When Worlds Collide

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: Of Chapter titles…oh why is this stuck in my head…

Chapter 13 (Be There For You)

They kept asking her how she was doing, but Tori didn't want to answer. People wanted to know why she was back, and they always asked about Ian. She hated these questions and wanted it all to end.

It had always been an odd relationship she had with him, and of course people talked more than they should. She still felt his every touch on her skin and yearned to be in his embrace once more. For the pair, it had been much more than a crush, for they were a couple without having ever truly making it official. She wanted nothing more to have been official, but had been scared that things would have changed.

Hugging herself, Tori looked off to the right with a somber gaze. For a moment, she could have sworn she saw Ian passing by. His ghost was everywhere it seemed. "I wonder what you're doing now," she whispered, "Caught up with Monica. After everything we were, we could have been…"

Perhaps she deserved it for the things she had done. Leaving Sherwood and leaving him behind was only one part of her great sin; it didn't help that she ended up dating other people.

Nearby someone recited words from a book in their hand, she listened in almost curious what it was they were saying. "Some relationships are forged under the stars, kissed by the angels. These, no matter how separated, will always come to one another like moths to flame…" Tori chuckled and shook her head. A tear ran down her face and she looked back to the textbook in her lap.

Her heart ached with longing, and her body burned with desire. With everything spinning into chaos, all she wanted was to sink into his chest and hear him say everything would be okay. To fix everything, that's what he would do, he'd make the entire world go away.

"I was mistaken, thinking everything would be the same." She wiped away a tear and shut her textbook. Looking up, her eyes drifted to the double doors that led to the hallway leading down to the athletics area. Tori leaned forward, imagining Trina bursting through those doors, laughing with pride and slinging a towel over her shoulder, throwing off the glistening sweat.

She sank back, disappointed when the doors did not budge. Now it seemed as though Courtney had to fill the role that Trina once had.

Nothing would be the same, except for Monica it seemed. If nothing else, Monica seemed to grow more fierce and angry at the world, and it was frightening.

A gentle hand caressed her right shoulder and she jerked her head in the direction, gasping when she saw Courtney's gentle expression. "Hey Tori, what are you still doing here?" Courtney walked around her and sat beside her on the bench. "You look like a girl with stuff on the mind."

"Yeah." She exhaled and dropped her head. "I've got a lot I'm thinking about. Like my entire life crumbling into dust."

"Sounds like you're in need of a friend. Or more friends." Courtney flashed a subtle smirk and Tori raised an eyebrow at the girl. She turned her eyes and froze up when she saw Jade standing with Beck and Cat at the doors leading to the counselors' offices.

"Hey Tori," Jade said with a slightly meek tone. Tori rose up, trembling with confusion and bewilderment. She took a step forward, studying the three, speechless. She looked back to Courtney, who was seated calmly with her hands folded in her lap and watchful eyes never leaving her.

"Jade, I-" She shook her head. "What?" Tori moved her hand to her forehead and groaned softly. She motioned to Courtney, still looking at her three friends. "This um, this is Courtney, my childhood friend. Um…I'm sorry, what are you doing here?"

Jade walked forward, sweeping her hands outwards. "Well it was between this school or Northridge." Tori furrowed her brow and lowered her hands to her sides. Jade sighed and threw a thumb over her shoulder. "I dragged Cat here, and Beck followed me. There's something I need to tell you, a reason I left Hollywood Arts."

"I'm listening."

Courtney stood up to let Jade have a seat on the bench. Tori sat beside Jade, holding her hands together in her lap and looking into the eyes of her friend. "Ran into these guys in the cafeteria," Courtney remarked, "Played a round of cards."

"Really?" Tori grinned, thrilled that her friends had already met Courtney and seemed to get along with her. "That's great. I'm glad, though I wish I could have introduced you guys."

"Why are you still here anyway?" Jade inquired while looking at the now empty courtyard. "Would've thought we'd catch you at your place." Tori shrugged and looked down at the ground.

"I used to wait here for Trina to come out after she was done with practices." Sometimes it was Ian she'd be waiting on when Trina would have practice that went well into the evening. They'd pass the time together, cuddled up on the bench while doing some studying and waiting for Trina. "We'd always go home together."

