So, there are reasons why I write what I write. It's not just to amuse or engage others - although I LOVE when that happens (so get in touch with messages or comments, because I will be excited to reply and strike up some conversation). Writing is about experiencing myself through creativity. I am LOVING writing this story - a nice break from writer's block. I am already on chapter six of this story and nearly at 12,000 words, so I think it'll be a blast. ;) I just finished writing the chapter(s) for the "Sky Store" incident, and it was hilarious getting in Beck's "daddy" mindset. Hey, happy father's day, right? Anyway, I'm excited because there is a lot more to come and I hope that you will all enjoy reading as much as I LOVE writing it!

Thanks to the people who commented on the last chapter - Boris Yeltsin, and Guest who requested Bade moments (coming up! I think you will like chapters 5 and 6 especially!) and Guest who said they would keep reading (thank you!). Note to all guests who read my stories: Even if you end your comment with something like "Guest Y", I will be able to leave notes more clearly to you if I think there is something I should reply to. ;) Like I said, I love interaction!

Anyway, enjoy chapter 2 now! This is based on the pilot episode. Jade's mommy moment here is learning that kids can be copycats! (HAHAHA! Unintended pun, but it works. Right? ;D )

...

Sometimes their form of parenting felt like it was all a game. It felt more like an acting exercise, some form of roleplaying as a family.

Like the day that the Vega girl came to the school. In Jade's view, she immediately tried to hit on Beck. Beck insisted that she had not been, and had literally just hit into him with her coffee. Despite his best attempt at calming her down, he did not manage to get her to a reasonable frame of mind before the acting exercise began. It just so happened that that it was an acting scenario in which she and Beck and Cat (and some inconsequential kid) were acting as a family.

In which Sikowitz gave her control.

Which she used poorly.

To pour coffee all over the groveling "family dog", who just so happened to be that Vega gank. (Ha! Jade could use that word too!)

Jade stood there proudly as the humiliated Tori Vega quietly ran out of the room in shame. She turned to Beck and smirked a little, although the smirk did falter a little as she saw the disbelief in his eyes. It was not that she had never seen him look that way before. She had probably made him look disapprovingly stunned more than anyone else in his life, but she still disliked it every time it happened. It made her feel ... bad.

"You went a little far there, don't you think?" he hissed under his breath as he leaned toward her. He was trying to keep others from hearing him scold her - she had her pride and he did not want to compromise it at the moment - but he also was clearly not pleased with her. He would get a certain look that would make her stomach tighten just a tiny bit when she saw it in his eyes. She did not know how to fully define how it made her feel. It was not fear - Beck did not scare her. Others might have said it was like instigated guilt, but Jade was determined that she never experienced that emotion. Still, she turned away from him as quickly as could be done without looking like she truly was admitting that she deserved his frown.

Although then she turned and ended up looking straight into a stunned little Cat's eyes, which was a different kind of uncomfortable. Cat had a great deal of adoration for Jade. Sometimes - often - this was something that irritated Jade to no end. If she had wanted a pet she would have gotten a bunny, not a feline that was actually human. But there was something nice about knowing that someone looked up to her all the time. Except now. That much was clear. Cat was looking horrified.

If pouring iced coffee over Vega's head had both angered usually unflappable Beck and startled Cat back into reality, maybe she had gone too far. Even Jade, with her stunted understanding of proper social skills, could figure that out.

Andre took off after Tori. Sikowitz - who was rather absorbed in a new coconut and more distracted by disappearing students than by what caused them to disappear in the first place - sent Cat after them in hopes of getting them back for another exercise. What came after that ... well, no one in the miniature family liked to remember.

The acting exercise.

The not Jade-and-Beck kiss.

The hurt.

The repentance.

The partial forgiveness that allowed them to eventually move on even though it remained Jade's trump card for quite a while.

But there was also something else that happened, something that no one except Jade witnessed. She made sure to keep it very quiet because, more than any scolding or glare or "You really shouldn't have done that to Tori" that she got that week, what Cat did that evening made her reconsider her actions. She never let anyone know, because that would be like admitting that she did care about what others thought of her. It would also mean admitting that Beck was right when he said, "You need to be careful what you do in front of Cat. She's impressionable."

What happened was that Jade - who was still furious at Beck and decided to start his punishment by refusing to get a ride home with him in favour of skulking around the school late - was there at the opportune moment to witness innocent, ditzy Cat get herself into a situation with a dog.

