Sweet darlin'
This is my confession to
The crimes of wanting you (badly)
And darlin' if you're wondering
Here's your answer:
I don't love you
I can't love you (yet)

Darlin' by Between The Trees

Beck decided, after seventy-three consecutive days of asking her out, that Jade West just wasn't interested in him.

The coffee dates, she was always quick to point out to him, didn't count as actual dates, because she was there because she wanted the coffee. They were friends after a fashion and spent time together at school, and he walked her to class. He was one of the very few people she didn't yell at or torment on a daily basis, and for a long time he told himself hey, that's something. Just how much of a something it was, though, wavered in his mind as the days wore on. Andre was even surprised to learn that they weren't, in fact, seeing each other – apparently everyone else in school already thought so. Everyone but Jade, that is, because every single time the word "date" passed his lips, she turned him down with as decisive a "no!" as she could manage, and that was that.

So on day seventy-four, Beck Oliver decided to take a step back. If "just friends" was all she wanted to be, he could live with that. It'd sting his pride for a long time, but he'd get by somehow. Besides, he had come to enjoy her company enough that the idea of her getting sick of his constant advances was even worse than all her rejections of him.

He didn't go to meet her before lunch (she'd be by her locker tossing her books in and sneaking in a little reading before she decided she was hungry), heading off to the Asphalt Café instead. He didn't spot Andre or Cat or Robbie there, either, so he made for one of the empty tables with his tuna sub in hand. As soon as he sat down, a girl from his grade (Emily? Amanda?) slid in next to him on the bench. "Hi, Beck. You alone?" she asked sweetly, although her eyes shifted warily, perhaps searching for any sign of the rather difficult (yes, he knew that was putting it lightly) Miss West.

"Yeah, I guess I am," he said with a short nod. Why not, he thought. Maybe this was what he needed, now that he knew what he had to do. If Jade was just going to be his friend, what harm was there in talking to other girls? He offered her a small, encouraging smile, and clearly, that was all that the girl needed.

She launched into a conversation about herself and how passionate she was about acting (and how she totally respected his own love for the art, seeing as he was such a dedicated actor himself). They'd be perfect for each other, she said, they had so much in common. Beck tried to pay attention, he really did, but he couldn't help but let his mind wander to the fact that he and Jade, in contrast, had very little in common, and yet he felt more comfortable with her that first day than he did right now with this girl.

"—You know, Beck, I really think this is the beginning of a wonderful friendship," the girl had begun to say, her hand on his arm all of a sudden. It brought him to attention just in time to see Jade slip and accidentally spill her bottle of water down the back of the other girl's dress.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry. It was an accident," Jade said in a way that made it clear that she was not sorry and it was not the slightest bit an accident. The girl screeched in frustration but fled the scene, leaving Beck sitting there with his mouth slightly agape as he tried to wrap his mind around what just happened.

Did she just deliberately pour water on that girl? Why? What did she care if he talked to someone else? They weren't anything. Some days he didn't even know if they were friends. His head was spinning with questions, but he didn't want to jump to conclusions that would get his hopes up. He was doing a good job with this whole just-friends business, and here she was being the one to muck that up. He didn't even know if that was her intention or not. He scarcely dared to hope, but here he was hoping.

"Who was that?" Jade asked good-naturedly as she took the girl's spot on the bench next to him.

"Emily," he snapped, and then, figuring that might not be right, added quickly, "Amanda." He wasn't sure of that either, so he mumbled a "whatever," under his breath before he went back to his food. He avoided her gaze, not sure what he was feeling right now, and he was afraid that looking at her would help him find out. He sneaked a glance at her anyway, from the corner of his eye.

Frustration. That was what Beck was feeling. Like no matter what he wanted to do, whether he wanted to go out with Jade or he wanted to let them fall into that comfortable just friendship sort of thing, he couldn't win.

Jade didn't seem interested in the girl's name at all, instead downing what little was left in her water bottle. "She seemed pretty comfy with you," she pointed out. He felt like she was doing this on purpose, baiting him for a response.

"What do you care?" he asked her.

Her brow furrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"We aren't going out."

"Go out with me then."

Beck almost dropped his tuna sub back onto his tray at those words. He looked at her, trying to search her face for any sign of a joke. There was none. Her lips were drawn in a tight, serious line, and her blue eyes seemed to wait for his answer. She was serious. There was nothing more he wanted to do than just say yes and pull her into his arms and tell her he'd been waiting for her to say so for the longest goddamned time, but he had other ideas. He bit back a smile and put on his own serious face as he said, with amazing willpower, "No."

"No?" Jade repeated, a little stunned.

"No," he said again.

She looked at him like he was crazy. "Wait, you hound me to go out with you for two and a half months, and now that I'm asking you, you say no?"

"Yup," he said simply. He was enjoying himself way too much, and he was glad he was a good enough actor to not let it show.

"Why?" she asked suspiciously.

Beck gestured in the direction Emily – or Amanda – went and said, "You just poured water down some girl's back for talking to me. How is that going to work out?"

"Then just don't talk to anyone else!" she said, clearly exasperated.

It amused him to know that this was all it took to make her admit she felt something for him.

He shook his head and gave a mock sigh. "I don't think I can do that, you know. And besides, I don't think you even like me all that much. I asked you out for two months and you kept saying no, so I figured you probably wouldn't care if I talked to other girls…" he pushed his tray away dramatically and got off the seat. "Come to think of it, you probably still don't like me. You're just pulling this act to torture me even more than you already do." With that, he turned around and began to walk away, wondering if she was going to take the bait.

"Oh, for Christ's sake, am I going to have to do everything?" he heard her say. The next thing he knew, he was hearing her boots against the pavement. A hand grasped his jacket roughly and turned him around. He stood there mere inches from Jade West, her blue eyes burning with anger and determination. Before he could say anything, she grabbed him by the collar and pulled him down, her lips meeting his in a way that was painful in its quickness but really everything he dreamed it would be.

All around them, the students at Asphalt Café were applauding and whistling and hooting appreciatively before Jade silenced them all with a glare.

"I'll go out with you," Beck said, unable to wipe the smile from his face. His arms snaked around her middle as he added, "On one condition." She looked up at him inquisitively, and he continued, "No pouring water on anybody anymore, all right?"

She smirked. "Deal. But I have a condition of my own," she countered.

"What's that?"

"Don't eat tuna fish for lunch."

She pushed him away playfully, then, as she turned around towards the table to finish her food. He took the opportunity for a fist-pump and a mouthed "Yes!" before he followed her back to their seats.

Author's Note: So hey, I made something that isn't depressing. xD Hopefully you guys like it! This was inspired by a lot of things, actually... besides the song at the top of the page, there's Jade's aversion to tuna fish (in The Wood) and something someone said on Tumblr (that Jade would probably be the one to initiate the relationship if she liked Beck). And thanks to khay who looked it over and convinced me to turn it in haha. xD Anyway, hope you enjoyed reading that, it was fun to write. :3

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing.