Disclaimer: Dude, I don't even own the bendy straws...

(.x.)

Coconut Juice and Bendy Straws

"Why are you so upset?" Beck asked exasperatedly, running a hand through his silky black locks, his olive skin shining under the glaring overhead sun. If he was shining, Jade must have proved to be another sun. The rays reflected off of her pale skin, or maybe she absorbed them and- ugh. Beck didn't know. What he did know was that his girlfriend wasn't in a very good mood.

"Oh I don't know; let's think of this for a second shall we?" Her voice raised a few octaves higher and made him wince at her shrill tone. Jade wasn't shrill- Cat maybe, Tori occasionally, Trina and Robbie, all the time but Jade? Never. They were crossing the courtyard after seeing the casting list on the school bulletin board. He had expected shouting, more broken clocks, threats; not this silence that had swept over the hallway. Everyone seemed to scatter out of the way when Jade West walked. Tori braced herself for the blow; verbally, physically, emotionally, she expected it all but when she cracked her eyes open to peer from under her eyelids to find an empty hallway she sighed a breath of relief and figured maybe Jade was finally over this rivalry between them. Still, she wasn't sticking around to find out just how accurate her hypothesis was.

Jade had burst through school doors, seething and Beck paced cautiously behind her. Where was she going? If she left school again, she'd face a possible suspension. She wasn't an idiot; she knew Hollywood Arts wasn't something she could afford to just get kicked out of. And then what would she do? Go to another one of those private schools her dad liked to ship her off to (especially those in another state)? God forbid she went to a public school. She came to a stop and Beck reached for her hand but she recoiled at his touch, something he found rather troubling because while Jade didn't like physical contact from certain people, she was always reaching for him. Except today.

So now, here they were in the school courtyard. Everyone was filing around getting lunch, laughing under the shade of a few trees while sipping on cans of lemonade. Jade was seething. Well actually, she wasn't, he just assumed she was. She made no attempt to move so Beck took it upon himself to grab her by the wrist, drag her across the courtyard she had just stomped across only to pull her into an empty classroom. One that just happened to be Sikowitz's class; Beck found himself relieved it was empty. He didn't need anyone else getting caught in the explosion; Jade was his responsibility, he chose to let the flames lick (burn) his hands. He had a choice- everyone else sans Cat didn't.

"Is it because Tori won the lead again?" Jade's crossed arms and pursed lips answered his question. "You can't have everything you want Jade. Tori's a good actress and a good singer-"

"Are you saying I'm not good enough for the lead?" He thought nothing of the comment. Instead he sighed and wondered if he did anything right anymore.

Beck usually noticed things- he was so quiet he compensated for his silence by observing others. He observed the way she carried colouring books in her bag for Cat, just like how he had observed Andre trying to teach her basic chords on the piano when they were 14. He knew her better than she knew herself and sometimes he liked to believe she knew him as well as she knew all her lines for the next school play or maybe even as well as Cat (because Jade had a way of anticipating Cat's every move). He knew that she never looked you I'm the face when she was vulnerable; he knew that she only ever cried over him, Cat (when they were kids and Cat broke her arm when she fell off the monkey bars) and her grandmother.

He knew she balled her hands into fists when she was holding something back and he knew that she secretly liked tots more than teens because tots, she had said "always tell you the truth. They haven't learned about the concept of lying yet" He knew when he needed to kiss her, hold or hand or hold her back from doing something stupid. He knew when she needed coffee, when she needed silence, when she needed flowers to snip into little pieces; each piece representing something she was letting go. He knew everything. Beck liked to know-he liked this power, this secret knowledge. He was kind of smug actually.

He looked at her, brown hair tumbling over her shoulders, red streaks ("not to match Cat's," she made sure to say, even though Cat's wide grin kind of gave away the secret) and black sweater that fell down her shoulders exposing a soft, milky layer of skin that Beck really didn't want to look at for too long for, you know, guy reasons. He supposed he should say something but he didn't know what; and that scared him more than his dad being rushed to the hospital because of a "friendly, sneezing dog".

Her eyes scared him the most. He was the only one, besides Cat, who could look into those pools of blue-grey and fish her thoughts out of them. But now, they were unreadable. He wondered briefly if Cat would be able to pinpoint Jade's emotions. The thought made him frown bitterly; he never understood the bond those two had and he supposed he may be just a little jealous. Maybe it was because he only had three years with Jade while Cat had eleven, or maybe it was because he knew if it came down to it, Cat would always be Jade's 2AM. Not him, and really, he didn't pick up once because he was really tired. Still, Jade never carried colouring books and crayons in her bag for him. Not that he wanted her to or anything, but, it would still trump a can of lemonade for his birthday any year.

Beck was the one to break the gaze and Jade could've laughed; for once Beck was helpless but she didn't feel like smirking right now. She didn't feel like wringing Tori Vega's nice little neck until her eyes popped out. She didn't feel for coffee, kisses, hand holding or yelling. Maybe Beck could see that what she wanted, he couldn't give to her.

"I'll go get us some lunch. Jade, just stay here, please?" Her boyfriend pleaded, he took a step forward to kiss her but pulled away last minute. Her lack of response made him sigh deeply and push his hands into the back pocket of his jeans.

