Chapter 10- The Final Judgement

Jade shut the door behind her as she settled down on Cat's bright fluffy pink bed with a bowl of buttery popcorn as they started the movie. Jade had agreed to spend the night watching Disney movies to take her mind of the court case even though she knew Cat probably wouldn't stay awake through the first hour. Despite this she'd agreed, silently telling herself she'd switch off the movie and sneak back into her own room once the red head had fallen asleep.

They both sat propped up against the bedhead, the movie Frozen beginning to play on the small television screen. Jade glanced over at Cat as she began to mouth the words, including the lyrics to the songs. Normally such activities would drive her insane which usually ended with a rather harsh 'NO' coming from the Goth girl, but tonight she didn't mind. Instead she couldn't help but smile at her perky friend's habits, even joining in on some of the choruses, both harmonising with each other so smoothly.

Just as Jade had predicted earlier, Cat's eye's began to droop, a sure sign that she would soon be asleep and Jade could go back to her own room. Soft snores filled the small room and Jade pressed the red button for the TV to turn off. She sat the remote down as quietly as she could before gently moving the covers aside so she could get out. Jade was about to move completely off the bed when she noticed the soft muffled sounds coming from Cat. She sat in silence on the edge of the bed as she listened a little longer, unsure of what she heard.

"Jadey…" She heard the petite girl mumble in her sleep, blinking a few times as she stared down at her face.

Jade looked down instantly as Cat shifted while she slept, moving her hand to rest lightly on her arm, apparently trying to stop her from leaving, even while in her sleep. The Goth girl could feel the warmth of Cat's touch, goose bumps instantly appearing on her body. She bit her lip as she continued to gaze down at her, hesitantly moving her hand to gently brush back a few strands of red hair that had fallen over her face. Jade paused quietly in the darkness, waiting for any sign that Cat could wake up at any moment. Once she was satisfied, Jade slowly leaned down, careful not to shift as she lightly pressed her lips to Cat's forehead before sliding her leg back in the bed and settled back down beside her.

"Goodnight Kitten." Jade whispered to the sleeping girl before closing her eyes, slowly drifting back to sleep.

As the two girls slept, Beck, Andre, Robbie and Tori all crowded around Tori's open laptop.

"I'm trying!" Robbie exclaimed in frustration as he typed furiously away on the keys, his brow narrowed in concentration. "There's nothing here! I thought for sure-…" The nerd was cut short by the shove of Tori's hip as she pushed him off the chair so she could search The Slap. Robbie frowned up at them all from the floor, his hand rubbing the spot where his head had hit the floor as Rex laughed at him from over at the couch.

"You guys…my visions kinda blurry."

"Shhhh." The group silenced him all at once, their eyes never leaving the laptop as Tori's fingers worked away on the keys before finally her face lit up as she pulled up the information they needed.
"Uh huh! The Beverly Hills Private Hospital where Fiona's doctor works!" Tori quickly searched for the directions for the hospital before writing them down along with the name. She slipped it into her pocket as she jumped up from the chair as Beck pulled out the keys to his truck.

The gang all scrambled into the truck, Robbie coming up the rear before running into one of the couches.

"OW!" Robbie half yelped, half groaned as he rubbed his now sore knee.

"Come ON!" The gang called as he finally picked up Rex and hobbled out after them, closing the door behind him. Once they were all in, Beck pulled out of the driveway and sped off down the street as fast as the speed limit would allow. Robbie tried to give a protest, but was shushed once again by the others.

They sped off around the corner and began to the drive to Beverly Hills Hospital.

Jade awoke the next morning as the sunlight shone in her eyes. She blinked a few times to get used to the light before looking over beside her, realising instantly where she'd slept the night before. Jade instantly froze instantly as she realised Cat's arm was draped over her torso. She remembered the night before, hoping Cat hadn't seen or felt the kiss to her forehead nor the way she'd brushed her hair aside. Jade bit her lip as she quietly climbed out of bed and tiptoed into the bathroom to get ready for the day ahead and the final verdict of the trial.

