Disclaimer: Don't own. There, it's been said. Happy now?
:}
Tori was pacing, waiting for her girlfriend of only a few weeks. 'Jade, where are you?' She wondered. The school day was ending, and the pale girl was her ride home. 'I'm not taking a ride with Trina. I-I can't. Not if I values my life.' Her worried expression showed more then selfishness, it was concerned about what her blue eyed girlfriend may have been doing. 'Not Beck yet. Jade still keeps things from me, and this may be about one of them. Or, maybe she's just taking her sweet time.' Her frustration was building. 'Trina's starting to wave. Can't let her know I don't have my ride yet...'
Jade showed up, walking at a slow, deliberate pace. "You ready to go?" She asked.
"What took you?" Tori asked, barely hiding her frustration.
"Had some things to take care of." Jade replied. "I needed Robbie to help me with something. Then, Sinjin HAD to get involved, and it just became a thing. Now, you ready to go?" It sounded almost like Jade was accusing Tori of delaying them.
"Sure." Tori agreed. "Um, you gonna hang at my place?"
"Oh, wish I could, but I have a thing today." Jade said, but didn't sound too sad about it.
"You have a thing?" Tori asked.
"Yea, every week, on Thursdays, unless a play or something gets in the way." Jade explained.
"And how long has this been going on?" Tori asked, barely keeping herself from demanding.
"Years." Jade assured her girlfriend. "Ask Beck if you don't believe me. Of course, there is absolutely no reason you shouldn't believe me..." Jade gave Tori a stare, almost a glare, and the Latina felt bad about doubting her. "Man, didn't think I was gonna get through that with a straight face. I mean, I'm a good actress, but honestly, when you tell such a whopper…" The dark haired girl broke out laughing.
"Um, Jade?" Tori said, feeling smaller.
"Just being honest. Isn't that what couples are supposed to do?" Jade asked. "I know, I've given you plenty of reasons not to trust me. So feel free to call Beck. Call, not go to his place, or have him come to yours. You can even ask him at school. Just, you know, not alone, cause as much as I trust him, I don't trust him." Jade gave her girl eyes, letting her know she was serious. "Plus, he's very charming, and while we've both built up resistance, you've only ever resisted his full on charm once."
"Yea, once." Tori agreed, nodding for just a second. "Wait, you know about that?"
"You mean, before the Platinum Music Awards, when you left your video chat on, after Cat walked off to help me out?" Jade asked. "Yea, I saw the whole thing, and Beck, he wasn't acting like the best of friends. I get it, he wanted you. I wanted you. Many times, I wished it was you who ran up onto that stage and kissed me. Of course, given where I was back then, I'd have probably hit you."
"That was three months ago." Tor exclaimed.
"And I've done a lot of growing over those three months." Jade assured her. "Anyways, lets get going. I need to drop you off, then run an errand before tonight."
Tori followed her girlfriend over to the car. "Um, not to pry, but what are you doing tonight?" She asked.
"Just an old commitment." Jade assured Tori, all but waving the whole thing off. "A social obligation I have to be at. So, you be good, and I'll take you someplace nice tomorrow. Maybe."
Tori rolled her eyes. Jade liked people to think she came from money. While the goth was lower middle class, she had a lot of friends and contacts, mostly from her father's many failed startup businesses. Usually the pale girl could find something they could do on a budget, and Tori liked watching Jade dig into family contacts she'd otherwise ignore. However, it was also a bit old, the way Jade seemed to always be plotting to save some cash, looking like she was spending quite a bit when really she wasn't.
"Um, Jade, does your commitment have anything to do with the date your taking me on?" Tori asked, wondering what kind of trade she'd made this time.
"We're here." Jade replied, ignoring the question. "I like that, a short, quick drive. You should consider riding a bike. I mean, I would, but we both know I live just a bit too far away. Anyways, if you rode a bike, you'd have the freedom to get yourself home, whenever, and I think you'd enjoy the independence."
"This commitment, does it have anything to do with your families contacts?" Tori asked again.
"No, my families contacts have everything to do with family relations. See, my grandfather, and uncle, both being confidence men who'd gone legit and went into sales." Jade said, giving a sigh. "My dad, not so good at the con job, but great at maintaining trusting, friendly relations. But, who do you think taught me slight of hand? My grandfather, not my dad, who doesn't seem to have any of their skills, but is so good at convincing impressionable young women to date or marry him. That, and keeping his former investors happy, so they'd be willing to help out in the future. Kinda both sets of skills, actually..." Jade trailed off.
"Just answer the question." Tori snapped, only to recover immediately. "Oh wait, you just did, didn't you. Sorry, I was just expecting a bit more resistance."
"Look, Tori, babe, I need to get going. I'll tell you all about this later. After. Right now, I have to get ready." Jade leaned in and gave her girl a kiss, before shoving Tori out of the car. "Got everything? Good. Bye!" The door slammed shut, Jade not seeming to have looked beyond the merest courtesy.
