I came up with the idea while helping my mom clean a church recently. I don't know why, but I liked the idea, and typed it up. Here ya go. Also, takes place before 'Tori Fixes Beck and Jade'. Tori's POV.
Disclaimer: I don't own VicTORIous or characters.
"Good morning, class. Is everybody ready for tomorrow?" Sikowitz says as he climbs through the window.
I glance around at everyone, finally, after a moment of tense silence, Jade yells at Sikowitz.
"Well!? What's going on tomorrow?" She yells, startling everyone around her.
"Oh!" Sikowitz says, not fazed by Jade's yelling. "Lane has told me to tell a few of you that you are going to the Catholic church down the street to clean it. There are three areas, so three teams of two. Beck, you and André will clean the apartment area that the pastor uses when he's in town." Sikowitz says, pointing to the two guys. "Next, Cat and Robbie, you two will clean the downstairs area where they have their lunches or whatever." He says, pointing to the next two. I have an uneasy feeling in my stomach because I know who the last two are. "Jade and Tori." Knew it. "You two get the upstairs, where the church services are. You will be given lists of where everything is and how everything is meant to be cleaned. Make it fast, but make it effective. Meet here at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow morning and I will drive you all up in my van. It should take no more than an hour or so, so I will be back at 10:00 a.m. to pick you all up. If you finish before I get back, just keep yourselves entertained legally," He adds, looking at Jade. "until I get there. Any questions? No? Good. Enjoy the rest of the period."
We all watch as he takes a seat on the stage and pulls out a coconut from out of seemingly nowhere. I turn to Jade who is busy talking to Cat about something I can't hear. Finally, I turn to André.
"How did we get roped into this?" I ask my best friend.
"Don't know, chica. But it's Sikowitz. He does weird stuff, and we all do it anyway. Good luck tomorrow, by the way." He says with a small chuckle.
"Yeah, yeah. Think Sikowitz would mind if I partnered with you instead?" I ask hopefully. There's no way I'll survive alone with Jade for two hours. I know the others will be there, but it'll be just us. And I doubt she'll care if it's a church. She'll still hurt me.
"Yes, Tori, I mind. I partnered you with Jade for a reason. I am tired of you two always competing against each other. I know some competition is good, but you two go at it like your in a war. Hopefully, this will give you an oppurtunity to work together, without the fear of bloodshed."Sikowitz says, startling both André and I.
"Fine. But if she hurts me, I blame you." I say, half joking.
"Good. At least you agree."
He walks back to the stage, sitting down again and continues to drink from his coconut. I glance at André, who shrugs and goes to talk to Beck. A few minutes later, Jade sits where André just was, a smirk on her face.
"Why'd you try to get away from working with me? Afraid you won't walk out of the church?" She asks, in her 'Tori voice'.
"One, I don't talk like that." She waves her hand dismissively at that. "And two, I'll be surprised if someone in your lifestyle will even be able to enter the church." I say, jokingly.
She looks a bit upset at the last part of what I said, and before I question her about it, she goes back to her usual blank stare. She gets up and goes back over to Cat, who gives me a weird look when Jade sits down, and all I do is shrug my shoulders, not knowing what just happened.
The rest of the day goes by seemingly well. Nothing happened, and Jade ignored me during lunch. Not that I'm surprised, but she didn't say anything at all, or even do anything outside of eating her salad. When someone tried to talk to her, all she did was glare at them, then sent a glare to me, which confused me even more because I can't figure out what I said or did to make her act so coldly to me. I know she usually is, but she usually has a reason to, and she tends to tell me what to make it worse by bringing it up.
After I get home, I tell my mom and dad about what's going on tomorrow, and they look surprised. They asked me when it was planned, and I told them Sikowitz just gave it to us today, and they understood. They're used to the crazy teacher's antics by now. I do my homework and relax until dinner. The four of us, My parents, Trina, and I, make small talk. Well, until Trina freaks out because there's an audition for a movie tomorrow and 'insists' that we all go and support her. And by 'insist', I mean demands. I'm actually looking forward to being alone with Jade tomorrow, and I think my parents agree because when Trina gets up to put her dishes in the sink, they give me somewhat envious looks, making me smile at them. Anything is better than going with Trina to an audition.
