Standard Disclaimers Apply

SHELL-SHOCKED

By Cassandra's Destiny

.

Six possibilities for Beck and Jade getting back together.

.

IV. ANDRE

The last time he had worked with Jade on a song, it took less than two minutes for him to go from being terrified of her, to falling in love with her. It freaked him out not only because she was Jade – who, in Tori's words, was a mean, vicious person with deep psychological problems – but also because she was Beck's. Jade was Beck's best friend, girlfriend, future wife, and future mother of his children.

She may be Andre's friend, but she was Beck's everything. In fact, anyone who bothered enough to look past the glaring and the eye rolling could tell that Beck was Jade's, too, and, as cheesy as it sounded, they were going to be together forever.

How could he even begin to imagine coming between them?

Not even 365 days later, however, Beck and Jade have officially broken up. Taking his feelings for Jade into consideration, was she now, or will she ever be, fair game?

"Are you done with the second verse yet?"

Her voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He and Jade have been working on a song for the new school production for two nights now, and already, he was finding it more and more difficult to be productive writing lyrics around her.

"No, not yet."

"Well, you need to hurry up. This is due on Friday."

"I know, I know."

They both jumped from their seats as Jade's PearPhone went off, sending a loud song into the room. She took one look at the screen, and then proceeded to bury the phone deep in her bag.

"You're not going to get that?"

His question earned him an eye roll. "No chizz."

Before he could come up with a clever response (which, admittedly, he has been having a hard time doing when around her, too), she stood up and headed for the door. "I'm going to get a soda."

"Get me one?"

"No," she answered before closing the door behind her.

Andre leaned back on his chair and began humming possible chord progressions, when his own PearPhone went off.

It was Beck.

"Are you still in school with Jade?"

He typed 'yes' and hit send before trying to figure out what Beck could possibly want with Jade at this time of night. While it was true that Beck and Jade have started talking again, now that they're broken up, Beck didn't drive her to or from school anymore. Besides, if the photos in the Buzzfinger homepage were any indication, Beck was too busy dealing with the gossip surrounding him and Alyssa Vaughn to even think about his ex-girlfriend.

"Hey man."

His eyes shifted to the owner of the voice. It was Beck, and he didn't look too happy.

"You know Jade stole my car keys?"

Before he could come up with an appropriate response (His reaction time was getting worse and worse, wasn't it?), in comes Jade with a can of soda in her hand.

"Beck."

"Jade."

This was how their conversations usually started now, and although he preferred this to them screaming at each other, it still made everyone feel awkward at times.

"Why are you still in school?"

"I don't know, Jade. Maybe it's because I can't start my car without my keys."

She dawdled to a seat on the far end of the room. "Why didn't you ask Alyssa Vaughn to give you a ride, then?"

"What does she have to do with anything?"

Fingering the rim of her can of soda, she drew a long breath before responding. "You're in trouble, so you ask your girlfriend for help. I'm sure she'll be more than happy to be of assistance."

"Are we having that fight again?"

The pause that followed was a sign that he expected a reply from her. However, Jade appeared to be all too fascinated with the nutrition facts of her drink to bother replying.

"Listen, Alyssa Vaughn is just a friend."

"Yea, a friend who's been telling everyone that you're her boyfriend."

Andre made a face. If what Beck was saying was true, and he and Alyssa Vaughn were really just friends, then Beck really needed to learn how to say no and be less friendly with other girls.

"Whatever, it doesn't matter," Jade trailed off, taking a sip of her drink. "Let me just get your car keys so you can call your not-girlfriend Alyssa Vaughn, and you two can drive off into the sunrise together."

"It's 'drive off into the sunset'," Andre corrected her.

She shot him a look he knew was meant for him to pee his pants, that is, if he were Sinjin. "It's night time; the sunrise is closer."

As Jade dug into her bag and fumbled for Beck's keys, Andre turned to look at Beck, who had remained standing this entire time. He and Beck have been best friends for a while now, which was why it was not difficult for him to see the hidden tenderness in the depth of his gaze on Jade, despite the frustrated tone he had used when arguing with her.