Jade stepped out of the shower with her hair wrapped in a towel and another around her body as she trudged into her own room to get dressed. She slipped on similar clothes as the day before and went into the bathroom to blow dry her hair and style it. Jade was just putting the finishing touches to her make up when she heard a soft tap on the door, instantly recognising it as Cat's delicate knock.

"Jadey? Breakfast is ready." The red head called from outside before stepping away from the door and bounded down the stairs and into the kitchen. Jade gave herself a once over and took a deep breath as she smoothed out her skirt and headed downstairs, ready to face whatever lay ahead.

Tori woke up startled and disoriented as she looked around in confusion. She recognised the interior of Beck's truck and looked around at each of her friends faces.

They'd spent the night camped out in the hospital parking lot, waiting for Fiona's doctor to show up for work. Unfortunately for them they were told he wouldn't arrive until midmorning the next day so they'd decided to stay out on the lookout, just in case.

It was only early, just past 8 o'clock as the others stirred around her. She hadn't been able to get anymore sleep, not with the uncomfortable sleeping position of using Andre as a pillow. Once the others had woken and stretched, Robbie declared he was hungry so he and Andre went for a walk to buy pancakes and coffee for their breakfast. Tori stared out the window for a while, her mind completely drifting off as she wondered how Jade was going at her hearing.

"Hey Tori?" Beck asked, pulling her from her thoughts and back to the present.

"Yeah?" Tori asked, yawning loudly as she finally looked from the window over at Beck. He shifted awkwardly in his seat before looking down at his hands.

"I feel…responsible." Beck confessed. Tori furrowed her brow in a confused expression as she turned her body slightly to face him.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I broke up with her…and all this happened because she was jealous over Fiona so she lashed out which of course wasn't completely my fault. But I could have been more sensitive. And I kinda just…left her." Beck let out a shaking sigh as he stared down at his lap, not daring to look up.

"Hey…none of this is your fault. We all knew what Jade was like. Of course, we should have believed her in the first place that Fiona was faking it. I'm just glad you wised up and broke up with her as soon as we all realised." Tori offered him a small comforting smile as she lightly placed her hand on his arm. Beck finally looked up from his hands, meeting her brown eyes as he did. Before he could reply, Andre, Rex and Robbie arrived with their food and beverages.

"Come on people, let's eat. I'm starving." Andre quipped as he slid into the back seat, handing out the food one by one.

The court hearing proceed as more evidence was presented, mainly by people from school who knew Jade and her tendencies. Each time a classmate would step down, Jade glared at them hatefully as they headed back to their seats. Jade sat in silence and only made a sound when she was asked to stand and answer a few questions. As time went on, more and more evidence was stacked against her and it took everything in her to not stand up and scream at each and every one of them.

Jade slumped down in her seat, barely hearing her lawyer as he spoke to her, giving her some crap about not giving up hope. She wasn't stupid. Since she had just turned 18, she would be charged as an adult and charged for grievous bodily harm, or something similar. Either way she knew she'd be doing time for it and there was no getting around it.

The judge finally stood and declared they would revisit all evidence with the jury and that they were all to step outside until they were finished. Jade paced anxiously with her hands behind her back, not giving Fiona's party the satisfaction of glancing over at them. Cat and her mother did their best to calm her, but all attempts were futile as she continued to pace.

Finally their case was called back inside for the final judgement and Jade took a seat at the front beside her lawyer, Kevin. She held her head up despite everything stacked against her as the judge began to declare the verdict.

"I do pronounce Jadelyn August West guilty of grievous bodily harm and will be sentence to 14 months at the Los Angeles State Prison."

AN:- Dun dun duuuun. Dramatic cliff hanger but don't worry, more is to come. I would just like to thank Tainted Princess for all your reviews. I'm glad you like the story so far even though it's almost over. Once again I do apologise for my lack of knowledge of court hearings and proceedings. Please bear with me, I am not a judge or lawyer or anything to do with that career. Anyway thank you all for reading and I will post another chapter soon :)

~MrsAV95~