Title: The Best Revenge

Author: khay

Category: Victorious

Word Count: 2700ish

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Victorious and all related characters do not belong to me.

Summary: "Messing up his life isn't the best revenge. It's getting on with yours and living life to the fullest that kills him." - author unknown

Continuity: Post-TWC. Will be disregarding all episodes and Slap posts that occur thereafter as I see fit. Oh, and I tried (but horribly, horribly failed) to write Rex. So in my universe, he had a falling out with Robbie and is currently not speaking to him.

Author's Notes: Thanks to those who read and reviewed and favorited and placed me on alert! I'm in Twitter and Tumblr as ilurked. I don't say anything of import there, but I may be moved to answer questions about this fic :-)

The Best Revenge
is an Out-and-Out Fight
(Chapter 10)

"Hi. I'm Sinjin VanCleef and I go to Hollywood Arts." a deadpan Sinjin VanCleef told the camera. There was a moment of dead air before Sinjin continued. "This is a very special episode because I have guests. These are Beck Oliver and Andre Harris."

The camera panned out, revealing Beck and Andre, who gave unenthusiastic waves.

"They're here to help me in my the latest installment of Sinjin's Sock Puppets: Sinjin Saves Beck and Andre."

Andre groaned. "I thought you were supposed to save Jade!"

"I'm not supposed to play with sock-puppet!Jade anymore." Sinjin said sadly.

"Let's just get this over with." Beck told Andre.

"Come on, guys. Get behind the table." Sinjin said as he crouched down and held up a puppet wearing a mask.

Beck and Andre reluctantly crouched behind the table. Beck had sock-puppet!Beck while Andre had sock-puppet!Andre.

Then, Sinjin moved the masked puppet. "This is a hold-up!"

"Oh, no." sock-puppet!Andre said mechanically. "What am I gonna do?"

"We must call for help." sock-puppet!Beck was better at delivering his lines, but not by much. "Help!"

"Never fear!" sock-puppet Sinjin cried out, popping out from Sinjin's other side. "Sinjin is here!"

Then Sinjin's sock puppets started doing ninja moves against each other, with Sinjin occasionally screaming out effects.

Beck and Andre slowly stood up.

"Remind me why we're doing this again?" Andre asked Beck.

"We owe him one. He stood up for the girls against Daniels Friday night when we weren't there." Beck replied, running a hand through his hair.

"You know, gratitude can only go so far." Andre said.

Beck watched Sinjin's puppets karate chop each other. "Yeah. I think we've paid our dues."

With that, both Beck and Andre removed the sock puppets from their hands and slapped them on the table. They both left without looking back.

"Uh, Sinjin," the cameraman said hesitantly. "Sinjin!"

"WHAT?" Sinjin's head popped out.

"Your special guests had just left."

"Oh." Sinjin blinked as he slowly stood up. "This has been a Sinjin VanCleef Production." he said before the camera blacked out.

The Night of the Full Moon Jam

Beck Oliver didn't know how they did it, but while waiting for Andre to perform, he found himself agreeing to get spaghetti tacos for everyone, Chester Grady included.

Surprisingly, hanging out with Chester Grady wasn't as painful as he imagined.

Sure, there was an awkward moment when Jade removed her jacket and revealed a henna tattoo at her back proudly proclaiming Grady's My Man. But they got through it through laughs and violence (laughter from Cat and Tori and violence from Jade who thought Grady was drawing something else.

While waiting in line, Beck couldn't help but look back at his friends, hanging out by the bed of his truck.

Grady and Jade were sitting side by side, talking but not touching. In fact, it was as if there was some invisible barrier between them. Beck grinned as he realized that both Grady and Jade were overprotective of their personal space. They both wouldn't initiate body contact. They were both undemonstrative.

And that, right there, was one of the reasons Beck was better for Jade than Grady.

When he and Jade were together, he rejoiced in the fact that he could touch her whenever he wanted. So he slung an arm around her shoulders, held her hand, hugged and kissed her, played with her hair and patted all the body parts he could reach. And he was enjoying the fact that he was the only one who can do so (not even Cat, the unofficial best friend, was allowed the privilege).

Beck taught Jade that contact can be good, something that Grady never could.

Though loathe as he was to admit it, Beck was beginning to like Grady. Not only did he love Jade very much, there was something oddly familiar about him.

And then it struck him like a lightning bolt.

Chester Grady reminded him of Jade West.

From their skewered sense of humor to their staunch refusal to deal unnecessarily with people who they considered to be idiotic. Even their flirting styles were similar: barbed statements coupled with backhanded compliments (not that Grady flirted with Beck, just saying).

Beck saw Jade give Grady a taunting smile. She then said something which caused Tori, Cat and Robbie to raise their hands.

Grady's shoulder slumped and Beck just knew that he was getting drinks for everyone.

Sure enough, Grady made his way over to beck and asked, "I'm getting drinks. What do you want?"

