Author: khay

Category: Victorious

Rating: T because of Jade's potty mouth.

Disclaimer: Victorious and all related characters do not belong to me.

Summary: Beck thought she was the quintessential Hollywood socialite who had too much: money, booze, drugs, free time. Jade thought he was the typical struggling actor: perpetually broke, undependable, always looking for then next big break that never comes. Boy, were they wrong about each other.

Continuity: Alternate Universe.

Author's Notes: For Lari (tsttoain) who wanted a fic where Beck babysits Jade. My goal in life is to finish this in time for her birthday :) Keep your fingers crossed!

*This was posted as Bad as She Wanted to Be on Tumblr, but I' changing the title now because the story went in a totally different direction than I originally planned. Don't worry, though. Jade is still going to be as bad as she wants to be :)

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Proud and Prejudiced

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From her room in the West Hotel presidential suite, Jade heard the chime of the door bell followed by the sound of Sinjin opening the door.

Jade rolled her eyes when she heard Sinjin gush, "Omigosh, it is you! I'm a big fan, Mr. Oliver, sir. I cried myself to sleep for three days straight when they canceled Hollywood Arts Confidential. It's an honor finally meeting you."

"Uh, thanks," replied a deep, rumbling voice, heavily tinged with amusement.

"My name is Sinjin, Jade's right hand man. Can I take a picture with you, just a quick one with a my phone, so I can show the followers of my blog that that I really met you?"

It was on that note that Jade decided to make an appearance. She rolled out of bed unenthusiastically and made her way to the living room.

She crossed her arms as she paused at the threshold of the room. She had traveled the world and had met many beautiful men, and the one grinning at Sinjin was one of them. Thus, she took the time to appreciate the boy standing in front of her.

"Uh, sure," he said as he ran a hand through his thick, luscious hair.

Jade wanted to run her hand through his hair, too, just to check if it's as soft as it looked, but she restrained herself. Knowing her father, he probably sent one of his starving actor-lackeys to fill in the gap of his absence.

While he was undoubtedly pretty, he was wearing scruffy old combat boots, faded old jeans with chains of metal threaded through the loops, and a black tank topped with a plaid shirt. The whole get-up screamed old and vintage to Jade.

Yup. This was one of her father's starving actors, alright. He couldn't even afford to get decent clothes.

"So you're the schmuck dear old daddy saddled me with?" Jade asked as she walked towards the sofa.

Both Sinjin and the boy, in the middle of taking a photo with Sinjin's phone, jerked in surprise at Jade's entrance.

The guy immediately slithered away from Sinjin's grasp and made his way towards Jade. "Beck Oliver," he said, extending his hand.

Jade hesitated a beat before accepting his hand in hers. His grasp was warm and firm, which Jade appreciated. She hated those sweaty, limp handshakes some actors have.

"Jade," she replied, releasing his hand and sitting down at the sofa.

"Nice meeting you, Jade. I'm your tour guide for tonight," Beck grinned at her charmingly. "Do you have any specific places that you wanna visit?"

"Yes, but not with you," was Jade's short reply. "You can go now."

Beck frowned. "I'm sorry?"

"You. Can. Go. Now." Jade made sure to enunciate each word carefully. "I don't need a tour guide to show me around Hollywood."

"Look," Beck said patiently, running another hand through his hair. "I promised your father that I will show you around LA, so I will be showing you around LA."

Jade rolled her eyes. It's probably more accurate to state that he wanted to be seen by the paps hanging out with her. "Just tell him that you did your job." She shrugged carelessly. "We ate out, had fun and then parted ways round midnight. You can even tip the tabloids to lend your story some semblance of truth. I really don't care."

"You mean lie?" He sounded scandalized. "I can't do that."

"Yes." Jade, a habitual and talented liar, frowned. What was his point?

"Uh, Jade?" Sinjin butted in their conversation. "Maybe you should let him accompany you tonight. That way, I can meet with the people of that perfume company who wants to manufacture your scent. Tonight's the only night their rep can meet with me."

Jade turned to Sinjin. "I'm not coming out with my own scent!" She snapped.

"They told me that they're going to make a pretty irresistible offer." Sinjin replied. "The least we can do is to give them a chance to make a pitch. No commitment involved."

"Then go." Jade snarled as she stood up and walked towards the veranda, away from the two men who were seriously annoying her. "I can take care of myself for one night."

"Look, your mother knows that you don't have friends so it'll make her feel better knowing that someone your dad trusts will be showing you around Hollywood," Sinjin argued.

