A/N: I decided to add a second chapter to this story because it didn't feel complete to me. Thanks to those of you who read and especially those who reviewed, I really appreciate it. Hope you enjoy this new chapter.
The next day, Tori is running late to school. She barely got any sleep once Beck left her house. All she could think about was how close they had been and their almost-kiss. It feels like a dream to her. The fact that they had been so close to each other is something that is still running through her mind. She swears she can still smell his cologne and feel the sensations of his hands touching hers. While she is still reveling in that particular event, part of her can not help but think about Jade. Tori wonders if Beck will eventually get back together with Jade or if what happened between them the night before meant enough to him to not go back to her.
She abruptly opens the front doors of Hollywood Arts and races towards Sikowitz's classroom. She is already about twenty minutes late and she knows how much he hates tardiness. Right before opening the door to the class, she stops and tries to catch her breath. She remembers that both Beck and Jade are in this class also and instantly becomes anxious.
After a few seconds, she turns the door handle and steps inside quietly. She sees Beck, Jade and Cat on stage acting out a scene. Sikowitz glances over at her and nods his head in acknowledgment while sticking a straw into a coconut. Tori returns the nod and finds an empty seat towards the back of the class. Everyone around her seems to be entranced by the scene taking place.
Jade, in character, is on her knees holding on to Beck's left leg, pleading to him. "Please! I am sorry, just don't leave. Please don't leave me" she says convincingly.
Beck brushes her off and walks to the other side of the stage. He runs his fingers through his hair and crosses his arm across his chest. Jade crosses the stage in desperation and wraps her arms around him. "Don't shut me out, I love you. I love you and I'll do anything to fix this, please" she continues her plead.
"Stop" says Beck grabbing her arms and dropping them on her side. "You need to understand that I've moved on."
"Is it because of her? Have you moved on to her?" spits Jade angrily. "You want to be with her and that is why you're leaving me." Beck looks at Jade and needs to remind himself to stay in character no matter how much the scene is ringing true to him. He looks on as Cat's character starts convincing Jade to let him go. What are the odds that the day after their breakup, and after what happened in Tori's house, he would be acting out this particular scene with Jade?
He suddenly notices Tori sitting in the back row. He had been so engrossed in the scene that he didn't notice her come in. Just by looking at her, he can see that she, like him, is a bit uncomfortable with the scene. Their eyes met for a second in which he shot her a nervous smile which she quickly returned. Beck turns back to see Jade looking at him and then at Tori, her brows raised. He gets back into character hoping Sikowitz will yell cut already.
-35 minutes later-
Beck is standing by his locker with Andre. They are discussing a new song Andre is working on which he plans on having Tori sing. Within minutes, Jade walks over to the two guys and joins in the conversation. Beck tenses up a bit but does not want to make it awkward for the rest of his friends and decides it's better to just be civil with Jade. God knows their constant arguing annoyed their friends and he did not want things to be the same when he was single.
The trio is still talking and laughing when Cat and Tori walk into the school and stop at the top of the stairs. Beck instantly notices them and smiles when he sees Tori dancing along to a song a student is performing. He couldn't believe how carefree she is. Even when things are going downhill, she finds ways to make everyone smile and went out of her way to make everything okay. This is quite the opposite from how his ex-girlfriend is. Even though he stayed with Jade for as long as he did, her constant negativity and pessimism turned him off. Frankly, that is one of the main reasons he did not open Tori's door when she was counting to ten. He knew then that if he gave in, she would continue to think her behavior and treatment of others is acceptable.
Jade notices her ex-boyfriend (gosh how she hates that she has to call him this) looking at Tori in what she would describe as a loving stare. She can't believe how obvious he is being. They just broke up and he is already checking Tori out in front of her. She knew from the very beginning that she had to be cautious about Tori and yet Beck always reassured her that he didn't have those feelings for Tori, that she was simply just a friend.
He couldn't deny it now. The prove stood right in front of her. He could not hide that stare. It's the same stare he had reserved just for her, the stare that made her fall in love with him all over again. Now, it belonged to the one person she disliked most. Unable to contain herself, Jade decides it's a good idea to confront Beck right then and there. She doesn't care if everyone, including Tori, hears her. She is going to get to the bottom of this.
