SOOO sorry for the long wait, everyone! But good news- I'm a college girl now! Yayyyy! So I have time to write finally ^_^. Hope you guys didn't forget about me!

Soooo, I was a little discouraged after seeing the immediate results of my last chapter post. In one day two people unfavorited me and three unfollowed me with 1-3 reviews only. I know I put in a mature scene and everything, but I didn't think people would dislike it that much! D: Nevertheless, I'm keeping it in there, so no going back on that one. And yes, this is still a Bade story for those of you who keep asking me for more Bade! I'm a Cabbie writer writing Bade so cut me some slack, okay? xP

For this chapter we've got 2-3 diary entries, Tori's horoscope, and some awkward encounters between characters. Will Beck letting Jade go and Cat and Robbie's midnight adventure tear the group apart? And then next chapter will be a quick recap of all the characters' horoscopes. Happy reading!


Beck's POV

Dear Diary (a.k.a Sikowitz),

Sorry I'm a little late writing this. So much has happened in the past couple days that I've been a little preoccupied. Why, you ask? Oh, because my heart is being pummeled and tossed around like a punching bag, that's why. I'm not usually one to showcase my emotions, but it seems like every day in life I live without Jade, it's getting harder and harder not to. It's the damndest thing, really, and I can't exactly explain why it is happening to me. I've dealt with so much shit in the past and yet I never wavered before this year. Why is this experience so incredibly different then? I just don't get it.

Anyway, I'll tell you what you really want to know about—the horoscope. At first, I didn't get it at all because it told me that I wouldn't be able to repel anyone. Well, I guess that's sorta true. I mean, a lot of girls DID ask me out after the breakup, but I turned all of them down. But I did repel people though…I kicked Jade out of my life and I created a huge mess with Andre. So it wasn't entirely accurate. However, the horoscope did give me some insight on what I SHOULD be doing in order to change that, so I made the decision to try and win Jade back.

Everything was going smoothly at first; I took her to the pier and we had a blast going on all the rides. And then I took her home and we watched a movie together in my RV. By the end of the movie, we were practically acting like a couple again. And that is where everything went wrong. Terribly wrong. Stupid me tried to kiss her and she pushed me away, saying that I broke her heart and that she couldn't trust me again.

The irony was that I thought breaking up was the best thing for us at the time. Our relationship was toxic. We fought at every chance we got and she became spiteful—more spiteful than usual, that is. If I even dared to glance at a girl, she would instantly be up in my face about it or would try swooning at other boys to make me jealous. We were falling apart; we needed a break from each other. Or so I had thought. But now she hates me for it. My plan completely screwed me over.

The next day at lunch was really tense between Andre, Jade, and me. Jade eventually exploded over something that was said and stormed away. I did the same, Andre followed me, and we worked our chizz out. But after we forgave each other, he gave me some advice about Jade; he advised me to let her go. Let her figure things out before I try to talk to her again.

The problem is…I can't. She's a huge part of my life. If she's gone, then I'm gone too. My parents don't care to support me anymore, I didn't get into Julliard, and my tough-guy shell is cracking from all of this stress. Sure, friends are great and everything, but they're nothing compared to someone who you seem to connect with on every level possible.

Who am I kidding? Scratch that.

As cheesy as this may sound, they're nothing compared to a potential soul mate.


Cat's POV

Dear Bubbles,

Hehe, it's the name of my favorite Powerpuff girl! Is it okay if I call you Bubbles, Mr. Diary? It is?! Yay! I like bubbles! Not the Powerpuff girl this time, just plain old bubbles. Oh who am I kidding, I love them both!

Oh wait, what am I supposed to be talking about? Oh yeah, the horoscope thingamajig! Thingamajig is such a fun word to say, isn't it? Mine told me that I would win all of these arguments, especially ones about my creative ideas- a.k.a. buying all of those pajelehoochos! And I did at first. I caught Robbie trying to avoid wearing one and I made him put it back on again. We wore them the whole day around school! He wasn't too happy about it in the beginning, but I think he started to enjoy it near the end of the day.

