"Can you please stop poking your salad and start paying attention to my story?" Cat asked slightly offended, that I didn't care about what she was saying.
"Hmm…" I answered, still poking my salad. I wasn't that hungry lately, because my thoughts revolved around Beck. He was in my Improv class, my history class and my maths class. And I fell, like all the other brats, for him and only Cat knew. She sighed loudly.
"You know, if you want to go out with him, ask him out and start listening to me again." she explained, wanting me to listen to her badly.
"It isn't that easy." I mumbled loud enough for her to hear.
"Yes it is. Go to him and ask!" she started, but suddenly went all happy "Or…or….or…" she was too excited to say what she wanted to say. I got annoyed, so I tried to calm her, by being harsh to her. Yeah, don't blame me.
"Or what, Cat?" I snapped. But she was still smiling. I somehow got curious, wanting her to say what's on her mind, so I added in a nice tone: "Please tell me, Cat." She nodded and bent forward, to be as close to me as possible, considering she was sitting across the lunch table.
"You know what next week is? On Friday?" she asked in a mysterious voice, getting all excited about it. I raised my eyebrow first, but then my eyes widened.
"The Lovebird-Dance!" I half-shouted "Cat you're genius!" A big smile grew on her face, as she started to talk about random stuff once again, now that I wasn't in deep thoughts anymore. At least it seemed. I tired to think of ways to ask him to go to the dance with me. Because it was well known for the Lovebird-Dance, that girls and boys have to choose their date, but only if it was their turn. This year, the girls were choosing their dates and the boys weren't allowed to ask the girls. So they had to wait, until a girl came up to them. Sometimes a girl doesn't come and the boys are left to go alone. Like Robbie. Like every year.
::
Cat and I were in the hallway, standing in the corner where the beverage machine was. We were scanning the hallway for Beck, who came up at the exact same moment. We both hid behind the corner and bent forward to look for him, just as Cat started to giggle. I raised an eyebrow.
"What's so funny?" I asked her, bending forward again to see what Beck was doing. He was standing at his locker, getting some books out. I looked back at Cat, awaiting her answer.
"This is so exciting. I feel like in one of those spy films, where the hero is like James Bond and fights against the enemies" she said, intertwining her fingers and forming a gun out of her hands, while talking. I shook my head and changed the subject.
"So what's the plan?" I asked, curious about what she made up to make me ask him out 'accidently'. She smirked.
"Simple as that. He'll walk towards his next class. That means, he has to cross path with us. Then you'll accidently bump into him." she said, feeling smart.
"And then?" I asked unsure of what to do after bumping into him. She shrugged, biting her lower lip.
"I didn't come that far. I got distracted by Sinjin, who brought a frog to school." I glared at her and she added "the frog escaped and we had to catch him." I nodded not really acknowledging her answer. I bent forward once again and jumped a little, after realizing he was coming our way, seeming deep in thoughts.
"Shit, he's coming" I said in a hurry, straightening my hair and my new tank top with a low-cut neckline.
"Don't say that word." Cat said in her innocent voice. I shushed her and began to walk around the corner. In that moment everything rushed by very fast. I didn't calculate, that he was that close already, so I was surprised, that as soon as I came around the corner he bumped into me. As if this wasn't enough, he was holding a cup of hot coffee in his hand, which got poured all over my tank top and his shirt. I screamed with pain, as the hot liquid made contact with my skin. That wasn't how I expected it to be, not at all.
"WATCH IT, YOU WALKING IDIOT!" I screamed, pushing him aside. Thank god his coffee wasn't that hot anymore. I wanted to go to the bathroom, but soon realized that Cat was missing. I turned around and saw her standing in front of a surprised and confused Beck. She was smiling at him and I walked towards her. She giggled.
"You have coffee on your shirt." she told him, as if he didn't notice it. I called her name loudly and she waved at him, running towards me. I grabbed her arm and pulled her to the bathroom.
::
I was rubbing my tank top in vain to get the coffee stain out of it.
"Cat, that was the silliest plan, you could've ever thought of!" I exclaimed desperately, looking at her reflection in the mirror. She was looking at me, a confused expression on her face. She suddenly turned to the mirror and her gaze met mine.
"Why? It turned out right. He noticed you!" A big smile grew on her face. And I shook my head forcefully.
"He'll now remember me as the rude girl, who insulted him after bumping into him. That's not how things turn out right." I snapped. She looked at me, slightly hurt. I sighed loudly and made an apologetic look. She nodded and spaced out, while I was still trying to get this stain out of my new top.
"Oh, how could I've forgot!" Cat exclaimed, hitting her forehead hard with her palm.
"Forgot what?" I asked, turning around curiously.
