The Broken Vega

Chapter 3

That same evening, Beck waited in his RV for Jade to arrive. The doorbell rang.

"Hey, I got your text message. What's up?" Jade asked as she came inside.

"Just sit down," Beck said, glaring at her.

"Okay. Is there a problem?" Jade asked, confused.

"You tell me," Beck said.

"Stop playing with me, Beck," Jade grunted.

"What happened between you and Tori today?" Beck asked her.

"Oh, it was nothing," Jade lied, avoiding Beck's eye contact.

"Really? 'Cause it doesn't sound like nothing," Beck muttered.

"Are you trying to tell me something?" Jade asked, waiting for Beck to get to the point.

"Jade, ask yourself this: Do you REALLY want Tori to leave Hollywood Arts?" Beck asked.

"I don't care." Jade shrugged. "I've hated her since day one."

"But think about all the nice stuff she's done for you," Beck said.

"But, it still doesn't change how I feel about her," Jade mumbled.

"Jade, let's get real, okay," Beck said, "Tori told me what happened. So you have two choices. Just two. One. You apologize to Tori. Or Two. I break up with you," Beck said firmly.

"WHAT?!" Jade screamed, hoping Beck would drop the ultimatum. But he didn't back down.

"You can't be serious!" Jade yelled.

"Oh, I'm very serious," Beck answered.

"But, why? Why would you even want to break up with me?" Jade asked, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Why would you tear up something that belonged to someone else?" Beck asked her back.

"What are you talking about?" Jade asked, eyeing her boyfriend emotionlessly, until Beck pulled out a videotape from his backpack. She gasped. "How did you get the video from the school security camera?"

"Sikowitz pulled a couple of strings. I just thought I'd remind you exactly what happened," Beck said, popping in the tape.

"Hey, what you got there?" Andre asked.

"Just some sheet music for an audition I got coming up," Tori said.

"Wow, you must be really excited," Andre said.

"Indeed, I am. All I have to do is learn this song, and hope to get the part," Tori said.

"Hey, Tori, Andre, can you help me carry this huge box to my car?" Sikowitz asked, walking past them.

"Uh, sure," Tori said.

"No problem," Andre said as they set their stuff down and helped Sikowitz carry the box.

Meanwhile, Jade walked into the picture and noticed Tori's sheet music sitting out, along with a few other boxes that had yet to be carried inside.

"Property of Tori Vega," she read.

Beck stopped the tape. "Care to comment?" he asked, with raised brows.

"I really don't know what to say," Jade answered, feeling conflicted.

"I do. Jade, I know you hate Tori, but judging by what I saw, I think you definitely went too far this time," Beck said.

"So what? Even if I apologized she probably wouldn't forgive me anyway. Not that I care," Jade said.

"She might, IF and only IF you apologize," Beck said.

"Okay. I just need a moment alone first," Jade said as she left the RV.

"Later," Beck said. He watched her go, almost feeling sorry for her.

Jade updated her status on TheSlap which read: "Time to... apologize - MOOD = Disgusted".

Back at home, Tori was rehearsing her song for her upcoming audition.

"Well?" she asked Andre as soon as she had finished.

"Sounded pretty good to me," he said.

"So, do you think I'm ready?" Tori asked. "Do you think I'm movie material?"

"Definitely," Andre said with a laugh, just as the doorbell rang.

"Coming!" Tori called out as she went to answer the door. "Oh, hey, Beck!" she exclaimed as he entered.

Just as Tori was about to close the door, Jade stepped into the doorway with a small bouquet of flowers.

"What do you want?" Tori asked firmly, still upset over what had happened earlier.

"These..." Jade started, finding it hard to apologize. "These are for you," she said, offering Tori the flowers.

"Uh, thanks..." Tori said as she reluctantly accepted them.

"Jade, tell Tori why we're here?" Beck said, eyeing Jade.

"Yeah, why are you here? And what's up with the flowers?" Tori asked her suspiciously.

"I came here, and I gave you flowers because I wanted to tell you that..." Jade said unable to continue until Beck gave her a nudge on the shoulder. "That I'm sorry, okay! There, I said it,"

"Okay, but how do I know you really mean it?" Tori asked.

"Well, just tell me what I can do to prove how sorry I am and I'll do it." Jade shrugged, trying so hard not to roll her eyes.

"Well, first, hug me," Tori said and Jade reluctantly did so. "Second, you come with me to my audition."

Jade sighed, "Deal."