Summer was something everyone was always excited for. There was a time in one's childhood where summer vacations were dependable staples in the rhythm of the year, even if every summer was different. You made new friends in different summer activities or in different places. You learned new skills or interned at new places. You found a new hobby. Someone had a birthday. Someone had a summer fling or a relationship that grew way too fast.

The week after the Lock-In, the students of Hollywood Arts went back to school to clean out their lockers, submit any final coursework they were still missing and get their notices of either promotion to the next grade or requirements for summer school or getting retained another year.

The gang had a little send-off party. Beck was going to Canada to visit family for a few weeks. Jade was going to Paris with her dad, because his firm was having him do due diligence for a client. Cat was going to Italy to visit her maternal relatives. Tori was going to New York with two other classmates for their stint with the Broadway production of Uptown Downtown. André was going to Nashville for some work with Primal Records. Robbie would be the only one staying in LA the whole summer.

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Beck

Both of Beck's parents were originally from Manitoba, where the Olivers had lived until Beck was five years old. His mom's brother decided to move out to LA to open up an auto shop, and his parents decided the warmer climate was preferable. They flew back to Manitoba for holidays and vacations.

Beck still kept in touch with his kindergarten friends, and they all made time to meet up at Tim Horton's whenever Beck was in town. They had slowly moved from chocolate Ice Capps and pastries to actual coffee over the years.

Since Beck was in town longer that year, he spent some time playing hockey with his old friend Moose and his crowd of big, burly teammates.

"You skate pretty well for someone who lives where it doesn't snow," said the guy who was playing the team's goalie.

"Who knows, I might have to play the part of a hockey star one day," Beck said.

Beck may have been a fast and clean skater, but he had terrible aim with a pusher and a puck, so he spent his month in Canada refining his accuracy.

One day, three weeks into the summer, Beck was sitting on a bench at the rink. He opened a new message from Jade – a selfie of her with the Eiffel Tower at a relative distance so you could see the whole thing in the photo and with the orange sunset bouncing off her brown hair and tri-color highlights.

"Is that Jade?" Moose asked.

Beck smiled at the photo. "Yeah." He missed her so much. Even if the internet made keeping in touch easy, they still had other things they were doing, and they were 7 hours apart. They had spent the last school year practically soldered at the hip; he was used to just reaching for her whenever he felt like it. Three weeks apart was already a slice of agony he hadn't experienced before, not even when he had missed everything he had ever known when his family left Canada.

"You know, when you told me about her last year, I didn't expect you to make it this long," Moose said.

"Why's that?" Beck asked, tapping out a response to Jade on his phone. The sunset and the tower are pretty, but YOU'RE prettier. I miss you. Poetry, it was not, but he meant it.

Moose explained, "She seemed like such an… angry sort of girl, and you seemed to just like the banter. I thought it was a short-term fling."

Beck barked out a laugh. "She's the angry sort, alright." He thought back on the second year of his relationship with Jade. "I don't think I knew what being in relationship even meant when I told you about her. I mean, we went out on dates, made out because it felt good, and it was fun even if all we had was that attraction."

"What happened?" Moose asked.

"We got to know each other better. We talked about our childhoods, things we liked and didn't like, where we wanted to be in the future," Beck told him. "Somewhere along the way, it wasn't just hanging and making out. It must sound really corny, but I hate what I see when I think about the future and she's not there."

xxxx

Moose dropped Beck off at his grandmother's place, where the Olivers were staying.

Beck walked up the front lawn to the door when he heard raised voices inside. His mother and grandmother were arguing. He tried to make out what they were fighting about.

xxxx

Behind the door, Nadia Oliver and her mother were arguing about Beck's relationship status. More importantly, they were arguing about his relationship with Jade.

"I can't believe you're letting him continue on with this white girl," Beck's grandmother spat. "It was bad enough you married Sahir who is half-white and Iraqi, but you're not even doing anything to stop your son!"

"Ma, this is why we left. I wasn't going to keep putting up with you putting my husband down just because he isn't like you. I certainly am not going to put up with you doing the same to my son. Jade is a wonderful girl. Beck is lucky to have her," Nadia responded.

"She's not just white, Nadia. She has piercings in her face and dresses like she's either starring in a horror movie or going to a funeral… or both!"

Nadia rubbed her temples. "Ma, it's her choice how she dresses. It's Beck's choice if he appreciates that about her. As far as I'm concerned, she's good to my son, to me and Sahir, which is a lot less than I can say for my own mother."

"Go back to LA then, if that's really how you feel. You don't have to come back here if Sahir and that little white girl are more important to you than I am."

