Chapter 25
The next morning, Jade and Tori pulled into the school parking lot. Jade looked around, looking for Beck's car, with no luck. As they walked into the doors, their friends swooped toward them, worried looks on their faces. "Wow, this is quite the greeting," Tori said, but her joke was cut off by Cat pointing to the paper in her hand. "Okay Cat, I'll play. You're mad because a tree got killed." Tori's sarcastic tone was tempered by her easy grin.
"No, Tori. We all got these on her locker. Helen wants to see all of us. I just got here. I haven't had any time to do anything stupid yet, so why am I being called into the office?" Cat cried into Andre's chest.
"Don't worry Little Red, it's most likely Jade's fault. It always is," he told her gently, trying to calm her down and stroking her hair. Jade gave him a dirty look over Cat's head, and he smirked, showing he was just kidding.
"So this is what the underside of a bus looks like. Thanks for throwing me under it, Andre." Jade said, walking over to her locker and ripping that paper off of it. A few steps more and she took the one on Tori's. She returned to the gang and they all walked to the office together.
"We need to get our stories right," Robbie said as they turned down the hall that lead to Helen's office.
"What stories, dumbass? We don't even know why we were called down here," Tori said without turning to him.
"You don't like me much anymore do you?" Robbie asked.
Tori stopped dead. Turning around, she pushed Robbie into the wall and got right in his face. "If you mean 'I don't like you anymore because you went behind my back and told Jade all of this stuff that could be wrong with me?' Then no, I don't care for you much. But if you think I don't like you because you have been watching my every move like 'Poor little Tori is going to blow up on the first nerd she sees', then no, I really don't like you. But if you're talking about how you did all of this stuff out of friendship, and how you were the only one out of all of our friends that took the time to care enough to try, then you are wrong. I love you. So don't ever ask me such a stupid question again." Tori went to let him go but the look on his face told her that he didn't understand something. "Robbie. I'm telling you that I don't like how you went about things, but I love the fact that you did it. Love you. Like, worship the fucking ground you walk on type of love. The skies opening up and little fucked up afros fall from the sky type of love. Now get the fuck out of my face."
They made it to Helen's door. Andre reached up to knock on it when he paused and turned around. "Where is Beck in all of this?"
"Probably crying in a corner because I took his hot dream girl," Tori spat. "Just don't worry about him and knock at the damn door. I have things to do today, and standing here talking about where the pretty boy is isn't one of them." Tori sighed and leaned on Jade's shoulder, looking ever so much bored.
Andre shook his head and knocked at the door. "Come in, please," Helen called. Lane, Sikowitz, and Helen were all sitting in the office.
"I don't know what happened, but Andre said Jade did it," Cat called out when she saw all of the teachers in one room.
"And now another bus," Jade said, moving deeper into the room to let everyone in.
Helen giggled, shaking her hand to the gang. "No one is in trouble here. We just wanted to let you all know that Beck Oliver came in earlier. He told me that he is leaving Hollywood Arts and moving back to Canada. Do any of you know about this or what could have made him want to give up his dreams?" Helen asked.
Everyone looked dumbfounded at the news and just shook their heads. "You know, he was really upset because you guys started dating. That could be a reason," Andre pointed out.
"See, Jade. It was your fault," Cat said, waving her finger at her friend.
"No, it's not. And if that is the reason, and I'm not saying it is, then it's his problem because he couldn't handle it," Jade snapped, thoroughly annoyed.
"Or Canada asked him to move back now that Justin Bieber has moved here for good. I guess Canada needs to keep one douche bag on hand at all time," Tori deadpanned, looking out the window. "It will go down as the great douche bag swap of 2013."
"Tori that wasn't very nice. I thought Beck was one of your friends," Helen said.
"We could do a reality show like wife swap, just douche bags. First Beck and Justin, then Miley and someone sane. She can take her wrecking ball as a home warming gift." Tori walked over and sat on the edge of Helen's desk. "We could even have Lindsey trade spots with a nun, just to see how that would go." Tori started playing with the pens on the desk. "Or, we could just go back to our lives and not give a fuck about any of them. He's gone. Who cares? He's the one who left us here alone to go play in the snow, so who cares?" Tori slapped the pens onto the floor and walked to the door.
"Tori Vega, you knocked all my pens on the floor," Helen said as she stood up.
"Oops, I guess I did. So clean them up they are your pens, not mine." Tori walked out without looking back.
"Jade, what the hell just happened?" Andre asked. He, Cat, and Trina were looking toward the door Tori just exited. Robbie was still looking at Helen, albeit with a distressed look on his face.
"Stress. She can't handle it right now. Helen, I'll get the pens." She bent down and started to pick them up.
"Why did Beck leave us all alone?" Cat asked. She looked bewildered, and her usual bubbly voice was low and sad.
"Stop that. He didn't leave you. He didn't leave Andre or Robbie. He left me. Like everyone does. Everyone leaves," Jade moaned, holding back tears.
"Jade, everyone has to move on at some point. We all don't stay in one place. You all will be going off to college next year, and all you want very different things. So you may not be in the same school. Then when your lives start, there is a good chance you will never see each other again. And Jade, that includes you and Tori. I'm sorry, Jade, but people leave and sometimes you will be alone," Lane said as he watched Jade pick up the pens her girlfriend had left on the floor. "If you are able to stay with Tori, Jade, are you going to be willing to clean up her messes forever?" he asked.
