Hello everyone! Whoop! This one doesn't have too much but it'll lead places.

Hope you enjoy!

:)

Tori's Perspective-

"And...done," I grin quietly. This morning when I got to the locker, I realized I haven't really been organizing it and just shoving books in as I go along. Now, will it probably be messed up again? Definitely, though it's nice to clean up after a while. I shut it close, my hand tapping the text book in my ha- wait. I stare down at the Theatre History text book, glowering at it's annoyance. I swear I know it's after lunch.

Grumbling as I put some of the lockers in, I turn my gaze behind me, watching as the scissor-mutilated locker swings open, Jade standing by it. Her ankle - which she should be walking with crutches as Andre pointed out very loudly the first day she came without them - seemed to be better. She still isn't putting any weight on it when standing for long periods of time, however she seems to be moving better.

At least the weekend starts after tomorrow.

"Hey." His voice snatches me from my stare, my hand still holding the book in the locker, "What are you looking at?"

"Someone dropped a pencil," I lie, gazing at Beck as he gave me a small peck.

"Well, uh, do you want to go out tomorrow night? We could go walk around the mall some," he asks, his hand brushing through his hair.

"Yeah, I guess we could do that," I stitch a smile across my face as his eyes linger over the blonde-bitch who strode past. We dive ourselves into a conversation without much more distractions until the bell rings, signaling us out.

When I stroll into first period, I face palm my forehead; I don't think I shut the damn locker.

-(:)-

I stare dully at my sandwich as Beck loosens the arm that hangs around my shoulders, bringing it towards his plate of food. We grow quiet from our conversation - which I didn't have the courtesy to even follow along - and dive into our food. Well, he does as I just stare at it. "Hey, babe?" he asks softly.

"What?" I mutter rather blandly.

"I- uh...you do know I love you right?" I look at him, his dark eyes flicking towards me expectantly. I nod slowly as he grins, pressing my lips against mine briefly. It doesn't feel right, and I don't suppose it ever has. My eyes flick to the side, Jade's group strolling in from the double doors. I twist around, glowering at me dish.

"Hey Beck," I hear a long tone that's just so fucking annoying, "Can I join you? My friends said I couldn't sit with them-" I wonder why...bitch "-so, could I?"

"Sure, I don't see why not," he grins as I flick my gaze up, sending a quick glare at Jessica. She merely smirk, her fingers playing with the sides of Beck's dish. I only remain sitting, feeling another rise within me as I attempted to eye-eat my food. It doesn't work; she continues to push.

"So Beck," she drawls, not even touching her own burrito, "do you go to the gym?"

He chuckles quietly before admitting, "No, but I work out in the backyard with my weights."

"Ooh," she gasps in awe, her fingers coming closer to his own, "So you have to carry them from your room?" As if that's fucking impressive- well, unless they're really heavy then I suppose.

"Uh, I guess. But I live in my own RV so that's in the backyard."

"Cool," she giggles. God I can't take her irritating tone any longer. I abruptly sit up as she goes on, asking Beck if she could see it. Before he could answer, however, our gazes meet, startling blue against dull brown. Her eyebrow raises in competition, her mouth unable to resist snapping, "What? Can't handle him? I think I could-" She let out a startling shriek as a glob of chocolate milkshake sludged down her hair, bringing her feet right back up.

"I can handle much more than you and yet I'm not dating him," she growled, pale eyes challenging bright blue, "And that's a warning cupcake."

Jade smirks as Jessica steps back, hissing, "Because you're too much to handle bitch!" Well...I don't think she was necessarily lying there. Nevertheless, she bolts out of the way towards the bathroom, Ashely from her usual table giving her a fine, unhelpful glare. I hear combat boots stride away, my eyes following them as raven hair bounces with her movements. She opens the double doors as I find myself following, pale eyes flashing towards me.

