Light streamed in through the partially open blinds, bathing Tori in a golden light. Taking a deep breath, she stretched her body slowly across the soft, plush bed. That's when it hit her.

Tori swiftly sat up in the bed, her eyes flying open. She looked around the bright room, trying to process what she saw.
Tori was sitting in a pristine white bed, a huge, fluffy comforter surrounding her thin body. The room was open and wide, with white walls and even white carpeting.

As the memories from the previous night came flooding back to her, Tori groaned, dropping her head into her hands.

"I see that you're awake."

Tori let out a shriek, leaping up in the bed. She clutched racing heart as if she could somehow slow it down.

"Did I scare you?"

The boy from last night -Beck- was sitting on a white couch in the farthest corner of the room, his bright crimson eyes staring at her with amusement.

In the bright light, Tori was able to see his face much better. The scars on his face were much more prominent, and the long, puckered scar streaking across his right cheek looked angry.

Tori gulped silently quietly, trying to keep the shock off of her face.

A new thought slammed into Tori, and her eyes widened. Lifting up the covers slightly, she carefully peeked under them and sighed with relief when she saw that she was still fully clothed.

"We didn't have sex in case you were wondering..."

Tori shot Beck a glare, running her hand through her limp hair.

"So what DID happen last night Mr. Know-it-all?" she snapped.

Beck smirked, giving her a flash of his razor sharp teeth.

"You don't remember? You agreed to stay with me here for a year."

Tori stared at the large black Harley nervously, hesitant to get on the death machine. Beck, who was already on the bike, noticed and he rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"You'll be fine! Trust me, it's not as bad as you think."

Tori simply raised and eyebrow in disbelief, opting to stay silent. Taking a deep, steadying breath, she swung her leg quickly over the bike before she could change her mind. She almost fell over again, and she clutched the back of his jacket to steady herself.

"C-can't we wear helmets?!" she protested as he fished his keys out of his pocket once she had gotten comfortable.

"Don't have any. Don't worry so much. I won't get into a crash. And plus, it's way funner this way."

And with that, he stuck the keys into the ignition and turned them, making the huge beast beneath them roar to to life.
Tori let out a screech as she pulled away with blinding speed. One minute they were standing still and the next minute they were flying through the streets of LA, expertly maneuvering around the cars that came their way.

Tori had to admit, it was exhilarating. Completely terrifying, yes, but exhilarating none the less. She grinned as her hair whipped around her face, the wind combing through her tangled up hair soothingly. Cars whizzed past them at blinding speed, and Tori leaned into
Beck, wrapping her arms around his waist even tighter.

And then they were coming to a stop, much to Tori's disappointment.

She looked up tentatively and had to stifle a gasp. Standing before them was a white, huge, modern looking house. It's sleek lines and asymmetric design were elegant yet simple. The house actually stood on an elevated platform -almost like a cliff- made of rocks.

"Do you like it?" asked Beck, but Tori had a feeling that he already knew the answer.

"It's okay," Tori said, trying to sound casual and failing miserably. Beck looked back at her, a smirk on his lips.

"Why, you haven't even seen the best part!" And with that, Beck hopped off bike effortlessly and started walking. Tori raised an eyebrow in confusion, but she got off the bike as well and followed him.

Tori struggled to keep up as Beck made his way behind the house.

"Can you slow do-" Tori stopped talking and stared in stunned silence at what Beck was trying to show her.

Behind the house was a huge, majestic waterfall. Tori watched in amazement as the water cascaded down, spraying both Beck and Tori slightly with water. Tori walked forward slowly towards the edge of the cliff and peered down. A beautiful, calm lake was at the bottom, being disturbed only by the cascading waterfall.

"I though you might like it."

Tori let her eyes roam the beautiful white room Beck had shown her to. She was now laying on the plush, clean white bed, hair wet from the shower she just taken. Beck had given her an old brown t-shirt and a large pair of dark gray sweatpants. She had carefully folded her own clothes and put them on top of her dresser.

The silence in the room was deafening, and Tori couldn't stop her mind from wandering. What was she doing? Here she was, sitting in a stranger's house! For all she knew, he could've been a rapist, or a murderer. It went against everything she was taught to be sitting there...

And yet...

As crazy as it seemed, Tori knew she was much safer here, in a stranger's house, rather than out there on the streets. And she was much safer than if she were home...

Tori's eyes watered as she thought that word. Home. She definitely couldn't go back there. Not after...

A knock on the door surprised her, bringing her out of her thoughts. She looked towards the door as it opened, revealing Beck. His sweater was gone, leaving him only in a worn out black t-shirt. Tori could see scars running down his arms.

"Are you...um...okay?" he asked awkwardly, not meeting her eyes. Tori sighed, pulling up the covers around her.

"I'll live. You can...come in if you'd like" she offered shyly. Beck nodded, stepping into the large room and closing the door behind him. He walked towards a black leather couch, in the farthest corner away from Tori, and sat down.

"Are you...er...comfortable?" he asked, and Tori couldn't help but frown. She couldn't help but ask the question that had been nagging at her all night.

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

Beck froze, and his crimson eyes stared directly into Tori's brown ones. Tori regretted asking the question immediately. Why the hell would you question someone who's been nothing but nice to you all night? But deep down, Tori honestly wanted to know why he was being so nice.

Just when Tori was going to tell Beck to forget it, he cleared his throat to talk.

"Honestly...I don't know. I just saw you out there in that alley...you just looked so defeated...and I...I don't know..."

Tori could tell there was more to the story, some reason for helping her that he wasn't telling her, but she didn't want to push it. Instead, she stretched out in the bed and shot him a small smile.

"Well, don't worry. By tomorrow, I'll be out of youre hair forever. You won't ever have to see me."

Beck stayed silent for a few seconds before talking.

"Weeell, about that. You see, I started thinking while you were taking a bath. And...I mean...I was thinking that...maybe you shouldn't go back out there. I mean...I can keep you...ah..safe here...and you'd have food and everything. I promise I won't hurt you! I'm not some crazy creep, ya know. So um...yeah. You can stay here as long as you'd like...if you want to, of course!"

Tori's eyes widened, and she stared back at Beck in shock. She couldn't believe that this complete stranger was offering to let her stay here...

Tori knew that she should just say no. But there was no way in hell she was going back home...

"I would like that," she whispered shyly, tucking a strand of wet hair behind her ear.

Beck looked up in surprise, his red eyes wide.

"In that case, I have a deal for you."
He must've seen the suspicious look in her eyes, for he said quickly,

"Nothing like that. Don't worry. But you look around 18, right. And you look pretty smart, which means that you might want to go to college. Seeing as you were living on the streets, you probably can't afford it. Soooo...if you stay here with me for a year, I'll pay a full years tuition to ANY college you want."

Tori was about to yell out in shock. She wanted to protest, say that she didn't need his help...but she did. And one word kept rattling around in her mind...Julliard.

So, going against every one of her instincts for the second time that night, she nodded and stook out her hand.

"Deal."

Yes, yes...I am a horrible person for keeping you waiting that long...blame it on my school! Anyhow, I know that the chances of a girl accepting a strange guys invitation to live with him are slim to none, but it's my story, and I'll do what I want! Stick around, cause pretty soon, you'll see plenty familiar characters... REVIEW PLEASE!