Friday, 7:18 p.m.

...

Beck stared at the menu and sighed in frustration. Chicken Ko-See-Mee? Pad Woon Sen? Spicy Glass Noodles? Jade had suggested (well, forced) them to go to her favorite restaurant called Taste of Thai. Beck didn't eat Thai food that much, so he had no idea what to order.

"So, uh, you know what's good here?" Beck asked Jade, hoping she would recommend something.

"For you? I would suggest the fried rice. I don't think you'd be able to handle any of the spicier dishes. They're kind of an acquired taste." Jade hid her smirk behind her menu, but Beck could hear the smugness in her voice, and it irked him.

"Hey, I'm half Indian! I can handle plenty of spice." He actually hated when his mom made her "authentic Indian cuisine" for dinner, because he had to take a sip of water with almost every bite or his nose would start to run from the spicy flavors.

"O-kay Aladdin, whatever you say!" Jade chuckled.

"Aladdin wasn't Indian, he was Arabic. Don't you know your Disney princes?" Beck smirked.

"Whatever. Anyway, if you're so Indian, let's hear you do an Indian accent." Jade smirked back.

"No." Beck said pointedly. He hated it when people asked him to do accents, act scared, or anything else that would make him look stupid.

"And you call yourself an actor." She gave a slight chuckle and looked back down at her menu.

Beck sighed, drumming his fingers on the edge of the polished wooden table. She had been like this since he picked her up—well, technically, his dad was driving, since Beck didn't have his license yet. He had told her she looked nice, and she'd said 'Shut up. I hate compliments.'

When Jade met his dad, she'd said 'So, I see where Beck gets his good looks from. It's a shame he hasn't maintained them like you have.' Beck wanted to die of embarrassment. And since they'd gotten there, she'd been talking about how in Thailand, people ate dogs and other facts that grossed him out until he lost his appetite, but obviously fascinated her. This girl was a nightmare.

But God, she was gorgeous. Like a wet dream come to life. Normally, he would never think things like that about a girl. But as he stared at her in her dark purple halter top (finally, she was wearing some color) and black wrap tucked around her shoulders, he could see that she looked a little insecure. Vulnerable, even. He had no idea why. The dark colors contrasted beautifully against her pale skin, and even with the sheer makeup and scary-looking eyes, Beck felt like he could see into her soul when he looked into them.

The thing that struck him the most was how little she was trying to impress him. Most girls would be chatting away, flirting, or telling jokes if they were on a date with him. But after rattling off her gross-out facts, Jade seemed way more interested in the menu. He thought he'd made her fall for him, but maybe he was wrong. Maybe she was just doing this so he'd stop asking her. It made zero sense, but it would explain why she was being so cold toward him.

"Have you guys decided yet?" A pretty raven-haired waitress asked.

"Yeah, I'll have the red curry, extra onions." Jade said.

"Uh, I'll have the same thing." Beck said, since he had no idea what to order, and he wasn't about to get the mild fried rice, like she'd suggested.

"Would you like that mild, medium, or hot?"

"I would like it extra hot." Jade raised an eyebrow at him challengingly.

"Same here." Beck said evenly.

"Great choice, I like a man who can handle it hot." The waitress winked. "You go to Hollywood Arts, don't you?"

"Yep." He said. Was she flirting with him? While he was on a date? Well, maybe she thought Jade was his sister or something. Or maybe girls just flirted with him everywhere.

"Freshman, right?" She smiled.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" He asked.

"Oh, trust me. I would have noticed if a guy that looked like you had been there last year."

"Shouldn't you be fetching our food now? If you want any tip at all, I suggest you move along." Jade snapped. Well, that was rude. But Beck was relieved when she left with their menus, because he'd had no idea how to respond to that. And he'd finally gotten Jade to express some interest in him. He smirked to himself.

Jade shot him a glare when she saw it. "What?"

"Jealous much?" He chuckled.

"NO, just vengeful. What'd that bitch expect me to do, just sit here while she makes passes at my date?"

"O-kay, whatever helps you sleep at night." Beck tried to hide his smile, knowing he was enjoying this way more than he had any right to.

After the food came, Beck tried to eat it, but it was a lot spicier than he had imagined. He had to drink water with every bite and soon he was feeling full and sloshy from all the water. And he was sweating. Great. And Jade was watching him with a knowing smirk, no traces of sweat or discomfort on her heavily made-up face.

He "accidentally" dropped his cream-colored cloth napkin on the floor and bent over to pick it up. He quickly wiped his brow so she wouldn't see and straightened up. There was no way he was eating the rest of…whatever he'd ordered.

"Uh, I think I'm just gonna pack up the rest of this and eat it at home. I'm full for now." He said, knowing he'd probably just throw it away or give it to his dad.

"You do that." Jade said with a half-smile.

"So, uh, what's your favorite color?" Beck asked, trying to change the subject. He then realized what a stupid question it was. She only wore black, for God's sake!

"I love every color in the rainbow almost as much as I love sunshine and glittery unicorns! But if I just had to pick one, I'd say it's sparkly hot pink!" Jade trilled, doing her best valley-girl impression.

Beck threw his head back and laughed. "You're funny!" He blurted without thinking. He realized he was heading toward dangerous grounds as he watched her blush and bite her lip. He wondered if any other guys had complimented her like that before, and that's when he felt the first pang of guilt. He shook his head to clear it away and tried to change the subject again. "So…do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"No…and what's with the twenty questions?" Jade looked at him quizzically.

"Just trying to get to know you…that's what people do when they go on dates. Haven't you ever been on a date before?" Beck raised an eyebrow.

Jade looked down at her food and Beck wanted to punch himself. Of course she hadn't been on a date before. He had to remember that not everyone was as good with the opposite sex as he was, and not everyone could get more dates than they could count when they were fourteen.

And then he felt it again—another pang of guilt. This was her first date, and he had only asked her out to win a bet. And he had only gone through with it, because he wanted to know what it'd be like to be with a "bad girl." Despite what everyone said, she really was an awesome person. And she deserved much better.

"Hey, that's okay, dates are for losers. " He dug the tines of his fork into his thumb until it hurt. "I remember this one time, I went to the movies with a girl, and her dad came with us, 'cause he thought she was too young to be alone with a guy."

He saw a trace of a smile on Jade's lips so he continued. "And once, I took a girl to the arcade. She mercilessly dominated me at every game we played. I was too embarrassed to call her again." He admitted sheepishly. He had never told that story to anyone. She shook her head and chuckled.

"So…what's your favorite animal?" This time it was her who changed the subject. Well, look who was suddenly a date expert. Beck smiled.

"A hyena." He answered without thinking. He'd been asked this question on a date before, and he'd already thought of a funny answer.

"A hyena?" She asked skeptically.

"They'll laugh at my jokes." He explained, making her chuckle again. "What's yours?"

"A peaCOCK." She smirked at his widened eyes when he caught her emphasis on the word cock.

"Wait, really? Or did you just say that so you could say cock?" He asked, trying to hold in his giggles.

"No, really. I'm a-DICKted to peacocks." She winked.

"Very sexy." He smirked. She looked down to hide her smile, and Beck cursed himself again. He had to stop doing that! But who was he kidding? At this rate, he knew she was going to fall for him eventually. And he was going to fall for her.

He wondered if he could keep going out with her and make sure she never found out about the bet. But that would be a shitty thing to do. Maybe he should tell her right now and beg for forgiveness. No, then she'd kill him. Something told him Jade wasn't really the forgiving type.

He decided to worry about that later and just enjoy his date. She really was something.

…

A/N: So…how 'bout we test out that awesome new review feature and leave a nice detailed review? ;D