Beck's P.O.V:
Closing my locker door, I sigh as I hear the familiar squeals of a gaggle of girls approaching me. Flashing a smile, I turn around and engage conversation with the flirtatious bunch. Everyday it's the same with these girls, and every day I have to put up with attempts at flirting which are honestly just embarrassing.
"Oh Beck I LOVE your hair!"
"Hiii Beck! You free this Saturday night?"
And, "OMG! Your hair is so amazing!"
"What? You like acting too? We're just meant to be!"
And let's not forget the classic, "How do you get your hair so fluffy Beck?"
And I'm just not interested in any of them.
Although, not all the girls at Hollywood Arts who try to entice me. Jade West doesn't. Well, Jade West isn't like most girls at Hollywood Arts. Most girls here always act friendly and thoughtful; Jade on the other hand is abrasive, snippy, feisty and always speaks her mind. Most girls have endless lists of friends and are liked by everyone; Jade has one good friend that I know of and is feared by most people in the school - and that's including faculty members. Almost all of the girls at my school flirt with me at the drop of a hat; Jade, has never once flirted with me.
Like I said, Jade was not like most girls.
Straining my eyes through the crowd of girls, I spot Jade down the end of the hallway, slumped by her locker. There's something about her that I find attractive; actually, there are a lot of reasons why: she's unique; totally (and brutally) honest; she's beautiful, talented; and behind her tough exterior, I can tell she has a soft side. Politely, I excuse myself from the girls and make my way over to Jade. Unfortunately, I haven't made my great escape yet, for the group of girls fawning over me are on my tail. They really can't take a hint, can they?
This calls for drastic action.
I stop in my tracks and swivel around to face them and flip my hair - a trait which I'm not particularly fond of, but my hair is at a length where it kind of just does it itself if I move my head quickly.
"Hey girls." I greet.
"Hi, Beck!" They unanimously giggle.
"You know, I'm really thirsty. If only I had a soda..."
"I'll get you one Beck!" One girl offers.
"No, I will!" Another one screeches.
"Nu-uh! I'll get him a soda!" Yet another girl yells.
As planned, they all sprint to the soda machine. Fortunately, I know that the soda machine in this hallway is out of order. They'll have to run halfway across the school to find another soda machine. That'll keep them busy.
Admittedly, as much as this shameful fussing over me on a daily basis irritates me, I sometimes have a little fun with it, and it can be quite amusing.
"'Sup Beck?" Calls a voice from behind.
"Oh, hey, André." I reply. "I was just going to talk to Ja..."
She's already gone.
Jade's P.O.V:
Inhaling the sweet aroma of my coffee, I realise that I finally have a moment of peace. No classes, no insufferable idiots telling me to 'have a nice day', no one taking up my personal space and wasting my time... just me, and my coffee. I indulge myself in another huge gulp then take a deep breath, attempting to make the taste linger.
"I swear, one day I want to marry a man like coffee." I mutter absentmindedly to myself.
"You can't marry coffee silly!" Chirps the ever-perky Cat as she bounds up to me.
Shoot! I didn't mean to say that out loud!
"Hi, Cat." I mumble submissively, praying she'll forget what I'd just said.
"You know, instead of marrying a beverage..."
She didn't.
"You could always get a real boyfriend Jadey!"
Jadey. Gosh I hate it when she calls me that!
"No, I can't, because all the guys at this school are either dorks, freaks, weirdos, disgusting, are able to annoy the chiz out of me, or are already in a relationship." Unsurprisingly, Sinjin ticks off the vast majority of those boxes.
Hearing a cacophony of laughter across the hallway, Cat and I turn our heads to see the source of the giggling. Surprise, surprise, some babbling bimbos are fawning over 'pretty boy' Beckett Oliver. Yeah, I just love seeing this every day.
It's sickening.
"Beck's cute..."
"Cat, I'm not going to date Beck Oliver. He's a typical high school hot-shot who's about as phoney as your hair colour."
Cat grabs the tips of her hair and frowns. "Hey! Don't insult my hair!" She pouts.
Rolling my eyes I sigh, "Cat I'm not insulting your hair, I'm just saying that I don't want to date Beck."
"But Jadey-"
"STOP CALLING ME THAT!"
Cowering, Cat continues, "I was just gonna say that Beck is not dorky, not a freak, is not disgusting, not dating anyone, and you don't know he's phoney!"
"Yeah, well he probably is." I sigh dejectedly.
I notice Beck is heading in our direction, with the bimbos close behind. Not wanting to witness Beck's 'fan club' up close, I turn back to Cat. "Cat, we're leaving. Now." And with that we head off to the Asphalt Café. Although she doesn't know it yet, Cat's going to buy me a coffee.
Beck's P.O.V:
As usual, I'm spending lunch in the Asphalt café, hanging out with André Harris and Robbie Shapiro. Correction: I was supposed to be hanging out with them, but I couldn't help but let my mind wander off to Jade, so I wasn't really joining in with their conversation.
