A/N: I'm so flattered to have been invited to participate in Save the Date for Badeprompts! My prompt was "please don't tell her" and I took the idea from one of Dan's recent tweets where he outlined the plot for a future episode that he had been planning before the show was cancelled, but never had a chance to shoot. Obviously I adapted it a bit since they're older here (about 26 years old was what I had in my head), but I had a lot of fun with it, so I hope you all enjoy!

…

"And I've been planning this forever, so—"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Don't tell Jade. You said that about five times already." Tori giggled slightly at Beck as he rubbed the back of his neck anxiously. "Calm down, everything will be fine. Weren't you always the guy who wasn't afraid of anything?"

"Well…yeah…except for Jade. Sometimes. But don't tell her that, either."

Tori laughed again, warm and friendly. "Relax, Beck. You and Jade have been together, like, forever. There's no way she'll say no. Remind me why you haven't proposed to her already?"

"The time just never seemed right, okay? First we were graduating from college, then suddenly we were trying to find a place to live, then I got my show, then Jade's stepmother…you know, passed away, and now she's been working on her movie and I don't know, it just never seemed like the right time. Besides, how do I even know that's what she wants?" he asked, attempting (and probably failing) to sound as if he was just pragmatic instead of nervous. He was Beck Oliver, the guy with the great hair and smooth voice. He didn't get nervous, he told himself.

Tori shrugged. "Well, now's as good a time as any, right? Besides, you'd still be the first out of any of our close friends to actually get married."

"Well, yeah. Provided that she doesn't hate the idea and leave me," he said dryly.

"Stop it, it'll be fine. Besides, this is Jade you're talking about. She likes when you show her how much you care about her. I'm sure she'll love it," said Tori reassuringly.

"Yeah, yeah, you're right. I know she will. Just please, please don't—"

"Tell her, yeah," Tori finished for him. "You made that part clear." She stood up, flipping her hair behind her shoulder as her lips tugged upwards. "I won't tell anyone, Beck, I promise. I already said that a million times. Don't worry, it'll all go fine. Call me tomorrow night after everything goes perfectly and you and Jade are engaged."

"Shh!" he hissed. "Don't say it out loud! The paparazzi might pick up on it and ruin the surprise!"

Tori glanced around at the empty red leather stools, raising an eyebrow. "Beck, there's barely anyone here. It's ten PM. The coffee shop's closing. Besides, don't you think you're being a bit too paranoid?" She clapped him on the shoulder. "Good luck, Beck. I'm sure everything'll be great." She smiled fondly, like a mother seeing her child off to the prom.

"Yeah, I know, I know," he said. "You're right. But I just don't want it to get ruined. And don't let anyone else tell her either!" he called at Tori's rapidly-retreating back. Although she didn't bother responding, Beck swore he could sense her rolling her eyes at him. Either that, or he was just so used to Jade's constant eye-rolling that he was starting to transpose it onto other people.

Well, he supposed, that was probably a good thing, right? That he was so attuned to his girlfriend's body language that he just assumed that everyone else would act that way?

Probably. He didn't really want to consider the alternative, which was that he was going crazy.

When he pulled into their driveway, he noticed that the lights were still on in the kitchen, the house's bright windows contrasting the deep indigo sky. This wasn't entirely unusual—Jade tended to be a night owl, even when she had an early call time—but it was odd that she would be in the kitchen, rather than in the living room or the bedroom or her study. Still, he walked through the front door and into the brightly-lit kitchen, just as Jade turned around, her elbows jutting out sharply as she crossed her arms over her chest and scowled.

"Oh, there you are," she said, her voice ominously heavy with irritation.

Beck felt his heart thump a few extra beats. "What—what do you mean? I told you I'd be home late."

"Oh, did you? Did you forget that we were supposed to have dinner together tonight? Because I'm pretty sure that's what you told me last night. When you didn't get home until 11 PM."

It was true—the previous night, Beck hadn't gotten off of work until 8, and then he'd spent close to three hours with Tori at the coffee shop, making phone calls to ensure that everything would be perfect for that Saturday. But Jade couldn't know that. And she couldn't know that he'd been hanging out with Tori again tonight, because she'd immediately be suspicious that he was up to something. Which he kinda was, but still. He wracked his brain.

