A/N: Hi it's me with a new chapter lol I hope everyone is doing alright :).
Friday, 8:00 AM
Jade woke up to the bittersweet smell of coffee and kisses along her shoulders. With a grumble, she flipped over from her stomach to curl into a ball on her side, fully turned away from him.
Beck paused before making his next move. He'd been trying different methods every day this week to get her to wake up peacefully...or at least in a way that doesn't end with a kick in the stomach. He's sure he's only one jab away from a visible bruise. Slowly rolling off the bed, he went to the kitchen to retrieve a hot cup of coffee.
"Morning time, kiddo," he whispered, placing the mug down on the nightstand. As expected, she stuck her leg out. This time though, he caught her foot. Her eyes shot open and she unleashed an early morning glare.
"No way. Not this time," he snickered. He moved his hand up to grip her ankle and gave it a tug, almost pulling her out of bed. This motion finally made her sit up and throw the blanket off. Once again Beck is a step ahead. Grabbing her other ankle, he pulled her closer to the edge of the bed. She narrowed her eyes and laid back down to hold onto the comforter and stay on the bed. He let her wiggle around in his grip until her body went limp. Taking advantage of the opportunity, he gave one last forceful tug to bring her to the edge of the bed. With her only option being the ground or Beck's torso, she chose the latter. Her arms reached out, desperately grabbing fistfuls of his shirt. Finally gaining enough leverage she wound her arms around his neck while the blanket slunk to the floor.
Seeing the anger in her eyes, he ducked out of her arms and sprinted to the kitchen. He turned around and smiled triumphantly. Jade leaned against the doorframe with her arms crossed. Mimicking her stance, he leaned back against his table and crossed his arms.
"My coffee's in your room," she said matter-of-factly, walking (more like stomping) away from his room and plopping down on one of his uncomfortable hardwood chairs at the kitchen table. He leaned down to give her a quick kiss on her pursed lips before jogging back to his room to get the coffee. She sat up and curled her legs beneath her.
"It's probably cold," she called out on his way back. Rolling his eyes, he dumped the coffee in the sink to pour her a new, hot cup that he initially intended to drink himself. She smiled in response, pleased with his obedience.
"So, I'd say it's been a successful first week," Beck said as he scurried back to the kitchen for silverware and two plates of waffles. Jade took a gulp of the hot coffee and soaking in the burn.
"Mmhm," she murmured in agreement, cutting up her waffle with more force than necessary.
"What are you doing tomorrow?" He asked, finally sitting down. Jade's eyes widened then stayed focused on the waffle. She and Cat were invited to a party- the first of the semester- hosted by a particularly talented (and very well connected) senior. Granted she didn't feel great about it, and spent the week debating over it, decided she did not want to have anyone holding her back from taking full advantage of the opportunity to network. In other words, no Beck. It's not like she's planning on flirting to get her way, but she didn't want to rule it out if it came to that.
"Um, I'm doing some homework and then going to a party with Cat," she said, looking up and finally meeting his gaze.
"Oh. Okay," Beck replied. He kept a stoic expression, not inquiring further. It was easy to catch on that she was not interested in saying anything more about it.
"What about you?" she asked half-heartedly.
"Just homework." He paused for a second before adding a lie, "Might hit up a party with Andre too."
The pair nod their heads, trying to ignore the weird almost palpable tension in the air.
Saturday, 10:00pm
Jade anxiously looked around the crowded apartment, hoping to spot Jason Cohen, while Cat continued to adjust her shirt she borrowed from her roommate's closet. The stench of beer, vodka and weed began making her nauseous and feelings of regret surfaced when she thought about how she could be spending the night with Beck. This better be worth it...
She didn't know for sure what she wanted to get out of meeting this guy, but talent can only get you so far without proper connections and with Jason's huge production company-owning father, who knows what could happen.
Cat tapped Jade on the shoulder, "Do you see him anywhere?" Jade rolled her eyes and said, "If I saw him don't you think I'd be talking to him by now?"
Cat shrugged off her attitude and went to get a drink at the crowded folding table now makeshift bar.
