Still nervous, but let's do this!

Jade's POV

"Jade!" Beck shouted my name for the fifth time since we left his house. "Slow down!" He gripped the passenger's side door and center console like he was holding on for dear life.

"Relax," I told him. "I know what I'm doing." He was overreacting big time.

"Watch out for that—," His voice was drowned out by the annoying honk of a van that pulled out in front of me. I braked hard and honked my own horn at them. "Jade, you're gonna get us killed."

"Am not," I shook my head. "Stop being so dramatic." He'd been criticizing my driving since I picked him up ten minutes ago for school, and I had learned to tune him out.

"Dramatic?!" He yelled, kind of proving my point for me. "Jade, you almost hit that car!"

"He cut me off," I argued as I passed the car in question, flipping the driver off as I did.

"Oh my god," He shook his head at my gesture and sunk in the passenger's seat, trying to make himself invisible. "This is the last time you drive us," He told me.

"What?" I turned to look at him. "This is the first time!"

"First and last," He reiterated. "The road, babe! Look at the road!" He pointed in front of me, alarmed. I looked up in time to see the red light as we passed it and shrugged.

"I love my car," I told him. My father's latest gift to me still smelled of new leather interior and since the school year started, I'd only driven it a few times.

"We can still take it," He nodded. "I'll drive, though."

"Why? I'm a great driver."

"Yeah if you have a death wish," He really was being dramatic. "Face it, Jade, I'm a better driver."

"Why? Because you're a man?" I challenged. "Sexist pig!"

"What? No! Because you're terrible," He said as if that was any better. "If you weren't a girl, you'd still be terrible."

"You're about two words away from walking the rest of the way," I warned him.

"I'm just being honest."

"That's no excuse to be rude."

"At least I have an excuse."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're rude for no reason," He shrugged.

"Nooo," I shook my head. "I'm rude because people are idiots. And I'm not a terrible driver, you're a terrible passenger."

"You just ran a stop sign," He said monotonously as I pulled into the parking lot of Hollywood Arts.

"I know," I lied. What stop sign? "We're late, we don't have time to stop."

"Traffic signs aren't exactly optional," He told me as I found an empty space to park. "You're too close on this side," He said, looking out his window.

"Would you shut up for a minute and let me do this?"

"Okay…," I hated his tone, but at least he stayed silent until I was done. "Not bad," He told me and I reached over to punch his arm.

"Ouch!" He rubbed it. "That was a compliment!"

"A condescending one," I rolled my eyes and reached into the backseat to fetch my bag. My movement brought me closer to his seat and he leaned down near my face to speak.

"Sorry," He said quietly. "I just have this little quirk where I value my life," He smirked and I narrowed my eyes. Before I could state my comeback, he bent forward to kiss me. I would've kept arguing, but it didn't seem to matter as much now that his lips were on mine.

"I'll drive us home?" He asked in between kisses.

"You drive like an old lady."

"An old lady who wants to live," He grinned at me.

"Backseat driver," I said as an insult.

"Psycho," He retorted.

"Prude!"

"Psycho," He said again with a smug smile.

"Ugh!" I rolled my eyes.

"Have I told you how much I missed you all summer?" He turned on the charm, his eyes looking glazed.

"Not lately," I said, but it wasn't true.

"Well," He started just as the late bell rang throughout the school. "Maybe I'll tell you later," He smirked as he got out of my car.

And he says I'm the tease?

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Beck's POV

"And…what exactly was I hiding?" I asked her to clarify.

"That you were born in Canada!" She responded frustrated, storming off.

"It wasn't a secret!" I called after her, following close behind. "Jade!" I had to say her names a few times before she slowed her pace enough for me to catch up.

"Sorry, don't speak Canadian," She told me with a shrug.

"That doesn't even make sense," I held onto her arm to get her to stop walking. "Canadian isn't a language."

"See?" She stopped and gestured wildly. "Your country couldn't even make up its own damn language! How lazy is that?"

"Umm hello?" I was starting to get irritated, she'd been making fun of my homeland ever since my return. "ENGLISH?" I pointed out the flaw in her logic and she just shrugged.

"And what's the deal with 'Canadian bacon'?" Her air quotes added drama to a pointless debate. "Everyone knows it's just ham!"

"You know, I told you I was Canadian when we were 8," I remembered specifically. "It's not my fault you didn't know where Vancouver was."

"True," She shrugged again.

"And besides—!" I was already launching another argument when I heard her concede. "What did you say?"

"True," Her expression lost its fury and fell back into a satisfied smile.

"What is wrong with you?" I shook my head at her. I hadn't even been back a week and she was already picking a fight?

"That!" She poked a finger into my chest. "Was for making fun of my driving," She smirked and skipped off. I paused for a second to calm myself back down before following her yet again as she got to the entrance of the blackbox theater.

"You're crazy, you know that?"

"Mm hmm," She nodded happily. "But you like it."

"And what makes you think that?" I lowered my voice as I slid my arms around her waist. The hallways were crowded and we were never much for PDA, but I think we were both still feeling the distance from the summer resonating.

