A couple things before this chapter. Firstly, I have no set date for when this takes place. I did say last chapter that Tori had known Jade for a year and a half, so I'd say they're seniors here. I think what I'll do is have this take place after every episode so far, keeping in mind that Beck and Jade ARE a couple at this point. When the Victorious finale comes out it may ruin this whole story, so just take it step by step and put this wherever it fits for you.

Secondly, these chapters will be fairly short. I think they'll mostly be around 1000 words, and yes this is intentional. I'm sorry if you guys don't like it, but I prefer to keep things short in stories like this and put only directly related events in the same chapters. But good news, this means I can update quicker than if I was writing with 4000 words a chapter.

Aaaaaaaand that's it. Reviews appreciated, favorites and follows make me smile, and I love all you guys who are reading, even if you don't do any of the earlier mentioned. Now enjoy the official first chapter!

Beck did not answer any of the six phone calls I sent his way that night. I considered calling Jade to make an attempt to get a little more information, but decided against it very quickly. There was no use in trying to talk to Jade when she didn't want to be bothered.

I was sitting on my bed at about eleven o' clock with a math textbook in my lap, trying to unravel the pre-calculus problems lining the pages while my mind recalled the earlier events of the day. My thoughts kept travelling back to Jade and her bizarre behavior throughout all our classes, but I couldn't seem to understand any of it. During Sikowitz's class, which she often stated was her favorite she had simply sat in the back with her head down and her eyes blank. At the beginning Sikowitz had tried to ask her some questions about her extended trip, wisely skirting around her pregnancy in fear of a painful result. I distinctly remembered when he asked her if she met any nice people in whatever country she had been to, and watched in confusion as she visibly winced as if it were painful to think about.

What?

After that no one bothered her, except for me when I was dragged into a closet. She skipped lunch, and I heard a line of gossip from some ninth graders that she had locked herself in the washroom for the entire hour, plus next period.

I still hadn't the slightest clue what to think. I thought back through these events until my eyes drifted close around midnight and I finally fell into a deep slumber. No dreams came to me that night.

Trina wouldn't drive me to school in the morning. When I had stumbled down the stairs, still half asleep and my hair a mess, she was already dressed and ready and barreling out the door. She offered me no explanation, so blinking in early-morning stupor I called up Andre and had my ride. The second I got into his car I jumped on the questions.

"Do you know where Beck's been for two weeks?" I demanded as soon as the door slammed shut behind me. Andre shrugged as he pulled out of the driveway and began the quick five minute drive to Hollywood Arts.

"Beats me," he admitted, turning down the radio so we could hold a conversation. "I tried calling him like ten times yesterday alone, and he wouldn't answer. His parents said he's been out a lot."

"Something isn't right here," I mumbled, glancing down at my feet and kicking my toes against each other. "Beck must have known Jade would be back yesterday, and he wouldn't just leave her to come to school pregnant! It's not like him to be embarrassed about those things..."

"I'll give him another call when we get to school and see if he's willing to talk," he suggested, looking over to me briefly and offering me a reassuring smile. "Don't worry 'bout it Tori, I'm sure everything's a lot simpler than we think."

"You're probably right," I conceded with a small sigh. I knew I was probably trying to dig into things deeper than they would go. "Thanks Andre."

Turns out the call would not be necessary, as the first person Andre and I saw when we walked through the door was none other than Beck Oliver. We were planning on walking up to him to ask what was going on, but hesitated when Jade slowly sauntered in his direction and called his name. He didn't look at his girlfriend, only pausing in opening his locker and mouthing what looked like a "hey."

This was where they had me beyond lost.

Jade had been unaccounted for for over four months. I remember the day, about a week into her vacation, when Beck had received a phone call in first period and dashed out of the class without another word. He missed the next day of school and the following day he hardly spoke. We didn't push into it too much when he remained silent and would only give a half-hearted smile at best.

What had me truly baffled was him not showing up on the day his girlfriend returned, and now basically ignoring her when he does come back. Things weren't adding up at all in my mind and I wasn't pleased about it one bit.

Andre and I exchanged a worried look when Beck and Jade exchanged a few hushed words without once actually facing one another. After half a minute Jade suddenly turned and made a swift escape, leaving Beck to gaze after her and run a hand through his hair, a move he often made when he was upset. It was then that Andrew and I delicately made our way over to our friend and put on our most welcoming smiles.

"Sup Beck?" Andre said as we stopped next to him kneeling at his locker. He finished getting his books for the day and slammed his locker shut with a smidgen more force than per the usual.

"Hey guys," he greeted us tonelessly, offering a weak smile and head nod.

"So how've you been lately?" I questioned carefully, testing the waters with what I assumed would be a safe question. Beck frowned, staring down at the book in his hands before giving a quick shrug.

"I've just, ah, been feeling sick lately," he replied in a voice that made me sense there was much more to the story than he would let on. I decided not to push it past that for the time being. "You know, winter bug and all."

"Good to see you're better now, right?" Andre asked, emphasizing the word "better" for added effect. Beck nodded absentmindedly before shoving the last book into his bag.

"I'll see you guys in class," he said before taking off down the hall, the same way Jade had disappeared moments before. I looked to Andre to see if he had any better idea of what could be going on, but to my disappointment he seemed just as clueless as I was feeling. We shared a similar expression before I sighed and trudged off to my locker. The only thing on my mind now was how to get to the bottom of things without annoying my friends.

A daunting task indeed.