Not too long after they had left the restaurant, André and Jade would eventually arrive at his apartment. While it looked like a normal bachelor pad on the surface - with a large flat-screen and entertainment center, the usual couch-and-love-seat setup, and his guitar and keyboard along with a drum machine, among other things, there were also various pictures and posters around the living room, which most notably included those of himself with his family, as well as pictures with Jade and the rest of the gang.

"You have a cool place, André," Jade said as she walked further into the apartment.

"Thanks," André replied.

"So, this must be where all the Harris magic happens."

"If by 'Harris magic', you mean where I rest after I get back in town, then yeah, there's plenty of that."

"Oh, come on, dude. You really mean to tell me that in the whole time that you've been here, there hasn't been any fun courtesy of the opposite sex?"

"I didn't say that, Jade. I mean, yeah, there's been a woman or two that's come by, but it's not like this place is some crazy sex dungeon or something. I don't just run through females left and right."

"Alright, if you say so." Eventually, as Jade looked through the pictures, she saw the one of her and André together the night that they were in the recording studio at Hollywood Arts. He didn't see it right at that second, but her smile at that moment was almost like it was when the two of them had hugged after he and Tori finished performing "365 Days". The remembrance of everything that happened up to that point and after that, particularly the conversation in the janitor's closet the following Monday, kept the smile on Jade's face, and it also caused a sudden heat to rush through her body. As she continued to look at the picture, she was then struck with an interesting thought that, to her, would help to explain his relationship experience, or lack thereof, since they left their alma mater.

"I wonder if André is still in love with me. Could that be why he never had a lot of girls around, because he was waiting on a chance with me? Why didn't he say anything if that's the case?"

Meanwhile, André had walked over to Jade with a cup of coffee in his hand, and as he gave it to her, the already present good mood that she was in seemed even brighter.

"Are you planning something, André?" Jade asked in a teasing manner.

"Nope, I'm just a guy who knows his friends well," André replied. "I figured that you might have wanted this, so I went ahead and made some. Was I wrong?"

"Actually, no. I still have a blood type of coffee-positive, so this always works. But I will say that every so often, I do like to try different varieties. That is one thing that's different from when we were younger."

"Well, that's good to know. But just for good measure, I made yours the old-fashioned, Jade West way. Black with two sugars."

"You do know your friends well, after all."

"Told you," André said jokingly.

"Don't rub it in," Jade replied in the same manner. "So, uh... how's your family?"

"My parents are good. And my grandma, well, she's still her, so she's okay, I guess. What about your folks?"

"Well, my dad's still... my dad. Even with everything I've done since we've left Hollywood Arts, especially this year, he still wants to be the cynical jerk. As for my mom and my brother, they're okay."

"Got it. So, you decided to take a look at all of the old pics?" André asked.

"Yeah. Just seeing all of this, it kind of makes me miss all of the stuff we got ourselves into," Jade said.

"Yeah, we went through a lot back then, good and bad. Like, uh, remember that game show we went on that one time?"

"Oh yeah, Brain Squeezers. That was horrible. We all ended up getting 'doinked' or whatever the hell it was called."

"Yeah, that was bad. Basically all of that stuff that they did was way overboard, like when Beck got gut-whacked, or... or when you..."

"When I got bashed in the head with the car battery."

"Yeah, that."

"I hated that so bad. I'm surprised that I wasn't dead or turned into a vegetable from that."

"I know. That was seriously a miracle if there ever was one," André began. "Besides, the fact that you were able to walk away from that let you do all other kinds of amazing stuff... like go on a kids' show dressed as a giant piece of cheese."

"Oh crap, you know about that?" Jade asked, remembering her, Tori and Trina's appearance on Divertisimo.

"Yeah, I saw it as soon as I got home from the studio at school," André replied with a laugh.

"Good Lord, that was so embarrassing."

"Maybe, but at least you guys got some TV time for that whole 'say yes to everything' bet. All I got was stuck listening to bad country music, drinking tomato juice and smelling nasty feet."

"Oh yeah, you got stuck working with Posey. That had to be fun."

"If by 'fun', you mean incredibly painful and torturous, then yeah, it was fun alright."

After wrapping up the brief discussion, André and Jade walked over to the couch. While he simply sat down in the middle, she sat down to his right after putting the cup of coffee on the nearby table. But then, for whatever reason, Jade decided to lay back and rest her legs across André's lap. Of course, this would get a reaction from him.

