10! Jade heard her voice crack as she said the number she had never imagined arriving at. Her hand reached for the door handle and then retreated; he hadn't come after her, which meant he didn't want to be with her anymore. Jade felt the pain tear through her chest, she was sure her heart had literally shattered! Her eyes filled with tears, she had to get out of there. As she climbed in the car, she glanced back, hoping, praying that Beck was coming after her but he wasn't there. Jade put her foot on the gas and sped off, she wasn't sure where she was heading, she just needed to drive.
As he heard the car speed off, Beck instantly knew he'd made the biggest mistake of his life. What was he thinking? What had he done? He was aware of five pairs of eyes all focused on him and he said the only thing he could think of "Let's play some cards." He knew it probably sounded awful but he had to try and keep it together. As he sat at the table he could see Tori staring at the door, her face etched with concern. He felt it like a knife through his chest. He tried to focus on the cards in front of him, barely even noticing Trina leaning against his arm. He would get through the next hour, head back to the RV and figure out how to sort this mess out.
As Jade drove around she could feel the hot tears streaming down her face, she couldn't go home, she wouldn't let her Mum or brother see her like this. They weren't even expecting her back tonight; she nearly always stayed at Beck's now. That thought brought with it a fresh wave of pain. Even if Cat hadn't been at Tori's she wouldn't have gone to her house. Cat would have just made her feel worse. Andre had made it quite clear he thought their relationship was atrocious now. She hated to admit it but yet again the only person she would have gone to was Tori but of course she couldn't, the others were all there. She knew she couldn't keep driving around like this but where could she go? Think Jade! In the end the only place she could come up with was the wooded grove she used to disappear to when she was younger, she knew it wasn't exactly a safe choice at this time of night but it was secluded and private and that's what she needed.
Beck gratefully accepted the lift home Andre offered, they spent the journey exchanging mindless chit chat about the music coming from the car stereo. It wasn't long before he was home and as he stepped into the RV the silence was overwhelming. He walked over to the bed and picked up his shirt that Jade always wore when she first got up, he held it to his face and breathed in, he could smell the lingering scent of her perfume on it. That was the moment it finally hit him, he sank to the floor and wept, he had lost her and it was entirely his fault!
Jade drove down the thin dirt track and arrived in her childhood safe haven. As she turned the engine off she allowed herself to break. The sobs came loud and heavy. She had spent the whole day scared that this was what Beck was trying to tell her, she had been trying to avoid the conversation, denying there was anything wrong. She just didn't understand, she loved him, she hadn't changed! Had she? She was sure she hadn't. They had been together forever, they were Beck and Jade! Three years! Why was he suddenly unhappy? What had she done?
Beck sat there, clinging to the shirt, for what felt like an eternity. He had to do something, he had to fix this. Beck reached for his mobile, he should call her! Tell her he's sorry, he'd been stupid! But this was Jade, she wouldn't answer, he'd hurt her, she wouldn't answer. Maybe he should write it all in a text, explain it. She could read it, take it in and call him when she was ready; yes, that's what he should do. He wrote and deleted the text so many times he lost count. The truth was there was no explanation good enough for what he had done tonight. He knew it was unforgivable, Jade was the most guarded person he'd ever met, with emotional walls higher than any castle, but she'd let him in, learnt to trust him, loved him, given herself to him and he'd unceremoniously ended it, in front of all their friends and Trina. He hadn't even had the decency to say it to her, just left her standing out there. There was no excuse. There was nothing he could say to make this right. Beck placed the mobile on the bedside cabinet, removed his boots and lay on the bed. He didn't bother getting under the covers, just lay there with the remaining presence of Jade all around him.
Jade looked at the clock on the dash, it was 3am, she really should go home now. At least everyone would be asleep at this time. She glanced in the rear view mirror, she looked awful, it was a good job they would be asleep. She got her phone out of her pocket and checked for the umpteenth time tonight if Beck, or anyone for that matter, had text her. There was nothing. He really had meant it, it really was over. She was alone again. Jade wiped her face, started the car and headed for home.
The alarm went off at 7am, and for that brief second on waking Beck had forgotten the previous night's events. He rolled over to wrap his arm around Jade but of course she wasn't there. Suddenly it all came flooding back and Beck let out a long sad sigh. He wasn't sure when he'd finally fallen asleep but it didn't feel like that long ago. He picked up his mobile on the off chance Jade had text him, she hadn't. He logged on to the slap and the first thing he saw was "Beck is in a relationship with Jade" His heart sank. He stared at the screen wondering what would be the best thing to do. He guessed it wouldn't be fair to make Jade have to change their relationship status so with a heavy heart he broke the connection. He knew the questions would start soon and he didn't want to deal with them. He couldn't think of anything to put that sounded right so he decided the best thing was to keep it simple. "Single yup" was all he could manage.
