A/N: Thank you all for the latest reviews, they made me smile! I still can't believe this story is almost at 1,000 views already and it's only Chapter 3! *Amazed* If you haven't already, feel free to leave a comment and if you already have, might as well leave another one for luck ;)

/JADE/

I don't know what happened. How did I get here?

My eyes flick from one side of the room to the other, taking in the familiar surroundings of the Vega's living room, the couches, the picture frames, the rounded cushions, and the various ornaments lining the shelf. I can feel something warm resting on my forehead and faintly remembered being half guided and half carried into the back of a cab before everything went black.

Someone is in the kitchen, clattering around with the mugs and spoons, the smell of coffee drifting over to where I'm sat.

I knew the scent should trigger something but I came up blank.

My bones creak and ache in response when I sit up. I wonder exactly how long I'd been unconscious for. The warm cloth falls from my forehead and lands in my lap. I can just about register that my black skirt is stained and dirty. Wincing, I trace my finger around a bruise on my wrist, briefly questioning how many other injuries I'd suffered while in my comatose state. But then, I didn't care.

"Yeah dad. It was three guys. I didn't get to see their faces because I scared them off." I hear Tori's voice behind me.

I take a sharp breath, the whimper leaking out of my trembling lips.

Those men. Those...animals had touched me.

"I'm pretty sure one of them was wearing a dark blue jacket. 5'8 medium build..."

I could have died tonight. I should be dead.

"I don't think they did. She was still... clothed." Tori drops her voice to a whisper and I can feel her eyes burning into me. "Okay. Thanks dad, talk to you later."

I keep my eyes focused straight ahead, staring at the blank television screen. A pathetic, hopeless part of me was still expecting Beck to come bursting through the front door. I was still waiting for him to scoop me into his arms and hold me close. I had it all played out. Tori would call and tell him everything about tonight and he would immediately rush over to take me home, tell me that we can start over, that he made a mistake. But no.

The mistake was believing that I wouldn't get hurt...again.

Oh the fucking irony.

"I wasn't completely sure but do you have your coffee black with two sugars?" I turn my head to see Vega approaching, a steaming mug of coffee in her hand. I look her up and down. I can't trust myself to speak or string a sentence together so I just nod, relieved when she accepts the gesture without another word. Both hands wrap around the cup and I sip at the liquid. It was the perfect color, the perfect heat and scent, and I continue to drink despite the fact the taste didn't reach my tongue. The liquid sears the roof of my mouth, a brief moment of pain to drag me from my numb state. I tuck my knees up to my chest, attempting to focus on something, anything else, curling up to stop myself from falling apart all over again.

I had just been molested by three strangers and my mind was still on Beck.

How janked up is that?

"I just called my dad. He's going to send a unit downtown to see if they can get those creeps."

She reaches across and brushes my knee. It's only the lightest of touches but it's enough to make me draw back.

"I'm sorry." She pulls away quickly. "And we don't have to talk about tonight...if you don't want to."

I just grunt in reply. I wasn't ready to start talking. I wasn't ready to do anything. I knew she was referring to what happened tonight in the alleyway. Any normal person would be more concerned about being attacked then some stupid break up, but then I wasn't normal. She obviously wasn't aware I had been to see Beck after the display at her door, that things had ended, officially, but...goddamn it. I was prepared to let go, to erase him. But my thoughts continued to cling on in the desperation that he wouldn't be the same as everyone else.

I snatch at a pillow and hug it tightly, watching Vega reach down and turn on the TV.

My hands tighten around the fabric as Tori flicks through all the channels, always keeping one watchful eye on me to make sure I'm okay. I want to snap at her. I should get up. I should leave without another word, because it's like I'm staying here under false pretenses, milking her sympathy and my situation for a different reason. But I can't bring myself to move. Despite despising her guts, I couldn't deny the odd sense of comfort I felt in her living room.

"Oh hey, the Wizard of Oz is on! I used to watch this movie all the time when I was little!" Tori claps excitedly. I roll my eyes. Sure, I'd easily label the Wizard of Oz as one of those 'must see' classic movies and yes, I enjoyed it, but I would rather gouge my eyes out with a blunt pencil than admit we had anything in common, especially tonight. Trust Tori Vega to try and force some sunshine into the situation.

