Disclaimer: Unfortunately for all of us, I do not own Victorious.

|Tori|

"See you tomorrow, Jade!"

Cat is screaming next to me, grabbing my elbow with both hands. I wince, trying to pry the caffeine driven redhead off of me, but I don't even think she notices her fingernails are about to draw blood. I raise my hand to wave at Jade's back as she ducks into her car, not bothering to reply to us. I sigh - I've come to expect such nonchalance when it comes to Jade. She's just like that, very ... very cold. That brief moment when the play was over, when she hugged me, I knew that was a one time thing, something I would probably never see or feel from her again. Like she cared about anything other than herself, like she was grateful. I'm trying to shrug off the way I still feel about it. I just ... it feels warm inside. It's weird. Maybe because I saw a side of her I didn't know existed? I don't know. Whatever the case, it made me feel almost honored that she even bothered.

Jade is a complicated person with a lot of layers and I have come to understand that fully.

"The play turned out great, didn't it! There were so many people, ohmygosh Tori what if there was a big time producer there and they liked me! Tori ohmygoodgolly I could just die right now, I could just die -"

Her voice turns into high pitched buzzing as we reach my car. She's at the frequency of a pesky mosquito as I drop into the driver's seat, headlights flashing in my mirror as Jade passes us. I watch her turn out of the parking lot, Cat jabbering away as the nosey girl picks through my glove compartment. I start to pull out and interject loudly - "Jade hugged me."

That shuts up Cat really fast. The silence that follows confuses me; Cat isn't exactly known for being surprised. I turn to look at the scarlet-haired girl, her brown eyes wide and almost scared looking as she leans against the passenger door. I jerk my eyes back to the road and then to her again, my confusion settling in my brow. "What?"

"Jade doesn't hug anyone. No one. Only Beck."

She sounds terrified. I look at her again, concerned. She's plucking at the sleeves of her sweatshirt, tugging gray threads out nervously and dropping them on the floor of my car. "Cat? What's wrong? It was just a hug. Jade can be nice when she wants to be."

"No." Cat's arms cross hard over her stomach and she falls back against the seat, glaring out of the window. I glance at her again to see her lips pursed, legs crossing. I didn't know Cat could get mad, and it doesn't make sense - what is she so mad about?

"I thought Jade was your best friend?"

"She is. But she's not nice. She's never nice. She hugged you?" Cat twists toward me again, frowning in disapproval from the passenger seat. I nod slowly, eyes on the road.

"Yeah. A quick hug. I think it was her way of saying 'thank you'."

"For what?"

"Helping her with the play? I don't know."

Cat huffs again, and her fingers drift to her lips, tracing them slowly. I get distracted watching her, studying the angry, furrowed lines of her face. Cat's never mad. I don't think I've ever seen her genuinely angry about anything. She's just so light-hearted and ditzy, I never knew she could focus on anything long enough to feel anything but top-layer feelings about it. That might sound mean, but ... Cat's Cat, and she's just like that. I've never really seen any depth to her, just this crazed smile and bright eyes. She's so much like a puppy that I forget she's a person sometimes.

"She doesn't hug me anymore." Cat spreads her hands on her lap and studies them in silence. I frown at the steering wheel as I navigate through the streets.

"Well, that's Jade. She's, you know. She's like a girl Jafar without the beard." It's supposed to be funny, but Cat doesn't laugh. She just glances at me sideways and glares out of the windshield.

"You didn't know Jade before Beck. She used to hug me, and - and other things." Cat's tone is different, weird, almost ... serious? I really shouldn't be driving because I keep looking at her, trying to find whatever is hiding in her brown eyes, the answers to her riddles.

"What kinds of things?"

"Nice things." Cat exhales slowly as if whatever memories she's thinking of soothes her, and she sinks in the seat. Her eyes fall closed but I can see them flickering under the lids as if she's watching a projection. "Really nice things."

I pull into her driveway and park, turning toward her. Is she ... is she trying to tell me her and Jade were romantic? I didn't know Jade liked girls, or Cat, or what in the world Cat is talking about. I remind myself that this is Catarina Valentine I'm talking to, and she's a little odd, and her world is incredibly warped next to mine, so what she's saying might be a lie, or some skewed edition of the truth. Her eyes are still closed, and she swallows hard, shifting her legs against the seat and I reach out carefully, touching her sleeve.

"Cat? Are you okay?"

Cat's eyes open and she snaps them toward me. She sits up, grabbing her purse off the floor. I flinch back, resting my wrists against the steering wheel as she opens the door and steps out. She ducks down before closing the door, biting her lip and studying me with what looks like concern, but almost ... anger, like she's mad at me. I try to say something but she beats me to it, her eyes falling to the concrete.

"Be careful, Tori. Jade breaks hearts."