Jade looked away from inside her bag, and for a moment, inadvertently caught Beck's gaze. Andre watched as Beck's eyes immediately flew to the clock on the opposite wall.

"Cat. She has your keys."

He registered the slight panic in her voice, and wondered if Jade genuinely felt bad about stealing Beck's car keys.

"Why would Cat have them?"

"I didn't have my bag with me then, so I asked her to keep them."

"Why didn't you just put them in your pocket?" He asked, yet again making himself a target for Jade's glare.

She groaned in frustration. "I didn't want Beck's keys on my person."

Andre wanted to laugh. It was not too long ago that they always had something of the other on their person, whether it was a ring, a bracelet, or in Jade's case, one of Beck's shirts. Now she didn't even want Beck's keys in her pocket?

She threw her empty soda can on the trash bin beside her before she spoke. "I told you; just call that gorgeous socialite not-girlfriend of yours. Maybe she'll send a private jet."

"I told you," he echoed her words, "Alyssa Vaughn is just a friend. Besides, how are you getting home?"

He was driving her, of course. She only agreed to help him with the song on the condition that he drove her to and from school for the entire week. He admits, he half-expected her to demand a cup of coffee every morning, until the realization dawned on him that he did not, and may never have the privilege of getting her coffee. That was (and will forever be) Beck's thing.

He sighed. "Hey, why don't I just drive the two of you home?"

.

The entire walk from the classroom to his car was a struggle. Beck and Jade argued about everything: who gets to sit in passenger's seat—

"I call shotgun."

"What are you, five?"

"It doesn't matter. I call shotgun."

"No, I'm sitting in front, and if this means I have to out-shotgun you, then so be it."

"You can't out-shotgun a person."

"Who cares?"

—whose house he drives to first—

"If you wanted to have a choice on when you were going to be dropped off, then maybe you should have called your not-girlfriend Alyssa Vaughn."

"Why do you keep on repeating 'not-girlfriend'? She is not my girlfriend."

—and which radio station they should listen to!

"Just listen to this, you'll like it."

"Stop it with these Canadian bands!"

He hasn't even pulled out of the school parking lot, and already, he was exhausted. Beck and Jade were acting very strange, even for Beck and Jade, and he couldn't quite put a finger on it.

He kept stealing glances at them through his rear view mirror. They were both sitting in the backseat because his grandma's laundry bags were strewn on the passenger's side. He had made the decision to drive to Jade's house first, as there was some road construction on the way to Beck's. They all sat in silence, too, as he turned off the radio when Jade threatened to snip off Beck's ears. (He didn't know good music, she reasoned.)

It didn't surprise him that it was Jade's voice that broke the silence. "So, you and Alyssa Vaughn…"

"Are just friends," Beck continued for her.

The conversation between them now was different from how it was earlier. It appeared to Andre that they spoke more slowly, breathed more easily, and, perhaps, thought more clearly about what they were going to say next. Granted that they were talking about Alyssa Vaughn, who, whether she realized it or not, seemed to bring out the best and worst in Beck and Jade, at least he didn't feel like he was taking care of a pair of six-year-olds.

"It was on the Buzzfinger homepage last night that you're her new boyfriend, though."

"I'm not."

He glanced at them and saw her nodding once. "I see."

"Besides, I've already told Alyssa I wasn't interested…" He trailed off, but Andre knew he wanted nothing more but to continue. For a second, though, he wasn't sure if he wanted Beck to continue. After all, if Jade was not Beck's anymore, then she could be his, right?

Seeing the look of anticipation in Jade's eyes, his heart fell. Even when Beck and Jade have officially broken up, has Jade really ever stopped being Beck's, and has Beck really ever stopped being Jade's?

As Andre turned the corner to Jade's street, he has decided he wanted nothing more than for his best friend and his best friend's girl to be happy together, as they should be.

"I'm not exactly ready to be anyone else's boyfriend when," Beck paused, and Andre resisted the urge to step on the brakes and refuse to drive until he finished this thought.

