Piece of Her Game
Jade didn't know what type of crazy shit she had drunk last night, but she was convinced that the side effects of the alcohol still hadn't worn off. This had to be some crazy, elaborate dream. There was no way this was happening to her and her best friend. Maybe she wasn't exactly a saint but she was sure that she didn't deserve this kind of torture. And surely, sweet, kind Beck didn't deserve to have his heart ripped out of his chest all over again.
Trina bounced over to Beck which made Jade growl. Her normally tanned friend had gone pale when Trina walked in and Jade was pretty sure that he was going to faint when his ex had brought him in for a big hug. His arms lay still at his side as his lovely ex girlfriend wrapped her arms around his neck. Not wanting him to look foolish, Jade gestured for him to hug her back.
Hesitantly, Beck hugged her back. Luckily seconds later, she had pulled back giving Beck time to breathe. She looked at him with a grand smile which Beck returned with a fake half smile. Jade was surprised he was able to even move a muscle at all.
"You two know each other?" Moose mused. He had never seen Beck is such a weak state. Jade wished he never had because it would make him think that he was stronger than Beck was. When in reality, Moose was a coward who made up his masculinity to seem superior.
"Yeah, who doesn't know Beck Oliver?" Tori laughed coming over to pat Beck on the back. "He and Trina used to date a little."
A little. Beck had to refrain from scoffing. He loved Trina and then she had broken his heart into a million pieces by leaving him for another man. He had once been sure that he was going to marry Trina one day. Then she claimed that she was the soulmate of another and ran off.
"Wow, you really don't have that well of a taste in men, do you?" Moose joked. Beck thought that was more of a jab directed towards him rather than Trina, but he was still in awe of Trina being in his presence.
Trina rolled her eyes at Moose as he smirked at her. Trying to ignore Moose, she turned back to Beck and opened her mouth to try to talk to him when Jade slid up beside him with a big fake smile on her face. "Nice to see you again, too, Trina."
Trina and Jade had never gotten along. They had pretended to for the sake of Beck even though he had known they never really liked one another. Jade felt quite satisfied when Trina was taken back having not noticed her before.
"Jade," Trina straightened her posture as she inspected Jade from head to toe. "Well, you look..."
Jade resisted from letting the smile wipe off her face, not wanting to give Trina the satisfaction. Instead she just smirked at Trina. She looked behind her best friend's former girlfriend feigning confusion before looking back at her with her head tilted to the side. "So, I can't help but notice that your dearest soulmate isn't here with you."
She had meant it to hurt Trina or at least put a dent in her chipper mood, but it did more harm to Beck then to her. He frowned and looked down at his shoes. Jade's shoulders slumped and it didn't make her feel better than Trina still had that slick smile on her face.
"We ended things a couple weeks ago." Trina sighed dramatically. Jade rolled her eyes. It was clear she wasn't torn up about it. She probably cheated on him with someone else. "He wasn't enough for me. He really lacked in the hair department."
She peered behind Jade and looked directly at Beck. Jade's mouth was agape in shock as she looked at Beck to see his reaction. He had looked up and his eyes were widened as he had looked from Jade to Trina. She could tell he was hesitant between saying something flirty or completely rejecting Trina and Jade was scared of the outcome. He couldn't just run back into Trina's arms like that!
Thinking quick on her feet, Jade wrapped her arms around Beck's and pulled him closer. Beck looked at her suspiciously when she sighed dreamily and rested her head on his shoulder. "Yeah, it's so hard to find a good man with the right personality and looks, right? Thank God I snapped up Beck!"
The place went so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Unnoticeably, Rebecca looked disappointed but she was Jade's least concern at the moment. Moose's eyes went so wide that it looked like they were about to fall out of his head. Tori shifted uncomfortably beside her fiancé, moving closer to him to hide her embarrassment for her sister. Trina was the most amusing, with her lips pursed and arms crossed across her chest.
Then Jade lifted her head off of Beck's shoulder to look at her best friend who looks the most confused out of everyone there. She gave him a serious look to play along and quickly he put a smile on his face and hugged Jade closer to his side.
