Disclaimer – Nothing but part of the polot is mine.

The New Girl

Beck stopped his car in front of Jade's house and pressed the horn impatiently. They were cutting it awfully short this morning. He didn't even have time to buy coffee on the way over. Jade came running out of the house and jumped in the front seat.

"Did you buy coffee?" She grumbled groggily. Obviously she hasn't gotten her beauty sleep too.

"I didn't have time." Beck explained to her. "I overslept." He drove the car in the traffic.

"Me too" she said, resting her head on the headrest of the car seat.

"May be hanging out together in my RV past midnight on a school night wasn't such a good idea after all." It had been fun, but getting up this morning was a chore. By the look of her it hadn't been a picnic for Jade too.

"We'll get some on the way. There is a coffee shop close to school." She suggested her eyes closed. The rest of the way to the coffee shop they drove in silence. Once there they quickly bought their coffee and got to school. Jade stopped to get her books from her locker. Beck gave her a quick peck on the cheek and headed to Sikowitz's classroom. Just after he got in, he collided with someone. The coffee he was carrying spilled all over his t-shirt. Thankfully it had cooled down, or it could have been very unpleasant for him. The person he collided with turned out to be a girl. A very pretty svelte brunette, with striking eyes, who began apologizing proficiently for spilling the coffee. She began rubbing his t-shirt in vain attempt to remove the coffee stains. He told her to stop, since her rubbing was actually making the stains bigger. He was just about to stop her when their eyes met. For a second he felt like he was falling in those warm chocolate eyes.

"Dude, why are you rubbing my boyfriend?" Jade's angry voice quickly pulled him out of his reverie. He turned to his girlfriend and switched to damage control mode. He smiled, kissed her and tried to sooth her. Thankfully Sikowitz's entry distracted the entire class. He and Jade sat on the second row, while the new girl sat beside André in front of them. Seeing the two of them talking to each other, Beck put two and two together. The girl must be Tori. Andre had talked about her all week. Beck couldn't believe that the talented singer and natural performer André had talked about was Trina Vega's sister. Now that he had finally been able to put a face to the name he could understand why André was so impressed. Aside from being strikingly beautiful the girl exuded a magnetism that forced you to pay attention to her. Combine this with a singing talent and you could get a potential star. May be he had to check out the video from the Showcase after all. While he was mulling that, Sikowitz called on Jade to lead the improvisation. In hindsight his joke about letting the dog sleep with them might not have been the best idea, but in his defense he did not expect Jade to overreact so much. He tried to stop her, but when she had decided to do something it was almost impossible to stop her.

The sight of the new girl running away with hair and top drenched in ice coffee disturbed him. It wasn't just annoyance at Jade's excessive jealousy. That was probably her most irritating character trait. It had ruined many of their dates and left Cat as his only female friend. For a second, as he watched the new girl's retreating form he felt a passing sense of loss, as if he was losing someone dear. Beck quickly dismissed this vague feeling and sat beside his smugly smiling girlfriend. He glanced disapprovingly at Jade, but she didn't notice or a least pretended not to notice. After class André caught up with him.

"What the hell is wrong with your girlfriend?" His friend started. He was clearly upset. "That was not the way to greet a new classmate. Can't you control the Wicked Witch of the West?" Okay, maybe not only upset but also pissed.

"I'm sorry André. She shouldn't have done this to your girlfriend." Beck tried to apologize. His friend seemed to be more annoyed by Jade's action than usual.

"Girlfriend, what do you mean girlfriend? Tori is just a friend." Andre looked at him with surprise.

"Oh, I thought…" Much to Beck's wonderment his friend seemed genuinely surprised by his assumption.

"You know what they say about assuming." His face softened by a hint of a smile. "Tori is a friend. She has the talent and charisma to be the perfect stage partner for me. You know how important my music is to me." Mistaking the surprised expression of Beck's face for skepticism he continued. "Watch her performance on The Slap and you'll see I'm right."

"Okay, okay, she is not your girlfriend, just a friend who is a girl." Beck raised his hands in conciliatory gesture.

"Yes, and don't distract me. You have to do something about Jade. Because of her chizing stunt Tori is thinking about quitting Hollywood Arts." Beck understood that he won't be able to joke his way out of this one. Andre seemed very serious and that meant that discussion with Jade was unavoidable.

"I'm sorry, you're right. That would be a shame." His tone become somber and to his own surprise he found that he meant it. "I'll try to restrain Jade as much I can." Andre just nodded and walked way. Despite his good intention Beck found time and frankly the nerve to talk to Jade just at lunch. Around the table were just the two of them and Cat. Andre had left school early, probably to talk to Tori. Robbie was tutoring some girl. And probably unsuccessfully trying to score a date. After they had sated their initial hunger Beck turned to Jade.

"Why were you so nasty to the new girl?" He opened directly. He didn't feel like beating around the bush today.

"She was hitting on you!" Jade exclaimed, obviously expecting the question to come eventually. "You know I don't let girls get away with it." Beck sighed; it was one of the more annoying aspects of her character. Although she wasn't always wrong, it was still a little insulting that after all this time together she still didn't trust him.