"Hey hot stuff." She jumped and looked at the guy next to her. He was sweating and had a dazed look on his face.
Nope, no no no, Cat thought to herself. She put on a smile, tilted her head and dusted off her ditsy-girl charm that she hasn't used in awhile (recently Jade has been giving her lessons on easing out of her ditsy-cutesy act; she was getting sick of not being taken seriously in her classes).
With a giggle and a belly button poke, she replied, "Gross." And walked away to find someone else to talk to.
Jade grumbled to herself now that she was alone, until she finally spotted the lanky, 6'3 senior sauntering around the room chatting with everyone. She quickly squeezed through people to catch up with him.
"Jason!" She called out to him a few feet away. She saw him turn his head to find where the voice was coming from. Once they made eye contact she waved for him to come to her. With a confused expression he complied.
"Hi, Jason, we haven't met, but I'm Jade-
"Jade West, I know. I've seen you around," Jason cut her off and stretched out his hand for Jade to shake. Reluctantly she shook it and, just as she expected, her hand was now wet.
"You play piano, right? I was at your recital last year."
Trying not to sound too over-eager, she paused before saying, "Yes...I also act, sing and compose music."
Jason chuckled lightly and nodded his head.
"Okay."
She couldn't tell if he was impressed, or confused as to why they were chatting. Not that it mattered to her- she had his attention and that's really all she needed.
"So, I'm currently looking at internships for this summer, and I heard you worked at a production company last year…"
Immediately seeing where this conversation was going, his initial entertainment disappeared and his voice became serious.
"Are you asking if I can get you a job at my father's company?"
Without skipping a beat, Jade deadpanned, "Yes. I am."
He scoffed but didn't walk away. "Hmm."
Jade couldn't tell if he was genuinely thinking of a potential job or looking for a way to get out of this conversation- which wouldn't have worked as she was already leaning closer to him to deter a possible exit.
"Listen, I can't promise anything but I know there is an internship this summer at their New York office. It's an assistant position for a producer. They have a new project in the works and they plan to start shooting late in the summer so they need someone to work in the office-
"Yes I'll do it!" Jade exclaimed, making Jason chuckle again.
"I can email you the link to the post."
After exchanging numbers and emails, he said the words she was hoping to hear, "Let me know when you apply and I'll make sure my dad checks it out."
"Thank you so much," Jade said.
"No problem. Looking forward to hearing from you, West." And with that he turned around and re-joined the party.
"Cat!" Jade shouted, before finding her on the couch on her phone. "Cat- I spoke to Jason."
"Fiiinalllly," she drawled, putting her full drink on the coffee table in front of her and standing up.
When she stood up someone bumped into Jade. With a growl she grabbed Cat's arm, practically tearing it out of its socket, and dragged her to the exit, leaving Cat tripping over her heels to keep up with the girl.
Once they got on the subway Jade texted Jason and told him she'd send her application, resume and acting reel this weekend- huge feats but nothing stood in the way of a determined Jade West, not even sleep.
The subway car was quiet enough for the pair to chat.
"So how did the conversation go?"
"He said he'll try to get me an internship in New York for the summer." Paraphrasing and exaggerating but Cat didn't need to know that.
"Oh...so you'll be in New York all summer?"
"Yeah, why?"
Cat's face looked stunned and was now unsure if she should continue.
"Well...I thought you were thinking of coming to LA for the summer. I spoke to Beck, and he'll be going home for the summer too."
"He'll be in LA?" Jade asked. Cat simply nodded in response.
"Oh." Not sure what else to say, she looked down at her shoes.
"But there's no harm in applying!" Cat added quickly, touching Jade's arm sympathetically. Jade let her touch her for a second before shooting her a glare, causing her to drop her arm.
Cat gave an uncomfortable laugh, then joined Jade in looking at the ground.
Sunday, 7:00pm
Jade turned her head when she heard her phone vibrate, slightly muffled on the bed. She reached over from her desk to check it- not wanting to lose her steam by fully getting up.
Beck (7:00pm): How was the party?
Oh shit. She grimaced as she realized she hadn't spoken to him since Friday.
