Hello, hello! This is my very first fanfic and it's completely AU, eep. I know Robbie and Andre aren't in this chapter but they'll appear in the next. Please tell me what you think so I know whether or not to continue! Thanks!
For the record, Jade West hates Beck Oliver.
She dislikes the way his lips press against hers harshly in dark corners of rooms when no one is watching. She hates the way his fingers trail up the back of her shirt during inappropriate times, his hot breath tickling against her ears as he whispers it's time to go.
They meet in his trailer every two days in between scenes, locking the door for twenty short minutes. It doesn't take long for their limbs to become tangled on the plush velvet couch. Jade hates that she's become involved in this. But she tells herself she's only eighteen and doesn't know any better.
Deep down, she does.
Beck likes to "talk" after but Jade likes to scoot. He protests as she reaches for her shirt, tracing the soft padding of her bra.
"Why are you in a rush?"
Jade rolls her eyes and buttons every other button on her shirt. "I have to help Cat rehearse."
Beck falls back on the couch and eyes Jade intently while she runs her fingers through her tangled and sweaty hair. "Why?"
"Because," Jade grumbles. "If I don't help her with her lines, we'll be filming all night." She looks at Beck and then shivers slightly. "I'll see you later."
Jade doesn't wait for Beck to respond. She sneaks out of his trailer and squints as the bright California sun hits her eyes. Mousy PA's avoid direct eye contact while they whiz by. All except Sinjin Van Cleef. Jade stops short and glares.
"Sikowitz has been looking for you," he says ominously.
"So?"
"So?" Sinjin parrots in disbelief. "Sikowitz has been looking for you."
"Yeah, I got that the first time," Jade says in irritation. She peers past Sinjin to see her precious co-star Cat Valentine skipping towards her joyfully. "What does Sikowitz want?"
Sinjin turns his palms upwards and fumbles with the walkie-talkie. "I'm merely the messenger."
"Okay, whatever," Jade says, dismissing Sinjin with a wave of her hand. "Bye."
Cat nearly crashes into Jade from excitement. She grabs her wrist to steady herself and tugs at it repeatedly to get Jade's attention. "Hi!"
"Hi," Jade sort of smiles as she pulls her wrist away from Cat's strong grip in one swift motion. "Where do you want to rehearse?"
"I don't know," Cat says with wide eyes. She clutches her script and stares at the pretty green highlights in Jade's hair.
Jade notices Cat's already distracted and grabs her hand. Cat's only sixteen and the youngest cast member of Hollywood Arts. Jade hates being on a teen soap opera but it pays the bills and she can't complain that much. The majority of her co-stars are tolerable, save for Beck, and they get along for the most part. Jade doesn't like to hang out with them too much because they irritate her easily. She feels bad for Cat because she's just a kid who was basically forced into acting to help pay for her crazy brother's medical bills. Her mom is semi-decent but Cat's dad is clearly only in it for the money. Neither of them work and Jade's constantly pushing for them to let Cat be a teenager during the show's hiatus.
Cat's a tiny, shy redhead who likes to please everyone. She's childish and innocent, which makes Jade want to protect her from everything and everyone. She's not too good dealing with the attention from the public and happily stays quiet during group interviews. Her dad's constantly yelling at her to speak up but Cat pays him no attention. She likes being in the background and holding Jade's hand while they participate in redundant interviews about life on set.
"How about your trailer?" Jade suggests when Cat just stands there giggling into her little hands.
"Kay, kay!"
Cat's trailer looks like it belongs to a five-year-old. There's stuffed animals strewn all over the couch and coloring books littered on the tiny table in the corner. But it's all very Cat like so Jade can't get too mad at her for it. It's cute.
Jade sits down next to Cat and hands her a highlighter. "Highlight all of your parts."
Cat sighs and skims through the script. "I don't want to shoot this scene."
"Why?"
"Cause," Cat whispers sadly. "I have to say bad words to you!"
