Long black fingernails tapping against a circular bronze button. A pair of lips pressed so tightly together that they'd begun to turn white. Eyes narrowed and nose wrinkled and posture tense and hostile. Jade West was definitely not in a good mood, and she wanted everyone to know it—especially her boyfriend. She didn't dare steal a glance at him, though; she knew he was looking in her direction.

Good. Just because she was absolutely pissed at him didn't mean that she didn't deserve his full attention.

Beck could only let out a heavy sigh as he stood beside her—not too close, but close enough that she wouldn't be able to yell at him for 'straying too far' or 'avoiding her.' Which he wasn't. But he also had absolutely no clue what to do. Yes, she was definitely pissed. And, yes, it was most definitely his fault. When she was upset with someone else, he wouldn't hear the end of it from her. But no, when she was upset with him... full-on silent treatment.

Yup. He'd surely messed up somehow.

And he was pretty sure how. Although, of course, it wasn't like he had done anything wrong. At least in his eyes. And the eyes of everyone else, probably. He'd simply invited Jade to come along with him while he visited a sick friend in the hospital. And... Okay, sure, that sick friend may have been Tori Vega, someone his girlfriend made every effort to publicly embarrass and shame whenever she had the opportunity. But... come on. It wasn't like Beck was visiting her so he could confess his undying love for the girl. He'd urged his girlfriend to come with him, after all.

Besides, Tori had just gotten her tonsils out, robbing her of her voice for at least a week. Beck had figured Jade would at least sympathize a little, seeing as she valued her own voice just as much as Tori did.

But, no. Although she had gotten in the car with him, she was absolutely silent for the entire ride to the hospital, her fingernails tapping against the window just as they were now tapping at the elevator button. She absolutely refused to look at him, only acknowledging his presence with an exaggerated sigh every few minutes.

Beck knew talking would only aggravate her more... but what was he supposed to do? He didn't want her to be in a mood like this while they visited their recovering friend. And he didn't dare heighten her anger by making her wait outside while he checked in on Tori. No... this had to be resolved right now.

As he exhaled, he turned to face her.

"You... ready to talk?" he prompted, trying to keep his voice even and light, as he'd realized a bit too that his words sounded borderline hostile. Beck knew his role very well in situations like this, so the way he acted was key. If Jade was a raging storm, he was a lightning rod, capturing and retaining her energy and anger until she finally burned herself out—heavy rain becoming a light, steady drizzle.

Jade simply huffed, making no effort to hide how she rolled her eyes. "You act like there's something to talk about." Her voice stung with venom, her words saying one thing but her inflection showing that, no, there was definitely something to talk about.

He ran a hand through his hair, holding back a heavy sigh. Didn't she see that both of them had had long days at school? That they were only there at the hospital to support their sick friend?

...

He asked himself questions like these like they actually mattered. No, when Jade was mad, she was mad. It could probably be the last day of the world and she'd find something to yell at him about. But... he couldn't complain. At least, not aloud. She was his girlfriend, after all. If he wanted out, she made it very clear that he could leave.

No. He didn't want out. But that didn't stop him from getting pretty damn frustrated sometimes.

As Beck opened his mouth to speak, though, the elevator doors slipped open with a gentle ding, welcoming them inside. Jade smirked, pleased with herself for getting the last word, and made a move to step inside. But she was stopped by Beck wrapping his arm around her elbow, stopping her from entering. He swiftly led her to the side, keeping his grip on her tight as he gave the group of people standing behind them access to the elevator. "We're gonna take the next one," he said smoothly, plastering an easy, sweet grin on his face. A couple heads nodded in his direction as they boarded, the doors closing silently behind them a few seconds later.

"What the hell was that about?" Jade immediately demanded, yanking her arm away from him and finally turning to face him. As her piercing eyes glared into his, Beck could only feel relief. Finally, the silent treatment was over. For better or for worse, she was finally showing her anger.

Beck shrugged, trying to remain cool and calm. "You were the one who was refusing to talk to me. Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

She huffed. "You think I want to be here?"

"You came, didn't you?"

"Because YOU were my only ride home! What was I supposed to do?! I know how much asking you to drop me off would inconvenience you." She hissed out every word at him, her upper lip curling into a sneer.

"You know that you're never an inconvenience," he immediately retorted, his voice still even and cool. "But I figured that you wouldn't have a problem with visiting our friend in the hospital. After she's had surgery."

"You say that like she's my friend," she shot back, trying to make him feel like the biggest idiot in the world.

It worked. But he didn't let it show.

He ran another hand through his hair, searching for the correct words. None came. Oh well.

"Well... yeah. She is. No matter how many times you try to push her away and make fun of her." Beck couldn't help but raise his voice a bit, unable to hide his frustration. Why did they always go back to having this fight? "You wouldn't be here right now if you didn't care about her. It's not like I can force you to do anything."

