The girls arrived at school just as first period ended. Everyone was already in a rush to place everything in their respective lockers and get something to eat. Tori and Cat walked into the hallway, and for the first time in a while, Tori seemed to be her old self again.

"I'm going to grab a few things from my locker. See you at lunch?" Tori asked, looking at the shorter redhead.

"Of course." Cat told her with her usual smile. "Are you okay?" She asked, her smile replaced with a more serious expression and her voice filled with concern.

Tori smiled at the question. It was not her usual, wide and bright smile. It was a small one, barely visible at the edge of her lips, yet a smile that said a lot. It was a smile someone has when a giant burden gets taken off their shoulders. And that is what Cat did for Tori earlier. By believing her and listening to her, she took so much of the pressure and stress Tori had felt for the past weeks off of her.

"I'm fine thanks to you." Tori said before she stepped towards the redhead and wrapped her arms around her. "Thank you again for believing me. It means a lot."

"You can always come to me if you need me." Cat answered as she hugged Tori back, glad that one of her best friends finally feels better. "I'll wait for you at our table." Cat said as both girls pulled away.

"Bye." Tori said as Cat turned around and walked towards the Asphalt Café.

Tori opened her locker and took out a book she needed for next class. She hoped to be able and last a whole day at school again. She couldn't let her personal issues ruin her academic life and all the good grades she had worked so hard for in the past. Most of her colleagues at Hollywood Arts had no idea how hard she actually works to be good at school. Like Jade used to, they all think that she uses charm and persuasion as a way to get better grades and become a favorite amongst all teachers at school. The truth is that she studies like a madman and works on her singing and acting abilities in every spare second she has. Her recent issues only made her work harder, even if it only served as a distraction from the hell her life has become. The nights she could not sleep were used for studying, singing and redoing some old plays she had been in. It was why she was so tired in the first place.

She shut her locker and made her way outside to the Asphalt Café. When she saw the giant line in front of the grub truck, she only could let out an annoyed groan. Her eyes landed on someone already in the middle of the line.

"Beck!" She yelled as she walked towards him. He turned around immediately, having recognized her voice.

"Tori! Where the hell have you been?" He asked angrily. He didn't care that there was a ton of people around them. "I've been worried sick all morning. Andre and I tried to call you a dozen times, but you didn't pick up the damn phone!" He said even louder.

"I-I'm sorry. I forgot my phone at home." She stuttered, shocked at the anger and harsh words that escaped him. "I was talking to Cat, and we stopped somewhere because she wanted to give me her full attention." Tori explained.

Beck let out a long sigh, the anger disappearing with it.

"I'm sorry. But you can't imagine the ideas that went through my head about why you weren't at school. Andre and I even thought about going to your place and see if you were alright." Beck said, drawing his hand through his hair.

"It's okay. I guess my mind is still not completely where it should be." Tori said, feeling guilty for making two of her closest friends worry so much about her.

"How are you?" Beck asked.

"I'm much better. I actually caught a night of sleep and talking to Cat really helped me. Have you seen her?" Tori asked.

"She was standing in the line with me, but then she just ran off yelling that she had to pee. I hoped I would not have to see that happen again." Beck said, earning a chuckle from Tori.

"Can I ask you for a favor?" Tori asked.

"What is it you want to eat?" Beck asked.

"How did you know?"

"Magic. Now tell me. It's on me." Beck said with a smile.

"Can you get me a burger and a salad?" Tori asked.

"No problem. Go and wait at our table. I think Jade is already there." Beck said.

"Thank you." Tori said before turning around and walking towards the table.

Jade was exactly who she hoped to see today. Her behavior still left Tori puzzled every time. One day, she is nice to her, the next day she acts as if they are archenemies. One day she insults her to no ends, while the next day she acts worried and cares. What intrigued her even more is what happened once she touched Jade. The vision was nothing like the others. The intensity of these events was like no other. She wondered what it was the Goth had been through to do this to her. She also wondered if what was buried inside of Jade's mind could explain her behavior, which only worsened as time passed.

With so many questions in her head, Tori walked towards the table where Jade was sitting by herself, eating a taco and writing something down in her notebook.

"Hi there." Tori said as she sat down.

