Loved You First

"I never understood what love was really like, but I felt it for the first time looking in your eyes."

Chapter 1

Five years ago at Hollywood Arts High School, Los Angeles.

18 year old Tori Vega walked out of the school with a big smile on her face. She'd finally done it, she graduated from Hollywood Arts! She heard a scream and saw her sister, Trina, come running towards her. Trina hugged her and Tori laughed, this was such a good day.

"Sis, I can't believe you've graduated. And you almost look as good as I did on my graduation!" Tori smiled and rolled her eyes.
"Thanks Trina, that's so nice of you!"

"You heard I said almost, right?"

Tori were just about to answer her sister when she was interrupted by a laugh. She recognized that laugh so easily. It belonged to a person who meant a lot to her. She turned around and saw Beck Oliver, standing next to his girlfriend Jade West and his parents. Tori sighed. She tried not to feel low on a day like this. It was supposed to be the happiest day of her life – yet she felt so sad and empty. She looked at Beck and he caught her gaze. He waved and smiled. Tori waved back and smiled. She was going to miss him a lot. She looked down on her purple dress and she realized that she was more upset than she'd have thought she would be. She didn't know why. Maybe it was because school was over, or maybe it was because she wouldn't see Beck every day anymore? Tori's thoughts were interrupted by someone jumping on her back.

"Cat!" she screamed and Cat just laughed.

"Hi Tori!"

"Oh my god, get off me Cat" Tori said and laughed. Cat jumped down and smiled.

"Isn't this like, the best day ever?"

Tori nodded and said, "Yeah, definitely! Oh, I'm going to miss you and your crazy antics Cat!"

"I'm not that crazy Tori… also what does antics mean?"

Tori shook her head and laughed. She hugged Cat and heard a voice behind her, "Hey, can I get in on that hug?"

It was André, her best friend in this school. No scratch that, her best friend in the whole world. No one understood Tori quite like he did. He knew her better than Trina did and he was always there for her. He was the best. He hugged both Tori and Cat and said, "So, what's the plan now guys?"

Tori sighed. "I have no idea dude, and it feels so scary?"

"Yeah, I feel ya... Man, I can't believe we're done here…"

Tori saw Robbie walking towards them and she smiled. She loved her friends so much and she was really going to miss them. They all lived in Los Angeles so of course they would still hang out… right? She sighed. She hoped so anyway. She didn't want to lose contact with them, not even with Jade. It was weird, but Tori and Jade had really become friends this last term. They weren't bff's or anything, but they were good friends. Jade even called Tori her friend, so that was progress at least. She saw Jade and Beck walking towards them and she smiled. Her friends were the best.

"Hey guys" Beck said and smiled.

"Can you believe it's all over?" Robbie said and every just mumbled "no" and shook their heads. Tori looked at her Pear Phone and saw that it was 14.15. The day was officially over – graduation was done. She knew they all had to get home, because everyone had relatives who wanted to celebrate the graduation with them. Tori weren't in a party mood though. She'd just rather go to Nozu with her friends and have sushi. But that wouldn't happen, not today. She knew that.

"Okay, no more sad faces!" André exclaimed. "It's not like we're never gonna see each other again, right? We'll stay in touch, seriously"

Everyone agreed and André smiled. "Cool!"

"Hey guys, I think this is the perfect time for a group hug!" Robbie said and everyone, even Jade, smiled. So that's what they did – they had one last group hug at Hollywood Arts.

Five years later in an apartment in central London, England.

Beck Oliver put down his guitar and walked over to his computer that had just given off a sound that indicated that he'd received a new email. He clicked on the email without checking the sender and stared at the screen. What the hell was this?

HOLLYWOOD ARTS REUNION

You are hereby invited to the amazing reunion at Hollywood Arts where three years of students will share a reunion. Students who finished their studies at HA between 5-7 years ago are invited to join us all for a night to remember, forever. Take a chance to meet your old friends for a night of singing, dancing and having fun. Wherever you are in the world, come back to the place where it all started.

