were together... which wouldn't be until near the start of their senior year.

Which sucked.

But they thought it would be best to tell such news to each of them, face to face.

~ 3:48 PM ~

After a short school day, the couple spent the rest of the afternoon cuddling on the couch in Jade's den.

They were just finishing watching Shaun of the Dead when André questioned the ending.

"So, he kept his friend in his shed?"

"Mmhmm," mumbled Jade, as she cozied up against him.

"Even though he's now a zombie?"

"Yup, and look, now they're playing video games."

"So pretty much things have gone back to normal."

"Why do you sound so surprised?" asked Jade, turning to look back at André, "If you were turned into a zombie, I would keep you in my closet."

Looking past the strangeness of what she said, Andre smiled, "You would do that?"

"Yeah, you are my boyfriend after all." Jade answered, with a tiny smile, "But if you try to bite me, I would have no choice but to cut off your head."

Well, that escalated quickly.

"Would you at least keep my head?"

"Of course! I would keep it on my dresser as a reminder of the love we held so dear."

The two burst out laughing as they discussed how their relationship would survive a zombie apocalypse.

I guess the idea of love could be thought of in even the strangest of topics.

As the movie credits ended, André grabbed the remote.

"I have the perfect idea for what we should look at next." he spoke, clicking the "Search for Movies" icon on the TV menu.

"What is it?" asked Jade, sitting up, "Is it an action flick? Sci-fi? Please no rom-com. Anything but rom-com."

"For you, I would say that it leans more towards horror." André replied as he scanned through the movies that began with F, "But trust me, you'll love it."

Something about his tone made Jade even more curious about what the movie was.

"So the title starts with F?" asked Jade, trying to think of any horror movie she knew that began with that letter.

But something stopped Jade from guessing what the movie was.

Closer and closer, André slowly reached the movie he was looking for and Jade was horrified by the choice.

"Flipper?!" asked Jade, as André burst into laughter, "The movie with the fuckin' dolphin?"

Grabbing the nearest pillow, Jade swung at her boyfriend.

"What? I said it was more like horror for you." laughed André, as Jade kept hitting him.

"Ugh, you're such a smartass. You know I hate dolphins." said Jade, as she dropped the pillow, "However if we really wanna talk about things that make your skin crawl--"

Within a split second, Jade began fiercely tickling her boyfriend's sides.

Immediately, André was in a laughing fit. He had no control over himself.

His body wiggled uncontrollably as Jade giggled at her boyfriend's helplessness.

Being tickled was one of his weaknesses and having Jade relentlessly tickle him... well, it was really good.

Yet, he also wished that it would stop, or else he might die of laughter.

Which is extremely rare, but it could happen to you.

Eventually, Jade eased up on tickling her boyfriend.

Taking this moment to catch his breath, André was surprised when she started kissing him.

Not that he didn't like it, but it was just out of nowhere.

"Thought you were going to tickle me to death." he sighed, as Jade straddled herself on him, "But this... this is much better--"

Jade cut him off by crashing her lips onto his.

She was relentless when it came to making out with him, but André was just as fierce.

There was so much sexual tension built up between the two of them that they were dying to let it out.

As André's hands rested on Jade's thighs, he slowly moved towards her plump backside.

He really couldn't help but get a really good grip on it.

Jade chuckled at his expression and asked, "You like that, huh?"

"I wouldn't be squeezing it if I didn't, now would I?" laughed André.

"Well, if you like that, then I know you'll love these."

As Jade moved up on him, André was treated to a very nice view of her cleavage.

He quickly bit his lip, trying to keep from saying what was really on his mind.

It was even more unbearable to resist considering that Jade was wearing a low-cut, blue shirt.

"Don't act shy now." smiled Jade, "I know you sneak a peek when you think I'm not looking... pervert."

Chuckling, André responded with, "I'm no pervert."

"Yes, you are, but that's okay. If you were any other guy, you would have gotten a heavy dose of beast repellant to your eyes. But you're not."

"The privileges of being the boyfriend. Sweet!"

"You know what else is sweet?"

"What?"

"This."

Moving back down, Jade once again started kissing André.

Only this time, she started placing her hands under his shirt.

Feeling across his hard abs, she gradually went down to his belt.

Only one guess where this was going.

Slowly getting caught up in the moment, André began remembering something.

I'm forgetting something... What is it?

With his belt completely off, Jade was eagerly unfastening his jeans when...

What is so important-- Crap! *sighs* we're not alone...

As Jade gently crept her hand into André's boxers, a loud bang was heard near the back of the house.

Startled, Jade quickly got off of him and went to go check on the noise.

Just when things were getting freakin' good!

André, rolling off of the couch and grabbing his belt, stumbled after Jade while fastening his jeans.

The couple had two good guesses on who it was that caused that loud noise.

"I swear! When I get my hands on them!" yelled Jade, as she rushed into the kitchen.

The sheer sight of what was going on in there furthered Jade's rage.

"What the fuck are you two doing?!"

In the corner of the room, covered in dirt, grass, and dog kibble were André's little sister, Aubree; Jade's little brother, Trent; and Jade's Golden Retriever, Buckles.

Both at the age of 12, Aubree and Trent went to the same middle school and were close friends.

By close friends, I mean, mischief buddies.

