Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious...otherwise it would be completely different.

A/N: So I'm pretty stable the past few days as far as updating. Mentally, not so much... I'm shooting for 25 chapters total for this, but knowing me, it will end up being 30 or something. Advice for everyone reading this: Never assume... Keep that in mind.

By the way, thank you for everyone that reviewed. We're up to 100. Means a lot, guys. :)

Anyway, enjoy.

Chapter 19

"Wait…"

"It makes sense."

"You're telling me that you think Andre was the one to kill my father?" Tori nods. "Why? What good would that do? He knew my father was nothing to me. If anything, if he did kill him, he did me a favor." I frown and sit on Tori's bed, trying to keep my guard up, trying to keep myself from touching her in any way. She had spent the past day ignoring me, trying to stay away from me, and I was doing just that; I was staying away from her.

That's what's so hard about us. The only reason we've been able to stop ourselves with anything is because we've always been interrupted, or there was something that had to be done that we had to stop. And I may as well be sitting on my hands right now because I want so badly to hold her. "Jade…even if it didn't really faze you, it was still done. And I really do think that Andre was the one who committed the crime."

My eyes meet hers. "That's a really serious accusation, Tori. And as much as I wouldn't put it past him at this point, if you're wrong…"

She shakes her head. "I've thought about if I was wrong, but that would be only a twenty percent chance. Andre's been weird lately. You can't deny that fact because we both know it's true. And he suddenly shows up after being in a fight and telling me that you're going to suffer unless I end things…Nothing else makes sense." She crosses her arms and stares at my face, frowning, and the concern is so obvious. "What happened to your eye, Jade? Please tell me you didn't go get into a fight…"

I chuckle and shake my head. "No, I promise you I didn't get into a fight. This…This is courtesy of Trina on account that she thought I was the reason for you being locked up in your room sulking. She did say she would hurt me if I hurt you."

Tori sighs. "She shouldn't have done that. Now people who know we're dating are going to think I'm abusing you…" She's almost smiling. Good, I'm glad she finds this amusing. Then again, she's right. I don't think people would believe innocent Tori Vega would have been able to leave a mark on me, though.

"Yeah, let me tell you, Tori. Along with the rest of the world, I don't think you could hurt a fly. Face it, you've been hurt by a fly…" To which she protests. "Okay, maybe that's a little too mean. As for you going to prison for alleged domestic abuse or something? I'd say even the cops would laugh at that one." I smirk to let her know I'm teasing, but that amused smile is gone, replaced by the adorable pout of hers. And God, I really want to kiss her right now.

She slaps my shoulder and the contact burns, even though it only lasts for a second. "You're so mean, Jade." I give her my best puppy dog eyes. "That's not going to work…" But it is. And I know I need to stop, but damn it, I don't want to. She sighs and sits on the bed, enough room between us that Trina could sit there, and I have to ball my fists to keep from reaching for her. "What's going to happen to us?" she murmurs and I turn my head to look at her, unsure if I should respond. "Why is it that nothing can be easy with us? There's always someone or something standing in the way."

"We sort of let it happen, don't you think? And this…with Andre…You're letting it hurt us, Tori." She stares at her lap and I frown. "It isn't your fault. I know the games they play, you don't. And what Andre said to you is more about him than it is about you. Andre just doesn't like me and he's trying to make you the same way. It's how he is."

"Jade, he's never been like this before. He's always seemed like the open type, the one who doesn't judge or hate."

I bite my tongue, looking at the wall. She isn't going to like what I'm about to say, but she needs the truth. "Because he's your best friend…or was…I don't know how you see him at the moment, and right now, that isn't important. He used to be a decent guy two years ago. Like I said, when Beck got hurt, he's hated me since. But before…Before, we were friends. It was always Beck, Andre, Cat, and me against the world. Even Robbie was one of us, I guess, but I'm not fond of him so he's never important in anything I claim.

"Anyway, back when we were friends, there was this guy who always wanted to be around Andre, but Andre was a bit mean toward him, and no one knew why. One day I sat down with the guy, the one that followed Andre, and asked him why he wanted to be around Andre so much because he was beginning to annoy the hell out of us. I thought he just couldn't get a hint that we didn't want him around." I pause and glance at her for a second before returning my eyes to the wall. "He broke down completely.

"I don't know how to deal with crying girls, let alone guys, so I just sat there and waited for him to finish or something. When he finally did, he looked at me and said 'I'm in love with Andre'. And I almost hit him, but I was just caught off-guard that I didn't know what to say. He went on, telling me that he was sorry that it seemed like he was bothering us at the same time, but all he really wanted was to be with Andre.

"I told him to keep trying, that maybe Andre would come around and he could be happy. The next day at school, he announced his feelings for Andre in front of everyone. Andre was so angry that he hit the kid and told him that he was worthless, that what he was doing was wrong. Even though no one expected that from Andre, they still laughed. And that boy was so humiliated that I felt sympathy for him."

Tori takes a breath, and I realize she's scooted a little closer. "Who was the guy?"

And it feels like someone is squeezing my heart because she doesn't know. Just remembering is difficult, knowing that it was because of her best friend, my old friend. "You don't know him. Or maybe you've heard of him in passing. What Andre said got to him. All the boy ever wanted was to be with Andre and he was holding onto this impossible hope that Andre would be his. But when Andre turned on him like that, in front of everyone, he had nothing left. His home life was shit, everyone else treated him like shit, especially after Andre did that, so what else was there for him? A few days later, the boy made a decision. I was the only person in his life that had ever showed compassion, who had even looked at him twice without being mean or demeaning, and so he told me something I would never forget."

I stop, the words becoming unbearable on my tongue, and stand, walking away from the bed. I can hear Tori stand behind me, but I can't look at her. I know I'm going to tell her, but it's hard to. How do you tell someone that their best friend was the reason someone ended their life? I feel her hand on my arm and it burns so much. "Jade…"

I take a breath. "He told me 'When you love someone, you give them everything. When they destroy it, they've destroyed you. When they've done that, what else is there to live for?' I didn't think he was going to…I tried to tell him that I would help him, that we could try to make things better, but he just shook his head and left. He was crushed, Tori. Andre may not have pulled the trigger, but he was why the gun went off."

I try to fight my tears, remembering the gunshot and running to find the body of someone who could have been my friend, blood everywhere. And I can't stop myself, turning and collapsing into Tori, taking us both to the floor. She holds me while I cry, trying to shove the memories from my mind.