A/N: Sorry for not updating the last few nights! I went out for once in my life on Friday! :P And I had to work Saturday… I've just been busy!
Seated in a plush blue chair, a teenage girl flips another page of her Vogue magazine to continue reading an article on the upcoming fashion predictions. She smacks her gum, attempting to release the popping sensation in her ears while switching the song on her PearPod.
"Miss?" a flight attendant asks, pushing the refreshment cart down the aisle. The teenage girl doesn't reply because of the music blaring through her headphones.
The passenger seated next to her taps her on the shoulder, causing her to yank a bud from her ear. "Huh?"
The long haired boy smiles and points toward the flight attendant, who offers, "Would either of you like a drink?"
They both decline politely, watching as the young woman carries on to serving others. "Whatchya listening to?" the boy clad in plaid questions, motioning toward her PearPod.
"Oh, uh, Ginger Fox," she answers, showing off the album cover on the screen.
He nods in approval. "I'm Beck," he introduces.
"Tori," she replies cheerfully. "Nice to meet you!"
Beck chuckles. "You too! So, what puts you on this red-eye to Los Angeles?"
Tori shrugs. "I'm going home… I've been travelling abroad for my senior year of high school, all around Europe. I've been in London for six weeks, studying British literature, before catching the last flight home to California."
His eyes widen. "Wow, I'm impressed!"
"How about you? What interesting tale can you enlighten me with, Beck?"
Beck sighs, adjusting in his seat. "I'm an actor, desperately travelling and attempting to be picked up by at least a decent agency."
"Why London, though?" Tori wrinkles her nose in confusion.
"I tried several different agencies in California, but none ever really took interest in me. I figured that maybe London would be a better shot, as several people have been discovered there recently. I don't know…" He runs his hand through his hair again, never going to be able to break his habit. "The reason I took the red-eye is because I have a meeting first thing in the morning in LA."
Tori frowns in sympathy, placing a hand on his shoulder. Though they just met, she feels a rush of grief course through her veins for the dark-skinned boy. "Well, I praise you for following your dreams, Beck. I'm only a lifeguard, so it's not like I'm going places with that 'talent'."
"Well, if you're ever stranded on a desert island after a –" Beck pauses, shrugging his shoulders in consideration. "–plane crash, then I'm sure you'd be more than a hero."
As if on cue, the aircraft begins shaking violently, causing the two teens to grip the armrests in fear. "Nothing to worry about," Tori speaks up over the rattling.
A ding above grabs their attention. "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Captain has turned on the fasten seat belt sign. We are crossing a zone of turbulence; please remain seated," a female flight attendant's voice booms over the intercom, right before the two teens watch as the other attendants speedily walk to the back of the plane to buckle in as well.
The plane proceeds to tremor, becoming rockier every second.
It's all happening so fast.
Tori is suddenly aware of the dropping altitude when a woman flies up out of her seat and slams into the ceiling with a loud 'thud'. The stranger's body then descends toward the aisle, completely unconscious or dead.
She doesn't know, and doesn't care to find out.
A siren blares above them and yellow oxygen masks fall in front of their faces. Beck and Tori grab the masks, stretching the strap around their heads and situating the bag properly. Their eyes widen when they sense the airplane tilting to their left forcefully, triggering muffled screams from Tori. From the compartment above their seats, a suitcase breaks free of its hold and flies toward a passenger across the aisle.
The corner strikes the bald man's head, sending him into a comatose state immediately. His head hangs and blood rushes down the side of his face to drip onto his incompatible clothing. Next to him, a refreshment cart zips by rapidly down the aisle, only stopping when colliding with the women who had collided with the ceiling.
There's a ferocious snap from behind, alongside a sucking sensation that sends Beck and Tori's hair blowing every which way. Beck peers over his shoulder and down the walkway to discover the tail of the plane completely missing. He spots a couple sitting one row away from the opening, clinging to each other for dear life. With their masks on, a curly haired boy shelters a red headed girl from flying debris floating around them.
As they continue to drop hundreds of feet from the air, Tori's sight becomes glazed over and her head is pounding from the pressure. She takes one last look at Beck, whose eyes are squeezed shut with his face tucked into his knees, before succumbing to the blackness that overcomes her.
Tori Vega replays the conversation with Beck within her head as she nears the end of stitching up Robbie's leg. She finds herself in a dilemma, knowing she wants to help out as much as she can, but does she want to be the hero like Beck had said? Should she step up and attempt uniting her fellow survivors into working together, or just lay low and allow every man for himself to take place?
She's drawn out of her thoughts by a ferocious clamor in the trees, lifting her head to listen closely. The noise doesn't repeat itself, leaving the survivors minds wandering with questions. However, Tori focuses her attention back to her task at hand, finishing by cutting the remainder of thread with the mini pair of scissors the kit includes. She pours more alcohol over the gash, making Robbie tense once more, then wipes the blood and sand completely off his leg with the sleeve of Beck's shirt.
"Alright, he's done. Give him about twenty minutes, then we'll want him to try walking to unstiffen it," Tori suggests, zipping the sewing kit closed and tossing it back to Jade.
"What now?" Andre thinks out loud, tying the laces on his tennis shoes.
"Well," Beck starts, rubbing the back of his neck. "We could get those bags out of the plane that we gathered, and the girls could go through them and sort stuff…"
"Sounds like a good start," Tori agrees. "Should, uh, he –" she points to the balding man against the tree trunk. "–stay with Robbie, then?"