Jade lay on her bed, sleep had completely evaded her, she could hear her brother playing in his room and the morning sun was seeping through the gap in the curtains. She would have given anything to have felt Beck's arms around her right now. She knew she should be angry with him but she was just too wounded to be angry, broken, she was broken. She got up and went for a shower not quite knowing how she'd face school that day. She stood in the shower with the water flowing over her like hot rain; it would have been soothing if her mind didn't keep wandering to Beck. When she finally came out she instinctively picked up her phone. She knew he wouldn't have text her but she checked anyway. As she sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the phone, she logged into the slap, more out of habit than choice. She did a double take when her profile appeared in front of her minus "Jade is in a relationship with Beck" Her hands shook as she clicked onto Beck's profile and as the words "Single yup" appeared in front of her the tears flowed once more.
Beck could barely remember showering and changing this morning. He couldn't face breakfast so just grabbed his stuff and headed to the truck. As he got in he saw Jade's Gears of War bag on the back seat, she'd used her new one yesterday. The sadness washed over him again and he knew today was going to be rough. There was bound to be an argument. Well, no, he would just let her shout at him, he knew he deserved it. He would just let her say what she needed to say. He started the truck and headed to school.
Jade knew the comments would start soon so she had to write something but what? If he wasn't bothered she certainly wasn't going to show that she was. In the end she decided on "Yeah, yeah. Beck and I broke up. Can we talk about something else now…Like how annoying Tori is?" She put down her phone and stared at her wardrobe. She knew she should get ready but she just couldn't. She couldn't face school today, she pulled on a pair of pyjamas (even that felt weird now) and climbed into bed.
Beck arrived at school slightly late and headed straight to Sikowitz's class. As he walked in he could see Robbie, Cat, Andre and Tori sat in their usual seats, they all turned to look at him in unison with the same pitying smile. Jade's seat was empty, she obviously wasn't coming in, which, although that meant a less awkward day for him, caused the guilt he felt to treble! Jade never had time off, never. She was obviously too upset. He had caused this, he had made the one girl he had ever loved so heartbroken she couldn't even face coming to school. Nice one Beck!
Jade spent the whole day flitting between sleep and tears, she was glad of the fact that the house was empty and her Mum was, as usual, too wrapped up in herself to even wonder why Jade's car was in the drive this morning. She had to stop doing this, she had to pull herself together. Beck didn't want her anymore; there was nothing she could do about that! She would allow herself this day to crash and burn but tomorrow, tomorrow Jade West would be back and no-one would know she was even remotely bothered about Beck flaming Oliver!
The rest of the day passed in a blur for Beck, he couldn't stop thinking about Jade, he had only ever seen her really upset once in the three years they'd been together. Her maternal grandmother had passed away and as she was the only member of Jade's family that had ever treated her well, it had hit her hard, she'd come to the RV and literally crumbled on Beck, he'd been shocked to see her like that but also pleased she'd come to him, that was when he knew she truly loved and trusted him, well he'd certainly destroyed that now. He put his head in his hands; the thought of her in that state all alone killed him. What had he done?
Morning came and Jade headed for the shower she had finally gained control of her emotions, she was fairly sure she could make it through the day without bursting into tears. As she dried herself she glanced at her wardrobe, half of her favourite clothes were still at Beck's RV. Oh well, she certainly wasn't ready to deal with all that yet. She dressed and carefully applied her make-up, she was at least beginning to look more like herself. Jade grabbed her bag and went downstairs, she could hear her Mum and brother in the kitchen but as she didn't want any breakfast and couldn't begin to even contemplate dealing with questions from her mother right now, she just walked straight past and out to her car.
Beck awoke to a message from Rex asking for a lift to school for him and Robbie. He shook his head, it worried him how normal Robbie's weirdness had become to him. He got up and started to get ready. He wondered if Jade would be at school today, she had to be, if she wasn't he knew he'd have to go round there, even if she might take one of her vast collection of scissors and stick them into him, he would have to go and see her.
As Jade pulled onto the school car park she took a deep breath in and mentally prepared herself to walk through the door. For the first time in her life she wished she had just one close friend, she could really have used the support right now. She looked around to see if she could spot Cat, even going in with her would have been preferable to going in alone but she couldn't see her. Jade stop being stupid! She scolded herself, got out of the car, grabbed her bag and strolled into school.