Not a roleplay, acting, Tori-kind of dog. A real dog. In particular, it was the vice principal's wife's emotional support dog.

As Jade glared out unforgivingly at the mostly empty school hallways after having spent a couple hours screaming angry lyrics into a microphone in the guise of music (might as well channel that inner teenage angst and anger productively, right?), she saw the nervous little vice principal's wife teeter her way into the school with her skinny Chinese crested dog. If one had never seen a Chinese crested dog before, they ought to cue up pictures of dogs that look abused while still being perfectly healthy and happy. As Jade had seen this one before, she did not feel concerned - just her normal disgust for human choices that created something that weird looking.

Jade assumed that the vice principal's wife was coming to see if her husband was ready to go home. If he was, he would get a ride with her and leave his car at the school until the next day. Many after-school detentions and scouting for potential areas of weakness in the school personnel's personal lives had helped Jade connect all those dots. For now, Jade glared at Waldo, that being the name of the crazy dog. She had met him once before, as Dorothea Dickers had seemed to think that introducing her emotional support dog to a kid fresh out of detention would somehow sprinkle fairy dust and joy and good behaviour into her life. No, thank you, said Jade West, without the "thank you". Still, she had seized upon the chance to insult the dog on his homely appearance. Dorothea - who had meant to do good and was having that fact "cheerfully" ignored by the moody teenager - tried to explain that Chinese crested dogs looked "beautifully unique naturally". Jade had rolled her eyes, but accepted that the thing wasn't a mangy mutt about to spread some sort of ringworm parasite through the school.

Unfortunately, Cat knew nothing of Chinese crested dogs.

As Jade peered out at the school halls darkly - wishing for someone to come along so that she could jump out and scare them to make herself feel a little better before heading home alone for the night - she saw the bouncy redhead coming down the hallway. Jade was a little surprised at first until she remembered that on Mondays Cat usually stayed late for tutoring. She must have done well today, because she was proudly carrying an iced coffee, a bribe that her tutor occasionally used to convince her to complete math problems. Jade did not know that information willingly. Cat often called her on her way home from tutoring because "I need to tell you all the interesting things I learned, Jade! And I got coffee as a present for being so smart! Just like how you drink lots of coffee and are smart. Do you think if I drink lots of coffee it will help me remember things better? Because my mom says that I shouldn't have too much caffeine but you..."

Jade groaned internally, knowing that now she would have to watch a wild kid going goo goo eyed over the creature, no matter how tuftedly weird he was. Predictably, the moment she saw the dog, Cat squealed and raced down the hallway toward him. The scream startled Dorothea, who instinctively yanked the beast Waldo to her side for comfort. The confused creature - after all, who would get used to being yanked like that? - whimpered and sat down to scratch at his collar. Jade saw Cat pause, peering at the dog with a worried expression on her face. Then she beamed proudly - and dumped her coffee all over the dog.

The dog instantly yelped and Dorothea screeched, "You evil child! Why did you just assault my poor Waldo?!"

Jade closed her eyes and slapped her forehead in exasperation. She did not need to question why Cat had just done that. It was just like her to confuse a silly detail of a play with real life. Jade had been learning that particularly lately Cat seemed to be regressing little by little and having more difficulty in separating reality from fantasy. It was no real wonder that she would think that she was helping Waldo the Wimp dog by giving him a caffeinated shower. Unfortunately though, no one else was going to understand. And seeing the expression on Vice Principal Dicker's face as he came out to see what was happening to cause his dear wife to scream ...so, yeah, it was time for Jade to show up. She darted out of the studio doorway and raced over to Cat's side. Thankfully, she was particularly good at improv.

"Caterina Valentine! What did you just do to my wife's Waldo?" Dickers was bellowing at the bouncy Cat, who was clearly proud of having come to the rescue of a needy animal. He pulled a notebook out of his pocket. "I think that there is plenty of room in detention for a miscreant like you for the rest of the ..."

"Oh, Cat! You're not supposed to give out those luxury dog washes to just anyone! I just sold my last one for $50 to a woman with a show poodle. Please, please, please tell me that you didn't just give this one to a stranger for free!" Jade gasped in faked consternation, racing up and lightly shaking Cat's shoulder as if she were devastated by the loss of a potential sale.

"Jade! Wait ... what?" Cat asked, confused. "I was helping this dog get rid of it's b..."

