Okay, I tried to write something while listening to a song, and this came out. Funny, because the song was hallelujah.
Disclaimer: I don't own victorious or any of it's characters.
:}
Tori stood there, eyes unable to look away, her mind trying to make seance of everything. It felt wrong, everything just felt wrong. Jade was laying there, bleeding out, and Tori didn't do anything to save her friend. Tori had just stared as the crazed man had appeared here at at Hollywood Arts, bursting through the door, and tried to end her life. She couldn't move, only look as the gun pointed her way, a crazed look in the mans eyes. Tori honestly started going over every regret she could remember, feeling like her life had indeed flashed before her eyes.
Jade, without warning, lunged forward, shoving her out of the way, and taking the bullet even as her scissors found there mark. The man was left laying on the floor, stunned and disarmed and bleeding from a shoulder wound that would require stitched, but wasn't life threatening. And through it all, Tori just stood there, unable to process what happened. "Jade..." She mumbled, but her voice failed her again, and the noise she made was just a squeek.
Then, while she was still too stunned to react, the world came alive. Students who had been glued to their seats, from fear or shock or disbelief, suddenly found it in them to panic. Tori was carried away from the bloody scene by the tide of students needing to get away from that room. Beck, cool, collected Beck, had barely enough thought to grab her before he ran out the door and into the halls. Tori soon found herself outside, far from the man, but exposed to the world.
"Jade..." She finally managed to say. She knew she had to do more, find out if the pale girl was dead, dying, feeling abandoned, or if maybe the man who'd been after her had finished the blue eyed girl off. Tori wondered if that man had recovered from his wound, gotten up, and was now wandering the halls of Hollywood Arts, or if maybe he managed to slip away in the confusion.
"She's..." Beck tried to say. Only, he had no idea what to say, if the goth was dead, alive, maybe laying on that cold floor in Sikowitz's class, forgotten, bleeding out just feet from the man who'd shot her. "Oh god!" He said, his voice shallow, as if he just remembered his girlfriend, who he left laying next to a killer. A killer who may still be alive, armed, and ready to cause damage. Alone, with no one left behind to protect her from whatever revenge he might plan for when he recovered from her attack. Images of him molesting her were too disturbing for his mind, and for just a hare of a second he found himself praying she died quickly, to spare her any more pain "Jade..."
"Let it go, man, she's gone." Rex never was one for giving comfort, but in that moment, his voice was the least welcomed sound any of the gang had ever heard in any of their lives. "We move on, find us a new hot grunch to date Beck, and callllllll..." The puppets voice faded as Robbie threw him across the Asphalt Cafe. Everyone knew the nerdy boy would recover him later, but it was obvious that ever Robbie had heard enough.
"Maybe we can go back in, see if she's okay?" Cat suggested.
"No, the police are gonna want us all out of the building until they do their investigation." Andre countered.
"Has anyone called the police?" Robbie asked. A second later, four of them had their cell phones out, making calls to anyone they hoped could help.
Tori watched, helplessly, as the school officials started organizing the students, doing roll calls, finding out if anyone left early. 'They're trying to find out who's missing.' Tori realized. Seconds passed as teachers were instructed ti find out who was missing, to speed up the process of counting the six hundred students attending the school. As Lane, Mister Alexander, reached their group, she just broke down. "J-Jade's still in there. She..."
"Jade's in there?" Lane asked. "Whats wrong with her? Is she trying to get herself killed? Tori, someone brought a gun, opened fire. We don't know how bad it is yet."
"JADE'S BEEN SHOT!" Tori screamed. As soon as that was released, the petite redhead next to the Latina broke down, crying, hyperventilating, as the whole thing became much too real for her. Seconds later, each girl had a boy holding them, offering what comfort they could.
"And no one bothered to tell us that before?" Lane asked. "Someone, get the police, let them know we have an injured person in there."
"The police have arrived, sent their first team in." Someone or another told him. "And the paramedics are on their way. However, even when they get here, they won't go in until the police say it's safe." Someone pointed to where a couple of police officers were setting up command.
