The morning of graduation was quite hectic for every senior, but each in their own way. Tori was running around her house looking for her gown, because she could not find it anywhere, while Andre was searching all over for his grandmother. He had informed her about the graduation, and asked her to be ready by three o'clock, since the ceremony would start precisely at four and the seniors were instructed to be there half an hour earlier than it began. The last time Andre had seen her, she was walking into her room to start getting herself ready, but when things got quiet, he went to make sure everything was alright, but she was gone. Now he had to look for her all around the house and maybe even throughout the neighborhood, because, who knew where she might have ended up?! While Andre was dealing with that, Cat was waiting for her parents to arrive along with her brother, at the airport. Their flight had been delayed, and now she was waiting impatiently with her Nonna. She still had to get ready, and the airport was not as close to her Nonna's apartment as she would have liked. Meanwhile, Robbie was abandoned at the mall. He had gone to get new glasses, but when he came out of the store, his parents were gone, and no one was answering their phone, because they were all probably getting ready for his graduation. Beck's mother had turned his childhood bedroom into a massive dressing room for him to get ready in. She had his gown laid out on his bed right next to his cap, but as much as he tried to get himself together, she prevented him from doing so. She would either start crying just at the sight of him picking up his robe, or she would want to take a picture of his every move. He was starting to get annoyed, but he just decided to stay calm so everything would stay as relaxed as possible. Jade rushed from one level of her two story home to the other. She frantically threw every pair of heels she owned, across her room.
"Jade. Jade!" Her mother shouted.
"WHAT!?" Jade snapped.
"May I ask why you feel it's absolutely necessary to be running around the house, and flinging your shoes all over this room?" Jade's mother raised her eyebrows exactly how Jade did. It was simple to see where she had picked it up.
"Just go away." Jade demanded.
"Jade. I'm not leaving until you explain why you're acting like a maniac in my house." Her mother replied.
"Shouldn't you be at work?!" Jade tried to change the subject.
"I'm working from home today; because your brother is no longer in school and I need to keep an eye on him. Now why are you stomping around my house?!" Jade's mom asked for the final time. Her brother—just like the rest of the school district—was out of school for the summer already. Thursday had been his final day and since it was Friday, their mom didn't see any harm in staying home one day until she could find a summer babysitter for him since he was still too young to stay home alone. Jade's father was either at work or too busy with his new wife to even consider spending time with either of his kids, so he was definitely not the babysitter Jade's mom was looking for.
"I'm graduating in a few hours, mother. At four, to be exact. If you paid half as much attention to my life as you do your job, you would know that." Jade announced.
"You are not. Jade, what grade are you in?" Her mom was ashamed that she had no idea what was going on in her daughter's school life. Jade didn't mind too much, because she liked her privacy, but it still hurt her to know that her mom genuinely had no clue what grade she was in.
Instead of replying, Jade stomped to her bedroom door where her mom was standing, and slammed it in her face. She finally found the heels she wanted to wear, but she got distracted when she heard her mom on the phone.
"Because I had no idea." Her mother admitted.
"Oh like you knew!? Give me a break."
"Yeah, at four."
Jade stopped listening after she heard that. She assumed her mom was talking to her dad because of their conversation. She didn't know if her parents would actually show up at her graduation. Of course she wanted them to, but she honestly couldn't imagine them sitting through the ceremony taking pictures and recording the very moment she was officially out of high school like the rest of the parents there would be doing. She shrugged off the whole phone conversation, and proceeded to slip on her new dress.
…
"Alright children, settle down!" Sikowitz's naturally loud, deep voice called out from the front of the large crowd of eager seniors.
The group quieted themselves down and faced toward the front where Sikowitz was standing. Each of them was lined up in pairs, and lucky for Tori and Cat, their last names were close when put into alphabetical order, so they got to walk to the stage together. Jade, Beck, Robbie, and Andre were all lined up with kids they barely knew. They had practiced one last time before the ceremony, and they felt prepared, but once they heard some underclassmen play the song they would walk to, all of their hearts began to race. Two by two, each pair of teenagers walked past their family and friends and to the stage where they were seated in rows behind a large podium with a microphone attached to it. Once the audience's cheering was calmed, Helen walked up to the podium and began to make a speech. Every single person paid close attention to Helen's kind words about the senior class. She talked about how much they had grown as musicians, actors, and dancers. She also explained that even though she had only been the principal at Hollywood Arts for a short time, she had grown to love each student. Jade continued to listen to Helen speak, but she also looked at the audience. She saw Andre's grandma and cousin, Robbie's parents, sister, and grandparents, Cat's parents, brother and Nonna, Beck's mom and dad, and Tori's parents sitting next to Trina, completely filled with pride. She watched as Tori's mom wiped a few proud tears from her face, and Beck's father take a million pictures, but she also noticed something that made her stomach turn; her parents, younger brother, and step mother. She didn't know if she should be happy or confused. She stared at her family as they sat—almost emotionless—and watched the ceremony continue. They didn't take pictures or record what was going on, her mother didn't cry, they were not like the rest of the families there. Before she knew it, every row was starting to stand up one by one as each student received their diplomas. Each member of the main friend group beamed with pride as they grabbed the piece of paper that proved the last four years had paid off. After each student had sat back down, Helen stepped up to the podium once again.
"And now, it gives me great pleasure to announce the Hollywood Arts' graduating class of 2013!" Helen spoke excitedly as she moved aside to applaud for the seniors with the rest of the audience.
Cameras flashed, noise makers went off, and people whistled all at once. Then, the music started playing once again, and everyone met their partners at the aisle that would take them to the back where they could be reunited with their friends and families. Every person was either giving congratulatory hugs or taking pictures. Jade on the other hand, was trying to avoid her family, that is, until her younger brother pointed her out to the adults that surrounded him.