"I have a tidy top in my locker. You wanna have it?" she asked and my eyes grew wider.
"Why didn't you tell me earlier? Instead of standing here for felt 20 hours, trying to rub off the stain, I could have resumed many activities." I said, grabbing my bag from the floor, walking towards the door.
"Activities?" she asked confused, as she followed me. Yes, activities revolving around Beck, but she doesn't have to know how obsessed I'm with him.
"Just forget it."
::
"Now take off your dirty top" Cat pleaded with her puppy face on, holding the top from her locker in her hand. I shook my head furiously.
"No, I'm not gonna wear that optimistic piece of rag."
"Rag? It's a pony!" Cat exclaimed, looking down at the pink tank top with the drawing of a purple pony on it, which made me want to vomit instantly.
"No, no, no, no, no. I'll just go home." I protested. "We just have history." I added, turning around to go.
"You can't skip school! That's against school rules!" she shouted and I walked up to her angrily.
"Maybe, just maybe, you can shout louder, so the whole school will hear you." I snapped.
"YOU CAN'T- mmmhhmm." Cat wanted to shout again, but my hand already covered her mouth forcefully. I removed my hand after she calmed down and glared at her.
"That was sarcasm, Cat. You want me to get expelled?" she shook her head forcefully.
"But you can't skip history. Beck's in there!" Cat whispered, while leaning forward. I rolled my eyes and remembered. She was right.
"Maybe it's another reason, why I'm not going. Just tell Mr Gardner that I'm ill."
"You think he'll believe you? Last time, when you told him your dog ate your homework he was really angry. But I don't understand why. I mean you can't do anything about your dog's desire of eating homework all the time, right?" she asked, remembering the outburst of anger Mr Gardner had, when I made up the implausible excuse.
"Right." I answered, feeling worried about Cat's frame of mind. I sighed and waved her a goodbye, leaving her standing alone in front of her locker.
::
I was sitting in front of my computer, facing the screen. I was online on The Slap, stalking Beck's updates. Wow, I really had a thing for him. It's creepy, but I can't stop thinking of him. After looked at my watch, I came to the conclusion, that by now school must've been finished. I've spent another half an hour going through his pics, when suddenly my computer made a 'slapping noise'. I jumped a little, noticing, that Beck updated his status. I smiled and looked at it. As I started reading, my smile was slowly fading. He wrote:
3 bad things happened today: bumped into a pmsing girl, poured my coffee all over my shirt and got screamed at. The worst thing? I didn't even get an apology.
Mood: Pissed ò.ó
Asshole! I. am. not. pmsing! How dare he write something like that? Actually now I'm regretting feeling bad for yelling at him. He totally deserved it. I frowned at the screen and got up, pulling the plug of the computer to shut it off quicker. I went to my bed and knelt down on the floor, getting out a small box from under my bed. I opened it and took the faceless voodoo puppet out. I smirked, as I took a picture of Beck I had on my nightstand (Yes, The Slap is very useful, if you want some pics of your crush!). I took my red scissor, cut out his face and stuck it on the puppet. I spent the next few hours poking his stomach and his genitals, feeling slightly better. I rolled on my bed and buried my face in my pillow. He, now, officially hates me and I can't do anything against it. I can't – wait! All I have is to do is apologize. I can't afford going to the dance all alone. My reputation would be ruined. The Jade West would be pathetic Jade West, who didn't manage to find a date. Just like the ugly girls in our school, who no one wants to look at. Just like Robbie.
::
Three days later, on a Monday I decided that I'll apologize to him at lunch time. I didn't have to look for him everywhere, because (surprise!) I knew where his regular table was. To be honest, apologizing wasn't something a Jade West would do regularly. That must mean that the person who gets the apology has to be a lucky one. And Beck for sure was a lucky one, even with out a Jade West telling him how sorry she was for making a fool out of him, attempting to propitiate him, so he would say yes, when she asked him out for the Lovebird-Dance. I sighed, as Cat caught up with me.
"Jadey! Where are you going?" she asked in her happy-as-ever-right-now-annoying-voice. I was really nervous, so I didn't take interruption very well.
"Beck" I whispered quietly, to get back my answer, just even louder, as a question.
"Beck?" she asked with a happy smile.
"Yes him. Now would you please let me go, before I decide against doing it?" I asked her a tiny bit freaking out. She smiled.
"Won't you give him a present or something? So he will be happy and say yes?" she asked and I admittedly didn't think badly about this idea. But what shall I get him, or better what did he want to get? I then got the idea and went straight to the guy who sells Jet Brew coffee. Since I accidently (yeah, for sure) bumped into him, he lost his coffee. And I couldn't find something better for him than a coffee right now, so he had to live with it. In the whole process Cat was following me, even as I made my way to Beck.
