A/N: I'm planning much longer chapters moving forward. Previously, I've been able to do about one update per week, but moving forward it'll take a little more time. I'll post each new chapter once I'm sure it meets my expectations.


Jade was distracted. Even though today started the final week of rehearsal before the opening night of Uptown Downtown, she could not bring herself to watch the scene currently on stage. Rather, Jade wanted to watch the scene and was resisting for a reason she couldn't put into words. Instead, she was typing worthlessly into her phone behind her copy of the playbill, paying hardly any attention as she browsed TheSlap.

"Because, you're beautiful," came Robbie's poorly executed line. In a moment of weakness, Jade glanced up from her phone at her rival and confidante, Tori Vega. Tori was frowning at Robbie, but even then she was beautiful. She looked nice in her black, strappy ruffled top, and the chunky jewelry was a new addition to Tori's style that Jade appreciated, as well. Jade didn't hear Robbie's continued line, having already tuned his terrible acting out, and she turned her attention back to her phone, irritated with herself.

Jade shouldn't need to force herself to resist watching the play rehearsal. She should be furious, rather than mildly irritated, with Tori for getting the lead role. But she wasn't furious, and even that was Tori's fault. Tori had helped Jade when she needed her most, and Jade owed Tori a big favor as a result. Jade had decided the only fair way to repair her debt was to silently, secretly allow the girl to be closer to her; to allow her to be what most normal people would call a friend. Even in her own mind, Jade refused to use that word. The implications were dangerous and terrifying.

"I can wait. For you, I would wait a thousand years," came Beck's line. Jade looked up from her phone once again. She was allowed to enjoy watching Beck perform.

"But that's so many!" Tori replied in surprise. Jade rolled her eyes. Tori was delivering the lines well, but it was such a corny script. Maybe it was for the best that Jade hadn't gotten the female lead; she'd rather swallow razor blades than convincingly spout the ditzy, love-struck dialogue. Jade's gaze alternated between her phone and the stage as the scene continued.

"You're beautiful because I love you," came Beck's final line of the scene, shortly followed by unscripted swirling lights and disco music. Jade was actually thankful for Sinjin's screw-up as it gave her an outlet for her pent up anxious energy.

After the events of last week, Jade worried how Tori would behave around her in public. Jade had revealed more about herself to the singer than she anticipated and, while the situation ended with her and Beck back together, she was concerned that Tori would see Jade in a new light and share that with everyone at school. Thus leading to Jade's building anxiety since Sunday evening.

To her surprise, relief and irritation, Tori didn't act like anything was different between them. She didn't bounce up to her like Cat, didn't gossip or share any inane, stupid rumors that "girl friends" did with each other. In fact, the only acknowledgment Jade received from Tori all day was before the first bell when Tori smiled and offered a small wave at her and Beck when they passed in the hall. It was exactly what Jade wanted, but then why was she so irritated by the half-Latina's behavior?

As the director, Marty, called for a break, Jade noticed a new alert on her phone. Her eyes opened wide as she read the e-mail. Sophia Michelle was going to be in town and was attending their opening night performance. Even with the supporting role Jade was playing, she knew this was a massive opportunity. Sophia Michelle was a famous Broadway playwright; any lasting positive impression could pay off in spades after graduating school – maybe even before. Jade excitedly shared the news with the class, a grin plastering itself on her face as Marty fled in panic. An opportunity to elevate her stardom while causing legitimate distress in a teacher? There was no sweeter feeling.

"Who's Sophia Michelle?" Tori asked Jade, genuinely curious and painfully ignorant. Jade's grin fell so fast her lips threatened to break the sound barrier. Jade almost wanted to shout at Tori just like she had shouted at Sinjin moments prior, all while insulting her intelligence and scarring her psyche. And, if the singer had been anyone else, that's exactly what Jade would have done. But, she wasn't anyone else – she was Tori.

Jade leaned her head back in a muffled groan. "Oh, no, no, no," she lamented and reached out for Beck. Jade gently guided Beck with her as she collapsed into a chair with a frown. Sometimes life was cruel in ways that Jade could only ironically appreciate. Why did it have to be cruel to her, though?

Tori was confused. Jade seemed upset that she didn't know who this "Sophia Michelle" lady was, but the girl's behavior was strange, even for her. Typically Jade would get angry. This sullen, only barely condescending moaning was a new reaction. While Tori found it better than being yelled at, she wanted to understand what she had done to cause Jade such distress.

"What?" she once again asked Jade earnestly. Jade covered her face with her phone and closed her eyes.

