I think Ariana's birthday is tomorrow (June 26th) so everybody go on twitter or tumblr and wish her a happy birthday! XD
And with that I give you a brand new chapter. I don't own Victorious.
[when everything falls apart.]
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It was essentially impossible for Beck and Jade to avoid seeing each other completely. They still had classes together and they still walked the halls at the same time so it was only a matter of time before something bad happened, before one of them ended up seeing something they didn't want to see. And since Jade had gotten the short end of the stick during their breakup, of course that person would end up being her.
It started one morning when Beck saw a thin girl with a short, blonde haircut and a leather jacket leaning in close to Cat and whispering something in her ear. The girl happened to be Jade's friend Aimee and whatever she was telling her, he assumed couldn't have been good. Afterwards, Aimee patted her on the shoulder with a satisfied look on her face and then she walked off casually, leaving Cat behind looking slightly confused.
It wasn't until later that day that he found out what she had said to her. Cat approached him while he was putting books into his locker. "What's up?" he asked, standing up to face her.
She put her hand on his neck, reached down the collar of his shirt and pulled out the necklace he was wearing and examined it. "Is this the one that Jade bought for you?"
He nodded slowly, unsure of whether that was a bad thing or a really bad thing. "Yeah, it is..."
"Oh." Cat's face set into a worried frown.
"Don't get upset. It's not like that okay?" He tried to explain to her that it wasn't a big deal. That he'd had the necklace for months and it was just something that he wore all the time as a force of habit, like his favorite jacket or that watch his uncle gave him for his birthday last year. He still wore it sometimes but it didn't have anything to do with Jade personally, at least not anymore.
"I'm not upset," she told him but he didn't believe her. Whatever Aimee had said to her must have gotten inside her head and he would bet anything that it wasn't good.
"Do you want me to take it off? If it bothers you I will."
She thought about it and then shook her head. "No, you don't have to, it's just.."
"What?"
And then she told him. "Aimee said she knew you'd be wearing it, and she said I'd better watch out because 'once a cheater, always a cheater'."
He sighed and slammed his locker shut a little too hard, making Cat flinch. "Sorry."
"Are you mad?" she asked him.
"Not at you," he said. But it bothered him that now Cat would probably think that she couldn't trust him. After what he did to Jade he promised himself he'd never hurt a girl like that ever again, especially Cat. "Look, whatever you want me to do to prove to you that you can trust me, I'll do it just tell me."
"No, I do trust you," she said quickly. "I trust you more than I trust anyone. I just hate that Aimee was right about the stupid necklace. She acts like she knows everything."
"Well obviously she doesn't know how I feel about you," he said. He took off the necklace and put it in his pocket, and then he moved closer to her and touched her cheek. Cat smiled and started to blush.
He kissed her on the lips once and she giggled.
He put his arm around her waist and kissed her again, both of them sort of forgetting about where they were and during that time Tori may or may not have came up and told them to "please get a room", he doesn't quite remember. But he didn't stop kissing Cat until after the bell rang, telling them they were already late for class. At that point there were only three people in the hallway, but after Cat left it was just him and the other person, a girl standing across the hall from him staring him down, shooting daggers with her eyes. Jade. She gave him a disgusted look and she walked away.
And then his guilt trip began. He'd completely forgotten about the possibility of her seeing them kiss. He knew it would've happened eventually but he hadn't wanted to force it on her like that. And if there was anything he could've done to spare her from it he would've but he just hadn't been thinking.
He'd expected Jade to be pissed and he imagined she was, rightfully so. But what happened afterwards was surprising to say the least. The next time he saw her she didn't look mad, just strangely calm. And she did something he never thought she would. She approached him and it totally caught him off guard because she wasn't pretending like he didn't exist like she normally did. Instead she walked right up to him and put her hand on his jacket.
"Jade, what are you-"
She kissed him right on the lips. It took him a second to register what was happening, to be able to think clearly. At first he didn't understand why she was doing it, but then he looked in the distance and saw Cat watching them and he knew exactly what Jade was doing. It was a perfectly calculated move, planned sabotage. Jade gave Cat a look that said "let's see if you like how it feels," but at that moment Cat wasn't looking at Jade, she was looking at him. Before he could do or say anything she ran off.
"What did you do that for?" he asked, infuriated. But Jade just rolled her eyes and left him without saying a word.
She was obviously playing games, trying to get back at him or Cat or probably both of them. And from the looks of it she had succeeded because with that kiss she managed to drive a huge wedge between him and Cat.
Cat made it clear that she didn't want to talk to him after that, she didn't even want to look at him. He tried to explain that it was all a misunderstanding and that Jade kissed him, but everytime he approached her she either ran away or ignored him completely. She was obviously hurt and that worried him because he knew Cat wasn't so good at rationally handling situations like those. She was probably jumping to all kinds of conclusions.
So Beck went to the only person he could think of for help, the one person who seemed to always have his back when he needed her.
"Tori can we talk?" he said walking to catch up to her.
She turned around and said, "Having girl troubles?"
"Yeah, how'd you know?"
"Well, there's a rumor going around that you and Jade kissed and you and Cat haven't been attached at the hip today so...I figured."
