Day Five

Five days after their most recent accident and departure from Los Angeles, surviving a plane crash and entrusting in herself and additionally Andre to keep the entire group at bay, Tori found herself walking through the shore by herself, the landscape growing hot and oppressive. Heat was nothing short of new, but this was different, there was a heavy thickness to the air that made it slightly difficult to breath, and the sky grew dark hours before it should have done so. Time, she had discovered not long after the plane had fallen, didn't seem to matter here, wherever they had landed, but still she had kept a watch on her wrist anyway. And if she was close to being correct, at three in the afternoon the sky should not be an ominous gray, and she could not help but wonder why the weather was acting so strange.

One day it was sunny and hot, the next it was like the entire ocean had huddled above their heads and gave way.

Tori wasn't exactly sure how she managed to do it, but she had hidden her distress fairly well from the rest of the group. During the latest rainstorm they had lost medicine and food and had moved their things farther up the shore, but she could not help but wonder when the next tragedy was to happen. She dearly hoped it wouldn't happen before rescue came, because the stress of being the leader of the group was beginning to get to her. The night before she had to decline a seriously good offer, something the rest of the group was hoping for, and she was beginning to regret her decision. Consequently, she figured they were more at risk of tragedy here rather than they were wherever Brent and Cat had found.

With an exaggerated sigh, the half-Latina wrapped her arms around her skinny figure and pressed on walking, not sure of exactly where she was going. She had left the group to themselves thirty minutes beforehand and looking back over her shoulder now; they were so far away she didn't believe she had the energy to walk back at all, especially under the humidity and the thickness of the air about the island. Truthfully, she didn't even know what had willed her to separate herself from the group at all. Maybe, she figured, it was Jade's pale glower at her and her sister that made her want to shy away from them.

Maybe, it was the pouty-lipped, brow furrowed, and wide eyed look Cat was giving her that made anyone, even Jade West, want to crawl under a rock and feel guilty for breathing that Tori felt too confined to stick around. Or perhaps it was the two other girls glances mixed together that did the trick.

Clear ahead of her were small pools of water separated just slightly from the ocean, tall mounds of deep brown rocks scattered about them, and she subconsciously carried forth toward them, unable to hold her curiosity. A part of her knew that it was nothing special but then again a part of her felt the pressuring need to walk toward the clustered group of shallow waters and reefs. So, though the air suggested that she had gone slower, she picked up her pace into a light jog until she had ceased her trek and made for an early halt not even two feet before it. Pressing her palms flat against the rough platform of a rock, she leaned over and into the water…

To find clams.

She had known what they looked like straight away, after all, she had done a dissection of one Jade might have enjoyed, during her eighth grade biology class. And, as if she was a small girl again at the Christmas tree opening presents, Tori knelt down and reached into the ice cold water, snatching a clam away without a second of hesitation. Carefully clutching the animal sheltered within the shell she straightened herself up, allowing for her back to lean against the rock she had peered over just previously as if to support her weight. Though the group was very well supplied with fruit and now currently, water, one would suspect whilst they waited for a rescue party to come they were stocked up on what they had needed for survival; and though she didn't necessarily like the thought of killing clam's to eat, it was a good idea. They needed the extra protein, and if they heated it over the fire, they would get just that.

Eternally grateful that she had been walking the perimeter of the beach with a satchel, she unzipped the bag and slipped the clam inside of it, doing the same with others as she scooped them up with her hands. She had second thoughts whilst she was packing the unmoving, living creatures within the rucksack, but it was thoroughly ran over with survival as one of her key motives and main priority and in the end her loyalty to the rest regarded in her sprinting back to the campsite they had built.

"Guys, GUYS!" She shouted with a proud smile marring her features, flailing one of her long tan arms in the air as she neared them. Beck, who was teaching Andre how to fish with a handmade fishing spear of bamboo, (something even Tori didn't know he had made, nor how he even did it) and the latter both removed themselves from their spot waist deep in the ocean and wadded their way over to the rest of the group. The others just simply looked up from whatever they were doing.

"You'll never guess what I found!" She continued promptly as she panted, sinking down upon the log they had used as a bench since they had arrived.

"Talent?" Jade snapped with a smirk, pierced eyebrow raised but even so, her voice seemed to lack it's sharp edge.

"Well!" Tori huffed and reeled back, slightly offended, with her eyes fixated upon the paler and seemingly tired Gothic girl in front of her. Nevertheless, she shook her head and continued. "So I was walking the beach right, and I saw this pit of water with rocks around it, and guess what was inside?"

"Get to the point already, Vega." The Goth commented again, a hand pressed to her forehead and her eyes closed – she was acting crankier than normal, Tori side noted, and she wasn't the only one to notice.

Reaching into her bag before she continued speaking, Tori pulled one of the many clams she had managed to collect out and gestured to it with a growing and stretching smile. "Clams! There was a ton of them so I decided to bring some back. You know, we could eat them, cook them over the fire and everything. It's kind of a break from all this fruit…"

Beck was the first to answer her, his hands in his short pockets and insane ebony hair disheveled upon his head. "I guess that could work. How many did you bring?"

