Andre and Jade had been "dating" for almost a month with barely a change in Tori or Beck's behavior. Frustrated with the lack of obvious progress, Jade had been attempting to up the performance all week, spending more and more time with her lips on Andre's. Andre didn't mind kissing Jade, he kind of liked it actually, but knowing it was all for show made him feel rather sick with himself. He voiced this to her often, but she ignored him, reminding him that it'd be worth it in the end.
The group was standing at Tori's locker on Monday of the forth week of Jade and Andre's charade. Jade had herself pressed to Andre's side, and he had his arm around her tightly. Beck and Tori were playing their usual game of acting like nothing was wrong while keeping their eyes away from the couple at all costs. The bell rang and the group began to head to class. Jade grabbed Andre's hand, preventing him from going with them.
"Jade, the bell rang." Andre frowned. "We should get to class." Jade shrugged.
"Don't worry we won't be long." She assured him. She noticed Tori glancing back at them as she walked and gave her a cocky wave. Andre gave her a look.
"I thought you owed her." He reminded her. "For not kissing Beck?" Jade rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, yeah." She dismissed him. "We need to talk."
…..
Tori followed the group until they were out of sight of Jade and Andre and then turned to Beck.
"I have to go to the bathroom." She lied. "Can you tell Sikowitz I'll be there in a minute?" Beck shrugged.
"Yeah, sure." He said, though he knew she was lying. He figured she'd tell him what she found out later anyways. Tori thanked him and headed back toward the main hallway, stopping when she reached it. She peered around the corner, listening intently for Jade and Andre. She quickly located them, still standing by her locker. She crept forward and pressed herself to the nearby lockers, staying as quiet as she could.
"I can't do this anymore." Jade said. "You're right, it's not working. Let's just stop." Tori frowned, what isn't working? She wondered, straining to hear Andre's reply.
"They don't even seem to care." Andre sighed, nodding in agreement. "So what do we do, break up?"
"I guess. I mean, we have to do something or unless we want to just admit we've been faking this whole time." Tori's eyes widened and she backed away quietly, turning and heading back to class. She wasn't sure how she felt about that she had heard. On the one hand, she was happy that Andre and Jade weren't really dating, but on the other hand she felt completely betrayed. How could Jade and Andre do this to her and Beck? Didn't they understand how it made them feel? Probably not, Tori reminded herself. She had never told anyone other than Beck how she felt about Andre. And Beck, well he was such a good actor that sometimes even she questioned whether or not he still loved Jade. She replayed Andre's words in her head, trying to make sense of them; 'They don't even seem to care.' Who was he talking about? What did mean? She wondered.
Tori reached the door to Sikowitz classroom, pausing as she went to open it. Should she tell Beck what she'd heard? She frowned, not sure how such news would affect him. Beck was the kind of person who never appeared to get emotional about anything, but she was always left wondering what was really going on in his head. Having had him come to her door so early in the morning just a few weeks prior, Tori decided that telling him probably wasn't in his best interest at the moment. Or Jade's and Andre's. Tori sighed, pushing open the door to her classroom. She could only hope they could all just forget about this soon.
….
Jade and Andre announced their split at lunch, claiming that they just didn't feel a connection that way. Tori awkwardly stared down at her food through the conversation, trying to respond normally to the news.
"That's too bad." She replied apologetically when they had finished.
"I'm sorry it didn't work out." Beck forced. Robbie nodded in agreement.
"I knew it." Cat murmured, twisting a section of her hair between her fingers. "I knew it wouldn't work out." The group frowned, eyeing her in confusion.
"Why?" Robbie asked her.
"Because!" Cat pouted. "Jadey loves Beck and Andre loves Tori." Everyone stared at her.
"But Cat, you were so happy when Jade and Andre started going out." Robbie pointed out as the others awkwardly tried to avoid eye contact.
"Well I wanted them to be happy!" Cat argued. "And Beck and Tori didn't want to go out with them!" Tori frowned, as awkward as she felt at the moment, she had to admit that what Cat said made sense. If it was true that Andre liked her and Jade still loved Beck, it would be no wonder that they would've felt like the feeling wasn't mutual. Beck was the king of hiding his feeling and Tori, well she hadn't even realized she had them until she saw Andre with Jade. No one said anything, but Tori knew everyone else's mind was whirring as quickly as hers. Maybe Andre and Jade were fake dating to make her and Beck jealous. She thought, feeling conceited. She immediately scolded herself for thinking like that. You don't even know if what Cat said is true. She reminded herself. It could very well have nothing to do with either of you. But the more she thought through it, the more it made sense in her mind. Maybe Andre really did like her.
…
Still, Tori was angry. She couldn't believe that Jade and Andre would go behind their friends' backs and lie to them all instead of just be honest about their feelings. Okay, Jade she could believe, but not Andre. As far as she knew, Andre had never lied to her until now. Andre was the one person she could count on for that, for everything really, and now she was questioning everything about their friendship.
