The attendant made their way out and closed the door to the private VIP lounge on their way out leaving all of the guests to their own devices but to Beck and Jade, the sound it made emulated that of a prison door being slammed closed. Beck glanced over his shoulder at the door and around the room to the other VIPs who seemed to be distracted with their own devices or work they had to do. He took a breath and let the air out through his nose as he looked towards the ground and then back up at Jade as he started to walk towards her. For the first time in over seven years, he was finally able to get a good look at her and take in every detail that he used to be so intimately familiar with. Yes, they had seen one another throughout that time however it was never face to face, never personal. It was always through a screen as one would watch the other during an interview on a daytime talk show or at some award ceremony. The version they'd see would be edited to fit the tabloids and marketing departments' requirements and standards so this was a rare opportunity for them both.

For Beck, the first thing he noticed about Jade was that she kept the same darker color palette to her wardrobe. Today she was dressed in black jeans with tears along the knees that showed her pale complexion underneath with a black turtleneck sweater and a pair of black combat boots much like the ones she used to wear when they went to school. Her makeup was simple and highlighted her natural beauty while her hair lacked the usual dark shade, he remembered in favor of the original brown that she sported when they had first met. Her nails were kept simple yet elegant as they were kept short and painted with a rich dark gray polish. Jade watched as he approached her and moved her carry-on bag off of the neighboring plush chair so he could sit next to her. When she looked back at him, he could see the fatigue she was trying to cover up. Her makeup hid some of the details but he could tell just from the look of her stormy blue-green eyes that she was exhausted and needed to rest or at least take a break.

The two had been together for several years when they attended school and knew each other even before they began their romantic endeavor. After their final breakup, they still considered one another to be their best friend so it was almost second nature for Beck to pick up on the tiny details that made up the woman before him. As he looked over her, Jade examined and scanned over him with her eyes for any clue from his posture or demeanor that could give her some insight into how this interaction was going to go. His posture screamed relaxed and casual just like it always did which infuriated her a little as she watched him adjust the duffel bag, he held over one shoulder as he walked over and took a seat. His hair was a little longer but today was tied back in a loose ponytail and his face sported a five o'clock shadow. She also noticed that he grew about another inch or two and slimmed down slightly in favor of sporting a leaner muscular look. It appeared that he was also trying to be casual while flying as he wore a nice pair of dark low cut ankle boots with a pair of gray jeans, a black t-shirt, and a brown suit jacket that ended just above his knees.

He took the seat next to her and crossed his leg while letting the bag come to rest on the floor next to him as he straightened his jacket and looked towards her and tried to find something to say. Jade put a cap on the pen she was writing with and closed the manuscript she had been editing before setting them on the small table between them and picking up the cup of coffee and took a sip as she thought of a way to break the tension. Together they sat in awkward silence as the other patrons of the lounge softly chatted or typed on their laptops until Beck finally cleared his throat and said, "You look good."

Such a simple phrase made Jade's head spin as she tried to pick it apart for some sort of hidden meaning but she gave a soft nod and said, "You're looking pretty good too."

There was another pause as Beck gave her a soft smile and reached into his coat pocket and took out his phone and started to respond to a text, or maybe send one out? Jade was unsure and her curiosity got to her a little as she took another sip of her drink and leaned a little to try and steal a glance at the screen but before she could catch anything, he turned it off and held it in his lap and said, "Your books are amazing. I've been trying to keep up with them all but I've fallen a little behind."

"You follow my work?" Jade asked and was truly surprised that he even bothered to follow her feats and achievements.

"Originally I didn't," he said, "but after a while, I couldn't ignore it and had to satisfy my curiosity. I always knew you were a great writer so I'm happy that you've finally gotten the fame you deserve for it."

His word choice was basic yet effective enough to keep her on edge. She had so many things she wanted to say and ask but she knew she couldn't rush it instead settling for the basic steps of conversation. In her mind, much like when she was writing an exchange of dialogue between characters, she pictured the conversation as if it were a dance. The subject at hand sets the style and the tempo between the characters and write now Beck was trying to stay in control by keeping things casual with a waltz set to a slow four-four time signature. She agreed to play along for now as she went along with the flow and said, "Thank you. That really does mean a lot, especially from you. I really like your films."

"I'm surprised you watch them. Most projects I'm in are love stories or dramas," he said with genuine surprise.

"Just because I like the dark and macabre doesn't mean that's the only thing I like. You should know that," she said in response, leaving herself open for him to make a jab at her ego.

"I thought I knew a lot of things." His smile fell a little bit as he walked into her trap, "But obviously, there's a lot more to a person than just what's right in front of you."

In her mind, the waltz continued but they let their statements linger in the air as the tempo slightly shifted. She waited a moment or two as they sat before saying, "So why are you heading to L.A.?"

"Hm?" He said as he was typing something out on his phone again. He gave her a small glance and said, "Oh well, I finished my latest project and I'm heading home for a vacation."

"Any plans in mind? Visit some places or maybe see some old friends?" She asked as she tried to take control of the conversation only to be shut down.

"Not sure yet," he said almost immediately, tipping her off that he didn't want to talk about it. Usually, Beck was an open book with nothing to hide so his obvious deflection of her questions gave her a few ideas as he asked, "What about you? I thought you moved here to New York."

"I did, I've got a penthouse apartment I live out of in Manhattan but I'm coming back to talk about a movie adaption for one of my books."

Beck nodded and went back to typing on his phone and said, "Oh yeah, Cat mentioned something about that."

"You talk to Cat?" Jade asked, genuinely surprised that they were still in touch.

He nodded without looking at her and slightly waved the phone in his hand and said, "Yeah. We all try to stay in touch and meet up if we're in town."

Jade was learning so much already and was about to press for more information but as she opened her mouth, an attendant came into the lobby and announced that all the first-class passengers would be boarding now, effectively bringing the opening dance between the two to a close. Beck leaned over and scooped up his bag and started to walk towards the desk to have his ticket scanned while he continued to text the group chat with Andre, Cat, and Robbie about what was going on.

Beck: We're boarding the plane now. Rob, are you still picking me up?

Robbie: Yeah but what about Jade? What if she tries to follow us?

Andre: Just ignore her and leave. Give her a hug or something before you go and get out of there.

Cat: She did say she was sorry and wanted to meet up. Why don't we give her a chance?

Andre: No! At least not now! If she's in town for a while, maybe! But right now can't we just focus on Tori's surprise?

Beck: Guys she's already starting to question me. Just relax. We'll ditch her in the airport traffic and head to my place. I need a nap anyway before going straight over to Tori's place. Cool?

Robbie: Sounds good.

Andre: Yeah, cool.

Cat: Fine…but she's gonna run into her eventually.

Beck: I'll deal with that when it happens. If she is really sorry then she can see Tori but she's gonna have to get through us first, agreed?

Cat: sigh agreed

"So, is there anything going on that I should know about?" Jade asked as she took the cubby seat across the aisle from Beck. He turned his phone off in preparation for the flight and looked back to her and leaned in towards her seat and whispered in her ear so no one could hear and said, "Honestly, there's been a lot. I'm still pissed that you hit Tori but Cat said you want to patch things up so I'm trying to be civil."

She looked at him with wide eyes and pulled him into the seat facing her so the other passengers could get to their seats. She knew that all of her friends had heard about the end of her relationship with Tori but now was her chance to try and get as much information as she could before she walked into the lion's den. Had it been Cat on this flight with her, the poor girl would break down and cause a scene which would only cause more problems. If Robbie were here, she assumed that he would do everything in his power to turn tail and switch his flight to avoid her altogether. Andre could have been the worst to try and talk to since he saw Tori as a sister. In Jade's mind, he would have been a wild card. She couldn't decide if he would keep his laid-back demeanor or if he would become skittish and closed off or if he might blow up with anger being face to face with the woman that hurt someone so close to him. No, Beck was the best option here and now that they were preparing for take-off in a small space with nowhere to run off to, Jade knew that this was the time to try and pry as much information as she could. In her mind, the dance began anew but this time it was set to the music of tango and she planned to keep control. "So am I! There isn't a day that goes by that I don't regret what I did," she said in a hushed tone.

"You have a funny way of showing remorse by running away," he said plainly.

"I did what I had to! I wanted to take her with me but she couldn't leave because of her record deal. There hasn't been a day that's gone by where I haven't wanted to come back and try to make things right!"

He kept his voice low, almost hushed just like she did to avoid having anyone listen in on their conversation, and said, "Then what stopped you? It's been seven years Jade. That's a long time to hold onto some regret and I can see it bothers you. You look exhausted."

"I'm fine, it was just a late night and little sleep before this flight," she said dismissing his observations. "I don't know why I didn't, okay? I just moved and after my first short story got published, I just dove into my work."

"So, you were afraid and used your work as a distraction," he said as he crossed his leg and leaned back in his seat.

"What are you? My fucking shrink? You don't know what I had to go through to get where I am," Jade said as she tried to keep a loose grip over the conversation and guided it where she wanted. She didn't lie about the hardships she's had to endure nor did she disagree with Beck's statements but for now she just wanted to learn.

"No, but I was your boyfriend. I was your best friend. I know about all the stuff you keep out of your autobiographies or public statements. I know for a fact that your dad is still pissed you are a performer and writer instead of doing something business-related like him," Beck said. "I know he didn't like that you're bi and wrote you out of his will. Remember that night? You cried in my arms for hours over that. I know your life hasn't been fair, but we all tried to help you. Tori tried to help you too, even before you two started to date. But when Tori needed you, you ran! So, I'm sorry but you can't just waltz back in here and think things are the same or that it's an easy fix!"

"I know what I did was wrong! As much as I hate to admit it, I considered you all to be my family since my real one was so messed up," she said as she ran her fingers through her hair. "Just please, tell me what happened so I can stop with all of the guesswork. I need to know how to fix things."

The tension between the two was almost palpable. Neither one wanted to make a scene or make a loud outburst since they were both in the public eye, but their old tendencies started to emerge from deep within, threatening to burst through like a creature of the ocean jumping up from beneath the calm ocean water. Beck raised a hand and took a breath as he glanced out the window to see the clouds obscuring the view of any landmarks below. Jade spoke with one of the flight attendants walking the aisle and got them both some water and handed one to Beck who gave her a nod as thanks. She sipped her water and played with the cap, twisting it off and on again, and was about to speak before Beck cut her off and said, "What do you want to get out of this?"

Her fingers froze around the cap as she sealed the bottle and said, "In a perfect world? I get her back." She looked up at him with a soft shrug and waved her hand towards the clouds that flew by and continued, "In a perfect world, I come back to L.A. and I get the chance to apologize for everything I did. We pick things up where we left off and I marry her one day."

Beck looked her over and looked out the window and then back to her and said, "You and I both know it's not that easy. She's been through a lot—"

"Cat said the same thing and I can already tell you that I'm getting tired of the runaround! I know it's not a fucking fairytale! I know that life isn't fair and I'm no picnic to be around but please! Beck, just give me something to work with, just tell me something!"

"You know I can't do that, Tori asked me not to tell you—"

"When?! When did she tell you to just ignore me?! You all practically wrote me out of your lives as soon as I was gone!"

"No one wrote you out or replaced you! You were always so scared that she'd steal us all away but you're did it to yourself! She asked us not to tell you what happened after you left and when shit hit the fan." Beck said as he leaned forward and clasped his hands together and looked Jade dead in the eye and said sternly, "We all agreed, without Tori's knowledge, that if you made an attempt to come back, we'd let you! We all agreed that we'd try to forgive you so we could fix our family! But you had to make the first move and you waited for seven fucking years, Jade! I'm willing to bet that if this movie deal wasn't happening, we wouldn't even be having this conversation!"

Jade closed her mouth and sat back in her chair and crossed her arms, avoiding eye contact with him because she knew he was right. Her therapist said the same thing over and over to her but she refused to confront or acknowledge it for fear of losing Tori forever. She dreamt of coming back home and being forgiven but part of her always said Tori would deny her and move on, leaving her alone forever. "I want a chance…"

Beck paused for a moment as he brought the water bottle to his lips and thought for a moment before looking back at Jade who was staring at him with a somber expression. He played the bottle in his hands before setting it aside and took a breath and thought about what to say. Jade watched him and was going to try and argue for her cause some more before he finally said, "Three questions. I'll tell you yes or no or if I can't answer that and you can ask something else instead. Does that sound fair?"

Jade nodded, finally a chance to learn something that would be useful! Beck waited patiently and watched as Jade racked her brain for the right thing to ask and he lifted his eyebrows as she said, "I assume you won't give details? It's just all yes and no stuff?"

"Yeah, and since I'm nice, I won't count those questions against you," he said with a smirk.

"Haha, very funny. Question one: did someone hurt her besides me?"

Beck didn't even hesitate to respond as he lifted one finger and said, "Yes."

"Was she taken advantage of?"

Beck nodded again no discernable expression and lifted a second finger and said, "Yes."

Each question painted a clearer picture in her mind as certain pieces became clearer and she was able to put a narrative together in her mind like a detective. She nodded and thought over her next question and hesitated to ask it. She had a feeling she knew the answer already but it had to be asked so she looked at him and asked, "Did she try to kill herself?"

"Yes."

Author's Notes:

Thank you once again for all the love and support on this story so far! Reviews are always appreciated and I'm excited to take you all through the next few segments of the story. I'm sorry if it feels slow but I truly enjoy building up and setting up the world and dynamics of the characters so that the big moments actually feel like they have an impact.

For sticking around until the end, I have a special treat for you all! As I mentioned last chapter, this story is based off of several songs, that number has increased to four so I thought I would share at least one of them.

The first song is "She Got the Best of Me" by Luke Combs