To those of you who reviewed the first chapter, a gigantic THANK YOU! I honestly wasn't expecting anything, so to see that several of you wanted to leave some kind words is very much appreciated. As I stated in the last chapter, the number of reviews is not important. My goal is to update at least once a week, depending on how motivated I am to write every night. I'm going to respond to the reviews I got for the first chapter, but for future reference, I will not be responding to every review in my author's notes. If you do choose to review from here on out though, I will definitely always give shout outs :)

Before I start, in case you couldn't already tell, I really like smiley faces in my Author's Notes. With that said, here we go:

superstar1030-Thanks! Hope you enjoy this chapter too! :D

PEACELOVINGIRL-Thank you! I love this movie too. :) Glad you think I'm a good writer because ironically English was my least favorite class...lol.

xFabinao-Wow, thank you so much! I thought it was crazy that no one had done this movie with Bade as the leads yet, but I'm happy to take on the challenge. I hate to disappoint you, but not all my A/N's will be that great, so please keep that in mind in future chapters ;)

khay-Thank you! I like to add my own flair so my story will express me as a writer. Glad it's coming across so well. It's totally cool if you don't say something after every chapter-I'm just happy that someone other than me is liking this story! :)

iLoveBeckAndAvan-Thanks! I'm going to try my hardest to not let too many days go by without an update because I know how exciting it is when a story I really like reading gets updated. 8)

Lastly, but no where near least, to one of my favorite authors...Seriously go check out her story if you haven't already-it's called "Why Can't I?" and it's amazing! :DD totally double-smile worthy!

justadream666z-Thanks for checking out my story and for the promo of it on yours! Being a first time writer, that was just so surreal for me to see. I really appreciate your feedback and completely understand what you're saying. If I ever get to the point where I do stray too far, you have permission to virtually kick my butt back on track...lol. I'm so glad it felt like the characters were portrayed here as they are on the show because I try hard to keep them as in character as I can without them seeming out of place in my story. I love reading your story too (as you very well know) and hope you're not holding yours back because it's just too good to be handcuffed in the closet-set it free! ;)

And now for the obligatory disclaimer: I do not own either the movie "The Proposal" or the television show "Victorious"

Quick side note: This chapter does contain another flashback, but after this all future chapters will only contain present tense...unless I change my mind, but I'll give you a heads up if that happens.

Ok so this chapter happens to be longer than the first, but don't get too used to that. I'm trying to find good places to divide the story up, so the lengths will vary.

Now let's proceed to the more fun stuff...enjoy!

/

CHAPTER 2

In the three years he has worked with Jade, Beck has yet to land a leading role for anything-movies or television. During the first few months on his new job he remained devoted to Jade, and never attempted to try out for any acting roles. By the end of the first 6 months however, he had started to see why people feared Jade, (including himself to a small extent) and began using his connections to try and become a lead actor. At the very least, he just wanted to find any acting job.

From the first time he went on an audition while under her employment, he was always up front with Jade-telling her where he was going and why he was using what little vacation days she granted him. She had threatened him on his first day that if he didn't tell her what he was doing with his vacation days, he wouldn't get any (I know she can't legally do that, but as I said in the AN in Chapter 1-creative liberties).

Though she let him allowed him to use his vacation days to go on auditions, she was always more horrible to him when he came back to work.

His attempts at finding acting work never panned out though because every time he managed to book an audition, and in his opinion, perform the required scene exceptionally, he was never called back for a second audition. After about roughly the 5th or 6th time this happened, Beck became curious as to why it kept occurring to him, and decided it was time he tried to figure it out.

It was during an outing after work one night when lady luck struck, and he discovered the reason for his lack of show business success.

/

2 Years Ago

They had just finished filming after a long week and wanted to go out for a few drinks to unwind. Jade had not been present on set that day because of a cold, (which she was sure to blame on everyone who dared to breath within five feet of her) and Robbie had opted out because his grandma needed him to rub her feet ("TMI dude." Beck had said). Since that left just Beck and Cat, they decided to call a couple of friends to join them to have some more fun. Beck called Andre and Cat called Tori because the girls had been friends for years, along with Jade (that's why Tori sometimes gets roles in many of Jade's movies-though Jade and Cat were closer than Jade and Tori).

