Final Project

XXXIV.

The next few days went by in a blur. Helen assigned certain times and days for each group of seniors to present their senior projects, and Tori and Beck were both glad that they were one of the first to go.

They ended up playing the slideshow of pictures on the white screen in the background as Tori sang the song she learned in Japanese with hints of English. During each pause between verses, her and Beck would do some quick costume changes behind the side curtains to enhance the feel of each portion of Japan they were trying to portray.

It felt weird, to say the least, to be doing this final project finally. This project was, after all, the thing that started and ended everything. It was the thing that got the two together after all these years; it was the thing that broke apart two couples whom everyone around envied; and it marked the end of senior year. This was the last thing they would ever have to do for high school.

Well…almost.

Right after their performance ended, Helen, instead of clapping, simply asked, "Ms. Tori Vega, did you talk to Mr. Harris about that graduation song I want performed?"

Tori and Beck shot side-glances at each other. Over the years, they had gotten used to Helen's weird ways of showing appreciation for something (and they learned that if she has nothing at all to say about it, it means she thought it was perfect and had no criticism to give—which was a good sign for them in this case), so they didn't try to get an opinion out of her.

"Um…not really, ma'am, see…Andre and I aren't really on speaking terms right now…" Tori tried to explain, but was quickly cut off.

"I'm not interested in personal affairs," came Helen's strict response as she stuck a pen behind her ear, "I'm interested in having a spectacular graduation ceremony. So are you or are you not performing with Andre Harris on Friday?"

Tori thought about trying to go into detail about the situation some more, but figured Helen would not buy into it. So instead, she simply said, "No."

"Well, you best do something to make that into a yes," Helen said simply before screaming, "Next!" One of Helen's assistants came out of nowhere and shooed them off stage before Tori could get another word in.

Tori was concerned about how to bring this news up to Andre, but Helen apparently had gotten to him as well, because the day after her and Beck's project, Cat came up to her and announced, "Andre wanted you to know that he doesn't care what Helen wants for graduation, that he's gonna do his own thing."

Tori let out a long breath as she closed her locker shut. In a way, it was a great relief to her, but in another, she was truly hoping to get to work with Andre again…even if it was only for one last time.

"Great…guess I should start thinking up my own thing, too, so Helen doesn't get too mad," Tori said with slight frustration, leaning against her locker that once again said "Make it Shine."

"Have you tried talking to him again?" Cat asked with innocent curiosity.

Tori shook her head and looked up at the ceiling, "No, he's been avoiding me. I don't blame him, but—."

"Okay, okay, okay, listen!" Cat said suddenly and panic-like, "Jade wants me to go to KaraOKAAAAY tonight with her. Robbie convinced Andre to go tonight, too. Maybe you and Beck should make a 'surprise visit,'" Cat added the last two words in finger quotations, also adding a wink, as if Tori would never guess what she was up to otherwise.

Biting her bottom lip, Tori looked unsure, "I don't know, Cat…that may just cause a fight…"

"Ooorrr…" Cat drew out the word, her voice going an octave higher, "It could settle things." When the red-head saw the look of uncertainty in her friend's eyes, she quickly broke down to begging, "Pleeeeease, Tori! I'm so sick of taking sides! I can't be on Jade's side, Andre's side, and your side! It's driving me crazy!"

"Even more so than usual?" came a third-party voice. Cat and Tori both looked to see Jade walking by to go toward her locker, "Come here, Cat."

Jade never once turned to look at the two, but Cat glanced at Tori with worry in her big eyes. "Just think about it," Cat whispered loudly before jogging over to Jade who had reached her locker.

Tori sighed when Cat left. Is this seriously what it came to? Cat being afraid to talk to her because of Jade? She was sure Robbie was feeling the same between Andre and Beck. She wondered how long it would take Cat and Robbie to get sick of this and break off ties with all four of them.

Outside of Hollywood Arts, Beck was on the phone with an administrator at NYCDA. He had called to talk about the scholarship that was offered to him at the beginning of senior year, and how he had decided to make them his college choice. He was shocked when he listened to the woman's response.

