This is a different kind of story, from me at least. It's not too AU or fantasy, just good ol' drama and craziness. It will be dark, because I'm basing it off of the song "Lullaby" by Nickelback. Obviously, I don't own the song, band or the TV show. This story is going to be about Jade and Tori, or Jori, however you want to say it. I'll bring in a back story for my take on Jade and Tori, and what it would be like for them to be together. Story is rated M for violence and sexual themes. Don't like it? Here's a simple thing, don't read it! Also, I do like reviews, they are like an early Christmas present in the middle of July! They help me update faster, and it also gives me an idea on what you guys like and dislike. I like praise (who doesn't) but I love criticism, because it gets my brain to thinking straight. I'll try to keep this story as "real-life" as possible.
Disclaimer: As I said before, I do not own the Nickelodeon show, VicTORious. Or the songs featured.
Lullaby- Ch.1: Sweet memory
Jade's Point of View-Age: Five years old
"Mommy, can you sing me a lullaby?" I was tucked in, snuggled up with my best friend, Mr. Snuffles, my teddy bear that daddy got me for my birthday. Mommy had helped me into my footie pjs that had little monkeys on them chasing the yellow bananas. I could just barely see her, standing in the doorway with a faint glow around her. I heard her sigh, before stepping quietly over to my bed. She sat on the little chair that was next to it, and put her elbows on the comforter. She ran her fingers through my hair, touching my nose every now and again.
"Sure, Jadelyn, which one do you want to hear?" Her voice was light and sad. Her eyes looked all shiny and stuff, and she had the sniffles. She kept running her fingers through my hair and wiped her nose.
"The "Goodnight" one, mommy. I like that one." I wiggled, excited to hear her sing me to sleep. I didn't want to go to bed, but I looked forward to mommy's singing. She nuzzled her nose against mine before starting the lullaby.
"Hush now, my little shining star. Here you are, and I'm not too far. Don't turn off the light, just say goodnight. I'll never leave your side, we'll go for a ride. Big fancy cars, cherries in jars, walking down the red carpet, just you and me. Don't turn off the light, just say goodnight. Hush now, my little shining star, I'll never be too far." Mommy had tears running down her cheeks, and she kissed my forehead lightly. She stood up, hand covering her eyes. She hurried over to the door, and stopped, turning around. "Goodnight, sweetie. Mommy loves you."
~Twelve Years Later~
"Jade, it's time to go to school. Can you give me a ride? I missed the bus." My younger brother, Brian,asked through my bedroom door. I groaned, rolling over to see my alarm clock showing 6:30 AM. I sat up, rubbing my eyes and sticking my legs over the edge of my bed. The red comforter fell the rest of the way off, and I untangled my feet from the black sheets. Standing up, my back popped and I stretched my arms, hearing my joints pop as well. Rolling my shoulders and neck, I wandered over to my door, unlocked it, and poked my head out. Brian was leaning against the frame, backpack slung over his shoulder, uneasy smile on his face. He had his hair sticking up, and his cowlick was worse today. I smirked evilly, licked my hand quickly and wiped it on the cowlick. "Eww! I just asked for a ride, is all! You didn't have to do that! Man, you messed up my hair!"
"That's what you get for waking me up early, plus, it's embarrassing to have a younger brother with part of his hair sticking out in the opposite direction." I left my door open a little, leaving him at it before going to my dresser to pull out a pair of black skinny jeans and a mesh shirt to go under the dark blue tank top I grabbed off of the top. "Go fix me some breakfast, I'm going to take a shower."
"Fine, just don't take too long. You want cereal?" He laughed lightly, already knowing what my answer would be. I kicked the door shut on my way to my bathroom. After my normal routine, basically washing my hair, scrubbing my skin raw, and standing for the last three minutes under the scalding hot water trying to understand what my dream was about. All I remembered was the last line from my mother's lullaby. I hummed them softly, my eyes burning from the tears that brimmed under my eyelids. I shut the water off, and stepped out. My blue rug was fuzzy under my wet toes, and I scooted it over to the sink. Toweling off, I tugged my assortment on and did my makeup lightly. I didn't really feel like doing it too heavy. Brian didn't like it when I "looked like a raccoon". Contrary to many people's belief, I do take my brothers' opinions to heart. Unfortunately, Zane hasn't been around for two whole years. He's been in college, studying to be a lawyer. Shaking my head, I looked at myself in the mirror. My reflection showed a girl with pale skin, blue highlights, and light blue eye shadow. Not my darkest look, but I didn't feel like scaring little children with my face. I ran my fingers through my hair, messing it up a little before grabbing my black pajama bottoms and green tank top and leaving the bathroom. I yanked my Ipod out of my alarm clock and unplugged my cell from its charger. I picked up my Dr Martens, and shoved them on my feet. Not really feeling like tying them, I rolled the edges down and showed the blue plaid insides. Snatching my knapsack out of its spot next to my door, I left the room, closing the door gently behind me. I didn't want to risk waking dad up. He gets really cranking this early in the morning. I trotted down the staircase and went into the kitchen. Brian was sitting at the counter on one of the stools, stirring my coffee and staring out the kitchen window. I sat down across from him, waving my hand in his face and looking him in the eyes. He shook his head and scooted the cup over to me.