"Well," She leaned into my lips, just close enough to touch. "You're still here, aren't you?" She whispered before kissing me gently. It had only been this morning that we last kissed, but it felt like a lifetime ago. I don't know how long we stood there for, but she pulled away too soon as always.

"Where are you going?" I asked her. I was pretty sure she had a study period right now; maybe we could sneak away to the parking lot. One thing I definitely liked about her new car was its spacious backseat.

"Rehearsal," She told me, backing away with my arms still around her.

"Noooo," I ushered in a quiet complaint.

"Yesss," She nodded. "The Full Moon Jam is this Friday, and my song's still not ready."

"I'm sure it sounds great," I assured her, still hoping to lure her out with me.

"I haven't even finished writing it," She rolled her eyes at me.

"I'm sure what you have so far is amazing?"

"Beck," She gave me a look and I could tell she wouldn't be budging on the issue.

"Alright," I let her go and sighed. "I suppose if I can take the summer off to work on acting, you can have the afternoon to work on your song."

"Gee, thanks," She rolled her eyes again and shoved me back a bit.

"I'm just kidding," I smiled and pecked her lips one last time. "Good luck, you'll be amazing, I'll miss you, and you'll be amazing."

"Already said that," She said as she backed away.

"Still mean it," I memorized the sight of her rolling her eyes yet again, before turning to leave.

"Hey Oliver!" Her voice made me turn. "We're still on for dinner tonight, right?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."

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Hours later, I'd kept my promise, showing up promptly on Jade's doorstep at 7 o'clock as planned. I rang the doorbell, smiling instantly when she opened the front door dressed up in a black strapless dress.

While the dress was stunning, I was more amused by the girly apron covering her lower half. It was light pink with printed cupcakes on it and reminded me of a shirt Cat once wore.

"Hi," I tried to suppress my smile. "Nice outfit."

"Shut up," Her first words to me were joyful as ever. "Get in," She ordered, stepping back to let me in. As soon as the door closed behind me, I felt like I'd entered wonderland.

I'd been coming to this house since Jade's family moved here when she was eleven, but it never looked so unfamiliar to me. Every piece of furniture was exchanged for another piece, same for all the fine art that used to hang on the walls. Walls which were now painted pale blue instead of the bright white I'd last seen. Even the hard wood floors we used to run around on were now covered with thick carpeting.

"Wow," Was all I could think to say, still taking the room in. "You weren't kidding when you were talking about your mom remodeling."

"Nope," She looked around at the room the same way I was doing. "She doesn't mess around."

"It looks good," I nodded and she made a face. It definitely wasn't Jade's style, but I could see how her mother might be attracted to it. "And expensive."

"Oh it was," Her eyes went kind of big. "She made sure to put it all on my father's dime before the divorce was finalized."

"Smart woman."

"Manipulative woman."

"Still smart, though."

"And drunk," She added. "She's been on a bender for the last three days."

"Why?" I remembered the smell of alcohol on her mom's breath the last time I'd seen her face to face. I assumed she'd put the bottle down at some point, but I guess not.

"She just found out my father's been seeing one of his secretaries," She told me, leading me into the kitchen; which also looked completely renewed. "And she lost it."

"Hasn't your mom been…," I hesitated, trying to think of a polite way to say 'sleeping around', but failing.

"She has," Jade read my mind like only she could. "Don't ask," She shook her head as the questions formed in my mind.

"Alright," I shrugged it off. The last thing I wanted was for our romantic evening to be weighed down by our parents. "Speaking of your mother," I had to ask. "Is she…around?"

"Left two hours ago," Jade told me with a smile as she walked around her counter and stirred something in a pan. "Weekend spa resort."

"It's Wednesday."

"I don't ask questions anymore, babe," She said, shrugging. "I just know I'm more than happy to have to place to myself."

"You mean 'ourselves'?"

"Exactly," She smiled and I couldn't help grinning at the sight of her in the kitchen. In the apron, cooking like that; it was so unlike her. Usually, I made all our meals or we ate out. Come to think of it, the last meal she prepared for us was a cold pizza Lunchable seven years ago.

"You need me to do anything?" I asked, a bit worried now. I walked to where she was and tried to peek at what she was making, but she swatted me away.

"No!" She elbowed me in the stomach to keep me at bay. "Get lost, I'm doing this."

"Maybe I could just make a side dish?" I offered, still encroaching on her territory. "Some rice or potatoes or something?"

"Back away from the kitchen, Oliver," She picked up a butcher knife and pointed it at me threateningly.

"This was supposed to be a surprise, and you're ruining it."

"Okay, okay," I stepped away like she asked. "I'll just be over here…," I gave up and sat down at the kitchen table. "If you need anything?"

"I'm done," She announced, turning off the flames of the stove. A few minutes later she'd taken off her apron and set two full plates of food in front of us, sitting across from me with hers. "Bon apetit."

"Mmm," I took in the smell from the steam off the plate and surveyed the meal. From what I could tell, it was some kind of…meat? In a discolored sauce with other unknown objects I assumed were edible. My stomach begged me not to consume whatever it was, but Jade's eye contact on me won that argument.

