Chapter 32. Prove Your Worth

Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious.

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The Bruin's Den, UCLA - September 7th, Freshman Year

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"Damn, this place is packed," Beck remarked, the shock in his voice being seeming completely foreign given the current setting. Even from someone who might have been passing by the exterior of the Bruin's Den, it was clear enough that there were tons of people, both inside and waiting in line. But to actually walk into the place and see the seemingly-endless amount of students gathered inside, it was another thing entirely.

"Wait," Andre started, his focus unable to remain at any given point, instead bouncing all throughout to various different faces, "Your professor expects you to perform here? You and your class?" He couldn't help but think that it wasn't possible, not due to talent or personal limitations, but rather due to the concern of would Tori's class actually make it? And if they were here, how would anyone be able to tell?

"Yeah, that's what he said, that's what his email to the class said," The fact was, the only thing of the email that she actually cared about was the location listed on it. Everything that was discussed in her meeting with O'Hennesy earlier today was all that Tori needed to know, that regardless of what the email might say, about whether or not the majority of the class would be either intimidated or just opt to not perform, that she wasn't afforded that choice. When he said beyond just my peers, I wasn't expecting this. This is like a full concert, not just performing for an assignment…

Andre could see the surprise on Tori's face, undoubtedly at just the quantity of people there. From what he had heard about on campus, this place was a common hotspot, one that had been known to draw in huge crowds, especially during football games and such, but on the first Friday night of the school year? In the back of his mind, he couldn't help but think that more people would be partying than spending their evening here. "How many of them you actually think will perform?"

Tori shrugged her shoulders. Of the nineteen other students in her Orientation course, she only knew of a handful of them, Tom among them. Outside of what little she knew of him though, she didn't really know much personally about any of them. She had preferred to focus on her work, breezing through it as it seemed some of the others struggled. "All I know is I am and so is Tom…"

Beck couldn't help but flash a quick glance at Andre as Tori spoke. He didn't know why, but there was something to the whole thing, the whole situation with Tom, that Beck wasn't keen on. Perhaps it was the fact that Tori said nothing to him about it – though it wasn't as if it were any of his business. The only reason he knew about it at all was because Jade brought it up to him, but even still, he couldn't help but wonder if Tori had told Andre or if he was as much in the dark about the whole thing as he might have been.

"He might not even show up. I mean, look at this place. Can barely move, let alone get in," Jade reasoned, having otherwise been occupied with pushing her way towards the nearby bar and just returning, now with a small flyer in her hand.

"Well, you seemed to have managed that well enough," Beck said with a slightly intrigued tone, "What've you got there?" he asked, immediately taking notice to Jade's flyer.

Handing it to Beck, Jade turned her head around them, marveling at all the people who crammed in all around them, "Take a look. No doubt that explains why there's so many people here."

Hearing this, Andre and Beck both immediately shifted their focus onto the flyer while Tori continued to look around, wondering if Jade might have been right, if Tom would just pass on showing up. And unfortunately, given what she had seen of him up to this point, it was quite the possibility. "What's it say?" She asked, noticing what looked like wide smiles on both the faces of Beck and Andre.

Andre coughed as he took the flyer from Beck, holding it out as if he were reading from a script, "Come to the Bruin's Den to celebrate the completion of the first week of classes and the start of the UCLA Bruins' football season with the Bruins' Den fifth annual Singing Competition."

Tori's eyes widened, a sense of panic starting to set in at the realization that these people might have been here for that, for what was essentially a singing contest. "Everyone's here for just for a singing contest?" She let out a faint chuckle, "It's like Karaoke Dokie all over again."

"Except I don't think this is a weekly thing, and Karaoke Dokie never had prizes like this…"

"Prizes like what?"

"Winner receives four tickets to UCLA Bruins' season opener against Michigan State!" Finally managing to peel his eyes away from the flyer, he gave it back to Jade before exchanging looks with Beck, both of them seeming to be impressed with the offering. "Four tickets to tomorrow's game? Damn, that's pretty fucking nice, if I do say so myself."

Tori couldn't help but roll her eyes at how excited all of a sudden the boys got. Just because it was something having to do with sports, now they were effectively dribbling fanboys. Jade looked just as uninterested at Tori, if not much less so than the Latina. "What's so special about some game?"

Beck lifted his eyes, smirking at Jade and Tori's lack of enthusiasm, "Aside from the fact that it's the season opener or that they're playing here, how about the fact that the tickets for it have been sold out for like, well over a month already?"

"Or that if you're looking at trying to get them through a scalper, you're looking at like, at least a hundred dollars per person." Andre added, "And that was then. Now, God, I'd have to imagine they'd be going for maybe double that."

Jade rose an eyebrow hearing this, "Two hundred dollars? Per ticket?"

"Probably more than that, especially if the seats are even somewhat decent."

A wicked smile appeared upon Jade's face, causing Tori to be a little worried that it might not be with good intentions, "Jade? Why are you smiling?"

"Because Vega, I'm about to make an easy thousand dollars. That's why."

Beck chuckled, "And just how're you gonna make a grand? Snap your fingers or something?"

"It's simple," Jade held up a hand began to lift a finger with each part of her explanation. "I'm going to enter the contest. I'm going to win the contest. And then tomorrow I'm going to sell those tickets to the highest possible bidder and pocket the money."

"What do you mean you're going to sell them?" Andre exclaimed in a panic.