"Stop following me, Cat!" I said , turning around to face her half way.
"Keep walking. Lunch is almost over!" she replied, pushing me towards Beck's table. I didn't hesitate anymore, nor did I ask her to leave me do it on my own. I just blocked out everything and concentrated on the guy who was 9 different kinds of attractive (no lie!). He was chewing on his burrito, Robbie and Andre sitting next to him. As I approached their table, I cleared my throat loudly, so every one's attention on the table was on me. Beck looked up and smirked.
"Ah, I see the girl I've never heard an apology of." he mocked in a calm tone, still I could hear amusement. So I played along.
"I hardly ever apologize. I am what I am." I said confidently, looking him straight in the eyes. The smirk grew on his lips.
"Gloria Gaynor I see" he said, recognizing the song I made reference to (although unintentionally). I just shrugged.
"So. You may be asking yourself why I'm here." I started, the cold mask still on my face. He shrugged and nodded slightly. "This is for you" I continued, as he didn't say anything, raising my hand with the coffee a bit, so he could see it. "I figured you want your spilled coffee back, so here it is."
"Thank you" He smiled at me, reaching out for the coffee, but I stepped back, leaving him looking at me confused.
"There's another thing." I started nervously. He raised an eyebrow. "Uhm, doyouwannagotothedancewithme?" I asked, getting out the words as if they were just a very long one. He digested, what I just said.
"Oh, I, uhm. I'm sorry, but Kaitlin Trevor asked me out last week and I-" he tried to turn me down awkwardly, but I cut him off, before he could dissemble a nice excuse.
"It's okay. Cat let's go!" I snapped through gritted teeth. He grimaced slightly and exchanged glances with Andre and Robbie.
"Kay kay!" Cat replied, as we turned around and walked away. Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around to see Beck. A new wave of hope hit me, as I raised an eyebrow at him, acting pissed, although my heart was beating like crazy right now.
"My coffee." he said with an innocent smile on his face. My heart stopped beating fast and anger replaced the feeling of hope. I looked down at my hand in which the cup still was and then looked back at him. I smirked and took a sip from the cup.
"Which coffee?" I asked cheekily, as his smile started fading. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it again. Turning around, because he has nothing more to say, he sat back down. Robbie approached us.
"Uhm, Jade. I assume you don't have a date for the dance yet. And no girl asked me out. How about-"
"Not even in your dreams, Shapiro!" I turned around and walked away.
"Okay!" he shouted, waving a hand hesitantly.
I didn't look back anymore. I was really pissed and Cat wouldn't help much with her constant overjoyed mood.
"Jade! It's like in the movies, where the actors love each other but one of them has to go through pain, before he can finally get together with the one he loves!" she exclaimed happily, not noticing how much she hurt me my saying that.
"It'd better be Beck experiencing the pain!" I hissed, entering the hallway of the school in a huff.
"Oh, that remembers me, that one day my brother has seen a movie, where some kids got into a magic word through the television. My brother tried the same and ended up with a broken arm and a concussion. We hadn't had a TV for weeks" Cat remembered, but she couldn't reassure me with her stupid brother stories. I was really, really mad.
So if Beck doesn't want me, he can have fun with this little Kaitlin whore. It's okay really (no, it's not), but I can't afford to go to the dance without anyone. This would destroy my reputation even more than going with a loser. And that's when I spotted my chance.
"Sinjin!" I shouted, as I saw the lanky, tall boy with moss-look-alike hair sitting on the steps, counting something. He looked up and didn't believe a girl was talking to him, until I approached him.
"Jade, right?" he asked, although he knew who I was. The whole fucking school knew who I was; still I nodded and looked at what he was doing. He had hair streaks of every colour in bundles. As he noticed me looking, he revealed what it was "I try to make the most multicoloured wig the world has ever seen. With real hair." he added in a mysterious tone. I grunted and raised an eyebrow.
"The people gave you the hair voluntarily?" I asked, but his long lasting glare told me the answer. He didn't even have to reply after what seemed like 5 minutes.
"I have sources…" he simply answered and I shrugged the awkward feeling off that was slowly overcoming me, while talking to him.
"Anyways, I'm talking to you for a reason." I started, crossing my arms "I assume, no I know, no girl asked you to go to the dance by now. So I'm taking you. I-"
"Really? My dream comes true! A girl asked me out!" he interrupted me, jumping up and down happily. I didn't mind it, up to the point when he tried to hug me.
"Woah, freak! Back off. Never try to do this again, understand?" he nodded eagerly "There are a few rules you have to follow. First of all: You won't pick me up. We'll meet in front of the school at 8 pm sharp. I don't need to share a ride with you. Second of all: Don't talk to me, until I allow you to. And that's all for now" I said, because I couldn't think of anything better for now.
