Need Only One

Jade/Beck

"You don't need scores of suitors. You need only one… if he's the right one."

- Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

"I swear," cried the second-to-oldest Vega sister, tossing her book to the ground, "if that infernal doorbell rings one more time, I shall do away with it, and replace it with something more pleasant, such as a bird in a cage. Only I do suppose that would get me in some trouble for animal abuse."

"Jade!" called her younger sister Caterina, an upset look upon her innocent face. "Don't say that! Would you like me to get the door then?"

"No, I will," Jade Vega said impetuously, brushing past her sister, "since I am surely the most personable of all of us, at least when it comes to getting what I want, and I'm sure it's Aunt Vega as it always is, attempting to solicit my help again. But I wouldn't help her unless she paid me a hundred dollars!"

"You're not the most personable," objected Trina, the youngest sister of them all. "You're only the scariest. And everybody's afraid of you; that's why they give you whatever you like. Only I am a million times more cardinal, so people like me more."

"Are you a bird now, then?" teased Victoria (or Tori, as she was usually called), the oldest, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

"If you mean cordial, I'd say so, and not talk about birds, as if you were to fly away at any time," Jade said in a condescending tone to her younger sister, picking up the edges of her shirt and flouncing over to the door. A messenger stood on the other side, and as soon as he saw Jade, his eyes turned to the size of saucers.

At last the boy managed to choke out "For you, Madame" and fly away, his coattails flying behind him. With a roll of her eyes, Jade pushed a tendril of dark hair out of her eyes and began to read. Almost immediately, though, her eyes widened, and she let out a rather un-Jade-like squeal.

"Oh Tori, come at once!" she yelped. "We've been invited to a ball, you and I. And it's next Friday night!"

Tori, who was reading over her shoulder, squealed as well. "This will be simply delightful! But what should I wear?"

"You act as though you have a choice," said Jade in disgust. "We all very all know what we'll wear, since we each only have one nice dress to our names. But oh! Mine has a hole in the back, for I was chasing the annoying neighbour child down the street after he hit me with a branch, and I tripped and got a small tear in my dress."

"Of course you did," replied Tori, her tone obviously annoyed, "for you cannot go a single day without upsetting someone or getting upset yourself. But you'll stand to the front, won't you, and you won't let anyone see your tear, for I could hardly stand the embarrassment! And what of your gloves?"

"I painted them black," said Jade proudly. "They go with my skirt now."

"Jade!" protested Tori. "You know very well that only widows wear black, and we are hardly widows, so you cannot wear them to a fancy ball."

"She can borrow mine," Caterina volunteered, a smile tugging at the edges of her lips. "But you must promise not to get them dirty, because I need them for next week. Robbie has invited me to come over for a nice dinner at his house, you realise."

"You ought not call him by a shortened name, Cat, for it is not proper," inserted Trina, who had recently declared herself the authority of all things proper.

Cat simply pouted as Tori let out another shriek. "Oh Jade, did you see? Mr. Oliver is going to be escorting us to the ball!"

"Please tell me you're speaking of the younger man, and not the grandfather, who looks as if he wishes we were dead every time we speak," said Jade with some distaste. She had never thought highly of the Olivers, since they had scarcely made an effort to be a part of the community, and hardly ever spoke to any of the Vega sisters.

"Of course," Tori said with a laugh. "Oh, how exciting! We get to meet them, and speak with the son! I always thought he was only just bashful."

"He seems to be awfully conceited if you ask me," objected Jade, "but I suppose it will be nice to get to speak of how I was one of the first to really talk to him. Maybe he will not be as bad as I have imagined." The infernal ringing filled her ears again, and she gave a small sigh. "Girls, go tell Mother of the invitation, and ask for her permission to go, though I'm certain she will allow us to. I will go get the doorbell for practically the hundredth time today."

She slipped over to the door, feet padding along the floor, hair pulled up haphazardly, and opened the door quickly to find a young man standing on the other side, a smile on his face that didn't so much as falter when he saw her. Instead, he simply took off his hat and gave a slight bow. "Miss Vega, I assume? I'm Mr. Oliver."

"It's Jade Vega, actually," replied the girl absently, realizing that perhaps this boy was not the arrogant one she considered him to be.