As I open the doors for myself, Beck's gaze flicking in both directions that Jessica and we went to, I find that Jade isn't in sight. Not that I wasn't going to be walking down this hall anyway; I might as well pack my things for my next few classes. And, within a few minutes, I do. Not much to it really, though I find my gaze flicker towards her, lingering along the floor as she still rummages through her own locker.

I breathe to myself quietly before stepping forward. I need to talk to her and, well, I suppose now is a good time to do it. I pad my way quietly towards her as she halts in her movements. Her pale eyes flick towards me, resting softly as I scratch the ground with me shoes. "Uh...hey," I mumble softly, my eyes nervously dancing about hers. She nods slowly, shutting her locker door before turning around.

Just as her mouth opens, pale eyes flicking over my shoulder, she tenses. "Jade! What the hell was that?" came Beck's call. He doesn't sound happy.

"What do you mean 'what the hell was that?' What the hell were you doing?" she barks, stepping to the side gingerly, not wanting to actually put too much weight on her sore foot. Even if it has been a few days and she has been walking around fine, it still looks like it hurts at some moments.

"I asked first," he growls, dark eyes not leaving conflicting, piercing ones. I step back, away from the two before my eyes dash down. My heart wrenches horribly as I see the flash of silver around her good ankle, the charm bracelet hugging pale skin.

Words began to pass my ears as they launch into their heated argument, throwing words right at each other's throats. She, she kept it... All this time she kept it.

'Why does it matter? It's a stupid little bracelet...'

I shake my head, closing my eyes as my thoughts flicker.

She stood there, in front of me, her voice strained and unceasing of the barreling emotion colliding with the rest inside her. "That's what he said before he dumped me. That's what my mom said before she left the family business for her stupid shit. That's what everybody tells me Tori but the only one who kept that word is my god-fucking-damned rabbit."

I stepped back from her arms, my hand scratching along my wrist to untie the charm bracelet. Pale eyes lingered over it, furrowing in confusion. Carefully, I slipped her hand through it, my dark eyes meeting hers. "Well then I'm like your rabbit; I'm going to be there for you even if I forget"

The words echoed through my skull, leaving me to stare at Jade as she snaps back at her ex. "Because she wasn't just being friendly Beck! You know that damn well! Why do you think Tori was going to leave?"

Why is she- why is she defending me? I left her... I left her for her ex.

"I don't know! I swear, I was just going to talk to her. I can't make friends now?" he grits his teeth.

But why can't I just- what the hell is going on with me? I- my heart hammers against my chest as if it will explode out of it, leaving me writhing on the ground like a worm.

Jade twists around, eyes to the ground before she hisses quietly, "That's the same excuse you gave me before." Jade leaves, her leg slowing her strides compared to before while Beck brushes against me, resting his hand on my shoulder. I want to go after her, but I can't. The bell rings, breaking the silent crowd around us and into the classrooms.

-(:)-

I tap my pencil against the desk, my eyes watching the clock tick through the minute. My lips feel a bit dry, so my hand with the mechanical pencil raises, my eyes on Mr. Freeman. "Yes?" he calls from his desk.

"Can I get a quick drink from the water fountain?" I ask, putting my hand down while a few other students twist around. He nods slowly, letting my strides eat away towards the door and out to the hall. Now, while I'm thirsty - now, that is - I just need to walk around, do something other than think about lunch. God what a damn mess that was...especially for Jessica. Though, I can't really help but grin at that.

I turn the corner and find the water fountain. I duck my head down and drink from it, relishing in the surprisingly cold water from it. This fountain doesn't always give that good water, especially when the halls are crowded. Once I'm done, I go around to turn the corner when I halt in my steps. I frown, gluing myself to the wall when I hear two familiar voices. I pick up Marcus' immediately, and then Ashely's.

"So, wait, what happened today?" she asks in a hushed voice. I honestly don't know why I'm sticking around...I know it's eavesdropping.

"You mean with Jessica?"