"So, you two are together now?" Tori broke the silence putting on a big, cheery fake smile. "That's great! You know, I kind of saw it coming."
Trina whipped her head around to glare at her sister so fast; it was surprising she didn't get an intense whiplash. Jade smirked proudly at Trina who smiled tauntingly as if it would faze her. "Well, how long have you too been together?"
Jade had to calculate the time that Beck and Trina broke up so they wouldn't correspond. When Beck noticed her not saying anything, he took that time to jump in. "About five months now, we're really happy." Oh Beck, what a fantastic actor he could be. "But enough about us! What about we get back to planning the engagement party?"
It seemed to take a while for the two exes of the party planners to regain their composer. Jade couldn't help but smirk. Trina's humiliation was what used to bring Jade daily amusement when she was dating Beck. As for Moose, he may be getting married but there was no way he would let his reputation falter.
Moose cleared his throat and walked over to Beck, pulling him away from Jade. He slung an arm around him and laughed innocently. "Sorry about that, we were just kind of in shock, you know?" Beck expected a mean comment to add on but nothing came. Simply, Moose just walked him into the dining hall with the women following their trail.
"So Tori and I are looking for a more casual place for our friends to celebrate," Moose explained. "We're not getting married yet, we wouldn't want to outshine the upcoming wedding."
Beck nodded looking around the dining hall. He motioned for Jade to come forward and help him look around. Walking forward, Jade noted how elegant it all seemed. The two thought something more like the bride and groom would be more acceptable. Instantly a place came to Jade's mind. Beck noticed the look on his fake girlfriend's face and turned to the four of them.
"This place is really fancy," Beck informed them. "It doesn't really seem like a casual affair."
"Well, we don't want things too casual; these two are going to spend the rest of their lives together!" Moose's mother stepped up. Beck slyly nudged Jade's side to restrain her from scoffing. "Does nobody think that's worth celebrating?"
"Of course we do," Beck reassured her. "But it doesn't really seem to fit the bride and groom's personalities, does it?"
Rebecca opened her mouth to speak, but Jade stepped in before she could protest. "This seems more of something for you. But it's your son's engagement party, wouldn't you think it would be more fun for his guests if it had aspects that appealed to him?"
"Well, yes, but he picked this place!" she tried to reason.
"Only because you wanted something fancy," Moose interjected. "Mother, you can still help with the party, I need your help. But I'd like it to be more a casual event."
Moose's mother sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. Seeing as how Beck, Jade and Moose were all against the elegant party she imagined, she had no other choice than to agree and choose a place more suited for Moose and Tori's style. "Fine, I'm sorry. Did any of you have a place in mind?"
Beck and Jade glanced at each other and smirked. Jade stepped forward to stand in between Tori and Moose and smiled innocently. "What about that dance club, Bounce?"
Rebecca nearly fainted.
. . .
It took a little bit of consoling for Rebecca to even allow them to walk through the front doors of the place but after Beck explained that for the right amount of money, they could have a private, classier party, she agreed to go and talk to the manager.
Beck suggested that they all take a break and meet up with each other at Bounce in an hour. It would give him and Jade more time to get in contact with the manager at Bounce and enough time for them to make up fake facts up their new budding romance.
As Beck watched Jade talk on the phone, his thoughts drifted to Trina as they usually did. He couldn't believe it. She was back, back in his life and she seemed to be interested in him. That was good right? It's what he wanted all along, to have her come back to him as in love as he always assumed she was. So why did he still feel empty inside? She had still ripped his heart out of his chest and smashed it in a million pieces. Yet he couldn't get over her.
When the eldest Vega sister walked through the doors, his heart stopped. Her thick, brown curls cascaded down her back and swished back and forth with every strut. Her big brown eyes shone as she looked around the ballroom and her smile brightened up the room. Beck couldn't help himself but look down at her chest which he instantly regretted once seeing the tight pink corset she was wearing. And oh God, he never forgot how perfectly her hips swayed when she walked in high heels.