A clicking of André's fingers snaps me back to reality and I do a double take.
"Yo! Beck? You in there?" André asks.
"Yeah sorry André." I apologise before shoving a forkful of salad in my mouth, that I realise I have barely touched and have been playing around with for the past five minutes.
"Are you okay Beck?" Inquires Robbie. "You seem pretty out of it today."
"Yeah, I'm fine."
We sit in silence for a moment as André appears to be debating what to say.
"No... you're not." Andre concludes. "The last time you were this out of it was when you had a crush on…" He grins. "You have a crush on someone, don't you!"
"As a matter of fact, I do." I tell him.
Robbie has an eager look on his face. "Do we know this person?"
Pondering for a moment, I answer, "Yes. I wouldn't say you're friends though - more like acquaintances."
André thinks for a moment, "Is it Meredith?"
"No." I answer. Although she is kind of cute.
"Sherry?" Guesses Robbie.
"Wrong again."
Suddenly, André looks worried. "It's not Trina Vega, is it?"
"No! No way. No offence to her."
"Good, 'cause if you do you have serious issues!" Remarks Rex, who I honestly didn't even notice was here until piped up just now.
"Then who is it?" Robbie questions.
"It's Jade."
Robbie and André stare back at me, their brows creased noses wrinkled.
Rex chimes in once again after a short silence. "...Maybe we should reconsider the Vega girl."
Jade's P.O.V:
The good thing about being a good actress is that you can lie easily. Obviously, lying to Cat is easier than lying to most people, since she has the IQ of a potato, but I think she's catching on. She's catching on that I like Beck.
Yeah, as in like, like.
I'm ashamed to admit it, but it's true. And no, I do not mean just because of his looks, - but, come on, no-one can deny that he has the best hair any guy's probably ever going to have - he's actually a decent guy.
Okay, truthfully, I think he is a lot more than just 'decent'. However, I'm not letting anyone know that I have... feelings... for someone. After all, I have a reputation to uphold…
Fine. I'm not sure if I am ready for a relationship, or actual dating, or whatever. Not that I haven't been on the odd date with guys before, I have, but they were all idiots so I ended it quickly. I have no time for idiots.
"Here you go Jadey!" Cat says as she hands me a cup of coffee. "By the way, did you know that coffee is made from beans? Crazy, right? I thought coffee just came from coffee fruit, like cola."
I stand corrected, apparently I do have time for at least one idiot.
"Thanks." I mutter bluntly as I snatch the coffee from her hands. I took it from her a little more forcefully than I probably should have, but I am just frustrated that I'm stopping myself from pursuing… whatever this is I am feeling about Beck. I want to do something. What, I don't know. Asking him out on a date sounds… great - no. No, that's suicide. I like Beck way more than I would like to admit, so if it goes wrong, or he says no, I am just going to get hurt. And for that matter, humiliated. So, no thanks.
With coffee now pouring down my throat, I try to forget all about Beck. Unfortunately, my frustration immediately resurfaces when I realise Cat ordered me the wrong coffee.
"Cat! You put milk in this? I said a BLACK coffee with TWO sugars!" I holler at her. "I don't want to drink something that's come out of a cow! That's gross!"
"Sorry! Sorry!" She apologises profusely.
"Ugh!" I groan, slamming the coffee down on the table.
"Is something wrong Jadey?"
"FOR THE MILLIONTH TIME, DON'T..." I see the hurt in her eyes. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy making annoying imbeciles feel bad about themselves as much as the next person, but if there's one person I'll show my soft side for, it's Cat. So, I lower my voice slightly. "... don't call me 'Jadey'!"
"What's wrong, Jade? You seem snappier than usual."
"Cat, I always snap at people."
"But something's wrong, I can tell. What's up?"
Stealing a quick glance at the table where Beck, Robbie and André are sitting, I stare longingly at Beck.
"Just... stuff."
Beck's P.O.V:
"Jade as in Jade West?" André asks incredulously. His eyes wander off to a couple of tables away from where we're sitting - where Jade is sitting.
"Yes, Jade as in Jade West. Why? What's wrong with her?" I retort a slight trace of anger detectable in my voice. Wow. I haven't even successfully asked Jade out yet and I'm already acting like her over-protective boyfriend.
"Nothing..." André begins to assure before he is distracted by Jade's voice which has suddenly become distinguishable above the other voices of the boisterous students in the café.
"I said a BLACK coffee with TWO sugars!" She hollers.
André flinches slightly. Is he scared of her?
"It's just that Jade's probably not the easiest person in the world to ask out." Robbie interjects.
"I know." I say as I get up from my seat. "But hey, easy is boring."
A/N: Thank You to whomever may be reading this! If you do want to continue reading this, you should know that three more chapters are on the way (Update 20/08/2020: woooww 2017 me was really going to rush this)! I had a massive spurt of inspiration when I began writing this story, so hopefully I'll post the next chapter fairly soon (I've already started it)!
