Jade opened the front door and saw…

"Vega? What are you doing here? And how did you find out where I live?"

"Jade, good to see you too. And to answer your questions in reverse, your address is public record. All I had to do was look up West and narrow it down to the Hills area…"

"Why. Are. You. Here?"

Tori shook her head, "If you'd give me a chance to answer… Second, I came to give you this."

Tori held out her hand which held two books. One was a thin, paper-covered script for a play Jade had tried out for earlier in the week. The other was an old hardback Stephen King novel, Pet Semetary.

In a cold tone, Jade asked, "Where did you get these? Did you go into my…"

"No! I did not go into your bag, your locker or your anything else. You might want to check that Gears of War messenger bag. I saw these fall out of the bag as you headed to your car. I tried to stop you before you peeled out of the parking lot. So I grabbed them to give them back to you."

"Oh. Um…thank you…"

"Tori hug?"

"Don't press your luck Vega," Jade replied, the venom normally in her voice somewhat diluted.

"By the way, Jade, congratulations on winning the part. You'll be great."

"Um… Yeah, thanks." Jade was surprised, again, by Tori's sincere attitude. After all, Jade beat her out for the lead.

"Jade? Can I have some more sodey?"

The immaturely-toned voice came from behind Jade. She turned abruptly and said, "Jake, I told you to wait in the den!"

"I'm sorry, Jade. I just wanted some more sodey. I really like it."

Tori saw a face appear behind Jade. He was a handsome young man who was definitely related to Jade. And that face belied the voice – while he sounded like a child, he was undoubtedly a teenager.

"Oh. Hi! Are you a friend of Jade's?" the boy, Jake, asked with a big smile. "You're pretty too. My name's Jake."

"Um, yeah…I'm a friend of Jade's.

"No you're not," Jade denied, almost automatically.

"And thank you for the compliment. And it's nice to meet you Jake. And you're a handsome guy too."

Jake blushed, "Ah, no, I'm not. I just a stupe."

Jade grabbed him by the shoulders, "Don't ever say that again! You are not a stupe! Anyone who says that, or calls you a retard or anything else, will not see the dawn! You're my brother! No one, but me, insults my brother!"

With a happy smile, Jake wrapped his arms around Jade and said, "I love you too Jade."

Even with her face turned away, Jade's slight blush was evident to Tori. She smiled, it was nice to see a different side of Jade.

"Jade, does your friend like sodey?"

"She's not my friend. She's just a… She's a Vega."

"That's a funny name. I like it."

Tori smiled, "Thanks. You can call me Tori if you want."

"Tori? Why does Jade call you Vega?"

Tori chuckled, "My name is Tori Vega. Your sister just calls me Vega unless she needs something."

"Hey!"

Ignoring his sister's outburst, Jake laughed. "I like Tori too. Which do you like better?"

"Well, I like… Tell you what, you call me what you want. Okay?"

The dark-haired young man nodded. "I think I'll call you…" He glanced at his sister and smiled, "I'll call you Tori. Okay?"

"Very okay," Tori replied.

Jade turned back to Tori and said, "Okay Vega, you brought my books. You can go now."

"Aw, Jadey, does she have to? Maybe she wants some sodey."

Before Jade could say anything, Tori said, "I'd love some soda!"

Jake beamed and grabbed Tori's wrist, pulling her past his sister. "C'mon, We can get some more sodey and I'll show you my Batman collection! Do you like Batman? He's the coolest superhero ever!

"So is Spidey. And the Uhvengers. And Cap'n America. And…"

As the two headed further into the house, Jade stood in the open doorway. All she could think was, Why? Why did Vega have to come here? And why can't Jake do was he's told once in a while?

Before long, Tori was engrossed in Batman Arkham Asylum as Jake played the game on his X-Box 360. He had been playing the game for quite a while as he managed to negotiate the game levels easily while telling Tori about every major villian Batman had to subdue..

As they played, if it didn't involve Batman, they still talked about anything and, seemingly, everything. The conversation was a slightly disjointed discussion as Jake could go off the topic easily – especially if an obscure Bat-villain like Mr. Zsasz, the Ventriloquist or Killer Croc showed up in the game.

Tori, initially, was a bit disconcerted by this but found herself enjoying the rambling discussion even as the boy took out one villain after another.

Meanwhile, Jade sat off to the side, watching Vega and her brother, ready to jump in if she felt it was necessary to protect her brother. She knew Tori wouldn't do anything intentionally but she had been looking out for her brother for so long, it was habit. As the game play went on, Jade had to admit Jake seemed to really be enjoying himself with a relative stranger. And Vega seemed to take him as he was with no pity or discomfort.

"HA! That's how you beat the Joker!" Jake announced as he stood and did a mini-victory dance. With a laugh, he changed the topic, saying, "Jadey likes to play scary movie. She hides somewhere then jumps out to scare me. I yell and pretend to be really scared. Then we laugh and have fun doing stuff."

