Disclaimer: I do not own anyone or anything from Victorious, and the title of the story was inspired by Avril Lavigne's song Things I'll Never Say. Also, the play that is mentioned in this chapter is based on the book The Full Catastrophe by David Carkeet.
I can't tell you guys enough how much I appreciate all of your support!
Just a heads-up about this chapter: it mainly focuses around Jade's perspective. As we're getting further into the story, I thought it would be important to include some parts from Jade's point of view since she plays a big role in this complicated love triangle with Tori and Beck.
Chapter Four
Monday morning came too soon as the halls of Hollywood Arts buzzed with eager chatter about the past weekend's events. Jade sheered through the incessant flurry of trivial high school melodrama and arrived at Sikowitz's class just in time before the bell rang. She looked around the room and was glad to see an available seat next to Cat, one of the very few people she chose to tolerate on a regular basis. Cat, after all, was practically her pet. As Jade was sitting down, the red-headed girl greeted her with a bright, cheery smile.
"Look what I can do," exclaimed Cat.
Before Jade could protest, Cat made a fist with her hand and shoved it in front of Jade.
"I can make my hand talk!" Cat giggled and, in a fabricated voice, said, "Good morning, Jade!"
Jade quickly found herself wondering why she chose to tolerate Cat on a regular basis.
"Cat," she said in a threatening tone. "Get your talking hand away from my face before I bite it off!"
Cat gasped and instantly pulled her hand away. Jade then turned to face the front of the room only to realize that it was a bad move. In a few seats ahead of her sat Tori and Beck, heads huddled together as they laughed at something on Tori's phone. For as long as Jade had known Beck, he was never much of a laugher; but instead was kind of guy that smirked coolly in the midst of hilarity. Something had to be that inherently funny to make him burst out in laughter, and much to her chagrin, everything seemed to be inherently funny to him these days, especially around Tori.
Jade's jaw tightened as she forced her gaze away from the irritating sight. She was relieved when Sikowitz entered the classroom in his typical eccentric fashion.
"So, class, before we kick off another week of–" he paused, and spread his arms out in dramatic flair. "Acting…I have some exciting news."
Sikowitz pulled out a slip of paper from his back pocket and waved it in the air.
"In my hand here is the finalized cast list for The Full Catastrophe."
Upon hearing this, the students suddenly perked up with anticipation. Even Jade, who leaned forward in her chair, couldn't hide her eagerness.
"You could almost say it's the cast-astrophe of catastrophe!"
Sikowitz took a moment to look around the classroom, grinning like a Cheshire cat at his own futile joke. When it was clear that his delivery fell on deaf ears, he cleared his throat and read off the cast list, beginning with the minor roles.
Meanwhile, Jade stole another glance at Beck. She was almost certain that he had secured himself a major role in the play with his solid acting skills. The question was which part.
Sikowitz gradually made his way up the list, and started announcing names for the main characters. Cat got the role of Ella Hudsen, the daughter of Paul and Sarah Hudsen, and Andre was chosen to play Agent Perkins, the live-in marriage counselor who had been secretly hired by Ella.
"So do I get any cool gadgets?" asked Andre.
"You're a marriage counselor," replied Sikowitz. "Not a Navy Seal operative."
Andre slumped in his chair with a disapproving frown. "Agent Perkins's name is a little misleading then."
"Now for the stars of our show," said Sikowitz, dismissing Andre's comment.
He momentarily paused before announcing the last two names.
"Beck and Jade, you two will be playing the roles of Paul and Sarah Hudsen!"
Jade's heart dropped. She should've seen this coming. The last thing she wanted to do was to share the limelight with her ex-boyfriend.
Barely able to contain her temper, she cried out, "You're kidding me!"
"Now Jade, let's not be a gank about this," Sikowitz said in a calming manner. "After all, you did get a lead part in the play."
Jade narrowed her eyes defiantly at her teacher. "I would rather chew off my own arm than have to play the part of his wife!"
Upon hearing this, Tori and Beck exchanged uncertain glances.
"First of all, cannibalism is frowned upon in this country," said Sikowitz, holding his ground. "And secondly, you all made a commitment when you auditioned for these roles. No take-backsies."
