Disclaimer: I have nothing but my school ring to my name.

(.x.)

For weeks she had missed it. She missed the subtle glances, the jittery movements and the stuttering. Jade usually had an eye for detail but lately she was occupied with Beck. They were trying to re-ignite the fire. Well, to be fair the fire never went out, it just thinned. Okay, she was bored. Beck really didn't do much but kiss her cheek patiently or scold her when she was being particularly bitter on certain days. So, in an attempt to obtain the passion they had; the passion of two kids in love rather than two senior citizens hobbling to the store, they rarely spent any time apart. Beck surprised her with flowers on Monday, a new pair of scissors on Tuesday and together they snuck out of the school on Wednesday for lunch. Inside her chest, behind her firm smirks and crossed arms, ached. It was kind of pain she liked. There was no way to describe it but once you experienced it, you'd know. You'd just know.

Sometimes it would hurt and other days it would tickle. Often it was a 50/50 thing; everything was balanced and in-check. She was balanced and in-check. Well, she was until Beck was around. Then her pulse would race, her breath would sharpen and her body would automatically straighten under his gaze. It was like sometimes she forgot she was his and was still a prospective. She wasn't a life time guarantee; she was just here until her expiration date came around. Until they graduated from Hollywood Arts. Maybe that was why they both made the extra effort to enjoy each other's company more than usual. Their time was running out; their expiration date was nearing, looming over their heads.

All the effort Jade was putting into their relationship left her weary. Sometimes, when she stomped up the spiral staircase leading to her bedroom (making sure to ignore her stepmother), she would collapse into a deep sleep on her bed. Her stepmother often crept inside and took off the teen's combat boots. She would re-arrange Jade's body so she wouldn't wake up with kinks in her neck. On hot afternoons, she would open a window and drape a cover over the pale girl. Maybe she did it because she had no children of her own; Jade's father made it clear he didn't want any more Jades running their mansion. Maybe it was because Jade's stepmother herself had never received this kind of treatment herself as a child. Really, who knew why she even made the effort, but she did. So when Jade woke up in the wee hours of the morning to rush down her assignments, she might find a light snack in the fridge with a post-it saying "For Jade only." She wouldn't smile but she would gobble down the sandwich anyway, and continue to let her stupid stepmother fuss over her sleeping figure. It was the least she could do.

Her stepmother never knew Jade was aware of her fussy habits over her surrogate daughter, like when she bought apples. Nobody else in the house ate them but the teen, still her stepmother never forgot to buy them every month. Jade had keen eyes; she noticed all these things, these habits, these changes. She picked them up and filed them away, so far in her memory that when she was mad, she often forgot about them altogether. It was why she was shocked when Tori had slurred the words into her ear. It was why she didn't step aside and let Tori's figure fall to the fall as she stumbled in the dark.

Tori's parents were out of town with Trina, checking out university campuses. Yeah, what a bummer for Trina (her parents) but Tori got the house to herself so she really didn't mind. The usual gang was invited over. It wasn't like there was a rampant party or anything. It was just Beck&Jade, Andre, Cat and Robbie. It was Rex's idea to raid the liquor cabinet and Cat who ran to the fully stocked bar. They were the ones who mixed the drinks. But, you know, Cat and Rex didn't force Tori to drink them. She was the one who participated in the drinking games. It was harmless fun; nobody was driving home or anything, they were all spending the night.

She didn't know why, but with her parents gone and having turned 17 five months prior, she felt an uncanny urge to act out. Almost as if she was taking off her coat of perfection and putting it down for a second so she could bask in what it felt like to be normal. To live without the pressure of encouraging Jade to give up her bad habits, or trying to cheer up Andre, of ignoring all of Rex's sexual comments, of helping Beck recite his lines and of trying to sift through Cat's senseless comments to find a good base for a conversation. She just wanted to live, to forget everything for a moment. She should have known it was a bad idea from the moment she brought the cup to her lips and Jade gave her an arched eyebrow in response.

