Been a while, it's a little rusty.


"Dark and broody is a cute look on you,"

She shouldn't at all be surpried he's the one to find her. Pale fingers gently wrapped around the small bud that's left of the white and orange stick, take a moment to lightly flick the forehead that's too close into her personal space. The Canadian descendent isn't fazed by the action, and let's himself fall limp on the step next to her. Instead of scolding him for the disturbance the clad in black teen persistently tries to ignore his presence. It's silent, at least as silent as the moment can be during the bustling of the flourishing carnival. The dark skies above does nothing to deter the excitement of a few children dragging equally enthusiastic parents, or demolish the few stray groups of teens shenanigans, it doesn't seem to bother the elderly couple walking around supporting whimsical grins by the front of its collar. She's quite lucky to have found a secluded staircase by an abandoned rollercoaster that's done being puked on for the day. Her luck seems to have run out two hours later seeing as the fluffy haired boy has found her. She was skilled to have evaded her makeshift group of friends for so long; it's a new record.

"You know she hates it when you smoke."

The both of them don't even question as to who the 'she' is. It would take much effort in deciding to narrow the long list of who 'she' is, only to find that the quest was simply too stupid to burden themselves with. Maybe it's the defiance of wanting to stir trouble, it might very well be the surrounding stress of the fast approaching end of senior year. Either way she doesn't care. Without much thought into exactly why she decided to flick another cigarette in between her lips.

"She was looking for you earlier, but Cat dragged her away to play some game. Made me promise her I'd find you before she got back."

She doesn't miss his failed attempt to make eye contact.

"I don't think I asked."

There's a lie hidden underneath the bored expression, leaking through that uninterested tone. It's just something that neither of them acknowledge. She doesn't mind in the slightest that her nerves start to bubble in side of her as she tries to intake the black air. She takes to staring up at the endless stream of stars, darkness, and hint of the full moon peaking from behind one of the metal bars holding up the structure. Of course she tries to squash conversation between them with her moody silence.

"It's not working." He mutters lowly.

The double meaning never falls def to her ears. With minimal effort she expresses her discontent with a glare of pure annoyance. Beck throws her a long frown that all too soon turns into a knowing nod of encouragement.

"Look when we broke things off neither of us were happy—" He frowns at the soft huff of disagreement.

"But it was needed. We couldn't go on and ignore the dysfunction relationship forever. Time will always win. It's August, and as much as we all hate to admit it. This year will pass by within a blink of an eye and all too soon it will be graduation. Who knows what will happen come next year, just don't let heartbreak be at the top of the list. The clock is ticking for the both of you."

Her throat closes up and for a moment she revels in the fact that it isn't because of the smoke entering her wind pipe incorrectly. More so due to the idea that while she hates to admit it, but he is right. The slow eating thing that has been the cause of the double mounting stress has been due to time. How while she loves wasting as much as she can, it doesn't help the predicament she has found herself in. That maybe she shouldn't be sitting alone consciously trying to spite the brunette that is the cause of her smoking habit. Or that she cannot blame said brunette when she has done nothing but given her opportunities to seize the hourglass sand from running thin. She just hates that the misery of being content of being alone is her own doing.

"I don't care."

Suddenly the rush of the polluted air entering her lungs isn't so good, because there's a brown haired senior staring at the both of them through saddened eyes concealed by a quivering smile. Of course only the dark haired teen notices this, and Beck simply beams at the new intruder. With one foot grounded into the dirt beneath it, and her fingers still curled around the cigarette she grounds her jaw. There is no doubt in her mind that the midly younger girl had heard the entire conversation. The striking jolt of guilt shooting through her doesn't simmer the oncoming excitement of seeing the brunette. Her chest rises with an almost unnoticeable extra beat of adrenaline. She watches. Waits for the inevitable forgiveness she doesn't deserve. Beck speaks, but doesn't turn back to the goth until he's midway of being engulfed into the few stragglers of people. It's then she notices that a lot of time has passed since Beck had come to her. In fact she would say that it's close to being the ends day for the carnival. With a last effort ditch of avoiding the brown that's so full of life, and kindness Jade stands.

"Hey," She wants to puke up the cotton candy Cat made her inhale today by the overbearing sweetness of the voice.

She nods a greeting, flicking her gaze to the brown eyes that's shinning with a warmth that starts a fire inside the pit of her stomach.

