Narrator's POV

Location: Hollywood Arts Girls' Bathroom

Date: Saturday March 28th 2012

Time: 3:04PM

Jade's sobs became increasingly louder as she clutched her legs, resting her head on her knees. Every thirty seconds or so, the goth would let out a sharp hiss of pain, as another excruciatingly painful surge of cramps would suddenly hit.

"C'mon Vega, where are you?" she cried out between sobs.

As if right on cue, the bathroom door opened, and footsteps made their way to the stall that Jade was currently occupying. Hearing the footsteps, the goth quietened her sobs.

"Tori, thank god. Is André with you?" she whispered, wiping her tears as she got to her feet and reached to unlock the stall door.

Despite hearing nobody answer, Jade continued to slowly twist the lock and ease open the door.

Who she saw almost made her pass out right then and there.

"Beck?"

"You're not okay." the Canadian softly said, stepping forward towards Jade, before seeing her take several steps back, and promptly stopping.

"J-Just stay away from me. Stay away." she stuttered, walking backwards a couple more steps, until she felt the back of her legs brush up against the toilet.

"Fine, I'll stay back..." Beck surrendered, putting his hands up by his shoulders, and backing up.

Jade relaxed ever so slightly, breathing out a sigh of relief.

"...as long as you tell me what the hell's been going on with you." he finished, folding his arms across his chest.

"What?" Jade asked, her eyes wide in fear.

"Please? I just want to help." Beck pleaded.

She paused for a second, wondering if it all truly would be better if she just got it out in the open.

"Uh well..." Jade exhaled shakily, jerking her foot nervously against the tiled floor. She paused, and glanced at the door, praying for Tori or André to walk in, before her boyfriend jolted her back to the current conversation.

"'Well', what? What's happening?" he asked, as he tilted his head, concerned.

Realising she could stall no longer, Jade sighed and opened her mouth to explain.

"Well, I..." she begun, before a voice interrupted her.

"God André, I hope we've got the right bathroom this tim-OH CRAP, SON OF A-"

"Tori?"

"Jade!"

"André?!"

"Beck?!"

Tori froze in place, more than shocked to see the Canadian. She then quickly dragged André into the bathroom, and the two of them darted their eyes between the couple infront of them.

Beck suddenly turned to André and Tori.

"What are you guys doing in here?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. André stood still, not knowing what to say, so Tori took the reins.

"We...could ask you the same question. This is the girl's bathroom, after all?" she replied, before noticing how distraught Jade looked, as she stood far behind Beck.

"Jade was-" Beck had started to say before Jade herself stepped forward.

"It was nothing. I ran in here, feeling a little sick and he followed me in." Jade piped up, lying through her teeth.

"Wait, that's it? You were feeling sick?" Beck asked, turning around. Seeing this as her way out, Jade nodded, though she could clearly see that Tori and André knew she was lying.

"I-Yeah, that's all that happened. And I'm feeling a lot better now, so I'm just gonna..." she trailed off, pointing to the door. As she walked past Tori, Beck, and André, she grabbed the brunette by her sleeve in one smooth motion, and dragged the latina out with her.

André and Beck were left standing awkwardly in place, as they heard the door slam. Beck slowly looked at his best friend and gave a forced smile.

"Hey man, so did... uh, did you and Tori find anything in your guys' area then?" the Canadian asked, slipping his hands into his jean pockets.

"Oh yeah, we found a step ladder and one of those... those garbage grabber claw thingies? We left 'em in one of the science rooms." André replied.

"I'm guessing the flag is somewhere high up then." Beck nodded.

"You reckon?"

"Yup. That would explain why Jade I couldn't find it. We probably need the step ladder to check the tops of cabinets and stuff like that."

"Oh yeah... that makes sense."

An awkward silence emerged as the two teenage boys stood silent in the girls' bathroom.

Meanwhile, the goth pulled Tori along with her, until they were in a random empty classroom, far from the boys, specifically Beck. Once Jade was certain that they were far enough, she loosened her grip on Tori, who gently shook the pale hand from her wrist and faced the older girl.

"Okay, what really happened, why was Beck in there?" she asked.

"He followed me in a few minutes after you cut off our phonecall. I heard the door open and thought it was you and André. When I came out the stall, he said he wouldn't leave until I told him what was up." Jade explained, hugging her waist.

"So, you told him about her?" Tori asked, gesturing to Jade's stomach.

"Well, I was about to, and then you guys came in."

"And are you still cramping up?"

"No, they stopped a minute or two after you and André showed up."

"Okay, that's good. Oh and y'know, seeing as we're on the topic, did something cause you to cramp up this time?"

"I don't know. It was after I kicked the cupboard that my stomach began aching. Beck realised I was in pain, so he came up from behind and put his hand on me. It was like... the moment he touched my shoulder, I was back in that alley... and all I could hear was Cat's screams." Jade explained, her voice cracking as she began tearing up.