So we went into town after school and walked around for a little bit to get some fresh air. It was so nice outside, even for winter! And the pajelehoochos were so warm and fuzzy, so we didn't really mind the cold all that much. But then these two big, scary men came up to us and stole our pajelehoochos, even though we didn't want to give them up! That was one argument I didn't win. Then again, a gun pointing at your head usually wins over a lot of things, so we were clearly at a disadvantage anyway.

Once the men went away, Robbie and I had to crawl into a nearby trashcan and roll to my house. It was so fun! We cried out "Whee!" all the way there. It was really weird seeing Robbie in his boxers though, since we had nothing else on underneath our pajelehoochos. He's a lot more muscular than I had thought. Did he start working out recently? I don't know, but it was making me see him in a new light. He's not Robbie, the awkward nerd with the puppet anymore. He's Robbie, a smart guy with a minor self-esteem issue and defined abs that I never knew about. Not that I noticed or anything…

Anyway, after we got home, Robbie and I almost got into a little dispute. I told him that I hurt myself if I didn't look good that day and I was determined to win the argument…but I didn't, even though my horoscope said I would. Robbie took it upon himself to show me how I'm beautiful even though I'm not exactly perfect…and then it got a little naughty. Like Beck and Jade naughty, if you get what I'm saying.

Oh my! Did I just write all of that out loud? Please don't send me to my therapist again, Bubbles! Her office smells like burning rubber and she has all these creepy paintings hanging on her walls. I don't want to go back there, you hear me? Never again.

I did win with the pajelehoochos, but with everything else…I lost. I lost my fight with Robbie, my Nona punished me when I didn't come home that night, and my feelings for Robbie are more conflicted than ever. And if horoscopes are supposed to possibly predict your future… Why did the stars lie to me?

Why did they just make my problems even more complicated than they were before?


Tori's POV

SLAM!

I jolt awake and shriek at the sound of my bedroom door crashing loudly against the door frame. "Trina!" I exclaim, looking at her brooding figure over the side of my bed. Running my fingers through my mangled hair in exasperation, I sit up and rest against the headboard. "Can I please just go one day without you trying to give me a heart attack?"

Trina just rolls her eyes. "Yeah yeah, I get that you need your beauty sleep, little sis, but this is really important." She plops down on the edge of the bed and shoves her feet in my face. "Which color nail polish makes my toes look cuter? Violet-red or red-violet?"

Apparently she doesn't remember that I was up until midnight song-writing with Andre last night. Not that I expected her to care, anyway. "Aren't those colors the same?" I ask, furrowing my eyebrows.

She gasps. "Are you insane? No, they're not! Violet-red has more purple in it than red and red-violet has more red in it than-"

"I get it." I massage my temple, trying to get rid of the pounding in my skull. "Do I really have to do this now?"

"Yes!"

I yawn and force myself out of bed to my dresser. "Can't you just ask mom or one of your friends? I'm going to be late for school if I don't start getting ready soon."

She gives me a look. "Ugh, fine, I will. You're no help." Sticking her tongue out at me, she walks out of my room.

I stick my tongue out at the now-closed door and pull out a black-and-gold striped blouse and Trina's Felony jeans I stole from her closet the other day since she shrunk half of my jean supply attempting to use the dryer the other day. God knows how that girl is going to survive once she goes off to college. It's definitely going to be interesting to see how she adapts to living independently without everyone catering to her every whim.

As I retrieve my Pearphone from the dresser where it had been charging the whole night, it buzzes in my hand. Startled yet again, I look to see who has texted me so early in the morning.

Sikowitz: Tori! You start the horoscope project today! Good luck and may coconuts bring joy to your life!

Oh yeah, I forgot that started today for me. I've been so wrapped in my schoolwork and other people's problems that I completely forgot that the project even existed.

Come to think of it, these horoscopes may have been the cause of all these problems. Something tells me that Andre wouldn't have told Jade that the song was about her if it wasn't his turn to do the project that day. And Beck's rendezvous with Jade the other day now seems very out-of-the-blue and suspicious to me.

Stop it, Tori. They're just tidbits of useless advice that deluded psychologists make up because they think the goddamn universe has the ability to foreshadow. How stupid is that?

