Finally done with it! Hope you liked it. And grey jacket's going to be Adam.

Disclaimer: I own nothing recognizable

Andre's POV

We were half a block away from Tori's house when I realized she left her bag in the car. Naturally, we turned the car around and drove back to her house. I hoped out of the car, bag in hand, and walked up the walkway to her house. I rang the doorbell. Nobody answered. I rang again. After a minute of waiting, I yelled, "Yo! Tori!"

No Answer. Well, that's weird. Trying the door, I found it unlocked. I cautiously took a step inside. Nobody on the first floor. I turned on the lights to find flower petals all over the floor. All along the path, there were several crushed flower petals, proving that somebody must have been there. Curious, I followed the trail of yellow flowers to the stairs. Walking up the stairs, I noticed a few spots where the person must have fallen. I chuckled to myself. I continued down the beige hallway, accidentally banging Tori's bag on a red table in the hall. The trail stopped at a closed door. My curiosity has always gotten the better of me, so I opened the door, screaming at what I saw.

"Tori!" I yelled. It was definitely Tori, but you could barely tell. Her skin was red and blotchy, and her eyes were swollen shut. Her arms were covered in giant hives, and her lips were almost blue. She looked like Violet Beauregard after she turned into a blueberry, but much less blue. Beck must have heard me scream, because he came in about a second later. I turned around, my frantic eyes meeting his confused ones. But he looked past me, and a second later his eyes became frantic too.

I turned around and yelled, "Call 911!" But it was unnecessary, as he was already on his pearphone. I knelt next to Tori and felt for her pulse. It was there, but it was very faint. Not knowing what else to do, I started pumping on her chest, performing hands-only CPR, because I didn't know the full version. The next few minutes were a blur; the situation felt unreal, like it wasn't really happening, and I was just watching a movie. I remember lights flashing, and someone in blue telling me to move away from Tori. I didn't, until someone – I think it was Beck – pulled me away. Tears clouded my vision as they wheeled Tori away. I remember someone telling me it would be okay, but I wasn't so sure. I raced to my cousin's car and hopped in the front seat. The keys were still in the ignition, so I didn't have to look like a total fool, waiting for my cousin to get there and give me the keys. Beck got in the passenger's side, and my cousin hopped in the back.

I was probably driving 15 or 20 miles over the speed limit, but I didn't care. All I cared about right then was Tori. She was the only thing on my mind, and my driving reflected that, I'm sure. I swung around corners, ran through red lights and stop signs, and almost killed a hobo, Beck throwing a sorry over his shoulder as we sped off. I'm pretty sure I knocked over some garbage cans, and I might have hit a possum. The lights of Los Angeles at night whipped past us as I pressed the gas pedal to the floor, trying to keep as close to the flashing lights in front of us as possible. I almost crashed the car numerous times, but, miraculously, we got to Los Angeles Children's Hospital in one piece.

We arrived only a few minutes after the ambulance, and I sped through the sliding glass doors to the reception area. A middle-aged nurse wearing blue scrubs was sitting at the front desk. She smiled, "How can I help you today, sir?"

"Tor… I need… find… her!" I gasped. Thoughts raced through my head as my tongue fumbled to string together a coherent sentence. How could the nurse be smiling at a time like this? How could anyone smile in a building where so many people died? Beck came sailing in behind me. "Excuse me," he tried to smile, but it turned out as a grimace. "My friend and I are looking for Tori Vega? She just came in?"

"Of course," the lady smiled again. "She's up on the 4th floor, in room D427. But-" I didn't stick around to here the ending of her sentence, but instead ran to the nearest elevator. I pressed the up button, and, thankfully, one of the elevators opened immediately. I hopped through the grey, steel doors, and they hadn't even completely opened when I started pressing the button to the 4th floor. The button lit up, but the doors weren't closing yet. I pressed the door close button about a million times before they finally closed.

Elevator music played, as I got lost in thought. Tori's life could be slipping away with each second passing by. I couldn't loose her. I had lost too many people so far. My grandpa died before I was born, my mom had died of cancer when I was 7, and, even though she wasn't dead, I had practically lost my grandma too. She was getting even more insane every day. A few days ago, she even called me by Grandpa's name. If I lost Tori, well I would lose my best friend. I know what that feels like. Jade and I used to be best friends. I made a bunch of mistakes, and now… now I think she hates me. But my favorite letter will for always be "J".

