What up, peeps?

I decided to launch the second and slightly shorter chapter today :D
If you guys like it, I'll be updating the story every Friday :p

Anyway, thank you so much for your sweet reviews! I'm glad you liked the first chapter :)

Enjoy!

Chapter two – New York City

To Tori and André, New York proved its greatness within minutes of their arrival.
Upon their arrival at the airport, they were escorted to the exit, where a true limousine was waiting for them.
It drove them to one of the biggest and most expensive hotels in New York, and bellmen carried their luggage up to the top floor, where they had the most awesome suite either of them had ever seen.

The suite consisted of two bedrooms, a large bathroom and a living area. The place was richly decorated, and set with the most comfortable furniture the hotel provided.
At first, Tori and André had bickered about who got which bedroom, but then they'd decided to split – André would get the bedroom with view of the Empire State Building for the first two days, and then he would switch with Tori, who'd get the room with a view on Central Park for the first two days.

The first two days of their stay in New York passed in a haze – they were almost constantly in the studio, recording far more than just two songs.
After the first song – Song 2 U – Buick's boss had been so incredibly impressed by their skill, he set them up for several more songs.

Of course, that wasn't all Tori and André had done.

When they got the chance, they explored New York, checking out all of the regular hot spots, but also finding themselves in places only true New Yorkers knew. Tori was extremely psyched about everything she had done with André so far, and her mind could never have been further removed from Beck.

André, on the other hand, didn't find it that easy to stop thinking about Jade. Sure, New York kept him busy enough during the day, but his dreams were still haunted by the images of a certain Goth's secret smile.

Presently, on their fourth day, Tori and André were enjoying their dinner in their suite, not going out for once.
'Mmm, these lobster potatoes are almost as great as they were in Maestro's,' Tori exclaimed, her eyes closed in bliss as she marveled over her potatoes. André grinned slightly. 'Sure they are, Tor.'
He sipped from his water and returned to his plate, finding he wasn't as hungry as he had initially thought.

Absent-mindedly poking his fork into his food, he didn't notice Tori looking at him inquiringly. 'André,' she softly said, drawing his attention, 'You have to eat.'
'I'm not hungry.' His stomach growled in contrast with his words. And yet, he still didn't feel hungry.
Tori put down her fork and gazed at her best friend with increasing worry. 'Why do you let her mess with your head like that? André, you're seriously messed up about this.'

André dropped his fork as well and got up, walking over to the glass wall, looking out over the entire city. 'I thought New York would make me feel better. I thought being away from her would be better. But Tori, I just can't get her out of my head. Every song we've sung so far . . .'
His voice broke at that point, and Tori got up too, walking over to André. She could see the tears that were dripping down his cheeks.

'André,' she whispered, truly feeling horrible for him, and wrapped her arms around him, allowing him to cry in her arms.
After a few minutes, André managed to get hold of himself and straightened up, wiping his tears away. 'I'm sorry, Tori,' he said, scolding himself for crying like a little girl.

Tori groaned and patted his arm. 'André, you can talk to me; you know that, right?' She watched André bite his lip before he nodded. 'Yeah, I know, Tori. It just . . . It hurts. I don't know how you do it.'
She smiled sadly. 'I don't. Beck knows. He has known for ages. And I told him I was cool with him and Jade, but that I just didn't want to lie to him.' André stared at his friend. 'Why didn't you tell me that before?' Tori sighed and sat down on the couch. 'I don't know. It never came up.'

André sighed and sat down next to her, letting her head rest against his arm. 'Quite the pair we make,' he said, Tori softly grunting in agreement.
They sat there in silence for a while, both of them appreciating the other's soothing and comforting presence – no words were needed.

After a few moments, Tori let out a moan and jumped up, running for the bathroom. André – distraught by Tori's sudden change – got up and went after her, finding her throwing up in the toilet.
'Oh my God, Tori,' he started, kneeling next to her, 'Are you okay?' She coughed and grimaced, wiping her mouth. 'Did I sound okay?'
He rolled his eyes, 'No. Did you eat something bad?' She shook her head. 'No. I've been feeling off for a while. I thought it was just nerves.'

