I don't even know if I like the story. I wrote it ages ago and thought I'd just share it anyway. If you do enjoy it, PLEASE review.
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He's five years old when he first sees Jade West.
His mother had just given birth to his baby sister Jayla, and like most new-borns, Jayla had demanded nearly all of his parent's attention. They always gushed about how she was a darling little angel. Andre admits she's cute, but he doesn't think there's anything particularly angelic about her. She's just a baby. Besides, little girls were certainly not angels. They were annoying and loud and more trouble than necessary.
His view on girls quickly changes the night he spies his new neighbour playing outside in her garden. He had been sick of Jayla's screams and had snuck out of the house to avoid them. It was a full moon which for some reason always excited Andre. His father had said that on a full moon, magic would come out at night. His mother had said full moons just brought mischief. His parents are both right evidently, for the little girl was definitely a mixture of both.
He spies her by accident. He had been walking around the border of his backyard when the sound of a rope swinging caught his attention. Crawling through a small hole in the fence, he stumbles upon an ethereal looking child. She is almost radiating in the moonlight, her pale skin glowing as she swings back and forth on an old tire attached to a tree. She's wearing a sky-blue dressing gown and little black slippers. She doesn't smile, but she throws her head back as she swings, causing her chestnut brown hair to fly in long waves behind her. She looks free.
Then, rather alarmingly fast, she jumps off the tire and comes to land a few metres from where Andre was still perched watching her.
"You're staring at me." She states. Her voice sounded blunt but she doesn't look too angry, more curious if anything.
"So-sorry." Andre gulped, embarrassed at being caught. His mother had always said it was not nice to stare.
"Don't stutter. It's unbecoming of a child." She had snapped. This made Andre stand up straight and quickly brush down his jeans. Though she was such a tiny girl, she reminded him of an adult, and he didn't really know how to react.
"Why are you here?" She presses.
"My parents are busy with my new baby sister. She was crying so loud that I wanted to hide." He explains.
The little girl makes a disgusted face at this. He feels as if she understands.
"What about you?" he asks.
"My parents are too busy fighting. I didn't want to hear them yelling anymore so I came outside."
Andre's parents didn't really fight but he can understand why that's scary.
"I'm sorry." He says, because it sounds like the right thing to say.
The girl looks at him strangely. He feels as if she's analysing him, her striking blue eyes bearing deep into his soul. Finally, she shrugs.
"I don't mind. It means that they leave me alone, and then I get to play with things I like. Look what I found." She tells him, an air of excitement now in her voice as she reaches into her robe pocket at pulls out a pair of sharp scissors. "Aren't they pretty." She whispers, looking at the moonlight reflecting off the shiny metal.
"Mummy says scissors are dangerous and not for children." Andre admits. He feels slightly nervous, but her voice is rather enthralling and lures him closer to her small frame.
"Exactly." The girl sighs. "That's why I like them."
Andre smiles up at her. "You're not like the other little girls in my Kindergarten class" he tells her.
"Other little girls are stupid." She snaps, but her eyes have softened slightly and Andre thinks she's not really mad though she sort of sounds that way.
"My name's Andre by the way. I guess we're neighbours now."
"My name's Jade." She replies, looking at Andre curiously.
"Hey Jade, since we live right next to each other, we should become friends." he tells her excitedly. He's only just met Jade, but he already can sense how much he likes her. She was different and exciting and rather pretty.
Jade looks very confused by this statement. "I don't have friends." She tells him seriously.
This makes Andre briefly frown, but then he smiles again and takes her hand. "Well, I'm going to be your friend now, okay?"
"Okay." She mumbles, and for the first time that night, Andre sees a small smile appear on her face.
When they're nine, she hears him play the piano for the first time.
They generally spent most of their time playing together outside, but it's one of those rare days where mother nature has decided to make it gush with rain, so she ends up in Andre's house.
Jayla's out with her mum at a playgroup date, and Andre's father is busy working in the outside shed, so the two kids can be as loud as they want indoors.
When Jade has spotted the piano in his lounge room her eyes had sparkled with delight as she pulled him towards it.
"Can you play?" She had asked Andre.
Indeed, he could play. He had been taking lessons since he was seven. Many people had told him that he was quite talented as for some reason, picking up tunes and making up songs came quite easy to him. He tells this to Jade who insists he plays her something, so he does.
"You're a regular prodigy." She laughs as Andre shows her a song he's been working on for the last few weeks. "A real Mozart in the making."
Andre still doesn't really know what all her words mean, but he's learnt to read his friend fairly well and knows that beneath the layers of sarcasm, she's actually praising him.
"Teach me how to play." She suddenly begs.
"You sure? It's not really cool or anything." He says slowly.
"I love singing and I've always wanted to be able to accompany myself on an instrument." She informs him, her eyes not leaving the piano keys which she almost lovingly caresses. "Dad says it's a waste of time though, and mum always gets headaches, so they won't let me learn."
"Let's make a deal. You sing for me, and I'll teach you how to play the piano." Andre proposes. He knows Jade hardly ever does what people tell her to do, and the second she had said that she loved singing, Andre was desperate to hear her voice. He's thrilled when Jade groans but nods her head in agreement to his proposition.
Though Jade was still quite small for a nine-year-old, she had a remarkably strong voice and sung with more depth and passion than any other singer Andre had heard.
"Whoa." He breathes when she's done. "We should audition for Hollywood Arts together when we're older. You're an incredible singer."
'What's that?" Jade asked.
Andre begins to explain the performing arts school he had found out about. They spend a few minutes just scrolling through the school's website, watching short videos made by the student body and reading up about the different classes offered.
Jade goes very silent as they scroll through the different links, but Andre senses that this has more to do with excitement than anything else.
"What do you think? Want to audition with me for Junior year?"
"I do." Jade admits quietly. "But I don't think my one talent is good enough."
"But you're also good at making up stories. You could write plays and act in them and stuff."
Jade glares at Andre when he says "and stuff," but then considers his words.
Andre knows he's right. Whenever they played pretend together, he always let Jade take the lead. He was worried at first that she'd want to play 'princesses' or 'family' like the other little girls at school, but Jade's stories were always more interesting. They involved dragons and vampires and evil witches that wanted to make them into soup. Jade also had a real knack for doing character voices. She mightn't realise it, but she was the most talented person he knew.
"I don't think my dad would let me." She finally confesses. She looks rather sad when she mentions her father, and Andre has a sneaky suspicion that something is going on at her home again.
"Your parents still fighting?" He asks, trying to sound casual to conceal his concern.
"Yes. More so than ever." She shrugs. "But anyway, who needs them? Hurry up and teach me how to play the piano."
Not wanting to see his friend any more upset, he quickly grabs her hand and places it on the keys. "Okay, let's start with some scales," he tells her. Jade's eyes glint determinedly, and Andre's pleased to note that she's momentarily distracted from any sad thoughts about her family as she places complete concentration on the instrument in front of her.
He teaches her every single day for the next seven months. She's remarkably talented and quite a fast learner, but more importantly, Andre can see how much happiness music brings her. He feels the exact same way and somehow, they are able to form an even closer bond over this mutual love.
On her tenth birthday, Andre even managed to convince his parents to purchase a cheap electric keyboard for Jade off eBay. She's over the moon with gratitude, and had on possibly the largest smile Andre's ever seen when he hands it to her (though she fought desperately to conceal it).
"I didn't even think you'd remember my birthday." She whispers, entranced by the smooth keys.
"Why would I forget that. We're growing up, Jade." He says, quoting one of her regular 'old man' sayings. This makes Jade laugh. "So, what did your parents get you?" he enquires, looking around her room.
"Nothing. Dad's went in early to work and mum's in bed with a migraine." Jade explains. She doesn't sound particularly upset by this. On the contrary, she seems pleased that they're both distracted.
"Well, we should do something anyway. Let's go out for waffles." He suggests.
"I don't have any money, moron." She chides, but at the mention of waffles, her eyes had sparkled with joy. Andre was glad to see Jade truly enjoying herself (even if she was trying to conceal this under her typical mask of annoyance), and he wanted to make sure that she had a nice birthday, even if her parents didn't want to celebrate with her.
"That's okay. I've saved up all my pocket money for something special. What could be more important than my best friend's birthday?" he tells her, taking Jade's hand and leading her to the door.
Jade doesn't try to hide her smile this time.
They're older now and not much has changed. Well, physically yes, but they're still the same old best friends.
Jade now only wore dark clothing. Andre thought she looked mad cool, like a rock star, but he seemed to be one of the few to feel this way. Even his own parents had looked rather displeased when they noticed Jade's fashion choices. She had also gone and had her eyebrow and nose pierced. He remembers that day very clearly. Her parents had been so mad that she had hidden at Andre's place overnight until they calmed down.
Still, they hung out together regularly and played around with the piano (they both had developed quite strong singing voices now and loved to harmonize with the music). It was one of those nights when they were just hanging in the lounge room, enjoying each others presence, when Andre notices a shift in Jade.
Andre had been teaching himself the guitar for the last few weeks and was attempting to impress Jade with all his knowledge, but Jade seemed unusually distracted and was hardly paying him any attention.
"Okay, what's going on." He finally urges, putting his guitar down and shifting to face her.
"Nothing." Jade barks, and for good measure goes to kick Andre with her foot. Andre's anticipating this and catches her smooth foot easily, laughing as Jade squeals.
"Hey now, talk to Andre. Tell me what's bothering you."
Jade looked like she might protest some more but finally sighs deeply, resting her legs on top of Andre lap as she glances at her skull ring.
"My parents are getting divorced. Mum said something about selling the house."
Andre's not sure how to react to this but attempts to remain calm for Jade's sake. "So… you're going to move away, huh?" he mumbles, staring down at Jade's multi-coloured toenails instead of at her face.
"Yeah. It's official. My parents are the worst." She sighs, wiggling her toes around distractedly.
"So, we're not going to see each other very much then?" Andre says, clearing his throat which had become remarkably dry.
"Probably."
Andre doesn't know what to say now. They sit in silence together.
Over fifteen minutes later he finally voices, "Will you miss me?"
Jade simply sighs. "Andre, we're 13. I bet in two years time you won't even remember my name."
Andre hated when Jade said things like this. For someone so confident, Jade was probably the most insecure person he knew. She always tried to make passing comments about herself that were usually quite demeaning.
"That's not true Jade. I could never forget you. Not even if you moved across the Earth." Andre says seriously. "So just stop saying stupid things."
Jade smiles slightly at this. "You calling me stupid?" She snarls, swiftly kicking him in the stomach. Andre lets out a howl of pain, but it's enough to break the stiff tension in the air, particularly since Jade can't contain her laughter.
"You are pure evil Jade West." Andre croaks, shooting her a reproachable glare. "Anyway, if you audition for Hollywood Arts with me next month, we'd be able to see each other at school."
"My dad would never allow it. He says 'arts' are for drug addicts and delinquents with quixotic ambitions and zero intelligence." She recites as if this is a saying she is very familiar with.
"That's a bit harsh." Andre points out.
"He's just honest. We live in LA, Andre. There are thousands of people just like us who have all these big dreams about becoming famous. And how many of them actually make it?" She snips.
Andre shakes his head at her. "You can't think like that though. If you don't dream, you'll never achieve. I'm telling you, Jade, you're a star. Who cares what your dad might think? You and I both know that you don't want to grow up to be an accountant or marketing manager or a bank teller. I hear you sing, Jade. I read your scripts. I watch you act. Why are you resisting what your heart is telling you?"
Jade's lips were pursed together tightly. She looked like she was going to rebut, so Andre pulled out the big guns, "Besides, when have you ever listened to what your parents have told you to do?"
This makes Jade smirk. "I guess you're right. It would really piss them off if I went to a Performing Arts school."
"Then come audition with me." Andre pleads, sensing his victory.
Jade considers it. "I'll see what I can do."
Jade did end up going with Andre for the audition. Her father had been adamantly against it, especially considering that he would end up with the hefty tuition fees if she was accepted. Jade, however, only needed to point out that he'd missed her birthday for the last four years and that parents going through a divorce generally wanted their children to be somewhat happy, so he finally had relented. She had a strict deal with him though. Anything less than a B+ and she would be shipped off to the nearest private school.
And of course, Jade absolutely kills her audition. To the point where she actually receives a standing ovation from the staff members. It's not just the eye of the teachers that she's caught apparently, because there's also a young boy with tanned skin and unbelievably smooth hair watching her intently from the audience.
The second the auditions have finished and all the aspiring artists begin to leave the room, the mystery boy gets up and strides over in Jade and Andre's direction. Andre remembers watching this boy's audition. He had done a monologue from Shakespeare's 'King Lear'. Andre had thought the boy was quite good, but he was mainly watching Jade's reaction (he always valued her opinion the most). Jade had looked very impressed. Perhaps it was this reason why she halts as she watches the strange boy approach.
"Hey." The boy calls out. He has a warm smile and kind voice. Andre can't help but think that this guy was definitely not Jade West's type. She doesn't like those typical 'handsome, popular boys'. She found them unoriginal and generally jerks. At least, that's what she'd told Andre.
"What do you want?" Jade snips. Andre rolls his eyes and playfully nudges her in the side.
"Be nice." He mouths.
There's a nerdy looking kid holding a puppet cowering not too far behind the handsome actor, but he seems extremely intimated by Jade and won't approach any closer. The tanned boy doesn't appear to notice and comes to a stop right in front of Andre and Jade.
"You guys were great." The handsome boy declares, but his eyes are only on Jade.
Andre braces himself for Jade's scathing comment and nearly drops his sheet music in shock when Jade actually mumbles, "Thanks. You were okay yourself. For an amateur."
Andre is expecting the guy to look offended by this comment, the nerdy boy certainly looks terrified, but the tanned kid simply throws his head back and laughs, "Maybe you can give me some pointers. I'm Beck by the way." He introduces, holding out a hand for her to shake.
"Jade." Jade greets and tentatively takes his hand.
"I'm Andre." Andre interjects, seeing as Jade appears to be quite mesmerised by the boy in front of her and doesn't look like she was going to introduce him anytime soon.
"Cool. This is my friend Robbie." Beck says, gesturing behind him. "I reckon we all got in."
"I definitely did." Jade says confidently.
"I know." Beck agrees. He smiles at her sweetly, and to Andre's amazement, Jade actually smiles back.
Andre knows then and there that things were about to start changing. Perhaps getting into Hollywood Arts with Jade wouldn't bring them closer together like he originally thought.
Beck and Jade had been dating for over a year now, but there was already trouble brewing in paradise. They seemed to constantly have plenty to bicker about, and it had got to a point where none of the students of Hollywood Arts would even look up when Jade's angry screeches could be heard in the early morning as she stomped after Beck.
It was another typical morning when the front school doors slammed open and Beck and Jade came sauntering in, both with angry expressions. Andre rolled his eyes, opening his locker to grab his textbooks but couldn't help but strain his ears to hear what they were fighting about this time.
"Honestly, Beck. You're telling me that you never called me back last night because you were up till late texting some skank?" Jade hissed.
"No, Jade." Beck sighed. "I'm telling you I was working on a project with Samantha till very late and I fell asleep. Can you stop freaking out?"
"Oh, so you think she's prettier than me?" Came Jade's indignant huff.
"Oh my God, Jade. What are you even on about?" Beck groaned.
"Oh, so you're calling me ugly now?"
"Babe, you know what, I'm not talking to you until you calm down." Beck states firmly. This infuriates Jade even more. She screams viciously, but Beck does not once turn to acknowledge her as he gets his books from his locker. She's still shouting, threatening to cut off all his hair, when Beck places one kiss on her cheek and then walks away.
Jade was almost shaking with anger as she watched Beck go. She looked around furiously, checking to see if anyone was staring at her. No one was beside Andre, and when Jade caught his eye, she stiffened in shock. She looked like she wanted to walk over to him but finally ended up strutting away without saying a word.
Andre observed Jade all day. He had wanted to talk to her but no longer felt comfortable approaching her about her feelings. A lot had changed in the last year. For one thing, Jade was hardly around these days. She spent nearly all of her time with Beck, and even when she was with Andre, she was generally complaining about something Beck had done. Honestly, Andre didn't mind all that much. He just didn't understand why the couple stayed together when all they seemed to do was constantly fight.
Instead, he seats himself down next to Beck at lunch and asks, "So how's Jade?"
"She is crazy." Beck replies.
"Why don't you just compliment her?" Andre queries. "That's all she was fishing for this morning."
"No, she just wanted to fight." Beck explains flatly.
Andre bit his lip but couldn't help but disagree. "Look, Beck, I know Jade really well…" he began to say, but was cut off by the tanned boy who frowned in confusion and challenged,
"Weren't you guys neighbours when you were six? She's my girlfriend, Dre. I know her."
