When Worlds Collide

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

Chapter 14 (Total Eclipse of the Heart)

Beck knew two things: That the patience of a man had its limits, and a man's pride could be a powerful tool while at the same time a man's greatest vice. He'd succumbed on both counts multiple times.

As he stood on the mound of the school's baseball field, practicing his throws with some of the people he'd managed to befriend on the baseball team, he couldn't help but to think on Ian. He didn't know the entire story, but here at his disposal were people that could tell him more than either Ian or Tori had been willing to divulge.

Sinjin once proved to them that they'd been so caught up in themselves that they hadn't realized their stance in society-and what people they hardly ever spoke with knew and observed. Beck knew how to take advantage of this simple fact.

"Tell me something." He tossed the ball at the batter, squinting his eyes and watching as the ball skid past the batter. "Do you know much about Ian and Tori? I feel like there was something more than a friendship there."

"Oh there was." The batter, named Timothy, moved the bat to his shoulder and adjusted his cap. "Dude, those two were afraid of commitment or something, so it appeared." He furrowed his brow and turned around, catching the ball being tossed his way. "They were intimate. Everyone saw it. Cuddling in the courtyard, kissing and embracing each other between classes, and even going to the more secluded areas of the school by themselves…"

"What do you mean by 'secluded'?" He readied another throw as Timothy moved to batting position. Beck licked his lips and squinted as the sun poked out from behind the clouds.

"There's a place in this school called 'lovers corner', it's a part of the parking lot shaded by a large tree and out of site from the parking lot's security guard. People go there all the time to make out, fondle each other…no one's had sex there that anyone knows of, but those two would be seen sneaking off in that direction many times."

"Wow."

"Yeah." Another player spoke up, his name was Bill. He was the first baseman, crouching with his hands on his knees. "Ian finally got the nerve to make things official. I mean there was pressure on them to do it, but they never did. I'm not sure what they were afraid of, I don't think anyone really knows…but some speculated it was fear that it wouldn't last."

"Many relationships formed in high school don't last, that's true; but it isn't always the case. If you're willing to work on it, not give up, then sure…I'll be the first to admit that my girlfriend and I have had our own rough times, but we've come back together and have vowed to make it work this time."

"Right. Still, when Tori left. Wow." Bill's eyes went large and he shook his head. "Ian was downright devastated. Everyone could see it, and no one dared to bother him, it was like he had a part of his soul just ripped away from him."

"It was like he was dead inside," Timothy remarked, "That is, until he decided to make a new goal." Beck hummed with intrigue, giving a swift nod. "To change the way things were going. Dude, everyone's sick and tired of the 'popular kids' ruling the school. They insist that they have to be the best at everything. Forget letting anyone tryout for anything…This is Monica's school. Only she, Kyrie and Nancy are allowed to do a damn thing. Ian's working against that, trying to bring everyone together, and most people support him."

"I know I do." Bill hacked up and spat on the ground. "I mean hell, Tori's back here and I've seen Monica shaking in her boots. Can you imagine what people would think if those two got back together? I mean Monica would be toast!"

"They deserve to be together."

"I'll say." Beck couldn't help but to agree, and he had an idea how to help. It wasn't going to be easy, but Ian still cared for Tori and it was likely he wouldn't let anything happen to her. "Tori's saved me and Jade a few times, maybe it's time to return the favor…" He tossed the ball once more, smiling as Timothy swung the bat and sent the ball flying.

"Absolutely not." Cat marched out of the choir hall with Beck following after her, pleading for his cause. A day had passed by and he was still trying to convince her this was the best way to do it, inspired by Tori's last method of bringing him and Jade together. "I don't care if it's your clever way of paying homage by getting them together-it's going to piss certain people off that Tori just doesn't want to piss off."

"It's not like Monica isn't already on our backs." He understood the concern; but it was going to take a little creativity to get through to Ian. "Besides, you've been wanting to show up Kyrie since that day in choir class, right?" Cat folded her arms and twisted sideways.

"She can't enunciate. I was simply trying to show her, and the class, the proper way to enunciate." Cat dropped her arms and narrowed her eyes. "Beck, Tori doesn't even seem to want to be in the spotlight here. This is against everything she's been trying to avoid."

"Yeah? Well she's been trying to avoid pissing off Monica by going anywhere near Ian." He paced to the right and studied Cat as she relaxed her muscles and pursed her lips. "What are we to do, just wrap her up in bubble wrap, chase Ian away with a stick and call it a day?"

"And what if this display doesn't work, Beck? What then?" Beck's shoulders fell and he grit his teeth. He had a plan, and this was only a part of it. To loosen Ian up. The message would be loud and clear, obvious to most anyone, but Ian most importantly.