Jade frowned at that. It was only a matter of time before her worrywart of a mother called Sinjin to ask how Jade was doing. Sinjin was the worst liar in the world so she knew he would blurt out (without even needing to ask) that Jade was on her own.

"You mean she doesn't have friends here," Beck suddenly interjected, frowning at Sinjin's statement. "Not that she doesn't have friends."

"No," Sinjin replied. "I meant Jade doesn't have friends."

"I have Cat." Jade said defensively.

"You said she was more like an annoying pet," Sinjin pointed out.

"Shut up, Sinjin," Jade growled. "You guys do know that I am eighteen years old, right? I don't need someone to chaperone me."

"Yes, but being eighteen doesn't mean your mother won't worry about you," Sinjin told her patiently. "But I could just cancel the meeting with the perfume company. The multimillion dollar contract they're offering you doesn't matter anyway. You're too cool to come out with your own scent."

Jade groaned loudly at Sinjin's guilt trip. For some reason that was unfathomable for Jade, Sinjin wanted her to come out with her own scent. The boy rarely ever made demands from her (unlike many other people in her life). Plus, he clearly made it his life's goal to give everything Jade ever needed or wanted, so Jade figured it was the least she could do for him. "Fine. Go to the meeting." She turned to Beck. "I guess that'll make you my babysitter for tonight."

"Great!" Before Beck could suggest a few places he enjoyed, he was interrupted by Jade.

"On the condition that I get to pick the place." Jade told him in a tone that booked no argument.

Beck shrugged, indicating that he had no problem with Jade's plans.

"I'll call the concierge for a car." Sinjin hurriedly picked up the phone before Jade could change her mind.

"No need," Beck said. " I've got my own ride."

"That's good." Sinjin grinned. "I'll call the perfume company to confirm my attendance."

"So dinner first?" Beck suggested to Jade.

"Whatever." Jade said shortly. "Gimme fifteen minutes to get ready."

Jade's fifteen minutes turned into forty-five. She came out of her room with such a menacing glare so that neither boy could make a comment. The glare, however, was wasted because Sinjin was nowhere to be seen while Beck's back was on her while he was admiring the view from the presidential suite.

"Where's Sinjin?" She asked, startling Beck from his reverie.

"He went out five minutes ago to meet with the perfume company." Beck turned around.

Jade waited for a comment on how long it took her to get ready, but Beck grinned at her, clearly in approval of her outfit.

"Ready to go?" He merely asked with a ready and easy grin.

Minutes later, they were at the hotel steps when a car drove up to them.

Jade didn't know much about cars, but she knew that it was one of those old junks. It was an old convertible, powder blue in color and she'd bet her trust fund that it wouldn't even have power windows or air conditioning.

"That's not your car, is it?" Jade asked with great trepidation. She'd rather not be seen inside the car. The paparazzi would have a field day.

"Sure is." A gleam of pride twinkled in the eyes of Beck Oliver, making him more beautiful than usual. "Isn't she beautiful?"

Jade winced. "She is something, all right." She wanted to say something scathing, but she remembered the time when she was stashed in a Catholic school for troubled teens.

One of her teachers in Values Education, the man only known as Brother Kwakoo, took her and four of his most difficult students, to his hometown in the Middle of Nowhere, Asia. It was an eye-opener. Jade had never seen such poverty before. The people were living without the things Jade was taking for granted: running water, electric sockets to plug all her gadgets into, wifi, air conditioning, and even three square meals a day. It was a difficult, hand-to-mouth existence.

What struck Jade most, though, was despite the poverty, Brother Kwakoo's people were very proud. They take pride in their work so that they can bring home food to their families. Even the kids who were old enough to walk worked, scampering to the plains to look for plants and animals that could nourish their bodies. Brother Kwakoo explained that they would rather break their backs working than accept help from the more advanced western world.

It was the same pride she was seeing now in the eyes of Beck Oliver. Jade had no doubt that no matter how old the car was, Beck scrimped and saved just to pay for it. It was a foreign concept for Jade. For as long as she could remember, she always had a fleet of cars at her disposal, provided by her adoptive father's chain of hotels. She never even bought her own car, having received the same as gifts from her parents (and once from an ex who was the son of a Greek shipping magnate).

Jade scowled at Beck but bit back the snippy retort. Something akin to pity tugged at Jade's heartstrings. It was hard in Hollywood, not everybody would make it.

She decided to cut Beck a break because Hollywood sure wouldn't. Apparently, she would be slumming it tonight.