"Fixed it just the way you like it." I rubbed his head, messing the spikes up. He groaned again before picking a comb out of his pocket and dragging it through the gelled hair. I chuckled before taking a long sip from the brown coffee, enjoying the semi-sweet taste as it dribbled past my tongue. I downed it quickly, grabbed my car keys from the hanger and walked out the front door with Brian following behind me. Hopping into the driver's seat of my navy Camaro, I put the key in the ignition and twisted it. The engine roared to life as Brian slipped into the passenger seat. I dropped my knapsack in his lap, and flipped the music on. Surprisingly enough, Brian pushed my Evanescence CD in. He skipped songs until he found my favorite. Giving me a small smile, he drummed his hands on the dashboard. As the song started playing, my fingers tapped to the drum beat.
"It's too late to change your mind, even though this fragile world is tearing apart at the seams." I pulled out of the driveway, and down the street. Brian was nodding his head, adding back-up vocals for me. "You can't wash these sins away, a sinking feeling every day. I'm waking up in someone else's life."
"Is it so hard for you? 'Cause it's so hard for me, to believe in what we dreamed could ever come to life again. 'Cause I cannot erase this lie." Brian sang out the chorus, really getting into it. I was speeding, ten miles over the speed limit, not much. His high school was only a few miles from the school, but the neighborhoods in-between made us wary to let him walk or ride his bike. He was a freshman, three years younger than me, at James Madison High School. Why wasn't he going to Hollywood Arts with me? He didn't want to be around his annoying older sister. Plus, he was afraid they wouldn't accept him. I don't know why, he was an awesome drummer and played a mean guitar rift. I guess dad had finally gotten to him about focusing more on actual business and job talents.
"I'm not gonna let this day go by. I'm gonna save this wasted life and nothing can stand in my way. Not enough to say goodbye, run until there's nothing left. I'm drowning in the mess that I have made." Brian was hitting the dashboard more forcefully now, really getting into the music. He joined me on the chorus. "Is it so hard for you? 'Cause it's so hard for me, to believe in what we dreamed could ever come to life again. 'Cause I cannot erase this lie."
"Someone hear me" Brian eerily copied the sound. We were nearing his school, and he grabbed his backpack from the back seat.
"The water's rising around us. There is no other way down. I only have myself to blame for it all." I pulled into the school, getting in the drop off lane behind a minivan. "Is it so hard for you? 'Cause it's so hard for me, to believe in what we dreamed could ever come to life again. 'Cause I cannot erase this lie."
"Thanks, Jade, I'll make sure I get the bus home." He pushed the door open and hopped out. Shutting it gently, knowing that I hated my car being hit in anyway, he left and headed into his school. I saw him join a group of guys, knuckle-bumping and hand-shakes were exchanged. I shook my head, and drove off, heading for my own school.
~8:15 AM~
I parked in my spot in the Asphalt Café, being one of fifty students to actually drive to school. All the others lived close, so they walked from the apartments nearby. Turning the music down before shutting off my car, I grabbed my knapsack and keys and got out. I shut the door, slung my knapsack around my shoulders and moved towards the school's front door. The five minute bell rang just as I walked in. I stepped over to my scissor-covered locker and spun my combination lock, putting in the numbers for my two brothers and my own birth months. It clicked unlocked, and I swung my locker door open. I tugged out my needed books and slammed it shut. Spinning around, I was greeted with the scattering of my fellow classmates. I was used to this by now, seeing as I had built up the aversion from the first day I stepped into this school. I saw Andre and Robbie over by his piano-locker chatting about the homework assignment from Sikowitz's class. Rex was bobbing his head up and down animatedly talking about his Northridge girlfriend. I sauntered over, placing my books into my knapsack and shoving my one of my hands into my pocket.
"Sup, Jade? You're here early?" Andre looked at his silver watch, twisting it around his wrist. He shrugged, dropping his hand down to his side. "I guess it's not too early, we've got about two minutes before class starts. Either of you guys hear that we are getting a project in Sikowitz's class?"
"Another one? I think he's running out of ideas. What all is he doing, sleeping?" Robbie asked, looking between me and Andre.
"Haha! That nut has just about cracked." Rex commented, his head popping up to add emphasis to his words. It always made me wonder what made Robbie so attached to that puppet. I wasn't too curious, because I really didn't care for listening to his sobbing history. I felt somebody's hand land on my shoulder, and I turned to see the owner of the offending appendage. My eyes landed on my "boyfriend" Beck, accompanied by Cat and Vega.