"Uh, well, yeah, but tonight I had…I, uh, I promised Jackson that we'd go out for a beer after work so I could talk to him about Marlaina…you know." Jackson was a co-star who had just been dumped by his long-term girlfriend, and Beck hoped that maybe he'd score sympathy points from Jade if he mentioned that he'd been helping a (male) friend in need, even if he wasn't entirely being truthful. She'd know eventually, he told himself. It was for her own good that he was being secretive.

He should have known better. Jade arched her eyebrows higher, leaning away from him and against the counter. "Let me get this straight. You ditched dinner with me, your girlfriend, to hang out with your guy friend. Why do I feel like I'm quoting the relationship section of Cosmo?"

"Ahh—I'm so sorry, Jade," he said lamely. God, and he called himself an actor. "Seriously, I forgot…and Jackson was…crying…"

"Crying," she said flatly. "Your six-foot-three male costar, who's so ripped that he makes you look like a woman, was crying. Really."

"Yeah, seriously, it was really weird, I couldn't just leave him like that…I'm really sorry, Jade, you know I wouldn't just blow you off. I should have called."

Jade looked him up and down, and Beck could tell she didn't entirely believe him. But, by some miracle, she let the topic go.

"Alright. Just don't skip out on me again. And turn on your damn phone! I tried to call you a thousand times!"

"Sorry." Beck did his best to sound contrite. The last thing he needed was a fight that would ruin tomorrow.

"Fine," she said, a little bit haughtily, and Beck couldn't help the grin that snaked across his face.

"Let me make it up to you?"

The ghost of a smile flitted across her lips as she inched closer to him. "And how are you planning to do that?" she breathed, making his neck tingle.

He managed to calm his racing heart—not an easy task, since his body was suddenly on fire. "I can think of a few ideas…"

The next morning, it took all of Beck's acting skills to pretend everything was normal. As it was the weekend, neither of them had work, and Jade slept in, taking full advantage of the fact that she didn't have a six AM call time the next morning.

Beck, on the other hand, woke up at the crack of dawn, too anxious to sleep anymore, and spent a long time staring at Jade's sleeping form. She was facing towards him, breathing quietly, her dark brown hair curtaining her face. For some strange reason, Beck always found himself admiring how graceful she looked when she slept (especially since, more than once, she had sarcastically commented on his sleeping etiquette; apparently he was a mouth-breather). He stayed like that, gazing at her, for half an hour; then, when he realized he wasn't going to be getting back to sleep, he climbed out of bed to go make himself some coffee.

He didn't know why he was so anxious; he had spent practically all month planning this day. Realistically speaking, he knew Jade would love the attention of an extra-special proposal. Although she was rarely vocal about any emotions other than anger, Beck knew by the way that she stood a little straighter, eyes widened and just a tiny bit softer, that she loved when he was romantic, even if she chided him for being cheesy. And this proposal was going to be pretty damn romantic.

Eventually, she got up; he had made a passable brunch, which was pretty impressive given his incredible lack of culinary skill. "Hey, babe, what do you say we go to the park later?" he asked over brunch, intentionally keeping his voice light.

"Why?" asked Jade absently, without looking up from the newspaper.

"It's nice out, you know." Beck silently thanked God that it wasn't raining. "I just thought it would be nice to spend some time together, and we haven't been for a walk in a while."

"I hate sunshine. You know that."

"Jade. Please?"

"Calm down, Beck, I was just kidding. Sure, let's go on a walk later. As long as we don't have to go by the duck pond."

"We don't have to go by the duck pond," he said, choking a bit. He'd forgotten her hatred for ducks. What if there were ducks, and Jade ran away and then missed the whole thing? For that matter what if they got to the park and then Jade decided she didn't want to even take the chance that she might come into contact with a duck? What if she—

Jade's voice interrupted his musings. "Beck? You okay?" With some horror, he realized that he'd been choking on his coffee throughout his musings. Hastily, he inhaled a few times.

"Fine."

Jade just rolled her eyes (as he knew she would), moved his dishes to the sink, and walked into her office.

The time finally came, and Beck found himself slipping away to his dresser to pull the little box from where it was hidden beneath his t-shirts. The entire ride to the park, he felt the velvet cube in his pocket, cool against his thigh, and he could barely think straight enough to obey basic traffic laws ("Beck, dammit, you just ran a stop sign! Are you trying to get us killed?"). Still, he kept his cool well-enough, and Jade fortunately didn't comment on his complete reticence as they drove. When they finally got out of the car, he almost tripped, causing another (entirely expected) eyeroll.

