Chapter 3
Missed Opportunity
Things were looking up for Beck and Jade. They were both beginning to believe the adage that time heals all wounds. The exes were spending more time together with their friends and they could go entire lunches, classes, and outings without things getting awkward. Alright, sometimes Robbie would ruin it by remarking, "Hey, isn't it cool that things aren't awkward anymore when we're with both Beck and Jade." Robbie also asked Beck, in front of Jade, why he didn't say yes when Allie Carlson asked him to the school dance. Beck awkwardly looked at Jade and Jade told him to date whoever he wanted. But everyone could tell she didn't really feel that way. The boy was clueless but they were all use to Robbie mucking things up. Sure, every once in a while Beck would accidentally touch Jade but old habits died hard. Jade had shown signs of maturity. She didn't stare down girls when they so much as asked to borrow a piece of paper from Beck. She was even okay with him hanging out alone with Tori Vega, or well she really tried to be okay with it. Beck even asked Jade to be part of the short film he was making and she said yes. Things were going great. Well, in all honesty things were going well because Beck, Jade, and their friends never acknowledged that the now exes were once in a relationship. Denial wasn't just a river in Egypt, it was also flowing through Hollywood Arts.
Beck wasn't losing sleep anymore due to being consumed with thoughts of Jade. Beck could drink coffee without thinking about Jade until the very last drop. Scissors still made him think of her but that may be something permanent he will have to deal with. The sex dreams he had starring her, well, they unpredictably came and went but he was a teenage boy so he would have to get use to that as well. Anyways the sex dreams felt more normal now instead of wrong and pathetic. The bottom line is that she wasn't constantly on the forefront of his mind. She just popped up often.
Jade no longer cried herself to sleep or cut up her mother's linens in rage, at least due to thoughts about the break up. Jade could watch her and Beck's favorite t.v. shows and movies without thinking of him from start to finish and she could listen to the radio without thinking of Beck during every sad break up song. Sometimes the sight of plaid still evoked thoughts of Beck but plaid was synonymous with Beck, she could deal. The fact that when he had a hair annoyingly out of place or he was having an exceptional hair day she wanted to run her hands through his hair was something she could get use to, after all every girl wanted to run their hands through his hair and she already had sensory memory of that. Beck no longer consumed Jade's every thought. She felt more at peace. Well, as at peace as a girl like Jade could ever feel.
All these occurrences left Beck and Jade thinking that maybe they could be friendly exes, not just tolerate being around one another like had been occurring since the break up. After all, they were friends before they started dating. Alright, so maybe Beck was intrigued by her in a boy girl way from the moment he first saw her. Maybe Jade was intrigued by Beck in a non platonic way from the first moment he spoke to her. But they still ended up being friends. Jade was a good friend to have: fiercely loyal, intelligent, talented, interesting, and fun. Beck was a great friend too: he knew Jade well, he wasn't annoying, he was loyal, they had common interests, and he was interesting. When Beck and Jade were in the tolerating part of post break up they had a few bickering matches. It was kind of sick that they both enjoyed the bickering. It left them wanting more. Maybe if they could be friends, at least in some sense of the word, they wouldn't be left with a longing feeling after they bickered. They missed each other and that was normal since they used to spend everyday together. In this tolerating phase of their relationship they may be together daily but they were still distant from one another and not connecting. So, unknown to the other, Beck and Jade both decided to try to let go enough of their past to see what could happen, perhaps they could have a meaningful friendship and not just tolerate each other's existence.
One night Beck was hanging out with Andre at Nozu. Jade was there waiting to eat dinner with her mother, who was stuck in traffic. The two boys sat down by Jade at the bar. Andre, being Andre, saw a cute girl he knew and took off to flirt. He wouldn't typically leave a broken up Beck and Jade together, as it was a potential recipe for a public disaster. Tori and Andre had been spending months running interference between Beck and Jade. Someone always sat in between them, someone always filled any awkward silence, and no matter what they never made reference to the fact that Beck and Jade once dated. But they had been doing well lately. Since the cute girl was Keiko, who he had been going after for a year, Andre left Beck and Jade alone. The first few minutes were awkward as Beck and Jade had not been alone together since before they had broken up. However, the awkwardness passed. They were able to talk about the last movie they'd seen, Sikowitz's latest problem, and Robbie's latest embarrassment. Things were going well. Jade's mom wasn't going to make it to the restaurant so the two exes ate dinner together. They even spoke of topics unrelated to friendly small talk like catching up on each other's families. It was almost like old times. Almost. Of course, it couldn't last for long. Near the end of the meal the school gossip, Amanda Johnson, came up to Beck and Jade, whom were in mid laugh, and asked if they were back together. Jade spoke up first, declaring, "We're just eating dinner so retract that last tweet I'm sure you sent to all of your gossipy followers at school." Amanda even had the gull to ask Beck why he had turned down so many dates. Her eyes never left Jade even though she was talking to Beck. Beck wasn't as quick thinking as Jade but came up with an answer to sting Amanda none the less, "Well, I guess none of the offers have been the right price. Your offer was pretty high but I felt the money couldn't detract from your personality.' The topic of dating could have sent the evening into an unrecoverable tail spin but it instead brought forth an opportunity for Beck and Jade to act as a team, which they had always been good at. However, it couldn't stop a serious moment from forming with Jade stating, "You know, you can date whoever you want. I won't cause any trouble." Her eyes as she spoke flittered between Beck and her hands straightening the cloth napkin on her lap. Beck took a breath trying to push away the awkwardness that was seeping into their conversation and with a smile tried to lighten the mood saying, "So you think Amanda is the way to go. You would let me make that disastrous mistake. Actually, I was thinking that Julie Taylor was the way to go. I know she graduated last year but I could reconnect with her via The Slap. It would be a really heartwarming story. Look good on a Christmas card". "Well," Jade said dragging the word out," Everyone has to live and learn. Also, it's Julia Taylor. But I don't think she would mind you not knowing her name. But it would be easier to find her on a social networking site if you knew her actual name." Julia Taylor was one hundred times more obnoxious than Amanda Johnson. The type of girl Beck would never be interested in. The type of girl that both Beck and Jade could joke about to lessen the awkwardness that seeps into any conversation held between exes surrounding the topic of dating.
When it came time to leave awkwardness arose. Beck walked Jade to her car. Awkwardness filled the air around them and they were both wandering why. Unbeknownst to each other and themselves they were both waiting for something. Beck and Jade stood at her car trying to avoid eye contact but failing, neither making a move to leave, with only the sound of their breathing filling the air along with the never ending LA traffic.
That night as they both tossed and turned they both felt like they had missed an opportunity. They felt regret. Why, did they feel these things? They felt an opportunity slip through their fingers because Beck and Jade could never be just friends because they never were just friends. Time may have been lessening their wounds but they still had scars. Those scars would not let them be friends: for far too often when they were alone in the dark with their thoughts they still thought of each other. If they were honest with themselves they would have realized that they never even uttered the phrase, "Let's be friends" because it was never going to truly happen. Friendly was possible but friends was not going to happen. For the next few days at school the group lunches were awkward again. The brief period of peace and normalcy between Beck and Jade was over. They were now avoiding each other. Even when they were together with the group at lunch they still felt awkwardness in being together, even if they were only across the table from one another. Things returned the previous status quo within a few days but Beck and Jade still wondered if they missed an important opportunity.
Thanks for reading. Please review because I would love to improve as a writer. I'm not very confident about writing dialogue, there is only a small amount of dialogue in this chapter, but I would really appreciate any advice on it. Chapter four is coming soon!