"…when I'm still in love with you."

He could have sworn he heard both of them breathe a sigh of relief: Beck, for finally being able to say it, and Jade, for finally being able to hear it.

"Say you love me," she said softly.

"I thought I just did."

Jade smiled at him, shifting in her seat to lean closer to Beck. "Say it again."

"I love you," Beck said, which didn't surprise Andre. After all, Beck and Jade were going to be together forever. How could he even begin to imagine coming between them?

V. JADE

She had figured long ago – even before they started dating – that Beck Oliver was a habit that was hard to break.

It had been two months since that poker night at Tori's house neither of them was invited to, and she still hasn't collected her things from his RV. It had almost been two months since she stopped wearing their matching necklace to school, but she still wore it at home, and she sure as hell still wore his shirts to sleep.

Smoking, drinking, and doing drugs? Meet Beck Oliver.

It was cold comfort to think that for Beck, maybe she was a bad habit that was hard to break, too.

Every night for the past two weeks, she would take a peek out of her bedroom window and find a black car parked in front of her neighbor's driveway. She could see neither the car's plate number nor the person in the driver's seat, but she'd know that car anywhere. It was the car she got into for more times than she cared to remember, the car she got off from whether it was late at night or early in the morning, and the car she almost lost her virginity in. This car, Beck Oliver's, she had been seeing parked in front of her neighbor's driveway, every night for the past two weeks.

It was ironic that now more than ever, she can sleep at night without having to wonder if Beck was fooling around with some cheerleader, or having dinner dates with Trina Vega.

.

"Let me explain this to you one more time: We," she said, gesturing to her and Beck, "are not a couple."

She had been trying to explain to everyone (and by everyone, she meant Cat), that Valentine's Day happens only once a year, and today was not it. Apparently, though, this restaurant Cat's parents had brought her to decided that it would be a great idea if the day of love didn't just come once a year. Every fourteenth day of the month should be Valentine's Day, their promo said, and Cat had taken it upon herself to celebrate it.

"I'm Cat Valentine, it's Valentine's Day, and I want to celebrate with my friends!"

The restaurant owner pulled her and Beck closer together, and snapped a picture or two. Cat was right beside her, acting like one of those cymbal-clapping monkeys. Tori, Andre, and Robbie each cracked their own version of a nervous smile, but didn't comment about the absurdity of their current situation.

"Congratulations! You and your boyfriend win a special and very romantic dinner date tonight!"

She groaned. Did this lady not hear a word she had said? Was she not speaking clearly or loudly enough? Was she not speaking English?

"Excuse me, but didn't your flyers say those who want to enter the contest need to be in their couple shirts?" It was Robbie who had finally backed her up. He really was less useless when he didn't have his hand shoved into that puppet of his.

"Yes, but—"

"Look, lady," she began, her patience running dry. "One, we didn't want to enter your stupid contest. Two, couple shirts are stupid, and three, this stupid boy and I are not in a relationship!"

"Oh, so now I'm stupid?"

He speaks!

"It's alright, it's alright," the older woman placated them. "This lover's quarrel? Nothing a romantic dinner date can't fix!"

Again, was she not speaking English?

Jade was ready to punch someone in the face when Tori spoke up. "But Beck and Jade aren't wearing couple shirts. Doesn't that go against the contest rules or something?"

The restaurant owner started explaining something about a short meeting she had with her staff when they came in – a string of nonsense Jade ignored. She was too busy plotting the easiest route to the door, and wondering what would happen if she made a run for it and—

"—but they're wearing matching necklaces, which is even better!"

Jade froze. It was only halfway through their Valentine's lunch that she realized she had forgotten to take off her necklace when she left the house. She didn't worry too much about it, though, as her hair was long and her top was not low-cut. No one would notice, right?

Wrong, and of all people to notice her necklace, it was this restaurant owner who, on top of wearing yellow hooped earrings (She hated the color yellow.), had the propensity for sticking her nose in other people's businesses. Besides, what did she mean matching necklaces? There was no way Beck was still wearing his, right?

