Oh My God, to say that I suck would be an understatement. I honestly did not expect to be away or this long. At first I got a little distracted by some other fandoms and then Uni and work got the best of me. I haven't written or read any fic in ages and I miss it! I am supremely sorry to keep you waiting so long, and also to come back with this: something written under pressure and exhaustion and it's barely even been edited (Sorry for any typos, really!). I did love getting back into the Bade spirit though! It's not really fluff (actually to me it's a bit angsty when you think about the current circumstances), but I think it's a bit of a fun one! I also have another chapter nearly finished so I'm going to try uber hard to get that one up in the next couple of days.

Thanks to everyone for waiting patiently. Love you all for all your feedback!

Disclaimer: All material belongs to Schneider and co.

"So why can't Sasha go out with you?" Beck asked, as Andre grumbled behind him. They were on their way to the rec. room, so they could pretend to practice ping pong. He could barely remember how they even got to have their fake team, but whatever, he knew they got a free and delicious meal out of it.

"Her dad doesn't want her going out with guys yet!" Andre whined.

"Sucks, man," Beck said. To be honest, he didn't really care. But Andre had been obsessed with asking this girl out for the last few weeks and Beck just wished he would stop talking about it.

"Yeah, but - but, I think I know how to get around it!" Andre's voice suddenly picked up and he grinned proudly.

"Yeah?"

"She 'll bring her best friend Katie. Or Kasey. Or Kathy? Anyway, and I'll bring you – it'll be a double date!"

Beck head shot up and he glanced at Jade across the room. Ever since the day he asked her out and they went to the beach they'd been hanging out. But they hadn't really told anyone. Andre knew they'd gone out that one time, but Beck hadn't given him any details. At school they'd sort of become a group. Jade's friend Cat was already friends with Robbie so they just kinda... merged. He liked it. He liked spending time with Jade, but he felt like she was a puzzle he was still putting together. She'd snap at him and boss him around one minute, insult him the next, and then smile at him so intensely that he felt like he was the only one she ever smiled at.

Technically they weren't dating. They'd kissed only a few times and neither had even uttered the word girlfriend or boyfriend.

But he still felt weird accepting a date in front of her.

"Uh, sorry dude. Don't think I can," he shrugged.

"Aww come on!" Andre said, throwing his hands in the air. Jade raised her eyebrow at him; she had obviously expected him to agree. For a second he felt a please he had managed to surprised her.

Turning to Andre, he shrugged again, "Sorry dude. I'm busy."

"We haven't even picked a night yet!"

"I really don't like double dates."

"Dude!"

"I'll go," Robbie offered.

"Don't trust him, he'll just ruin it!" Rex interjected, leaving Robbie staring at the puppet, hurt. Cat leaned over to pat him gently on the shoulder.

"Ugh, Beck, just go on the stupid date so we can practice ping pong!" Jade shouted across the room.

Everyone turned to her, confused at her outburst. Cat giggled. "Silly Jade, the ping pong isn't real!"

"Quiet!" she yelled at Cat, before crossing her arms and shooting him a glare across the room.

"Fine, okay. I'll go," he told Andre, trying not to look like it was it was as big a deal as his mind was making it out to be.

"Thank you so much, man. Thank you so much," Andre said emotionally, giving him a hug. Beck pushed him off, shaking his head.

Her name was Kristen actually. And she was kinda nice. A little too friendly, maybe. She asked a lot of questions.

Andre seemed to be getting on so well with Sasha that they decided to get ice cream and take a walk in the warm evening air. They were walking in front as Beck and Kristen lagged behind to give them some space. He was grateful though, that Kristen seemed to understand this wasn't a real date.

"So... don't you have a girlfriend?" Kristen asked suddenly. Beck nearly choked on his ice cream.

"No! Uh, I don't. Nope," he said, glad she didn't know he only rambled when he was nervous.

"Oh. I just thought - well my mom owns that dessert place in Venice Beach, and I help out sometimes and I see you come in all the time with a girl. She wears a lot of black. She's kinda bossy. I thought you two were going out."

Beck laughed nervously, hoping he wasn't actually turning red. "We're just friends. Her name's Jade."

Kristen looked at him carefully, like she was studying him. "Oh okay. 'Cause sometimes you look like you want to be going out with her. And you always pay for the food."

