Chapter Song: In My Veins — Andrew Belle
Belfast Ireland
~Beck~
...
"I've gotta admit lad, I'll miss ye'." Said the balding pub manager as he pushed a pint of beer toward Beck.
Beck was at the Dog and Gun pub, an establishment he'd been visiting regularly since the beginning of the fifth season of Dark Swords. This would be his last time visiting for a quite a while, for the next morning, he would be flying back to California.
"Aw, come on now Sean. Don't start getting all sentimental on me," Beck teased, with a smirk.
Patrick scoffed, "I'm not. You're just good for business, we don't get many celebrities in 'ere."
"Well, hopefully, I'll be back next year for season five." He told him.
"Aye, that'd be grand," Sean grinned, his one gold tooth glinting in the dim pub lights.
Beck could hear giggling behind him, and when he started to turn himself around on the spinning stool, the giggling increased. There were three girls staring admirably at him, two blondes and a brunette. They began bickering with each other in hushed voices, and then they stopped suddenly when one of the girls pushed the brunette forward.
She smiled coyly at Beck before turning her gaze to the floor, "uh...aren't you Beck Oliver?"
"Yeah I am, it's nice to meet you, uh...?"
"Nora...it's Nora."
"Ah, it's nice to meet you, Nora," Beck replied.
"I was wondering if...well, that's only if you wanted to of course..." She stammered, and Beck could hear Sean chortling lowly behind him. "What I'm trying to say is, would you like to go out with me sometime? See, me dad owns a restaurant in Bangor..."
Ever since Beck had revealed that he was not in a relationship during an interview at the Season Four premiere last year, occurrences like this had become quite common. It had been a big mistake, and in hindsight, he wished he'd just kept his mouth shut.
This time he was glad to have a valid excuse to decline for once.
"Sorry Nora, I would love to and everything, but I'm actually flying back home tomorrow morning," he explained, trying to put as much regret into his voice as possible.
"Oh," She said, disappointment etched across her features. "Well, okay...I'm sorry for interrupting you."
Guilt swelled in his chest. This girl actually seemed pretty down to earth, how was she supposed to know that he was still pining after a girl who had been even more down to earth?
Clenching his teeth to hide the cringe that threatened to take over his face, Beck offered the girl a selfie, which seemed to brighten her spirits just a little, he also, just for good measure asked her for her twitter username so that he could follow her.
Once she and her friends returned to their table, Beck turned back to the bar and was met with a displeased looking Sean who was shaking his head at him, abashed. "Why didn't you just slap the poor girl in the face?"
"What? It's true, I can't go on a date with her when I'm not even going to be in the country tomorrow. Oh for-! I took a selfie with her and followed her on twitter, what more could she want?" He argued, defensively.
Sean rolled his eyes, "Americans."
"I've been coming here every Saturday for a year, and each time I do, I have to remind you that I'm Canadian."
"Bleh, you're all the same to me," Sean said, pulling a pint for the burly man who had just then taken a seat beside Beck and ordered a large Guinness. "S'not like you could handle an Irish bird anyway."
Manhattan NY
~Cat~ ~Robbie~
...
Cat watched the entire dress rehearsal from the back of the empty theatre, makeup-less in her pink pullover, the hood was pulled up to hide her messy ponytail.
She had to admit, the replacement they'd found to fill in her role as 'Truly Scrumptious' was an amazing actress. Cat was having a hard time finding anything to criticize her over, which she didn't have any right to do anyway since it was her fault she had lost the role in the beginning.
But she couldn't just not come back to wish good luck to the cast that she'd been working with over months, not after all the flowers and gifts they'd all been sending her. At the end of the last scene, Cat came forward and walked toward the stage mid-clap. Everyone froze under the bright stage lights and the British twins who were playing the roles of Jeremy and Jemima came rushing down the steps, beaming.
"Cat!" They exclaimed in unison, hugging her tightly.
"Hi, Alfie...hi Emily." Cat smiled.
"We missed you!" Emily said.
"Yeah, we're sorry about what happened to your brother." Alfie added.
