Summary

It's not exactly a secret.

No really, it's like...the opposite of a secret. Someone may as well have, at one point in time, hired a sky writer, rented a billboard space on the freeway and took out an advert in every LA newspaper. That's how much of a not secret it is.

Jade West hates being touched.

A tale of Jade told in Seven Parts, exploring her touch avoidance and how each person found out about it.

Authors Note:

Time for Andre to enter the party! As many of you know, I'm a fan of Onesided Unrequited Jandre love - in my headcanon, Andre has been in love with Jade since Freshman year and just hides it well. Either that or Jade and Beck have the observational skills of teaspoons - really, either one. So this one has a fair amount of Unrequited Jandre Hints. Also, because apparently he's now a fan favourite, the lovely Ryder Daniel's makes an appearance.

This one takes place not long after Jade tells Beck about her past, which is why Beck is a bit more protective and worried than normal - he knows the reasoning behind her touch avoidance and will do anything to make her feel comfortable.

Also I am SO sorry for the delay in this chapter! I wanted to get it up on Wednesday, but unfortunately, work has been super busy all week and, as I'm the only person who does Customer Support and Booking Coordinations, I've been rammed and had no time to do anything; I mostly write when I have a quiet hour or two at work or at the weekends, but this past weekend I was busy with seeing friends and family to show off my lovely engagement ring! However, next week is shaping up to be quieter at work, so hopefully I can write more!

Next up is Trina Vega - and I have nothing written for her. I'm toying between it being during the 'Ice Cream for Ke$ha' episode, when Jade tells Trina to 'NEVER touch me' or maybe have it at like, a party or something; this one will probably be set during the shows run, as I'm wanting to explore how she handles her touch avoidance as she gets older; obviously, in Robbie's chapter she's so young and everything is fresh, so she freaks out. In Ryder and Cat's chapters, she's just been yanked from the only world she's ever known and thrust into a new fancy world, so she's still trying to figure things out, and figure out how to act. And also, not fully trusting her dad that he won't hurt her if he gets mad. Now with Beck and Andres, she's a little older and handles it better, allowing touch so long as she instigates it (other than with Beck). With Trina, it'll be she's almost 'owning' her touch avoidance and doesn't even try to hide it anymore, although no one really knows the reasons, other than Robbie and Beck.

BUT if you have ideas for a Trina chapter, please let me know! 3


Andre found out about her aversion to touch shortly after Winter break of their Freshman Year of high school. Of course, he knew she wasn't all that touchy-feely and wasn't a big fan of physical contact, but he had no clue about how severe it was.

There had been a recent string of attacks around Hollywood Arts, especially on lone females, and as such, the school decided the best thing to do was to give all of their students – male and female – a quick but thorough self-defense seminar. Because the 700 students who attended Hollywood Arts couldn't all fit into the school gym at once, the students were split up into 14 randomly selected groups of 50 people each, with each seminar taking half a day – Beck, Cat and Robbie were in Group 7, with Jade and Andre in Group 9.

Andre should have figured something was going on when Beck pulled him aside after his groups seminar, at the end of the day and glanced around them as if to make sure there was no one eavesdropping.

"Listen - when you do your seminar tomorrow afternoon, can you make sure you pair up with Jade?"

Andre blinked a little and tilted his head. "Why?"

Beck let out a light laugh, but Andre could tell it was his 'acting' laugh. He'd heard it enough to know it wasn't anything like Beck's genuine laugh. "Oh uh...you know. I just don't want some random trying to get fresh with her. There's a few moves that you have to grab your partner from behind and I don't want to give guys a chance to feel her up." Andre didn't know whether to feel insulted or honoured; insulted because Beck didn't see him as even the smallest threat to his relationship with Jade (despite the fact that he was currently dealing with some very inappropriate and forbidden feelings towards the Alt-chick, and had been since that bloody Ping Pong Team dinner), or honoured because Beck 100% trusted him with Jade. He decided, for the sake of his friendship with both Beck and his girlfriend, to just go with honoured.