"Jade kissed me."
"Right." She put her hand on his shoulder. "And lemme guess, you want your good old pal Tori to help you?"
"I don't know what I'm supposed to do. She won't talk to me."
Tori shrugged her shoulders. "Well, eventually she'll realize she has to talk to you. She probably just needs some time, I mean you know how Cat can be."
Beck knew exactly how Cat could be and that's what he was afraid of. "Yeah but I'm worried about her though. You didn't see her face when it happened."
"Then why'd you do it?"
"I didn't do anything, it was Jade. She just kissed me out of nowhere before I could stop her, and then Cat was standing there and before I could say anything to her she just ran off, and she was really upset and I haven't talked to her since it happened."
"That...totally sounds like something Jade would do. But don't worry about Cat, I'll talk to her the next chance I get." She touched his arm reassuringly and said, "Everything is going to be okay."
He wanted to believe her but he'd feel better after everything was said and done. That day he must have tried calling Cat a billion times and he sent her a bunch of text messages but she never replied. And after school he stopped by her house but nobody answered when he rang the doorbell. She was avoiding him and he started to get even more anxious about it. But there was nothing he could do except wait and hope that maybe Tori could get through to her.
But unfortunately, the next day at school things appeared to have taken a turn for the worse. When he finally caught up to Cat, she was sitting on the floor with Tori in front of Tori's locker, visibly upset about something. Tori had her arms wrapped around her and Cat was curled up against her, her face hidden and buried in her chest.
"What's going on? Is she alright?" he asked.
Through a muffled tone he could hear Cat telling him to go away and saying that she didn't want to talk to him. There was sadness in her voice, he knew she was crying. Tori looked up at him and mouthed the words 'I'm sorry'.
He knelt down next to them. "Cat, please listen to me. I'm really, really sorry. What you saw between me and Jade was nothing, alright she kissed me."
Cat sniffled.
He tried again, "I would never do anything to hurt you. You know that."
"This isn't about Jade," Tori told him.
"What?"
Just then over the intercom Cat was called down to the guidance counselor's office. Tori let go of her and Cat wiped her eyes, her face streaked with makeup. She stood up and he did too.
"Will you please talk to me?" he begged. He tried to touch her but she pulled away, out of his reach.
"No," she stated firmly.
"Why not?"
"Because I don't want to see you anymore," she said, then she cupped her hand over her mouth like she couldn't believe that just came out of her mouth.
Beck felt a thickness growing in his throat but he swallowed it down. "Really?"
She nodded. "I'm sorry, I have to go." Cat backed away from him and left, leaving him standing there confused and hurt.
He turned to Tori and then she explained to him what was going on. She told him how she walked to Cat's house early that morning so that they could walk to school together and hopefully talk about things, but Cat was acting different than usual. She was quiet and withdrawn, only answering with short sentences whenever Tori spoke to her. She did get her to tell her that she wasn't mad at what Beck did, she was just really, really hurt by it...But then when they got to school something really messed up happened. If Tori could have protected Cat from it somehow she would have.
Somebody had vandalised Cat's locker, written a word on it in big letters with red spray-paint (the word that starts with 'S' and rhymes with what). And when Cat saw it she broke down, she let Tori hold her and she started crying in front of everyone. People stared and whispered around them but one person in particular, Jade, looked on with strange curiousity.
Beck was upset when Tori told him what happened, but mostly because of how helpless he felt. There wasn't anything he could do to help Cat because for whatever reason she was set on shutting him out completely. Maybe she blamed him for what happened, he didn't know, but as long as she was refusing to talk to him he realized there was nothing he could do for her.
He had to keep trying though, he wouldn't give up that easily. Cat had gone home early that day so right after school he and Tori stopped by her house.
Mrs. Valentine answered the door when they rang the doorbell. "Hi Beck...Trina," she greeted warmly.
Tori frowned. "Umm, it's Tori."
"Oh, right of course. Can I help you guys?"
"Yeah, is Cat home? We were kinda hoping we could talk to her," Beck said.
Cat's little brother, Michael ran up beside his mother and she put her arm around him. "Cat isn't really seeing anyone at the moment...I'm sorry."
"Is she alright?" Beck asked.
Mrs. Valentine sighed, "Not really, not after what happened at school today. But I'm sure she'll be fine eventually, she just wants some time to herself right now. Don't worry, trust me she does this all the time. She'll lock herself up in her room for a while and spend some time alone and in couple of days she'll come right out of it, good as new. Right Mikey?"
The boy nodded staring down at his light up sneakers.
"Okay," Beck said, though he really didn't believe that. "Could you give her a message for me then?"
"I could do that."
"Just tell her that I'm sorry for what I did and that I'll do anything to fix it..if she'll let me."
Mrs. Valentine smiled at them briefly, said "Okay," and she stood at the doorway and watched them leave.
They got into his car and put on their seatbelts. Then Tori turned to him and said, "So who do you think painted Cat's locker like that? Word on the street is that Jade did it."
When she said it he immediately thought better of it. "Really? I doubt it. That's not really Jade's style."