"Oh yes, I know," said the boy with a chuckle. "I'm Mr. Beck Oliver, you know. I thought it proper to come over and introduce myself, since I'll be escorting you and your sister... Tori, I believe... to the ball."

"Well, it sure took you long enough," Jade said impetuously, and they both gave a small laugh.

"Oh, aren't you excited for the play?" Cat squealed, holding on to her best friend's arm as they sat in the auditorium, waiting for their turn to audition. "I'm auditioning for Beth, do you think I'll get the part? Do you, do you?"

"Sure, Cat," Jade replied absently, scanning her monologue over again. The lines all swam together in her head, and she realized oddly enough that she was nervous, something that happened only sparingly as of late.

"You're going to audition for Jo, right? I'm sure you'll get the part, especially since Tori's auditioning for Meg, and no one's half as good as you two. Do you know if Beck's auditioning? He just has to! He'd be the perfect Laurie to your Jo!" Cat giggled.

"You do know that Laurie marries Amy, Cat?"

"Oh no, I didn't!" Cat frowned. "I just thought Jo and Laurie were perfect for one another! That's so sad! But we're only doing the one-act version, and so he never gets with Amy, only just has a nice plot with Jo, so he should still audition. Oh Jade, this is so exciting!"

Jade rolled her eyes, putting her face down in her palm, and suddenly she felt hands on her back, massaging her gently. She let out a soft sigh of delight. "Beck Oliver, where the heck have you been?"

"Around," Beck said cheekily, jumping over the seat so that he landed haphazardly on top of Jade, tendrils of dark hair falling into his childlike eyes. "I've been rehearsing my lines, actually. Bet you didn't even know I was auditioning."

"Hmm," she replied, not having the ability to concentrate when his face was so close to hers. She pressed a gentle kiss to his lips, one hand entwining in his dark locks, and she smiled. "Lemme guess, you're auditioning for Laurie, since you're such a gentleman and all. Didn't know gentlemen sat in ladies' laps, though. Seems kinda risque to me."

Beck smirked and got off so that he was sitting in the chair beside her, grin still plastered on his face. "Well, it was either that or Mr. March, and I can assure you that I doubt Sikowitz would like it very much if I acted as though I was in love with my daughter." Lightly, he kissed the skin of her cheek. "Besides, at least if we're Laurie and Jo we get to do all of that old-timey awkward flirting."

Jade just raised an eyebrow. "That means I have to get the part now, right?"

"The stakes are high, babe," Beck replied.

"Gotcha," Jade said, just as her name was called. She grinned, pressing a long, lingering kiss to Beck's lips as she got up, disentangling their (seemingly automatically) entangled legs.

"Break a leg!" Beck called as she walked down the aisle to the stage.

"My name is Jade West," Jade said in an ominous tone as she stepped up to the stage, "and I will be auditioning for the role of Jo March." She took a deep breath, and then began in a voice much like her own (seemingly perpetually) angry tone, "What? My little book that I was so fond of, and worked over, and meant to finish before Father got home? Amy, not even you could do a thing like that! Oh, you wicked, wicked girl! I can never write it again, and now Father'll never see it, and - And I'll NEVER forgive you as long as I live!"

The emotion seemed to hang in the air as Jade stood there, breathing deeply, trying to calm her wicked nerves. She returned Beck's hearty smile as Sikowitz said, "Jade, you might want to stick around a little bit."

"Oh, I will," said Jade with a grin, walking down from the stage and right into Beck's arms.

"I know Grandfather and I probably aren't as neighbourly as we ought to have been," Beck said with some evident trepidation, "but he's only afraid that I'll be a bother to all of you. I do so admire you, though. You're such an interesting family, and especially you."

"Why especially me?" questioned Jade, her eyebrows furrowing. "Because I frighten everyone?"

"No, of course not." Beck laughed. "Because I can't quite figure you out from what I've seen of you."

"I must admit that I'm not an easy person to figure out, and I refuse to be. I much prefer to be my own person and differ from everyone else. And also, it's not as though I haven't got talents of my own. Such as I'm putting on a play tomorrow night."

"A play?" questioned Beck, though instead of disturbed he seemed rather amused. "That's quite an interesting notion. Would you mind if I came?"

