Tori stared into her locker, stupefied. Good thing no one at Hollywood Arts ever seemed to care about what was going on around them; if she was back at Sherwood people surely would have stopped and stared, wondering why she was staring dumbly at her locker. Instead, when the half-Latina cast quick glances left and right to make sure no one was staring, she was slightly unnerved to see absolutely no one even turned curiously in her direction.
…these kids were so weird sometimes. She didn't even know half of them, now that she thought about it, and the half she did know never seemed to speak unless spoken to. So weird…
Anyway, she supposed it wasn't all that odd, because unless the teenage masses were to have been standing directly behind the brunette they wouldn't have seen the single white rose, wrapped with a black ribbon, placed carefully on top of her textbooks. The card that hung off the ribbon read "Happy Birthday" in a basic, slanted print.
As her gaze returned to the beautiful flower a shy, tender smile lit up her face. A gentle "Aww…" escaped her as a gentle blush graced her cheeks. She let her purse drop to the ground in order to free a hand, textbooks from the night before clutched in the other. Tori reached for the rose, hand pausing for a moment when she saw that someone had taken great care to remove the thorns, and carefully retrieved the beautiful flower. The petals were as white as snow and had yet to fully fan out, proof that the flower had only bloomed recently which meant she'd have it for the next few days. It couldn't have been in her locker for very long either, otherwise the petals would have started to curl and fade.
Taking a minute to put her books away, Tori gently closed her locker as she gazed down fondly at the white bloom. It seems that someone had gone through a lot of trouble to leave her a very elegant birthday present… but who exactly was someone? She took the card in her hand and looked at it closely, hoping to see a signature. Her brows knit together in disappointment when she found none, but only a moment passed before her smile returned.
This might just be the most adorable, sweetest thing I've ever gotten!
Tori turned around and this time people did stare as she continued to grin like a maniac at the flower in her hand… one person in particular watched from across the hall, half-hidden behind the open door of their own locker. If Tori had cared enough to look up and scan the hallway, their eyes probably would have met, but she didn't.
Instead, she tossed her head and practically skipped down the hallway, holding the flower to her nose to inhale its sweet scent. Heading outside to the Asphalt Café, Tori thought about who could have left the rose in her locker. Could it have been Ryan, from her history class? Or maybe Erik, from Orchestra…
Her smile evolved into a happy little giggle. Ryan and Erik were both very handsome boys.
As she skipped, the eyes that watched her ducked to the floor and their owner shrank against the wall of lockers, effectively hiding that person from sight as the half-Latina skipped past. When the sound of footsteps began to fade, this onlooker slowly came back out from behind their locker door to watch her on her way out to the café.
Tori continued to ponder who could have left her this little surprise birthday gift, unaware of the eyes on her. She passed through the double doors out into the café, sun shining brightly and adding to her good mood. Last year it had rained on her birthday and her hair had been… well, let's just say her hair had not been happy about it. It probably hadn't helped that Trina had conveniently forgotten to wait for her before leaving for school. Walking to school in the rain had not been a fun start to her sweet 16th.
Suddenly her stomach growled; she'd reminisce later. Right now, she needed a burrito. One of Festus' famous burritos would make her birthday that much more wonderful. Tori headed over to the grub truck, intent on getting herself one, but out of nowhere arms encircled her waist and she was in the air.
Shrieking as she was thrown over someone's shoulder, she clutched tightly at her rose, trying desperately not to crush it as she continued to protest hysterically. Whoever had kidnapped her paid her no mind and simply continued to carry across the café.
She ceased her struggling for a moment to groan loudly before rearing up and shouting "Put me down! Whoever you are put me down! I just want a burrito! Come on, it's my birthday! I think I deserve a burrito on my birthday!"
"I agree!" She stopped struggling, confusion spreading rapidly across her face. That was Andre's voice. Why was André kidnapping her? "That's why we went and bought you one!"
André set her down on the bench of their lunch table, grinning like an idiot. Cat, Robbie, and Beck were already there, as were five lunches, spread out across the table. One, which was not already matched with a smiling teenager, was a very pretty burrito accompanied by a can of Mountain Fizz, Tori's absolute favorite soda. When it finally clicked that said lunch was for her, Tori's confusion melted into affection. "Aww, you guys bought me lunch? That's so sweet!"
