"Attention, Asphalt Cafe," Lane, the guidance counselor, called out to the students from the roof, "This Friday night will be the Showcase for the following students: Beck Oliver, Andre Harris, Cat Valentine, Kendall Marshall, Tori Vega, Stefanie Buca, Paula Green, and Jade West. Have your songs ready for Friday night, which is two days from now, in case you needed to know."

Beck shoved another bite of his lunch into his mouth. It was hard to swallow, because he just wasn't hungry. He hardly ate anything since a day ago. His appetite was just gone, but he knew he had to eat or he'd feel even worse than before.

Andre came over to his table and sat down next to Beck, "hey man."

Beck returned the hello with a head nod, hardly acknowledging his existence.

It confused his best friend, "You okay?"

"No." Beck stated simply.

"Tell me what's going on," Andre said with serious interest. He couldn't imagine what would be getting his friend, who was bothered by almost nothing, in this mood.

He told Andre everything. From Tori kissing him, to the break up, to Justin being in Jade's house. Everything that was on his mind, and he was glad for a moment that he could actually get it all out in the open, instead of holding it all in.

Andre was in shock. How could all of that happen in a matter of two days? "So you and Jade are over?"

"She wants us to be..." Beck said, showing how hurt he really was for a split second, but quickly regained his composure. They were in public after all, "I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

"You're not going to give up," Andre said with a smirk, "I know you too well, man. You love this girl, and I know she loves you more than anything. You're going to have to get her back."

"How do you suggest I do that? As of right now, she won't even talk to me," he said as he picked up a fry and shoved it in his mouth.

"With music," Andre said.

"That's your answer for everything," Beck rolled his eyes.

"Because it's the answer for everything, just like violence isn't the answer for everything." Andre said, trying to be funny and get a simple smile from the man. It wasn't much use. "I could come up with a better analogy, if you want."

"It's fine, man. I'm sorry. I just... I don't even know."

"I think you should write her a song, and sing it at the Showcase," Andre said.

"I can't do that. You already know how I am about how I feel. I keep everything in, and it's been working just fine for me."

"Yeah, but if you want the girl back, you're going to need to put some more effort into it instead of just sitting here and killing your heart," Andre said, "not to mention having your food get cold."

Beck looked down at his lunch, completely forgetting it was even food. He took it and threw it away in the trash can that was close to his left side. Andre's jaw dropped when he tossed it away, "Why did you do that? I enjoy french fries."

"Feel free to dig them out," Beck said with a smirk. He took a sip of his water when he saw her. He felt his heart jump up into his throat as he placed the water bottle down before his nerves made him crush it. Andre turned and looked in the same direction, waving at Cat who was following her. Jade kept walking, and Cat went over to Andre.

"Hi hi," Cat said, throwing her backpack onto the table.

"What's up, little red?" Andre asked with a smile.

She smiled back and gave him a quick hug, "nothing much with my brother gone."

"Where'd he go?"

"He went to this place called an Asylum. I heard they have these cool padded walls. I wish I could go, but my brother gets all the good stuff," she explained with a sigh. Andre looked at her confused, but knew it was better to not ask anything more. Her attention turned to Beck. "How're you?"

"How do you think?" He was back to being bummed.

"Well... maybe that would make you feel better," Cat said, pointing behind him.

Beck turned around just in time. A splash of hot coffee landed on Justin's face, and an angry voice over took his screams of pain.

"You're the scum of the earth. I can't believe you lack any morals at all. You're a dumb, fucking, asshole. How could you possibly think you could get away with this?" Jade yelled at him, loving every moment of the man trying desperately to rid his eyes of the burning liquid. "I came to you because I had no one else to turn to, and now I find out exactly what happened. If you really cared about me, you wouldn't have let me be happy."

Justin was speechless as Jade's fit of rage subsided. She didn't want to stand there and have him try to explain himself, so she left him in the middle of the Asphalt Cafe, a few of his friends trying hard not to laugh, one or two actually trying to help him.

Jade saw Lily out of the corner of her eye. The girl was leaning against the food truck, a smirk on her face. She couldn't have been more proud of Jade.

"Cat!" Jade yelled as she walked past the table, not paying any attention to Beck.

"I'm coming!" Cat said, grabbing her things and waving goodbye to the boys before Jade got too upset with her.

"She didn't even say goodbye to you..." Andre pointed out.

"Yeah. Thanks, Captain Obvious. What would I do without you?" Beck asked grabbing his stuff. He needed to work on his song for the Showcase, and he was actually debating on writing his own.

"You're welcome, Sargent Sarcastic!" Andre called out to him before he was out of ear shot.

"I'm going to need your help," Jade told him.

Sinjin stood in the closet with Cat and Jade basically holding him hostage.

"I don't know how I feel about this... you're asking me to rig something this massive, and I could get in some serious trouble," Sinjin said.

"What do I have to do to get you to say you'll do it?" Jade asked, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest.

"How about you give me a kiss...?" Sinjin smirked and gave her a seductive look. He took a step towards the girls.

"If you take another step towards me, your testicles will be ripped off in the most painful way you could even imagine." Jade threatened.

"How painful..." he questioned.

"Let's just say it'll involve a very cold, metal pole." She told him in a threatening tone.

He winced and grabbed at his crotch, closing one of his eyes and letting out a breath, "I'd rather keep my balls, thank you. I'll help you."

"I'm glad," Jade said with a smirk, "You'll need to rig it for eight thirty, that's when she goes on. I'll do my part at the same time."

"Okay. I just need the sound tracks."

"I'll have it for you!" Cat said, playing with her hair. "It's really vindictive, but I'll love to help."

"Vindictive? Good word," Sinjin pointed out.

Jade rolled her eyes and grabbed Cat's hand, dragging her out of the room. Her timing was impeccable. She opened the door and ran straight into the love of her life.