Oof. Bad move. He knew that his tone was doing the exact opposite of his original intention—and, judging by the way Jade was obviously fuming, there would be no calming the storm for quite a while. Beck mentally kicked himself. He shouldn't have engaged her... at least not here. He certainly had no qualms against having a full-blown argument with his girlfriend—it was how they resolved most things, after all—but this was not the time or place. And, while the reasonable part of his brain knew that he should be doing damage control, working only to calm her down for the time being, he couldn't help the anger bubbling up inside of himself.

This wasn't going to end well, and they both knew it.

Jade wrinkled her nose, tightening her right hand into a fist as she continued to glare up at him. "Is that so?! As if you weren't the one who was so incredibly desperate to go and comfort Vega? That I'M the one who dragged YOU here?!" She dug her fingernails into her skin, her voice getting louder by the second. "You just wanted to nurse that poor, sweet little angel back to health with that oh-so charming demeanor of yours!" she added in that exaggerated drawl she always used when mocking Tori.

Her voice was attracting attention, and she knew it. Who cared. If Beck didn't want her to do this, then he shouldn't have bothered talking to her in the first place. Or bringing her there in the first place. Or doing anything in the first place.

Not after all the effort she'd gone through to... Ugh.

Beck let out a heavy sigh, unable to keep his composure when she was practically shouting across the hospital, turning far too many heads in their direction. "Why do you always have to make a scene when we're in public?" he couldn't help but shoot back, his voice a bit louder than he'd intended.

She narrowed her eyes, sinking her nails even deeper into the palm of her hand, managing to pierce the skin and draw a bit of blood. "And I bet that Tori would never do something like this, right?" she demanded, almost breathless with anger. "Well, guess what! I'm NOT Tori! Unfortunately for you!"

Whoops. They both knew that her words were more than a petty jab at Beck and Tori's friendship. No. Once again, he was able to view just how far deep her insecurity ran, which frustrated her to her very core. Sure. She was possessive. He would probably be too if she went around kissing random boys in front of him. And never actually apologizing for it.

He took a deep breath, ready to immediately retort back, when the sound of footsteps rushing towards them stole his attention. He recognized the silhouette of Andre, another one of their school friends, rushing towards them. What was that in his arms? Something big and translucent and... drippy?

Beck immediately clamped his jaw shut, balling his hands into fists as well—a mirror image of his girlfriend.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Andre breathed as he approached the pair, his eyes flitting between the two of them. He gripped a tub of chocolate ice cream in his hand, the condensation forming on the plastic making his hands feel sticky and gross. He probably should've guessed that the unforgiving Hollywood heat would've made quick work of the frozen cream, but... the air conditioning would help cool it down, right? He'd tried to get from the grocery store to the hospital—ice cream is supposed to help after throat surgery, wasn't it?—before it became a tub of chocolate-y mush, but he'd only gotten a few steps inside the door when he noticed the notoriously loud couple screaming at each other by the elevators... and the uncomfortable, wide-eyed strangers watching them.

"You guys know that this isn't Hollywood Arts, right?!" he asked breathlessly. "This is a hospital. You know... where sick people are. And the families of those sick people."

Beck's head fell just slightly at his friend's words, embarrassed. Andre was right, obviously. Why did he let himself yell like that? He hated making a scene.

"And none of them have any idea who the two of you are," Andre continued, naturally and effortlessly fulfilling his routine role as the couple's mediator, "so they can't tune out you guys and your beef like the rest of us do. So, i mean... if you're gonna fight... at least do it in Tori's room, alright?"

Beck nodded, looking up to meet his friend's eyes. "Yeah, man... Sorry about that."

The two of them turned towards Jade expectantly, who simply crossed her arms and shifted her weight onto one foot, her mouth a straight line. "Uh-huh," she muttered finally, her voice softer but obviously still just as irritated.

With a quick glance, the couple mutually agreed to take a time-out—the interruption by Andre had broken them both from their angry stupors. Their white flags raised for the moment, they would just have to continue the fight back at Beck's trailer.

Andre nodded, breaking a small, easy smile. "Alright, cool. Sorry for going all preachy on you guys." He reached forward and quickly tapped the elevator button, drumming his fingers along the tub of ice cream excitedly. Seeing the two pairs of eyes staring at the container, he let out a quick laugh. "Haha, I figured Tori could use something to make her throat feel better... And I wouldn't mind digging into some chocolate ice cream either."

He laughed again, and Beck joined in, grinning as well. It was half-hearted, sure, but it was still a smile. What else was he supposed to do? There wouldn't be any more fighting for the time being. Might as well focus on having a good time with his friends and helping Tori feel better, right?

Jade, on the other hand, was fuming. What on Earth was wrong with him?! How could he be smiling and laughing without a care in the world when she was obviously upset? She mentally cursed herself. Why had she put so much effort into surprising him in the first place? She should've known that witch would've found some way to ruin it. And now he'd never have any idea of what she was planning, because they'd miss it. They'd miss everything, and she'd still be the jealous, territorial, horrible girlfriend everyone saw her as.

