Chapter 4: Words Don't Equate

"STUDENT ATTACKED AT FULL MOON JAM - NO EVIDENCE LEADING TO PERPETRATOR"

Beck should have been more surprised by the amount of school newspapers he saw in everyone's hands as he walked into the high school, but after seeing what they did he couldn't very well blame them for wanting more information. Hell, he was in the same boat. Ryder had been taken to the hospital that night and was still in intensive care. As the rumor went, he was suffering from malnutrition and severe blood loss. No one, not even the police, had any idea who had attacked Ryder in a crowd full of people. No one saw anything and even if they were close enough to, they had been too involved watching Jade's performance to notice.

Beck narrowed his eyes at the thought of the girl, sipping his coffee idly as he went to open his locker. The only person who had talked to Jade and Cat over the weekend had been Andre, informing the rest of the group that they had left because Cat was squeamish around blood. Everyone else believed their story. It was a good one, afterall, no one had any other reason to doubt it.

Except Beck.

Cat had disappeared before anyone else even knew about the attack, and Jade had been on stage when it happened. How was it that they had seen it and left that quickly? Beck sighed, running his hand through his hair. He guessed it was a pretty good excuse. He couldn't really find any reason for them to be lying, but it all seemed strange to him. Cat disappears and suddenly Ryder gets attacked? Remembering who Cat Valentine really was, Beck pushed the thought out of his mind immediately. Cat wouldn't hurt a fly and even if she did, she'd have a funeral for it immediately. The girl was too sweet and too innocent to be guilty of something like that. Jade on the other hand…

Beck slammed his locker shut after stuffing his books for that period into his backpack, jumping back as he found Jade leaning against the locker beside his drinking a cup of coffee. "Jesus, Jade," he breathed out, running a hand over his face.

Jade raised an eyebrow at him, obviously amused by him. "What's with you? You look like you've seen a ghost." she told him before taking a sip of coffee.

Beck gave her a sharp look, shaking his head. "Nothing, I'm fine. Where were you this weekend?"

"My mom wanted Cat and I to stay in after what happened to Ryder." Jade answered simply, a shrug reaching her shoulder. "Something about her only daughters getting maimed or something. I don't know."

At the sound of the first bell of the day ringing, he and Jade started down the hall towards their first class. Beck side eyed her as the walked together, not knowing what he was trying to find. "You could have called or something. We were worried."

She gave a snort that resolved into a light chuckle. "Yeah, right. I didn't realize you were my keepers. When's curfew? Do I have to ask your permission to date too?"

"Jade cut it out, we really were worried."

"Yeah? Well I'm a big girl." she answered him, obviously not impressed by his proclamations of the group caring about her. "Besides, I was too busy answering messages on theSlap to text you guys, let alone call."

Beck looked at her curiously. "Messages? What about?"

"Oh, you know," she began, pausing to drink her coffee. ""Jade your performance was awesome," and "Jade, you have to help me with this song I'm writing,". All that crap."

"Sounds like you're pretty popular now." Beck said.

Jade got a thoughtful look on her face, putting on the whole facade that she was actually mulling over his words. "Yeah? I almost wish I cared." she said as she came to her classroom. "This is my stop. Have a nice class, or whatever."

Before she could enter the class, Beck reached forward to grab her arm. As soon as she whipped around to look at him with a glare that made his skin crawl, he immediately removed his hand. He should have known better, after all. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, stepping back out of arm's reach.

He looked at her, ignoring the obviously annoyed look she was giving him. "Hey…, you know that if you were ever in trouble or something was bothering you, you could tell us right?"

For a moment, Beck thought he saw a hint of surprise on her face, but it was quickly replaced with a smirk that he had become all too familiar with on Jade. "Wow, who knew you could get this sentimental."

"Jade…"

With a sigh and a roll of her eyes, she crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a bored look. "Yeah, sure, whatever. Togetherness and all of that crap. Gotcha."

He shook his head as she began to walk into her classroom and turned to walk off to his own. He thought that seeing Jade and talking to her would bring him a little closer to some peace of mind, but instead he was more confused and suspicious than before. What was with him? Even after she had given him a completely normal and valid excuse, he still doubted what she was saying. He simply couldn't shake the way everyone acted during Jade's song. He didn't know what had happened or even if Jade knew about it. All he knew was that he needed to figure it out for his own peace of mind.

After her first class, Jade made the decision to skip Sikowitz for once. She wasn't in the mood for his level of weird and Beck had been especially curious, which was almost annoying. The guy was too smart for his own good. She sighed and pushed her hair out of her face, letting her nails scratch against her scalp a bit to try and soothe herself. The last few days had been rough, to say the least. Between her sudden rise to popularity at Hollywood Arts -a thought that made her almost gag- and the rumors that stretched throughout the halls about what had happened at the Full Moon Jam, she was ready to pull her hair out. Thankfully, none of those rumors pointed to the truth. So far the police had only deduced that it was some nutcase with a fetish. Too bad they were only half right.