Andre wanted to protest some more, but it was just at that moment that Jade shuffled over to them. Ignoring Andre's presence, she timidly put her arms around Beck's neck and leaned in close to him. "Sorry." She muttered into his neck
Beck's trademark lopsided grin appeared as he put his arms around her waist, holding her tight. "Love you." He counters, and just like that, the couple were lost in a deep kiss.
Andre feels uneasy as he watches them. Perhaps he didn't know Jade as well as he thought he did. Or perhaps she had just changed.
Andre missed Jade. He wasn't ashamed to admit it. But life went on, and he still was having loads of fun at school. Andre naturally made friends quite easily, even nerdy Robbie Shapiro and his stupid puppet had somehow wormed their way into his heart. Cat Valentine was also a recent addition to their friendship circle. She had apparently latched onto Jade in one of their shared classes, and as much as Jade tried to get rid of the energetic girl, somehow she had become a permanent fixture in their group. Andre even suspected that Jade had grown rather fond of the little girl.
It had been Jade's 16th birthday two weeks ago, and per tradition, she went out for waffles with Andre and Beck, but for the first time she had also invited Cat and Robbie along. This had pleased Beck greatly apparently. He smiled proudly at his girlfriend when Cat had thrown her arms around Jade screaming "Happy Birthday, " and Jade had allowed this without pulling out her scissors or snapping. Andre was pleased to, but he wouldn't have minded if it was still just him and her alone together just like it had been when she turned 10.
Still, Jade was growing closer to Beck and more distant to him. That was why he was caught completely off guard when one early morning, he awoke to his phone ringing loudly from his bedside table. Glancing at the time, he noted it was only 2am. He didn't even bother to look at the caller ID as he clicked accept.
"Hello?" He groaned tiredly, rubbing his eyes.
"Hey Andre, I need your advice." Came Jade's alert voice.
"Jade? What's going on, girl? It's 2am." Andre asked through a stifled yawn.
"I'm at Beck's…. I think we're going to have sex."
Just like that, Andre was wide awake.
"Um… okay?" he said slowly, rather unaware of how to react.
"Andre this is my first time. And Beck's for that matter. I don't know what to do." Jade explained, a slight tone of hysteria now evident in her voice.
"Jade, I'm not going to be able to offer much advice in that department. I'm as inexperienced as you are."
"That's not helping." She cried. "What if I'm terrible at this, Andre? What if I embarrass myself? I feel like I could screw this whole thing up."
Andre exhaled deeply, finally soothing, "Jade, baby, listen to me. Beck loves you. He loves you so much and if you feel like you're not ready, he's going to understand and respect that. You don't have to do anything."
"I know, Andre. I am ready though. I want to do this. I'm just nervous. What if I'm horrible at it?" She frantically whispered.
"Jade, you guys love each other. It's going to be okay." Andre reassured.
"Okay." Jade muttered. "Thank you, Andre." She breathed, sounding notably calmer.
Andre once again struggled to find the right words to say, finally setting on, "Take care." And with those words, Jade hung up the phone.
It was soon after that late night (or early morning) phone call that Beck and Jade became Beck&Jade. The pair were practically inseparable. The first sight Andre was greeted with every morning when he walked in through the doors of Hollywood Arts was Beck and Jade immersed in a fierce makeout session against the lockers. In class, they would move their seats so there was essentially no gap between them, and Jade would rest her legs on top of Beck's, while Beck would sling an arm tightly around her shoulders. Their hands were constantly intertwined, and Beck seemed to look for any excuse to touch or pull at Jade's long hair that had recently seen an addition of coloured streaks added to it.
They still fought like cats and dogs, and Andre hated to admit it, but Beck did seem to be growing more and more popular with the ladies each day. It appeared that Beck had mastered the art of subtle flirting and was quite the charmer. This drove Jade insane with jealousy, and to Andre's dismay, she seemed to develop a bit of a nasty side. Still, no one could deny the fact that Beck and Jade loved each other, and no one could ever come between them. That was… until Tori Vega arrived.
Andre feels instantly drawn to Tori. She's sweet and innocent and a little naive. In many ways, she's a stark contrast to Jade who had a knack for making him feel like an idiot whenever he asked a question or didn't know the answer to something. His heart goes out to the half-Latino girl the most when he sees the look in her eyes when she smiles up at Beck after spilling coffee down his shirt. He knows she's smitten, and he quickly knows by Jade's immediate flare of anger that things won't end well for the poor girl. It doesn't help that Beck does very little to quench this flame. In fact, he seems to fuel it, allowing Tori to kiss him in a scene. Andre had cheered along with the class (he was, after all, very proud of Tori for standing up for herself. Jade did need to learn not to snap so viciously), but when he sees the light smirk on Beck's face as he looks at Jade, his eyes silently shooting her a message, "see what happens when you don't behave," Andre had needed to restrain himself from getting up and punching him.
It was then that Andre started to notice little chips in Beck and Jade's relationship. Beck really wasn't the perfect prince most girls seemed to picture him as. He actually appeared to have a bit of a dark side. He loved to wind Jade up, watching her anger flare as he flirted with Tori or some other girl from class. He seemed to love the control he had over her. Jade would do just about anything for Beck and he knew it. Andre assures himself that Beck was a good guy, but he can't help but think that maybe Jade would be better suited for someone else. Maybe someone like him.
When Tori bails on helping with the vocals for his advanced songwriting class to instead study for her tech theatre exam, he almost faints when Beck suggests that Jade fill in instead.
It had been nearly three years now since Andre had last been alone with Jade, and to say he was scared was an understatement. Though he tried to play off his fear as simply being frightened of Jade's scary persona, truthfully, he was just worried to be alone with the girl he once referred to as his best friend. He didn't even know what they were anymore.
It doesn't take long though for them to revert back to their old playful selves, and for the first time in a while, Andre feels completely at ease in her presence. It's almost like old times where he would make up silly songs on his piano. Jade would roll her eyes and grin along, usually with a bowl of snacks perched on her lap like right now. Of course, the real treat always came when Jade herself would also sing. Tonight is no exception… except for one small teeny tiny different thing. In the past, Andre would be mesmerised by Jade's voice. Tonight, he was simply mesmerised by Jade. And then he felt it, a feeling that was strangely foreign but extremely definable. Love. He was in love with Jade West.
This was all kinds of wrong, especially as she was his friend's girl. He turns to Tori for advice, and he's even desperate enough to even agree to her slightly ridiculous plan. He gets up on stage, his wonk still dangerously out of control. Just as he's about to dedicate the song to Jade in front of an entire audience, Tori snatches his microphone and shouts "his dog." Andre winces at the stupidity of this excuse, but nonetheless, feels highly indebted to Tori after the song is complete. His emotions may not be gone, but he feels better, cleaner almost. He definitely feels like he'll be able to control himself around Jade now.
This theory is put to the test not too much later that night. He's dragging along his spontaneous date for the night (her name was Kiera or something, Andre hadn't really been paying attention) when Jade suddenly corners him by the spaghetti taco stand.
Beck, Tori and Cat seem to be distracted attempting to calm a hyperventilating Robbie who had just inhaled a large mouthful of hot sauce (something about Rex pranking him), and only Jade seems disinterested in the affair. Her gaze meets Andre's, and with her eyes, she gestures for him to follow her behind the stands. Making up some excuse to Kiera, he quickly rushes to join her.
"What up, girl?"
"Your song. It really was great. I just wanted to say that."
Andre feels himself beginning to blush, grateful for his dark skin that conceals the heat of his cheeks.
"Thanks, Jade." He mumbles sheepishly. Jade's staring at him again with her enchanting ocean blue eyes. He feels vulnerable and exposed by the intensity of her gaze as if she was looking directly into his soul. Perhaps she was, for a moment later she whispered,
"Your dog must be very special. She's lucky to have you."
And with those words, Jade leant forward and pressed a small kiss to the side of Andre's lips. She quickly pulled back and without another word walked towards where their friends were standing.
Beck seemed to have noticed her absence, and he shot her a lopsided grin as she approached, jogging to meet her halfway. When Beck was close enough, he reached out a yanked Jade closer to his chest. She stumbled rather ungracefully into his clutches, and taking advantage of this, Beck began to spin her around in circles before she could properly regain her footing and stomp away.
"Stop it, you weirdo." She shrieked, but a smile was lighting up her face.
"Nuh. Dance with me, babe. Don't resist." Beck yelled happily.
Andre watched them with his own little grin. Even if he did have feelings for Jade, there would be no point in even bothering to act on them. Beck and Jade were so clearly in love with one another that nothing could break them apart.