"Well...no. I told her not to, but I didn't really expect Jade to be the one to lash out," she murmurs, "Then again, I don't really expect Tori to be the jealous type. But no, I mean the argument with Beck before."

My brows furrow before I realize that Ashely was there for it, and so was he. "Yeah. I mean, I've only met her the one time at the party and she seemed pretty cool. I mean, I can tell where all of the sass and bitchyness comes from with her jokes but, from what Andre says, she's just been a mess."

"Wait," yeah, please do, I want to know too, "What d'you mean 'she's just been a mess?' What's up with her?"

"Uhm," he breathes, their steps guiding towards the wall. I can practically hear them both through and around the corner now. I can feel their arms bumping into the wall with my ears. Marcus drops his voice, explaining, "She - from what I hear - has a broken heart. Now, don't take all of my word for it, Dennis and I were basically given the gist by Andre. He doesn't even know the whole truth of it..."

"Alright..."

"Yeah, so Andre told us that she- God it's kind of hard to say it. But you want to know don't you?"

"Is this the reason that Tori's been acting up too?"

I gulp quietly, my hands beginning to shake at the truth; of course it has been. But, well, not many others know besides Trina, and I suppose Jade's group as well. "I think so...but we aren't sure. Well, okay, so that party that was thrown for the performance, you know, the space one-"

"The one that Rebecca went to, yeah. I get it, just get to the point, my teacher will think I'm over here taking a shit." My lips curl into a cruel, tight smile, my teeth biting down to not laugh. She has some humor, for sure.

"Alright! Damn girl..." the blonde almost scowls, "Anyway, Tori got really drunk and Jade had to drive her group home."

"Oh no," she drawls, dead lacing her voice.

"You see where this is going?" he asks before she silently answers, I assume. "Well, yeah. Apparently Jade got drinking at her house and one thing led to another and then they, uh, slept together."

"Fuck," she breathes in a sharp voice. "And then, and then she got with Beck the day after? How the hell does somebody do that?"

My gut twists violently, jaw clenching as her brother explains, "Well, that's one of the weird twists to this, other than Tori slapping her. She didn't remember a thing about it except some parts about the party."

"So then Jade's a mess because of it?" her voice comes out small.

"Uh huh," he sighs grimly, "A complete wreck as Andre put it. I mean, I don't really know since Dennis and I didn't know her, well we still don't. But yeah, just she hasn't been diving into acting and all of the stuff like she used to. And, honestly, I understand. If you get with somebody and have them as your own only for it to be a one-night stand, it would drive anybody crazy..." I stop listening. My feet scuffle behind before I stagger as quietly as I can, zipping me through the hall.

Fucking hell... I never wanted to hurt her like that. And to drag it on for months? Honestly what the fuck is wrong with me? I don't care if I hurt Beck anymore, he'll be just fine. He's fine. I don't need him but, but Jade does.

My feet nearly run me into a wall before I catch myself, the world around me wavering and blurred. I twist around, hearing soft steps and a couple of laughs. I blink rapidly, finding a couple of lingering freshmen outside of their lunch. Once their eyes catch mine they halt, gazing at me nervously. Before my thoughts can catch up to my jaws, I snarl, "What the fuck are you looking at? Piss off!"

And they do, leaving me to feel more like shit. Maybe I am.

I nearly stumble down the stairs, my thoughts not on the fact that I've been "drinking water" for ten minutes. I don't care. I don't care at all. I just need to be in the janitor's closet to be left alone. I briefly glance at m locker as I pass, my hands brushing against the handle. Closing it behind me, I lean my back against the door before sliding down. With my knees hugged by my arms, I lean my face into it, tears shedding freely. The flash of silver around her ankle comes to mind, bringing me more into the depths of my conscious.

With the sheets covering our mid torsos, pale eyes gazed into my own. My hand played absentmindedly with the charm around her wrist, the carrot dancing in my eyes. She gave a small chuckle as I 'bop' it, bringing her knuckles to my wrists. "How long until midnight?" I groan tiredly, my eyes watching her focused pair as she drags a piece of my hair from my nose towards my ear.