"First of all she wasn't. It was just an accident. And second of all humiliating the new girl on her first day, in front of everyone, is too cruel even for you." He swallowed his aggravation and tried to reason with Jade in a calm voice. Of course such a tone reminded her of her father and only made Jade even more obstinate.

"What do you care? Or did Plain Jane cough your eye? I thought you had better taste." He could see suspicion flare unexpectedly in her sapphire eyes. He guessed that her remark was supposed to throw him off, but calling Tori 'plain' was odd. Was Jade really jealous of the new girl? Beck could never understand her insecurity that usually manifested itself in quite violent jealousy. He knew that despite her many disagreements with her parents, they had never made her doubt her beauty. Jade had often remarked upon her own hotness. And rightly so, even in a school like Hollywood Arts, she was one of the most attractive girls. He decided to try and avoid that particular mine.

"She is André's friend. She sung his song in The Showcase." Beck attempted a new approach. He knew that André was one of the few people Jade seemed to like enough to be willing to spend time with. "Now because of your prank she thinks of leaving Hollywood Arts. Andre is not happy. He told me he was looking forward to working with this girl."

"Tori seems nice, she told me she likes cats." Cat unexpectedly joined the conversation. Beck and Jade turned to her, but the strange redhead had retreated in her own happy little world again.

"It's not my fault that she can't take a simple prank. If she is so sensitive, maybe her place isn't here. Art isn't for the weak." Beck could only scoff at such a weak argument.

"I remember a girl, which spent the later part of her first day here in the girl's bathroom crying." He reminded her.

"But the next day she made sure no one ever made fun of her." Retorted Jade, Beck tried to make Jade see that what she did was wrong and unnecessary, but Jade stubbornly refused to change her mind. At last, seeing that there was no way to get through to her, Beck gave up. After school he got home and remembering André's words decided to check out his friend's entry in the Showcase. He opened up The Slap and found the video. When he checked out the clock again he found out much to his surprise that he had been watching the short clip on a loop for almost an hour. He couldn't believe that this was Tori's first stage performance. After the first few seconds she looked like she was born on the stage. Such a poise, confidence and stage presence usually took years to acquire. Her voice may not have had the polish and training of a seasoned singer, but it was still enchanting. Andre was absolutely right. The place of this remarkable girl was at Hollywood Arts, and Beck was going to do everything in his power to keep her there. Even if doing so would mean incurring Jade's wrath.

The next day, in Sikowitz's class, he sat in front of his girlfriend, demonstrating that he was still not okay with her yesterday's behavior. When Tori showed up late he allowed a small smile to form on his lips. So the new girl was tougher than she looked. Good, she'll need it. Beck was a little surprised when she volunteered to lead the alphabetical improv. When she chose him and Jade to participate in it he knew she was up to something. Was she really going to challenge Jade? His girlfriend had been on top of Hollywood Arts' food chain for almost a year, the other girls too scared to challenge her. Tori and Jade quickly got into a verbal fight. He tried unsuccessfully to calm them down, but both of them seemed determined to duke it out. After Cat and André's early departure he decided to remove himself and leave them to it. Laying on the stage he listened to the two girls verbal sparring. For someone who hadn't even heard about alphabetical improv until today, Tori was doing remarkably well. Despite Jade's provocations she was holding up, giving back as good as she got. When he heard the slightly hysterical tones in Jade's voice Beck couldn't believe his ears. Jade was about to lose the alphabetical improv to an absolute novice. When she dropped off he got up partially to continue the scene and partially to see this remarkable girl who had challenged Jade in her own game and not only survived but actually won.

"Kiss me." Her line startled him. He could literary feel Jades eyes burn on his skin. Was this girl crazy? Was she really ready to up the ante with Jade? Was he? Then he remembered Jade's words from yesterday. Well Jade, art is not for the weak. Beck leaned in and his lips met Tori's. The kiss was unexpectedly gentle. Tori's lips were smooth and soft. He could feel the faint taste of strawberry from her lip-gloss. Damn, whoever became her boyfriend was in for a real treat. The kiss lasted longer than he had originally intended. When their lips separated he felt a little lightheaded. Tori, on the other hand, was beaming. Under the applause of their classmates they both sat down. Beck could feel Jade's eyes burning a hole in his head. After the bell rung, he stood up with demonstrative calmness. Before he could follow the furious Jade a hand gently tapped him on the shoulder. He turned and saw Tori smiling embarrassedly at him.

"I hope I didn't cause you too much trouble with your girlfriend. I just wanted to show her that she can't scare me away." Beck couldn't help but smile back at her. She really seamed worried for him.

"Don't worry. I know how to handle her." He reassured her. Then he squeezed her shoulder and said. "Welcome back at Hollywood Arts." Then he turned and walked away with a slight smile. This girl was going to make things here even more interesting. Oh, his fight with Jade was going to be brutal alright. But the making up after that was going to be epic.

A.N. - After two months I'm back. I hope you'll like it.