Beck and Jade break up.
It's an extremely awkward affair that takes place in front of their whole "gang" of friends. Jade leaves alone, and Andre doesn't even need to think about who he needs to support right now.
He drives straight to Jade's mum's house. He lets himself in (Jade had left the door unlocked apparently in her rush to get inside), and he patters up into Jade's room only to find the poor girl lying on her bed staring blankly up at her roof.
"You okay, girl?" Andre tepidly asks.
Jade doesn't even bother responding. The tears that start trickling down her face are answer enough.
"Oh, baby. Come here, come to Andre." He cooed, hastily jumping down next to her on the bed and scooping her up into his arms for a comforting hug. Gently, he begins to rock her soothingly, the same way he'd seen Beck do on occasion when she was really worked up.
"He left me, Andre. He left me just like everyone said he would." She whispers, her voice sounding hoarse.
"Jade, you guys just need to cool off. You'll be back together in no time. You always are." He comforts, but Jade shakes her head.
"No, Andre. This time it's different. He's never been this angry before. You were right when you said that all we did was fight. I don't know what's happened to us."
Andre can't think of a response to this. Guilt pulls at his insides.
"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said anything." He apologises, thinking back to his angry outburst earlier that afternoon. The fighting had finally got to him and he had snapped at the couple before even thinking.
"No, you didn't say anything wrong." Jade insists. "I just can't believe he'd throw away three years in ten seconds."
"You don't know what's going to happen, Jade. I'm sure everything will work out."
Andre means these words, but not quite how Jade was interpreting them. He did want things to work out for her… but perhaps not with Beck. Couldn't things work out for him and Jade? Could this finally be his chance?
After Jade's climactic performance of "You Don't Know Me," each act appeared somewhat dull in comparison. Still, Andre doubted anyone could feel as disappointed as him at that point.
He knows he shouldn't, but he sort of blames Tori for his current state of dismay. She had been getting in his head all week, trying to convince him to ask Jade out. Though he had refused, he still couldn't help thinking it over, and finally had decided to secretly ask her out to a celebratory dinner with him after her performance. It helped that he assumed Beck would be distracted by his date, Meredith.
What Andre was not counting on was Jade's passion-filled song that seemed to be dedicated to her Ex, and the consequential confession from Beck that he missed Jade. Though Andre had smiled along with the crowd when Beck finally went in for the kiss, a part of him couldn't help but feel crushed all over again.
He had bought a bunch of dead roses to present to Jade when he asked her out later. He figures that even if she's back with Beck, she'd probably still appreciate the gesture. After all, her performance was even more incredible then Andre had foreseen.
So with a little hesitation, he knocks on the dressing room door after the show. There's no response, but Andre was certain that Jade had gone back here to grab her belongings. Finally, he decided to just push open the door and check.
The sight he was met with crushed his spirit all over again. Jade and Beck were a tangle of limbs on top of the dressing room bench. Beck's hand was under Jade's shirt, and both her hands were tangled in his hair. They both shriek when they hear Andre's sudden gasp.
"Oh, hey man. You scared us." Laughs Beck, hastily removing his hand from Jade's…. chest area.
Jade looks like she's blushing slightly, but it might just be the left-over effects from the adrenaline of the night.
"What's up?" Beck asks.
"I… Sorry, I didn't realise you'd both be back here… I just wanted to give you these." He explains helplessly, holding out the bunch of decaying roses timidly.
Beck's eyebrows furrow slightly, but he makes no comment. Jade, on the other hand, looks taken aback, her mouth slightly opening into an adorable "o" shape.
"You… got those for me?" she repeats, looking confused and touched all at the same time.
"Yeah, I mean, I knew how hard you'd been practicing… just wanted to say congratulations." Andre shrugs, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.
Jade jumps up off Beck's lap and goes to collect the flowers off him. She places a quick peck on his cheek in thanks. "You're very sweet, Andre." She tells him.
"No worries, Jade." He says with a small smile. "Beck, take care of her, yeah?"
"Of course." Beck replies with a grin, walking over to them both and slipping his arms around Jade's middle. He leans down and whispers something in her ear, causing Jade to smirk and lightly elbow him. "We'll see you on Monday." Beck says in a dismissive fashion, making it clear that Andre needs to leave now.
Andre waves goodbye and walks at a steady pace towards his car. He feels let down which he knows isn't right. Still, who knows what could have been.
It's senior year now, and Beck and Jade appear to be going steady. Though this might seem like a good thing, it actually makes Andre quite nervous. The couple hardly even fight anymore, and he was convinced that their anger was boiling silently within them, ready to explode at any given moment.
He kept a watchful eye on Jade, anticipating the second when she would finally snap and unleash her fury (Beck seemed to be spending more and more time with different girls these days, so it was only a matter of time). However, Andre begins to sense that Jade appeared to be closing in on herself rather than getting close to boiling over.
Still, he holds his breath in nervous anticipation when one lunchtime, a preppy blonde skipped over to their table and came to a stop directly in front of Beck. Jade was seated opposite him, next to Cat, and didn't even bother looking up from the table as the girl approached.
Beck seemed to notice this too, and after a brief flicker of concern crossed his face, he turned on his most charming smile and grinned up at the beaming girl.
"Hey." He greeted amiably.
"Hi, Beck. I'm Katie. We're going to be in the Winter Play together." She explained with a light giggle.
"That's right. What's up, Katie?" He asked
Katie seemed to become very interested in the bottom of her shirt which she played with while asking in a gentle voice, "It's my first time in a play at this school, and I'm sort of nervous. Would you mind practicing the lines with me tonight?"
"Sounds good, Katie." Beck agreed charmingly, then once again turned to peek at his girlfriend. "Jade, you're cool if we rearrange our date night?"
Tori's mouth dropped open in shock at these words. Even Robbie looked up, his eyes screaming "is he crazy?"
Andre just pressed his lips together in anger. He knew exactly what Beck was doing, and he was not impressed. Beck was clearly trying to provoke a reaction out of Jade.
Andre might not be the only one to recognise this, for though Robbie was still looking around helplessly, desperately wishing he was somewhere else, and Tori's eyes were glued to Jade, terrified by how the goth might react, Cat, on the other hand, was openly glaring daggers at Beck. Like Andre, she seemed to understand that Beck was purposely trying to wind Jade up.
Jade, however, does not react. She simply shrugs her shoulders, her eyes not leaving her untouched salad.
Beck's cool exterior seems to crack in response as he looks at Jade in alarm.
"So, you're cool with me hanging out with other girls now?" He challenges. Katie is beginning to look very confused, glancing around at everyone's different expressions.
"It's fine." Jade murmurs.
"Really? I mean, I know you really wanted to go see that new horror film tonight." Beck presses.
"I need to go." Jade simply replies. She finally looks up, and it's quite a heartbreaking sight. She looks utterly defeated. Guilt flashes across Beck's face in an instant, but he makes no sound as she leaves.
"Soooo, we still good for tonight then?" Katie inquires.
Cat lets out a huff of annoyance, stomping away from the table and leaving in the same direction as Jade.
"Actually, can I take a rain check?" Beck stonily replies, his nice guy persona vanishing.
Katie looks very bewildered but nods her head and walks away.
Once she's out of earshot, Andre turns to face Beck.
"What the hell was that?" he snaps.
"I don't know." Beck admits, nervously sweeping his hand through his thick hair. "I was just trying to tease Jade a little. I don't know what happened."
"That's so mean." Tori cried. "Dude, I think you really hurt her."
"I was just messing around. But then she didn't even react and I…" Beck trails off sheepishly. Even Robbie who idolised Beck was leaning away from him in dislike. Beck stalks off without another word. Andre rolls his eyes but he's done with being silent. He gets up and follows Beck.
"Hey, Beck, where are you going?" Andre yells, running to match Beck's fast pace.
"To find my girlfriend."
"Why don't you just leave her alone?" Andre flares, pulling Beck by his jacket to a stop.
"Get off me." Beck barks and tries to shove him off, but Andre won't let go. He tightens his grip and begins to pull Beck in the direction of the janitor's closet. Beck struggles with him the entire way, but they both freeze in horror before Andre can even yank the door open when they hear small sniffs coming from inside.
The boys look at each other in alarm, then ever so silently, Andre creaks the door open to hear the quiet whispers from within. The first thing they hear almost shatters both their hearts.
"I just wish he loved me, Cat."
"He does, Jadey. He loves you." Cat squealed in horror.
"No, Cat. I don't know who he loves but it certainly isn't me anymore."