"He didn't need to leave. He could have faced it. He is just a coward," Jade snarled, slapping the pens back on the desk and storming off.
The rest of the day had an eerie feeling, like when something is going to happen but you just don't quite know when. By lunchtime, the feeling had everyone on edge, even people that had nothing to do with the six people involved. Trina walked over to the table, finding Andre talking on the phone. Trina started questioning him. "Did you get a hold of Beck? Is that him?" As she was questioning the boy, the others made their way to the table. First Robbie, then Tori, Jade, and Cat all began questioning Andre about who he was talking to.
When Andre didn't answer immediately, they all just started asking Andre questions about the secretive phone call. He waved them off. Robbie was the first to pester the poor kid while he was trying to talk.
"Andre, what did Beck say?"
"Yeah, come on, what did he say? You can't keep it from us!" Trina moved closer to him in attempt to hear the other person.
"What does the fox say?" Cat asked. Everyone looked at her and laughed, she was the only one who could bring light to a dark time like this.
"I'm not talking to Beck. He won't take my phone calls, but Jade, he might take yours. Why don't you try?"
"Ring-ding-ding-ding-dingeringeding!" Cat sang, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Her arms flung out wide and smacked a tray out of a passing student's hands. A taco salad went flying, and the guy groaned and turned back to the food truck. Cat rummaged in her purse, and bounced after the guy, a five dollar bill in her hands.
"No, she's not going call him. He was the one who walked away from us, not the other way around," Tori said, heatedly.
"Wa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pow!" Cat sang again, dancing back up to the table, a big grin on her face.
"Wait a minute, you can't just tell her not to call him. Tori, what the hell?" Andre cried.
"Hatee-hatee-hatee-ho!" Cat was flapping her arms as she bounced in a circle. She looked between her arguing friends, desperately trying to get their attention.
"I can tell her what to do if I want, and you need to stay out of it!" Tori yelled back. She rose to her feet and planted her hands on the table, leaning over, glaring at Andre.
"What does the fox say? Joff-tchoff-tchoffo-tchoffo-tchoff!" Cat sang.
"But Tori, there is more to this than just you and Jade. So you need to step back and see what is more important. Feelings of loss over a friend or the fear of losing Jade." Trina said.
"A-hee-ahee ha-hee!"
"CAT!" Jade yelled, thoroughly annoyed by the redhead's distraction techniques.
"Meow," she said, subdued. Cat sank into her seat, and began picking at her food.
"Tori, I will call him if that means he will back here living out his dream." Jade said.
"Oh, there it is. The Jade and Beck holier than thou song and dance. In where the rest of us has to sit on the side lines and watch. Oh, and I get to have the pleasure of going back to watching and saying nothing at all as you get your heart broke. Oh look it's Tori's heart, the revolving door. I guess it's open for business, what do you say, Andre, want to take a spin?"
"Tori, that fear factor is coming closer to a reality. If I were you, I would stop right where you are and think about what you're doing." Trina said, glancing between Jade and Tori with a frown.
"Well, best thing is, you're not me Trina, so stay out of it."
"Tori please don't be like this, I was just saying that maybe if I call him, then he will see that he can come back…" Jade was cut off by Tori's slashing hand gesture.
"And what, Jade, take you back? Snake his way through holes in those walls you have put up? You're so afraid that people are going to leave you, but you are willing to do the one thing that will make me walk away. Guess you're not that scared of losing me. Or care if you do!" Tori screamed. Jade took a few steps back from the table, head down and arms crossed.
"Tori, don't you know what you are doing to her…" Trina tried to cut in, but was cut off just as fast.
"Oh, save it, Trina. Since when do you care what really happens to me? You are all about saving Jade. You told me that she was like a sister to you, but what you really wanted to say is, she has become the sister you really wanted. So there you go, you have your sister, and she can call Beck, and then you all can be a happy little family…without me." Tori turned and stalked to her car, not looking back.
"You know, if it wasn't so sad, and everyone wasn't so pissed, this whole thing would make a great play," Cat said as she gathered her things to leave the table.
"Cat, why would you say that?" Trina asked.
"Because. Jade, you're not even thinking about Tori's feelings at all, no one is. All of you want to talk Beck into coming back to a place and people he walked away from. So I say, let him be gone." Cat took her tray to the trash and dumped it. She came back to the table. "Anyway, it's all relative. From a non-linear, subjective view, this whole situation is just a big ball of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey…stuff. Puts it all in prospective, doesn't it?" She also walked to her car, not wanting to finish out the day. Her friends watched her walk away, all of them very, very confused.
Jade stared at the table, wondering if she was right, or if Cat of all people were right. All she knew for sure was she didn't want to lose Tori, but she thought Beck shouldn't give up his chance. She slowly lifted her gaze from the table top and shook off the tears that threatened to fall, and she too gathered her things and left school.
Tori walked into her house, slamming the door behind her. She was pissed and hurt that Jade didn't try to stop her from leaving. "Fine, she and Trina can be a happy little family. They don't need me here in their way," she said to no one.
"Yes we do," Jade said from the stairs.
Cat made her way into her apartment to find Sam and Beck sitting on the couch together. "I think Tori broke up with Jade today because of you, Beck. How long are you going to act like you're in Canada?"