"She gets to be the lead, and she doesn't even know who Sophia Michelle is?" Jade announced to no one in particular. She looked around the room as she spoke, but settled on staring at Tori. When Tori guessed, incorrectly, who Sophia Michelle was and why she was important, Jade looked back at her phone to pull her attention away from the amateur performer. Jade would normally respond with rude comments, but again, it was Tori. When Tori finally realized that Sophia Michelle wrote Uptown Downtown, Jade couldn't help mocking her realization under her breath. Tori slightly frowned at Jade.

Jade had been nice to Tori, in Jade terms, so far today. She hadn't even insulted Tori once. Tori thought about how Jade must be feeling - Jade was very talented and worked hard to prepare for her assignments. That probably meant Jade expected that work to pay off by earning leading roles in school performances, Tori reasoned. And now Tori was starring in this play, and she didn't even really know who wrote the script. Come to think of it, Tori accidentally auditioned for the part; she hadn't really prepared at all.

Yeah, she could see where that would sting to someone as dedicated as Jade. And apologizing to the actress wouldn't work; Tori would just have to further commit herself and learn everything possible when auditioning for these roles in the future. And, of course, knock out this particular performance later this week so that Jade would see Tori was taking it as seriously as Jade would herself.

The bell announced the end of class and rehearsal for the day, but Tori was already mentally planning her evening and week. She'd practice all her lines, review all her songs every day after school until the opening performance on Friday evening. She was going to nail this role. But first, she needed to nail lunch – she was starving. The rest of her friends had already left for the cafe, but Tori knew Cat was just backstage finishing up her make-up class. Cat tended to lose herself when left to her own devices, so Tori popped into the backstage area to find the ditzy girl.

Tori didn't expect to find her finishing up, and apparently failing, her make-up assignment. She was supposed to create a hideous monster and instead had turned her model's face into a fuzzy, cute critter. Tori had never seen the redhead so serious, but also Tori was distracted by her stomach gnawing on itself. Thanks to another scheme by her sister, Tori was rushed out of the house early before she could find anything to eat. And they still barely arrived at school on time.

"That's the third model that's quit on me. I'm going to get an F – in make-up!" Cat lamented. Tori looked away, distancing herself from the awkward scene.

"Aw, that bites. Let's go get an A in lunch," she suggested callously. She reached out to grab Cat's hand and was pulled to a surprise halt when Cat slammed the brakes.

"Wait," Cat said, her eyes opening widely. Tori knew danger signs when she saw them, and the signs around Cat glowed crimson.

"No," she retorted, drawing it out to interrupt the girl. "I am not going to be your monster make-up model!" she finished Cat's unspoken thought, pointing her finger up in defiance. Cat stomped stubbornly.

"But if I don't transform someone's face into a hideous monster by Monday, I'm going to fail this class," she repeated with wide, sad eyes; Cat hoped Tori would pity her and help. Tori made a point to avoid looking at Cat as she held up both hands.

"And if I don't cram a turkey sandwich down my throat, I'm going to fail 'not starving to death'!" Tori practically shouted back at Cat before turning quickly on the spot and stepping towards the door. Cat desperately leaned forward and grabbed Tori's arm to slow her down.

"Tori!" Cat drew out, desperately pleading. Tori felt her temper flare.

"Cat!" Tori drew out similarly, mocking her. They started arguing back and forth, but Tori couldn't keep her temper for long and eventually caved. "Fine, I'll do it!" she said unhappily with a grimace. Cat cheered until Tori flatly added, "But you're buying my lunch." Cat whined, but Tori was done with this conversation. She grabbed Cat's wrist and spun her around, practically dragging her through the door and to the Asphalt Cafe. Tori knew Cat would have run if given the chance, and focusing on her destination and the promise of food helped her ignore how familiar this entire situation felt.

Not even a week ago, Jade had grabbed Tori's wrist and dragged her to a destination for Jade's benefit. Tori shook her head; this was different. She had, begrudgingly, agreed to help Cat before pulling her along. She just hoped this wouldn't take too long – she needed to focus on the play!


Friday morning brought the anxiety and excitement typical of the last school day of the week coupled with the opening night of a new performance. All the students that were part of the production were particularly on edge with exception of one – Jade wasn't anxious about the play in the least. Had she been introspective about that fact, Jade would attribute her comfort to multiple sources; she had over-prepared for her supporting role, she reveled in the general discomfort of the student body and she was looking forward to seeing Tori.