"Jade you're just upset." Cat pleads. "Let's go home. You'll feel better in the morning."
"Do you know what the real fucking twisted thing is about this all?" Jade asks with a dry laugh, ignoring Cat's comforting words, "I still can't stop loving him. I know I'll never be enough for him, but I still fucking love him so much that it hurts."
Andre shuts the door before they have to listen to Jade's heart-wrenching sobs.
"You've really screwed up this time, Beck." Andre breaths dangerously.
"No… I didn't… I just…."
"This is so messed up, man. You need to end things with Jade now. Stop hurting her by dragging her along on this twisted little game of yours." Andre growls, shoving Beck back so that they've moved away from the closet and are now standing in the middle of the hallway.
"What the hell are you even – look no. I'm not breaking up with my girlfriend. I love her."
"No you don't." Andre snapped.
"Yes I do and she knows it. She's just overreacting. You know how jealous she gets." Beck tries to protest, but Andre won't hear any of it.
"Beck, did you just hear her? She doesn't think you love her at all."
"She can't believe that." Beck yells. "Just piss off, Andre." And with that, Beck runs out of the hall. Just as Beck turned a corner, Jade and Cat's heads popped out from behind the closet door.
"Andre, what's going on? Who was yelling?" Cat questions in alarm.
"Don't worry." Andre said, brushing her off. He was more concerned about Jade. He looks at her though she was trying to avoid his gaze. Her eye makeup is smudged down her cheeks, and she looks like more of a sad little girl then a feisty 18-year-old goth.
"Jade…" he begins. She glances up fearfully, silently begging him not to make a scene. Andre sighs deeply. "Come on. I'll take you home." He says kindly.
They drive home in silence, but he thinks Jade is grateful for his presence for she takes his hand in her own and squeezes it tightly. Even later that night when Jade had set up a makeshift bed for Andre out of pillows and blankets next to her bed, she still doesn't say much. Before she turns off her bedroom light, she turns to Andre.
"Tell me everything's going to be okay." She requests.
"Jade, everything will be okay." He tells her seriously. "I promise."
Jade nods her head once, then crawls into bed. Andre watches her sadly. He squeezes his eyes shut and hopes for Jade's sake that his words will come true.
It's close to Midnight and Andre still feels wide awake. His eyes are closed and he's pretending to be asleep, but really his mind is ticking. He almost doesn't notice the sound of tapping coming from the window, but Jade sure does. He had thought she was asleep too but doesn't make a sound as she tiptoes to her window and then gasps.
"Oh my God, Beck!"
"Can I come in? I don't think your drain pipe can hold my weight for much longer."
Andre keeps his eyes pressed tightly shut, but judging by the loud thumping sound, Jade has pulled Beck into her bedroom.
"What the hell are you doing?" She hisses.
"Apologising. Baby, I am so sorry for what a jerk I've been."
"It's too late." Jade snips. "I can't keep doing this to myself. Just go and be happy, Beck. Go fuck as many girls as you want. Just leave me the hell alone."
"Sweetie, listen. It's only you, Jade. It's only ever been you. I don't care about any other girl. No one could even compare to you. You have complete ownership of my heart."
"Then why do you always make me jealous." She whimpers. "If you love me, why do you make me feel so insecure? I'm so scared Beck that you'll leave me for the next pretty face you see."
"Jade." Beck mumbles, and there's actual pain in his voice. "I am so sorry, baby. I am so fucking sorry for making you feel that way. I love you so much."
Andre peaks open one eye to watch Jade's reaction. He wishes that he'd kept his eyes closed. Beck cups her face tenderly in his hands and leans forward to catch her lips with his own. Andre shuts his eyes again, but the almost sickening sound of them kissing plays loudly in his ears,
"I love you too." Jade whispers after they've pulled apart for breath."
"I'll try harder, Jade. I don't want you ever to feel that way again. I promise. You are my entire world, Jade West." Beck swears, and even Andre can hear the sincerity in Beck's voice.
Then the sound of kissing fills the room again, and it seems to be getting louder. Andre realises with a sense of franticness that they're inching closer to her bed.
"Oh God, please no." Andre thinks desperately.
Thankfully, Jade seems to get a hold of herself. "Wait, we can't do this here."
"Why not?" Beck moaned.
"Andre's here."
"What the… JADE." Beck whispers yells. Andre guesses that Beck's finally spotted his "sleeping" form on the bedroom floor next to Jade's bed. "How long has he been there?"
"Um, since this afternoon, you idiot." Jade laughs.
"Why?"
"Because he's my best friend." Jade replies simply. Andre has to fight off a smile. He hadn't heard that expression for a very long time.
"Aww Jade, I need to be with you. All of you."
Jade actually giggles. "Pathetic, babe."
"Please, let's go back to my RV then."
"I don't know." Jade mumbles.
"Please, Jade. I just… I want to be with you tonight. I want to show you how much I love you."
"Okay." Jade whispers. Andre can hear them kissing again. He wishes they would stop doing that while he was in the room. "Meet me at your car. Let me just grab some things." She instructs, and Back makes a speedy departure back out the window.
Jade waits till he's gone, then perches down next to Andre.
"Andre, I know you're up. Thank you for staying with me." She whispers in his ear. "I love you." She tells him, then places a quick peck on his cheek.
"Love you too." Andre whispers at her retreating form, but she doesn't hear.
They've graduated now, and Beck and Jade decide not to go to college. They had seriously considered it. Jade certainly had the marks, but they figured that their goal was to be actors (or in Jade's case, an actor and director) so they don't bother. This turned out to be the breaking point for Jade's father. He had officially kicked her out. In his words, she was 18 and no longer his problem. She could go screw up her life without it weighing on his mind any longer.
Jade didn't really seem to care, but Beck had been furious. Andre actually had to restrain Beck from driving over to Jade's father's house and giving him a piece of his mind. Regardless, Jade had officially moved into the RV even though she'd spent most nights there since she was 16.
One morning, Andre had a break off from college and came by to visit. It was 10:00am but when Beck opens the door, he motions for Andre to keep quiet.
"Jade's still asleep. She was up all night working on a script."
Andre can't help but softly smile as he looks at Jade. She's curled up in a small ball under Beck's sheets. Her hair is in a loose plait, and she's wearing one of Beck's plaid shirts. She looks adorable, not an adjective he'd ever think to use when referring to Jade West.
"Come-on, I just made cereal. Want some?" Beck asks.
"Nuh, I'm good. But I brought those Xbox games to play."
Beck whoops happily, forgetting all about sleeping Jade. She doesn't stir though. She could literally sleep through a war.
Both boys make themselves comfortable, spending the next hour chatting in-between games. Jade finally wakes up at around 11:00am. She lets out a low groan that sounds vaguely like "coffee" causing Beck to chuckle.
Beck quickly presses pause and goes to get a preprepared mug for her.
"Morning, gorgeous." he greets, handing her the coffee. "Andre's here." he tells her, grinning at Jade's content expression as she takes a sip of her favourite drink.
"Oh, hey Andre." Jade greets, then to his absolute horror, she swings her legs out of Beck's bed sheet and stands up.
She's not wearing pants.
Andre forgets how to breathe.
"Babe, put on some clothes before Andre chokes," Beck tells her casually, plopping back down next to his friend and picking up the remote again.
"Andre doesn't care." Jade yawns. "Hey Andre, do you like the penguins on my underwear? Cat bought them for me at Christmas."
"Dang, girl. that's all kinds of inappropriate." Andre coughs, forcing himself to look at the tv screen and not Jade's endlessly long legs.
"Beck doesn't like them."
"They stare at me." Beck shrugs. "But Jade, you're still pretty damn sexy in them so put some clothes on." He instructs.
Jade rolls her eyes but puts on some of Beck's trackie pants and socks anyway. She then makes herself comfortable on Beck's lap, taking his forgotten cereal and eating it with content.
How's class going?" Jade asks, throwing her feet on top of Andre's lap.
"Fine. I'm glad we get a short break. What about you two lazy asses. Got any work lined up?"
"Actually, I've got an audition in half an hour. I better head guys." Beck groans, pecking Jade's cheek before shifting her off his lap and onto the couch. "I'll see you both later today."
"Break a leg." Andre shouts as Beck departs. He then gulps, glancing over at Jade. He still wasn't quite comfortable being alone with her even if things had improved with their relationship.
"So how's everything going for you Jade?" he eventually asks.
"Fine." She shrugs. "But I am so fucking sick of this stupid RV. We don't even have a bathroom in here. I have to break into his parent's house whenever I need to wazz." Jade groans. "Can't wait till we move out. Have you given any more thought about finding an apartment with us?"