"It will work." He clenched his fists, brimming with determination. "Trust me. I won't go into all the details, I just ask you to trust me." Ian wasn't budging on details regarding Tori, so there was no way to get him to talk. "I know I'd hate for someone to do this to me, but I think in the end I'd understand."

"If this doesn't work, Beck…"

"It doesn't even have to be a big thing. Just get Tori in that auditorium, on that stage, and back her up. There's no audience needed, just Ian."

"As if no one is going to hear about something like this. You heard Courtney, nothing that Ian or Monica do escapes notice these days."

"Just trust me, would you? When have I ever steered you wrong?" He smirked and Cat let out an exasperated groan.

Rolling her eyes, she then looked at him with a flattened expression. "You don't want me to answer that." Cat sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, rubbing gently. "Alright, I'll do this. We can't really use the stage without the choir director's approval though-or Mrs. Kendall's…" She dropped her hand and looked around at the students that were passing them by. "Also, maybe we should keep quiet around these people. Let's plan on after hours, fewer people to worry about."

"Sounds good to me." He grinned and cupped her hands together. "You won't regret this, Cat. I promise." She pulled away, groaning softly.

"I already do."

The next evening Beck managed to convince Ian to help him with a project in the auditorium. He convinced Ian that he'd been trying to work on some stage designs for Jade's theatre class, and was amazed Ian didn't see through the ruse.

"So tell me." He followed behind Ian, trying to think of ways to get some information from him without seeming too obvious. "You heard everything about us through Sinjin?"

Ian grunted in reply. "Not just Sinjin. Students that went to your concerts, students that followed Tori on social media, and of course certain people like Danny." Ian turned his head slightly, chuckling darkly. "My favorite status update mentioned to me by one of those students following both Tori and Jade…a shared status update from Jade saying 'my boyfriend and I aren't even separated and already he's trying to kiss my best friend!'"

Beck cringed. It was painful to hear that brought up again, but good to know Ian wasn't letting it go. His pride wouldn't allow it. This told him Ian hadn't quite let anything off his chests; and here he was, the perfect person for Ian to let loose and hash it all out.

"I can understand why you'd be upset at that."

"You didn't bring me here to talk about that stuff." Ian pushed open the glass doors leading into the ticket booth. The ticket booth was a rectangular area with two double doors on either side of it. The whole area was framed by glass windows and glass doors on either side. "You brought me here to help you with something…"

"Yeah." He waited for Ian to open the doors into the auditorium. To Beck's surprise, there were people sitting inside; not many, but just a few that had overheard his conversation with Cat.

"What is this?" Ian grumbled for a minute, taking a few steps forward and stopping. Beck looked past him to see Cat and Jade dragging Tori to the center of the stage. She had on what looked like a long ball gown with gloves that stretched towards her elbows. Her hair was up in a bun, and she wore a gem-studded headband in front of the bun.

Ian's breathing hitched and his entire body started to freeze. "Wait…" Beck swallowed as the man began to tremble and shake. "What have you done?"

"You need this, Ian. Forgive me, I know I'm overstepping bounds here, but you need to get this shit off your chest and out of your system."

"You set this up? Overstepping bounds?" Ian turned to face him, growling softly and pushing Beck out the double doors with little effort. "You are way out of line, Beck."

Beck extended his arms out and took a small step back. "What can I say? I am returning a favor for a friend." Music began to play from inside, to the tune of Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart. Tori's voice could be heard from inside, melodious and filled with pain.

Ian shut his eyes, trying his damndest to hold in the tears. "I know it hurts. She needs you, she loves you." Ian opened his eyes partially, scoffing for a moment. "And I know you love and need her just as much. You're holding on to a lot of pain, and that's not good. You need to let it out."

"I'm holding on to nothing."

"Oh yeah you are." Beck squinted and walked around him, wagging a finger in the air. "I know, because I know myself. You and I aren't that different, and if I were in your shoes, I would be pissed." Ian crossed his arms, his eyes glaring at him with a burning fire. Beck faced him, moving his hands to his chest. "Especially if I was being lectured to by a guy that had just tried to kiss my girlfriend while on the rebound!"

Ian tilted his head, narrowing his eyes further. "What more, I'm surprised you haven't lopped off Danny's head yet. I know I would have." Ian turned his head to the other side and shrugged.

"He was an asshole, yes. Cheated on Tori once before she and I ever even talked about being together."

"And then he plays her against a friend of hers."

"Can't talk much. You did the same, even if the circumstances were different." Beck caught a flash of anger and smirked, finally seeing where he could poke the beast with greater success. It wasn't Danny, it wasn't Steven or even the fact that Tori left him behind-Ian couldn't stand being lectured to by one of the very causes of his distress.

