Compliance with Complaints
Author's Note: Future. Not angst per se, but certainly regretful. Beck/Jade fans will probably not enjoy this, but oh well.
Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious.
You receive the daily 2:15 PM call, just after she's finished having her lunch and has snuck away for a short break. The vibration in your pocket startles you; sometimes, life can really be a drag, and a wake-up call is just what you need.
"Hey, Beck."
"Hi, babe. How's work going?"
You don't know how many times you've asked the question, but with daily phone calls, what else are you supposed to ask about? (You both forget. You're not interested in anything similar anymore.)
Your brunette fiancée's sweet voice drawls out, "Oh, fine, I guess." And here we go. Rather than ask you about you life, she'll begin a string of complaints. You'll be walking along, tiptoeing across the thread, because she's the best you can get, and all you have to do is listen.
"But there were so many issues with the photoshoot today. They got me a dress two sizes too big. I mean, have they not seen that I lost weight? And then, the photographer was trying to be all nice. Faker." You simply murmur as she continues listing off minor issues that agitate her unnecessarily. Can she ever be happy? You wonder. "Oh, Chelsie called. She said that Grace complained about our party last week. How could she? Her party had that horrible DJ and the disgusting Thai food. Ugh, she's just jealous."
You attempt to brush it off saying, "Who cares? Hey, do you-"
"Excuse me? Who cares? That's an insult to us, Beckett, and Grace is parading it all over town. People are going to think-" she stops mid-sentence to talk to someone.
You silently thank higher powers for the brief silence. Why do you put up with this? An age-old promise made when you were 14? To someone who seemed to brighten every day but now only pulls a shade over the sunlight?
The fear of losing someone and never finding anything better. Loneliness. It scares you. Besides, you'd spent 9 years together. Would another 9 years with someone new even be worth it?
So, you listen.
A few hours later, chicken cacciatore welcomes her and her parents [surprise!] in the house because you're just the sweetest man she could ever find (or at least you try to be). But she complains that you're always trying too hard. (What the hell?)
Jade's mom compliments your cooking, and her dad notes the rich paint newly decorating the walls. You ohsosweetlythank them; they are always nice to you, after all.
But Jade is livid. "He didn't use enough salt!" "He's not the only one who painted the walls! I picked all the colors and helped him paint!" You stay silent. Why fight in front of the soon-to-be in-laws?
After they leave, you wrap your arms around her slim waist, but she angrily glares at you while washing the dishes. Persistence. The red of her sundress certainly compliments her current temperament, you think.
She ends up giving in by the end of the night. And so do you.