I spend the night relaxing, listening to music. I set my alarm to wake me up at 6 a.m., giving me plenty of time to take a shower, get dressed, and grab some breakfast. I finally got my license, and my parents are letting my use their car tomorrow to get to school, since Trina also 'insisted' that the three of them take her car. I get to bed around 9:30 p.m. or so, and sleep peacefully throughout the night. When my alarm goes off, I jerk awake slightly because I'm not used to waking up so early on the weekends.
I hurry to the bathroom to take a shower. Even though it's early for Trina to be awake on a Saturday, it's a force of habit when dealing with her. I take a quick shower, getting out and drying off. I throw on a pair of white bra and panty set, a pair of blue jean pants, and a light blue t-shirt. I step into my room, grabbing a pair of socks and my boots, as well as my pearphone and wallet. I head downstairs, seeing my parents on the couch watching the news. I sit beside them, putting my socks and boots on.
"Are you sure you want to clean a church with your friends, sweetie?" My mom asks, facing me. "I think you should come and support your sister."
"Mom, I'm pretty sure Jade would kill me if I left her to do that alone, and besides, I still have a headache from her last audition. I'm good."
"I envy you right now, kid." My dad says, shaking his head slightly when we hear Trina doing her 'vocal warm-ups' from her room. "Honey, where are the earplugs?" He says, turning to my mom. Without saying a word, she pulls out a small Ziploc bag filled with small sets up earplugs, making me dad smile and say a small 'thank you' to her, which she just smiles at.
I head over to the kitchen and make myself some eggs, sausage, and bacon. As I finish, Trina comes down the stairs, demanding I make her some too, and I just walk to the kitchen table, telling her I can't because I'm in a hurry. Even though I don't need to be there for close to an hour.
I eat and wash my dishes, then go to leave. I tell them I'm stopping by to get coffee on the way, which isn't a lie, and head out, putting my wallet and phone in my pocket as I do. I stop slightly when I see Jade sitting in the spot behind Trina's car, an impatient look on her face.
"Get in, and make it fast. I'm not waiting on you Vega." She yells from the driver's seat. I hurry, knowing how impatient she gets.
"Can we stop by Jet Brew? I need coffee." She gives me an odd look as she pulls out of the driveway. "I'll buy you one?" I ask, hoping she'll go easy on me if I feed her addiction.
"Fine. I want a large, black and two sugars." She says, shocking me with her lack of malice.
"Ok. Why did you pick me up?" I ask, getting worried when I see she doesn't answer right away.
"Sikowitz called me last night and said I had to pick you up. He gave me directions to the church, and I 'had' to drive my partner there. That's it."
"Thanks for the ride." I say a little shyly. "Don't be mad, but why did you look upset when I said I'd be surprised if you could step in a church? You know I was only joking, right?"
She doesn't answer, and only tells me to hurry when we pull into Jet Brew. I grab her coffee and mine as quick as I can, careful not to spill any as I walk back to her car. I slowly get into her car, making her mad, but I'd rather take my time than risk spilling any of it in her car.
The drive to the church is silent, no music or talking. Just the sound of coffee being sipped. Finally. after almost a half hour drive, we pull into the church parking lot, seeing Cat's brother's car and Beck's truck. I shudder slightly at Cat's brother's car, remembering the awful drive to San Diego with Cat and Jade a while ago. I don't see Sikowitz's van, which slightly worries me, but don't think anything of it when Jade pulls into an available spot beside the others. We get out as Cat and the others step out of the church with a piece of paper in hand. I walk over the the pastor and introduce myself, Jade only saying her name. He gives us a piece of paper, telling us what needs to be done. Each list is small, only a few things, which I'm glad about, which turns to worry when I remember Sikowitz saying it should take no more than an hour.
