AN:This is my fic for the final bade prompt prompts were (S)he didn't tell you/Being with you is one epiphany after another. (Calvin and Hobbes)
Thanks goes to Cassandra for organizing these events. Also I want to thank her for being so patient because this is late (very) and she was great about the whole thing.
A giant thanks goes to Holly (Blue Lightning Penguin) for being my beta. This whole this was a mess before she went through it. She's literally the best. I couldn't have done it without her.
A thanks also goes to Khay for encouraging and motivating me even when I didn't want to be. Huge thanks to Lari for helping me with writing and even sitting through a very awkward skype session just so I could get this done. May we rule the world with brownies ad infomercials girls!
All Around The World
Beck groaned as he felt his bed bounce up and down. Grabbing the nearest pillow, he threw it in the direction the shouting was coming from and smiled as he heard the pillow collide with a body, followed by a loud thump and shout. Finally he sat up to address the person who so rudely woke him up.
"Is there any reason you woke me up early on a Saturday morning Andre?" The twenty-two year olds had been friends since their playground days but it still didn't excuse Andre's behavior. Expecting Andre to take on a more serious tone, he was surprised as Andre just jumped back on the bed and began jumping as if he were a three year old.
"Didn't she tell you? Have you talked to Tori lately?" Andre shouted. Confused, Beck grabbed his pear phone and saw he had three missed calls from Tori. Setting his phone down, Beck grabbed his friend's arm and yanked him into a sitting position.
"Mind telling me what's going on?"
"You know how Jade West is going on tour in a few weeks? Well she needs an opening act still and apparently her manager saw one of our concerts and wants to talk to us about joining Jade on tour.
That was great news. About six years ago Beck, Andre, Tori, and Cat had met in a school called Hollywood Arts. From there they became friends before eventually starting a band together. While their band was still struggling to be known, they had an intense following of fans and with the help from someone as famous as Jade West, they could be well on their way.
Giving a happy shout, Beck repeated the actions his friend had earlier and began jumping on the bed and André was quick to join him.
Of course both boys would deny that moment happened until they day they died.
/
Jade's manager Sinjin was one weird guy. He was scrawny with hair that resembled moss but he was always seen in his signature suit and aviator glasses. He was almost always seen with his very possessive girlfriend Allison Casey, a former Victoria Secrets model turned physics major. She was about ten years older than him but her great looks made it hard to tell. She was infamous for snapping at any girl who came close to her boyfriend and many guys around the world envied Sinjin.
Beck was one of those guys but for a completely different reason. Sinjin got to hang around with someone as amazing as Jade West and if Beck was being honest he had a small (tiny really) crush on her.
"Okay let's talk tour." Sinjin said as he talked his girlfriend continued to run her hands through his hair. "As you know this is a summer tour. We'll be stopping at 48 states and also some spits in the UK. There will be times where you get homesick. Odds are you won't get to spend important holidays with your family. Days will go by with you getting little to no sleep. And you'll be traveling in a tour bus which lacks personal space. If any of this will be a problem for you say so now." Sinjin paused giving the band a look, but continued when he realized the band had no objection. "And if you don't, I just have one thing to say. Welcome to the official Jade West tour. We're happy to have The Five Non-Shruggers as our opening act"
After that more technicalities were given. It almost was too much to take but Beck knew that this was the price of fame and he was ready to pay it.
/
Rehearsals were crazy. Between getting the sounds and spotlights right as well as practicing set changes and clothing change as well as getting song line up prepared there was barely time to sleep. On top of that Jade West stayed fairly elusive. The only band member she would allow near her was Cat much to Beck's frustration.
On top of that, he had seen the way she treated the tech crew. Pushing at them if they were in her way and yelling whenever they messed something up. Her bad attitude was enough to make his crush disappear and he almost wondered if this tour would end up as some big mistake. Still, he wasn't going to allow some rude girl to ruin such a huge milestone for the band.
Besides she was taking a different tour bus.
He'd be able to survive this tour.
Right?
/
The first few weeks of the tour do nothing to change his assessment of Jade. She's beautiful and talented but those are the only nice things he can say about her. Because her bitterness and anger eclipse anything else about her.
He takes the time to research things about her. How she had divorced parents. How she hasn't seen her father in years. And her mother didn't really support her career choice. He sees recordings on YouTube of her shouting at people she find annoying and her storming out of television interviews. All in all, he's not impressed with her behavior and yet despite all of that, he still feels as if he's missing something. That if he looks hard enough, he can find the good in Jade West, and that maybe just maybe he's being too harsh on her.
A few weeks later he begins to see the good.
/
He feels bad whenever he sees Tori try to hang out with Jade. Cat spends most of her nights in Jade's tour bus and it's easy to see that Tori feels left out. But out of their whole band, Jade has warmed up to Tori the least. Beck walked over to Tori, who was sulking on her bed.
