Chapter 1: Bits Of Fallen Sky

Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious or any of the characters.

Author's Note: My first Jade/Tori fanfic. Hope you all like it Please review, I'd like to hear what you guys think.

"In my victory... ah, damn it!" muttered Jade darkly. She took a nonchalant sip of smoldering black coffee from the cup in her hand to rid her head of the jovial tune. Naturally, it didn't work. She had tried everything to stop herself from singing Make It Shine over the past couple of months, but all of her valiant attempts were met with a resounding failure. "Of all the days for Senjin not to bother me" she contemplated wryly, savoring the distinctive bitterness of the liquid caffeine on her tongue. Shaking her soft raven locks, she walked with a powerful stride over to her locker, commanding the awestruck stares of her fellow Hollywood Arts students. There may have been a few unnerving changes at the school, but Jade West still reigned supreme over the social arena.

"Jade! Oh Jade!" The Goth closed her eyes wearily as soon as her ears picked up on the irritatingly shrill voice. It was a wonder to her as to how anyone could be so perpetually annoying with such an indifference to it all. She turned around to see Trina Vega beamingly strut her way to where she was, surrounded by an almost tangible aura of unfounded supremeness. Jade had often given serious thought regarding Trina's mental shortcomings. Her theories ranged from an unlucky gene pick to being dropped on head as a baby, but she had come to the sound conclusion that Tori Vega's big sister had no other way to be. Her typical lack of common sense, rivaled only by Cat's, seemed to be written in the stars. Resisting the need to sigh, she gave her full attention to the goddess of blonde moments standing in front of her. "I tried calling you yesterday, why didn't you pick up?" she asked. Her cheery voice took a slight dip. "I wasn't that emotionally invested in taking the call" replied Jade flatly, arching her eyebrow. The Latina nodded her head knowingly. "That time of the month huh?" she whispered, making it clear that she missed the inherent sarcasm. "You know, I find it best to use the thin pads, they give you so much more freedom to walk-"

"What do you want?" interrupted Jade. Trina clicked her tongue. "Tori isn't coming in today. She's sick… again. Will you take her work for her?"

"Do I look like her secretary to you?"

"Honestly, you do have that whole 'I'll end up in a dead end job' look going for you."

"Get out of my face." Trina pulled her lips into a withering pout. "You know, you'd make a lot more friends if you were nicer."

"And the world would be a whole lot better if you didn't exist" said Jade sweetly. The older girl's face fell into a furious mask and turned on her high heels. Heatedly parading away, she muttered something about being unappreciated and that she'd show everyone once she was a famous singer. The Goth rolled her eyes. "That girl is five kinds of stupid" she remarked to herself.

Turning back to the contents of her locker, the black-haired beauty felt a small pang of worry explode in her gut. This was the fourth time that Vega hadn't shown up for school this week. Each time, Trina would say that she wasn't feeling well but even with an illness; it seemed so unlike her to miss a day of school. Tori was the kind of person who thrived on social contact with her tight circle of friends, and more to the point, she loved being at Hollywood Arts. "She must be pretty sick for her not to come" thought Jade pensively. She unconsciously stretched her hand out for the copy of Pygmalion they were supposed to study in class today. "She would have liked this." A small smirk followed the reflection, only to be completely erased by an instinctive flinch. This was happening far too often. She wasn't supposed to think that way at all, let alone of her, but it couldn't be helped. Such contemplations would waft their way into her psyche and sensually taunt her, beckoning her to surrender to them. Each time, they put up a greater attack, becoming harder to fight off. Her pride wouldn't allow anything less than victory, but Jade slowly found herself changing in ways that shook her down to her very core. Every time she looked in the mirror she would find the girl staring back becoming that much more unrecognizable. Gone were the days of where the effervescent Latina would get on her nerves with her for-the-better-of-others antics. The smarter, and more talented, of the Vega sisters had grown on her; and it frightened the Goth to no end. She had to hold on to what was supposed to matter, like Beck. "I won't slip. I'll be fine." Unfortunately, the mental reinforcement all but convinced to not stray from her beaten path. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, Jade West was dangerously close to slipping into chasm from which there was no return. If she ever fell, the consequences would be devastating – not just to her, but to those she cherished, and she wouldn't have that. For the sake of everyone's happiness, she could not fall.

