Sometimes, she imagined that in another universe they made it. That they graduated from Hollywood Arts and moved into an apartment together in the city. They would wake up each morning, in their kingsize bed, and he would read through scripts while she made them coffee from that little artisan shop that they loved so much.
But in this universe, that didn't happen.
They agreed to be civil, to not make things even more awkward for their friends. They had made it clear that the arguing made them all feel uncomfortable.
They managed to avoid directly interacting with each other until they were forced to work together on that stupid astronaut play. She was cast as his actual Mother - as if things weren't weird enough.
On the day of the performance, Beck showed up really late to the final rehearsal.
"Where were you?" Tori interrogated him when he finally showed up in the theater. "You were supposed to be here an hour ago!"
Jade had a pretty good idea what had made him so late. She'd seen him yesterday after school, flirting with the cute girl who worked in the doughnut shop. She always had a feeling that she was a little too friendly towards him. Obviously, Beck insisted she delusional. Clearly, her delusions had proven to be correct.
"I know, I know. I'm sorry!" Beck apologized. "But I do come bearing gifts."
Jade felt that familar gut-punch as he produced a tray of freshly baked doughnuts and placed them down on the stage in front of them all. If there had been any semblance of doubt in her mind about what she saw yesterday he had just destroyed it with a dozen glazed sprinkles.
Tori, Andre, and the tech crew excitedly tucked in to the doughnuts, instantly forgiving Beck for being late.
And she knew they weren't together anymore. And she knew he was allowed to date the cute girl from the doughnut shop, with her ebony hair and big blue eyes. But it didn't stop her from feeling utterly betrayed.
"Peace offering?" She startled when she realized he was suddenly standing directly in front of her. He held a large takeout coffee out to her with a dorky smile.
"No thanks," she declined, folding her arms.
"Suit yourself," he shrugged. But he left the coffee in front of her all the same.
Sometimes, she wished that they'd fought for their relationship when it mattered. That they'd stopped being so stubborn and let the arguments fizzle out to nothing. She couldn't even remember what they were arguing about anyway.
She let the coffee go cold.