"Well, well...I guess it's a good thing you decided to break up with me now seeing as how you can't keep your eyes off little Ms. Vega over there" she starts, pointing over at Tori by the staircase.
Beck is slightly taken aback by her sudden outburst because he thought things were going just fine. They were both having a good conversation with Andre just mere seconds ago and now she is trying to argue with him. He just stares are her, annoyed that this is happening.
"Damn it Beck, you can't even wait a day before you start thinking about dating her" she yells frantically.
By now, everyone in the hallway has turned their attention to them. Tori looks on confused and extremely embarrassed as Jade continues shooting her dirty looks across the hall. People go from looking at Jade and Beck to looking at her. Their questioning, and yet knowing looks were enough to want to make her crawl under a rock and never come out.
"I'm not doing this with you" Beck says under his breath. He looks besides him at Andre he looks almost as mortified as he feels. Andre raises his hands and shakes his head. He, like Beck, wants no part in this fiasco and within minutes, walks away from the pair. For the first time in his life, Beck is envious of Andre and wishes he could run away from this that easily. However, he knows Jade well enough to know that if he walks away, she will only follow spewing more insults about him and Tori.
"Oh hey everyone, Beck Oliver" she says and starts pointing at him, "this guy right here says he isn't going to do this with me but guess who he would probably do it with? Any guesses? Anyone?" she looks around the hall to see if there are any takers. Everyone remains silent and continues looking on, amused. She suddenly smiles wickedly and starts heading over to the stairs where Tori is standing.
Tori sees where this is heading but is too afraid, too flustered to move. With just a few steps, Jade is at her side smiling wickedly. "Tell us Tori" she says loudly, "who could Beck possibly want to do "this" with?" Jade's smile quickly falters and she is now looking directly into Tori's eyes. "Tell us" she grumbles under her breath so only Tori can head.
Tori looks around at all the people looking at her and her eyes suddenly fall on Beck a few feet away. His apologetic look starts up a mix of emotions within her. She is feeling everything from being embarrassed to feeling sorry for Jade and even getting butterflies from Beck looking at her.
"Let me tell you why Tori here can't bring herself to answer that question. It is because this little tramp is the reason my boyfriend broke up with me. That's what she does, she plays little miss innocent so everyone likes her and then BAM, she stabs you in the back and steals your man."
Tori is just about to open her mouth to defend herself when a sudden deafening yell comes from across the hall.
"ENOUGH!" yells Beck. He quickly makes his way towards the stairs and stops within inches of Jade's face. Tori can see his chest heaving heavily up and down and notices the most terrifying look in his eyes she has ever seen. Even though his anger is directed towards Jade, she also feels extremely intimidated. She looks around and sees that she isn't the only one. Several people have dispersed and others are trying hard not to look towards the scene any more. Jade looks even more afraid. This is the first time Beck has spoken to her this way and she is terrified of what comes after.
"You really crossed the line Jade, you really did. You have some goddamn nerve making this scene and playing the victim. I am so sick and tired of this" he continues motioning at the space between them. "During our entire relationship, whenever something went wrong you turn me into the bad guy and I'm sick of it. I didn't break up with you because of Tori. I broke up with you because I'm tire of your bullshit. I'm tired of putting up with your nasty attitude and trying to be the perfect boyfriend to you and what do I get in return? I get you bitching about everything and now this."
Jade's eyes widen at how easily the words are coming out of him. She can tell he is being truthful and perhaps has thought about this before because not once did he stumble over his words. Calling her a bitch and saying how awful a girlfriend she has been seem to be easy things to do. Although, she couldn't possibly have been that bad if he stuck around for two years.
"So you're really going to stand there and tell me that she has nothing to do with you breaking up with me? You really expect me to believe that?" Jade challenges.
Beck looks over at Tori who has taken a few steps back and is trying hard to look elsewhere. He wants more than anything to just get her out of this entire situation and make her feel comfortable, just as she had been when she was dancing earlier.
"BECK!" yells Jade. "Stop looking at her. This is exactly what I mean. I know that something is going on between you two."