As they entered the park, holding hands as usual, he heard a young, probably female voice from behind him. "Hey, isn't that Beck Oliver? The guy from that TV series or something?"

Beck was fairly used to the whispers at this point—they both were—but it was still a little bit weird whenever he was recognized. He wasn't a huge star by any means, but his television show still pulled in solid ratings every week for a primetime drama. Likewise, Jade wasn't quite a movie star yet, but she'd had a few notable supporting roles that got her some street recognition. Admittedly, he was recognized a lot more than her, but they were both confident that Jade's latest two movies—one of which was a James Bond movie—would be a huge step for her career. Besides, in the eight years since they'd graduated from Hollywood Arts, Jade had grown up, and she wasn't as jealous as she had been once. She could handle him being recognized when she wasn't. Although, Beck reflected, she still had the occasional insecurities that flared up at odd moments.

Like the other day, at the grocery store, when he had bumped into his old friend, former Hollywood socialite Alyssa Vaughn. Alyssa hadn't been in the tabloids much as of late; Beck guessed she'd gotten bored of the paparazzi tracking her every move. Last he'd heard, she had been in college, studying to get a degree in medicine or nursing or business or whatever. So Beck had been pleasantly surprised to bump into her—literally; he'd turned the corner and smacked right into her, knocking the soup she'd been holding to the ground with a loud metallic clang!—on a random Saturday at the Shop and Stop. He'd recognized his old friend immediately, although she was unmistakeably older and dressed a lot less glamorously; they'd spent the next few minutes chatting and catching up. He'd learned that she was actually in veterinary school, not medical or business school, that she was engaged to another former child actor, and that her apartment was only a few blocks from the house that Beck and Jade shared.

He'd been laughing very loudly when there suddenly came the sound of someone very loudly and deliberately clearing her throat. Beck turned to see Jade, eyes narrowed, hands planted firmly on her hips. "And who might this be?" she askedher voice dangerously pleasant, using the tone she'd often used in high school to intimidate people. Beck knew that Jade clearly knew who Alyssa was, judging by her reaction, and he wasn't quite sure why she'd responded so strongly. To Alyssa's credit, the former sociality said a quick goodbye and scurried off, but Beck was left to ponder Jade's sudden flare-up of jealousy, the likes of which he hadn't seen for several years.

"What was that?" he asked, after a few moments of silence in which Jade stared resolution at the milk to their left.

"What was what?"

"That. Back there, with Alyssa. You know, we were just catching up."

"Uh-huh," she said loftily, still refusing to meet his eyes. But she took his hand, gripping it firmly, and swept off down the next aisle. Beck had no choice but to follow.

Maybe Jade's behavior in the Shop and Stop wouldn't have been so strange in high school, or even in the beginning of college, but Beck hadn't seen that side of Jade in years. He'd shrugged it off as repressed bitterness left over from their first break-up in high school. Now, though, as they walked through the park, Beck felt Jade tense up as a few teenaged girls, giggling madly, stared at him as he and Jade passed.

He blamed himself. He should have seen it coming, because it was clear that a small group of young people—mostly female—was following them, whispering and giggling as Beck and Jade walked down the path. Still, he had convinced himself that everything would be fine, until one particularly loud whisper caused them both to stop.

"Who's that girl that he's with? I read in Us Weekly that he's still single."

"Really? Because I read that he was recently seen with Alyssa Vaughn—you know, the one who used to be on that TV show when we were like, seven? There was a picture of them in People the other day and they looked awfully cozy."

"Do you think Alyssa Vaughn is his girlfriend? I read that he has this long-term girlfriend that he's been with, for, like, ever."

Jade yanked her hand out of Beck and turned around. "For the record, my name is Jade , and we'd appreciate if you left us alone," she snapped. Instead of looking abashed, though, the girl who'd spoken merely raised an eyebrow and turned to Beck.

"Are you Beck Oliver?" she blurted out. "You know, the one from Socio? It's my favorite television show."

"Uh—yeah, I am," he said, checking his watch. He felt his heart pound. Six minutes to go, and they were almost at the spot. "Listen, we're actually kind of in the middle of something, so do you mind if we…" He gestured at the path in front of them, and Jade cleared her throat dangerously. The teenagers backed up, but Beck had a sinking feeling that the day was headed downhill.

