I wanted to do a little writing, and looked for a writing prompt. It seemed to shove me in the direction of filling in some of my backstory for an upcoming bigger story. This and my story on Sam Puckett returning to Seattle (as seen in my iCarly/Sam and Cat fic, "Remove, Restart") are setting up the stage for what is going to happen when the gang hits graduation and heads off to university! :)

Anyway, enjoy! I don't know who created this prompt - there was no maker credited in the picture I found - but the first two lines of this story - bolded and italicized - are the prompt. The rest is me!

...

"Just so you know, I'm not with you on this."

"Oh, really? Could have fooled me."

Jade looked up from sticking the stamp onto Beck's envelope and gave him a tiny frown for the mischievous reply.

"Stick the stupid stamp on yourself if you're going to tease me about it. And address it too, because no one will be able to understand the scrabble you call writing," she said peevishly.

Beck playfully put his thumb over hers and pressed the stamp down. "There. You're involved." When she huffed, he laughed. "You've got to be the only girl not thrilled that her boyfriend wants to go to the same college as her." He kissed her neck gently and could feel the struggle within her between wanting to relax against him and wanting to argue. She used to always give in eventually and kiss him back, but today - as was more regular lately - she settled on tensing and pulling away. She scooted backward a bit from sitting next to him on the floor of his RV before turning to look him in the eye.

"I wanted you to go to your best choice, Beck. I didn't want you just following me to Rudgars University because that was where I got a scholarship. It's a small, private program just a couple hours away ..."

"That recruited you because they wanted some powerful players as they launch their communications degree! And that's so awesome, babe. I'm in awe of how you caught their attention."

"But, Beck! It's not good enough for you. You were supposed to go to New York ..."

"But nothing! We've discussed, you've argued, I've decided."

"You could get a scholarship somewhere else! Somewhere WAY bettter! The only reason it makes any sense even for me is because my dad won't let me use the college fund for an arts degree, and I'll probably only stay for a year while figuring out what exactly I want to do next. For you, it's ridiculous! You should be..."

"They accepted me and I'm sending in my deposit check."

"It a STUPID choice!"

"My choice."

She huffed, still seemingly upset about not getting her way in this twentieth iteration of this fight. She switched to criticizing something that he might actually change his opinion on, pointing to the envelope in which he had just enclosed a check.

"Why aren't you just doing an transfer?"

"I like the feeling of doing it the old-fashioned way."

"Yeah, because a guy following a girl to college is so old-fashioned," Jade quipped sarcastically.

Beck poked her in the cheek. "Well, when you find your soulmate..."

"STOP!" she protested. "Why are you being so stupidly romantic, you ..." She made eye contact and paused.

"You what?" he baited her.

"You impossible, adorable idiot," she muttered before hugging him intensely.

Beck stroked her hair, gently tracing the curves of her skull underneath, deep in thought. Yes, he adored Jade. Yes, he had wanted to be at the same school as her. But also, lately, he knew something had been happening in her mind. The mental health issues she had were becoming exacerbated. Although for a while in eleventh grade she had begun to trust and rest a little easier. She had even called Tori her friend sometimes, which was basically their group's way of measuring how amiable Jade was. Beck and the others had been celebrating behind Jade's back - not maliciously, but pleased for her to see her in a better place mentally.

No one knew what happened to trigger it, but "Soft Jade" had started slipping away during summer break. Beck had been unsure of when exactly he noticed the switch, but it was there. Although she still spent time around her friends, she became even more periodically brutal than she used to be. Only Cat was spared from most of it, and part of that was due to her increased physical distance from Jade while to living with her roommate Sam in "Venice of America". Fewer visits to Jade were probably key to her escape from the scathing comments and withering glares being constantly spewed at the others.

Thankfully, their friends had realized something was wrong and did not take it all at face value. They all checked in with Beck on if he knew why Jade was "extra ... difficult" as Tori tried to broach the topic as delicately as possible. They tried to share mental health tips surreptitiously, with comments such as "I hear sunshine helps people with depression feel better" and "Weighted blankets can help lower anxiety. How cool is that?!" and "My cousin started meds for her bipolar and she's so much more chill now! Makes you wonder how much better life could be for lots of people if they'd get help. No shame in it." When Jade caught on to the sometimes thinly-veiled suggestions, she would snarl and cuss them out with insults and jeers. Only getting her away from them would cause the barrage to cease, different from her previous quips and then enduring, reluctant friendship.

Another concerning development was her sleeplessness. As their twelfth grade progressed, she had suddenly started showing up at Beck's RV during the night. Although she had not liked being at home with either of her parents - she hadn't stayed overnight with her father for years - she had often declared that night was calming and delightful to be alone in, as well as being her best writing time. Now, in January, she was showing up, silent and shaken, almost every night. She would often refuse to let him touch her, even to just hug her without any expectation of reciprocal affection, and most times she would be silent. Sometimes she would steal his bed, other times collapsing onto the sofa in silent tears she would refuse to explain. Occasionally, after he sleepily turned the lights back out, she would quietly move over to lie next to him, seeking companionship in the face of dark aloneness. Deep circles under her eyes revealed nightmares instead of scripts.

How Beck wished he could fix it! But he did not know yet. Jade had glared at him, dark and suspicious, when she had seen that along with communications he was applying to be in Rudgar's psychology program as well. She had started to recognize his interest in that area lately, but she still thought he was only interested in it to try to "fix" her, something she had swiftly prohibited although she had no way of enforcing it. Even now, she was kneeling next to him, looking at his freshly addressed envelope with a pensive brooding. Of course, it was true that Beck wanted to know how to help her, although he already realized that was going to have to come from her. He could only ever be a support person. She would have to do the true changes.

"Come on, be happy. This'll be fun, the best years of our lives," Beck said hopefully, trying to break her out of her cloud.

Jade turned quickly, looking at him intensely with eyes so full of hidden hurts that he nearly winced. He saw her desperation, knew what she was going to say before she said it. She had said it, over and over again.

"Beck, please don't ruin your life for me. It's not worth it. I'm not ..."

"...going to finish that sentence," Beck broke in with his own fierceness. He did not need to hear another litany of excuses of why she was not worth his love, worth his care, worth him risking everything on her. It hurt him every time he was forced to hear negatives about Jade, even if they were from her. There were enough things they needed to work on. They could work on them together. But he was not going to let her keep lying about how she wasn't worth it. He already knew she was, and he was going to stick around until she saw things his way. And hopefully, long beyond that too.

Jade seemed to soak in his interruption. Then, she smiled. Always rare, her smiles were now as precious as plutonium.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"For putting up with your nonsense of self-doubt?" Beck decided to chance some light teasing. He was rewarded with another small smile. "You're welcome. You know where to find me, anytime you need it," he said lightly but sincerely as he pulled her to his side in a hug. She picked up the envelope just as he leaned forward to kiss her.

"Let's go mail this."

He took her hand, lightly squeezing it in code for "I love you".

"Yeah, let's do it. And just so you know, Jade? I love you."

She nodded. When she picked up the envelope and held in carefully all the way to the mailbox, that was her way of saying, "Just so you know, Beck? I love you too."

...

I hope you enjoyed!