I hope you're doing well.

Beck's POV

"What if...I suddenly grew two feet taller?" Jade asked, her voice light with ease. "And I towered over you."

"I'd have to find some sensible heels," I answered, making her giggle. She turned her head a bit to look at me where I sat behind her.

"You really wouldn't mind if I was taller?" She questioned, stretching her legs out in front of us for effect.

"If you recall," I started answering while my fingertips ran over her bare thigh gently beneath the water of the bathtub we sat in. "You were taller than me when we met."

"Good point," She accepted and leaned back into me.

The warm water swished as she settled back in and sighed. The tub of her father's penthouse was big enough for at least four people to sit comfortably, but we huddled together on one end; resigning to playing the ongoing game we always seemed to come back to.

"Okay," Jade spoke up again. "Would you still love me if...I had the hiccups for the rest of my life."

"What?" I laughed out loud; where did she come up with this stuff?

"You heard me."

"Yeah, I guess," I nodded, trying to picture a life of endless hiccups.

"You wouldn't get annoyed?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?!" She sprang up again and looked back at me, the crease between her eyebrow defined with her upset expression.

"I mean, no," I backpedalled. "No, of course not. I'd still love you and never be annoyed." She glared at me for a few moments, not buying it. "Hey, you stole my turn."

"You're just trying to change the subject," She accused.

"Yeah, but I still didn't get a turn," I shrugged and thought fast. "Would you still love me if I asked if I could kiss you every time I wanted to kiss you?"

"Ugh!" She rolled her eyes and looked disgusted.

"Is that a no?" I straightened up a bit wondering if this game finally had a winner.

"Every time?" She double checked and I nodded. After a few moments deliberation and a heavy sigh she said, "Yes."

"Can I kiss you?" I asked with a smirk, making her roll her eyes again and make retching sounds.

"No," She answered and pulled away when I leaned in.

"Come on, I asked nicely!" I started laughing when she squirmed out of my grasp, trying to get away from me.

"Ew, Beck, get off me," She yelled at me, but was still smiling when I pulled her back to me. "There's nothing romantic about asking permission," She informed me as I held her close to my chest, the water still swishing around us from the struggle.

"Good to know," I nodded then leaned in towards her lips, feeling her settle down the closer I got. She gave me an aggravated groan when I kissed her neck instead of her lips, always impatient. Her skin was wet beneath my lips, and shivered when I trailed down her collarbone. If I ever had to relive a day like in the movie Groundhog Day, today would be it.

Jade's POV

"If we were a fairytale, which do you think we'd be?" I asked from my seat on the countertop.

"Like the Disney kind?" Beck clarified, not turning away from the stove and his work there.

"Yeah," I nodded and kicked my feet around impatiently. In an effort to be mature, he'd decided to make us a real dinner, but it was taking too long in my opinion.

"Hmm, maybe Snow White?" He turned to check my reaction as he answered. He looked so cute standing in the kitchen, wearing his pajama bottoms and a muscle shirt.

"Why?" I didn't hide my distaste.

"Have you looked in the mirror?" He laughed to himself as he stirred some pasta in a pot. "Black hair, white skin? Slap on some red lipstick and you're set."

"I mean the story, dingus, not physically," I swatted his arm with the nearest spatula.

"Why can't our story be Snow White's?" He questioned.

"Um, hello?" I narrowed my eyes at his back. "When have you ever known me to sing to forest animals? And do you honestly think I'd be dumb enough move in with seven total strangers?"

"They were dwarves," He argued. "The friendly kind."

"Hah! That's what they want you to think."

"You know what? The seven dwarves would be perfect roommates for you," He decided as he scooped up some kind of sauce in a small ladle carefully. "You and Grumpy would be the best of friends."

"Ha ha," I frowned at him as he slowly walked over to me, blowing on the steaming sauce before holding the spoon up to my mouth. He fed me a small taste of some kind of cheesy sauce that was better than I expected it to be.

"Good?" He asked.

"Mm hmm," I nodded and licked my lips. "So Snow White is out, who's next?"

"Umm...," He went back to cooking and I went back to waiting. "How about Cinderella?"

"She's blonde!"