"I don't think that's a good idea." Andre admits, looking nervously at his lap. He has a sudden déjà vu to when they were little, discussing going to Hollywood Arts for the first time. She had rainbow coloured nails back then.
"Why not?" Jade pouts.
Andre can't help but think back to his last shopping trip with Beck. It was over a month ago, and Beck had been a bundle of nerves. Andre had realised why when Beck had led him into a jewellery shop and pointed at a ring, asking for his opinion.
Andre doesn't want to let Jade in on this secret, but like a mind reader, Jade sighs,
"Is this because he's going to propose to me soon?"
"What the - how did you find out!"
"He has the ring in his sock drawer." Jade states, wiggling her feet on Andre's lap where sure enough she was wearing a pair of Beck's socks. "I've been dropping hints for him to hurry up and get it over with for last few months, but he still hasn't clocked on."
Andre can't help but laugh. Of course Beck wouldn't be able to hide anything from her. "Well, you're right." he tells her, "You're about to get engaged. I just don't think it would be a smart decision for me to move in with you guys."
I'm not going to get married for at least another year though. I want to be at least 20.
"Doesn't change anything. I'd get in your way." Andre insists.
Jade sighs but understands. She wouldn't have wanted to be a third wheel in someone's house either.
"Fine. But you need to visit more. I see more of frickin Vega then of you these days."
Andre laughs but agrees anyway.
It was two days after Andre's visit that Beck proposes.
Three months after his proposal, Beck sells the RV and he and Jade move into their first apartment.
A further four months pass and Andre finds his own place (Robbie visits quite frequently but still hadn't officially become his roommate).
And finally, four weeks after Andre had officially moved into his new place, Jade shows up on his doorstep unannounced.
"Well hello gorgeous" he greets, pulling Jade in for a quick hug and kiss on the cheek.
"Hey now, Andre, I am an engaged woman." She playfully scolds, pushing past Andre and making herself comfortable on his couch.
Andre laughed merrily. "Still can't believe it."
"Me neither." Jade admits with a content smirk.
"But you're happy, right." Andre quickly checks.
"Yes." Jade assures, rolling her eyes slightly at Andre's serious tone.
"So what brings you here." he questions.
"I have a request."
"Hit me."
Jade looks rather uncharacteristically nervous. She bites her bottom lip as Andre perches next to her.
"You're my best friend, you know?" She murmurs quietly.
"I know. You're mine too."
"I'm serious. If it hadn't been for you when I was little, I just... I don't know what might've happened to me. You've always been here for me, and I'm sorry for not saying thank you enough." Jade blurts, looking slightly embarrassed at addressing so many feelings.
"Don't be silly." Andre dismisses, not wanting to make her any more uncomfortable. "Now what are you seriously here for?"
"I want you to walk me down the aisle." She states bluntly.
Andre has to blink rather rapidly. Surely he had just misheard.
"What? Seriously?"
"Yep." Jade smirks, popping the P.
"But… your father… I mean…. He's an asshole, but is this too unconventional for you?"
"No. Normal is boring. You of all people should know that. Besides, I don't even know if dad's going to come. I don't even care to be honest. So what do you say, will you 'give me away' so to speak."
"I- wow Jade. I would be honoured." Andre gasps. Jade smiles in genuine happiness, and as he pulls her in for a bone-crushing hug, he has to hold himself back from shedding a tear.
When Andre sees Jade in her wedding dress, he does actually shed a tear.
Jade is quite simply glowing. She's wearing a white dress with an artistic black lace overlay on the skirt (a comprise according to Tori who was one of her bridesmaids. Cat was, of course, the maid of honour).
"You look radiant," Andre whispers into her ear as she takes a deep breath in, meeting him in front of the church doors.
"I'm nervous." She mutters. "Is it crazy that I'm still scared that I'll walk to the alter only for Beck to freak out and realise he's making a big mistake."
"Yes. That is very crazy. Jade West-soon-to-be-Oliver, when will you stop doubting yourself? You are the most incredible woman I have ever known, and Beck is the luckiest man on earth to have you. Trust me."
"I do." Jade assures.
If Jade had any remaining doubts, they surely would have vanished the second the church doors opened and Beck's beaming face came into view.
The second he saw Jade, Beck's eyes also began to water. Robbie was already openly crying, and Cat was giggling next to him, wiping his eyes.
The wedding and the reception after could only be described as pure perfection. Jade and Beck were all smiles. Their joy and boundless love for one another was rather infectious, and even Andre found himself throwing his arms around Beck and Jade towards the end of the night whispering, "I'm so happy for you both." And he genuinely meant these words.
Of course, married life is not always easy. Many nights Beck would appear on Andre's doorstep after Jade had kicked him out for some fight or other.
Other times he would wake to frantic text messages from Beck, asking him to help find an "I'm sorry for being a jerk face" present for Jade.
He doesn't get to see Jade very regularly, particularly since a connection at college had got him noticed by a popular music producer at Uranium Records. When he wasn't busy writing and developing music, he was also busy on the dating scene. Cat and Robbie had just started going out, and Andre figured he needed to get back out there on the dating front (the last few women he'd seen had been pretty crazy), so he had asked out a sweet girl from his College. He's always there for his number one girl though, so when Jade messages him that she's in the neighbourhood and needs to speak with him, he doesn't even think twice before canceling his date for the night.
He watches Jade's car pull into his apartment's parking lot, and already has the door open for her as she approaches. She doesn't stop to greet him like usual, but instead pushes past his open arms and begins pacing his cramped lounge room.
"You okay?" Andre pries.
"Yes. No. I don't know." Came her jumbled response.
"Jade, what's going – "
"Andre, I think I'm pregnant." She yells, cutting him off. She pales at her own words, and Andre quickly grabs her by the wrists and directs her to the couch before she falls over.
"Seriously?" he coughs, looking at her frantic face.
"I'm late."
"What do you mean?" Andre asked confused.
"Did you skip sex ed in school? My period, idiot. It's late. It's never late. And I've been feeling queasy these last few days for no apparent reason." She rambles, her eyes are widening in fright as she clasps Andre's hands in her own. "I'm only 20, Dre. I've been married for less than a year. I don't think I can do this."
"It's going to be okay, Jade. No matter what happens, it'll be okay." Andre soothes, holding her hand tightly. "What should we do? Do you need a pregnancy test?"
"Got one." She snaps, waving her small clutch around wildly. "I was too scared to take it alone."
Andre nods in understanding. "The sooner you do it the sooner we'll find out." He insists softly.
Jade nods and allows Andre to lead her to the bathroom. She comes out a few minutes later and throws her head in-between her knees. Andre strokes her back gently, looking at the blank stick in her hands.
"Are you sure you don't want Beck here for this?" Andre quickly checks. Though he was more than willing to be there for Jade, he felt sort of bad. Wasn't the potential father meant to be the one standing next to her, looking at a stick that held the fate of their immediate future?
"No. I just want you." She mumbles from between her legs, finally leaning back up to rest against Andre's side.
"Do you want to be pregnant?" Andre finally asks, "Because you know you've got options."
Jade glares at him angrily "I would never get an abortion, Andre." She says firmly.
"I didn't mean that… But there are still options. You could put the child up for adoption. There are loving families out there who can't have kids of their own. It's not a cruel thing to consider."
Jade still looks rather unhappy. "No, Andre. If I'm pregnant, then this is my child. I'm not giving it up."
"Okay." Andre smiles. "Then no matter the result, I'll be there to support you through everything."
After another minute or so had passed, Andre gestures towards the stick in her hands.
"Should we look."
Jade nods stiffly and turns it over. Clear as day were two pink lines. It was official. Jade West-Oliver was expecting.
Jade had burst into tears when she first saw the two lines, but quickly got ahold of herself. She knew she had to tell Beck immediately. He would be crushed if he found out that she was keeping this secret for any longer. Andre had kindly offered to go with her to break the news which Jade had gratefully agreed to.
Hence, Beck looks very surprised but happy to see Andre unexpectedly at his doorstep much later that night.
"Andre, what a surprise. How are you?" Beck laughs, pulling his friend in for a quick hug.
Before Andre can even think of a reply, Jade's voice calls from behind him,
"I'm pregnant."
Beck steps back in shock, his face blank.
"You're pregnant." He repeats very slowly, almost as if he couldn't believe what he'd heard.
Jade looks like she's unable to repeat the phrase again. Instead, she stiffly nods.