The nameless man nods, approving of his duty. Cat leans over Robbie, whose eyes are open and moving around. "Robbie, this strange man is going to take care of you, okay? I won't be far, but just call for me if you need me."
Robbie raises his head slightly. "Will you find Rex?" Cat nods sadly, pecking his lips quickly before rising to her feet.
The five teens stomp through the sand, stepping over wreckage that is spread all over the beach. When they reach the plane, the girls watch as Andre and Beck climb into the darkness to retrieve bags already set aside. They form an assembly line; Beck handing Andre a suitcase, then he tosses it down for Jade to catch. Jade then passes it to Cat, who carries it over to Tori in a shaded area of the plane.
This process lingers on for ten minutes, until the boys have recovered every valuable piece of baggage. The girls each open a bag, picking up and examining single articles of clothing, then setting them in piles if useful or not.
"We're gonna head back inside to gather up any food and blankets we can find," Beck says, pointing his thumb over his shoulders. "Anything else?"
"Maybe a first aid kit; it'd be near the front probably," Tori requests, folding a black tank top neatly. When Andre and Beck walk out of ear shot, she adds to Jade and Cat, "See if you can find any antibiotics; they'll be the most beneficial medicine."
"My brother has special medication," Cat states innocently as she sorts through a bag of toiletries in a random suitcase. "For when he screams loudly at night."
Jade and Tori stare at her in confusion before shaking off her bizarre comment, then Jade unlatches a rather intricate piece of luggage, revealing several different items of technology. She handles a PearPad carefully, eyeing it for any damage. There are a few scratches here and there, but nothing to worry about. She presses the home button, noticing the battery life to be decent, but the words 'NO SERVICE' in the top, left-hand corner are what bother her most. "You know how people always jokingly ask, 'If you were stranded on a deserted island, what is one thing you would bring?' and people always say that they would bring their phone?"
"Yeah," Tori and Cat reply simultaneously.
"Well, it's a load of bullshit 'cause there's no fucking service on this goddamn island!" Jade screams at the top of her lungs, throwing one of the phones from the bag into the side of the plane.
Cat squeals timidly, recoiling in fear at the violent girl next to her.
"You've got a colorful vocabulary, Jade," Tori chuckles, moving one bag out of her way in order make room for another.
Jade scowls. "Whatever." She slouches over lamely, and can't help hissing at the shooting pain in her ribs. She's been attempting to ignore the uncomfortable feeling since helping Beck carry Robbie nearly an hour ago.
"What's wrong, Jade?" Cat muses.
"Nothing," she responds, stiffening.
Tori cocks her head to the side. "You're wincing… Are you hurt?" She situates her weight into her hands to shove herself into a standing position, striding in the direction of Jade and reaching out a hand in effort to check for injuries.
The black haired girl recoils from Tori's touch, grimacing in pain and annoyance. "Don't touch me!"
"But I just want to see!" Tori rebuts, struggling to get closer to the glowering teenager.
"No!" Jade yells, rising to be eye level with the brunette. "I don't need help! Not from anyone, and especially not from you! Yeah, so you save a few lives, but that doesn't make you the mother of the island that everyone can rely on! That doesn't give you the right to go and boss everyone around!"
Tori's face softens. "Jade, I –"
But Jade only growls and shoves the other girl in the sand, emitting another squeal from the petite red head. The vicious teen squats before Tori and slowly maneuvers her face forward so they're inches apart. "I've been conscious for an hour and already hate your guts, Vega! You've got this prissy and charming little personality that makes me want to vomit, and I literally feel my life withering away just being in your presence!"
Tori's expression suddenly contorts to sadness, letting her hair fall in front of her eyes to hide her unshed tears. "Oh, I see."
"What's going on here?" Beck asks, setting down a handful of blankets.
Cat plays with the ends of her hair. "Jade is saying mean things to Tori."
"Shut up, Cat!" Jade fumes, sending her an ugly glare.
Andre furrows his brow. "Hey, no need to take any anger out on them. Just calm down, Jade."
"Ugh!" Jade growls in frustration. "All of you need to understand this about me: I don't take orders from anyone! I can take care of myself, and don't need everyone breathing down my neck! There's a huge possibility that we may be here a while, so the best way to get on my good side is to not push my buttons and leave me the hell alone!"
"Guys," Cat intervenes nervously.
She's ignored completely. Beck steps into the conversation, "Fine."
Jade crosses her arms. "What?"
He shrugs his shoulders. "Well, if you want to be left alone, then fine. We won't bother you if you don't bother us."
"Fine."
"GUYS!" Cat shouts, finally grasping their attention. She points ahead with fearful eyes and a shaky voice.
"Robbie and the weird man are gone."
A/N: This chapter is longer than the others, but was really difficult to write! I've had the flashback written for a few days, but the actual beach scene took me a while…
Thanks for the 13 reviews! Let's go for 13 more and make a total of 50 :) I know y'all can do it!
Review response to Serene Cullen: I know, I'm not a big fan of Tori and the fact that she gets the perfect life and spotlight on the show. I am trying to stick with their personalities, so she's gonna be annoying and a know-it-all at times. But Jade let her have it in this chapter! And there's gonna be a lot of moments when the gang won't get along…but for the most part, they'll ban together!
Again, let's shoot for 13 more reviews!
Thanks!
XxLadyStrengthxX