The expression on Beck's face showed that he was similarly concerned with what Jade was saying. "Yeah, you're really just going to sell the tickets if you win? Think about how great a game that could be, what an awesome way to start off the year it'd be!"

"Oh, I'm sure you two would love it, but that money would go a long, long way towards a new tattoo for me." She glared right at Beck with piercing eyes, "And wouldn't you agree that that'd be just precious?"

Andre shook his head, "Look, I'm sorry Jade, but a new tattoo against four tickets to a sold out game, for our school now, mind you. That's a pretty clear decision to me."

Jade turned her attention to Andre, "What? You're gonna to enter?"

"Damn right! But I'm not just going to enter. I'm going to win," Andre confidently said. Beck's patting him on the back only further heightened his confidence while angering Jade. The two of them departed, pushing their way through the crowds in the same direction that Jade had ventured to, leaving Jade and Tori to themselves.

"You don't seem all that thrilled," Tori casually remarked, noticing the irritation on Jade's face.

"He can say that he's going tow in until he's blue in the face. It doesn't change the fact that I'm going to win."

Tori smiled at Jade's confidence, but while she admired that Jade was so sure she'd win, the fact that she and Andre and Beck held such contrasting views on how they'd use the tickets only spelt out the reality that there was no way that none of them would be happy. Either Jade won and the guys would be miserable. Andre wins and then Jade is miserable. Or they both lose, and everyone's miserable. As to where Tori stood on the issue, she was pretty much indifferent, though she couldn't help but finding herself leaning towards Andre's and Beck's position.

You know, it might be fun just to go to one game, just to say that we did it. Who knows. It might even be fun!

"So I guess you already signed up?"

Jade turned her head slightly, nodding just enough to answer her question, "Yep. You should think about it too, entering I mean."

Surprised by Jade's suggestion, Tori couldn't help but wonder why suggest it at all, "Me? Just a minute ago you were saying how confident you were that you'd win. Why would you want me to enter then?"

Tori knew that it probably wasn't for any good reason once she saw the smirk form on Jade's lips, "Oh I'd still win. But at least then Andre wouldn't be able to be like, 'Well you would have lost if Tori entered!'" She laughed as Tori simply shook her head, thinking for whatever reason that Jade's rationale would be different.

"So kind of you to say Jade," Tori sarcastically remarked as she felt Jade's fist lightly punch against her shoulder, taking a step back to make it seem like she was struck harder than she actually was. "Here I was thinking that you were going to insist that I enter and you and I aim to win together. Girl power, you know?"

Jade let out a chuckle, "Girl power? What are we, in middle school? Besides, assuming that I were to even entertain that idea, are you expecting half the money or something?"

Tori shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't given it all that much thought really…" It was a valid question that Jade posed. Say that Jade might have agreed to some deal of some sort with Tori; what would she expect from it? If Jade was serious about pawning the tickets, would Tori be entitled to half the money? Would she just take two of the tickets for herself and then allow Jade to sell the other two?

"Well, I don't know about that. I mean, a thousand dollars can go a long way towards an eventual sleeve," Jade remarked as she held out her arm, mentally envisioning what it might look like down the line. She shot a look at Tori, who seemed to have been doing the same, imagining what Jade might get as well. "Maybe you should get a tattoo. Ever consider it?"

Tori shook her head hastily, "Oh no. I don't even want to imagine how my dad might react if he were to ever find one on me."

"What would he care? You're over eighteen. You're an adult now." Jade argued. Even if Tori might have been receptive to the idea of getting a tattoo, Jade had trouble imaging just what she might have gotten. Probably something fluffy like a music note or something. No doubt it'd be small, small enough to barely even notice that it was there at all. Darting her eyes away from Tori and instead towards where Andre and Beck were, both of whom still waiting to sign up for the singing contest themselves. "How long does it take them to sign up? Honestly…"

Tori chuckled. It seemed like when Jade signed up, however the hell it was that she signed up, she did it quick, much faster than it seemed that it was taking Andre and Beck. Is Beck even going to enter? Can he really sing? She was about to make a remark to that effect before stopping as she felt her phone vibrate within her pocket.

Where are you? – Unknown Number

A part of her initially figured it to have been the person who had been calling her over the past few months, but that was almost immediately put to rest when she saw the area code was completely different. "718 area code? Where's that?"

Jade turned her head as Tori asked the question. "No idea. Why?" She asked as she practically tore Tori's phone out of her hands, noticing the text from the unknown person. "Who's this?"

Tori shrugged her shoulders. "No idea." It didn't register to her quickly, not until Jade had given her back the phone that she noticed that Jade had texted the number. "Oh God Jade, what'd you say?"

Who the fuck is this? – Tori

"Really Jade!? You can't be a little bit friendlier than that?" She sort of hoped to get a message indicating that the text failed to send. For all anyone knew, this could have been a record company representative. Tori herself didn't believe it was, but if it was someone texting her, Jade could at least try to be a little civil. "You know, chances are the person's not going to text back now."

Jade rolled her eyes. "You're talking like that's a bad thing or something."

Tori shook her head. Seriously Jade, you can be just, I don't even know to describe it. Infuriating! That's the word! She could tell that Jade was satisfied with herself. Tori wouldn't put it past her to assume that that was a common practice of Jade's, to be as completely vulgar as possible to prank callers or solicitors so they'd never call back. That the phone vibrated again came as a bit of a surprise to Tori.