"Sure man, I get it." He nodded, pulling his bag up his shoulder a little more. "So long as she's fine with it too."

"I'm sure she'd prefer you over a random, believe me."

"Who'd prefer Andre over some random?" Jade asked, seemingly popping up out of nowhere with the intent on giving Andre a heart attack – Beck, cool and fearless Beck, simply blinked at her sudden appearance at his side.

"You. I was telling him about how during the seminar, the person being the attacker has to grab on to the 'attackee' from behind." Andre couldn't really read the look in Jade's eyes as anything other than 'worried'. "I was just asking if he'd make sure to pair up with you."

"O-Oh...yeah." Jade nodded, but it seemed like she was feeling awkward and shifted from foot to foot.

"I was just saying I didn't want to give guys a chance to feel you up." He explained, carefully wrapping an arm around her shoulders, and now Andre couldn't help but notice that the worry had shifted to relief as Beck spoke.

"Such a caveman." She teased with a smirk, rolling her eyes. "C'mon Caveman. You can buy me a coffee on the way back to yours." She gave Andre a smile and wave, before tugging on Beck's wrist and making him follow, as he waved to Andre as well.

The next day, when he was heading towards the gym after lunch (and after group 8 had got out of the seminar), he spotted Beck and Jade in a corner, near the lockers, with Beck whispering in her ear as she nodded, her face paler than normal and her fingers twitching a little.

Deciding to announce his presence before they accused him of snooping, he called out a greeting to both of them, as if he didn't notice anything odd going on. The pair turned, façades slipping back into place; cool, calm and collected Beck and catty, smirking and confident Jade. Andre almost didn't believe that they'd looked suspicious just moments ago, considering how flawlessly they changed in just a second.

"Ready for a dull seminar?" Andre asked Jade, who rolled her eyes but nodded.

"If I start falling asleep midway through, make sure to poke me awake. Or just provide cover if anyone seems to be looking at me." She drawled, pressing a kiss to Beck's lips and giving him a smile as he squeezed her hands, and Andre pretended not to notice him mouthing the words 'It'll be OK' at her before she separated from his hold completely.

Jade didn't seem to notice Andre glancing out the corner of his eyes at her. She looked like she always did; devastatingly pretty, even if she had 'resting bitch face', her caramel brown hair curled a little at the ends with a white streak partially hidden by her natural hair with the front pulled back with a little backcombing around the roots to give it some volume. She'd changed at lunch (as they all had) into a pair of tight black sweats that cut off just under her knees and black tank top with an overly large light grey hoodie – Beck's if he had to guess – on top.

"Hey Jade." Another voice called out and Jade rolled her eyes a little before she stopped – Andre stopping with her, because what else was he meant to do? None of his friends other than Jade were in this seminar with him, and he wasn't about to go into the gym alone; he needed to wait with Jade so they could partner up when the time came.

Andre's eyebrows raised as it turned out Ryder Daniels, Sophomore heart throb, had been the one calling her name out, and strolled over to the pair.

"Want to partner up during the seminar?" He asked, his voice unusually serious (from what Andre had heard from him in passing before). It didn't even seem overly flirtatious, which is what he'd come to expect. "Y'know, for the throws and stuff?"

Andre wasn't exactly sure what he expected, but he certainly didn't expect Jade's face to soften for a second as she gave him a small smile, before it went back to her normal resting bitch face. "It's fine. I already got my partner." She nodded towards Andre, who gave a half-hearted nod in greeting, trying not to wonder about the frown that flickered across Ryders brow.

"You sure?"

"Yes." She replied bluntly, rolling her eyes. "God Ryder, I'm old enough to choose my own partner for things. I don't need your approval. I'm not 12 anymore, OK?" She snapped, grabbing Andre's wrist in her thin fingers and tugging him towards the gym doors.

"You knew him when you were 12?" Andre asked curiously as he pushed open the heavy gym doors, holding it open for her to pass through.

"What? Oh yeah. He's my next door neighbour. He went to middle school with me and Cat too." She explained with a shrug. "He's like an annoying and overprotective big brother."