Because of Vega.

But, of course, everything was her fault lately, wasn't it? What on Earth did Beck see in her?

For better or for worse, her thoughts were interrupted by the chime of the elevator, the doors sliding open. Beck quickly stepped inside, and Jade begrudgingly followed suit, making sure to situate herself in the back of the elevator—as far away from him as possible.

Andre was about to join the two when he suddenly stopped, staring down at the tub in his hands.

"Ah, shoot!" he exclaimed, shaking his head. He looked up and met Beck's eyes, his own shining with panic. "I forgot to grab spoons! ... Do you think I could steal some from the cafeteria?"

Beck shrugged, leaning forward to place his arm between the elevator doors before they could close on him. "Probably. I mean, I don't see why not. But don't you think you should drop the ice cream off in Tori's room first—"

His words were cut short as Andre shook his head, his brow furrowing. "Nah, it has to be a surprise! I..." He turned to the side, shaking his head again. "I'll go find it! I'll just—I'll meet you guys up there, okay?!" And, without another word, he rushed away, desperately searching for a sign to direct him to the whereabouts of the hospital cafeteria.

Beck simply stood there, agape at the boy's sudden exit. Before he could register what had happened, Jade snapped from the back of the elevator, "Move your damn arm, Beck." So, without a word, he complied, letting the doors close in front of them as he watched the fleeting figure of his friend and his comically large tub of chocolate ice cream scamper away.

Tapping the button that corresponded to the floor Tori was on—he'd checked her room number with Trina the day before—he sighed and moved to join Jade at the back of the elevator, leaning against the mirrored wall. They had a truce, right? She should have no qualms with him standing moderately close to her.

And yet, she did.

... And yet, she held her tongue. Jade simply rolled her eyes in response to his movement, realizing that if she did try to pick a fight with him, it'd be pointless. They weren't going to be in the elevator for even a minute. Although Jade could start an argument over absolutely anything (a fact that she prided herself in), she also knew when to pick her battles.

A deeper part of her knew that the actual reason her venomous words had stopped themselves in the middle of her throat was because she didn't want to upset him any further. It was obvious that he was frustrated—and with her, no doubt, which was something that made her more uncomfortable than she was used to. God. Sometimes she absolutely hated the hold he had on her.

The two simply stared at the sign above the elevator, watching the numbers increase as they moved from floor to floor. The silence that stood between them after their red-faced argument only minutes ago was somehow... awkward.

2...

3...

With a jolt, the elevator immediately came to a halt, shaking the walls a bit and jostling both of them from their positions against the wall. Before the pair could react any further, though, the lights soon flickered off as well, casting them both in darkness.

And then, it was absolutely pitch black. Jade couldn't see her own body, not the mention the elevator doors in front of her. Huh. Weird.

Beck, on the other hand, was unable stop the panic from sweeping over him. He couldn't help but reach out for Jade, wrapping his hand around hers. He squeezed it as tightly as he could, clamping his eyes shut. Were they about to die? Was the elevator about the fall, plummeting them both to their death? Had they wasted the last few minutes of their lives in some frivolous argument?

Screw it. If they were about to die, they weren't going to in the middle of some petty fight. He was going to hold her hand so tight that they'd have to be buried together, decaying into a pair of skeleton lovers that archaeologists would dig up centuries later, looking like some cheesy decoration you'd see in some dumb haunted house.

He stood there, waiting for imminent death... but it never came.

A few moments later, the lights flickered back on, the sign above the elevator doors noting that they were still on the 3rd floor.

Oh.

Mortified, Beck swiftly dropped her hand, staring intently down at his shoes. Nope. No skeleton lovers today.

Jade, on the other hand, was incredibly amused—although she didn't dare show it. What a loser. She couldn't even be mad at him for the moment. He'd just added something new to her arsenal... a weapon to tease him with. 'Remember when you and I were fighting but you still grabbed my hand when the lights in the elevator turned off? Remember what a huge wimp you were?'

Such thoughts entertained her in the silence that ensued.

... Huh. Strange. The elevator still wasn't moving. How long had it been? A minute... two minutes?

...

...

...

"Oh my god," Beck sighed, running a hand through his hair—both a gesture made when he was at ease and when he was anxious. "Is it—I mean. Is it really not gonna move?"

Jade immediately snapped out of her daze, quickly glancing between Beck and the doors. Huh. Why wasn't the elevator moving? Had the lights flickering been the sign of a small power outage—stopping their elevator from reaching its destination? But... why hadn't it begun to move again once the lights turned back on?

Crappy hospital.

As the minutes ticked by, absolutely nothing happening to change their situation, the heavy realization dawned on the two of them.

They were... trapped.

So, knowing that she had no reason to continue with her silent charade any longer, Jade simply said the first thing that came to mind.

"Well, shit."