Sorry. It's Tom Black. Is this Tori Vega? – Unknown Number

Jade leaned over slightly to catch a quick glance of Tori's phone, raising an eyebrow in slight surprise at the fact that the messaging app was open. "Wow, did they still around? Maybe it wasn't a solicitor after all." She cracked a smile as Tori glanced up from the screen, a smile appearing upon her's as well. "Who is it then?"

"Tom," Tori quickly remarked, wasting little time in typing away at the phone.

Yes! Sorry 4 the first text. That was my friend. At the Bruins Den. U? – Tori

"Oh, so it's the new guy? Are we finally going to meet him?" Jade said with a deceptive twang in her voice.

Come on Jade, don't be cruel… Tori shook her head once again. Why did it seem like she was just taking a complete thrill in doing things like this, planting these notions that there was something going on when there wasn't? "Doesn't matter how sultry you make your voice, doesn't mean that it's any less not the truth." She shot a sinister smile of her own towards Jade, "And you know, I was originally going to suggest it, but now I'm a little leery on the whole idea. Wouldn't want you stealing him from me, after all," she joked.

"Cute," Jade hissed. "But better be careful with the jokes. Some people might get the wrong impression," Jade remarked as the turned her head back towards the general direction where Andre and Beck had gone off to. The brief light that flashed from Tori's phone pulled her eyes away.

Originally making a small effort to conceal her phone from Jade's eyes, Tori quickly gave up, knowing that if she tried any further at keeping her messages private that Jade would just take the phone again. And now that she knew it was Tom who was texting her, who was to say what she might send him.

At the bruin's den. Killin' time waiting for you. At the bar area near the stage. – Tom

Putting her phone back into her pocket, Tori briefly spun herself around, trying to get an idea of where the stage was. Wow! It's actually pretty close. Just as she was about to start walking away, she remembered that Jade was still there. Hmm, don't know why I thought she'd have gone with Beck right just then. Weird. "Hey Jade, I'm gonna find Tom. I wouldn't be shocked if he and I'll be performing soon. If Andre or Beck asks where I went-"

"Don't worry. I'll just tell them that you two ran off together to become a pair of traveling performers," Jade joked, bursting out into a near full laugh as she saw the irritated face of Tori's. "I'm kidding! You have your assignment thing, I got it."

A part of Tori still wasn't sure if Jade would say that or go with what she first suggested. Smiling, she waved farewell to Jade as she disappeared within the crowd as she slowly made her way through them towards the stage. Yet even though the location wasn't all that far from where she and company had been, the heavy capacity didn't give much in terms of being able to move. With every few feet she was able to move in any particular direction, she couldn't help but worry that there might have been someone who may have tried to touch something they shouldn't.

By the time that she did actually manage her way through to the bar-like counter nearest the stage, Tori had become utterly convinced that someone had managed to take something of hers, be it her phone, wallet, whatever. It had become such the prevalent concern that the only thing on her mind had become whether or not she had been the victim of a mugging.

"Hey Tori," a voice called out, causing Tori to jump in a moment of panic. Turning around in a frenzied state, she couldn't help but take a breath of relief at the sight of Tom, having taken a step back in a manner very similar to the first time that the two had met. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

Tori smiled, hoping that that'd make her come off as a bit less intimidating. She could only imagine how those in the immediate proximity might have viewed her as at that moment. Probably thinking that I'm so crazy chick. That might be a good way to avoiding weird people. After a few more seconds of fruitless searching for anything missing, Tori finally took a breath, knowing that what could have been a disastrous situation had been averted. "Sorry 'bout that. Had a little, panic attack there."

Tom nodded, "Sorta figured that. Things good?"

"Yeah," Tori remarked as she shoved her phone in her pocket. While she had made sure not to lose anything, she still found herself being a little bit paranoid. "Didn't think you were gonna show."

"You know, had it been left up to me, wouldn't have." Tom casually remarked, his response not greatly surprising Tori. Up to this point, he didn't seem nearly as thrilled as Tori was with regards to being here. "By the way, sorry if my text freaked you out or something. Hennesy gave me your number last week, I guess hoping that we'd have come to a decision by now."

"I think if it were anyone else I'd be worried, but I wouldn't put giving it to you past O'Hennesy. I think he's starting to get a little tired of us." She couldn't help but smile at Tom's reaction, a small chuckle which seemed to contrast the otherwise irritable attitude he had shown up to this point. "Is he here? O'Hennesy, I mean."

Tom walked up towards the counter, leaning over it slightly as he pointed more towards the stage. "Down there. Was giving everyone some bullshit lecture or whatever about this place." He shook his head, his body language showing his disinterest, to which Tori couldn't help but agree with. They both came here tonight knowing that they'd be performing. If they wanted a lecture they could just go to class. "Had to guess, I'd say he was killing time waiting for you to show."

"Well, I'm here now." Tori said with a slight hint of enthusiasm as Tom nodded in agreement. Almost immediately following he began pushing his way through the crowd, leaving a faint trail of space behind him, just enough for Tori to move through without the panic of being pickpocketed. With what only seemed like a few seconds compared to how long it took previously to get from where Jade was to their previous point, Tori found herself amongst a large group composed of herself, Tom, O'Hennesy, and the other students in her Performers' Orientation course, unable to put any names to their faces.

