"To your last first day of school." Beck grins, holding up his drink for a toast "May senior year be as stress-free as possible."
The group of young people laugh, knowing very well that senior year is usually the most stressful year of them all if for no other reason than the impending doom of true adulthood that lays at the end of it.
"It's the last first day of school for some of us..." Robbie sighs, looking to Cat and Jade "I, for some stupid reason, agreed to go to grad school after this."
It had been Beck's idea that the four of them go out to dinner to celebrate the beginning of the end. He knew that making it to senior year was no small feat, and with NYU's fall semester starting the following morning...he figured a double date was in order.
"My man will be the most educated one of us all!" Cat chuckles, wrapping her arms around one of Robbie's and leaning her head against his shoulder "It'll be worth it in the end, baby. Don't worry."
"Can we fast forward to the end?" Robbie groans
"No!" Cat insists "We have to enjoy this! You only get one senior year!"
"It'll be fine, man." Beck assures him "Not that I would know, I barely made it through one semester of gen eds before I dropped out."
"I thought you said you didn't go to college?" Robbie asks him
"No, I didn't finish college." Beck clarifies "I did one semester at UCLA, lived at home to try and save money. My grades sucked and I wasn't interested in any of the classes I was taking, so I dropped out to give acting a full-time try."
"Seemed to work out okay for you."
"It did, yeah." Beck laughs
Beck and Robbie actually get along much better than their girlfriends had expected them to. The two men didn't have much in common when they were introduced, or at least that's what Cat and Jade thought. As it turns out, most twenty-something men all share a common interest of video games, beer, and sports. The two of them are now in the same Call of Duty online clan, and Beck has invited Robbie to join a fantasy football league with him and his friend Andre in the fall. Cat and Jade now joke about how they wouldn't be surprised if their boyfriends started hanging out without them.
They try not to linger at the restaurant for too long, knowing that a late night would make for a rough Monday morning for all of them. Beck and Robbie split the check, and then they all begin the walk back to Cat and Jade's dorm. From there, Robbie will walk back to his own dorm, and Beck will catch an Uber to his apartment.
"Isn't it crazy..." Cat sighs as they walk "A year ago our lives looked so different, and a year from now they'll look even more different..."
"S'kinda how the passage of time is supposed to work, Cat." Jade reminds her "Time moves forward, and so do our lives."
A year ago, Jade had still been with Marcus. Their relationship was just starting to deteriorate, but she was holding onto the hope that they would be able to fix things. She spent most of that semester trying to fix things with him, only for everything to blow up around the holidays...leaving her with no choice but to break up with him. It makes her scared about where she and Beck could be in a year. Things with Beck are already so much better than they were with Marcus, even after the short time that they've been together. He's just...such a better fit for her. He makes her so much happier and brings her so much more comfort. She doesn't ever want to lose him.
A year ago, Beck had been living in an RV in his parent's driveway. He had the money to move out, but if he had he probably would have been stretched pretty thin when it came to his other expenses. He had done a few commercials and done some background work in movies and TV shows, but was still waiting for his big break. It came about six months later when he got the audition for LA Med and then later booked the role that would lead him to the spinoff. That audition had changed his life. Not only did it bring him to the other side of the country and jumpstart his career, it also led him to Jade. The thought makes him excited about where the two of them could be in a year, maybe living together...he's not sure, but he's optimistic. She's the best thing that has ever happened to him, and he doesn't ever want to lose her.
"I know but at this time last year we were juniors, now we're seniors!" Cat insists "Hopefully by this time next year we'll have jobs! Real ones!"
"I see your point..." Jade nods, even though it's a lie
She doesn't really see the point that Cat is trying to make, and neither do Beck and Robbie, but if any of them admit that...Cat will just keep rambling, confusing them even more than she already has.
They take the long way home, cutting through Washington Square Park in the process. The weather, while warm, isn't ungodly hot like it can sometimes be at the end of August, and the bits of sunset they can see between the buildings is beautiful. In a year's time there's a chance that none of them could call the area home anymore, so its worth soaking up the small parts of it that they enjoy while they still can. They're not alone, there are plenty of other couples out doing the same thing, spending time together and enjoying the evening.
Eventually, they arrive at the main entrance to the girls' dorm, and each couple begins to say their goodnights.
"Wanna come up for a night cap?" Jade asks, draping her arms around Beck's neck as he wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her close to him "We just re-stocked the alcohol."
"Sounds tempting, but tonight I'll have to pass." Beck chuckles "We both know that if I come up there, I'll end up staying much later than I should. Then we're both in for an early and rough morning."
"You could stay over?"
"My call time is too early." Beck shakes his head "I don't want to do that to you on your first day of classes."
"Fine." Jade pouts "I guess that's fair."
"Sorry." Beck chuckles, pressing a quick kiss to her temple "Another night."