"You really miss her…" Tori smiled sadly and nodded. She was a bit shocked by the mournful tone in Jade's voice, and the frown that etched across her face. It was the first time she ever saw any amount of concern from Jade regarding Trina. "I'm sorry Tori, I want you to know that first and foremost." Jade exhaled and shut her eyes. "That I'm really, truly sorry. For everything. I know saying sorry doesn't take away, but I mean it."

"Okay?" She swayed back gently, unsure how to take Jade's apology.

"We are too," Beck said, joining in. Tori blinked and looked up at him, mustering a nervous smile. "Robbie and Andre too, if they were here. I can vouch. We all treated you and your sister unfairly. Jade, all of us, hope maybe we can start over. Get to know each other the right way."

"Oh…" Tori nodded and held her breath for a minute. It was a nice gesture, and one she was grateful for; but she still didn't know what to say to it. "And Jade? Why did you come here? Why leave Hollywood Arts?"

Jade pat her hands in between her knees and released a heavy, trembling sigh. "There's something about me not many know. Beck knows, for obvious reasons…" Beck moved a hand to Jade's shoulder and the girl rolled her head onto his forearm. Tori pursed her lips and curled her eyebrows together in the center. "I had this friend, she used to be a great friend. Selene." Jade raised her head and shut her eyes. "She changed. I was who I am, and I guess I was too weird and obscene."

Tori's brow furrowed and she bowed her head. Jade paused, smacking her lips momentarily. "Um, she…she got me expelled from my school, to say the least. Tricked everybody into thinking I was someone I wasn't." Tori gasped, raising her eyebrows high as Jade ran her hand across her neck.

"I think in my anger, my irrationalities and insecurities, I became exactly what she tricked everyone into believing I was. A demon." Jade scoffed, looking away. "Then she arrived at Hollywood Arts. I-I had to leave." Tears welled up in the girl's eyes and her breathing grew hot and heavy. "I couldn't stay, I don't know what would have happened had I stayed there."

"Oh Jade." Tori leaned forward, giving her friend a comforting hug. She knew how the girl felt, to have someone so cruel prowling about. Hell, she had Monica to contend with, and there was no telling how far Monica would go to get what she wanted.

She leaned back, smiling at Jade and wiping away a tear of her own. "Thanks for telling me that." Tori glanced down and hummed. "How did you learn she was going to Hollywood Arts?"

"Well, you know Mr. Sikowitz?" Tori nodded with a smile, eager to know how he was doing. "Well, turns out his nephew's fiancé got him a ticket to a cruise ship." She leaned her head back, her lips forming an oval and eyebrows crashing together.

"His nephew? Jason? I didn't know he had a fiancé."

Cat crossed her arms and looked away with a huff. "Yeah well, apparently he does." The girl raised her shoulders. "He was single when I dragged him off to that movie theater, I thought, but no he wanted nothing to do with me."

Tori laughed lightly, shaking her head. "I always thought you did that just to get out of the long night ahead of us at Mr. Sikowitz's place."

"Kind of." Cat cracked a smile and tossed her hair back. "It wasn't so bad, I mean hell the guy was hot. One heck of an athletic body. I'm kind of jealous of his fiancé, being squeezed by those massive arms."

"Probably athletic herself for all we know," Beck replied with a chuckle. "Dude like that probably only goes out with athletes." Beck tapped his chin and looked down at Jade, then to Cat. "By the way, what school did he go to? I know he was never at HA."

"I can answer that," Tori replied, raising her hand. She didn't see what it mattered, since her mind was on the subject she and Jade were talking about. Still, getting off track once in a while helped in a way. "He came here." Jade's eyebrows skyrocketed and Tori lowered her hand. "When Trina was a Sophomore, he would have been a Senior. I only know because he had the legacy Trina had here."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You know the yearbooks? They have a section for 'best male athlete' and 'best female athlete', he was voted best male in his junior and senior year. Trina got best female in her junior year, and probably would have been her senior year too if she didn't leave for HA." Tori was confident of that, but wished she could have seen it happen. "That's how I recognized him." She sighed and shook her head. "Anyway, we're off track. I want to hear the rest of what Jade was saying."