"It must have hurt you a great deal to know you two were so close to making it official and she just up and left you." Ian breathed in and flared his nostrils. "What happened then? She runs into some guy almost immediately and…" Beck skipped back, laughing while opening his arms out. "You must have heard this part from Sinjin. The acting exercise, the vindictive getting back at the bully. She kisses the guy full on in the middle of the performance, it was all acting."

Ian's eyes flew open, his fists clenched tight and his chest began to expand. Beck felt a lump in his throat, but swallowed it down. He was ready to take one for the team. "Could have pulled back. Could have thought of any word that started with the letter I had to say 'no'-or even broken the exercise despite the amount of pride I had that I didn't want the new girl to beat me." Ian took a step forward, raised his shoulders and tensed his muscles. "Did I? No. No…I didn't…"

"See Ian, it is my fault. Jade's anger towards Tori. I mean I pushed." It was true, unfortunately. He wasn't in the right place mentally back then and Tori intrigued him. There was no getting around it; and Jade had every right to be furious at both him and Tori. Perhaps now was a good time to get a lie in, ruffle the man's feathers even more. "Can't say I didn't like it or that I haven't thought about it even more, you know."

It came without warning, and no mental preparation was enough. With the sheer force of a brick striking him, Beck found himself crashing to the floor and holding his face. "Okay." Ian sucked in a heavy breath of air and cracked his neck from side to side. "That did feel good."

"Jesus, you know how to fight too?" Beck rubbed his cheek and coughed.

"Not necessarily." Beck picked himself up, groaning and shaking his head. "You are an asshole, I hope you're happy."

"Not done." Ian's eyes opened into a menacing glare and Beck raised his hands, chuckling nervously. "Now, now. Now, now. Look, Tori was always saying I reminded her of someone, but I never quite got it until I met you. Then I saw what she was talking about...I knew she was never interested in me, dude." Ian furrowed his brow and looked at the doors leading to the auditorium. "She saw you in me. She saw your patience, your ability to keep your cool…there are a few qualities you and I have in common, and those are what she saw. It was never about me."

"And what, I'm just supposed to take her back after-after all that?" Ian's eyes welled up with tears. Beck could hear Tori still singing, pouring out her heart and practically screaming the lines as Jade and Cat sang 'turn around' in background. "How could she even say she wanted to be with me, and then all of a sudden she's seeing other people?"

"Well, Danny's an ass that reminded her of Sherwood. I can't say for sure what the deal was with Ryder or Steven."

"Maybe she was trying to forget about me? Maybe trying to move on…"

"Clearly she's not." Ian choked up and looked to the glass doors leading out. Beck pointed at them and sighed. "I can tell you right now because I've been where you are. If you walk out those doors, it will be the biggest mistake of your life."

Beck walked up to him, looking into his eyes. "You have something with her, something that's never going to go away no matter what you do. Like me and Jade, I realized there's no other girl out there. I get her, she gets me, and nobody else could put up with our quirks and personalities. Why don't you tell me a little…you and Tori…it's deep, isn't it?"

"Yeah. There was a time I'd do anything for her, still would. I love her, maybe more than I thought I could ever love someone."

"She loves you too, still; and she needs you. Like Jade needed me when her bully brought her to the lowest point of her life…Tori needs you." Ian raised his hand over his eyes and sighed.

"You say that like…"

"Monica could have something to do with things, like making Tori think you don't want to be with her anymore."

"I do want to be with her."

"Then, corny as it may be, you do hear that song they're singing in there?" Ian looked to the doors and chuckled. Beck raised his eyebrows. "Well. Turn around, bright eyes."

"That simple, huh?"

"That simple. Look, Jade and I have caused each other a lot of pain and grief too. We've hurt each other." Beck scratched his head and groaned, remembering some of the fights he'd had with Jade. "I remember one time she was upset and demanded I leave with her instead of staying to play poker with the others…she said if I didn't follow her, it was over."

"What happened?"

"Like a dumbass full of pride, I acted like she wasn't even there." Ian's jaw dropped and Beck scoffed as he recalled the looks he got from his friends that night. "Both of us had too much pride to even realize how stupid we were being; but Tori's the one that set us straight."

"Interesting." Ian crossed his arms.

"Then that time you seem so fond of remembering." Beck felt the soreness in his jaw spike up again, so he rubbed it to assuage the pain. "Tori helped us get back together then. Since then we swore to just hash things out with one another, to work on communicating and talking through the things that upset us…to be a team. For now, you know what you want, so go for it. Go let her know you still want her, and then you can work through the hurt that both of you are feeling right now."