As Beck pulled onto the school car park with Robbie and Rex's ridiculous bickering ringing in his ears, he was relieved to see Jade's car in its usual space. She was here. "Jade's here!" Rex announced echoing Beck's thoughts "You best hide hahaha" Beck glared at Robbie who was pulling his usual, "what, it's nothing to do with me", face. Beck swore one of these days he was going to bin that puppet! He had to admit he was a little apprehensive though, he wandered into school totally expecting Jade to unleash verbal hell on him, he knew he deserved it and he was as ready as he was ever going to be.
Jade stood by her locker, sorting her books out, she could see Tori and Andre over the other side of the corridor. She was just trying to persuade herself to swallow her pride and go over and speak to them, when she heard Robbie's dulcet tones. She looked across towards the doors and saw Beck walking in with him, for a brief second their eyes met and the pain hit her all over again, her gaze dropped, she closed the locker door, turned and walked to class. At least she hadn't cried for that she was thankful.
Beck stood rooted to the spot, following Jade with his eyes. He couldn't quite believe what had just happened. When their eyes had locked for that brief second he had seen it, the raw pain. No anger, no hate, just pure unadulterated pain. He wanted to cry, to run after her and beg for forgiveness but she hadn't even been able to look at him and he was positive she wouldn't want to hear what he had to say now anyway. He composed himself and walked over to the others. He didn't join in with their idle chit chat, he merely followed them to the next class.
The rest of the week followed much the same pattern for Jade, she got up, got ready, avoided her family, went to school, avoided Beck as much as possible, went for a drive during her lunch break to save her from being sat alone, went home, avoided her family, did her homework then spent the rest of the evening listening to music and crying. She hated herself for not being able to just get over this and move on but Beck was her life, he was her best friend, her lover, her safety net, he completed her. She genuinely had no-one else. He'd been there for such a long time now; she had never even considered that there might be a time when he wouldn't be. She was completely lost. By the Thursday evening she knew she had to do something, she didn't want to spend the Saturday night alone too, so tomorrow she would have to try to make an arrangement with Cat. She knew she would be the easiest one to ask. Jade lay back on her bed and looked at the picture of her and Beck that was on her bedside cabinet. She knew she should move it but she just wasn't ready to let him go. With that thought the tears flowed again and continued until Jade fell into a restless sleep.
Beck spent the rest of the week hanging out with one or more of the group during the days and evenings, whilst trying to find ways to cross paths with Jade. On top of everything else he was feeling, he was really worried about her. Even Tori had noticed her absence at lunch times and had gone looking for her on one occasion. He knew Jade could be sharp and kind of mean but she didn't deserve to be isolated just because they weren't together anymore. Whilst surrounded by his friends he could distract himself to a certain degree but at night the emptiness paralyzed him. The shirt remained unwashed on his pillow, his favourite photo of Jade, the one he had taken when she wasn't aware, the one that captured that sweet smile of hers perfectly, lay on his bedside cabinet, her clothes still hung in his wardrobe and the chain around his neck still held the promise ring she'd given him. He knew he should put them away but he just wasn't ready to let her go.
Friday morning came and Jade made a beeline for Cat as soon as she arrived at school. Before she even asked the question she knew no matter what lame thing Cat was doing or wanted to do tomorrow night she would join her. Anything was better than being at home alone with nothing but her thoughts. "What are you doing on Saturday night?" she asked Cat. "I'm dog sitting for my Mom's boss" Cat replied. Lame, exactly as Jade had suspected. Still she would go. "Oh. What kind of dog?" She inquired. "I'm not sure, it's got paws and a tail. Maybe it's an English pawtail" Cat grinned and Jade just rolled her eyes in despair. "Why, what are you doing Saturday night?" Cat asked Jade. "Oh what, what you think just because me and Beck broke up I don't have anything to do Saturday night? " Jade could hear the stress in her voice and knew she was being irrational but couldn't help it. "No, I never said that" Cat started to panic. "I've got a lot of things I'm going to do, like tons" Jade was having one of those moments where it just kept flowing even if she didn't want it too. "Ok" Cat was starting to get confused now. "I mean, if you want me to cancel my plans and come and hang out with you while you dog sit then fine. Fine, I'll do it." Jade's tone was getting more agitated. "You don't have to" by now Cat was at a complete loss. "I said I'll do it!" Jade snapped! "But you owe me baby girl" As she walked away Jade was torn between relief that she now had plans for tomorrow night and annoyance at herself for her attitude towards Cat. Why did she do these things? She wished she could stop but it wasn't deliberate. After all, she was now pretty sure it was behaviour like that, that had driven Beck away. She sighed and headed to class.
Beck was pleased to see that Jade was talking to Cat, it was a start, she was reconnecting. As she walked past him he thought he'd try an amiable "Hey!" She didn't even look at him as she replied "Yeah, Hey!" in that sarcastic tone of hers. Ok so she obviously wasn't ready for friendly interaction with him yet. He couldn't blame her after what he'd done but he resolved to keep trying.
Saturday came around and Jade was determined to hold it together today. She got up and ready and headed into town for a little retail therapy. Rowfers and Salamanders were her primary destinations, Jade got most of her clothes and jewellery from there. She brought several dresses, she wasn't quite sure why she'd suddenly taken a liking to them but hey Beck had loved…NO! She stopped that thought in its tracks and carried on browsing. A new bag, chain and eyebrow bar completed her shopping spree and she headed to the local coffee shop to feed her caffeine habit. Sat alone in the coffee shop she logged into the slap to kill a little time. She didn't know why she updated her slap status to "I have a date tonight, I hope this doesn't make Beck jealous!" She knew it was childish but to be honest she didn't really think he'd see it and if he did it wasn't like he'd care but at least the rest of Hollywood Arts would think she was moving on.
Beck had spent most of the day with Tori and Andre, much as he loved them by mid-afternoon he was becoming bored. They were writing and rehearsing a song for a school project and five hours of this was more than enough for him. He lay on Tori's sofa, pulled his mobile out and logged into the slap, as usual he went straight to Jade's page. For the first time since their split she had updated her status and what he read felt like being punched in the chest. A date? She had a date? No, please, not yet. He sat up straight and reread the status. He knew he had no right to feel mad, he had finished with her after all, but he did. Jealousy gripped him like a vice. He couldn't bear the thought of someone else kissing her, holding her, seeing that smile. He had to go home! He excused himself to Tori and Andre, jumped in the truck and sped off with his heart pounding painfully in his chest.
As Jade arrived at Cat's Mum's bosses' house she had to admit she was impressed! This place was awesome! She sat with Cat for a while until boredom set in. Time to explore! Jade couldn't believe how much cool stuff this guy owned. Then she spotted the guitar! It was a 62 stratenboker, the exact same model that Elvis used to play! When Cat told her that it was actually Elvis's guitar Jade was so in awe she actually forgot her heartache for a moment. This was exactly what she had needed, some time out and a distraction. However, Cat was getting increasingly worried about Jade touching all the collectables in the house, so Jade started messing around with the guitar again doing her best Elvis impression trying to make Cat laugh, only as she stepped away from the guitar it came away from its fixtures and crashed through the window. "Don't worry Cat we can fix it" Jade said trying to calm Cat down, and went to fetch the guitar from the garden.
Beck sat on his bed, sifting through photographs of Jade, driving himself crazy over the thought of her out with another guy. He hadn't expected this, not so soon. Well whoever he was, he'd better look after her or he'd have to answer to him. He felt his eyes start to well up but the sound of his mobile ringing distracted him from his thoughts. It was Robbie. He answered the phone "Yo, sup?" "Hi Beck, it's Robbie, Cat rang me." Robbie explained. "She's had an accident at her Mum's boss's house and needs help to fix some stuff and you're just better at handy things than me! Can you come?" Beck really didn't want to but Robbie and Cat…together…trying to fix something. Well that just screamed, disaster waiting to happen! "Sure, I'll be round to fetch you in five." With that he hung up, took one last look at the photograph in his hand, grabbed his jacket and left.
As Jade finished unsuccessfully taping up the broken guitar she heard a familiar voice shout "Cat, hey Cat!" She turned to Cat "You called Robbie?" "Yeah so he could help us put up the guitar and fix the window" Cat replied. Jade rolled her eyes at Cat, "Robbie can barely work the zipper on his own pants." As she turned towards the door Robbie walked in followed closely by Beck. For a moment she just stared at him before turning to Cat "Why did you invite Beck?" Her voice filled with panic. Cat just smiled innocently at her.
As Beck followed Robbie into the room, the last thing he had expected to see was Jade stood there next to Cat. For a moment he just stared at her, she was wearing this gorgeous black dress and as usual looked absolutely beautiful. He turned to Robbie "You didn't tell me Jade was going to be here!" "I didn't know!" Robbie replied, shrugging his shoulders.