She didn't mean to say it. It wouldn't have mattered if everyone else was drunk. But no, Jade just had to be tipsy. If she were drunk then maybe they could cackle incredulously and clink their glasses together for another swing but with the jacket of perfection off, Tori found it harder to separate reality from expectation and howled with laughter into Jade's shoulder. The girl in question stiffened, not because of the contact, but because of her words.

"Tori, what did you just say to me?" Jade spoke patronizingly.

"When?" Tori's response was a muffled reply; most of her weight was on Jade who sighed heavily and flung her free arm around Tori's middle.

"Hey guys, I'm taking Tori upstairs." Jade had said, but no-one heard her over Robbie and Beck's cheering for Cat to chug another beer. It was a difficult task, the Vega girl wasn't as light as Jade initially thought, but—okay. Tori's weight wasn't really the main issue at hand.

"Jade, why are we in my bedroom?" Tori's words filed out of her mouth to form a sloppy sentence. She raised her hand to take a swing of her drink only to find it empty. Jade snorted at Tori's disappointment; she seemed genuinely upset that she wasn't slurping down an alcoholic beverage at the moment.

"Because we need to talk about what you said." Jade had dumped Tori's body on her bed and watched the girl bounce on her mattress, a smile growing on the Latina's face.

"Whhhy?"

"Don't whine. It's unattractive."

"Hey guys! Come back down here! You've got to see what Robbie can do!" Andre's voice floated upstairs and his silhouette soon followed, beckoning them downstairs.

"Not now Andre." Jade snapped and if Andre was sober he would have recoiled at the harshness of her tone, shrugged his shoulder and retreated but he grabbed her wrist instead, then Tori's and gently yanked them downstairs. Jade growled in resistance but she was still a girl and Andre was still a guy. He was stronger than her. Tori, however, seemed to enjoy being traded around like a pokemon card and was grinning widely. She looked at Andre then back at Jade with an expression that managed to freak Jade out a little bit. Only a little.

Tori Vega was a creepy drunk.

Why the hell was she sending people those overly sexual looks for? And why was she looking at Andre? Was she missing something here? Did she like Andre? Oh dear God, was Tori really arching her eyebrows at her? Really Tori?

Jade, in an effort to escape Tori's crazy eyed gaze, stepped closer to Andre; an action that made him pause mid-sentence and look at her briefly. Tori burst out on jovial laughter that caught onto every other drunk person at her house. Jade huffed but didn't pull away from Andre. With Vega in that state, who knew what the hell she was up to.

"Jade." Tori had stopped her fits of laughter and was grinning at Jade mischievously. Usually Jade would never be afraid of Tori Vega. First of all, she couldn't fight or defend herself against Cat, she was no competition for Jade. Secondly, she was a pacifist and didn't like violence because she was a wuss, and lastly, there was just no fucking way Jade would ever be afraid of someone, let alone Tori Vega. But, you know, if she was, it would have to be because a drunk Tori Vega seemed to lose the very morals she held dear while sober.

"Jadeee." She called out again, tilting her head to the side and Jade recoiled in disgust. Everyone single person there was a stupid drunk. They had no composure, and if she wasn't trying so hard to get Tori to repeat her earlier confession, then maybe she too would be laughing like a hyena. But she wasn't drunk, she was just tipsy, so everyone else was disgusting for enjoying this without her. Eyeing a plastic cup on a nearby table, Jade grabbed it into her arms and chugged the drink. From the path of fire that moved from her mouth, down her throat Jade was right in assuming it was alcoholic. That shit was strong. She wasn't worried about whose drink it was; they were all friends and she wasn't a stickler for sharing (stealing). She blinked a few times and Tori's looming face came back into focus.

"Ugh, Vega shut up." Andre chuckled between them, making Tori's eyes shine brighter. Maybe she did have a thing for Dre. If so, Jade was totally holding this against her tomorrow, next week, next month and probably even after they graduated.

"Now, now Jade. Be nice to Toriiii." Beck's sloppy sentence annoyed her just as much as him wagging his finger in her face. If it was one thing she hated, it was when people jabbed their grotesque fingers at her.

"Don't tell me what to do, Beck." Jade found herself spitting out her words nastily. So, yeah, they were working on their relationship but that didn't mean that she couldn't call him out on his shit. Shit being him treating her like his 5 year old kid sister who had just eaten a cookie before dinner. Last time she checked, she was his girlfriend. The mere comparison of them being siblings was enough to make her scowl deepen. He sure as hell didn't treat her like a blood relative last night in his RV—

"Come on Jade, don't kill the mood." When Beck got drunk, he was a cross between a whiny boy and an annoying jock who couldn't take no for an answer. This was why she needed to get drunk, if Beck couldn't say no then…if only Tori would just explain herself, Jade would get drunk as her mother did before her parents got divorced. Numb to reality, to everything except Beck.

"No fighty guys." Came Cat's squeaky voice and Robbie stumbled next to her. Fighty wasn't even a word—she was goneee. (Jade briefly wondered if she was ever here to be considered 'gone' in the first place).

"Yeah, let's just enjoy this time together." As Andre spoke, Jade shot him a confused look as he draped his arm around her shoulders and smiled groggily. He had no idea what the fuck he was doing; neither did anyone else in the room but all Jade could think about was how snug she fit next to him and how Beck did nothing but drink himself into a coma that night. She snuck a glance at him to see a pout and rolled her eyes.

"Oh my gosh! I knew it! Andre you're still in love with Jade aren't you?" Tori squealed and rushed up to Jade, jumping up and down. "I'm so happy for you guys!"

The awkward silence that ensued didn't shut her up. Tori just shot everyone confused looks as if to say 'why aren't you guys happy too?'

"What did she just say?" Cat asked, in her usual oblivious state.

"I'm not sure. I don't think I heard her properly." Robbie answered and shrugged his shoulders.

"Didn't you guys know?" Tori rolled her eyes and playfully punched Andre in the arm. "It was soo obvious."

Jade had long stiffened against Andre's side. She was a little confused. But you know, when Andre let out a huff of air and muttered, "Oh shit," Jade's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open slightly.

"Oh, you didn't know? Well this is kind of awkward." Jade was trying to free herself from Andre's grasp but he was pretty muscular; it wasn't like she was blind to his arms—whooa Jade, when did you start noticing Andre's arms? Jade shook her head and tried to get her shit together. That drink she stole earlier must have been affecting her thought process.

"What the fuck man?" Beck hissed; he spat his words out angrily and stomped over to her like a petulant child. "Jade, get away from him."

"Make me." She said, because the face Beck was making was really something she'd want to remember tomorrow morning. Her smirk vanished when Beck's hand seized her by the arm and pulled her away from Andre and flung her into Cat and Robbie (who surprisingly caught her). He was stronger without that stupid puppet attached to his arm.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Came Andre's thundering voice.

"Owie." Cat rubbed her leg and pouted while Jade pulled herself off of Robbie who wasted no time in rushing of to Cat's side.

"What am I doing?" Came another angry shout.

"Hey are you okay Cat?" Robbie asked quietly. Tori simply got herself another drink while Jade frowned. Okay, this wasn't going ask planned; Beck was no longer paying attention to her. Still, Andre was in love with her? Her? His best friend's girlfriend? His friend? His "scary" friend? How could she have missed this?

"Who needs another drink?" Tori shouted from the kitchen.

"I do." Cat giggled and playfully shoved Robbie away and Jade rolled her eyes and reminded herself to lock the two of them inside the Vega's guest bedroom later.

"You can't throw Jade around like that!"

