Final Project

VII.

The next morning, Tori called Shiori first thing to ask her if she could take her and Beck around the city so they could do some shopping and site-seeing. Shiori said she was more than happy to do so and that she would be over in about forty-five minutes. That gave Tori enough time to get ready and head a couple doors down to get Beck.

She was just about to knock on his door when she heard a female's voice coming from inside his room. She barely made out a conversation between the female and Beck, and curiosity got the better of her.

This is so wrong. She thought to herself as she pressed her ear against his door. It didn't take her long to realize that the voice belonged to Jade, and that Beck must have been video-chatting with her.

"I can't really talk that long," she heard Beck telling her, "We're probably gonna get breakfast and head out to the city soon."

"What do you mean we're?" Jade asked, her voice rising enough where Tori could hear her almost perfectly.

Beck sighed heavily, "Please don't start…"

"Oh, what? Your girlfriend can't be curious about who you're referring to when you say—."

"Jade, you know very well who I mean. Who else would I mean?"

"Why can't you say her name to my face?"

Tori bit down on her bottom lip and closed her eyes in despair. She hated that she seemed to be the cause of all of Beck and Jade's arguments, and it made her feel even worse that she was listening in on one of their conversations about her-who-must-not-be-named.

"Tori," Beck finally said, causing Tori to jump when she thought she was caught. But then she realized he was only saying her name to Jade, "I'm going to have breakfast and go hang out with Tori. Happy?"

"Not. One. Bit."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Beck replied, not sounding sorry in the least, "But I'm gonna get going now, so maybe I'll catch you later on here, all right?"

"Beck…Beck, don't you dare—!"

Then Tori heard his laptop close. She took her ear away from the door and stood up straight, wondering if she should go back to her room for a few minutes or just knock and pretend she didn't hear any of it.

Before she could decide on either, however, Beck flung open his door. Both of them paused, surprised to come face to face with each other.

Tori immediately put on a happy smile and did an exaggerated wave, "Morning! Just came by to ask if you wanted to get breakfast!"

Beck's shoulders slumped and he pointed his finger behind him, "You heard all that?"

"No!" She answered quickly, before trying to retaliate so as not to sound so jumpy, "No, heard what? I don't know what you're talking about, I just got here," She was going to leave it at that, but seeing the way he was looking at her, it made her shoulders slump, too, "Okay, yeah, I heard a little bit. But it's no big deal, just forget about it. Let's go get breakfast."

He continued to stare at her, almost blankly, for a few more seconds before shaking his head, checking his jean pockets for his wallet and room key, and then shutting his door. He walked toward the elevator.

Tori felt her heart skip a beat when she thought he was mad at her for eves dropping. For some reason, the thought of him being upset with her struck a nerve that made her an uneasy mess.

She followed him to the elevator, watching him press the down button, "I'm really sorry, Beck."

Beck leaned his back against the wall as he waited for the elevator to reach the third floor. He crossed his arms and put one foot up on the wall, his eyes staring up to the ceiling, "There's no reason for you to be sorry."

Tori simply stood there looking at him. She could tell from his voice that he was telling the truth, and that his attitude had nothing to do with her listening in on his conversation. His thoughts were all focused on what Jade said and how she was behaving, and for some reason, this made her feel just as bad.

Seeing him stand there like that was definitely not very Beck-like. There was something very distraught and irritated in his demeanor, and usually, even when he was those things, he didn't let it show quite this much.

He looked closed, especially with his arms crossed like that, and Tori hated it. Never before had she felt such a strong urge to pry his arms open and bury herself against him to allow her to soak up all his problems.

But, of course, she had to remember…that she, technically, was his problem.

"Beck…"

He blinked and his eyes moved from the ceiling to her. And he was doing more than looking at her…he seemed to be looking in her. His eyes were so penetrating that she could feel him digging beneath her skin and her body was on fire and she didn't know why she couldn't break her eyes away from his, and she just never expected to start her day like this.

And then the elevator dinged and the doors opened up. As if that moment didn't just happen, they both got on and watched the doors close.

"I called Shiori," Tori said, as if they had a full conversation before that, "She said she would drive us around the city for awhile."

"Cool," Beck responded, also as if what just happened on the third floor never occurred, "You get to talk to Andre last night?"

Tori nodded, sticking her hair behind her ear, "Yeah, he tried reaching me four times and left me tons of messages. So when I requested a chat from him, he answered immediately, saying he had been waiting for me."

Beck grinned, just imagining Andre sitting in front of the computer, obsessing over the thought of where his girlfriend was, "You explain to him what happened?"

"Yeah, he understood," she said, but then shot a quick glance at Beck, because they both knew that Jade, in fact, did not understand.

Still, Beck held his smile for her, "Good; I'm glad."

And the elevator dinged again and the doors opened.

And that's when Tori decided. She knew she had to make this a super awesome day for Beck, if only to get his mind off of Jade. She had to wonder if it was odd that she felt like she had to take his mind off his girlfriend, but lately, that seemed to be the only thing to make him happy. So even though she had no idea where they would end up today, she was determined to make it as enjoyable as could be.