"Promise?"
"Of course I do." He assures her "Have a great first day of classes, okay? I can't wait to hear all about it."
"I can't wait to tell you about it." Jade nods "Goodnight, I love you."
"I love you too." He tells her
Beck hugs Jade tightly and they share a kiss goodbye before breaking away from each other so Jade can enter the building. Cat says goodnight to Robbie and isn't very far behind her roommate, and the two of them walk into the lobby together.
"We're going to split a bottle of wine before bed, right?" Cat asks as the two of them wait for the elevator
"I'll have a glass, sure." Jade laughs "I don't know about a whole half of a bottle."
"Suit yourself." Cat shrugs as the car arrives and they step on "What time do you have class tomorrow?"
"Eight o'clock, of course." Jade rolls her eyes "I have my Praxis and then my 4-in-1 at ten. What about you?"
"Advanced music theory at nine." Cat tells her "Sounds like we're both in for a super exciting morning."
"I'm sure it'll all be interesting once we get going with things." Jade assures her "I mean, senior year is when you take the classes that are most specific to your major. It will be exciting."
"S'a good point." Cat agrees "M'not sure I'm ready to be back in school full time yet though."
"I'm definitely not." Jade admits "I'm not going to-"
"Get to see Beck as much?" Cat teases "Get to have as many sleepovers with Beck?"
"Have as much free time to work on my one-act..." Jade finishes her original thought "I'll still see Beck just as often. His schedule isn't changing that much. The only thing that is changing is that I'll be in class while he's on set. And don't give me crap about hanging out with him! You and Robbie are together just as much!"
"I know, I know. I'm only teasing you." Cat smirks "I'm really happy that you're happy, Jadey. You deserve to be."
"Do I look okay?" Jade asks as Beck holds the door open for her
"Of course you do." He assures her "You look great!"
"Are you sure?"
"More than sure." He nods "Are you okay?"
"I'm nervous."
"Why?"
"I dunno..." Jade shrugs "I've never been to anything like this before, and I've never been in the same room as this many famous people before."
"You say that like I'm taking you to the Golden Globes rather than a watch party." Beck laughs "This is casual. You don't have anything to be nervous about, babe. They're all just people, just like you and me."
"Fuck, sometimes I forget that you're one of them."
"Huh?"
"Famous." Jade clarifies "I forget that you're famous. Or that you will be in about an hour when your face is all over everyone's television screens."
"You'll be famous too one day." Beck reminds her "And one of your co-star's girlfriends will be nervous about sitting in the same room as you during a premiere."
"Is that supposed to help me feel better right now?"
"Yes."
"It didn't."
"Jade." Beck laughs as he stops walking, placing his hands on his girlfriend's shoulders "They're just people who like to play pretend, just like you and me, okay? Everyone is super nice and will be super welcoming. I wouldn't have invited you along if I didn't think you were going to have a good time, okay?"
"Okay." Jade sighs "I'm sorry for spiraling."
"S'okay." Beck presses a quick kiss to her forehead and reaches down to grab her hand "C'mon, it's this way."
It's the third Thursday in September, the night Beck's show is set to premiere. LA Med will be on at eight, and then Manhattan Med will follow it an hour later at nine. One of Beck's co-stars had invited everyone over to her condo to watch the first episode, and Beck had invited Jade to come with him.
By this point, Jade has been back in school for about a month, and she and Beck have been together for just over four and a half months. Everything is going great, she just feels a bit self-conscious about sitting in a room full of professional actors and their spouses and partners when she herself is still in school.
Beck's co-star lives in a high-rise apartment building just a block north of Central park. Both Beck and Jade agreed upon arrival that the building is one that they could dream of living in one day, it's very luxurious. As they ride the elevator up to the correct floor, they can only imagine the view of the city and the park below as the sun is setting.
"Beck, hi!" His co-star grins as she opens the door "C'mon in! Glad you could make it!"
"Thanks for the invite." Beck tells her as he and Jade enter "Lacey, this is my girlfriend, Jade. Jade, this is Lacey Miller."
"Hi, nice to meet you." Jade smiles as she shakes Lacey's hand, then offers her the bottle of wine they had brought along
"Lacey plays my girlfriend on the show." Beck explains "Olivia Taft."
"Oh?"
She knew that his character had a girlfriend, and now thinking back to conversations that the two of them have had...she supposes that she remembers that he had told her the actress's name was Lacey. Jade just hadn't expected Lacey to be so pretty, or so...blonde.
"Not to worry, Jade. I'm married." Lacey holds up her left hand to show off her rings "My husband, Mike, will be joining us shortly. He's putting our boys to sleep."
"I look forward to meeting him." Jade smiles
Lacey leaves to greet another guest who has arrived, and Jade and Beck move further into the apartment to mingle with more of Beck's co-stars.
