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Beck's POV

The class erupted in applause as I lowered Jade and I to the floor. I held her against me and couldn't tell if she was breathing.

"Jade? Jade? Wake up!" I shook her while the class looked around in confusion. "This isn't part of the scene!" I shouted frantically.

"Someone call 911!" I heard Tori yell from somewhere.

"Jade? Jade, baby please! Please wake up." I tried and failed to keep my voice calm. Why wasn't she waking up? She'd never been out this long. "Jade?!"

I put a hand on her cheek, why was she so cold?! She always wakes up; something is wrong.

"Beck, calm down." I heard Sikowitz say from somewhere near me. I could feel him and the gang gathered around us but I didn't care.

"Baby, I'm sorry okay? I didn't mean anything I said! I take it all back just please please open your eyes!" I could hear the group calling my name trying to get my attention but I wouldn't let Jade out of my sight.

Why had I been so stubborn? I shouldn't have been so hard on her. What if those are the last things I get to say to her? I can't believe I let her think I didn't trust her. I should've told her I loved her.

I called her name over and over like a chant, just willing her to wake up. I don't know anything about medicine, but I know it can't be good for her to be unconscious this long. I rocked her back and forth until I felt arms trying to pull me away from her.

"No!" I shouted at an unknown enemy. What if they take her and I never see her again? What if she's gone?

"Beck," I heard Sikowitz say near my ear. "You need to let the paramedics help her. They'll take good care of her."

I looked up at his eyes for the first time. This was a strange situation, me looking crazy while Sikowitz was calm and making sense. I released my grip on Jade long enough for the men to lift her onto a gurney and wheel her out.

"Beck, wait!" I heard Ally call to me as I ran from the room after the paramedics. I know they won't let me ride in the ambulance with her, but I could get to the hospital before anyone; I had to.

I jumped in my truck and floored it the entire way to the hospital, close behind the ambulance. I had to split from them to find parking, but ran as fast as I could into the main lobby only to have to stand in line.

When the receptionist finally called me next, I couldn't feel my legs as I shuffled over to the desk.

"Hi there," she smiled as if people weren't dying around her. "How may I help you?"

"I need to see a girl," I managed to say. "My friend Jade, she was just brought in in an ambulance. She's 17, black hair, blue eyes. She fainted at Hollywood Arts High School." I spoke in a blur while the woman just stared at me.

"I'm sorry, I can only give out patient information to the patient's immediate family." She gave me a sympathetic smile that only made me angrier.

"Her dad isn't here yet, please! I just want to see her."

"I'm sorry, hospital policy is very clear on this."

"Can you at least tell me if she's okay?!"

"The doctors are with her now," she gave away. "You can go down the hall and wait in the waiting room on the right until her family gets here." she directed me to a corridor.

I left the desk, pissed off, and walked down the hall into the waiting area. The only other people there were an old couple watching an episode of the Price Is Right on the small screen in the corner of the room.

I tried to sit down but couldn't remain still long enough and stood. I started pacing until I heard familiar voices coming towards me. I looked to see Tori, Andre, Cat, Robbie, Ally, and Sikowitz walking in my direction. Ally ran to me and hugged me as they all gathered around.

"Oh my god, Beck!" Ally said when she let me go. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I shrugged. That was a stupid question, Jade was the one sick here, not me. "Could you get that nurse to tell you anything?"

"No, she just told us to wait here," Andre shrugged as they all sat down.

"She said they tried calling her father, but he wasn't answering," Tori said. Figures, he couldn't even make time for her when she was ill. "Do you have his number?"

"No," I shook my head. "Sikowitz, isn't there anything you can do?"

"I don't think so," he shook his head. "She's a minor, they won't tell anyone but her parents anything."

"Dammit!" I slammed my fist against the wall. I hated feeling so useless. Jade was somewhere in this place and I couldn't see her. I just wanted to hold her hand, tell her everything was going to be alright. I know she'd probably tell me to shut up but I'd keep telling her I loved her till she believed it. I wouldn't let anyone get between us.

"Is JJ gonna be okay?" Cat said with watery eyes.

"Don't call her that!" I snapped and crossed my arms. "She hates it."

"Beck!" Robbie looked at me, outraged, while Cat squeaked and burst into tears. She leaned into Robbie as he hugged her and shook his head disapprovingly at me.

"Cat…" I sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm just really worried."

"We all are," Tori spoke up. "We just need to calm down and stay strong. For Jade."

Yeah, stay strong. How could I focus on staying strong when I felt like I was about to collapse? My mouth was dry and I felt so tired all of a sudden. I let myself sit down since my legs seemed to give up on me, and laid my head in my hands.