We follow the pastor inside, everyone minus him trying not to smile or laugh when Jade goes to step in. I guess we were all expecting her to burst into flames. The pastor leads each duo to their respective rooms to clean. The rooms are a decent size, maybe fitting up to a hundred people at a time.
I glance at Jade, who looks a little apprehensive. I ask her why, and she only tells me to shut up. I get on to doing my share of the cleaning. I glance at my list to see what all I have to do.
-Wipe pews and foot rests-
-Wipe down window seals-
-Sweep wood floors-
-Mop wood floors-
Seems easy enough. I notice Jade has set her list down, so I peak over it to see what she has.
-Wipe glass counter-
-Sweep carpets-
-Empty trash-
-Sweep steps-
I hurry and clean the wood floors. There isn't too much, just around where the pews are. It takes me about ten minutes to clean the floors and wipe down the foot rests. Another five for the pews themselves. During this time, I notice Jade cleaning the glass and grabbing the sweeper. I grab the dishcloth and wet it in the bucket of water to clean the window seals. It doesn't take me too long, and I see that Jade has already taken care of the trash. So far, we've been here for close to a half hour, and I see Jade decide to take a small break before doing the steps. Building up some courage, I sit beside her and ask her a question that has been on my mind since yesterday.
"What did I say to make you hate me right now? Whatever it was, I didn't mean it, I swear."
"It's nothing, Vega. Just let it go." She says as she gets up and grabs the sweeper for the carpeted steps. I grab her arm and look at her pleadingly. I know she's lying, and I only want to help. I can tell she doesn't want it, but I'm trying anyway. "Fine. You really want to know?" She says, some anger in her voice, but also a hint of fear. "It's what you said yesterday. 'Someone of my lifestyle'. That's why I'm so mad at you right now."
"You're mad because I joked about your Goth clothing and stuff?" I ask, confused as to why that would upset her.
"It's not that. I don't care about that. It's a different 'lifestyle' that made me worry. My own father wrote me out of his will because of it." She says, this time no anger, only sadness. I see a hint of tears in her eyes as she speaks.
"Then what? You can trust me, Jade." I say pleadingly, hoping I don't seem like I'm forcing her.
"Nothing, Vega. Let's just finish cleaning and get out of here." She says, going for the sweeper again.
"It's not nothing Jade!" She stops when she hears me yell. I'm a little surprised as well that I would yell at her. "What do I have to do to show you that you can trust me not to tell anyone? I won't tell anyone, you can trust me damn it!" We're both surprised that I swore in a church, but I don't care. I know it's bothering her, and I want to help.
"Fine. I'll tell you." She says after a moment of silence. "My 'lifestyle' that I'm worried about? I'm gay, Vega. Have been for a while. It's one of the reasons Beck and I broke up. When you said what you said in class yesterday, I was worried that someone knew and was making fun of me. Happy now?"
"Your own father reacted that way because you like girls? That's a stupid thing to do. How did he find out?"
"He overheard Cat and I talking about it when she was over at my house last week. I told her, and he got pissed. Next thing I know, he's kicking me out, saying he wants nothing to do with me. Luckily, cat let me stay with her. I told her what you said, and she was upset at you."
"Jade, I am so sorry. If I would've known, I wouldn't have said it. Is that why Cat looked at me the way she did when you went back and sat with her yesterday?"
"Yep. She thought you knew and were messing with me. Tell anyone about this and..."
"I get decapitated by a pair of dull, rusty scissors in my sleep. Got it. Besides, I have a similar secret."
"First, my scissors are never rusty or dull. Second, what? You packing an extra tool over there, Vega?" Jade says with a small smile.
"No!" I say with a laugh. "I'm gay too. Have been since Sherwood." I say after I calm down.
"Wait." She says, laughing slightly. "Then how do you explain kissing your ex Danny, as well as Steven and Ryder?" She says,m completely serious.
