Gonna try and get back into doing some episode-based chapters, so if you have any ideas let me know :) Hope you enjoy this, sorry it's a little shorter than my usually but it seemed like a good place to end.

Thanks for all your lovely lovely feedback on my recent chapters!

Disclaimer: are we still going through this?... Fine. Simply borrowed from Schneider & Co.

Beck closed the bathroom door, and quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket. He glanced quickly at the door, as though he was expecting Sikowitz to come bursting through. Actually, he half was. He pressed the speed-dial on his main screen, and held the phone against his ear.

"Hello?" Jade answered her phone. Her voice sounded annoyed, and tired. Beck wished he had followed her when she'd left earlier. To be honest, with only Tori and him left, and Sikowitz obviously starting to regret this stupid competition, it was getting kind of boring. Plus he was worried about Jade's hand. It had stopped being fun the second she'd yelled out in pain.

"It's me," he said quietly, his voice still slightly British, as he glanced at the door. Since he was still in the game, he didn't want to get disqualified now.

"I know," she said, and he could practically hear her eyes roll. "Why are you whispering?"

"I'm in Sikowitz's bathroom-"

"Ew."

"I'm still in the game," he explained, "Listen, are you alright? Is your hand okay?" He asked quickly.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. It's not even that bad. I went home and my mom gave me ice, and burn cream. I probably overreacted."

Beck let out a breath he'd been holding. He was so relieved he didn't even mention that Jade admitted to over-reacting, which happened about once every two years. But he was still worried.

"Are you sure, because it looked bad? Do you need to go to a doctor? How did you even get home?" He asked again.

"I walked," she said, her voice annoyed again, although he couldn't be sure now if it was him she was annoyed with, or the pain in her hand.

Beck sighed, "I should have driven you. Why am I still here, this is so weird."

"Forget it. Just win that stupid competition, okay? And DON'T let Vega feed you any raisin bran!" She added before he could say anything.

Beck smirked; knowing Jade couldn't be too hurt if her attitude was still intact. "Okay. I'll come over first thing in the morning."

"Kay. Say it." Jade said, her voice a little softer now.

Beck smiled into his phone, "Love you," he said. He was done with playing games for the day. He honestly just wanted to give up and go spend the rest of the night with Jade. But he was pretty sure that at this point she'd just be angry at him for giving up.

"Love you too," she said, and he just picture her biting her lip after she said it. If he'd been there she would've looked at the floor for a second before raising her gaze back to him, and he'd be smiling as he did every time.

"Why haven't you changed?" Jade asked, her eyes judging him when she opened the door the next morning.

"Because I came straight from Sikowitz's," he replied, shrugging. His hands were stuffed in the pockets of his suit pants, so the whole outfit moved with his shoulders. His tie was loosened so much it was barely tied and his shirt was unbuttoned at the top and untucked at the bottom.

"You stayed the night?" Jade asked, her face distorting in a mixture of disgust and anger.

"Relax," he looked at her pointedly, "I slept on the most uncomfortable arm chair ever."

She sighed, finally moving aside to let him into her house, "Did you at least win?"

"Nah, Tori beat me." He admitted, disappointed. He was a little annoyed at himself, annoyed at the stupid mistake that caused him to lose, but at this point he really didn't care.

"Idiot," Jade muttered, shaking her head. But before she turned around to lead him to her bedroom, he swore he saw a small smile on her lips.

When Jade closed the door to her room, he moved closer to her still, gently taking her wrist.

"Let me see your hand. Does it hurt?" he asked, looking from her face to her hand. Her skin was quite red, although it felt cool to the touch, which meant she'd been icing it before he came.

"No, it feels like little kisses," she deadpanned. She pulled away from him and picked up the icepack wrapped in a thin cloth from her bedside table.

He moved closer to her again, "I'm serious." He looked her in the eye, and she stared back at him for what felt like a full minute.

"It's better now," she said finally, as though it was some sort of admission.

"I'm sorry," he said, bringing her hand to his lips and pressing a soft kiss to her wrist.

"It's not your fault." She said it bitterly, as though she was annoyed that she couldn't blame him.

She sat down on her bed, leaning against the wall. Beck quickly followed, and sat next to her, pulling her legs across his lap. He saw the pile of books on her bedside table, next to the mug of coffee, and smiled. Jade read more than anyone he knew. Not just novels: plays, poetry, articles, textbooks. Sometimes he thought she was obsessed with any kind of story-telling. He knew she wasn't just going to be an actress when she grew up, she was going to do everything.

He turned to look back at her, "Did I tell you how amazing you looked in your costume?"

"A few times," she replied, and he saw her lips twitch a little, like she was suppressing a smile.

He leaned closer, so that his face was right in front of hers. He could feel her coffee-scented breath on his face. "Really amazing," he said, grinning at her.

"Shut up," she muttered, but her lips grew into a smile matching his.

And he did. But only because he kissed her deeply and she responded eagerly, so neither of them felt like talking for a while.