"Only if you don't laugh, for it's not meant to be funny at all," Jade informed him in all seriousness. "I've worked so hard on this play, and it would mean a lot to have a willing audience. Would you come?"

"Yes, of course, if Grandfather will let me." Beck grinned. "But I'm sure he will."

"Good. But if you laugh, I'll thrash you."

"You won't either."

"Try me. I may look like a female, but on the inside I'm really quite strong."

Beck laughed again, and Jade found oddly enough that it was a comfort to have someone with a sense of humour so similar to her own, especially since her sisters were all so very feminine and fond of the proper sort of humour. "Which play are you putting on?"

"I wrote it myself," Jade told him. "It took a proper long time too; that's why I'd rather you not laugh. It's a terrifying play, though, very thrilling, and I assure you that you will like it."

"Such confidence," Beck told her with a toss of his head. "I doubt if I've seen it anywhere before. It's intriguing. And I'm certain that your play will be simply amazing."

Jade tried not to blush, and instead she startled as she heard voices behind her. "Oh, I suppose those are my sisters and my Mother. I'm sure they'd be willing to meet you, if you'd like."

"Oh, no, I told Grandfather I'd be coming back around, but I'll meet them at the play, I'm sure. It was so very nice to meet you, Miss Vega."

"I've told you that you should call me Jade," Jade objected with a small frown.

"All right then. Good night... Jade." He grinned at her, his lips twisting upward in a way that she was sure had never intrigued her so very much.

"Good night, Beck," she said softly, closing the door behind her and wondering what had gotten into her. Then, with a toss of her hair, she straightened herself up, brushed off her skirt, and yelled, "Mother! Tori! Caterina! Trina! Come quickly! I've just spoken to the younger Mr. Oliver!"

"They've posted the cast list," Cat squealed, practically bouncing off the walls. "I can't wait to see who I've gotten! If I've gotten anyone that is. That sounds so funny, don't you think? I mean it's not like I've actually gotten anyone. I only get to pretend to be them! Oh, this is so exciting, Jade!"

With a nervous sigh, Jade brushed back her hair. "I swear, if that freakazoid casts me as someone other than Jo or, like, Aunt March, I'm leaving. All the others are so whiny and annoying - especially Amy. Ugh. I swear I'll..."

"Jade." Beck caught up with her at last, draping an arm around her shoulders. "You checked the cast list yet?"

"Headed there now, actually," Jade informed him, entwining her fingers with his own and giving them a squeeze. "Why? Have you seen it?"

"I was waiting on you," Beck told her with a grin. "That way we win or we lose together, y'know?"

"You guys are so cute," Cat squealed, bouncing off in front of them, presumably to go check the cast list. Jade had specifically told her not to spoil Jade, but Jade had a feeling it wasn't going to work out. That was one of the guarantees of being friends with Cat; she had the memory span of a goldfish.

She was correct, though, because ten minutes later, Cat came bouncing back to her, a huge smile on her face. "Jade, this is so exciting! I'm Beth - yay! - and guess what, you've been cast as Jo! How amazing is that? And Beck's Laurie, and OMG this is going to be so cute! See, I told you guys you'd get cast together, I told you I told you I told you!"

"You're kidding," Jade gasped in delight. Although she'd had a feeling, she'd also had that overwhelming sense of doubt that came from being second place to Tori far too many times. But no - Tori was cast as Meg, and she was Jo, and Cat was Beth, and Amy was... Trina? How the heck did that untalented sack of flour get a part in their play? She had to wonder. But then again the part was perfect for Trina; Amy was improper though she tried to be proper, annoying, and whiny; in other words, she was the spitting image of Trina, aside from the fact that Amy, unlike Trina, actually had talent. Cat was right, though. Beck had been cast as Laurie, and Robbie as Mr. March... she had to laugh at the mental image of Robbie as her father.

She decided not to let it spoil the play and instead threw her arms around Beck. "Beck, we got the parts! We're Jo and Laurie!" It was a happy side, a slightly (ew) nice side of her that perhaps others had not seen, but she was excited, and she could scarcely control herself.

