Disclaimer: I do not own anyone or anything from Victorious, and the title of the story was inspired by Avril Lavigne's song Things I'll Never Say. Also, the play that is mentioned in this chapter is based on the book The Full Catastropheby David Carkeet.

Oh. My. Gosh. It's the LAST CHAPTER. I have had the best time writing this story and you guys have made it such a great experience for me, so thank you all so much! Be sure to check out my big news at the end of this chapter. Happy reading, everyone!

Chapter Eleven

"Tori," Beck said as he gently caressed her cheek with his thumb. "I think you're awesome and I care about you a lot."

"Beck..."

Tori gazed lovingly into Beck's deep brown eyes, barely able to believe what she was hearing.

He then encircled his arms around her waist and pulled her close.

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

The sound of Tori's beating heart pounded in her ears and an exuberant smile formed on her rose-colored lips. Just as she was about to respond, Tori's head thrust backwards as she felt her hair being yanked. She glanced back to see her chestnut brown locks tangled around Jade's fingers.

"How dare you steal my boyfriend!"

With her eyes aflame, Jade pulled out a pair of pointed, steel scissors. She raised it menacingly above her head and Tori just barely caught a glimpse of the sharp instrument glinting in the dim light before it plunged down towards her hair.

"Jade, no!"

Tori Vega awoke in a cold sweat. She shot up from the couch, slightly disoriented, and shivered with fright from the nightmare that had plagued her sleep. After hearing the soft murmur of the TV in the background, Tori looked at her phone to check the time. Twelve thirteen; it was just after midnight. She also noticed that there were two missed calls from Beck. She sighed and fell back on the couch in exasperation.

Tori had had her share of heartbreak. As beautiful and talented as she was, she didn't always have the best luck in the love department. The kinds of guys she attracted were unreliable and dishonest. Not to say that Beck was either one of those, but seeing him kiss Jade earlier only forced Tori to confront the harsh reality of dating Beck Oliver. He was, after all, the most wanted guy in Hollywood Arts. Girls swarmed just to see him do the most menial tasks. How would she handle that kind of ravenous attention? Was she willing to take that risk? She almost couldn't blame Jade for being the jealous one in the relationship.

Suddenly, Tori's pear phone rang and she looked down to see Jade's searing scowl in the small screen. A slight squeal escaped Tori's mouth before she warily answered her phone.

"Hello?" she stammered. "You're what?"

Tori's brow knitted in confusion as she stood up and walked to the front door. Slowly and cautiously, she opened the door to find Jade tapping her foot impatiently.

"We need to talk," she said in a straightforward manner.

Tori remembered her horrifying dream and frowned.

"Sure but...do you have a pair of scissors on you?"

"What?"

"Nevermind," Tori blurted, moving aside to let Jade through.

An awkward silence seemed to have followed Jade into the living room. Tori stood and wrung her fingers together nervously as Jade gauged her with her piercing blue-green eyes.

"You're not hotter or smarter than me," Jade stated, crossing her arms.

"Really? You came all the way over here just to–"

"But apparently, Beck sees something special in you...whatever that is."

Taken aback by Jade's statement, Tori blinked in surprise,

"Look," Jade started with a more serious expression. "I know about the kiss."

"Beck told you?"

Jade nodded. "And I know that you tried to stop the other kiss from happening. I saw it on Cat's laptop that night."

Tori mentally kicked herself for not even catching that. Though her mind was raced with thoughts about how to explain the complexity of their situation, she remained silent and waited for Jade to continue.

"I kissed Beck earlier in the black box theater. That wasn't his fault." Jade dropped her gaze and sighed. "I think it's about time I back off and let you two have your chance."

Tori almost wanted to pinch herself to make sure she still wasn't dreaming. She carefully scrutinized her friend for any sign of mockery or deceit, but Jade only stared back at her with a somber expression.

"Do you really mean that, Jade?" Tori asked with a small smile.

Jade groaned and rolled her eyes. "You know I hate repeating myself, Vega."

It was unbelievable. One of the most generous sacrifice Jade had ever made in the span of their rocky friendship. But before Tori could rejoice, the smile left her lips as a grim realization crept into the back of her mind. She sunk down onto the couch and let out a defeated sigh.

"I really appreciate what you're doing, Jade, but I don't think there'll be anything between me and Beck."

Jade frowned. "Why not?"

"Because..."

Tori hesitated as she tried to find the words to explain the overwhelming apprehension she felt.

Finally, in a quiet voice, she said, "I just don't wanna get my heart broken again."

Tori looked up and was surprised to see Jade's eyes soften to a kind of mutual understanding. For a brief moment, both girls were thoughtfully quiet before Jade took a seat beside Tori.

"Beck's not gonna break your heart."

"How are you so sure?" Tori asked.

"Because that's not the kind of guy he is."

Then, to Tori's surprise, a sad, regretful smile spread over Jade's face.

"I was just too much of a gank to realize it then."

The opening night for The Full Catastrophe had finally arrived. The black box theater was bustling with eager chatter as guests crowded into the room to find available seats and students scurried backstage to prepare for the first act. Tori was hastily moving from one actor to another, helping with costume and make-up.

"Just one more thing and..." Tori fidgeted with the bow in Cat's hair until she was satisfied with its appearance. "There!"

Cat turned to Tori with a bubbly smile and shook her head excitedly, making her ponytail bounce up and down.

"Thanks, Tori!"

As soon as the redhead walked off, Tori looked around and spotted Beck in a far corner of the room, putting on the last piece of his costume. A pang of guilt struck her as she watched him slide his arms into a tan-colored coat.