Ian frowned, gazing longingly at the door. "You're right…"

"And yeah, don't let Monica get in the way. Messy business, that."

"Monica isn't going to do a damn thing."

"Aside from terrifying Tori into thinking you and Monica are an item in order to further her own gain. Other than that, yeah Monica hasn't done much else to Tori." Ian visibly paled and looked at Beck.

"Does Tori seriously think I would ever…"

"Well." Beck shrugged. "She's been riddled with guilt, so she might have just assumed."

"I won't make her wait anymore."

"Would be ill-advised. Beyond that, she could also use your support. I mean, her life's pretty much in shambles." Ian twisted his head, looking worriedly at Beck.

"What?"

"Mom's out of work, doing part time jobs. Dad's gone, Trina's gone. She's back here because she has nothing else."

"God…"

"Yeah, so you know." Ian walked towards the doors, resting the palm of his hand on them while raising his other hand over his mouth. "Beyond all that, besides Monica and the stress she's dealing with, I guess she's doing okay. But yeah, she could really use you, at least some kind of stability there."

"Beck. Shut up for a minute." Beck smiled and watched as Ian opened the door. The music blared like a gust of wind rushing against them.

Every now and then I fall apart. And I need you now tonight, I need you more than ever. And if you'll only hold me tight, we'll be holding on forever. And we'll only be making it right, cause we'll never be wrong. Together we can make it to the end of the line…I really need you tonight! Once upon a time I was falling in love, now I'm only falling apart…

Beck leaned against the door frame, watching as the light from outside splashed forward and lit Ian up like a spotlight. Tori's cheeks were red and stained with tears, her hands clutched her sides and her eyes were shut as she focused on the words of the songs.

For the moment all else was still and those watching held their breaths as Ian made his way down the aisle. He picked up his pace, gradually increasing speed as his eyes focused solely on Tori.

Ian climbed the stage as Tori finished off the songs. She opened her eyes and gasped when meeting Ian's tender gaze. He wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned forward, kissing her lips. She moved her hands up to cup his cheeks, then pulled away, speaking meekly.

"Ian?"

"Hi there." He smirked, his eyes unflinching as she dropped her gaze to his lips. "Been a while. Missed you." Tori's hands slid down to his shoulders and her lips began to tremble.

"Y-You still love me?"

"Who said I ever stopped?" He leaned forward, kissing her again.

Beck raised his hands around his mouth, calling out to them. "Hey, copycats, screw around on your own time!"

He heard someone walking up behind him and turned to look. "Got to say…" Courtney peered at him with a smirk. "I'm impressed with this stunt of yours. I wonder if you had any doubts at all."

"Maybe a little, but does it matter?"

"Oh I think you got lucky, but it doesn't matter so much as Tori and Ian can finally be together. Maybe they can work towards being happy and stop bemoaning everything…I'm happy for them, and grateful to you-reckless as this was."

"How do you think Monica's going to take it?" He crossed his arms and Courtney's smirk seemed only to grow.

"Badly. Very badly." Courtney raised her eyebrows up and turned her stunningly cold eyes onto him. "That's good." He paused for a breath and raised his hand up.

"What did she do to you?"

"Unimportant. I only care about my friends' happiness. You've helped achieve a part of that, so good."

He looked back to the stage and saw it empty, surprised he looked sideways as Jade and Cat were walking up. "Where'd Tori and Ian run off to?" The girls shrugged and Courtney chuckled.

"Probably went somewhere quiet to talk." He crossed his arms and nodded, understanding the choice. After all, the pair hadn't been together in a very long time; it was doubtful they would want to spend their reunion amongst a ton of eyes.

Jade looked towards the stage, running her hand across her neck. "Yeah, but it's strange. Before they left, I heard Tori ask something about a tree still being around." Beck flinched and his lips cracked into a smile as he recalled the tale of what his hopefully future teammates told him. Seeing his expression, Jade poked his shoulder. "What's up, Beck?"

"Oh nothing." He started to snicker. "Guess they're going to make up for lost time." He put an arm around Jade's shoulders and held his smirk as the other two girls studied him. "By the way Jade, remind me, there's this special corner of the school I need to show you sometime."

Courtney smacked her forehead. "Oh? Okay." Jade set her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. "Courtney?" Courtney shook her head and dropped her hand down.

"Who on earth told you about that, Beck?"

"My new friends on the baseball team."

She gave him a blank stare, lasting for what felt like an eternity before she finally turned away. "Figures."

Well Beck sure knows how to take one for the team, I don't think I've ever had one of the sisters' love interests get to punch one of the friends in the face like that, heh. Well, what are your thoughts this chapter? Anything of interest?