"Uh, like you said: she's bossy."

She raised her eyebrow doubtfully, in a way that reminded him of Jade, actually. Eventually she just nodded. "Cool. She's really pretty though."

Beck couldn't help but nod. She was pretty. And bossy. And he really really wanted to be going out with her.

An hour later he found himself outside of Jade's house, phone pressed to his ear.

"What?" Jade's voice, husky with sleep answered.

"Hey, you awake?"

He could pretty much hear her roll her eyes. "No, I'm talking to you in my sleep. Did you just call to ask stupid questions?"

"I need to talk to you," he said, still unsure of what exactly he was going to say.

"Then talk!"

"No... Can you sneak out? I'm downstairs," he asked.

He heard nothing for a second, and then he saw the curtains move a little away from her window. The lamp from her bedside table allowed him to see her silhouette in the window.

"Please," he said.

She sighed. "Fine... Give me two minutes," she said, but he already heard a door close behind her.

In less than a minute she was gently pressing her front door shut behind her and making her way to her mailbox where he was standing. In the halo of the streetlamp, he noticed her pyjama pants: dark purple with tiny unicorns on them. He suppressed a smile, and realised it only added to the reason he was here in the first place.

When she finally reached him she uncrossed her arms to poke him in the chest. "I swear, Beck, if you're trying to use me as a Booty Call I will -"

"No, I just wanted to see you," he interrupted.

She didn't seem to be ready for that answer. Lifting her chin for a moment, she changed her question. "How was your date?"

"You care?" He asked back, a small smirk on his lips.

"No." She stared at him, as if she was challenging him. To what? To say what he came here to say? To be the first to admit their feelings? To humiliate himself? He started to get uneasy with the whole thing.

The only thing to do, he decided after watching her for a moment, was to just get it over and done with. He could avoid her at school if he had to. "Do you like me?"

She raised an eyebrow in disbelief, before letting out a sort of half laugh. "Are you serious? What, was your self esteem low because your fake date didn't want to kiss you or -"

"Jade, I'm serious," he interrupted her again. His hands had found their way to her shoulders, nearly bare because of the thin straps of her pyjama top.

She looked annoyed for moment, probably because he had interrupted her twice now. But then her eyes softened. "More than most people," she admitted.

He let himself smile. "I like you too."

"Because you fell on your head."

He ignored the comment, knowing that it was more of an insult about him than her. "Jade, I think we – I want us to go out. For real."

"You what?"

Glancing from her wide eyes to her lips, he leans in and kisses her. It's deeper than any of the other few kisses they've shared. He pulled her closer to him, and dropped one arm to wrap around her waist. She responded quickly; bring her hands up to the back of his neck. When he pulled away, she seemed a little concerned, which he took as a good sign. He pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, hoping she didn't find it too cheesy. "I don't want to keep it secret anymore. I want the whole school to know you're my girlfriend."

She raised an eyebrow again, looking at him so intensely he was sure he had said something wrong. "I'm not gonna be some pathetic pushover girlfriend," she said pointedly.

"Good."

She pursed her lips, "You can't flirt with other girls anymore."

He studied her for a moment, thinking of the girls at school that had asked for his number in the last couple of months since he and Jade had been hanging out. "Were you jealous?" he asked, smiling a little. For some reason, he liked knowing that he had some sort of affect on this mysterious, bossy, put-together girl in black.

She said nothing, just looked at him. "I can't believe you stood under my window and called me," she scoffed eventually.

"Could've been Romeo and Juliet!" he grinned.

"Ew! No! I hate that play!" She snapped, making a disgusted face. He made a note to ask her why later. But for now he just nodded, and pulled her into a gentle hug.

She leaned into him willingly, yawning as she did so. "I'm going back to bed," she said matter-of-factly, and ran a hand through his hair before pulling away from him.

"Take me to breakfast tomorrow," she said. It sounded like an order, but as soon as she said it he knew there was nothing he'd rather be doing on a Saturday morning.

Before she managed to walk any further he reached out and grabbed her arm, stopping her. He stepped towards her and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Night, Jade," he smiled and watched her make her way back into her house.

He turned around; shoving his hands into his pockets, and hoped his parents wouldn't freak out that he was late for curfew. He couldn't afford to be grounded now.