~ Wednesday, December 7th ~

The Gang has splintered in the two weeks since that chaotic evening.

They still hung out for lunch or whenever classes required it, but other than that, they mostly hung out in smaller groups.

Jade spent most of her time with Beck and Cat.

Tori hung out with Cat and Robbie.

And André… well, he would mostly stay to himself.

Although Beck, Cat, or Robbie would occasionally come over to spend time with him.

It's funny how conflicting emotions can damage bonds between close friends.

It's even funnier how you can get yourself out of one situation and end up in another.

Whenever André was near Jade, she ignored him.

But if Beck was with her, she would find some way to flirt with her boyfriend.

Sure, it was cruel, but André felt as if he had deserved it.

As for André being around Tori, she would either act really busy and distracted or simply go somewhere else.

He felt like he deserved that, too.

In the end, these dour feelings of his were really killing his holiday season buzz.

Although, to be honest, the upcoming deadline for his Creative Writing project wasn't helping much either.

Normally, André would be happy writing a Christmas song. He absolutely loved the holiday season and the holly jolly feeling that came with it.

But considering how great things have been going lately, he just wasn't in the mood.

He had yet to come up with an idea of what his song was going to be about.

It didn't help that he was occasionally distracted by thoughts of Jade and Tori, particularly those involving Tori.

André felt really bad that things had to go sour between him and his best friend.

Things can't go on like this anymore. I settled things with Jade. I now need to fix things with Tori.

~ 11:23 AM ~

As explained earlier, Tori has been trying to avoid being alone with André.

This was simply because she was still embarrassed by the surprise kiss that she planted on him weeks ago.

But deep down, she knew that she would have to confront him about it someday.

Unfortunately, that day was today.

Sitting on the floor by her locker, Tori was trying to study her notes for her English exam, but it was pointless.

I can't focus on anything! It'll be nice if I could have just a moment of clarity from-

"Tori, how are you?"

Looking up, she could see André standing before her.

"Mind if I sit down... and this time can you please not run away?"

Tori closed her textbook and gestured for him to sit down.

Sighing anxiously, Tori spoke first.

"Look… I'm really, really sorry that I kissed you, okay? It was wrong for me to just come at you after your talk with Ja-"

Tori quickly realized that André never told her about his moment with Jade under the park tree.

"Uhh…" she uttered, turning red.

"How did you know about me and Jade- Tori... you were there weren't you?"

She couldn't come up with a lie quickly enough and just decided to tell the truth.

"Yes, I was there. I arrived earlier than I said and I saw you and Jade talking. So I grew curious and listened in, but I did it only because I was concerned… Please don't be mad."

André wanted to be angry, but he knew better. He wanted to try and mend things with Tori, not further the silence between them. Two weeks was enough for him.

"I'm not mad." he said, calmly, "So I guess you know everything now, huh?"

"Yeah… but there's one thing that you need to know." said Tori, fumbling with her pen, "I haven't exactly been seeing anyone as I told you. In fact, I haven't been out on a date since I broke up with Steven."

André was surprised. He was confused about why Tori would lie about this.

"So when I asked you out that night, you lied and said you were dating someone... Why?"

Looking down, Tori was quiet for a moment, "Because it was Jade's idea for you to ask me out."

"Oh..." said André, realizing where he went wrong, "I didn't mean to make it sound like she influenced me-"

"I understand, you were just trying to move on."

André laid his head back on the lockers and sighed, "Tori, in order for us to have something, I'd have to be completely over Jade, but as of now... I'm nowhere near that point.

Tori hated every last bit of what was just said, but it was what she needed to hear.

"You deserve someone whose heart would be truly yours, because right now... I'm not that guy." André continued as he spoke from his heart, "And I've realized how much I've taken our friendship for granted. That's why I'm hoping we can remain friends."

For a moment, there was complete silence between the two. But after some deep thought, Tori sighed.

"I understand. I may not like it, but I understand. Things were simpler when we were just friends and I can't tell you how much I've missed those days."

André simply nodded in agreement.

Holding out her hand, Tori smiled, "Friends?"