It soon became clear to Jade that she was fighting a losing battle. Eventually, she relented, and she spent the rest of the class period droning out Sikowitz's rambling lecture. The next three weeks were going to be hell. She was just starting to get a handle on being Beck's disgruntled ex-girlfriend; now she had to play the role of his disgruntled wife too? It was a cruel injustice and all Jade wanted to do was retreat to the janitor's closet with her favorite pair of scissors and shred apart a trash can. As soon as the bell rang, Jade didn't stick around to receive any congratulatory praises from her friends; but rather, stormed out of the classroom in a raging huff.
Later that afternoon, Jade decided to seek refuge at her favorite local coffee shop, The Black Dog Café. In classic break-up fashion, Jade could no longer stand to go to places that housed memories of her relationship with Beck. As a result, she was forced to seek out new places in town where she could separate herself from her old identity as Beck's girlfriend. The Black Dog Café was one of these new locations, and lucky for Jade, it was closer to her part of town, which meant further away from any familiar faces at Hollywood Arts.
She strode in, flustered, and made a beeline towards her usual spot at a table in the back corner of the café. As Jade was getting settled, a young male barista named Cole approached her table with an amused expression on his face.
"I know that look," he said, placing a mug filled with coffee on the table. "Who's on the hit list today?"
Jade's brow knitted in anger as she watched him slide into the chair across from her. In his other hand was a plate of her favorite dessert: a cinnamon bun, fresh from the oven. He pushed the plate towards her, but even the aroma of the enticingly warm pastry wasn't enough to mollify Jade's sour expression.
"I got the lead role in our school play."
"You mean somebody actually liked your acting?" Cole said jokingly.
He started to laugh until Jade shot him a menacing glare. She wasn't in the mood today to put up with his usual blithe humor. Sensing this, Cole took on a more serious demeanor.
"You make it sound like it's a bad thing."
"It is when I have to play the wife of my ex-boyfriend, who's head-over-heels in love with little Miss Smiles-and-Sunshine!" Jade exclaimed, her eyes ablaze with rage.
In one swift motion, she grabbed a butter knife and forcefully stabbed the dessert on her plate. She then crossed her arms and sighed, vexed by the thoughts that rattled her mind. Cole watched unfazed, then took the knife and sliced out a bite-size piece from the wounded pastry. He popped the slice into his mouth and smiled.
"Look," he started, smacking his lips delightfully.
But before he could continue, a co-worker called him over to the counter for some help. Jade watched Cole from the corner of her eye and, for a brief moment, forgot her problems surrounding Tori and Beck.
It secretly amazed her how Cole never seemed intimidated by her random acts of aggression. They had quickly moved from being acquaintances to being casual friends in the short amount of time they had known each other. Only two months ago did Jade start coming in regularly to The Black Dog Café. It wasn't in her nature to open up to people so easily, especially people she barely knew. But Cole had an uncanny knack for getting Jade to share personal details about her life without directly prying into her business. At first, she had found it aggravating; but nowadays, she was glad to have him around as a sounding board for all her frustrations.
A few minutes later, Cole came back to resume their conversation.
"Why are you still hung up about this guy anyway? It's been over three months since you two broke up."
Jade rolled her eyes and, in a sarcastic tone, replied, "Yes, because it's that easy."
"I didn't say that."
"Then what's your point?"
"My point is you should be looking for a guy who would've kicked that door down in a heartbeat."
He was of course referring to the night of her break-up with Beck. For an instant, Jade revisited the painful memory of that evening before she pushed it out of her mind. She hated feeling so vulnerable.
"The reality is people change," said Cole in a gentle tone. "And right now, Beck wants to be with someone like Tori, not you."
Jade was taken aback by the unexpected comment. Another thing Cole had a knack for was confronting her with the cold, hard truth, whether she wanted to hear it or not. He never did it with the intent to be mean, she knew that. But hearing the truth out loud didn't make it any easier to accept.
"Well, don't tiptoe around my feelings," she muttered grudgingly, looking away.
Cole gave an understanding smile. "That's what I'm here for."
He then stood up to return to his post behind the counter.
Before leaving, he turned to Jade one last time and said, "Don't take it personally, Jade. It's Beck's loss if you ask me."
This was a challenging chapter to write so I hope you guys enjoyed it! I promise the next chapter will have some more Bori moments in store. Please review!