The rest of the cast seemed unsure of what to do, and their pitiful looks made Cat's skin crawl. At least the kids weren't afraid to speak to her.
"Thanks guys, I got your cards. They were beautiful."
"Alfie, Emily, come back up here please." said the director, and the twins did as they were told.
Cat looked at him apologetically, "Sorry Mr Deveroux, I know non-cast members aren't allowed in here. I'll get out your hair now, I just couldn't leave New York without wishing you guys good luck," Cat explained, "So...Good luck."
The director gave an empathetic nod, suddenly becoming unsure of where to look.
There was a sob from onstage, and seconds later, Cat's friend Jessica, the girl who had driven her home the night she had received the horrible news. And since Jess was crying, it wasn't long before Cat was bawling too.
"Please take care of yourself, okay?" Jess told her, and Cat had an incline that she was referring to her rough appearance.
She smiled weakly and nodded as she broke the hug and turned away to make her exit.
Cat later spent the whole subway journey home staring into space, not even blinking when a drunken hobo decided to take the seat next to her, and she did not flinch when he spilt his guts all over the floor. Once she reached her stop, Cat stepped over the puddle, looking forward to going to bed and sleeping off the grief.
Robbie was in the living area when she got in, packing up their suitcases.
"How was everyone?" He asked as he folded up a pair of Superman boxers.
"Pitiful." She replied, disappearing into the bedroom.
Robbie sighed and followed her, hesitating slightly before knocking on the door.
"Yes?" She called.
"I was wondering if you were going to help me pack?"
"No thanks, I'm too tired, you do it."
Robbie frowned, "but how am supposed to know which of your clothes to pack?"
There was a silence, and Robbie wondered if she'd fallen asleep, and then the door opened. Cat walked over to where her suitcase lay open, and dragged it into the bedroom with her before shutting herself in once again.
From inside, Robbie could hear the sliding of drawers being opened mixed in with the sound of her sniffles.
The feeling of his phone vibrating against his thigh brought Robbie from his reverie. He quickly retrieved it, eyes widening with success when he saw the email alert on the screen.
The message was only short but it gave him hope.
Inbox (1): JadeAWest
2 secs ago
I'll be there. Don't forget to send me the details.
—Jade
So Robbie did, and his fingers moved across the screen so fast, as if she would suddenly change her mind at any moment...
Los Angeles CA
~Tori~ ~Andre~
...
"Are you sure about this, Tori?"
"Of course I'm sure. I can't let you and Charlie stay in a hostel when I have a perfectly spacious home."
She was definitely right about that, the place was huge. As he leant against Tori's purple Toyota, Andre moved his sunglasses to the top of his head and ogled the modern mansion standing before him. "She's a beauty."
"Yeah, she is." Tori sighed.
Andre frowned at her, immediately picking up on her lack of enthusiasm, "What's the matter?" He asked. A smile graced her lips and she shook her head, "Nothing, come on." She beckoned.
Andre eyed her suspiciously as she led the way. He reached into the backseat and lifted Charlie out of the stroller which had been folded down into a car seat. The toddler yawned and placed her head down on her dad's shoulder as he caught up with Tori.
The Latina unlocked the door and they stepped over the threshold into an immaculate foyer. On the left was a white marble staircase decorated with a black sculpture-like hand rail and the floor was a glistening white throughout. On the right, the wall made way for an archway where a modern kitchen area was located.
As they ventured further into the room, Andre with his jaw hanging slightly open, they came into a spacious living area with black leather couches and a sizeable flat screen TV that looked thin enough to be a poster. There were also sliding patio doors that led out to a large outdoor swimming pool.
"Can I get you a snack or...anything to drink?" Tori asked, her voice echoing slightly from the kitchen area. She filled a glass with ice from the dispenser on the fridge followed by tap water.
"Nah it's cool." Andre said, frozen to the spot as he took in the beautiful house in all its glory. It was no doubt a very far cry from his old apartment.
"You can take the master bedroom if you want." She told him as she made her way to one of the couches and sat down, sighing contently as she swallowed a mouthful of water.
"Is that not your room?" He questioned.
