Jade sat in her home, thinking about Trina. The girl needed a man. There were a lot of choices, but each one seemed wrong somehow. First, there was Beck. Good reliable Beck. Except he wasn't the perfect choice he appeared to be. Beck liked a challenge, so he was almost impossible to deal with when things were supposed to be going good. Worse, he needed to be the knight in shining armor. That meant always wondering where you stood, and then seeing competition everywhere. If he could shift how he did things, he'd be perfect. Trina needed someone who could be understanding.

It was funny that the need for someone who was understanding was what took Robbie out of the equation. He wasn't bad looking, just dorky. He would be a chick magnet if he didn't live in Rex's shadow, and acquired some self esteem. He'd even won parts against Beck. The boy had a lot of upside. But the downside was what made him wrong. Rex was the biggest problem, but the lack of self esteem was a close second. Neither would have been a problem if the boy was capable of giving Trina the support she needed. Robbie was, in his own way, as self centered as Trina.

Andre was a player. That was his only strike against him. Jade didn't know if the boy had ever had a real girlfriend. Each week, it was someone new. Likewise, Sinjin was just too weird. And Burf, Jade was sure he was gay, stupid, or both. She didn't need to hurt Trina's feelings by setting her up with a loser. Maybe one of the shuggers?

Then she thought about Andy. He was in the right age group, looked good, and was respected in the class. Unfortunately, he'd also made it clear to Trina he was interested, so Jade suspected there was something about him that put her off. Jade needed to widen her search. Then it hit her, she knew who to set Trina up with.

Scotty Peirson was a senior at Hollywood Arts, only it was also his first year there. He was trying to polish his singing voice, but had Beck level looks to back it up. Further, he was big, six foot four with an athletes build, so all the single girls wanted him. Jade had spoken to him once, but he wisely kept his distance. He was smart like that, and Jade respected smart. She looked him up on line to figure out what she was missing. Everyone that good looking had a down side.

He used to go to Redwood High, where he played football, basketball, and was on the swim team. Jade was getting suspicious. There had to be a reason, other than his apparent belief that he was going to make it as a singer, that he left a school where he was the king of the hill to attend Hollywood Arts and be behind most of the underclassmen in his performance skills. Jade decided to investigate.

The next day, Jade thought about what she was going to do. She had class tonight, and again on Saturday. She also had to see her grandfather after school. She was glad she'd got ahead on her homework, or this could be trouble. Still, she had a mission, and only a limited amount of time before school started. She had to find Scotty Peirson.

She quickly found him talking to a group of girls. He looked to be flirting. 'Good, he's at least interested in girls. Bad, he's got a lot of interest. Now the hard part, getting past Trina's reputation.' Jade made a bee line for him, and only had to glare for a short time before the girls parted and gave her direct access.

"Jade West. So we finally meet." Scotty said.

"You know me, you fear me, so lets talk." She said.

"I'm not afraid of you." He replied. The girls seemed to eat that up.

"Really?' Jade said, then smiled.

"Yes, really. I'm big, can bench over three hundred pounds, and I played football, so I can take a hit." He said, "I have nothing to.."

Jade's staring eyes borer through him, and with her stare came the realization she could kill him and it would mean nothing to her. He had no idea where that came from, but he was feeling intimidated. He tried to focus on what he'd been saying, how there was no way she could take him out. He knew her reputation, and had heard the rumors. Jade was dangerous. But on school property?

"I though so." The goth said. Scotty realized he'd unconsciously stepped backwards. "I don't need to hurt you, just make sure you understand I can. Now that we got that out of the way, I want to talk to you about the most underrated girl here at Hollywood Arts."

Scotty Peirson settled into his conversation with Jade, listening to what she had to say. He wasn't impressed. He knew exactly who Trina was, and he knew he could do better. Except Jade said he wouldn't. "Get past the desperation and the diva attitude, and you've got a good woman who is worth the effort. Problem is, she wants a hot guy, and the hot ones don't want to work for chiz. I'm giving you the chance to get to know the Trina I've been forced to before she shows the school just who she really is and you won't be in her league any more." Jade said with a smile.

He wasn't sure why, but this was a cold comfort, knowing she had Jade's seal of approval. He liked his girls hot, but more important he wanted a girlfriend who was into the artistic stuff that he was into. Maybe Trina was a decent choice. For all the bad he'd heard about her, and there was no end to that, he also heard she was a good sister who looked out for Tori and her friends when she could. Maybe she could do the one thing so many of the girls he asked out couldn't, listen. She'd have to shut up for a minute, but what he needed, really needed was a girl who would listen.

"Okay, Ill ask her out." He said.

"She never knows we had this talk." Jade said, sounding very intimidating. He'd looked at tackles who didn't intimidate the way she did. And the rumors. Scotty decided right there that he was okay being intimidated by Jade. Also, Trina and Tori would be treated with the respect they deserved. "Oh, and Scotty, her dad's a cop." Jade threw out there as she started walking away.

"Really? So's my uncle." He replied before he saw she'd walked away. This was actually getting better.

He moved quickly, as soon as he saw Trina enter the building. Or rather, as soon as her sister entered the building. Tori was so popular, everyone knew who she was. Trina was the girl waking next to her as they entered. He closed quietly, listening for a few moments. He'd seen Trina around, but never bothered to really look. The girl was thicker than her sister, but still in great shape. Attractive and curvy. Pretty face, heels fat too tall. He liked her style. Once they separated to go to their lockers, he moved in.

"Trina?"

"Scotty Peirson, right?" She said. He wasn't to surprised she knew about him. Every girl seemed to know his name as soon as he walked into the school.

"I was wondering, what are you doing Friday night?" He asked.

"Wait, are you asking me out on a date?" She almost screamed, and he considered walking away. But Jade said she was worth the effort, and he liked walking without a limp, so he continued. Trina was practically bouncing.

"Yea, I'll pick you up around sixish. I would also like to meet you dad, I hear he's a cop. My uncles a cop." Scotty felt it would establish interest if he had something in common with her, as well as show he was serious.

"Oh GOD YES!" Trina shouted. "I mean, I think I can move things around.

Scotty finished making arrangements, then started walking towards class. His assessment of Trina was still not positive, but Jade wasn't the kind to give him a pep talk AND threats, when threats would do. 'Getting to know the real Trina could be a challenge, but maybe, and I mean Maybe, she might have the qualities I need.' he thought as he walked away.

Not too far from the action, just out of sight, Jade watched and made mental notes. 'Trina needs to calm the chiz down. I understand, she doesn't get asked out too often, and now I know why Seth chose to dump her. Thing is, Scotty will have a hard time finding another Athlete here at Hollywood Arts, a school that had to make up ping pong tournaments just to get a trophy.' Jade smiled at the thought, only for it to lead back to Tori. Thoughts of Trina's sister was taking up too much of Jade's down time, and were starting to invade other times as well. 'Tonight, before class, I'll walk Trina through how she should approach dating Scotty Boy.'