Forgetting that the two were spending most of the afternoon outside, Jade and André were furious to see the messy sight.

"'Bree, can't I go a day without having to clean up one of your messes?" asked André, walking into the messed-up kitchen, "What exactly were you guys doing to cause all this?!"

"And what were you doing to Buckles?!" Jade questioned, ruffling the dog's cluttered fur, "He's all filthy and you know how difficult it is to clean him when he's like this."

"We were just playing around outside... and he got excited," explained Trent, brushing off the excess dirt that was caked in his short brown hair.

Noticing that Trent was trying to hide something in his pocket, André asked, "What's that?"

"What's what?" replied Trent, nonchalantly.

"That thing that you're trying to hide. What is it?"

Tired of her brother playing games, Jade reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked to be a dog whistle.

Fuming, Jade asked, "A dog whistle? You used a dog whistle on him?"

"Well, Buckles got a little out of hand because of some squirrels; so Trent tried to use the whistle to calm him down." responded Aubree, trying to stay calm in Jade's piercing gaze, "But that only made things worse; we had to chase him through the bushes, the garden; we even had to jump in the pool to get him out."

"We then chased him into the house and that's how we all crashed into the cabinet with dog food." added Trent, pulling a twig from out of Aubree's ponytail, "So you see, it's not entirely my fault that this happened."

Jade just stood there; with her arms crossed and her eyes closed, she was practically shaking with anger.

André had never seen her look so furious. He almost began to think that she would breathe fire.

Both Trent and Aubree looked too scared to even move an inch.

Finally, after the most frightening twenty seconds ever, Jade spoke.

Her voice was calm, yet you could tell that she was anything but.

"You used a dog whistle on Buckles? Do you even remember what happened the last time one was used on him?"

Trent just shrugged his shoulders.

"God, you can be so dense sometimes. He's not like most dogs! Dog whistles frighten him." Jade ranted, slamming the whistle on the kitchen counter, "I swear, I-- you know what? Never mind. Just get cleaned up and clean up this mess before Mom gets home."

"What?! I can't clean all this by--"

"I really don't care. Now do what I say. NOW!"

The fury in Jade's voice was enough to send a shiver down everyone's back.

André could distinctly tell that she was upset about this. He'd only hoped that Trent was wise enough to just do what she said.

As Trent walked past her, Jade could have sworn that she heard him mutter something that wasn't age-appropriate.

"Excuse me, what was that? 'Fuck who?'" she asked, putting her hand out to stop him.

Huffing, Trent responded, "Nothing... I said, nothing."

"That's what I thought," Jade replied, lowering her hand.

While Jade went over to check on Buckles, André turned his attention to his sister, "Mom won't be happy to see your clothes like that."

"You're not gonna snitch, are you?" Aubree asked, pulling bits of grass from her hair.

"Nope... not this time. I wouldn't want to deal with you being grounded during summer break. I have more important things to do than watch over you."

Sighing with relief and rushing to hug her big brother, Aubree rejoiced, "Thank God! She would kill me if she found out."

Taking out his car keys and handing them to his sister, André spoke, "Get in the car and wait for me, okay?"

"Sure." Aubree responded, walking past André and Jade, "But could you please not get into another make-out sess? You just seem to drag those on and on and..."

"Just get in the car." muttered André, as Aubree left the couple alone, "And please, don't mess up my seats!"

"I can't make that promise!"

Brushing some of the dirt that Aubree left on him, André walked over to Jade and asked, "Hey, are you alright? You had me worried back there."

Slowly calming down from earlier, Jade replied, "Yeah... sorry about that, I just-- Trent can be an ass sometimes, especially to Buckles."

Looking down at the panting dog and patting his head, André stated, "Don't feel sorry for showing how much you care for Buckles. I think it's sweet that you care so much for him."

"You're right." sighed Jade, holding André's hand, "But I must say, you're much kinder to your sister than I am to my brother."

"I wouldn't exactly say that. Sometimes I can be a little hard on 'Bree, but that's only when she's being a real pain... which is practically all the time. Besides, I saw what you did back there."

"What?"

"You held back. Near the end, you held back from unleashing hell on Trent."

Playing dumb, Jade scoffed, "Please, I didn't hold back."

"Yeah, right. You could have ripped him to shreds for what happened... but you didn't."

"What are you getting at?"

"I'm saying that as much as they may annoy us, we'll always have a soft spot for our siblings. Even someone like you." insisted André, slowly pulling her in and kissing her behind her ear.

Damn, he had to go there.

Giggling from André's subtle kisses, Jade replied, "Okay, okay! Maybe you're right. Maybe."

"See? Now was that so hard to admit?" beamed André, as he pulled away from her, "I don't think I'll ever get enough of seeing you blush."

Embarrassed, Jade quickly tried to change the subject, "Don't you have to take your sister home?"

"Yeah..." uttered André, rolling his eyes.

"I wish you didn't have to leave so soon. Things were just getting exciting."

Not wanting to leave either, André replied, "Don't worry, once I get Aubree settled, check on my grandma, and change out of these clothes; I'll come back and help you clean Buckles, okay? Then after that, we can do anything that you want."

Grabbing his hands, Jade asked, "Really? Anything? Anything at all?"

"Anything."

With an intrigued expression, Jade smiled, "I think I can come up with some stuff for us to do... and since I'm such a fool for you, we might continue what we started earlier."