"Don't worry, she's not my type." Beck assures her as they walk "And I only have eyes for you, you don't need to worry."
"Who said I was worried?"
"Your face did when I said that Lacey plays my girlfriend." Beck chuckles
He knows that Jade is the jealous type. She had been honest about that from the beginning when they first decided to become official, and her actions have solidified it over the last few months. If another woman so much as looks in his direction while they're out in public together, she grabs his hand immediately and holds it tighter than she normally would. Beck doesn't mind, because he knows that neither one of them has anything to worry about. As he had just told her, she's the only woman that he cares about.
"Oops."
"S'okay." Beck laughs, taking her hand in his and kissing it before leading her into the kitchen "Hey everyone!"
A chorus of hi's and hello's rings out as Beck's co-stars realize that he has arrived. He introduces Jade to his co-star, Jack Chaplin, next.
"Jade, this is Jack. Jack this is my girlfriend, Jade West."
"West, eh?" Jack says as he shakes Jade's hand "Any relation to Maura? The lady from all of the soap operas?"
"Not that I know of." Jade chuckles "My dad is a lawyer. As far as I know, I'm the first actress in my family."
"Oh yeah! Beck said that you're at NYU? That's pretty cool." Jack says "You like it there?"
"I better, I'm giving them enough tuition money."
Her comment makes both Jack and Beck laugh, which makes Jade start to feel a bit more at ease. Just by being herself, she's already made a good impression on these people. Maybe she doesn't really need to be as worried as she thought.
They end up talking to Jack for quite a while, it seems like he and Beck are quite close.
"Beck and I go all the way back to LA Med." Jack explains "We were both about-to-be-promoted residents together who were both recruited by Dr. Richards."
"Which also makes our characters best friends." Beck laughs
"Besties for life!" Jack says in a goofy voice "I'm sure at some point one of us will do something to betray the other one for the drama of it all. Sleep with someone's wife or girlfriend, steal the other one's big promotion, you know...for the drama of it all."
"Or maybe you'll end up America's favorite bromance." Jade shrugs "You never know."
"Oh, we'll end up America's favorite bromance regardless." Jack insists, throwing an arm around Beck's shoulders "That doesn't mean that there won't be some drama along the way though."
"Five minutes to showtime!" A voice in the other room announces
"That's our cue!" Jack winks, picking up his drink "I'll meet you guys in there."
"He seems nice." Jade remarks as Jack walks away "How much time do you two spend together?"
"A lot." Beck laughs "Next to Lacey, I think I do most of my scenes with him."
"Well, s'good that you get along so well."
"Definitely is." Beck agrees "Want a drink?"
"You know what I like."
"Indeed I do."
Beck pours a glass of white wine for each of them and hands one to Jade before taking her hand and leading her into the next room. Everyone has started to gather around the TV and settle in, but there's still an open arm chair off to the side. Beck takes a seat and pulls Jade into his lap, the two of them sharing a smile just as the opening scene of Manhattan Med begins and the group begins to cheer.
It's absolutely surreal for Beck to see himself on screen. He hasn't been living in some kind of fever dream for the past few months, he's really a working actor on a legitimate network TV show. His character has lines and contributes to the plot, people are tweeting about him and his social media followers are increasing my the minute. He did it, he really did it, and it can only get better from here.
Jade feels an immense amount of pride as she watches her boyfriend both next to her and on screen. She hadn't come into his life until after he had booked this part, but she knows how hard he must have worked to get it. She can see in his eyes and his face that he's having a bit of a 'pinch me' moment, and she's so proud of him. One day, she hopes that she'll get to feel this way too, either about something she's in or something that she's written, and she also hopes that Beck will be there to share the moment with her too.
"How do you feel?" She asks him when the episode ends
"A lot of things." Beck admits "Excited, proud, relieved...all good things though."
"Good." Jade smiles "I love you, babe. I'm so proud of you."
"Thank you."
They share a kiss before Jade shows Beck her twitter feed.
"The world loves you too, see?" She says "You're trending."
"Give it an hour, something else will be trending instead." Beck smirks
"Maybe so, but enjoy it for right now." Jade tells him "My dad also texted, he said he liked it."
"Just liked?"
"It takes a lot for my dad to more-than-like most things." Jade laughs "Take what you can get."
"Fair enough."
"Hey." Jade takes Beck's face in her hands "You did it!"
"I did, didn't I?" Beck grins as Jade leans down to kiss him "Thank you for being so supportive."
"Of course, that's what good girlfriends do. Isn't it?" Jade smiles "Not to be rude and run out on your friends here, but do you want to head back to your place? I'm in the mood to show you just how proud I am..."
"Oh shit, yeah. Let's go." Beck agrees as soon as he realizes that Jade means sex "I'll see them all on set tomorrow anyway. Let's get out of here."