I notice how she sits awkwardly, subconsciously keeping her distance after my freak out. I was grateful that she didn't push for any more contact. After a few minutes I find myself beginning to subconsciously relax, gradually sinking into the inviting, cheesy color scheme and well known plot, the steaming coffee lulling me into a mindless state.

We watch the movie in shared mutual silence, the only interruptions coming from Tori slurping at her drink. My teeth grind together in irritation when Dorothy throws the bucket of water at the witch, watching her melt into nothing but a puddle. I am fully expecting for Tori to cheer or do some sort of stupid victory fist pump. It was just something I could picture her doing during movies, when the good guys finally won. I glance over. Maybe I was imagining it, but she actually shifted a little uncomfortably in her seat.

The credits eventually roll across the screen and I find I'm reluctant for it to end. Even though it had only lasted for a few minutes, that movie had been my small slice of sanity where I could get lost, I could fully immerse myself away from the world and now I was spit back up into harsh reality. No one knew, but it was part of the reason why I wanted to be a director. To create worlds people could escape to.

That I could escape to.

"You know... I've always disagreed with the ending to the Wizard of Oz." Tori mutters out loud. "I mean, okay the witch was wicked and everything but did she really deserve to die?" I sit up, unable to resist my interest at the question.

"Okay, what? You're actually rooting for the bad guy to win?" She turns to me, looking startled that I'd finally spoken.

"I'm - I'm not necessarily rooting for the witch to win. I just think there was a more reasonable way to get rid of her." She starts picking at the fabric on her sweater, not sure whether she should have said anything. "Maybe lock her up in jail or something?" I smirk, seeing just how out of place Tori had become with that one sentence and I seize on it. I found I wanted to goad her even further because it was making me feel a little more like myself.

"Oh right. Because it's so much safer to lock away the wicked witch. Why, don't you fret about that mean ol' witch an' her nasty powers, the sheriff has thrown her behind bars where she can't hurt nobody no more!" I can't help but use the classic 1940's accent. "Now we can all live happily ever after in a magical rainbow land. Here, Mr Munchkin! Have a candy lollipop to celebrate!"

Tori's lips purse together. I could tell she was resisting the urge to blurt out the sentence that usually followed my imitation.

"But she essentially got the death penalty for wanting a pair of nice shoes! I'm just saying, if it was up to me, I'd be a little more forgiving and put the wicked witch away in a high risk facility prison or something. She wasn't evil. She was... misunderstood." She looks over at me with a small smile and I scoff, setting down my coffee mug.

"Yeah well, in case you haven't noticed Tori, the villains never get the happy endings."

"Well they should once in awhile." She sits up. "Imagine walking into a shoe store, buying a pair of shoes and then getting murdered for it!"

I'm surprised when a snicker leaves my lips.

"I think most villains deserve some kind of happy ending..."

I challenge her with a raised eyebrow. "Oh really?"

She stumbles over her words. "Oh- okay, I'm not saying that the bad guys should always win, but I think they should at least be given a chance to redeem themselves?" She drains the last of her coffee. "Some people are evil - or believe they are, but it's only because they've been dealt with a bad hand in life. Maybe they just needed someone to show them the good inside."

Our eyes meet.

"I mean there's always two sides to every story."

"And we only ever hear from the heroes." I mutter.

It was strange and ridiculous, but I almost felt a little bit... lighter just by talking to Tori. As if a small weight had been lifted temporarily from crushing my chest. I wasn't sure if this new development should scare me or comfort me but either way, I knew for tonight, I didn't want it to end. I couldn't go back to the empty, terrifying numb feeling again, clawing at the walls of my own brain. I see Tori flashing her stupid grin at me and I loathed to admit that it was infectious. I cover my mouth with the rim of my coffee mug.

My heart was still hanging on by a single thread right now, but Tori was that last thread. Holding me up, supporting me until I was actually ready to fall apart. Filling the void with words and small gestures of comfort. I was only waiting now for the cold realization to hit, before the thread snapped and the pieces needed picking up from the floor.