The sharp sound of the alarm clock filled Tori's room as Tori punched it out a few moments later. She barely got any sleep, but that was still better than the norm, which was no sleep at all. She stayed with Andre until late last night, despite having school the next day. Still, it was a sacrifice worth doing. Andre felt better after their talk. He felt better after letting all which was buried deep inside out. He felt better after finally sharing that dark secret with someone else. Tori knew how guilt felt. She knew it when she broke up with Danny for a dumb reason. She knew it when she ruined Cat's relationship with him. She knew it when her actions almost cost Beck a role in a movie. She knew when she ruined Jade's play by doing the Prome.
Jade's reaction wouldn't leave her mind either. After having so much time to think about everything during all the sleepless nights, she remembered all the many things that had happened between them and how she wasn't an angel herself with her actions towards the Goth. Kissing Beck was her biggest mistake. She realized that once she got to know Jade a bit better and how insecure she seemed about him and their relationship altogether. Now, she didn't know what to do about her. Despite everything she had done, Tori really wanted to be Jade's friend. She really wanted to know her better, because there always was something about Jade she could not point out. There was something about Jade that told Tori that there was a lot more to her than meets the eye. The multiple visions she had in just that one short moment of physical contact made her realize that there is way more than she had ever imagined. What she felt that moment, that emptiness, was something she could not put into words. And Jade's reaction did not make her angry in any way. Jade's reaction only made her sad. It saddened her that one of her friends was carrying seemingly burdens of guilt with her, burdens which nobody knew of. And Tori wanted to help her with that, especially now once she felt what it is doing to Jade.
Tori got dressed and walked out of the yet again empty house and got into her car. She turned the radio on and made her way towards Hollywood Arts. Still, her mind did not drift away from Jade. Another reason she wanted to help Jade is because she owed it to her. Not only for the bad things she had done to the Goth, but for all the good things Jade had done for her. As much as it was always attempted to be hidden by the Goth, she did care about Tori. Be it by coming back and helping Tori get out of the Black Box theatre when she faked her black eye, be it pushing Tori onto the air mattress and with that helping her overcome her fear, be it by giving Tori honest critique about her work or just by keeping that healthy rivalry that makes them both overcome their own limits every time. Despite how Jade tried to masquerade it as if it was all for her own good, she still helped Tori even when everyone else did not. All that made Tori a stronger person and that was what she was most grateful for. Had she not met Jade, had Jade not made her grow as a person and human being, the current events would have broken her. And only because she changed so much from who she used to be, she was able to still somehow, someway survive everything.
Tori parked her car into an empty parking space, grabbed her things and walked into the school. She made her way towards her locker and entered her combination before opening it and placing the books inside she would need later that day. She let out a sigh as she looked at her image in the mirror. The last few days had taken a toll on her both mentally and physically. She stopped really worrying about her looks and it showed. She closed her locker shut with a loud thud and leaned on it, closing her eyes in an attempt to collect her thoughts and calm her mind. She could not give up now, not while so many of her close friends are hunted by demons from the past.
"I see you didn't sleep much either." She heard a familiar voice say. She opened her eyes to see Andre standing in front of her.
"That isn't really anything new for me." Tori said, earning a chuckle from Andre.
"Thank you again for talking to me. I… thought about what you said and I called my dad to tell him too. He told me everything you told me, and a lot more." Andre said.
"Do you feel better now?" Tori asked, not taking her eyes off her best friend.
"I do. I really do. I mean… I still feel guilty about what happened, but… time heals all wounds." Andre said.
"I think we both know better than that." Tori said.
"Well, if you put effort into it then it might be true." Andre answered.
"Try it and tell me then." Tori told him with a small smile. Andre shook his head at her attempts to be funny.
"How are you?" He asked.
"Tired. Very tired." Tori said.
"You shouldn't have come to school then." Andre told her.
"Andre… I've already missed so many days, and I can't let my personal issues distract me from my obligations." Tori answered.
