AN: I hope you like it :)

What most people didn't know about Jade West was that she loved dancing, not as much as writing scripts, acting or singing, but still a lot. Seeing that she only loved a few things that should say something. Considering that she really hated that it seemed like she wasn't able to dance this semester. When they had taken salsa class for the first time her and Beck had decided that they would be dancing partners, but now that they were broken up she didn't see herself being so close to him without her heart hurting all over again. Most of the other dancing couples worked together as a good team by now so that anyone would switch partners with her was unlikely.

The situation was even worse, because four months ago, when things between her and Beck didn't look like they would ever break up, she had signed up for a small dance contest after their teacher had suggested it. Now that was definitely out of the question because without a dancing partner, and she refused to dance with Beck, she wouldn't be able to participate. Sighing she entered the dance studio for her salsa class. Thankfully for the month that they were already broken up their teacher had been ill and the substitute teacher didn't really care what they did. However now that their original teacher was back, she had to face the problem. Taking a deep breath she approached the small woman.

"I need to switch partners." She announced with a confidence she wasn't quite feeling.

"It's already so far into the semester that I'm not sure if someone will switch with you, but you can ask the class." The sympathetic look the middle-aged woman gave her told Jade that she knew about her and Beck's break up. Teachers at Hollywood Arts were just too nosy, but Jade was glad for the chance to at least try to find a new dancing partner.

"So I need a new dancing partner. Anyone up for switching?" Jade asked when the whole class had gathered for the lesson. Sure, everyone looked at her, but she could feel a pair of familiar brown eyes watching her more closely than any other ones. To her it didn't seem like he regretted breaking up with her, so she refused to even look in Beck's direction.

"I would switch." When she heard these words Jade snapped out of her thoughts and looked at the owner of the voice, Ryder Daniels.

Under any normal circumstance Jade would never go anywhere near Ryder, but seeing that he was the only one who offered her a way out of dancing with her ex-boyfriend, if she didn't want to fail this class, there wasn't much of a choice. Despite still thinking that he was a jerk, Jade could admit that Ryder was a decent dancer and only judging by the technical side of things he would be a good dancing partner.

"Alright Daniels. Some basic rules before we start. If your hands wander anywhere they shouldn't, you lose your fingers to my scissors. Hit on me and I will hit you where it hurts. Are we clear?"

"Crystal clear." Ryder smirked at her. "So are we dancing partner now?"

"You got yourself a deal Daniels, but you better keep up with me."

Beck watched all this with a frown on his face. Jade really chose Ryder over him? This guy had fooled Tori and was a jerk, but she still wanted to dance with him instead of the guy that she had trusted for three years. It seemed her trust in him was completely gone now and he couldn't even blame her for that. However it still hurt him that she chose someone like Ryder Daniels over him. Sure, they were broken up, but that didn't mean that they had to stop spending time with each other. It seemed like Jade didn't think so, not just by judging her behavior right now, but by judging her behavior in general after their break up.

The thoughts of Ryder and Jade bothered Beck all day and the next day when the group sat together for lunch break Beck couldn't hold back any more.

"So how are things with your new dancing partner?"

"I don't know why that's any of your business, but it's going great. He is so much better than my last one." Jade countered.

"Who is your new dance partner?" Andre asked interested.

"None other than Ryder." Beck answered for her.

"Ryder Daniels?" Robbie asked, eyes widening when Beck nodded.

"How can you do that after what he did to me?" Tori gasped.

"He is a decent dancing partner and my old partner annoyed me." Jade said with a pointed look at Beck.

"Are you sure that's good idea Jadey? I mean what if he only uses you for a good grade like he did with Tori." Cat worried.

At hearing her best friend's concern Jade's eyes soften slightly and turned to her with a reassuring smile.

"I asked him to be my dancing partner so if someone uses someone it's me. Don't worry, I'm not easy to fool like others."

While Tori protested with a 'hurtful' Beck frowned. Was Jade suddenly so alright with Ryder only to get away from him? The thought that she chose Ryder over him still pained him and made him realize once again how much he must have hurt her with the break up. Deep in his heart he hoped that there was still a chance that they could get along again.

After Ryder had already been her dancing partner for two weeks now, Jade had to admit that he was alright. He was decent and followed her instruction. It took some time, but they got the hang of dancing together. Slowly she began to consider asking him if he wanted to take part in the small dance contest she had signed up for months ago.

Unknown to them Beck had watched the two dance very closely. Something didn't feel right about his ex-girlfriend being so close to another guy. If Beck was really honest with himself, he wasn't anywhere near over Jade and that she still refused to talk to him, if it wasn't absolutely necessary, hurt him. He missed her already and the break up had only been a few weeks ago.

Another week later Jade finally decided to ask Ryder if he wanted to take part in the dancing contest with her and to her surprise he agreed. However Jade realized that they had to practice more because despite harmonizing now as dancing partners there was still a lot they had to work on. Little did Jade know that her suggestion to train more would reveal that her and Ryder shared another passion that would bring them closer.

"So let's try this dance again after school. We need more practice if we want to have a chance in the contest."

"Sorry I can't. My football coach is ill and we have an important game next Saturday, so I have to train on my own."

"I'll train you. I can't pass up a chance to scream at you and make you feel miserable." Jade smirked at him.

"And what would you know about football?" Ryder raised a challenging eyebrow.

"A lot more than you think. What do you want to know? The last three Super Bowl winners or if I know what a quarterback sack is or a two-point conversion. Oh and by the way which position do you play?"

"Why do you know so much about football?"

"None of your business."