Lane pushed his way towards the closest police officer, even as Helen's assistant continued taking roll. The blond woman was in tears, holding herself together by virtue of the job she had to do. The police tried to calm Lane down, assuring him that things would be okay, as soon as the police cleared the school. The paramedics arrived, and were positioned to rush in, just as soon as the police gave the all clear. All the while, people made their way out of the school, in one's and twos, telling whomever greeted them who they were, and that the police had sent them out. No one had bothered checking how much time had passed, but it all happened so quickly, and seemed to take forever.
Shortly after the paramedics arrived, people stated showing up to pick up their kids. It was surreal, how even though everyone was standing there, in the open, the school demanded they wait until their parent or approved individual signed them out before letting them go. ID's were checked, and students asked if they knew the person picking them up, before anyone was allowed to go home, more precautions then the school had shown in anyone's memory.
Tori didn't have much time to watch the process, since she and Trina were among the first to be pulled out and sent home. A car was waiting, a town car, with a driver nervously watching the school. Tori didn't recognize him, but someone had, because they let her and Trina walk out to this man.
"Tori, you okay?" Trina asked her sister.
"Miss Vega, I'm to take you straight home." The man said. "Mister Thornsmith said I'm to make sure you and your sister make it into the home before I go. Your parents have been alerted, and there is a security team securing the house even as we speek. You should be safe."
"Yea, I'm fine." Tori tried to assure Trina. "Take me home..."
"Do you know what happened?" Trina asked the driver.
"Not sure, but it might be related to your sister here. Not too long ago, We identified an obsessed fan, possibly unstable, as a potential stalker, When Mister thornsmith heard about the shooting, he sent us out to make sure it didn't involve Miss Tori here, given how close it came after we'd identified the threat. We were worried that he'd come here, trying to do something to Miss Tori here. Because of that threat, we sent a team here, and to the home, to provide security." The driver informed them. "I'm glad this wasn't about you, miss Tori."
"H-he shot Jade." Tori said. "He broke into the room, had a gun out, a-and pointed it right at me. Jade, she did something, threw her scissors, and he shot her."
"And you were right there?" The driver asked. "I'm calling that in. We'll get you some help, therapy. Everything's gonna be all right."
Trina looked stunned. Tori almost expected the self centered girl to be offended, since the gunman wasn't after her, or maybe offer some cold comfort about how they'd be taken care of. Instead, the older sister just inhaled, showing a worrying feeling mirroring Tori's.
Tori was upset, both because she was almost shot, and because it felt like everyone was worrying about her. There were question, people wanting to know, if she was hurt, physically or emotionally, if she needed anything, if she wanted someone to talk to. However, through the few minutes it took for her to get home, to clear things up with Mason, with the press, she felt more and more guilty, because not one thought was being spared for Jade. Even Trina seemed to know this was bad, and offered some level of support. But as the moments passed, and the guilt massed in her mind, no words could comfort her over what had happened to her friend. The friend who may have died right in front of her, taking her place, taking the bullet meant for her. No, Tori could not, would not be comforted, not until at the very least, they found out what had happened to Jade.
Her friends knew about as much as she did, and that wasn't much. No one knew if the goth was already dead before she hit the ground, or if she bled out, alone, laying there on the old classroom floor. 'Maybe the stalker guy was able to get his gun, finish her off.' She thought, speculating about the many possibilities. Worry and guild ate at her until she found herself at home, where she immediately went up to her room and cried. Not one of the half dozen men guarding the place seemed concerned, instead checking t make sure that everyone who came to the door belonged.
In her room, Tori expected to be alone with her shock and misery, and for a time, that image held in her burdened mind. Slowly, however, she became vaguely aware of Trina's arms around her, holding her as the singer weeped. The older sister was giving whatever comfort she could, both in her embrace, which helped, and her words, which Tori wasn't even aware of. Slowly she let it all out, crying until her voice was raw. "I get it." Trina said somewhere. "Jade was your friend. I knew her, and I can feel this huge loss already. I can't imagine what your going through."
