Disclaimer: I do not own any of the songs/lyrics presented in this story. All right belong to Jason Robert Brown.
"Mind if I sit here?" Jade turned her head to see a boy looking down at her. He was cute. Sort of. The entire eighth grade class was on their way back from a field trip to visit some museum that was two and a half hours away from L.A. After suffering through many old artifacts, statues, and other "historical" objects that Jade could care less about, she really just wanted to ride the long way back home in peace.
"Do you have too?" Jade asked.
"Well there aren't any other seats on the bus." The boy answered running his hand through his thick, long, black hair. Jade's heart sank when she heard that. Guess Chad had decided to sit next to Kaitlyn for the ride back. Again. Go figure, he sat with her on the way there too.
"Um yes or no cause' we start driving in a minute." The boy asked pulling Jade out of her pity party of one.
"Sure. Whatever." she replied, removing her bag from the seat beside her.
"I'm Beck by the way." The boy said flashing Jade a beautiful smile.
"I'm Jade." Jade said back.
"I'm new here." Beck continued.
"Good for you."
"I moved here from Chicago."
"Yea I don't really remember asking for your life story." Jade told him pulling out her iPod.
"So you like music?" Beck asked clearly trying to break the ice.
"No I'm just listening to it for my own good health." Beck cracked up at that.
"Funny are we?" He teased.
"Not really."
"Do you like jokes?"
"No."
"Knock, Knock."
"Shut up."
"That's not nice."
"Sucks for you." Jade shrugged turning her iPod on full blast. Beck wasn't the only reason that she had turned up the music. She mostly wanted to drown out the obnoxious laughing produced by her crush and her worst enemy four seats down.
Jade closed her eyes and started to fall asleep when she felt someone rip the ear bud out of her right ear.
"What do you think you're doing?" She snapped at Beck who was sticking the ear bud into his own ear.
"Oooh I love this song!" Beck said, completely ignoring Jade's question.
"You know this song?" Jade asked sincerely surprised.
"Yea it's only from the best musical known to man!" Beck replied.
"So here I come! I got a million other tricks still up my sleeve! Yeah! Here I come! Aand I'm not about to pack my bags and leave! No, no, no, no, no! I didn't push this hard to go back where I started from, here I come!" He sang.
Jade just stared. Beck could really sing. Like in a way that made her stomach flip. The sound of Chad and Kaitlyn's sappy flirting didn't even seem to bother her now.
"You know you kinda remind me of the girl who plays Lucy." Beck said when he had finished singing.
"I do not." Jade said.
"Yeah you do. You both have the same beautiful hair." He said reaching out to touch it.
"Don't." Jade said. Beck quickly drew back his hand.
"Sorry."
"It's fine."
"So do you sing like her?"
"Like who?"
"Like Elizabeth Gillies. You know the girl who plays Lucy in 13?" Beck asked.
"I dunno." Jade said with a shrug.
"Can I hear you?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"I don't want to."
"Please?"
"No."
"I'll be your best friend."
"I said no."
"Pretty pretty please?"
"N-O!"
"What if I sing with you?" Jade pondered on this for a moment.
"Fine." She sighed. After a few clicks the opening beats of "It can't be true' began to play.
"Everything Charlotte says is a lie! It's a lie, it's a lie, it's a lie! Everything Charlotte says is a lie, you better not believe her! "Cause she said she saw Kendra and Evan at the mall standing face to face, laughing and talking and holding hands, slurping all the way to first base! But everything Charlotte says is a lie, you better not believe her!"
"Kendra and Evan?" Beck squealed, his voice going up about three octaves. Jade burst out laughing.
"What?" Beck asked. "You don't like my girl voice?"
"It's ridicules!" Jade said, gasping for breath.
"You know you're the first person to laugh at that." Beck said. "I like you. Wanna be my girlfriend?"
"What?" Jade snapped. "No!"
"Why not?" Beck asked.
"I've known you for about a little over two hours." Jade pointed out. "I don't think that's a good way to start a relationship."
"Well how about we go bowling together?"
"As in a date?"
"Do you want it to be a date?"
"No." Jade answered. She had to admit that she was starting to like Beck just a little bit, but not enough to be his girlfriend. Yet.
"Okay, then it will be just two friends going bowling together." Beck clarified.
"Yup."
"Great."
The bus ride seemed to end faster than Jade would have liked it to. She liked sitting next to Beck.
"May I have your number?" Beck asked when the bus had came to a stop in front of Hollywood Arts.
"You may." Jade said, scribbling it down on a blank scrap of paper that had happened to be lying around. She handed it to her new friend.
"I'll call you as soon as I get home Jade." Beck told her, as they got off the bus.
"Promise?"
"Promise."
And he did.