Final Project

XXIV.

"Come on, come on, come on!" Tori yelled at her laptop as it continued to ring. The little image of a phone releasing sound waves above the words "Calling: Andre" was getting on her nerves. She had been trying for nearly an hour to reach him, but he wasn't answering any of her calls.

"Still no luck?" Beck asked from her living room, his head titled to the side to look at her from the other side of the couch.

Tori sighed loudly and slumped in the desk chair, "No." She continued to watch the computer try to connect to Andre, "Maybe I should just let it keep ringing. If he's there, he'll eventually pick up, right?"

Her question sounded more like a hopeful wish than an observation. They both quietly knew that if Andre was indeed by his laptop, then he wasn't answering Tori for a reason. And if he wasn't by his laptop…well, then no matter how much she called, he wasn't going to pick up, obviously.

"I should have called him sooner…" Tori answered her own question, her eyes lowering to her lap before closing, "I shouldn't have given Jade the chance to reach him first…"

"Hey," Beck started softly, standing up from the couch to walk over to her, "You don't know that Jade has said anything….don't you think Andre would be even more eager to talk to you if she did?"

Opening her eyes, she cocked her head back to stare up at him, "I don't think eager is the best word to use there…"

Beck ran a hand through his hair, "Right, maybe not…but still, he would want to get the story straight from you."

Tori chuckled mirthlessly, lowering her head again, "If Jade actually admitted to him that you two broke up because you're now with me…I doubt he's gonna wanna talk to me right now."

Beck sighed this time, sitting down on her bed, "I don't think Jade told him."

"Why?!" Tori yelled suddenly, sitting straight in her seat as her hands clutched the arms of the chair, "Why would she not, Beck?! She has every reason to want to hurt me now!"

"Yeah, but…" Beck fell back on the bed, his legs still hanging over the side. Staring up at the ceiling, he tried to think like Jade, "Jade was always really good at knowing exactly how to hurt someone. So she probably knows that her telling him about us will soften the blow before he talks to you."

Tori stared at him incredulously, "So you're saying that she wants to hurt Andre then? Why?"

Beck clasped his hands over his stomach, "No, not exactly…but she's after you so Andre just kinda gets caught in the middle…"

Tori could only continue to stare before speaking slowly, "The fact that you sound so sure about this kind of creeps me out…"

Beck narrowed his eyebrows slightly before sitting up, "Why? 'Cause I know Jade so well?"

"Not just that…" Tori thought about continuing but just shook it off as she quickly turned her chair back to her laptop and pressed the end button, "I'm sick of hearing that thing!"

They both sat in silence for a few minutes before Beck asked gently: "Would you like me to try to call Jade and ask her?"

Tori's eyes brightened for a second and she snapped her fingers, "Oh my God, yes! Wait…" she snapped her fingers again, "No!"

Beck had to hold in a laugh at her anxiety, "Why not?"

Tori stood up suddenly, beginning to pace, "Because! If you ask her if she told Andre, and she didn't, then she'll know I didn't yet, and then she might do it!"

Beck plumped out his lower lip and nodded his head a few times, "Good point. But if she did do it, then I could ask her what exactly she told him, so then you'll know more of what to go off of."

Tori practically stabbed her hair behind her ear, "Beck, you two aren't together anymore! What makes you think she's gonna tell you anything, anyway?"

He shrugged, "Worth a try, right?"

She held out her hands like she was trying to steady herself. Truthfully, she needed the extra support…her body felt like it was on fire from all the stress of not knowing, and it was making her dizzy. "Okay, yeah…go over to your room and try to call her. I'm gonna stay here and keep trying to reach Andre."

"All right," Beck stood up and walked to her, placing both his hands on her cheeks to make her look right at him, "Calm down, Tori…everything's going to be fine."