Tori brushed herself off and gathered her things, watching as Jade's car drove off. Slightly annoyed, the singer made her way to the house to find Trina watching. "You know, while I may not approve of Jade, I must admit you did get kinda lucky in snagging her." Trina comented. "Not that I want her, but only on account of not being gay. If I were, not sure you'd be able to keep her from me." Trina gave a wink. "But you don't have anything to worry about. Not the stealing my sisters girlfriend kind of girl here."
"You stole a boy from me!" Tori growled.
"Yea, boy." Trina replied, seemingly oblivious to Tori's rage at that incident. "Not girl. No, not only am I not willing to do anything that might hurt my baby sis, still not into the girl loving. Now, why don't you go inside, and we'll talk about tomorrow."
"I have homework." Tori sighed.
"Lots?" Trina asked.
"Loads." Tori confirmed.
"You know, I can go onto School Alert, find out how much you have." Trina pointed out.
"And why is that?" The younger sister asked. "Why is it you have access to my online work lists, but I don't?"
"You just have to be willing to make a profile." Trina explained. "I've been saying for years, you need to do this, just in case. That way, if you ever have to miss, you're not relying on your friends to bring you your assignments."
"But why do you have access to my assignments?" Tori asked again.
"Cause I set up a profile, and signed on." Trina said as if it were obvious.
"And they just let you?" Tori was incensed.
"Not exactly." Trina confessed. "See, mom never bothered to use her access. Dad did, set himself up a profile and everything. Only, he's often too busy to check on our homework, what assignments we need to cover, that kind of chiz, and someone needed to keep an eye on your grades.
"So they let you have access?" Tori asked.
"The school sent us two passwords, one for each parent, and mom never used hers. So naturally I set up an account for her, and it proved useful over the years." Trina told her sister. "You'd be amazed at the bits of help the faculty will give a flustered parent that they'd never give a kid. Now that I'm in collage, I don't really need the password, except, like I said, someone needs to keep their eye on your assignments. So, lots of homework?"
"Hardly any." Tori said with a sigh. "What happened? Last year, I was drowning in the workload that place gave me, and now, most things are either given scads of time, or we finish in class."
"Seniors have a lot of outside commitments." Trina said. "You'll be required to do a lot of work, but usually can manage it, if you want. Besides, I helped plan your classes, and that's keeping the workload down."
Tori eased herself onto the couch. While her limited stunt training had included stage fighting, and that included falling, she never really mastered how to roll out of a vehicle. 'Unlike Jade, Beck, and for the love of god, Cat. Those three can roll out of a moving vehicle and pop up to their feet. And lets not go into Robbie, who despite being able hurt himself opening a window, can shrug off a beating and be mostly fine the next day.' Tori smirked, remembering how she got her sister back into Hollywood Arts, after Helen had taken over and insisted everyone re-audition. 'Okay, it took him a couple of days, but I'm amazed at the level of hurt Trina put on him, and yet, he recovered, like the whole thing never happened.'
"Um, Tori? Earth to Tori? Are you listening? I asked you if you had any idea what kind of date Jade was planning for you." Trina repeated.
"I think she's gonna show off what kind of discount she can get from one of her dad's old contacts." Tori said. "I swear, I'm getting tired of her flirting with old men, or talking baby talk, or whatever it is she's been doing to ease into those discounts."
"She's not…?" Trina implied.
"I don't think so." Tori said, even as doubt started to work it's way into her mind. "I mean, she'd never sell herself, right? Not just to be seen as having more then she does."
"I'd say yes, she wouldn't." Trina assured her sister in a way that didn't really comfort. "But maybe we should call Beck, just to ease our minds. Or Cat. Cat's been her best friend for years, so she'll know whats what, right?"
"Like Jade couldn't fool Cat." Tori groaned. "Trina, Jade may be doing who knows what, just to try and impress me. I should never have let her be the man in this relationship. I mean, I can pay, right?"
"Except your usually broke, cause of the many things you like to have, and you won't get paid a cent for your music until it starts selling." Trina said. "You have to learn to be more responsible with your money."
"Says the girl who would buy the most expensive things she can find." Tori scoffed.
"And all of it was budgeted out." Trina replied, an odd triumph in her voice. "My foot bleachings, the designer jeans, the trophy, all budgeted out as part of my allowance, and later, from my many jobs."
"Wait, jobs?" Tori was surprised. "You got fired from that lame ass show already?"
"Fired, became an assistant producer for it's successor, something like that." Trina waved the whole thing off.
"Okay, spill." Tori pushed. "How would you get a better job? Especially since you're barley in collage?"
Trina smirked. "It was a mix of my willingness to do just about anything the show asked of me, and that assistant manager gig I did for the Inside Out Burger I worked at."
"Wait, they made you an assistant manager?" Tori asked. "No, lets start with, you had a job?"