"I'm sorry, but we only award that scholarship to one person every few years. When we didn't hear from you, we offered it to someone else who immediately grabbed it up. You can still try to apply for the university, though," she told him as she tried to sound as positive as she could.

Beck was in shock. He had no idea that he had a deadline to meet. Well…he did know that, but he was truly hoping that everything would go a lot more smoothly. It was only June, however, and classes didn't start until the end of August. He had time…

He thanked the woman for her time and hung up the phone, staring off into the distance.

"Hey, Handsome," a voice came from behind him. He turned around to see Tori, her huge bag draped over her shoulder, "Ready to leave?"

He forced a smile and held out his arm so she could walk into him with his hand around her shoulder, "How was the rest of your day?"

She shrugged half-heartedly, "It was okay…hey, do you want to go to KaraOKAAAAY tonight?"

Beck looked at her oddly for a moment, "That was random. Aren't you worried we're going to run into someone we know?"

Walking a little slower once they came close to his car, Tori looked down at their feet, "A little, but...I'm tired of hiding, ya know? We've been cooped up every night since we got back because we don't want to bump into anyone."

He understood, but tried to show his playful side when he buried his face into her neck, "You don't like what we've been doing these past nights?"

Giggling softly, she hid her fingers in his soft hair. They made it to his car and she allowed him to press her against the passenger door, "This has nothing to do with that…"

"Then why…" Beck kissed his way up from her neck to her lips, planning on saying more, but once he got the taste of her in his mouth, he just couldn't stop. He pressed his hips into hers and placed both of his hands on the hood of his car as his mouth devoured hers. It was crazy…feeling like he hadn't seen her in forever and it had only been a few hours. What was he going to do if they didn't get to go to the same college…?

A loud engine roaring made the couple break apart quickly. When they looked to the side, they saw Andre's sleek black car speeding out of the parking lot and down the street.

They both sighed as Beck backed away from her. The moment was broken.

"Actually…I have something to take care of tonight. I don't think I can go out," Beck said, thinking about the essay he had to write to NYCDA as soon as possible to try to get admitted.

Tori looked at him skeptically, "What do you have to do? I know you don't have homework, and our presentation is over…"

"Just…something. Maybe we can go out tomorrow night?" Beck felt terrible for not telling her about his phone call, but he didn't want Tori worrying about anything else on top of what she already had going on.

Narrowing her eyebrows, she tried to figure out what he was up to, but couldn't quite put her finger on it, so dismissed it with a guarded look. She was getting ready to suggest that she just chill at his place again, but she really wanted to try to talk to Andre again. She was running out of time to do so, and she truly didn't want to see the best friendship she ever had go to waste.

Later that night, Tori got ready to head to KaraOKAAAAY by herself. She was a bit nervous about going alone, but she figured she would have a better chance of talking to Andre when Beck wasn't around. She considered trying to just go to his house again, but thought that maybe Andre would really hear her out when they were someplace public.

She dressed in her normal attire: tight jeans, a sparkling top, and high-heels. She curled her hair, added eye-liner and purple eye shadow, and was ready to go. Of course, she didn't have a ride, so would have to resort to taking a taxi. Neither of her parents were home (which meant her dad was probably on duty and her mom was off doing…whatever it was she did), but she still didn't bother leaving a note saying she would be out late.

Pulling up to the crowded hang-out spot brought back so many fond memories…it was where her and her friends had a lot of fun times together. When she got out of the taxi, she spotted Andre's car and Jade's car. Good…everyone was already here.

Stepping into the club, she quickly scanned her surroundings. A somewhat talented girl was on stage singing an old Britney Spears song, but the crowd was hardly paying her any attention. There were a group of jocks in the back corner with about ten baskets of chicken wings on their table. Their laughter often boomed over the song. She saw a lot of Northridge girls scattered about, which helped her eyes focus on the two truly pretty girls in the crowd (Cat and Jade). Jade looked annoyed, but Cat seemed content enough as she twirled her straw in her drink.

Tori's eyes landed on a few people who looked like they wanted the courage to go up on stage, more Northridge girls, then finally, she looked toward the bar. And there was Andre, sitting on a stool with his back facing her, an obviously older woman hovering provocatively over him, and Robbie on the other side of the woman, obviously trying to cut into the conversation.

