"Jade…. Jade, come on…. You need to wake up…."

Beck walked through the door of Hollywood Arts, his girlfriend Jade under his arm and sipping her customary coffee. He led her towards their group of friends and smiled widely.

"Hey!" He said happily, looking around at all of them. It had been a good morning. Jade had been feeling very - kinky. His smile grew as he thought of the handcuffs now in the back of the car, just in case.

His friends looked at him oddly. "Beck? Are you okay?" Cat asked cautiously, her voice filled with concern. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Beck asked her, glancing down at Jade, who shrugged.

"Don't look at me. I don't understand Cat language." She said simply. Beck laughed.

"I just wasn't sure. You look so happy." Cat said quietly. Beck furrowed his brow.

"Are you okay? You look upset." Beck asked her carefully. Cat let out a squeak before running into the Janitor's closet, her hands over her face. Beck looked at the other curiously. Tori sighed.

"Sorry. It's just…. Sorry." She said before following her.

Over the next few days, Beck noticed a few things.

Jade would disappear for hours a time. When she came back, it seemed she loved him even more. Every time. Sometimes she would just come in and sit next to him, smile and talk about whatever had happened at school. But most of the time it was displayed in a more intimate fashion.

As happy as they were, Tori, Andre, Cat, and Robbie didn't seem to feel the same way. They were steadily deteriorating. Literally. Their skin even seemed to be getting paler. They had large dark circles under their eyes and their voices would get a raspy quality every now and then. And the strangest thing- their faces never changed. Even when they laughed, they didn't smile. It was like watching Rex- their mouths opened and closed when they should but they never changed.

Everybody was always telling him it was going to be okay. They kept telling him they had good news for him or bad news for him and someone was getting better or worse, but he always seemed to miss who they were talking about.

"How was school?" Jade asked him as they sat on the couch in his RV. Beck twirled her hair around his finger.

"Okay, I guess. Why weren't you there?" Beck asked absently. Jade hadn't been showing up to school every day, but he didn't think much of it. She had never much cared about authority figures.

"I had to check in with my boss, take care of a few problems, ruin a few lives." She said casually, grinning. Beck laughed. "That's my girl." He smiled affectionately, pulling her closer.

It never once occurred to him that as far as he knew, she didn't have a job.

Beck was radiant. He had never been so happy. His and Jade's relationship had never been healthier, even in the first few months. It was almost like she was falling in love with him all over again. They had long talks that actually meant something. He never fought with her, even if he disagreed. None of the girls around school flirted with him. They still stared as he walked through the halls, but with one glance from Jade they kept their distance.

Meanwhile, everyone else was falling apart. It seemed as though everyone had died and were just ghosts of their past. Whenever Beck brushed against someone in the busy streets of L.A., their skin was cold and clammy.

He had started avoiding touching anybody. He wasn't sure why; he just knew that if he did, it wouldn't be good.

"Beck, can I talk to you?" Tori asked him one day at lunch. Beck glanced at Jade, who examined her before nodding shortly. She kissed him on the cheek as he stood and glared at Tori, as though just making sure she knew Beck was hers. Tori didn't even glance at her.

"How can you be so happy?" Tori asked him as he shut the door of the Janitors' closet. Beck avoided looking at her, instead looking at a point above her shoulder. She was so pale and thin and sick-looking, it was disturbing.

"Why wouldn't I be?" He asked, shrugging. He smiled. "Jade and I haven't had one fight in almost a month."

Tori's eyes widened as her hand flew to her mouth. "Beck! That's- that's terrible! I can't believe you would say something like that!" She gasped.

"What?" Beck asked, confused. "Why is it bad we haven't been fighting? I don't think we've been this happy since… Well, ever!"

Tori looked at him carefully, realization sweeping over her. "Oh my god. I wondered why you never-" She cut herself off. "When was the last time you saw Jade?"

Beck stared. "She's right outside. I was just sitting right by her at lunch! Did you not see her?"

Suddenly, something very strange happened. Tori's sick, pale skin suddenly regained a small amount of the color it used to have. It wasn't as though she was blushing or tensing- it was like he had been looking at a dusty photo for weeks and someone had just wiped off some of the dust. She didn't seem to notice anything. She didn't even pause as she stepped back.

"Beck, sit down." She said after a moment. Beck reluctantly sat, not sure what was happening.

"Why?"

"Do you remember what happened last month?"

Beck thought back. It had been September. He couldn't think of anything particularly important that had happened. "No?" He said slowly.

Tori took a deep breath. "Well, last month…"

A/N: So this is the first chapter! I already have the next one written so it'll probably be updated soon. And don't worry, a lot of stuff will be explained in the next few chapters.