Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious, card decks, or the Beatles.
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Beck couldn't help but slump over completely as he sat in his respective chair at the poker table. He let his fluffy-haired head hit the back of his chair, his feet stretch out in front of him, and his long fingers almost graze the floor as he leaned back in his chair. He pressed his hands to his eyes and sighed. While Tori and Cat starred at the door that had managed to come between Hollywood Art's longest-running couple, Andre and Robbie took a good look at Beck. The boy was emitting waves of exhaustion; the kind that were dark and murky that no one wanted to surf on, the kind that would carry the sadder Beatles tunes from a barely-listened to rock station to the listeners. Andre caught on to the irony quickly. Beck Oliver had always been a typical California Boy. For him, waves had always meant solace. Waves had always been a salty haven, or romance and "Love Me Do" flowing through the speakers as he kissed Jade in the front seat of his car. Waves had always meant heaven. Except for times such as these.
Beck rubbed the sleep from his eyes and ran a shaking hand through his hair. He pulled his chair closer to the table as he picked up a few poker chips. He wasn't sure that he was in any condition to play, but at least the chips kept his hands busy. A red chip, a green chip, a blue chip...blue eyes...Jade's eyes...the tears flowing from Jade's eyes when he didn't come for her...
Beck was so intent on running the chips through his fingers that he hardly noticed when Trina sat down next to him and rested her untalented, desperate head on Beck's shoulder. He was too busy thinking of the girl he let go to realize that her space beside him was currently being occupied by another. As guilty-Jade related thoughts continued to swarm Beck's head, he moved the chips more quickly to distract himself. But, it was to no avail.
Red chip, blue chip...blue streaks...Jade's streaks...Jade's lips...Jade's lips counting...1...2...3...
As Beck's thoughts became more frenzied, the chips moved faster and faster through his fingers.
4...5...6...the six months when they dated before they became exclusive...
Tori asked Beck if he wanted to be dealt in. When she noticed that her question had been ignored, she turned to see that the rest of the table was intently watching Beck as he drew the chips through his fingers over and over again.
7...8...the eight times Beck had moved in close to try and make sure that Jade West was his first kiss...
Andre passed his fingers in front of Beck's eyes and tried to get his friend to come out of his daze. But Beck's eyes remained distant, and the chips kept moving in a steady rhythm.
9...10...10...10...
The others all jumped when Beck suddenly hopped out of his chair and threw the chips across the table. Beck was breathing heavily, his shoulders rising and falling in an unsteady pattern. Tori moved to go make sure her friend was okay, but her presence was not needed. Trina was more than happy to try to console Beck. She ran her manicured fingers through his hair and stroked his arm as she cooed.
"Don't worry baby, everything's okay! You don't have to date that horrible Jade anymor-"
Beck broke away from Trina, not even looking at her as he screamed, "DON'T TOUCH ME!"
Realizing he was making a scene, he slowly sunk back into his chair and re-buried his head back into his hands.
"Just...please...don't touch me." The others looked at Beck sadly. But Trina couldn't take a hint.
"Baby, baby! There's no need to be upset! I would be so much better for you than Jade! And, besides, it's not like you actually loved that gank, ri-"
"TRINA!" Andre and Cat turned to see Tori's chest heaving. "I think...I think you should go upstairs. Or lock yourself in the basement, I really don't care." Trina was surprised. She had never seen Tori act so coldly.
"I'm just trying to help. You all know that I'd be a much bette-" Cat spoke up.
"I think you've done enough for one night." Everyone looked at Cat in shock. Cat Valentine didn't do confrontation. Trina, noticing the four heads turned to glare at her, decided to go. But not before giving Beck's head a final pat and a, "Call me!"
Tori sat back down in her chair and picked up her cards. Once she got her breaths to calm, she realized that Beck had been eerily quiet during Trina's desperate rants. She turned to see that the boy still had his head buried in his hands. She decided to let him be, and was about to ask Andre to take his turn when Cat spoke up, her innocent voice laced with confusion.
"But...isn't Trina right?" Andre, Robbie and Tori looked at Cat in horror.
"Cat, what are you talking about?"
"I said, isn't Trina right? I'm confused. Why is Beck so upset? Jadey's the one whose boyfriend broke up with her using a door." The others starred at Cat uneasily, letting her words sink in. Cat set her cards down and stood.