"Oh, little miss Vega decided to show up today?" Jade said in mock surprise. Tori's mood dropped immediately. So she's acting like that today Tori thought.

"Nice seeing you too. I feel better, by the way." Tori said.

"Yeah, nice to know." Jade said, focusing back on her notebook, erasing something and rewriting it.

"How are you?" Tori asked. Jade's hand stopped moving as she slowly lifted her head to look at the other girl.

"What do you mean?" Jade asked.

"I mean, how are you? Is everything okay?" Tori explained.

"Oh. I'm great, why do you ask?" Jade asked back.

"Is there anything wrong with asking a friend how she is?"

"Friend…" Jade said with a dry chuckle.

"Yes, friend." Tori said with a small smile. "And you didn't answer my question."

"No, there is nothing wrong with that. It's just that… I don't get that question often." Jade said in a serious tone.

"Jade, you know you can come to me if something is wrong, right?" Tori asked, hoping to get something out of the other girl. Jade's expression hardened at those words.

"Who are you, my shrink?" Jade asked in an angry tone, which took Tori by surprise.

"N-No, I just…" Tori stuttered, but her sentence didn't get far.

"Listen, Vega. I can handle my own problems. I have done so forever and I intend to keep it that way. I don't need anyone as my emotional tampon and I don't need anyone fighting my battles for me. And why would I come to you of all people? You can't even get your own shit under control." Jade said angrily before she closed her notebook, grabbed her bag and got up.

"Jade, I…" Tori tried to say something, but the words were stuck in her throat. She hadn't expected such a reaction, even from someone like Jade West.

"Don't waste your breath." Jade said as she walked away from the table inside the school.

Tori sat there, dumbfounded. She didn't know why her words caused such a reaction from the other girl. She did not try to provoke her or anything.

"What happened?" Tori heard a familiar voice. She turned around to see Cat standing behind her, looking confused at Tori. "Why did Jade run off?"

"I-I asked her how she was and…" Tori said, words still having trouble leaving her throat.

"And what?" Cat asked.

"And when she told me that she didn't hear that question often, I told her that she can come to me if she needed to talk about anything. She just got up and ran off." Tori explained. She looked at Cat, whose expression went from confused to serious and understanding.

"I understand." Cat said, sitting down next to Tori.

"Understand what?" Tori asked.

"She is… a very proud person. She doesn't like to get help from anybody. I guess you just caught her in a bad mood too." Cat said with a sigh. "Don't worry. She'll be fine. Just give her some time to cool off."

"You are right. I know that you are right, but still… I saw so many things yesterday. I felt… emptiness. That emptiness a person feels when everything becomes too much for her. If I saw so many things, it means they all still hurt her, and they hurt her more than anything I have seen before. I felt it, Cat. H-How could I ignore that?" Tori asked, looking at Cat, hoping to get any good answer. But Cat looked down, not knowing what to say to Tori; not knowing how to answer her question.

"I wish I could tell you all I know, Tori. I really wish I could, but I can't. She told me so many things in confidence…" Cat said, looking finally at her friend, "but I'm sure she didn't tell me everything. Truth is, I don't think anyone knows truly what she has been through."

"Then I'm going to find out." Tori said, with determination in her voice. "I'm going to find out and I'm going to help her however I can. I won't ignore this, Cat. I can't."

"I understand how you feel, believe me, I do. But what about you?"

"One of my friends needs my help. I'm not important." Tori said.

"Tori…" Cat said. She brought her hand up and cupped Tori's cheek, gently wiping away the tears on her face. Calmness overtook Tori again, and she breathed in deeply, thankful for Cat's influence on her.

"I-I didn't even know I was crying." Tori said, putting her hand on Cat's. "Thank you for being there for me."

"Always." Cat said.

"Hey, everything alright?" Both turned around and saw Beck standing there, food in both hands.

"Yeah, everything's fine." Tori said as she calmed down and quickly dried her face with her sleeve.

The rest of the day went by quickly, but she could not stop thinking about how to help Jade. She stared at her during the classes they had together that day, at some points even wanting to get up, walk towards her, take her hand or hug her and just see what is going on. But she couldn't do that. It would be the wrong thing to do, especially to Jade. If she wanted to help Jade, Jade needed to trust her first. Unlike with the others, they were never that close friends. But Tori still cared a lot about the Goth, no matter what.