"So, is there any reason why you suddenly decided to lay on my couch with your legs in my lap?" André asked in a half-serious, half-joking manner.

"What? A woman can't relax with her legs in her best friend's lap if she wants to?" Jade asked with a partial smile.

"Yeah, she can, but since when are you the cuddly type?"

"Since now. Is that a good enough answer?"

"Sure. But tell me something."

"What's up?" Jade asked.

"I know that maybe you aren't ready to get into anything serious because... because of what happened with you and Beck," André began. "But aside from that, I gotta ask, how is it that there's not anybody in the picture for you? I mean, I know you were joking around about me having a bunch of women earlier, but you're the true catch between the two of us, and if I had to guess, there's plenty of guys lining up for the chance to be the future Mr. 'ScissorLuv'."

"Wow, way to bring up old screen names," Jade began humorously, referring to her old username on TheSlap. "But seriously, for one thing, a lot of guys are just interested in banging a potential celebrity, or just banging me period. Like you said about the females that you ran into, they're not into me, they're into what they think I'll become. Then, in the rare event that I came across a guy who was worth having, I couldn't get to them because, more often than not, another woman got there first. Like Freddie, for example. If he wasn't with Trina, I could seriously see myself going after him. How Trina was even able to get him, I can't understand, because he shouldn't have been able to leave Seattle as a single man."

"Well, you did say Carly and Sam were pretty janky towards him," André replied. "And now that I think of it, he did say something about how most other girls there had shot him down too. You know, aside from a twin, a cousin and some webshow groupies."

The girls André referred to were Sam's twin sister Melanie, who couldn't convince Freddie to date her despite her avid crush, because he thought that it was just Sam playing another trick on him; and Sabrina, a cousin of Gibby's, was also interested in Freddie, and after talking over video chat several times, the pair appeared to hit it off. But things changed drastically when they met personally during the heatwave-preceded blackout that left Bushwell Plaza powerless except for the Shays' place, the match fell apart quickly, as he felt that she was too tall for him - although he didn't say it outright, and any feelings she may have had for him practically disappeared when she was squirted in the eye with a lemon that was going in her glass of tea, which caused her to accidentally crush Carly's school project.

Then of course, there were the avid "iCarly" fangirls who ambushed Freddie at Webicon, possibly because of physical attraction, and obviously because of him being on the webshow.

Meanwhile, back at André's, Jade responded with, "then, aside from me, Trina, a twin, a cousin and some webshow groupies, most other girls are dumbasses. But back to my point, Freddie has Trina, and now, apparently, Robbie is with Cat. I know we all gave him shit a lot of the time when we were younger, and we always thought that he was weird or crazy, but deep down, he's a great guy. I truly hope Cat knows what she has now, because most guys wouldn't have been so patient like he was with her."

"That is true. So basically, you're still by yourself because you come across losers, and whenever you come across a good guy, they're already taken."

"Yeah, that's it for the most part. But then..."

"But then what?"

"There's another guy that I know, that I've known for quite some time actually. And he's really handsome, he's smart, and he's really talented. Not only that, but he's really caring and he's always around when people need him, even if it means something bad comes from it. For the most part, he's just a really great person."

"So, have you told this guy any of this stuff that you just told me?" André asked, not yet realizing who Jade was referring to.

"I did say it once, but it was a while ago," Jade began, remembering what she told André just before they left the janitor's closet, and before she kissed him a second time. "And ever since then, I saw him try his luck with other girls, one of whom was pretty janky. And then there's this other woman that he's always around, and it's been that way ever since they met. I've even wondered sometimes why, even after all this time, they never made it past the 'just friends' stage, because she really trusts him just like I do, and he's been really good to her."

"And is that the only issue?"

"Well, I heard once that he was into me, but that was around the same time that I told him all the things that I just said to you. And I'm worried that maybe he doesn't feel the same way anymore. That maybe he gave up on what he felt for me, and that he just decided to play the field until he finally came across 'the one'."

Putting deeper thought into everything that he had just heard, André then asked, "uh, Jade, this guy that you've been talking about, is it me?"

"Well... yeah, it is you, André," Jade replied.

"So, are... are you in love with me, or is it -"

"I really think I'm in love. But I never said anything before because I didn't want to approach you without knowing if I was really over Beck. I'm really into you, not just because we could be boyfriend and girlfriend, but because we're best friends, and I don't wanna see anything or anyone hurt you, especially if it's me."