"Down." Charlie babbled, wriggling uncomfortably in Andre's arms. He set her down on her feet, making sure to keep an eye on her.
"Nah I've got the back room," She explained, taking another sip. Andre found himself staring, watching the way she licked her lips after each sip. "The couch won't melt if you have a seat."
Andre jumped, "Right...yeah," he mumbled, placing himself down on the couch opposite. He felt his cheeks go hot and kept his gaze on his daughter who was toddling around curiously. "Don't break anything, Charlie."
"Uckie, peas!" Charlie hollered, turning around and rushing back to Andre with pleading eyes. He reached into the diaper bag and handed her the toy duck which seemed to have an instant effect on her and she was instantly engrossed with it.
"So, about Vanessa...She just took off? Without saying anything?" Tori questioned.
"Pretty much," he affirmed. "I mean, I knew she was kinda having a hard time getting to grips with motherhood and she and I made a really bad couple. I guess I shouldn't have expected any less of her," He clasped his hands together. "She was so controlling and bossy and she lacked the patience that comes with being a good parent, so in a way, I'm sorta glad she's gone. Does that make me a bad person?"
"Quack, quack." Said Charlie softly, making her duck 'swim' across the floor.
Tori smiled at the little girl and then looked back at Andre again. "No, of course not."
"Then why do I feel like the worst guy on the planet? I shouldn't be glad that the mother of my daughter walked out on us. Charlie doesn't understand that she's never coming back so she cries. She cries her little heart out all night because she misses her mom. I sincerely thought that she loved Charlie but I was so wrong, she obviously doesn't give a damn. She didn't even leave her any money. instead, she just took every penny out of our shared account, and now...we have nothing Tori." His voice had cracked painfully and Tori swiftly set her drink down on the coffee table and rose quickly from her seat and placed herself beside Andre, covering his hand with her own.
"You have me."
He met her soft brown eyes and sighed. "You're amazing for helping us out, especially after I cut you out of my life."
"I had a feeling you were persuaded," Tori said. "Vanessa didn't like me."
Andre nodded, "When you came to visit Charlie that day, we weren't even together. She made me lie because she was convinced that I was going to start dating you," he explained. "We were never together as a couple...we were just co-parenting Charlie together."
"Why didn't you tell me that?" Tori asked, hurt.
"Look, I never wanted to stop hanging out with you. But you only caught a glimpse of what Vanessa was like. She was struggling to bond with Charlie and when she saw how natural you were with her, it made her jealous," he explained. "Then, after you left, she blew up at me. She even threatened to take her away. I had no choice but to agree to her terms, I just couldn't allow that to happen, I'm sorry Tori."
"It's fine," Tori assured him, eyes filled with tears. "At least I've got you back now, that's all that matters."
After Tori had helped the exhausted Andre take his bags to the master bedroom and let him get settled in, she informed him that she'd promised her mom she would stay for dinner.
"There's food in the fridge, help yourselves. I'll be back in a few hours." She told them.
"Thanks Tor," Andre smiled, scooping up his daughter who rubbed her eyes sleepily. "Say bye to Tori."
"Bye-bye." Said the little girl, half-heartedly.
Tori chuckled, "bye bye, sweetie."
Once she arrived back at her parents, Trina was the one who answered the door.
"Baby sis, hi! You're just in time!" Trina greeted, a little too enthusiastically. She closed the door behind her and pushed her by the shoulders toward the kitchen area where their disapproving looking parents were. "How about we ask Tori what she thinks?"
Tori eyed them all in bewilderment.
"Your sister has lost her mind," Mr Vega told her.
"What—?"
But she got her answer when Trina dangled her hand in front of her face, where an expensive looking ring sat glinting on her finger.
Tori looked back at her parents in surprise, "oh boy."
This one was a bit of a shortie and I don't feel like it's my best work, my apologies if it seemed a bit shitty, writer's block can be a bitch.
sayyouwontletgo — You're welcome. And yes, Jade's mom's overdose happened after Beck and Jade's break-up. I'm glad you're enjoying :)
Cheera12—Thank you, I'm glad you like it :)
Lyanaaa: That's very sweet of you, thanks for reading! :)
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