He sighed. 'You should've told me.' She moaned and threw up again, André holding her hair from her face and rubbing her back.

'It's probably just flu or something,' she groaned when she emerged from the sink again, after brushing her teeth. André got up and felt her forehead, frowning. 'You do feel like you have a fever. Come on, get in bed. I'll get you something for the nausea.'

Tori smiled weakly and crawled into bed, smiling gratefully when André returned with a large glass of water and a pill for the nausea.
After she took the pill and drained the glass, she pulled up the sheets high and rested her head against André's chest. He'd crawled into bed next to her, holding her close, knowing that's what she needed now.

'Thanks André,' she whispered, her eyes fluttering shut as she felt sleep overtake her.

'No prob, Tor,' he whispered in reply, shifting into a more comfortable position, resting his own head on a pillow. Slowly, he felt himself drift off to sleep too, and for once, his dreams were not plagued by images of Jade.

The next day

Tori wasn't feeling any better by morning, and André found his concern for his best friend grow with each passing minute.
'André, come on, just go to the studio and record the last two songs. I'll be fine, okay? Just tell them I'm not feeling well.' André stubbornly shook his head.
'Tori, I'm not leaving you alone like this.'

She groaned. 'André, just go, okay? Just finish the demo, and I bet by the time you get back, I'll feel better.' He frowned. 'And what if you don't?'
She sighed. 'Then I'll go home. Okay? I'll go home, and you finish the demo. But I'll be fine, so I won't have to go home. Just use the vocals we have on your laptop for today. I'm sure they'll understand.'

Finally, after a lot of pouting on Tori's part, André caved and left for the studio, promising her he'd be back in no time.

Tori rolled and shifted in her bed, trying to get comfortable, but, being unable to do so, eventually sat up and pulled out her phone.

Scrolling through her contact's list, she stopped at Beck's name. She hesitated before pressing 'Call'. She checked the clock. Eleven AM, which made it eight AM in LA. Somehow, she knew Beck would be up.

'Tori?' He picked up.

'How did you know it was me?' She said, surprised at hoarseness of her voice.

'Caller ID, duh. So, how's New York?' She frowned at the crabbiness in his voice.

'Great. I love it. But . . . That's not why I called.'

She could hear his hesitation when he replied. 'What's wrong?'

'I think I'm a bit ill. Caught the flu or something. Anyway, I'm coming home early and my parents aren't home yet, so I was wondering if you'd be okay with picking me up at the airport.'

While she said this, she knew she should've told André she was going to leave anyway. But she knew he would never have left for the studio if she had.

Concern laced in Beck's voice as he replied, 'Yeah, of course. Are you okay?'

She coughed and made a face. 'Yeah, I'm fine, just not fine enough to stay.' Her throat burned and she winced.
'What did André say?' Was she imagining it, or was there a note of harshness to his voice? 'I didn't tell him yet. He left for the studio. Thinks I'm going to the studio with him tomorrow. I don't think I'll make that though. I really feel sick.'

'Well, let me know when your plane is supposed to land, and I'll pick you up.'

She sniffed and nodded. 'Okay, thanks Beck.'

'Anytime, Tori.'

'Bye.'

'Bye.'

Tori hung up, feeling another wave of nausea wash over her, jumped up and ran for the bathroom, barely making it, before throwing up noisily in the toilet again.

'Oh, this is going to be a horrible day,' she whispered to herself, resting her cheek on the cold marble of the floor.

ANDRÉ'S POV
The next day

Tori left yesterday afternoon, feeling even more horrible than she had before. I wanted to go home with her, but she told me I should stay to finish the demo we'd worked so hard on.
Besides, I'd only be gone for one more day, and she had Beck picking her up at the airport, and he promised me he'd look after her.

