Oh my gosh you guys have no idea how much your support means to me! I'm so thankful that so many of you are liking this story, and putting up with all my craziness. Also, thank you to those of you who offered your condolences regarding my friend. Liz Gillies (at least from what I know about her) reminds me a lot of my friend-they're both old souls. Ok, sadness time is over, but I don't have anything else to say. I tried to make this shorter than usual so those of you who are actually reading it can get onto the story quicker. :)

Before we get to the main fun, we've gotta have a little pre-fun, so now it's SHOUT OUT TIME!

Большое спасибо (Going Russian this time) to: Victoriousjadefan, Dawnmist of RiverClan, Kaylee, maggie, Bade, tikeshipper032, xFabinao, the Guest, and DrizzyJ. :D

Disclaimer: Still wish I did, but as of today I do not own either TheProposal or Victorious

Oh, one last thing before we get to the good stuff...I am now registered as a Beta! So if you or anyone you know is looking for one, I'm available. :)

I'm done now...enjoy what you came for...

Chapter 14

The group made their way into Shellfish for Life only moderately late, but that was okay because it was Betty's party, so the fun didn't start until she got there anyway. In Jade's opinion, the restaurant was actually bigger than what Betty had originally described to her, as there were enough tables and chairs to seat around 100 people. Even though the Olivers owned more than half of the town, they could only manage to get a small section secluded just for them, as opposed to the whole restaurant. This was because it was seafood season, and that was the only seafood restaurant in town.

After being shown to the table, Jade saw that there were more than quite a few people she recognized from the gathering the previous night at Beck's family's house. Of course the only ones around her age were Beck, Andre, Cat, and Violet, but she had a feeling that it was going to be a very entertaining and memorable evening nonetheless.

Jade never believed in anyone having psychic abilities, but she has always taken pride in her ability to read most people and situations quite easily. Her suspicion of an entertaining and memorable evening was proven correct before she and Beck had even taken their seats.

As soon Betty was in sight, one of the older gentleman at the table stood up and enthusiastically greeted her with either an affectionate (according to Jade and basically everyone else at the table) or highly inappropriate (according to Beck) public display-he kissed her right on the lips.

After separating, the man told Betty, "Happy birthday my dear."

"Why thank you Jack. I'll accept your kiss for now, but I expect to get my real present later." The remark was accompanied by a wink, and everyone (minus Beck) broke out in varying degrees of laughter.

"Nana! What did I tell you about TMI huh? Ugh, I need to get back to California before something happens that not even therapy will fix." With that said, Beck gave an exaggerated shudder.

"Oh relax. Your grandmother is 90 so let her enjoy what life she has left." Jade whispered the words in Beck's ear. Then, on impulse, gave him a peck on the cheek.

Beck was left slightly dazed, and therefore missed the words Betty spoke next.

"Beckett Oliver, you sit down. This is my party and I will do what I want. You just better hope you can even see that gorgeous woman on your arm when you get to be my age." More laughter followed Betty's words.

Beck, still on cloud nine from Jade willingly kissing him, broke out of his stupor at the sound. Not realizing why they were all laughing, he turned to Jade and managed to just catch sight of a blush on her cheek before she grabbed her chair to sit down. Continuing with his and Andre's plan, Beck called upon everything he had ever learned about being a gentleman, and politely removed Jade's hands from her chair so he could pull it out for her.

Jade, only mildly surprised, mumbled a 'thanks' before taking her seat.

Beck then took his seat next to her on her left. They were seated across the table from Andre, Cat, and Violet (with Violet being directly across from Beck, Andre to her left-directly across from Jade, and Cat to Andre's left). Beck caught sight of Andre's questioning look, and mouthed 'later' before grabbing his menu to give himself something to look at so he wouldn't have to see what was going on at Betty's end of the table.

/

Much to Jade's dismay, after the initial kiss from Betty's boyfriend Jack and the accompanying reaction from Beck, nothing exciting or entertaining had happened since. She had mostly just been listening to the conversations around her, chiming in with her own comments when necessary. It wasn't until the party was halfway through their dinner when things started to get interesting.

It started out innocently enough, with Violet deciding that now was the perfect time to learn more about Beck and Jade's past, since Jade wouldn't divulge anything earlier at the bar.

"So, Beck." Beck had been making small talk with his neighbor, but had just finished right before Violet gained his attention. At Beck's questioning eyebrow Violet continued. "I was talking with Jade earlier, and I asked her how the two of you met, but unfortunately we ran out of time before she could answer." She paused to give Jade a knowing look, but Jade simply smirked at her in reply. "As I was saying, Jade wouldn't tell me anything, so I decided to ask Cat while we were waiting for you guys to get here. She told me how you met, but not about how you first got together."

