Jade: Going to go explore a creepy abandoned mansion this weekend. Anyone wanna come?

Tori: Sounds fun! Is it legal?

Jade: Uh…yeah?

—

A few hours later, Jade had pulled up to the Vega residence. She was honestly surprised that Tori'd even had the guts to come along. Cat was in the backseat texting away for coupons again. She kept excitedly murmuring on about random new inventions that really had no use to anyone. Remember that tennis ball cleaner? Jade scoffed silently. That girl would spend away her parent's lifesavings on worthless junk. She shook her head. Her thoughts shifted as she heard steps and turned to see a certain brunette bounding down the driveway, messenger bag in tow.

Game time, Jade smiled.

—

"So where is this place?" Tori asked about a half hour onto the freeway. She could only take Cat's perky yapping for so long. As much as she clashed with Jade, she could tell the goth girl felt the same way. Looking out the window, she could see the colorful buildings of her old neighborhood pass by. Her previous school. Her old park. I wonder what they're like now, she pondered. It's been years. Tori tore her mind away from those thoughts as Jade answered.

"It's near Shadow Creek Park." Jade said nonchalantly, not taking her eyes off the road.

"Oh. Uhh is that even safe?" Tori's voice struggled to remain steady.

She remembered the last time she'd been near that place. Where Jade's attempted murder had taken place. She had hiked more than ten miles back to school just to escape her wrath. She was honestly questioning her own sanity as she repeated the same scenario over again. But at least Cat was here too, right? She glanced over her shoulder just to make sure. Not that the redhead would offer much protection.

"Sure.."

—

More than an hour passed before the car creaked slowly onto a dirt road infested with weeds. Tori could have sworn she saw something skitter out of the corner of her eye. It was hard to tell because of all the green habitation around. The claw-like tree branches would scrape against the car's windows now and again. Needless to say, Tori was scared shitless, again.

"Hey guys—" She started to say before she saw what was up ahead. The dark building loomed up and she was mesmerized for a few moments. She heard Cat finally beginning to stir in the backseat. She had fallen asleep a good while ago. The velvet-haired girl rubbed her eyes before staring in wonder at the ominous mansion. Even though she had just woken up, she was still perky, if not a little bit hesitant about the place.

"YAY, we're here!" Cat exclaimed. Tori didn't think she was awake enough to realize, or fear, the extent of the situation. This place was in the middle of nowhere and it was massive. Dark shadows flittered across the yard resting here and there on pillars and stone columns. Broken statues were scattered around what appeared to be an old fountain. The house itself though, was beautiful.

After Jade pulled to a stop, the girls stepped out the vehicle and began treading towards it, or in Cat's case, scampering towards it. It wasn't until they got closer that Tori finally started to absorb it's full glory.

It looked about three stories tall. Columns lining the Victorian-style front. Windowsills varnished with cobwebs but underneath you could tell it had been a lush creamy hue in its prime. The front doors were a deep set mahogany with small glass windows and an iron handle door knocker. There was an image of a crow engraved with initials on the metal. Not that it mattered, because the place had been abandoned for years. Their only obstacle was a few boards and nails that Jade expertly maneuvered out of the way with the help of her hammer.

Sometimes it's a good thing having her around, Tori admitted to herself.

—

"Whoa, look at this place." Jade breathed. She felt completely in her element as she brought in her surroundings. A grand marble staircase rose above them as they inched their way into the house. She glanced around and saw that there were also steps on the side leading to different areas of the house. There were a few pieces of large furniture that decorated the interior, all covered in plastic and coated with a sheen of dust.

"Jade..are you sure this is okay?" Cat shivered, her nerves finally catching up to her.

"Yeah yeah just stick with me." Jade absentmindedly dismissed her and wandered to a side corridor. She assumed this would lead to a kitchen or living room. She had honestly forgotten to check the full backstory to this place. Something about a woman who died, leaving her daughter with the estate. Apparently the daughter was in a coma or something and had never gotten around to selling the place. Either way, the place was abandoned and the world was her oyster.

A noise jolted her out of her recollections. She turned to see Tori on the floor, shaking like mad. Glass from what used to be a vase was shattered around her.

"God, Vega. It's been less than five minutes."

