Welcome to Westwood

CHAPTER FIVE: THE PARTY

Chapter Five

It had been quite a long night. Unpredictable and quiet were the better words to describe it. Beck was still playing the discussion last night in her head. Gus figured out a way to bring Fitz back and Fitz realized what needs to be done perfectly. If anything, Fitz should be the one who's startled right now. For him to go back to his world, he's gonna have to die all over again.

As she closed her locker, Beck jumped at the sight of Fitz beside her, leaning by the rest of the lockers.

"Oh my God. You scared me." Beck sighed, realizing she shouldn't have drank more than a cup of coffee this morning.

"I didn't...mean to. I'd never want to scare you." Fitz assured her, chuckling awkwardly. "It's just that...you've been avoiding me since last night."

"I drove us to school together. I'm not... avoiding you." Beck told him.

"Yeah, we rode your car in silence for a good 14 minutes. That's avoiding me." Fitz clarified.

Shaking her head, she let out a breath and completely faced Fitz. "I'm not...avoiding you. I'm avoiding the conversation."

"About what? Me, dying?" He asked.

"Of course. You, dying!" She told him quietly, in case this wasn't a big deal to him. "It's not an easy conversation, okay? It's something in this world that would require a psychiatrist to listen to."

"What's a psychiatrist?"

"Doctor for your brain, someone who helps you with your mental health problems." She whispered. "Look, in this world, we're not knights who see death as a heroic sacrifice. Every life is important. I've never had someone...close to me purposely plan their death." She explained more, keeping her voice down so people wouldn't hear their conversation.

Fitz bit his lip and looked down. This isn't a simple task for him as well but if it's the only way they know how he can go back to their world, they clearly have no choice. "It's not easy for me, too, you know. I already died. I know how that felt. And...to do it all over again, without assurance that I'll open my eyes again, I don't know. It's...hard for me too. But we have to talk about it, Becky. I don't have anyone else to talk to."

That statement broke her heart. The guy didn't have anyone else to talk to about his problems and with her, being the first friend he trusts, Fitz is only looking to her for ears to listen and a shoulder to lean on. "Okay. Fine. We will talk about it...after school." She said, needing some time to process all of this.

"After school, over cheeseburgers. I'll pay for it. Maureen gave me my first...weekly allowance." He said with a playful chuckle. Fitz seems to be taking this lightly so Beck figured she should just trust him on that. "Alright. I'll tell Gus and Pen." She agreed, hearing the bell ring. She nodded at him so they could walk together for their first period.

Going to Freddie's after school, Gus told them he'd be there later since he has a meeting with the basketball team. He's not part of the starting five but he's still part of the team.

Their food came to the table but it seemed like it's just Fitz and Penny who were excited for their burgers. Munching on her food, Penny shoved some fries in her mouth too as she looked at her best friend.

"Becks, come on. It's Fitz' first time to pay. Aren't you excited?" She asked and the brunette let out a breath before picking up her burger.

"Well, it's not exactly a celebration of why we're here." Beck revealed and Fitz knew what was coming, looking down at his fries as he let Beck explain why they're meeting up there. "Gus figured out how to bring Fitz back to his world."

Her eyes went wide, looking all excited but Penny wasn't sure why the two looked bummed about it. "Isn't that good news? What did he say? How are we gonna bring Fitz back?" She asked.

The two were quiet for a bit and Beck clearly couldn't say it so Fitz had to step in. "I... I'm gonna have to die again to go back to my world."

Penny stopped chewing as he looked at the Prince. Now, she understands why they have long faces. "Oh, Gusy boy. What have you done?" She murmured under her breath, shaking her head.

"It's not...August's fault. He did make a good point last night. The common ground to my world and this world is...math. And the basic rule of math is...two negatives make a positive." Fitz explained but Beck shook her head.

"But we're not sure about that. We're not even sure if death is actually the right choice, or how it might make things worse."

Penny pressed her lips together, looking at the two of them. "You have to understand her, dude." Penny told Fitz. "Death...is kinda like a big deal. That can't be the first option."

"Thank you!" Beck sighed in relief, glad that Penny understood her side.

"But Becks…" Penny added, seeing things from the other's perspective. "Fitz did get here by dying. So...it's a great possibility that...dying here would bring him back to his world. I doubt he'd be considering this option if he didn't think it would work."

