Beck's POV

Jade showed up at school the next day.

She acted as though nothing had happened, as though she was there yesterday. I tried asking but her reply was always "I was out." Knowing that when Jade refuses to talk, you better not talk, I left it at that but the question stayed in the back of my brain.

The two of us were sitting at our table during study hall while we did everything but study. You may think having study halls at a performing arts school is dumb but some kids need the time to practice several different things. A song or a dance or even a skit. Just because we didn't solve math equations or read about the Civil War didn't mean we sat around like morons.

"Which musical should I sing from," she asked, showing me her portfolio of sheet music, "Wicked or RENT?"

"Both have Idina Menzel so that's a win-win." I said. She didn't like my lack of answer, shown by a sneer.

"Be serious, nitwit." she said, "What do you think of West Side Story? C'mon, Beck, help me! Sikowitz needs an answer by Tuesday!"

"It's only Friday, don't worry." I said, patting her hand. She pulled it away, murmuring coarse language under her breath, and began flipping through the pages of her repertoire. Realizing she was now awarding me the cold shoulder, I decided to look around campus for something interesting.

It was hard enough for me to help out one girl with the showcase, let alone two. I'll admit it was easier to help Jade because all she wanted was a song choice but I still knew the terror of showing my opinion and then by some means it end up being bad. If I chose a song for Jade and it was too difficult or disliked by the majority of judges, then she'd hate me forever…or at least a long time. Cat worried me more than Jade because she wouldn't hate me—she'd hate herself. That was something I couldn't live with.

Speaking of her, the redhead came bouncing down with Robbie at her side, talking animatedly to him. He smiled but it was a bit of a strained one, as if he wasn't enjoying the conversation. I'd been there many times with Cat; it wasn't unpleasant truly. Baffling is a better word.

"…super-scary but Beck was totally nice about it," she chatted, "He told me it wasn't real—even though my brother says an invasion of monsters is likely—and I listened to him but it was sorta hard not to be afraid. When the dude went down to the basement, and got attacked, I screamed so loud and jumped into Beck! He told me everything was alright and…" Her rapid voice got quieter and incomprehensible as the two moved past our table and down the campus. I saw Jade's expression change at the mention of my name but she stayed smooth about it. Once the pair was out of earshot, she lifted her head up to look at me.

"Um, what'd she say?" she asked, a hint of spite in her tone. I smirked at her envy and decided to make a joke, albeit that may end with my head unattached from my body.

"You're speaking to me again?" I said. She grinded her teeth at my tease but I remained suave through it.

"She said something about you." she said, dog-earing a page in her folder like she really didn't care about my answer.

"Yeah," I said, "we watched a movie in her basement after I gave a lesson."

"Oh, superb, we're back to the 'lessons'," she said, doing air-quotes for the last word. I sighed, expecting her to be malicious at the idea of me teaching Cat.

"Jade, nothing happens then," I said, "other than dancing. We're not, like, secretly going out on dates."

"I never said that." she said, raising an eyebrow like she'd caught me in the act. I scooted over so that I was next to her and planted a kiss on her cheek; perhaps turning on the charm would make her realize not to be jealous.

"I love you, Jades." I said, "You don't need to make a whole charade of these dance lessons." She grunted, snapped shut her portfolio, and stood up. She was the queen of cold shoulders, I'd found.

"I gotta go." she said, "If you're wondering whether or not I love you back, that'll be revealed once I'm sure about this 'dance' business." Clutching her folder of music to her chest, she walked off. I sighed again because I knew better than to chase after her like some dependant boyfriend. That may've been her want but she was smart enough to know I wouldn't follow her, begging for mercy. It'd wear off in due time, so for now I was going to continue teaching Cat.

That is, until the pranks would arise another time.

This time the prank was a doozy: Sikowitz wanted Cat to give him a list of the songs she was considering to use for her dance. Her folder (much like Jade's, for every performer at Hollywood Arts needed a portfolio) was sitting, ready, in her locker. When she opened her door, the folder was there but the paper within it was shredded to pieces. I knew this because it was during class that he sent her to get it. When she came back everyone was shocked while I was also appalled.

Sikowitz told her everything would be fine and that it'd all get taken care of. I expected him to take her to the principal's office to report the vandalism but instead he went on to do drive-by acting exercises for the class. Everyone else went along with it, pretending to be plumbers, but I stayed in my own little world of worry. Dumping garbage on someone is one thing. Tearing up her music is quite another.

Whoever did this wanted war.

And I intended to fire the first shot.

I stood by the wall seven feet away from Cat's locker. She was talking to Tori a few paces away at the Latina's locker. Whether they were discussing boys or cupcakes was lost on me but I was ignoring them. I figured if Cat was distracted, the one who was pulling all these pranks would try another one, and I'd be there to catch them in the act.