She shot a quick glance back to Jade to make sure she wasn't spotted (didn't seem like it), before making her way over to the bar. Despite how intimate the tête-à-tête looked between the woman and Andre, Tori sat down on the barstool on the other side of Andre and immediately asked, "So you singing tonight?"

Andre glimpsed over at her before refocusing his eyes on his drink and paper and pen in front of him. He sighed loudly to show his annoyance, "What are you doing here?"

Tori tried to ignore his hostility, "Came to see you."

"Excuse me!" The woman on the other side of Andre interjected, "I was talking to Andre first!"

Tori looked from her back to Andre, but he only shrugged and took a sip from his round rocks glass. Tori could automatically smell the alcohol and put two-and-two together. This woman was obviously old enough to buy alcohol and was giving it to Andre.

Tori leaned in close to him and whispered harshly, "Are you crazy? You wanna get arrested for underage drinking right before graduation?"

"Who's gonna tell?" He answered dryly without looking at her. He looked down at the words on the paper and tapped his pen irritably.

Her back straightened when he said this, and she could still feel the glare from the woman. She knew berating Andre was not going to help her situation any, so tried a different approach, "Are you working on a new song?"

He didn't answer, which meant yes.

She remembered back to the days when he would get "drunk" off of his chocolate drink when he felt pressured to write up a song in a short amount of time. That was way back in freshman year…it seemed like a century ago.

"Is it for graduation?" Andre still didn't answer, "Cat told me that you didn't want to sing with me on graduation. Can't say I blame you." No response, "I'm trying to write a song myself. It's hard without you…"

When he still said nothing, the woman on the other side of him spoke up, "It seems like he doesn't want to talk to you. So why don't you try your luck elsewhere?"

But just like Andre, Tori didn't acknowledge her words, "Won't you please just work with me on this, Andre? It'll be a great way to end high school and—."

Tori stopped short when Andre suddenly laughed loudly, "You mean the high school I got you in to?"

She watched him drink the whole glass before setting it on the table. The woman snapped for the bartender to come over to order another drink. Tori wondered why this lady was trying to get Andre so drunk.

Leaning in close to him again, she lowered her voice but tried to keep it louder than the music that was playing, "What are you doing? Don't you think it's a little cliché to be drinking like this because of a breakup?"

"Don't you think it's a little cliché for my girlfriend to cheat on me with my best friend?" Andre retaliated instantly, turning in his seat to glare at her. As soon as he saw her proud face, however, he knew that she only said that to get him riled up enough to respond. He shook his head when he figured it out and turned back to the bar. He saw that there was another drink sitting there and downed it in one gulp.

Tori frowned, "I saw your car parked out front…how are you planning on getting home?"

Robbie suddenly raised his hand from around the woman, "I'll drive…"

Tori was grateful that Robbie was being such a good friend, but was slightly angry at him for speaking up. If Andre thought he didn't have a designated driver, he might stop drinking.

"Let's take a shot, baby!" the woman yelled to Andre as she once again called the bartender over.

"Don't call me that…" Andre said in a voice loud enough for Tori to hear since she was looking at him, but that went unnoticed to the person he was actually talking to. He put his elbow on the table and rested his forehead in his palm. He scribbled a few words on the paper.

Tori looked at him sadly, "Andre, please stop drinking…I'm not worth it, I swear."

He didn't even chuckle at her pathetic joke. He kept looking down at his paper and she could tell very easily that he wished she would just leave.

"Well, well, well…look who decided to show up."

Tori groaned before even turning to see that it was Jade.

"Shouldn't you be up on stage singing or something?" Tori asked briskly.

"I don't think that's any of your concern," Jade responded, crossing her arms over her chest confidently, "But you being here with Andre and not Beck is a bit concerning…what ever could be going on?" She asked with false alarm.

Tori saw Cat wave shyly from behind Jade before going over to Robbie and speaking with him. She watched as the lady picked up two shot glasses of something, keeping one for herself and handing the other one to Andre.

"You planning on trying to start a threesome or something, Vega?"