Andre winced a little at that. From the way Ryder looked at Jade, it was pretty obvious he was into her – Andre knew that look. Hell, Andre wore that look sometimes, when he forgot to school his expression. Poor Ryder. He wasn't even friend-zoned. He was brother-zoned.

Andre forgot all about Ryder and the poor guy being put in the worst possible 'zone' when into a girl (unless there was such a thing as Dad-Zoned) as he listened to the self-defense instructor the school had hired. It was actually pretty interesting stuff, which was a rarity in his experiences of school sanctioned seminars. They were told that what they were going to be taught wasn't fighting back, it wasn't going to be how to throw punches or kick most effectively. What they were going to be shown were moves that would help enable them to get away, to escape. That was the most important thing; removing themselves from the situation. It would be ways to get out of holds, the best way to deflect attacks.

Which Andre guessed made sense; they were students at a performing arts school. They were all meant to be the definition of lovers, not fighters (although woe betide anyone who referred to Jade freakin' West as a lover not a fighter). And who would know if their attackers had a gun or a knife or were trained in martial arts?

And then came the bit that, for whatever reason, Beck hadn't been too thrilled about (or Ryder too, now that Andre thought of it. He'd specifically mentioned the 'throws and stuff'. Were they really that worried about someone feeling Jade up? Who'd even have the balls to try it?!) - the demonstration and practice.

Andre was so focused on noticing that Ryder had purposefully positioned himself in the spot next to him and Jade (along with his partner, a girl with blonde fluffy hair, batting her eyelashes at the handsome sophomore, who didn't even seem to be paying a lick of attention to her, instead he was focusing on Jade out of the corner of his eyes), to take into account Jade's slightly quickened breath and flexing fingers as she stood straight and stiff.

When they were told to slowly try the first move (grabbing their partner from behind and wrapping one arm around their neck, not enough to even risk choking them, and in turn the person grabbed was to use their hips to gain enough leverage to throw them over their shoulder or at least force them towards the side), Andre carefully made sure his arm was nowhere near tight on her throat, but couldn't exactly stop his front being pressed directly against Jade's back.

However, when Jade's move came into play, and she was meant to twist and pull, she didn't move other than to have both her hands instantly clamp onto his forearm. Andre could hear the sharp, shallow breaths coming from Jade, could feel her body tensed up like solid rock and feel her heart beat going rabbit fast, seemingly hard enough for him to feel clearly in this position, he figured something was up. He felt her fingers tense and figured she was just taking a few moments to gather her bearings and was about to complete the exercise.

Instead, however, she almost started clawing at his forearm, causing him to wince as she broke the skin with her black painted nails, her breathing frantic and a small whimper coming out from her chewed up lips – she'd been chewing her lower lip since the seminar started, Andre had noticed. And then Andre noticed that almost everyone else had completed, or tried to, complete the move. Only him and Jade were, quite noticeably, in the starting position.

Something was up with Jade, that much was obvious. And he needed to figure it out, before people started noticing because if Andre knew one thing about Jade, it was that she would be mortified and pissed as all hell if people started staring at her when she was, seemingly, freaking out. Normally, Andre would have just let go and stepped back, but the problem was, Jade's clawing, blood drawing grip wouldn't let him.

"Jade, yo...West." Andre hissed as quietly as possible, trying to dislodge his arm from her neck, but her stone like grip was preventing him. Andre had pretty good spacial awareness, which was why he was kind of shocked that he didn't spot Ryder barreling into them, knocking all three of them into a pile of limbs – although, the way Ryder fell meant that he was more on top of Andre and Jade was mostly free from the two boys.

"Sorry." Ryder stated stiffly, climbing to his feet and keeping his eyes on Jade. He didn't even seem to care that the rest of the seminar, including the instructor, was staring at them. But, Andre noticed, they were staring at him and Ryder. Not Jade; she had managed to climb to her feet and was standing like a statue, staring at both boys.