"She saved me life." Tori said. But the statement was a fair bit after Trina had stopped saying pleasantries, and had broken down into her own tears. The two held on to each other a bit longer, both gaining some strength from the others presence. It was time to be strong.
"It's okay." Trina said. "Come on, it's time. Lets find out what happened, assuming anyone knows."
They made their way back downstairs to find their parents waiting for them with anxious faces. David, the police detective, rushed forward and hugged his daughters. "Thank god you're okay."
"Jade..." Tori asked.
"I don't know." The patriarch said. "I'm not part of that case. I can call, ask around..."
"I need to know." Tori begged with her eyes, even as she held onto some small hope that her frenimy had survived. Her dad made a call, handing his youngest to his wife, who now hugged both daughters tight.
"They got the gunman." David said, but there was no comfort, no relief in his voice. "There was a shootout, and the man, he was already wounded, scissors sticking through his body armor. Kevlar's funny like that." He shook his head, not allowing himself to be distracted. "But there was a shootout, and before dying, he used what turned out to be his last rounds to kill a nearby girl who he'd wounded earlier. Then, with an empty gun, he threatened the police, and was gunned down."
"Jade..." Tori moaned.
"I'll call her family." Holly said, Letting go of her children before heading over to the phone, no longer able to look at her daughter. "Someone has to call the family." It felt like a duty, something that had to be done. Something to do rather then face the reality of what was happening right in front of her. David grabbed the girls, once again engulfing them in a warm hug before guiding them to sit down on the couch. Trina scooted closer to Tori to give them both someone to hold, just in case the news confirmed what they already thought.
Tori held onto her sister, trying to stop the shaking. That was how she faced the night, waiting for the world to be all right again. 'But it'll never be all right again.' She told herself. Tears would come, on and off, for the rest of the night. They tried to watch television, take their minds off the tragedy, but in the end they watched the news.
There were Six students injured during the attack, and one dead. Along the way, the newsman and the police took the time to praise Sikowitz, who not only dragged a couple of shruggers out of his classroom, but went from room to room getting people out while the gunman was stunned in his room. In the end, the quirky teacher barracked himself and several students in one room, a room where the students, for whatever reason, weren't able to make it out. Thats where the police found him, waiting, ready to fight, armed with a fire extinguisher in his hands to make whatever stand of it he could protecting the students.
"So, maybe he's not such a bad guy after all." Holly tried.
"He watched a student get gunned down in his class, and still has the ability to save so many others." Trina said, a new sense of awe for that coconut lover overtaking her voice. "All I did was run."
"You did good, Trina." Holly told her. "Thats what your supposed to do in a Code Red. Run if you can, hide if you can't, and fight only if the gunman is about to be a threat to you. That what the police train us to do if a gunman comes into my work. Get outside, maybe get away, and encourage others to do the same while your moving."
"Oh." Tori said, not sure what else to do. "But that gun. I see it so clearly, pointing at me, the crazy look he was giving me. It was all I could see, I couldn't move, watching as he started to pull the trigger. Then, the next thing I knew, Jade was standing over me, taking the bullets. She, I… She pushed me! I think she pushed me. I don't even know why, other then maybe to do it one last time before she died..."
"She pushed you in case the bullets went through her." David said with a strange air of certainty. "The problem with protecting someone with your body is the bullet then has to stay in your body. Some of the rounds people use, like magnum bullets, they'll go right through the intended target, get someone else, possibly even on the other side of a wall. It's the real reason we've gone to using flat headed bullets in police work..." He looked at his children, needing to change the air of regret that was descending on them. "Jade did save your life, and for that I'll forever be grateful. Now, you have to do something with it. Don't let her sacrifice be in vain."
The Vega parents let it go for then, just praying and thanking the gods or their children's continued safety. Then, after a bit longer, when it was apparent there wouldn't be any more news on the shooting, they sent the kids to bed. Next came the mountain of calls they had to make, to both sides of the family, letting everyone know Tori was physically fine, and would be getting therapy to help her through the ordeal of having watched one of her friends die right in front of her. It was the heavy duty of the parents of the survivors to let their extended families know that the child in danger made it out alive, while not taking lightly the lives lost in the tragedy.