"Jade." Her father began.
"What are you guys doing here?" Jade asked with her eyebrows raised.
"We came to see you graduate." Jade's mother answered.
"Congratulations Jade." Her step mom spoke up.
"Whatever." Jade rolled her eyes.
"Be respectful." Her father warned.
"No." Jade disagreed as she walked over to Beck and his parents, whom she was still annoyed with.
"There's my girl!" Beck announced as he saw his approaching girlfriend.
"Congratulations you two!" Mrs. Oliver smiled.
"Babe, we did it." Beck whispered into Jade's ear just before kissing her temple.
"Jade, were going out for a nice celebratory dinner, and everyone else is coming along, would you care to join us?" Mr. Oliver invited.
"Yeah, sure." Jade agreed. She quickly turned towards her family who was starting to walk away and notified them where she would be.
"Ready to go?" Beck asked.
"Yeah, where did you park?" Jade questioned.
"Across the street. I figured it would be ridiculous to try to get out of here with all these people trying to do the same thing." Beck replied. Hollywood Arts was conveniently located directly across from the ceremony space, so Beck got smart and parked there. Jade made the mistake of parking in the actual parking lot of where they had just graduated.
"Ugh, my car is stuck in this sea of idiot drivers." Jade grunted.
"Why don't I just drive you? I'll bring you back for your car later, alright?" Beck suggested.
"Okay fine, let me just take this gown and cap off and put them in my trunk. I'll meet you across the street in a few." Jade informed.
"Hey! I was wondering if I could ride with you. Andre's car is full with Cat and Robbie already." Tori asked as she walked up to Beck.
"Yeah that's fine. Jade's coming with me too, so you'll just have to sit in the back seat." Beck instructed.
"Alright. Are we waiting for her or is she like meeting us at the car?" Tori asked, completely aware about the traffic in the parking lot.
"She's getting out of her cap and gown, so she'll meet us across the street." Beck explained.
Before he and Tori made it out of the ceremony space, Beck received a text from his mom, reminding him one last time that he still had until the next day to decide if he was going to New York or not. He replied with a simple answer that explained how he was sick of her and his father pressuring him. There was no yes or no reply, he simply asked for them to stop asking him about it, and that his mind was already made up.
…
"Hey, so while we're waiting, I was kind of hoping we could have that talk I've been meaning to have…." Tori began.
"Sure, what's up?" Beck listened attentively.
Jade waited for the light to signal that she could cross, and she noticed Tori with Beck, so she rolled her eyes because now she would have to deal with her the whole car ride. Once the crosswalk gave her permission to continue, she did so. She finally made it to the other side with her heels and all; she started to approach the middle of the parking lot where Tori and Beck were still talking as they waited for her. Before she could announce her presence, something that completely turned her world upside down, happened. Tori and Beck were leaned into each other, kissing. Jade felt a huge knot in her throat and she also felt incredibly nauseous. Her face burned with anger and pain. She no longer had any control over her tears, they were already pouring down her face, completely ruining the makeup she had applied earlier. She couldn't make out any words, but a tiny squeak made its way out of her mouth, causing both Beck and Tori to look up. They also had no idea what to say. Tori feared for her life on a regular day with Jade, but knowing she had witnessed what just happened, petrified her.
"Jade…I can explain." Beck gasped nervously.
"Beck. I am sick of you explaining yourself. There is no way you can possibly explain what I just saw. I hate you Beck Oliver. We are done." Jade screamed through a shaky voice.
"Jade please!" Beck begged.
"You know what, Beck?! Go to New York. I know that's what you had planned all along. Just go. Make your parents happy and leave. I don't ever want to see you again. EVER!" Jade sobbed.
"Jade, I—" Tori started.
"You either, Vega. You both are dead to me." Jade announced.
"Will you please let us explain?!" Beck argued.
"Dead to me." Jade repeated before storming off across the street to get into her own car and go home.
"Beck…I—I don't know what to say." Tori whimpered.
Beck didn't reply. He opened his car door, got in, and slammed it shut. Tori went to check on him, but when she approached the window, she saw tears falling down Beck's cheek. He was known for being an 'emotionless robot' to most, and Tori had never seen this side of him. She felt terrible, so she knocked on the window, but she was really surprised when he rolled it down for her.
"We shouldn't have done that." Beck sniffled.
"I'm sorry. I just really wish she would have let us explain. Maybe you should go to her house and talk to her." Tori suggested.
"No. We have to go to dinner. Everyone's waiting. Get in the car. Let's go." Beck instructed.
Tori obeyed and the two drove off to dinner. Beck could not believe what had just happened. One minute it was one of the happiest days of his life, then the next, the love of his life was breaking up with him. But that didn't hurt him as much as the fact that he could have prevented it if she had just let him explain. What had happened was, Tori started out by reminiscing on how she and Beck had first met, and how she stage kissed him in front of class to get back at Jade, but as they started talking about more of their encounters, Tori admitted to loving Beck. He honestly had no idea what to do, but the next thing he knew, she was kissing him. He hated that he hadn't pulled back sooner, but he just felt that maybe if he gave her a nice long kiss, she would be satisfied and she would leave him alone to be with Jade. Because all he ever wanted was to be with Jade, and now, he had ruined everything.
Author's Note: PLEASE DON'T HATE ME! I love you guys, but please remember that this story is categorized under 'drama', so please understand why this had to be done. The story doesn't end like this, there are still more chapters to come! So please let me know your thoughts about this in a review, I really do appreciate it!