I pretended not to notice her staring as I used my spoon to take healthy bite of…the mystery meat/meal. She watched me chew over and over again, my tongue trying to make sense of the tastes going on. It was chewy, yet hard, and tasted burn, yet undercooked. How had she managed that?

"What?" Jade asked, noticing a slight grimace I accidentally let show.

"Nothing!" I covered quickly, smiling big. "It's good."

"Really?"

"Really," I swallowed hard.

"You're not just saying that?"

"No," I coughed, unable to control my gag reflex. "It's good."

"Okay…," She eyed me suspiciously before taking some in her own fork to try. After a few bites, she looked around, disgusted, then spit out chunks of it back onto her plate. "Beck!" She exclaimed at me.

"What?"

"It's awful! Why didn't you say something?"

"You don't like it?" I kept up the act. "I think it's delicious," I shoveled more into my mouth.

"Stop!" She stood up and tossed her fork down. "I just wanted to do something nice for a change. I was trying to be Mrs. fucking Stepford and it tastes like shit!" She came over to me and tried to take my plate away but I wouldn't let her.

"I don't know what you're talking about, babe," I spoke with my mouth full, but still tried adding spoonfuls to it. "I love it!"

"Beck," She said more calm now, giving me a look. I finished eating what was already in my mouth and cleared my throat. I nodded slowly, folding my napkin to wipe my mouth. "Give it up," She told me.

"Okay," I shrugged and coughed again. "Wanna order pizza?"

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"What if…I was bitten by a radioactive spider," I asked her now. "And got supernatural powers?"

"Yes, I'd still love you." She replied.

"I'm not done," I added on. "I have these awesome powers, but I always have to leave you to save the world."

"Hmm," Jade took a bite of her pizza, thinking it over. "I think we could make it work," She decided. We were playing one of our favorite games; the untitled questionnaire that tested the limits of our love. Well, theoretically.

"Are you kidding?" I responded. "You'd hate that! I'd always be late or have to cancel on you."

"Touche," She nodded. "Alright, new plan: If you ever get bitten by a radioactive spider, save it. Then bring it to me so I can get bitten too, and we'll save the world together."

"How romantic," I couldn't deny it was a good plan.

"Unless," She held a finger up to me threateningly. "You still find a way to cancel or be late." She narrowed her eyes. "In that case, I'll turn into the villain of the story and make your life hell."

"Understood," I was glad to have the warning.

"My turn," She sat up a bit straighter. We were seated on her couch eating delivered pizza, her legs thrown across my lap as she finished eating her last bite. I waited for her to ask her question, but paused when I heard the sound of my phone vibrating.

I looked around for it instinctively, recognizing the ping it made when I got a message, then remembered Jade had it. She picked it up from where it was tucked between her thighs and brought it to herself to read before me.

"You got a text," She mumbled.

"From who?" I was glad she couldn't see me roll my eyes.

"Andre," She smirked as she read something amusing. "He said…oho what a loser."

"He said what?"

"He said Tori's date with Ryder didn't go so well," She finally looked up to relay the message. "He caught her going through his phone when he left to use the restroom," She chuckled to herself at Tori's misfortune. "When will that girl learn…"

"Hmm," I exaggerated suspicion as Jade finally finished doing something on my phone before putting it back between her crossed legs. "She went through his phone? Wonder what that's like…" She raised her eyebrow at me, glaring when she realized the point I was trying to make.

"Excuse me," She cocked her head to the side. "Might I ask where my phone is?" She glanced around even though she knew where it was. I'd taken it as soon as we sat down to eat, claiming we didn't need any distractions. It had vibrated more than five times in my back left pocket, but I still hadn't told her.

"Fair enough," I nodded, giving her this one. "So…your turn?" I changed the subject, hoping she wouldn't ask for her cell back; it was better when it was just the two of us, isolated from the world.

"That's what I thought," She scoffed confidently, but let it go. "Okay, where was I? Let's see…would you still love me if…I were married?"

"To me?"

"No, to someone else."

"Eww," My mouth said automatically.

"Hey!" She smacked me with her empty paper plate.

"What?" I shrugged, still grossed out by the thought of her with someone else. And married. Yuck. "That's just…weird."

"Why? I could get married," She argued.

"To me," I nodded.

"Maybe," She shrugged, always playing hard to get.

"Definitely."

"It's possible."

"It's unquestionable," I countered. "I'm only gonna marry you."

"So if it's not me, then no one?" She asked like I'd change my mind.

"Yes," I nodded, certain.

"You're crazy," She rolled her eyes and shook her head at me.

"Crazy in love."

"Crazy stupid."

"For believing in love?" I asked and she looked down for a second then back at me, showing a split moment of inhibition.

"Yeah," She nodded slowly. She was always a skeptic.

"Too bad, you're stuck with me," I poked her leg gently, and she smiled, still looking shy.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

The end. For now.

I feel like if you're just tuning in now, this would be weird to read. So may I direct you to Extended Victorious 1? ; )

And if you've already read it, then thank you so much for continuing on. I hope season 2 won't disappoint : )

Please review if you can, but don't be cruel.