Specifically, she was looking forward to seeing what horror Cat had managed to inflict upon Tori. Cat acted brainless, but she was usually fairly safe to be around. Except when Jade saw Tori post earlier in the week about monster make-up, she couldn't help but wonder if Cat would screw up somehow. Clearly she had, judging by Tori's post on TheSlap last night. "I just made 2 little girls scream and run away with the cookies. Mood: Bumed" read the post, and Jade grinned thinking back to it. If Tori had meant to scare the children, as Jade might have, she wouldn't have been upset. Which means something had gone wrong. Jade knew Tori well enough by this point to know the singer would air her grievances without provocation – it was just a matter of being around her.

To Jade's minor disappointment and irritation, Tori wasn't in the hallway before first period. And she didn't see the girl between classes or at lunch. Jade hated waiting, but if Tori was skipping classes and lunch it must be really bad. Realizing Tori was running out of time before final rehearsal and the opening performance tonight, Jade grinned to herself. She was bound to run into the singer eventually.

The payoff exceeded Jade's wildest dreams. She had just entered the Black Box theater and saw Tori on stage speaking with Marty; the girl's body language was rigid and Marty's face was crestfallen. Tori was too distracted to notice Jade's entrance, which was just as well because Jade's face was starting to hurt from how hard she was silently laughing at the poor girl. There's no way Tori would have kept the disgusting zombie make-up all over her face intentionally, which meant Cat must have used some type of super glue instead. Tori would freak out and ruin the play if she thought Jade was going to give her a hard time, so she kept her distance until she was confident she could approach Tori without grinning like a jackass.

Tori was furious. She should never have agreed to help Cat; she knew the redhead was ditzy, but to use Grizzly Glue on her face?! She had suffered through school all day in this horrible mask, and now that she was practicing on stage the latex was becoming incredibly uncomfortable under the searing lights. Her skin practically hurt from how suffocated it felt. She was going to break-out for sure after this, she just knew it.

Luckily, all her practice earlier in the week had paid off in spades because she was somehow able to fall into character and hit every line and song during the final rehearsal. If not for the stupid make-up, she'd actually be incredibly excited about her first play at Hollywood Arts! Instead she was anxiously waiting for Trina and Cat to show up any minute with the solvent to help remove the make-up so she could focus in earnest. They should be on their way back to the school, but Tori began having second thoughts when Marty didn't seem convinced that they would arrive in time. Barely staving off panic, Tori called Trina's phone. Each ring felt like an eternity. Finally, she heard a giddy voice that could only be Cat.

"Where are you guys?" Tori asked, concerned. Off-stage, Jade overheard the panic in Tori's voice and stopped in her tracks. She turned to Beck.

"Babe, water?" she requested flatly. Beck shrugged and walked off, leaving Jade alone to listen to Tori's conversation. There was a pause as Tori allowed the person to respond. Tori felt a vein throb in her forehead.

"The fact-you're not even there yet? The show starts in, like, two hours!" Tori cried back, her voice pitching up an octave in distress. A second later and Jade heard Tori lose her patience and snap.

"Listen. To me," Tori started firmly. Jade's eyebrows raised; if she wasn't listening before, she certainly would be now. The girl sounded absolutely pissed, and Jade would tell herself later she didn't love hearing Tori sound that mad. "If you two morons aren't back here before the play starts, and I have to go on stage looking like a zombie, I'm going to punch both your buggies, do you-" Jade frowned and peaked over at the stage. Tori had stopped because the nervous director had given her a judgmental, almost fearful look.

Jade took a deep breath, only now realizing she had been holding her breath. What a shame – it was just getting good. Luckily, Beck had returned with a bottle of water and Jade gladly took it from him. They needed to head backstage and dress. The opening performance started in less than two hours, after all.

Tori was low-key freaking out as she paced the stage behind the closed curtain. Any moment, Uptown Downtown was going to start and she still looked like a zombie! Where were they?! What was taking them so long?! Didn't they know how dead they were when they finally-

Jade watched Tori pace restlessly up and down the stage. Unsurprisingly, zombie make-up was still affixed to her face, and Cat and Trina were nowhere to be seen. Jade wasn't thrilled about the fact that Tori's mistake trusting Cat would ruin the play, but this would be good for the overly optimistic girl. She needed to learn that not everyone was deserving of trust. Just like Jade had to learn when she was little.

"Tori!" came a whisper-yell from Marty as he ran onto the stage in a panic. Tori whipped around to address him and calm him down. Jade registered, too late, she had given Tori a more-than-casual once over as the girl turned. Tori didn't usually wear skirts that revealed her legs. The outfit was a little too formal and retro, but she looked nice.

"We're on in two minutes and you still look disgusting!" Marty lamented.

Still, it would be for the best if Jade ensured Tori learned a lesson. A little teasing would help. It took all her effort to keep her tone and expression flat.