"Enough to last us the next couple of days" Tori answered him, her fingers gliding over the damp, smooth shell of the clam within her hands. "Nice, right?" She asked with a light chuckle afterwards, but had instead been greeted by a looming, awkward and unexpected silence – for whatever reason she was not thoroughly aware of. She had thought it was a good idea and really, it was, and she was more than sure that the rest of the group would ultimately agree along with her, besides Jade, but that was only because to the two sixteen year old's never agreed on anything.

"Hey, where's Robbie and Trina?" Andre asked after a moment of silence at Tori's side, eyes narrowed. Every pair of eyes rounded over to where the pair of them were previously sitting, but rather seeing the two teens all that was left in their place was the set up beach chairs and sand that was kicked up upon the blankets beside them.

"The transceiver is gone too." Beck said as he hurriedly searched his pack for it, though his dark eyes expressed not a speck of worry whatsoever – the tone of voice he used however; had suggested otherwise.

"You don't think that they…they left with it, do you?" Tori asked with wide eyes as she and the other's stood.

"Where on earth do you think they would go? Candyland?" Jade sneered nastily from Cat's side, who's lips tugged into a small smile as she suppressed a giggle.

"Not the time for sarcasm, Jade! This is serious, where could they have gone?" She continued as she tangled a hand into her hair, frantically glancing about their familiar surroundings as if in search for the two missing group members. The pair of them had been disappearing a lot together lately; to do what, Tori wasn't sure of – she was sure that Trina had hated the ventriloquist, or at least, that was what she had given off and had told her countless times he had been present at their house. Gallivanting off together on a deserted island was not only shocking, but now, worrying. If they had taken the transceiver, their only source of being rescued, than only God knew what they were planning to do with it.

The rest of the gang, herself included, wasted no time in heading toward the woodland whilst shouting out to the missing persons. Tori hadn't been out there much herself, only once or twice, but nothing was unfamiliar territory by now. And so, she followed right behind Andre and the other four closely and carefully, screaming for her older sister and her awkward friend who lacked the puppet he had always carried around (in fact, Rex hadn't been seen since the incident and Tori automatically assumed that it was because the doll had been destroyed, or lost; she was more than thankful that that was the case, no matter how Jade-like that had sounded to any outsider who didn't know her).

"ROBBIE! TRINA!" They chorused together, searching around the primeval forest for any signs of them. It wasn't until ten minutes later that all at once, the gang spotted Trina at the bottom of a large pine tree – Tori followed her upward gaze, as did the rest, only to be greeted with Robbie high above their heads and holding the transceiver in the air.

"What are you guys doing? Turn that off Rob, we need to save the battery!" Beck shouted suddenly, sounding familiarly like he always had when he played criminal in Improv Class.

The impulsive bellow frightened the ventriloquist to such a degree that for a moment Tori feared that her friend would fall and hurt himself, but rather his body plummeting to the ground, it was the transceiver. Trina yelped and ricocheted out of the way of the machine keeled over and before anybody could make a reach for it, annihilated upon the rocks at the base of the topiary, shattering almost upon instant contact. Gasps resounded amongst the group and a nervous Robbie colossally above them held onto the branches with all he had, as if afraid to come back down and to the ground.

Although a part of her had pessimistically suggested that the transceiver was going to get them nowhere anyway, Tori always thought that perhaps it would additionally help them out in the long run, just by being there. Beck was a handyman, a mechanic, as so far he had fixed them both a shower and now a fishing spear; she had always figured that he would disentangle the ways the machine had worked, and eventually led them to a signal they could air. She couldn't help but feel a sudden rush of anger boil to the very tip of her head at the sight of the matted pieces of plastic and ductile at her eldest sister's feet, and she knew that she wasn't the only one in her large group of friends that had felt that way.

"Man, what did you do!" Andre shouted up at him furiously, his dark, large fists clenched at his sides.

"He scared me so I dropped it! It was an accident!" Robbie defended hastily as he clung onto the branches of the trees, scrambling imperceptibly to keep upon it.

"I told you this was a bad idea Robbie Shapiro!" Trina shouted indignantly, placing a hand upon her hips and shaking her head at the younger boy.

"Trina! This was your idea! Look, I didn't meant for that to happen okay? You frightened me." The nerdy male yelled back at them, a tinge of fear in his voice. But, it was apparent that the entire group, even Cat, seemed apprehensive and passive toward his hurried explanation and terribly sincere apology to them all. Tori couldn't help but feel sorry for the two of them.

"Nice going, Shapiro, Vega Senior. You might as well have killed us all." Jade growled, grabbed Cat by the arm and led the other girl away, for whatever reason Tori had yet to come across.

Beck shook his head and angrily ran a hand through his hair, following his girlfriend of two years and the short redhead closely with a "Just forget about it" called over a broad shoulder.