"Ah, Tori! Glad of you to finally join us," O'Hennesy remarked as he quickly proceeded towards her, taking light hold of her arm as he dragged her more towards the center of the group, all of the eyes averting onto her as a result. "You had some of us worried that you were going to bail on us tonight."

Tori shook her head vehemently, not sure if O'Hennesy was joking or not. "No! I wasn't going to do that!"

O'Hennesy smiled as a variety of snickers and chuckles spread throughout the group encircling them. "It's quite alright. Was more concerned with others myself," he said as he quickly glared towards Tom before focusing again to Tori, "But, as we're all here, no more reason to be concerned with things. But, there is someone I want you two to meet." Approaching the counter, the director pounded his fist several times against the hard wood, grabbing the attention of a slightly older gentleman that looked to have been about the same age as O'Hennesy, give or take a few years possibly. "Tori, Tom, seeing as you two opted to not stay for the brief history lesson, let me just quickly introduce you to Charles Mosely, owner of the Bruin's Den."

"Chuck, Chuck Mosely. Please, if any more of your students call me Charles, I'll start thinking that I'm a lot older than you're making me out to be." The man's voice was raspy, like that of a jazz musician, but there was also a youthful element to it, one that was a bit tough to accurately pinpoint. "Good to meet you," He said as he held his arm out across the bar, shaking it with Tori as he and Tom exchanged nodding glances.

"You own this place?" Tori asked, finding herself taking another widening look throughout the entire place, finding herself more appreciating the size of it all.

Chuck nodded, "For the better part of the last fifteen or so years. God, makes me feel old now saying that."

"In addition to that, Chuck's been basically an unofficial adviser to our major. Provided feedback, offered advice to students, given them room to practice, things like that. Without his help, hard to say where we'd be now." O'Hennesy spoke with gleaming admiration, Tori immediately picking up on the amount of respect he held for Mosely.

"I prefer not to look in 'what ifs'. The main thing is that some of you are performing tonight, right?"

There was a bit of silence throughout the students, none of them wanting to acknowledge that truth. Tori found it weird that nobody looked excited like how she honestly was. Perhaps it was the fact that none of them had really performed before, the very real possibility of stage fright being forefront in their minds.

"Yes, should they be up for it," O'Hennesy spoke loudly, but at the same time in an inviting way. He didn't want to pressure anyone to perform, but he was hopeful that there might have been a couple of students that'd be singing beyond the two already set. "These two though, they're definitely going to," he said, referring to and pointing towards Tom and Tori.

Chuck nodded as he examined the two students. Tori didn't seem all that phased, but if anything, excited. With Tom, there was a bit of indifference, perhaps a bit of panic, but he did a good job keeping it hidden nonetheless. "Excellent." He turned to O'Hennesy, "Now, I don't know how you wanna do this. If they're entering in tonight's competition, I can push them up, have them go one and two in the entries."

"How does that sound for you two?" O'Hennesy inquired, focused on Tom and Tori, rather than the rest of the class. If someone was going to sing, it fell upon them to step up; otherwise it was fair to assume that they'd just sing come Monday.

Tori shrugged her shoulders, "That's fine with me." While she might have looked to be indifferent about the whole thing, she was actually excited about entering. Besides the fact that it was a singing competition, the fact that she could very likely end up beating Jade and Andre – and even Beck too if he were to enter – and then have the freedom to do whatever she'd like with the tickets, it was too appealing to pass up on.

"And you Tom?"

To Tori's disappointment, Tom didn't seem as receptive as to the idea, shaking his head. "Nah. Really not feeling it."

Perhaps unsurprisingly, his decision was immediately met with mocking remarks and claims of being afraid from the other students, something that Tori couldn't help but find a bit hypocritical. So, if they're going to give him crap because he doesn't want to enter, that means they're going to right? To show him up?

"Hey now, that's not necessary." O'Hennesy chastised the others. "You don't have to enter it, but that does mean that you'll have to wait until everyone who did enter has gone up before you can. Might take a little while."

Oh there's no way that he's going to stick around for maybe hours for this. He's definitely going to enter.

Tom sighed, seeming to have made up his mind as soon as O'Hennesy brought up the fact that he'd have to wait. "Fine. I'll enter the contest I guess." Even though it wasn't clear as to how many people did enter, it was probably the furthest thing from what he actually wanted to do. Stick around for hours at a place that you didn't want to be in the first place, it was a no-brainer for him.

Chuck clapped his hands from behind the counter, satisfied that what seemed like the final missing link had been found and taken care of. "Excellent. Now, just real quick, which of you two will be going up first?"

Tori and Tom exchanged glances for a moment before Tori rose her hand meekly, "I'll go."

"Good luck," she overheard Tom say as he proceeded towards the counter, taking a seat as he prepared to watch her perform.

"Very good," Chuck said, his words trailing as he took not only Tori by surprise but a good deal of the people in the immediate area as he got up onto the counter, showing some spring which his appearance otherwise hid. "Everyone!" His voice boomed through the speakers as Tori saw the mic that he seemingly made appear from nowhere, "Welcome to the Bruin's Den! Glad to have you all here!"

A roaring applause echoed throughout the place, it putting into a much better perspective of just how many people were actually there.