No one showed up and nothing happened to Cat. Twenty full minutes passed with Tori and Cat chitchatting and the rest of the hallway barren. After five of those twenty minutes, I decided the culprit may not show their face with me watching her. So I yanked out a book from backpack and pretended to read. I wasn't sure which one it was but I just cared about doing the world a justice.

"Hey." I lifted my head to look up at a curly black head with wire-rimmed spectacles; Robbie. He was holding his puppet (he claimed it's an offensive term but I really didn't know what to refer to it as otherwise). I responded with my own greeting and went back to "reading". Robbie and I were on okay terms. Not friends per se but he was cool to hang out with most of the time.

He leaned against the wall with me, his eyes on the book cover. "I didn't know you were a, uh, fan of poetry?" he said. The last word befuddled me so I twisted it around to see it was one of Jade's depressing poetry books. She stuffed them in my backpack from time to time—I should've realized that most papers in my backpack were hers, except for some textbooks, play scripts, sheet music, and the occasional Chinese takeout menu.

I grumbled to myself and dropped the book back in my abyss of a knapsack. "Er, that was Jade's," I replied, "How're you?" I figured that if I appeared to be talking to Robbie, Cat's secret despiser would feel free to do what they may, and I'd be there to catch them.

"Meh." Robbie said, "Life's real routine lately. It'll be a relief when the showcase rolls around—maybe all that singing, dancing, and acting will perk me up."

"Hopefully Cat will be one of those that makes you feel better." I said with a grin, "She's been improving since we started the lessons. Soon she'll be one of the best dancers this side of California." Okay, so perhaps I was exaggerating a bit, but I was confident in Cat. Her will to be great at things was stronger than you'd expect and her determination was starting to evolve into bona fide talent. I was ecstatic because the thought of losing her was unbearable. At the beginning of the dance fiasco, it made me glum to think Cat would be in London for her entire performing arts education. But over the course of time—with the lessons and added togetherness—it made Cat and I more so friends than acquaintances and…her leaving? I'd lose a part of me if she did.

Robbie smiled at my words but it was only a half one. "Oh…yeah, I guess." he said, "You must be teaching her a lot of cool steps."

"I'm doing what I can." I responded, "She has potential. What she really needs is a nudge." Robbie bobbed his head, looking deep in thought. I knew he had to be because Rex was not talking—at all. Normally it cuts into the conversation but, when Robbie wants to be serious, he forgets. Sometimes he remembers and tries to cover up with the dummy but mostly it stays quiet.

"So…" he said, chuckling tensely, "You two…getting along?" Cocking an eyebrow, I answered "Pretty much." His expression tightened somewhat, like this wasn't something he wanted to hear.

"Oh." he said, "You, um…hanging out a lot…other than dance lessons?" What is this, Twenty Questions? I thought, somewhat annoyed. Robbie's inquiries were starting to make me curious; why did he care if Cat and I got along or hung out?

"What do you mean by that?" I asked. He opened his mouth and then closed it, only to continue opening it. At a loss for words, his puppet finally jumped in.

"He means have you and Miss Redhead been getting cozy?" Rex said, "You know, more than friends?" As the words processed in my brain, I became shocked. When Jade said it, I knew it was just due to jealously. But when Robbie (or technically Rex, if you prefer that) said it too, I began to question how Cat and I were. If people thought we looked or acted like we were something more, what did that mean? It had to mean Cat was showing some sort of attraction to me because I felt nothing for her. Nothing. Nothing...?

The scene of our kiss entered my mind. It affected me like none of Jade's or even that one of Tori's. It was sweet…it was amazing…it meant something. It was only a kiss, though; one kiss compared to many by Jade.

But this was different.

"What…no!" I said, too loudly, "No way! We're just friends! If you, um, wanna ask her out, that's fine. I'm cool with it." Robbie grinned at my words but inside I felt like I made a mistake. I kept repeating to myself I love Jade, not Cat. Jade, not Cat. It wasn't working, if that's your next question.

"Oh, okay!" he said, "I just was asking, but if you're okay with that…okay. Are you sure, though?" No! I yelled inside, No, I'm not! Could I say that? Heck no! So I acted like nothing was wrong and told him it was fine. It came out weaker than my previous sentences and I could sense Robbie knew I was uncomfortable with the notion. His grin faltered but he said "Thanks for telling me" and left. I watched him go, and the overwhelming urge to run after him and tell him to stay away from her came over me but I resisted. Jade was my girl and Cat wasn't nor would she be. Simple as that.

Except it wasn't that simple.

Apologies for the lack of updates! I'm not going to give any lousy excuses; all I really can say is review! I love to hear your opinions and critique!