Beck and Cat met up with Tori and Andre at a local bar, and it had taken less than 5 minutes, and roughly two drinks, for Cat to get tipsy and start being friendlier and giggling more than usual (if that was possible).

She was currently at the bar speaking/flirting with Andre who was attempting to limit her alcohol intake so she wouldn't feel too bad the next day, while also struggling not to let his feelings for Cat overtake him. He saw her reaching for her fourth drink and gently grabbed her hand saying, "Hey Little Red, how about you tell me about why you've been paying more attention to the bartender tonight than you have to me...uh I mean you know and Beck and Tori?" He mentally slapped himself for his slip of the tongue, and thanked whoever was listening for Cat's current state of unawareness.

"What's that sup...hic...posed ta mean?" She asked as seriously as a drunk Cat could ask.

"I...uh...just meant that you know, you've already had three martinis tonight and we've only been here for about ten minutes. I just wanted to make sure everything was alright?"

And just like that Cat was back to her martini-induced happiness as she replied, "Oh...hic...kay kay."

"So...?" Andre tried to get her back on topic.

"Whaty?"

"Never mind Cat. How about we go back to our table and talk to Beck and Tori for a bit?"

A toothy smile and a hiccup is all he received in response.

Meanwhile with Beck and Tori...

Beck had been drinking more than his regular amount as well, but he was still fully capable of carrying on a decent conversation. Since Cat and Andre had gone off to the bar Beck had been complaining about his rough week to Tori. Jade had been on edge all week, more so than usual, and had even snapped at him a record 10 times in one day. Coincidentally, that was the day he had his best audition to date, and his biggest chance at landing the lead in a major motion picture.

"I just don't understand it. Why haven't I ever gotten a call back? Every single director I've auditioned for has given me nothing but positive comments and a couple even told me that I had the exact image envisioned for their roles, yet look where I am today-still living with Andre in a shitty apartment working for a director known in Hollywood as the Wicked Witch of the West. I don't know what's crawled up her ass this week, but she's been extra bitchy to me about every single thing. Nothing I've done has been up to Her Majesty's standards. Is there something wrong with me?"

"No Beck!" Tori tried to interrupt, but Beck just ignored her and continued speaking as if she had never said anything.

"I mean I've always done everything she's asked of me, no matter how menial, and rarely have I thought about actually quitting. Until now. What makes this time worse is the fact that I don't even know why she's behaving this way to me because she's not usually like this. I just don't know how much more of this I can take Tori." He ended with a sigh and took a long swallow of his now room temperature beer.

Seeing that he was finally finished, Tori reached across the table and rubbed his arm sympathetically while saying, "Beck first of all, no there is absolutely nothing wrong with you. I remember last year when you came in for you audition when I was on the panel. You did a great job. I was honestly surprised Jade didn't give you the role. Unfortunately for you she never did tell me the reason that she offered you an assistant job and not an acting one. I've known Jade for about 5 years now, and in that time we've become somewhat friends, though she'd probably deny that." She paused to chuckle. "I hate to break it to you, but she really doesn't confide in me too much. Believe it or not, Cat is the one who is closest to Jade."

Tori had no sooner finished speaking, when Cat appeared at the table being supported by Andre's arm around her waist.

"Hehe...hi!" She giggled drunkenly, though slightly more sober than she had been while at the bar.

"Hey Cat." Tori said in a cheery tone. Beck simply looked up from the table only to briefly glance at Cat and Andre before taking another sip of his beer and hanging his head again while picking at tiny nicks in the table.

Cat was slowly losing her buzz, but was still in no condition to walk, let alone dance. Therefore, when the latest pop song began playing and Tori begged for someone to join her on the dance floor, Cat tried to say yes, but Andre told her to stay, drink some water, and keep Beck company, while he went to dance with Tori. Cat popped out her bottom lip in a perfect pout that almost had Andre changing his mind, but a split second decision had him pressing a quick kiss to her mouth and quickly dragging Tori out to dance while Cat was stunned.

Luckily for Andre the music on the dance floor was too loud for any conversation, so he was spared Tori's questions regarding the kiss for at least a few minutes. He planned to use this fact to his advantage and keep Tori out on the dance floor for as many songs as she would allow.

Back at the table with Beck and Cat...