"It's great to see so many people here tonight! I hope it's not because all the parties got busted up already… To the point, it's time to begin the fifth annual singing contest. I'm sure I don't have to explain, but for the five or six people unaware, we're awarding four tickets to tomorrow's football game. Apparently it's a big one or something." Several cheers and snickers echoed throughout the crowd. "We'll be accepting late participants for the next ten minutes so if you're looking to enter, do so now!" He paused for a moment as he watched at least a dozen or so people quickly make their way towards the bar counters, some of them undoubtedly hoping to either grab a drink or place an order of food, but there would be at least some who were entering. "Now then, let's give it up for the first contestant of tonight's festivities! Tori Vega!"

A great deal of applause echoed throughout the place, much of the heaviest concentration being not just from the gathering of the students in Tori's class, but also the reunited group of Jade, Andre, and Beck, all now having moved more towards the counters themselves for a seat as opposed to standing the entire time. "Nervous Jade?" Andre asked, noting the surprise on her face of hearing Tori's name called.

"Hardly," Jade coolly remarked. Now it's going to be fun! She watched now as Tori took the stage, the Latina being perhaps the biggest contender between her and the thousand dollars she stood to make. And as the music began to play, she couldn't help but roll her eyes, "Of course she'd pick this one!"

Are you listening? Hear me talk, hear me sing.

Open up the door, is it less, is it more?

When you tell me to beware, are you here? Are you there?

Is it something I should know? Easy come, easy go.

Nodding your head, don't hear a word I said

I can't communicate, when you wait, don't relate

I try to talk to you but you never even knew,

So what's it gonna be? Tell me can you hear me?

It didn't take much for her performing to get those in attendance into a lively mood. Jade and Andre exchanged looks which spelt out a clear message that neither of them could argue; that Tori hadn't lost a step since Hollywood Arts.

I'm so sick of it, Your attention deficit

Never listen, you never listen.

I'm so sick of it, So I'll throw another fit.

Never listen, you never listen.

I scream your name,

It always stays the same.

I scream and shout,

So what I'm gonna do now is freak the freak out!

Similarly, nearest the counter, O'Hennesy and the rest of Tori's class seemed impressed themselves. While he already knew of what Tori was capable of, seeing that his trust wasn't misplaced, that he wasn't overselling her abilities, it was a refreshing fact. Alienating himself slightly from the rest of the group, Tom also seemed rather impressed, following the performance throughout.

I'm so sick of it, Your attention deficit

Never listen, you never listen.

I'm so sick of it, So I'll throw another fit.

Never listen, you never listen.

I scream your name,

It always stays the same.

I scream and shout,

So what I'm gonna do now is freak the freak out!

As those within the Bruin's Den cheered her on, some even clamoring for an encore, Tori took a slight bow before quickly departing from the stage. The appraising wasn't new to her, and for as nice as it was, she was more confident and satisfied with not just the fact that she had put on a great performance, but also that she had put everyone – including Jade – who might have been against her on notice.

Tori Vega was in it to win it.

"Good luck," she semi-mockingly said to Tom as she passed by him towards the counter, gently tapping his back as if to usher him off his seat.

With reluctance, Tom got up and started to slowly to take the opposite route Tori had just gone, waiting until Chuck would actually call him up onto the stage. "Tough to top that performance, but someone's gotta. Best of luck to our next contestant! Tom Black!"

"Now we finally get to see Mr. Tom," Jade remarked with a wicked smile on her face as both Andre and Beck became completely invested now in what was going on. If there was any doubt as to whether Jade's remark earlier in the day had left any impression on Andre, there was no more need. They did. "Oh. He's cute," Jade said, finding herself surprised. For whatever reason, she had presumed this Tom character to be a scrawny-little Sinjin-looking character, not the athletic-looking one standing alone on stage.

Beck said nothing, instead just turning towards Jade, an obviously-annoyed look on his face.

"This is the guy? Another meathead, what a shock," Andre said disapprovingly as he shook his head. From what little Jade had acquainted him of the whole situation over the duration of the day, he didn't like the whole thing. He knew how hard Tori had worked to get into UCLA, but not so they would abuse her talents and have her tutor some other guy. If this guy got into the major, he should have to put the same amount of work as she should, not doubly burden Tori. Can this guy even sing for that matter?

As he collected his thoughts and took a final breath, Tom opened his eyes to see the faces of everyone, all their focus on him. All of them waiting – just like him – for the music to start playing.

Am I wrong for thinking out the box from where I stay?

Am I wrong for saying that I choose another way?

I ain't trying to do what everybody else doin'

Just 'cause everybody doin' what they all do

If one thing I know, I'll fall but I'll grow

I'm walking down this road of mine, this road that I call home

She didn't want to say it, but Tori was surprised, perhaps even a bit impressed. Given how it seemed like Tom had been intentionally avoiding her, she had convinced herself that maybe the reason was because Tom couldn't perform well on stage, let alone sing. He was proving her wrong right now.

So am I wrong?

For thinking that we could be something for real?

Now am I wrong?

For trying to reach the things that I can't see?

But that's just how I feel,

That's just how I feel,

That's just how I feel,

Trying to reach the things that I can't see.

"He's not too bad," Beck couldn't help but admitting. In a way he felt torn, wanting to agree with Andre, to find a reason to not like this Tom guy, and certainly from the time he first took the stage to now, Andre had probably come up with a handful of reasons to not care for Tom. Beck found himself more reluctant to so quickly side with Andre, but that also didn't mean he wasn't about to welcome Tom with open arms either. On that front, he found himself more siding with Andre.

So am I wrong?