Beck pressed her lips together, clearly understanding Fitz's point of view. He would have thrown the idea out the window the moment he heard it if I didn't think it would work in the slightest. But here he was, trying to be open about the idea of it.

"What if it doesn't work?" Beck asked, needing the Prince's thoughts on all possibilities.

"Then...I'll be dead. As I should be." Fitz told her honestly, letting out a deep breath. "But if it works then...I'll be able to save my kingdom. And see my family, my wife. But I'd know where to find you to at least say thank you."

There's no point in telling him what to do because this is his life and Fitz will always have a final say in this. If he doesn't make it back to his world, then he would be dead as that's what's supposed to happen. But if he does make it back to his kingdom, he would be able to save his kingdom.

"I have to do this, not for myself, but for my people." Fitz reminded Beck and she finally agreed, always admiring how he thinks about his people first rather than himself.

"So heroic. What can't you do, your Highness?" Penny chimed in teasingly as she stuffed more fries in her mouth.

"Uhm...dance and swim. Pretty terrible at both." He told them light heartedly which made the three of them laugh, glad that they could somehow find humor in this.

About a couple of minutes later, Gus finally arrived, dropping his duffel bag on the booth before sitting beside Penny. He clearly had something to say so Penny nudged him to spit it out.

"Okay, okay. So we had a team meeting and...to celebrate last week's victory, Tom's throwing a party at his house this Friday. Everyone has to go. Especially me since I didn't go to the game." He revealed, looking up at Beck. Whenever he has to go to these parties, he wouldn't mind because Beck would be there and Penny would tag along. But now that Beck and Tom are broken up, he understands that Beck can't save him this time. "I won't...force you to come." He clarified to Beck. "I can just bring Penny. You wouldn't mind, right?" He asked his friend beside him.

"I would most definitely mind. I would not survive three minutes surrounded by drunk basketball players and model wannabes." Penny corrected him before having an idea. "But...since it's Fitz' last days with us, why don't the four of us go?" She suggested and Beck gave her a surprised and judging look.

"Sure. I love parties." Fitz agreed and Penny threw a fist in the air, feeling proud of her suggestion. "See? He loves parties. Let him experience the full senior high school life in Westwood. Go to school for five days and end the week at parties held by fancy kids. Take it as your send off party but...only the four of us." Penny kept insisting and Fitz seems to be the only other who was excited about this.

"Becks, you sure you wanna go?" Gus asked, wanting to check on her approval first since it could get the most uncomfortable for her.

Letting out a breath, she finally nodded and smiled at her friends. "Yeah, of course. It's Fitz' send off party and Tom wouldn't even know he's throwing it." She said, hoping she wouldn't regret this decision.

Friday came and everyone got ready for the party. Fitz already made plans with Gus but Beck refuses to hear it. She didn't want the idea of it to dwell in her brain for the rest of the week. All she needed to know was that Fitz is gonna do it after the party. They also agreed not to tell the Harrises about it, figuring they'd stop something as stupid as planning someone's death.

Knocking on Beck's door, Fitz felt nervous and excited. The last time he went to a party, it was to celebrate his wedding but later that night he died. Kinda like what would happen tonight so he figured it's quite poetic.

Opening the door, Beck couldn't help the grin on her face when he saw the prince in front of him, looking fresh and dapper in his plaid shirt. On the other side of the door, Fitz felt his cheeks burn at the beauty in front of him. He thought the book overly described Beck's appearance but none of those words did her justice. She was breathtaking and Fitz could die right there because of it.

"You look…" The both of them spoke up at the same time before laughing together.

"You first." Fitz insisted.

"You look like an actual senior in high school. Props to Gus for choosing great clothes for you." She told him, giggling a bit.

"Oh, uhm... actually, I chose this for myself. Blue's my favorite color." Fitz added, looking at his sleeves and folding them up to his elbows. "And uhm...you look...beautiful as always. I can't believe this is gonna be the last few times I'll see your face." That was clearly too soon to be brought up since it changed Beck's facial reaction. She turned around and went back to her mirror so Fitz followed her. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I just...had that quick realization and the words came out of my mouth." He apologized.

Beck kept adding gloss to her lips, trying to shift her focus on her look instead of the reminder that she'd be saying goodbye to Fitz tonight.

"We've been dodging this topic the entire week. We have to talk about it, just you and me." Fitz said, taking a seat on the bed and waiting for her to turn to him. After a few seconds, Beck got up and sat beside him on the bed.