"I can play the lead," she offered to Marty over Tori's shoulder. Tori stared at Jade, but her expression was unreadable through the undead flesh. Marty sighed.

"No, we don't have anyone else to play your part," he explained in exasperation. Jade frowned. Seriously? She was trying to prove a point here, and she couldn't have stopped the verbal assault even if she wanted to.

"We're indoors, lose the scarf," she said scathingly before turning and stomping off stage.

At Marty's command to "do something", Tori stomped, frustrated, to the other side of the stage and called Cat and Trina again. As she questioned them fiercely, the pit in her stomach grew larger and larger. Then she heard sirens and Trina suggested they were an hour away. Tori hung up the phone and desperately wished she was the type of person to use all the curse words. A techie nearby called out the sixty second warning. Tori closed her eyes and focused.

This was her first play. Trina and Cat were not going to be here, and she was going to have to perform in the zombie mask. But on stage, she wasn't Tori - she was Penny. And maybe Penny didn't care that she was covered in rotting flesh. And if Penny didn't care, then maybe the audience wouldn't care. Jade hadn't cared.

Tori's eyes popped open. She wasn't sure where that last thought came from, but she felt the panic edge away. With focus, she could do this. She had just done it, now she just needed to do it with an audience.

Jade was impressed. She was waiting for her queue just off stage, as she had a small part in the final dance scene which was just about to start. Tori had fallen into her role completely; she acted like her face wasn't covered in bleeding, putrid gray latex and paint, and the audience had bought it up. Jade couldn't resist the small smile that pulled at her lips. She wondered if everyone else was so blinded by Tori's radiance that they couldn't see the churning plasma that lay beneath her corona. How easy was it for all of them to think Tori's performance was effortless? Jade alone saw the pure force of will it took to keep that energy-releasing reaction controlled and sustained, and she felt a dangerous kinship.

"Suddenly, my choice is clear..." rang Tori's voice, crystal clear through the speakers and the mask. Jade's eyes opened wide and something seized in her gut. It had been almost two months since the Big Showcase; two months since she heard Tori sing, and only now did she realize how much she had missed it. It should be practically illegal the girl was allowed to speak rather than sing. Jade couldn't even pretend to not stare raptly at Tori as she serenaded the crowd and the stage alike. She faintly heard Beck's harmonization with Tori, but that's all it was – a background instrument to Tori's main event.

The bass line broke Jade of her stupor, and she mentally centered herself. She would have missed her queue to move onto stage if not for the brief pause. Hearing Robbie's shout was her mark, and she sauntered onto the stage with the other back-up dancers. She didn't expect Tori's grinning form to walk towards her, one finger outstretched and curling seductively towards herself, as if beckoning Jade closer. That wasn't part of the script, but Jade just grinned as she fell into step behind Tori, singing backup over her shoulder. She didn't know if her grin was acting or not, but on stage Jade was happy – and it was only fair that she was allowed to be genuinely happy sometimes.

The song continued and Jade left the stage, as scripted. The remaining dancers entered the final breakdown, but Tori's attention was pulled from the dance routine by Beck pointing offstage. It was Cat! And Trina! With the solvent! After non-verbally confirming with Andre that he could stretch the song, Tori awkwardly danced off stage. Clear of the curtain, she practically ran to the nearest chair and plopped into it, sliding away slightly.

Jade realized within seconds the song was lasting longer than it should. She frowned and looked behind the curtains, across the background to the other side of the stage. Ah, that explained it. Talentless and Brainless had finally arrived to fix Tori's face.

"We brought you Freezy Queen!" Cat gleefully announced while holding up a big bowl of ice cream. Tori stared daggers at the oblivious redhead. A fury that felt foreign forced Tori, while still staring Cat in the eye, to smack the ice cream up and out of her hands as mean-spirited as she could.

"Just get this MUCK OFF MY FACE!" Jade heard Tori shout at the pair. Jade's eyebrows raised for the second time that night.

Trina actually looked a little afraid of Tori now. Along with Cat, she struggled to quickly apply the solvent and brush the latex away from Tori's skin. After the longest sixty seconds of Tori's life, she dove past both of them without a word and lined up at the back of the stage to reenter the scene and finish the play.


After curtain call, Trina and Cat both ran up to Tori and Jade to excitedly gush about how great the end of the performance had gone. Tori wanted to remain furious, but she was so relieved to be out of the zombie mask that she couldn't help but smile. Even Jade was grinning, and Tori couldn't think of a time when she had felt more accomplished.

Resisting emotional whiplash, she felt her nerves seize when Sophia Michelle approached them. She walked right between Tori and Jade, but that anxiety quickly transformed into relief. Sophia Michelle thought the zombie mask was intentional – something about social commentary and beauty within. Tori rolled with it as well as she could, but she was just glad that she hadn't ruined the performance after all.

