"And yes, I'll admit, I am jealous. I'm jealous of every minute you spend with him, of every concerned expression you send his way, of every tear shed, of every glance, every touch, and every thought. I want to rip him to pieces and purge him from your mind and from your heart. But I can't."
― Colleen Houck
~

One Month Later

This thing with Wyatt was moving much faster than Jade had expected. Going into this, she made a plan to keep him at arm's length. She wanted to test the waters before they got serious, but it felt like she was on an express train to Relationshipville. And the scariest part of it all? She didn't mind one bit.

He's easygoing and fun, qualities that Jade had been missing in her life for quite a while. She didn't have to hold her breath in fear of messing the relationship up. Wyatt was probably the only person in Hollywood who wasn't engrossed in the Tori/Beck/Jade endless cycle of drama. He knew what she did and didn't harp on it. And for that, she was thankful.

"Do you want some coffee?" Jade asked, turning around to face Wyatt.

"I've already had two cups."

"So? You can never have enough coffee."

Wyatt laughed, "I've had enough. I'll pass."

"You sure? I happen to make great coffee."

"I'm pretty sure."

A phone rang in the background. Jade stepped away from her coffee maker. "That's me. I'll be back."

She walks out of his sight, down the hall and presumably into her bedroom, leaving him alone.

He turned his head to the right and saw a stack of books on top of a table. The looked mostly like magazines and random novels, but he also saw what looked like a yearbook. He gently pulled it out from under the stack of books.

It was big, bold and colorful. The words 'Hollywood Arts 2011' were in big letters in the center, surrounded by a ton of pictures of various people.

Wyatt flipped to the back of the book to see who signed it. He noticed that all of the people who signed, had written in black pen or black permanent erase marker.

Queen of darkness, don't think that I have forgotten about all the stuff you did to me. I'll get you back next year. Or you can make out with me. Later hot stuff.
Rex

"I love you so much. So, so much. Can I have a lock of your hair?
Sinjin Van Cleef.

Jadey! I'm going to miss you so much! Even though we'll see each other all the time during summer break. Promise me that we'll hang out every day, kay? I'm not going to let Beck hog you all summer. We can have a sleepover at my house or we can go to the beach or we can go visit my brother and his friends at his hospital. He likes when I visit. I love you tons. xoxo
Cat.

Hey, Jade. I'm sorry we didn't get to hang as much as we used to. I have taken the role as Tori's friend. I promise that we'll have some good ole Jade and André time this summer.
André H.

Wyatt noticed that there was an entire chuck of the page blacked out with marker. He could only assume someone that Jade couldn't stand who had written there.

He turned the page and saw that there was almost an entire page taken up.

I've decided to reserve this entire page for myself. I probably won't write on the entire thing, but it's mine so NO ONE else can write on it, just like you told me about my yearbook.We've had such a crazy year together. We've been through fights, break ups, make ups and everything else in between. Even though you are known to overreact at times, and you did, that's one of the things I have grown to love about you. You're wild and passionate about things and people you care about. You put 110 per cent into everything, good or bad. I adore that about you. I know your stubbornness and persistence is going to help you be extremely successful.I'm so glad it's summer. We're going to have a great time this year. I have a lot of things for us to do, babe, whether you want to or not. We can't be holed up in my RV or your room all the time. ;)I love you forever and always, Beck.P.S. Have you seen my red and black flannel? I could've sworn I let you "borrow" it. I want it back, West!

Wyatt closed the book and put it on the coffee table. He knew a bit of Jade and Beck's relationship. From what Jade told him, it was really...intense, especially for such a young relationship. But Jade struck him as an intense person, even though she claims that she is a lot calmer now.

Jade walked back into the living room, her cell phone in hand. "Sorry, that was my mom."

"It's okay. Was it something serious?"

"No." Jade entered her kitchen and turned off her coffee maker. She opened the cabinet to get a coffee mug. "She just suffers from empty nest syndrome."

"I think my mother has that. My dad got her a cat."

"I was thinking of getting my mom a dog." Jade admitted, laughing. "Great minds think alike."

"Apparently."

The doorbell rang a few times. "I'm coming!" Jade yelled. It was a pet peeve of hers when people rang a doorbell more than once. It was obnoxious and annoying.

She walked to her front door and opened it, Beck and Bianca on the other side of the door.

"Hey." Beck greeted.

"Hi. Come in."

Beck stepped inside. "Bianca fell asleep on the car ride home. She's been hanging with me all day."

"Okay." Jade gently got the baby from Beck's arms. She also grabbed her diaper bag. "I'm going to go put her down. Come in for a second."

Beck walked inside the condo and closed the door behind him. Wyatt stood up to greet him. "Hi, I'm Wyatt."