"You remember, over the summer between my sophomore and junior years." Trina said. "I'll admit, they hired me thinking, just a summer job, so I'd be gone come fall, and they were kinda right, since that was our agreement. But they had a need, and out of attrition alone I was promoted to assistant manager, one of like three, kept on for a few weeks until their regular assistant managers came back to Los Angeles for school. You know, cause collages start later then many high schools."
"And that was enough to get you this new position?" Tori was amazed.
"That, and the letter of recommendation Sikowitz wrote me." Trina said. "From that time I was stage manager for him."
"How is it I didn't know any of this?" Tori asked.
"I don't know." Trina replied. "It's not like I tried to hide that, cause there was never a reason to want too. I'm not embarrassed by my willingness to work. Then again, when I am embarrassed, try to hide something, you seem to know, check things out, find out. I swear, how is it anyone has secrets around you, since your not that trusting."
"Yea, I should just trust Jade." Tori agreed.
"After you call Beck." Trina added. "Oh come on, you know as well as I do that you're not gonna be able to let this go until you've made the call."
Tori was already pulling out her phone. "Now you know that's not true." She said as she pulled up her contacts and found his number. "But if it'll make you happy, I'll... Oh hello, Beck. I was just wondering, what does Jade do on Thursday nights?"
"She's still with the mysterious disappearing act, huh?" Beck asked. "I tried to trust her, just believe that she was fulfilling odd obligations."
"And now you don't?" Tori asked.
"I just, I don't know." The handsome Canadian hemmed. "Jade can be very secretive, but through our relationship, she didn't keep many secrets. Like her many contacts. She trades help and services for the free food and any assistance she gets, so she can woo you. I had no idea she did that, or knew any of those people, up until she started dating you."
"Yea, well I didn't know about Trina managing an Inside Out Burgers." Tori sighed.
"Back before Sophomore year?" Beck asked. "Yea, that was weird, going in for a quick burger and seeing her there."
"You knew?" Tori asked.
"We all knew." Beck told the singer. "Heck, we all thought you knew too. I mean, it was just down the street from Hollywood Arts, not that hard to find."
"Call Sinjin." Tori snapped.
"What? Sinjin? How'd we get to Sinjin?" Beck asked.
"I need to find Jade. As much as I trust her, I think it's time we both found out what she's doing with her Thursday nights." Tori declared. 'Nothing to do with me feeling upset that my sister had secrets from me, or that everyone seemed to know about it.' She added mentally. "We can just sneak in, take a look, and ease our minds. No big."
"His phone is ringing." Trina told her sister. "Sinjin, we need your help. We're trying to find Jade..." Trina looked miffed. "He put me on hold." She growled at her sister.
"Trina called Sinjin, and he put her on hold." Tori told her friend.
"Sinjin put Trina on hold?" Beck asked. "Okay, this isn't normal." There was an uncomfortable moment or two of silence. "So, how is it you never knew about your sisters jobs? Did you know about her working at that baby golf place?"
"Can we just drop it." Tori huffed. "Looking for Jade here. That has to be the number one priority. Trina can tell me all about her work history later. Right now, we need Sinjins help." There was another minute of silence. "Why is this taking so long?" Tori groaned.
Her sister waved her down. "Okay, he just told me he can't help us find Jade, cause of a restraining order that specifies, outside of school, he has to stay at least thirty yards away from her at all times." Trina repeated. "But he sounded odd, like he was reading something."
"And admitting there was a restraining order." Tori added. "Wait, Sinjin comes from money, right?"
"Yea." Trina said.
"Yep." Beck said, not aware that Trina had also agreed.
"Do you think he's a part of this?" Tori asked.
"Luckily, I can find him." Trina said.
"I don't know." Beck said about the same time. "I'm beginning to think that we'll..."
"And how can you find him?" Tori asked.
"...be happier if we don't poke out noses into this." Beck finished. "Tori, I don't know where he is."
"I put a tracking app, or at least part of one, on his phone. Did it a while ago. Asked him if I could borrow it to make a call, and just installed the thing." Trina explained. "What? I like knowing where the creepy guys are." She'd opened the app on her phone, eyes scanning the display. "Sinjin I put in yellow, so that would put him… At Original Tony's Real Italian Pizzeria. Funny, whats he doing there?"
"I don't know." Tori said. "Maybe he likes pizza?" She'd moved her hand over the phone, to blunt Beck from hearing what she and Trina might be saying.
"Maybe, but why stay there?" Trina asked. "From what I heard, the pizza's not that good."
"So, where's Sinjin, and how do you know how to find him?" Beck asked.
"Trina had the tracking application in his phone alert her of his location." Tori said. "He's at Original Tony's Real Italian Pizzeria."
"Why?" Beck asked. "I mean, it's a big enough place, with lots of seating, but their pizza is crap."
"Maybe he likes it?" Tori guessed.