"Everyone's getting coffee?" Beck asked.

"Yeah." Grady replied listlessly.

"Great. Iced for me."

Without another word, Grady turned back and walked over to the coffee cart.

Beck grinned to himself.

Andre Harris once again proved that when it comes to songwriting, he was in a league on his own.

He dutifully accepted the hugs and congratulations his friends were raining down on him, as was his due. The last one to hug him was Jade who whispered, "You didn't suck and my ear sockets didn't bleed out."

Andre laughed since he saw her clapping to the beat of his music while singing along. "High praise coming from you," he told her as he released her.

"Yeah." Jade said stoically. "Now I gotta pee."

"She's been holding it since she was afraid to miss your performance." Beck told Andre as he gave the singer manly slaps on the back.

"I'm touched." Andre told Jade.

"Whatever." Jade muttered as she turned around and walked to the washroom.

"Wait up!" Tori cried out as she walked after the girl.

"I'm coming too!" Cat cried out, not wanting to be left out.

"Girls," Robbie shook his head. "Why do they go to the bathroom together?"

"Girls," Robbie groaned. "Why do they take so long to go to the bathroom?"

Ten minutes later, the boys were lounging by Beck's truck, half-listening to the show's next performer.

"There must be a line," Beck shrugged, an old hand with waiting for girls to finish with their toilet (well, one girl. Who was more high maintenance than people thought).

All of a sudden, Grady stood up, muttering, "Son of a—" without finishing his sentence, he abruptly left.

"What up, man?" Andre asked in surprise.

The three remaining boys followed Grady with their eyes, until, "It's Jade," Beck said as he struggled to get up to rush to the girl.

Tori, Jade and Cat were on their way back to the stage when Tori heard an achingly familiar laugh.

"Yeah. She pretends to be a priss, but it only took me two dates and a song before I hit a home run with her." the unmistakable voice of Ryder Daniels. "She likes to think that she's a good girl, but they all give it to me in the end."

A group of boys were clustered around Ryder, who was relishing being the center of attention.

"Which sister are you talking about again?" one of his cronies asked.

"The younger one." he replied. "I'm not that desperate to hit on the older one. What's her name? Tina?"

"Trina!" another boy volunteered. "Trina Vega."

Tori gasped.

"But there won't be a repeat with the younger Vega," Ryder continued. "She's boring in the sack."

Tori's hand flew to her mouth as she tried to keep her temper (and tears) at bay.

Cat immediately went to her to give her a hug. "Don't listen to him," she soothed her friend.

Jade, on the other hand, marched straight up to the group. She saw one of Ryder's cronies holding a tall cup of soda. She grabbed the plastic cup and tapped Ryder on the shoulder.

"Oh, hey. If it isn't the gank." he greeted Jade.

Jade gave Ryder a small, bitter smile before upending the cup of soda over his head.

Ryder gasped in surprise at the cold drink running from his head to his shirt. He then started swearing.

"Jade! No!" Cat cried out.

Even Tori gaped at the spectacle Ryder and Jade were involved in.

Jade simply crossed her arms and tilted her head in challenge.

"That," Ryder stepped towards Jade, invading her personal space. "Was a big mistake." he snarled.

"Was it?" Jade asked, unconcerned.

"Hey! Back off!" someone shouted as he made his way behind Jade.

"This is your knight-in-shining armor?" Ryder laughed as his friends backed him up. "Sinjin VanCleef?"

"I don't need a knight." Jade told him, feeling Sinjin rattle in fear behind her.

"Yeah?" Ryder once again moved towards Jade, closer than before. "You want some also?" he asked as he grabbed his crotch.

Jade smelled the bitter smell of alcohol on Ryder's breath.

"I believe you were asked to back off from the lady." another voice joined in the conversation.

"Grady!" Cat cried out as she dragged Tori in the relative safety of Grady's shadow.

Ryder, emboldened by his friends and the beer he had ingested, snarled, "Yeah? What if I refuse?" he grabbed one of Jade's arms hard enough to leave a bruise.

"You remember what I said? About the next time it would be your groin?" Jade asked him with a scary smile.

Ryder, seeing the intent in the girl's eyes, released her involuntarily and staggered backwards. "Gank."

"Ryder, Ryder, Ryder," Grady said conversationally. "Didn't you learn your lesson about calling ladies gank?" and without warning, he stepped forward and forcefully pushed back Ryder.

Ryder staggered back. He would have fallen except that he was caught by his friends. Ryder looked behind him to make sure that he still had his back ups. There were five of them against Grady and Sinjin. They could take the losers.

Then, another set of hands grabbed Jade's arms and pulled her back.

Jade was about to slap the hands holding her when she realized they were Beck's.

"What's going on here?" Beck asked, Andre and Robbie right behind him.

Robbie then bent down to whisper something to Cat, who nodded and ran away.

Andre, meanwhile, noticed Tori's tear-stained cheeks.

"Control your girlfriend, Oliver," Ryder bit out.