And it never fails; she can be cool, calm, and collected (sorta) but then as soon as someone offers words of support, they do the opposite effect and make her feel worse. Tears brimmed her eyes and she didn't even try to blink them away, "I just don't want to lose him, Beck…he's my best friend…"

The extreme disparity and sadness in her voice made his heart clench. Sadly, he didn't realize until just then how much harder her situation was compared to his. He and Jade had been dying for a long time now…as far back as when they first broke up. And he remembered from the time that they were "just friends" that she started treating him like she treated everyone else. Jade had a way about her that didn't cause a huge hole to form in his life.

Even when they were together, they would sometimes go days without talking, even if they were sitting right next to each other. And he knew it wasn't one of those "comfortable silence" deals that couples sometimes have. Those times that they were silent, he wanted nothing more than to be able to talk to her. But he didn't have anything to say…couldn't think of anything. And every time he did, it was obvious that he was reaching, because Jade would just shoot him an odd look and remain silent.

That was hardly a friendship, let alone a relationship.

But with Tori…Tori had had Andre from the beginning of her music career. Andre was the one that helped and persuaded her to stay at Hollywood Arts when Jade was trying everything to get rid of her. How Beck took Jade's side so many times, he would never be sure.

Just from his time with Tori, however, he knew that he held a place in Tori's heart that Andre would never be able to fill. And it wasn't that Andre was a bad guy (way better than Beck after what he's done, that's for sure), but some people just don't have that thing…that connection.

But Andre had fooled himself over time that Tori was it for him.

If Beck could only convince Andre of that…then maybe he could still make things civil for him and Tori. And if not…

Then he hoped that Tori could forgive him one day for tearing her away from her best friend.

"Crawling back so soon?"

Beck had gone back to his room to call Jade….who picked up pretty quickly, considering. He watched her as her simple yet malicious words came crawling out of her upturned mouth.

"Jade, I have to ask you a question…" he began, not sure if he should be blunt about it, or go around the question until he got an answer he could use.

"Well, I don't have to give you an answer since we're not together anymore."

He shook his head. Screw going around the bush, "Tori has been trying to reach Andre, but he won't answer."

Jade swiveled in her chair slightly, though her dark eyes never left his, "That's hardly a question."

Beck sighed, "Did you…did you tell Andre?"

A large smile appeared on her lips, and Beck couldn't help but notice how stunning she would look if the smile didn't have to be so devious, "Why Beck, I'm surprised at you…you think I would ruin someone's relationship?"

God, was she being difficult!

"Look, Jade…could you just answer the question?"

Jade appeared to think about it, "Hm…what do I get if I tell you?"

Beck's shoulders slumped, "What do you want?"

Suddenly, she stopped moving her chair and her smile disappeared, "You're an idiot. For even asking that! You know exactly what I want, so why would you even bring that into the bargain?!"

Needless to say, he was pretty shocked by her outburst…and he didn't know why. It had only been a few hours since he broke up with her, so of course she was still bitter.

He softened his eyes, though he remained solid, "You can't have me back, Jade…not this time."

Her eyes widened at his words, "What…oh you think…" but she stopped herself and then laughed, though the sarcasm overcame the joy. When she stopped, she sat forward to look him right in the eye, "Yes, I talked to Andre."

And Beck's heart fell into his stomach…how was he going to break this news to Tori?

When he didn't respond in words right away, Jade sat back, "She should have done it first. I'm done here." And then she ended their call.

Beck sat back in disbelief. Honestly, and he didn't know why now that he really thought about it, he was not expecting that answer. The only reason he mentioned asking Jade to Tori in the first place was because he was so sure Jade hadn't told Andre anything. He just wanted to reassure Tori…but now what? Now he had to go back to her room and tell her the reason why Andre wasn't answering any of her calls…

Sucking in a deep breath, he stood up and walked to his door before releasing it. Oh man…

Tori was lying back on her bed, still listening to the ringing of her computer. Why is he not answering? She then heard a light tap on her door. She sat up quickly and sprinted to the door, flinging it open to see an expected Beck standing there.

Despite the situation, she had a huge smile on her face as she prepared herself for him to give her the good news, "Well? What she say?"

