AN: The pov's are going to mostly switch back and forth between Beck and Jade now, with a few other characters throwing theirs in every once and a while.

It's not the sex that you miss as much as it is touching her in general. For two years you've been allowed to run a hand through her hair or throw an arm around her shoulders whenever you felt like it, and now you can't anymore. You don't get to pull her into your lap or kiss her just because you want to or tickle her until she can't even pretend to be annoyed anymore. You've gone from unrestricted access to none at all, and you're going through withdrawals over something you didn't know you were addicted to.

It's not that you don't miss the sexual part of the relationship, because she's hot and you're sixteen and male and none of her clothes are particularly revealing but what she's wearing now clings in all the right places. But you're used to wanting that and not getting it; it was a year into the relationship before she authorized any removal of clothing and another six months before you went all the way. The other stuff, the kissing and playing with her hair, you've had that for as long as you've been old enough to crave it. There's never been a time when you've wanted to hold her hand and haven't been permitted to do so, not until now.

There are other girls you could date, other girls who would let you do those things, but they hold no appeal and honestly, they never really have. You've never been interested in them except for their potential to make Jade jealous. Sure, they're nice to look at, but you've never really wanted any of them. You've never felt like you might die if you didn't find out if they were natural blondes or if their skin was as soft as it looked, there's none of the desperation that Jade's so good at pulling out of you, not with them.

She's sitting with the group again; she's right across the table from you, and the dull ache you've been feeling all week has morphed into an intense burn. You're on fire, and you know you could reach over the table and touch her to convert the heat into something so much better, but that would be a concession. That would be admitting that you need her.

And you do need her. This agonizing pain is the most you've felt for a week. Without her, you're numb to everything, good and bad. Andre's jokes aren't funny, Rex's insults aren't annoying, and there's no warmth to be found in the sun. Now you have her, but you don't and you can feel but all you can feel is pain. You could end it, you could put out the fire, but not without melting the ice and you aren't ready to let go of your protection.