When? Saturday 17th of June 7'o clock!

Where? Hollywood Arts, of course!

Dress code: Free of choice, but please dress appropriately.

RVSP to reunion with your name and if you're bringing a guest before the 17th of May! We look forward to seeing you.

Beck stared at his computer and sighed. Was this for real, a reunion? He closed the email and walked over to his couch. He sat down and closed his eyes. He sighed again. He had no idea what to do. It should've been an easy choice, shouldn't it? He should've replied immediately, saying yes and that he wouldn't be bringing anyone. Because he should've been that excited to see his old friends, right? But it wasn't that easy anymore. Things had changed in the last 5 years. Jesus, had it really been five years since they graduated? Yeah, it had. Beck was now 23 and he lived in London. He was a recurring actor on DCI - a successful criminal show that aired on BBC, plus in a comedy show called The Family that aired on ITV 1. Five years ago, he wouldn't have thought he'd be living in a three bedroom flat just off Marble Arch and be on two successful TV shows every week. He enjoyed playing his roles, even if they were really different. On one show, he played a police officer who was quite rough to criminals and on the other show he played a teenage boy (well, 19 years old really) who wasn't very popular. He loved acting though, he really did. Did he miss Hollywood Arts? Yeah, of course! Did he miss his friends? Well… some of them, yeah. He'd broken up with Jade four years ago, just before he moved to London. In some way, he had actually thought that he and Jade would have been together for a longer time. But now, he was relieved that they'd broken up and to be honest, he should have ended it earlier. But that's always easy to say afterwards, isn't it?

He had no idea what the other guys were doing with their lives. They had kind of lost contact. They were all friends on Facebook, but he wasn't online that much. He found Facebook quite boring. He knew Jade was an actress in some sitcom or well, she was three years ago. He didn't know what Robbie was doing or if he still insisted on bringing Rex everywhere. Was Cat still as crazy as before? What happened to André? And most importantly, what were Tori doing? He looked down on his feet and sighed. Beck walked over to his computer and typed in Facebook in the search bar. He did something he hadn't done in a long time – he clicked on Tori's profile. Tori Vega... He looked at her profile photo and smiled. She was still as beautiful as he remembered. No one knew, but he'd always had a crush on her. They almost kissed twice and he wished they had. Tori had laughed it off afterwards, saying that he belonged with Jade. He'd agreed at the time, but not now. He didn't belong with Jade. He wanted Tori; because she was the reason he broke up with Jade. He still had feelings for Tori after 2 years. He'd met her at a party in Los Angeles and they'd talked for ages. His feelings for her had come back and after that party, he went and broke up with Jade. Then the day after, his agent called and told him that he'd gotten a job in London. He never saw Tori again. She sent him a message on Facebook but he never replied. It wasn't that he didn't want to, no. It was that he didn't know what to write. All he wanted to write was that she was beautiful and the only girl he'd ever loved, like properly loved. What he and Jade had, that wasn't love. Not real love, at least. It was teenage love, but not real love. He looked through Tori's profile photos and towards the end of them, he found a photo of him and her. He smiled. He missed her so much. He wished that he would've done something about it when they went to school together, instead of waiting this long. She'd probably forgotten about him by now. He was just about to leave her page when he saw that Jade had posted on her wall, asking if she was coming to the reunion. There were already 3 comments… He knew that he shouldn't be nosy, but he had to find out. He clicked comments and read what she'd replied.

Tori Vega: Of course I am, dead excited! Hope I'll see you and André there?

André Harris: We'll be there! Jade's so excited, she's almost smiling.

Jade West: ANDRÉ, let me answer the goddamn question. Jeez. But yes Tori, we'll be there.

Beck closed the window and almost gasped. Jade and André were a couple? Well, at least then he didn't have to worry about it being awkward seeing Jade. Tori were going to the reunion. He had to see her again. He had to go. He opened the email and answered it. He was going. He had to tell her how he felt.

