Fiasco

Jade/Robbie friendship, Jade/Beck

There is typically something bittersweet about breakups: a goodbye with a promise of more, a 'break' that implies a makeup, a petty little fight that will be resolved within days. But, Jade West has to think as she collapses on the step of her front porch, not this time – at least she doesn't think so.

It had been all yelling and screaming after she found him 'studying' with another girl (letting her relentlessly flirt with him) – "Maybe you should stop being so jealous" from him, "Maybe you should stop being a player" from her, and then it escalated from there – and then he told her to get out, with no hint of uncertainty in his voice. They'd never officially ended it, but she could certainly take a hint.

And now, she thinks, she is alone. Sure, there's an annoying squirrel that's flying through the trees, but otherwise she is encased in an eerie silence. Her father is away on yet another 'business trip', her mother at work till the early hours of dawn, and she is alone.

Her phone beeps annoyingly. Cat has sent another text. I heard about what happened, are you ok? :P Her smiley face doesn't match the ominous mood of the text, but then again it's Cat, and she hardly understands the function of an emoticon, much less how to use them. She ignores the text – it's Cat, she reminds herself again.

Then there is a car, rolling at an annoyingly slow speed down the road in front of her house. She inclines her head just a bit, wondering what grandma would be riding around at this hour and why in front of her house, but then the car stops.

Jade rolls her eyes. If these people think she's going to help them, they've got another thing coming.

But then the person gets out – what an idiot, Jade thinks, they might get murdered on a street like hers. Then the person steps into the dim light and she realizes it's freaking Robbie Shapiro.

Ew, Jade thinks.

Robbie doesn't leave, much to her dismay. He actually approaches her, hands shoved so far down in his pockets that Jade imagines his pants might fall off, leaving her with a truly hilarious display. He gives her a crooked smile. "Hey, Jade."

"What do you want, Shapiro," Jade deadpans, not certain she wants to know the answer.

Robbie sighs. "I was just driving home and I noticed you were… um, sitting outside, so I figured I'd stop and… uh, you know, see if anything was wrong."

"I'm dying of cancer," Jade replies, and when he looks taken aback, she rolls her eyes. "I'm kidding, idiot. You haven't heard about what transpired?"

"Unfortunately no," Robbie answers, and Jade feels kinda touched – he didn't come because Cat told him to or he felt bad for her; she hates pity more than anything. He stopped because he saw her and he wanted to help her. It's a shame that she hates him so much because Robbie Shapiro is actually a decent guy. "What happened?"

"Broke up with Beck." Jade kicks a rock. "I guess actually Beck broke up with me. But anyway, you get the point."

"Beck's an idiot," Robbie answers in a matter-of-fact sort of way, and Jade glances up, shocked. For ages she'd known that Robbie had possessed a mildly creepy sort of admiration for Beck, so it's odd, foreign, to hear him so blatantly badmouthing his "idol", just because he dumped her, and she is sure that Robbie doesn't hold her in a positive regard. She very nearly laughs but figures that wouldn't be a satisfactory response.

"Yeah, well." She smirks. "I guess I just got too much for him."

Robbie shakes his head. "Haven't you got somewhere to stay? I mean, is your house locked?"

"No, I just…" She glances down. "It's stupid. I just didn't wanna be alone, and it's much less… quiet inside."

"I'll stay with you tonight," Robbie blurts out, and then he turns a deep shade of red. "I mean, not like that. I just mean… keep you company. We could watch a movie or something, even a horror movie, and I'll try not to cry."

She laughs – how could she not at Robbie's stupidity and blatant weakness? But then she gives a slight shrug, because even Shapiro's company is better than being alone at night in her huge, creepy house. "Whatever. Just make sure you take note of the fact that I am not responsible for any damage the monsters under my bed do to you at night."

.

Robbie only whimpers six times during the whole movie, which makes Jade feel oddly proud of him and how far he's come (last horror movie he cried twice). They talk for a bit about the dumb sci-fi movies Robbie watches (Robbie assures her that she would like them if she only gave them a chance; Jade counters that they're stupid and pointless so no she wouldn't). She falls asleep easily that night, even though her source of protection is measly little Robbie Shapiro who still hasn't finished puberty.

He drives her to school the next morning, much to the shock of everyone in the world. Jade finds it amusing more than anything, but she quickly squashes any rumors of there being anything romantic between the two because hello, ew? But the most satisfactory part of her day comes when Beck approaches her at her locker.

"Jade," he says in a tone that is anything but cordial. She tries hard not to laugh.

"Oliver," she mimics, rolling her eyes at him. "What the heck do you want?"

"I didn't know you and Robbie were friends," he says, biting down on the corner of his lip and leaning against the row of lockers beside him. Even now he doesn't beat around the bush.

"And so what if we are?" Jade inquires, shoving a book into her locker. "Why do you care? I'm not your girlfriend anymore." Her voice comes out biting, annoyed – he has no right to care about who she hangs out with now.

"I know." His jaw clenches, and his eyes look like they're about to spontaneously combust into flames, and Jade has to wonder what's got his panties in a twist. "I just... I dunno. Anyway. Why I'm really here. Tori was wondering if you'd want to hang out with us tomorrow night, watch a movie at her place or something. Cat really wants you to come." Truthfully, she thinks, he wants her to come – it's only been a day and he misses her already.

But she's not that easy, and the signs of jealousy are written all over his face, so what she says is, "Sorry, can't. I'm going bowling with Shapiro. At that new bowling alley down the street – Star Bowling. Robbie loves to bowl." She grins mischievously as his face darkens even more.