Jade was wrestling with mixed emotions. She was excited to speak with a famous playwright, but disappointed she was such a sucker for assigning intent to such a big mistake. Still, Tori had played it well – it was pretty believable. When Robbie asked about his performance and Sophia Michelle stated she was late for her flight, Jade found an opening to allow one emotion in particular to rise to the top. Desire for mischief.

"We heard you were going to be in L.A. all week," Jade stated, convincingly sounding confused.

"Right. Well, bye," the playwright responded before quickly walking away. Jade grinned to herself. She could at least find consistency in emotionally scarring Robbie.

Even though it was Friday night, none of the students stuck around much longer. They all had to be back in the theater tomorrow morning to prepare for the afternoon performance and the final show Sunday morning. Trina was ready to go home, so Tori wasn't given a choice other than to leave first. She was also coming down from the adrenaline high and wasn't prepared for how tired she felt. As the Vega sisters left the theater, Tori cheerfully waved a goodbye back to Beck and Jade. Beck raised a hand in a lazy return salute, while Jade caught Tori's eye but offered little more than the ghost of a smile in return.

The weekend performances went just as well, which helped Tori grow her comfort and confidence in front of a crowd. And every time the final song started, Jade couldn't help but stare at Tori in wonder. However, she noticed it was only the performance Friday night that Tori had beckoned her forward on stage, her true expression and feelings hidden behind the zombie mask. Jade didn't understand why she wished to see her do it again, so she buried the feeling deep down, thankful that she wouldn't have to think about it after their final performance Sunday morning.


With the weekend dedicated to Uptown Downtown, Tori wasn't left with much time for anything other than catching up on homework for her other classes. She settled back into the new normal that was life at Hollywood Arts by Tuesday afternoon, gathered for lunch in the Asphalt Cafe with Andre, Beck and Jade. A few other students had dropped by the table to congratulate all of them on how well the show went. Tori recognized the boy, Trevor, from one of their shared classes, and she smiled as they fell into a quick, easy conversation. Even Jade was smiling, which Tori was happy to see; she took it to mean that Jade was proud of the overall performance, even if she didn't get to play the lead actress.

Trevor and his friend left the table and the group returned to their lunches. Jade's attention was the first to be pulled away from her salad as a weird, boxy machine was placed in front of her. She looked up, not at all surprised to see Cat smiling expectantly at them all. Jade dropped her eyes back to the machine, and she waited for Tori to nicely ask Cat all about her most recent odd behavior.

Jade found it very interesting that Tori glanced up at Cat and wordlessly returned to her food. Had Tori actually learned her lesson from last week? It's exactly what Jade wanted to do, so she followed suite and silently began eating again.

"Don't you guys want to know what that is?!" Cat whined, disbelieving their apparent disinterest. Jade couldn't, and didn't really want to, prevent the sarcastic outburst that forced itself from her mouth.

"Is it a transporter from the future that can beam you to another table?" Jade asked, sounding almost polite. "Because if it is, what button do I push?" she continued, her mouth becoming a flat line as her tone and glare at the redhead grew severe. Jade could usually tolerate Cat, but when the girl forced attention to herself she could be downright insufferable. Cat frowned.

"That's so hurtful!" she pouted, staring sadly at Jade. Tori carefully measured Cat's reaction. Cat tended to cry easily, and once the fragile girl was wounded it would take a lot of time and effort to patch her up. Tori frowned and turned her attention to Jade.

"You know, you don't always have to be mean to everyone," she said matter-of-factly. Jade returned Tori's stare, her facial features unreadable. Maybe Tori hadn't learned anything, after all.

"See?" Cat piled on. "Tori's interested in my device," she taunted. Tori could swear she saw an actual red flag flap into view, but it was just Cat's hair.

"I'm really not," Tori explained with a grimace at Cat. Jade grinned and returned to her food, but her enjoyment was cut short by Andre's good nature prompting Cat to explain the box in front of them. Jade sighed and pursed her lips; Tori looked irritated, as well, but she was putting on a polite face.

Jade didn't have time to regret her inaction as fake snow began pouring out of the device and all over her hair, her food and the table. She batted away at it briefly, but realized that it wasn't stopping and no one was helping. She reached forward slowly, blindly and fumbled around until she found the off switch. Even though it had only been a few seconds, everything was coated in the fake powder. Jade brushed the annoying white flakes off her jacket and out of her hair, while Tori and Beck lamented it coating their food. Jade swore those two both thought with their stomachs, and she noticed that Beck seemed particularly agitated.