"How do you cry when every tear you shed won't ever bring him back again? I hate myself for loving you…"

Meanwhile: at a studio in New York.

Tori Vega sat in a chair getting her makeup done. Her long brown hair was curled and styled to perfection. Or well, that was what the stylist had said. Tori was so bored of sitting in this chair. She'd been here for hours already. A stylist called Amanda was putting foundation on Tori's face and Tori sighed. She was bored. She couldn't even check her phone, because it was in Tori's handbag which was placed in the couch on the other side of the room.

"Hey Ms. Vega, is everything alright?"

Tori looked at Amanda in the mirror and smiled weakly.

"Yeah, no I'm fine. I'm just a bit tired and bored."

Amanda smiled. "Yeah, it must be tiring sitting here not doing anything… Do you want me to get you a magazine or a cup of coffee?"

"Um, no it's okay" Tori smiled. "Or wait, could you maybe get my phone? It's a purple Pear Phone, it's in my handbag on the couch. Oh, and a coffee does sound nice. Thanks!"

Amanda nodded and walked away. Tori looked at herself in the mirror and thought about how much her life had changed in five years. She wasn't an aspiring pop-star anymore, no. She WAS a pop-star, who was about to perform on X Factor USA in front of millions of people. Jeez, life was different now. She was excited about the reunion though, she couldn't wait to see her friends. It was weird how the only people she'd kept contact with were Jade, André and Cat. She knew Cat went to college (who'd have thought, right?) where she met her new best friend – Sam. They were currently doing gigs together, or well that was what Cat had told her when they last spoke, which was about 5 months ago… Wow, had it been that long? Tori made a mental memo to send Cat a text when Amanda got back with her phone. She and André were still close and hung out about once every four months, when they both had a gap in their schedule. This also meant she hung out with Jade, as Jade and André were dating. Tori still hadn't gotten used to seeing them together, but they seemed to be happy. They didn't fight half as much as Jade and Beck did. Oh. Beck. She hadn't thought about him in a while and she wanted to keep it that way. She still wasn't over him. There were still feelings there, and she hated it. She wanted to be able to think about him without getting butterflies but it was impossible. She still loved him, even though they hadn't talked in 3 years. She still remembered when she saw him at that party and he'd looked at her and smiled. And then they'd hugged for a long time and she felt the happiest she'd ever felt. Then they'd spent the entire night talking on the balcony, away from the party. And then the next day, Jade called Tori and said that Beck had broken up with her. Tori had half expected Beck to call her, confessing his love for her. But no, he hadn't called. And then she'd read online, on Sinjin's blog about Hollywood Arts graduates, that Beck had moved to London, in England. He was in Europe, in another part of the world. And she still couldn't forget him. Not even when she'd messaged him on Facebook and he hadn't replied. She had gotten so hurt, but she still loved him. She sighed. Why was she even thinking about him? It was just stupid.

"Here's your coffee, milk and no sugars, and here's your phone" Amanda said, disturbing Tori's thoughts. She smiled and said,

"Thanks Amanda"

She drank a sip from her coffee and looked at her phone. Three missed calls from Trina, an email from her manager, facebook notifications about a comment from Jade, and four new text messages… She clicked the messages, half expecting to find four messages from Trina. But instead, she found two messages from Trina (apparently some store had a sale that started tonight), one message from the boy she was dating and one message from a number she didn't recognized. She had no idea who it was from so she clicked on it, expecting it to be someone from her label. Instead, she almost choked on her coffee. She read the message two more times before quickly dialing André's number. She needed his advice right now. He answered after two tones and said, "Hey Tori, what's up?! Aren't you suppos…?"

She interrupted him and said, "André, listen. Something's happened"

"Tori, are you alright?"

"No…" Tori said, and she meant it. She could barely breathe from the shock.

"What's happened?"

"I got a message. From Beck. He's coming to the reunion."

"I don't know what to say and I don't know anyway, anymore."

Lyrics used: One Direction – Loved You First

Kelly Clarkson – I Hate Myself for Losing You