"I know, babe," he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Presumably they couldn't do all that as Jo and Laurie; it went without saying that the 1800s (Jade thought that must have been when it was written) were incredibly uptight about PDA and all that. And besides there was some controversy on whether Jo and Laurie actually dated, especially since Laurie married Amy (proving that he, in fact, had bad taste in women). "You're going to be fantastic."

She pulled back, smirk playing at her lips, and extended a graceful hand. When he glanced at her, clearly bewildered, she smirked. "Well, Laurie, we've got a show to rehearse, haven't we?"

"Yes, Josephine," he said, his use of her 'full name' slightly condescending but ultimately playful, "I suppose we have."

"Beck's here," Caterina told her, grinning from ear to ear. It was evident that Cat enjoyed any sort of joy that took place in her sisters' lives, perhaps even moreso than her own. It was one of the qualities they loved about her. But right now, it simply embarrassed Jade, and she glanced down, blushing slightly.

"I told you he would come," Jade informed her sister, "and anyway let's not speak of it, for we have to concentrate on the play. Trina, have you memorised your lines yet?"

"I told you I have," said Trina impetuously. "I know you're afraid that I may outshine you, but do not fret, for I will make sure to tone down my talent for you, dear sister of mine."

"Such a relief to hear," Jade replied, her verbal irony leaking through her voice. "Anyway, Caterina, do you know when you're meant to come in?"

"Yes, of course," chirped Caterina. "I will come in as soon as I hear you asking for the potion. Only Jade, I'm not too good of an actress, you know, so please don't be too angry if I mess up."

"You won't," Jade chided, turning to the oldest of her sisters. "I'm assuming you know your part, Tori, only don't speak too loudly or too quickly."

"Why are you getting so nervous tonight?" Tori inquired smugly, crossing her arms across her chest. "Don't tell me, I know why. It is because of Beck, isn't it? He's in the audience tonight so you are getting all anxious and ensuring that everything is perfect. I can see right through you, Jade." Jade felt her face flush again (she supposed due to the light shade of her too-pale cheeks).

"Don't speak that way," Jade replied, glancing downwards, "I wrote this play, so I do hope it will be absolutely perfect, and Mother did invite Aunt Vega to see it, so she will speak ill of me if it's not done absolutely perfectly. Though I suppose she'll speak ill of me anyway, but I want my play to be up to my standards, and, oh, Trina, please be sure not to mess up your lines!"

"I told you that I won't, and I won't," said Trina childishly. "Now come along Jade. You must begin if you don't want your minimal audience to leave!"

Jade gave a huff of indignation and slipped through the curtains, shoving her last strands of dark hair up into her hat and slipping out from behind the curtains. Ignoring Beck's quiet chuckles of amusement, she threw out her porcelain arms and exclaimed, with all possible vigour, "Welcome to the show of the four Vega sisters. Now, as you are probably well aware, we are currently suffering from a lack of good actors - a lack of actors, I suppose you could say - and so I trust that all of you will take that into consideration. Nonetheless, I do hope you will enjoy our play!"

And all went well, at least until Trina got on the stage. Now Trina feared nearly everything, from big dogs to enclosed spaces, though for fear of being improper she scarcely showed it. But once she was up on their makeshift tower, her fear leaked out.

"Jade, this tower is rickety," she hissed, fear clear on her face, but annoyance clouding her tone. "I told you that you shan't have let Caterina build it, since she has so little experience with tools."

"Or perhaps you're just cowardly," Jade replied. "Now do be quiet before they hear you."

Snickers came from the audience, probably the majority of which came from Beck (she hadn't really believed him when he promised not to laugh, anyway, since Trina always made sure to make everyone laugh). Trina just rolled her eyes and launched into her dramatic speech, but of course when Jade went up to rescue her from her prison tower, the whole thing collapsed, pitting Jade right into Beck's lap. She shot up at once, her face reddening, her eyes trained on the ground.

"If you wanted to be close to me, I might have let you," Beck said with a conceited grin. "I must inform you that there was no need for that whole display."

"Oh, be quiet, bad boy, or you can just go home," spat Jade, crossing her arms.

"It was only a joke, Jade, and I thought the play was wonderful," replied Beck with a laugh, making Jade's face an even darker shade of red. "I had no idea you were so talented."

