A/N: Sucky explanation/life-update at the end for anyone who cares.

Disclaimer: I wonder if I could buy the rights to Victorious now that it's over..

One week later

Jade let out an audible sigh, biting down on her lip. Beck, standing next to her, heard her sigh and gave her hand a squeeze. He offered a watery smile, tears silently making their way down his cheeks.

They were at Grandpa Jack's funeral. Both Beck's family and his aunt and uncle had extended their stay in Canada in order to help fix up the house and stay for the funeral. The funeral had to be delayed because the mortician had to fix up Jack's body and face to be presentable. Jade felt vaguely nauseated at the thought of this; her fascination with gore and death seemed to have greatly diminished in the past week.

She flinched as her arm gave a twinge, reminding her that she, too, had been hurt. Her right arm was now encompassed from wrist to elbow in a black cast that she had to wear for the next two months. Beyond that, the rest of her body was covered in cuts and bruises and was very, very sore. She was having a hard time doing much of anything; Beck had to help her a lot with trivial tasks.

Jade felt a nudge at her side, rousing her from her internal monologue. "Jade," Beck murmured, "you're up." He rubbed her good arm as if offering her good luck and kissed her cheek as she went past him.

Slowly, Jade made her way up to the pulpit of the small church where the funeral was being held. She reached the platform, adjusted the microphone, and caught Beck's eye before allowing her gaze to travel over the mass of people gathered to celebrate Jack's life.

"I know most of you are wondering who I am and why I'm up here," she began. "Well… my name is Jade and I'm the girlfriend of Jack's grandson, Beck. I met Jack for the first time a week and a half ago." She noticed some raised eyebrows and uncomfortable looks from her audience at this. A reasonable reaction, she thought; I barely knew him, so why should I be speaking at his funeral?

"To be honest, Jack and I didn't exactly hit it off at first. We rarely spoke and always clashed when we did. I can be kind of irritable." She smiled at Beck when she said this. He shook his head and smiled back. "We were like this for several days, and I thought we would never get along."

"Then the earthquake happened. I was with Beck during the actual quake, but afterwards we separated to find the rest of the family. I went to find Jack when the aftershock hit. Most of you know that the shock was worse than the actual earthquake," (the audience nodded) "and it brought down the part of the house where Jack and I were. We were trapped together there. He was injured –his legs were caught under part of the wall and he was bleeding a lot- and the family had to work quickly to get us out of there. During that time, he and I talked. It was awkward at first- I barely knew him- but soon I realized that he and I had the same demeanor and sense of humor, and I began to relax around him. We talked about his history and mine."

She bit her lip as she had before, and glanced at Beck, who has watching her intensely from the first row of pews. "I learned a lot from him when we were trapped in that small space. We talked about life, love, and friendships. He made me realize that I make my own future; that I shouldn't just wait for it to happen. He helped me see a friend in a new light. But most importantly... he taught me the value of life, of living for other people. Here he was, dying slowly, and were discussing my inconsequential life problems. He seemed genuinely interested about what I had to say and it seemed like he truly wanted to help me. We barely knew each other, for God's sake; I was just his grandson's girlfriend, and to top it off, I'd been acting terrible towards him in the days before. I never would have thought he would care, but he did, and I'm forever grateful."

"I've been called difficult, mean, and many more things that I won't mention here." Jade started to choke up and cry. "Few people have accepted me for me. Jack... was one of the few. He could be standoffish, but he found the best in people and drew it out of them. He loved everyone, including me, I think... and I loved him, too. He changed me somehow- for the better, I think. He was a great teacher, and great father and grandfather, but most importantly, he was a great man. His legacy will live on in me, in his family, and in everyone who he came in contact with in his many years. I'll never forget what Jack taught me."

By now, everyone was crying. Jade could barely hold back sobs as she walked back to her place in the pew. When she got there, Beck reached out and wrapped in her in his arms, holding her tightly. She allowed herself to cry openly then.

"Your grandfather was an amazing guy," she said after a moment.

"He was." Beck replied, wiping the tears from her face with his thumb. "He only wanted the best for everyone."

"I know."

"He loved everyone, including you."

"I know."

He tipped her chin up. "I love you."

She smiled. "I love you, too."

A/N: BOOM. Done. It's over. My conscience is free! Serious props to anyone who stuck to this story til now. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

To anyone who wants to know, I totally lost inspiration for this story and basically all my writing. Senior year of high school went by, which was fun but stressful, and now I'm a freshman in college- SMCM for the win! I probably will not write much for a while, if ever again. I like writing well enough, but I've lost inspiration and confidence it in. It's harder to find my "flow" now.

Again, thanks to all my readers. I love you guys and I hope this didn't disappoint you. I'm truly sorry for the delay, but I also feeling like anything I would have written before now would have been terribly forced. I guess we'll never know.