"I thought we weren't going by appearances," He reminded me of my own rule, making me momentarily hate how good a listener he was.

"Fine. Why?"

"I don't know. You've already got a wicked step mother."

"Don't remind me," I grit my teeth and tried my best to suppress the rising reminders that Bitch Barbie existed. "And she's not wicked, she's just...annoying. And stupid. And annoying."

"Alright, so no Cinderella," I could feel him pushing to move on, knowing I'd only upset myself if I thought about her right now; he knew me too well. "What about Beauty and the Beast?"

"In your version, am I the beauty or the beast?"

"Hmm...an argument could be made for both sides," He grinned to himself and I whacked him with the spatula again. "What? It's true!" His words only made me smack him harder. "Okay okay, not Beauty and the Beast then."

"Can you give me a real answer?" I tilted my head at him and crossed my arms.

"I don't know," He shrugged and I glared. "They don't have a princess like you yet."

"Are you saying I can't be a princess?" I frowned as if it mattered to me and he came closer, standing between my parted knees.

"I'm saying," He lowered his voice and put his hands on my thighs. "There isn't a princess as beautiful and smart and funny...," His eyes were playful as he watched my response.

"And?" I prodded.

"And brave and clever and talented..."

"And?"

"And unique and…sexy…and interesting," He went on, his lips still moving as he brought them closer and closer to mine.

"And?" I whispered, wondering how many more adjectives he had up his sleeve.

"And stubborn," He pressed his forehead against my own and looked deep into my eyes. "And rude," He kissed me softly as if it'd balance out the negative description. "And impulsive." Kiss. "And cynical." Kiss. "And-,"

"You should've quit while you were ahead," I pulled away before our lips could touch.

"And bossy," He finished with a shrug.

"Your pasta is over cooking."

"See? Bossy," He cocked an eyebrow before sneaking in a peck on my lips. The second his lips left mine, we heard the doorbell sound off then a few quick knocks. "Are you expecting someone?" Beck perked up in alert mode.

"No one knows I'm here," I shrugged and shook my head while he turned the stove off.

"Stay here," He instructed me as he approached the door slowly. Of course, I didn't listen. Instead, I followed him, creeping behind him at the peephole.

"Hello?!" A muffled voice I recognized bellowed annoyingly through the door. "Open up, we know you're home!"

"What the hell," I muttered disappointedly to myself. How had Vega managed to locate us? And why?

"How does she know where I live?" I whispered angrily to Beck. He just gave me a shrug and reached for the doorknob, but I stopped him.

"She knows we're here," He told me, keeping his volume hushed anyways.

"Did you tell her where I live?!" I said as hysterically as my quiet tone could handle.

"What? No!" He denied at the same time we heard more knocking. This time the sound continued, keeping a steady beat as if it were the bass line of a song.

"C'mon Beck!" Andre's low voice came next. "We saw your car downstairs, we came to party."

"It's your call," Beck told me with a light shrug. I was about to tell him off, and suggest we tiptoe back to my room to hide when I heard another familiar voice; a high pitched giggle that made me sigh and roll my eyes.

"Fine," I shook my head, knowing I wouldn't leave Cat outside like that. I'd gone soft. I rolled my eyes one last time and unlocked the door, walking over to the couch to fix myself as much as possible. I hadn't put on any makeup yet so I did my best to finger comb through my hair and adjust my clothes.

"Heyyy!" Vega led the group as they filed into my father's penthouse, looking out of place.

"Wow, this place is awesome," Andre said in awe as he made himself at home. Cat trailed in with Robbie in tow and finally Trina. After hugging me too tight, Cat settled in beside me while the gang scattered, browsing through the living room like they were in an open house.

"Watch it!" I shouted at Trina when she almost dropped one of my step mother's ridiculously expensive yet tacky art pieces. "That statue costs more than your house."

"Someone's not having a good weekend…," Trina responded in a songlike tune.

"It was going well," I muttered to myself and ignored that Cat had started braiding my hair. My eyes had narrowed in on Vega's twiggy arms as they embraced my boyfriend's torso. Uncharacteristically, Beck didn't really hug her back and only offered her a small smile that didn't feel real to me.