The door slams behind her and she disappears into her house and I'm left staring after her, not quite understanding what just happened. I drive home with my eyes on the road and my mind somewhere else entirely - in Jade's arms, as they closed around my shoulders and my face was in her hair. She smelled like mango. I still feel weird about it, about her in general, really. She just comes off so cold but ... there was warmth there. It spread in my chest, down my arms and resting in my fingers. I purse my lips as I park in front of my house, feeling the car die beneath me, keys falling into my lap. What was Cat going on about? I thought they were friends, I never got the notion that anything more had occurred between them. Although, Cat did seem genuinely upset if Jade insulted her, which didn't happen so much with anyone else ... it's like Cat only cares about what Jade thinks. I always thought that was because they were best friends, or it came off that way, at least on Cat's part. For Jade, she just seemed to use people when they were convenient, like when I sang at the karaoke bar, and the play. People aren't really people to her, I don't think, they're more like ... props in the production of her life. Things.

I crawl out of the car and into my house, greeting my cheery parents in the kitchen. I'm not in a bad mood, just thinking, so they back off as I pull some food from the fridge and migrate to my bedroom. I lean against the closed door and bring the patch of grapes to my mouth, biting one off. This is stupid. I shouldn't look too much into this because a) Cat never makes sense about anything (she once cried when I used the last of my eraser because she was convinced I had taken away my pencil's only friend) and b) Jade is hardly a friend of mine, she's just kind of ... I don't know, there because she was a part of the group before me.

I shrug off my discomfort for as long as I can, but a half an hour later my grapes are gone and iCarly is over and they come crawling back. I study my phone in silence, chewing my lip and heaving a sigh. Fine. I'll just call Jade and ask. Maybe she'll have some answers for me. I scoop up my phone, dialing her number and pressing it to my ear. I've never actually called Jade before, and the few times we've texted was for homework purposes or finding each other, and suddenly I feel intimidated. It's not like it's my fault - Jade can be absolutely terrifying sometimes. The girl is seriously the Wicked Witch of the West minus the green pigment, particularly on Monday mornings. She's a minefield and no one is ever quite sure where to step, not even Beck, and he's supposed to be some kind of expert or something.

The phone rings for so long I almost hang up, but then there's a rustling noise followed by a very grumpy, "What?"

I swallow. Why was I calling again? I shake my head, stuttering for a few moments before I manage, "Hey, hey, Jade, it's, uh, it's me. Tori."

"Yes. My phone tells me that. It helps me decide whether or not I want to answer."

I pick at my blanket nervously, my mind fluttering a blank white. "Yeah, right, uh, I just, I was calling because, uhm ... Cat was acting weird in the car on the way home and I thought maybe you would know why."

"You're calling me because Cat was acting weird. Have you just met her?"

"No, no." I sigh hard, running a hand through my hair. "Nevermind, I'll just - nevermind, it's nothing."

There's a brief pause and for a moment I think she's hung up on my own stupidity, but then there's a sigh that crackles through the receiver. "What did she say?"

Her voice sounds so deep, so ... concerned, that it catches me off guard for a moment. "Uhm. She, uh, I was telling her that you hugged me after the play was over and she just got all ... weird. Like, weird for her. She said that you don't hug her anymore? That you used to do 'nice things'? I don't know what she meant by that, but then she told me to be -" I stop then, cutting myself off.

Be careful, Tori. Jade breaks hearts.

It echoes in my head, Cat's eyes heavy as they watched me from outside of the car. I swallow, shaking my head again. "Yeah, that was all. I just was wondering what you thought, I guess. You guys are best friends and everything -"

"I don't have best friends, Tori." It's sharp and shuts me up. "Cat's bordering on mentally unstable, we all know that. She's delusional."

"What did she mean by 'nice things'? What kind of 'nice things'?"

"Is this really any of your business?"

I glare at my bedspread. "Look, I'm the whole reason you even got to fuel your play at all, so many you need to start being a little nicer to me -"

"That's what the hug was for."

"What?" I throw my hands up. "I should feel blessed or something, because you graced me with a hug?"

"Look, Tori. Cat is - she's Cat, okay? She holds on to things, makes them mean more than they really do. Blows them up. Don't stress your pretty little head over someone like Cat."

I frown again. "Someone like Cat? She's a person, Jade."

"Yes, a very messed up and confused person. Goodnight, Tori."

There's a click, then silence. I lower the phone slowly, twisting my lips at the screen. I don't know what I expected. It's not like Jade has ever really been the best conversationalist; when we do talk, she's usually threatening me. I've never gossiped with her about other people, especially not my friends. But Cat, she almost scared me back there in the car, warning me about Jade. It's not like I'm going to trust her with anything.

I sink in my bed, pulling the blankets to my chin. Right?

A/N: Hi there. So, here I am again, writing more Victorious femslash. Big surprise. But this one is different, and brand new for me! A love triangle.

~dunna dunna!~

Each chapter is going to alternate POV. Next chapter will be Cat, the one after will be Jade, and then back to Tori. Bear with me here. This will be long and angsty. Eventual romance, and the character filter may change once pairings are established. I'll keep it a surprise for you guys :)

I have the next two chapters already written, and depending on the feedback I get from you readers, they might be up within the next few days!

Enjoy!