For thinking that we could be something for real?

Now am I wrong?

For trying to reach the things that I can't see?

But that's just how I feel,

That's just how I feel,

That's just how I feel,

Trying to reach the things that I can't see.

As his song finished, it was met with a similar round of applause like that of Tori's, though not quite as explosive. That's not a shock, especially after Tori's... Opting not to take a bow but instead just departing from the stage, Tom couldn't help but see O'Hennesy and Chuck Mosely speaking with another, a smile on the director's face. Is that about me? While he wondered what the two might be talking about, he knew thinking more about it would just irritate him. Returning towards where he been seating earlier, seeing the smile on Tori's face was a welcoming one.

"That was really good," Tori said, not bothering to hide her surprise. "You might have a shot at winning those tickets."

"I suppose," Tom said, somewhat indifferent to Tori's words of encouragement. Tori found herself dumbstruck by the apparent lack of care he displayed towards the contest. Hell, even with her praise, it was like none of this mattered to him, the prizes offered least of all. "Anyway, if by some miracle I do wind them, just say I deferred them to you."

It didn't quite dawn on Tori just what Tom was implying until he was about to disappear into the crowd. "Wait!" She called out, reaching out and taking hold of his wrist, "You're not staying!?"

Tom shook his head, "Look, he said that you and I had to sing. You killed it, and I did my thing. I don't have all night to be able to listen to what, a hundred people sing. I do have shit to do tomorrow and I do need my sleep."

Chuck Mosely's voice boomed again through the speakers, "Our next contestant! Jade West!"

Hearing Jade's name being called, Tori found herself tightening her grip into Tom's wrist, "At least stay for one more!" She could see the desire in his eyes to leave, "Please? She's one of my closest friends!"

Although not keen himself on staying all that much longer here, it wasn't looking like a situation that he could get out of, certainly not with Tori's nails sinking further and further into his skin. If things kept up, she may have well pierced through his skin. "Alright! Alright I'll watch your friend perform. Just please, let go of my wrist!"

Tori let go as there came a round of applause with Jade taking the stage. Turning in that direction, she saw Jade, looking right at her, smiling at the sight of Tori applying a vice grip to Tom's arm. Tori dreaded just what sort of dirty thoughts might have been going through Jade's head at the sight; undoubtedly something that she was going to hear about once the night was over. But as the music began to play, Jade's focus shifted from – in her eyes – the new couple to the rest of the audience.

I knew you were,

You were gonna come to me,

And here you are.

But you better choose carefully,

'Cause I'm capable of anything

Of anything and everything.

Make me your Aphrodite.

Make me your one and only.

But don't make me your enemy, your enemy, your enemy...

Throughout their time in Hollywood Arts, Jade had sung plenty of times before. Tonight though, it seemed like something had possessed her, causing Andre to think he was listening to someone different entirely. "Damn! Everyone's bringing their A game tonight!"

So you wanna play with magic?

Boy, you should know whatcha falling for!

Baby do you dare to do this

'Cause I'm coming atcha like a dark horse!

Are you ready for, ready for

A perfect storm, a perfect storm

'Cause once you're mine, once you're mine

There's no going back!

"Damn," Tom said aloud, his words being drowned out by the music blaring, though Tori was able to hear it, unable to do much more than nod in agreement and think that maybe Jade actually could win this.

The reaction from the crowd seemed to more rival that of what Tori had received earlier than that of Tom's performance, but that wasn't much of a shocker in itself. Jade was far from being a stranger when it came to performing and putting on a show, and this was proving to be no exception.

So you wanna play with magic?

Boy, you should know whatcha falling for!

Baby do you dare to do this

'Cause I'm coming atcha like a dark horse!

Are you ready for, ready for

A perfect storm, a perfect storm

'Cause once you're mine, once you're mine

There's no going back!

"Give it up for Jade West!" Chuck Mosely called out as applause overtook what pretty much anyone said during that time – and rightfully so.

Even Tori, who to a considerable degree figured that Jade was all talk earlier, couldn't help but respect the fact that Jade really did show up. She is REALLY determined to win those tickets I guess. Doesn't look at that great for Andre and Beck…

As the clapping died down, Tori felt a hand pat against her shoulder, turning her head slightly to see Tom, throwing up a hand as to indicate he was going. While she was disappointed by the fact that he wasted no time from the end of Jade's performance to leave, he did at least stay for her song. And even though she didn't want to admit it, she wasn't looking forward to having to wait to listen to everyone else who might have been a challenger. Outside of maybe Andre, Tori was pretty convinced that few, if anyone, could even contend to what she and Jade had dished out.

It had first been Tori who performed, followed by Tom – though the two of them were by intentional design – and then there was Jade after them. Tori hoped that this would continue with Andre performing next, though it didn't seem that it was meant to be. In fact, it seemed like every other person who wasn't named Andre that was being called to perform. At least though, there weren't nearly as many people who were actually entered into the contest as the people in the audience seemed to make it seem.

And not shockingly, perhaps only a small handful of those singing might have been able to contend against the initial trio.

But fortunately, the fact that there had been so much time that elapsed meant that there was actually room to maneuver through, which meant Tori was able to reunite with her friends without fear of having her phone snatched.

"Hey Vega! You couldn't think of a more original song to perform?" Jade immediately began, throwing a weak punch into Tori's shoulder.