Remembering how far they went back in the den, André couldn't help but get a little excited.

Before he could even respond, the sharp sound of a car horn could be heard.

André sighed, "I should get going. She's crazy enough to drive off in my car."

Giving him one last kiss, Jade spoke, "Don't take so long. You know how I feel about waiting."

"Trust me, I know."

For a couple of seconds, they just stared at each other.

Both of them wanted to say something to the other... but for some reason, they felt like they shouldn't do it at the moment.

It had to be a heartfelt moment to finally say those words for the first time.

But now wasn't the right time.

"Bye..."

"Bye."

After André left, Jade glanced around the cluttered kitchen. There were splotches of dirt on the fridge, oven, cabinets, and countertops.

Scattered all over the floor was dog kibble; and unlike everyone else, Buckles loved this mess.

"Of course, you would enjoy this." Jade said, crouching down and ruffling his golden fur, "You're a dog."

Looking up at Jade, Buckles made a small whimper.

"Kidding! I'm kidding. You're much more than that." she laughed, as Buckles licked her face, "Down boy, down! Too much loving."

Calming down, Buckles placed his head on Jade's lap.

Fondling his ears, Jade casually asked, "What do you think of André? Hmm? C'mon, I won't get mad."

All Buckles did was pant lightly and brush his muzzle with his paw.

"I'll take that as you haven't had enough time to form an opinion of him." Jade stated, not caring that she was sitting on the filthy floor, "Wanna know what I think about him? Well, he's smart and funny, and he's definitely easy on the eyes, but that's not what I like him."

Ruffling Buckles' fur, Jade continued, "Don't laugh, okay? I like that he's nice."

At hearing this, Buckles whimpered.

"Hey, I said don't laugh." said Jade, before she took a deep breath, "Beck was nice too, but this is different. I think back to when I first met André and how despite my attitude, he was still willing to help me. And then again with the RV and how far I went... he had no business forgiving me and yet he did."

All Buckles did was lick his nose and look up at Jade.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that I hope I don't mess this up." she sighed, gently caressing Buckles' ears, "You know, you're a great listener."

Immediately, Buckles' ears perked up.

"But I still gotta give you a bath."

And just like that, his ears flopped.

"C'mon, it'll be fun. You'll love it." she insisted, leading the dirty Retriever outside, "And no splashing today. Last time, you got way out of hand, mister."

Chapter Text

~ Wednesday, June 1st - 4:02 PM ~

Arriving home, André and Aubree snuck in through the backdoor of their house.

Creeping through the hallways, they had to quietly wash and dry Aubree's clothes before their mom woke up to get ready for work.

Stepping lightly into the basement, André and Aubree made their way to the laundry room.

Once there, André said, "Take off your clothes in here, wrap one of those towels around you, get to your bathroom quietly, and get cleaned up. Okay? And please remember to stay quiet."

"I know how to keep quiet, I'm not an idiot." snapped Aubree, grabbing one of the towels on the shelf above the dryer, "What are you gonna do?"

"I'm gonna check up on grandma and then once I make sure that you're straightened out, I'm going back out," André explained, leaning against the door frame.

"Oh, you're gonna hang out with her... again."

"So what if I am? It's none of your business."

"You're right, it's not."

"So stop nagging me about it."

"I'm not. It's just that out of all the girls for you to date, you just had to pick the meanest of them all?" Aubree replied, taking off her mud-covered shoes.

"Jade's not that m-- Okay, maybe she does have her moments." replied André, taking a moment to think about Jade's temperament, "But there's more to her than you know."

"Of course, you would say that. It's nothing but tequila, pot, and sex with her, isn't it?" Aubree exaggerated, leaning against the washing machine, "Next thing you know, you'll have her hanging around the house bossing everyone and everything."

Tired of hearing his sister yammer on, André responded, "Let's get one thing straight: You're. Twelve. Okay? You need to stop meddling in my business and focus on stuff twelve-year-olds do. Now get out of those dirty clothes and put them in the washer."

"Alright, alright! Don't throw a hissy fit." Aubree giggled, as André walked out of the room and closed the door.

Heading back upstairs, André made his way to his grandma's room.

Carefully opening the door, he looked inside the dark room.

Not much could be seen, but the sound of his grandma snoring could be heard.

At least she's sleeping peacefully.

After the accident with the cyclist, André's grandma had been taking some new medication.

It helped calm her down, mostly by making her sleep now and then.

Whatever works, I guess.

Quietly closing the door, André went down the hall to his room.

Spending the next eight minutes taking a shower and changing into some fresh clothes, André looked at himself in the mirror.

Taking a deep breath, he said to himself, "Let's do this."

~ 4:18 PM ~

As André left his room, he was almost about to check up on his sister when...

DING-DONG!

"Who could that be?" André thought as he went to open the front door.

Standing there at 6'5, was a fairly built, bespectacled black man. He looked to be somewhat laid-back, yet very sophisticated.

When the man immediately saw André, he eagerly rushed to hug him.

"How's my favorite nephew in the world?!" asked the guy, letting go of André, "Haven't seen you in what? A year?"

"Yeah, doesn't even feel like it's been that long." André smiled, as he gestured for his uncle to come in, "I almost forgot that you were still coming to stay with grandma."

