Audition I

Beck parked his car in front of Vega's house. It was Saturday morning and as agreed he was picking her up for the audition. Before he even had the time to press the horn Tori flew out of the front door. But it wasn't eagerness to get to the audition that was hurrying her, it was her sister Trina.

"Go, go!" She urged him after she jumped in his convertible. He stepped on the gas and the car peeled off. In his rearview mirror he could see Trina yelling after them.

"Why was she chasing after you?" He asked the flushed from running Tori. "The casting director disqualified her ten seconds after she snuck in the first audition. Doesn't she know that this is a call back?" Absentmindedly he observed that the blush made Tori's cheeks even prettier than usual. Automatically he castigated himself for the thought. Then he remembered he was single now and it was okay to have such thoughts.

"She does, but it's Trina – she doesn't care." Tori replied unaware about what was going through his mind. "Where is Jade?" She asked after she had time to look around.

"We are on the way to pick her up." The a little too careless answer came.

"Isn't her house on your way to mine?" He could feel the suspicion in her voice.

"It is, but I didn't want to be alone with her." His answer came after several silent seconds, without his eye leaving the road. "Every time we do we end up screaming at each other." He could feel her face melting into supportive smile.

"So she is still pissed at you for the breakup?" Tori asked after a while. He just nodded.

"How are you doing with it?" She knew that these days Beck and Jade were mostly ignoring each other. It was an improvement over the constant bickering before that, but she could see that Beck was taking it bad.

"It's… difficult." He admitted. It was also something he wasn't yet ready to talk about.

"If you feel like talking about it sometime I'm ready to listen." The funny thing was that Tori was probably the best to talk to about his break up out of all his friends. They reached Jade's house. She was waiting impatiently in front of the house. She looked pretty good in her black skirt and dark blue top, he thought with a sigh.

"You are late." These were her first words to him after he pulled up.

"We have time." He replied calmly, but he could feel the irritation rising inside him. Jade walked to the front passenger door.

"Vega, go in the back seat." She gestured the slim brunette to move. Tori moved to unbuckle her seatbelt.

"No Tori stay." Beck stopped her. "You climb in the back." He told Jade, refusing to meet her gaze. She glared murderously but climbed in the back of his car. The rest of the trip went on in silence which Tori tried unsuccessfully to break. All she could get were monosyllabic answers from Beck and death glares from Jade so she gave up. The three reached the small but stylish office building where the call back audition was going to be held. Although they were actually early all the other candidates were already there. Two dozen teenagers were sitting or nervously pacing in expectation of the start. Beck, Tori and Jade soon got into their own routines of coping with the stress. Tori turned out to be a pacer; Jade, in absence of scissors, began picking out the petals of the flowers in a nearby vase, much to the displeasure of the receptionist; only Beck managed to hide his angst under a cool and relaxed mask. Finally it began. One by one the nervous teens went behind the unassuming office door and after ten to twenty minutes came back with expressions of triumph or defeat. Tori got tired of pacing back and forth and plopped herself in a seat next to Beck.

"So, what do you think about the stars of this, hopefully soon our show?" She asked in the voice of someone who was trying to distract herself.

"I don't know. The females are more famous than the males, but I guess it normal for this kind of shows." He remembered seeing them on the TV in couple of shows but he hadn't connected the names with the faces until later.

"I don't even know what I'm doing here. You and Jade have much more experience." Tori's nervousness had turned into doubt.

"It is only in school theater. TV is very different so it doesn't matter that much." He tried to reassure her. "Don't worry, you'll do just fine." He wondered how sometimes she could be so confident when singing on stage, but every new stage in acting made her insecure. Beck watched her go through the door. Minutes slowly ticked away – ten, twenty and thirty until Tori got out with a dazed smile on her lips.

"I got it! I got it!" She ran back to her friends. "I'm going to be Jenny." Her pure excitement was so infectious that Beck forgot for minute his own worry.

"Who was that?" Jade asked caught up in the excitement of the moment.

"She is the shy girl who befriends Britt Robertson's character." Tori's pleased response came.

"That's a good role. She'll probably have a lot of scenes." He wasn't just saying that. It was a type of character writers loved to develop, especially if a pretty girl like Tori was cast in it. Next came Jade's turn. She came back only after ten minutes. There didn't seem to be any of Tory's excitement in her.

"Jade, did you get a part?" Beck asked with concern. "Jade?" Tori asked gently touching the silent brunette.

"Yes, I got a part." Jade's chocked voice finally came.

"Which one did you get?" Tori enquired puzzled by Jade odd behavior.

"I'm going to be a cheerleader. Me!" Beck stifled a chuckle. Tori's smile just grew wider.

"Which cheerleader are you going to be?" Tori asked, trying to sound nonchalantly.

"I'm going to be the happy, preppy one." Jade sounded so appalled by the mere notion that Beck and Tori could no longer hold back their laugh. "It's not funny. The whole school is going to laugh in my face." Jade glared at them.

"Oh, come on they are too afraid of you to do it in your face." Tori's reassurance didn't seem to have effect on Jade. Before they could continue the receptionist called the next name.

"Beck Oliver." Beck froze for a second and then deaf for Tori's good luck wishes he took the few stops to the door and with a final deep breathy opened it.

A.N. Reviews, suggestions and critiques are more than welcome.