"Happy Birthday, Tori!"
They told her in a rush that the real presents (the socially-appropriate-priced ones all wrapped up in shiny, cliché 'Happy Birthday' wrapping paper) would be coming tonight, when they all went out for dinner at the youngest Vega's favorite restaurant: Poquito Mas. It was perhaps the most authentic Mexican restaurant in Hollywood, and every time she ate there Tori was reminded fondly of her late grandmother. Because it was a bit pricey she unfortunately didn't get to eat there that often, making it the perfect place for her friends to take her.
Tori was sure she was grinning like an idiot, but she couldn't help it! She was just so happy! Even though she'd been wary at first of having a Monday birthday, today had so far exceeded her expectations.
"What's that?" That was Jade's voice, cool and clipped. The half-Latina realized then that the table had been so far devoid of cynical commentary; Jade had not been in on her birthday lunch. For some reason, this depressed her, but she shouldn't have been surprised. Jade did despise her, after all. When Tori turned to look up at the scissor-loving psychopath, who was standing before them all with a black brow perked, her smile fell slightly at the irritation written across the other girl's face. "Oh, hey Jade. What's what?"
Those mint green eyes narrowed down at her but Tori didn't shrink away. She was used to that cold glare and honestly, it just didn't scare her like it used to. In fact, she found that those eyes intrigued her. Jade did have beautiful eyes after all, it was just a shame that the rest of her was so… ganky.
"That." Those green eyes were no longer staring at her but downwards, at the rose still clutched in Tori's hand. The treacherous ride on André's shoulder hadn't harmed the rose in any way, thank God… and Tori found herself smiling again.
"I found it in my locker, it's a birthday present from an anonymous someone. Isn't it sweet?"
"Not really." And the smile fell away; how could Jade not think it was sweet? Then again… she was a pretty messed up chick. The other day she'd asked Sinjin how long he'd be able to hold his breath, and then videotaped the poor boy as he turned blue trying to impress her. The birthday present of her dreams was probably a pair of industrial bolt cutters. Tori cocked her head as she pictured it in her mind. It's scary how easy that is to imagine.
"Yeah I mean, don't they use white roses at funerals?" Robbie! You're not helping!
The half-Latina opened her mouth to retort, but before she was able to utter a single word Jade pulled a complete 180. She went from being disinterested to livid in a matter of seconds. Those green eyes flew open with anger and she almost looked… insulted? "Because they symbolize honor and love and respect, you idiot! Not that you'd know what any of that's like. Just because people use them at funerals doesn't mean they're not beautiful!"
The table went silent and Jade stood stock-still, her eyes wide. It seemed that even she hadn't expected to react as vehemently as she did. Tori felt her mouth hanging open in shock, and it seemed everyone had raised their eyebrows in surprise… except Robbie, who looked like he was about to cry. Thankfully they had Cat to break the silence.
"So like, Tori's got a secret admirer? That's so cute!"
Tori shook her head to chase away the disbelief as Cat and Andre started grilling her about any and all boys in her classes. Robbie squeaked once before excusing himself from the table, probably to go change his shorts, and Beck was staring at Jade… whohad used the distraction to duck her head and quickly sit herself down at his side. Now she was poking at her salad, her expression unreadable.
But wait, was she… was that a blush on the other girl's face? Or was Tori just imagining the pink rising in her cheeks?
"Anyway… I think it's stupid. Someone broke into your locker and left you a stupid plant that's gonna wither and die in like two days. They clearly don't have the backbone to say whatever they're obviously trying to say to you in person. You don't think that's pathetic?"
The half-Latina paused a moment before answering. She spent that moment gazing gently at the other girl, admiring the adorable insecurity that had risen in those usually fierce irises. "No." Tori waited until Jade's eyes met hers. When they did, shy but curious, she smiled and reached across the table to gently flick the rose against the tip of Goth girl's nose. "I think it's sweet."
And then she turned her attention back to Cat and Andre, leaving Jade West alone with her thoughts… and her boyfriend, of course. Beck was smiling fondly at Tori though, but it didn't bother Jade as much as it should have.
After all, she was doing the same.
…and that most definitely was a blush staining her cheeks.
She likes it…