"I do so scare you!" Jade spoke up for the first time in nearly a half hour. "You told me you almost peed once!"

"Well… You let me have a lot of sodey! So I had to pee anyway…"

"Whatever, my little man. I know what I know…"

"Jade! You can't call him that!" Tori butted in.

"It's okay, Tori. I like it. It's like the Three Stooges… You know? When Moe calls Curly his Little Man? Did you know they were brothers? And so was Shemp?"

"So it's like…Jade looking out for you?"

"Well, duh!" Jake replied with a laugh. "But didja know that?"

"No, actually I didn't. What about Larry?"

"Oh, he was just a friend of theirs."

Tori nodded then pointed to the game, "Okay. Did you know that Arkham came from an old horror writer way back in the 1930s?"

"Yeah, Jadey told me about him. Haitchpee Lovecraft. He had a funny name."

Surprised that Vega knew who Lovecraft was – a topic for another time, -Jade shook her head. "Jake, how many times to I have to tell you it's H.P. Lovecraft. His initials, not a full name."

"Yeah, but he had a lot of funny names in his stories too."

"Cthulhu is not funny! It's an other-worldly being who would squash you like a bug if…"

"Kathooloo… See? That's a funny name. Isn't it Tori?"

"Well, Jake, it could be. But in the stories, Cthulhu is really scary."

"Yeah? Really? Jade said so too but I ain't read any of the stories."

"You haven't read any of the stories, Jake. Remember your grammar."

"Yes, Sister Mary Painful!" Jake said with a laugh. Then he turned to Tori, "Jade used to go to a Cath'lic school and the nun sisters could be kinda mean…"

Tori looked over at Jade, "You went to a Catholic grade school too?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"How come the nuns didn't beat the evil out of you?" Tori smiled to show she was just joking.

Jake laughed loudly, "Yeah, Jade, why didn't they?"

Jade's initial surge of anger disappeared when she saw Tori's smile. When Jake laughed, she only mock-growled, "Watch it. Both of you! I have sharp objects everywhere."

At that point, a somewhat older version of Jade came in. "Dinner's almost ready. Jake, go wash up. Jade, would your friend like to join us?"

"Oh, I couldn't impose, Mrs. West."

"Please Tori? Please stay for dinner?" Jake pleaded.

Tori looked at Jade. She wanted to stay but didn't want to cross Jade.

The neo-Goth gave her a small nod. Tori smiled and accepted the invitation, thinking, If they ever remake The Godfather, Jade could be a good Don Corleone.

Jade's mother had made pepper steak over white rice. Tori loved it and told her hostess.

"Thank you, Tori. It's not much but, even working, I try to provide for my munchkins."

"Mooommm!" Jade whined.

"Hey, Jade! You whined!"

"Shut it, Vega!"

Jake started laughing, "You guys are funny! Aren't they, Mom?"

"Jake's right! You are funny. The bickering and… It reminds me of my parents. They rarely agreed on anything and had so much fun arguing… And they were together for almost thirty-five years before Dad…"

"Mom," Jade said, sympathetically. She missed her grandfather as well. She had been old enough to really get to know him before his fatal heart attack.

"Mommy, I miss him too…" Jake added.

"I'm sorry everyone. I just… Tori, please forgive me for talking out of turn."

Tori smiled brightly, "Mrs. West, it's okay. Don't worry about me."

Tori volunteered to help clear the table. Jake readily agreed to help her.

"You like Jade, don't you?" Jake asked.

"Huh? Well, sure I like her. She's a… Well, she's mean and bossy and… But, yeah, I like her."

Jake smiled then gently elbows Tori, "Do you like her?"

"Jake! I…"

"I think she like likes you too."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Even when she was with Beck, she always talked about you. I think she really likes you."

At the same time, Jade and her mother were in the front room. "I like her Jade."

"So?!"

"So, you like her too. And why not? She's smart, funny, gorgeous and seems willing to put up with the worst of you…"

"Mom…"

"C'mon, Jade. I do listen. She puts up with your shit and still tries. She does like you.

"I love Beck but he just wasn't right for you. But I think she is."

"Mom, she's straight. And she's… Vega."

"Jade, I saw how you were looking at each other when you thought no one was watching. But you forget, I'm a mother. I have super hearing and super vision."

Jade just sighed heavily as she rolled her eyes. "Mooommm…"

Later, after Jake went up to his room and Jade's mother disappeared, Jade and Tori were sitting in the den, ostensibly watching Grimm.

Tori spoke up, "Jade?"

"Wha-at?" Jade replied with irritation.

"Why didn't you tell me about your brother? Why keep him a secret?"

"He's not a secret. Beck knows Jake and, of course, Cat knows him. And why should I have told you in the first place?"