Beck extended his hand and Wyatt gave it a nice, firm shake. "Beck."

"Nice to meet you. I've heard so much about you."

"I don't think I can say the same."

A look of surprise crossed Wyatt's face, but it quickly disappeared. He sat back down. "Oh. That's too bad."

Beck walked into the kitchen and spotted the fresh pot of coffee. He grabbed a mug and helped himself to a cup. "Yeah it is."

Wyatt sat quietly and observed Beck's movements. He didn't really understand the relationship between Beck and Jade, but he thought it was odd that Beck made himself so comfortable in Jade's home. His exes would look at him like he was a crazy person if her ever did that. Maybe sharing a child changed the rules.

Beck made his way to the couch, sitting as far away as possible from Wyatt. "Sorry, was I interrupting anything when I came in?"

"Not really. Jade was making coffee, and she was showing me some of the stuff she's written over the years." Wyatt answered, pointing to the various notebooks on the coffee table.

Beck felt a tiny pang of jealousy. Jade usually kept her personal writings just that, personal. He was the only person who had ever seen them. Not anymore.

"Jade's a great writer." Wyatt offered up, trying to start a conversation, as well as be civil. He knew Beck was giving him the cold shoulder.

Beck nodded, "Yeah she is. She's a great actress and she has an amazing voice, but writing is definitely her thing."

"I didn't know she could sing. I'll have to get her to sing for me."

"Good luck. You can't make Jade do anything."

Wyatt shrugged, "She doesn't seem as...apprehensive when she's around me. Maybe I can get her to do it."

Bam. Second feeling of jealousy in the span of a few minutes. "You guys must be pretty serious."

"I mean, as serious as we can be for two people who been together for about a month."

"Well Beck, I don't know what you did, but Bianca is out like a light. She didn't even move when I took her out of her shoes or coat."

"My mother came over to my house, bearing a ton of gifts for her grandchild, and then we went to the park."

"You've had a busy day."

"And it's not over. I have a dinner to go to with Rayna and one of the casting directors of a movie I'm up for." Beck looked at his watch and stood. "And I should get going."

Jade smiled tightly. She walked over to the front door and opened it for Beck to leave. "Tell Rayna I said hello."

"I will." Beck turned his head slightly and gave Wyatt a small wave. "Nice meeting you."

"You too."

"I'll see you later, Jade."

"Bye."

Beck walked over to Jade. He leaned down and gave her a quickly kiss on the side of her forehead, directly above her temple. Before Jade's brain could even react to what just happened, he was gone.

What the fuck just happened?, Jade thought.

"What are you doing here?" Beck asked, staring at his now ex-best friend. "I don't remember us having plans. In fact, I don't remember talking to you in the past month."

André rolled his eyes, "I came here to talk to you."

"I'm not in the mood André."

"I don't care. Jade said and I quote, "You and Beck need to stop acting like petty high school girls and make up."."

Beck's lips turned up into a tiny smile. That sounded like something Jade would say.

He sighed and gestured to his living room, silently offering André a seat, "You're in my house. You might as well talk."

"I'm only going to say this one time. I'm sorry. You're one of my oldest and closest friends and the last thing I wanted to do was jeopardize that by keeping Jade's secret but-"

"You were stuck between a rock and a hard place." Beck finished.

"Exactly. Look, when I came to see Jade in New York," André sighed, "she was a wreck."

"Jade?" André called, knocking on the door to her apartment. "Are you home?"

"The door's unlocked."

André opened the door and saw Jade sitting in the middle of her living room, crying."What's wrong?" André shut the door behind him and quickly strides towards Jade

.Jade didn't say anything. Her cries only got louder and more hysterical."I'm pregnant." Jade announced.

André sat down next to Jade, "Like, with a baby?"

Jade rolled her eyes, "Yes, like, with a baby.""How?"

"Because I had sex with someone, André! Are you always this dense?"

"When did you find out?"

"I took a test a few days ago and it came back positive, but I didn't believe it, so I took a blood test at the hospital. My doctor called about 15 minutes ago confirming it. She says I'm about a month along."

"I didn't know you were seeing someone."

"I'm not. It was a one time thing."

"You're not a one night stand type of girl."

"Beck's the father." Jade added, wiping the tears off of her face.

"No he isn't."

"Excuse me?"

"He can't be the father."

"Your party last month."

André's eyes widened, "You guys slept together?"

Jade nodded, "We were drinking. Tori wasn't there and I thought...I thought they were over."

"She wasn't feeling well, so she left." André explained.

"I didn't know. And the next morning after it was all said and done, Beck was gone."

"He went back to his house, the one that he shares with Tori, his fiancée."

"I know this now! I didn't know it then, but if I did, the I wouldn't be in this situation right now. I know I fucked up big time, André but I really don't need you to get on my case and beat me up about it."