"Danny was a cover. He knew I was gay, but he wasn't. I don't know why I kissed him. I guess I thought I was bi, but it only hurt Cat, and I regretted it instantly. As for Steven, I don't know. I guess I wanted to try dating a guy, but it failed, obviously."
She laughs again at that, looking at me with confusement after a minute. "Then how do you explain Ryder?"
"Yeah." I say, laughing again. "I guess my gaydar needs fixing. I honestly thought he was gay, and needed a beard. I actually laughed when I found out he was straight." I say, my laughter continuing.
"Wait, wait. You thought Ryder Daniels was gay? How'd you think that? Especially with us telling you he uses girls all the time?"
"I thought it was a cover or something, I don't know. He reminded me of one of my gay friends from Sherwood who moved before I went to Hollywood Arts. Same mannerisms, clothing style, everything. Even his hair." Both of us are laughing now.
"Damn, that's good. Does he know you thought that?" She asks, our laughter calming down a bit.
"Nope. To this day I bet he still thinks it's because I was interested in him." I say, smiling.
"Well, that's awesome. Why'd your friend move?" She says, serious again, worry in in her voice.
"His dads got job offers in Seattle. They asked him if he wanted to stay, and he said no because his biological mom re-married and he hates his mom's new husband."
"Dads? As in plural?"
"Yep. His dad came out of the closet when he was ten, and got legally married six years later."
"I admit, I'm happy for them. Now, let's finish cleaning so we can get out of here. And don't worry, Vega. Your secret's safe with me."
"Same here, West." I say with a smile.
"Don't call me 'West'." She says as she turns on the sweeper, cutting of communication. I grab the extra sweeper and sweep the carpets. About fifteen minutes later, the six of us are driving to a small diner for an early lunch.
The lunch was quick. We all ate before we left it seems, so we just bought three meals and shared them with our partners. Everyone was surprised to see Jade and me getting along with each other so well. We the secret's we shared, it's no surprised to us.
After the lunch, we all headed to my house to hang out and play cards. Jade had an idea to play teams. When asked what the teams are, she said the teams are the same as for cleaning the church. Everyone was again surprised at Jade for wanting to be my partner, and I'll be honest, I was too.
The game went well, and Robbie and Cat won the most games. They make a pretty good team. I wonder what happened while they cleaned to make them so much closer now than they were before? I'll ask Cat later.
Everyone leaves soon after the game is done. Jade leaves last, stopping at the door.
"Is something wrong, Jade? You were a little quiet during the game."
"Do you like someone, Vega?" She asks, catching me off guard. I see her turn around and look me in the eyes, which isn't easy considering I'm trying to avoid her gaze.
"Y-yes. Yeah. Why do you ask?" I curse myself for stuttering slightly, finally looking at her face.
"Who is she?" She asks, clearly not breaking eye contact.
"Can we talk about this another time?" I ask desperately.
"How about this. I tell you who I like, you tell me who you like. Deal?"
"Fine." I cave after a moment of consideration. "But you first."
"Sure." I watch as she walks over to me, stopping an inch away. I go to ask her who it is, but she leans slightly and kisses me. It takes me a short while to figure out what's happening, but when I do, I kiss her back. "Well, that answered both questions at the same time, didn't it?"
"Huh? What do you mean?" I mumble.
"I kissed you, and you kissed me back. I'm guessing you like me?"
"Yeah, a little?" I say it as a question, but we both know it's obviously not. "You like me, or else you wouldn't have kissed me."
"You're right. You're a challenge. Beck was too easy, he caved instead of fighting back. You don't cave. I enjoy that. I'll pick you up for school on monday. Be ready by 7."
"Uh-huh." I say, still in shock at her kissing me. I watch as she walks out, purposely swaying her hips as she goes.
'What have I gotten myself into?' I ask myself as she gets in her car, winking at me as she pulls away.
I may or may not make this a multi-chap. Thank you everyone who read. Please review.