"I need the restroom." She blurted out, turning on her heel and almost running towards the heavy gym doors, slipping out of them within moments and disappearing. Without a word, Andre climbed up and bolted after her, aware of Ryder trying to do the same thing but getting stopped by his partner who wanted to know what the hell had happened and why he had practically thrown himself at Jade and Andre (Andre would later find out that Ryder had used his well-known crush on Jade as an excuse, playing himself off as being jealous).

Andre only caught a glimpse of the tips of Jade's long caramel coloured hair as she ducked inside Lane's office, effectively cutting him off from asking what the hell just happened. As it was, he simply circled it in his head; Beck knew...something he was sure. It couldn't have been a coincidence that he specifically asked Andre to pair up with her, then something like this happened. Ryder too, considering his odd behavior, both pushing to partner up with her and then the obviously on purpose shove he'd been given. And Jade herself had been...off most of the day, not snapping back with her usual quick witted venom. And then the intimate scene he had spotted between her and Beck just before the seminar.

Something was up with Jade. His arm, with deep scratch marks that were bleeding sluggishly, was proof enough of that. Knowing that there was one person who would probably give him at least a little context, and who would probably be pissed if Andre didn't message him, the musician whipped out his PearPhone and opened up his PearMessages, clicking into the most recent message chain.

'Jade freaked in the seminar. Scratched my arm up then bolted into Lane's office. I'm in the hall outside.'

He figured maybe he should have given a little more detail, but it was a bit much to go into detail in, in text. Especially when he figured Beck would probably be there in just a few minutes, probably leaving class without an explanation.

And he was right, as not even a few minutes after he sent the text, Beck came skidding around the corner, his eyes wide and jacket clenched in one hand, as if he hadn't even paused to put it on before he ran out of his class (Geography, if Andre remembered correctly). "Is she still with Lane?"

Andre nodded, motioning towards the door he had seen Jade vanish behind. "Yeah, she's still in there." He replied, looking at Beck curiously; he'd never seen the acting prodigy so wigged out or flustered; he was tapping his fingers in an irregular beat on his thighs as he stood like a spring ready to bounce, dark eyes trained on Lane's office door, one hand carding through his hair every few moments. Beck was normally almost unnaturally still; Robbie, in one of his more...questionable moments, had described Beck as a 'lake', reasoning that he was still on the surface but that stillness hid depth and mystery; at the time, everyone had just chalked that up to his bro-crush on the half Indian actor. But looking at him now, Andre thought maybe Robbie had a point. And what he was witnessing was some of the currents and turmoil under that still surface.

"Listen, I get you can't go into detail. But what was up with her?"

"She's just a little off today is all." Beck shrugged and normally, Beck was an amazing liar – it came with being an amazing actor; both Beck and Jade could lie convincingly enough that they could make you really think the sky was green and the grass was pink. But it didn't work so well, when he was obviously worried about his girlfriend. And Andre had seen how his girlfriend was acting.

"I don't think this is just 'a little off' Beck." Andre stated bluntly, holding out his arm to show the deep claw marks that had been left – deep enough that they might leave thin and almost unnoticeable scars once healed. "She wouldn't let go Beck. Just froze up and dug her nails into my arm on the first hold. I think she would have still been gripping me if Ryder Daniel's hadn't fallen into us."

"Daniels was there?" Beck asked, his eyes narrowed. "What he do?"

"Nothing. He asked Jade to be his partner, she told him she was already partnered with me. He took the spot next to us with his partner and then practically tackled me to the ground. It was the only reason Jade let go."

Beck nodded, as if appeased, before running his hands through his slightly-less-fabulous-than-usual hair; evidentially, messing with his hair was his anxious gesture. "Listen, you're right I can't go into details but..." He let out a long sigh. "She doesn't like being touched Andre. At all."

"What? You touch her all the time though...we all do." Although none of them ever touched her as much as Beck did, for obvious reasons.