"Wait, is that pink?" Trina asked, showing Tori her phone.
"And pink is?" Tori asked.
"Please not Jade." Beck begged. "I'm assuming Trina has another figure near Sinjin."
"Yea, Pink is in the same place." Tori said. "Um, Trina, you didn't tag Jade, do you?"
"You think she'd let me have her phone long enough to get her id, give myself permission, and sink my tracking app?" Trina asked.
"Good point." Tori agreed.
"What point?" Beck asked.
"Jade's not pink." Tori said.
"Good." Beck released his breath. Then, he seemed to realize something. "So, who's pink?"
"Beck, I'm putting you on speaker phone." Tori told him, before pressing the button that removed her from the awkward position relaying the conversation.
"So, who's pink?" Beck repeated.
"According to my notes, it's… Robbie." Trina smiled in triumph.
"Why is she tracking Robbie?" Beck asked.
"Why was Robbie spying on us through our french doors?" Trina asked back. "It was self defense."
"Not that odd, them being together." Tori noted, wanting to stay focused on finding her girlfriend.
"Except Robbie rarely eats Pizza, due to his gluten problem." Beck reminded them.
"Wait, Jade was speaking to Robbie, and Sinjin, just before we left Hollywood Arts." Tori noted. "So, lets go."
"Where?" Both Trina and Beck asked.
"Original Tony's Real Italian Pizzeria." Tori said. "We just need to ask them a few questions."
"Can I bring up a point?" Beck said. "Jade's thing won't start for a couple of hours. Maybe we should finish our homework, get organized. I'll drop by there and we can go together."
"We just want to ask them some questions." Tori protested.
"And if we wait, then they won't have the chance to warn Jade." Beck argued.
"Good point." Tori agreed. "Someone call Cat."
"No, you get your homework done." Trina ordered her sister. "We'll head out after Beck gets here."
It took half an hour for Tori to get through her homework, and another twenty minutes for Beck to show up. The boy had spruced himself up, looking his charming best. "So, we ready?" He asked.
"Maybe, but I think I'm riding with Trina." Tori said. "So I can come back home if this is a dead end."
"Okay, both our nerds are still there, so lets get rolling." Trina said. "ETA, five minutes."
"Any idea why their there?" Tori asked.
"I looked it up." Trina told her sister. "Game night at the restaurant."
"Funny, I didn't think of either of them as into sports." Tori said.
"Sinjin's really into drag racing." Beck said. Then he asked "Tori, why don't you ride with me?"
"Because I'm riding with my sister." Tori repeated, using her 'This is final' voice.
"I just thought you could use an understanding friend." Beck said, giving her his best semi-hurt look. Tori felt her knees go weak, but somehow held on.
'Think about Jade's tits. Jade's enormous tits.' Tori repeated to herself. 'If I ever want to squeeze Jade's enormous tits, I need to be strong.' She shook her head. "I'll be relying on Trina for emotional support." Tori told the actor. "You, you're here because you have the best chance of blending in at a sports pizzeria."
"I read they have an old fashion fairground player organ." Trina said. "So that should be interesting."
"Trina, we're going to find out if they have any idea where Jade is." Tori reminded her sister.
"Their websight said it takes up a whole side room." Trina continued, even as she walked to the car, her sister in tow. But she hesitated. "Should we grab something to eat first?"
"It's a pizzeria." Tori groaned.
"But Beck said it doesn't have great pizza." Trina reminded Tori. "I prefer my pizza good."
"They have salads." Tori groaned, pushing her sister towards the car. "Now lets go, so I can ask Robbie what Jade's doing tonight."
"He probably won't know." Trina said as she got into her car. "But I get it, you need to do something, so we're gonna take a dolled up Beck to where Robbie and Sinjin are watching sports at an old fashion pizzeria. Should be, um, fun?"
"Yea, fun." Tori agreed. "Man, I feel like a creeper now."
"Could be worse." Trina said, hiding her smile. "You could be trying to seduce your girlfriends ex."
"Yea, whats up with Beck?" Tori asked. "I mean, didn't he used to be a stand up guy?"
"He's not used to losing." Trina guessed. "I mean, he breaks up with Jade, and so she decides she wants to be with the one person who told him no, the only other person to hold his interest. Boys have such fragile egos, so that had to be a blow."
"Yea, had to be." Tori agreed. 'Jade, where are you?'
"Just saying, he may feel drawn to you, both to sooth his bruised ego, and because, for Beck, someone playing hard to get is so rare, he may see the lack of interest as a challenge." Trina continued, forcing her sister to go silent, just to avoid further conversation. Instead, Tori retreated into her head, thinking about all the possibilities. She'd gone to the almost impossible by the time they parked.
The three of them, Tori, Trina, and Beck, met up just outside the pizza place, each looking around to see if they could find any of their friends. "Okay, no one we know out here." Beck said. "I think I should go in alone, talk to Robbie and Sinjin, cause I'm on better terms with them then either of you."