Beck, however, seemed to be in a much better mood since Andre and Jade's breakup. He was practically back to himself, as far as Tori could see, with one big difference; he was talking to Jade again. Of course, Jade was incredibly suspicious of this, but he kept trying and eventually they could hold civil conversations once again.
Tori argued with herself almost daily about her decision not to tell him what she had overheard. Although she didn't want to hurt him again, she had this nagging feeling that she was lying to him every time she saw him. She hated the idea that she was keeping something from him after he had been so honest with her through it all, but she just couldn't face the alternative. Feeling as if she was going to explode with the knowledge, she decided that she had to tell someone, anyone at all, just to get the burden off her chest. As the group made their way to class one day, Tori grabbed Cat's arm and pulled her into the janitor's closet with her, yelling to the others that they'd catch up.
"What's wrong?" Cat asked sweetly, as Tori shut the door and flipped on the lights. "Are we having a closet party?" Tori sighed and shook her head.
"No, Cat it's not a closet party."
"Phoooey." Cat pouted. Tori ran a hand through her hair, hoping she wouldn't regret this later.
"Cat?"
"Whaatty?"
"Can you keep a secret?"
"Of course! I love secrets! They're like stories, that only two people know!" Tori nodded.
"Yes, Cat that's what this is. A story. That you can't tell anyone. Okay?" Cat nodded.
"I promise."
"No one. Not even our friends. No one can know. Nobody at all, okay?"
"I got it." Cat smiled. Tori took a deep breath.
"Jade and Andre weren't really dating. They were pretending. I heard them talking about it and…" She cut off, sighing deeply. "I just couldn't keep it to myself." She explained. Cat's eyes widened.
"They lied?"
"Well, yeah, I guess so." Cat gasped.
"But why? Don't they trust us?" Tori shrugged.
"Do you know any reason why they would pretend to date?" She asked. Cat hesitated.
"Maybe." She sighed. "But I'm not supposed to tell."
"You can tell me." Tori urged. Cat sighed again.
"Okay. But don't tell Jadey or she might get mad."
"Promise."
"She still loves Beck."
"I know. But why-"
"And Andre loves you." Tori's breath caught in her throat.
"How do you know?"
"Jade told me. And she told me she had a plan. I didn't know she meant that they would fake-date." Tori sighed, torn between wanting to dance and cry. She hated the idea that they had been lying purposely to make her and Beck jealous, but at the same time, she was thrilled to know that Andre liked her back. She made Cat promise one more time not to tell anyone before leading the way out of the closet and into the hall.
"I have to go to the bathroom." Cat declared.
"Okay. I'll meet you in class." Tori agreed, taking off for her first period. Cat flounced happily toward the bathroom, almost colliding with Beck as he rushed in the front doors.
"Oh, hey Cat." He smiled at her when he realized who it was.
"What are you doing here?" Cat asked innocently.
"Slept through my alarm." Beck admitted. "Just got here. What are you doing here?" Cat shrugged, cocking her head to one side.
"Just going to the bathroom." She said happily. "Closets make me have to pee." Beck frowned at her.
"You were in the closet?"
"Uh huh! The janitor's closet!" Cat giggled.
"Um, why?"
"Because Tori wanted to tell me about Andre and Jade." Cat gasped, covering her mouth. "I wasn't supposed to tell you that!" Beck frowned.
"What about Andre and Jade?" He asked suspiciously. Cat shook her head quickly, still covering her mouth.
"No no no! I promised I wouldn't tell!"
"Cat it's okay." Beck soothed. "It's just me. You can tell me. I'm your friend, right?" Cat sighed, letting her hand fall.
"Fine. But I'm not telling you about what Jade said. She made me swear!"
"What'd Jade say?"
"That she still loves you." Cat's eyes widened as she covered her mouth again. "Agh!" She complained. "I didn't mean to say that!" Beck raised his eyebrows.
"She really said that?" Cat nodded, her hand still clamped over her mouth.
"I told Tori that's probably why she and Andre were fake dating."
"Andre and Jade were fake dating?" Cat shook her head.
"No! No! I wasn't supposed to say that!"
"How do you know that?" Beck asked.
"Tori told me. She head them say it." Beck frowned, running his hand through his hair. He started to ask more questions but Cat cut him off, clamping her hands on her ears.
"Don't tell them I told you!" She cried racing away, toward the bathroom.
Author's Note: I'm so sorry about the lack of updates but I've been super busy and admittedly putting a lot more time into my other story than this one. But don't worry! I have not given up on this story and I promise I will try to update more often. I hope this chapter made up for the long absence. Please review and check out my other story. Remember, the more reviews I get the more motivated I will be to update so, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW :D