"Oh really? Can you think of a single incident of you touching Jade, when she didn't touch you first?" Beck fired back and it made Andre pause because...he was right. Any time him, or Robbie or even Cat had physical contact with Jade, it was only after she'd initiated it. "I'm...different I guess. She's fine with me touching her at anytime. But even that took months." Beck chewed his lower lip, eyes training back on Lane's office. "I thought...well, after I was in the seminar, I knew it'd be hard for her. But I hoped that if it was you, a friend she liked and trusted, she'd maybe be OK. She thought so too." He shook his head and Andre couldn't help but feel a rush of affection for both Beck and Jade; Beck trusted him enough that he knew Andre wouldn't try anything with Jade, and trusted him to be there for her when Beck himself couldn't be. And Jade actually saw him as a friend, and not only that, but trusted him enough to try partnering with him, even if it didn't work.

"No one else noticed." Andre mentioned gently, well aware that Jade no doubt didn't want any attention brought to this. And neither would Beck. "I think they would have, if Ryder hadn't knocked into us. Pretty sure he did it on purpose."

"Yeah. Ryder knows. For once I'm actually thankful that asshole was there." Beck shook his head, and Andre guessed he knew all about Ryder's obvious crush on Jade. "I think if it was anyone else, other than you, she would have flipped out more." Beck offered. "I know it doesn't seem like it, but it could have been much worse."

Andre looked down at his forearm then back at Beck with a disbelieving look on his face, as if to say 'oh really?'

"When we were at dinner last week, the waiter tried it on with her when I went to the bathroom. She stabbed him in the hand with a fork." Beck raised his own eyebrows. "Broke the skin. We had to leave before the police were called. Believe me, it could have been worse."

"...do you know? Why, I mean?" Andre asked quietly, although there was one main thought that came to mind as to why someone, especially a teenage girl, would hate to be touched. And the thought of it made his stomach turn; abuse.

Beck nodded, a grimace on his face that fed fuel to Andre's suspicion and he didn't ask anymore. It would be pointless to do so. Beck would never betray Jade's trust and tell him. And Jade sure as hell wouldn't mention anything about it either. The only thing he did ask was; "And she's OK now? She's safe?"

Beck nodded again, and Andre let out a long breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, nodding to himself. If Jade had been in a bad situation, he had no doubt Beck would tear heaven and hell apart to get her out of it; it was just the type of person Beck was, he'd do it for any of his friends, or even strangers, but especially for Jade. For Jade, he'd kill someone, Andre was pretty sure.

So if Jade was out of whatever situation had caused her to hate being touched, Andre could do nothing else. He didn't think he'd ever really know the details; was it just a one time thing? Was it prolonged? Who was it? Was it physical abuse only or...something more, which made his stomach clench painfully. But he couldn't do anything. He just had to hope that Beck could deal with any other issues or trauma, because as much as Andre wanted to help Jade out, to help heal her, it wasn't his job and she wouldn't let him. He was her friend, she didn't even deny it like she did with Robbie, but he wasn't Beck. No matter how much he yearned to take Beck's place in her heart.

Both boys heads shot up as the door to Lane's office opened and the school guidance Counseller stepped out, pausing to look at both of the boys. "Ah. Beck. I was just about to get the office to send for you. I need you to take Jade home. She's...not feeling very well." Lane explained, running his hand over his short cropped hair as he turned back to the office and motioned for Jade to come out.

She did so, her face pale and eyes flickering back and forth, her thin fingers clenching and unclenching as she wrapped her arms around her stomach, chewing on her lower lip. Her eyes met Andre's for a second and then flickered down to his scratched up arm, her eyes widening.

"C'mon Jay. Lets get you home." Beck stated, tucking his arm around her and nodding to Lane.

"I'll mark you both down as approved absences." Lane told the duo, before looking at Andre and catching sight of his forearm. "Andre, let's get you down to the nurse."

Andre couldn't help but glance over his shoulder at Jade and Beck as they headed off down the hall, Beck's arm more protective than usual, his normally limp fingers gripping her shoulder, tucking her more under his arm as he whispered in her ear.

"You're...allowing a student to go home with another student early? Shouldn't it be Jade's dad?" He had no clue if her mom was in the picture, to be honest; but she'd only ever heard of her talking about her dad and her dads 'barbie girlfriend Julia or whatever'.