"Hey, babe, did you sleep okay last night?" He pulled me to be under his arm, his hand rubbing my shoulder gently. Yeah, what I mean by "boyfriend" is that this was all an act. It was a front I put up to keep my over-bearing father off of my shoulder. I've been best friends with Beck since fifth grade, the same as when I met Cat. The three of us have stuck together all these years, keeping each other's backs and secrets. My big secret, they found out when they started paying attention to how I watched movies, why I focused more on girls in the mall than the shirtless Aeropostale guys. I knew how my dad felt about this thing, because I once brought it up in a conversation. There was so much venom and hate in his voice, that I was terrified. We weren't a religious family, but dad claimed some "morals" and "values" were to never be broken. So, for now, Beck and Cat were the only ones that knew my little secret. Brian had his suspicions of me, but he was scared of dad too. We were two peas in a pod. After Zane graduated, we grew closer, afraid of what might happen if we left each other alone. Zane was our rock, but now that he was out of the picture, we had nowhere to run. Brian had his secret band that dad didn't know about, and they were awesome. I always covered for him on the nights he had a concert, and he'd pay me back with a Starbucks coffee made just right. Beck brought my attention back with a kiss to my temple. I blinked rapidly, shaking my head and gathering my thoughts.
"I guess, Brian kept bugging me for help on his math homework." I looked at my fingernails and picked out the imaginary dirt. He shook my shoulders, giving me that small smile he always had on. He had been texting me all last night, knowing that this week held a special day. I took a deep breath, and the final bell rang. My group of friends scattered in their opposite directions. Beck's hand slipped from my shoulder, lingering on my own before finally letting go. Now, it was just Tori and I because we had the same first block, Dual Enrollment English. She had a confused look on her face, eyebrows knitted together and a small frown. "What, Vega?"
"Sorry, I didn't mean to stare. It's just, you look different today. Is something wrong?" She put her hand on my forearm, and kept it there. She'd been doing that a lot lately, touching and leaving her hand somewhere. It was strange, and weird, because I didn't mind it. We hadn't started off as friends our sophomore year, due to her spilling coffee on my best friend and tried rubbing it off with her own shirt. I was a little peeved, to say the least, and I had to keep up my mean girl act. There was no other way to keep me on top, just like in middle school. She had stolen the show right off the spot, taking all of the main parts, something I wasn't used to. I had my fair share of tantrums, and I've broken a few things that belonged to the school, mainly Sikowitz's stuff. It was hard, watching her get all of the parts I auditioned for. When she won the audition for the Platinum Awards, it broke my heart. I got my second chance, but I couldn't do that to her. She was trying so hard to just be my friend. I don't know why, I was being a real gank to her. Beck thought something was up with her, but he wouldn't tell me. They had become fast friends, and she was trying her best to get on my good side. Little did she know, she already was. You could say that I had a tiny bit of something towards her. I wouldn't call them feelings, but something just draws me towards her. Her smile, her laugh, her eyes that would shine while she was acting or singing, all things that made her appealing. When Ryder had broken her heart, I wanted nothing more than to go and castrate him with a rusty spoon.
"Jade? Hello? You still here?" She waved her hand in front of my face. I blinked again, frowning as I realized that was the second time I had done that. She put the back of her hand on my forehead, as if checking for my temperature. "You okay?"
"Yeah, just tired is all." I shook my head, clearing my clouded mind. I rubbed my temple, trying to ease the coming headache. She still had a firm grip on my arm, right over my star tattoo. I'd made an addition to it, on last year's anniversary. My family's names were on the star points in cursive. Dad didn't know about it, and Brian thought it was a cool idea.
"You want to go to class now?" She started off in the direction for it, leading me by my arm. I followed her willingly, just like she had done so many times when I had dragged her off to the janitor's closet so many times. I nodded numbly, still trying to soothe the oncoming pain. I was just beginning to regain focus when we stepped into the class. She led me to our normal seats, putting me in mine first, then sliding in to the one next to it. The teacher had her back to us, writing something on the white board and talking to us like we were paying attention. I crossed my arms in front of me, and rested my forehead on them. Today was going to be a long day, I just knew it.
So, my first chapter in my first Jori story. Wow, that rhymed, sorry. Once again, I do oh so love reviews. They're like candy and doggie treats. Not saying that I'm a dog, it would be rather difficult to type this many words with paws and nails. I hope you guys enjoyed it, seeing as I'm used to "other-worldly" stories, as well as just Cade stories. If you want to see what those are like, feel free to check out my page, I guess. Also, I don't know how frequent my stories are going to be, I've got a pretty busy summer ahead of me. So, here's to new beginnings, hm? Goodnight, everyone.