"I can do what I want to Jade!" Oh, that sounded rather nice, "she's my fucking girlfriend." Beck's attempts of defending her would have been more appreciated if Andre hadn't slammed him against one of the walls without batting an eyelash. Now that was rather disappointing. The one time Beck decided to fight for her, he was wasted and didn't even stand a chance of winning. I mean, sure he had hard rock abs but Andre's arms were so well defined that- whooa. That fucking alcohol.

"Jesus, can you at least try and win, Beck?" Jade threw her hands up in the air, almost knocking the drinks form Tori's hands. At this point, the Latina wasn't even mixing them anymore, she was just filling them with Vodka.

Jade supposed that she should have been more supportive and caring, but she had never been that kind of girl. Besides, what was Beck doing? Was he trying to embarrass her on purpose? She was a badass and right now Beck was diminishing their reputation, missed punch by missed punch. Maybe she was too tipsy to take the Andre Thing seriously or maybe she just couldn't be bothered. Okay, so she was shocked, but then what? It wasn't like she was ever super close with Andre. They were only friends because of Beck.

Maybe she was flattered. Yes, she supposed she was. Andre was more than just talented, he was amazing. He was sweet and kind, he was thoughtful and…he was just a male Tori Vega. Maybe that was what made her roll her eyes. In Jade's eyes, Andre wasn't "in love" at all; he was probably just lonely. When last did he have a girlfriend? And while choosing her proved he had amazing taste, things between them would never work out. Although, if Beck kept embarrassing her in this fail fight, she just would have to reconsider their relationship.

No, she wouldn't do that…this was just the alcohol talking.

It was safe to say that everyone inside that room was officially drunk, Jade included. The fact that she stole Cat's drink was just a confirmation.

"I'm in love with a fucking boy!" She shouted when Andre tripped Beck and he staggered to the floor. What kind of lame ass fight was this? They were barely even touching each other; they were too drunk to even aim.

"You can make me a man, baby." Jade choked on her drink and Tori howled with laughter; even going so far as to bend over and slap her knees. Andre was arching his eyebrows suggestively and Jade remained silent because she had no idea Andre had the balls to say that to her face.

Somewhere on the floor Beck roared in protest and Jade rolled her eyes. It was a losing battle; he was drunk before Andre had even arrived. "What the fuck did you just tell my Jade?" Oh, 'my Jade', that was a new one.

"Well if it's a man she's looking for I can—" score one for Beck Oliver. He managed to land a punch. Finally.

"Hey Jade?" Tori had slid beside the brunette who lazily kept her eyes on the failure of a brawl that took place in front of her. "You look really pretty tonight."

"Ugh, get away from me."

"You're welcome Jade."

"Why are you still talking?" A grunt made Jade re-direct to the drunken mess at her feet. "Oh God."

"Babe, I tried, I really did but I think I had too much to drink."

"God Beck, don't make me regret choosing you."

"So you chose me!" He flashed her a toothy grin, ignoring the searing pain in his left eye.

"I never un-chose you to begin with, fucktart!"

"I knew you loved me. I knew it."

"Uh, huh."

When she sat cross-legged on the floor with his head in her lap, time seemed to slow down. Just for that night, as she played with his messy hair and laughed at how badly he lost, they forgot about their expiration date. They forgot about graduating. The only things they could remember were his black eye and her laugh, the way he fell to the floor and the way she told him off for losing. The way his hand fit inside of hers and the way they never, for one second, had to try or to make an effort to enjoy each other's company. This was Beck&Jade. Drunk or sober, this was who they were.

It just took a little alcohol to fuel the fire.

But let's be honest here, that fire wasn't going to die down anytime soon.

Expiration date be damned.

(.x.)

A/N Don't ask me what the hull this was about. I completely forgot about this shit. And I say shit because this is like...no. Fail. What the hell? I make no excuses for this poor quality fic... -_-

Excuse: I was too lazy to edit this and make it presentable so I'm posting it so I won't forget about it for another 5 months or so. Go read Heartbreak Warefare by my dear friend Andy.

This page was lacking Bade, that's the only reason why I posted it. Maybe I can pass this off as a crack fic :/