"Right, sorry Jade…"

"It's okay," Jade said with a laugh, "I appreciated the distraction." Tori looked at her friend and smiled as Jade refocused herself. "As I was saying, Jason's fiancé booked Sikowitz a ticket on a cruise. So he's gone for a while and the woman subbing for him is Selene's grandmother. That's how I know Selene is there."

"Do you know if Selene was going to be there temporarily or what?"

"I was told Selene was there as an officially enrolled, permanent student."

"You know, Jade. There's a girl here, Monica." Jade dropped her head, chuckling dryly. "She can be pretty mean. She and her cronies, I'm not sure you did well trading one for the other."

"True, but the way I see it, she's not Selene." Beck whistled and turned around, scratching his head. Tori looked up at him and Jade soon followed suit.

"She's a nasty piece of work, Jade." He dropped his hand and shook himself. "I'm not sure saying she isn't Selene is entirely accurate. She's not, but at the same time, where the fuck does all that anger and hot air come from? Tori?"

"I couldn't tell ya," Tori answered. "She's been ruining my life since before I was Freshman. Not just me either, everyone; and don't ask me what she's got against Hollywood Arts, I couldn't tell you."

Courtney unfolded her arms, narrowing her eyes. "I believe she was bitterly rejected by the school." Tori's eyebrows rose and the others looked to Courtney curiously. "There are a lot of rumors, so it's hard to know what's true and what isn't. Honestly, I think the two things that ring the truest as far as possibilities are that she was rejected, or one of her parents had a nasty interaction with one of the administration of HA. Either way, she hates that school and has spread the rumor that the entire school is full of 'rich assholes that think they're superior'."

"Completely untrue," Cat stated with a scoff. "Except it does cost a lot of money to even get in…I mean Beck's dad owns a damn auto shop, Robbie's dad's the Assistant District Attorney…then you've got Andre's grandmother, whose saved away a fortune from her husband." Tori nodded slowly. She hadn't heard the tales of her friends' families.

"What about you guys?"

Jade swayed to the right, raising her hand up. "My dad owns a psychology clinic, and Cat's mom is a lawyer."

Courtney coughed once and teased them with a smirk. "Well, we can't say Monica's wrong about the rich part." Jade rolled her eyes and smiled as Tori laughed. Hell, the only reason she afforded HA herself was because of her father's job as a Police Lieutenant and her mother's career as a Registered Nurse. "Now Monica's wealthy herself, just saying…but she'd never admit to it, because it would make her look like a hypocrite."

"I think most people know she's wealthy," Tori replied sadly, "I mean think about it. She affords so much."

She didn't want to think about Monica anyway. Listless as she was, whatever breath she had would be wasted on the girl. She turned to her friends, smiling tearfully. "I'm glad you guys are here. I hope you guys can get along with Courtney, because she's been a good friend of mine for a very long time."

"We're just surprised you never told us about her before." Cat moved next to Courtney and propped an elbow on the girl's shoulder, which earned a surprised glare from Courtney. "How come you were so afraid we'd disapprove?"

"I don't know…" Tori shrugged and raised a hand to her forehead, groaning softly. "I just saw how popular all of you were at the school once I actually met you. Jade and Beck were like king and queen of the entire place!" The couple exchanged glances and Cat nodded slowly. "I was intimidated, and scared because of my interaction with popular people in the past. I thought if you knew who I was, what I liked, knew my friends…you would want nothing to do with me and treat me badly. I thought you'd reject me, and I didn't want to be without friends at a new school where I was already making enemies from my first day!"

"Well take it from me." Jade placed a hand on Tori's shoulder. When she looked into Jade's eyes, she was relieved by the genuine emotion expressed within. "We're really sorry that we gave you that impression. I know a lot of it is my fault, and the way I behaved had very little to do with you. I regret it, and I hope you can forgive me and we can start over as friends."

"Sure." Tori smiled and looked from her to Courtney, who was trying to brush Cat's arm off her shoulder with her fingertips. Cat wasn't relenting, and had the widest smirk on her face. "I hope you guys can accept my friends too."

"We can, and we will. Just let us in, let us get to know you. We won't bite. Besides, it's good to have some new friends here too, especially ones with the power they seem to hold." Jade smirked at Courtney, who simply shrugged.

"It's not power so much as not caring." Courtney crossed her arms, having given up on nudging Cat's arm off her shoulder. "Monica doesn't faze me, and she knows I can put her in her place at any point of time if I need to."

