A.N. That chapter was a bit hard to write. I hope Beck and Jade are not too out of character.

The Brake Up

Beck gripped the wheel of the car and carefully navigated the chaotic LA traffic. But his mind was elsewhere. His mind was feverishly going through different scenarios of breaking up with Jade and none of them ended less then disastrous. How do you break up with a girl you've dated for two and a half years? Who you thought you'll love forever, and now you are leaving her for a girl she considers a rival. There was no easy way to do this. But he had to do it. He couldn't continue this way, denying and burying his feelings; sooner or later he will slip, like this afternoon in the music classroom, but in front of more people than just Andre and then things will be only worse. Beck took his cellphone and quickly dialed Jade's number.

"Hay Jade, where are you? I have to urgently talk to you in person." He said in a strained voice, his usual cool demeanor cracking.

"I'm home. Why?" She asked with alarm and suspicion in the voice. Jade knew him well enough to know that something was up.

"I'll be right there." He closed the cellphone and continued driving. Part of him said that it was better to do it face to face, while smaller part knew that he was just stalling. The traffic distracted him for a while but soon it dissipated as he neared the familiar streets of her neighborhood. There it was - Jade's house. Beck parked the car, got out, slowly walked to the front door and knocked. Inside he heard the heavy steps of combat boots and then Jade opened the door.

"Hi, what's going on, you sounded urgent." Her blue eyes searched his face for answers.

"Let's get in and I will explain everything." They got in and up to her room. The familiar route now looked both too short and too long. He watched Jade's all too familiar figure climbing the stairs before him and all carefully planned words he prepared on the way here got jumbled in his head. Finally they reached her room. The same room they had spent so many hours in, arguing and making out or just hanging out together. She sat on her bed and Beck stood by her desk, looked her in the eyes and sighed.

"Jade, something happened this afternoon at rehearsal. Actually something has been going on for a several days now. May be for months, I don't know how long it has been exactly…"

"Beck you are rambling." Jade interrupted him impatiently. "What's going on, what happened this afternoon? Talk."

"I kissed Tori." The effect was immediate and explosive.

"You did what?" Jade jumped, not believing her own ears. "Why would you do that? What did she do? I will wring her scrawny neck!" Angry flames sparked into her sapphire eyes.

"She didn't do anything." Jade huffed angrily in mistrust. "I kissed her. After the kiss Tori ran away."

"She'd better not show her face at school tomorrow or for the next month. I'll show her…" Jade was reading herself for a long angry rant.

"Jade," Beck interrupted her "that is not all."

"What else is there?" She focused on him, her anger hitting him like a wave of heat. He swallowed nervously but continued.

"For the last three nights I have dreamed about Tori." The anger in her eyes was replaced by shocked disbelieve.

"You dreamt of her, of Vega." A hint of betrayal sneaked in her voice. "You told me you knew that you were falling for me after you dreamed me after our first date." She looked him in the eyes with a mixture of anger and pleading.

"Don't tell me you are falling for that accidental wonder Vega." She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. "You can't!"

"I didn't want to believe it myself. You know I have been always fateful to you." He looked her in the eyes pleadingly. "But I can't lie to you or to myself; I think I am falling hard for Tori."

"But why? Why fall for her?" She shook him, tears forming in her eyes, threatening to ruin her mascara. "Ever since she came to Hollywood Arts she has been a constant thorn in my side. Vega has been stealing my roles, stealing my friends, stealing my place as Sikowitz favorite. And now she is stealing you." The tears began rolling down her porcelain cheeks, leaving dark trails behind them.

"I love you Beck, you know I have never felt something like this before for anyone." She quickly wiped away the tears and looked him with determination. "I will not let her steal you from me. You are mine and I am yours. I am not going to let that impostor stand between us."

"Jade, listen to yourself. I'm not an object. No one can steal me. We can't always rule our emotions. Sometimes our emotions get the better of us." He hugged her and gently stroked her hair, her tears staining his shirt.

"We all in our own way tried to prevent this from happening. You tried by attempting to scare off and drive off Tori. I tried by pretending that Tori was just a friend and doing everything to keep the flame between you and me alive. Even Tori tried by helping us reconcile and jumping head first in her ill-advised relationships with these creeps Steven and Rider." Beck untangled himself from her. He made a step back and put his hands on Jade's trembling shoulders.

"But we all failed. I am sorry Jade, I really am. Goodbye Jade." He turned and moved to leave the room.

"You know that I can't, that I won't leave this be or give up." Jade called after him. Her voice filled with mixture of anger, grief and grim determination. Beck paused for a moment.

"I know." He spoke sadly. "But be careful, you might lose not only your boyfriend but your friend too." The warning in his voice was clear. Beck left the room, closed the door behind him, walked down the stairs, left the house and got in his car. Once in the car he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He did it, he actually did it. He broke up with Jade, the girl he has been with for so long. He paused for a moment to see what he was feeling. It was a bit of sadness for what was, a bit of regret for what he had to do, but mainly it was relief. As if a great weight has lifted from his shoulders. He looked around; the sun was setting in the ocean. He grabbed his cell phone and dialed Tori. Andre answered again. Obviously she hadn't come to look for her pear-phone. Beck was beginning to worry. Where could she be, was she hiding home? Doubts began rising their ugly heads in the corners of his mind. Was his kiss not as welcomed as he thought? Was that perfect second of mutual passion and tenderness only a figment of his imagination. Tori did run away. 'I need to find her.' But first he had to stop by his place to change his stained shirt. Just as he was rounding his house towards the RV, Beck saw a slim girlish figure pacing nervously in front of its door.

"Tori?"

She turned to him, crossed her hand in front of her chest and looked him determinedly in the eyes.

"Beck, we need to talk. You owe me an explanation."