In this moment the light bantering between them turned to Jade being defensive and suddenly Ryder realized why. Jade had said that she knew the last three Super Bowl winners. Her and Beck had been together for three years, so he must have gotten her interested in this sport. Now that Ryder thought about it, when he had dated Tori for those four days he had overheard Beck and Andre talking about a recent footfall game when he had sat at their lunch table with Tori.

"You used to watch football with Beck, am I right?"

Jade sighed deeply. Ryder was smarter than people gave him credit for. It was true. One time she had come over when Beck had been watching a football game. At first it had been really confusing to watch, but then he had explained the rules and everything to her and she had come to like it. Even her brother was pulled into that hobby and now played football himself. However she wasn't about to tell Ryder any of that, they were just dancing partners after all.

"Again none of your business. I'll see you on the field after school, so you better be ready to be yelled at."

Ryder looked after Jade and smiled slightly. This girl was different than all the other ones he had encountered here at Hollywood Arts. She reminded him of a girl who he used to know and somehow exactly that was what worried him. There had been a time before he hadstarted using girls and that girl had a lot to do with his change. Jade and her, being so similar in their attitude, made it hard for Ryder to not fall for the dark-haired beauty.

Later that day Jade and Ryder met on the football field. True to her new job Jade had brought a megaphone and explained to him that so she could scream better at him. After letting him run more than a few rounds she told him smirking to do push-ups while she would sit on his back. Ryder concentrated on the task at hand until he heard her voice crack slightly when she reached ten. There was a rumor that Jade had made an ultimatum for Beck that considered of her counting to ten and if Beck wasn't out some door by then they would be over as a couple. Ryder had never thought that this rumor was true, but when additional to Jade's voice faltering he felt her tense on top of his back he knew there was some truth in the rumor.

"Get up. That's enough." He told her and when she got up he sat down on the bleachers near by.

"Are you already tired? That's very lame even for you Daniels." Jade tried to smirk at him, but her eyes stayed sad. She cursed herself for thinking about Beck and the stupid ultimatum again. Almost two months and she was still thinking about that fateful time at Vega's door. Counting to ten still reminded her of that evening. The emotions she normally had control over during the day and in front of others slowly got closer to the surface. Trying to suppress them worked, that was until Ryder spoke up.

"Beck really broke your heart."

Jade's eyes widened at that and she didn't know what to say to that. It was true. Beck had broken her heart when he hadn't opened the door and it still hurt a lot, but she wasn't about to tell anyone that. However before she could come up with something to say, Ryder spoke up again.

"It wasn't a question. I broke enough hearts to know how someone looks like when that happens to them." Taking a deep breath and looking at the girl in front of him for a moment he decided that he would tell her something that he had never told anyone at Hollywood Arts. "And I got my heart broken one time before as well."

"You can't be serious." Jade was surprised and sat down next to him.

"I know it's hard to believe, but in Middle School I wasn't the cool and good looking guy I'm now." He saw her slightly amused expression and counted it as a success in cheering her up, before he got serious again. "She was the first and only girl I fell in love with."

"What was so special about her?"

"A lot of things. You two are quite similar. She had a big mouth, was confident in the way she acted and unbelievably beautiful." Jade rolled her eyes at him at the last part, but let him continue. "She wasn't afraid to let everyone know what she thought and that fascinated me. To make it short we became a couple, but then a new student came and everything changed. She spent less time with me and more time with him and one day I found them making out. Needless to say I broke up with her, but that didn't change the fact that she broke my heart."

"And I remind you of that girl?" Jade raised an eyebrow at him.

"In a way, but I know you would never do that to Beck. You love him too much for that."

"Loved. Past tense."

"I don't think so. I can see that you still love him and it's a shame because you shouldn't." Ryder said, looking deeply into her eyes. He had meant it, when he had indirectly told her that she was beautiful, she really was and she had a personality that was fascinating.

Jade didn't know why, but she believed him that he got his heart broken by this girl. She could see in his eyes that he was honest with her and somehow it felt good to talk to him about it. Sure, she had talked with Cat about the break up and her best friend was always there if she needed her, but hearing a guy's opinion on the matter couldn't hurt. So far the only guys she talked more than two sentences with and who she even considered her somehow friends were Andre and Robbie and they were out of the question, seeing that they were clearly Beck's friends.

"Let's say you are right and let me stress 'if' here, it doesn't matter. Beck moved on with Tori. He isn't in love with me any more."

"So your ex and mine? Interesting. Anyway, I think you're wrong. Beck still has feelings for you." When she looked doubtfully at him, Ryder continued. "Let me prove that to you when I have the chance. You just have to promise me to not hurt me with your scissors for that later on."

"I doubt that this is true, but fine I'll humor you for a while there."

"That's what I was hoping for." Ryder smiled and lay an arm around her shoulders.

"Don't touch me. Only because we exchanged some emotional crap doesn't mean we are friends." Despite her words she didn't removed his arm from around her shoulders as harshly as she could have.

"Alright, whatever the lady wants."

"You know what? You're alright for a jerk Daniels." Jade smirked.

"I take that as a compliment coming from you West." He mirrored Jade's expression.

"Whatever and now let's get you back to training. I didn't bring the megaphone with me for nothing."

The two were unaware of a pair of eyes watching them from afar. Seeing his ex-girlfriend sitting so close to Ryder Daniels and seeing them getting along made an unknown feeling rise in Beck's stomach. What was this and why did he feel like punching Ryder for being able to touch Jade when he was not allowed to do so?

A/N: Please review and tell me what you think :)