Although appearance wise, Trina was a goddess sent from above, Beck knew that she wasn't perfect. She was too self absorbed at times and absentminded when it came to others people's feelings. But that wasn't the Trina knew, it was the Trina that Jade knew. When it was just her and him she'd be sweet and funny and she'd laugh at his jokes. He remembered when she looked at him like he was the only man in the whole world. She'd stroke his cheek as they lay in bed and whisper sweet things to him.
Something changed one day when she decided that she stopped loving him. He never understood what it was, she never told him. All Trina said the day she left him was that she fell for another man and was going to be with him. He never met the man, never cared to do so, but knew he was the luckiest man in the world to have the Trina that he did.
"Beck, stop staring!"
Jade's shouts snapped him out of his thoughts. She was now off the phone, tucking it back in her pocket. She raised an eyebrow at him and crossed her arms over her chest. "Are you okay?" When he didn't answer quick enough, her face softened. "Oh, I mean, sorry. Seeing Trina must have killed you."
"No, I'm fine." Beck took a deep breath. "I just didn't expect to see her there. What are the odds that my ex girlfriend's sister is marrying your ex boyfriend?"
"Life's just a fucking bitch." Jade's lips tightened together in a fake smile.
"Yeah," he sighed running his fingers through his hair. After a slight pause he looked to Jade. "Thanks for the save their by the way, telling them we were together."
"I know I was quite proud of myself." Jade smiled, making Beck crack a smile, too. "We should think of a game plan."
"Wait, how long do you think this is going to go on?" Beck raised an eyebrow. Jade shrugged, causing him to throw his head back on his seat. "Jade, we can't pretend we're dating for this whole job."
"Why not?" Jade demanded. "Come on, aren't you sick of letting them win?"
Win what? Their relationships weren't games that were just over. Well, maybe Jade's was since Moose only did date her for the sake of playing her. But he and Trina's were real. They were crazy in love with each other at one point in their lives and they were both real people. What would happen if someone found out about their fake relationship? Trina would think of him as pathetic.
Jade noticed that Beck wasn't convinced. "Beck, Trina left you for another man. You can't keep pretending that she cheated because of you."
"Then why would she have cheated?" Beck furrowed his eyebrows at his best friend. "Trina wouldn't hurt me purposely, for any reason."
"You're so convinced that she's a good person Beck, but she's not." Jade looked at him dead in the eyes saying her words sternly so she could get through to him. "You were an amazing boyfriend, Beck. And this is your chance to show her how much of an amazing boyfriend you are."
Beck looked away from her. He was sick of letting Trina control his feelings when she hasn't been physically here for god knows how long. But he still wasn't entirely convinced. He looked back at Jade. "What if they catch on to us?"
"They won't." Jade assured him. "Not if we have all our facts straight. Now are you in?"
He contemplated his options for a moment. Pretend to be a single loser for hasn't dated since Trina broke his heart? Or pretend to have moved on with his life with Jade and was as happy as Trina seemed to be? At the moment, it seemed quite clear.
"Fine, I'm in."
The two discussed facts as they drove over to Bounce to meet Moose, Trina, Tori and Rebecca. They started dating four months ago when Beck realized he had feelings for her. Jade then realized she returned his feelings when he confessed to her while they were hanging out at Bounce (Jade added just to have Moose be reminded that while he'd be dancing with Tori, Jade had been dancing with Beck). Jade told him she loved him first, two months ago and Beck had "joked" about saying he was the one who wanted to say it first. And God forbid any of them would ask, but if marriage was in the question, Beck would say they were thinking about it, but not for a while.
"Shouldn't we establish rules?" Beck suggested. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Jade looking puzzled and he sighed. If he went into detail it would sound a little awkward, but better safe than sorry. "You know...what if they want us to kiss?"
"Sounds just like Moose, right?" Jade scoffed. "He'd probably just need new ideas for a porno."