Jade (7:10pm): Music sucked.
She bit her lip thinking of something else to say. In an effort to be more open, she decided to add:
Jade (7:11pm): Uneventful...wish you were there.
Before he could respond, she put on silent mode and threw her phone on the bed like it was suddenly piping hot.
There's no harm in applying! Cat's voice kept echoing in her head. Right. She might not get in.
Taking a deep breath and sitting up straight she forged on- detaching from her emotions and focusing her attention on her computer to continue filling out the internship application.
Tuesday, 4:00pm
"How's your walk to class?" Beck asked, sauntering out of his lecture and heading towards the front doors.
"Did you memorize my schedule or something? Are you stalking me now?"
"Yes and no," Beck answered with a smile. Preferring to stay inside, he took a seat on a bench in the building lobby.
"It's cold." Her reply gets muffled as a strong gust of wind takes over the phone line.
"What?" He held the phone closer to his ear.
"It's cold," Jade repeated through gritted teeth. This time the sound of an ambulance in the background drowned her out.
This isn't the first time the pair has had to deal with the sounds of the city interrupting their calls.
He turned up the volume on his phone before asking, "What? Sorry, the ambulance-
"IT'S COLD." Jade shouted into the speaker, her voice finally carrying over the harsh weather and traffic. Beck jumped at the sound, his phone almost slipping out of his hand. He gave a weak grin to the students sitting further down on the bench from him.
"I can tell." He held the speaker away from his mouth to take a loud breath.
"Finally indoors," she huffed.
Beck sighed in relief, finally able to hear her better. "I don't know how you deal with this weather every year."
"It wasn't by choice, LA boy," Jade said angrily. Catching her reflection in the glass door she saw her carefully curled hair twisted into knots from the wind. Not helping her mood, she heard a girl giggling in the background from Beck's end.
"Who was that?"
His face blanched and he's glad she wasn't with him. "No-nothing," he stammered.
"Alright, I have to go-"
"I love you," he said quickly before she could hang up the phone.
"I- I love you too," she stuttered, surprised. This whole "love" thing was new to her. "Bye."
"Bye," Beck smiled and hung up the phone.
After class Jade found the practice piano room deep in the building. It was spacious with a black grand piano on the right side of the room and a few circular tables in the center; sparse enough that when she sat down and hit a few keys the sound echoed. Luckily she was the only one in the room. Her mood soothed as she spread her fingers out across the keys and began playing. She did not realize how much she missed the big bulky piano at her house until now.
An hour passed by when she felt her phone vibrating in the bag next to her.
"What's up, Cat?"
"Jadey! Where are you?" Jade rolled her eyes at the nickname and told her.
"Are you coming back to the apartment soon?" Cat asked, sounding a bit shady.
"I don't know. Why?"
"Oh, just wondering! Text me when you're on the way! Bye!"
I guess I'll be here for awhile…
Cat only acted shifty whenever a boy was involved, and the thought of running into Robbie at her apartment was not appealing.
With a shake of a head, she jotted down the next music note on her sheet and continued playing.
"We've got some time," Cat said with a giggle looking at a shirtless Robbie next to her.
"Aw, sorry Cat, I actually have to get going." Robbie hung his head sadly as he pulled the blanket back to start getting dressed.
"What? Why?"
"I have an early call time for tomorrow and don't want to get back too late."
Looking at her crestfallen expression he decided to add, "But are you free this Saturday? There's an 8pm performance I can get you tickets to."
Bothered by his sudden decision to leave, she replied, "Well, I don't know, I think there is a party going on..." Cat looked up at Robbie with her big eyes and added, "I was hoping my boyfriend would join me, too."
Robbie bit his lip.
"...Would you come if I said you could meet the cast after the show?"
Cat's eyes lit up and Robbie beamed as Cat asked, "Really? I'd get to meet them?!"
"There's only one way to find out," He said with a proud grin, while internally hoping this works out given his not exactly high standing in the show hierarchy.
Cat squealed, jumped out of bed and wrapped her arms around him.
"Thanks, Robbie!"
A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Next chapter is written and will be posted tomorrow.