A session bassist, André's uncle Victor put his career on hold and came from Nashville to visit his mother after her ordeal several weeks ago.

"Should have called to remind you guys, but you know how things get." responded Victor, dragging his luggage into the den, "I could have gotten here sooner, but it took me a while to cancel my schedule."

"I'm not surprised, Mom said you were booked for a whole month in Texas," André said, as the two sat down on the couch.

"Yup, but family always comes first, not your career. Always remember that, 'Dré." sighed Victor, who looked relieved to finally be able to settle down, "So how have things been going for you?"

With an unsuppressed grin, André sighed, "Pretty damn good to be honest."

Stroking his beard, Victor chuckled, "That's good to hear, but I'm more curious about why you're smiling like that."

"Smile? What smile?"

"Hmm, I see that you're as coy as ever." laughed Vic, reading his nephew's expression, "Only one reason why a guy would have a goofy smile like that. Did 'Dré finally find that special someone?"

Try as he might, André couldn't stop grinning.

He was just really elated about his relationship with Jade.

Nothing wrong with that.

"They must be really special, aren't they?" questioned Victor, becoming more and more curious, "What's their name? How old are they? How do they look? How long have you two been together? Do they go to the same school as you?"

Overwhelmed by the sudden rush of questions, André exclaimed, "Whoa! Too many questions! You starting to sound like my mom."

"Sorry, I guess your mother and I are indeed related." laughed Victor, "But you can't be mad at us for just being happy that you've found someone."

"Yeah, I guess so."

Taking out his phone, André flicked through several pics of Jade. Most were of the two of them together, and some were... sexy photos of her.

Better keep scrollin'.

After finding that perfect picture of his girlfriend, André showed it to his uncle.

It was perfect because it was one of those rare moments where she had such an adorable smile.

This was the side of Jade West that few have truly seen. A part of her that André had the privilege of knowing.

"Wow! She's beautiful." uttered Victor, "What's her name?"

"Her name's Jade." answered André, placing his phone back in his pocket, "We've only been together for a few days, but we've known each other for years."

"And you like her?"

"Yeah... hell, I more than like her."

"You love her?"

Before André could answer, his phone's ringtone started to play.

Her attitude is hotter than the Earth's core.

When she's around, nothing else matters.

Untouchable, she's got her own force field.

"Hmm, I wonder who that could be." Victor snickered, as Andre got up to answer the phone.

"It'll just take a sec."

Once he was out of earshot of his uncle, André answered his phone, "Hello?"

{Hey, are you still coming over?}

"Yeah, I just got a little sidetracked. Why?"

{ Well, I managed to clean up Buckles without you. So...}

Sighing heavily, he explained, "I'm sorry, my uncle stopped by and--"

{It's okay, it's just that my dad showed up a few minutes ago. }

Sensing what Jade was asking of him, André replied, "I'll be there shortly, okay? Don't do anything rash."

{ Rash? It's like you don't know me at all. }

"See you soon. Bye." chuckled André.

{ Bye. }

After hanging up, André decided to check up on Aubree before he left.

To his relief, she was all cleaned up and was waiting for her clothes to finish drying.

Heading back to the den, André told his uncle that he was going to hang out with Jade.

"No one dresses that clean to just hang around the house." chuckled Victor, as André grabbed his car keys from the table, "How long are you planning on staying out?"

Taking a moment to think, André had no clue how long he would be out, "I don't know. I promised her that we would do whatever she wanted for the rest of the night."

"Does that include doing the deed?" asked Victor, with a sly grin.

Realizing what his uncle was asking, André replied, "What?! No, I mean... I don't know, maybe. But only if that's what she wants."

"Well, what about you? Hmm? Is 'Dré hoping to get lucky tonight?" teased Victor, nudging his nephew.

"Okay, I'm leaving now" André sighed, as they both walked out of the den.

Before André got a chance to go outside, Vic had something to tell him, "André, listen. I may joke sometimes, but in all seriousness, I want you and Jade to have a fun, yet safe time tonight. So remember... if you think she's spunky, cover your monkey."

Trying hard not to laugh, André replied, "I know, Vic. I know."

"But that's not all, I wanted you to have this for tonight." Victor smiled, handing André a set of car keys, "While you were on the phone, I've given it some thought, and I think you're ready."

Immediately remembering the car that Victor drives, André rushed out the front door, "No way! You drove it here?!"

Seeing Victor's car brought back memories of spending his summers in Nashville and learning how to drive in his uncle's car.

It was the same car, but it had a different color.

"Yup, and now I'm trusting you with her." explained Victor, placing his hand on André's shoulder, "Trust me, one ride in Scarlett will make Jade's night."

"Scarlett?"

"Mmhmm, I gave her a new paint job and renamed her Scarlett; and trust me, she's quite the feisty one." sighed Victor, looking amorously at his car, "Take special care of her, okay... and Jade as well."

"Don't worry, they're both safe with me." André responded, hugging his uncle, "And thanks, this is gonna make our night."

~ 4:29 PM ~

*sighs* André should have been here by now. Wished he would have gotten here sooner.

Sitting quietly on her front porch, Jade West was eagerly waiting for her boyfriend to show up.

She had long finished cleaning her dog, taken a shower, and dressed up in one of her favorite outfits.

She was ready for a long night out.

The only problem was that it was her brother's weekend to spend with their dad.