"Okay. It's just that he's such a sweet guy. And he adores you. I don't understand why he hasn't been at any of the shows you've been in."

Jade turned away from Tori, staring at an old family photo across the room. A bunch of Victorian or Edwardian characters staring blankly out from the frame.

"Jade? Please talk to me?"'

"Because I was embarrassed! I was embarrassed by my own brother! Is that what you want to hear? How shallow I am? How heartless? How much like my old man? How I'm a cold, uncaring bitch?"

Tori shook her head sadly. "Jade, you love your brother. Anyone can see that. If you let them. But you can't keep him in hiding. You need to acknowledge him. Let others see what a great guy he is and…"

"DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT?! I love him and I hate that I'm ashamed of him. And I don't know what to do!"

The tears welling in Tori's eyes were matched by the ones in Jade's. She rose from the recliner and moved to the sofa, sitting next to Jade. Taking her hand, Tori said, "I understand Jade. I know what it's like to love your sibling but be ashamed at the same time. After all, I have a Trina."

"That's not the same Tori."

"You're right, it's not. Trina is a deluded, self-centered…witch. Jake is a caring, giving soul who happens to be developmentally dis…um, challenged. And you're a teenager who wants to be accepted. But you have nothing to be ashamed of with Jake."

"How very PC of you, Vega."

Ignoring Jade's taunt, Tori went on, "I'll bet, from what I've seen already, that if Jake came to HA with us on Monday, he'll be accepted and, maybe, the other students would see a more caring, compassionate Jade.

"Listen to me please. We're young and we don't always want to be reminded how good we have it by having someone around who doesn't have it as good. It could be mental or physical challenges or poverty or…dozens of other reasons."

"I know," Jade said in a low, sad voice. "I do love my brother, Tori. You have to believe that."

"I do Jade. But I have to ask this. Why are you embarrassed by your brother?"

Jade stared at Tori for a long time. Finally, she said, "I don't know. I guess it's that my parents didn't make a perfect kid. And… I'm afraid people will look at me like I'm some kind of freak too."

Tori flared up, "Jadelyn West! Jake is not a freak!"

"I know, dammit! I KNOW!" Jade took a breath, "I… I love Jake. And I…hate that I'm embarrassed by him."

The girl fell into Tori's sheltering arms, sobbing at her weakness. The half-Latino cooed to Jade, "It's okay. You're fine. Please don't torture yourself. We're teenagers, we're supposed to be shallow. It's okay. You're okay. I'll help… If you want me to."

Torn between forcing Jade to fully accept her brother and trying to comfort the distraught young woman, Tori realized how contradictory some of her statements were. All she could hope was that Jake would become a bigger part of Jade's life and that Jade could get over her fear and guilt.

The following Monday, Jade walked into Hollywood Arts with her brother. Jake looked around at the various students dancing, doing acrobatics and generally letting their creative juices flow. Then he stared at the lockers, each with it's own individual design.

"This place it so cool, Jade!" Jake exclaimed.

"Yeah, it is. And I should've shown it to you a long time ago," Jade replied.

"I bet that's your locker."

"Damn straight, brother o'mine! C'mon, I wanna introduce you to some very good friends of mine. Of course you know Cat and Beck."

"Hey buddy," Beck said, shaking Jake's hand.

Cat hugged Jake tightly, "I missed you, Jake."

Jake laughed and said, "I miss you too, Cat. And you too Beck."

Jade waved the other two members of their clique over, "Hey guys, this is my brother Jake. Jake, this is Andre Harris, Robbie Shapiro and his puppet Rex."

Andre shook Jake's hand, saying, "Welcome, my man."

Before Andre could say more, Rex interrupted, "She called me a puppet, Rob! No one calls me a puppet!"

Jake laughed and clapped. "Do it again! Make him talk some more!"

Rex started to say, "Hey, this little chump is…"

Tori clamped a hand over the wooden face and shot a glaring look at Robbie. She hissed, "Quiet!"

"What are you doing here, Jake?" Cat asked. "Jade never brought you here before."

"I was being very stupid before, Cat. I'm trying to be smarter now." Jade threw a small grin at Tori.

Beck shook his head, "Wow. Jade, I never would've believed you'd say anything like that if I hadn't heard it myself." Jade growled but Beck ignored that and laid his arm across Jake's shoulders. "It's good to see you again, buddy."

"Yeah!" Cat yelled. "Jakey and Jadey at school!"

Jake laughed as Jade snarled, "Don't call me that."

Jake spent the entire day with Jade, sitting in her classes, making friends and showing everyone a different side to the Ice Queen. And Jade discovered that she didn't mind it that much, in fact she felt pride in her brother. And that feeling grew through the day.

Not that she'd been declawed but maybe domesticated a bit.

