Contrary to popular belief, Jade West does have emotions. She's just not very good at showing them.
Her cold and judgmental father was the one who told her that showing emotion is like showing weakness. He was also the one who told her to stay strong despite what happens. So Jade, the girl who had been known to break down and cry almost every night after the death of her mother, suddenly became Jade, the girl who refused to smile or cry when she was around people.
Jade was lucky that she was such a great actress. There were those times when she just couldn't take it anymore. Times when she wished she could be herself without disappointing her father.
The first and only person who had still known her as the girl who cried was Beck Oliver. He was there for her when she needed a shoulder to cry on. What started as an unlikely friendship slowly formed into an unlikelier romance. When the school thought they saw chill Beck with cynical Jade, they were really seeing chill Beck with broken Jade.
Cat had also seen her cry once or twice. As strange as it may sound, the sweet, naïve red-head had been forced to comfort the brunette with the unstable soul. It was the start of an interesting friendship between two very different girls.
Some nights, Jade let herself cry. She had to let out those emotions she refused to let those around her see. All her anger, all her sadness, all her happiness. Sometimes, her father would need to come upstairs to calm her down and explain to her that some emotions were good to let out around people. He was talking about happiness. Jade mistook it for anger.
From then on, Jade was angry at the world; Angry at the perfect families and successful people in the world. What did they have that she didn't? She knew the answer. They showed emotions. Jade didn't.
Beck and Cat were the only people who ever got to see the other side of her until the new girl showed up.
Tori Vega was everything Jade West wasn't. She was everyone's best friend. She was the girl everyone wanted to be. So naturally, she was the girl Jade clashed with the most.
At first, Jade didn't think very much of the newcomer. It took a breakup with Beck for her to even think about her existence. She remembered walking home alone when she saw a kite caught in a bush. A broken kite that caught the attention of a broken girl. She picked it up and bushed it off, running to the only person she could think to run to.
When she got there, she cried. Tori was surprisingly tolerant of it all. She even helped Jade apologize to Beck. They could have been friends if Jade wasn't so ashamed of her emotions.
That might have been why she soon forgot what happiness felt like unless she was with Beck or Cat or even Tori sometimes. She forgot her emotions. It seemed only her anger at the world and her cynicism remained. Jade refused to be happy. And just like that, she was never happy.
She knew that some people had resorted to cutting themselves in hope of healing their soul. Jade had never tried it. Instead, she cut up other things, forcing her pain onto them. Whenever it became too much, she took out a pair of scissors and cut whatever she could find, whether it be a piece of paper or even her own hair. It helped sooth her.
If only her father had never told her that emotions show weakness. She would be a completely different person if she would allow herself to be happy. If only someone would convince her of that. Someone needed to tell Jade that it's okay to be yourself. Or a couple of someones.
Now, Tori, Cat, and Beck were helping her open up again. It was hard, but she was getting there. She was getting over everything. People were noticing.
People noticed that contrary to popular belief, Jade West did have emotions. But she's just not very good at showing them.