"Very well. But if I catch a glimpse of you ready to faint because of fatigue again, I will personally pick you up and carry home. You can't just shrug off things like this."
"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. You just make sure that you feel better. Okay?" Tori told him.
"Okay." Andre told her as he stepped forward and hugged her. He was careful this time, making sure he wouldn't cause a vision. If he had understood everything she told him last night, it was them that drain the most energy out of her. "I'll see you later." He said as he stepped back and walked to his class.
"Later." She told him, letting out a sigh once he was a few feet away. She was glad that he felt better. She was glad that he actually thought about this from a different perspective. But still, she could not enjoy that little moment of goodness. It was one of the few good things that got ridiculously outweighed by the negative ones.
"Do you plan to stand here for the rest of the day?" She heard Beck ask. She turned around to see him standing behind her, his bag lazily hung over his right shoulder.
"No, of course not. I need to get to class before the teachers arrives." Tori told him.
"Well, in that case you can take time. Mr. Miller is sick and school had no time to find a substitute, so we have those two hours off." Beck said.
"But that means we have free until lunchtime." Tori said.
"And that means you and I can get out of here and grab a coffee." Beck said with a small smile.
"Well, that's a bit better than biology." Tori said, holding back a smirk when she saw Beck frown.
"A bit better?" He asked.
"Just kidding. Let's go." Tori said.
Both walked into the café which was a block away from Hollywood Arts. It was almost empty; spare the waitress and an older man who was reading the papers. They sat down on the empty table next to the window.
"I've never been here." Tori said as she placed her bag on the chair next to her.
"Well, there's a first time for everything." Beck said as he sat down.
"Beck, what can I bring you?" The waitress shouted from her spot.
"Bring me the usual and a soda for the lady. Grab something yourself if you want." Beck answered and got a nod in response.
"Is that how you order drinks here?" Tori asked.
"If you are here as often as me, you sure do." Beck said. A few seconds later the waitress brought the coffee and the soda. She placed them on the table and gave them both a nod before walking back to her spot behind the counter.
"How do you feel?" Beck asked, after taking a long sip from his cup.
"I'm okay. Better than a few days ago, at least."
"Well, that can't be hard. You pretty much panicked out one day and passed out the next." Beck said.
"True. At least I catch some sleep from time to time now." Tori said.
"Look, I know it technically isn't my business, but can I ask what has been happening? I've been worried sick for a while now and maybe I can help. You know that you can talk to me about anything, don't you? And don't try to tell me that it's nothing, better tell me that it's not my business and I won't ask again." Beck asked. He was worried, and he had every reason to be. What he didn't know, however, is just how much of a mess Tori's life is right now.
"No, no, you deserve to know. It's just… hard to talk about it. But it's something I have to learn to do." Tori said.
She told Beck everything that happened at her home. From the very beginning with their constant arguments to how her mom left with Gary and how her dad and Trina have completely changed since then.
"Wow. Tori, I'm really sorry. I had no idea…" Beck said, trying to come up with something that could be helpful in any way.
"I know, nobody had until a few days ago. Cat and Andre know, too." Tori said.
"So that's why Trina hasn't been at school for a while." Beck said.
"Mhm. Dad doesn't force her and she just goes wherever, just so she doesn't need to be in the house." Tori said.
"And where does she go?" Beck asked.
"I don't know. I think that she is staying with a friend of hers. If it helps her, why not." Tori said.
"Sure. That is the most important right now." Beck said.
Tori looked at her friend. His stoic expression was still there, but something was different. She spotted some emotion in it for a short moment before they disappeared again. She wondered if it had something to do with the vision she got with him.
"It's almost 10 AM. We should head back." Beck said.
"Yeah, I don't want to miss more classes." Tori said as she reached for her purse. She took out some money, wanting to pay the drinks.
"Hold it right there. The drinks are on me." Beck said.
"You already paid lunch yesterday. Let me." Tori said as she held the money in her hand.
"Nope. I won't." Beck said as he put his hand on hers to push it back. Everything went bright in front of Tori's eyes.
