"Would you believe me if I said I didn't need you? 'Cause I wouldn't believe you if you said the same to me." Skeptics and True Believers- The Academy Is…

"We'll say it was a mistake."

Jade West momentarily stops her pacing throughout the room to glare at Beck Oliver. They're both redressed and, as much as she hates to admit it, she's glad that Beck's shirts still fit her. She's already accepted the fact that there's two dozen photographers waiting outside for her to complete the legendary 'Walk of Shame,' and she much rather not be photographed in the (now torn) dress she wore the previous night. At least that way, it doesn't make it seem like everything was a spur-of-the-drunken-moment event.

You know, staying classy and shit.

"Sure," she starts in a tone that drips sarcasm and he just knows that whatever comes out of her mouth will only serve to prove just how much of an idiot she thinks he is. "We'll tell everyone we got completely wasted and got married. You may have the reputation of a slut, but I don't. I still have an image to protect."

It takes all his self-control to stop himself from spitting accusations right back at her. 'She's scared,' his mind whispers. She's scared, and when Jade West is scared, she screams and yells until everyone else is terrified and she can find someone else to blame, someone who'll give in and take the load off.

Only problem is, Beck never scared easily.

"Well, do you have any brilliant suggestions? Because I'm not hearing anything from you," he snaps back, eyes narrowed and brows furrowed in a challenge. A scowl forms on her face and her body tenses. "I," she starts, and Beck watches as her eyes search for any possible solutions before her shoulders drop in defeat. "I don't know what to do," she admits, and her voice sounds so small in comparison to her personality, that he has an overwhelming need to wrap her in his arms and tell her everything's going to be fine.

But he doesn't.

"We're going to stay married," he begins, before promptly being cut off by her resounding, "No."

"Look," he tries again," If we get an annulment now, they'll mark both of us as irresponsible, and that hurts our careers. If we pretend to stay married for only a week, they'll say it's a publicity stunt. Either way, we're screwed."

"I'm not staying married to you," she huffs and crosses her arms over her chest. Beck thinks he might be crazy, but he could almost swear that her pose isn't so much to emphasize her point and defiance, but a discrete gesture to comfort herself, a reminder to hold it together.

Almost.

"It obviously won't be forever," he tries to reassure her. "Just a few months to make it seem real, then we'll call it quits and say it didn't work out at the end. No harm done."

Jade knows it's the right solution, the only logical one. But the idea of spending months pretending to be his wife terrifies her. She doesn't trust herself around Beck, never has. She walked away from him, from them, once. She's not sure she could do it again.

Falling for Beck Oliver is easy; loving him is anything but.

And it took her a long time, but she's over him.

Really.

Her heart's just beating faster because she's under stress, it has absolutely nothing to do with him.

Honest.

"No," she repeats, and word comes out harsher than she intended. She doesn't apologize though, because maybe this way he'll get the point and drop the subject. She doesn't need 'nice Beck'; she needs the angry one. The one who's famous for his array of one-night stands, who gets drunk and charms his way out of his problems. The one she knows she can never love, who's everything she hates.

The one she made when she left.

His eyes narrow at her, anger and resentment burning in them, and she knows he's there.

"Do you really think I'm dying to be your husband? That I'm ecstatic to change my entire life for you?" He snaps, "I made a mistake and I'm fixing it."

He says the word 'mistake' with so much venom, that for a second Jade feels like the lowest human being in the world. She feels like she's twelve years old again, and she's spying on her parents arguing in their bedroom. She feels the exact same way she did when her father called her the same thing; a mistake that had to be dealt with.

"Then don't do it! I don't need your help," she snaps back, and he glares at her before turning his head away. He can't bear to look at her, she thinks.

Good.

She tells herself this is what she wanted. Any second he'll walk out the door and send her lawyer the divorce papers, and she'll never have to see him again. They'll both be able to move on as if nothing happened, and this would all be a distant memory someday.

So why can she feel her heart breaking at the idea of never seeing him again?

"What did I do to make you leave, to make you hate me so much?"

His voice breaks through her thoughts, and she looks up to realize he's staring at her in wonder.

The anger is gone from his voice, because really, what's the point at the moment?

He wants to understand what could have possibly occurred that he hadn't realized, that she was so willing to lose everything, just to avoid spending time with him. It'd be a career suicide for her if a scandal this size broke, and he was willing to put his anger aside to help her, to back her and make sure she came out unscathed and a winner. Just like high school, all over again.

So why wouldn't she let him?

He'd spent the last four years of his life wondering what he did to make her leave, torturing himself with different scenarios, choices he could've made to win her back. Contrary to popular belief, he had followed her, and he'd tried. He'd kept coming back, even after she'd slam the door in his face every night. Like clockwork, he'd be there at eight o'clock.

And then one day she was gone.

After hours of guilt tripping her, Cat had finally admitted to him that Jade had left to New York.

To get away from him.

He would admit, that one hurt.

A tense silence settles between them. Beck's gaze never falters, challenging her to finally give him the truth, to give him an honest chance on letting go and moving on. Jade tries, but can seem to look away, and the truth stings on the tip of her tongue, but she can't bring herself to say it.

She swore she'd never tell him.

He wouldn't understand, she reassures herself.

You're a coward, her conscious whispers.

So instead, she settles for giving him a small truth. The only one her mind allows, and one she knows he deserves.

"I don't hate you," she whispers, just loud enough for him to hear.

She feels an overwhelming need to cry when she sees the relief that washes over him because, what the hell did she do to him? And because for the first time she realizes that this really isn't the boy she left years ago, the one who was so in control that nothing ever got to him.

Or maybe he's exactly the same person.

"Then trust me when I tell you we can fix this," he asks again. There's a pleading look in his eyes, and they're filled with so many different emotions that it makes Jade dizzy just trying to point them out.

"Okay," she answers before even completely realizing what she's doing.

"Okay," he verifies.

For some reason, Jade has a feeling that maybe she should've run out the door again, instead of waiting for him to do so.

..+..

AN: I'm late, I know! But I finally updated!

You guys, I'm finally getting back in my writing zone!

Anyways, I posted a new fic called "Dreams of Paradise", so go check it out if you haven't!

Tell me what you think of this chapter, and ask me if you guys are confused or have any questions =)

I'm curious, would you rather have the next chapter take place right after this one, or a few weeks after?

Also, omg. Second day in a row posting. I'm actually quite proud of myself. Review and I'll update as soon as I can!

Next chapter up at the 40-ish mark?

If you guys review, maybe I'll even upload Moonlight Mile tomorrow!

-Lele

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