"CAT!" Jade's outburst caused conversations to pause not just at their table, but across the whole restaurant. Cat dropped her fork with a squeak, then turned and buried her face in Andre's shoulder.

Looking around and realizing that everyone in the place was currently staring at their table, Beck decided to speak up. "It's okay folks. Everyone just go back to enjoying your food." After a few skeptical looks and undecipherable mutterings, people went back to whatever they were doing before Jade's yell. At their table, however, everyone continued to stare at Jade.

Jade didn't know why, because as far as her angry outbursts went, that one was actually on the lower end of the scale.

It didn't take long for Cat to recover because Andre had wrapped his arm around her and whispered calming words into her ear. She finally composed herself enough to respond to Jade's yell, but was still attached to Andre's side. "Whaty?" She asked it so innocently, like she had no idea exactly why Jade had yelled.

"Why would you tell Violet about my personal life?" Jade spoke calmly, but not the deceptively calm tone she used when she was still angry, so Cat knew that it was safe to leave Andre's embrace.

She sat up straighter and said, "I'm sorry Jadey. I told her that was your business, but then she gave me candy, and you know I can't say no to candy!"

Jade turned to glare at Violet. "What?! How dare you take advantage of Cat. How did you know candy would make her talk anyway?"

To Jade, Violet replied, "I didn't know it would make her talk. I just knew that she liked candy because she mentioned it earlier." To Cat, she said, "I'm sorry Cat. I didn't mean to put you in that position."

"It's okay. I forgive you Violet." Seeing that Cat was back to her normal bubbly self, and that the drama was pretty much over, everyone besides the five youngest adults at the table went back to what he or she was doing before the disruption.

"Yeah well I don't forgive you. My personal life is none of your business, so stay out of it." Jade wasn't as mad as her words were portraying because she knew that Cat didn't know anything about her relationship with Beck, but she didn't want Violet to interrogate the poor girl any longer.

Beck finally chose that moment to step into the girl's conversation. Placing an inconspicuous hand on Jade's leg, just above her knee and rubbing it in slow circles with his thumb, he turned to her saying, "Babe calm down. Violet didn't mean to cause any harm. Now she apologized to Cat, so just let it go and let's enjoy the rest of the evening. Besides, we're here for Nana's birthday, so please try not to take any more of the focus off of her because I would really like the rest of my time in Irricana to be pleasant."

The feel of his hand on her leg had instantly calmed her down more than his words ever could. Jade was hypnotized not only by his hand's movements, but also by the tone in which he was speaking. This caused her to only catch sporadic words of what Beck was saying. What she did hear, however, brought a serene smile to her face. She didn't say anything in response to Beck's comments, merely picked up her fork and continued eating as if nothing out of the ordinary had even occurred.

Beck, seeing that Jade wasn't going to cause any more attention to be directed at their little group, began to retract his hand from its comfortable position. As soon as he had lost contact with the fabric of her dress his hand felt cold. He didn't have any time to be sad because he immediately felt Jade's hand within his own. He hadn't even noticed she'd dropped it down from the table.

Andre, however, had noticed. He gave the couple across from him a sneaky smile, although neither of them were looking in his direction. He then proceeded to turn to Cat and whispered "I love you" into her ear.

Cat replied in kind before giving him a sweet kiss on the lips.

/

Once the calm atmosphere resettled around the table, it lasted throughout the rest of the meal. After he finished, Beck sat back in his chair, stomach full, and put the arm that had previously been holding Jade's hand, around her shoulders. In response, Jade leaned closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder, a content smile on her face. Beck wished nothing more than to just stay in that moment forever, but unfortunately the night still held many twists and turns.

As people were making small talk waiting on Betty's cake to be delivered, Violet's grandmother chose to finally speak to Beck. He had tried to say hello to her earlier, since he hadn't seen her at the party the night before, but she either didn't hear him (very likely) or was just ignoring him, (for reasons unknown) so he hadn't made a second attempt.

"So Beckett, (she was the only person who refused to ever call him Beck) how long have you been in town?"

Violet had no idea where her grandmother was going with the conversation, but she decided that she would let it play out for now and interfere if necessary.

Beck, who had been subconsciously playing with loose tendrils of Jade's hair and occasionally rubbing her bare shoulder, turned his head towards Violet's grandmother to answer her question. "We just got in yesterday. I'm sorry I didn't see you last night at my parent's house."

"Oh that's because I wasn't there dear. Violet told me she was going to see you, and I didn't want to get in the way of the two of you making plans for your wedding."