Five minutes left. They were approaching the spot, so Beck paused. "Let's stop for a second," said Beck, fighting to keep his voice normal. Jade shrugged, and for a second they just stood there, staring up at the sky.

He checked his watch again. Four minutes. When suddenly—

"There he is! See, I told you it was the guy from Socio!"

Beck and Jade both turned to see one of the same girls from the earlier making her way rapidly toward them, this time accompanied with several adults and an even larger crowd of chattering teenagers. She clenched a few glossy magazines in her fist.

"Oh my god! Beck Oliver! Hi!" Shrieks emanated from her friends.

"Listen, I—uh—can't you all just…"

"Beck! Can I get a picture?"

"Hey, Beck? Who do you think is prettier, me or my friend here?"

"Beck! Is it true that you're dating Alyssa Vaughn?"

"What?" Beck's and Jade's shocked voices both responded in unison.

"It says so here!" A blonde girl in a pink sparkly hoodie waved a magazine in the air. "It says you were seen sneaking out of a coffee shop with some mysterious brunette the last few nights, and it definitely wasn't her," the girl said, gesturing towards Jade.

"What? No! I'm not—" Beck began, but he was interrupted by Jade.

"What does she mean, sneaking out of a coffee shop?" Jade asked, her voice dangerously low. "I thought you were out with Jackson last night? And with Andre the night before?"

There was a moment of complete silence. Then—

"No, there are pictures!" continued the girl in pink. "Look, he's with some other girl. Probably Alyssa Vaughn." She turned the magazine around in time for Beck, horrified, to read the title of the magazine: New Star Cheating on Steady Girlfriend? Below were some blurry photographs of him and Tori—Tori's back, technically; her face was obscured—sitting in the coffeeshop, him leaning into their conversation and looking deeply engaged. They'd been discussing the proposal, but the angle definitely made it look like a date.

Shit. This was not, not good. Beck checked his watch—one minute. He needed to get everyone away, and fast. Vaguely, he noticed the rumble of an airplane in the distance.

"Beck?" asked Jade, a note of disbelief in her voice. "What were you doing out with whoever this is? Is this what you were doing the past few nights?"

"No!" he said desperately. "No, Jade, let me explain—"

"Explain what? That you're cheating on me with some washed-up wannabe tramp that you met in high school?"

There was a collective ooh from the small crowd.

"Hey Beck, is it true that you're engaged?" shouted an older woman. "Because it says here that you and Alyssa knew each other in high school."

"No! I'm not engaged!"

"You're not?" Beck could hear the hopeful note in the woman's voice as he shook his head. "So you're still single, then?"

"No!"

"But you're not engaged…so that makes you a bachelor!"

God, these people never gave up. "Well, technically, I guess it does, but—"

"Oh, really? Does it?" snarled Jade, before he could finish.

Beck knew immediately he'd said the wrong thing. "Jade! No, that isn't what I meant! Just give me a second—please—just stay here! Ignore them! Please…" He was pleading, he could hear it, but his words didn't seem to have much effect. When she finally spoke, her voice was a pitch higher than usual.

"I trusted you! And all along, you've been sneaking around behind my back!"

"Jade—it isn't like that! Seriously! Stop!" He yelled desperately. The roar of a plane could be heard clearly now, as if it was almost overhead. Which, if Beck's watch was correct, was right where it should have been.

"Save it!" she snapped. "I don't care anymore. You want to go date Alyssa Vaughn? Then see if I care!"

She turned and strode angrily off.

"Jade, wait! Please!"

But his words were no use; she stomped down the path and around the corner, where a tree obscured her from sight. Beck thought he might be in shock—he couldn't seem to move. could do was call feebly after her rapidly-departing figure as the airplane crossed finally crossed overhead, the banner trailing from its tail:

JADE, WILL YOU MARRY ME?

…

By the time he got to the parking lot, she was gone, although their car was still there. Frantically, he picked up his phone, but Jade wouldn't answer his calls. So, without another thought, he dialed the first person he could think of who would know how to fix it.

"Congratulations, Beck!" squealed Tori excitedly as she picked up the phone. He didn't say anything for a minute—how could he explain what had just happened?—and Tori seemed to suddenly understand that his silence did not convey good news.

"…Oh," she said at last. "What happened?"

"I…I don't even know…we were there, in the park, but there were these girls and their mothers…and they were all spouting bizarre nonsense about Alyssa Vaughn…and then suddenly the plane was overhead, and she was just…gone."