"Will you teach me to dance?" he asked, his voice filled with hope. I glared at him.
"How come you think that we'll dance? Listen" I started, walking closer to him, so our faces were just inches away (in a threatening way for him, if he tried to do something stupid). "we won't do the things people do when they go to a dance. I just asked you to be my date. No more, no less. Okay?" I asked, getting another eager nod as a reply. I backed off again. "I'll see you at 8 pm sharp and don't even dare to bring me flowers or anything cliché." I walked away, Cat following me again. I heard him mutter something about 'telling his mom', but I shrugged it off. (If I hadn't been stupid enough to ask him out, he wouldn't be all over me now. Okay, he still would be, because I'm irresistiable!)
::
The following Friday I arrived in front of the school at 8 pm and spotted Sinjin with- was it a bucket of flowers? I stomped over to him furiously and raised an eyebrow.
"What is this?" I asked angrily, pointing at the flower bucket. He looked down at it and smiled.
"A girl asked me to hold it and disappeared with a boy behind those bushes." he answered pointing at the bushes. My anger vanished and was replaced my embarrassment.
"Oh" was all I could answer (was I secretly hoping he would've brought me flowers? Hell no!). "Let's go in and not waste any time."
As we entered the room (not hand in hand of course and with a safe distance), we were welcomed with loud party music, while people were horribly dancing to it. I looked around and laid eyes on Beck, who was dancing with Kaitlin. Oh well, she was rubbing herself raw on him and he didn't look comfortable. He suddenly locked eyes with me and a big smirk grew on my face. He looked away quickly, feeling ashamed. At least I saw him blush or was it the colourful lighting? Whatever. After a while of standing there awkwardly, scanning the crowd, I saw Beck going over to the punch, taking two cups. I left Sinjin stand there alone and walked over to Beck. Just as he poured punch in the second cup, I took it from him. He looked up surprised.
"Thank you. How come you've seen that I was thirsty?" I asked, taking a sip from the cup. He glared at me for a few seconds, before smirking.
"I can read people's mind. You didn't know that?" he asked, also taking a sip. I ignored his question, looking over at Kaitlin, who was "dancing" with another boy.
"I liked watching you and your date dancing. Did you enjoy it, too?" I asked, the mocking tone in my voice couldn't be hid. He blushed and looked away.
"Uhm, yes." he gulped and I smiled evilly.
"Really? You seemed so uncomfortable. Mummy's little boy isn't used to that, is he?" I asked, getting closer, the smile still plastered on my face. He looked at me and sighed.
"Stop mocking me!" he exclaimed, an angry undertone in his voice.
"Ouh. Life's so hard, isn't it? You chose her as your date and the next thing she is doing when you're not watching is 'snuggling' with another boy's body." I watched her dancing and Beck did the same.
"Okay. Maybe I was wrong to pick her. But…But tell me a good reason why I should have chosen you." he replied, mustering me, waiting curiously for an answer. I shrugged.
"I'm classy." I simply answered.
"That's why you go out with Sinjin…a freak."
"I just wanted to make you-" I stopped myself from talking. What was I going to say? 'I just wanted to make you jealous?'. With Sinjin? "I just wanted to show you, that although you've rejected me I found a date. I'm Jade West. No one rejects me just like that. You're just gonna make me really angry" I finished, looking at him. He smiled.
"I noticed, when you didn't give me my coffee." he said, taking another sip of his punch. "You still owe me one." he added.
"Owe you? I don't owe anybody anything. If so, you owe me a coffee every day for the rest of your life for rejecting ME." I emphasized on the word 'me' to make him notice, what kind of mistake he made.
"We'll talk about that." He chuckled, laying down his empty cup (he started doing it anyway).
"Wanna dance?" I asked him, taking all my guts together, sounding calm and distant, as if it was just a random question.
"If you won't rub on me, then why not?" I shook my head smirking and he took my hand, leading me to the dance floor.
AN: Hey, hey, hey! I'm back again with a new one-shot! :D Hope you all liked it. Once again a Jade gets (almost) together with Beck. But hope it's different...
It's Part of the SAFARI SLAM Badeweekend and I love this weekend so far. The story a tad bit longer, than I expected it to be, but thanks for reading it anyway. It makes me really happy. SAFARI is the reaction to RABBI, which in my opinion is an insult to all Bori and Bade authors. We didn't do anything to you. Hopefully the person who made up this abbreviation feels sorry after the Badeweekend, because face it in the end we all know that BADE will win. Sorry for rambling. Am I the only one who noticed, that whenever I type Rade or Bori it marks them as wrong words, but Bade is perfectly fine? :)
I hope you liked it!
Don't forget to review!
~teddybaer~