"No, I think we all need to head in, cause both Tori and I have no trouble getting Rob and Sinjin to help us out when we need it." Trina countered. "And if you were to find out where Jade is, I'm not so sure you'd tell us."
"You wound me." Beck said, recoiling. "I have no secrets. I'm an open book, who would never withhold any information I might gather."
"I hate to agree with Trina, but we all go in." Tori decided. "That way, we can cover more ground. Who knows how many sports fans will be in there."
"Okay, but I still think we shouldn't gang up on them." Beck said, his hands up in surrender.
"Oh my god, I can't believe you stood up to him." Tori whispered to her sister.
"Wasn't easy." Trina confessed. "But I just remembered how they made me look like a fool in front of dad, and it became that much easier. No secrets my ass. Boys a manipulator who will do whatever to get his way."
"Weren't you spreading rumors that you and he were dating?" Tori asked.
"Yea, and I understand him wanting to teach me a lesson." Trina said. "But did he have to embarrass me in front of dad? I mean, honestly, Cat is the only one of that group who really seems to likes me. At least Jade is trying to get along with me, though for what reason I can't be sure."
"She's dating me." Tori guessed. "Okay, lets look around, and..." Her voice faded.
Beck, who was a few steps in front of them, had veered to the left after taking a quick look around, heading towards a long table where there were several computers set up. The multiple desktops all had odd displays running, as people played various computer games. There was also a largeish screen, which Tori would have guessed was intended for viewing sports, except it was showing the happenings of some animated game, apparently the progress of one set of players competing in a single group adventure.
"Great, we've lost him." Tori groused.
"Well, that is kinda boy territory." Trina noted, even though Tori could see multiple girls at various places around that table. "Didn't know Beck was into that kind of thing."
"Neither did I." Tori said. "I mean, there's like no clue. He's social, popular, tanned, so he likes the outside. Hell, he's athletic. I haven't seen one clue that he liked that kind of thing." Tori stared after the boy, who was now talking to one of the guys playing on a computer. "Wait, do you think this is what they meant by game night?"
"Maybe." Trina said. "Or maybe that's just a part of the overall whole." She pointed to the rest of the Pizzeria. Some of the many tables had small groups, from five to nine, sitting around, playing something. "I'm gonna risk a closer look. You see if you can find Sinjin."
"He's probably at a computer." Tori said, glancing back at the array of machines. "I mean, this would be his crowd." Her face lit up. "Maybe Beck realized that, and he's over there, asking about our boys."
"Yea, maybe." Trina agreed. "But I still don't trust him, not in this. I think he doesn't want you to find Jade."
"Why not?" Tori asked, even as she walked around, looking at the people.
"Because I think he's hoping to break you two up." Trina said. "Remember, if he finds her first, he can frame whatever circumstances around Jade to his best advantage. He wants you, Tor. He wants to be in the it couple, and to do that, he needs an A list date. If not Jade, then you. Hell, maybe now, more you then Jade."
Tori silently agreed, even as she looked around, hoping that she found the boys first. She did, however, notice a lot of tablets, most loaded up with books. Others, it seemed, believed in the original printed word, and had the muti-colored books in front of them, all painted to show people doing various acts normally reserved for action movies. Medieval pictures, some characters distinctly not human, fighting monsters and dragons and what have you. Modern pictures, of men and women with guns out, some doing odd or unusual things. Scifi pictures, with hero's facing off against long, dangerous odds. And some books just had large print words, promising rules, or guides, or whatever. 'What the heck?' The Latina thought.
It could have been easy to get lost, even though they were in one large room, there were just so many people, some of them dressed up as characters from what kind of story Tori shuddered to imagine. But they were there in force, crowding around tables, obscuring her view. Despite that, she was able to move, from place to place and table to table, marveling at the oddities that had become normal in this room. 'That table is covered in sand. Sand! Okay, they have some kind of trap to keep the sand there, on the table, but it's covered in sand, and what looks like the miniaturized remains of some farmstead. I wounder, what kind of fun involves these small replica's? Is that why Sinjin's here, because he's good at making chiz like that?'
While Tori and her sister were looking around, Tori saw them first, her two friends talking while one sat at a table, and the other stood next to him. Sinjin, the one who was standing, seemed to be discussing something with robbie, all the while a few other people Tori didn't know sat with them at the table, listening in. Tori noted how one of the people was a girl, short, with a nice figure, who was giving the boys the stink eye. 'Now's my chance.' Tori decided, and made her way towards the table.
Trina seemed to have noticed too, because she was also making her way to the table. "Tori, they're playing some kind of game." Trina told her sister.
"Thus game night." Tori agreed. "Look, over in that corner, board games. The have everything, including..." "Her eyes narrowed as she recognized one of the players at a game called, of all things, 'Diplomacy.' "Andre?" She asked the air.