Before Tori could even comprehend what Jade was getting at, Andre had spun around and splashed his drink in Jade's face. Jade gasped and closed her eyes as the alcohol settled into her eyes, mascara already slipping down her face.

"You need to learn when to shut the hell up, Jade," Andre muttered, turning back around to set the empty glass on the counter. The woman who ordered it for him looked too dumbfounded to do anything except gulp down her shot.

Jade growled lowly as she reached up to wipe the liquid from her eyes, "That's it…" then suddenly her voice loudened remarkably, "Everyone better hightail it outta here, I'm calling the police!"

And even though no one else in the club was doing anything illegal, there was a sudden mad rush to the exit. Tori got knocked off her seat as people shoved their way through any way possible, but she was only vaguely aware of Andre's arm on her.

"Shit, I need to get out," she heard Andre say to himself before jumping from his seat and running with the crowd.

Tori glanced at Jade, who was still just standing there with her arms crossed. There were black smears on her face from where she tried to stop the mascara from flowing, but it was obvious that she never even reached for her phone.

She considered saying something to her, but then thought better of it, and simply left the bar to try to find Andre in the parking lot.

"You know you can't have both of them, right?" she heard Jade yell from behind her.

Tori still didn't give her the satisfaction of answering her. The more she interacted with Jade, the worse things got. That still didn't mean her latest words didn't sting.

Of course she knew she couldn't have both of them! She wasn't trying to get Andre back romantically, she just…

But as the crowd around her pushed and shoved against her, Tori's feet stopped working as Jade's words rang in her head.

Can't have them both….

And she hated to admit it, but…Jade was completely right. With the way things happened, there was no possible way Jade could be wrong.

As long as Tori was with Beck, Andre wouldn't want to be around her. Every time he looked at her, all he saw was the girl who betrayed him. He doesn't want to see how happy her and Beck are together; it would just hurt too much. So he chose the path that would help keep him the happiest and sanest: avoidance.

And she hadn't even stopped to really consider what her obsession with getting Andre's forgiveness was doing to Beck. If by some miracle Andre did forgive her and wanted to hang out with her again…wouldn't that make Beck feel a bit uneasy? His girlfriend hanging out with her ex? And it wouldn't even be entirely a trust issue, but just knowing that Andre still had some feelings for Tori would make any caring boyfriend a little tense. And if they all hung out together, would her and Beck feel weird about sitting close or holding hands in front of him? Definitely.

Can't have both…

So as Tori stood alone in a crowded, chaotic room, she finally realized that she wanted Andre's forgiveness—not to make everything easier on him, but to find comfort in her own selfish mind.

She had to let him go.

If this whole thing had happened any other way…it could have been different. But it wasn't…and that was that.

When the last person finally got outside of the building, it was deathly silent inside the empty club. But then she heard heels click on the floor, getting louder as they got closer to her, and she saw Jade walk past her without even glancing at her.

"Glad you finally see things my way."

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

Anyone surprised that I updated again so quickly? Well, I got so many positive reviews talking about how happy they were to see this story again, that I figured I'd give a treat to those special reviewers!I honestly wasn't expecting a whole lot of people to review since it's been so long, but reviews do motivate me like nothing else, so yea! I'm also kinda drunk right now, so that could be contributed...

I kinda laughed when so many of you wrote to me saying how I write Tandre better than anything. Ha! That's so interesting! Even before I was really shipping them, I got comments like that. So I find it highly amusing when you guys tell me that you think this is an awesome Tandre story when it's actually a Bori story lol. And NOW, after last chapter, I saw that some are wishing for Tandre to be endgame. Well..for "Final Project," that is not going to happen. This is, and will always be, a Bori story.

(Didn't exclude the possibility of a spinoff when I'm completely finished with this story, however.)

But after rereading Solid Tears, I realized that I wanted a bit more with the whole Tori and Andre thing. I liked what happened in the chapter, but I just felt like something was missing...like Tori was missing something big. And that's when this chapter was born. Also, sorry to anyone who was expecting great detail in their final project presentation. Lol, I know it's kinda ironic that the thing that is the title happened in one short paragraph, but...tis what it'tis.

So once again, thanks to all my awesome readers and reviewers!

~Enula