Robbie frantically drove to Beck's house after receiving the cryptic text message. Jade had once confided in him about their tumultuous history and how she feared that it was repeating itself again and made him promise to keep an eye out for Beck. Now he had received a message that read "help," how could he not be worried? Still…it was late at night. Robbie shook the thought out of his head. There was no harm in checking up on his friend. As he pulled into the driveway where the RV was, he noticed that the lights were still on. 'Oh good,' he thought to himself, 'he's still awake.' He walked up the steps and knocked firmly on the door, calling out Beck's name. No answer.

"Hello? Beck? Are you okay buddy?" Still no answer. He reached out to the doorknob and twisted…'Aha!' It was open. He walked in and screamed at the sight of the still body that lay on the floor. He immediately called 911 for help, hoping desperately that his friend could still be saved.

-A Few Days Later-

Everyone in the hallways whispered whenever any of Beck's friends would walk by. Frankly, it was starting to bother Tori.

"Have you noticed that things have been a little weird lately," she asked Cat as she closed her locker, "As if people are kind of like…. whispering around us?" Cat had no idea what had been going on with Beck. No one did, actually, Robbie had kept everything to himself and his parents had no idea who his friends were. Not that they cared, anyway.

"There's probably just some rumor going around….I hope it's not about me!" she exclaimed. Tori rolled her eyes.

"C'mon Kit Cat, let's find Andre. Maybe he knows what the rumor is."

"WHat's thAt supposed to mean!?"

Andre sat at the usual table in the cafeteria. Robbie sat next to him with a sad, untouched lunch.

"Hey man. You okay?" Andre asked him. Robbie looked up at him with an alarmed look in his face.
"Y-yup, never better!" He forced a smile. Andre gave him a weird look.

"If….you say so….Hey, speaking of being okay, have you seen Beck lately? He hasn't come to school in a few days and he hasn't replied to any of my texts." Robbie choked on a piece of fruit he had been chewing.

"Uh…n-no, I haven't seen him but I think he mentioned something about taking off for a couple of days to clear his head?"

Andre shook his head. "Man, if he keeps this up, he's not going to graduate."

"Who's not going to graduate?" Cat and Tori approached Robbie and Andre's table and sat across from them.

"Beck. It seems he took off on a mini vacation without telling anyone. Have you heard from him?" Andre asked.

"No, I haven't. That's why I've been super worried! But I feel a lot better knowing he wasn't like, kidnapped or anything," Tori replied. Her eyes widened suddenly. "OH! Maybe that's what everyone is talking about! The fact that Beck took off! But….why would they care?"
"What are you talking about?"

Tori huffed. "You mean you haven't noticed that people are whispering behind your back and giving you odd stares?"

"Maybe it's that shirt," Cat uselessly offered. Andre gave Cat a withering look.
"Thank you. Maybe they're gossiping because Beck took off without Jade? Which implies that they're broken up. And these people around here are vultures for a breakup," Andre said. Tori tried to mask the hurt in her eyes at the mention of Beck and Jade by laughing. No one was buying it, but it was none of their business. The love triangle between Beck, Jade, and Tori was a whole other can of worms that no one really felt like opening.
-

-Flashback from Tori's point of view-

When I saw Beck for the first time, I was mesmerized. How was it possible for someone to be so good looking? He was utter perfection. Every time we went out, I could hardly believe that out of all the people he could be out with, that he was out with me. I could much less believe that he actually liked me! And Jade and I are two totally different people…I don't know what he saw in me.

That night, he picked me up at 8 sharp. It was a gorgeous night out; the stars were shining brightly and there was still a lingering warmth in the air because of the hot day it had been. I remember because I had gone to the water park that day with Trina and a little kid had thrown up in the pool where she was wading. Heh, served her right.

He had texted me, "Dress fancy! ;)" so I had worn my glittery off the shoulder dress and some heels. I was so nervous I could hardly walk; my legs felt like Jell-O. What if I was dressed too fancy? Beck however, in the way that he could always do so, put my fears to rest when he came up to my door and breathed, "You look beautiful." His golden eyes looked into mine as he took my hand and led me to his car. I have to admit, it was weird being in a car that I know Jade had been in, and it was weirder to imagine what may or may not have happened in there too. It was none of my business, but since Jade was my friend I couldn't help but have these thoughts.

"You're awfully quiet tonight," he had said to me at the restaurant. My heart started beating fast-how could I tell him what had been plaguing my thoughts?

"Whatever it is, you can tell me you know," he reminded me. My stomach churned.

"Well," I began, "You know I love being with you."

He smirked.
"But-"
"There's a but? I don't think I have a good feeling about this."

"Just hear me out!" I exclaimed. "I can't help but have hesitations when it comes to taking our relationship to the next level. It hasn't been that long since you and Jade broke up-"

"Ugh, here we go with Jade again," he interrupted.

"Babe listen to me. It hasn't been long since you broke up and you went through some really difficult stuff with her. Difficult stuff that she helped you get through. I understand that things like that cause people to form deep bonds, and letting those bonds go takes time. I don't want to be your rebound and I'm afraid that you haven't had enough time to let those bonds go. I want to be your forever. And I want to know you feel like that about me too."

He sighed. "Why are you bringing this up now?"

I shrugged sadly. "It's been bothering me for a while."

Beck stared out the window. The restaurant was about to close and they were dimming the lights. Thankfully, most of the other customers had left too and couldn't hear our discussion.

Hey, Beck. I just wanted to know that what we had was real. I would have waited forever for you.

You didn't say another word until I suggested we go home. You just asked for the check and after paying, blankly walked to the car

On the way home, I pleaded, no, I begged God that you say something. I wanted you to take my hand the way you had so many times, and I wanted you to tell me "I love you, Tori-pop." I would have even taken an observation on the weather.

But instead, you finally replied, "You're right." And that's the last thing you said that night. You pulled up to the side of my house and waited for me to leave the car. I left without saying anything, not because I was angry at you, but because my heart hurt so much that if I even tried to speak I would begin sobbing. I remember suddenly feeling like I would never see you again and I turned to tell you I loved you. But you were already gone.

-END of flashback from Tori's POV-