"I get that. I'm not scared of him, but I still can't help but think that maybe if we were together, he might feel betrayed by it. But you really thought that I was with Tori?"

"Well, yeah, but seriously, can you blame me for that?" Jade asked. "I know how tight you two have been since you first met each other, and even now, it's hard not to think that you might have something going on with her."

"Look, you do have a point," André began. "Me and Tori, we are still pretty close, and I will admit that there's been a few times that we really saw how close we actually were, to put it mildly. But if we were supposed to actually be together, it would have been happened by now. It wouldn't be possible to deal with any other woman in a romantic way, especially you, if I was supposed to have anything deeper with Tori."

"Okay, but what about your feelings for me? Are you really in love with me? Were you ever? Did you even have a crush on me, or were you just using an excuse to kiss me?"

"Are you... Are you fucking kidding me right now?" André began, upset with Jade's sudden accusation. "You really wanna sit here and basically ask me if I was using you, or if I would ever use you of all people? We've been best friends for the past seven years, and when I said that I was in love with you, I wasn't joking, Jade. If there's one person that I would never use, it would be you, and you should know that!"

"Okay, then how do you explain that whole situation where you and Tori thought that you needed to pay somebody to ask me out?" Jade asked, remembering André and Tori's plan to pay guys to ask her out so that Beck could date Meredith. "If you were really in love with me, or if you really had a crush on me like you said, then why didn't you ask me out like a man instead of pulling that bullshit?"

"It's not an excuse, and I'm not throwing her under the bus, but for starters, it wasn't my idea for anybody to ask you out. Tori had actually come to me because she wanted Beck to be able to ask out Meredith without being afraid of you, or what you might think. She even said something about me having a crush on you. Now, as for me not asking you out myself, it's 'cause I made the mistake of thinking that I was over you. Then not only that, I kept telling her that the plan was a bad idea to begin with. I even joked around and said that I should ask out Meredith, and that Beck could have just went and bought himself a hamster or something."

"So then why did you fix your mouth to say that the only way someone would ask me out is if you paid them?"

"Because... every guy was scared as hell of you back then. It was hard enough for me to tell you how I felt that day in the janitor's closet, and I've known you since freshman year, and I actually know what it's like when you weren't... mean and vicious. So, if I had that problem, just think about how it might have been for the rest of the guys at school who knew who you were, but didn't know you like me, Beck and Robbie did. I was serious when I said that I loved you, and I meant what I said about you once we got into the janitor's closet and before we left out of there. I even meant what I just said a few minutes ago. But I was also serious when I said that you scared everybody. It wasn't just Gilbert that ran off when he tried to ask you out, but hell, Braden was too scared to even ask you if he could have his history notes back. Look, I know that deep down, you aren't really just this mean, bitter person, but for so long, that's how you came off, and it drove people away. And even though you said that you liked people to be scared of you, you couldn't possibly mean that. It's just another wall you built up for yourself because of whoever hurt you, whether it's your dad, Beck, or whoever did something wrong to you in the past."

A powerful and awkward silence found its way through after André finished his thought, and in the same stretch of time, Jade had sat back upright and finished what was left of her coffee. To break the quiet spell, André began to speak up first.

"Listen, Jade, I didn't - "

"Wait, André, if you're trying to apologize, you don't have to," Jade began. "If anybody should apologize, then it's me. I shouldn't have accused you of using me, or trying to use me. Like you said, I should know you better than that after all these years."

"No, I get it. I know that you're worried and concerned, and as far as relationships go, you don't wanna just jump into anything."

"I am sorry, you know, about what I said. But if you still felt like you did, you could have just talked to me."

"Could I have? I mean, when we were still at Hollywood Arts, after what happened that day in the janitor's closet, I wasn't sure whether or not my feelings were gonna last," André began. "Besides that, you and Beck were still together, and even after you broke up, there's a few other reasons why I didn't take any chance on you."

"And what might those be?" Jade asked.

"Besides Beck being my best friend and me still being worried about betraying him? For one thing, I ended up with Hope, and I was going after Elise. You know, the girl I could have had if you didn't bring up that 'Hammer Time' bet when I was talking to her."

"You seriously remember that?" Jade asked with a laugh.

"Who could forget it? That was cock-blocking on a whole new level."