Tori frowned as she gently rubbed her shoulder, actually feeling a little bit of pain from that punch. "Hey, it won it for me at Karaoke Dokie! Why not again?"

"You just performed that because you were scared! And you know it!" Jade continued to tease at Tori, the fact that it might have been the case seeming to loom over whatever comeback Tori might have come up with next. When it was clear that the Latina wasn't going to respond any further, Jade continued on, "So, where's your new boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend!" Tori almost found herself yelling out, knowing that it was only a matter of time before Jade said something like that. And after seeing her practically trying to rip Tom's hand in a very easily misinterpret-able motion, why wouldn't Jade taunt her a bit?

"Keep telling yourself that Vega." Jade snickered as the latest mediocre performer finished. If there was anything that was to be gained from their time in Hollywood Arts, it was their ability to effectively block out bad singers as if they weren't there.

"And now, our final contestant of the night! Give it up for Andre Harris!" Mosely called out, met with much applause - no doubt to some degree because it meant the tickets would be rewarded and that some of them would be able to finally head home and get to sleep.

"Go get them Andre!" Tori exclaimed as he practically ran towards the stage, having been ready to perform since Jade had put on her performance.

His enthusiasm was equally well-received by the people, their clapping only seeming to grow louder as he reached the stage, the music almost immediately starting as that happened.

I see this life like a swinging vine

Swing my heart across the line

And my face is flashing signs

Seek it out and you shall find

Old, but I'm not that old

Young, but I'm not that bold

I don't think the world is sold

I'm just doing what we're told

I feel something so right

Doing the wrong thing

I feel something so wrong

Doing the right thing

I could lie, coudn't I, could lie

Everything that kills me makes me feel alive!

"You know, you gotta give it to Andre," Jade said, finding Andre's song all the more enjoyable having followed a medley of poorly performed ones. "He never seems to have a bad performance!"

Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep

Dreaming about the things that we could be

But baby, I've been, I've been praying hard,

Said, no more counting dollars

We'll be counting stars

"He really doesn't!" Tori couldn't help but agree. If there were a word to describe Andre, consistent was certainly an appropriate one, but she preferred not to actually tell Andre that. Knowing him, that compliment would go right to his head.

Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep

Dreaming about the things that we could be

But baby, I've been, I've been praying hard,

Said, no more counting dollars

We'll be counting stars

"And there we go! Give a huge round of applause to Andre Harris! And to each of our contestants tonight!"

As applause echoed throughout the Bruin's Den, it seemed like a perpetual state of excitement and anticipation swarmed the place. Everyone knew that all there was to come was the awarding of the tickets, and among the few people who might end up being the winner, hopefully the odds were in one of the group's favor. Add to it the fact that if Tom were to have won that Tori would get the tickets, it only seemed to sweeten their chances.

Taking a peak in the general direction that Chuck Mosely and O'Hennesy both still were, Tori had to suspect that he was consulting as to the judging, which made her all the more confident that she was going to win. After all, the director of her major, the one who had talked her up and was already putting huge faith and confidence in asking her to tutor Tom, if he were part of the judging, then there was no way he'd not vote for Tori!

"Well, we think we've come to a decision!" Mosely found himself stopping as applause and cheers roared out. "Now, it wasn't an easy one, much closer than I think any of the judges thought that it was going to be. But we did make our decision! The winner is…"

...

Outside The Bruin's Den

...

"That's such bullshit!" Andre whined as they began the walk back to their apartment.

"Aww, what's the matter Andre?" Jade mockingly asked. Though it might not have been wholly apparent, she was elated at how things ended up going.

But Andre was hardly in the mood for it. "Don't give me that fake sympathy crap Jade! You know exactly what I'm talking about!"

Jade held a hand over her heart, feigning a look of disgust. "You mean that the judges seemed to agree that I had the best performance of the group? That I, Jade West, was the winner of these four tickets?" The grin on her face as she pulled out the four tickets from her pocket seemed to stretch from ear to ear. A medley of frowns appeared among the rest of the group.

"I still can't believe that I didn't win… I was sure that if O'Hennesy was one of the judges that I'd have had it…" Tori remarked, still in a bit of disbelief herself. She wasn't as interested in the tickets perhaps as Andre or Beck might have been, but it was the fact that she – a Performing Arts student, having been highly praised with basically her mentor as one of the judges – didn't win. In the back of her mind, she was certain that she ended up disappointing O'Hennesy in some manner or another.

"Tori, I'm disappointed in you," Jade turned her focus from the groaning Andre to the Latina, "I would expect you to not rely on something as terrible as nepotism."

"Now now," Beck began, hoping to calm everyone down. Even though he was probably as disappointed as Andre was about the whole thing, he knew that showing that anger and frustration to Jade would just make things worse. "Jade, think you can maybe tone it down, just a little? After all, you won your tickets, like you said you were going to. No need to rub it in any further."

Jade moaned, knowing that if she didn't stop, Beck was just going to continue to berate her and try to make her feel guilty. "Fine!"

Tori couldn't help but notice in that moment how similar Jade and Tom seemed to have been. It was interesting, but at the same time, sort of terrifying too. "So, you going to sell those tickets Jade?"

"Well once we get back to the apartment, spread the word around, let people know I have these tickets. I'll know for certain by before the game tomorrow."

Andre groaned aloud, hating the idea of Jade selling those tickets. But unfortunately, there was nothing more that he could do about it, other than hope that Jade would do the right thing and give them the tickets.