Sikowitz welcomed Jake with open arms. "So, tell me Jake. Is your sister a little ray of sunshine at home too?"

Not catching the sarcasm, Jake just nodded and replied, "She's a lot of fun!"

Sikowitz shook his fuzzy-fringed head and said, "Okay. Anyway, my minions…"

"I love the Minions! They're so funny!" Cat shouted.

"My favorite is the one-eyed minion," Jake chimed in. "Jadey won me a big stuffed one at the carnival last summer!"

Jade blushed and stared at her lap. Tori, who was sitting on the other side of Jade, grabbed her hand and whispered, "See? That's so sweet. And he obviously loves it."

Smiling slightly, Jade merely whispered, "Can it, Vega."

"Hey! Shu-hush! Who's the teacher here?" Sikowitz asked in a loud voice.

"We're not really sure," Jade threw back.

"Alright, everyone cop a squat. Today, we're going to work on…"

After class, Jade grabbed Tori's arm in the by now standard way, and pulled her towards the janitor's closet. When Jake started to follow, Jade called Cat, "Take Jake to lunch."

"Kay-kay! C'mon Jake! Maybe Festus has burritos!"

In the small room, Tori stood as Jade paced back and forth across the tight space – three steps one way then three steps the opposite direction.

After a dozen circuits, Jade stopped and looked at Tori. "Did you mean what you said? Or were you just…"

"I meant every word, Jade. We all did." Tori wasn't upset that Jade questioned her, the girl had some issues to work out and Tori would do anything she could.

Jade nodded, "Okay. Um thanks. Listen, I… God, this is hard!

"I need to thank you for helping me start to overcome my…" Jade paused, took a deep breath and went on, "My fears… My insecurities…"

"Jade, I'm just glad I could help." Tori winced at how pat her words sounded. "I… I really am glad I was able to help,. I really like you… And Jake. I mean…"

Jade kissed Tori, effectively silencing her. Surprised but even more thrilled, Tori returned the kiss, her hand snaking around Jade's waist.

They pulled apart and Jade's eyes dropped. "Um… I'm sorry, Vega…"

"In case you didn't notice, Jade, I was kissing back."

Jade's eyes raised and looked at Tori. She liked what she saw. "Yeah, I guess you were."

"So, this is kind of…sudden."

Jade snorted, "Yeah, well, I've done a lot of thinking over the weekend. Not just about Jake. But what Mom said while you two were cleaning up Friday night. And some other things… I've kinda started to like you since…well, I guess it started when we had to babysit Cat so she wouldn't try to use a cell phone. Then the night of the 'yes' dare…that was one of the most fun nights I've had in a while.

"The common thread was you. And now, after you started to show me how Jake can be accepted by others, I… I won't say it yet. But you've come to mean a lot to me."

"You've always meant a lot to me, Jade," Tori said with a big grin.

"Well, kiss me, you goof," Jade challenged.

Tori happily complied.

Lunch was the usual routine, except that Jade and Tori were nowhere to be seen for the first half hour. And Jake had joined them. He fit in like he'd been there all along.

About halfway through the lunch hour, a flushed Tori and Jade finally joined them.

"Where have you been?" Andre asked Tori.

"Jade wanted to…"

"Thank her for helping with Jake."

"Yeah, thank her… Heh-heh-heh," Rex chuckled.

"Robbie…" Jade snarled. Then she turned to her brother, "How's your lunch?"

"Jadey, this burrito is pretty good!"

"Good Jake. Glad you like it. Now, QUIT CALLING ME JADEY!"

Everyone at the table stared at Jade like she was the Anti-Christ when Jake started to chuckle, The chuckle became a laugh and soon he was roaring with laughter. The others slowly, reluctantly joined in as Jade's face was, equally slowly, creased by a smile.

After school, Cat came with the West siblings and Tori to the West house. She and Jake disappeared into the game room to play Batman Arkham City. Jade led Tori up to her room and the pair lay back on the king-sized bed, holding each other and sharing soft, loving kisses. Which, occasionally, became a little more intense.

Finally, Jade pulled back and looked up at her ceiling.

Tori admired her gorgeous profile. "You know, you favor your mom."

"Huh?"

"You look like her. And I know what a hottie you'll be in twenty, thirty or more years. You'll end up being the MILF in the neighborhood."

"God Vega, you're so weird." Tori just laughed at that.

"Speaking of Mom… You know, at some point, hopefully many years from now, Mom won't be able to keep up with Jake. I'll have to take over his care. Happily though. But whoever is in my life will have to be willing to help." Jade looked at Tori, a small gleam of hope in her eye.

Tori rewarded that hope with a big, happy smile, "I'm in. One hundred percent!" With a wicked grin, Tori added, "Jadey."

The goth jumped up and tackled Tori, holding her down and whispering "Don't call me that."

Tori's rely was a passionate kiss that effectively silenced Jade.