The final class was over and Tori was standing at her locker, placing away her books. She looked at Jade, who was just walking outside. Tori thought about walking after her, but she knew that it would not do any good. The direct approach didn't work before.

"My hair is going to fall out because of you, you know that?" She heard someone say behind her, snapping her out of her thoughts. She turned around to see Andre standing behind her. "I've been calling you all morning. You weren't here first period; you don't answer your phone… Do you have any idea what possible reasons crossed my mind?" Andre angrily asked.

"I'm sorry, Andre." Tori said, looking at her best friend. She knew that he cared. He knew that he was scared for her. She gave him enough reasons to in the last few days. "I already explained to Beck that…"

"Yeah, he told me. But why do you keep doing that? Gosh, why does my creativity go up like this when I'm worried?" Andre moaned as he brought his hand up and massaged his temple.

"It won't happen again, I promise." She told him honestly.

"Please, don't let it happen again. For me." Andre said, looking at her with a concerned expression.

"I'm really sorry." She apologized again, not knowing what else to tell him. He let out a long sigh, his expression relaxing.

"It's alright. Beck told me you actually got some sleep last night."

"I did. I feel better already. Still, I've got a lot on my mind right now. I need to sort all that out first." She said.

"Alright. If you need me, you know I'm there for you." Andre said, his kind words stabbing her like a dagger as they reminded her of what happened earlier.

"Thank you. For everything." Tori said.

"Anything for you, girl." Andre said as he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. The familiar sensation appeared again, as everything in front of her brightened up suddenly.

In the backyard of a large house with a large tree, a young African American boy was kicking a ball around. He was around eight years old and ran around happily, shooting the ball through the backyard. An older lady, who was in her mid fifties, watched him happily as she sat in her chair, enjoying the beautiful weather. Then the boy shot the ball really hard with his full force and kicked it up high on the tree, where it got stuck.

He ran towards the large tree and began climbing it, wanting his ball back.

"Andre, come back down! It's too dangerous to climb that high!" His grandmother yelled as she stood up and ran towards the tree herself.

"Don't worry grandma. I'll just grab my ball and I'm down in no time." Andre said, climbing even higher. He was close to the ball.

"Andre, please, you'll get hurt! Climb down!" She yelled in a desperate voice filled with fear.

"Just a moment!" He said as he grabbed the ball. That moment, his foot slipped from one of the branches.

He fell down, the branches under him breaking as he hit them. He heard his grandma scream his name. She jumped up and ran towards him, hoping to catch him and break his fall. One of the branches fell down with him. He landed mere moments later.

"Ow." He moaned in pain, holding his shoulder and arm. He turned around, and his eyes froze on what was in front of them. His grandmother was lying on the ground next to him, blood coming out of her head, a branch lying next to her, covered in blood.

"Grandma?" Andre called, but she didn't respond.

"Grandma!" He yelled, trying to pull her up, but his arm was useless.

"Help! Help her, please!" Andre screamed with all force he had.

The vision ended, and guilt filled her chest immediately. She understood now what happened. That was the whole memory. Andre felt guilty for what happened that day. He hurt his grandmother with his actions.

"You alright?" Andre asked, seeing how Tori spaced out. She looked at him, not knowing what to say; what to do.

"Y-Yeah. I spaced out for a moment. I'm sorry." Tori said.

"You need a ride home?" Andre asked.

"No, I can drive. I need to get Cat home first." Tori said.

"Alright. Please, text me when you get home. Just so I can sleep at night." Andre pleaded.

"Sure. See you." Tori said as she turned around and walked away. She needed to think. She needed to take all this information in. She finally understood, and it was overwhelming her. The guilt she had felt every time he hugged her made sense now. But she did not know how to help him. She didn't know if she could.

A/N

Long time no see. I know, I know, I haven't updated for a while, but please, hear (or read) me out. After writing around 10 stories in less than a year, I felt burned out. It wasn't even a writer's block or lack of inspiration. It was just that writing felt like an obligation and stopped being fun. I wasn't satisfied with anything I wrote during that time, so I took a month off. And after re-watching a few episodes of Victorious and reading some other fanfics, I felt that old urge to write back. And now I'm back.