Everyone within hearing distance of their conversation began shifting uncomfortably, but said nothing. Beck raised a questioning eyebrow towards Violet, and Jade suddenly bolted upright with the start of a burning fire raging in her eyes. Beck's arm was knocked off by Jade's movement, so he placed it on the back of her chair instead.

Inside Violet was panicking. She had no idea what to say because she never told her grandmother about the end of her relationship with Beck. She hated to admit it, but she honestly didn't think that the older woman would live long enough for it to become an issue. Violet knew she had to say something soon, otherwise it appeared that Jade would once again cause a scene, and she didn't think it would be as mild as the last one.

"Um Grandma Ruth, Beck and I aren't actually together anymore. We broke up a while ago, and the woman sitting next to him is his new fiancee, Jade." Violet was happy to discover that it didn't hurt to admit that another woman currently owned Beck's heart.

"Nonsense Violet. You and Beck are made for each other, and it would make this old woman's heart happy to see you two get married before I die."

As if the tension around the table wasn't thick before, it was practically impenetrable after Ruth's statement. Jade appeared to want to murder someone, but was (in Beck's opinion) doing a great job of reigning it in.

Violet looked pleadingly at Beck. He let out a sigh before linking his hand with Jade's and bringing them up to rest on the table for Ruth to see.

"I'm sorry you didn't know Ruth, but it's true. I am engaged to Jade, (he lifted their joined hands for emphasis) not Violet."

Unfortunately for Beck, he happened to be holding Jade's left hand. Now Ruth may be old, but there was hardly anything wrong with her eyesight, and she zeroed in on their linked hands with a predator's gaze.

"I may be a traditionalist, but I don't see a ring on that hand. So I'm sorry Beckett, but I just don't believe that you two are engaged."

The fire in Jade's eyes was becoming a blazing inferno with every word that came out of Ruth's mouth. She was on the verge of telling the old hag exactly what she thought of the woman's opinion, and where that opinion could be shoved, but Beck felt the extra strength with which she was gripping his hand, and as if he had done it thousands of times before, lifted their hands to his lips and kissed the back of Jade's. As had become her habit lately whenever Beck did anything of that nature, Jade visibly deflated and stopped trying to break his bones.

"I can completely understand your hesitation to accept our news Ruth, but actually Jade's ring is at the jewelers back in California. It's getting re-sized because I was just in such a rush to propose that I wanted to give her the ring right away, even if it was too big."

Jade, knowing how good of an actor Beck is, was still surprised at the lie that rolled so easily off of his tongue. She was brought back to the conversation, and consequently her anger, with Ruth's next words.

"True as that may be, I believe this news is just an act for you to make my dear Violet jealous. You're trying to distract yourself from your love for her by finding the woman who is her exact opposite, and somehow getting her to agree to go along with your ruse. Now give up this charade and come sit over here next to Violet, where you belong."

Unfortunately for the small group in the immediate vicinity of the conversation, Ruth's voice had risen on the last words, and suddenly the whole restaurant once again became interested in what was being said.

Ripping her hand away, and standing up so suddenly that Beck didn't even have time to register the loss of physical contact, Jade threw her arms up in the air. "That's it! I've had just about enough of your babbling. Listen here Ruth. Beck loves me. He and I are getting married, and there's no chance whatsoever that he and your precious Violet will get back together." Turning to Betty, "I'm so sorry Betty. I tried to be nice and not ruin your party any more, but I just couldn't sit here and continue to let her belittle my relationship with your grandson." Turning back to Beck, "I'm not sorry for what I said, so now the call is yours. I'm going to walk out that door and you can either choose to follow me, or you can agree with what she said by staying here." Seeing that Cat wanted to get up and follow, Jade motioned to her to stay seated, then spun on her heel and strode confidently out of the restaurant.

(So once again I was going to leave you guys hanging, but I've been in such a good mood lately with these new episodes that I just had to keep going with this chapter. You're welcome.)

/

Still too stunned by what had just been said, Beck didn't follow after Jade right away. He was brought back to his surroundings at the sound of arguing voices.

He could specifically make out Ruth's, "I say let her leave. She knows you'll be happier with my Violet anyway."

This was followed by Violet's loud, "Grandma! Please just stop talking because you're not helping anything!"

Then out of nowhere came Craig saying, "I agree with Ruth. You know your relationship with Jade wasn't the best thing for you son. It's better this way."

Beck was beginning to get whiplash from trying to pay attention to what everyone at the table was saying.

Andre, while consoling a whimpering Cat, (who was upset because wouldn't let her go outside) tried not to jostle her too much as he angrily snapped his fingers in Beck's face in order to get his best friend's attention.