"Jade, I'm serious." Beck sighed not taking his eyes off the road as he drove. "We've never, you know, kissed before and it would be totally weird if we do." Jade didn't reply seeming to still be confused. "Look, it would be embarrassing to have to kiss my best friend who I've known for God knows how long."
They came to a red light and Beck looked at her to see if he understood what she meant. She looked like she was trying not to laugh. Feeling foolish, Beck grunted and looked back to the road.
"Why are you so worried about that?" Jade laughed. "You think we'll feel something for each other?"
"Well, what if we do!" Beck brought up defensively. He casted a quick look at Jade who was smirking tauntingly at him. "It happens."
"Yeah, in movies," Jade rolled her eyes. The light changed back to green and Beck started to drive again. When Beck didn't say anything, Jade decided to stop his paranoia. "If something happens where we do have to kiss, then you're going to man up and kiss me like you mean it. We won't feel a spark because first of all, there's no such thing and second of all, we're best friends. That's all we ever will be."
"Okay, okay," Beck agreed nodding his head. "So, I have a couple more rules." Jade groaned, but Beck ignored her and continued. "No grabbing in any places below the waist, no unbuttoning of clothing and no sexual intentions. Can you do that?"
Looking at him with pursed lips and a raised eyebrow, Jade nodded. "Get over yourself, I don't fantasize over you."
"I find that very hard to believe." Beck joked. Jade smiled looking back towards the road. They pulled onto the street where Bounce was.
"I have one more rule," Jade told her best friend as he pulled into the parking lot. He looked at her doubtfully as if she was going to make a joke about the whole thing. "Try not to fall in love with me."
Beck couldn't help but laugh.
Jade had already talked to the manager and she had agreed to meet with her at Bounce. Fortunately for the duo, she was at Bounce setting up for the night. The club didn't officially open until nine o'clock pm and since it was only two pm they would have just enough time to persuade Rebecca on booking a private party there.
When Beck and Jade arrived at Bounce they saw Rebecca and Moose quietly bickering to themselves as Tori and Trina stood beside them awkwardly pretending not to hear. The bride to be was the first one to notice Beck and Jade pull up and she quickly nudged Moose signalling him to be on his best behaviour.
Beck was about to get out of the car, when Jade grabbed his arm. "When you get out open the door for me." she demanded.
"You hate when guys do that for you," Beck raised an eyebrow.
"But I'll pretend to love it when you do it."
Jade was really going to go all out to make this look believable. He knew that she didn't fall for Moose's 'Married Guy' act. He probably still had a wandering eye and most likely wasn't faithful one bit to his fiancée. Poor Tori. Maybe making Moose jealous would make Tori see her beloved fiancé's true colours. Beck remembered her as such a nice girl, she could do so much better than Moose.
Beck got out of the car and pretended not to see his four clients standing at the curb. Walking over to the passenger seat, he put on a big goofy grin and bowed as he opened the door for his fake girlfriend. Jade couldn't help but genuinely laugh at the gesture and let him take her hand leading her to the doors of Bounce.
Jade almost smirked when she spotted Moose narrowing his eyes before quickly collecting himself. She almost bent over laughing when she noticed Trina's knuckles going white because of how close she was clenching them.
"So, how are we doing?" Beck asked when they reached an angry looking Rebecca. In that moment, neither of them knew if she was mad because of the venue or because of Beck acting so lovey-dovey with Jade.
"Not good," Tori admitted honestly. "Ms. Anson doesn't think this is an appropriate place for the engagement party."
"Maybe for a bachelor party, but it's far too trashy for an event!" Rebecca huffed. She crossed her arms over her chest and stood her ground making her appear like a bratty child. "I won't allow it."
"Mother, this is my party." Moose sighed clearly embarrassed by his mother's actions. "Can't you just come in and meet the manager?"
Rebecca didn't budge. Jade angrily tightened her grip on Beck's hand causing him trying to wriggle out of her grasp. Rebecca was a different kind level of difficulty. Even though Jade couldn't stand Moose more than his mother, she was just way too stubborn for her liking. Okay, maybe she herself was stubborn too, but she wouldn't get in the way of what her son wanted unless it was for their own good.