Jade bites back a laugh and rubs Cat's back in reassurance. "You're just acting, Cat. I won't take offense to it."
"But, but." Cat's bottom lip quivers. "I have to tell you I hate you!"
"Your character does," Jade corrects softly. "You'll be okay, baby girl."
Cat relaxes and smiles shyly at Jade. It's Jade's special nickname for her and it makes her feel safe and protected. "Kay. Wanna start at the part where Beck leaves?"
Jade starts to say her lines, but is rudely interrupted when Cat's trailer door swings open, revealing Tori Vega. Jade has a love/hate relationship with Tori. They're both eighteen and are constantly being pitted against one another by the media. She doesn't think Tori's all that bad; she's just too nice and perfect for her liking.
"Hi, Tori!" Just like that, Cat's distracted again. She drops her scripts and runs over to give Tori a tight hug.
Tori ruffles Cat's red-velvet hair and guides her back to the couch. "Jade, Sikowitz wants to see you."
"I'm busy," Jade rolls her eyes. "I have to help Cat rehearse."
"I can do that," Tori says sweetly, stealing Jade's script. "You should go see him now, Jade," she urges in a motherly tone. "Don't make him mad again."
Jade sighs dramatically and stands up. "Make sure she knows her lines," she says to Tori in a threatening tone. "I don't want to shoot all night."
Tori shoots her a thumbs up before turning to Cat. "Ready, Kit-Cat?"
Jade throws the door open and slams it shut behind her. She trusts Tori enough to take care of Cat but sometimes, she gets jealous. Tori's calm and patient and so motherly. Jade's patience run thin and Cat gets the brunt of her annoyance on the rare occasion.
She finds Sinjin idiotically riding on a golfcart. She flags him down and gets in the back wordlessly.
"Where to, milady?"
"No," she barks at him rudely. "Take me to see Sikowitz and don't speak to me like that ever again."
Sinjin mutters something and honestly, she's not in the mood to argue.
Erwin Sikowitz, the creator of Hollywood Arts, is certifiably insane. He sips on coconuts all day long and claims to receive "visions." Which is probably why in this episode, Jade's character Lucy makes a film about clowns who eat toenails. Despite his lunacy, Sikowitz is a pretty famous director in Hollywood. He created the show based on his experience teaching at a creative arts high school back in the 80's.
"Ah, if it isn't my little cash cow!" Sikowitz greets Jade with a toothy smile when she enters the room.
Jade plops down on the wicker chair in his eccentric office. "Okay, yeah. You wanted to see me?"
"Yes," Sikowitz confirms loudly. "I'm just waiting for Beck and we can chat!"
"Why is Beck involved in this?"
Sikowitz chuckles. "Oh, my naïve girl. Just wait and see."
Beck arrives six minutes later and winks at Jade coolly. "Long time no see."
Jade flips him off and crosses her arms in annoyance. "He's here."
"I see!" Sikowitz booms. "Now, you're probably wondered why I've sent Sinjin to corral you into my office."
"Just get to the point!" Jade snaps at her boss.
"Touchy, touchy," Sikowitz whispers. Beck nods in agreement. "You two are my stars," he begins matter-of-factly. Jade smirks. Hah, take that, Vega.
"And?" Beck prods, playing with the gold ring on his index finger.
"Do you two know what a PR stunt is?"
Jade and Beck immediately glare at one another. "No."
"You don't even know what I was going to ask!" Sikowitz whines, reaching under his desk for his prized coconut.
"I think I know where this is going," Beck says calmly.
"I think I know where this is going," Jade imitates Beck in a deep voice.
"I need you two to date," Sikowitz finally says pleadingly. "You're the couple everyone loves! Your shippers will love it."
Jade shakes her head and pinches the bridge of her nose. "I'm not pretending to date him! Just because I tolerate his sloppy kisses onscreen doesn't mean I'm going to tolerate them off."
Beck goes to say something but Jade cuts him off. "No, Sikowitz, no. This is ridiculous! I'm not doing it."