But Beck didn't say anything. He had his hands in his pockets and stared at her sadly, not sure how to tell her that Jade got to him first. And his expression said it all…he didn't have to say anything. Tori's smile quickly faded and she was left in a daze. She backed away from the door.

Beck had to hold out his hand to stop the door from closing in his face. He stepped into the room to let the door shut behind him, and he reached out his arms and pulled her against him, feeling her short breaths against his neck.

"I'm sorry, Tor…you were right; you should have told Andre first…" He placed a hand on the back of her head, his arm around her waist tightening to keep her still.

"He…he knows?" she mumbled into his neck, disbelief in her voice.

Beck pressed his lips to her forehead, not yet knowing how she was going to react, "Jade told me she told him…and it didn't look like she was lying…"

"Wh…what?" Tori felt a single tear slip down her cheek as she thought about the pain and betrayal that Andre felt at this very moment. How much was he hurting? What was he doing that he wasn't answering her calls? Was he just staring at his computer, thinking about how much he hated her? Was he writing a nasty song about an ex-girlfriend that cheated on him? Was he wandering the streets of Argentina, wondering why she did this to him…?

Not knowing was harder than knowing…and not having a way of knowing, that was even harder. Her best friend…probably her ex-friend now…was heartbroken thousands of miles away…and it was all her fault.

"This is your fault, Beck," she instead said, pushing her hands against him to release herself from his grip, "If you didn't tell Jade then…then I could have told Andre…"

Beck closed his eyes at her words, trying to keep his voice calm to avoid getting into any sort of argument with her, "You're right…I should have waited, but you were just taking so long and—."

"So long?!" Tori said in a slightly louder tone, though not quite yelling. Hot tears burned her cheeks, but she didn't even bother to brush them away, "I didn't know how to tell him!"

"But you had to tell him…the longer he went without knowing, the—."

Tori shook her head, "Now I don't have to tell him anything 'cause Jade already took care of it! I can only imagine how much venom she added to the story…"

Beck licked his lips, not having a way to deny that, "Look, even if Andre doesn't answer your calls now, he's going to have to see you when we get back…"

Shaking her head again, Tori lowered her head and hid her face in her hands, "By then his hatred for me will already be set in…he won't even want to listen to me…"

Beck stepped toward her, placing his hands on her arms and squeezing gently, "He'll listen eventually, Tori…he has to."

Tori wanted to let out a quick laugh, but it instead came out as a sharp sob, "No…he doesn't have to do anything, Beck…" she lifted her face and stared at a blurry vision of Beck, "He doesn't have to have anything to do with me anymore…"

"Yeah, but…but you're his best friend…" Beck knew he sounded pathetic…but there was only so much you could say to someone when no words could soothe their pain.

"Not anymore…"she closed her eyes and allowed more tears to slip down her cheeks, "I don't have him as anything anymore."

Beck's heart went out to her, and he knew he would give anything to switch places with her right now…to have her be the one with the easy, no-big-deal breakup. But that couldn't happen. He cupped her cheek and wiped away a couple tears with his thumb, causing her to open her eyes to see the love and sympathy in his.

"I know it's not much consolation right now…but you still have me, Tor. You always will."

Tori sniffed loudly when his words made her want to cry harder and for twice the reasons, but she forced a small smile, though her emotions wouldn't let it stay long, "It is…" she choked out, closing her eyes when it got too hard to keep them open, "I know."

She placed her hands on the sides of his face and brought his lips to hers. Her lips tasted salty from her tears, and he felt her lips trembling against his. But he was glad that she didn't turn him away…glad that she didn't feel like she had to let him go, too, because of all the crazy circumstances…

Background noise had been even further in the back of their minds since Beck came back over. And now…with them embraced in each other's kiss…the sudden lack of ringing went unnoticed until they heard a shout…

"What the hell is going on?!"