"It's a special circumstance." Lane shrugged, pausing outside the nurses office and glancing around to make sure no one was listening in. "I understand you must be curious and maybe even angry or annoyed, about your arm. But I'm asking you to not pry. And not hold it against Jade..."

"Of course I wouldn't!" Andre shook his head. "I'm curious, sure, but it's not my business. If Jade wants to tell me anything, then she will. Otherwise..." He shrugged a little. "It never happened. She just got bored of the seminar and stormed out. And I tried to pet an angry cat." He glanced down at his scratched forearm, the bleeding fully stopped now but the dried blood remaining.


That evening, just after he'd managed to convince his grandma to eat her dinner and take her medication, he got a text from Beck. It sat directly under his own message from earlier, telling him about Jade's freak out. He hadn't used his phone once since.

Can u come 2 the rv 2nite? Need 2 talk.

Andre winced a little at the text speech. Sure, he was known for his excessive use of 'LOL' 'ROFL' and others like it, but he at least wrote out whole worlds, unlike Beck. He knew that Jade was constantly ragging on him for it, as she used perfect spelling and full punctuation even in her texts. She claimed it took actual effort to write in bad English or with text speech. Of course, both her and Beck used weird emoticons sometimes too, not just the standard ones that came with the phone.

Sure. Be there in 25?

K.

It took Andre a little longer than 25 minutes to get to the RV; his Grandma had a small issue that he needed to help calm her down from, meaning it was closer to 35 minutes, but he arrived as soon as he could, that was what counted. He'd been to the RV a few times, but never when Jade was going to be there (he assumed she'd be there, since from the way they talked, it seemed like she was there around 80% of the time). Climbing out of his car, he strolled across to the door and knocked a few times, not even finishing the third knock before the door was pulled open and Beck ushered him in.

To Andre's surprise, Jade wasn't there, although there was ample evidence that she was there most of the time; her book bag and a few novels that he was sure Beck wouldn't ever read were scattered around the RV, a red lacy bra hung from the dresser doorknob (that made Andre really happy he couldn't visibly blush, because he was sure he'd be as red as the bra otherwise), make up and clip in hair extensions, bottle of nail polish and jewelry littered the top of the chest of drawers.

"Where's Jade?" Andre asked curiously, peering around as if she may be hiding in a corner or something.

"She's in the main house. We only have a shower in the RV and she wanted a bath." Beck explained, sitting himself on the couch after throwing a pile of black lace and flannel shirts in an overflowing laundry basket. "Thanks for coming over, man."

"No problem. I figured after today, it was probably important." Andre nodded, sitting on the couch a few feet away from Beck, angled towards him.

"Firstly...I know you wouldn't anyway, but I gotta say; don't mention anything about today to anyone, please? People would ask questions and Jade would hate that."

"Of course. I already told Lane; Jade just got bored and stormed out and I pet an angry cat on my way home today." Andre gave a small half smile, but he knew it had lost any of his usual infectious enthusiasm. This wasn't really a discussion where it'd be welcome.

Beck seemed to relax a little at that, as if he needed the conformation from Andre himself; and in any situation, Andre might have been a bit pissed that Beck even doubted him. But he got it; this was Jade. Andre would do the exact same, and he didn't even know the reasoning behind it. Of course, Beck worried. "And...I mean, I don't want to make demands but...can you try and just still be your normal self around Jade? She's mortified right now, that you saw her like that. And even if she'd never say it, she feels bad about your arm."

Andre nodded again. "Sure man. I mean...I'll try my best to act normal around her. It's just...I don't know how I never realised that no one but you ever touched Jade unless she initiated the contact. Now it's pointed out, I can't see how I ever missed it."

"No one makes a big deal of it. Cat and Robbie, I mean."

"They already know?!" OK, that was a bit insulting; they'd told Cat and Robbie before him? Fair enough, Cat and Jade were somehow the best of friends, but Robbie?