Returning his best friend's smile, André replied, "Friends," and shook Tori's hand.

"What are you two up to?"

Tori and André quickly looked up to see Beck and Jade standing in front of them.

"Nothing… just talking, that's all," said Tori, getting up.

"Yeah, like she said. Just talking." André added, getting up as well.

"Okay…" Beck replied, with a puzzled expression, "Anyway, are you two still coming to my Christmas party?"

"Wouldn't miss it!" smiled Tori.

"I don't know if I can make it this year. I'm still trying to get this Christmas song together." Andre replied as he noticed Jade gazing at him.

"That sucks." she grinned, while not losing eye contact, "Everyone knows it's not a Christmas party without you."

It was strange how she was referring to him. André could have sworn Jade was upset with him, but he couldn't tell what was going through her mind.

"She's right, you do make every Christmas party exciting," added Beck, "I even have my cousin Aislinn coming from Manitoba. She's bringing her deluxe sound system to the party and I know you're gonna have fun with that.

Even Tori had to join in on the prodding, "Not to mention all of the girls from other schools who will be attending. It would be a shame to deny them the chance to hear you sing."

After thinking for a moment, André finally gave in, "Fine! I'll come to the party. Ya happy?!"

"Very." smiled Jade, deviously.

"Can't wait to see you there," said Beck, as he and Jade left.

André felt uncomfortable with how Jade had been staring at him. He had a feeling that she was plotting something sinister for him.

But what?

What exactly was Jade planning and what was up with the complete 180° she just pulled?

Only time would tell, and André was terrified.

~ 3:02 PM ~

The school dismissal bell rang.

Students began to exit the classrooms and made their way to their lockers.

"What do you think Tori and André were really talking about?" asked Beck, as he got some books out of his locker.

"I don't know. Why do you ask?" Jade replied, mindlessly flipping through the pages of her textbook.

"Well... I've always wondered why they never hooked up."

SLAM!

The sound of Jade closing her textbook rang throughout the hallway.

"What do you mean?"

"I just always thought they would make a great couple." Beck answered, closing his locker, "They normally hang out with each other a lot. Not to mention, when they perform together, they have incredible chemistry."

"But that doesn't mean they would be perfect together."

"That may be so, but it wouldn't hurt for them to at least give dating a try."

"Since when are you concerned about their relationship status?"

"Uh, ever since I noticed that most of their relationships don't end well." replied Beck, placing his arm around Jade, "I mean, c'mon, don't you think that's kinda sad?"

As the two began to walk out of the school, Jade responded, "Yeah, it is… but Tori's not right for André. He could do so much better."

"Wow, that's a little harsh, don't you think?"

"Not at all." answered Jade, as they got into Beck's car, "And why are you siding with Tori so much?"

"I'm not siding with anyone; I just think that it's a bit harsh how you're being so negative about this."

"I'm not being negative. I'm just being honest." Jade stated as they drove off, "André's a really great guy; he deserves better."

"Okay, so if not Tori, then who?"

Jade wished she could just yell "Me!" but she knew better and blurted out, "Lana Cooper! She would be perfect for him."

Beck was in disbelief, "Lana Cooper?! Robbie's kleptomaniac cousin? Are you being serious?"

Jade didn't really know what to say, "She may have been expelled from H.A., but I think she's… capable of stealing… André's heart."

Beck looked even more confused by this, "Okay, just forget that I even brought up this conversation."

He turned up the radio and focused on driving.

Relieved, Jade just looked out the passenger side window.

Lana Cooper? I seriously couldn't think of anyone else ?! Ugh, and what was André talking to Tori about? Were they really thinking about getting together?!

Jade began feeling even more conflicted than ever before.

One minute, she hated André for suggesting that they only be friends.

The next minute, she becomes jealous of seeing him talk with other girls.

At times, even Jade acknowledged that her feelings for both of them had clouded her judgment.

Sure, she wanted to stay with Beck, but she also wanted to be with André.

However, Jade was feeling more aversion than affection towards André at the moment.

So now she was planning something big for the Christmas party, and whatever it was, André was not going to like it.