"She's a gank," Beck cuts in once Jade is done with her mini tirade. "Plus I'm already sort of seeing someone."
Jade scoffs because she knows it's a lie.
"Well too bad," Sikowitz sings in delight. "It will only be for a couple months! Our ratings are dipping since they've remade I Married my Mom."
"So what does Jade and I dating have to do with any of it?"
"Ratings will go up!" Sikowitz explained in between sips of coconut juice. "Fans go crazy when co-stars date."
"Why can't Vega do this?" Jade hisses. She can't even look at Beck. She knew he was probably enjoying this.
"Because," Sikowitz says childishly. "The network promised me a two hour special in Hawaii if you two date and successfully bring up the ratings."
"You can tell the network I'd rather slam my tongue in a car door than date Beck Oliver."
"I have a car," Beck says with a smirk.
Jade glares at him. "Bite me."
"Gladly."
"See!" Sikowitz beams. "This is great-so much sexual tension! Now your first public outing is next week. Sinjin is going to start tweeting pictures of you two looking all cozy tomorrow. Fun, right?"
"NO!"
"Well you two better get back to set," Sikowitz says dismissively. He glances at his watch and sighs. "I only have Cat for two more hours and you know how that girl is with her lines."
The last thing Jade wants to do is shoot a scene with Cat and Beck. Cat will no doubt flub her lines and giggle during the serious scenes because she feels too uncomfortable. Beck always indulges Cat and purposely makes her mess up, leaving Jade to play the bad cop and scold Cat until she cries.
"I hate this as much as you do," Beck says to Jade once they get outside.
"I don't want to talk to you."
Beck grabs Jade by the arm and pulls her back. "Can you not be a gank for one minute?"
"This is ridiculous," Jade whispers. She's at her wits end because she knows no matter how much she protests things won't change. She has to pretend to date Beck Oliver. The thought makes her cringe. "That man is insane."
"It's only for a few months," Beck whispers softly.
For a minute, Jade just stares at Beck, alarmed at how nice he's being. She's seen him at all the meet and greets and how kind and patient he is with the crazy fan girls and their mothers. She's seen how good he is with Cat, making sure she's on top of everything and protecting her from all the insane paparazzi trying to get a photo of her. But Beck is different with her. He's curt and cocky and not at all civil.
"Can we talk about this tomorrow?" Jade says in exasperation. She's not used to the soft tone of Beck's voice.
"Whatever," Beck snaps. "We already screw around in private. What's the difference if we do it in public?"
Jade takes a deep breath and glares at Beck harshly. "Oh, how romantic! Yes, let's go have sex in the middle of Hollywood!"
"That's not what I meant," Beck says more sincerely. "Jade."
"Stop," Jade says forcefully, taking a step back from Beck. "This ends then. If you want to go through with this idiotic idea, then fine. Fine, I'll do it. But our little "thing" is over."
Beck scoffs and throws his hands up in the air. "Fine. I'm sure I can find someone else to fulfill my needs."
"I'm sure you can," Jade snaps angrily. "Are we done?"
"Sure," Beck snaps back. His eyes travel to Cat, who's waving to them frantically from behind Jade. "Cat's here."
"Hiiii," Cat drawls out, stopping short to steady herself. She looks between Beck and Jade curiously. "Are you guys ready? I know all of my lines!"
"That's great, Cat," Beck says half-heartedly, reaching down to pat the little redhead on the back. Cat beams.
"Yeah, great," Jade repeats just as forced. Her eyes are still locked on Beck's.
Cat notices the tension and twiddles her thumbs. "Did I miss something?"
"No," Jade shakes her head, grabbing Cat's hand. "We're ready to shoot."
"Kay, kay!" Cat says excitedly. She squeezes Jade's hand and starts to pull her along. "Are you coming, Beck?"
Beck finally tears his gaze away from Jade's and smiles. "I'm coming, kiddo."