"So you've been here the entire time."

It's a lame attempt to cover up the hurt lingering. So Jade does her best to make the situation better. She sends a desperate apology through azure eyes she's sure turned icy blue with how cold she feels with guilt. Tori simply nods and tries to keep eye contact as she lets her gaze fall to the ground. Truthfully she doesn't want to say that she's happy when a pair of feet blindside her line of vision, and gentle fingers remove the cigarette from her lips.

"Are...Are you okay?" Jade frowns, because they both know the answer, but she lies anyway.

"I'm fine."

And yet Tori sends her a nod and an expression filled with too much concern for the moody teen.

"You're smoking again. I doubt that you're just fine."

There's a lagging moment where they have one of their infamous staring contests. This one being the one that's snuck up on them only ending of their junior year. One filled with understanding, familiarity, and fueled by the one thing only one of them cannot fall into without denial of the future. Having a hint of shame of being able to hold the warm stare without bursting into ferocious flames. Jade choses to blink away the moment, and demolish any recovery between them. Yet she wants to sooth the girls worries. Make them disappear with a false hope that they both know won't come true unless the tension between them is settled properly.

"I'll stop."

A blunt lie.

Tori smiles shortly and nods again, letting their fingers become entangled within the other.

"You promised to win me something today if I managed to get Robbie to leave Rex at home. Do I still get that cute little husky I saw earlier?"

She doesn't exactly know how to respond to that.

"Y—...Yeah." With a dumb nod they're off to god knows where before meeting the group for a late dinner at some new Japanese restaurant.

Free from the darkness of the corner she was within she's now able to see the various lights bounding off of the soft brown hair, and the bright light soaking up the sun that is the carefree smile of the girl. She wants to gut herself and unleash all of the mushy soft things that has bubbled inside of her stomach. Letting her eyes fall to the locked hands in front of her as Tori takes the lead, she is not fast enough to stop the smile breaking onto her lips.


"Woah, nice to see you've made yourself comfortable." The dry humor cracks a grin onto the younger Vega's lips, and she doesn't stop the small smile spreading onto her own features.

"Yeah well you're the one who decided to get me roped into detention again. So of course I'll further torture you with my presence by asking for a ride home."

Tori slings a leg over the black bike with excitement as her eyes to bound over the ignition to the handles, the dark glass preventing her from doing so. With a smirk and half lived glare Jade ignores the twisted churning of her own stomach at the sight of the helmet weighing down the head of the girl. Her mind screams to simply snapshot the image and have it framed for the secret photo album sitting underneath her bed. She doesn't. The sadness of ever looking back at the photo later on winning the war with the want to do so.

"Didn't know demanding was a new form of asking politely," She hears a laugh, and fails to become irritated by the sound like she used to two years ago.

"Would you have agreed if I had asked nicely?"

Yes would have been the answer either way.

"Who said I agreed?"

A scoff of disagreement is heard and she chuckles at this.

There isn't much protest rather more so a gleeful squeal when she lets one of her legs fall on to the other side of the motorcycle. Her fingers are just about the rev the engine a few times just to feel the vibrations that sooth her. She's near close to doing so when she feels a warm hand stop her. The mild frustration is short lived before she peers around and squints to see the jaw locked and angered expression of her companion. Cutting off the engine she sighs, because she now knows what the issue is. She wants to find the worry of the girl annoying, but she can't help but find it slightly endearing.

"Where's you're helmet?" Shrugging she licks her lips.

"I only have one, and you're wearing it."

It's a short and snippy reply and she frowns when the arms around her waist are quickly removed. Getting off of the bike just in time to notice the heavy head gear being thrusted into her arms, she blinks at the lean figure standing before her. The unwavering frown being thrown her way makes her shift a tad bit uncomfortably.

"Vega, your house is only a few miles away. I can deal with not having a helmet for a few minutes."

"You're not driving me home Jade."

How she knows that she would be on the end of a rare scowl, she can say it's a lucky guess.

Yet it's the complete opposite. They have known each other for the better part of nearing three years. From the beginning the connection was hanging by a line so thin and fragile that it hadn't occurred to them they understood the other on a level no one else could. There's an almost bitter taste of just how fast they had realized consciously that they needed each other. She could detect when she had to seek out the young Vega for a personal reason, she could not tell how deep her drive and need for the girl went. Neither of them understood the potential of their relationship two years ago; they still don't. Only now are they aware of how much time has passed, and how they can read the reaction of the other almost instantly — even before the situation played through. Two different personalities and still they managed to create a bond that can only be severed by the other.