The two were quiet for a bit before Beck decided to speak up. "It's...it's weird, you know? I just met you even if...I feel like I've known you forever and then...now, you'll be gone. It felt like a lifetime went by me in just a week." She told her honestly, letting out a deep sigh. "I don't know how to deal with this, to be honest. That's why I couldn't talk to you about it at all."

Fitz bit his lip as he looked down, figuring it was all too much for her to digest as it was to him. Realizing what she meant, Fitz smiled and looked up at her. "I'm really gonna miss you too." He said and Beck chuckled, failing to hide the blush on her cheeks. "And yes, I understand. It's all happening so fast but...the more I stay here, the more in danger my people are. There is a literal walking threat roaming the kingdom who's probably taken over the castle already. Then...my purpose in life...and death would be for nothing if I don't stop the sorceress."

Beck pressed her lips together, finding it quite sad that he thinks his life purpose is to be the king of their kingdom. Beck thinks differently, especially after having read his story. "I think you have a bigger purpose than to serve your people. So if—no, when you get back to Truston, I hope you find your bigger purpose."

Fitz smiled, appreciating the different point of view she has on his life. He never saw it like that but now, he's realizing the possibilities are endless. "Thank you for always believing in me. I'll make sure to remember you when I get back. I will make a way to let you know I'm okay and...when I find that bigger purpose."

"And I'll make sure we all remember you here, whether you make it or not." Beck assured him as well, looking at her watch and figured it was time to go. "Alright, come on. It's time to go to your 'send off' party." She added jokingly as they went downstairs to the car.

Fitz and Beck drove to the party together and met up with Penny and Gus there. As always, the house was full of partying teenagers with complete exemptions from the law.

"I wonder if we'll ever change the town's Mayor one day. A part of me wants the system to change but a part of me knows I'm gonna miss parties like this too." Penny told the group as they headed inside the house.

Beck figured she'd fill in Fitz on what Penny was talking about. "Tom's dad is the mayor and his uncle is the town's sheriff. Which means, he basically gets away with anything, even a house party of teenagers with booze."

"Booze, as in beer?" Fitz asked and Beck nodded with a grin.

"What does a party look like in your Kingdom? Is it anything quite like this?" She asked more, wondering if he appreciated this kind of send off.

Looking around as they walked, Fitz was finding some resemblance. "A big place, people, alcohol, music. Yeah, quite like this. Although, we'd rather dance slowly than...that." Fitz added, pointing at the girl who was bouncing up and down in front of the guy. "This is pretty wild, I'd say."

"Alright, you guys get settled. I'm gonna get us some drinks." Gus excused himself but Penny got the hint. "Oh, I'll go with Gus. Just to make sure he gets something stronger than wine coolers." Penny added jokingly, dragging the guy away from their two friends.

"So...you were always invited to parties like this?" Fitz asked more and Beck nodded. "Well, being the basketball star's girlfriend, I was basically required to attend every time. Believe it or not, 70% of our dates are parties like this."

"And you don't enjoy it?" He questioned.

Biting her lip, Beck looked up at him, wondering if she should lie about it. But then again, if Fitz read about her, he would know it. "I can't say I dislike it. But...it's not exactly the kind of dates I enjoy the most."

Fitz gave a half smile, believing her words to be true as what the story told. "What kind of dates do you prefer, then?"

The question instantly made Beck blush. Her face was flushed and her sweat felt cold. Why does he want to know? "Oh, uhm…" She paused, trying to think of a truthful answer. "I'd say I'm the kind of girl who would rather spend the night at home, watching a movie with pizza and popcorn. Or maybe, laying down in a quiet park, looking at the stars. I enjoy ice skating and bowling and...handwritten notes and single stem roses and a surprise bubblegum ice cream." Just the way that she spoke about the things she likes brightened her face. Fitz couldn't help but grin wide at her but it brought Beck back to reality. "Okay, I'm sorry. I got...lost in my own wonderland." She apologized with a light laugh.

"No, no, it's okay. You genuinely glow when you talk about things you love. Like...your lips curve up so high, it reaches your ears." He teased, chuckling along with her.

Suddenly, Tom and his cronies came over and he seemed a bit upset despite being in a party celebrating his success. "Becks!" He called at just enough volume for her to hear over the loud music. "What? Not even a hello?"