André's eyes softened. He wrapped his arms around his crying friend. "I'm not going to beat you up about this. I promise."

"I don't know what I'm going to do."

"We're going to get through this. I got your back."

/

"Look I know that you got hurt in the grand scheme of things, but I told her I'd stand by her. And if I had to do it all over again, I probably would."

"I know."

"And I told her repeatedly to tell you. I did not want Bianca to grow up without her father."

"Yeah, Jade and I talked about it not too long ago."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I don't know. I guess I just didn't want to be the first one to make a move."

André laughed, "Jade is right. We are being petty high school girls."

"Yeah." Beck agreed. "And I'm sorry too. I was being stupid."

"So we're over this?"

"Oh yeah."

"Good." André sighed. "I don't know how girls can be in fights for so long. It's exhausting."

"It's because the girls we know are stubborn." Beck replied, all the tension and animosity he felt toward André melting off of him.

"That's true."

Beck walked into his kitchen and grabbed a beer out of his refrigerator. "So have you met Jade's boyfriend?"

"Yeah, I met him last week. We all went to dinner."

"What do you think of him."

"He seems cool. He didn't say or do anything that raised any red flags."

"I met him yesterday."

"And?"

"Their relationship is going really fast."

"Yeah, but Jade really likes the guy."

"It feels like it's too good to be true. When she talks about him, it almost sounds like he isn't real."

"Beck, no one is perfect."

"But he seems as close to perfection as you can get."

"Do you like him?"

Beck knew he couldn't just say no without a good reason. He'd come off as a jealous ass. But he didn't want to like Wyatt.

"The jury is still out on that one." Beck decided.

"If it eases your mind, he treats Jade great. You can tell that he is absolutely smitten with the girl."

It did the complete opposite, in fact. He didn't want this guy to be head over heels for Jade, and he didn't want Jade to be head over heels for him.

"That's good to know."

Beck impatiently kicked on Jade's from door. He had his arms full of Bianca's things and he was going to drop them if Jade didn't open the door.

The door swung open and revealed Wyatt. Beck's face fell. "Oh. It's you."

"Sorry to disappoint." Wyatt stepped aside. "What brings you by?"

None of your fucking business, "I am dropping off things for Bianca."

"She's not here." Wyatt informed him.

"I know. She's staying with my parents until tomorrow evening."

"Jade's not here either."

Beck put the toys down on the coffee table, "I don't care."

"You sure about that?"

Beck turned around, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Beck I'm not stupid." Wyatt started.

"I never said you were."

"So lets not insult my intelligence during this conversation, okay?"

Beck folded his arms across his chest, "What are you talking about?"

"It's weird that you and Jade have no boundaries. You call each other at odd hours of the day, you stop by randomly-"

"I don't stop by randomly, okay. We have a daughter and my visits here always have something to do with her."

"You like to linger around. Make yourself coffee, make small talk, kissing her in front of me. It's grossly inappropriate. She's with me. It needs to stop."

"Wyatt, listen to me carefully." Beck ordered, gently, as if he were talking to a child. "Jade and I have nothing going on."

"Good."

"Wyatt it's clear that you have some hard feelings towards me."

"Yeah because it's clear that you have feelings for my girlfriend."

"Look, you don't know a thing about me. You barely know Jade, and you most certainly don't know our history."

"I'm sorry, did you just say history? I think that was the operative word. You're over. Whatever you two had in high school is now long gone."

Beck smirked, "If what we had was "history", you wouldn't be so shaken up by my presence, Wyatt."

"Leave Jade alone."

"You're so insecure." Beck noted. "I hope you've enjoyed your relationship, because you and Jade won't last much longer."

"We're going to last. Jade really likes me and I really like her. She says I'm so different from you. And I'm glad because the things she's told me about you are kind of harsh. Why don't you just walk away? You had your chance, a few chances actually, and you blew it. So let it go."

Beck took a step closer to Wyatt, "I wanted to like you because I thought I was being biased, but I just really don't like you."

"The feeling is more than mutual."

"And Jade is going to realize that this is ridiculous. You're not the guy that she wants."

"And you are?"

Beck shrugged, "Maybe. Thanks for wasting my time with this conversation, Wyatt."

Beer? Check. Comfortable couch? Check. Mindless television? Check. Being really bored on a Saturday night? Double check.

While Jade was off doing God knows what with her God awful boyfriend, he was at home watching crappy reality television, alone. And it sucked big time. If this is what jealousy felt like, he'd have to apologize to Jade for all those years that they were together.

His doorbell rang once. He looked over his couch towards the door, "Just a second."

Beck rolled off of his couch and trudged to the door. He looked through the peephole and saw Jade. He looked at his watch. It was 11:49 at night. What was she doing at his house so late at night?