"Whatever you do, don't eat it!" came Cat's uncharacteristically coherent answer. Jade immediately stopped cleaning her hair and stared at Cat.

"Why?" she asked carefully, drawing out the word. When Cat shared that it was toxic to eat, it was practically a race for who could push their food forward faster. Jade wanted to scream.

"So, what made you buy a machine that poisons peoples lunches?" Jade heard Tori ask Cat, sarcasm barely masking the underlying disgust and irritation. Jade held back her shout. Tori needed to learn; maybe letting her handle Cat would help Tori realize that Jade wasn't mean to everyone – just people who deserved it. Like everyone other than Beck. Or Tori. Sometimes.

Jade's attention was pulled back to the table by a shouting Robbie. Jade made an effort to keep her face emotionless. She didn't like Robbie or Rex, and she usually made it very well known. It suited her just fine the boy was terrified of her. As he lamented about the 'snow', she scooped up a spoonful.

"It's not real snow," Beck explained plainly. Jade held up the spoon.

"But you can eat it," she said sweetly without a hint of malice. Jade was almost disappointed that neither Beck nor Tori said anything. Then again, both looked very unhappy that Robbie was sitting next to them. Jade saw that Tori looked particularly upset, which was again interesting information. Tori acted like she got along with everyone, but her reaction to Cat and Robbie seemed like she tolerated them almost the same as Jade.

As Robbie continued to drone on about his blog being canceled, Jade decided she hadn't gotten the reaction she wanted. "Why?!" she asked, sounding and looking concerned before instantly dropping the act and snapping her fingers. "Oh wait, I don't care," she finished, her tone and expression flat. Tori looked up at the sky, mad with herself. She also didn't really care, but why did Jade have to just blurt it out like that? Part of Tori wished she could just admit that too, but she also hated seeing people upset – especially anyone she regularly spent time with.

"Why?" Tori asked plainly, looking over at Robbie. When Rex interjected to say that Robbie's blog was boring, Robbie sought words of assurance from his friends.

"Do you guys think that my blog on TheSlap is boring?" he asked them all, hopeful for support. None of them knew he had a blog, nor would they have bothered reading it even if they did.

"Hey look, it's that guy over there!" Beck unconvincingly announced. Even Cat caught on, affirming Beck's comment as everyone other than Tori stood up. Jade didn't play into the lie, but she smiled to herself. She was just glad the group decided to leave Robbie's presence, even if Beck lied about it. As they all left, Jade had to twist the knife just a little. After all, Robbie had ruined the remainder of lunch.

"There's no guy," she deadpanned as she walked past him. Robbie looked dejected and Tori winced. It felt like she was always trying to fix things, but she liked helping people. Wasn't that what friends did? Still, it was hard not to follow Jade's lead and leave the boy to his thoughts.

To put her conscious at ease, Tori empathized with Robbie over the cancellation of his blog. Even if she didn't know anything about it, to be told you can't continue a project you enjoy must be painful. When he wasn't freaking out Robbie was more lucid, so Tori suggested he change the content of his blog to focus on the students. When he seemed to take the suggestion to heart, Tori smiled. She felt better about leaving now, so she did. Whether they canceled Robbie's blog or not, at least Tori felt like she had tried to help. She felt better about herself for not just abandoning him.


Tori frowned in the mirror as she prepared for school. The week had gone by quickly, but yesterday at school she noticed a huge pimple on her chin. Tori thought back to a few choice words she had for Cat about her stupid make-up project. She knew having that muck on her face that long wasn't good. Tori had popped the offending blemish yesterday at school and it was healing, but it was still huge. She took extra care that morning to cover it up without caking it in make-up, which would just make the problem worse. Hopefully no one at school noticed while the splotch healed.

Tori thought she was just letting her anxiety get the best of her when she noticed other students pointing her direction trying, poorly, to hide their laughter. At her locker, Tori's phone buzzed with an update from TheSlap. Andre had sent her a DM with a link to a video from Robbie's blog.

"Uh, chica, you're gonna want to see this," read the short message and Tori frowned. The video was posted the night before. She played it on her phone and watched with increasing horror and frustration as the candid video focused on her popping her pimple yesterday at her locker. Robbie never asked if he could film her! As Tori looked around the hallway, she swore at least half a dozen people were turning their gaze away from her. Rather than embarrassment, her face burned with barely contained fury.