"Looks like him." Trina agreed. "And look, over there, socializing over a game of cards, it looks like his grandmother."
"Oh, then it's okay." Tori said. "If it's for his grandmother."
The two sisters had closed in on the table they'd seen Robbie and Sinjin at, but had lost sight because a group of people in gaudy costumes, looking like the walking dead, had started a dispute, only to settle the growing conflict with a quick round of "Rock, Paper, Scissors." So when the girls heard the voice over this crowd, moments later, both girls froze, now sure that they'd caught Jade in something embarrassing.
"Move on, or I'll show you that scissors beats everything." The pale girls words echoed ominously over the noises of the crowd. One of the boys in makeup tried to protest, explaining how the basics of the game worked, when she pulled out her scissors, clarifying her own argument.
Tori ducked down, not wanting to be seen seeking her girlfriend, even as the player of this odd, live action game, departed. 'Still the psychopath I love.' She thought.
Jade sat down with Robbie, Sinjin, and three others, and started explaining something. "Okay, who remembers where we were last time?" She asked, eyes drifting around the table.
The girl spoke up. "We were just outside the crypt, about to head in."
"Good, Sally." Jade nodded. "Marching order please."
"We never said we'd be going in." Robbie protested.
"Griselda's heading in." Sally said. "Any of you wimps want some treasure, you're gonna follow."
"Maverick hefts his mighty greatsword and follows her in." One of the other boys announces.
Robbie sighed. "Okay, Cyrus is gonna follow, but I'm gonna be ready with my prayers, just in case."
"You know, you can call them spells." The guy playing Maverick said. "Everyone does."
"I'm a priest, and I like to play that part up." Rob insisted.
Another boy announced "My Arcanist is ready with his curses, just in case..."
"Except Curse is a form of magic, just like prayers." The boy playing Maverick insisted. "Lets not confuse things here."
"I head up to the door, looking for traps." Sally insisted. "Actually, I have the 'Trap Spotter' talent, so I'm automatically looking. I just, I wanted to remind you..."
Jade smiled. "It's okay, even game masters forget. Go ahead and roll for me, will ya?"
"I got a twenty four, total." Sally said.
"Yea, you don't see anything." Jade said.
"We should probably take another look, just in case." Mavericks player said.
"Except, would you if she'd rolled higher?" Robbie asked. "Thats meta-gaming thinking right there. We have to either trust her, or not trust her, and up until now, we've chosen to trust her instincts. So, who opens the door?"
"Is it locked?" The boy playing the Arcanist asked. "I have open slash close readied, and as a carntrip, I can cast it all day. So, is the door unlocked?"
Jade gave a huge smile. "Wont Budge. Sorry."
"Then we'll need muscle to force the door." The boy announced.
"Or maybe it's locked?" Sally said. "I wanna see."
"Yep, locked." Jade told her. "And it's not an easy lock to break, cause it wasn't ever intended to be opened."
"I got a twenty seven." Sally said after rolling her die.
"Only, I didn't ask for a roll, did I?" Jade scolded her. "Now, let me see your character." The girl handed over her front page, and Jade looked don the sheet. "Okay, you stop short, hearing something just behind the door."
"Is it breathing?" Sally asked.
"More like a scraping." Jade described. "And the door starts to shutter."
"I'm getting back, readying my darts, just in case." The girl proclaimed.
"Everyone else, roll perception, see if you're surprised, or if you can act as the door slams open." Jade instructed.
"A warning would have been nice." The boy playing the warrior said.
"Yea, but she made her choices, and let her play her own fudging character, K?" Jade growled. "Now, who rolled what?"
"I got fifteen." Robbie said.
"Twelve." The warriors player said. "Man, that sucks."
"Twenty one, and I was back the furthest." The last boy proclaimed.
"No breathing, I'm thinking it's undead." Sinjin kibitzed.
"And I'm betting, if you don't stop interrupting and let me run the game, you'll have a very good idea what it feels like to be staked through the heart." Jade growled. "But yes, they're Skeletal Champions. Everyone ready, cause only Martin and Sally can act during the surprise round."
"They seem pretty intent on doing that." Tori said, nodding her head towards the group, almost hypnotized by the interaction, even if her voice echoed disdain for the players being into that kind of game. Something about the whole thing was drawing her attention.
"Yea, I think we should leave." Trina whispered into Tori's ear.
"Why?" Tori asked, memorized by the way Jade was at the table. The pale girls normal homicidal way of motivating people was gone, replaced by an odd joy of interaction.
"Why do you think Jade hid this?" Trina hissed. "She's a nerd!"
"A hot nerd." Tori agreed. "What? Those exist. Haven't you ever heard of Olivia Munn? She's the current icon of the hot female geek."
"Not arguing, just..." Trina motioned for her sister to follow.