I decide to not think about it for the time being as I finish getting ready for school, pack my backpack up, and head down the stairs to grab some breakfast. I put my bag down on the loveseat and head over to where my mom is standing in front of the stove, humming and flipping some sizzling hot bacon. "Mmm, that smells delicious!"

My mom smiles at me as she flips over a couple more pieces of bacon with her spatula. "Bacon, eggs, and hash browns all cooked in just under three minutes. That new cooking show I've been watching sure works miracles!"

My mouth waters at the sight of the food. Man, I could use a hot breakfast this morning. All I've been living on this week (because of my midnight chill sessions with Andre and my late-night study nights) is pizza, gummy worms, and popcorn. Not that junk food isn't utterly delicious and addicting, but I haven't had a home-cooked meal in a while.

She shuffles the food onto a plate and brings it over to the table. "Is that for all of us?"

"Bacon is in the freezer and the eggs are on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator, honey."

I groan. "But Mom, the bus is going to be here in 15 minutes! I don't have time to make all of this for myself!"

She casually takes a bite of her scrambled eggs as I peer wistfully over her shoulder at the food that I can't have. "Have Trina take you to that pancake house near Hollywood Arts before school starts. I'm sure the $200 your dad and I gave Trina for her birthweek isn't completely gone by now."

I raise my eyebrow at her. "Really? Trina spends half of her allowance on her shoe obsession alone! And there's no way I'm driving with her again after what happened last time."

"What happened last time?"

I grimace at the memory. "She made me massage her feet. One time she almost kicked me in the face and ran over a stop sign. Driving with her is hazardous to my health."

I sigh and grab a granola bar out of the pantry. I'll just buy a big lunch at school later. And people wonder how I stay so thin. What just happened right now... Exhibit A.

She takes a break from her breakfast to glance over her shoulder at me. "Why don't you go get your license like a normal teenage girl?"

There are a lot of reasons for that, actually, most of them having to do with the fact that I'm scared to death of driving. But that'll be something no one will ever need to know. Sure I want to drive and have freedom and everything, but the idea of getting into a huge vehicle and accidentally squishing someone scares the crap out of me. So my response to that question (which I get a LOT from people nowadays) is to simply sigh and shake my head.

I look over at the clock on the stove as I take a bite of my granola bar. Damn. Bus will be here any minute now. Grabbing my songwriting materials from the coffee table (which I was using to write our new song with Andre last night), I stuff them into my backpack. "Hey, I'm not going to be home until five today. I'm going to stay after school to help Andre work on our song," I call over to my mom.

She finishes eating and walks her plate over to the sink. "Seems like you've been spending a lot of time with Andre lately," she comments casually. "Anything going on with your other friends?"

"Nah, they've just been busy with this new project Sikowitz gave us the other day."

"Oh, the horoscope one?"

"Yep." I lean against the sofa, knowing that this conversation won't be over anytime soon. I just hope I don't miss the bus because of this.

"Have you started it yet?" My mom joins me in the living room and sits down on one of the loveseats.

"Nope. Supposed to be starting it today."

She chuckles. "Good luck! Sounds like it's keeping your friends pretty preoccupied."

"Thanks, Mom." I hug her goodbye and sprint out the door, barely making it to the bus on time.

"Morning, Tori!" Lenny the bus driver greets me. His real name is Leonard but we nicknamed him Lenny because he's big and happy-go-lucky like the character in Of Men and Mice. He laughs. "Still haven't gotten that license yet, huh?"

I stick my tongue out at him and he claps me on the shoulder playfully. "Very funny. Morning to you too."

I head to the back of the bus where the juniors and seniors without cars and licenses usually sit. "Yo Tori," a kid with greasy black hair and tattoos of flames and skulls all over his arms greets me. "Have you ever tried this stuff? They jump up and down in your mouth and make these really cool popping sounds!"

He holds out a pack of Pop Rocks and waves it in my face. "They're super charged with caffeine, too. Two bucks. Take it or leave it."