"YOU'RE PREGNANT." Beck screams in joy, a broad smile breaking across his face. He grabs his wife and pulls her inside the room, spinning her around in glee.
It's only when Jade yelps, "Dude, I'm going to barf on you," that Beck stops, still laughing in delight as he presses countless kisses to her forehead.
"I can't believe this. I'm going to be a dad. You're going to be a mum. We're going to have a baby, Jade."
Jade laughs in agreement. "That's right, hun."
"Sweetie, I just can't believe this." Beck gushes, dropping to his knees to plant feather-light kisses on her stomach.
Andre and Jade share an eye roll.
"And you thought Beck might be unhappy." Andre teases.
This causes Beck to perk up.
"Wait, you told Andre before me!"
Jade shrugs guiltily. "Sorry. Just didn't want to raise any concern if it was a false alarm."
Beck looks like he might be mad, but then turns back to Jade's still quite flat stomach and begins to rub it tenderly.
"Alright, I guess. Anyway, why would you be nervous to tell me? You know I've spoken about having a family with you since we were 14." Beck voices. Andre can't help but smile at this.
"I know, but we had a plan. Become famous actors, buy a house together, marry, then have kids when we're like 30."
"Babe, we've already got half that list back to front." Beck chuckles. "I don't care that we're young. We can do this."
"Of course you can do this. And I'll be here to help out in any way." Andre promises.
The three of them share a special smile, then grabbing some grape juice (Jade wasn't allowed any wine much to her dismay), they toasted to Beck and Jade's happy future.
Jade's pregnancy came at an equally wonderful but incredibly stressful time in Beck and Jade's lives. Beck had been cast in his first TV series, which thankfully, was filming in LA. Still, it meant that he was hardly home. Jade herself had managed to land a few small roles in different tv programs but had to stop four months in because she was growing huge very fast. This also seemed to be a bit of an upsetting factor for Jade. Though Beck assured her she was looking more and more beautiful (if even possible) as her pregnancy developed, Jade was still distressed. She could no longer get her swollen feet into her combat boots. Even though the risk was still minimal, Jade had also refused to dye her hair anymore. It was now back to its natural brown and lacking highlights. Andre was of the personal opinion that this made Jade look gorgeous, but he could understand why Jade wasn't feeling herself.
Tori and Cat were constantly trying to help her out. Taking her shopping not just for baby items but also maternity clothes (Jade would spend all day in one of Beck's shirts and trackie pants if she had the option). With great pride though, Andre notes that only he was truly able to comfort her the most. Jade always seemed quite uptight, but when Andre would visit, she would finally settle as he serenaded her on the piano or recounted childhood stories that would always make her laugh.
It was one of those days when he was visiting Jade that she went into sudden labor.
The afternoon had begun the same as usual. Jade had been grumbling about looking like a whale which prompted Andre into improvising a song about Moby Dick. This had made Jade laugh so hard that all of a sudden, she seemed to have peed herself.
"Oh my god, Jade. I know you're pregnant, but that is Sinjin level gross." Andre cringed.
"My water just broke, you moron." Jade screamed, suddenly no longer smiling.
"Oh, so it wasn't pee. That was a relief." Andre thought, then his eyes widened. "WAIT, ARE YOU GOING INTO LABOR?" He screeched.
"Shit." Jade screamed, "We need to get to the hospital."
"No worries." Andre assures, mentally scolding himself for freaking out. Until Beck arrived, he knew he needed to keep calm for Jade. "I'll drive you. You can call Beck while in the car."
They quickly launched into action, Jade snapping up her hospital bag which she had prepared a few weeks prior to her due date. Andre helped seat on her a towel in his car, then carefully drove her to the hospital. It wasn't a calm ride though. Beck was not answering his phone and Jade was stressing out. Her contractions started hitting in a rapid succession and she was screaming in pain by the time Andre had managed to get her into a room in the Hospital.
"WHERE IS BECK?" She yelled, grabbing Andre's hand just as another contraction hit.
"I've called Robbie. He's driving over to the set to get him." Andre tried to console, but before Jade could even relax she was hit with more upsetting news.
"Your cervix is almost fully dilated. We're going to have you start pushing soon." A nurse fearfully explained to Jade. Jade had so far made nine death threats and nearly strangled one poor doctor who asked if she wanted an epidural.
The circulation was rapidly cutting off in Andre's hand as Jade's grip tightened even further. He almost whimpered in relief when the door finally swung open and a frantic Beck raced in.
"JADE." Beck yelped, rushing to her side. "I'm here, sweetie. I'm here."
Jade moaned in relief, letting go of Andre's hand to grab Beck's.
"Fuck I hate you so much right now." Jade howled as another contraction took hold of her.
"Love you too, babe." Beck laughed in response, bending forward to kiss her forehead.
Relieved that Beck was here, Andre left to join the rest of his friends (and Beck's parents plus Jade's mum) in the waiting room.
The group of them waited with high anticipation, and all let out yelps of happiness when Beck finally emerged with possibly the largest smile on his face to announce, "It's a girl. We've had a little girl."
"A girl!" Cat had screamed. Tori burst into happy tears.
The grandparents of the new child hugged each other in joy.
"What's her name?" beamed Robbie.
"Tyra. Jade wanted to name her after her grandma."
Andre was so overcome with emotion that he couldn't even help but shoot out of his chair and tackle Beck with a hug. "I can't believe this." he grinned.
"She wants you to come in first." Beck smiled. Andre couldn't help but gasp. Jade wanted to show her new child to him before even her own mum!
"Seriously?" Andre gulped.
"Yep, come with me." Beck grinned.
As if he was unable to bear being apart formed his wife and child any longer, Beck all but sprinted back into the room.
Andre held his breath before pushing open the door. The second he enters, his eyes are instantly drawn to the tiny bundle in Jade's arms. Jade was silently crying, clutching the child closely to her chest. Beck's own eyes were full of unshed tears as he wrapped his arms around his wife, kissing her shoulderblade.
"Oh my god." Andre breathed, inching closer. Jade looked up and shot him a watery smile. "She is so beautiful." Andre gasped.
"Isn't she." Beck agreed, stroking her little head.
"You can hold her." Jade whispers.
Andre can't believe his ears but nervously holds out his hands. Beck carefully takes Tyra from Jade and ever so gently passes her to Andre. Andre can't believe this little human is in his arms. He has a sudden flashback to when his parents would gush about his sister Jayla being like an angel. He had never thought newborns were anything that special, but as Tyra shifts in his arms, he almost cries at how perfect she is.
"You're the godfather, you know that right." Jade declared.
"Really?" Andre beamed.
Jade just nods, then holds out her hands, gesturing for Andre to return Tyra to her. Andre doesn't hover for much longer. He knows everyone is eagerly awaiting their turn. Just before he exits, he turns to take one more look at the new family. Jade was looking at Tyra with more tenderness than he'd ever seen from her, and Beck was gazing at Jade with such love in his eyes that Andre couldn't believe that he'd ever doubted their relationship in the past.
Yes. This felt right. He couldn't be more happy for them.
A few months after Tyra's birth, Beck's tv show was unfortunately canceled. With all the expenses of having a newborn baby and paying rent in LA, Andre knew that the couple was beginning to feel the pressure.
Thankfully Beck had been offered his first big movie role not too long after this. He would be playing the supporting actor, but it was a guaranteed hefty paycheck, and the movie was predicted to be the next great blockbuster of the summer. The only issue was they were filming half the movie in New York. After countless nights discussing it with Jade, Beck finally agreed to take the roll. He was reluctant to leave Tyra and Jade, especially considering that Tyra was just five months old, but he knew he had to provide for his family.
Andre had not been happy with the situation when Jade had informed him. He thought it was a big mistake to leave Jade alone for two months, but understood the difficulty of the situation. Still, he had expressed his concerns to Beck who tried to assure him that everything would be fine.
"I'll call every day. And if I get time off, I'll fly back first thing." Beck promised.
"I know you will Beck. But will Jade be okay? Tyra's still practically a newborn."
"Do you think I want to leave my wife and child? I'm doing this for them." Beck insisted firmly, looking rather upset. "Look, just do me a favour. Promise me you'll look after Jade while I'm away. You're probably the only other guy she trusts."
"Okay, I promise." Andre agreed.
He kept true to his word, speaking with Jade at least once every two days (it was more difficult than anticipated to squeeze this time in as he too was busy with work). Jade always insisted that she was fine when Andre would ask how she was holding up, but he was beginning to detect more hysteria and exhaustion in her tone each time she said this.