"Okay tell me what's wrong. "
"I just wished she liked me. They get to have girl time while I'm stuck in a bus full of boys. No offense. I just hate feeling left out." Tori looked on the verge of crying and Beck really didn't know how to deal with a situation like this. Since the first day he met her, he could see that everyone liked her. She was nice and sweet and she wasn't use to people not liking her.
"Well maybe you can try talking to her before the buses get on the road. Cat's over there and I'm sure she won't let Jade send you away."
Tori's face immediately brightened as she hopped out of the bed. "Thanks Beck. You're a genius."
And she was out the door. He assumed everything was going great when Tori wasn't immediately sent back and figured Jade wasn't as mean as he thought she was, until Tori marched into the tour bus the next morning looking downright miserable.
"What happened?" He asked, concerned about her sad appearance.
"Jade. She basically ignored me the whole night and when I showed her the song I wrote and asked if maybe we could sing it as a duet she laughed before snatching the song out of my hand and tossing it into the trash." Beck could feel the anger rise in him. Just as he was beginning to think that Jade wasn't as mean as he thought, she proved him wrong.
Later that night, he watched as Jade begin to close the show. It had been a long night and the energy the band member gave off was nothing short of miserable. With him being angry and Tori being sad, things hadn't gone so smooth during their performances. He was just about to head out the door when something Jade said caught his attention.
"I was thinking of closing the show tonight with a new song. But to sing this new song, I need the help of Tori Vega. Think you guys can get her to come out here?" As soon as she finished, the crowd started to cheer Tori's name while said girl looked shocked. It took Andre giving her a light shove for her to start walking on stage. Then a song he never heard before began to play as both girls sung and dance around each other.
"Take A Hint" rang through the arena before the song finally ended and both girls took a bow and walked off stage. While everyone went in to hug and congratulate Tori, Beck made his way towards Jade.
"That was a nice thing you did for Tori." For a moment she looked shocked before a scowl made its way onto her face.
"Yeah, whatever don't mention it." She then stomped off and he couldn't help but smile.
Jade West really was nice even if she didn't often show it.
/
"Hey man, what do you think of Jade?" It was one of those rare moments when he and Andre had time alone. The tour had been almost five months in and at times, it was hard being in such close proximity of each other.
"She's cool." He shrugged. "Girl has crazy talent. We even worked on a song. Take a listen." Andre hopped up, popping a CD into an ancient boom box that they kept around. The tour bus began to fill with the sound of a long song as both Jade's and Andre's voice mixed together. Something about the song bothered Beck.
Something that made him jealous.
He wanted to spend time with Jade. Get to know her the way everyone else seemed to be.
For the rest of the night, that exact thought floated around in his head.
Jade West is special.
/
"So before I start, there's something Robbie wants to do." The Five Non Shruggers stood back stage watching. What was happening as Robbie made his way upstage guitar in hand?
"I wrote this song for a special girl."
'I think you're sweeeelllll'
…
"That was for you Gabriella." Robbie said as a girl in the front row sent him a brilliant smile. Backstage, Cat looked devastated. They had all thought he was singing to her. Even Jade looked surprised. Cat quickly ran out the stage door and Jade was hot on her heels. He decided to follow but stopped short when he heard their voices.
"I'm so sorry Cat. When he said he wanted to sing something for a girl, I thought he was talking about you. I should kill the little freak." Cat sniffled in response. "Really Cat, you're way too good for him. Didn't you say he used to carry a puppet around school?" Cat nodded but didn't say anything else. "Come on Cat, say something. I feel horrible." And he could tell it by the desperation in her voice. He had never heard Jade sound so worried about something. And once again, he was curious about the friendship the two girls had. Both girls were opposites and to see them actually getting along was a bit strange.
"I don't think I really liked Robbie. I just thought he liked me and it was nice to have someone who actually liked me and wasn't annoyed by me the way everyone else is and now I don't even have him anymore. No one likes me." The tiny girl began to cry and he watched as Jade awkwardly patted her back.
"Tell anyone I said this and you'll die but even if no one else ever likes you, I'll like you. You're one of the only friends I have." At this, Cat giggles before engulfing the girl in a strong hug. Jade loudly yelled "No!" and pushed Cat off her. Suddenly, he felt guilty for watching the whole thing. He quietly left and was left alone with his thoughts. Not only had Jade helped Robbie (even if the results weren't what she expected) but she also took the time to take care of a friend. This was something he couldn't ignore any longer. He could see that his initial observations about her were wrong. That despite how mean she could get, there was something inside her that had the potential to be nice and to love those around her. And Beck wanted to know her love.
Jade West is a great friend.
/
He finally gets his turn one night. It starts at weird because the paparazzi are all over the place. Apparently Ryder Daniels and his wife are staying in the same hotel as they are. He watches as they ask Jade a million questions about her relationship with Ryder before he's able to push some of them off and take her away from the flashing cameras. She asks him to go with her to the bar downstairs and he agrees.
