[Blackbox theater, Friday]

Sikowitz watches Tori and Andre perform, drinking in every second of their performance.

"I thought you loved me. Why don't you ever say that you love me?" Tori throws her hands up in the air and turns away from Andre.

"I don't know, I didn't want to make a commitment…"

"When you're in a relationship with me, you better be committed or you'll be sorry!"

Andre turns Tori around and holds her by her shoulders. "I know, I know. I am sorry. I do love you." Then he kisses her, a long and intense kiss.

Sikowitz bursts into applause. "Wonderful! Magnificent! I loved it! Very good, A+!" Tori and Andre smile and hug each other other.

"Thank you," Tori says, looking at Andre. "It took a lot of work, but we like how it turned out."

Andre bobs his head yes. "Uh, by the way Sikowitz…why do you have a chicken?"

Sure enough, a white hen is standing in the chair next to Sikowitz. Sikowitz reaches over to stroke it. "I'm chicken sitting," he says as if it's the most normal thing to do. Considering it's Sikowitz, it probably it. He offers no other explanation, so Tori and Andre leave.

Cat and Robbie come in next.

"So. I understand that you two are a couple now?"

Robbie nods. "Yeparooni!"

Sikowitz leans over, rests his elbow on his knee and his chin in his hand. "Interesting."

"So, our piece is called, The Girl Who Learns to Love," Cat says. She smiles at Robbie as they begin acting.

Their scene is short, probably one of the shortest, but it's very heartfelt. Sikowitz is intrigued throughout the whole ten minutes, especially at the end.

"Don't leave me!" Cat yells, crying, as she falls into Robbie's arms.

"I won't, don't worry," he replies, soothing her. He lifts up her chin and wipes away a tear. Cat sniffs. Robbie leans in and kisses her, a very sweet kiss. The scene ends and they break apart, hold hands, and bow.

"Nice job," Sikowitz says. "I can truly see the passion of the kiss when the actors feel love in a real relationship."

Cat beams and Robbie blushes.

"But really, Robbie? Cat, you could do so much better." Robbie frowns, but Cat just giggles and she grabs his hand and pulls him offstage.

Beck and Jade come in, the last pair. They still haven't rehearsed any kiss, and Beck is seriously worried about his grade. They tried rehearsing on Wednesday, but Jade got mad when Beck got a text from some girl and stormed out of his RV. They haven't talked since.

"So, I am aware that you two never handed in your written script," Sikowitz says, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, congratulations," Jade says, her face expressionless.

"Yeah, we uh, didn't finish?" Beck offers.

"You do know that you must perform this for me now, and it has to be a complete scene with a kiss?"

Jade is silent, but she quickly glances at Beck.

"Oh, we know. We finished….the scene….just not writing it…" Beck says.

Sikowitz leans back. "Well, if you impress me with your acting I will let you hand in the script on Monday and still give you full credit."

"Okay."

The two begin, seeming a little tense the first few minutes. It's mostly Jade, and it's obvious she doesn't want to be there, or at least not with Beck.

After only ten minutes, Beck and Jade begin to speak a little slower, fumbling around for words. They're right at the point where they stopped writing the script; they have no ending and so far, no kiss. Both are at a loss for words and stop talking. Sikowitz watches them, offering no help.

Beck turns to Jade and says suddenly, with lots of emphasis, "I'm tired of this, Mary."

Jade raises her eyebrows slightly. Beck has started improvising the scene, and she's not sure where he's going with it. "You're tired of what, Brad?" she says slowly.

"You. Me. Us. Acting like nothing is wrong when something clearly is."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Brad. We both know we don't like each other, we should just accept the fact and move on with our lives."

Beck walks around a little, talking with his hands. It's obvious to Sikowitz that Beck and Jade are talking more about themselves than the actual characters. He leans forward as if in a trance, and slowly pets his chicken.

"No," says Beck, "I can't move on. I can't go through my life hating you, because I don't hate you."

"…You don't?" Jade says. She suddenly seems so vulnerable.

"I don't." Beck takes a step forward and in one swift moment, he has Jade's cheek in his palm, stroking it tenderly. "I love you." Beck kisses her intensely, not seeming to want to let her go. And Jade kisses back.

Sikowitz smiles, satisfied. He knew he did the right thing by pairing them together.

They finally break apart. "I always loved you," Beck says.

Jade slowly smiles.

Sikowitz applauds. "Bravo, bravo, bra-vo! You kids killed it. I loved the ending. So powerful and moving. You can turn your script in on Monday or any day, you're getting a big, fat, one hundred perfect PERFECT!" He grabs his chicken and kisses it on the head. Then he carries it out the door.

Beck and Jade look at each other.

"So," Beck starts to say, but Jade interrupts him by slapping him on the arm.

"Shut up," she says.

Beck takes a step back, but before he can say anything, Jade continues. "I guess, if we're being totally honest…." she says, "I always loved you too."