"We just got here, Tom. And...I didn't exactly come here looking for you." She answered and the boys chuckled at that burn. Feeling embarrassed, Tom elbowed one of his friends to stop. "Okay, but I guarantee, you'd be looking for me by the end of the night. As always, baby." He told her proudly before looking up at the gentleman beside her. "And who invited you to my house?"

Fitz pressed his lips together and shook his head. He keeps trying to remember his promise to Beck to never cause a scene. "He's with me." Beck quickly answered. "So...if you're kicking him out then...I'm going too."

Tom was out of words. Surely, he didn't want the girl he's trying to get back to leave the party. That would only lessen his chances so he just shook his head before taking a sip of his beer. "I got your favorite bubblegum vodka in the fridge." Tom told her before stepping away with his friend.

Letting out a breath, Fitz looked down at her before letting out a soft laugh. "Looks like we're staying for my send off party." He told her jokingly as they both laughed. Soon, Gus and Penny came back to them with drinks. The foursome went around, trying to enjoy the party. They even joined some of the tiny games like beer pong and flip cups.

About an hour into the party, they heard the fun was brought out in the back. As they stepped in the back area of the house, there were a few who were swimming in the pool while the others continued to play drinking games out there. Immediately, Beck noticed the worries in Fitz' eyes as they landed on the water. It was like he was sensing some kind of trouble. To ease the nerves, she gently held his hand, hoping the simple touch would calm him down.

Turning to the girl, Fitz felt the smile instantly spread across his face. There was peace, comfort and calm. He had to respond the only way he thought of by locking their fingers together. A wave of blush came across Beck's face and Fitz couldn't help but turn red as well. Chuckling to themselves, it was like they found a mutual understanding with one touch and one look.

From a distance, someone wasn't so happy to see that interaction. Tom was clenching his fist from afar as he kept drinking his beer. Clearly, he wasn't going anywhere near getting Beck back. Especially with this tall stranger obviously romancing her.

"That's not looking great for you, bro." Josh, his teammate, told him, shaking his head.

"You think, bro? Tell me something I don't know." Tom responded sarcastically.

"Hey. Chill, man. It's just Beck. There's about a hundred more girls in this party who would willingly break your bed with you." Another teammate spoke.

"Who cares, man? She's the one I want. Out of a hundred, heck, even a thousand. She's the one I want." Tom insisted, getting even more pissed as he finished his bottle. "I just need to figure out how to get that suckerfish off her skin for just a minute."

Suddenly, Josh thought of something. If Tom can't get the guy away from Beck then the next best thing is to embarrass him. "Get that ball." Josh told his teammate. "Watch this." He told Tom next, making sure he's watching. Running to where the ring was placed near the pool, he made sure to time it perfectly.

"Alley oop!" Josh shouted and the teammate threw the ball at him but as he was running, Josh intentionally pushed Fitz to the pool.

Caught off guard, Fitz failed to balance himself as he fell in the water. Everyone cheered and clapped, along with a laugh that was sure to embarrass the new kid.

"Fitz!" Beck shouted from land. "Nice catch, Josh! Guess that's why Coach benched you the entire season last year!" She added, waiting for Fitz to float back up. Just then, Beck remembered something. Fitz couldn't swim. Turning to her best friend, her face instantly filled with worries. "Pen, he doesn't know how to swim. He's gonna drown."

Surprisingly, the two were quiet, looking torn about whether to help the guy or not. Beck couldn't understand the confusion in the two of them so she had to remind them out loud. "He's gonna drown! We have to save him!"

"What? Your mom didn't teach you how to swim?" One guy was heard teasing as Fitz kept trying to reach up, needing someone to save him.

Beck was about to jump in the water but Gus stopped her. "Beck, no." He said which confused the girl more. "He... Fitz' plan was to jump off the cliff tonight. He specifically told us not to save him in case something like this happens." Gus explained quietly.

It just aggravated her more, quite pissed that they didn't tell her about that plan. But then, she also specifically asked them not to tell her how Fitz plans to take his life to go back to his world. "He's just as scared to do it on his own so he said if he were to get into an accident...it would make the sacrifice a lot easier." Penny explained but Beck couldn't accept it, feeling her eyes start to water.

Looking around, everyone was laughing and mocking Fitz who was literally drowning. Turning to the corner, she saw the one person who probably wouldn't say no to her. "Tom. He's drowning. Save him." She asked, her voice cracking as the emotions came crashing down her at once. The once cackling Tom looked down at the guy and saw that he was literally drowning. Whether he was taking it or not, the night could end with a dead guy in his swimming pool. Quickly taking off his jacket, Tom jumped in the pool and saved Fitz, making sure his mouth was above water so he could breathe properly.