The rest of his hipster buddies snicker behind him, but I know better than to trust them. "Seriously, Trevor? Mixing heroin with Pop Rocks is the oldest trick in the book. Maybe if you stopped taking advantage of little kids by dealing them candy drugs, you'd actually get somewhere in life." Satisfied with my answer, I lean back in my seat and cross my arms over my chest defiantly.

I'm not usually that bitter to Trevor and his buddies, but barely having anything to eat in the morning makes me irritable. They're supposed to be graduating this year but given the "street cred" they have around Hollywood Arts (and the whole town of Los Angeles, for that matter), I highly doubt that's actually going to end up happening.

"Damn, girl," Trevor mutters and backs off. A smirk appears on my face and I listen to my music on my Pearphone without any more distractions the whole way to school.

Before I get off the bus, however, I make sure to enter my information into the app Sikowitz made all of us install for the project. My mom even took a picture of my birth certificate just to make sure I put all the information correctly! I didn't ask her to do that for me or anything; she just took it upon herself to do it. As much as I get annoyed at my mom for being sort of lazy around the house, there are times where she is just awesome.

Full Name: Victoria Vega

Birth Date: November 22, 1995 (A/N: Fun fact- November 22nd is also the same date as my grandmother's birthday :D)

Birth Time: 1:16 PM

Birth City: Bollywood

Birth State: California

Birth Country: United States

Seconds later after I completed everything, however, another message from Sikowitz pops up on my phone.

Sikowitz: Tori… you DO know Bollywood is in India and not California, right?

Tori: Aw, dang it! Sorry Sikowitz, I hit the wrong letter on my keyboard by accident!

Sikowitz: Oh, that's quite alright! Just fix it and you should be good to go :)

I fix the message and wait for my horoscope to come up. Everyone is getting off the bus right now, but I don't care- Lenny can wait for a couple more minutes. He doesn't have to pick up the elementary school kids for another twenty minutes, plus the bell isn't going to ring for another five minutes.

Yep, I have this whole timing thing worked out to a legit science by now. It's essential when you have such a disorganized family like mine.

Check Your Work: Everything will seem to make perfect sense, but that may not be the case. If you're about to sign something, ask an impartial third party for a thorough review first. It's not that you won't be on your toes, but that your toes may not be touching the ground.

Ok… Not sure what that's supposed to mean, but I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually. Whatever.

"Tori! You asleep back there? The bell is about to ring any second!"

Oh yeah. Still gotta get off the bus. Whoops.

"Sorry Lenny!" I call to him, slinging my bag over my shoulder and dashing off the bus.

I really hope this horoscope thing isn't screwing people's brains up as much as it seems to be doing. I already have too much on my plate- a potential record deal, above all things- and I can't have this messing it all up.

Sigh…life is just so stressful sometimes.


Narrator's POV

The atmosphere was very tense after Sikowitz's class that day. Everyone avoided talking to each other in fear of making someone angry. Beck kept to himself the whole class, occasionally sneaking wistful glances at Jade. Robbie didn't sit in his usual seat beside Cat, which made her very anxious. She bounced up and down in her chair the whole time, glancing back at Robbie every once in a while to see what he was doing. When he caught her looking, she quickly looked away and hid her face in a script they were memorizing for a class activity. Tori sat next to Andre as usual, and they watched everything play out in front of them with incredulity. They could both feel that something wasn't right within the classroom today.

When they exited the classroom, Beck and Jade walked quickly away from each other, heading in opposite directions to their next class. Cat tried to get Robbie's attention, but he didn't seem to see her. Instead, he kept his gaze pointed forward and walked over to his locker. The pair saw Cat's face fall and she headed over to her own locker, sulking.

"What is up with everyone today?" Tori whispered to Andre as they headed to their next class together- gym.

"I have no idea. We both know why Beck and Jade are acting weird, but what happened between Cat and Robbie?"

"I know, right? I don't know what happened either! She didn't text me all last night, which is weird because she always sends me a text at night saying that her brother says hi and still wants to marry me."

Andre chuckled. "Dude has an unhealthy obsession with you, Tori. Remember last Valentine's Day he sent you all of those love notes?"