The next day, the school was closed so the police could go over the scene and decide what went wrong. The fist thing they noted was that Hollywood Arts was an open school. They had one security guard who couldn't hope to keep anyone out if they wanted to terrorize the school. The Flour Bomber should have been a warning, but since all he did was throw flour in peoples faces, the school had let it slide. Now, they had Six wounded students, and one dead. No one was laughing about the open security now.
"One of the injured girls, Marcy Scott, doesn't have a lot of family. Her dad is in the navy, and she functionally lives alone." Robbie was reading from the Slap. "She was in a bad way, might die, and no one is available to make the call if they have to do something drastic. In fact, Lane sighed the surgery order for her." The gang had gone to Tori's house, like always, to check in on one another, and to share their fears.
"What about Jade?" Cat asked.
"She's in the morgue." The puppeteer said. "Her parents aren't rushing to come get her. They don't seem that thrilled about making arrangements for her. It's either too hard, or they just don't care..." He felt uncomfortable speculating any further.
"So we can go see her?" Cat asked.
"No, only family is allowed to see her." Tori told the redhead. "Sorry."
"But Beck's practically family, so he can go see her, say goodbye." Cat tried.
"I can't." Beck said, his voice sounding defeated. "And before you say it, it's not just that I'm not family. I-I feel so ashamed. I know someone had to get Tori out of there, but I just left Jade. I abandoned the girl I once loved. I-I still have feelings for her, yet I just left her there, on the dirty floor, like garbage."
"Don't be so hard on yourself." Trina chimed in. "Yes, someone should have tried to do something. But you had no idea if the gunman was down, dead, or about to just pop back up. Jade gave her life to save Tori, the least you could do was finish the job. Now, lets honor that memory, shall we?"
Slowly they started sharing stories of Jade. Many highlighted how mean she was, or her sense of revenge. But as they got going, there were a lot of happy memories involving her. They remembered her as a caring friend who often went the extra mile for those she cared about. They rediscovered the talented girl's sense of humor, and how she could brighten up a room with a well placed one liner. Slowly they fond some joy in the darkness, only for the realization that this Jade they'd just rediscovered was now dead and gone. With that, the joy came crashing down again, and they had t start all over, finding new things to say to help them feel better.
That day, and the next, Tori got a lot of calls, from Mason, as well as a few other in the industry. Her being nearly killed had hit the news cycle, and people were sending their best wished for her speedy recovery. The outpouring of love and support made her feel sick. She was alive, unharmed, almost unscathed, and Jade was gone. Worse, Jade wasn't even mentioned. It was like her sacrifice was expected, and no one should care that a seventeen year old girl had died protecting Tori.
Then there was poor Marcy. For whatever reason, her family had left her to fend for herself, and so she lay there in a coma, at the hospital, waiting for someone to visit. "At least she's alive." Someone wrote on her Slap wall. Someone else wrote that they hopped she stayed that way. It appeared, however, that she didn't have a lot of friends. Beck suggested that someone do something about that. They bought her cards, and sent flowers. The sent flowers to all the injured, noting their names, and wishing everyone a speedy recovery. But the others, they had various levels of wounding, but they were all expected to make a speedy recovery, while Marcy was touch and go, alone, with only the doctors and nurses visiting her.
Then Sikowitz organized a vigil for the wounded, including an outpouring of support for the almost forgotten Marcy, as well as a remembrance for Jade, all happening outside the hospital that temporarily housed the two girls not able to go home already. Students RSVP'd that they'd show up, to think about the wounded and pay respects to two girls they didn't really know or understand. Tori made arrangements to attend, along with her sister. With her stalker dead, Mason felt it was safe enough. "Plus, it'll be good public relations." He'd said. Tori just felt worse, confused and empty and wishing that there was someone who would make ti better by acknowledging what happened, and not sugarcoating things lie she was some child..
The school had stayed closed a second day, while counselors were working with the students. The stress, the fear, from that event alone had caused all kinds of suffering and pain among the student body. So the school had brought in therapists, available to talk for a while, just enough to help the students start to process their losses. It was a start, and the end of the day would be the vigil, a chance to continue to heal from the tragedy that had befallen their school. It would also give a chance to those who wanted to say something, almost anything, about the fallen, both living and dead. It was capped off by the school announcing that someone from Marcy's family had arrived, and would be checking up on her during the vigil. Everyone wanted to know how she was doing, and the RSVP's flooded in.
Based on what he's seen during the therapy, and at the vigil, Lane had noted that there was a lot of anger mixed in among the students. Everywhere anyone went as they gathered towards the vigil, people were raging at the man who let his own issues get to the point where killing the girl he'd been obsessing over was his way of claiming something beautiful for himself. "And thats even with California's strict gun control laws." Someone said, making Tori feel a bit angry herself.
Also, many of the students were wazzed that two of their own were taken from them, one dead, one in a coma. They were upset, because many of them only kinda knew Jade, and hadn't gotten he chance to know Marcy. It felt like someone had taken Jade away, taking with her the chance to get to know the dark girl, and possibly taking the chance to know the shrugger as well. Students and faculty alike promised, should Marcy wake, they'd spend the time, learn her likes and dislikes, everything.
But the fates weren't with them because as the vigil was coming to a close, her uncle walked out to make an announcement. He was wearing a Navy uniform, with gold stripes under an eagle, sitting on a wheel design of some sort, in a gold enclosure, denoting his rank, and five stripes at the base of the sleeve, in gold, showing his time in serves.
"I want to thank you for the kind words, the thoughts, even the cards you sent Marcy, who had been a very isolated girl. I wish she'd lived to see such a warm, loving outpouring of support." The man said. He was a Chief petty officer in the navy, flown out to care for his niece and make arrangements for her care. But despite his time serving his country, and all the sacrifices he was used to making, this moment was obviously killing him. His voice had broken as he continued. "But my niece is dead, and has been for three days. The police, they didn't know who was who, didn't even check ID or finger prints. The best guess as to what happened was my niece was shot by the gunman, so he wouldn't die alone. I hope he rots in hell, far away from the shy girl I once bounced on my knee." He fought back a tear, straining to finish what had become his duty, and pushed forward with military discipline. His voice cracked again. "I don't know who the girl in the coma is, and I hope, pray, she wakes, because I wouldn't wish the pain I'm feeling on anyone." With that, he couldn't say any more, and broke down, sobbing and shaking and lost in so many conflicting feelings about the tragedy he only heard about, but had taken a girl he loved like a daughter.
Silence dominated the vigil for several minutes, people waiting, wondering who could be in that bed, in that coma. Then, in a mad rush, the gathered split,. Half offering prayers for the fallen Marcy, comfort for the emotionally wounded soldier who had to tell her father that she was gone. As they were doing that, Lane leading the push to help this man, the others half made a mad dash towards the building, racing in to find out if maybe the gods had been extra cruel, and had traded one innocent girls life for another.
Tori had no idea how she got so far ahead of the pack, but she didn't waste time. She sprinted through the building, towards the room she knew had the answer to her mystery. 'One of us should have come to visit the poor girl. Then we'd have seen. Spared that man so much pain.' Tori scolded herself, as her steps closed the distance towards the room. She'd raced up the stairs, beating the elevator by a few seconds more, then making her way towards the wing that Marcy was supposed to be in. Finally, she raced past the nurses who were tasked with keeping random strangers out, passing before they were totally aware she'd come, and found herself at the door to the room that held all her answers.
Tori gave herself the briefest moment to feel whatever she was feeling. Her heart was racing from the mad dash to the room. But that was just camouflage for the fear she was feeling, growing and knawing at her heart. If they were wrong, and it was some other poor girl laying in that room, then Tori knew she'd have to start the whole mourning period again, once again face the uncertain feelings she only now hinted she might have for the dark natured girl. So exhausted, shaking, scared, and full of a deep resentment beyond her ability to understand, Tori pushed open the door, and found Jade West laying in the bad, sleeping. The monitor's consistent blips were the testimonial to Jade still being among the living.