"I didn't lie to you when we were together and I have no reason to lie to you now. I'm not going to stand here and say that there is nothing going on between Tori and me. I have feelings for her and I know she has feelings for me. Lucky for you, however, she is nice enough to respect our relationship and has never crossed any lines that would disrespect you."
"So you're saying you had feelings for her while we were still together?" asks Jade. She wants him to admit it. She wants him to finally confirm her doubts once and for all.
Beck crosses his arms and looks intently at Jade. This is where she wanted this argument to go. He knew that this wouldn't end until he told her the truth, but it is something he did not want to do. By admitting that he did in fact care about Tori during his time with her, he would basically be undermining their entire relationship and it isn't something he wants to do. As unhappy as he was in the last few months, he did in fact have some good times with her and had loved her. He didn't want her to think the whole thing was a lie, because it wasn't. He still cherishes the good times they had together and appreciates the good memories.
"Since it's taking you so long to answer I guess that's a yes" she says.
He simply nods his head.
"God I knew it! And all that time you told me I had nothing to worry about and now you're telling me you've had feelings for her the entire time."
"And you didn't have anything to worry about. Yes I have feelings for Tori, but I was in love with you. You were my girlfriend and I wasn't going anywhere. Everything was fine until you let your damn insecurities get the best of you and then I just couldn't put up with it anymore."
Jade shakes her head in disappointment. "I'm sure saying that and blaming my "insecurities" makes you feel better, but let's get this straight Beck Oliver, you are the one who had feelings for someone else while you were with me. Needless to say I was justified in being cautious around her."
Tori is now feeling worst than before. She understands what Jade is saying and she almost wishes Beck would not have admitted his feelings towards her. Without thinking, she intervenes. "Jade, I am really sorry-"
Jade raises her hand to stop her. "Don't. Talk. To. Me. Don't you dare talk me."
"Jade I didn't mean for-" Tori persists but is interrupted by a loud yell escaping from Jade's lips.
"I HATE BOTH OF YOU" she yells before storming off.
Tori looks after her and then at Beck. He has taken a seat on one of the stairs and is rubbing his forehead. Unsure of what to do, she goes down the stairs and leans down in front of him. She takes his hands in hers and forces him to look into her eyes. She can see the exasperation in his eyes and it upsets her that she has come between him and Jade, even if she is glad that he is single.
"I'm really sorry Beck, I didn't mean for this to happen" she says sincerely.
Beck looks on curiously as she continues to apologize to him. He isn't sure why she feels responsible for his ex-girlfriend's outburst or the downfall of his relationship. After all, he has tried to make it perfectly clear to both her and Jade that his decision was based solely on his unhappiness with Jade. He understands though that this is just how Tori is. Her urgency to make him feel better is greater than the shame Jade just brought upon her. He listens on as she continues to apologize for over a minute.
He tries to interrupt her several times in vain. Finally, he takes her face in his hands and crashes his lips into hers. The kiss starts off as a gentle one but he is surprised when she leans into him and deepens it and starts kissing him passionately. Neither of them pay any mind to the fact that they are in school or the fact that people are walking by and shooting curious glances at them. After about a minute, Beck breaks the kiss and smiles widely at her. She returns his smile and begins to laughing.
He arches his brow in curiosity and waits for the laughter to subside to find out what is so funny.
"It's just that this is crazy. Just a few minutes ago I was being called a tramp and now I'm here, making out with you."
He smiles again at her silliness and instantly feels better. "I'm sorry about Jade" he says getting a bit more serious.
Tori shakes her head. "You don't have to apologize for her. I understand why she's upset and I just really want to put it behind me...behind us."
Beck nods his head in agreement. He grabs the railing and pulls himself up. He helps Tori up as well. "I like that idea. How about we go grab lunch and start putting this behind us?"
"Sushi?" she asks.
"Sushi" he responds.
Both make their way to the doors and head out of school leaving behind a bustle of students all rushing to and from their lockers to gather their belongings and head home. For the first time since they first met, Beck and Tori have the opportunity to develop a stronger relationship, one both had wanted to explore but, until now, could not. While they are sure that the drama between them and Jade is far from over, they are determined to enjoy the rest of the day together.