By Any Other Name

Chapter Seven

Tori was leaning up against the wall outside the girl's bathroom, the remnants of a smile (and a blush) lighting up her face with a subtle, glowing warmth.

Beck swallowed loudly, hand clenching around the strap of his backpack. He was nervous; yesterday he'd been so worried about Jade... and so completely at a loss as to what to do about his feelings for Tori. Today was no different... if anything today was worse.

Tori had been creeping her way into his heart from her very first day at Hollywood Arts. Every day she dug down a little deeper, and now he found it hard to look at any other girl without comparing that girl to Tori. Tori was always slimmer, smarter, sweeter... and it sucked. It really sucked. It wasn't like he could just ask her out...

Why couldn't he ask her out? Because Jade needed her. He couldn't take Tori away from her, not so soon after the break up.

He may not have been in love with her anymore, but Jade was still his best friend. He cared about her, and right now he needed to take care of her before he saw to his own needs. Beck didn't really understand it, but even though Jade treated Tori like dirt it was always Tori that Jade took her problems to. Like when Jade had broken up with him that first time; she'd immediately run to Tori for help, for comfort. It had been happening slowly, but Jade was definitely starting to open up to the half-Latina... and Beck had to admit he was a little jealous. It had taken a long time for her to open up to him that way.

But he couldn't be mad at Tori, or even Jade. He knew that Jade felt the same way he did; she wasn't in love with him anymore either. This was just proof that they weren't meant to be together... if they were meant for each other then they wouldn't have constantly been fighting, and when they kissed the fire should have burnt as hot as it first did in the beginning.

But it didn't. Now his heart burned for someone else, and one day Jade's would do the same.

Tori would just have to help her get through the break-up first.

Gathering his courage, Beck breathed out through loose lips that quickly lifted in a poor attempt at a smile and strode quickly to Tori's side. She didn't see him coming, and Beck had to swallow again before he could get the words out.

"Hey, Tori." When Tori turned to him and grinned, Beck's smile became real and his confidence began to trickle back. "How's it going?"

"Great! Really great," she tilted her chin but kept her eyes on him so that her irises were nestled in the corners of her almond-shaped eyes, giving her expression a proud, confident look. "I kept my promise."

"You did more than keep it; she already looks like she's over it!" Eyes darting up and down the corridor, he leaned in close and whispered, as though afraid Jade might appear out of nowhere, "Where is she?"

Tori eyes fluttered nervously and her chin came back down, her expression no longer quite so confident now that he was so close. Beck cheered internally. So Tori wasn't completely uninterested in him...

I was worried she might not see me that way. One less thing to worry about for now, I guess. I can figure this all out once I'm sure Jade's alright.

"She's in the bathroom. I offered to go in with her, but she just rolled her eyes and told me to wait out here. She said I could only go in if I heard screaming... and that if I did to bring the nurse."

Beck cocked a brow. "The nurse?"

"She didn't say, but I'm gonna go ahead and guess that it'd be something like some idiot girl making a stupid comment and getting... intimate... with Jade's scissors."

That made him laugh. Tori always made him laugh, oddly enough only after she'd gotten closer to Jade. Jade could be quite funny when it suited her... it was a dry humor, of course. Tori seemed to be subconsciously taking notes, because recently she'd been more willing to make jokes at other people's expense. Never anyone that she cared about of course, or anyone that had never done her wrong. That was the difference between Tori and Jade; Jade didn't care if she hurt other people, not a bit. Tori was far more sensitive than that; far more people-friendly.