Here is chapter 4. Once again, thanks go out to Invader Johnny, ScottyBgood, Dav7788 and Valley-10 for the reviews. I apologize if I missed anyone.
Three days later
It had been nearly three full days since Tori had been laid to rest and the majority of the student body had gone on with it's business. But there was an unmistakable sense of sadness that had seemed to permeate the school since the funeral. The students of Hollywood arts had seemed to smile and laugh less since Tori had been buried. But for her closest friends and her sister, the loss was being taken much harder.
Trina Vega hadn't been to school since she had found out. One of the students who had brought her homework to the Vega household had said that her parents wouldn't let anyone see her and that an ambulance had been seen outside the house as he had arrived to drop off the homework.
Beck took a deep breath as he passed by the locker that had once been Tori's. The school had decided to keep it the way it was, a little reminder of what Tori Vega had accomplished and how she had made it shine.
As he walked past the lockers he saw Andre staring numbly into his open locker, seemingly oblivious to the world. Beck quietly walked up to him and gently placed his hand on his shoulder. "Hey." He said simply.
It took Andre a moment to realize that someone was speaking to him. He didn't turn around though, he just kept staring into his locker. "I miss her so much, Beck." He said quietly. "And this is my fault. I was rehearsing a new song with her the night before...before it happened. I shouldn't have stayed so late."
"It's not your fault, Andre." Beck said firmly. "It's Ryder's fault for doing what he did. No one thought he would do something like this." Andre shook his head and tears ran down his face. "No...She wanted to quit for the night but I told her we should keep practicing. It's my fault...It's all my fault." He muttered as he stared into his locker.
"Andre." Beck said carefully as he pulled him away from his locker. "You need to go talk to one of the grief counselors." he said in a firm but gentle voice "If not for me or yourself then for Tori. She wouldn't want to see you like this. She wouldn't want you to blame yourself for something that you had no control over. Come on, I'll walk you over to Lane's office and he can set up an appointment for you to talk to someone."
"Thanks." Andre muttered as they walked towards Lane's office. As they walked past the Janitor's closer closest to the lockers, Beck thought he heard soft sobbing coming from nearby. "Go talk to Lane." He said gently. "I need to check something." Andre nodded and continued on his way as Beck tried to open the door only to find it locked. "Hello?" He said as he tried to open the door again with no luck. "Who's in there?"
"Go away, Beck." Cat Valentine said quietly from behind the door. She let out a little cry of pain that caused Beck's eyes to widen in fear. "Cat! Open the door!"
"No!" She sobbed back. Beck took a deep breath and threw himself at the door. It held the first time but the second time he threw himself against it he managed to force it open. He saw Cat trying to pull down the sleeves of her shirt and he noticed that there was something red staining the fabric from underneath. She was trying to hide something in her hand,
"Cat, what did you do?" He asked fearfully. Cat shook her head. "Cat, show me what you've got in your hand." Beck said urgently. Cat shook her head rapidly. "No. You'll yell at me." She muttered as tears rolled down her face. "I won't yell at you. I promise. Just show me what's in your hand."
Cat sobbed quietly as she opened her hand and Beck saw a knife. He didn't know where she had gotten it from but there was blood on it. He gently held Cat's hand with one hand and gently grabbed the knife with the other and placed it on the floor. "Cat, how badly did you cut yourself?" He asked carefully. She tried to pull away from him but couldn't. "Please Cat, show me where you cut yourself."
Cat looked up at him sadly and pulled her sleeve up to reveal that her arm had marks all over it. Some were healed, others weren't but there was one near the top of her arm that was very recent and was still bleeding. Beck looked around and saw a rag on the table and wrapped it around the bleeding part of her arm as he gently pulled her to her feet. "Come on, we need to take you to the nurse." Cat shook her head. "No...I don't want to go." She whimpered as she tried to stay on the floor. "Cat, this isn't up for debate. I'm taking you to see the nurse. You need to get these looked at."
"NO!" Cat screamed.
Beck was shocked the rage and anger in her voice. So much that he let go of her arm and stepped back. "Cat. I know you miss her but hurting yourself isn't going to help!"
Cat whimpered as she began sobbing into her hands. "I-I miss her. I could talk to her about things. Things I can't talk to you or the others about. She kept helping me."
Beck sat down next to her and gently placed his hand on Cat's shoulder. "What Cat? What could you talk to Tori about?" He asked gently. Cat shook her head furiously. "I can't tell you. You'll make fun of me. You'll tell everyone."
"Cat. Look at me." Beck said gently. Cat kept looking down at the ground and continued sobbing. "Please Cat, look at me." She finally looked up at him and Beck pulled her into a hug. "I swear, I won't make fun of you. I swear I won't tell anyone." He said quietly.
Cat sobbed heavily as she tried to get the words out. They finally came out as a whisper "I-I like girls." She whispered as she let out a shuddering breath. "I told my d-dad and he yelled at me. Told me I wasn't normal."
Beck looked down at her but he was careful not to show his shock. Cat was trusting him with this and he wouldn't betray that trust so he continued to listen.
"He...He threw me out of the house that night." Cat whimpered. "I tried to apologize but he wouldn't let me back in. I didn't know where to go but...but Tori found me. She saw me crying on the street and let me stay at her house."
"She kept asking me why I was crying. I...I told her everything." She looked up at Beck and sobbed heavily. For a few moments she couldn't continue. Beck placed his hand on her back.
"It's okay, Cat. Take all the time you need." He said gently. Cat just kept sobbing for a few more minutes before she managed to speak again. "S-She told me I wasn't alone." Cat whispered. "That she liked girls...that she liked someone here at the school."
"You don't have to tell me who she liked, Cat." Beck said quietly. "Just say what you need to say." Cat took a deep breath. "She told...She told me that we can't just decide if we like guys or girls. That it was okay. That there was nothing wrong with me."
"What happened next?"
"She...called my mom and told her to come over to her house. M-My mom showed up and Tori helped me tell her."
"What did your mom say?" Beck asked in the same gentle tone.
"S-She hugged me. She told me that she loved me. And then she called my dad and yelled at him. He left after she yelled at him." Cat whispered as she buried her head in her hand. "I ruined everything. I tore my family apart." She whimpered as Beck continued hugging her. "You didn't do it Cat." he whispered. "Everything's going to be okay."
Cat shook her head. "No...No it won't be okay." She cried.
Beck gently managed to pull her to her feet and pressed the rag against her arm again as he held her against him as her sobbing intensified. Beck opened the door with his free hand and saw a teacher walking a short distance away. The teacher turned around at the sound of Cat's sobbing and her eyes widened as she saw the rag beginning to turn red.
"Get the nurse." Beck whispered as he continued holding Cat. The teacher nodded and ran off. Beck looked down at Cat as he heard her say something about Jade. He didn't catch most of what she had said but he did hear Jade's name.
"What about Jade?" He asked quietly. Cat looked up at him and shook her head. "You'll get mad."
"I won't get mad. I promise."
Cat sobbed again.
"Tori...Tori liked someone at the school." She cried. "This person was really mean to her but she still liked her."
"You don't have to tell me, Cat." He said as the teacher returned with a nurse right behind her.
"Tori liked Jade." Cat whispered sadly as the nurse and teacher approached and gently pulled her away from Beck who stared at her in shock.