Her heartfelt talk with Jade last night was like a serendipitous sign telling her to take her chances with Beck. All day she had wanted to pull him aside to talk, but with every attempt she had made, some unforeseen circumstance always interrupted her. First with Sinjin's loud random cymbal-playing in the hall, then the Northridge girls flocking to watch Beck grab a can of lemonade out of the vending machine, and then Trina's incessant whining about not getting an A for her interpretive dancing piece.

"One minute to show time, people!" Sikowitz announced. "Everyone hippity-hop to their places!"

The backstage commotion seemed to hasten as everyone raced to finish last minute preparations. Tori wished good luck to all of her friends and made a mental note to talk to Beck as soon as the play ended. Once all the actors had taken their place onstage, the lights dimmed, the curtains opened, and the show commenced.

The play was a hit. From time to time, Tori would take a peek at the audience from behind the curtain and see their faces light up with laughter. Even with last night's minor dispute, Beck and Jade's onstage chemistry remained remarkably solid. As the night progressed, an unspoken understanding seemed to pass between them. It was as if playing the role of a disgruntled married couple had forced them to examine the destructive nature of their past romantic relationship; and towards the end of the play, Beck and Jade seemed to reach a profound understanding that they were better off as friends than lovers.

The final scene came soon enough, and Tori braced herself for the imminent kiss that would mark the end of the play. She watched attentively as the gap between Beck and Jade grew smaller. Jade delivered her last line and leaned in close, and Tori held her breath. Suddenly, much to Tori's surprise, Jade dodged Beck's lips at the last second and pulled him into a passionate embrace. The audience roared with applause as all the actors gathered onstage for a sweeping bow.

Soon after, the black box theater buzzed with jubilant excitement as people from the audience went up to congratulate the actors onstage. Out of the corner of her eye, Jade caught sight of a young man approaching her, carrying a bouquet of deep red roses in his hands.

"Flowers for a Miss Jade West?"

"Cole?" Jade said, blinking in shock. "Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

A handsome smile played on Cole's lips. "Yeah, but my boss owes me for the little health inspection mishap we had last month."

Jade smiled as she took the bouquet of roses in her hands, and buried her nose in the velvety petals.

"You know I'm probably gonna cut these up when I get home, right?"

Cole laughed, then reached out and playfully tugged at one of the golden locks of Jade's wig.

"You were great, by the way. You should wear this blond wig more often."

Just then, Jade heard the stir of laughter behind her and she turned around to see her friends gathering for a celebratory hug. From where she stood, Tori locked eyes with Jade and mouthed the words "thank you." Jade simply smiled and nodded her head in understanding.

"Wanna go join your friends in the hug fest?" Cole asked, following her gaze.

Jade smirked. "Nah, I'm allergic to all that hugging. Let's go grab something to eat."

Cole smiled and held out his arm to Jade. She eyed him hesitantly for a moment before relenting. Arm-in-arm, Jade and Cole left the black box theater in high spirits.

Later that evening, Tori walked outside to the dimly lit parking lot of Hollywood Arts to find Beck putting some things away in the trunk of his car. Upon hearing a girl's lilting laughter, she looked over to see Cat, Andre, and Robbie exit the building and walk over to two cars parked on the other side of the lot. This was it; there would be no interruptions now. With a resolute sigh, Tori gathered her composure and walked over to Beck.

"Hey," she greeted, her voice slightly wavering.

"Hey," Beck said, with a hint of surprise in his voice.

"So...great show tonight!"

"Thanks. You were great too, helping out backstage and everything."

Beck combed his hand through his hair and gave a smile that made Tori weak at the knees. It was the moment of truth and they both knew it. They stood beneath the white beam of the streetlight as if they were on their own stage, at the final act of their romantic endeavor. Or very well the beginning.

"What's wrong?" Beck asked, noticing Tori fidget anxiously before him.

"A little nervous..." Tori admitted, shyly tucking her hair behind her ear.

For a moment, Beck was thoughtful. Then, with a playful grin, he took a step towards Tori and took her hands in his. A quiet gasp escaped her lips as Beck laced his fingers around her own.

"Because there's nothing standing between us now?" he asked, shooting her a knowing glance.

Tori immediately caught on to his little game.

"Certainly you didn't think we'd actually have this chance?"

"Didn't believe it at first, to be honest. You know how possessive Jade can be."

"Everyone can change."

"Figured that out just recently."

Then, ever so gently, Tori let go of Beck's hands and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Guess you should ask me out on a date now," she said with a coy smile.

Beck chuckled as he encircled his arms around her waist and pulled her close. He leaned his forehead against hers, and Tori could feel his enticingly warm breath upon her lips. An electrifying surge of energy coursed through Tori's body, making her skin tingle with excitement.

"How does Friday night at seven sound?"

"I never thought you'd ask."

And with that, Tori and Beck closed the gap between them, pulling each other into a deep passionate kiss.

THE END

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. It's been quite a journey, hasn't it? I know many of you are sad to see the story end. So am I, quite honestly. At first, I didn't have any plans to make another Victorious fanfiction after this. But it seems I've had a change of heart.

So here's my big news: yes, you guys will be seeing the Victorious cast (including Cole) again in a couple of sequels I have in the works. If you've enjoyed this story, then I'm hoping you guys will like what I have in store.

Please keep your eyes peeled for the first sequel I am planning to post up sometime soon titled "The Disappearing Act: A Horror STori." Don't let the name fool those of you who don't like scary stories. This is supposed to be a fun, humorous story where the gang finds themselves stranded in the middle of nowhere during a road trip and is forced to spend the night at a creepy inn. I will be posting the story under humor and suspense, but there will definitely be plenty of Bori and Jole moments in it for all of you to enjoy :-).

Thanks so much again for all your support! It's been such a pleasure writing for you guys. Hope to see you all again for the sequel "The Disappearing Act: A Horror STori."