"You know that's not what I meant, Ma," Nadia said through gritted teeth.

Beck chose that moment to open the door. His dark eyes glinted with concealed rage.

"Beck!" his grandmother exclaimed. "You're back." Her angry cloud dissipated in a snap.

Beck gave her a forced smile. "Yeah, don't worry, I heard everything. I'll be upstairs, packing my things." He moved towards the stairs.

"Wait, Beck, please," his grandmother interjected. "I just… don't think you've given our own people a chance, that's all."

Beck took a deep breath, remembering this old woman was family. "Grandma, you moved here, to North America, away from India, for a reason. Unless there is some agenda to create an Indian settlement here that I don't know about, I don't think I should be forced to keep the door open for someone whose parents also brought her here to get away."

"But you're young, you don't know what you want yet," his grandmother tried again.

Beck shook his head and tried to smile politely. "Maybe seventeen going eighteen is young, but Jade is who I want right now, and if we're lucky, we'll still want each other the same way a decade, or two, or ten from now."

xxxx

Later that night, Beck couldn't sleep. He checked his phone and did the mental math required to figure out if Jade was awake. He figured 6:30AM wasn't too early even if she wasn't. He called her.

"Hello?" Jade's voice filtered in from the other end of the call.

"Hey," Beck said.

"Everything okay?" Jade asked, still sleepy but recognizing the stoic 'hey'. Beck didn't usually stop at pleasantries. If he called, it was because he had something specific to ask and would get to it almost immediately.

"Yeah, no, I'm okay," he said, "just missed the sound of your voice."

"Man, you're sappy today, aren't you?" She snorted. "And my voice sounds like I've been sleeping."

"Music to my ears," Beck joked.

"For real, Beck, did something happen?" she asked, clearing her throat to try to get her pitch normal.

"Just my mom and grandmother fighting," Beck told her.

"About?"

"Something dumb that you probably don't need to know about," he replied.

"It's bothering you, though."

Beck sighed. "It's fine, nothing I won't get over once we head home next week."

Beck could hear the smile in Jade's voice. "I like how LA is home to you. I used to think all you Canadians still preferred your freezer box roots."

"Of course," Beck said. "So tell me about your visit to the Eiffel Tower."

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The next day, Beck chose to stay in the guest room, practicing his guitar. He recorded a cover of song he knew Jade would find way too sweet, but it rang in his head all morning without invitation.

You and I, we've been at it so long,
We've still got the strongest fire.

You and I, we still know how to talk,
Know how to walk that wire.

Sometimes I feel like the world is against me,
The sound of your voice,
Baby, that's what saves me.
When we're together I feel so invincible.

He posted the full recording to the HA6++ Splash Face with a tag for Jade.

As expected, she commented: "Sappy, but accurate."

xxxx

As if walking in on his mother and his grandmother arguing about his girlfriend wasn't hard enough, the next time Beck emerged from the room, he walked in on another fight – this time about his choice of career.

He skirted around them and chose not to get involved, heading out the door, even if it was sunset.

His grandmother called after him, but he ignored her. His mother didn't say a word, knowing that nothing she said was going to remove the sting of hearing his grandmother say she didn't think this path would amount to anything.

xxxx

Beck went for a walk to the nearby park to clear his head. As he sat on one of the swing sets, his phone rang with a call from an unknown number.

He picked up. "Hello?"

"Beck Oliver?"

"Who wants to know?"

"I don't know if you remember me. It's Jerry, I was one of the coordinators for the extras on Miss Fire."

"Oh, hey, Jerry, of course I remember you. What can I do for you?" His heart started pounding. Miss Fire was already done with post-production and was going to be out in theaters before the end of the summer. The only reasons a coordinator was calling was if they wanted him to read for a part.

"I've been following that HA6++ page you have with your friends, and I saw you're in Canada!" Jerry said excitedly. "I'm working with a crime drama, and they need a few teenage extras for a classroom scene. No lines, but it'd be great exposure and a quick payday."

"Wow, thanks for the follow, Jerry, and for thinking of me. It means a lot. Definitely interested. How long is the shoot for?"

"Just a few hours on Friday."

"I'm totally free then. Text me the details?"

"You got it. I'll see you Friday."

"Absolutely," Beck replied.

"And Beck, start thinking about getting an agent," Jerry advised.

"I'll consider it," Beck answered. "Thanks."

xxxx

Beck went back to the house after another hour spent updating his friends. His mother was ecstatic that he had gotten a call. His grandmother said nothing, but at the very least, she didn't say anything to rain on his parade.

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A/N: The song Beck covers is "Us Against The World" by Westlife.