"Banal existence?" Jade leaped in, not wanting the frowns to deepen on the Dickers' faces. Implying that their dog was partially bald due to bugs and fleas rather than creative breeding choices was not going to go down well, Jade could tell. "I know that you want to help all the dogs, Cat, but you've got to stop giving out free ... deluxe canine coffee showers to every dog that crosses your path."

"West? Are you involved in this?" Dickers demanded, but the biting edge he had used with Cat had now softened to confusion tinged with curiosity. She finally looked at the Dickers and managed to look sweet and apologetic (she was a good actor). "She gets so enthusiastic, you know, but our product is only for the most elite dogs of Hollywood."

"But I thought..." Cat started. Jade winced internally. She had heard Cat start a great deal of confused ramblings with that phrase and right now she was close to convincing the Dickers couple not to be furious at her. For Cat's own good, Jade turned to her and muttered, "Shut up, Cat."

She could see the dear confused face crumple a little. Jade would make it up to Cat later, but for now she had to finish selling this story to the Dickers.

"Elite dogs, you say?" Dorothea quivered, looking down at Waldo who was licking himself clean after shaking the coffee droplets off as best as he could.

"Of course. All the celebrities are doing iced coffee rinses ... but, you know, we have a special recipe because my aunt's sister's dogwalker came up with the original formula. Did you know she sells it by the case to the president for his dog? Oh, yes, it's quite popular."

"Paw-pular," Cat giggled from behind her and Jade had to resist every urge to strangle the lovable airhead.

"My Waldo deserves the best. No other dog - presidential or otherwise - can meet his level," Dorothea asserted.

Dickers nodded along. "Yes. Just because I work with scumbag kids all day doesn't mean that we can't afford luxury for our dog baby," he grunted. His notebook full of detention lists was back in his pocket, something that did not get by the eagle eyes of a determined friend.

Jade bit her lip, acting uncertain, then shrugged a little as if in defeat. "Well, if Cat already gave the treatment to him, I guess that there is nothing that we can do except tell you to enjoy the increased ... sheen of his skin and general glow from healthy ... cuticles," Jade finished, trying to combine random phrases from beauty commercials.

"We will. And where can we get another bottle of it for when he needs a second treatment?" Dorothea asked. She was too late. Jade had seen that they could get away with it and was already running out of the school doors, dragging Cat by the wrist. They left behind a thoroughly confused couple and a coffee-scented canine.

...

"Wheeeeee!" squealed the redhead, still gripping the empty coffee cup.

When they were far enough from the school to not be stopped by a principal couple in search of a nonexistent dog product, Jade jerked Cat to a stop and pulled her around to look her in the eyes.

"Cat, never do that again."

"What?"

"Dump iced coffee over a dog. You nearly got detention for who knows how long!"

"I did?" Cat asked, confused. "But I was just being nice to that poor dog!"

Jade refrained from rolling her eyes. Only Cat could bring out this side of her occasionally, and it was in full force at the moment.

"Pouring a freezing beverage over a creature's head usually isn't considered nice, Cat!"

"But you did it to Tori!" Cat protested.

Dang it.

"Um ... that's different."

"How?"

With trusting eyes looking up at her, Jade decided that being a good example to keep kind-hearted Cat from more potential trouble was worth a rare thing.

She yanked Cat toward her and whispered fiercely into her ear: "Promise you'll never tell anyone what I'm about to tell you?"

"A secret?! Goody! I love..."

"Promise?!" Jade snapped, causing Cat to rub at her ear while nodding slowly.

"Fine. I made a mistake. I shouldn't have poured coffee on Tori's hair. So you shouldn't copy me and pour coffee on anyone ever again? Got it?"

Cat beamed and bouncily nodded. "Okay!"

Jade groaned as she watched Cat bouncing in place. She must have drunk some of the coffee before depositing the rest on poor Waldo's head. She doubted that Cat was fully going to remember. She would need to drill it into her.

"C'mon, Cat. I'm taking you for ice cream."

It would make up for telling her to shut up, and every spoonful could be a reward for correctly saying, "Jade never apologizes, but I will also never pour a cup of coffee on anyone ever again."

"But you don't like ice cream, Jade. What will you get?"

"Iced... tea."

...

I hope that you enjoyed and maybe laughed a couple of times too. ;)

Please leave a comment if you have a moment. I'd love to hear what stories you'd be interested in seeing in this exploration of side moments in the series. :)