Hello!
This is already almost the last chapter. Only one more to come. I wish you everyone much fun with this one!
Yes, Jade is definitely in trouble.
She has thought, she would go there on Friday afternoon and finally find a good reason to totally hate Beck. But he's still sickenly perfect. And the way he has talked about love... It makes her almost long for him to love her the way he described it. She hates it.
She almost doesn't get him out of her mind the whole weekend and is even glad when Cat calls on Sunday to talk to her – which she has never before been glad about because Cat has this talent to not be able to stop talking.
Jade lets her run with it this Sunday, listening to her for hours and hours (well, she does do other things next to it but she also listens as she would never stop listening without saying; she is honest after all).
She ignores Beck again at school. Or tries her best to do it. She can't help but watch him in between. Gosh, there has to be something wrong with him, right? He has to hide something. There is no person that's that perfect.
She would almost like to punch him for every time he notices him looking at her and smiles. It's as if he knows that she's attracted to him and she hates it because he isn't supposed to know.
At their last Wednesday's rehearsal, Thomas first goes through the last scenes they haven't talked about yet, then he makes them do the whole play but interrupts them all the time to critize again.
"Okay, people," he then finally says. "I'm very happy with what we have achieved so far. Please still practice as much as you can. I see all of you tomorrow."
Jade walks from the stage, where she has just performed the last scene for the day, to the chair her bag lies on which she takes. She directly wants to leave but then, Beck is already next to her.
"Wanna grab some food together?" he asks her.
The others around them start talking and leaving as well.
She slowly turns to Beck. He wants to grab food together. She can imagine where he wants this to go but she asks anyway: "To rehearse?"
Beck looks at her intently as if he's trying to read her while he suggests: "As a date?"
"No," she instantly answers because she won't date this guy. She can't. And he can't believe that he can get every girl.
She starts leaving but Beck doesn't seem discouraged at all. He hurries to walk along beside her as he suggests: "Then to rehearse?"
Yeah, really funny, Beck. But... Maybe she should agree to another rehearsal. They can definitely use another one and... She got to know Beck better last Friday. If she now gets to be alone with him again, maybe she finally does find out what he's hiding. There has to be something after all. And as long as he knows it's not a date...
"Yeah," she agrees and as she fleetingly glances to him, she sees as big happy smile spreading over his face.
He suggests the pizza place down the street but she definitely doesn't want pizza, so she tells him they'll go to the sushi place next to it which may not be good but they have limited options without a car or anything.
He agrees, so that's where they go.
They sit in a corner of the place and do run through their scenes while they eat, though of course not nearly as they are supposed to do them. They do every one of them sitting down after all and don't rise their voices too much. They do use the intonation, they are supposed to, and touch almost always like they are supposed to though they leave out the kiss again.
"I think we'll do really good," Beck confidently says in the end and Jade definitely also feels that way.
To be honest: "If Thomas doesn't get an A for this play, I will kill someone." Because the whole play is great. It's well written and everyone on it is really good – especially her and Beck who play the main characters.
Beck smiles. "I'll help you hide the body."
She looks him over, then smirks. "You wouldn't dare hurting a fly." He's one of those people who will probably always choose words before any kind of violence. Which she has to roll her eyes over a little bit but it still doesn't make him less attractive.
He shrugs and answers earnestly: "Probably not."
"Wimp," she says and curiously he doesn't look offended at all.
Instead, he tilts his head, still with a smile, and claims: "Some people thinks it's a testament of what a great person someone is, if they aren't able to hurt anyone."
"Yeah, right," Jade shoots back. "And some people think being pushed around is fun."
That somehow makes his smile even wider and the way he watches her... She has to ask him harshly: "What?"
He shrugs again. "I just think it's good that we met outside the usual rehearsal. Not only to rehearse some more but also to get to know each other at least a little bit. We have to play people who fall in love with each other. I think it's good for our chemistry that we actually know each other at least a little."
"Chemistry isn't something you can work on," Jade says because it just isn't. Either it's there or it isn't. Like attraction. You can only possibly fake it if you're good.
"No," Beck agrees. "But I think it will come across that we have exchanged at least a few private words. I mean... We have had chemistry with each other from the beginning on either way."
They have had. They obviously do act well together. Which annoys her even more because... he does make her feel safe on stage. She has noticed that as they have done the run through today. She feels good on stage either way, she loves it. But she has never felt so at ease on stage as she has with Beck. Because it's so easy doing the scenes with him, falling in those roles.
But that makes something inside of her like him even more and she doesn't want that.
She looks at her watch and is almost relieved to see how late it already is. Though she's also surprised because she doesn't feel like she has been here with him for that long already.
"Whatever," she says as she pulls her back up into her lap. "I have to get going."
"Oh, yeah, sure. Let me pay," he says as he sees her pulling out money.
He gets his own money but she won't do this. "No. This isn't a date," she states.
"I can still pay," he says but she won't let him pay and possibly believe that they have been on a date after all.
"No," she therefore says, puts her money on the table, stands up and leaves while Beck says, curiously still with a smile: "See you tomorrow."
.
.
