It was Cat's first day back to school since her father died, but she felt like she was ready to take on the world again. Returning to Hollywood Arts shouldn't be so bad, since she's got great friends to come back to and classes she truly enjoys being a part of. Cat stood at her locker, watching as her peers carried on with their daily lives, and let out a sigh as she began organizing her things.

"Cat!" a familiar voice called out, and Cat peeked out from behind her locker door and found Tori speeding towards her. Cat didn't have any time to blink before she was pulled into a tight hug. "It's so good seeing you back here," Tori said as she released Cat from the hug.

Cat smiled softly and nodded, "It's good to be back."

"Little Red!" Andre Harris yelled from across the hall, and joined the girls, giving Cat the same squeeze that Tori did. "It's great to have you back."

"It is pretty great!" Robbie's voice chimed in, and with Rex in hand, he added, "Don't you mean really great?"

Cat giggled lightly and looked around, wondering where Beck was. She quickly regretted asking, because the answer she received wasn't what she was expecting. She stared ahead of her in disbelief as Beck walked up to them, his hand intertwined with Jade's. Cat didn't know why it hurt her so much, and she felt her eyebrows crinkle slightly, then quickly looked down at the floor. There was an unnerving numbness that took over her body, and she tried to gather all her thoughts and throw them out some kind of window, but she felt like she was trapped within concrete walls.

"It's been a while," Jade said, and Cat finally looked up and could see an unfamiliar, almost friendly smile on Jade's face. Cat tensed up as Jade spoke again, "Welcome back."

Taking in a shallow breath, Cat met Jade's gaze and let out a barely audible, "Thank you." Then finally she gained the courage to look at Beck, who looked at her like he always has. Before he could say anything, the bell that sent them all hurrying to their classes rang, but she caught a glimpse of his eyes. There was something there, something different. It was a look that left her wondering all through the day. And then came lunch. She met her group of friends at the table that they usually sat at and decided to sit next to Tori, opposite to Beck and Jade. Cat sat silently as she poked at her salad with a fork, and she listened to her friends talk about things that she wasn't around to witness. It was almost like she was never gone, or more like, it was like she was still gone. All Cat could think about was the night of the pizza-eating contest, and she was just at a loss for words. Why was it such a surprise to her that he got back together with Jade? And why did it hurt her? Cat's eyes didn't leave her food for a single second until the bell rang to dismiss them from lunch, and she carefully glanced at where she knew Beck was sitting. He was watching her, as Jade teased Robbie about something. For a moment, the world was muted, and Beck locked her in a gaze that made her body lock as well. There was a mixture of apology, and concern in his eyes. It was the look of pity. Cat made a sound, that caused everyone to look at her, and for Beck to look away. She returned everyone's estranged looks with a scowl and without taking a second glance, she rushed out of the quad and hurried back into the school building. It was all finally coming to her. Everything Beck did, it was because he felt sorry for her. He wanted to own up for whatever he felt responsible for. Like she was sick and he took care of her because that's just what you're supposed to do. It left Cat speechless, how much pain she was feeling over some guy who wasn't even hers to worry about. Cat was startled by the feeling of her phone vibrating within her pants pocket. She looked around, using her surroundings to her advantage, and slid into the janitor's closet for privacy. The vibrating in her pocket continued, and all she could think about was how she wished her dad was here to talk to. Her father was the only man she could ever really depend on, and she was still getting used to the fact that he wasn't around anymore. Growing irritated, she finally yanked her phone out of her pocket, and answered the incoming call without even bothering to check the Caller ID. "What?" she yelled into the phone as tears slipped out of her eyes. Cat was starting to grow tired of crying all the time. It was a wonder how she had any tears left to cry.

"We need to talk," the voice on the phone said, which she translated to be Beck's. "Please don't cry, Cat."

"What do you want," she said, the bitterness she felt reflected in her voice.

"To talk to you," he answered calmly. As angry as she was, there was something soothing about his voice. "Where are you?"

"Guess," she said, her voice nearly a whisper. Then he hung up. She barely had time to react before the door swung open and Beck slipped into the room, shutting the door behind him. "Good guess."

"Thanks," Beck said quietly. "Did I do something wrong?" Cat propped herself up onto a desk that was placed against the wall and brought her knees up, as she hugged them. Without answering him with words, she just stared at him, which she realized she did a lot of. "Well, if you're not going to talk, then I guess I will. Look, I don't know what's wrong, if you're still upset over everything that's happened, which you have every right to be. But what happened to what you said up there? About being happy?"

"This isn't about my dad," Cat interrupted him, her expression slowly turning into a scowl.

"Then what is it about?" Beck asked, with his arms crossed over his chest. "I'd really love to know. You've been looking at me like a piece of meat since you got back to school. You're looking at me the way Jade would when we were fighting."

Hearing him say Jade's name was a like a blow to the head, and she tilted her head back to rest it against the wall. "I'm not doing anything like Jade."

"Yeah? You're starting to act like her, with all your scowling." Cat couldn't believe Beck was actually scolding her, letting alone comparing her to Jade.

"I'm nothing like Jade!" Cat said, her voice beginning to rise. "So if that's what you want me to be, then sorry, but that's not me."

"I never said I wanted you to be like Jade," Beck's voice started to tenderize. "Why would I ever want that? You sound stupid right now."

His words struck her in such a way that her body was tingling with adrenaline and anger, and she could hardly contain herself. "Screw you," she muttered and jumped off the desk, pushing her way past Beck. She got as far as wrapping her fingers around the doorknob when she felt Beck's hand on her arm, and she looked back at him to say, "Let go of me."

"Can we just talk, Cat?" he asked after a moment of silent strain. His voice sounded exhausted, and Cat was weakened by the look in his eyes. They told her that she needed to hear what he had to say, and Cat just didn't have the strength to say no. So, defeated, she walked back to her side of the closet and looked at him.

"Alright, talk," she said, as calm and collected as she possibly could be.

"Are you mad at me because I'm back together with Jade?" Beck asked as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"No," Cat answered, even though she was still asking herself that question.

"Then what?" he tried.

"I'm mad at you because I," Cat started. Her words stopped as soon as she felt herself hit some sort of mentally-fabricated wall.

"You what?" Beck pushed on.

"I don't know," was all Cat could say. And then she pushed her way past him once again, but this time he let her go.