As Jade watched him go, she realized Beck never answered her question. He never said "You're better than Tori" or "You deserved that part, babe" with his lazy boyish grin. No, it was always "Congrats Tori" and "Maybe next time Jade?"

Obviously at the rate things were going there was never going to be a next time. Cat's rambling could have distracted her today but Cat was visiting her loony brother in university. Why her family was doing this in the middle of the term, she had no idea but if there was one thing she learned about the Valentines, it was that they all acted on impromptu. They got an urge, a want, a feeling and they all acted upon it. If Jade acted upon her wants, Tori Vega would be attending Northridge right now.

"Jade, is there something wrong?" Sikowitz's face peaked out from behind one of the thick, heavy, red drapes on the mini stage in front of the class. She would've jumped if she hadn't felt so... What was she feeling exactly? It wasn't jealousy or anger, she knew that much.

"No." The brunette spoke curtly. She had always respected Sikowitz.

"Really?"She eyed him warily as he stepped from the drapes and off the stage. On his desk he grabbed a coconut and sucked on the pink bendy straw.

"Yes, really."Sikowitz arched his eyebrow at her tone. He stopped drinking to open one of his desk drawers and pull out another coconut. Resting his current one down carefully on his table, Sikowitz reached in the drawer again and pulled out an electric drill which he used to bore a hole in the coconut and held it out to her.

She supposed she should have been shocked but Jade had been used to Sikowitz and his quirks after 3 long years. The longest being this one, in which Tori Vega won the lead over and over again. There should be some kind of rule that stated how many times a student could land a lead role in a school year. On the other hand, Jade didn't want to win the lead role because Tori wasn't allowed to audition anymore. She wanted to beat Vega, she wanted to earn it.

Reluctantly Jade took his peace offering and sat on the stage, Indian style, thinking briefly of her boyfriend, not because he was Indian, but because, well, what was taking him so damn long?

"What's on your mind, Jade?"

"Last time I checked Lane was the Guidance Counsellor."

Sikowitz grunted as he sat next to his student, holding out a blue bendy straw. She accepted it only because it wasn't pink and shot him a weird look. "I'm not as young as I used to be." He admitted and promptly ignored the snort that followed. "It's because of the casting list isn't it?" Sikowitz used his free hand, the one that wasn't holding his own coconut, go scratch his bald patch.

"Why were you hiding in the drapes?"

"I thought you were Principal Ikner. He wants to have a nice little chat about my teaching methods. Something I can do without."

Sikowitz had always reminded Jade of a dog. Sometimes she got the urge to reach out and pat his bald patch. Really, it was disgusting. She didn't even like dogs but she felt like Sikowitz was just begging for someone to scratch behind his ear. His hair was a mess, well what was left of it, and he sort of looked like he wanted a bone too. So she threw him one.

"How come Tori always get the lead?"

"Why do you want the lead, Jade?"

"What?"

"Why are you auditioning for the lead?"

"So you're saying I'm not good enough for the lead?" He expected her to be angry but instead she sounded tired. Like a single mother who was fighting sleep on her second shift because she needed to put something on the table for her kids. He whipped his head to the side, eyes wide with his coconut frozen in place, his neon pink bendy straw inches from his mouth. Her brown hair fell over her shoulders and her eyes reflected as much emotion as the Hollywood Arts pool. She toyed with her own blue bendy straw but never took a sip. Her voice was what got him the most. Jade sounded defeated and had managed to elicit a sort of fatherly feeling that pooled in Sikowitz's chest. A horrible pang in his stomach or maybe it was an ache for the West girl who had everything and nothing at the same time? Unaccustomed to this stir of emotions that ran through him, Sikowitz cleared his throat and blinked rapidly.

"I'll stop trying out then." Lucky for him, his coconut juice was almost finished, so when he flung his arms up into the air in shock, he was glad barely a dribble dripped unto the tiles. He had never seen her like this. Granted Sikowitz didn't see a lot of Jade West but he knew her well enough to know that she was a fighter. She was fire and Beck was her kerosene. He had grown to realize that Cat was the wind that helped the fire spread over acres of land but Tori Vega was a stream. A river actually, separating that fire from the other side of the field. Tori stopped Jade's growth, blinded her; limited her.

"Answer the question Jade." He spoke in a firm voice that Jade had never heard before. It made her straighten her spine and unfold her legs from beneath her.

"I deserve the role." She hesitated and only continued when Sikowitz nodded his head, egging her on. "Tori's good, but I'm better. I know I am. I've been at this for so long, I know almost everything there is to know about acting, I can hit all the right notes in Vocal Class so why…" Her voice trailed off, her cheeks flushed and her eyes widened. This had to be a new low; confessing her feelings to her crazy Acting Coach/Teacher. It was more than embarrassing. Jeez, where the hell was Beck anyway?