He likes the way Jade behaves. It amuses and impresses him at the same time. Because it is funny and he also always loves people who know what they want. He definitely has the feeling that Jade is a person like that.
She's great and he honestly likes her. He has the impression that she likes him too. It's something in her eyes. Yet, she has rejected him for a date.
He also does remember though how she has said she thought that whole unconditional love thing sounds horrifying. Could she be afraid of falling for him? Is that it?
It has to be something else, he's sure. And he does want to know the reason because he really likes this girl, is really interested in her and does believe she's interested in him too.
They have their dress rehearsal on Thursday. Thomas doesn't interrupt them at all this time, just watches and gives them some pointers again in the end but mainly praises them and tells them to do it like that tomorrow and everything will be fine. He also tells them when they have to be there, which things to keep in mind for their first performance.
Then, they're already free to go again and Beck instantly goes over to Jade.
"Wanna grab some food again?" he asks her.
She looks at him with raised eyebrows. "We don't need more rehearsal or to get to know each other any better. Our first performance is tormorrow."
Of course, they also have gotten to know each other the last two times they have met up, though they have primarily ran their lines together. It's not only the few words they have exchanged as themselves. It's also about the lines. He has seen how she gets into character, how easy she can transition in and out of it. He has just seen her work in something she obviously really likes.
And it's true that they don't need to do any of that for the play anymore. It won't make that much of a difference anymore. But she has to know he doesn't only want to meet her for the play.
"Why don't you want to go on a date with me?" he directly ask.
She looks at him and shrugs. "Because I don't." Then, she leaves him behind and walks away.
He looks after her.
Well, so she just don't. It's not like he wants to force her on a date or something. Therefore, he won't ask her again. Though he has to say... If he will get another chance to talk to her, he will.
.
.
Their opening night is fantastic. The audience consits mostly of their teachers and classmates and funnily enough they are a much better audience than everyone's families in her middle school performances.
They have an after party at the pizza place down the street and all of them go.
Jade sits in a booth with Tony and Thomas for a while and it's when they go along to talk to some of the others that Beck sits down with her.
"I thought I'd come by and drink with you on our first performance at Hollywood Arts," he says and raises the glass he has brought with him.
She clinks it with her own because why not? She is extremely happy that it has gone so well and that everyone has loved it.
They both take a sip before Beck continues: "It was awesome."
It definitely was. Though she has to mention it: "Except that we messed up."
There has been that one scene where they stayed at Sam's door though they were supposed to directly move into the apartment. It's important to actually be inside of the apartment for later in the scene.
Somehow, both of them have just stayed right at the door but they have noticed their mistake only a few words into their conversation without Thomas having to cough loudly or anything to remind them. She has seen in Beck's eyes that he has noticed it too at the same moment she has and they have easily moved further onto the stage into the supposed apartment without having it seem awkward or missing one of their lines.
Thomas hasn't even mentioned it in front of Jade just now. It still annoys her a little to have missed something.
Beck shrugs. "I think we were good in covering it up." Of course, he has also instantly known what exactly she was talking about.
"We were," she agrees because it is true though she still hates that she has done something wrong at all. "Better than Liza."
Liza is also in the show and actually has messed up her lines. Tony is obviously a great actor as he has been able to improvise around it, so it still made sense.
Beck looks shortly around as if to check if Liza sits close which isn't the case. Then he says: "That wasn't good. I really thought that would ruin the whole performance."
"Right?" she answers because she had stood on stage at the same time and really hadn't felt able to defuse the situation if that would've happened in a scene with just her. Which also annoys her but she does hope that that's something she will still learn in this school.
Beck mentions the brilliance of Tony and how he reminds him of an actor out of a movie he has recently watched and somehow, they actually start talking about movies and theater and art in general.
It's surprisingly easy to talk to him. She knows he also feels at ease. She has watched him after all at least a little over the last few days and she knows he also isn't usually one to talk all that much. He talks now, tells her all about his favorite movies and actors, his favorite genres and songs, but still listens all the same interested when she talks about her favorite things.
His laugh sickenly makes her heart run faster, and he laughs quite a few times. Not at her but with her, even when she talks about her favorite scene out of a horror movie she has recently watched or something.
Others come by their table and sit down with them as well for some time, especially Thomas comes back and tells them again that they did amazing and he would love to see that for the other three performances as well.
But they are talking alone most of the time and it's already late when Jade finally looks to her watch again.
"I guess I have to go to catch my bus home," she says and Beck nods: "Yeah, sure. We'll see each other tomorrow anyway, huh?"
They will as they have their second performance tomorrow afternoon.
They both stand up and somehow, Beck manages to hug her without her thinking it's weird or feeling the need to push him away. Well... She also has hugged Cat earlier, right after the performance after Cat had watched it and had been so happy for her. Jade had been extremly happy as well and it had just happened.
She still feels weirdly happy and she guesses that's why Beck can just hug her as well and she doesn't feel uncomfortable but rather the opposite about it. It has been an amazing first performance and the after party has been great as well.
When she lies in bed at night though, she can't get that hug and the long talk out of her head and she knows she actually has fallen for him. How stupid can she be?