"JADE!" Beck's voice rose above the background clamor. The sisters turned to see him approaching Jade's table at a quick pace, a huge smile on his face. "Jade, why didn't you ever tell me about this place. They have all our favorite games, and what the fudge...?" He realized she was busy doing something he never expected. "Roll Playing?"
"What?" Jade defended. "Um, guys, set initiative, I'll be back to make a list. Beck, how the hell are you here?"
"Tori and I were wondering where you were, so we came here because she remembered you'd spoken to Robbie, and Sinjin, and look, their both here." Beck explained.
"Tori's here?" Jade asked.
"Yea, right over there, near the LARP players." Sinjin said, pointing. "You weren't expecting her?"
"Vega?" Jade growled, now looking at her girlfriend, and anyone could read ow upset she was by the scowl on her face.
"What?" Trina asked. "It's the modern age. Being a geek is in now."
"Of course Trina's here." Jade groaned. "My Vega doesn't drive."
"So the other one's open?" Sinjin asked. "I mean..." He let that thought drop at the glare Jade was giving him. "Not the time to talk about this. Hay, look, people spying on Jade. I mean, who does that, right?" The nerdy boy added nervously.
"I'm sorry." Tori said, stepping closer to her girl. "I was gonna be happy with you giving me the time you do, but then I got to talking with Trina,"
"Don't blame me for this." Trina said.
"And she got me talking to Beck." Tori added.
"And I happen to agree with Tori, that maybe you should trust us with something like this." Beck tossed in, stoking the fires.
"And Cat doesn't know, cause if she did, we'd all have heard by now." Tori went on.
"Tori, enough!" Jade snapped. "I just, this isn't me."
"Why not?" Trina asked. "From what I understand, this is far more normal then it used to be. Computer games are popular with a lot of different people now, including wrestlers, hunky men of all kinds, and even some women. Hell, cosplay is huge, and that involves a lot of hot girls dressing up as all kinds of things. Admittedly, usually boys fantasies of what girls look like, but hay, the world we live in, right?" Trina smiled huge. "Um, you haven't done that, have you?"
"She has the tits." Sinjin said. Jade glanced back at him, a look that had every right to kill, and he pointed at Robbie, mouthing "He said it."
"Jade, I'm sorry." Tori said, saving both nerds from her irate girlfriend, who looked like she might maim them both, just to be sure she got the right one. "I guess, given how many times I've been burned, I was having trouble trusting you. I should have believed you when you said you had a commitment. I shouldn't have pushed." Tori hung her head.
"Don't worry, we're not gonna tell anyone." Beck said, giving his best smile.
"Andre's over there." Trina told the handsome actor.
"What?" Beck's head snapped around so quickly, he almost gave himself whiplash. "Andre? Harris?" He asked, even as he stepped the few paces needed to give himself a clear view of the musician, since the LARPers, who tended to stand, were blocking a lot of peoples views.
"Andre's into board games." Jade said. "He sometimes plays with his grandmother, but he got into the hard core chiz, and she liked to socialize with the parents, grandparents, and aging gamers." She stepped closer to Tori. "Tori, babe, I'm, I mean, I wanted to share, but I just couldn't believe… no, scratch that. I wasn't ready to share this with you. As much as the world has changed, the popular perception is that gaming is for freaks and geeks, and that's not my image."
"Except girls like Olivia Munn changed the perception." Trina pointed out. "There are hot girls getting into gaming. Thats what all this is called, right? Gaming?"
"Yep, gaming in most of it's varied incarnations." Jade admitted, as she pointed to a side door. "Over in that room, we have the collectible card games. Those got really popular for a while, but the main problem is that many of them are aimed at small kids, so the serious adults sometimes feel funny playing them. That, and they used to take up so much space. I've had to throw players off of a table just to have room for what I wanted to do. Used to joke we should spray for CCG players."
"Thats not nice." Sinjin said. Jade glared at him, but this time, he didn't back down. "I play those games. Burf is huge into those games. A lot of roll players also play CCG's."
"But they started taking up space, more then they used for gaming, that we role players needed. They just took it up playing, or organizing their decks, counting cards, what have you, until those of us wanting to play other games games were being forced out." Jade said, sounding exasperated. "Collections, might I add, that tend to lose value at tournaments, because hello, to make money, they companies that make them put an expiration date on the cards."
"Um, Jade, I said I'm sorry." Tori said. "Don't you wanna yell at me? I mean, I broke your trust, sought you out, tried to spy on you to discover your secrets. I know that makes you mad, so yell. I deserve it." She hung her head in shame.
"Yea, you do." Jade huffed. "You do deserve something, and I'm tempted to break up with you." Tori's face fell, even as Beck shifted closer to the Latina. "Only, I think Beck had a bit more effect on this happening, cause look at him. He wants you. He wants to take my place, have you as his girlfriend, and then, who am I hurting."
"So you're not breaking up with me?" Tori asked, head rising to meet the blue eyed gaze, still not sure if she should be hopeful or not.