Which meant that Jade had to reluctantly speak to him when he showed up.

And as always, her parents would find something to argue about.

Right now, they were bickering about Mr. West not reminding Trent that it was his weekend to stay over.

All they do is fight with each other. They can't have a simple conversation without one of them starting something.

Even though she found it annoying how her parents would constantly argue, Jade grew rather used to it.

And dad's storming out in 3... 2... 1...

"You're just the same bastard you always were!" shouted Mrs. West, as the front door swung open.

Stepping out looking rather crossed, Mr. West was carrying what looked to be a poorly stuffed duffel bag.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he replied, as Trent reluctantly followed behind, "Can't a father spend some time with his only son?"

"Please! You wouldn't be spending time with him if it weren't court-ordered."

"Seriously, Helena? The boy is standing right there," stated Mr. West, gesturing towards Trent.

"That boy has a name! You'd think his father would remember it." snapped Mrs. West, as she stepped out on the porch, "Oh, I'm sorry; you're probably too preoccupied with your new wife's children."

Across his stone-like face, Mr. West somehow looked even more furious than before.

But honestly, both parents looked pretty pissed at each other.

Times like this made you wonder which parent Jade got her searing anger and argumentative behavior from.

Before Mr. West even had a chance to respond, Trent spoke up, "Can you guys please stop yelling? It's so stupid."

Jade knew that out of everyone in the family, Trent was the one who was affected the most by their parent's conflict.

He was the youngest and he was the closest to both parents; so it wasn't that hard to figure out why he would be so upset by their arguing.

"Can we just go already?" Trent asked, taking the duffel bag out of his father's hand, "I'll be waiting in the car."

As Trent left to go to his dad's car, Mr. and Mrs. West looked as if they were finally starting to calm down.

It was a rarity, but it seemed like Trent was the only one who was able to do that.

Being almost invisible the whole time, Jade nearly got through it without saying anything else to her dad.

But of course, he had to find something else to talk about.

"I best get going; we've got quite a drive ahead of us." stated Mr. West, returning to his stoic attitude, "Jade..."

"Dad..."

Glancing at what he considered a provocative outfit for his daughter, Mr. West looked disapprovingly, to say the least, "You look..."

"Be careful, Dad. If you have nothing nice to say..." quipped Jade, with a smirk, "...don't say anything at all."

With a deep sigh, Mr. West realized that there was no point in even starting with her, "You're correct. It just never gets any easier seeing my daughter turn into a whore."

Seemingly unaffected by her father's harsh comment, Jade just sat there, trying to look impassive.

She'd been called a lot worse by total strangers, yet it never phased her.

So why wasn't it any easier to completely ignore her father when he said things like that?

Sensing Jade trying to come up with a quick remark, Mrs. West cut her off, "You know you have a long drive to back San Diego, so maybe you should leave already."

Checking his watch and seeing that it was getting close to five o'clock, Mr. West said, "Yeah, it is getting late. Well, we'll see you again on Monday morning."

Without even as much as a goodbye, Mr. West walked off from them, got in his car, and drove off.

Feeling relieved that her ex-husband had left, Mrs. West sighed, "You should know better than to egg him on like that."

"What do I care? He would have found some way to say it anyway."

"Jade, let's not start this up again."

"Then don't."

Frustrated, Mrs. West gave up trying to reason with her daughter, "I'm gonna go lie down until this headache passes and then later I'm visiting your Aunt Terry."

"Mhmm."

"Don't stay out too late, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," replied Jade, while her mom went back into the house.

Sighing deeply, Jade slouched back in her chair.

Looking out at the partly cloudy sky, she slowly began to get lost in her thoughts.

Don't think about it. Just ignore it. Ignore it like you always do.

Far in the distance, a low, rumbling sound broke Jade's thoughts.

Curious as to what it was, she stood up and looked down the road.

What is that?

The louder the sound got, the more Jade could make out what the sound was coming from.

Closer and closer, a shimmering red muscle car came rolling down the street.

From what she could see, the driver looked familiar.

No way! How did he get that?!

As the car eased up into the driveway, Jade walked over to it. Immediately, the first thing she was greeted by was her grinning boyfriend.

Turning off the chugging engine, André was speechless by what he was seeing as well.

"Damn, girl." he smiled, as he got out of the car, "I had no idea you would get all dressed up just for a simple night out."

"It's my night, so I figured, 'What the hell?'" grinned Jade, as her attention turned back to the muscle car, "But what I really wanna know is where'd you get this sick car from?"

As Jade walked around the gleaming candy apple red car, André answered, "You can thank my uncle for this. He's staying in town and when he heard about our night out, he was gracious enough to let me borrow his '68 Charger. Which is saying something 'cause he's really protective of it."

"Well, remind me to thank him later," uttered Jade, as André walked over to her side to open the door.

As he stood by her, André could sense something was troubling Jade.

Stopping her from entering the car, André asked, "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, why you ask?"

"It feels like there something's on your mind."

"I'm fine, so don't worry."

Not buying it, André reached to hold her hand, "Jade, please. If you wanna talk about it--"

"Nothing's bothering me and even if it was, it's none of your damn business!" snapped Jade, as she got in the car and shut the door, "Can we go already? I'm tired of being here."

Stunned by his girlfriend's sudden outburst, André replied, "Sure, whatever you say."