Beck and Tori broke apart, more out of surprise than guilt, but when they both turned to Tori's laptop, they became painfully aware that Andre had finally answered Tori's call…

"Andre!" Tori smiled happily, her mind not yet comprehending the depth of the situation, "You finally answered!"

Andre's eyes were narrowed, his mouth hanging slightly open in disbelief. He answered her call to see them kissing…and that's all she has to say?!

"Why the fuck were you…kissing…" Andre stuttered, feeling the foreign word slip from his mouth that usually remained clean. No, not the f-bomb…the k-bomb.

Beck could only stand awkwardly as he ran his hand through his hair, not sure if he should leave or stay. But Tori stepped in front of the screen anyway, the tears that stained her face not going unnoticed to Andre.

"I need to tell you my side of the story, Andre…please, whatever Jade told you, forget it and let me start from the beginning!" Tori practically begged, though she knew having him catch her and Beck kissing wasn't the best start for her either.

"Forget what Jade told me?" Tori couldn't tell if Andre seemed more confused or angered when he asked the question, "So what she said was a lie?"

"Yes! I mean…no! I mean…" Tori stumbled over her words. She didn't know exactly what Jade had told him, so she didn't know how to bounce off of her words, "I'm sure a lot of it was a lie. So let me just explain."

"So it wasn't me you wanted to…" Andre started, but then stopped before he could say anymore, "but she said you wanted me to…"

Tori narrowed her eyes when she felt completely confused by his words. Was she misinterpreting them? Was he only talking to himself and not responding to her?

"Look, Andre…" Tori decided to take the reign, "Beck and I…just happened! I didn't do it to hurt you, I swear, that was the last thing I wanted to do!" She saw the shock and disbelief in his eyes, "But you remember how we—me and you—got together, right? 'Cause I was upset over Beck…I…I don't think I ever really got over him. I mean, it's not like you weren't a good boyfriend, Andre! You were the best! I just…it's just…he…"

She began to stumble over her words when Andre looked down, a lack of emotion written on his face. Tori stopped talking when she saw that he didn't want to look her in her eyes, "Andre…Andre please…please forgive me. Tell me what Jade told you so I can clear any of the nasty stuff up…"

With that, Andre chuckled softly, though he didn't look up, "What Jade told me." He closed his eyes hurtfully before raising his head to her, a look of despondency in his eyes, "I would rather hear what Jade told me over what you just told me any day…"

Tori's heart skipped before it dropped, and she wondered if that was what having a heart attack felt like.

Behind her, Beck also had to do a double take at what Andre was saying. What did he mean by…

But then Beck thought back to his conversation with Jade and how she worded her answer:

"Yes, I talked to Andre…"

She didn't say anything about telling him…

"Wh-what…?" Tori whispered, but Andre had looked back down again. She saw him fold in his lips before looking up to the ceiling, a crystal tear slipping down his dark skin. "Andre…"

She thought saying his name would make him look at her but instead it only seemed to intensify his pain and anger as his hand suddenly slapped the computer to the side, causing Tori to jump back like he just slapped her. She watched as the computer screen showed his room in a tumble before it finally stopped, though it was facing a far-off window. In the background, she heard a door open and shut loudly.

She could only stare with her mouth wide open at what just occurred. She quickly turned around to face Beck, who looked just as shocked as she.

"What the hell did Jade tell him?!"

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

Oh man...do you guys hate me? I am so, so, SO sorry. But you really have to understand...my time has become even more limited. I started student teaching this semester, so on top of regular homework, I now have lesson plans to make. My days are still spent for spending time with my son, but because my homework rate has tripled, all my free time at night has been taken up. I haven't even had time to visit the site, let alone write and post anything on it.

But I felt so bad, that I literally made arrangements to write this for you. So I'm sorry if it wasn't up to par with the other chapters...I just knew I had to knock it out in a few hours. As you can see though, a whole new step has taken place. Based off of this, I'm estimating that there is about six chapters left of this story. Update rate? Still unknown.

I want to thank you all for continuing to stick with me and review, though. You guys are super!

Enula