Throughout half the night he wonders about Ryder and Jade. Ryder was a well-known actor who used to be linked with Jade very often. According to the tabloids, both had a long history of being on again off again. Even after his recent marriage, questions about them still floated around even though the pair hadn't been spotted together for several years now. Jade must've known what he was thinking about because without preamble, she started talking.
"Ryder Daniels is my best friend. We've known each other since we were kids and did everything together. Then we both got famous and Ryder fell in love with girl back in our hometown and things changed. Magazines kept saying that Ryder and I were dating and anytime we stepped out there were paparazzi taking pictures of us. And even when we denied everything people believed what they wanted to. And Ryder started having trouble with his girlfriend. She was jealous and upset that he seemed to spend more time with me. So we tried being more secretive. We didn't go out in public together and we always had our faces covered up whenever we were visiting but that made things worse. Eventually his girlfriend asked him to choose." She finally stopped there and took a few swallows of her drink.
"And he chose her?" Beck finished connecting the dots.
But Jade shook her head surprising him. "No I told him to go back to her, that I couldn't have him regret breaking up with her. They were in love, and anyone can see they still are. I couldn't be that selfish. I couldn't let him choose me over love. He chose me. Said that he couldn't just stop being friends with me because his girlfriend didn't understand. But I told him no. I knew how much he loved her and I didn't want him to regret his choice. I had to let him go. Now he's happily married to her and I know I made the right decision.
"He was angry at first but everyone once in a while I'll see him out in the crowd cheering me on and I like to think that he forgave me." After her long confession, Jade gulped down the rest of her drink before ordering another one and gulping it down too.
"But I kind of hate myself for breaking off our friendship. Now I can't tell who's really my friend and who's just using me. I hate that about fame."
"Well Cat's your friend."
"Cat's basically a pet."
"You don't mean that." She shook her head.
"I know."
"And Andre."
"Yeah Andre too."
"And Tori and Robbie." At this Jade said nothing.
"Okay maybe not them, but I'm your friend."
"No." She shook her head. "I think you're more than a friend."
It was at that moment he realized that they had begun to lean closer to each other. Their lips were just about to meet before she slumped against him, passed out from their night of drinking. Beck couldn't help but to laugh.
This girl was really something.
Jade West was actually selfless.
/
As The Five Non Shruggers finished the last song in their act, all of them began to trickle off stage. All but one. Instead, Beck grabbed the microphone Tori was using only moments ago and waited as Jade made her appearance. Her face looked completely surprised to still see him on stage and she whispered an angry "What are you doing?"
But he just smiled and replied. "You'll see." Then he raised the microphone and began to speak.
"When I first started this tour, I thought all the horrible things the tabloids said about Jade were true. I thought she was selfish, rude and mean. But then I watched. Everyday I learned something new about Jade. Things that made me like her more and more each day. And I saw that Jade was just the opposite of all those things. She may not wear her heart on her sleeve but it doesn't mean she doesn't have one. This tour was the best thing to happen to me because I got the chance to fall in love with this amazing girl. Now I just need to know if she loves me too." Beck looked at her expectantly while she stood with an unreadable expression on her face. Suddenly a voice in the audience yelled "Kiss!" And then another one and another one until the entire audience chanted for them to kiss.
"Well are you going to give them what they want?" Jade nodded and before either one of them knew it they were locked in a heated kiss as the audience cheered. Finally, the two broke apart and embraced. Quietly, so that only he could hear she whispered, "I love you too."
Yes this tour was definitely the best thing to happen to him.
/
On the last night of the tour, the gang went out to a restaurant. Tori smiled, Robbie made bad jokes, Cat giggled, Andre hummed notes of an unfinished song and Jade scowled. On the outside their little group seemed out of place together but Beck had long ago realized that just because something appeared a certain way didn't mean that it was how things actually were.
This tour created a lasting bond between them and he could honestly say they were all family.
"What are you thinking about?" Jade whispered in his ear.
"How the tour is over now and we all won't be seeing each other every day." It was true. They all had things to do. Cat would be spending time with her family in Florida and apparently Andre would be tagging along (The pair had been suspiciously close and it was something he suspected Jade had a part in). Robbie was going to visit Gabriella back in Brazil, while Tori worked on a solo album. But most importantly, he was auditioning for a movie, because while he loved working with his band, part of him missed acting and if he got the role he would be filming in LA while Jade would be heading back to New York for some studio time. They had already agreed to try the long distance thing: he knew they would make it but it wouldn't make saying good bye any easier for them.
"How about we enjoy our time together and save the sulking for another day? You were the one that dragged us to this crappy restaurant so you're going to enjoy it."
And she was right. For now he was going to stop worrying. He had a girlfriend that he loved and a life he enjoyed.