I Wish I could Fight you, but I can't

Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Tori's POV

Seriously, my uncle? I couldn't come up with anything better? . I'm grateful for Beck's reaction; just a simple "Oh okay". I can tell that he doesn't believe me, he's too smart to believe a simple lie like that. I shift from foot to foot. He pauses, then looks up at me. "Is this because of the movie?". He's caught me off guard. How did he get that from hearing half a phone call? "The one for class?" I squeak and he nods "Wh-what about it?" I give an awkward laugh. Beck rubs the back of his neck, looking uncomfortable. "Oh well, you know, because Cat's gonna be in San Diego so you're gonna play Rebecca and I'm playing Brian..." He waits for me to put the pieces together. I do. "Oh! You mean the whole kiss scene right?" I ask. He clenches his teeth. "Well yeah, if you don't feel comfortable kissing me then-"

"It's okay" I quickly reply. His face brightens. "I'm fine with it...are you?" I ask, feeling a little bad for putting him on the spot. "Oh yeah, sure I mean it's not a big deal, just a stage kiss right?" He laughs. I force a smile and nod back. His laughter dies down. He takes a step closer to me. I look up into his dark eyes, the little bits of gold sparkling in the lowlight. I step forward too so we're mere inches apart. "Tori" He says my name, voice low and husky. I reach up and trace the side of his face and he covers my hand with his, pressing it against his cheek. I'm lost in the moment. Every part of me wants to reach up and press my lips against his: then I snap back to reality.

"We um, we should get back to class" I pull my hand away and slip past him, cheeks burning. "But" I hear Beck begin, then he closes his mouth. I stride out of the janitor's closet and down the hall, leaving the boy of my dreams alone in the doorway. Victoria Vega you are the biggest idiot in the history of idiots I tell myself as I push the door open to Sikowitz's classroom. I sit down between Andre and Jade. "You okay?" Andre asks me, switching off his bright green pear pad. I nod back at him. "What'd you do with Beck?" Jade says, stabbing her scissors into an empty soda can. Right on time, Beck walks through the doorway and sits down next to Robbie, the furthest seat away from me. We make eye contact and I can tell he's very vey confused. I look away, because I don't know how I'm feeling either. I wanted to kiss him. I still do. But I just couldn't. Why? Because of my alter ego, stupid Shelby Marx has sworn off dating.

Let me give you a little bit of backstory here. When I first started getting popular in the CFC after beating Maya Feckner for the first time and becoming champion; my manager Rod, my trainer Juan, my parents and I all had a meeting. Rod told me that I could not date anyone, while Shelby Marx was popular. Me being angry and confused, demanded why not; ready to break into debate. Rod calmly explained to me that it would blow my cover. If I started to date someone at school, I would have to tell them where I was sneaking off to all the time and why I would be away for long periods of time. I wanted to tell him that I would be smarter than that, but then he explained the second reason. It would be hell for the person I was dating if they knew. Catching on? No? I didn't either. You see, if Shelby Marx has a new boyfriend, he would be all over the internet, swarmed by the tabloids. He would be harassed and searched for. Also, if Shelby Marx and Tori Vega are seen with the same guy, someone will either a) say that he's cheating on one of us or b) put the pieces together that Shelby and I are the same person.

Dating is troublesome for a girl with a double life. There are so many reasons why I can't that it doesn't mater if I'm in love; it's what do I love more. A boy or my career. You might be thinking, "Hey Tori, why don't you just decide which one you like more?" It's not that easy. Everyone would push me towards fighting because it's my job and I'm already so high up in the industry. And maybe that would be the more practical thing to do... for now. The thing is, my fighting career won't last forever. Someone will come along who is better than me and I will start to loose fights; therefore loosing popularity. My singing and acting is something to fall back on when that day comes.

I snap out of my thoughts at the sound of a long piercing bell. Third period is over and I have a free, THANK GOD. I quickly shoulder my bag and walk out of the classroom. Stopping briefly to throw my books in my locker, I make my way to the front office to grab a leave permission slip. I don't have to return till lunch is over, so I think I'll head to the gym, clear my head. It's only a short walk from school. I spot Beck on my way out, but he doesn't look at me. He's probably hurt and very, very confused. So am I Mr Oliver, so am I.

After a brisk 2 minute walk, I arrive at the Jungle gym, a small fitness centre near the beach. It's been taken over by my team so I basically own it. It's also used for my charity 'Mini Marx'. My training team helps underprivileged kids get into mma, which also teaches them valuable fighting skills If they ever get into trouble. I push open the glass double doors and step inside. It's nice and cool, the industrial fans in the ceiling were on full blast. I spot Juan through the glass window in his office and he beckons me inside. "Hey niña, what're you doing here?" He asks, pulling his feet of the desk. I love Juan, he's like my second Dad. A dad that occasionally attacks me, but hey, same diff. "I've got a free so I though I'd come by and train till lunch" I say, dropping my backpack by the door. Juan jumps up pulling down the hood of his sleeveless jacket. "Ayy, bien, bien, smart thinking Marx" He grins. I laugh and pull open the door. "Meet you on the mat in 5" I say and he nods to me, cracking his knuckles.

I head to my dressing room and pull the door of my locker open. This is where I keep all my championship belts. I've won four so far, they glimmer in the light. I also have photos stuck all around the door, some of Shelby, some of Tori. I look over at the picture of me and all my friends. It's from when we went to the beach one day (after spending three hours trapped in Beck's hot RV whilst Cat partied with cute boys). The sun is hanging low in the sky and we're sitting in the back of Beck's truck. I've got one arm around Cat, the other holding an ice pop. Everyone is smiling. I look to Beck. He's got Jade in his arms, his button down open and sunglasses perched on the top of his head. I wish we were back in the janitor's closet and that I did kiss him. I purse my lips and pull the photo down in frustration, throwing it behind my shoulder. I tug off my t shirt and jeans and slip into some compression shorts and a sports bra. Tying my hair into a ponytail, I kick off my shoes and pull on my padded fingerless gloves.

I beat Juan to the training room, so I start stretching. I push the many thoughts of Beck out of my mind and try to centre myself. Juan enters five minutes later as I'm sitting in an L, touching my toes. "Good, you're all loose. Head over to the speedball when you're ready, just a warm up so aim for about 250" He says, typing something into his phone. I nod and jump up, walking over to where the black leather speedball is hanging. "You want musica?" He asks, so I turn to him with a raised eyebrow. He laughs and shakes his head. "Dios Mio, Why did I even ask, of course you do" He turns on the Bluetooth speakers. I roll my shoulders back as Juan puts on a playlist. I smile at the sound of Nirvana's "Smells like Teen Spirit". (Okay, so maybe I lied to Beck. My dad and I don't listen to Nirvana, Juan and I do. But like I said, Juan's basically my second Dad). I bounce on the balls of my feet and lift my arms up to begin steadily tapping the speedball, speeding up as I go.