Now there was something I hadn't doubted.

If there was ever anyone who would look after my best friend better than I would, it'd be Beck Oliver. No matter how many times he'd deny it – I knew he felt something for Tori too. I just knew.

Not like with me and Jade though. God, I wish I could just stop thinking about her. But I knew I couldn't, no matter how much I'd try.
Now, I'm not one to wallow in self-pity and depression, but I gotta tell you, being in love with your best friend's girlfriend did that to you. And to make matters worse, my girl best friend was in love with my guy best friend, and they both knew it. He just happened to have a girlfriend.

And that girlfriend happened to be the girl I loved.

So now you see, we are not that easy and uncomplicated as many think we are – our group of friends was riddled with intrigues and secrets.

I sighed softly and strummed my guitar, waiting for the go-ahead on the last song. I was lucky I had Tori's vocals for Make It Shine on my laptop, or we might've had a wee bit of a problem.

Biting my lip, I hoped Tori was going to be okay on her own in the plane. I know she's a big girl that can take care of herself, but still . . .

I worried about her. She really was my best friend—she was always there for me. I honestly don't know what I would've done or said when I didn't have Tori to talk to, now more than ever.

'Okay André,' Buick said through the mic, 'Go for it!' I smiled slightly and the first notes of Make It Shine. The only thing we had left to do for today was the instrumental part for Make It Shine.

My thoughts drifted into the memories of the first time I'd played this in public – Tori Vega had rocked it. As she always did when singing my songs.
Or any song.

And before I knew it, I was playing the last chords.

'Okay, André!' A harsh voice snapped me from my haze. 'That's a wrap. You can come here now, we'll cut the pieces together in a minute, if you wanna see.'
I smiled. 'Yeah, sure.'

Messing around with the standard of the microphone, trying to straighten it, I finally gave up and returned my guitar to the table. As I walked into the studio, Buick clapped my shoulder enthusiastically, and laughed. 'You did it, kid. You and your friend blew away my boss. Where is she anyway?' I sighed. I'd told him about four times that Tori was sick and had gone home.

'On a plane home. She's ill.'

He frowned. 'Oh, right. You mentioned that.' He ushered me to the door, and before I got to do much more, he said, 'Well, because you'll probably want to celebrate your demo, I got you VIP access to the hottest club in New York. MARKS is a really cool club – all under 21.'

I frowned. 'I don't know if I want to go on my own.' Buick rolled his eyes. 'Go nuts, kid. You're not going to tell me you don't want to go out in New York just once. It'll give you something to brag about back in LA.'

I frowned. Maybe going out wasn't such a bad idea after all. I mean, get my mind off things. And maybe I'd meet a really cute girl. Someone to make me forget about Jade for a while.
I bit my lip.

'Maybe I could check it out.' Buick smiled. 'Yeah, you should, kid.'

Ten PM – MARKS

I sighed and warily eyed the entrance of the club. People were queuing for at least three blocks to get in.
Maybe going in there wasn't such a good idea after all.

I wasn't really the clubbing kind of guy. Sure, I liked going out and partying, everyone did, but I'd always be with my friends. Never on my own.

My heart pounded in my ears and I sighed; then again, maybe the anonymity of this club in New York was exactly what I needed.
To just go nuts and forget about everything for one night, and one night only.

And before I had made my decision, I found my feet already carrying me to the entrance. 'André Harris,' I said, as if in a trance, 'I'm on the list.' The tall dude nodded at his friend, and they gestured me to go inside.

'Have fun, kid!' someone called after me before I got lost in the ever entrancing beat of the music and smoke machine.

So, shorter chapter, I know, but not any less good, I hope xD

Please, all of you, read & review! Tell me what you think!

Thanks to everyone who faved and alerted and reviewed! I love you guys!

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Again, JustSmileBFF, you rock! Thank you for helping me out on the chapters I have so far!

X Annaelle