Tori scoffed. "Being vicious and cruel isn't Jade's style?"
"I mean doing it behind someone's back and not owning up to it. Jade's more of an 'in your face' type of bully," he said. "And besides, she's not completely heartless...she knows how sensitive Cat is."
"I don't know Beck, I thought so too but apparently there's a ton of evidence against her. Like okay the security cameras were screwed with so they couldn't use the tapes, but somebody saw her hanging around the school grounds after hours. And we all know she's got the motive.."
"So people really think she did it?" he asked.
She shrugged. "Who else do you think would want to hurt Cat?"
He really couldn't think of anyone specifically other than Jade. She was the only one who seemed to have a personal vendetta towards Cat, and she had proved when she'd kissed him that she wanted to get back at her. But somehow, still in his mind he just couldn't see Jade doing it.
The next couple of days Cat never came to school, and after school whenever he tried to see her she was either "taking a nap at the moment" or she "wasn't feeling very well." He started to get really worried. Being away from her and not being able to at least see that she was alright was starting to drive him a bit crazy. And her mom didn't seem to have a clue as to what was going on with her.
He refused to give up though, he kept trying.
"Alright Beck, this is the third time this week. You certainly are persistent," Cat's mom told him after he'd showed up, yet again.
He stood on her porch with his bag slung over his shoulder and his hand in his pocket. "Yeah I know, I'm sorry. It's just kind of important. I really need to talk to her."
She looked behind her and then stepped aside, opening the door wider. "Well she still hasn't left her room, but maybe you can talk some sense into her."
"Thanks."
"Just try not to upset her."
He entered the house and walked up the stairs to her bedroom, knocked lightly on her door but there was no response. "Cat? It's me, Beck."
Slowly he opened the door and stepped inside, expecting to see her sitting on her bed or anywhere in sight but the room appeared to be empty. The lights were off and Cat was nowhere to be seen.
He heard a noise coming from the closet so he walked towards it, slid the doors open and there she was. She was sitting on the floor next to a giant stuffed bear, crosslegged with Harry, her pet guinea pig in her lap. She smiled up at Beck and then back down at the small animal and said, "Look Harry, Beck's here."
He wasn't quite sure what to make of this. "Cat, what are you doing in the closet?"
Cat's smile faded from her lips and she looked up at him with big, brown scared eyes. "I'm hiding," she said.
"Hiding from what?"
"Everything."
Harry started to squirm in her lap so Beck knelt down and said, "Maybe we should put Harry away for a bit." She handed him over and Beck carried him to the glass tank by her nightstand and carefully placed him inside. Then he walked back over to the closet and sat down next to her, in between her and the giant stuffed bear.
"I thought you were still mad at me," he said.
She looked down and shook her head.
"I'm really sorry about what happened. That kiss, it was all Jade..."
"I know. Tori told me."
"Then why have you been avoiding me? And why are you hiding out in your room like this?"
Cat closed her eyes, not wanting to look at him. "I can't tell you, you wouldn't understand if I tried..." He could tell by the way her voice cracked that she was starting to get upset. "You should leave before something bad happens."
"Alright if you really want me to go then I will, " he told her.
But then she started to cry. She curled her knees up to her chest and began sobbing softly into the backs of her hands, wiping her tears as they fell. Beck wondered if she had been up here crying like this for days all the while her parents had no clue what was going on. He watched her cry and shake uncontrollably, and slowly he began to understand what was happening. A feeling of deja vu washed over him and suddenly he and Cat were backstage in the Hollywood Arts dressing room again and they were surrounded by broken glass, Cat's hand covered in blood and her begging him not to tell anyone.
He pulled her closer to him. She fell against his chest and he began gently raking her hair back out of her face. Cat bunched up the fabric of his shirt with her fist and she cried into it.
He just held her tighter.
"It's gonna be okay," he said, just like he'd said last time even though deep down he knew...
And he kept his arms clasped tight around her until he felt her breathing slow down, until she stopped shaking and there appeared to be no tears left for her to cry. Afterwards his shirt was a dampened mess but he didn't really care.
"I'm sorry I've been ignoring you. I didn't mean what I said before," She sniffled and wiped her face with her sleeve. "about not wanting to see you anymore."
"You don't have to apologize," he said.
"Did I hurt your feelings?"
"No, it's fine. Don't worry about me alright?" he said.
"Okay." She rested her head on his shoulder. And the last thing she said was, "Beck if something bad ever happens would you take care of Harry for me?"
"Yeah," he said figuring she meant in case she ended up having to go back to the hospital again. He dreaded the thought of that but he knew it was a possibility.
Beck let himself settle back against the wall of the closet figuring he'd be staying there with her for a while. He didn't notice when she closed her eyes. But eventually she became very, very still.
"Hey, Cat?"
He touched her face, moved her hair out of the way and tucked it behind her ear so that he could look at her but she didn't move at all. He moved and shifted his body and hers went limp against him so that he had to literally hold her up.
The panic set in when he realized she was unconscious.
And then he saw the pill bottles.
Sorry for the cliffhanger...
Reviews pretty please? I promise I will update soon :D