And it was in realizing that wasn't going to happen that he realized that he and Beck were officially shit out of luck.

...

Inside The Bruin's Den

...

To some degree, it was impressive. Not just the fact that the Bruin's Den had managed to not only house but entertain such a large crowd for so long, but also the fact that very shortly following the conclusion of the singing competition that it cleared out, practically at once. Within a matter of only about fifteen or so minutes, there remained no actual patrons left; the only occupants being Chuck Mosely and the rest of the staff. Well, them and the lone man who still remained at the bar, gently tapping his knuckles against the counter top, causing Mosely to reluctantly slide an empty glass from one end to the other, ending only as it landed in O'Hennesy's open palm. "I would have figured you to have left with the rest of the masses."

"Eager to see me gone are you?" The director sarcastically remarked, his voice sounding tired.

That same fatigue was evident in Mosely's voice as well. "Doubt it'd make much difference regardless how I answer that." He glanced at his friend for a moment before kneeling before the small safe let behind the counter, hearing the bolts click open as he entered the code. "So what'll it be?"

"Scotch," O'Hennesy ordered.

"Scotch?" Mosely rose an eyebrow as he lifted his head just above the counter to see his friend's face. "What've you got on your mind?"

"Other than a massive headache you mean?"

Mosely nodded, quickly filling O'Hennesy's glass with the liquor as he revealed a similar glass from seemingly nowhere, pouring himself a drink once he was done. "I don't blame ya. Don't get me wrong; I do support the idea of competition, but there are some people who honestly have no business being on stage." Cynical, but not entirely wrong. It wasn't as though the Bruin's Den would like to get a reputation for holding "elitist" singing competitions as people might interpret them to be, but there were some singers who were so bad that it almost seemed like the ideal situation.

O'Hennesy took a long sip from his glass, nodding in agreement as he put the glass down. "It didn't much help that my students didn't perform either." It didn't take a genius to tell that he was disappointed, and greatly so at that. "You know you're going to perform either tonight or on Monday, and at least here there's a chance to win something. Why not give it a shot?"

Mosely shrugged, "I agree. Couldn't say for certain whether or not they'd beat that other girl, but it'd make things a bit more interesting at least. And hey, at least your two pet projects performed. And were damn good while at it!"

"Well Tori certainly was. And Tom; I'll admit, there's some talent there. It's raw, certainly not what I want to hear out of a second year student. But there's at least something to work with, if he would stop being a pain in the ass about the whole thing, that is."

"No progress then I take it?"

O'Hennesy shook his head, "Among one of the reasons why they didn't have a choice in the performing."

"So what, a Hail Mary?"

"Pretty much."

Having been about to take a sip from his drink, Mosely found himself putting his glass onto the counter instead, a new thought coming into his head. "How about you just tell them the truth?"

"And say what?"

It sounded like the director viewed the idea as toxic, to which Mosely couldn't understand in the slightest. "I don't know. How about, "I could very well lose my job if you two don't end up agreeing to work together." Ever consider that?"

"Oh yeah, and when they ask me why that is and I tell them why, go through all the details into how and why Tom got accepted, how do you think he's going to feel?" He took another sip from his drink before looking right at Mosely, "Put yourself in his shoes. How would you feel?"

Mosely took a sip himself, thinking for a moment before finally responding, "I'd be fucking pissed. That and devastated."

O'Hennesy hit his hand on the counter, as if to signify that his friend had given the jackpot answer, "Exactly. And the fallout that might come out of it? Shit, I could think of at least half a dozen scenarios that lead to not just me losing my job, but the college paying too."

"So what're you going to do then? Force them to work together?"

There was a conflicted look on O'Hennesy's face. If there were any scenario that he didn't want, it would be that. "Hopefully it doesn't come to that. From what I've been able to gather, Tori's on board. I just don't know where Tom stands."

"Well, let's say that for the sake of argument, come Monday he's on board."

"That'd be something..." The optimism in his voice trailed away, giving way towards doubt.

"Yet you don't sound all that convinced," Mosely topped their drinks. It was a good thing it was a Friday night, as he couldn't imagine the idea of having to teach a class hungover.

O'Hennesy sighed, giving a weak smile towards Mosely, "I just think all things considered, he's won't play ball. I mean, I hope he does." He took another sip, "But I don't know if he will."

A/N: So apologies for this having taken so long to get out to you all. The last month has been, to say the least, hectic. But I'm not going to attribute that as the sole reason that this chapter has taken so long to get done. To some extent, it was because I struggled with determining who was going to sing what - and to that, here are the songs featured: Tori (Freak the Freak Out by Victoria Justice), Tom: (Am I Wrong by Nico & Vinz), Jade: (Dark Horse by Katy Perry), and Andre: (Counting Stars by One Republic).

As well, a while ago I had written in an A/N that I pretty much had the story all mapped out, and I've since been reevaluating some of the chapters, some of the things I had planned. Now granted, there are a couple of events which I still foresee happening, so I'm not saying that everything is changing, but certainly a good deal of this story moving forward is in the unknown. Now, I've been deliberately silent as far as the pairings go because at the time, I had a clear idea of how it'd play. But now, after mentally going through multiple ways the story could play out, I really just have no idea how it'll play.

So to everyone who's enjoyed this story so far, my thanks go out to you. To those who've been reviewing, providing feedback, thank you as well. Hope you guys enjoy!