"Oh yeah! And he gave me a singing pink unicorn too! Cute but creepy at the same time."

Suddenly, Tori's phone rang in her pocket. She took it out of her pocket, her eyes bugging out at the sight of the caller ID. Infinity Records Inc. "I have to take this…" she muttered to herself. "But Mrs. Donohue is going to give me detention if I'm late for another class!"

"Don't worry, I'll cover for you. I'll just say you're having girl problems or something."

Tori laughed, giving Andre a quick side-hug. "Thanks, Andre. I appreciate it. I'll pay you back, I promise!"

He smiled at her. "You better. This has to be the fifth time I've had to cover for you."

"It's not my fault they keep calling me the same time every single freaking day!"

"Whoa girl, calm down. I'm just messing with you. I'll see you at lunch."

Tori watched him walk through the gym doors before answering the phone. ""Hey Oliver! Have you showed Shawn Quincy the recording Andre and I put together yesterday?"

Oliver was the assistant assigned to her by the record company. His job was to help Tori get a contract with Infinity Records unless he was dismissed by the manager. In this case, being dismissed meant that Shawn Quincy lost interest in investing in Tori's talent and Oliver would have to look for another young teen pop sensation to discover. Oliver was at the Platinum Music Awards when Tori sang "Make It In America" and, after finding her after the show, agreed to help her score a record deal with Mr. Quincy himself. So far things have been going as planned. All Tori had to do was hope that he liked the new song she and Andre wrote together and she could become the next pop superstar.

"I did and I have good news! Shawn didn't just like it…he LOVED it."

Tori couldn't contain her excitement, so she ran around the corner to squeal and do a little happy dance. "Oh my god, he did?!"

"Yeah and he wants to start recording an album as soon as possible using all the songs you and Andre wrote and some covers you posted on you SplashFace page."

"That's fantastic!" However, Tori thought of a conflict. "But how are we going to work around my school hours?"

"Easy. You'd come to the studio for 3-4 hours every other day. On that schedule, all the songs should be recorded within a few months and the album would be released by early June. And then once people hear your album, you can start touring in July. Mr. Quincy and I will start tossing up dates and tour stops as soon as your album is finished being recorded. All you just need to do is sign the contract, have your parents approve of it, and then you're good to go."

Tori couldn't believe what she was hearing. She could become a superstar in less than a year! "Thank you so much, Oliver! And tell Shawn Quincy I won't let him down!"

"No problem! And I'm sure you won't, Tori. It's an honor for me to become a manager for someone as talented as you. The contract should arrive in your mailbox by the time you get home from school; it doesn't have to be signed until the end of the month, but the sooner you get it signed, the sooner we can start recording. Have a good day and I'll see you once the contract is signed!"

As soon as she heard the click, Tori hung up the phone and raced to the girls' locker room. She couldn't wait to tell everyone at lunch!

Meanwhile Cat was getting books out of her locker for her next class. As soon as she shut her door, however, she realized she wasn't alone.

"Hey," said Robbie, leaning against the lockers.

She shrieked. "Robbie, don't scare me like that!"

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," he apologized. "Did you sleep okay last night?"

"Um, yeah I did," she stuttered, suddenly too nervous to talk. "Although I did get in trouble with my Nona. I forgot to tell her that I wouldn't be home that night and she lectured me as soon as I got home."

Robbie stared at the ground guiltily. "I'm sorry, I probably should've told her myself," he muttered.

"No, no, it's fine!" She touched his hand comfortingly. "My responsibility, not yours. It wasn't your fault at all."

"Oh okay, as long as you didn't get into too much trouble."

"Nope. Not really."

They both stood there awkwardly, each thinking about what had happened last night. Even though they both said that this wouldn't affect their relationship, Robbie couldn't shake the vision of Cat's tan skin out of his head and Cat couldn't forget that she had finally noticed that Robbie was sort of attractive, in a way. "So…where are you going next?" Cat finally asked.

"World History down the hall. I have a paper due today."

"Bummer. Hope that goes well for you! I gotta go, bye!" As soon as she got the words out of her mouth, she zipped around Robbie and ran down the hall towards her Makeup class.