Tori knew she had maybe seconds before the room would be flooded past capacity, so she acted. Pushing past her fear, the singer closed on the pale goth, leaned down, and with all the anger she could muster, whispered in Jade's ear. "As much as I appreciate being alive, never put me through that again. I almost died twice now, and I don't like it one bit. Why twice you may ask? Well, once was when that man pointed the gun at me, and the second time was when I saw you lying on the floor." She let herself feel every bit of hatred she had for the blue eyed girl. "Jade, I fucking love you, and when you get out of here, I intend to find out if you feel the same. I heard that love is torture, so lets see how much it takes to make you mine. I'll make you suffer the pains of uncertainty, even as my love grows stronger and more sure. Then, we'll get married, and I'll deny you that worry, that need to feel like your on the edge, about to lose everything, because I intend for us to be happy. Got that, Bitch? Good! Now wake the fuck up, because I'm done mourning you."
"Lets just hope it works like in the movies." A nurse she hadn't seen before said. "Um, if you wouldn't mind, I think we need to alert her parents. You have the number?"
Thats when the tide of people arrived, flooding the aisles and waiting rooms before making their way down the hall and into the room. Avoiding the tide, Tori quietly slipped out. She got to the lobby, marveled at the many people waiting to find out what she already knew, as she picked up the phone and called Jade's parents. She didn't know how long it would take before the news spread, and felt that Jade's family should know first. She managed to tell Jade's dad, who took the news like he'd just been told his suit might be ready a day early from the dry cleaners. She was finding the number to call Jade's mother when a new commotion broke.
Beck staggered out from the room. "It's Jade, and they say she's starting to wake up. Thats good, right?" The gathering reacted with a quick cheer, before different reactions started to take place. Many moved outside, to join the prayer circle for Marcy, while others celebrated not losing two of their own. Tori, however, sent Jade's mother a text, letting her know Jade was alive, and made her way to the Canadian.
Tori greeted him with a smile. "Um, Beck, a word please." She beckoned for him to come to her.
He walked over to her, and allowed himself to be pulled into a side room. "What?"
"I've called her parents." Tori informed him. "They're still in no hurry to come get her."
"Not the most loving family." Beck agreed.
"Yea, about that." Tori shifted. "I don't know if your planning on getting back together with her, or if you are it's because of guilt, or maybe this reminded you of how much you care. I just, man this is hard. I just wanted you to know, if you two don't get back together, I'm making a play for her."
"Tori…?" The handsome actor was confused.
"I realized, when I made it to her room, just what I've wanted from her all these years. And if she is interested, I'm gonna get it." Tori clarified.
"Then, if we don't make it, I wish you the best of luck." Beck said. They hugged, and prepared for the future, where they'd be rivals for the heart of the one beauty at Hollywood Arts no one ever thought of as having rivals trying to win her.
"So, lets see if she's awake yet." Tori suggested.
"No hurry." Beck responded. "Jade won't be seeing visitors for at least another few hours. Better to go home, clean up, and be here in the morning. Need a ride?"
Tori nodded. "I just wish this didn't happen because of a tragedy like that. Maybe we should do something for Marcy."
Beck agreed, and they made their way out of the hospital to his car, and the next stage in their lives. Bot had stopped to light candles and give prayers for a girl who died virtually unknown, sad that she lacked even the small core of friends who would miss her the way her group missed jade. But the game had changed now, and Tori intended not to waste another moment.
They gave time to the vigil, then headed out. 'Beck or me, either way, bitch, your gonna be so honking happy.'
:}
There you have it. I may have more, but it really moves away from the core idea of this story, and I have no idea where it's going. Just, this is the main part, the moment and the reaction. Hope it wasn't too unbelievable.
Thanks for reading. Please let me know what you thought.