Getting into the car and starting it up, he thought about what could be bothering Jade.

Maybe I should give her some time to cool down and see where we go from there.

Slowly pulling out of the driveway and driving off, he looked over at Jade.

She had a sullen expression as she gazed blankly out at the passing houses and cars.

Now was not the best time to talk... at all.

But André had an idea that might work.

All he needed was time.

Chapter Text

~ Wednesday, June 1st - 4:52 PM ~

For the first twenty minutes of their drive, André mostly cruised around the busy streets of L.A.

He'd thought that the relaxing drive would calm Jade.

He was right.

It did soothe her some... but not enough.

She still didn't talk much, but when she did it was "Mhmm" or "I don't care."

One thing was for certain: Jade didn't look gloomy anymore.

She now looked expressionless.

Not that this made André feel any better. If anything it made him worry even more about his girlfriend.

She doesn't wanna talk at all! I'd hoped that a fun drive around the city would help some, but it didn't do much good. Maybe she'd like some food or something.

"Hey, uh. Are you hungry? We could get some sushi or grab some burgers or something."

Jade just sat there. She gazed out the window, looking almost as if she didn't hear him at all.

"Jade... did you hear me?" asked André, noticing that the car was running low on gas.

As if she was snapped out of a daze, Jade sighed, "I don't care, do what you want."

Feeling even more dejected than before, André pulled into the nearest gas station.

With the engine turned off, he looked over at Jade.

She was tinkering around with her phone, occasionally looking at YouTube videos of amateur stunts gone wrong.

Sighing heavily, André got out of the car and made his way toward the store.

There was a large number of people waiting in line to be serviced. Most of them were just there to buy stacks of lottery tickets.

Guess this will take a while.

Looking around the aisles, Andre glanced about the vast quantities of snack foods and candies.

Hmm, moon pies, gummy worms, Skittles, pretzels. The possibilities are endless.

He had his eyes set on buying some jelly beans, but something else caught his attention.

Back in the car, Jade looked out at the passing motorists.

She sighed as she remembered how the night was supposed to be.

It was intended to be a night of her choosing, but instead, she'd chosen to start it off pretty badly.

Deep down, she knew that this was a terrible way to start their date.

She knew this.

But for some reason, she couldn't open up or apologize for what had happened.

Jade wanted to... but she couldn't.

SLAM!

The sound of the car door slamming startled Jade. She didn't notice that André had already finished pumping gas, let alone get back in the car.

Glancing at him for a moment, she instantly went back to twittering with her phone.

But before André cranked up the car, he handed Jade a paper bag.

"What is this?" she asked, but André said nothing; instead, he returned his focus to driving off the lot.

Curious as to what was in the bag, Jade opened it up.

Immediately, a tiny yet noticeable smile eased its way across her face.

Inside, was a pack of her favorite candy.

Sour green apple licorice straws.

He knows how much I love these... That's so sweet.

Even though she appreciated the kind gesture, this made Jade feel depressed about how their night was going.

André was so kind.

So considerate.

So forgiving.

At times, Jade felt like she didn't deserve him.

Like she didn't deserve his love.

I mean, why would a guy that sweet waste his time with a girl like her?

Closing the bag up, Jade sighed, "Thanks, I appreciate it."

And just like that, she was once again back to her gloomy demeanor.

What once felt like a small victory for André, soon felt like a losing war.

He had to do something.

Quick!

Something that could snap Jade out of her rut entirely.

We live in one of the most entertainment-filled cities in the world. There has to be something here to cheer--

Remembering a poster that he saw back at the gas station, an idea came to André.

It was advertising an event that he felt Jade would love.

André only hoped that this idea would work for sure.

He was grasping at straws and was betting everything on where they were going.

~ 5:27 PM ~

After about thirty minutes of driving, the couple finally arrived at their destination.

It was a rugged warehouse building in a relatively empty part of the city.

The only thing that wasn't vacant was the parking lot.

Tons of people were eagerly walking towards the entrance of the warehouse.

Whatever was going on in there must have been pretty exciting.

Jade, however, barely paid attention to any of this and was now listening to music on her phone.

She didn't even notice when André left to go inside the warehouse and said, "I'll be right back."

It wasn't until he returned that Jade became aware of what was going on.

As André opened up the passenger side door, Jade simply looked up at him.

"What? What is it?" she mumbled, as André unbuckled her seat belt.

"C'mon, Jade. Enough of this pouting." André said, helping her out of the car, "Trust me, you'll smile when you see this.

Growing tired of feeling depressed, Jade decided to just go along with her boyfriend and stop resisting.

The closer they got to the warehouse, the more they could hear the sound of a crowd cheering.

The moment that the two had reached the entrance, a burly man blocked their path.

"Tickets?" he asked sternly, as André pulled out the tickets he'd bought earlier.

Once they were allowed to go inside, the couple made their way down a hallway, up two flights of stairs, and then onto a mezzanine.

From this platform, they were able to overlook the event that was happening.

The air was filled with a thunderous roar as the crowd cheered on the numerous women skating around on a track.

Only these women weren't just skating... they were pulling each other into headlocks, slinging each other down the track, and some were even shoving one another out of the way.

Some would think of this as a brutal form of entertainment, but to Jade it was...