"Sorry to spoil your fun with my injury." Tori glared.

"It was an accident!" Cat defended her.

"Yeah yeah, you bleeding?" Jade asked. As much as she wanted to revel in Tori's despair, she wasn't actually that cruel. Once in a while, she would find her emotional walls crumbling and her inner voice peeking through. That insipid inner voice that told her to be nice to Vega. For whatever reason.

"I'm fine." Tori grumbled in response.

"Good, I think the kitchen's coming up. Let's see what kind of vermin is living in this dump."

—

"Jade, I think I saw a mouse. Can we go now?" Cat asked, with hope in her voice. Her excitement had quickly run out as soon as she realized there weren't actually games and other people here like Jade had promised. It was just like that time she thought Jade and Beck were having a closet party but it ended up just being another fight that made her faint. Sometimes Jade could be really mean! She did feel bad for her sometimes though. Ever since Jade and Beck broke up, Jade had been trying to go on as many "adventures" and outings as possible. Even though Cat was a little bit slow, she could still tell that Jade was trying to get over her pain. So she went along with her ideas.

Never having been in such a long relationship, Cat couldn't really imagine what Jade was feeling. The last time she'd had her heart broken, she'd punched Tori in retaliation. For kissing her boyfriend, of course. Isn't that how all girls got over a break up?

—

"No, Cat." Jade was growing tired of her current disposition and decided to leave the kitchen and enter one of the hallways. The hallway appeared dank and dark with only a small ray of sunlight cast from a single rounded window at the end of the hallway."Hey Vega..Tori! Where you at?"

Tori finally appeared behind her, rubbing her arms as if she were freezing. "This place creeps me out."

"Why?" Jade entertained her question. As if this place wasn't the greatest place on earth. It reminded her of her favorite slasher film: The Scissoring. She smiled, reminiscing as she saw that Cat was standing behind Tori, clutching onto the edge of Tori's sweater, quivering quietly. It looked like a scene straight out of the movie. The pretty girl dies first, Jade grinned to herself. They were slowly making their way down the hallway as Tori continued.

"I used to have all these horrible dreams. I'd be wandering around this huge dark house and then all of a sudden I'd stumble upon my "friends". They'd all be gathered in a circle surrounding something. As I stepped closer, I realized it was my body on the floor. Dead body. And they wouldn't even do anything. They would just stare. Sometimes they would even kick it or drag it off and dump it somewhere. I think a therapist would say that that's how I view the way people treat me. They just don't care. They never have. That's why I was so surprised when I made it into Hollywood Arts. For the first time, people actually appreciated me for something."

"Aww Tori.." Cat whispered.

"Wow…..um that is one whackjob dream, Vega."

"Jade!" Cat reprimanded.

"Sorry, but it is. You have to admit that that's a little out there. Even for you, Vega. I did like the part about the dead body though."

"Forget it." Tori stormed off with no notion of where she was going. She just wanted to get out of there. Fast. Before her memories got the best of her. Her footsteps echoed sharply behind her.

Cat glared at Jade.

"Whaat?" Jade grew puzzled. Sometimes Tori overreacted over the weirdest shit.

"You hurt her feelings."

"What else is new?"

Cat continued glaring.

Even though she looked as menacing as a kitten, Jade knew she was right.

"Fine. I'll be back. Try not to move. Ughh."

—

Jade finally found Tori upstairs in what appeared to be a bedroom. There was a tall window to the side with a glimpse of a tree branch hanging outside. It cast ominous shadows around the room. The sound of rain began pitter-pattering against the sill. The walls were lined with torn floral wallpaper. There was dust lining the edges of the vanity mirror on the side of the room. A plastic sheet covered a queen-sized bed on the opposite side. Tori was huddled on the edge of the bed staring at her reflection in the mirror. Jade cautiously approached her before sitting down beside her.

"Look Vega..I'm sorry I made fun of your dumb dream. It's just that.."

"They used to call me all sorts of things, you know." Tori didn't turn to look at Jade. "Ugly. Stupid. Untalented. Too big. Too small. I was never good enough." And all you do is serve as another reminder, Tori thought silently.

"You? Too big?" scoffed Jade.

