A/N: Hey guys! I was going to wait but…. I just got too excited! Haha. So here's what happened with Jade, and why everything is now messed up. Tell me what you think!

***Six Months Ago***

Jade West smiled and closed her computer. The sun was setting and she'd been locked away in her room pretty much all day, barely even leaving for food and drinks. But it was done. Finally, after all these months, she was done. Her smile shone brighter as the realization dawned on her and she grabbed her phone, dialing her agent. "Steve? It's me! Guess what…"

***The Next Day***

Jade was angry. Seriously angry. She'd thought she'd finally been done with all of this, but nooooooo. Steve thinks she should wait. Steve thinks she should give it some time to make sure everything will go smoothly. Steve can kindly go to hell.

"—But then I told him that I really wanted to do the assignment justice and he gave me a week's extension! So now I can do the audition, too. And I—"

"SHUT UP, VEGA." Jade stabbed the pathetic excuse for food on her plate with her plastic knife and looked up to glare at the stunned brunette. "No one wants to hear about how perfect your life is today. And you don't have to be such an o—"

"OKAY," Beck said, talking over her and effectively shutting her up. She turned her glare to her 'boyfriend', who was currently trying to patch things up with the idiotic girl across the table. "Jade, let's try not to antagonize all of our friends, okay?" He seemed oblivious to the hatred in her eyes, but then again he usually was. It was a good thing he was hot and a good kisser, or she would have found a way to get rid of him for that long ago. This did have some perks after all.

"Dang, girl! You need to caaalm dowwwn," Andre said with a laugh, trying to lighten the mood. It wasn't helping and Jade's attitude just darkened. She picked up her knife, the 'burrito' still stuck on the end and slammed it down on Andre's plate, the plastic utensil quivering with the force. Without another word, she should up and stormed off. She couldn't stand being around them any longer. The only thing she regretted was the hurt little "oh!" produced by the redhead of the group, and truthfully the only one Jade could stand for long. She could hear Beck trying to make excuses for her as she left, but she couldn't care less what he said right now. She just needed to get away from here and calm down before she had to face anybody.

***A Week Later***

Jade had patched things up enough to last for now with everyone, but things were still rocky. Especially with Beck, whom she hadn't given any explanation for her actions. He was angry to say the least, but it seemed like he was forgiving her and being just as lovey as he always was. She rolled her eyes and checked her phone for the millionth time that afternoon. She knew it was annoying him, but she really didn't care. This time it rang as she stared at it and she jumped for it, answering it almost immediately. "Hello? … Thank God it's you!" She looked over at Beck as he sat on his bed, a confused look on his face. She forced a semblance of a smile as she grabbed her bag and headed for the door. "I have to go. I'll call you later." She shut the RV's door behind her forcefully and resumed her conversation on the phone, a smile overtaking her face. "Well?"

"They loved it!" She stopped and pressed the phone closer to her ear.

"They did?" She almost jumped for joy right then.

"Yes! I'm already getting it set in motion for publication, and they are already talking about a movie deal! How would you feel about playing yourself?" Jade laughed, carefree and happy.

***A Week Later***

"So, Jessica Easton, how does it feel to have your story out there? It must be quite a rush for you to publish a book of this magnitude at such a young age." The reporter gave her an encouraging smile and Jessica turned up the wattage on her own answering grin.

"It feels amazing! I've spent so long on this book. I've taken off so long from my career just to do this and it feels so wonderful to have it actually come to something like this. To be something that people like. It feels great." She pushed her blonde hair behind her ear and smiled into the cameras.

"That's right. You made a decision that I don't think I've seen any other young starlet make. After your third blockbuster hit you… disappeared. Tell us about that decision."

"Well, you see, I love acting, I do, but… I wanted to do something out there. Something that hadn't really been done before. I wanted to make my own story, but I also wanted it to be real. So I went undercover and created a whole new persona for myself. I guess you could say this was the longest case of method acting to prepare for a role that anyone's ever done." She laughed then, as did the reporter.

"I think that's very safe to say. How did you do it? I'm sure that someone must have realized when they came over after school that not every teenage girl lives in a multi-million dollar home!"

"Haha, of course they would've! No, we actually found a house in Hollywood to rent out. We decorated according to the character I created and I actually lived there by myself for the last few years. Of course I went home every other weekend to see my family and friends, and I did slip out of character every once in a while… Hey! A girl's got to shop!" She laughed and continued. "But for the most part, I kept in character for the entire two and a half years. The story was entirely based off the circle of friends I met at the school I attended, but none of them knew about this, of course. That would take away from the whole element of reality, wouldn't it?" She laughed musically. "No, I'm sure they're all wondering where I've been this last week."

"And what a week it's been! As I've heard you had this sent to the publishing house only a week ago, correct? And now it's being released all over the world today!"

"Yes, we wanted to rush it. I didn't want too much time to go by between when I finished it and when I could finally come out of the shadows back into the light. A girl can only go so long being someone else, you know?" The two laughed again and Jessica smiled. "And there was no pre-release press because we wanted this to come as a surprise to everyone. Just… pop! There it is!"

"And what a wonderful surprise it is." The reporter turned to face the camera as it went in for a close up. "My So-Called Hollywood Life is available nationwide today at your local bookstores, and in select countries worldwide. Jessica, as always it's been lovely to have you."

"The pleasure was all mine, Ann."

Sikowitz turned off the television and the entire class sat in stunned silence for a moment. A sniffle was heard from the back of the room as Cat tried not to cry. Almost everyone's eyes were on Beck and he could feel them boring into him. He could barely process anything except the fact that that was his girlfriend. On national television. Blonde. And talking about them like they were a big joke. An experiment. He couldn't process this with everyone staring at him so he grabbed his backpack and stormed out the door. Much the way a very absent, very fake, girl had once done.