"Should've asked that an hour ago," she hummed quietly, my body twisting to see the neon numbers. I grumbled, darting my attention towards the ceiling. "You think you should turn off the light?" I nodded slowly, reaching over the lamp before shutting it off, my eyes blinking, growing accustomed to the dark room. We shifted around, resting our bodies on the warmer portions of the bed, our hands finding each other. "Tori?" she asked softly as I thumbed over the charm.

"Hmm?"

"Will you-" she croaked, her own fingers brushing against my wrist, "Will you stay with me?"

"Like your bunny?"

"Y-yeah...like my bunny."

"I promise," I vowed, shutting my eyes before falling asleep...

-(:)-

Trina won the rock-paper-scissors this time around to sit in the front, forcing me behind the bars in the back of my dad's car. I feel my throat scratch as I breath, my eyes tired already. I belong back here, honestly. Maybe it would be better if I was back here and down a lake. Or the ocean. Or space...if they have bodies of water just floating around space.

I growl, turning my attention to the side of the road. We're nearly at the house, just a few corners left to go. "So Tori," my dad starts, having his conversation with Trina over, "Do I hear that you ditched the rest of fifth period?" I merely grumble my answer, avoiding his stern gaze in the mirror. "Tori?"

"I lost track of time," I snap miserably, my eyes lingering over the bars. It wasn't wrong, really. I did loose track of time and when the janitor found me - at first confusing me with Jade until he found that I wasn't mutilating anything with scissors - class was over. Not that it was an important one, we were only doing a project that I got done with anyway. Though it still doesn't really excuse my actions in my dad's eyes. Understandable as I'm literally behind bars on the way home.

As soon as the wheels hit their stop on the drive way, I climb out of the car, bolting towards the door without hesitation, even when my dad calls after me. I fumble around with my own keys, dashing in and quickly up the stairs. I close the door, the rush of adrenaline pumping through my system. I give a soft smile, my mind fogged from reality. Though, as soon as it hits once again, I feel my bag drop from my shoulder and my limbs carrying me towards my bed.

I swallow a heavy knot in my throat, my knees meeting the ground while I grip the bed tightly. My shoulders shake with my skipped breathes, my cheeks becoming wet. My knuckles turn white as I hear the door quietly open, steps making their way towards me. "Hey, hey," a gentle voice soothes, "Tell me what's wrong..."

My throat feels tight and raw, yet nothing has come out of it for the past few hours. Perhaps that would be the reason. Humans are supposed to talk, right? They're supposed to talk until they drop dead. Communication is a fine tool for us and yet I haven't been doing that have I? The words just pile onto the tip of my tongue. The soft voice continues to ask what's wrong, what's going on for me to cry. I don't cry, I don't weep, I don't do any of that shit. I'm the last person to, Jade before me.

And yet here I am, crying. All the words and things I want to say brawl at my mouth, and I know as soo as one slips, it will become an avalanche.

"I-" one rock slips, allowing the rest of the dirt, grime, boulders - whatever - tumble down. "I can't fucking take it anymore... I don't know what to do. I can't be with Beck, I don't care how much he likes me. He flirts with the whores at lunch after he turns around and says he loves me... I don't love him. I can't. Jade's been fucking in my head every single time we kiss, every single time he asks for it. I can't do it anymore. I just want everything to just piss off and leave me alone. Why the fuck did, why does this happen?"

My back shakes as the hands continue to stroke it, allowing me to let the words flow like vomit. It hurts my throat like stomach acid crawling up it. "Tori?" comes out gingerly, though it's much deeper than I had anticipated. My eyes widen and I tear out of his embrace, twisting around to see his soft expression.

"D-dad, I-"

"I know everything," he hums quietly, my voice failing. "In fact, I think I may know a bit more than you do."

