So, this is my first crack at a fanfic. I hope all goes well. I have seen a ton of Christmas Jori fanfics here. So I thought about making something different. This story takes place a few days after A Christmas Tori. Rated T for now - possibly M in the near future.

Disclaimer: Is owning VICTORiOUS worth it? Absolutely! But I don't have the money, so no, I don't own it. I own a flip phone, though!

Tori's POV

December 24th, 2012. 8:00 PM. Christmas Eve. The day before the actual holiday. The time where families and relatives get together for a heck of a good time, eating lavish meals, exchanging presents wrapped in colorful gift wrappers, and tell humorous stories about their lives. Right now, you would think I'm with my whole family hanging out the mall or visiting aunts, uncles and cousins. However, that is not the case. You see, my dad, the police officer, is on duty today and won't come back until 10 PM. It sucks not to have him at our Christmas Eve dinner but work is work. Heck, I would do the same too, over time pay is pretty decent, especially for a cop. At the moment, it's just me, my sister Trina, and my mom celebrating Christmas Eve. I could have invited my friends over but they have their own family, too. I didn't want to disrupt their own plans. Mom made her amazingly delicious Vega family pot pie! Not a bad way to celebrate Christmas Eve. We're about to indulge ourselves in heaven in the form of a pot pie when the door bell rang.

"Must be Christmas carolers. Tori, grab twenty bucks from my purse." My mom tells me. I do just that and head for the door. I was expecting some singers singing some cheery holiday songs but when I turned the knob and opened the front door, I was greeted by a different kind of singer.

"Cat? What are you doing here?" I haven't seen her since last Friday where we sang for André's music teacher, Anthony, helping André get the A he deserves. I'm a bit surprised to see her here at my house, though. I have two reasons. One, she has her own family and I'm assuming they would be celebrating together. And two, I didn't invite her here. But then again, we always go to each other's houses unexpectedly. That's what best friends do, right? Still, I'm shocked to see her here but happy, nonetheless. I forgot, I still have the twenty dollars in my hand. I shove the bill immediately in my pocket.

"Hey Tori." She says. She sounds so solemn, like that time when she heard about the local pet store closing down. She's wearing dark clothes just like that time too (she protested in front of the store itself). Usually, she's wearing something bright and colorful that makes Jade puke, but now, she's wearing a black sweater and ripped denim jeans (black, too) similar to what Jade usually wears. "Can I come in?" She asks with a pout almost devouring her upper lip. I can't say to that now, can I? Even with the dark colors surrounding her body, she still manages to look cute, especially with that pout.

"Of course. Merry Christmas, by the way." I greet her as she enters the house. She responds to my holiday greeting with a simple 'Yeah'. She kicks off her sneakers and immediately proceeds to sit on my couch, legs lifted so she is hugging her knees. Now I know something is definitely up with her. She doesn't even seem to notice my sister and mom in the same room as her.

"Hi Cat. Merry Christmas sweetie. Come and sit with us. We have pot pie. It's delicious." My mom invites her to eat. She just shakes her head and politely replies no. Apparently, she didn't want to eat because this moment is reserved for the Vega's only and she shouldn't interrupt with our dinner. Well, she did kinda interrupt us before eating. That doesn't matter now, because I would have let her in anyway, even if her reason was just to greet us a Merry Christmas and give us a platter of home made cookies. I try to console Cat but she insisted that I should eat first and have a good time with my family. She insists. Well, I guess I'll talk to her later. There is a meat pie made in a pot waiting for me and I don't want to eat it cold. I sit down on the chair where I could see Cat clearly while I'm feasting on this pot pie. Damn, my mom never fails me. This pot pie is the best so far. Maybe, I'll save some for Cat later. We, the Vega's, try to strike up a conversation with each other but the awkward tension prevents us from doing. That and we are really gobbling up this pot pie so fast, we couldn't even try to speak. I take a few glances at Cat while I'm eating. She's just sitting there, knees hugged close to her chest, eyes downcast, like she's about to cry. Me being the best friend I am, I actually stop for a minute and walk towards her. She doesn't even look up at me when I sit down next to her.

"Is everything alright?" I ask her. She seems hesitant at first to answer, but she doesn't give me the clichéd answer of 'I'm fine'.

"No. I-I'll talk to you later. You should enjoy this moment with your... family." At that moment, she looks me in the eye. Wow, her eyes tell the story. They're filled with sorrow and forlorn. I observed something else, too. She choked a bit before finishing her sentence. Does her problem involve her family? I guess I'll have to wait until after dinner to find out for myself. I return to my seat with my mom giving me a worried look. Usually, Trina doesn't really care about her that much. 'If it doesn't involve me, I don't care.' That's what she'd say. But this time, she seems a bit concerned with Cat. Just a bit, though, as she still keeps on munching on the pot pie. I turn my attention to my mother who is looking at the red head on our couch with worry.

"Is there a problem? She's seems upset." My mom's voice is filled with genuine concern.

"Yeah. I'm gonna talk to her after dinner. She probably wants to confide in me privately, whatever her problem is." I tell my mom. I will help her. Or at least, try to.

"Maybe she got kicked out of the house." Trina suddenly interjects while shoving a spoonful of pot pie in her not really talented mouth.

"Trina! You're not helping. Plus, she can hear you." I screamed at her. Well, not really screamed per se. Just raised my voice a little to make it sound like I'm angry. And I am. A bit.

"Hey, I'm just giving my insight from what I can notice. If she's here and not with her family right now, then the problem lies there, with her family." Damn, her logic makes sense. I can't think of anything to counter that. I just shrug my shoulders and return back to eating dinner. It's gone cold now but that's hardly the main reason I've lost my desire to eat. Seeing Cat truly broken, that is what made me lost my appetite.

I only took a few more bites before placing my plate on the kitchen sink. I was supposed to clean the dishes today, but my mom made Trina do it as I had to comfort Cat with her problem she still hadn't told me. After hearing a few complaints from my sister, I head to Cat almost immediately. Before that, I grabbed a bowl and filled it with pot pie. Hopefully, I can give this to Cat later. Cat looks like she still hadn't eaten. When I get there, she's still in the same position ever since she came here. And that was like 15 minutes ago. I tell her to go to my room so we can talk this out. She nods weakly and I lead her to my room. Man, she really does look broken. Her hands hide in the sleeves of her sweater and her head is down while walking. Once we get in, I lock the door and set down the bowl of pot pie on my desk. My room, filled with shades of purples and whites, is a contrast to what Cat is wearing right now. Cat immediately lies face down on my bed. And then she starts crying. She's been holding it in all this time. I sit down next to her and rub her back while she let's it all out. We don't even talk for a good 10 minutes. I just let her cry until she starts to speak up.

"I hate him I hate him I hate him I hate him I hate him!" She screams at the top of her lungs, muffled only by my bed. She went from soft sobs to high-pitched wails.

A/N: Good place to stop, right? Am I evil? Probably not.

Yeah, it's a short chapter. This is kind of like a prologue, before the main story comes into play. So, what do you think happened to Cat? Leave your opinions via review. I just love those.