"Everybody has insecurities, Jade." Tori's eyes slowly began watering, but she held her gaze. She shifted awkwardly with her hands gliding over the vanity's wooden veneer, instantly regretting opening up to Jade. Such an amateur mistake, she sighed.

"Yeah well, the world has opinions." Jade stood up brushing off her jeans. "You just gotta brush them off your shoulders."

"..Did Jade West just say something nice to me?" Tori asked suspiciously. There was barely a hint of a smile on the corners of her lips though.

Jade smirked in reply. "Come on. Let's go find Cat before she falls into a toilet or breaks a bone. That redhead ain't nothing but trouble."

—

While Jade was gone, Cat decided to muster up some courage. Mainly because she really really had to pee. So she wandered around the hallway for a bit. She'd picked up Jade's hammer for protection. She wasn't sure what she'd do with it considering there wasn't supposed to be anyone here and you couldn't exactly fight ghosts right? Regardless, she was inching her way down tapping on walls, humming a little tune to herself. Finally, she opened up a door and found what she was looking for. Even though the bathroom was stale and dusty, it served its purpose. Thankfully, the plumbing was still in use. After flushing, Cat went to rinse her hands and wash her face in the mirror. This place wasn't too bad, she thought. Just a little smelly. She crinkled her nose to prove her point.

She stood there in front of her reflection then decided to sit down on the closed toilet seat for a moment thinking about the two girls that she'd come with. Tori tried so hard to be nice to Jade but all Jade ever did was hurt her. She knew that they'd had their differences but even Jade had never been as mean to anyone as she was to Tori. Maybe they were harboring some feelings that they were just too afraid to talk about? Hmmm. Cat pondered. I wonder if My Little Pony is on right now.

—

"CAT?!" Cat…" Jade and Tori had finally made their way downstairs. The house was so huge, they had accidentally taken the wrong staircase on the opposite end and were now blindly searching for the redhead.

"Ugh great. I hope she's okay." Tori mumbled. "That girl can barely go to the bathroom by herself. Why'd you leave her alone?"

"I was trying to be nice for your sake. Jesus. How many times must I apologize today?"

"Forget it, Jade. Let's just keep looking."

"Fine."

"And Jade?"

"What?"

"Thanks."

—

Cat was still in the bathroom. She figured it'd be safer and easier to be found there rather then wandering around the big empty house. Then she remembered she'd brought snacks! She dug around in her purse before settling on some graham crackers. As she chewed, she couldn't help but remember all the secretly nice things Jade had done for Tori. Seriously though, was she missing her favorite kid's show? She sighed. Oh yeah. All those nice things Jade did. Even though she grumbled about Tori getting the lead in every play, sometimes Cat would catch her smiling or clapping when the show was over. Oh and that Christmas present Jade helped Tori with! That was so much fun. Jade used to be the best at everything before Tori'd arrived. It was honestly really boring before. Tori made everything much more funner. Was funner a word? Oh well. Cat chewed happily before taking out her phone to make more purchases. No signal? Oh phooey.

—

"Try calling her." Jade demanded.

"I am. No bars. See." Tori waved her phone in front of the raven-haired girl's face. Jade snatched her wrist and shoved her aside.

"Ow!" Tori responded with a grimace. "Can we take a break?"

They'd been at it for twenty minutes. Where the hell was that girl? Tori finally decided to step into a room and rest on one of the covered recliners in there. Before she sat down, she'd taken a quick glance around the room. There was a fireplace on one side and a huge bookcase on the other end. Jade begrudgingly followed, sighed, and sat on the armrest, picking at her cuticles.

"You take the fun out of everything, Vega. You know that?"

"How so?" Tori was fidgeting in her chair searching on the side of it for..something. Jade didn't know nor care what.

"You just do. It's annoying as hell with your constant whining." And your perfect hair and face and voice. And you don't even know it. You take everything for granted. Jade felt bad for the girl and her history but honestly it made her want to slap her and make her realize her worth. A million girls would kill to have the talent and looks that she had.

Tori finally found what she was looking for and Jade felt a sharp jerk as the footrest of the chair popped out. Before Jade could stop herself, she'd fallen into Tori's lap.

Author's note: The update schedule is going to be tentative. Hope you enjoy it! Reviews would be wonderful.