It took her longer than the expected fraction of a second to muster up the courage to sneak a glance at Beck, who had both his hands in his pockets, and his eyes focused on his shoes like they were the most interesting things in the world. She focused her own eyes around his neck, and found herself staring at the one thing she didn't expect to see.

Again, there was no way Beck was still wearing his necklace, right?

Wrong.

Smoking, drinking, and doing drugs? Meet Jade West, apparently.

.

"You know you didn't have to come."

Jade scoffed. "You don't tell me what I know or don't know."

She wasn't even sure why she came that night. She could blame it on Cat's ridiculous idea of what Valentine's Day entails ("Aren't you supposed to give the Valentines a present? I'm a Valentine! This can be your present to me!"), or on Tori's pitiful attempt at being her friend ("We know you miss him, Jade, and maybe this will give you a sense of closure."). However, not only would that be giving either of them too much credit, but it would also mean that she was pushed into doing something she didn't want to do – a bad habit most people had, that she didn't.

She was cutting a piece of meat when he broke her out of her thoughts: "You look beautiful tonight."

Again, she scoffed. "Good to know I look ugly every other night." She didn't raise her head to meet his eyes, but she could tell he was rolling them. She wanted to be reminded of the times she and Beck bantered back and forth, where the teasing came from both sides, and it was done in good fun. It was frustrating, then, that she was reminded of the argument they had in the janitor's closet, the one that was cut short by Cat's fainting. That wasn't banter; their words were meant to cut like knives.

She heard him groan. "That's not what I said."

"Whatever."

.

They ate the rest of their meal in silence, until a server brought out the dessert tray and asked if they wanted coffee or tea.

"She would like coffee, two sugars."

At the mention of how she liked her coffee, a frown formed on her lips. He did not just order in her behalf. "You don't tell him what I would or wouldn't like."

"Jade, you need to chill."

She snapped. "Or else what, you're not going to talk to me for the rest of the day? For the rest of my life?"

"Jade—"

"How is that any different from the way things are now?" She raised the volume of her voice, and emphasized her words with violent gestures, completely ignoring the looks the other diners were giving them.

"I never said—"

"Oh, Beck's not talking to me anymore. How, oh how, am I ever going to get over this?"

He raised his voice to match hers and slammed his hand on the table. "Well, how have you?"

For the second time that day, Jade froze. She watched as Beck ran a hand through his hair and let out a heavy sigh. How has she what? Gotten over him? How on earth was she supposed to give an answer to that kind of question?

At that moment, she knew she had to divert his attention elsewhere – trip a server, throw her bread roll on the elderly couple next table, scream bloody murder, anything!

"Jade." She felt him reach for her hand from across the table. "Why can't we just have a nice time together?"

Why? She can name a million reasons why, beginning with 'because we're not together anymore'. Honestly, though, how can he expect a response from her when he had begun running his thumb in small, circular motions across the back of her hand?

She could only stare at him as he slightly leaned his head back to finish the glass of water he held with his free hand. Her eyes roamed from the point of his nose, down to his neck, and finally resting on the piece of jewelry that got them this dinner date in the first place.

At that, something was rearranging itself in her mind. "Take me home," she said, pulling her hand away from his.

.

The drive to her house was as quiet as most of their night so far. With no server to trip, no bread roll to throw, and no one to panic when she screamed bloody murder, Jade didn't trust herself to speak.

The only sound that filled the silence was the engine running, but that disappeared as soon as Beck pulled the car to a stop.

It felt like an entire minute had passed before either of them said anything.

"Good night, Jade," he said, with that eerily familiar tone in his voice, the one he used when he had wanted to ask her what he had done wrong but decided against it.

She could think of a million things he had done wrong, but since he didn't ask, there was no need for her to give an answer.

"Night, Beck." She moved to open the car door, but as her hands reached the metal handle, a single thought overwhelmed her. Beck Oliver may be a bad habit that was hard to break, but did she really see him worth breaking?