One afternoon, Andre had managed to score some time off from work for the weekend and quickly drove to Jade and Beck's house. He felt bad as he hadn't been to visit Jade in four days (though he had spoken with her briefly on the phone). Jade had texted him earlier to just let himself in, so when he arrived, he didn't even bother knocking. He walked right on into her small lounge room only to find Jade leaning back against her couch with little Tyra feeding from her breast. It was actually quite a beautiful sight, and it made Andre's heart swell.
"Hey sexy mama." He greeted with a wink, Jade's eyes snapped open to look up at him.
She shot him a weak smile before sighing gently. Her whole frame seemed rather stiff as she groaned, "Sexy is literally the last thing I feel right now."
Andre was very inclined to disagree, but taking the time to really observe Jade's appearance, he could understand why she felt this way.
Her hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail, free of any of her usual colourful streaks. For someone who had just given birth, she was already looking shockingly thin. Under her tired eyes, dark blue circles reflected just how exhausted she truly was.
"Jade, what's going on?" He asked her gently, seating himself carefully beside her on the couch.
"It's so hard, Andre." Jade croaked. "I love her so much, but it's just so hard." Jade cried. "I thought I could do this without him, but I need him. Where is he, Andre?" She pleaded, tears brimming up in her eyes.
It was like little Tyra could sense her mother's distress, for she detached from Jade's nipple and began to whimper herself.
"No, don't cry baby. Please don't cry." Jade hushed, gently cradling her child close to her chest. Andre looked on feeling utterly helpless.
"Let me hold her." He instructed.
Jade looked reluctant but tepidly handed over Tyra into his arms.
"Hi Angel, it's your uncle Andre. You're so pretty, aren't you? Just like your mummy." He cooed. Jade weakly smiled, finally relaxing as Tyra began to settle in his arms.
"Hey Jade, your bra." Andre coughed, glancing over at Jade and blushing at the sight.
Jade actually laughed at this, quickly adjusting her clothes.
"Thank you, Dre. It's nice to know that I still look hot to some people."
Andre almost smirks, but when he glances at Jade again he's struck with concern.
"I want you to sleep, Jade. I'll look after Tyra." he tells her seriously.
"No. It's fine." Jade began to protest, trying to take Tyra off him.
"Go to bed, Jade. I want you to actually let yourself relax. Look, Tyra's already nodding off herself, and I'm not going to leave until you've both had some time to rest."
Jade looked reluctant but nodded in agreement. "Okay, I'll just take a 10-minute nap. Wake me, okay?"
"Sure." Andre lied. There was no way he'd wake Jade up.
Jade groggily made her way to her bedroom. Not even three minutes later when Andre went in to check on her, she was already out like a light.
Smiling, he put Tyra away in her makeshift crib in the loungeroom. Tyra, like her mum, was fast asleep now.
Quietly, he crept into the kitchen and picked up his phone, dialing up Beck's number. Thankfully, Beck picked up by the third ring.
"Hey, Dre, what's going on?"
"Yo Beck, you know how you always tell me to look after Jade when you're away?" Andre states, ignoring his friend's greeting.
"Um, sure." Beck faltered.
"Yeah, well I did my job, now you need to find a way to do your job as a husband."
"Excuse me?" Beck gasped in shock.
"Jade's not coping, Beck. She looks like she's three seconds away from a mental breakdown. She probably just needs some sleep but regardless, I think you need to come home."
"Fuck, Andre. I want to. You have no idea what this is like for me. I don't know what to do. I can't just walk out in the middle of a shoot."
"You're her husband, Beck. Can't you get even a weekend off? She needs you."
Beck exhales deeply. "I'll try." he murmurs. "I'll go speak with the director. I know it's not fair to you, but please stay with her."
"Of course I will." Andre sighs, beginning to feel bad. He knows the decision to go and film was not easy for Beck. "Take care of yourself, Beck." Andre farewells, then after Beck says goodbye, he quickly hangs up and moves on to the next part of his mission.
He sends a group chat to Tori, Cat and Robbie with the heading "Mission: Help Jade." In under 10 minutes, everyone had made a plan for how they could help out their friend.
They arrive at Jade's house not too long after. Cat was put in charge of the cooking, Robbie was going to be her helper (or more like her caretaker. They knew Cat was a great cook, but she still needed to be supervised when it came to the oven). Tori decided to be in charge of restocking the apartment, walking around and making a list of basic necessities Jade was running low on and hadn't found time to repurchase yet. Andre just began to clean while still keeping a close eye on the baby. The house was already pretty tidy, mainly because Jade hated any form of mess, it stressed her out beyond anything. Still, Andre knew she would appreciate having some freshly mopped floors and dusted window frames.
It was just as Cat skipped into the lounge room announcing that the food was done that Jade walked out of her room. Her mouth fell open in surprise as she was met with all of her friends' excited faces.
"Guys?" She gasped. "What are you all doing here?"
"Surprise." Squealed Cat, bouncing over towards her best friend and enveloping her in a tight hug.
"What the?" Jade laughed, looking around at her spotless house in wonder.
"Well, we all happened to be free today, and there's nothing more we'd rather do than spend time with our gorgeous niece." Tori gushed, looking over lovingly at Tyra's sleeping form. Andre smiled gently, knowing full well that Tori had actually canceled her date tonight to be here.
Jade might have also been suspicious that all her friends happened to be free on the same evening, for she walked over and gave Tori a brief but tight hug.
"You all are incredible!" Jade tells them all. Everyone beams back at her.
As Andre took her hand, leading her to the dining room, Jade leaned in and placed a quick peck on his cheek. "Thank you." She murmured. Andre shrugged it off.
"Anything for you, darling."
Andre decides to temporarily move in with Jade.
This was not a hard decision for him to make. He loved spending time with his best friend, and he loved playing with little Tyra. It felt right to be with them, and though Jade was snap "go home, trespasser" every time she saw him sleeping on her couch, Andre knew she never meant it.
It was his second week sleeping over when the front door suddenly swung open.
Jade and Andre who were lounging on the couch both looked up in shock.
"BECK." Jade yelped, and before she could even get up to race over to him, Beck was on top of her kissing every inch of skin he could reach.
"Missed. You. So. Fucking. Much." He muttered in between kisses.
"Oy, there's a baby in the room." Andre playfully scolded. Truthfully, he had just wanted Beck to stop before they got too carried away right in front of him.
"Tyra." Beck gasped, snapping away from Jade and racing to the crib. "My beautiful baby girl." Beck had cried, gently reaching down to scoop up the resting baby in his arms.
Andre was still not used to the sight of Beck tearing up, especially considering in high school Jade had always commented that Beck was "emotionally detached" from everything.
Now Jade was grinning happily and walked to stand next to her husband. Dazedly, Beck slung one arm around her waist and pulled Jade as close as possible. She rested her head on his shoulder as they both gazed down at their daughter with love in their eyes.
"She's getting so big." Beck whispered.
"I know. She's eating all the time now. My tits are so sore."
Beck grinned rather cheekily at this, finally tearing his gaze away from Tyra to peak a quick glance at Jade's chest. She had taken to wearing low cut shirts so she could easily pull them down whenever Tyra needed to feed.
"It's good to see you home, Beck." Andre spoke up, once again, speaking more to remind the couple that he was in the room.
"Glad to be back, Andre. I need to thank you for looking after my girls."
Jade snorted at this declaration. "I don't need looking after." She scoffed. Both Andre and Beck rolled their eyes.
"It was my pleasure, guys." Andre insisted. "But I should probably get out of your hair now."
"You were never in my way. I loved having you here with me." Jade blurts out before she can even contain herself.
Beck and Andre both gasp.
"Is my wife actually being sweet to someone outside of her family?" Beck teases.
"Andre is family, you ass." Jade snapped.
Beck looked affectionately at Jade. Andre was still standing in shock.
Over the years he'd seen the best and worst of Jade West (or Jade West-Oliver now). He'd seen her at her most vulnerable and most victorious points in life. He had loved her, feared her but always cherished her. She was his best friend, but her words rang true, she was first and foremost his family.
He was very grateful Beck was holding on to Tyra, for Andre did not think he'd be able to restrain himself at that moment. He takes three long strides over to Jade and pulls her into a tight embrace. "Love you, Jade." he murmurs into her hair.
"Don't be a loser, Dre." Jade scolds, but softens when Andre only hugs her more tightly. "Love you too." She finally whispers.
/
If you somehow read through this ridiculously long one-shot, PLEASE take three seconds to leave a review with your thoughts :D