Though the kiss itself lasted barely a second, it took Cat a few minutes to recover from the shock of it. Her lips were still buzzing and she was just reaching to put a finger to them to see if she could physically feel the buzz, but was startled out of her action by Beck who had finally looked up and realized that it was just he and Cat at the table.

"Cat where did Andre and Tori go?" He seemed puzzled by Cat's contemplative smile upon mention of Andre's name, but didn't bother to question her about it.

Finally coming out of her stupor at Beck's question, she replied in an airy voice, "they're out on the dance floor silly."

Beck looked around and saw that indeed the other two were out on the floor dancing, and didn't appear to be stopping anytime soon. He realized that now was the perfect opportunity to ask Cat about Jade's recent behavior. On any given day Cat was liable to simply let something that was meant to be kept quiet, slip without too much prompting. When she had been drinking though, she spoke without a second thought as to what she was saying.

Beck pushed away his beer, deciding that he was done with it for the night, and asked Cat straight out, "Cat do you know why Jade's been extra bitchy this week? Specifically to me?"

She heard Beck's question and was able to process it, but the kiss from Andre was still primarily on her mind so she answered almost on autopilot, "You've been going on more auditions lately and it's getting harder for her to intimidate the other directors."

Beck was just about to ask what she meant by intimidating the other directors, but the realization suddenly came to him. Jade was the reason he never got a call back. He wanted to make sure though before throwing out accusations. "Cat, has Jade been sabotaging my auditions?"

Her mouth opened without her brain's consent, "Yep. She makes you tell her where you're going so she can call the director and guarantee you don't get a second audition."

"But why?" He was honestly stumped. He didn't think he did an exceptional job being Jade's assistant and thought she would be happy to see him go.

Again Cat's brain was disconnected from her mouth. "Because every man in her life that she's ever depended on has left her. It all started with her dad." The water that she had been drinking appeared to finally begin sobering her up because for a second Cat came to her senses and realized what she had just revealed to Beck. "Oh my god PLEASE don't tell Jade I just told you all of that! She'll KILL me if she finds out!" Cat was panicking at this point and her hands had started shaking.

Just like that, any anger Beck had been feeling had completely receded, and he reached over to grab Cat's hands before she knocked anything off the table. "Don't worry Cat. I won't say a word to anyone. Thanks for telling me, even though you didn't mean to."

"You promise you won't tell Jadey or anyone else?" She asked in a child-like voice with tears threatening.

"I cross my heart promise Cat." He told her sincerely.

/

Present Day

Beck smiled fondly while remembering his promise to Cat. To this day he still hasn't broken that promise and he knows that he never will. Fortunately for Cat, because she had only fuzzy memories of that night, in the years since, he has never tried to pry anything further out of her whenever they are around each other. Be it on a group outing, or alone around the studio. Being given inside information on Jade made her seem a little more human to Beck, though he still wasn't too keen on staying her assistant forever.

To this day he continues to go on auditions, but he doesn't go as frequently as he has in the past. Most of the time he thinks it's because he doesn't want to be added to the list of men who've walked out on Jade, but then there are the days (coming less frequently than his parents would like) when Jade's behavior becomes so unbearable that he just wants to say screw it, walk out, and never look back. His parents (mostly his mom) tell him all the time to quit and they would help him find something else, but every time he tells them (her) the same thing, "No mom, I'm going to do this on my own. I appreciate your offer, but please just stop trying to get me to do things your way." He loves his mother dearly, but sometimes she can just be too much.

That night in the bar two years ago didn't exactly turn out the way he hoped it would, but something good did result from that trip. Andre and Cat talked the following day about their kiss, (for that was basically the only thing Cat had remembered) and have been a couple ever since.

His phone ringing brought him out of his reminiscing and looking at the Caller ID he sees that it is none other than his mom. Think about someone, even remotely, and lo and behold that person will call. He took a deep breath and answered. "Hi mom."

"Hello dear. I won't keep you long (thank god for small miracles). I just wanted to remind you that this weekend we're having your grandma's 90th birthday party and you better be there because you promised you would be, and who knows how many more she'll be able to celebrate?"

"Yes mom I know what I promised, but right now I'm not sure if I'll be able to get the time off to come to Canada. We're running behind on filming, and Jade's attitude has become even more unbearable than usual because of that fact. I have barely been off set this whole week, even to go home to shower and change."

