The news of Campbell Saunders’s death rocked Degrassi to its core. While Tori was never particularly close with Cam, it hurt just the same, the loss striking deep in her heart. She and Tristan had found out together, and while nothing can soften the blow of a tragedy, it certainly helped to have your best friend by your side. When that thought had crossed the curly-haired girl’s mind, she realized that the closest thing Maya had to a best friend was her sister, Katie. At that moment, it didn’t matter that she kissed her ex-boyfriend and betrayed her trust. It didn’t matter that Tori was too prideful to tell Maya the truth, that she missed her fiercely despite it all. The only thing she could think about as she went searching for the blonde girl was how much pain she must be in, how alone she must feel. Trivial things like boy drama and relationships meant nothing compared to what Maya must’ve been facing all alone. And although she might not trust people at the moment, Tori has every intention to prove to her that she’ll never be truly alone.
After the girls had talked on the roof, they somehow managed to wind up on Maya’s couch. Over the past few weeks, alcohol had become the pageant girl’s guiltiest pleasure. After what occurred between the three of the niners, Tori spent the majority of the time either angry, miserable, or both. She understood that it was her fault for not being able to hold onto Zig’s interest, and when she compared herself to the blue-eyed cellist, she could understand what the appeal was, why she wasn’t sufficient. It was then that Maya’s voice penetrated through Tori’s reverie, interrupting her train of thought. Her mahogany hues examined the blonde’s expression before they darted down to the half-empty bottle of Vodka. “Maya, don’t you think you should take it a little easy there?” the older girl asked hesitantly, the worry evident in her voice. “I know you don’t care what your sister will think of this, but what if she goes to your parents? I don’t want you to get in trouble because of me.” While Tori sincerely wanted to help her best friend numb her suffering, she hadn’t realized that Maya needed it as much as she did. Thanks to past experience, the curly-haired girl knows how troublesome things get when alcohol is mixed with a misery as deep as Maya’s, and the last thing she wanted was for something terrible to happen to her. “I’m glad I’m here too, My,” Tori murmured softly, enveloping the younger girl in a careful hug. “I’m glad that you’re safe and that we’re friends again and that I can be here to help you face this.” The pageant girl pulled away slowly, placing a comforting hand on Maya’s unoccupied one. That was the moment she heard Cam’s name come from the television. When Tori glanced at the screen and saw the news title, “TRAGEDY IN DEGRASSI: PROMISING YOUNG HOCKEY STAR COMMITS SUICIDE,” she scrambled to get the remote and do something, anything, that would discontinue what was currently playing. When she managed to turn off the television, she peeked uneasily at the girl beside her. “Maya?” Tori asked gently. “Maya, are you okay?”