Beck could tell she was about to tell her ex boyfriend's mother off and leaned over to whisper in her ear. In a way it did contribute to their fake relationship as he noticed the sour look on Trina's face.
"Play nice," he whispered. Jade refrained from letting out an annoyed huff, looking away as if she was hiding a blush instead.
Moose seemed to get irritated by their fake displays of affection. He loudly cleared his throat before turning to his mother. "You always get your way with your events, but this is my event and–"
"Ms. Anson, I think what your son is trying to say is..." Jade stepped forward awkwardly touching Rebecca's arm in what was supposed to be a soothing gesture. "Your son and future daughter-in-law want to have a party that appeals to them. Not saying they won't need your expertise on some aspects and that's why you're here. They need your help, not you planning the entire party."
Jade knew she and Beck didn't need Rebecca at all to plan an excellent party and she didn't know about Tori and Moose's view on things, but she had to do whatever she had to, to get Rebecca's head out of her ass. She hasn't dealt with such a stubborn client before, not even Tara was so high maintenance.
Rebecca uncrossed her arms and stood straighter. Jade fought the smirk that threatened to appear on her face. She placed her hands on her hips triumphantly. "Let's just go inside already." Rebecca rolled her eyes, walking inside the doors.
Moose watched his mother walk through the doors of Bounce then looked back to Jade in amazement. This time she let her smirk show. Moose smirked back which Beck clearly noticed. Not wanting him to think they were even close to being back on good terms, he wrapped his arm around his fake girlfriend's waist and smiled proudly at her.
"Nicely done, babe," Beck congratulated her. The smirk was instantly wiped off of Moose's face. "Shall we go inside?"
"Yes, why don't we?" Trina spoke up for the first time since they had arrived. Jade's smirk just got bigger. "No one has ever liked PDA, for your information." With that she turned on her heel and started to strut inside after Rebecca.
"But we didn't even start making out yet!" Jade called after her. Beck felt bad for angering Trina, but a quick look from Jade made him make sure not to show it.
Looking from Jade to the doors that her sister walked through, Tori grabbed a hold of Moose's arm. She attempted to smile politely to cover up the sudden tension between the five young adults. "Well, we don't have all day!" she tried to laugh.
The four of them walked inside to hear loud chatter and giggles from the manager. Cat Valentine, Bounce's manager was already talking Rebecca and Trina's ear off. Despite the eldest Vega sister's pleads to stop talking, Cat took it as if she was joking and continued to talk. Jade had met Cat a couple of times. While she would never be her best friend, she surprisingly didn't mind the perky redhead as much as she originally would have thought.
As soon as Cat saw Jade walk in her eyes brightened and she practically skipped over to the dark haired beauty. Seeing Cat was about to bring Jade into a hug, he let go of her waist. Cat threw herself into Jade's arms. Sucking in a breath Jade let her have her few seconds of glory before she pushed the perky woman off of her.
"Oh God, the manager drinks in the middle of the afternoon?" Rebecca groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose.
Cat turned back to glance at the woman with a big smile. "Oh, I don't drink!"
The shocked looks on their faces was priceless. Cat didn't seem to notice them or Jade stifling a laugh as she turned back to her and Beck. "I saw your hands." she squealed. "Are you two dating now?"
"You didn't tell her you were dating Beck?" Trina dared to step in walking closer to the three of them. It was her turn to smirk. "Well, you two must have not been together for long seeing that your friend didn't know."
"Cat and I don't get to see each other quite often. And for your information, we've been together for a little over four months." Jade placed her hands on her hips with her lips pulsed in a tight smirk to match Trina's. "We just didn't want to you know, brag about our new romance. I don't think you'd know what that feels like though, do you?"
The three of them remember clearly what happened when Trina left Beck. Jade was hanging out at Beck's house at the time, but Trina didn't know she had been there. Her best friend was never one to yell so Jade had to creep close to the staircase to hear properly. Beck had been pleading for Trina to stay, asking what he did wrong so he could fix it. Jade's heart broke for him. After constant pleads Trina blurted out that there was someone else. It had gone silent until Trina decided to go into details.