"Honey you know how I feel about you working for that woman. She's holding you back from your dreams and I've told you time and again, I think you should quit."

Here we go again Beck thought. "Mom you know I can't quit (exasperated). I need this job in order to make connections in show business and right now it's my only source of income."

"Yes, but Beck you can't keep working for someone who makes you miserable most of the time, and you know your father and I will help you however we can."

"Mom I know you just want what's best for me, but we're done having this conversation. I'm going to do this on my own no matter what it takes. I have to go now. I'm at work and I need to get Jade's coffee to her before she fires someone."

"See? That's what I'm talking about. That horrible woman just goes off on people for the most inane things. I'm digressing though. You're right dear. I do want you to be happy, but I also know that you're an adult and you are capable of making your own decisions. I will support whatever you choose, but I will ask you once again to please try to come to your grandma's party this weekend. It would mean so much to her with you being the eldest grandchild."

"I can't make any promises right now mom, but yes I'll try to be there."

"Thank you Beck. That's all I ask. Have a good day today and I love you."

"Love you too mom. Bye." With that he ended his call and put his phone back in his pant's pocket. He was rounding the corner and almost to Jade's office when something, or rather someone, crashed into him making him spill Jade's coffee all over his shirt. He looked up from the stain and saw Robbie lying on the ground.

"Oh my god Beck I'm so sorry!"

"Robbie you klutz! Do you know how hot that coffee was? I'm probably suffering third degree burns from it! And now Jade's gonna be super pissed because you know how she gets without her caffeine. Who's gonna be the one to tell her why she doesn't have her coffee huh? Not me my friend." Upon seeing Robbie's widened eyes and quivering lip, Beck realized he shouldn't have treated the guy that way, so he hastened to add, "Sorry for yelling at you like that man, but you've got to tell Jade about this because I've got to go and try to get cleaned up at least a little bit."

Instead of calming Robbie down, Beck's words had the opposite effect. His eyes widened even further, (apparently that was possible) and he started shaking as he spoke. "Nuh uh...I'm not telling her. She makes me bawl on a good day! Besides nobody has to tell her right now. Cat told me she's in a meeting with some executives from the studio so you go get cleaned up, and I'll get a fresh coffee for you to give to her. I got your back man!"

"Never say that again. And since I obviously didn't know about this meeting, I have no idea how long it's going to last so you better hurry."

Robbie didn't need to be told twice. He was gone from Beck's sight within a blink of an eye. Beck just rolled his eyes and went into the bathroom so he could attempt to make himself look presentable.

As he exited he saw Cat looking around as if lost. "Hey Cat. Looking for something?"

"Beck there you are! I was looking for you (obviously she hadn't heard the words, just his voice). Jadey said that people with big wigs wanted to talk to her and that you better get your, um, bad word for butt, in there as soon as possible. Do you think they're having a party? I wanna wear a wig! You don't need to wear one though because your hair is long and fluffy and pretty for a boy. One time my brother-"

"Cat STOP!" He placed his hands on her forearms to calm her down as it appeared she was going to cry from his outburst. "Look I'm sorry for yelling at you like that, (wow I haven't even been here for all that long and I've already yelled at both Cat and Robbie-I think I need some coffee) but I don't have time to hear another story about your brother. I already knew Jade was in the meeting because Robbie literally just ran into me and told me about it. Now I need to get in there before Jade fires me for not giving her an excuse to leave the meeting sooner. Why don't you go find Andre and tell him what you were going to tell me about your brother?"

At the mention of her boyfriend, Cat perked right up. Her eyes got wide and she began nodding her head up and down rapidly. "Kay Kay. ANDRE!"

Beck winced at Cat's high pitched squeal right near his ear, but quickly let go of her arms and watched her skip down the hall hollering for Andre.

A/N: Ok I know what you're thinking...these flashbacks have nothing to do with the movie. To this I want to say yes, that is correct, but I don't want to follow the movie verbatim. I wanted to add a little backstory to make it my own while also giving readers some insight as to why certain things are occurring in the present. Also I did tell you at the beginning of this chapter that this would most likely be the last flashback in the story, but I make no promises. On that note...farewell my faithful fruit flies...until next time :)