Chapter 14... the one I THINK you've all been waiting for. No, it's not the final chapter... there's still a couple more that I feel I need to write, but, oh, you'll see when you finish the chapter! Again, thank you, thank you, thank you for all the reviews! Wow, they make me so happy, I'm telling the truth when I say that I absolutely ADORE reading your lovely reviews. Hmm. Oh, there was one I felt like I had to reply to - Funnechick: I know I write in quite a British style because, well, I AM British. The American thing was always a big worry of mine, but I will definitely try my hardest to fix it in the future. Thanks for your review, much appreciated!
All the other reviews were wonderful too, and I love all of you for being so positive and supportive about my story. Honestly, without you lot there's no WAY I'd have considered writing more of this story. Anyway, here it is. Enjoy, review... I'm sure you get the picture by now!

Jade's POV

Everyone thinks I'm happy with Beck now; everyone thinks I'm tightening my clutch to my boyfriend and that I'm not letting go. Truth us, I'm not letting go, but he is.

He likes Tori. Every time he looks away, I know he's looking for her. Every time he looks at me, I know he wishes I was her. Every time he leaves me, I know he's thinking about her. It hurts. I want him to be happy, of course I do, but I want him to be happy with me.

I can't just give him to her. It's what she's wanted all along, but the reason I don't want to give him up isn't just because I don't want Tori to have him. It's because I want him. No, I need him. Beck's always been a rock; supportive and always there. But now? Now he'd much rather be anywhere else.

To anyone else, we'd look like the perfect couple. We kiss, we hug, we hold hands. It looks normal to outsiders. In reality, our conversation is flat and the kisses and hugs are fake. They just don't work when there's only one side in it. And Beck really isn't in this relationship at all anymore.

I cried yesterday. Me. Of all people, I actually broke down. Nobody saw me, and nobody ever will, but liquid actually fell from my eyes. The grip I have of Beck is just hurting him like it always has. I don't want to see him hurt anymore, but I can't tell him it's over. I just can't, because I feel like if I ignore it, it might just turn out ok. I want to go back to how we were a couple of months ago. Beck always had a way of reassuring me that everything would turn out ok, but lately the flat communication between us showed no signs of a bright future. This needed sorting. Now.

I thumped hard on his RV. He answered in his sweat pants and no top. His hair was sticking up in several places and the huge bags tattooed under his beautiful chestnut eyes resembled purple grapes. He clearly hadn't slept much at all.

He didn't kiss me. He half-smiled but it didn't mean anything anymore. I flopped down onto his bed and looked at him. He sat on the floor. Ouch.

"Beck, what am I doing to you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Look at you!"

"Wow, stop with the compliments, Jade, my ego's going through the roof," he said sarcastically. I winced at his bitterness. He noticed and apologized. I struggled from the bed and clutched his arms, looking up at him. He looked straight ahead like a coward, but that didn't prevent me from seeing him as a hero.

"Stop apologizing, Beck. Just… fix us. Please, fix us."

He shook his head. The look of sadness on his face made me hate myself for making him like this. He looked so weak and lifeless. He'd lost his spark, and I had to deal with the fact that it was me who'd stolen it from him. I'd drained his charisma. His truly charming voice no longer had any variation to it; it was now flat and strained, like talking to me was more like a chore. I'd broken him slowly, over the duration of two years, but Beck was definitely getting his revenge. Trouble is, he was far too sweet to even realize what he was doing.

"Jade, there's nothing I want more than to fix us. I'd go back to the point where are relationship began to crumble, but we were destined to fall apart from the start. You can't fix what's already broken, can you?"

"That's the idea of fixing something," I pointed out. "But you make it better. We can survive this – you know we can! We're Beck&Jade."

My eyes brimmed. Beck looked shocked to see tears streaming down my face. He looked horrified that he'd caused me to crack, but his eyes and body remained stiff. I'd always been able to change Beck's mind, always, but something told me that he was spiralling out of control… beyond my control.

"Jade, I'm so, so sorry."

"Let's try again. We could start over. Please?" I begged, something which I swore I would never do. But that's when I realized that fighting for Beck was definitely more important than a silly ritual. Beck was more important than anything I'd ever owned. "You love me. I know you do."

He took a deep breath and bit his lip. His eyes kept flickering as his brain clearly pondered on what was the right answer to make this situation better, to make it all okay again like Beck always did. Then he whispered so quietly I couldn't make out what he'd said. I had to make him repeat it, but I really wish I hadn't.

"I did once."

My head was spinning as I gripped Beck's arms tighter. This was really it? It couldn't be.

"What about everything you ever said to me?" I snapped, my true exterior exposing itself and yanking me out of my fragile state. "You don't just fall out of love that easily!"