Beck walked towards Jade and yet again put his mouth into action before his brain went into gear. "I thought you had a date tonight?" Jade stepped towards Beck her heart pounding in her chest. This was the first time they'd spoken since he'd ended it. "Why did you think that?" It took her all her strength to keep her voice level. "It says so on your slap page." What was he saying? "Why are you stalking my slap page?" He was checking her slap page; Jade felt her heart skip a beat. "Why do you care?" Beck just couldn't stop himself! Way to try and get in her good books! Jade sighed, this was stupid. She didn't want to fight with him. "Look, let's just get this stupid guitar fixed and hung back up there before Cat's Mum's boss gets back" and with that they all just set to work on fixing the damage.
As Jade helped Robbie with the guitar she gazed at Beck as he filled in forms with the window repairman, she missed him so much. All she could think about was the fact he'd been checking her slap page and he'd sounded jealous. She was the jealous one not Beck. Had the thought of her being with someone else really bothered him that much? Could he be regretting ending it? She knew she may be clutching at straws but she couldn't help it.
As Beck set about organising the window to be fixed he kept glancing at Jade. She'd lied! There was no date! Had she wanted to make him jealous? Was he just imagining the faint quiver in her voice when she'd spoken to him? He'd shocked himself by how jealous he'd sounded, it was always Jade who had monopolised that emotion. He watched her standing, holding the ladder for Robbie. He missed her so much.
Jade surveyed the room, everything was back as it should be. She had to admit, she was glad Beck came, Robbie wouldn't have been much use alone. They packed everything away just in time for Mr Gibbons (Cat's Mom's boss) returning. He paid Cat and they all headed out to the cars. Jade felt the sadness washing over her again, she had had two hours of being in Beck's company and she knew sleep was going to be limited again tonight now.
When Jade got into the car to take Cat home, she turned to Beck and Robbie "Thank you." she said in an unusually soft tone, giving them both a sad, half smile. Cat grinned and waved at them both and Jade pulled out of the drive. She had smiled at him, well sort of, he had a glimmer of hope anyway. He wanted her back and he now had this faint inking that she wanted that too. He realised it was time to start fighting for her.
Jade dropped Cat off and drove home. As was now her usual routine she went straight up to her room without even acknowledging her Mother. This arrangement suited them both. She switched the stereo on, changed into her nightwear, climbed into bed, wrapped her arms around a pillow and stared at the image that haunted her now. She reached out and slowly traced the outline of Beck's face with her fingertip. She vowed that next time he spoke to her she would be pleasant.
Beck dropped Robbie off and set off for home. Half way there he glanced at the clock on the dash, 11pm, Tori would still be up, he was sure. He spun the truck around and headed to her house. For some reason, she genuinely seemed to have a soft spot for Jade, she would help him figure out how to get her back, she would understand. He pulled onto her drive and was relieved to see the lights on in the living room. As he knocked on the door, he prayed Tori would be the one to answer and not Trina, he really couldn't deal with her at the moment. As Tori opened the door, he breathed an audible sigh of relief. "Beck?" Tori was a little surprised to see it was him. "I want Jade back, I need Jade back" Beck said, his eyes almost pleading with Tori for help. Tori simply nodded and gestured for him to come inside. She'd been secretly hoping for this, she couldn't bear the group being so disjointed. True, Jade could be a gank sometimes but she also brought a unique colour and humour and let's face it a lot of the time Jade just voiced what everyone else was thinking but was too polite to say . She'd hated seeing her wandering the corridors alone, she knew how devastated Jade must be even if she was doing her best to hide it and Beck had had this quiet air of sadness since the split. She would do whatever it took to help him fix this.
Monday came and Jade headed into school slightly earlier than she had been recently, she didn't want to avoid Beck anymore. After Saturday night it just seemed silly to. As she walked through the door she could see Robbie, Cat and Andre stood by the lockers, she hesitated for a moment, she hadn't spoken to Andre since his outburst at Tori's the other night. Still she'd promised herself she'd make an effort today and much as it killed her to admit it, she'd missed them. She walked over to where they stood "Hey" They looked at her in almost synchronization, "Hey Jade." Andre smiled at her for a second, almost apologetically before Cat started rambling on about some nonsensical event involving her brother. Jade shook her head slightly and smiled.