"Fuckin' awesome!" she smiled, as she looked down at the roller derby that was going on.

No one but André was more than happy to see his girlfriend smile.

"Yeah, it is isn't it?" he replied, focusing more on Jade's newfound happiness rather than the actual game.

~ 7:42 PM ~

After finding an empty spot to sit among the crowd, the couple spent over two hours enjoying the thrilling matches of the derby.

By the end of the second hour, Jade had grown more enthusiastic about the game as she continued to cheer on one of the teams: The Jawbreakers.

"Whoo! Yeah! Throw her off the track! Stop being afraid to get rough with her!" she shouted, as a group of players was trying to block an opposing player, "Oh, c'mon! I can skate better than that!"

Even André was enjoying the game, though he did think of it as a bit rough at times.

"Whoa! Oh my god, is... is she still breathing?!" he asked, as one of the Skaterellas was shoved into a rack of folded chairs.

"I don't know... wait, oh, she's still alive," replied Jade, almost nonchalantly.

While the game was put on hold so that paramedics could attend to the injured player, Jade felt that now was probably the best time to apologize to André.

"Hey... I'm glad that you brought me here." she said, as she reached to hold his hand, "About earlier, I shouldn't have--"

"Jade, it's okay. I forgive you." smiled André, who was glad that things were normal again, "I'm just happy to put all of that behind us, okay?"

"Deal." Jade smiled back.

Deciding to use this intermission to get some more snacks, André got up to go to the concession stand.

"Um, do you want another drink or a snack?"

"Just a soda."

"Just a soda, coming right up."

Once he'd got to the stand, André had to wait before being serviced.

One of the workers had her back turned to him; and from what he could tell, she was busy texting instead of working.

"Ahem, excuse me?" André said, trying to be polite, "You do know you have a customer here."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I hear that all the time." the blonde girl replied, as she turned around.

Glancing at André, the girl immediately knew who he was.

"Well, well, if it isn't Hollywood Arts finest himself." the blonde girl smiled, "Never thought I would see you around here."

Confused, André asked, "Do I know you?"

The girl simply giggled and reached out to caress André's dreads, "Hmm, I guess it has been a while, has it?"

Moving the girl's hand away from him, André said, "Yeah, I honestly don't remember you at all.

The girl looked slightly disappointed by this, "Aww, I thought that I made a lasting impression on you. I am an incredible singer, remember?"

After what felt like five minutes of waiting, Jade began to wonder exactly what was keeping Andre.

The next match is about to begin and he's gonna miss it. How long does it take to get a soda?

Tired of waiting, Jade decided to go find out what was going on.

Getting closer to the concession stand, she stopped once she heard her boyfriend's voice.

"Look, can I please just have two bottles of Mr. Fizz and a box of Skittles? That's all I'm asking."

"Uh-uh, not until you give me your phone number."

"Ugh, how many times do I have to tell you that I'm already in a relationship?"

"You keep saying that, but I don't wanna hear it." replied the blonde girl, stubbornly refusing to give up, "Now, I get off in an hour. How about you ditch the girlfriend, so I can give you something sweeter than candy."

Jade couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Who the hell is this chick? And how fuckin' lame can she be?!

Hearing enough of this, Jade made her way over to the stand.

"Ahem!"

Turning around to see his ever-so-curious girlfriend, André knew that he should explain the situation... quickly.

"Jade, you remember our old friend from the Karaoke Dokie?" he explained, as the blonde girl began to look quite infuriated at the sight of Jade.

"How could I forget?" said Jade, instantly remembering the irritable blonde, "Tone-deaf Tara Ganz. I'm surprised to see you working here; at least you're not scarring anyone with your terrible singing."

"You're one to talk. You and your little redhead friend had to cheat just to beat us." Tara quickly responded, not caring that there was a build-up of customers waiting in line, "But you know, it's funny how technically you didn't beat us because of your singing--"

"Oh god, please don't start this up again!" sighed Jade, growing tired of dealing with Tara, "Why am I not surprised that someone like you loves to live in the past?"

"Yeah, that was over two years ago." André added, eager to prevent an argument from starting, "Why can't we all just move on from it? It doesn't matter anymore."

Stunned to see André take up Jade's side, Tara moved from behind the stand, "No, it does matter! And why are you agreeing with her... wait, is she your girlfriend?"

"As a matter of fact, I am. Not that it's any of your business," replied Jade, with a smirk.

"Seriously? Hmm, and here I thought you had great taste in women." laughed Tara, as a few of the customers started to get irritated.

Feeling insulted, Jade asked, "What the hell does that mean?"

"Well, which would you prefer? A classy, sophisticated girl like me or some cheap hooker wannabe like you?"

Sensing Jade was about to jump on Tara, André moved as quickly as he could--

THWACK!

But not before Jade could get a swing at Tara, which landed directly on her cheek.

"Ow! You crazy bitch!" cried Tara, as she fell to the floor, "What the hell did you do that for?!"

"Not bad for some cheap hooker!" Jade shouted as some of the agitated customers started cheering.

Only fans at a roller derby would be happy to see an irresponsible worker swung on.

As André continued to drag Jade out of the building, she wouldn't stop wringing around, "Let me go, André!"

"Only if you've calmed down!" he replied, worried that Jade would rush back inside.

"Okay, okay! I'm calm," she said, as André slowly loosened his grip around her.