Robbie turned around, watching her go, and sighed while shaking his head. "Can't believe I did that last night," he muttered to himself as he walked away. "I'm so stupid."


"Hey Andre…" Tori looked at their empty lunch table. "I can't quite put my finger on it, but something seems different."

Andre shrugged. "Beck and Jade are still ignoring each other and things are really awkward between Cat and Robbie right now."

"Did you ever find out what happened between them last night?"

"Oh yeah. Robbie told me before lunch. Took me a lot of begging on my part, but he cracked eventually."

"Really? Tell me!" Tori whined.

Andre snickered and looked around to see if anyone was within hearing distance. "It's something I can't really say aloud."

Tori rolled her eyes. "Okay, you can whisper it in my ear."

Andre cupped his hands around her ear and she gasped. "What?! Of all the people in this school, they did that together?"

"True chizz. Robbie said that he didn't mean for it to go that far, but he didn't really have a choice; Lil' Red didn't want him to stop."

"Wow. That explains a lot," Tori said, stunned.

"Yeah, tell me about it. Robbie attempted to blow Cat off all day and when they did talk, it was uncomfortable. The two most innocent people of our group getting involved in something like that…means something weird has been in the air this week," Andre chuckled.

"I'm telling you, it's this stupid horoscope project Sikowitz is making us do!" Tori exclaimed. "It's making everyone go bananas! Jade went to a bar, you got all wonky, and Cat got exposed to…" She made a face and squeezed her eyes shut. "I can't even use her name and that concept in the same sentence!"

"Cat and foreplay?"

"Ew, don't say it out loud!" Tori slapped Andre hard on the shoulder.

"Ow!"

"Can we change the subject?" she pleaded. "I have bigger, more important things on my mind at the moment."

"Is it about Infinity Records calling you today?" Andre shifted in place and leaned towards her in interest.

"Yes." Tori beckoned him to lean closer. "Guess what?"

"Whatty what what?"

She giggled at him. "Very funny. Oliver said Shawn Quincy loved the recording! I get to start making an album soon and then maybe go on a tour starting in July!"

"Oh my god, that's awesome, Tor!" He squeezed her hands in his excitement. "But when are you going to have time to do all of that? And what about the summer?"

"Relax, 'Dre. Studio recordings would take place after school for a couple of hours. And you guys can always come with me on tours and stuff!"

Andre's lips pursed into a frown. "But we have obligations to attend to here as well. I have my job at Yotally Togurt that I can't afford to lose and I'm going to have to babysit my cousins every morning."

Tori slumped in her seat. "But there's always videochat and SplashFace…" she trailed off.

Andre sighed. "It's not the same, Tori. And how do you know that Infinity Records isn't going to take advantage of you like Mason did at the Platinum Music Awards? Morning hours could be added on to afternoon hours and before we know it, you will have dropped out of school to attend high school online and spend all your time at the recording studio."

"That's not going to happen!" Tori exclaimed defensively. "And why are you so against me doing this? I thought you were on my side!"

Andre looked at her with wide eyes. "Whoa, muchacha… Calm the heck down and put down your fork."

She glanced sheepishly up at her hand in front of her, which was aiming her plastic fork at Andre's chest, and put the fork down. "I thought you wanted what's best for me."

"I do want what's best for you, girl… but we don't want you to disappear altogether. We only have a year and a half together and then we go our separate ways." He whispered the last part of the sentence to himself, as if he refused to believe that would actually happen. "And the music business, just like show biz, is a skeevy business. People get taken advantage of and there are always scandals about singers going crazy or getting ripped off. It's a rough world out there."

He looked away from her, deep in thought. "And now that I think about it… remember Hope Quincy, his daughter that I dated a while ago?"

"Yeah, the rich, mean gank that bought you all the fancy clothes and bossed you around all the time."

"Right on. How do you think she got that way?"

Tori looked at him like he was nuts. "Because her dad lavishes her with money and gifts all the time? Because she has everything in the palm of her hand?"