Dawn turned to dusk rather quickly that night, and the humidity of the air had not lightened up a smidgen. The oxygen was thick and still and if it was possible, the dark azure sky glowering high above them seemed to obfuscate, and beside the scorching fire and the dark waves and white foam, the world appeared to be completely obsidian. Secluding herself within the tent of her and her sister, Tori curled up upon her separate blanket with both hands on her forehead. Not far off outside she could hear the laughter of her other friends as Cat impersonated (incredibly and very accurately) Jade whenever the former gave a new note. It was odd, hearing them all, even the Goth – she didn't think that she would be laughing and having actual fun… -, have a good time when she wasn't around them, and it had somewhat darkened her spirits.

She knew that Jade was naturally mean; everyone that walked Hollywood Arts hallways knew this, and so when she had first heard the girl laughing aloud with the others one could imagine her surprise. She had not seen a side other than crudeness from her, and to know that the hatred was actually that deep for her wasn't exactly something she wanted to have in mind. And she knew that it wasn't just the fact that Tori had (stage-kissed!) Beck, but because she was friends with Cat, who apparently, was her best friend. Beck had told her that Jade only acted the way she did toward her, was because Tori was unknowingly taking the two people that mattered most to her away.

Without her even knowing that she was doing so, herself.

Huddled in Andre's large, dark red hoodie she had borrowed, she sat up and rubbed at her temples, feeling the beginnings of a headache forming. Jade and Cat's beautiful voices she'd always been a tad bit jealous for, were harmonizing perfectly together outside, and someone was strumming a guitar (she had noticed when they boarded the plane, that Brent had brought one along with him), and everything was too loud. She had a particularly rough night; one her way back from the forest and the beach she had to deal with a complaining Trina – though she loved her older sister dearly, enough was enough sometimes – and a whining Robbie all by herself. That alone was enough to send anyone plummeting to their ultimate demise off of the edge of a 100 story building.

In fact, if there was a skyscraper anywhere near where she was, Tori could perfectly imagining herself toppling over one and smashing against the concrete beneath, because at the time, that was all she was thinking about doing. She was by no means suicidal, she had never even thought self-loathing thoughts before, and she wasn't about to start. It was the simple fact that anything not perfect made her feel the way she had; she was a perfectionist after all. And what happened tonight was most definitely not perfect in any way possible. It wasn't even remotely close to being it.

"Sup, Tori? Why aren't you out there with everyone?"

Opening her black rimmed eyes she glanced up to the opening of the tent and was immediately met by the burly form of one of her best friends and also the man that she had a small (but really not so small) crush on, Andre. He was smiling lightly at her, his hands in his jean pockets and dreads cascading around his face as usual. She grinned almost instinctively.

"I don't know, everyone seems to be having more fun without me there and I have a headache." She answered earnestly, pushing herself from her reclined position so she was cross legged.

"Nah, it'd be more fun with you out there. We're cooking up some of those clams" He explained with a light-hearted wink.

"Well, Jade wouldn't be so happy with me coming to join you so I think I'll pass. But you can bring me a clam, right? Pretty please?" She laughed frivolously to herself, shaking her head and running her fingers through her elegant, brunette curls as if to rid them of any knots.

"I've never seen her like that before, Cat seems to be able to convince her to do things even Beck can't. And she loves him." Andre agreed as he sat down beside her, knees parted and elbows resting upon them casually.

Tori furrowed her brow and rested her head upon a broad shoulder, naturally content yet at the same time getting a furious round of butterflies within her stomach as he wrapped an arm around her. "How are they even friends? Cat and Jade I mean."

"Apparently" he began, "they met when they were really little. I guess their personalities kind of even them out and that's what makes them friends. Jade tones down her insults, Cat doesn't really seem to mind them, they're always together when Jade isn't with Beck and Jade's way protective of her. They even got matching tattoos."

"Cat? Got a tattoo? No way…You're lying" Tori snorted lightly in disbelief, toward both the end and his entire explanation and feeling an odd surge of jealously course through her.

"Yup, you can see it yourself if you just walked outside of this tiny little tent, girl." Andre shook his head and chuckled.

"I think I'll have to save that for another time." She murmured as her eyes fluttered shut, cheek still pressed against one of his rock hard, bare shoulders. "I'm pretty spent, it's been a long day."

Tori didn't consciously realize she fell asleep on his shoulder until she woke up hours later with him slumbering peacefully beside her.

Well, how'd you like this one? This is the first time I ever wrote (that includes my other stories too) in Tori's point of view so I hope I got it right, or close. Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter, and expect another one soon!

Jade and Cat's matching tattoos: http: /4.b spot . com /_HaDcoElLdc0/S- tpK1iv_cI/AAAAAA AABmU/ GFBDo2eDSMo/ s400/floral-tattoos-on-feet. jpg (no spaces) except that Jade's flower is in black.

Don't forget to leave a review telling me what you think! (: