One year. That's how long it had been since Jade's death. Everyone missed her so much more than they thought they would. It was weird to them that they had to delete her number off of the group text they had set up when they became close friends. They still continued to mass text each other whenever something really big or something that reminded them of each other happened and they wanted to notify the rest of the group, but it was different without Jade's imput. Unfortunately, other than the occasional text, they rarely talked or made an actual effort to see each other. It wasn't that they didn't want to; it was just difficult to get together when all of them were spread throughout the United States. Cat, Robbie, and Tori were still in California, but not all in the same parts of the state. Andre and Beck were on the East coast. Andre was in Massachusetts and Beck was in New York. When Juilliard called to ask why he missed orientation, Beck's mom explained what had happened. The school was very understanding, and allowed Beck to take the online orientation that they normally only offered to students taking online courses. After a few months went by, Cat lightened up on Tori. She was never one to hold a grudge, but everyone was surprised how long she managed to stay angry at Tori. The year had given them both time to reevaluate the whole situation, but in Cat's eyes, Tori would always be the person who took her best friend from her. After her funeral, they all made a promise to get together every year on the anniversary of Jade's death. They figured it was the only way they would for sure see each other once a year. So now that the day was approaching, everyone started heading back home for their mini reunion.
"Hey, I just got home. Are you back in town yet?" Tori asked Andre from her end of the phone.
"Yeah, I just got into my cousin's car, and he's taking me over to my grandma's house to get settled." Andre replied. After he moved to Massachusetts, his cousin moved in with their grandmother to keep an eye on her.
"Awesome! Do you want to come over and catch up or would you rather just do it tomorrow with everyone else?" Tori invited.
"I'll just see you tomorrow. I actually want to spend some time with my grandma since I haven't seen her in a while." Andre declined.
"Alright, then I guess I'll just see you at the cemetery." Tori hung up.
…
Beck was the first to arrive at the cemetery. He sat against the tree that hung over Jade's grave just like he had done while she was being buried.
"Beck!" Tori shouted as she approached the grave with a dozen roses to place on Jade's grave.
"Oh hey Tori. Good to see you again!" Beck greeted as he stood up to hug her.
"Howdy, strangers!" Robbie waved when he walked up to his two friends.
"Hi Robbie!" Both Tori and Beck greeted simultaneously.
"Hey, long time no see!" Andre announced when he saw the group gathered underneath the tree.
"How have you all been?" Tori smiled widely at the sight of her friends all in one place for the first time in a whole year.
"I've actually been gr—" Robbie started.
"Hold on, shouldn't we wait for Cat before we start catching up?" Andre suggested.
"She'll be able to catch up once she gets here." Robbie answered, eager to know what everyone else had been up to and to share his own news.
Tori, Robbie, Andre and Beck all talked about how their first year of college went. Tori was the only one that didn't move away, since her house was about fifteen minutes away from AMDA. She described that it was hard going to a school with so much talent, because now she wasn't considered one of the most talented students like she was at Hollywood Arts. Other than that, she seemed to like the overall college experience, even if she was still living at home and not in dorms like the rest of her friends. Robbie stunned everyone when he announced that he no longer carried Rex around with him. He started reducing the amount of time they spent together in high school, but he still always seemed to be around. Now Robbie left him at his parents' house while he lived in the dorms of his San Diego college. Beck explained that he was still able to have Cameron as a roommate and that he was having a really great time in New York. Andre bragged all about a girl he was starting to have feelings for, then informed everyone that he was able to collaborate with some really talented musicians during his first year. They all talked and talked, but Cat never showed up. Robbie and Tori even tried calling and texting her a few times, but there was never a reply. After a while, everyone started to get hungry, so they sent Cat a text that they were taking a trip to Nozu to relive some old memories. Beck, however, announced that he was going to stay for just a little while longer, and that he would meet them at the sushi restaurant. Just as everyone drove off, Beck walked back to sit by the tree, but before he could get himself to the ground, he heard the jingling of what sounded like bracelets and some key chains getting closer to him. When he looked around the tree, he saw Cat walking slowly to where everyone just was.
"Cat?" Beck called out in a confused tone.
"Beck. H—hi." Cat was startled.
"You do realize it's almost two hours past when we agreed to meet, right?" Beck reminded.
"…Yeah…" Cat admitted.
"Then why are you barely getting here?" Beck asked.
"I don't know. I guess I was hoping to be alone with Jade for a little bit." Cat explained.
It was a little awkward for the both of them to talk just one-on-one like they were doing. They really hadn't talked all year, because Cat was still mad at Beck too. She hated what he had done to Jade and she was a little jealous that he was the last one to ever see Jade alive even after all he had put her through.
"How did you know everyone was gone?" Beck questioned.
"I was watching from my car. I parked over there." Cat pointed towards the other side of the cemetery where she had been hiding from everyone.
"Oh, so, do you want me to leave you alone? Because, I can go. We're all going to Nozu, and you're welcome to come." Beck rambled quickly.
"Yeah, I got the texts." Cat replied in a not-so-excited voice, completely unlike herself.
"So, I guess I'll see you around, then?" Beck began to walk away.
"You can stay, if you want. I know you wanted to be alone with her too. That's why you stayed behind, right?" Cat pointed out.
"Yeah, that's why. Hey, you didn't get smarter on us, did you?" Beck joked.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Cat squealed, just like she used to do.
"I'm kidding." Beck laughed.
The two of them walked closer to Jade's tombstone. Cat sighed at the sight of it. She placed the mixture of purple and yellow roses she bought for her best friend in the vase that was set up on the opposite side from the vase that Tori had put her purchased flowers in. Cat felt a warm tear fall down her cheek as she carefully put every single rose inside the vase that was filled with water.
"You miss her a lot, don't you?" Beck rubbed her arched back soothingly.
"So much it hurts." Cat wept.
"I know exactly what it feels like, believe me." Beck admitted.
"I just hate that I can't pick up the phone and call her. It can get lonely up in San Francisco, and sometimes I just want someone to talk to, but I don't have anyone like that anymore." Cat continued to cry.
"Cat, you have the rest of us. We're the people that understand what you're going through the most. You have all of our phone numbers. You can call us any time. Don't ever feel like you're alone." Beck reassured.
"I know, but it's not the same." Cat whined.
"Yeah I know what you mean. Maybe it'll help if you talk about it." Beck suggested.
"I just really miss everything about her. Like the way she would always yell at me, but I know she was doing it just to take care of me, and how her voice seemed to be the only one that could harmonize with mine perfectly. Even in San Francisco, nobody sounds as good as she did with me." Cat sniffled.
"I miss her voice too. Not just her singing voice, but just her talking voice. I miss the cute little way she would pronounce certain things, like how she would emphasize the letter 't' sound in words like 'kitten' and 'lighting'. I just miss everything about her. And I agree, it does hurt sometimes, but you know what Jade would do if she knew we were still crying every time she was brought up?" Beck looked directly into Cat's big brown eyes when she straightened back out.
"She would probably tell us to get over it." Cat replied.
"Exactly. But I'm not saying we have to get over it right away, in fact, we may never recover from her death, but that's okay. We can heal though. And you know what heals all wounds?" Beck asked.
"Sparkly Band-Aids?" Cat got excited just thinking of sparkles, which let Beck know that she was returning back to her old mood.
"Nope. Time. And you can take as much time as you need. But it's not good to keep everything to yourself. Call or text one of us if you're having a rough night. We're the ones that understand the most." Beck calmed her down immensely.
"Can I tell you something?" Cat looked worried that he might laugh at her for what she was about to say.
"Of course you can." Beck signaled her to continue with her thought.
"This isn't the first time I've visited Jade. I came on her birthday and right before I moved to San Francisco." Cat admitted.
"Really? I came on her birthday too. And I came on what would have been our anniversary." Beck announced.
"What time did you come on her birthday?" Cat asked.
"At sunset. I came and I set up a little dinner to eat by the tree." Beck replied.
"You had dinner with her? Why didn't I think of that?! I came in the afternoon." Cat explained.
"Hey maybe we should get to Nozu. Everyone else is probably wondering where we are." Beck suggested.
"Yeah. I guess we should." Cat started walking towards her car without even looking back or waiting for Beck, which was alright with him.