"Robbie has known Jade since they were in diapers." Beck shrugged. "She used to live next door to him, before her dad got custody when she was 12. Then she got sent to Page Academy and met Cat, who figured it out on her own. So really, I'm third and your fourth in finding out."

Andre blinked. He never knew Robbie and Jade went so far back together; there was never any hints of it. They didn't have inside jokes or laugh and chat about memories they had as kids. To be honest, unless it was Jade snarking at Robbie, or Robbie floundering oddly worded compliments at Jade, they rarely even spoke. They were the two who were the least friendly in their entire group.

"So it's just like an...unspoken agreement with everyone. Don't touch Jade unless she touches first." Andre clarified, wanting to make sure he had this down so he didn't cause any issues down the line. "And even then, nothing too invasive or long lasting."

"Exactly. Unless you want some scissor scars to match the scratches." Beck gave a half hearted chuckle at that, as if trying to lighten the mood. Whatever Andre may have replied with was cut off by the entrance of the girl in question. Her hair was damp and hanging around her face, dripping the last of the water that clung to it onto the white tank top she wore (and Andre glanced away as he noticed she most certainly wasn't wearing a bra), which was matched with a pair of dark blue and white flannel pants, obviously Beck's judging by the fact the were far too long on her, bunching up around the feet and sitting low on her hips, the tank top ending just below her bellybutton, allowing a strip of pale skin to be seen between the hem of the tank top and the waist of the pants.

"Oh...Andre." Jade shifted a little, obviously uncomfortable and from the way her eyes kept flickering to his forearm, it made him happy he hadn't taken off his hooded sweater. He didn't want to see her face when she saw the plasters covering the worst of the scratches. "Uh...I..."

"Don't worry about it." Andre jumped in, cutting her off and climbing to his feet – he knew when he'd overstayed his welcome, even if neither Jade nor Beck had hinted at it. And he also knew that watching Jade flounder and try and force out apologies and gratitude's would be awkward and painful for all three people in the RV. "These things happen, no need to dwell. Plus it got me out of that stupid seminar, so we're all good."

Jade's face washed with relief at not having to go into detail, or apologise, considering she hated having to say 'Sorry' or lose face with people. Andre wondered if Beck was an exception to that rule as he seemed to be with all of her others. Beck also gave him a warm smile, as if happy he wasn't pushing the matter. He had to remind himself that, when it came to Jade and her safety (both physical safety and her mental health) Beck was always more careful and defensive; it didn't mean he didn't trust Andre to do as he promised. It was just that Beck tried to not let his guard down about anything that may hurt his girlfriend.

"Well, I best be off." Andre gave Beck a 'bro-back-slap-hug' then held out his fist for Jade to fist bump, their normal way of saying hello and goodbye; a sign that nothing had changed, he wasn't going to treat her any differently. "I think Cat was wanting to go mini golfing on Sunday, so no doubt I'll see you both then."

Jade nodded, tapping her knuckles against his with her usual dryly amused look on her face. "I have no doubt we'll all be dragged their kicking and screaming."

"It'll be fun." Beck nudged Jade with a smile and a roll of his eyes at his cynical girlfriend. "But yeah, we'll see you there. Get Cat to text us the details if she messages you."

Andre nodded and headed towards the door, pulling it shut behind him as he moved towards his car, unlocking it with a click of the button on his keys. Before opening the drivers side door though, he glanced back at the RV, seeing the silhouetted image of Beck and Jade through the window and thin curtains, seeing Beck tug Jade into his arms, wrapping them around her slight frame, her own arms slotting around his waist as she rested her forehead on his collarbone.

Sometimes it hurt to be in love with your best friends girlfriend (well, almost all the time really) but he couldn't begrudge the pair. And he certainly couldn't get annoyed at Jade for only allowing Beck the freedom to touch her without warning. Whatever happened to her in the past had hurt her, damaged her to the point that being touched was something that could cause a near panic attack. If she had managed to get past that enough for at least Beck to touch her freely, who could make her feel bad for that?

Even if Andre wished that he was in Beck's place.