Beck was pleasantly surprised to see Jade stood with the others when he arrived at school. That would make his plan for tonight easier to facilitate. After a long discussion with Tori on Saturday night, he'd spent a large chunk of Sunday with her and Andre, preparing for this and how to get her to where he needed her to be had been surprisingly the part that concerned him most. He walked over to the group and Jade turned and smiled at him, she still looked so sad though. He was such an idiot, he had to make this right! "Hey Jade." The rest of the group fell silent as he spoke, seeming to await Jade's response. "Hi" She replied simply. Cat smiled happily and continued with her story as they all headed off to their first lesson.
Lunch time arrived and to Jade's complete surprise Tori practically steered her towards the asphalt café with her. She didn't resist, she hadn't really wanted to spend another lunchtime driving around. As they sat down they were swiftly joined by Cat, Andre and Beck and they began to discuss tonight's "Moonlight Mondays" performance. Jade had completely forgotten about it with everything that had been going on. It was too late this week but she would definitely prepare something for next week. "You're coming, right?" Cat asked her. "I wasn't planning to." Jade only went if one of her friends or someone she knew was good was performing. "Cat's singing tonight!" Tori announced "You have to come!" "Am I?...Oh yes I am" Cat was nodding her head and grinning like an idiot. Ok, Jade was officially confused but whatever. "Ok, ok. I'll be there." The bell cut short any further discussion as they all went back into class.
Beck stood at the edge of the stage, he could see Jade sat in the crowd with Tori and Robbie and he had to admit he was extremely nervous. He was an actor not a singer, sure he'd sung in plenty of plays but this was his first completely solo gig and there was a lot riding on it. This had been Tori's idea, he had to do something big, something that would make Jade see how much he still loved her, needed her. Sorry and a bunch of flowers just wouldn't cut it. Andre had reworked the music to a song by one of Jade's favourite singers Idina Menzal and Tori had helped him get the performance right. He just prayed this would work.
As Jade sat in the crowd looking up at the stage, she did the biggest double take when she saw Beck step out from the wings. What was he doing up there? Beck didn't sing! Well he could sing, but he just wasn't interested in showcasing that particular talent. Jade was confused, she looked questioningly at Tori, who in turn stroked Jade's arm reassuringly, "Just watch, ok." Jade nodded and turned back towards the stage.
As the music started Beck locked his eyes on Jade, here we go.
"Where do I begin my love? Starting with the things I haven't said enough of, starting with the day you changed my life and ending with the way I feel tonight. Where do I begin?" Becks eyes never broke contact with Jade's and she never tried to avert her gaze either.
"Where do I belong if you're not here? This is way beyond my darkest fear, don't know where I am or where I start. The trail in between is way too far. Where do I begin?" Jade was sure her heart was melting, tears sprung into her eyes. She felt Tori's hand slip into hers and gently squeeze in a comforting manner. Jade didn't attempt to pull away, instead she closed her hand gratefully around Tori's.
"I've always counted all my blessings, knowing you'll defend me, stand by my side. I always turn and lose my senses each time I intended words to come out right." Beck could see from her face that Jade understood what he was trying to say. It took him all his self-control not to rush of the stage and wrap his arms around her but he knew this was more than enough of a public display of emotion for Jade to cope with already.
"Where do I begin my love? Maybe with the morning you brought me the sun. Maybe with the stars from out of space, you took a few and lit up my face. Where do I begin?" Jade gripped Tori's hand tighter as she desperately fought back the tears that were threatening to flow. He still loved her, he must want her back. Surely he wouldn't have done all this for any other reason.
As the music finished and the applause began, Beck exited the stage, removed his headset and as calmly as he could, walked over to Jade. He was more than a little surprised to see her hand in Tori's, this must have affected her more than he'd anticipated. He leant down, took her free hand and led her to a quiet area behind the school. "Jade, I am so, so sorry. I can't even begin to explain why I…" Jade cut him off mid-sentence by cupping his face in her hands, pulling him towards her and kissing him intensely. She couldn't do anything to stop the tears that were now flowing down her cheeks though. Beck pulled back, swept the tears away with his thumbs and held her face up towards him. "I love you so much and I promise, I'll spend the rest of my life making this up to you if you'll let me." That's when the smile came, that beautiful, sweet, enchanting smile that he'd missed so much, crept across Jade's face. She reached up, took his hand away from her cheek and gently led him towards the car park. "Let's go home." He pulled her back towards him, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her gently. "Ok." He opened the truck door for her and as he shut it behind her he smiled, he had done it, he had won her back and no matter what he would never lose her again.