She murmured his name, looking away from him as she processed the gravity of her next move. "Would you be staying here until I go to sleep?"

She may not be facing him, but the slight edge in his voice let her know that he was taken aback by her question. "Maybe."

She expected him to say no, to deny that he ever spent his nights in his car while parked in front of her neighbor's driveway – but he didn't, and Jade wrestled with the possibility that maybe, just maybe, Beck thought she was a bad habit he didn't see worth breaking either.

"You know, you can wait here until I switch off my bedroom lights," she began steadily, "or you can come in, be the one to switch them off, and stay for the night."

She turned to face him, as she didn't want to miss his reaction. Beck's straight face faltered momentarily, and if she were Cat or Tori, her heart must have jumped out of her chest when she noticed the smile tugging at his lips.

"You don't tell me what I can or can't do."

A small smile graced her own lips. Smoking, drinking, and doing drugs? Meet Beck and Jade.

VI. CAT

Cat had been looking for Jade for the past twenty minutes, and not once did she find a student or teacher at Hollywood Arts who had a clue where she was.

That was, until she bumped into Sinjin.

Tori had explained to her once that Sinjin and Jade had a rather unusual relationship. They were not enemies, per se, as Sinjin insists he will never hate Jade, but they were definitely not friends either. Robbie added that Jade ignored him for the most part, and went on about how Jade ignored a lot of people. Andre cut him off by asking everyone to stop trying to make it seem like their relationship was normal. Sinjin was Jade's most loyal stalker, and that was that. That said, though, he was the best person to ask about Jade's whereabouts.

"Sinjin, do you know where Jade is?"

It had occurred to Cat that perhaps it was a mistake to phrase the question that way, because almost automatically, Sinjin shook his head no.

Of course, she didn't believe him. What part of Jade's most loyal stalker did he not understand?

"Sinjin, would you please tell me where Jade is?"

She took a step closer to him and put a hand on his arm. Just like last time, however, Sinjin shook his head no.

"Is Jade hurt?"

Again, Sinjin shook his head no, and then his eyes widened upon realizing his mistake.

He knew where Jade was, and he knew she wasn't hurt.

With full conviction and much effort (as Sinjin was much taller than she), Cat grabbed two fistfuls of his shirt and pulled his face closer to hers. "Tell me where Jade is!"

"Never!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing!"

Moving her hands to his shoulders, she shook him forcefully. His glasses were almost falling off, and he looked like he was about to pee his pants. Cat knew she could catch more flies with honey than with vinegar – so said that princess movie she forced Jade to watch with her the other day – but the vinegar approach worked for Jade all the time, didn't it?

"Tell me where Jade is!" She was about to slip into her 'you have three seconds to talk routine' when:

"She's in the janitor's closet!"

Of course, Jade would be in the janitor's closet, probably cutting up a garbage can or painting the walls black.

.

She made a beeline for the janitor's closet, running in her mind the movie titles she can suggest to Jade for when she comes over her house that night. Their options were quite limited, she found, as Jade refused to watch anything with talking animals.

As soon as she opened the door, her brows shot up to her hairline. There Jade was, in the janitor's closet, having a closet party with one Beck Oliver.

Both of her arms were around his neck, and they were kissing each other so hungrily, she'd think they were trying to swallow the other. Jade ran a hand through Beck's hair, and Cat watched as he pressed his knee between Jade's legs. He had one of his hands on her lower back, and another hand, wait – where was Beck's other hand?

She gasped loudly, and Beck and Jade instantly broke apart. She noted the goofy smile on Beck's face (like the cat that just swallowed the canary – giggle – swallowed) and the scowl on Jade's.

Before she could say 'hi' or announce her reasons for crashing their closet party, Jade grabbed Beck's wrist and dragged him out of the janitor's closet.

"We're leaving now."

It looked like she wouldn't have to come over Jade's house that night. Yea, she could take a hint.

A/N: Shell-shocked, six possibilities for Beck and Jade getting back together – which one was your favorite?