As it turned out, Tori didn't have to try too hard. With Shiori's fun nature and Beck and Tori's curiosity about all the new things, all three of them ended up having a blast. Shiori took them to a large, ten-story mall to allow them to look at clothes, souvenirs, and other specialty shops. They had fun trying on different outfits for each other. In fact, if this were a movie, there would be a music montage going on as they did so (maybe "Girlfriend" by Avril Lavigne).

They got some sushi for a late lunch, and then Shiori said she would help them drop all the things they purchased off at the hotel and then take them to a park that was a few blocks away from there, called Rikugien. She had classes that started at four, so she wouldn't be able to show them around, but she said that Rikugien had one of the most beautiful, classic Japanese landscapes in Tokyo, and that someone was always celebrating something there.

So Beck grabbed his camera when he dropped his things off in his room, hoping to see something he could capture on film. As it turned out, they got to see that traditional Japanese style wedding like that wanted.

"So beautiful," Tori remarked, as she watched tons upon tons of people, all the females dressed in gorgeous kimonos, following the new bride and groom. The bride wore her hair up in such a way that it looked layered three times over, with about five white butterfly clips ornamenting her hair. Her dress was white with hints of cherry blossom pink here and there, and she carried a large red umbrella to protect her from the sun.

After they viewed the wedding, they walked around the park to see what else they could find. They came across a wooden bridge that arched over a pond full of koi. Where the pond ended, there were tons of huge, colorful flowers that aligned the water, and even went up a small hill that consisted of a little waterfall.

They motioned to someone else in the park to take their picture by the flowers and waterfall. The guy agreed, and even though they spoke different languages, he gestured that he wouldn't take their picture unless Beck put his arm around Tori.

And Tori swore she would never forget that moment. She would always remember the soft sounds of the stream, the overwhelming smell of all the flowers, and Beck's warm arm around her shoulders. Almost in a joking manner, she wrapped her arms around his torso and laid her head on his shoulder, smiling largely at the camera.

The man taking their photo looked quite happy as he gave the camera back, saying something in a very animated voice.

Once he walked away, Beck looked at the photo of the two of them and grinned, "I think he was saying that it was the best picture he's ever seen."

Tori laughed, "Let me see," she pulled the camera toward her a bit to see how her and Beck looked together.

It is the best picture I've ever seen…

"We'll have to post this one on The Slap," Beck commented, shutting off his camera for a minute.

Tori shot a look at him like he was crazy, "Yeah, and then Jade will make a voodoo doll of me and break my legs."

It sounded funny. But neither of them laughed. It sounded too Jade-like to be taken as a joke. And Beck hated how Tori didn't even feel comfortable enough to show a picture of the two of them because of Jade.

"Oh, man, that reminds me," Tori said as she took out her temporary phone to check the time, "I promised Andre that I would be available for video chat at seven o-clock my time. It's already a little past six."

"Our hotel's only right around the bend," Beck said, continuing to walk in the direction they were heading, instead of where they came from, "So you're still on my time."

He winked at her as he said it, indicating that he was joking (but seriously, they still had a little bit of time), but it still made Tori's face heat up. She got a sensation in her stomach that she wasn't used to feeling, and it made her somehow subconsciously wish that she could always be on Beck's time.

Without another thought, Tori followed Beck forward. Andre will understand if I'm a little late…

They didn't arrive back at the hotel until 7:45. Not only did they get engrossed in all the other sites at the park, but they miscalculated how long it took them to get from the park to the hotel. And not only that, but they got turned around a few times and even passed the hotel once because everything still looked the same to them.

"Andre's going to kill me!" Tori said, bouncing from foot to foot as they went up the elevator.

Beck shook his head, "I highly doubt that. Who knows, maybe he's not even on right now."

Tori gave him a look that said she seriously doubted that, and practically flew from the elevator when the doors opened.

"Okay, I guess I'll see you later?" Beck asked as he watched Tori search for her room key.

Once she found it, she slipped it into the slot and opened her door. But she didn't step in. She turned to look at Beck, who was just standing there with his hands in his jean pockets. The camera that hung around his neck gave him a certain kind of air that she couldn't quite put her finger on, but she liked the look on him.

She smiled, "We didn't eat dinner yet. How about I text you when I'm done talking to Andre and we'll grab something?"

Beck returned her smile; "Sounds perfect."

She nodded and then walked into her room. As soon as her door clicked shut, Beck turned back to the elevators. He had already made up his mind that he didn't want to go back to his room. Because if he did that, then he might see some missed calls or messages from Jade. He might even see her still trying to reach him. And if he was in the room, it would make him feel guilty enough to answer her. And he already knew that she had an argument built up from how he cut her off this morning. And he just wasn't in the mood.

()()()()()()

Hello! I'm so sorry for the delay, but I've been pretty busy with traveling and homework. And I know this chapter was kind of uneventful, but I have some stuff planned for the next chapter. Beck's probably gonna tell Tori what's on his mind and Tori will probably continue to think that Andre won't mind her being continuously late. We're getting there, people! I swear! Thanks for all your reviews!