Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious
No One Puts James in a Corner
James Small never came in first place. He knows he's attractive. Knows he is talented, and know he has what it takes to make it. There's only one problem. Beck Freaking Oliver! Beck with his stupid hair that made all the girls want him. Beck with his admittedly good acting skills, which always landed him the lead roles. For as long as he could remember Beck always bested him. Not this time though. Now that Beck and Jade were over things were going to change. James will finally have the hottest girl in school, and he will finally come out on top. His plan is not all that elaborate. He's going to play it safe. He knows Jade can kill with a look, but he has a feeling her bark is worst than her sting. He forgoes any fancy dressing and goes to school in a plain tee and pair of jeans. He sees her yelling at some freshman and has the urge to turn around and give up. Then he sees Beck Oliver round the corner and his confidence spikes back up. Walking to her he taps her on the shoulder.
"What?" She asked voice still harsh. Keep calm he thinks. She's just a girl.
"I think we should hang out after school today."
"Excuse me?" She asks awe in her voice. It's kind of funny the way her eyebrow raises but he knows now isn't the time for laughing.
"After school, we can go get coffee." His words are calm and simple but his legs feel like they're turning into jelly. Jade likes cool guys, so he needs to act like a cool guy.
"What makes you think I'll go out with you?" she ask, she sounds more curious than angry so he thinks he's on the right track.
"Or not," he shrugs. "It's your choice so whatever." Now she's smirking and he knows he did well.
"Fine after school and you're paying." She marches off before he can say anything else, but he thinks that's okay because he legs are now shaking, and he feels a little sweaty.
"Take that Beck Oliver!" He shouts in the now empty hallways. He decides to skip class just so he can calm down.
"Dude word is you asked out Jade West, and she actually said yes." He turns to see his friend Greg running up to him.
"Yeah isn't it great. With her on my arm, I can finally get noticed in this stupid school."
"So you don't actually like her?" Greg asked. Are you just using her?"
Okay here's a secret. Sometimes he watches Jade as she glares at Tori Vega. It's at those moments he thinks he understands her best. Understands the way her heart must crack Tori gets the lead. The way the boys all flock to Tori that must make Jade feel a little worthless. He gets it, because that's how Beck makes him feel. He knows it could be easy falling for her, because he knows she can understand him in a way that nobody does. But he knows better than to just hand his heart to her. She could crush it in a second, so he thinks it's best to just make this about something else.
"Don't make it sound like that", he tells Greg. "We all know Jade West is heartless." He knows better than to think that. Anytime Jade sees Tori Vega her heart breaks a little more. Still he's playing it cool, and being cool means avoid getting feeling involved.
"Hey. James" He looks around and sees Jade leaning against some lockers. He nods to Greg, before heading towards her.
"Hey", he says. You ready.
"Yeah I can't wait for our date. She says this a bit too loud but he doesn't really notice. If he did he would've seen Beck a few feet behind them listening to every word. He would've also noticed Jade staring at something behind him the whole time they talked.
It only takes ten minutes to few to Skybucks. He gets her coffee order wrong, and she gets pissed.
"How hard was the order? I just wanted two sugars, you're worst than Cat." She's yelling and people are staring, so he doesn't even try to defend himself. He gets back up to wait in line, a bit embarrassed about his mistake. The line is longer so it takes him fifteen minutes to get back to the table. He can't sit down though because there is a person occupying his seat. Or rather Beck Oliver occupying his seat. They don't notice him though. They're too busy arguing about something. He walks a bit closer so he can hear what they're talking about.
"Beck leave! I'm in the middle of a date."
"You act like Skybucks isn't a public place. I wanted some coffee, and you just happened to be here so I stopped by to say hi. No big deal."
"Well then Hi. Now leave."
"No need to be mean Jade."
"Leave and you won't have to deal with my meanness Beck."
He sits her coffee down on the table in front of her but neither acknowledges him. They continue to fight, so he grabs his things and head out the door. He's sure they don't take notice of his lead and that pisses him off. How dare Beck Oliver come and ruin his date, and how dare Jade let it happen. Maybe she really didn't have a heart. Maybe he didn't understand her. No, it wasn't that. It was just that Beck Oliver always came first. Nothing would change that.
By next week he's over the whole situation. Jade doesn't even bother to explain herself, so neither does he. Besides he has more problems to worry about. Sikowitz is posting the cast list today, and he really wants to see the list. There's a crowd around the board so he has to push his way through. He shouldn't be surprised but for some reason he is. Beck won the lead again, and he just wants to scream. Of course Tori also got the female lead, so his eyes search around for familiar black hair. He ends up catching her sad eyes, and she gives him a small smile, before walking away.
"We could've been great", he says to himself.
Maybe he would just have to learn to be content in second place.
AN: Thanks for reading. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. If anyone has ideas send them in because they're only so many bad date scenarios I can come up with. Remember to review (It makes me happy).