"I didn't think that…" he begins, then curls one hand into a fist. "Forget it. I don't care. Have fun on your little… outing with freaking Robbie."

She laughs once she realizes he's gone.

.

"So what you're saying is that Beck Oliver's jealous of me?" Robbie's eyes sparkle, and she nearly groans at his evident desperation.

"Not the point, Shapiro," she says with a roll of her eyes. "The point is that you're going bowling with me tomorrow at Star Bowling."

"And I don't have a say in the matter?"

"Nope."

He crosses his arms in an attempt to be defiant. "What if I have plans tomorrow?"

Jade has to snort at that. "You never have plans," she answers, which he doesn't make any attempt to deny; an 'exciting weekend' for Robbie Shapiro consists of a good sci-fi movie and a few snuggly blankets.

"So you want me to go bowling with me to make Beck jealous?" Robbie asks, and Jade cocks her head in a 'yeah what about it' sort of way. "Just one question," he continues, "why me? I mean, there are like 5000 other guys in the school that are hotter than me and could make Beck even more jealous."

"Because it's funny," Jade says with a smirk, staring down the nerdy, thin boy that's standing in front of her. "Because it shows he cares about me, y'know? If it was some hottie, he might just be jealous that he's not as hot or talented as them. But since it's you – yeah, it's definitely about me."

Robbie doesn't take offense for once; he just laughs. "Got it. So, bowling? Want me to pick you up?"

"Whatever," Jade huffs, "but this isn't a real date. So no flowers, no kissing, no suits – nothing that people normally do on a date. We're just gonna hang out and make dumb Oliver jealous because you know he'll show up."

"You really think he'll be there just to see us?" Robbie inquires, raising an eyebrow at her.

She laughs. "Trust me, people think I'm the jealous one, but really – it's him. He'll be there."

.

Robbie can't bowl. This becomes evident in the first round, when Robbie bowls straight into the gutter and Jade hits nine of the ten pins on her first try. She sighs at him. "Dude, that is not how you bowl."

"I'm not athletic," Robbie complains, "so I dunno how to do this."

"You just have to put your fingers in the holes," Jade informs him, trying to keep a straight face, "and then you put your arm back and then go forward. Like this." She demonstrates, successfully hitting 8 out of the 10 pins. "Now you try."

Robbie grumbles, but steps up anyway. At first it seems as if he's actually going to do it right, but then when his arm swings forward the rest of his body goes with it and suddenly he's sliding down the lane. Jade's first reaction is to laugh.

"I thought you knew you were supposed to let go," Jade admonishes him, still laughing.

"I guess not," Robbie says sourly, but then upon realizing he's sitting in the middle of a bowling lane, he bursts into laughter too and gets up at last to rejoin her. The two of them don't stop laughing until they are joined by another, more sober-looking young man.

"Well, aren't you two having fun," Beck snaps, crossing his arms, and Jade smirks over at Robbie – see, she says, I told you he'd come.

"We were, actually, until you showed up," Jade retorts, glaring at him darkly. "What do you want? To spy on me and Shapiro? Are you really that desperate?"

"Maybe I'm here on a date too," Beck replies with a scowl. "Like I'd spy on you."

"First of all," Jade informs him, "this isn't a date. It's just me and Shapiro attempting to bowl. And second of all, you haven't got a date either. You're here because you're jealous and you want me back already. Even though it's only been, what? Two days? Three?"

"That is ridiculous," Beck scoffs, but his face is heating up and he's scratching the back of his neck – a dead giveaway that Jade has definitely hit the mark and he is, in fact, jealous of Robbie Shapiro, an idea that is so ludicrous it's practically unheard of but that doesn't make it any less true.

"Ridiculous," Jade agrees, then steps a little bit closer to him, "but true."

"Honestly, Beck," Robbie pipes up at last, "I think it's pretty obvious what you're here for – but hey, it's pretty cool that you're jealous of me. Maybe I could give you some pointers?"

"Shut up," Beck groans, running a hand through his hair, and then – "Yes, okay, yes, I was jealous. I thought that you'd moved on and so quickly too, and I realized I'd made a mistake, and I didn't know what to do. I'm sorry that I let that chick flirt with me; I don't like her at all anyway. I was gonna let you go if you were happy, but Jade, I just – I'm sorry, I shouldn't have let you go and I –"

She kisses him at lightning speed, cutting off his heartfelt speech. He looks surprised at first, but quickly complies, tangling his hands around the back of her neck and jerking her closer. The two of them stay like that for a moment before Beck pulls back, content smile on his face. "Love you," he whispers in a voice so soft it's barely audible – but she hears.

"Love you too, idiot," she says with a laugh, and then turns back to Robbie. "Thanks for the help, Shapiro. You're not as weird as I thought – I guess."

"And you're not as terrifying as I thought," Robbie replies with a grin. "I haven't even peed myself yet."

"Congrats," Beck says dryly, grinning at him before taking Jade's hand. "Let's ditch this joint, babe."

It takes until the two of them have taken off for Robbie to realize what's going on, and then he has to ask himself if he really just got ditched by his fake date. His bad luck has hit a new low, he thinks with a laugh, as he walks off, head still spinning with images of Jade West.

.

A/N: don't ask I'M JUST DONE WHY CANT THIS HAPPEN

Jade/Robbie is perf and needs more moments lbh but I need bade too so this works

Please review!