She stopped abruptly as she heard the footsteps approaching her, knowing full well who had decided to join her. "I thought you didn't like skipping class." she said, turning on her heel to look at the much smaller girl.

Cat fiddled with her thumbs, joining her adoptive sister's side as they began to walk towards the Asphalt Cafe. "I really don't. But I wanted to make sure that you were okay."

"I'm fine." Jade said shortly, a tone that Cat had gotten used to over the years. "Shouldn't I be asking you that question?"

Cat shrugged, looking down at her feet. There was a silence between them as they walked, with Cat opening her mouth every once in awhile to say something. She couldn't, however. The words escaped her every time. Jade remained indifferent, her expression telling the world so. It was the complete opposite of her sister, who wore her heart on her sleeve. Right now, Cat looked at her sister with a guilt stricken expression.

"Jade…"

"Don't say it."

Cat bit her lip, tears brimming at her eyes. "I'm sorry."

Jade stopped in her tracks, clenching her eyes closed. "God, you never listen. Ever."

"But it was my fault."

"Cat-"

"It was," Cat interrupted her. "I did it again, after I promised… I don't know what I'm supposed to do now."

Jade looked at the saddened velvet red head girl, her stony expression breaking as she did. It was rare that Jade showed emotion. She simply did not like it. But if she was going to do it for anyone, it would be for the girl standing in front of her. She shook her head, sighing. "Look… just don't say anything, alright? If someone brings up what happened to Ryder, you act like everyone else around here. You know absolutely nothing."

Cat nodded, not bothering to argue against Jade. She knew that Jade was trying her best to rectify this situation and that was all she could ask of her. She had already done so much of her over the years. What else could she do but listen?

A thought struck her suddenly, causing a shiver to course up her spine. "But… what if he shows up?"

Jade clenched her jaw, shaking her head definitively. "He won't."

"But-"

"Cat, just… don't." She looked ahead, her indifference sliding back onto her face. "Nothing is going to happen like that. We keep ourselves in check for now on and lay low. Just like mom wants."

The red headed girl tilted her head at her sister, trying to figure the girl out. As she watched her -the way she quickened her pace and tensed up- it suddenly clicked in her head. Cat was a lot of things. Ditzy, too happy for her own good and even a little naive at times. But she wasn't dumb. Especially when it came to Jade.

"How long has it been since it last happened?"

"Cat-"

Cat held up her hand, the usual happy-go-lucky expression that usually lined her face replaced by a look of seriousness. "How long?" she asked again, this time making sure that the question sunk in.

Jade still faced forward, not daring to meet her eye. "...28 years." she told her, her tone even and much too controlled for Cat's comfort.

"...I'm sorry."

"I know you are."

Cat nodded and fell into step with Jade as they continued their path once more. No one was in the hall to question or stop them, so they were free to simply drop their guard for a moment. But only one, singular moment. Any longer and Jade tended to get mean.

"You know…, I really like this place. I don't want to leave." Cat said, looking at Jade. "Don't you like it?"

"It's L.A.. We've been here before." Jade said, not knowing where she was going with the conversation.

Cat shrugged. "I know… but this time we have friends, like Tori," she chose to ignore Jade's snort at the girl's name. "Andre, Robbie and Beck. We have Hollywood Arts and we're actually a little normal."

Jade shot her gaze to her for a moment, emotion swirling in her blue eyes. "We're never normal, Cat."

At that, Cat grinned and agreed with her as they entered the Asphalt Cafe. "I know… and that just makes me like it more. Admit it, Jade. You like it here too."

Jade ignored her and stood in line for the coffee truck, not daring to answer her question out loud. The grin on Cat's face, however, told Jade that she had drawn her own conclusions. Jade sighed. Maybe she did like it here now. Being in this city, being carefree. Having actual friends like that weirdos they hung out. Even Vega was slowly chipping away at her annoyance towards her. Andre she liked and Robbie was someone she could tolerate as long as the puppet shut up. Beck… she was still trying to figure him out. He was a strange kid. Those people had made this experience in L.A. different… almost enjoyable. But what did it matter?

It wasn't like she would ever say that out loud.

Author's Note: Okay! This is kind of short! But it definitely gets the point across! I really hope you're enjoying the story so far! Let me know in the comments what you think so far and what you think of the characterizations of the Victorious gang! I'm really excited about this story!

Your's truly,

Khaleesi's Fire