„Okay, now we will begin the chemotherapy. Stay calm and relax." Dr. Samuels told Tori as he started the machine. Tori slowly felt the chemicals enter her body. It was fine at first. She looked at herself. She was sitting in a big, comfortable chair. The IV's were sticking out of her forearms while cooling packs were on her hands, her feet and the top of her head. The chemicals began working soon. It felt like a bad food poisoning for her. At first it was only annoying, but soon, it began to hurt.

"What are the cooling packs for?" Beck asked. He came with her to offer her moral support and distract her. Also, he was the one who had the most experience with such things, so he knew a lot better how to act, what to do, and most importantly, what not to do.

"The doctor said that they make sure the chemicals don't rot away my fingernails." Tori said as she watched her friend sit a few feet away from her. She knew that he was only there to distract her from what was going on: chemicals in her body destroying a lot, and hopefully the tumor.

"And that one on the head?" Beck asked, pointing towards the big, blue, plastic bag-like thing on Tori's scalp.

"It makes sure my hair will grow again. If I didn't have this, I might stay bald for good." Tori said with a weak smile. Beck let out a little sigh. He remembered a few days ago when he saw Tori for the first time since she let everyone know about her needing chemo. He, Cat and Jade came over to check on Tori. All three of them froze when they saw her opening the door, a piece of cloth wrapped around her head. Tori explained to them why she did it. How her hair would fall off anyway. It was hard not to stare at her. Her long, beautiful, brow hair was gone. Beck didn't think too much about it. It didn't matter to him. But he also understood what it must have meant for Tori. She always made sure she looked good. She always took care of her looks, and her hair was one of her trademarks. Jade was the dark haired one, Cat was the crimson red one, and Tori was the natural, brunette one. That day, she symbolically made the first step towards healing.

"How's Robbie? I haven't seen him since I had surgery. No, even before that." Tori asked, after she noticed Beck spacing out for a few moments.

"Uh... I… can't tell you for sure. I haven't really spoken to him since your surgery." Beck admitted, feeling both hurt and ashamed.

"Why not?"

"He changed. He doesn't talk to us anymore. He's not at lunch with us. He didn't even ask about you." Beck said with a small amount of spite in his voice.

"Oh…" was Tori's only comment. It hurt her to know that he had changed so much. She knew that the situation was hard to deal with. But she didn't expect him to isolate himself from all his friends.

"He probably has his reasons. I mean, the past few months have been a lot for everyone to swallow. Just give him some time. Once you are better, he might get a grip again." Beck told her, although he didn't believe it himself. He was mad at his former friend. He was mad because he felt betrayed. Robbie decided to leave once things got tough, and a true friend wouldn't do that. If Jade could have stepped up and put everything aside for Tori, then why couldn't Robbie do the same? He could have at least asked how she was.

"I understand. I'm not mad. It can't be easy for him. This has really been hard on everyone. I'm sorry you all are going through this because of me." Tori said, looking at Beck.

He felt something in his chest clench. Tori's attitude towards others had always been a mystery to him. Something he could never fully understand. She never held a grudge on anyone. She never stayed mad. She never hesitated to help someone who hurt her in the past. Even now, when she is the one hurting the most of them all, she is still worrying about the others. She still was the one who kept a cool head, who thought about the others before she did about herself. Beck didn't understand. He simply couldn't.

"Why are you doing this?" Beck asked all of the sudden, earning a confused look from Tori. He got up and pushed both his hands through his hair. He began pacing around, the emotions he had stored away for so long overtaking the usually unshakable young man.

"Why am I doing what?" Tori asked, confusion filling her voice and the air around them. Beck leaned on the wall with one hand, the other hand brought up to his eyes, trying to keep the tears from overtaking him.

"How can you forgive such behavior after everything you have done? How can you still keep thinking about us more than you think about yourself? You are fighting a battle, Tori, and still, you manage to fight many of ours too. How? Why?" Beck asked, frustration clearly visible on his face and in his voice.

Tori looked down, biting the inside of her lower lip. The room stayed silent for a moment, only the machine's sound killing the silence.

"I…I'm sorry… I shouldn't…" Beck stuttered, reality hitting him about what he just had done. He felt awful. Why of all moments did he need to have this outburst now? "Tori? I…" His words dried in his mouth when he saw a single tear slide down Tori's cheek. Oh god, what have I done. He thought. Did he really make her cry because she cared? What the fuck is wrong with me? He cursed himself for doing this. Guilt overtook him as he looked at his friend. She was looking away, fighting more tears slowly appearing in her eyes.

Beck slowly walked towards her and cupped her cheeks into his hands. He gently wiped the tears away with his thumbs. She slowly turned her head towards him. Her eyes were closed. She didn't want to look at him. She couldn't. No matter what she did, she somehow managed to hurt the people around her. She didn't mind pain, as long as it didn't affect the others.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." Beck said softly, his voice near breaking point itself. "You have always been so good to us. It simply upsets me that people can do such things, and you still forgive them without hesitation. I didn't want to make you cry. Please, Tori. Look at me." Beck begged and apologized. Tori finally opened her eyes. Beck swore he could see all the pain in those chocolate brown eyes. All the pain she had hidden from the world around her. Every bad thing someone had done to her, every insult someone had thrown at her. Every injustice that had been done to her, he swore he could see.

Doctor Sammuels walked inside. He curiously looked at the two, noticing the tears and expressions on their faces.
"Your first session is over, Victoria. The next one will be in three weeks. Are you her boyfriend?" He turned to face Beck, who had gotten up and moved away a bit so the doctor could take the IV's out. Tori slowly got up, feeling sick and tired, but physically and mentally at this point.

"No. I'm her friend though." Beck said, looking at the doctor after he had picked up Tori's jacket and purse.

"Make sure she gets enough rest and eats enough. She will feel sick and won't want to eat, but she has to. Her body needs all the energy. Tell that to everyone." Dr. Sammuels told him before leaving again. Beck stood there as Tori wrapped the dark purple bandana around her head. He handed her the jacket and slowly walked her to his car. He helped her inside and got in the drivers seat. After around twenty minutes, they finally arrived in front of Tori's house. Beck got out of the car and ran over to Tori's side, opening the door for her and helping his fatigued friend out. He slowly walked her towards the door before she stopped right in front of it.

"Thank you for being there with me. It helped." Tori told him, looking her taller friend in the eyes.

"I'm sorry I upset you. It's just…"

"I understand. And you didn't upset me. You are right about everything. But… that's just who I am. I care about all of you and I always will, no matter what the situation is. You all mean the world to me, so please, understand." She said before wrapping her arms around his chest. He gently hugged her back and kissed the material on her forehead.

"Alright. I understand. Thank you for everything. And call me if you need something. No matter when" He said before hugging her back one more time. He opened the door for her and watched her walk inside. She closed the door behind her. Beck walked back towards his car and got inside. He didn't drive home though. He decided that he needed to talk to someone. He needed to make sure that no one else hurts Tori anymore.