Oh my gosh - how lovely are you guys? Seriously! There's nothing I love more than hearing that you like what I'm writing, especially when I'm so unsure about it myself. To be added to somebody's 'Favourite Authors' when this is my first ever Fanfic is absolutely incredible, so special thanks to channylover71. Wow. Thanks so much to every single person that has reviewed this story so far - please continue, it really means a lot!
Anyway it's unlikely that I'll get a chance to update tomorrow, so I wrote this one quickly for you today. People telling me that my story is "addictive" just makes me want to write more. You all inspire me.

Beck's POV

"Beck, I did it!" somebody yelled whilst I was walking alone through the school gates. I was late so everybody else had gone to class, I assumed. I turned slowly to see an ecstatic Tori jumping up and down.

"You did what?" I shouted back, stopping as she ran up to me.

"I ended it with Kane… and I'm still alive!" she rushed excitedly. I grinned and, without thinking, picked her up and spun her round. It only lasted for one turn before I returned her feet safely to the ground, feeling foolish for what I'd just done.

I cleared my throat and looked at her, not quite meeting her eyes though. "I'm so happy for you, Tor, I really am. So you're not scared anymore?"

I felt a little disappointed actually. Well, disappointed isn't really the word, but her not being scared anymore meant that she didn't need me protecting her. And if she didn't need me for that then she really didn't need me at all. I suppose I should learn a lesson from that; it's not my place to protect her.

Tori appeared to be reading my mind as she replied, "No, not really… I could still do with somebody looking after me. I'm pretty crazy and I need someone to keep me grounded."

I threw my arm around her shoulder and half-hugged her, "You're a one-off, Tori Vega," I said fondly and we ambled to our lesson. She stopped me outside the door to Sikowitz' class, a strange look on her face, one I didn't recognize.

"Beck, Kane giving me those bruises wasn't the only reason I broke up with him. I mean that was obviously the main reason, but there was something else that pushed me over the edge and made me do it…"

My eyebrows furrowed, but we were suddenly interrupted by Sikowitz himself.

"You're not arriving through the window today, Sikowitz, what's up?" I questioned. He narrowed his eyes at me, taking a sip from his coconut.

"I thought I'd use the door as a spontaneous surprise, though you two have ruined it now. You're late, too."

"So are you!" Tori argued.

"You win, Vega," he scowled. "Get inside, both of you."

Of course, the fact that Sikowitz had caught us talking outside meant that Tori and I had to walk into class together, raising the suspicions of possibly everybody already inside. Jade's face remained stiff as I automatically kissed her cheek as a greeting.

"What's wrong?" I asked her, knowing it would be something along the lines of my arrival with Tori.

"We need to talk," she hissed. "And it can't wait."

I didn't listen much to Sikowitz, even though he is a pretty crazy but interesting teacher. Instead I tried to think exactly what Jade would say and tried working on my responses so I wouldn't slip up. I mean, nothing had happened this morning, but I didn't want to accidently tell her everything. Though there wasn't a lot to tell, actually. It was one kiss, one time.

But what Tori had said just moments ago really began to gnaw at me. What was the other reason she had for dumping Kane? I attacked her after class as she was getting books from her locker.

"You didn't finish before," I reminded her. She smiled slightly, and opened her mouth.

"If you don't mind, Vega, I'd like five minutes alone with my boyfriend," Jade spat Tori's name as though she was poisonous. She dragged me away violently, her nails digging into my palm. I saw Tori's eyes roll before I turned the corner with my girlfriend. She shoved me into a storage closet and slammed me against the now-locked door.

"Easy, Jade!" I shouted. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Oh, was that not the greeting you expected? Perhaps I should have picked you up and spun you round?" she yelled.

My mouth twitched into a frown, but I thought quickly, "Okay that might have been a little inappropriate, but Tori was really happy about something."

"Inappropriate? That's not even the word, Beck, and you know it."

"How did you know about that, anyway?"

"Oh, well you see there are these magic things called windows that allow you to see through walls."

I gritted my teeth at her sarcasm. Jade's facial expression stayed the same; angry.

"Why can't you see Vega's game, Beck? It's killing me."

"It's killing you? It's killing me that you're obsessed with catching her out when she isn't even playing a game."

Jade's arm flung out and crashed into the wall behind me.

"God dammit, Beck, are you blind? You're going to lose me because of her, don't you see?"

I sighed. "Jade, if I lose you then it's going to be because of either me or you. There's nobody else getting in the way; it's just your jealousy that's ripping us apart."

I was blatantly lying to her face. She didn't look as though she believed anything I was saying, but she nodded. I wasn't lying to her fully though; it was her jealousy that had pushed me away for two years.

"I'm scared, Beck. I wasn't going to tell you I felt like this, but I need you. I need you more than anything. Don't let me go, please, fight for us and fight for me."

She clasped her arms around my neck and stepped closer to me, her head resting on my shoulder.

"I'm done fighting, Jade," I informed her, breathing out heavily. "Every single day with you is like a constant battle, and it's one that I know I won't win. Let's just see what happens."

She hugged me tighter and I hugged her back. I couldn't feel anything. There was no spark and no chemistry; nothing was romantic about this particular hug. I couldn't tell her though – I think she thought the hug was progress between the two of us. Little did she know that it was way too friendly for my liking, and it hurt to know that two years of my life had gone down the drain.