Everyone was surprised and the crowd suddenly went silent. None of it was a laughing matter and Fitz coughing out water showed how serious this was. Beck helped pull him back to the ground, rubbing his back to help him catch his breath. "Are you okay?" She asked, figuring she wouldn't get an answer yet but she still had to ask.

Tom reached for a towel and wrapped it around Fitz to help him somehow dry off. "That was a stupid prank. What the f**k were you thinking, Josh?" Tom asked, looking pissed at what just happened. "That's it. Party's over! Everyone, go home or I'll drive you down the Sheriff's station myself!"

The people were quick to follow orders, refusing to spend the night behind bars as they knew how much power Tom and his family had. One by one, they went out the door, realizing how terrible the night had gone.

"I'll get some more towels and a shirt." Tom said, excusing himself to run up to his bedroom. Beck kept rubbing his back, helping Fitz off his shirt so he could dry off with the towel.

Penny and Gus stood there, feeling guilty for doing nothing. But they were just clearly following Fitz' request. If this is how Beck reacted, how would she feel being there when Fitz finally jumps off the cliff and sacrifices himself?

"I...I told Gus and Penny...not to save me." Fitz told Beck as he tried to catch his breath, clarifying that it was his fault. "I could've died and...our mission would've been complete."

Beck gave him a look, refusing to agree with his terms. "And you thought I would have agreed with that? I get that you have to die again to go back home but...this is insane. We agreed to do it without anyone else knowing! You could've gotten everyone in this party in trouble if you had died there!" Beck pointed out, looking at her two friends too to make sure her point was taken seriously. "I didn't want to know your plans because I don't know how to deal with it. Actually, it's because I don't want to deal with it." She explained, feeling the tears in her eyes start to fall. "I read about you dying and...and it broke me because I couldn't do anything about it. But I tried to get over it because you weren't real. You weren't real then so it was okay but now...I see you, I can touch you...I feel you, Fitz. It couldn't be more real than that so I can't just do nothing about it. My head...and my heart just can't accept you dying twice. It scares the hell out of me."

Hearing those words, Fitz looked up at her as he felt his soul shatter into a million pieces. Cupping her face with one hand, he wiped her tears with his thumb. "I never want to scare you. Ever." He repeated, finding a deeper meaning to it than the first time he told her that.

Beck just felt tears falling down like waterfalls. She wanted to help Fitz go back to his world but not like this. "We'll find another way, okay? I promise. We'll find a million ways before we go back to this plan again." She begged and Fitz nodded with his eyes closed. He came to Westwood and to the Harris' front door for Beck's help so if she assures him they'll find another way, he has to believe that they will.

Tom came back with an extra shirt for Fitz, as well as a bottle of water to help the guy. He wasn't sure why he did that but the look on Beck's face was enough to tell him she needed his help. Once Fitz had felt better, Beck insisted they go home. Walking out to the cars, Tom followed them to make sure they'd be leaving safely. Turning back to him, Beck figured it was only appropriate that she thanked him. "I'll meet you guys in the car. Get him settled." She asked before giving her attention to Tom. He was right after all. The night ended and he was whom she looked for.

"Thanks again for saving him. I know you don't like him but...tonight, I saw the guy I was with for a year. I really appreciate it." Beck said, gratefully.

Tom smiled, feeling proud of himself. By the end of the night, he turned out to be the hero of the story. "As always, baby." He repeated teasingly. "Get home safe, Beck. Goodnight."

Beck nodded and followed his friends back to their cars. Fitz was already seated in the car but Penny and Gus were talking to him. "He's okay. We were just...apologizing for not doing anything earlier." Penny told her best friend.

"We were sticking to the plan but we were also ruining our initial plan — to help him." Gus said, realizing his mistakes as he felt guilty for being the one to come up with that plan.

Shaking her head, Beck let out a breath. "I guess we just acted too soon without thinking about it. Two negatives make a positive but you know what? Two positives also make a positive. We were so eager for the result, we failed to think about the process." Everyone nodded to agree, realizing how they were rushing this. "Come on. Let's go home, get some rest and... we'll start planning again on Monday."

They all went home for the night, pushing off the idea of their first plan out of their brains. That would be their last resort but hopefully, they wouldn't get to that point.