"What?" asked Tori, clearly confused. Beck couldn't blame her. He barely understood what had happened in the last ten minutes, and he knew his explanation hadn't exactly been clear.

"These girls who read stupid tabloids followed us, and now Jade thinks I'm cheating on her. So she left."

"Oh. That magazine."

"You saw it?" Beck yelped. "Why didn't you warn me?"

"I figured it had to be some mistake! Besides, I only saw the headline when I was at the supermarket; I didn't actually read the story."

Beck grimaced, although he knew Tori couldn't see him. "Yeah, well, neither did Jade, but that didn't stop her from believing it. It had my picture, Tori, from when we were in the coffee shop. She knows I lied about where I was."

"Well…that's…not great," said Tori at last. There was an odd sort of beeping noise. "Listen, Beck, she's calling me right now. Do you mind if I take the call? Maybe I can help things."

Sure, thanks," he said gratefully. "Let me know."

He couldn't think of anything else to do; he definitely didn't want to go back to the park, but he didn't want to start driving home in case Tori called him back. So he sat in his car, drumming his long fingers anxiously against the steering wheel, left to ponder how everything could have gone so wrong. Not that he had expected everything to go super smoothly—she was Jade West, after all—but he certainly couldn't have imagined the insane scene that had unfolded instead.

The vibrations of his phone against his hand pulled him from his thoughts, and Beck grabbed frantically at the phone, punching the "Receive call" button. "Tori? What'd she say?"

"Well…" He could hear the hesitance in Tori's voice, and his grip on the phone tightened. "She…she really thinks you cheated on her, Beck."

"How could she think that? That's ridiculous! Why would she ever think that I would do something like that?"

"Well, she kept going on about you sneaking around and coming home late…and she wasn't happy about you lying to her about where you were…and she kept going on about how she should have known something was going on with Alyssa Vaughn ever since she saw you two in the grocery store."

"But those were all just misunderstandings! We've been together for twelve years! How can she think I'd do something like that?"

"I don't know, Beck, she hung up on me when I tried to explain. But I don't think she saw the plane."

"Well, of course not!" he snapped, exhaling angrily. "She ran away just as it passed ahead! So I don't even have a valid excuse for why I've been so secretive lately, because she still doesn't know!"

"I'm sorry, Beck," said Tori finally. "Maybe you can tell her all this? She didn't say where she was going, only that she'd taken the bus from the park."

Beck did some quick mental calculations. "The bus that comes to this park only really goes to the east side of L.A., so she must be going to Cat's place."

"Or Robbie's," Tori supplied helpfully. "He lives over there, too."

"Yeah…somehow, I think she went to Cat's. Anyway, I better go try to find her. For all I know, she transferred buses and is halfway to San Francisco by now."

"I doubt it."

"Yeah, well, I have to fix it," said Beck finally. "Thanks, Tori."

"Good luck, Beck! I know it'll work out. You guys have to work through it. You always do."

"Let's hope so."

He clicked off of his phone and attempted, with no success, to call either Cat or Jade. To be honest, he was still hurt that Jade would immediately jump to the conclusion that he had cheated on her without even letting him explain. But he didn't know what else to do except give Jade some time to cool off, and keep trying to talk to her. So he went home, feeling numb. His phone beeped with texts—one from Andre, and then one from his co-star, both assuming that it had gone well and congratulating him. Their words only made his brain feel foggier.

He made himself pasta—he really needed to learn to cook for himself—and attempted to read the newspaper, but all he could think about was the fiasco that had unfolded at the park. How could he have predicted what was going to happen? How could he have known that all of those girls would be there? He was angry at himself, too, for not giving Jade a better excuse for his actions the past week. If he'd been better at covering his tracks, she wouldn't have had any reason to be suspicious.

And the damn paparazzi. He knew that they were there, even though Tori keps insisting that the coffee shop was empty. Dammit.

Beck jumped when the phone rang loudly, interrupting his thoughts. Glancing at the caller ID only made his heart thump: Jade was calling.

"Jade? I've been trying to call you all day! Please, please, hear me out."

"Listen, Beck, I don't want to hear it. I was just calling so you wouldn't think I'd been killed or something, not that you'd care. I'm staying with Cat. I'll be back for my stuff in a few days."

