So let it rain, let it pour, if she don't love me anymore,
Just let it come down on me, let it come down on me,
Every word, let it hurt, even more than I deserve,
Let it come down on me, let it come down on me, let it rain

When she awoke she was in her room, well not exactly her room, but her dream room. And everything, everything looked so bloody familiar in this dream world she had invented in her sleep. Everything felt and looked so real, the hard wooden floor, the pattern of her bed sheets, the dark curtains on her window and even the smell of candle that stood on her nightstand. Everything so distant and familiar, even the old century dress she wore, it felt, painful familiar. Pulling her bed sheets aside she stood and walked over to her window, pulling back the curtains she peaked out into the dark night. Outside her window in her dream world her home was surrounded, by trees, by animals, by forest... no car in sight. Breathing in a deep sigh she turned and came face to face with Beck.

He had shown up in her dreams for the last couple of weeks often, ever so real he seemed, and they would come together and she would hold him and kiss him as if she had spent her life being so intimate with him. It was strange but in a good way, it was painful, but also in a good way.

Today, however, it was too much. She looked into his cloudy brown eyes and she felt a piercing ache in her heart. Something was off; something was so terribly wrong she felt her body tremble as her vision blurred with hot tears that spilled down her cheek.

"Victoria." He whispered, "Why are you crying?"

"Because… I'm sad, I'm so terribly sad." She cried.

Reaching up he brushed away her tears with his thumb and smiled. The smile didn't reach his eyes and she could sense he was hiding something.

"Why?" she asked, "why am I so sad Beck?"

"Don't you remember?" he asked.

"No. I… I don't remember why I'm sad, I just am."

"I'm sorry." He said. And he meant it.

She shook her head as she tried so hard to search for an answer to her tears. Her stomach quaked and her lip twitched. She couldn't find one. And her tears remained. And as they fell she clutched onto his shirt as despair overrode her. Quickly he drew her into his arms and held her to him. She held onto him, her arms circling around his waist as she cried. He caressed her hair with such tenderness it made her ache even more inside, her eyes opened as she caught sight of an old rustic gold watch that hung around his wrist.

"I love you." He said.

And before she could utter a remark, before she could swallow the spit in her mouth and look into his eyes thunder crashed.

Tori sprang from her bed as the thunder outside rocked. Shivering she looked to her alarm clock, 4:50 AM, she would have to go to school in a few hours. Lying back down on her bed she gulped as her hand rose to her check, pressing her fingers against her skin she felt it, the dampness from tears. Looking at the shimmer of the tears that reflected off her fingers she stared in awe. Closing her eyes tight she silently prayed she would have no more dreams for the rest of her sleep. Then slowly, she faded.

(x)

By the time she was in her seat for English class the thunder outside hadn't subsided and the dream was still heavy on her mind. She couldn't shake it, or him, and she tried her best to get to class quickly to avoid seeing him in the halls. It was weird for Tori to have such passionate dreams about someone she had just met, and well, he was the brother of one of her good friends and it just felt odd. She didn't understand why it had always came back to him… and some nights it wasn't just him either, it was Jade. She would come to her in her dreams and Tori would run into her best friend's opened arms and hold herself there. Her and Jade, her black-haired minx, her glorious brilliant best friend, she wouldn't want it any other way. Yet, she'd die before she told Jade she was dreaming of her (and her brother). Her cheeks flamed red from embarrassment as she saw Jade walk into class and take her seat next to her.

"Vega." She purred, giving her a wink as she splattered the books over the desk.

"West." Tori teased back.

And then everything sunk into familiar grounds, the dream tucked back into her mind where it belonged.

(x)

The day went by rather quickly and everything settled down in her head. She hadn't seen Beck at all that day and she couldn't figure out if she were relived or disappointed.

Trina had taken off with Andre and had left her the car to go home, by that time Cat and Jade invited her over to have a study night. She couldn't resist so she called her aunt who gave her the ok. Rushing over to her locker she told them she'd meet them at their house. The halls started to clear as she was the last to get her things put into her book bag. Slamming her locker she rushed down the hall and around the corner, not before, of course as fate would have it, slamming right into Beck.

The impact was so unexpected she tripped over her own foot and lost her balanced as she collapsed against him. Lucky for her he was quick, he held her up before she knocked him flat.

"Whoa, in a rush Tori?" he asked.

"I'm sorry. I uh, yeah I'm sort of in a rush." She said as she caught her footing and took a step away from him.

"About to head over to the house?" Beck asked.

Tori nodded dazed for a moment. "Yeah. Cat Jade and I are going to have a study night."

"Which roughly translates into?" he asked.

"The possibilities of eating junk food and not studying." Tori said.

Beck nodded in amused understanding.

"Will… uh… will I see you there?" she asked.

"No. I've been busy lately, been in the studio working." He said.

"Of course…" Tori said, looking to the floor as her hair fell onto her eyes.

Slowly Beck reached over and took the strand of hair from her eyes and tucked it behind her ear. Tori's breath caught in her throat as her eyes landed on the watch on his wrist, it was an old rustic gold color. Her mouth gaped open as she stared wide eye at him. That watch was the same one from her dream. Dropping his hand Beck took a step forward.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" he asked.

"Why?"

"Because I want to show you something." He said.

"I'm free."

"Good." He whispered. "Then I'll see you around Tori."

Taking her wrist he drew it up to his lips and kissed her before taking a leave. Her eyes never wavered as she saw him walk away.

(x)

Tori sat in the living room of Jade and Cat's house, around her books scattered and a repeat of Friends was on the television. Jade sat across from her flipping through the pages of her English book as Cat baked something that smelled like muffins in the kitchen. Her mind went blank as she thought back to her dream and Beck. She couldn't place her finger on it but something was off, everything was off, she felt so different, her mind was screaming at her to remember…. But remember what? She didn't know. It made her feel exhausted.

"Tori, are you alright?" Jade asked.

Blinking fiercely Tori looked over to her friend and smiled. "No." she said. It was the most honest thing she had said all day.

"What's wrong?" Jade asked, her face scrunched in confusion and sadness. Tori looked into Jade's deep blue eyes and sighed, a small smile stretching on her lips. The way Jade had asked "What's wrong" with such care, as if she could fix the problem that started to grow in Tori's heart and mind. And she would try to; Jade would try anything to fix it, to fix her, to make her better.

"I don't know." Tori said… "I don't know." And then unexpectedly tears began to spill down her cheeks once again. "Wow." Tori said whipping them away with the sleeve of her shirt. "Why the hell am I crying?"

Jade sprang forward and clutched Tori against her. "Vega… please, tell me what's wrong?"

"But I can't. That's the thing, I'm so sad but I don't know why Jade, I don't know why."