Upon arriving home from work that evening, Beck decides it's in his best interest to take a cold shower, find something for dinner, and then head straight to bed. He can't believe that one conversation changed his entire perspective on Jade, and that one stupid decision has probably damaged his relationship with her forever. The relationship that they had worked so hard to get back to a comfortable place...they were finally friends again, finally to a place where things weren't weird between them. He's royally fucked that up now.

He's awoken in the middle of the night by his phone buzzing on his bedside table. The digital clock beside it reads 2:34 AM, and Beck quickly rubs the sleep from his eyes and grabs it.

Anyone calling him at this hour must be calling him because of some kind of emergency. What other reason could there be?

Surprisingly, it's Jade's name lighting up his screen. Fifteen years ago her contact picture would fill the screen, maybe a cute picture of the two of them on one of their first dates or a candid he had taken of her when she wasn't looking, and there would be emojis by her name. Now, her name is only her name, and his lockscreen shows up when she calls because he doesn't have a picture assigned to her contact.

"Hello?" Beck answers the phone, his voice still heavy with sleep "Jade?"

"Why did you kiss me?" Her voice is sharp

She doesn't greet him in anyway, just straight to the point. She doesn't sound tired either, so if she is...she's certainly very good at hiding it. Beck supposes that must come at least a bit from having two young kids, Jade West doesn't have time to be tired. She never has, really.

"Jade, I-"

"Don't make excuses." She tells him, her voice edging on threatening "Don't fucking lie to me. Tell the truth, why did you kiss me? And why did you run off?"

"I don't know."

"You do too."

"Why are you calling me at 2:30 in the morning to ask?"

"I asked you first."

"I don't know why I kissed you-"

"Beck-"

"Let me finish!" He cuts her off "I don't know why I kissed you, I really shouldn't have either. But I do know that I had been thinking about you all day in a way that I haven't thought about you in a long time."

"What does that mean?"

"It means when you came to my trailer to get Drew's jacket, I made a comment about how how having all of our friends together again was nice." He explains "How even after all of this time has passed, we're still ourselves. And it made me realize...you and I are still ourselves, there's a history between us that I can't ignore. I think something is still there."

"I knew it..." Jade sighs "Beck, this is your divorce talking. This isn't how you really feel."

"How would you know that?"

"We broke up because we couldn't stand each other!" Jade reminds him "And even after that, we couldn't find a way to be friends."

"We're friends now! Or at least we were, before I fucked things up."

"We're still friends, Beck." Jade assures him "We just need to move on from this and pretend like it didn't happen, okay?"

"I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"I think..." Beck hesitates "I think the universe is trying to give us a second chance."

"Oh come on..."

Although Beck can't see her, he knows Jade is rolling her eyes on the other end of the phone.

"Why did you cast me?" He asks her

"How is this at all related to-"

"Answer the question, Jade."

"Because you were the best actor we saw audition." She sighs "That's how the casting process works, you know that."

"That's the only reason?"

"The only reason."

"Jade."

"What?"

There's silence on both ends of the call for a moment, neither one of them knowing what to say next.

"What's the real reason you casted me?" Beck asks her again "If you say it's because I was the best, I'll believe you and take the compliment...but I think there's more to it than that."

"You were the best that we saw." She tells him "But...you were also the only actor I knew I could trust to be truly authentic to the character and play the part the way it was meant to be played."

'Trust' is a strong word to use, especially in a conversation like this, and both Beck and Jade realize it. Deep down, she too knows there's a connection between them that was never severed. No matter how much distance was between them or how many partners they had, there is always going to be something there that would never go away.

"Can I come over?" He asks her

"Beck, it's the middle of the night." She reminds him "The kids are asleep and-"

"I'll be quiet." He assures her "I just...I need to see you...please, Jade."

Silence again echoes from Jade's end of the phone, she's thinking it through and Beck considers that a success. If she's at least considering it, then she must think there's some legitimacy to it as well.

"Alright..." She finally says "I'll leave the door unlocked."

She's waiting for him in her living room when he walks through the front door. Even in her pajamas, a pair of running shorts and an old t shirt just like she has always worn, and with her eyes heavy from lack of sleep, she still looks gorgeous.

"Fuck..." She sighs, but offers no explanation or context

"This doesn't have to be serious." Beck assures her, moving closer to her as she stands up "It can be whatever we want it to be."

"It's a bad idea, is what it is."

"So, let's be bad..." Beck smirks

He brushes some of her hair behind her ear and lets his hand linger a bit, moving his other hand to her waist.

"We need to be careful, Beck." She tells him quietly

"I know."

"There are kids involved."

"I know."

"And I'm technically your boss."

"I know."

"Okay."

"Okay?" He smiles, looking for confirmation

"Okay." She laughs a bit, biting her lip "Let's be bad."