Beck was sitting at a table in a white room, talking to someone in a hospital gown. The woman's face looked strange; her gaze was glassy and distant. She didn't seem to react or notice to anything he had said. Beck sighed and patted the woman on the hand before getting up.
He walked out of the room. One of the doctors was there. As he was writing something down on his board, he saw Beck standing there.
"Anything new?" Beck asked the doctor, who only sadly shook his head.
"No changes since last time, Beck." He said. Beck let out a sigh, drawing his hand through his hair.
"Beck, we are doing all we can. But I don't think that she will recover." The doctor said.
Tori snapped out of the vision and immediately noticed the anger that build up in her gut. She looked up at Beck who had walked towards the counter to pay. Tori took a deep breath, hoping that the anger would fade as all other emotions did. She was glad when a few moments later it was gone. But she still didn't know why the anger was there. She did not understand why he reacted with anger at the event she had seen. But she knew that she still had not seen everything. The vision wasn't complete. Maybe it would make sense if she saw the whole memory.
"Ready to go?" She heard Beck ask, which snapped her out of her thoughts.
"Yeah, let's go." Tori said as she grabbed her back and they walked outside.
They were back at school a few moments later. Both walked out into the Asphalt Café.
"Great, we just arrived at the rush hour." Beck said when he saw the large line in front of the truck.
"I'm not hungry. I'll wait for you at the table." Tori said. Beck nodded and she walked towards their usual spot. It was still empty, which meant that her friends either were still in class or maybe in the line for food. She sat down and leaned her elbows on the table. She rested her head on her palms and looked down at the table. She wondered if she would have those visions for the rest of her life. That idea frightened her. The idea of knowing the darkest secrets of the people next to you was as bad to her as the knowledge that she would never be able to enjoy a hug, a kiss or even a handshake from anyone in her life without having a vision.
"Vega." She heard the familiar voice say. She looked up to see Jade sitting next to her.
"Hey." Tori said as she sat up straight. Awkward silence filled the little world they both were now in. They didn't perceive anything happening around them. All they could hear was the deafening silence between them.
"Jade, look… I'm sorry about yesterday. I did not want to make you angry or offend you. I…" Tori began, trying to come up with something. She heard Jade sigh, which shifted her attention back to the Goth.
"Vega, you don't need to apologize." Jade said.
"Jade…"
"No. It was me who overreacted. And I'm sorry. I know you meant well, in your own kinda way." Jade said. Tori was taken back at her apology. It was a rollercoaster as always with her.
"How are you?" Jade asked her. It only surprised Tori more. It was the first time Jade had ever asked her that.
"I've slept maybe one night in the whole week." Tori honestly said. She did not want to lie to Jade. For whatever reason, she did not think it was necessary.
"It's because your mind is too busy trying to figure out certain things." Jade said.
"H-how do you?"
"Experience, Vega. Why do you think I like coffee this much? It keeps you awake and gives you an energy boost. You should try it sometime." Jade told her. "Look, Cat told me what happened." Jade said.
Tori's eyes grew wide at what she had just heard. How could Cat do something like that? She knew that Jade would not believe that Tori has visions. She would only mock her for telling Cat that.
"W-what did she tell you?" Tori asked.
"About your family issues. I'm sorry to hear how much of a cunt your mother is." Jade said nonchalantly.
"I wish I could tell you that it's not like that." Tori said. A rock fell off her heart. She felt bad for believing that Cat would share everything like that. She probably only told Jade that Tori's mother left with another man.
"You need to shake it off and move on. There is no point in hanging on to it." Jade said.
"I tried. But it just won't leave my mind." Tori told her.
"Give it time. It will." Jade said. Suddenly, her phone rang. She took it out of her pocket and read the message. She let out an annoyed groan as she put her phone back. "I have to go. Sikowitz wants to talk about my next play with me." Jade said as she got up.
"Thank you for the conversation." Tori said.
"Don't mention it. I owed you that one." Jade said as she walked off.