It amazes her sometimes. How quick time had flown by without concern of how they would feel in the long run of the time lost. If she were to be honest with herself, she would never say just how much she regrets not being able to spend time with the brunette without all of the rude comments. To be able to speak to about things that weren't so personal to either of them. Yes their relationship has blossomed and isn't based on the false hatred from her end, and trying to please Jade on Tori's end, but still. She wishes she hadn't been so caught up in pushing the girl away instead of trying to build up the bond marked between them — Frowning at herself she can feel her left eyebrow starting to twitch, because of the disappointment at herself for upsetting the brunette. Sighing, she sets the helmet back in the placement compartment and steps a few feet closer towards the tanned teen.

"Alright then we'll walk—" Her hand goes up immediately to stop the protest she knows that's coming.

"You're not walking home alone Vega, I'll come back for the bike. And just because I know you will want to repay your debt. I'm starving so you can make me a sandwich when we get to your house as payment, so how about we save the argument and get going."

The late grin she gets in reply is reward enough in exchange for the guilt for the disturbance of the brown haired girl. They're walking within a close proximity; very close, to the point where their hands are constantly brushing against each other with every step. Honestly they don't mind their shoulders bumping together, or how their warmth is enough with the cold chill of the crisp fall air. By a few silent minutes into the walk her hands are shoved into her leather jacket and she wants nothing more than to snatch the tanned one swinging carelessly between them, but she doesn't. She can't. It's not her place. So she sticks to keeping her eyes locked on the ground and trying to count the leaves she steps on with dramatic force. Tori is humming a soft tune lowly and she cracks a smile once she recognizes it as one of the rock songs she had played when driving the brunette home last Tuesday.

"Despite everything we've been through these past few years, you know you've been quite sweet lately." She doesn't look up to meet the grin that's being thrown her way.

She stays silent. There's something that's been on her mind as of late, and it's been eating at her cynically — Well as cynical as she can think of something can be. Still. It's not settling well with her without knowing where or what the brunette plans to be after school ends. She hates thinking that even if she tried she won't be able to have the girl in her life nearly everyday. It's painful she thinks. To be so aloof from what could possibly happen between now and graduation that could somehow mess with the dynamic of the group. She's been trying to keep the thoughts of the future as far away from her mind as long as she can, but it always ends the same. With the thoughts of the brunette swirling inside her brain; taking over every train of thought. The topic of what Tori would do after senior year has come up on numerous occasions, and she has been there to listen and be informed. It's just that everytime the conversation flow switches to that topic she leaves abruptly. So now she is the one asking instead of running from one of the inevitable answers.

"After graduation — I mean what's going to happen afterwards?"

It's an unspoken question before and after. 'What's going to happen to them after graduation.' Tori can hear the question regardless...She knows this. Usually she's straight forward and hates tip toeing around the obvious issue, but this is different. The first and one thing that truly terrifies her, something that petrified her the moment the thought struck her.

"Mason dropped my contract because I wanted to focus on college. He said that while thinking about education is good, there could be a potential star out there waiting to be discovered while I'm too busy with getting a degree..."

Her hands bawl into a fist and she's glad Tori can't see the deep glare she's directing towards the ground. She's admitted to the pure talent that the girl has on a few occasions, but that doesn't take away the many others where she has spoken to herself about the potential Tori has. The graying haired old man may not see it, but she sure as well can, and she won't allow the brunette to not know how amazing she truly is.

"He's an asshole who apparently doesn't know the business. You're not so bad at singing, and your acting isn't puke worthy. So I'd say for him to drop you because you want to go to college is pretty shitty. I knew he was an idiot from the beginning—"

"But he's still right Jade. I couldn't really expect him to try and make something of me when I'm in school, with a busy schedule. We both know how hectic college life can be. Really I'm fine with it. It's even more stress off of my shoulders. On the brightside I got accepted into UCLA..."

Her lips curl into a meek smile, but it doesn't overshadow the pride she feels for her companion. Nodding slowly she lifts her gaze not at all surprised to see a pair of brown eyes already staring at her with so much depth that she wants to believe she looks at Tori the exact same way. As much as she wishes to go to the same school as the brunette she thinks that the chances may be slim. She got accepted into a few colleges and UCLA being one of them, but she has already chosen. She picked NYU and was able to get into the tisch school of arts. With one of the best film programs in the country and she could never pass up that opportunity. It's a once in a lifetime chance...Even if Victoria Vega is a once in a lifetime opportunity. She hasn't told anyone, not even Tori, but she wants to wait. See the future that her friends have chosen before she reveals hers. Not as bad as she—She wants to see what Tori has chosen.

"But I mean it's a long shot, but I sent an application for Juilliard...I may not get in, but what's the point in not trying at all. You only get one chance in life. So why bother trying to spare yourself from the disappointment rather than brace yourself for the reality of everything."

She can't help but stare in wonder at the impeccable beauty of the girl. Not the outward appearance, yes the features of the brunette were gorgeous, but she couldn't bare to try and understand just how deep the mannerisms of the girls brain worked. It seemed almost effortless how quick she could defuse the wreckage of a situation, or how fast paced her problem solving could be. Or how Tori could simply read a person and decide just what it took to console someone who was distraught. Maybe it was another form of a sixth sense that Tori had acquired through the years. Either way the trait was a symbol of the girl; A sort of feature that stood out above the others. Her mind was utterly too beautiful to try and understand, to study. There is no doubt in her mind that if one were to crack open the mind of the brunette there would be a spew of mazes so complicated only to have a simplistic path that would be so obvious, but hard to find...In a manner Jade valued every moment when the brunette unconsciously let the trait shine through tenfold.

"You'll get in,"

It wasn't just the pure hope of wanting to be attending school within the same area of the brunette. No. The honest reply is due to the sheer knowledge of how bright the brunette is. A broad smile is sent her way, and it takes a second for her to realize that they've stopped walking and are questionably closer than usual for just friends. That's the thing. They both know that for a while now they've been more than just friends, but something much stronger and everything less of a couple. They're okay with that though. At least Jade knows she is fine with the relationship status of: Friends. For now.

"I'm not sure if you being unusually sweet is a something I should be concerned about, or completely try to make the most of this and take advantage of your sudden change of heart and get the most out of it before you go back to being a consistent jerk."

"Whatever Vega, I'm not doing this for your benefit. This is a sort of a redemption, you know for all the times I've given you hell over the years. To make amends so that the terrible shit I have done to you in the past doesn't comeback and bite me in my ass."

Tori nods, a firm grin held in place.

"So this has everything to do with you wanting to secure yourself on karmas' forgiven list and nothing to do with you not wanting to admit that you've been so nice to me because you're more fond of me than anybody else?"

She blinks furiously.

Too stunned to even make or take anything from the comment. In an instant the baffled expression of raised eyebrows and parted lips is completely wiped off of her face. She stares at the silent brunette waiting for a response, and for a moment she lets the girl have this argument. Lets them have a millisecond of a not so friendly moment, more so of a time frame of intimacy. Her eyes are soft, too soft, and she knows this, because her mouth is lifted into a smile reserved for these far too constant moments with her fellow senior. It's worth it being able to be on the receiving end of such a gorgeous smile, and so much warmth shinning through those big brown eyes full of compassion. But time goes on, and the future always wins against the present. So she schools her expression once again and her lips curve into the familiar smirk, before she breaks eye contact to look at a lone Saturday afternoon jogger. Clearing her throat, Jade does the most in character thing to do. She destroys the moment.

"Sure you're alright to talk to, but being fond of something is very different from being able to stand in your presence for a few minutes without snapping from boredom."

Tori is able to shield her discontent by glancing away, before she lightly shoves the black haired teens shoulder playfully.

"I'm assuming time is up?"

She pauses at the innocent comment, and forces away the irony the sentence is swimming in. With a sense of nostalgia spreading like wildfire, she rips her left hand out of her pocket. With a speed she didn't know she possesses she reaches out and halts the brunette.

"No. It hasn't, not yet."

And she means it. God does she wish the brunette would address the double meaning hidden underneath her unwavering stare. She doesn't. And Jade nods in understanding when Tori harshly adverts her gaze to the concrete, because honestly there will come another moment like this in the future. Continuing the remaining distance left in a soft silence, Jade can only hope that there is a possibility she will have enough courage to address the next moment they would share.


I have the few three chapters that is this story written.

Write Ya Later ;)