"Not saying I'm just gonna forgive you." Jade warned. "Not gonna be that easy. But I already knew you'd have trust issues. I just didn't think that people would push you to look into my secrets."
"Then how do you get the good deals you get?" Beck asked, stirring the fires once again. "You claim it's from your dad's old contacts, but you also said he was bad at the social stuff. Not good at making contacts."
"Yea, my dad's businesses all go down, sooner or later." Jade agreed. "But the one thing my dad did learn was how to maintain relations. So yea, we're the product of a lot of failed businesses. My dad tries, and sometimes, things look promising. But he just doesn't have whatever it takes to keep the business gong. But he does often manage to convince the investors that it's just the way things go, to the point where there are people who've invested in multiple of my dad's failed ventures. And yea, grandpa was and is a con man, but con men can only convince you to like them for so long before they have to put up. Dad earned his loyal friends the hard way, over scads of time."
"So these good deals you get, it's because your dad proved he was their friend?" Beck asked, not quite believing her.
"No, it's because we've done business with them for so long, we're treated as family." Jade said, sighing. "Tori, you remember that junker we were supposed to destroy, the one my dad's boss was gonna give us? That man is one of my dad's frequent investors, and owns a string of restaurants. Don't know why, cause those things fail like crazy. But at any of his places, I can both get the friends and family discount, and I have gift certificates I can ear by working for the man. I junk a lot of chiz."
"And you expect us to believe that story?" Beck pushed.
"I do." Tori said. "Because look at her. Jade's admitting her own weaknesses. She's dependent on these people, these business people who are close to her, like family, to give her the option of looking like she has money. That's why you do it, right? Cause the popular girls all seem to come from money?"
"I just wanna fit in." Jade said, shrugging. "Not poor, not like the lean years. But yea, I've done all kinds of shit to make it. I've bused tables, whatever, just so I can give Tori the dates she enjoys. She deserves. And for that work, I feel I deserve some time to relax, enjoy myself. This, gaming, roll playing and computer and what have you, those are one of my releases."
"So you run games?" Robbie asked. "Sorry, forgot, I'm in the conspiracy."
"Yea, I run games, but I also play in them." Jade said, smiling. "Tori, it's time you payed for spying on me." She cleared her throat. "Sinjin, show them how to make characters. I'm introducing them as soon as we're done with this fight."
"Sorry, what now?" Beck asked.
"She's making us play?" Tori asked.
"I have to listen to Sinjin?" Trina asked. "Can't I figure this chiz out by reading the books?"
"Sure, but this game, it has three player's books, all with classes, and modification to existing classes, and it will be so much easier for Sinjin here to explain it all to you." Jade told them.
"And you can start playing Sunday." Robbie added.
"Yea, Sunday works for me." Sinjin agreed. Jade, for her part, glared at the boys.
"Jade, we have enough players for this game." Rob argued before she could yell. "And we've already started. This way, you can play, and we can let Sinjin run that adventure path we'd been talking about."
"You want me to play." Beck repeated.
"We'll only have five people, and you have six at the table." Tori pointed out.
"We can include Andre." Trina said. "Heck, we can include Cat too. Not a problem."
"The adventures for Pathfinder are set around four person groups." Jade huffed. "But they can be modified for different numbers. It's all included in the modals."
"I'm gonna be a game-master." Sinjin said, puffing his chest out.
"Not really interested in this." Tori tried.
"Why not?" Trina asked. "From what I can see, it's kinda like improve, with a few more rules, and less physical acting. We can maybe have fun doing what we're already so good at."
"I don't know." Tori hemmed.
"You're doing it." Jade said, her voice low and dangerous. "Sunday, cause it'll give me a chance to build a character for myself."
"Now, lets get you some sheets, and get started. Who wants to be the warrior?" Sinjin asked, leading the three of them over to a semi-open table to start.
Later, at home, Tori marveled at what had just happened. "How did we wind up making those..." She pointed to the character sheets the two sisters had, each emblazoned with words, characteristics, and other information that described the characters they were supposed to be playing far more clearly then most of the scripts they'd ever seen.
"It'll be fun." Trina assured her. "Besides, hot girls like us, we can get away with it. The term geek goddess exists for a reason."
"Like Willow?" Their father asked as he walked through the room.
Tori sighed. "Yes, like willow." She agreed. 'I like that show. Too bad they don't have a game where we could play one of those characters. Strong women, carrying the heavy lifting of most of the fighting. Yea...' Tori shrugged, and got back to preparing for the next day. School, and Jade, awaited.
:}
Okay, who saw this coming? There was a lot uncovered here, like Trina's many jobs, or Jade's family's way of cutting costs. Heck, Jade's grandfather was a con man. Beck didn't fare too well, but he'll recover. Just, now we have our geek goddesses, so yea, that happened.
Thoughts?