Beck pulled the door open and before he could even open his mouth to greet Jade, he felt the palm of her hand connect with his face in a cold, hard slap.

He grabbed his stinging left cheek. "Jade! What the hell is your problem?"

Jade rushed into his house, "I leave my condo for 20 minutes to get Chinese takeout and in that very short amount of time, you manage to have a fight with Wyatt?"

Beck sighed and closed the door, "Jade-"

"What the hell were you thinking?"

"He started it."

"Is that your defense? Are you a 7 year old girl?"

"I was dropping off the stuff my mom bought for Bianca, minding my own business. He said something, I replied, and it was like a domino effect."

"He said that you told him that we wouldn't last long."

"I said that." Beck admitted.

"What possessed you to say something like that?"

"It was the truth."

"You've been acting so weird lately. What's wrong with you?"

"I haven't been acting weird." Beck argued.

"Yes you have. Now I don't know what's wrong with you, but you need to stop it."

"I just don't want you with him."

"Why not? Nothing is wrong with him."

"Jade, let it go."

"No. I'm not going to let it go. You don't like Wyatt and he hasn't done anything for you to-"

"He isn't me."

Jade was stunned into silence. She shook her head vigorously, refusing to believe what she just heard. She had to be imagining it.

"What?" Was all Jade could muster up at the moment.

"I don't like him because he isn't me, and you're with him."

"No." Beck took a step closer to Jade, and she pushed him away. "No! You don't get to say stuff like that to me."

"You wanted the truth, right? There's your truth."

Jade didn't want this. She wasn't expecting this. "How dare you! You don't just get to decide that you want me back out of the blue."

"Jade-"

"I like Wyatt. He is like a breath of fresh air. He doesn't care about my past, he genuinely likes Bianca." Jade listed. "He's just a good guy."

Beck shook his head, "You're not in love with him."

"We just started dating! And who says I'm in love with you? I've grown up. I'm not 17 anymore, I've moved on from you."

"Bianca wouldn't be here today because she is living proof that we haven't moved on from each other. You and I are not done with each other."

"That was 17 months ago. Like I said before, I've moved on. I'm not hung up on you anymore. You're too late. You should've did this a long time ago. You picked Tori. When you woke up that morning and decided to go home to her, you made it blatantly clear that you picked her. You have just had some sort of grand epiphany and decided that you wanted me back. I am not going to drop everything because Beck Oliver made a choice."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry that it took me so long to say something and come to my sense, but I can't stand to see you with some other guy. I can't stand knowing you're with someone else."

"Too fucking bad." Jade threw her hands up in the air. "You think it was easy knowing that you were with Vega? It felt like I was getting punched in the stomach every time I saw you with her, every time I saw a magazine with you two on the cover, every time you were on television. But I sucked it up. I didn't go to Tori and act like a complete ass.

"Give me one good reason as to why you and Wyatt should be together."

"I don't owe you an explanation, you arrogant asshole."

"Humor me."

"I feel comfortable around him. I don't feel the need to tread lightly in fear of being dumped."

"You don't feel comfortable around me?" Beck asked, taking another step towards Jade. She took two back. They repeated the process until Jade was trapped in between Beck and his couch.

"No. I feel vulnerable around you."

"Vulnerability is a good thing."

"You're so manipulative. Only you would wait until I was with someone else to pull this stunt. Only you would pull the rug out from under me and do this." A tear fell from her eye, which she angrily wiped away. "It's not fair."

"Jade it's not fair that you're lying to yourself."

"I'm not lying to myself."

"How long are you going to do this? Are you going to convince yourself that you want this guy?"

"You pompous asshole. Don't assume that you are the only man on earth that I could ever be happy with."

Beck reached down and cupped Jade's face with his hands. He wiped her eye with the pad of his thumb. "I'm not assuming anything. There is only one person that you are meant to be with. I'm that person."

"You need to stop."

"What if I don't want to stop?"

"You have to."

"Do you want me to?"

Jade spent years trying to put an emotional wall between Beck and her heart. He got to her once before, but she was not going to let it happen again. "I can't do this with you."

"Can't or won't?"

"I can't." Jade leaned forward so her head was pressed against Beck's chest. "You have caused enough emotional damage and I don't need any more."

"I'm not trying to emotionally damage you. We're not teenagers, we're not to drunk people having sex in a hotel room, I'm not in a relationship. We're just Beck and Jade."

"I'm in a relationship."

"So?"

Jade removed Beck's hands from her face and slid away him. "I need to go."

"Don't."

She ignored Beck and got to the door with lightning speed. "Don't call me unless it has something to do with Bianca."

Before Beck could even protest, Jade was gone. And even though the truth was out, things were more fucked up than ever.