I was so lost in thought that it took we awhile to realize the doors were open. After I did, I jumped through the doors, and sprinted to the new reception area on this floor. I skidded to a halt in front of a nurse with a harsh glare and a forced smile. "Please, can you tell me where Tori Vega is?" I questioned.

"I'm sorry, she's not accepting visitors at this time," came her almost robotic reply. I tried again.

"What room is Tori Vega in," I spoke through gritted teeth. This time it wasn't really a question, more of a demand.

Again she answered with her automatic, "She isn't accepting visitors."

"Just tell me where she is!" I yelled this time. A few of the passing nurses shot me sympathetic glances, and some of the people waiting stared at me. Beck, who had just caught up with me, pulled me away from the plastic desk and to the waiting room.

"Dude, you need to chill!"

"Beck! Tori's in trouble! What would you do if Jade was in trouble? Oh wait- nothing! Because you were to fucking stupid to see that she needed you! But I know that Tori needs me, Beck! I – I need her!" I spat, breaking at the last part. I fell into one of the blue-green cushioned chairs and started sobbing. Beck, who had looked hurt before, quickly got over it, and awkwardly patted me on the shoulder.

"It'll be okay, Man. Just relax. I'm sure she's just sleeping or something," my cousin tried to comfort me.

"But what if she's already dead! What if they're just trying to figure out how to break the news to us? What if-"

"Andre! You need to stop thinking like that!" Beck shouted, in an almost Jade like fashion that reminded me of the old days, when she and I were best friends. But nothing could cheer me up now. Nothing except getting to see Tori alive and well. Nothing except getting to hear her laugh to see her smile. I don't mean to be cliché, but I would kill just to hear her voice again. It seemed like I hadn't seen her in years, even though it had been less than an hour. I stared, emotionless as the wall across from me, studying it like I would have an exam on it tomorrow. Smiling children and animals were painted on the wall in an attempt to cheer people up. There were four of the most uncomfortable chairs on the other side, and six on mine. In the middle, there was a black plastic table with magazines on it. My cousin picked up a Sports Illustrated while Beck talked on his pearphone a few yards away. After a little while, he sat down next to me, crossed his legs, and started to play with a paperclip he found on the floor. Every so often, he would worriedly glance at me. Half an hour later, Cat got there. She sat on the other side of Beck, sitting criss-cross applesauce on the chair, absentmindedly playing with her hair and humming the tune of Sesame Street. Robbie was Rex-less when he arrived about fifteen minutes later. He got out his new pearpad and started playing with it.

It was now 3:48 am, and I was the only one awake. It was dead silent, and the not knowing was driving me crazy. Beck had fallen asleep besides me; his had propping up his chin. Robbie was lying across 3 seats, snoring, and Cat had fallen asleep on Beck's shoulder. My cousin had left thirty minutes ago, and besides my group of friends, the waiting room was now empty. Everyone was there. Everyone but Jade.

My eyes struggled to stay open. All of a sudden, I saw doctors and nurses rushing to one of the rooms down the hall. I head shouting, and after 5 minutes, they returned looking relieved. With a jolt, I realized that the person in that room had almost died. I ran to the nearest trashcan, and emptied my stomach into it. One of the nurses I had seen earlier saw me, and, after I was done, gently took me by the shoulders and directed me back to my seat. "Get some rest," she said, her voice oozing with kindness. She was wearing pink scrubs, and she had a permanent smile etched on her face. In her hair, I could see a few grey hairs, and her entire appearance gave a maternal essence. I relaxed, as much as I could in the waiting room, and she left.

She returned a short while later with some coffee in a Styrofoam cup. "Thank you, Nurse…" She silently pointed to her nametag, "Thank you Nurse Irene." Slowly, I sipped the coffee, letting it scorch the inside of my mouth. Less than 4 hours had passed since I had shared hot coco with Tori. I felt a pain in my chest, but continued to stare at the wall in front of me, my eyes drooping lower and lower.

Hopefully I'll be able to update again soon. I had a science fair and a language arts project that I had to do, so I was pretty busy. But now I'm not!

Until next time,

Building Castles