"No, you're right Jade, you don't just fall out of love that easily. But you never loved me."

I stared at him with my mouth wide open, not quite able to believe what he had just said to me. I never loved him? We broke up so I got him a dog. Albeit a dog that resulted in his Dad being taken to hospital, but it surely proved that I loved him. It must have done, because he took me back.

"Beck Oliver, you are everything to me. I feel sick thinking that this moment will be our last memory together. Why are you giving up so easily? In it forever, that's what you said to me when we first starting dating. Do you remember? You told me you'd never let me go because you saw me differently to everybody else. You saw me – and you still fell in love with me."

"Don't," he murmured, his eyes filled with tears too. My head throbbed with pain as I watched him wander about the room silently before stopping in front of me again. He stared right into my eyes with a look I didn't recognize. Sadness? Regret? Worry? He finally spoke. "I don't doubt any of that. I love the way you go into moods with me for the slightest little thing, I love the way you get jealous when you're frightened of losing me, I love the fact that I was the only boy you let anywhere near you, I love that you needed me and nobody else, I love how sarcastically funny you are, I love how we've come so far together…"

I interrupted him by pressing my lips to his. It was so unpredictable that he was shocked when I pulled away after the tiniest second. His lips tasted the same as they always did. Beck was home to me. Surely he felt it too? He didn't look pleased like I thought he would have done. I thought that kissing him might have proved how much I wanted him, how much we needed to get it together and sort ourselves out.

"But that's not enough anymore."

Those words ripped through me like a cold, icy blade. I swallowed the lump in my throat as Beck continued to speak, not clocking my appalled expression.

"There were always barriers stopping me from loving you, Jade, your constant need to win our arguments and the way you made it your goal to catch Tori at something she wasn't even doing – it all pushed me away. You couldn't see it though; you were two wrapped up in your own jealous ways. I don't think you're selfish but you were looking out for yourself throughout our whole relationship. You're frightened to death of getting hurt, and I totally get that, but you've hurt me for two years. Every time we've hit a rocky patch in our relationship it's been me that pulled us through it. But not anymore," he swallowed. "I can't do this anymore. It's been long enough… I'm so sorry, but I think it's time to throw in the towel."

I felt as though I'd been stung by a thousand nettles. It sounds crazy, but I never knew I could feel this much. I'd never been so mad before, especially not with Beck. "Throw in the towel? That's all that symbolizes our relationship to you?"

"Of course it's not. When I think of us, Jade, I don't think of all the unhappy memories. I do my best to only look at the nice ones – watching the sunset on the beach at least once a month, falling asleep cuddled up whilst watching a movie in my RV, dates like the last one had with the candles…"

His voice trailed off as I snarled, "Oh, so that was a pity date?"

"No. That was my last attempt to fix things."

"And Vega ruined it all. Man, I'm going to kill her."

Beck looked as if he was about to tear his hair out. He clutched his head and screamed.

"Listen to yourself, Jade, Tori hasn't ruined anything. It was all you… all us, I mean. It's the end of the road; the end of you and I forever. I loved you Jade, I swear I did, but it was like you never wanted me."

"Beck, I want you to tell me honestly," I whispered. This was the only thing I wanted to know, the only thing I needed to know. "Is there somebody else?"

His eyes stayed glued to the floor. I'd have slept better if he'd have lied to me, but he didn't. He didn't even tell me the truth; he just stared at the ground as if I hadn't said anything. I hit him repeatedly before fleeing his RV, feeling as though I was choking. We'd once been so… connected. He was mine and I was his. I told him everything, well, almost everything. But that was good enough for him. He respected my mysteriousness. He liked it. It made it able for him to explore me, get closer, reach his own conclusions on what exactly I wanted from life, from school, from him. He knew the real me, the hidden version. Everybody has their secrets, but Beck discovered the majority of mine in a way that I could only label as magical. He was magical; together we were magic. We were polar opposites – Beck with his pure, good heart and me with my, well, ignorant nature.

I always liked to assume that I had the upper-hand in our relationship. It was the most important role; I was certain that you needed it to stay strong and avoid being hurt. I was wrong. Although I'm reluctant to admit it, Beck definitely had the upper-hand – he controlled my deviousness and cunningly turned my negative emotions into loving him. All my energy went into loving him, I might not have shown it, but it honestly did. However, despite being the 'boss', Beck got hurt. It didn't matter how much power he had, and boy, did he have power. I broke him down, I wore him out, and if it was anybody else then I'd have been thrilled. But it wasn't just anyone, Beck wasn't just anyone. He was the only one.

I'd taken nothing that Beck said on board. The thought of her crawled under my skin and irritated me like nobody else ever had. The thought of them made me want to erupt like a volcano. I knew exactly who was to blame for the breaking of my relationship. Tori Vega.