When Beck reached into his pocket to tip the valet, though, Jade waved him off. "I got this," she said.

"No, it's fine," Beck tried to argue, but Jade was already surreptitiously handing a folded bill to the valet who opened her door.

"Thanks, Miss West."

"Yeah, get lost," Jade muttered as she carefully folded herself into the car, mindful that she may get a tetanus infection if she injured herself on it.

"Sure thing, ma'am," the valet replied, unfazed, as he shut the car door. "Have a nice evening."

"So where to, Miss West?" Beck grinned as he strapped himself into the car.

...

Beck thought it must be nice to be filthy rich and notoriously famous.

A push of a button sent a message that got a valet scurrying to their car, despite the long queue to the entrance.

Seriously, though, what's up with the long queue?

Karaoke Dokie wasn't exactly the place to be Friday nights. In fact, it was the go-to place when everywhere else was packed because one could always be sure that there's a vacant table (or ten) there. (What did one expect, though, with a name like Karaoke Dokie?)

That was why Beck was surprised when Jade said that they were going to Karaoke Dokie.

Beck would never underestimate the power of a socialite again. Apparently, Jade knew something he didn't, as shown by the fact that a lot of people were now begging entrance to the club.

Not them, though.

The valet came with a bouncer that led him and Jade straight inside the club, right into the VIP section and into a table on an elevated platform.

More than a few heads turned when they realized that Jade West was in the house, and Beck was pretty sure that some of them immediately reached for their phones to Google his identity.

"Compliments of the house," a waiter fairly shouted over the music as he set two champagne flutes filled with an amber-colored drink.

"Thanks," Jade muttered as Beck assisted her to her chair.

"I hope that drink's non-alcoholic," Beck leaned over to tell her as he watched her drink.

"Oh my god," Jade groaned as she slammed her glass on the table. "Seriously?"

"Hey, I promised your dad that I'll take care of you for tonight, and that includes bringing you home safe and sober."

"What is it with you and your promise to David?" Jade demanded with a glare.

Beck grinned affably at her, probably not the response she was looking for. "My grandfather taught me that the measure of a real man is how much his words are worth, and when an Oliver man gives his word, he would be better off dying than to break it."

Jade gave him an unfathomable look, worlds different from her usual glare. "That's different." She finally said.

Before Beck could ask her what she meant, a hand grabbed on to Jade's shoulder.

"Never touch me!" Jade snarled as she whirled around to confront whoever it is that dared grab her.

Beck grinned when he recognized who the interloper was.

The man who touched Jade West held up his hands in surrender.

Jade's eyes widened. "Andre Harris," she gave him an intimate smile that, for some reason, didn't settle well with Beck. "What are you doing here?"

"I got myself a gig," Andre replied as he turned expectantly towards Jade's companion.

"Oh," Jade said, losing her smile. "This is Beck, my uh," she frowned as she searched for an appropriate word for her companion. "My jail guard. Beck, Andre."

"I prefer the title babysitter." Beck said as he stood up to shake Andre's hand. "And we've met."

"Ah, yes. Iñigo Baxter." Andre grinned. "Good times."

Beck raised his drink at Andre in salute.

"You know each other?" Jade raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Beck replied. "He guest starred in Hollywood Arts Confidential, at the tail end of the second season, correct?"

Andre nodded. "I was the playboy that broke the lead character's heart," he affirmed.

Jade groaned. "Can we not talk about kids' shows? I hear enough about it from Sinjin."

Beck obliged Jade. "So how did the two of you know each other?"

"We took the same online course last semester." Andre replied. "We also had the same adviser who encouraged her students to meet with her at least once a month."

Jade glared at him. "Never speak of it."

"It was harder than it sounded." Andre shrugged. "Anyway, listen. I need to ask you something."

"NO!"

"You haven't even heard what I'm asking for." Andre protested.

"Then say it so I can say no."

Beck snorted.

"I just wanted to share a table," Andre frowned as he indicated to the filled to the brimming club.

"Sure, man," Beck immediately responded as he ignored Jade's dark glare. Hey. It was his table, too. "Is it just you though?"

"That's the thing," Andre's voice trailed off as his companion materialized, as if summoned by magic.

Oh, no.

Jade's sharp elbow connected with Beck's stomach. "I don't want her to be here." She hissed.

"Too late." Beck replied, a tad apologetic.

"Jade." Andre's companion greeted.

Jade rolled her eyes. "Tori."

TO BE CONTINUED