"I suppose you must have learned now, then," said Jade with a grin. "I am quite glad you came, and your grandfather sent ice cream. It shall be a delicious treat for us, shan't it?"

"Oh yes," Beck said with a charming smile. "But Jade, you ought to introduce me to your lovely sisters, for you promised to today. I do know all their names from my shameless watching, but it would be nice to have a proper introduction and -"

"Oh, Mrs. Vega! A telegram from Washington, it just came," called the servant, running into the living room with proper speed. Jade's eyes quickly shot up to Beck's, worried already for her father's safety, and Beck met her gaze with a soft smile.

"Next time, then," he said quietly, taking her hand and pressing his lips to it, sending chills down her spine.

"You look just like a proper lady, Jade."

"Oh, shut up," Jade said darkly, smoothing down the wrinkles on her skirt and meeting her boyfriend's grin with a dark glare. He was obviously smug about the fact that she, like the others, had to wear a proper blouse and a long skirt that practically brushed the ground, and not in black either - apparently black, back in those days, was only for mourning. Jade was certain she couldn't have survived.

"I'm serious, babe," Beck said with a teasing grin. "You look just like a little woman, Miss Josephine."

"I'm not talking to you anymore."

"Come on, I'm just joking," Beck said, kissing her lightly on the lips. "And anyway, Sikowitz wants you back in the Blackbox Theater so that he can make sure your costume fits."

"Does he think my boobs are too big for this shirt?" Jade said crossly, crossing her arms across her chest.

"I think it fits you perfectly, babe." Another kiss. "You have to hurry up, though, or else he might replace you with Tori."

"Hey!"

"Kidding, kidding."

With another roll of her eyes, she took Beck's hand and returned to the theater, marveling at the look of her boyfriend in a proper gentleman's outfit - hair combed, rather than looking as if he was a hobo, tie draped around his neck, vest and shirt buttoned neatly all the way up. He was dapper and incredibly handsome, so much so that it was hard to control herself on stage.

"Finally, our Jo has returned." When Jade fixed him with a scowl, Sikowitz quickly continued, "Your costume is marvelous. Now hurry up and get on stage, for you've got a scene to rehearse with Beck."

"Is it the one where we meet?" Jade inquired, flipping through her script. It was only the first week of rehearsals; she thought it odd that Sikowitz was already messing with costumes, but then again he'd never been easy to figure out.

"Yes, yes," Sikowitz said absent-mindedly, "the one where you start to fall in love."

"Does he realize this isn't a romance play, and anyway Amy ends up with you, not me - Jo?" Jade whispered to Beck as they took their places.

"Probably not," Beck replied with a shrug. It was just the nature of their odd acting teacher, they figured; he never really knew what was going on.

So they took their places and did their scene, eyes fixed on each other, chemistry radiating off of them in waves. And by the time Jade got out her final line - "Good night... Laurie" - the two of them were kissing.

"Oh, no, that's not very proper of you," Sikowitz muttered, taking a sip from his coconut.

Jade pulled back, cheeks darkening. "Sorry. Guess we got carried away." And then, turning to Beck, "Laurie, that was not very gentlemanly of you."

"Oh, come on, Jo, don't act as if you didn't enjoy it," Beck returned cheekily.

"It's not acting, Laurie," Jade shot back hotly, "because I didn't really enjoy it, and... mmph!"

Suddenly the two were kissing again, Jade's hands roaming through Beck's hair, Beck's hands skimming across her back, and Sikowitz sat and watched, laughing like a madman. When the two of them separated and stared at him, obviously confused, Sikowitz just clapped. "You know, I really should let you two rewrite it. A hate-romance set in the 18th century... oh, I can see the possibilities now..."

Beck laughed. "Wanna rerun the scene?"

"If you kiss me again, you're dead meat," Jade warned, but the corners of her mouth turned up slightly.

We just don't know. And I'm being serious.

Based of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, in case you hadn't guessed, since I love it. There are two intertwining storylines, by the way - one is 1800s AU, the other is proper canon. I just thought it'd be interesting. They alternate, in case you were confused.

I may or may not update this. Knowing me, probably not. :) Please review anyway, if you liked it.