Disclaimer: I do not own anyone or anything from Victorious. Also, the title of the story was inspired by Avril Lavigne's song Things I'll Never Say.
Chapter One
She didn't expect this to happen. It just sort of snuck up on her like one of Sikowitz's scare tactics. Sure, some feelings were already starting to surface long before the week of the Platinum Music Awards. And yes, there were definitely moments when seeing Beck caused her stomach to do somersaults. But those moments were far and few in between. She wouldn't even indulge in the thought of her and Beck together until that first time they almost kissed. That day, that minute, looking into Beck's dark brown eyes and hearing him speak so sincerely. It was then she felt the change, then when she became unglued. Did she want to kiss Beck? Yes, she did. More than anything. But not at the cost of her friendship with Jade.
Tori Vega heaved a deep sigh of exasperation. She had just spent the last hour staring at the ceiling, mulling over the incident that happened over a week ago. Suddenly, Tori heard her pear phone ring, prompting her to sit up from the couch and pull the phone out of her pocket.
To both her dismay and delight, the name and picture that appeared on the small screen was none other than Beck's. A quiet whimper escaped Tori's lips as her thumb hovered over the "accept call" button. In a matter of seconds, the ringtone died and Tori fell back on the couch in defeat. It was Beck's second phone call this week, and Tori's second time missing his call from indecision.
"Why me?" Tori groaned, as she buried her face in her hands.
"What are you whining about now?" came Trina's shrill voice.
"I don't even know where to start."
"Don't bother. If it doesn't have to do with me, then it's not important."
Of course not, Tori thought. She glanced up to see her older sister sporting a turquoise bikini top and jean shorts, and carrying a large metallic disc in her arms.
"What are you doing?" asked Tori.
"Going outside to tan," Trina replied, heading for the front door.
"With a satellite dish?" Tori raised her eyebrows at the strange object.
Trina rolled her eyes. "For your information, Tori, this 'satellite dish' is supposed to focus all the sunlight to my face and give me a more radiant glow."
"But–" Tori started.
"Radiant glow!" barked Trina, slamming the door behind her.
After some time, Tori pulled her phone out again and thought hard before finally coming to a decision. She pressed the phone to her ear and waited for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, a familiar voice came on the other line.
"Hey!" Tori felt her voice waver. "Are you busy? I need to talk to you."
Half an hour later, Tori heard a sharp knock on the front door. She opened the door to find Andre with a perplexed look on his face.
"Hey, Tori," he greeted as he stepped through the threshold. "Did you know Trina's outside tanning?"
"Yeah, she's been out there for half an hour now."
"At first, I thought you guys were having a barbeque. But then I realized it was just the smell of Trina's skin roasting."
Tori and Andre both shuddered at the thought as they took a seat on the couch. Tori knew that if there was anyone she could trust with her dilemma, it would be Andre. So then why couldn't she muster up the nerve to say anything?
"So," Andre started, sensing his friend's uneasiness. "You sounded a little off when you called me. What's up?"
She gulped, and the lump that sat in her throat dropped into her stomach with a resounding plop!
"Well," Tori said, unsure of how to begin. "I have to tell you something. But you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone. And I mean anyone."
"Okay, okay," Andre said, holding his hands up in surrender. He reached out to grab the glass of water Tori had set on the table. "Shoot."
Tori took a deep breath and then quickly blurted, "Beck and I almost kissed."
Andre, who had been in the middle of taking a big gulp, coughed up water back into the glass.
"Twice," Tori hesitantly added. This was the first time she had heard herself talk about the incident with Beck. Somehow, hearing it said out loud seemed to magnify the complexity of the situation.
"How did you guys almost kiss?" Andre shot her a curious look as he wiped some water from his mouth.
"Well the first time, my mom walked in on us. And then the second time…" she paused and her gaze fell to the floor. "I stopped him because of Jade. It just wouldn't have been right."
A deep pensive silence soon passed between them. Tori anxiously fiddled with her hair, as Andre tried to grasp the surprising news. The thought of his two closest friends sharing an extremely intimate moment bounced in his mind like a ping-pong ball between the rackets of possible and impossible. Suddenly a thought occurred to him.
"Does Jade know?" Andre's voice was earnest.
"No." Tori's eyes widened. "At least…I hope not."
"Knowing Jade," Andre said with a chuckle. "If she did know, you probably wouldn't be sitting here right now."
Unfortunately, Andre's attempt to lighten the mood did little to reassure Tori's nerves.
"She'd probably take one of those scissors that's glued to her locker and cut me into a million Tori pieces…" Tori's voice drifted as the terrifying scenario played out in her mind.
Frustrated, Tori buried her face in her hands and groaned. "What am I going to do, Andre?"
"Well," Andre suggested as he placed an arm around his friend for comfort. "For starters, how do you feel about Beck? Do you like him?"
"No."
Andre narrowed his eyes at her, doubtful.
"Yes. I mean…I don't know!"
Tori thought for a moment, recalling the somersaults that excited her stomach whenever Beck smiled her way.
"I like Beck. It's just that…" Tori sighed. "This would be a lot easier if he wasn't Jade's ex-boyfriend."
Andre nodded. "Yeah, that does complicate some things."
Suddenly, Tori's parents burst through the front door, each one linked to one of Trina's arms. Shockingly, Trina's own face nearly matched the vibrant red of the living room couch. Tori and Andre watched, speechless, as Mr. Vega guided Trina to the couch.
"Trina, honey, what were you thinking?" Mrs. Vega exclaimed, running to the refrigerator.
"I just wanted a more radiant glow!" Trina argued as she winced in pain.
"Well, I think you've gone way past radiant and got volcanic instead," Mr. Vega joked.
In an effort to limit the movements of her face and avoid more pain, Trina managed to simply glare at her father in spite. Without warning, Mrs. Vega came over and doused Trina's face with a bottle of juicy liquid.
Trina shrieked and shot up from her seat. "Mom! What is that?"
"Aloe juice," Mrs. Vega replied. "It'll help soothe the burn while we try and get you to the hospital."
Mr. Vega guided Trina to the door with Mrs. Vega following behind.
Before leaving the house, she turned to Tori and said, "Dinner's in the oven, honey. We'll be back later tonight."
The door shut promptly behind her, and Tori and Andre were left sitting on the couch, incredulous.
Tori shook her head critically. "I tried to warn her."
"Here's a crazy idea," Andre suggested after a while. "Why don't you just tell Jade what happened?"
Tori's mouth dropped in disbelief. "Andre, are you listening to yourself? Telling Jade about me and Beck shouldn't even be an option!"
"Just think about it, Tori." Andre shrugged. "Who knows? She could surprise you. After all, she did give you back your spot on the Platinum Music Awards."
Tori certainly couldn't deny that bit of truth; yet, she wasn't ready to embrace the idea of telling Jade what happened between her and Beck. She could see it now: Jade's nimble hands with their black-polished fingernails around her delicate neck, gripping it in a fit of rage. Tori instantly felt guilty for thinking so badly of Jade. Maybe Andre was right; maybe she just needed to give Jade the benefit of the doubt.
"Alright," Tori said finally. "I'll think about it and we'll see how it goes."
Andre smiled. "Hey, you got nothing to lose, right?"
Though unsure, Tori smiled back. "Yeah, right."
"Just make sure there are witnesses around when you tell her."
I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter. Don't hesitate to review! Thanks!