"Dude what the hell are you still sitting here for? There is no choice! Go after Jade!"

Andre's words were just the kick in the butt Beck needed. He sprung up so fast that the chair clattered noisily to the ground, effectively stopping all conversation around him. Beck then turned and made his way out of the restaurant as fast as he could, hoping that Jade hadn't gone too far.

Jade, meanwhile, had been out front pacing back and forth, steadily working herself up into quite a fit from the moment she stepped outside.

"Perché non mi segui? Ritiene che in realtà d'accordo con quello che bitty vecchio stava dicendo. Ho pensato che, forse, abbiamo iniziato ad arrivare da qualche parte ... soprattutto oggi?" (Translation: "Why didn't he follow me? Does he actually agree with what that old bitty was saying? I thought, maybe, we were starting to get somewhere...especially today."). Jade, realizing where her thoughts were beginning to take her, started to berate herself. "Aspetta un attimo. Perché sto ancora in piedi qui in attesa su di lui come un patetico angst-driven eroina?" ("Wait a minute. Why am I still standing here waiting on him like some pathetic angst-driven heroine?").

Though every once in a while people would give her weird looks, no one dared to go near the enraged Italian. No one, that is, except one Beck Oliver. Jade had turned to walk away, cursing Beck to hell and back, but had only taken a few steps before Beck caught up with her. He knew from experience that if he grabbed her arm and turned her around, she would immediately start throwing punches...and maybe even a kick or two. So instead, he went up behind her, wrapped both of his arms around her midsection, effectively trapping her arms against her body, and hugged her tightly to him.

Jade instantly began fighting against what she thought was an attacker, until the words Beck was speaking penetrated through the anger-induced haze that was floating around her brain.

"Jade...Jade...relax. It's just me, Beck. I'm not trying to hurt you." Seeing that Jade had begun calming down as he spoke, Beck figured it was safe to release her. Unfortunately, he was wrong.

As soon as Jade was free she spun around and began hitting and yelling at Beck. "You jackass! What the hell took you so long to get out here? I was starting to think that you weren't coming at all, then that thought just made me all the more pissed off at you, and then-"

Jade was abruptly cut off by Beck's lips pressing urgently against hers. He had finally gotten ahold of her flailing arms, and pinned them in between their bodies as they kissed. Too stunned to do anything, Jade simply stood there and let Beck take control. Just as he started to pull away, however, Jade regained control of her senses and chased after him with her own lips.

Beck was ecstatic that Jade initiated the second kiss. He let go of her wrists to wrap his own arms around her waist again, holding her as closely as he dared.

Instead of pushing him away, as was her original intention, Jade instead found herself sliding her hands up Beck's chest, then crossing her arms behind his neck to bring herself even closer to his body.

So caught up in their make-out session, neither Jade nor Beck even realized Andre and Cat were standing there until Cat couldn't stay quiet any longer and squealed...loudly.

"EEEEEEEEEEK! Oh my gosh Jadey, you and Beck are so cute! Now you're not mad anymore, right?"

Breaking out of their little moment, but still holding onto one another, Beck and Jade turned to look at the intruders. Jade broke the silence. "To be honest Cat, yeah I am still a little mad, but it was getting better until you guys decided to INTERRUPT!"

"Jade, calm down." Beck rubbed slow, small circles on Jade's lower back until her breathing became normal again. Turning himself to look at the other couple Beck said, "Guys I think it might be better if Jade and I go back to the house so we can sort out some things." Looking at Andre, but pointedly ignoring the knowing expression on his best friend's face, "Dre, do you mind taking us home in the boat then bringing it back here so my family can get use it later?"

Proud of himself for keeping his laughter in check Andre just said, "Sure man. I can do that." Turning to face Cat, "Cat, baby, do you mind staying here and telling Beck's family what's going on while I'm gone? I promise to come back as soon as possible."

"Kay kay. Bye Beck. Bye Jade. I'll see you tomorrow right?"

"Yes Cat, we'll see you tomorrow." Beck had been the one to respond seeing as how Jade had leaned her head on his chest after he calmed her down, and had been too content to move it since then.

After kissing Andre goodbye, Cat turned and skipped back into the restaurant.

Beck noticed there was a chill in the air, so he took off the coat he was still wearing and wrapped it around Jade's shoulders. She snuggled happily into it, then linked her arm through Beck's while learning against his side as the three of them made their way down to the boat, with Beck and Andre subtly fist bumping each other on the success of their plan.

A/N: Oooh things are getting spicy. ;-). Hope you liked it! That's all for now, so until next time Salukes (yay Flemish) my saintly seagulls :D