4. Some Serious Shit.

News of Jade's father's predicament spread through most of the Hollywood Arts student body (and faculty too) over the weekend, due to a senseless post by Cat on the Slap. This, of course, put Jade into a mood about 85% worse than usual on Monday. She was about ready to start throwing punches when a familiar voice issued from the other side of her open locker door.

"Hey."

Jade slammed her locker shut forcefully, only to find herself face-to-face with Beck.

"Aren't you in Canada?"

"Um, no," replied Beck with a charmingly lopsided grin, "I'm right here."

Jade was thoroughly nonplussed by this response.

"Why are you bothering me?" she asked.

"Well, I heard about your dad…" he said, all traces of humor gone. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she snapped, her eyes widening in annoyance. "Now thanks for your 'concern' and all, but bye."

She stalked away, making it about a step and a half before Beck's hand gripped her arm and pulled her back.

"There's more."

"Well what then?!"

"The police came to my RV last night."

"Whoop-dee-do." Her stomach was in her throat.

"They asked about you."

"What about me?"

"What you're like, why we broke up, if…" he sighed, "if you're violent."

"And what did you say?"

"I told them the truth."

"Which is?"

"That you wouldn't actually try to kill anyone."

"Well I might just have to try to kill those idiot cops!"

"Jade!" Beck put his hands on her shoulders, which she shook off roughly. "This is some serious shit."

Jade bit her lip, all pretenses of nonchalance suddenly gone. "I know. They were questioning Cat, and they were in my house when I got home on Friday."

"You've threatened plenty of people, and they don't…" Beck hesitated. "Well, they don't know you like I do," he finished quickly.

"Your point being…?"

"They might think you're actually capable of something like this."

Jade didn't answer, her eyes searching aimlessly without really seeing anything.

"We need to prove you didn't do this."

Two blue eyes snapped back into action, a snarl suddenly twisting her lips.

"'We'?!" she chuckled humorlessly. "No."

She tried once again to walk away, but he stepped in front of her path. She glared daggers, fuming. If looks could kill.

"Obviously, you're mad at me, and I get that, but you can't just—"

"I am not talking to you anymore," Jade declared, shoving her way past him and walking down the hall. Just as she was about to turn the corner, she heard him shout exasperatedly:

"I'm trying to help you!"

Seething, her eyes flashing, Jade whipped around and stalked back toward him, closing the distance in four sharp paces.

"No. You're trying to help yourself," she snarled, jabbing his chest.

"How?" Beck retaliated, crossing his arms.

Jade paused for a moment, going back through the last few minutes in her mind, her lips pursed. Finally, she looked back up at him.

"I don't know yet. But you always are."

Jade didn't show up at the Asphalt Cafe for lunch. She secluded herself in a corner by her locker, picking at her food distractedly. Her head picked up when the doors to the school opened, and voices she knew well were conversing with one another. She stood to join them when her name was mentioned. Jade pressed herself to the wall in an effort to go unnoticed.

"Yes, Tori, of course I've met Jade's father. He's an asshole and she should hate him, but that doesn't mean…" Beck trailed off. A locker padlock was clicking.

"I dunno man." It was Andre speaking. "She might've just… I dunno, lost it."

"Yeah!" Jade could practically hear Tori's head nodding vigorously. "She attacked me when she saw that footage from The Wood!"

"She threw a rock at you when she saw that picture of you and Alyssa Vaughn!" Andre put in.

Jade heard a locker shut.

"I still don't think she did it. And I'm not going to believe she did it until someone proves that she did."

"Beck, you saw the stuff the police had!" Tori's voice faded as the trio turned the corner.

Jade stayed frozen where she was for a good two minutes. What did the police have?

I'm sorry my chapters are so short. I'm really just trying to get to the police/court stuff. Yes, there will be court stuff. Also, I realized that Jade has a little brother, and I'm pretty sure that I'm not going to include him in this story. I don't even think he was mentioned anywhere else beside one Slap video and the re-audition video from Helen Back Again. Anyway, I really hope you enjoyed this! I'll get another chapter up this weekend or next week! And any ideas you guys have are always welcome.