They used to play games. Not games of jealousy and hatred, real games. They had entire conversations in rhymes. They built palaces out of Scrabble tiles. They smiled and laughed together.
Beck pulled her into the Black Box Theater by the sleeve of her fuzzy black sweater. She screamed and kicked and punched him, but he persisted until she sat down with him on the empty stage.
"What's up with you? You don't do your homework, you ignore Cat, and your face has more makeup smeared on it than the woman who plays Elphaba." Beck said impatiently. Jade shrugged noncommittally.
"I'm tired, that's all. It's not a big deal."
Beck sighed and slumped down. "Liar."
Jade smacked him.
"OW!" he yelled.
"I am NOT a liar!" she snarled at him. He raised his eyebrows, but didn't fight her. Instead, he adopted a pleading tone and said, "I don't understand. When we met, you barely wore any makeup. Your favorite color was yellow. You liked iced tea, not coffee, because iced tea is sweet and coffee is bitter. Why'd you change?"
Jade stared at the wall, but Beck had the feeling she saw something much farther away.
"People change." She said quietly.
"I didn't notice it at first, it was so gradual. A little more eyeliner, slightly darker hair. I thought you were just changing looks, but it wasn't just that. You changed too."
She looked sad.
"Beck… I'm so tired. I'm tired of fighting and screaming and being the jealous girlfriend. I'm putting everything I have into this… into us, but that's not right. I shouldn't be too tired to do my schoolwork, to hang out with Cat, to eat dinner with my parents. It's just not right."
Beck nodded slowly, giving himself time to think.
"Do you want to stop?"
The words escaped him before he could even think to recall them. He expected her to blow up like she always did, but she just closed her eyes and nodded yes.
He swallowed, expecting misery to lodge in his throat, but it didn't. All he felt was a strange… relief. As if he had been awake for a thousand years and was finally allowed to sleep.
The next day, Jade woke up early and took a shower. But instead of tying up her home-dyed hair in a bun to protect it from the soapy water, she allowed the drizzle to seep through her hair from her scalp to the blued ends.
It felt good to let the dye go, and when she stepped out and saw her soft brown hair with it's auburn and dirty-blonde highlights, she smiled and whispered hello.
That day, Jade did not wear her foundation, and a light smattering of freckles dusted her nose. She gently applied a small amount of brown eyeliner, just enough to widen her blue-gray eyes.
That day, Jade wore a simple white tank top and light blue jeans.
That day, Jade walked to school alone.
That day, Jade bought a lemon-flavoured iced tea instead of coffee.
That day, Jade was herself.
When she saw Beck in the halls, she smiled tentatively. His eyes initially widened at her new appearance, but he returned the smile before coming over and sweeping her up in a hug.
"You look fantastic. Just like when we met." He whispered in her ear. She shrugged and grinned.
He hesitated. She was brand-new. He would do whatever it took to keep her that way.
"One more shot?" he asked her hopefully. She smiled the smile that was both new and old.
She grinned and nodded and pulled him in for a gentle kiss.
They play games. Real games. Rhyming games, building games, look-at-the-clouds games.
Because even when the games get boring, they both know that there are far worse games to play.