Part of Tori was urging calm. She didn't particularly like Robbie, but he was upset earlier this week. She had suggested he make segments about the students, and that is kind of what he did. But another part of Tori, one that sounded suspiciously like Jade, coldly reminded Tori that Robbie's failure as a writer wasn't her responsibility. She wasn't obligated to suffer degradation and humiliation to enhance his career. And, if the nerdy little punching bag had any guts, he would have told Tori ahead of posting it and asked her permission.

Point: 'Jade'. Tori was going to hunt down the curly haired puppeteer and wring his neck!

Tori searched Sikowitz's class first. Robbie was normally pretty early to class, but he wasn't there yet. As she stomped back to the main hall, she saw him near the entrance doors and walking her way. She stopped dead in her tracks.

"ROBBIE!" she growled loudly, causing the boy to full stop. It was a critical mistake, as Tori had already broken into a full sprint and had closed half the distance before he turned and tried to shuffle away. Tori quickly caught up and spun him around by his backpack to face her.

"H-Heya Tori! How are things?" Robbie asked nervously, pretending to not know exactly why Tori was so upset. Tori glared at Robbie and refused to justify his poor excuse of an act with a response.

"I see you're still rocking that chin zit," Rex commented caustically. Tori's eyes and temper flared. Before she could stop herself, she had one fist raised in the air ready to strike the puppet. She only barely held back, her usual pensive nature resisting the impulse. Rex's threat to sue was emptier than Cat's head, but it reminded Tori that she didn't act this way. She was upset, furious even, but she didn't hit people to solve her problems. She let her arm fall in frustration.

"How could you post that video of me squeezing my pimple?!" she demanded, her eyebrows furrowed. Robbie tried to turn it around by suggesting Tori told him to do stories about people. "I told you to do stories about what's going on in student's lives, not to embarrass and degrade people!" she explained, bypassing his defense. "I mean, seriously, is being popular that important to you?" she asked in disbelief.

Robbie was silent for several seconds and refused to meet Tori's eye. The warning bell to first period rang and Tori looked away briefly. It was obvious Robbie wasn't going to give her an answer.

"Think about your answer carefully, Robbie," she warned firmly before turning away and heading to class. The rest of the day, even if she saw Robbie, she refused the meet his eye or act friendly towards him. He hadn't even apologized to her.

Jade was aware of the embarrassing video, but she refused to watch it. On the one hand, Tori deserved it for encouraging the walking disaster that was Robbie Shapiro. On the other hand, she didn't want to reward him with views on his blog. Despite Hollywood Arts being a very unique school, it was still a school full of teenagers. Something equally gossip-worthy would happen over the weekend and no one would even remember Tori's video.


By Wednesday afternoon, Jade was proven wrong. Class in the Black Box was wrapping up, and Tori's face drained of its typical bronze color as she checked her phone. Tori swallowed the lump forming in her throat. Without a word to the others, she pulled her laptop out of her bag and used a cart as a makeshift desk. The other students filtered out of the theater, but Jade was curious. She stepped over to stand behind and over Beck, subtly watching Tori browse to TheSlap and open a video. Andre watched the screen behind Tori.

"Oh my God," Tori lamented in a low tone as the video played. Rather than blowing over, Robbie had doubled-down; he replaced his blog with a new video series named Robarazzi. Jade cringed as the intro to the video played – his acting was awful at the best of times, but even the name was terrible. As Robbie asked ridiculous questions in the video promo, Jade listened and kept a neutral expression. So far, Robbie was being mostly annoying by channeling the worst behaviors of tabloids and other gossip-rags. She took a sip of coffee as the video droned on.

"Is it splits-ville for Beck and Jade?!" the video Robbie asked in mock concern. Jade turned back to the screen, eyes wide and eyebrows dangerously pointed. If she didn't have a mouth full of coffee she would have screamed. Beck's eyebrows raised a little in surprise and he briefly glanced over his shoulder at Jade's rigid, furious form before looking down and laughing lightly. As the intro to the video ended, Tori leaned forward and jammed her fingers into the keyboard to pause the video.

"He's a dead man!" she announced, standing up and pacing near the stage to calm her nerves. Jade agreed, but her focus was on herself first and foremost. She rolled her eyes dramatically.

"Beck and I aren't splitting up!" she announced, more to calm herself than anyone in their group. She was hoping Beck would verbally agree and stabilize her insecurity. Jade was always freaking out about their relationship; Beck couldn't resist flexing a little of the control he had gained a few weeks ago during their short break up.

"Well," came Beck's reply. Jade's entire body seized up.

"Dude..." she threateningly replied, staring at the back of her boyfriend's head. Beck raised his hands in surrender.

"Kidding!" he quickly amended without looking back at Jade. Tori frowned at the exchange between them. Beck knew Jade worried about their relationship – why would he antagonize her like that? Tori shook her head. There were bigger issues that needed immediate attention.

