Here is another chapter for Out of Class. I don't own Victorious, as always.

This chapter is in the POV of ANDRE. Beck is also involved.

ENJOY!

A Friend's Secret

When I was a kid, every Thursday night was my mom's night out (usually she went to choir practice at church) and my dad's night to take the kids to dinner. We'd go to Red Lobster (Dad loves seafood) and order popcorn shrimp and hush puppies.

Suddenly, when I was in my sophomore year of high school, my mom started going out almost every night of the week. After dinner, she'd kiss my sister, my brother, and me and say, "Good night. See you in the morning."

"But where are you going?" I asked, incensed that she would just leave us, even when my dad wasn't home from work yet. My sister, Carla, was fourteen, but still…

"I'm going to see a friend," Mom would respond vaguely. "Someone who needs my help."

But I could see the signs. She'd put on a skirt, touch up her mascara, add another misting of perfume to her neck, grab her purse and head out the door.

Mom was having an affair. On top of that, my own mother had lied to me. A friend who needed her help-ha!

I was furious.

I didn't tell anyone my suspicions, not Carla, who was too busy talking on the phone to her new boyfriend; and not Charlie, my eight-year-old brother, who barely looked up from the TV to tell Mom good-bye. Dad just acted like there was absolutely nothing wrong with his wife leaving the house after dinner to go on a date.

Apparently, everyone in my family had gone crazy.

Then, one day after school, Mom came into my room.

"Andre," she said, "there's something I need to talk to you about."

I knew what she was going to tell me. There would be a divorce, then a custody battle, then for the rest of my life I'd pack up a suitcase to go from Mom's house to Dad's for the weekend. My stomach dropped to my ankles.

"What?" I demanded, surprising even myself how hostile I sounded.

"It's about Beck."

Beck was one of my friends. We both went to Hollywood Arts. We'd met at church and our parents were friends and we had grown up together. We played soccer and acted on the weekends.

The year before, Beck's family had moved into a new house on a hillside with a spectacular view. It had a long flight of steps down the back that led to a swimming pool and a hot tub. I was jealous when Beck got to live in such a big house. I shouldn't have worried, though, because I got to enjoy the new house too. Now after a hot game of soccer, we could go back to Beck's house for a dip in the pool, followed by just hanging out.

"Well, what about him?" I finally asked.

Mom took a deep breath. "I just want you to be really nice to him for a while."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm always nice to him. He's my friend."

"I know, and you're a good friend. But things might be hard for him for a while, and he'll need your friendship more than ever."

"Mom, what are you talking about?"

"I'd better just tell you, Andre. Beck's parents are getting a divorce."

It felt like the time in gym class when someone had kicked a soccer ball right into my stomach. I couldn't breathe. Then the guilt set in.

"You mean, when you said you were going out to help a friend…?"

"I was seeing Beck's mom. She needed to talk through some things."

I closed my eyes, felling guilty for my suspicions, felling even guiltier for the relief that flooded through me once I knew it wasn't my parents getting divorced.

"But, Andre, you have to promise me you won't say anything to Beck. He doesn't know yet."

"He doesn't' know?"

"His parents still have some things to work out. They're not ready to tell Beck yet. Promise me?"

"Yes, Mom, I promise."

That was a hard promise to keep. For weeks, I made a special effort to hang out with Beck and do fun things with him. Mostly we did the same old things: played soccer, swam in the pool, acted, or go to the movies. It was summer and school was out, so we spent lots of time together. Beck didn't' say anything about his parents, so I didn't either.

One day, Beck and I were sitting on the concrete next to the pool at the amazing house I had once been so jealous. While I read my book, Beck dozed. But he must have not been asleep, because suddenly he spoke. "Andre?"

"Yeah?"

"I have to tell you something."

My heart skipped a beat. "What?" I lifted my eyes over the edge of my book. Beck lay on the concrete, his eyes still closed.

"My mom and dad are getting a divorce."

Knowing this information for weeks should have prepared me to say something profound when this moment came. But it hadn't. I couldn't even figure out how to act surprised.

"Beck, I'm sorry."

"Thanks."

"That really sucks."

"Yeah." Beck turned his head in the other direction, so that he faced away from me.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

For a few minutes, silence floated between us like sunlight on the surface of the pool. "Beck?"

"Yeah?"

"Want to stay over at my house tonight?" I held my breath. "Mom has choir practice, so Dad's taking us out to eat."

Beck turned his head to face me again and smiled. "I'd like that."

In that moment, I realized something. I couldn't' make things better for Beck. I couldn't' keep his parents form slitting up. I couldn't make Beck's pain go away. But if I kept being Beck's friend, even when she had to move to a new house with his mom, a house without a pool or a spectacular view, even when he got angry, even when he wanted to cry but wouldn't-if I could stick by him through all of those things, then he could know that I was his friend and cared about him.

And maybe that would help…just a little.

Okay, again, hopefully this was good. I'm gonna update as often as I can until school and cross country starts up again.

Review please!