"Okay, maybe it was. But seriously, what's the last reason?"

"For a while after we kissed, even though I wasn't completely sure if I was actually in love with you, I still did have a crush on you. And even with me worrying about Beck, I can admit that I still thought about making a move and asking you out after you two broke up."

"Okay, so what stopped you? I mean, I might have given the impression that I didn't wanna be bothered with any guy, but I could have made an exception for you. So what gives, Harris?"

"Well... this sounds stupid, but I remember you saying that even though you loved me, you couldn't say for sure that you were in love with me. I didn't wanna be the rebound guy, and I didn't want to ask you out if you didn't feel like I did. It wouldn't have worked if we didn't feel the same way about each other."

"Okay, that was three, almost four years ago," Jade began. "Even if that would have been the case back then, we're talking about now. You know I love you, and that I'm in love with you. And unless I'm wrong, don't you feel the same way about me?"

"Yeah, I do," André said. "I do love you, and I'm in love with you too."

"Okay then. So instead of letting the past get in the way, this can be our chance to start over. We don't have to worry about anybody else from here on out. Not Beck, not Tori, not anybody that we might have been with ever since we've been adults. It's not as easy as I just made it sound, but if you trust me as much as I trust you, then we can make it work. I know what I want out of this. Now it's just a matter of whether or not you want the same thing."

With both him and Jade having made their feelings and thoughts known, André had a potential new girlfriend in one of his oldest friends, and all that was left now was for him to take that last step to make it official. So when he finally made eye contact with her again, he didn't hesitate to take the chance that he wished he would have taken back when they were still at Hollywood Arts, and within seconds, he went in to kiss her, which she gladly accepted and returned.

"...Maybe I'm wrong/ won't you tell me if I'm coming on too strong?/ This heart of mine has been hurt before/ this time I wanna be sure."

"I've been waiting for a girl like you/ to come into my life/ I've been waiting for a girl like you/ and a love that will survive..."

"So, this is what it's like to kiss Jade West when she's your girlfriend," André said once he and Jade broke apart from each other.

"Yeah, lucky you," Jade began jokingly. "But was this as good as what happened in the janitor's closet?"

"It's actually better. For one thing, we don't have to get to Sikowitz's class. And more importantly, we don't have to worry about hurting or betraying somebody."

"No, we don't." Jade then went to kiss André again, but this time as she did so, she got up and climbed into his lap, not that he necessarily minded.

"Well, somebody's ambitious," André said after he and Jade separated.

"Can you blame me? I don't know about you, but I wanna make the most of this second chance of ours," Jade replied. "Besides, are you really trying to act as if you don't enjoy all of this in your lap?"

"I do enjoy it, I admit that. So what happens now, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Well, if you're up for the task, I can show you what the good kind of torture feels like," Jade said with a mischievous smile.

"I think I'm getting an idea why that little kid called you 'the freaky one'," André said, remembering the kid from the Handi-Quick who they ended up having to invite to the private Ke$ha concert at Tori's house.

"Oh, trust me, you'll find out why he called me that in ways that he couldn't even imagine. So, if you don't mind, could you show me to your room?"

"As you wish." And with that, André took Jade by the hand once she stood up from his lap and took her to his room. He never imagined that he would have this chance with her, even after they kissed twice after their conversation in the janitor's closet. Or rather, he didn't expect that he would actually be able to go through with whatever was about to happen. Still, it was gonna happen, and if he or she had any (other) question why it hadn't happened before, they were simply choosing to talk about it later, if at all. For now, however, they were about to take the next step in their friendship and new relationship. And for Jade, and especially André, it was more than worth it.

"(I'm not lying!) I just wanna be Alone With You/ and there's nothing else I'd rather do (there's nothing else I'd rather do)/ I just want the chance I had again (you know, you know, you know)/ just us two, 'til the end..."

And that's it. Everybody's favorite dreadlocked musician and scissor-loving ex-Goth are together now. If this chapter seems way off to anybody, then I don't blame you, because this ended a lot differently than even I anticipated. But anyway, hopefully you enjoyed this fic, regardless of the route that it went. Good night, everybody... or good morning now, since it's after 6AM. Peace!

(Songs included in this chapter: "Waiting For A Girl Like You" by Foreigner, and "Alone With You" by Tevin Campbell. Both songs are property of the respective performers, writers, producers and labels/publishers. No copyright infringement is intended.)