The last dance

She is sitting on the floor of Hollywood Arts, below her locker. Her stare is empty. Her eyes are dead. She feels nothing, It was too much. Others pass by and greet her. She doesn't greet back. She doesn't acknowledge them. She doesn't care. Not about them. Not about anything now. She stopped caring about life altogether. Trina is not at school today. She is crying with her mother. A police is officer still with them. He was the bearer of bad news. Mr. Vega had been shot during an attempt to stop a bank robbery. The robbers opened fire out of nowhere. A bullet hit him right in the chest, ripping his left lung into pieces. He bled out a minute late. There was nothing anyone could do. Tori picked her things up that morning and walked to school, ignoring her crying sister and hysteric mother. She didn't know what else she could do. Something inside her died the very moment she heard it. Now she is sitting here, not registering time or space. She doesn't think about anything. She is simply sitting there. She felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She didn't turn her head to see who it was. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered.

"Tori. I heard about your father. I'm sorry, but you shouldn't even be here." Andre said. He didn't know how to approach his best friend now. He didn't know how to deal with a situation like this. He never wanted to find out either.

She didn't respond. She didn't look at him. Her hands were hugging her knees. Her head rested on them.

"Tori, say something, please." He begged. He never saw her like this. This wasn't her. This wasn't the beautiful, happy, carefree girl who always helped everyone. How could life do this to her?

Cat and Robbie came by. Oblivious to what happened, they greeted them as always.

"Hey guys. What's up?" Robbie greeted. He looked at the younger Vega, confusion filling his face.

"Tori?" Cat came closer to her. "Tori? What's wrong?" she placed both arms on Tori's shoulders. There was no response. Not even a look. She looked back up at Andre. "Did something happen." Andre took them aside for a moment. He didn't want to tell it in front of Tori, scared he would break her even more.

"Guys, her dad was shot during that bank robbery this morning. He is dead." Andre explained, looking back at Tori, who hadn't moved an inch for the past thirty minutes.

Shock filled their faces. Robbie was stunned silent while Cat, putting her hand over her mouth to prevent her from squealing, moved over to Tori and wrapped her arms around her friend.

"Oh my god. Tori, I'm sorry." She whispered. No reaction. She tightened her grip, her carefree eyes switching from shock to worry periodically.

"Why is she here? Shouldn't she be at home or…?" Robbie asked Andre, never finishing his sentence. He couldn't find anymore words.

"I already asked her. I got the same reaction you guys did. We should bring her to Lane." He said, He saw Beck and Jade approaching. They were back together, thanks to the lifeless girl and the talk she had with them three days ago.

"Hi guys." Beck greeted as usual, Jade holding his hand, a cup of coffee in her other hand. She notices Cat hugging Tori for dear life. She walks over to them, not knowing what was going on.

"What happened, Vega? Did your hamster die?" She sneered, a smirk appearing on her face. That smirk disappeared a second later, thanks to the dead-glare she received from the usually perky redhead. No reaction from Tori. No look of annoyance. No eye rolling. Nothing.

"What the…?" Beck uttered, looking at them, then back at Andre and Robbie. Andre hated repeating the same story, but he had to. He had to be the calm one in this situation.

"Her father got shot this morning. The bank robbery a few blocks away. He's dead." Beck's expression was something no one ever believed could be seen on the usually cool, laid back teenager. Jade looked over at them, realization hitting her like a meteor.

"Oh god. Tori…" she gasped, guilt forming itself within her for the past remark. She stood there, not knowing what to say. To do. Beck walked next to her, Robbie and Andre quick to follow.

"Tori. I'm so sorry." He said, his voice filled with empathy. They watched the girl in Cat's arms. It wasn't the Tori they knew. This girl was dead. No emotions could be seen on her. No reaction. No movement. Only blinking and breathing were visible, and she wouldn't have done them if it wasn't automatic.

"Tori, please, let us take you home." Andre pleaded. She shouldn't be here. He didn't know where she should be now, but definitely not here.

"Tori?" Jade leaned down, placing a hand on Tori's arm. "Tori, please, say something?" she pleaded, to no avail.

"I'll go get Lane." Robbie left, Beck right behind him.

"Tori, please, we want to help you." Cat said softly, never letting go of her. Suddenly she felt something. Tori began to shake. Her eyes filled with tears. She didn't cry out loud. She was holding everything inside her. The tears were running down her cheeks. Jade was rubbing her back, trying to comfort her as much as possible. She saw Cat chocking up herself.

"Tori, we are all here. Please." He pleaded. God, why her? What should he do? Is there anything he can do at all?

Robbie, Beck and Lane walked over to them.

"Tori. I'm sorry about your loss. Please, you shouldn't be at school. Go home, I will notify the teachers." Lane said softly. This was completely new to him too.

"I… I can't go home." Tori spoke up for the first time. Everyone turned their heads to her, shocked and relieved at the same time that Tori had spoken up.

"Why not?" Cat asked softly.
"Mom. Trina. Everything… reminds me of him. I… I…" she was gone again. The shaking got stronger. It was overwhelming her. She was broken, and she knew it.

"We need to do something, guys." Beck spoke up. He looked around. Nobody knew what to do. This was like a nightmare. All this time, Tori had helped them with every situation that ever came, and now, when she needed them, no one knows what to do.

"Tori, you can stay at my place. My dad is never home anyway. Do you want to stay at my place?" Jade asked softly, the others staring at them, desperately hoping for any reaction. Tori weakly nodded. Jade got up and faced her friends and Lane.

"Guys, look, I'll get her to my place and she will stay there for now. If she doesn't want to go home, we can't force her. We can't leave her alone either. One of us should always keep an eye on her.

"I agree. If you want you can take turns in watching her. You will be excused from school, of course." Lane said. He continued:" I will call her mother and explain. She shouldn't worry about more things now. Take care of her and tell me if you need anything." He said and went to his office.

Jade and Cat helped Tori up. Her body was numb. She was barely able to stand without assistance. Cat had put her arm around Tori's waist, helping her walk. They were walking towards the parking lot.

"Guys, look, I will go get some of her things and see how Trina and Miss Vega are. You get her to Jade's place." Robbie said.

"I'm going too." Beck added, searching for his car keys.

"I'm going with you two. She wouldn't want you to go trough her things." Cat said as she helped Tori enter Jade's car. The three of them went off to Beck's car. Andre was sitting in the backseat with his best friend while Jade was driving.

Tori hadn't said anything else since last time. The silence was awful. They felt helpless. They felt stupid for not knowing how to help her. They were angry at themselves, evident from Jade's aggressive driving and Andre's facial expression.

They finally arrived at Jade's place. Jade unlocked her front door while Andre helped Tori in. He sat her down on the couch. He could barely hold it together himself. Watching his best friend like this was too much for him. Tori lied down on the couch. She had stopped crying in the car. Now her face was emotionless again. Jade sat next to her, gently stroking Tori's hair.

"Tori, we are going to help you. But please, you have to tell us when you need anything. I know it's hard, but please, let us help you." She said softly. She felt Tori's head move, Tori looking right into her green eyes. Her eyes filled with tears again, as she moved herself so her head was in Jade's lap. Tori started crying. It weren't only tears. She was really crying. Jade continued to comfort her best she could. Andre cursed God in his mind for doing this to his best friend. She didn't deserve this. This must be some sick joke life decided to play. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know what to say. It made him angry, but even more, it scared him. It scared them all. The possibility of Tori falling apart in front of them, and them not being able to prevent it, scared them to death. Jade looked back over at Andre. They both knew that they were thinking the same thing. But they had to be strong for Tori. It was their turn to help her.