"I think I'm going to go make sure Jade's okay. I mean, if Beck's sad, then Jadey must be super sad. Robbie, will you drive me over to Jades house?" Robbie gave her a sad smile, then nodded. He patted Beck's shoulder, got his jacket, and left with Cat. Tori sadly wondered how many more people would be walking out her door with lead in their hearts. Tori poked Beck's head and asked if he'd still like to be dealt in. Beck nodded mutely. What else was there for the boy to do after ripping his girlfriend-of-nearly-four-years' heart out? Tori shuffled the deck and handed Beck his hand. He looked through his cards; he had a queen of spades, a queen of hearts, a king of clubs, and several number cards.
As Andre and Tori started the game, Beck picked up the queen of spades. Beck had always loved using this card deck whenever the gang came over to Tori's to have their Saturday night card games. Each face card was so intricately designed that the faces seemed real; the jacks always seemed to have a cunning smile on their faces while the kings always looked smug. As Beck starred at the designs on the queen card, he saw the primary colors on the card began to swirl, and the pale face of the queen began to morph. Beck remained frozen as the face card turned into the face of the girl that he had stupidly let go of. She was wearing a gothic black old fashioned dress and carried a fan in her hand. Beck made sure that Andre and Tori were occupied before he brought the card closer to his lips to whisper.
"J-Jade? Is that you?" The girl in the card did not turn to face him, instead continuing to stare blankly at some entity to her right. The girl began to fan herself slowly. After she didn't respond for a few minutes, Beck started to place the card back on the table. But before he could, she spoke up.
"How could you, Beck?" It didn't escape Beck that a few stray tears escaped the Queen's eyes and ran down her cheeks. "You promised me you weren't going to abandon me, Beck. You promised me you wouldn't be like my dad, Beck. How could you break your promises, Beck? Why'd you stop loving me, Beck? Why was I not good enough for you?" Beck was ready to break down and tell the Queen that he loved her, that he loved her dearly, and that he was so sorry for hurting her. But before he could, he heard another voice cut in.
"Can you blame me for breaking my promises? You're hideous." Beck jumped, wondering who had interrupted his meeting with the Queen. He looked at the other side of the table to see that Tori and Andre were still deep in discussion. It took him a few minutes to realize that the voice was coming from his hand of cards. Beck started flipping through the cards in his hand to see that it was the king of clubs who had been talking. But, the king card was not longer just a king card. This card had morphed into Beck's likeness. Well, Beck's likeness if Beck was made to look like Napoleon Bonaparte in overdone finery. The King card continued to speak to the Queen.
"I only stayed with you because you were a challenge. Did you think I'd actually be interested in a freak like you?" Beck wanted to rip the card in half. Yes, part of the reason why he had stayed with Jade for so long was because she was challenging. But, not challenge in a freakin' perverse way. She always brought something new to Beck's life, and Beck loved her for it. And he certainly didn't think she was a freak. Yes, she was weird, but really, who wasn't? Beck wouldn't have her any other way. Beck's heart dropped into his stomach when he saw that more tears were escaping the Queen's eyes. The King went on.
"Awww...did I make you sad? My God, you are just so weak." Beck clenched the card in his hand. Beck knew that Jade had gone through so much emotional abuse and mental torture as a child that he'd always thought it a miracle that the girl was still standing. The Queen began to sputter.
"You...you said you loved me..."
"Love?! Are you crazy? I have never loved you, nor will I ever-" At this, Beck tore the card into several pieces. Tori and Andre looked on, concerned. Beck turned to the Queen card, ready to tell her that everything that the King card had said had been a lie. But before Beck could, he saw the Queen reach out and grab the spade symbol from the top of her card. With a hauntingly blank look in her eyes, she slowly pricked her finger on the top of the space. Beck felt dizzy when he saw a few drops of blood come out. The Queen did not hesitate to plunge the spade into her chest.
To say that Tori and Andre were confused would have been an understatement. They could not understand what had caused their friend to jump out of his seat, his hand shaking as his pointed to the card he'd dropped on the table. His eyes were wide, as though he had just witnessed a séance. Beck looked up at Tori and Andre, his entire body trembling. He looked around nervously as he sputtered, "I have to go."
With that, Beck ran out of Tori's house.
Like so many before him, Beck had tried to use cards to forget about his guilt.
But unfortunately for him, cards never forget. And they never forgive.
Author's Note: Thanks for reading! If you could leave a review, I'd really appreciate it! :)