"But—"

"Save it," she snarled. Beck thought he heard a small sob before she slammed the phone down.

Shit. The worst part about that entire thing was that he knew he had hurt Jade—and badly. Jade West didn't exactly wear her heart on her sleeve; instead, she hid her insecurities deep within herself, and it took a lot to cut through them. Moreover, it killed Beck that no matter how many times he'd told her that he loved her, and only her, she still didn't seem to believe him enough to hear him out.

He made up his mind: he had to get her back. He didn't know how, or why, but he was going to get Jade West to see exactly how much she meant to him.

…

Somehow, in some way, luck must have been on his side. The next morning found Beck sitting at Skybucks, sipping black coffee and pretending that he was reading the paper and not obsessing about getting Jade back, when he heard the door to the coffee shop tingle. "Hey," he heard the guy next to him mumble, "is that the chick from the new Bond movie trailer?"

"Dunno, but damn, she is hot," replied his friend.

Beck whipped his head up just in time to catch sight of brown hair and dark jeans as Jade herself swept into the coffee shop and got in line. He was surprised that she was coming to Skybucks so early on a Sunday; the coffee at Cat's house, he reasoned, must have been either terrible or non-existant for her to have trekked across town, because Jade refused to buy coffee from any other Skybucks in the neighborhood, claiming that their coffee "didn't taste right."

"Dude, yeah, she is smoking," hissed the guy on Beck's right. He looked like, Beck thought, like a stereotypical "frat boy" type—Abercrombie polo, short haircut, pressed khaki pants—and Beck felt his muscles clench slightly. "I'm gonna go talk to her…God, the things I could do to her. Hey, you think if I accidentally trip I can touch her tits? Cuz she has a fantastic rack."

"Yeah, I bet she's probably secretly a freak, too."

Somehow, before Beck knew it, he was on his feet. He didn't know why he'd done it; all he knew was that his muscles were suddenly clenched, and his stomach felt as if it churned with acid.

"Listen, asshole, that's my girlfriend you're talking about," he snapped, standing directly in front of their table. "So you better shut the hell up."

At the sound of his voice, Jade turned around and audibly gasped when she saw Beck standing in up in front of the entire coffee shop. "Beck? What the hell?" She stepped out of line and stalked over to their table, hands on her hips. "Were you talking about me? Because last I checked, I didn't think I counted as your girlfriend, since you were sneaking around behind my back."

"No, I wasn't! That was a mistake, I swear it wasn't true!"

"Oh, really? I saw the pictures with my own eyes!"

"But they weren't—"

"Weren't what, Beck? How stupid do you think I am?" Although her voice was shrill, Beck could hear the hurt as well, and felt even worse. Desperately, he ran his hand through his hair.

"Listen, Jade, I swear it was just a misunderstanding. If you'd just let me say what I was planning on saying at the park on Saturday…"

"What, that you cheated on me?"

"No! I just—"

"Seriously, do NOT grovel at me," she warned.

"Well, I'm willing to grovel, as long as you'll listen to me!" he protested. "Please, Jade, just hear me out." His voice dropped lower on the last few words, and he realized he was breathing heavily. Jade stood in front of him, looking, for the first time that morning, slightly uncertain instead of angry. Beck knew that she was waiting for him to disappoint him—and that he had to proceed carefully to fix things.

So, naturally, he dropped down onto one knee.

He didn't know what compelled him to do it. Years later, he would chalk it up to love, but the truth was that it was also sheer desperation that propelled Beck from a standing position to his current kneeling position on the floor. Jade gasped, shock coloring her features.

"Beck, what the hell? Are you freaking kidding me?"

"Jade, please, hear me out."

"No," she practically shrieked. "No, you do not get to do this here! Not after yesterday, when you probably took me to the park just so you could dump me in the worst place possible, surrounded by ducks and sunshine and whatever!"

"But I didn't!" he protested. "Jade, I promise you—I have never wanted to break up with you. This"—he gestured at his knee—"was my plan all along!"

"Really," she intoned, eyeing him dubiously. "This was your plan."

"Well—no, not like this, exactly. But this was my plan for yesterday. Until it all went wrong."

"I—that's crazy. You're just mad that you got caught." Her voice was still angry, but there was a note of something else—hesitation? insecurity?—at the end of it. "If this was your plan, then why the hell were you out with Alyssa Vaughn last Friday night?"