Jade wanted to come downstairs and rip out her vocal chords for bragging about the boyfriend Beck didn't know about. She told him how much happier he made her, how much more he could offer her. She could feel Beck's heart breaking. Then there was a slam and Jade went downstairs to see Beck sitting on the couch, he face in his hands weeping softly.
Narrowing her eyes, Trina looked a little hurt, but quickly covered it up with anger. Beck stepped up to Jade placing a hand on her shoulder. She shrunk down a little just as Trina walked back to stand beside her sister. "Cool it, Jade."
"Let's get back to business," Tori announced, looking over to peer at Cat. "What did you say your name was again?"
"Cat Valentine," she smiled. She motioned for them to follow her to a private room in the back. As they all began to follow her, Beck grabbed Jade's arm pulling her back.
"Watch the comments, Jade." Beck told her sternly.
"She acted like she didn't feel bad for anything she did to you, Beck!" Jade pointed out. Beck didn't say anything. "I'm just giving her a reminder of what she lost."
"It's a reminder for me too, Jade."
Jade's shoulders slumped. "Fine, I'll watch the comments. But it's not going to stop me from making rude comments in general every once in a while."
Beck smiled softly, "I wouldn't expect anything less."
The two followed the rest of them into the room in the back. There was a small table that seated six perfectly. Beck and Jade joined their clients at the table as Cat stood at the head of the table grinning warmly at all of them.
"So, Cat," Rebecca started with her hands folded on the table, "what can you offer here if we were to book a private party at this club?"
"Jade tells me you wanted to book an engagement party for your son?" Cat informed them. "Here, we offer things very simple. If you chose to have us cater, we'd bake a cake and have a couple appetizers of your choice. You could also pick the main meal between pizza, pasta or pitas. Our bar would also be tended for drinks."
Rebecca seemed impressed with how professional Cat seemed now that they were talking business. Moose gave his mother a sly smile as if he was proving her right that this venue was the right choice. Cat continued, "We have a DJ set for Sundays which is when we book private parties."
"How long will we be able to dance for?" Trina brought up. "Are there designated times for eating and dancing?"
"Well, no." Cat confessed. "Dancing and eating will be free for you to choose. Then when we cut the engagement cake everyone will sit down and eat together."
"That sounds great!" Tori smiled. "It sounds like it would be super fun."
"It would!" Cat grinned. "All we've gotten is raving reviews. Everyone seems to have had a wonderful time." Their clients looked impressed and Beck gave Jade a slick high five under the table. "I mean I remember when Jade's friend booked a party here and Jade had so much fun that she ended up–"
Jade's eyes widened and quickly gave Cat a look to shut up. Beck already knew about what Jade did at Sam's birthday party, he was the one who drove her and seven other friends home that night. So they didn't get the wrong impression, Beck covered it up with a charming smile.
"So, mom, what do you think?" Moose mused with a proud smirk.
"Yeah, Ms. Anson, I definitely think this is the place." Tori reached over and grabbed Rebecca's arm. "Everyone would have so much fun. I'm sure you would too."
Rebecca looked from Cat to Beck and Jade. She stood up making Tori's hand fall to the table with a thump. She frowned but watched her soon to be mother-in-law hopefully. Rebecca did seem impressed by how much the style fit her son's and by the looks on their faces everyone liked it. And usually she was never one to be a party pooper.
"I'll think about it."
Beck and Jade knew they were in.
Author's Note: I know you all must hate me for not updating in months and I don't really have an excuse other than schoolwork and writer's block. This chapter isn't really the best I'm sorry about that too but the next one will have much more significant Bade moments and will get more into the plot. As you can see Beck still cares for Trina and there may be more to their story that we don't know yet. Jade still has a firing hatred for Moose and we'll find out exactly what went down between them later on. We were introduced to Cat in this chapter and we're going to see a bit more of Ryder in the upcoming chapters. So, what are you guys hoping to see?