"Oh Jade." Tori choked out, as she went in to give her a hug. However, she immediately retracted her arms, remembering how touch triggered the goth.

Jade noticed Tori's hands retreating, and gave the latina a reassuring nod of consent. Seeing this, Tori cautiously wrapped her arms around the older girl and laid her head on Jade's shoulder. In return, Jade rested her head on Tori's.

"You were right." the goth mumbled, as she continued to relax further into their embrace.

"Right about what?" Tori asked, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. Jade pulled away from the hug and turned to her frenemy, failing to realise her shaky hands balling up into fists.

"In the diner. You said I was terrified to tell Beck about this whole thing. That I was afraid to lose him. And godammit, you were right, I can't tell him about this Tori, I just can't. The only reason I was about to tell him back there was because I was cornered. Literally." Jade cried, her breaths rising in speed, as did her panic. She slowly dug her nails into the palms of her hands as she began spiralling in her thoughts.

Without thinking, the latina leaned forward and slowly forced Jade's trembling hands out of their balled-up state, before taking them in hers.

"J-Jade please calm down. Everything's gonna be fine."

"How do you know that, Tori!?" the goth snapped.

"Because I'm your friend and I'm gonna be here for you, whenever you need me!" she shot back.

Jade was silent, taken aback at Tori raising her voice, something that the younger Vega very rarely did. And it was at that very moment that the dull pain from her hands finally registered in her mind, and she immediately covered her face with her reddened hands in shame, before being hit with a fresh wave of tears.

Tori took Jade in her arms with another hug, and slowly lowered the two of them to the floor, after feeling the goth's already-trembling knees give out. The two girls soon found themselves on the ground, both in a fit of sobs.

"Look, I don't know what it's gonna take for you to realise you're not alone in this. I'm gonna be here for you, as will André and Cat."

Jade waited a minute, allowing herself to calm down, and wiped the tears from her face. Tori did the same.

"You'll all be with me through this whole thing?" she asked, unconvinced.

"Yes. You're gonna be okay, Jade." Tori promised, and almost immediately after, Jade sniffled and managed to muster a teasingly smug grin.

The latina's smile immediately came crashing down, noticing the glint in the older girl's eye.

"I-No! Don't ruin the moment. I will actually kill you." Tori said, jabbing a finger into Jade's shoulder.

"Aww, look at you. You're just a little sap aren't you, Vega?" the goth asked, trying to stifle her smirk as she clumsily eased herself to her feet.

"Okay, I'm killing you." Tori deadpanned, and Jade scoffed.

"Oh please, we both know you could never kill me. I may be pregnant, but I could still kick your ass, and you know it. Hell, even Babygirl knows I could still kick your ass. Aren't I right, Babygirl?" the goth snarked, raising her hand to her stomach, just in time to feel the gentlest thump in response.

"See?" smirked Jade triumphantly, before she then held out a hand for Tori to get up, which the latina accepted.

"Whatever." Tori dismissed, dusting her clothes off.

"Anyways, what do we do now?" the latina continued.

"I... actually don't know. We still have that stupid Scavenger the Flag thing to finish. Ugh Sikowitz, I love you, but you can be a real dumbass sometimes." Jade groaned.

"Yeah, no Jade, I was talking about your whole situation. We're gonna have to face Beck again. What do we do about that? I mean, we can't avoid him, because we're all on the same team."

"You're right. Beck's probably more suspicious than ever after what just happened. And André's gonna want to know about this whole thing. Oh, and not to mention Cat. She's barely been caught up on all this, at least since this morning." Jade answered, facing a window and using the reflection to sort out her hair and clothes.

"Okay, how about I fill André and Cat in on this, sometime this evening? And with Beck... I think you should stay away from him, at least for a couple of hours. Just stay by me when we rejoin the rest of the group."

"Really? I feel like I've spent so much time away from him already. Actually, I've spent most of this lock-in with you rather than him." Jade pointed out.

"Oh, okay then. When we go back, you can hang with him-"

"No!" the older girl interrupted, which came out a little more hastily than she would've liked.

Tori sighed.

"Okay, obviously our little escapade today wasn't enough for you to organise your thoughts on Beck."

"Well, what do you think I should do about him then?" Jade frustratedly asked.

"You want my honest opinion?"

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but yes."

Tori let out a deep breath and took Jade's hands in hers.

"I think you should tell him... for real. No distractions, no lies. Just tell him the truth."

"N-No. That is the worst th-" Jade stuttered, before André burst into the room.

"Oh finally, I found you guys!"

"André? I thought we left you with Beck, what happened?" Tori asked.

"Okay look, Trina, Rex, Robbie, Cat and Beck are in the chemistry classroom right now, all searching for the flag. Cat got the gist of why you guys weren't there, Beck has been silent since we left the bathroom, but Trina and Robbie are kinda suspicious. You guys have to come now."