"How?" I croak.

He takes a deep breath, dark eyes switching to the ground. "When I was leaving the morning after the party, I was about to open the door when it opened for me!" my dad chuckles wearily, "Jade stood and- and she didn't know what to do. I saw you in your bed and I put two and two together. She told me the gist of it and she had to go. She apologized, Tori. Profusely. The girl didn't want that night to have happened the way it did or at all, really. She looked like a mess... And I saw her some more at school when she walked around, but that's it." My eyes water, his hand scratching my back as he sat crisscrossed beside me. "She really likes you Tori, and I know you do too. Why are you still with him? Honestly kid, I think you've known deep down for a long while that you shouldn't be with him, right?"

I nod slowly as he continues, his words being gentle, mellow and just as mesmerizing as they always had been. "Listen kiddo, break up with him. If he truly loves you at this age, or how he means 'love,' then he'll be fine with it. Beck's a nice guy, isn't he? I mean, everybody does stupid shit, especially when they get stuff in their head."

"Have you ever done stupid shit?" I ask quietly, almost expecting to grimace at the language use and yet none came.

He gives a soft smile once I look up, eyes growing soft. "Of course I have. When I was in high school," my dad starts, "I thought I was the toughest kid around. A bunch of girls wanted to date me and I was just full of it. I had many girlfriends which, now that I look at it, wasn't the best... Now I wasn't necessarily a bad kid, I don't think, but I wasn't put in my place. Well...not until I accidentally bumped into a new student who was also a cheerleader. I'll tell you, when I opened my mouth to say she had a nice, uh, backside, she just smacked me across the face and stormed off. Your mother still does that, actually."

We both chuckle as I recall the several times my dad would come home with some of his friends - unannounced I have to add - before being dragged off to the corner of the room, coming back with his left cheek red. Okay, that sounds a lot like physical abuse but, well, they're happy... That's all there is to it.

"I've done some stupid shit," I growl quietly, my mind reflecting back. "In the last few months anyway..."

"What is it?" my dad wraps his arm around my shoulder.

I feel my eyes sting and I hiss slightly, even though my dad is one of very few I've accepted to cry in front of. "I-I gave Jade my word, my charm bracelet with the carrot on it, to stay with her and- fuck, I haven't done shit about it," I begin to weep, my hands covering my eyes, "I've just left her alone for Andre and a few others to take care of her and yet I'm the source of her problem. She hasn't done anything on TheSlap, not even looked at it, since we- we slept together... And then I go with Beck and just not talk to her at all except once where I just ran from her... What the hell is wrong with me?!" He hushes me quietly, bringing my cries down before he sighs.

"It's rough, I know," my dad mutters, "Which is why you have to dump Beck, right? And the road ahead won't be that clean either, okay, but it'll get better as you go along. Remember that time you cleaned the theatre after the food fight play?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't you remember what you said to me once you got home?"

"That Jade helped me ditch Derek so he had to do it?"

"Uh," his voice drags on, "No. And by the way, he wasn't happy about that. But no, after that." I shake my head slowly, vaguely recalling a conversation afterwards but it could've been about Cat's obsession with store magazines and it wouldn't make a difference. "You said that you felt like everything was covered in foodstuffs and the only way to get rid of it was to just start going at it. So you have to do that here, and for the rest of you life, alright kiddo?"

"Alright," I sigh calmly.

My dad picks himself up, striding towards the door before turning around. "You just want to hang out here while the rest of us goes off to dinner?" I nod quietly, crawling across the bed. "Okay, see you later Tori."

My thoughts ramble in my head, digesting the conversation as I mumble, "See you later."

Alright! So there we have it! For those who waited around for the story, thank you (for the story's sake). I did say it was one that people had to stick to. What's the good thing? We're on the home stretch/second part of the story... But luckily the home stretch is a F-16 runway and not a Jeep's driveway.

Hope you enjoyed!

:)