"Yeah." Tori stood up, her legs trembling as she scanned the area, remembering that Ian wasn't there. "T-There's one other person, but I'm too scared to approach him. I hurt him a lot, and now Monica-"

"Monica is nothing." Courtney growled and Tori turned to her, raising her eyebrows. "He would never even breathe the same air as her if he had the choice. Not to mention, if you think for a minute I'd allow that witch to sink her fangs into him…I'd sooner smack the boy senseless if he had the thought to go to her arms. Ask anybody. The minute you and Trina left, I had to step up my game…"

Courtney did seem like she'd toughened up a great deal, and Tori had been meaning to ask why that was. Something had to have happened, something horrible that she wasn't there for.

Realizing this cast a great shadow of guilt over her. Monica had to have done something to hurt her friends, something that she could have been there to support them for. "Monica told me to stay away from Ian, and she scares me enough…"

"Would you tell us about him?" Jade asked. Tori's eyes widened and her face grew red as a tomato. "We'd love to hear about him from you." She spun around, shaking her head swiftly. Jade furrowed her brow and hummed as Tori bit down on her lip.

"Not now. It's too embarrassing." She chuckled nervously and curled her hair over her ear. "I um, I'll talk about it when I'm ready. Okay?"

"Fair enough. Why should Monica scare you away from him?"

"Because…She's my 'Selene'."

"So you're going to avoid the man you're clearly in love with because you're afraid of a bitch that means nothing?" Jade scratched her ear and looked at Beck and Cat for a minute. "Is it me, or does it sound a little like she's using Monica as an excuse?" Courtney nodded and the others murmured an agreement, much to her dismay.

"It's not just that!" Tori sighed and closed her eyes, whimpering fearfully. "I can't face him. Knowing what I did, knowing how I hurt him. I was just barely able to talk to Courtney. Ian is-Ian's different, and I don't know how I can even face him now."

Just then, Tori's cell went off, startling her. She grabbed her phone out of the purse beside her, afraid her mother was worrying about her not being home. When she saw the private caller once more, she let out a despairing sigh. "This private number again. I swear to god…"

Courtney leaned over, narrowing her eyes at the phone. Tori looked to Courtney, then to Jade. "You know, been calling me for months now. When I answer, there's only silence."

"We'll deal with this." Jade grabbed the phone and Tori shrieked, throwing her hands to her head as her friend hit the answer button and hit the speakerphone. "Listen here creep."

"Yeah," Courtney joined in with a growl. "Leave our friend alone."

"You keep calling, and it is scaring the shit out of her." No response came beyond what sounded like gulls in the background. "She's having a hard enough time as it is. Her sister's gone, dad's gone, mom's jobless and she's stressed enough without a creeper calling her every fucking few days."

"Don't think we won't find out who you are." Courtney poked the phone as though poking the caller. Her voice was stern and threatening. "If you don't stop, we'll get the police involved. If you want to talk to her, at least have the courage to say something."

They heard a man's voice in the background, taking them by surprise. "Everything okay?" Cat squinted, her right eyebrow raising high on her forehead. There was a gasp, then a click sounding the end of the call.

"Shouldn't be a problem now." Jade handed Tori the phone and shrugged. "Let us know if they keep bothering you, okay? It's not something you have to deal with alone."

"Thanks…" Tori hit the contact button and started scrolling down to her mother's number. "I'm not really all that bothered, or even afraid of the calls. It's just confusing, like I don't know who keeps calling or why." She let out a sigh and hit the call button. "I need to call my mom, let her know where I'm at. She's got to be worried sick."

"Okay." Jade cracked a playful smirk and nudged Tori. "Since when do you worry-" Hearing Courtney grunt, she paused and Tori hesitated, turning wide and anxious eyes upon her. "Nevermind, I was going to tease but…not appropriate." Tori sighed with relief and shrugged.

"Dad's run off, Trina's gone, god forbid I don't let her know why I'm not home by supper time or she'll start to worry I've run off too."

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure. Give her a call." Tori smiled and walked away a bit, pressing her phone to her ear. Unsurprisingly, her mother's worried voice answered the phone. Tori let her know she was okay and stayed after school a bit to talk to her friends, and that she'd be home soon.

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