Andre's eyes lit up. "Exactly. She's selfish, rude, and doesn't care what other people think about her. She can do whatever she wants however she wants and she doesn't care who she hurts in the process. How do you know her dad isn't the exact same way?"

Tori opened her mouth to protest but then realized that he could be right. "Good point," she murmured to herself. "So now what do I do?"

She got up from the table to throw her trash away and Andre followed her lead. "I know it sounds like I'm trying to talk you out of it, but this is your decision, not mine. Do what you think is best." She was pleasantly surprised when he suddenly engulfed her into a big hug. "I just want to spend as much time with you as possible, but don't let me stand in the way of what you really want to do."

Tori returned the hug, a sense of guilt forming in her stomach. "Okay, I'll think about it," she said weakly into his shoulder.

"Good." He started to walk away to go inside.

Tori stood in place, pondering what to do next. "And hey." She saw Andre standing just outside the door, just far away enough so she could barely hear him. "Don't fret too much about it; the end of the month is in two weeks." He winked encouragingly at her and then closed the doors shut behind him.

She groaned and sat down at the table again, not caring if she was late to class this time. There was no way she'd be able to focus in class anyway if she was such a mess right now. Her thoughts made her brain hurt as the horoscope's words drifted into her mind. Everything makes sense now. The whole "third party" thing is Andre and it's talking about me getting ahead of myself about this record deal. I haven't even read the contract yet and I'm already conflicted!

It took a few more minutes for her to compose herself and convince herself to put this out of her mind until later tonight. "Screw you, stupid stars," she muttered to herself. "Screw you."


After school ended, Jade headed right back to her house, something she didn't do all that often. Normally she would be hanging out with the rest of the gang or locking herself in the janitor's closet to cut up some more trashcans with her scissors, but she didn't feel like doing any of those things today. She just wanted to go home.

She made herself leftovers from last night's dinner (chicken marsala with mushrooms and spinach) and took it up to her room with a glass of Wahoo! fruit punch. Wasn't her favorite meal in the world, but she took it gratefully knowing that it was probably the only fresh food that would be in the house all week. Good thing her dad's new fiancée could cook; she didn't like her one bit but damn, could she cook great chicken.

She shoved a piece of chicken in her mouth as she turned on American Horror Story, her favorite TV show. The episode had just started when the phone on her bedside table rang.

"Hello?" she spat into it, her mouth full of chicken. The irritation built up inside of her like a tidal wave. She had no idea why she was irritated, given that she had wanted to be left alone today and people obeyed her wishes; she just assumed it was a mood swing again, a reoccurrence she was all too familiar with. All she wanted to do was watch TV and have this day be over.

However, what her aunt said on the other side of the phone made her almost do a spit-take. "She WHAT?" she screeched into the phone.

She hung onto her aunt's every word from that point on, nodding occasionally and grunting in agreement. "Okay. Got it. Understood. I'll be there as soon as I can. Thanks for calling, Aunt Judy. I'll see you in a few hours."

Jade shut off the TV and got to work packing a suitcase. She put a few changes of clothes in it along with her makeup, hygiene products, sunglasses, and sunscreen. She also threw in a memento or two because she didn't know when she was going to be able to come back home.

Before she closed her suitcase, she spotted a picture on her nightstand that she had neglected to cut up after the breakup. It was of her and Beck on their one-year anniversary. He was holding her around the waist, her back facing him, and kissing her cheek as they cuddled. She remembered that day perfectly; it was also the day of her fourteenth birthday. He was the only one who bothered to even acknowledge the fact that she was a whole year older. It was also the night she had lost her virginity; she hadn't regretted it since.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at the picture, but she fought them back and stuffed the picture into her suitcase anyway. Now that she knew Beck still liked her, she needed something to believe in.

She just wanted someone to tell her that everything would be okay.

But she couldn't dwell on her own problems right now; her mother and her aunt needed her. So without another thought in her mind, she raced out the door, packed up her car, and started the six-hour drive to Phoenix, Arizona.


Oh my goodness, I apologize if this chapter was horrible! I haven't updated in so long that I had to reread the story two times to figure out what to write. Please don't give up on me yet and please review!