"Maybe you should control your mouth, Daniels." Jade retorted. "They're spewing forth lies."

"What did he say, Jade?" Andre asked.

"I was just telling my friends how poor a lay Vega was," Ryder spat out.

Andre swore as he tried to jump Ryder but Robbie held him back.

Grady tried to attack too, but Beck stepped in front of him while a tearful Tori held on to Jade.

"What is going on here?" Lane bellowed, stepping between the group, behind him was Cat.

Ryder, relieved that a fight was averted, immediately started running his mouth. "That lunatic," he said, pointing at Jade. "Poured soda at me."

"Is that true, Jade?" Lane asked. "Why?" he followed up when Jade nodded once.

"I didn't have coffee so I had to settle for soda." Jade said.

A short laugh erupted from Beck.

Lane just rubbed his temples as if in pain. "Why pour any kind of drink on Ryder at all?"

"He breathed." Jade replied. "That's enough provocation for me."

"That's not true!" Tori suddenly piped up. "Ryder was saying things about me. Jade tried to stop him."

"Where'd you get the soda you dumped on Ryder?" Lane asked Jade.

"The ugly dude with the bad haircut and chipmunk teeth." was the reply as she motioned to one of Ryder's friends.

"Jade, we talked about this." Lane said. "You gotta learn that control that temper of yours. Detention on Monday with me after class."

Jade groaned. "It's the afternoon of Sikowitz's play. Can I do detention after?"

"You in the play?" Lane asked.

"No. I just wanna watch."

"Then, no." Lane said. "And as for you boys, Saturday detention."

"What?" Ryder protested. "She dumped soda on me and we get Saturday detention?"

"I may be old," Lane told him. "But I'm not dumb. Or lacking a sense of smell. That's not just soda Jade dumped on you."

Jade gave the boys a smug smile.

"And I'm sorry, I'm gonna have to ask all of you to leave the school." Lane said. He grabbed Grady's and Beck's shoulders to encourage them to walk away. Andre, Robbie and Tori quickly followed. So did Sinjin. "I will be returning in ten minutes and I don't want to see any of your faces."

Cat, on the other hand, held on to Jade's arm, trying to encourage her to walk after their friends. But Jade was still engaged in a glaring contest with Ryder.

"I'd watch my back if I were you, West." Ryder muttered.

"I'd watch my groin if I were you, Daniels." she retorted with a sweet smile and a wink, before walking away.

Beck pulled into the West's driveway and killed his car's engine.

"I just thought of another reason why Grady's not good for you." Beck blurted out.

"Another reason?" Jade snorted.

"Yeah." Beck grinned. "I'm compiling reasons why I'll be a better boyfriend for you than Grady. Then, if there's any danger of you picking Grady over me, I'll dazzle you with my logical mind."

"Okay, I'll bite." she said with a shake of her head. "Why is Grady not good for me?"

"Because you both have explosive tempers and violent tendencies." he replied. "Think of this evening, for instance. You would have gotten more than an afternoon's detention if it were just you and Grady."

Jade smirked. "But it would have been, oh, so worth it."

A moment of silence, then, "I had a great time all things considered." Beck told Jade as he turned to her.

"You know what would make it better?" Jade set herself comfortably in the passenger seat. "If it was coffee I poured on Ryder."

"Is that a thing?" Beck asked her, "Pouring coffee on people?"

Jade shrugged. "Maybe it's my thing. You know, I should start carrying coffee all the time."

Beck laughed. When Beck quieted, he extended his right arm and toyed with the ends of Jade's hair. And gazed soulfully at Jade's eyes.

And Jade knew she was in trouble. Because whenever Beck gazed at her like that, she found herself agreeing to whatever he was saying.

"You have no idea how much I wanna kiss you right now," Beck breathed.

Yup. Big Trouble. Better not look back.

"I wanna kiss you." Beck repeated. "But I'm not gonna. Because I respect your decision to be friends first."

And Beck knew that he said the right thing when he was given Jade's rare smile. "Thanks." she said. She was about to say something more, but was interrupted by a loud splat coming from the windshield.

Beck's eyes widened in surprised. "Somebody just egged my car!"

Jade heard the telltale sounds of her brother and his friends laughing. Wrenching the car door open, she hollered, "Jeremy West! You're so dead!"

In the car, Beck's outrage melted into amusement when he realized who was the culprit. He started laughing.

Jade turned back to him. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Beck was quick to reassure her. "Boys will be boys. And he's trying to look out for you. I would have done the same to the bastard that broke my sister's heart. You know, if I had a sister."

"Yeah." Jade smiled. "I better go in."

"I'll walk you to the door."

"You better leave, or my brother might do something worse against you or your car."

Beck was already climbing out the car. "It'll be worth it." he told her as he went out of his car to follow Jade.

Beck was right. The second smile he got from Jade just as she was about to shut the door was worth the three extra eggs on his car.

TBC