Seeing his girlfriend quickly wiping away a tear, André asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just... who gives a fuck what she thinks?" sniffled Jade, as she walked towards the car, "Can we just go, please?"

Taking the car keys out of his pocket, André sighed.

He'd finally got Jade all cheered up and back to her normal self... yet it was all wiped away in seconds.

What else could he do?!

They went for a relaxing cruise around town.

He bought her some of her favorite candy.

He even took her to a roller derby, which she enjoyed.

The more André thought about it, the more he felt like giving up.

What was the point? Nothing was gonna break her out of her rut... again.

Eventually, André got in the car, cranked it up, and drove out of the lot.

Once again, the couple found themselves cruising down the freeway in a quiet car.

Never has there been a more painful silence.

By now, all hope had seemed lost for André.

His girlfriend was once again unresponsive, so what was the point in even trying?

~ 8:08 PM ~

Looking at the clock on the dash, André saw that it had just turned eight.

He'd slowly grown frustrated with this dire situation, to the point where he was beginning to question whether or not the date was salvageable.

In desperate need of some fresh air to think in, André turned off at an exit and drove towards one of the local parks.

Finding an empty parking space, he was quick to get out of the car and began to walk up a wooded pathway.

After spending a minute hiking up some stone steps, André came across a small clearing.

It was dimly lit by a small light post; enough light to see what was around him, but not enough to block out the emerging stars and the rising full moon.

As he walked towards the wooden fence post that surrounded the area, André saw that it was the perfect spot to see most of the city's skyline.

He slowly breathed in the cool, fresh air and began to think.

I knew what I was getting into when I got into this relationship. I knew that Jade wasn't like most of the girls that I'd been with. I even knew that it would be difficult at times.

For a brief second, he could feel his mind start to wonder exactly how Beck--

No! I'm not gonna do that. I'm not gonna compare myself to him.

Blocking his mind of that thought, André sat down on one of the wooden benches and stared up at the twinkling stars.

It's so easy to give up. But what does that get me? A relationship that failed well before it truly began?

Looking down from the skies, he saw Jade arriving at the clearing.

Once she'd sat next to him, André noticed she had been crying.

She was trying her best to not make him notice it, but it was pointless.

For a good minute, they said absolutely nothing to each other.

There was so much on their mind, yet they couldn't find the right words to say.

"Awesome date night, huh?" asked Jade sarcastically, breaking the painful silence.

"The best I've ever been on," André replied, unable to shake his moodiness.

Looking as if she was trying to find the right words, Jade said, "You know, I never meant for the night to turn out like this."

André kept quiet. Somewhat interested in hearing what she had to say.

"It was wrong of me to give you the cold shoulder like that." continued Jade, "All you've tried to do tonight was make me feel better."

Remaining silent, André simply glanced over at her.

"It may not seem like much right now, but... thank you. For everything." Jade sighed.

Slowly, André began to ease out of his dourer mood. It was one thing to hear Jade apologize for what happened, but it meant something that she was grateful for what he tried to do.

"I know that I'm not the most sensible, but... you don't know how much it means to have someone like you in my life. Especially with how I am sometimes." Jade stated as she grew more comfortable, "And for that, I'm truly sorry for snapping at you earlier."

Seeing that her boyfriend still wasn't up for saying anything, Jade sighed, "If what we have together is ever going to work, there's one thing you need to know. Even though we have a very close bond, there are certain things that I don't like talking about with anyone."

Starting to understand the reason behind her behavior earlier, André finally spoke up, "Okay, I get it now. I wish I figured it out earlier, but I'm glad that I know now."

Happy to hear her boyfriend speaking up, Jade smiled.

"Whatever it was that was bothering you earlier, it wasn't any of my business or my place to keep asking you about it." André continued, "So I should apologize for that too."

It felt pretty good for both of them to get on better terms. Being all upset wasn't going to get them anywhere.

Now that she was calmer and her mind was clear, Jade felt that now was the time to say how she felt.

"Thanks, but you were only doing that because you cared." she said, seemingly nervous about her next choice of words, "So if I'm ever cold like how I was earlier, it doesn't mean that I don't... love you."

Those last two words rang loudly in André's ears.

Try as he might, he couldn't help but smile.

"So... you love me?"

For the first time, he saw that Jade looked a little shy about what she was about to say.

But eventually, her confidence showed through.

"Yes. I love you."

Taking a moment to think of what to say, André held Jade's hand, "What if I were to say that I love you too?"

With a chuckle, Jade replied, "I would love that very much."

"I love you too."

Hearing those words returned to her had made Jade's night.

Hell, it made both of their nights.

With their confessions of love to one another out in the open, the couple shared a sweet, tender kiss under the bright moonlight.

Rumble-Rumble.

"I guess someone's hungry." chuckled André, as they laughed at Jade's rumbling stomach.

"Well, a girl's gotta eat." smiled Jade, as they got up to leave the clearing, "I get to choose where we eat though."

"Of course, it is still your night." André agreed as he reached to hold her hand as they walked down the steps, "So what will it be? Burgers? Sushi? Tacos?"

"You'll just have to wait and see." smiled Jade, "But I know you'll love it."

As they made their way to the car, André thought of how he had to be patient for things to get better.

Good things come to those who wait and Jade was well worth the wait.