"This pasta is delicious," Robbie's voice pulled my focus to the kitchen area where he was shoveling my dinner into his mouth, and Andre was rifling through the cabinets.

"Hey, look!" Andre called over. "Schnapps," He chuckled to himself while holding up a bottle. "Would anyone miss this?" He asked me. I only had enough energy to roll my eyes and shake my head, but truthfully, I didn't know. My father would probably notice the missing alcoholic, but I didn't really care. Beck did, though. He was eyeballing me in a way I knew was meant to doubt my answer, only looking away when I nodded confirmation.

An hour later you could've almost called this unwelcomed gathering a party; a kickback at the very least. Someone had figured out how to use my father's stereo and some cheesy pop tune now played at a low volume. Robbie was attempting to show Trina and Cat a card trick, but it looked like he was failing; resorting to going through every card in the deck to ask if it was their card. Andre was playing an unfinished song to Tori on Beck's guitar while Beck himself had somehow disappeared.

"Hey," As if he could hear me thinking of him Beck appeared beside me as I shut the refrigerator door in the kitchen. "Sorry," He put his hands up where I could see them when he noticed he'd startled me. "How you doing?"

"I'm good," I nodded, giving him forced smile. "Really, it's not as bad as I thought it would be," I reassured his skeptical expression. "And you?"

"Me?" He repeated, something in his voice sounding fake to me. "I'm great, but hey, can you get me a beer?" His expression was genuine so I kept my suspicions to myself and did as he asked. As soon as I shut the refrigerator door again, though, he was gone. After furrowing my brows I noticed him trying to be discreet out of the corner of my eye. He was beckoning Andre to follow him out the sliding doors onto the balcony.

Although my curiosity was peaked, I pretended to be completely occupied with the bottle opener while glancing their way. The moment I saw the screen door left cracked open a bit, though, I couldn't stop myself from heading towards them. As slyly as I could, I leaned my back against the wall next to the opening and listened intently.

"Yeah, I heard it was a blast," Beck was saying in a tone I recognized to be fake. It was the voice he used when forced to interact with people he didn't like, not one for his best friend. "So you guys just sang in the rain?" I could tell he was grinning.

"Yeah, man, it was awesome," Andre was none the wiser to his false tone. "Too bad you couldn't get there in time."

"Yeah, too bad," Beck repeated. "So where were you when Jade was crowned?" His line of questioning made my fingers squeeze the bottle in my hand tighter.

"What?" I could just picture Andre's confused expression as he shook his head.

"When Jade was crowned queen," Beck said again, slower. "You know, when Tori rigged the voting to humiliate my girlfriend. Where were you?"

"Look, Beck, I—,"

"Don't remember?" Beck was getting angry now; the kind of angry I hated, when his volume was leveled and he had complete control over himself.

"No, I—,"

"You don't remember where you were when a half naked adult man put his hands on my girl?" Oh, shit. I grinded my teeth together in anticipation. Beck had seemed so nonchalant about the entire situation when I'd told him about prom night so this confrontation came as a surprise to me. However, I got the feeling he'd planned it without letting me know.

"Beck, Jade was so crazy last night I didn't know what to do!" Andre was talking really fast, but I knew Beck understood him.

"So you thought nothing was the right choice?" He countered. "Or were you so busy sucking face with that random girl that you couldn't look out for her?"

"Look, man, I'm sorry, alright?" Andre conceded. "Jade was trying to ruin the whole thing, and I got caught up trying to save it."

"You're my best friend, right?" Beck asked now.

"Of course!"

"Then we never have to have a conversation like this again, right?"

"No, never," Andre agreed unsteadily. "So…we cool?"

"Of course," Beck let him sweat with a long pause before answering. The next sound I heard was that of their hand shake and half hug followed by the sliding door.

I stood up straight and tried to make my presence seem casual as Andre walked in and headed towards the rest of the gang circled in the living room. When Beck came in, he eyed me for a moment and something told me he'd left that door open for me to hear. As often as I told him I didn't need a hero, I knew he'd never stop trying. So instead of starting an argument with him about his incessant savior complex, I passed him his drink and reached to hold his hand, knowing all too well that actions speak louder than words.