"Let's go fix this, right now," she announced before grabbing her bag and heading for the door, the others ahead of her. Tori expected they'd have a bigger impact if they all confronted Robbie, so she tried to prompt Cat into joining them. The girl was hopelessly lost in her Sky Store catalog, so Tori abandoned her. As they left the theater, Tori ran a hand through her hair in frustration.

TheSlap was managed out of a student activity room on the other side of school. It didn't take long to travel there and, Tori in the lead, angrily march into the room.

"Hey!" Tori announced herself, looking for and finding Robbie quickly at the head of the room. He was surrounded by cameras and other students. Robbie sounded unusually confident as he took a few steps forward, only retreating when Tori quickly approached his podium.

"Whoa whoa whoa c'mon you guys, we're in the middle of taping my show!" he responded firmly. Tori prepared a few choice words and nervously moved her hair behind her ear, but she was saved from her outburst by Jade's shouting over her shoulder.

"Beck and I are not splits-ville!" she shouted, pointing dangerously at Robbie.

"Well," Beck said again in the same deadpan tone. Tori was faster to react than Jade. Frowning, she whipped her head back to glare at Beck. In less than a second, Jade caught up and spun to face Beck.

"Is there something you want to talk about?!" Jade challenged, her voice pitching upwards in concern. Beck laughed – laughed! - at her before reaching out to place a hand on her arm.

"Kidding," he clarified. Jade stared at him, mouth agape. Jade hated being caught off guard, and she hated being confused. Tori found herself unknowingly thinking the same thing as Jade in that moment; why was Beck doing this?!

Tori and Jade were both pulled out of their distraction by Robbie celebrating and spinning the group's arrival during his show. He made sure the camera crew was capturing the footage.

"Robbie!" Tori shouted, grabbing his attention once again. "You're not going to have any friends left if you keep exploiting us for your dumb blog!" Tori was feeling frustrated and used, and she was hoping that appealing to Robbie's desire to feel part of their group would help him understand why his actions were harmful. Jade stared, arms crossed, and let Tori try her way first. She was only distracted a little by a foreign feeling in her stomach; the same feeling as when Tori was screaming at Cat and Trina over the phone last week.

Tori's hope was dashed when Robbie turned around without addressing her and wrote on his board "Tori: Freaking out". She stared in disbelief at him and the board, and even Jade could tell Robbie had crossed a line.

"Is he serious?" Tori asked dangerously to no one in particular before moving forward, her smile not reaching her eyes. She advanced on Robbie and the entire room broke into a chaotic mess of argument. Tori couldn't even remember what she told him, but after a minute of deafening noise Tori couldn't take it any more.

"STOP!" she shouted as loud as she could and the room immediately settled down. Even Jade snapped quiet and, with a huff, turned around to stare at Robbie. "This is your last chance," Tori forced herself to calmly say. "Are you going to stop this Robarazzi thing, or not?!" she almost shouted at him as she crossed her arms. Robbie didn't immediately reply.

It was Jade's turn to lose her patience. "Wrong answer," she firmly stated, her stance identical to Tori's. "You stop this, or I stop you!" And with that threat announced, Jade turned on the spot and walked out of the room. She knew Beck would be close behind and, as expected, he was. Tori looked over her shoulder at Jade's retreating form and her expression softened slightly. She cast a mean-spirited glare on more time at Robbie before turning around and leaving the room with Andre close behind. Last time, Tori's question about popularity hadn't hit home. She could only hope between her threat of losing his friends and Jade's threat of losing his bodily functions, Robbie would listen to reason and stop spreading rumors about them.


Tori was allowed only a day of ignorant bliss before evidence of her failure smacked her in the face. The following evening, she was on her laptop at home and browsing updates on TheSlap when a new video notice popped up. A new Robarazzi video was just posted. Oh no.

The video showed a highly edited version of the events yesterday, making it look like Andre, Beck, Tori and Jade were threatening to attack Robbie and the staff. Robbie's narration played over the video, ending in a worrying hypothetical question.

"Is anyone safe?"

Tori felt her fingernails dig into her arms; any harder, and she would draw blood. Her nose was scrunched up and she was staring daggers at the Robbie on screen, wishing he'd burst into flames. She felt, rather than heard, a dangerous growl in her throat.

Tori hated feeling this way – this sense of fury and betrayal was foreign to her. Jade was much more open and honest about how to handle these emotions and situations. Maybe Tori could speak with her tomorrow and figure out what to do now that Robbie had made his final decision. Even if Robbie didn't want to be friends with them anymore, his stupid show needed to be stopped!