"Hey babe" whispered a familiar voice. The Goth didn't need to turn around to see who it was: the usual affectionate whisper had played on her ears too many times before, to the point where it became instinctive. She felt the soft linger of his hands lightly place themselves on her hip, teasing her just enough to want more. There was no doubt about it: the boy was good at what he did, but she wasn't going to let him off that easy. "You're late" she stated monotonically, breaking the link of his arms and turning around to offer him the full extent of her glare. One unseen push of her hand shut the locker door with a loud bang, causing Beck to withdraw away from her body. He immediately put on his best apologetic face. "Traffic was crazy."

"I had to deal with Trina alone. Are you aware of how painful that is?"

"I've had some experience, yeah." Around them, the three-layered tone of the bell rang to herald the start of the day. Beck pushed a loose bang of his waterfall of a mane from out of his face and raised his eyebrows. "Are you gonna be like this the entire day?" he asked in a sickly sweet preschooler tone. The Goth gifted him with her second eye-roll of the hour. "I'll consider it" she hinted maliciously as she grabbed his arm and led him to class. The comforting pressure of his skin against her own always made her feel safe. Not even under medieval torture would she say it, but Beck Oliver really was her sanctuary. He was the rock that anchored her to this world. The problem was that if one stayed protected for too long, they start to get restless and yearn to wander, a truth Jade knew all too well. Tori Vega was a seductive illusion that threatened to tear her world apart.

-xoxoxoxoxo-

Lunchtime came its usual blissful chaos, liberating the students from their thespian duties for an hour. Around their usual table, a preoccupied Jade sat next to Beck, facing the rest of the people she had come to call her friends. As she took in the social atmosphere, a small smile helplessly wound around her lips. Robbie and Rex sat next to Andre, bothering him out of his skin with their incessant arguing. Today, it seemed that Rex had stolen Robbie's Notting Hill DVD and refused to tell him where it was in a desperate attempt to inject some testosterone into his being. "Someone really needs to lock that boy up in a mental institution" thought the Goth. Her dark eyes shifted over to Cat. The redhead seemingly lost all sense of the English language and spoke in a cacophony of sighs. Her hands were tightly linked with Daniel's, her current boyfriend – and Tori's ex. Optically examining him with scrutinizing detail, she understood why the Latina had been drawn to a guy like him. In a sense, he was the anti-Beck: devastatingly charming in his own way of course, but with a grittier, more enigmatic edge that her own boyfriend lacked. He filled the 'tall, dark and mysterious' profile perfectly, making it his own with the occasional smile he flashed.

"Hey, is Trina around here?" asked Andre, looking around the table. His inquiry instantly killed the small buzz of chatter and was met with the icy stares emanating from six pairs of eyes. "Man, what is up with you?" rebuked Rex. "Didn't that crazy grandmother of yours teach you to be grateful for a blessing?"

"Please don't curse the vibe" said Beck laughingly. Andre shrugged apologetically. "Hey, I'm just asking. She said she wanted to see me at lunch. If the girl doesn't pitch up, all the better for me." Everyone nodded with varying sentiments of agreement. Trina Vega was a vapid storm that was best avoided for the sake of retaining their sanity. "Speaking of Trina," piped up Robbie loudly, "does anyone know when Tori's coming back to school?"

"Yeah, she's hasn't been here all week" cooed Cat dulcetly. "Is she, like dead or something?"

"Babe, I don't think Tori's dead" whispered Daniel, desperate to save his girlfriend from her daily faux pas. He needn't have worried: everyone was so used to Cat's deluded fantasies that they worried for her mental health if she ever showed the slightest bit of logic. "That is what you think white boy" exclaimed Rex. The puppet took a long, careful look around the table before continuing his address in a hushed voice. "For all we know, our little Latina might have been eaten by that monster she calls a sister." Robbie shook his head wearily. "Rex, Trina did not eat Tori."

"Have you seen that girl's thighs lately? Man, she is like a walking horror movie!"

While the rest of the table burst out in laughter, Jade put a quick smile on her face to appease everyone and quickly lost herself in the world of her thoughts. Tori's continued absence from their group was a growing knot of consternation with her. The rest of the group was great, but it was her persona that had transformed them into a clique of gods at the school, minus all the annoying hubris. She was the effervescent ray of sunshine, so politely confused in the beginning but so strikingly confident now, that stirred up everyone to she came into contact with. Hollywood Arts was definitely not the same without her bubbly smile or contagious laugh. The Latina's personality was so bright; her noted lack of appearance cast a wide shadow over the tight group. "And it kills you inside, doesn't it?" asked a small voice in the Goth's head. "Face it West; you've become more than used to her and not in that friendly sort of way." Without anyone noticing, Jade bit her lip to stop herself from delving any further into Tori, but it was for naught. The girl had wound her way too tightly into her darkened psyche to show any signs of leaving. "I'm with Beck, I'm with Beck, I'm with Beck."

"Doesn't matter West, the heart wants what the heart wants." Underneath the table, her fist formed into a tight ball of rage, causing her nails to dig into her milky flesh. She had to face it – the voice was right. When the heart wants something, it will move heaven and earth to get it, no matter how many people get hurt along the way… even if itself is among them.

-xoxoxoxoxo-

The last day of the school week always heightens the mood at schools, and Hollywood Arts was certainly no exception. The first period hadn't even begun and already comparisons were being made at various weekend plans. The Goth took in the sight from against her locker. Today, she had abandoned her usual go-to caffeine fix in favor of a raspberry smoothie. She always took a particular liking to the fruit – it was cute to look at but the aesthetic qualities belied the cutting edge of its tartness. With a final intake of the last dredges, she threw the plastic cup into a nearby bin. "Another day without her huh?" gloated that irritating voice smugly. Jade shook her head, annoyed at the fact that either God had given her a real bitch of a conscience or that she had the worst pick of multiple personality disorder ever. Glancing at her watch, she grinded her teeth. Trina might not have shown up today, but Beck was late again. Sighing to herself, she headed over to the bathroom, wondering if her boyfriend's tardiness would ever be corrected.

Pushing the door open, the Goth found herself faced with a devastating sight. There; against the plain sterility of tiles, sinks and mirrors; stood the girl she had been longing to see all week. Tori Vega stood gazing deeply at her reflection, but the characteristic grin was substituted with the fall of tears. In the faded light of the room, they looked like diamonds falling from a goddess's eye. The Latina's complexion was pale – no makeup covered up her skin. She utterly bare, vulnerable to every harm the world could hurl in her direction. Jade's heartbeat raced up several notches to supersonic level. This was exactly the kind of situation she wanted to avoid, but how could she ignore her? She was so broken. The occasional gasp she let out punctuated the air with an aura of mourning. "I have to" thought the Goth worriedly as she silently walked over to Tori. The Latina seemed so immersed in her own misery she ignored Jade's closing distance from her and only reacted when the Goth tenderly placed a hesitantly compassionate hand on her shoulder. With a startling flinch, Tori turned around and revealed the full extent of her destruction to Jade, taking the raven haired girl's breath away in one swoop. "God Jade" she sniveled, as if sorry for her melancholy. "I must look a mess."

"It's not that far from the truth, but that's not important" said Jade quietly, temporarily drowning herself in the limpid chocolate of the Latina's eyes. "Vega, what's going on?" Tori shook her head. "It's nothing, don't worry about it."

"It must be something to get you all worked up like this."

"Forget it, I'm fine."

"Right, because its so healthy for a cheery fluff like yourself to cry in front of a mirror every morning. Is this part of a new beauty regime?"

"Jade , please" pleaded Tori faintly. Her quivering lips matched the pulsing shimmer in her eyes to perfection. "Let it go."

"Tell me" said the Goth, taking a step closer. The Latina turned her head upwards with tightly shut eyes and bounced on her feet. Jade could see that she wasn't making this easy for her, but she would have to put away that guilt for another time. Right now, she had a job to do. With one final sniff, Tori returned her gaze to the Goth. Her eyes conveyed eons of untold pain and suffering, almost suffocating Jade in their intensity. Her confession came out in a soft whisper that robbed the Goth of what little air she had left. "I'm pregnant."

That's chapter one people. Please let me know what you thought and if I should carry on! Hit that review button like crazy please! Till next time!