Beck sighed, frustrated. "God damn it, Jade, I told you! I wasn't! Those photos weren't of me and Alyssa, they were of me and Tori, sitting in this coffee shop, planning the best way for me to propose to you! "

The entire coffee shop had grown quiet, with all of the bright-eyed, caffeinated customers blatantly staring as the scene unfolded loudly in front of them. Jade herself was silent for a moment, and Beck could tell that, while she wanted to believe him, she didn't know what to think. So he kept going.

"Seriously, Jade, that's what I've been up to all week, and that's why I couldn't tell you what I've been up to. I needed everything to be perfect."

"Prove it," challenged Jade. "Prove to me that you're not just ashamed because you got caught."

"I—well—Tori and Andre knew about it, and they helped me, and everything was supposed to be exactly the way we planned it! And then we went to the park and it all looked good, but then those girls showed up, and then you turned around just as the plane came by, and…"

"So let me get this straight: you've been acting shady and cutting out on me all week because…you were planning to propose to me?" She still sounded doubtful.

"Well, yeah, but like I said, you turned around too soon and the whole thing kind of crashed and burned."

"What do you mean, too soon? Too soon for what?"

Beck paused, and Jade repeated her question. Immediately, he felt slightly embarrassed. "Well…I sort of…um…hired a pilot to fly by with a banner."

She stared at him for a second, and the air grew so quiet that Beck could hear when one of the customers behind him dropped a straw on the floow.

"You did not."

"I did."

A moment of silence. Then—

"That was Tori's idea, wasn't it?"

"Yeah…it kinda was. But I wanted to do something big!" he said defensively.

"Yeah, but…a plane banner? Seriously?"

"I was excited!"

"That's how my Uncle Kurt proposed to my Aunt Janet, and it lasted, like, six months," Jade said, staring at Beck like he was some kind of moron. "And then she died."

"Um…oh," responded Beck lamely.

"No, seriously, I'm really glad you didn't end up doing that. That would be so cliché, it would be like it was doomed to fail."

"Oh. Well…yeah."

They stood there for a minute before Jade threw her hands in the air. "Well, are you going to just sit there on the floor forever? Like an idiot?"

"Oh! Um. Right. So…uh…I had a whole speech planned yesterday, but I'll just say this: even though I might sometimes be the dumbest guy on the planet…I really do love you, Jade, more than anyone else in the world. And I want to spend my entire life with you. So, would you do me the honor of marrying me?"

A small smile crossed her lips at his fumbled speech, and she stood there, apparently pondering his words, tapping her finger against her temple. Beck was just about to start feeling really, really foolish, when she answered him.

"I suppose. Yes."

"…Yes? Really?"

"Is there an echo in here?" she asked. But her tone lacked its usual venom, and Beck could see that she was blinking rapidly in the way that she always did when she was trying not to cry. He was so absorbed in this train of thought (she wanted to marry him! She didn't hate him! She was just as happy about it as he was!) that he forgot that he was still kneeling on the floor.

"Um…Beck? Hello?"

"Oh! Right." He immediately lurched to his feet, running his hand along her delicate cheekbone before leaning in to kiss her deeply, spurring a smattering of applause from the onlookers (although Beck swore he heard disappointed groans and mutters coming from the two frat boys). As they broke apart, he leaned into her ear.

"Thank you for listening to me…and for saying yes," he whispered, and he had never been so grateful to see her roll her cerulean eyes.

"Did you really think I wouldn't?" Her eyes sparkled, misting over again, before she seemed to snap out of it. "Now where's my ring? Didn't you say you'd been planning this?"

Color flooded his cheeks. "Oh…well…it's, um…it's actually at home…I didn't want to lose it and I wasn't planning on seeing you here…"

But she only laughed at this admission—a real laugh, rather than her usual snicker, and Beck didn't think he'd ever get tired of the thought that he'd made her genuinely happy.

"Well then, let's go get it," she said, grabbing his hand to pull him out of the coffee shop. "We don't have all day here."

Beck swore he'd never been so grateful to have Jade West's cool fingers wrapped around his own.

…

…wow. What is this I don't even…

Not my favorite thing I've ever written, but I kind of like the idea. Didn't expect it to be so long. Also, significant portions of this story were written between the hours of 1 and 4 AM (oh what up physics midterms) so there was significant coffee consumption. Sorry for any typos that I missed.

Hope everyone's had a wonderful Save the Bade week!

Cara