I closed my eyes and couldn't stop the memories from playing in my head. Her face was everywhere. That first night when I'd seen her arguing with Kris. I didn't mean to butt in but she looked like she needed help. And then the awkward car ride when she let me take her home. The way she looked in that dress, and the way her blue eyes rolled at any comment from me.

I could see her standing out under the streetlight so vividly in my mind. I can still feel the way her hand felt in mine the first time I held it. And the way her lips set my soul on fire, making me feel more alive than ever. I'd never felt anything more powerful than that spark between us.

I don't know how long we'd been waiting, but it was way too long already. I couldn't take it anymore and decided to pace the floor again. Shouldn't we have heard something by now?

I was about to go run through all the rooms in the hospital when I heard a familiar and unwelcome voice.

"Where is she?" I turned to see Kristofer with a K walking into the waiting area. I clenched my fists unintentionally at the sight of him.

"She's still with the doctors," Tori spoke to him.

"Why are you here?" I couldn't stop the words from escaping my lips.

"I called him," Tori said in a soft tone. "I thought Jade would want him here."

"She would," Kris said pompously. "Have you heard anything?"

"Not yet…" Tori answered him while I turned my back on them completely. I hate that he's here, but would Jade really want him to be?

"How did this happen?" I heard him ask.

"She was in the middle of performing a scene with Beck and she just…fainted," Tori explained, not realizing how my heart stopped when I saw her lose consciousness. "We all thought it was part of the play," Cat said in a weepy voice.

"What the hell kind of play would—,"

"Are you all here for Jade West?" I heard an unknown speaker interrupt Kristofer, and turned to see a woman in a white coat talking to us. Finally, some answers!

"Yes," Kris spoke in a professional tone. "How is she?"

"Are her parents here yet?" The doctor wanted to know.

"Her mother is deceased, and her father is in a meeting. I left a message with his secretary." Kris' business voice reminded me of Jade's dad. "I'm her boyfriend, please just tell me she's alright."

"She's in critical condition in the ER," the doctor said, making Cat cry all over again. "She's still unconscious."

"What's wrong with her?" Kris asked the question on my mind.

"We don't know yet," she responded, making me crazy. "From what we can tell, prior to the incident she was in great health. We're concerned about the head trauma. We're running scans on her now, but we need to know what happened."

Dammit. I knew I should've forced her to go to the hospital when it happened. Why did I let her convince me not to?

"What head trauma?" Kris asked, puzzled, and I remembered that no one else knew about it.

"There's a cut and a bruise on the left side of her head," the doctor gestured to the place I'd seen Jade hit her head. "Even with the test results, it'd make it easier to know exactly what we're dealing with."

"I don't know anything about a head trauma," Kris shook his head slowly. "She never told me about it."

"Yeah, she never said anything to us either," Tori spoke for the group. Of course she didn't. Jade hated when I asked her if she was okay, she'd absolutely despise the whole group seeing any weakness.

"Maybe she hit her head when she jumped into the pool?" Cat said in a small voice.

"No, she jumped feet first," Ally pointed out. This is bad. They'd be able to figure out what was wrong without that information, right? Jade wouldn't want me to say anything.

"It's important for us to know if the trauma caused the fainting," the doctor stressed. "Or if the fainting caused the trauma. The two are completely different cases with different diagnoses and she's not awake to tell us. Did she tell you about any symptoms she was feeling? Is this the first time she fainted? Anything unusual you can tell me?"

"No…," Kris shook his head. "She was perfectly fine." No, she wasn't. She'd been feeling sick for a long time; I was just too stupid to see it.

"Can I talk to you in private?" I said quietly to the doctor. I know Jade would hate me for it, but I had to tell the doctor everything. She needed medical attention, and I'm not standing in the way of that anymore.

"Sure," she nodded and started to turn away when Kris stopped her.

"Wait," he said. "I want to hear anything that has to do with Jade." He seemed upset, but not mad; not yet. The group looked at me confused by my request to speak to her alone, but I ignored them. I have to do this, before I lose the nerve.

"Where's my daughter?" Mr. West's voice boomed as he entered the waiting area. He was still dressed in a suit and looked pretty pissed off. I bet he stayed to finish his meeting even after he knew about Jade.

"You must be Jade's father?" the doctor with us assumed.

"Yes, I am," he said when he reached us. "Where is my daughter?"

"She's in the ER getting some tests run on her," the doctor explained. "This young man was about to tell me something pertaining to her health."

"Well?" he shot me a fed up look. "Out with it." All eyes were on me, and I knew I couldn't say it in front of everyone. It would ruin everything.

"If we could just talk in private?" I tried asking the doctor again.

"Nonsense," Jade's father protested this time. "If you know something about my daughter's health, I demand to hear it."

I looked to the doctor with a pleading look but she shrugged lightly at me, there was nothing she could do. I shook my head slowly and ran a hand through my hair; I had to do it, there was no other way.

"This…isn't the first time Jade passed out," I sighed, relieved to get the first line out without backing down.

"What do you mean?" Her father questioned.

"When did she faint?" Tori wanted to know.

"How would you know that?" Kris asked last.

"Do you know how many times she lost consciousness?" the doctor's question was the only one I paid attention to.

"Three," I said, fully realizing how stupid I was to let things get this far. "Sort of." I continued after the doctor nodded. "The first time, we were supposed to hang out but when I got to her house she was knocked out on the couch. She said she fell asleep…but there's no way she did."

"Mmhmm," she said while she scribbled notes onto her notepad. "And the second time?"

"She was standing on top of her kitchen counter," I gestured the height, ignoring all the other eyes on me. "And she fell off it. She said she just lost her balance, but I know she didn't." I shook my head. How could I have been so blind to everything?

"Is that how she bumped her head?" The doctor said after writing some more.

"No, I caught her before she hit the floor…," I shook my head slowly and braced myself for the next part. "The last time…she umm…she was getting out of the shower," I heard a collective gasp from the group, but carried on. This isn't about them. "I saw her sort of sway before she fell…I tried to get to her, but I wasn't fast enough…she hit her head on the edge of her bathtub."

"When did this happen?"

"Monday morning," I could hear myself getting emotional. "She woke up when I called her, though. She always wakes up. I begged her to let me take her to the hospital, but she wouldn't…"

"There was no way you could've known," the doctor tried to console me, but I knew I should've done something sooner. "Did she tell you about any other symptoms? She asked the same question as earlier, now realizing I would probably know more than anyone.

"Umm…," I tried to think back. "She always says that I give her a headache, but I think she gets them anyways. She's always taking aspirin."

"She tells me that too!" I heard Cat say from behind me, but didn't want to turn.

"And sometimes I catch her holding her hand to her chest like this," I clutched my heart the way I'd seen her do before. "But as soon as I ask her about it, she stops."

"Mhmm…" the doctor scribbled more onto the notepad.

"She…umm…she doesn't sleep well," I earned another gasp from the gang. "She says she does, but I feel her tossing and turning almost all night. And since she hit her head…" I realized I knew more than I thought I did. "She's been forgetting things."

"What kinds of things?" she asked.

"Things she should know…like yesterday she forgot her dad's phone number. And she couldn't remember the security code to her house's alarm system, or the lines to a scene we'd rehearsed over and over. I didn't think anything of it, but…is that related somehow?"

"Every detail helps," she responded while still writing. "Is there anything else you can tell me?"

"Umm…no, I think that's it." As if that wasn't way too much information.

"If you think of anything else, have me paged," she handed me her business card, and walked away with Jade's father following her.

I felt so much lighter without all the secrets weighing me down. I know this isn't even close to being over, but I had said it out loud; that was half the battle.

I turned to face the group, and braced myself for I don't know what. Would they be angry? Disappointed? Would they hate me now? None of it mattered as long as Jade was okay.

The second I turned, Ally's hand collided with my cheek with a loud slap. I looked at her in shock while tears flowed from her now raging eyes.

"I knew it!" She shook her head and screamed at me. "You were cheating on me, weren't you?!"

"Ally…" I said as calmly as possible. "It's not that simple, I—,"

"So what?" She yelled, stepping to me again. "I won't put out so you go fuck that slut?!" Cat gasped and covered her ears.

"Ally, calm down," Tori tried to step between us, but failed.

"No!" She screeched. "I'm not gonna calm down! How long, Beck?" She pushed me lightly while I looked away. "How long have you been fucking that whore behind my back?!"

"Don't talk about her like that!" Cat squealed from behind us with her eyes closed and ears covered.

"Ally, come on," Tori tried to pull her away. "This isn't the right time or place for this conversation."

"You're right!" She said shaking her head. "The right time would've been when you started cheating on me, you bastard!" She shoved me harder twice until Andre pulled her back forcefully. "Was that bitch worth losing everything we had?!"

"I love her!" I shouted finally. Ally stared at me incredulously while the group gasped yet again. I only saw Kris look to me from the corner of my eye for a split second before his fist connected with my jaw.

I staggered back and hit the wall with a thud. Oww. He walked out of the waiting room without a word, Ally on her way out too.

"You know," she said to me before leaving. "You pretend to be such an honest, open guy but you're the biggest liar I've ever known. I hate you."

I rubbed my jaw lightly, and sank to the floor. This is what Jade had been so afraid of. At least she wasn't awake to see all this. I almost forgot about the room full of people still here until I felt their eyes on me. I looked up to see Cat, Robbie, Tori, Andre, and Sikowitz looking at me expectantly.

"I…," I shook my head slowly and shrugged. "I don't know what to say…"