"Now, tell me something Jade, why did you try out for the lead before Tori was accepted into Hollywood Arts?" Sikowitz himself felt rather awkward, here was his strongest student, questioning herself. Last year when Jade didn't get the part, Sikowitz had fled the room, not even bothering to grab his coconuts with him in the process, but now, here he was with a girl he assumed to be the same Jade West. She wasn't destroying school property, she was now propping her head up with one hand, her elbow resting on her knee, while the other held the coconut.

"Because I wanted to…" Looking at her blank eyes, Sikowitz knew he would have to explain.

"Wanting to beat Tori isn't as good of a reason to try and get the lead as auditioning because it was something you wanted for yourself. You only work to do better than Tori but if that was the case, you would have never stopped getting the leads." Jade's blue eyes narrowed in confusion and she frowned slightly. "You have to do it for yourself, not for Tori. Audition because it's a part that you really want. Passion and ambition can override vengeance and jealousy."

"But I do want the leads."

"Only because you don't want Tori to get them." There was a pregnant pause and Sikowitz eyed the young girl as she sipped on her coconut juice, mulling over his words.

"I suppose you could be right." She spoke softly and he chuckled because really, Jade couldn't even admit he was right in her state?

"And another thing. You all have different levels of acting, Tori does well for only being a beginner. You are more advanced; I grade you harder than I do anyone else because I know you are capable of more. You can't compare a beginner to an advanced student, it isn't fair. So to be fair to Tori, she is amazing for a beginner, yes. But you Jade, are amazing for an advanced student. If I let you get every role, how will you grow as performer? Do you understand Jade?"

"I guess…"

"If you want to get the leads again, stop comparing yourself to Tori. I know it's hard, and with the trouble she stirred on her first day with, erm, Beck-"

"Never speak of it." Sikowitz grinned to himself foolishly; there was the good old Jade West. He moved to pat her on her back but the motion seemed more awkward than comforting and she shrugged him off. "I am better than her aren't I?" She spoke self-righteously in between sips, a small smirk gracing her features. He supposed being her teacher he should have said something but really, he didn't just build her back up to knock her over again. Besides...she was at a more advanced level.

"Enjoying the coconut juice?"

"It's alright, I've tasted better."

"They give me visions you know..."

Outside the classroom Beck Oliver leaned against the wall, hearing the odd ends of their conversation. He'd been back for a good few moments now and while he was shocked at first he knew that it was one of those moments he couldn't take away from Jade. His hands were filled with coffee, his burrito and a salad for, well, Jade. His bag strap was sliding down his shoulders and a bead of sweat was trailing down his temple. Girls swooned at his casual stance, one knee propped up against the door and his hair falling into his face but naturally, Beck didn't notice. He could still hear Jade's voice wafting into the hallway. It reminded him of summer; cool, breezy, relaxed but there was something deeper; something that he was missing, something that he just needed to know. Something he had to know. So instead of waltzing into class, he waited. He listened (something he knew he didn't do very often when it came to Jade) and he waited.

"Jeez, where the hell is Beck?" Came her angry cry. He knew that tone, he knew the expression she was probably wearing and he knew the huff that was going to come after. "He said he was buying me lunch; I didn't know he was going all the way to freakin' Canada to get it." Said boyfriend smiled; a wide one at that. He knew this.

Andre happened to be striding down the hallway, avoiding Trina (because she wanted him to write a song about how mysterious she was) and paused- only for a second- on seeing Beck's smile and knew it was probably Jade's doing. Only Jade could make Beck shine so brightly. The two best friends met gazed across the hallway and Andre nodded briefly before scurrying away after hearing Trina's piercing demands for Andre's current location (all of which were being ignored).

"I swear Sikowitz, if you call me a gank one more time-"

"Hey," Beck took this as his cue to enter, "I'm back."

"Finally!" Jade jumped away from Sikowitz and stretched; coconut in hand. "Took you long enough."

Okay, so he didn't know everything about Jade and he always couldn't give her what she wanted but at least he could let someone else give it to her for him. If he was being honest with himself he would admit that maybe he was a little jealous that Sikowitz was the one able to decipher Jade's apathy and chalk it up to insecurity. Maybe if he had searched her eyes deep enough, he would have found the answer. Or maybe, it was just one of those things Beck couldn't give her. Even if he couldn't be the one to return her to her usual snappish self, then he sure as hell could let someone else get close enough to her to help him find those missing pieces. He never said Jade was broken, she was just cracked; frayed and really, Beck could us all the help he could get. Even if that meant he was sidelined.

"So what were you guys talking about?" He asked, feigning curiosity.

"Wouldn't you like to know."

Well damn, he'd always want to know.

(.x.)

Hopefully this was Bade enough for SSBW. I have so many other ideas for oneshots and I knew I couldn't get them out in time for this weekend because I'm swamped with classes and babysitting so I squeezed some Bade in there. I know Beck's part wasn't fully explained but that was because I wanted to post this asap; specifically for this weekend because tomorrow I'm pretty busy. Please excuse any typos or point them out to me and I'll fix 'em. Blame college board for making me learn 300+ words in 33 days. I'm not sure I managed to keep everyone in character but so what- this is fan fiction, so I'm not worried. Also, September 1st we're trying to trend WeLoveLiz and SwagLikeGillies again. Please come and help us out.

Reviews anyone?