Beck made sure Cat was far enough away for him to have a little privacy before he reached into his pocket. He pulled out the two matching necklaces he and Jade wore every day during their relationship. He put his around his neck where it had been missing from ever since she broke up with him, and placed hers at the bottom of her tombstone. Her mom had given it to him after her funeral, because she remembered that she used to wear it all the time and she was surprised to find it in her room when she had gone through it. Jade's parents never found out about what Beck had done to her or that they even broke up right before she died. They assumed she and Beck were still together and decided the necklace would be best taken care of by him. Before Beck walked back to his car to head over to Nozu, he rubbed the large tombstone and whispered 'I love you'.
…
"There you are! We've been waiting for you." Tori announced as soon as she saw Cat and Beck walk through the front door of the restaurant.
"Hey, Cat, you made it!" Andre grinned when he noticed Cat walk in behind Beck.
When the two joined the rest of their friends at the table, they quickly ordered and started to talk. Cat updated everyone on her life in San Francisco. She explained how she was still living with her uncles, but that she made a lot of friends during the first year of school even though she decided to wait a year before moving into the dorms, which she would be doing as soon as she went back, after summer break. After hearing everyone else repeat their own updates for Cat, Tori spoke up.
"So, guys, I know this is going to sound weird, but…you know what? Never mind." Tori shook her head.
"Tell us!" Everyone begged simultaneously.
"Okay, okay. But promise you won't laugh or think I'm crazy!" Tori warned
"We won't." The group swore.
"Alright, so I don't know if it's just me, but I think Jade is still here. I can feel her presence almost everywhere I go." Tori started.
"Tori, that's crazy!" Robbie laughed.
"Hey! You promised not to do that!" Tori complained.
"No, I'm laughing, because I feel the same way!" Robbie agreed.
"You do? Why? What happened to you?" Tori asked.
"It hasn't been just one time. Everywhere I go, I see girls with dark hair and colored streaks in it. Jade used to be the only person I knew with hair like that. What happened to you?" Robbie explained.
"Well once I was taking a test, and the room was silent, except for I could hear the sound of scissors opening and closing, as if they were cutting something. But when I looked around the room, everyone else was writing on the test." Tori replied.
"Something like that happened to me too." Andre admitted.
"Really? What happened?" Robbie asked, taking a bite of sushi.
"So I was sleeping, right? And I swear I heard Jade's boots stomping down the hallway. When I heard them stop at my door, I walked over and opened it, but there was no one there. It was like three in the morning, so I knew no one else could have been awake." Andre continued.
"That's kind of creepy." Beck spoke up.
"I had something scary happen to me like that once." Cat started.
"Oh yeah? What happened to you little red?" Andre questioned.
"Well I pretty much cleaned out my whole room when I moved out of my Nonna's apartment, but when I came back for Christmas break, there was a copy of The Scissoring lying on my bed. But, I don't own that movie because it scares me. Jade used to bring hers over for sleepovers, but then she would take it home right after." Cat explained.
Everyone was really creeped out by all their stories. Maybe Jade was with them. Beck didn't share a story, because he had too many. He felt her everywhere he went. At one point he even chased a girl out of the grocery store because he swore it was Jade. No matter what he did, he always felt her right there with him. When other girls would flirt with him in the hallway, he would feel a cold wind rush past him, and when he slept, he felt the warmth of another person in bed with him. He was never scared though, because he knew Jade was just looking out for him. He never pursued a relationship with any of the girls in his college. He just couldn't get rid of the feeling that Jade was still very much alive and it made him feel like he was cheating on her. When he thought of things like that, it brought him back to the day that she caught him kissing Tori, and it crushed him inside. He regretted it more than anything in his life, but he knew at one point, he would have to move on from Jade, but for now, he was happy wearing the necklace that matched hers as a symbol of his their undying love for each other. She obviously hadn't forgotten about him, so he wouldn't dare forget about her, but it was till hard to not be able to move on right away. On days he got sad about not having someone to be with, he simply remembered that every story has an end, but in life, every ending just brought new beginnings.
Author's Note: I am deeply saddened that this is over, but I want to thank each and every one of you for reading this week after week. Whether you've been here since the crappy beginning, or you just started reading last week, just know that I appreciate you. I tried to make this as much of a Bade ending as I could, but if you are unsatisfied, I apologize. Please review and remember to follow me on Tumblr if you're not already! My URL is eegilllies and I would love to continue to talk to you all in my ask! Seriously though, it's been a pleasure writing for you all. Thank you once again for your support(: