Wassup! I usually write for OITNB and Vauseman, etc…under a different pen name, but I really love the Jori fandom and have wanted to flex my smut writing skills for a while now so I just decided to start a little PWP thing. Hope it's fun!

/

Tori POV

My roommates and I are SHIVERING in the tiny dresses that Amber decided we should wear as I do my best not to look as cold and nervous as I actually really truly am. We're walking from our shady parking space towards an apartment complex none of us have ever been in for a party that's supposed to be taking place inside its event room.

I turn towards the aforementioned friend. "Was it really necessary to leave our jackets in the car?"

"No one with morals wears a jacket to a party in October, Vic!"

"Wha- Morals? And people who don't want to die of hypothermia do. I happen to like having all of my toes! I can't dance with no toes! No one wants a toeless Tanya!"

"Oh suck it up! You made us come sober, so I made us come sleeveless. Tomato, tomato. Eye for an eye Toe for a toe. "

"Why would we drink to come to a party where we are going to drink?!"

Our other roommate Shaun merely rolls her eyes as she pushes in between both of us toward the door.

I harrumph as I wrap my arms around myself tighter and try to walk a little faster. How I had managed to get put in a room with someone so much like Trina was beyond me. Anyway, in regards to the party…

A friend of one of Amber's invited us to a special function at his frat. I already know what you're thinking…good ole Tori Vega at a frat party? Well you're being ridiculous. I am 19 years old. Perfectly party appropriate. And it's not just any frat, it's Theta Sigma Pi, the coed Theatre frat. So a lot like going to a Hollywood Arts function except… with no adult supervision and much more alcohol... But before you get all judgey, I'll have you know that it's supposed to be pretty sophisticated. The members are supposed to serve the ladies like myself wine and finger foods. Pretty ..uh, swanky, huh?

God, I hope so. Who am I kidding, I really wasn't sure about coming here. This frat has a very…interesting reputation. And I'm starting to wonder if I should have had a little liquid courage before coming. At least then I might be warm…

Once we cross the threshold into the ambient lighting of the surprisingly nice space they rented out for the occasion - complete with kitchen, tables, couches and pool table, my nerves calm down a little. Just a little. But I know better than to let my guard down so early in the night.

The members of the frat are pretty easy to pick out in their various forms of fancy black and white clothing as they bustle about, offering small talk, food and drinks to the seated women in the room. I scan over the area suspiciously. No one seems to be up to anything questionable. Yet.

After milling about awkwardly just long enough for me to regain all the nervousness I'd lost, Amber's friend Ben spots us and we are immediately taken to a table that is really close to the food. I have to fight back the tiny squeal this nearly elicits. Are those chicken nuggets I smell? That would totally make tonight worth it.

Ben turns out to be a pretty cool guy, and he seems to have his eyes set on Amber which is pretty cute. He sits with us for a while, pouring us all cups of wine, and I can't seem to keep myself from drinking more than I intended to because whatever kind they have is really good, and cheese and chicken nuggets aren't all that easy to swallow without something to drink. I've choked on enough cheese cubes in my life to learn this the hard way.

Eventually he gets up and then he's replaced by another member, and then another, all keeping our plates and glasses full. Amber says that's because we're the hottest group of girls here, and they're trying to take us home. But I don't mind at the moment, they are all being extremely friendly and I'm having a pretty swell time and wow I'm really going to have to find out what kind of wine this is. Moscatto, I think? How am I going to remember that? It kind of sounds like mosquito? But I hate those so… Anyway, it's really, really good with this cheese.

This is a really cool setup. And everyone's so nice… It makes wonder what you have to do to join this frat… Hopefully nothing painful. Or weird. What if it's something illegal? I'd love to have more artsy friends again.

This guy talking to us now is pretty cute. He smiles in my direction as I'm looking at him. His name is Jonah, I think? And he's apparently vice-president and the lead in the upcoming showcase, which is kind of impressive. So I hope he isn't looking at me like that because I have something on my face.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" He asks me softly, personally, as he slants over the table.

"Yes!" Wow, Eager McBeaver, tone it down. "I mean," I begin in what I hope is a coyer tone, "It's pretty cool so far."

His smile gets even wider as he leans back in his chair, tan skin glowing in the ambient lighting. "Cool."

Ugh. He's so cute.

And in that moment everything is good. But of course, this could only last a moment. Because my life is just a series of abnormally inconvenient events all lined up after another. Today's event involves literally the last person I could ever have hoped to see at what appears to be a friendly college mixer.

Standing a few feet away from us in a seemingly tailor made suit and channeling Angelina Jolie from the BAFTA awards last year is Jade West, in all her intimidating glory, as she burrows holes into the young man standing in front of her with her eyes.

I nearly choke on my food as I blink up at the sight of her, coughing as Shaun pats my back in concern.

Oh no. I think that she hears me.

The girl's attention shifts slightly in my direction as I attempt to hide behind an empty wine bottle. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no.

"What the fuck are you-blthh"

I splay my hand over Shaun's face as and shush her loudly as she blusters in recoil. I cannot let Jade see me here. Like, you know that feeling you get when you think something is over, only for you to find out that you are TERRIBLY mistaken? I'm feeling that. Right now.

It's not that there's something wrong with me or anything, I'm pretty sure my face is clean at the moment and I think I look pretty good right now. My hair is in a nice updo, and I'm wearing this really cute dress that's off-white lace at the top and sleek and black at the bottom. But I am wearing my glasses tonight and honestly if she wanted to, Jade could find something wrong with Beyoncé.

After a moment of virulent terror, Jade's attention shifts forward again to the guy in front of her.

I let out a little sigh of relief when I watch the two of them walk away, backs to me, leaving me safe and sound.

"Ow!" I yelp as I pull my freshly bitten hand back from Shaun's mouth. "Why did you bite me?"

"Because your hand was just chillaxing on my face!"

I nurse my hand with a pout as Shaun rolls her eyes and takes a sip of her wine.

"What in the hell were you doing anyway? I know you're a lightweight but last time I checked they weren't lacing the alcohol with marijuana."

"I'm not being paranoid!" I say with a sigh as I sit back in my chair. "I just saw someone that I really didn't want to-"

"Well, well.." A familiar voice intones dramatically, as a hand drops on my shoulder, manicured black fingernails popping into view. My brain is already awash with nostalgia when my breath catches in my throat, time seemingly stopping.

And that's it, that's how I die. This is the end. Goodbye world and all that inhabit it.

I turn my head very slowly in her direction and already brace for the worst. "Hey…Jade." My discomfort is obvious in my expression and inflection, my hand hesitantly rising from the table.

"I think you've made my night, Vega." She says ambiguously as she looks down at me, head tilted slightly. And I can't tell if she's genuinely amused that I'm here or if this is some kind of vague threat. Probably both.

"You two know each other?" Jonah asks as he throws Jade a look.

"Oh yeah." The girl says as her pink lips curl into a devious smile, hands now gripping the back of my chair. "Me and Tori go way back."

I don't even manage to nod when her apparent frat brother looks my way to confirm the statement.

"You do still go by Tori, right?" She follows up, probably in relation to my still slightly mortified facial expression. So much is happening at once. I do manage to incline my head slightly as Amber speaks up.

"Tori, huh? And to think we've been calling her Vic!"

"Vic…" The girl said lowly in that same old husky tone I remember. "I think I like that better…" She begins as she pulls a chair out from under one of her fellow members in order to drag it towards the table. "But of course, you'll always be Vega to me."

"Jade!" I exclaim in shock as I stand up a little to check on the dude who is now flat on his back and groaning.

"What the hell?" exclaims the poor guy who was unceremoniously dumped onto the ground; but upon seeing the glinting eyes of Jade West narrowed challengingly on his face, he swallows thickly and backs away. Good to know that she's still just as scary and abrasive as always. Which means I am not wrong for trying to figure out any possible way that I can get myself out of this situation.

The guy sitting at our table recovers the most quickly, clearing his throat, and gesturing towards the girl who is now inspecting the bottle of wine in front of her. "I didn't know any of your friends from high school came here."

I brace myself for the impending rejection of the word 'friends' only to be startled when she simply replies, "Neither did I." as her half lidded gaze slowly rises to scan my face. Those familiar blue green eyes steadily scrutinizing me in an indiscernible way. She's also still great at making me squirm, apparently.

I notice as she looks at me that Jade looks much the same, but is wearing more natural albeit smoky make-up. Also she's wearing her hair brown again, ombre'd at the bottom, the tips flowing from a chocolate brown to a golden blonde. And instead of it being in its luxurious curls and parted down the middle, it's mostly straight and parted off to one side. As she drags it back behind her ear, I can see that she has additional piercings in her ear now too, including what looks to be a small black gauge. All in all, she looks more mature but just as stunning as ever. But it's no secret, even to her, that I've always thought that she was.

I don't realize just how long and hard I've been staring until she quirks her head back and meets my eyes again with a smirk. "Captivated?"

As I blink and sputter, she slides the plate of fruit she must have previously set on the table over to where she is now sitting and picks one up. "Strawberries anyone?"

"Oh, I want one!" Shaun speaks up as she bends forward expectantly. Jade leans her face on her palm as the pale fingers of her other hand picks one of the red fruits off the plate, offering it to my friend who eagerly bites it from Jade's fingers in a way that seems effortlessly sexy. I blush in spite of myself.

"How about you, Vega?" She asks as she lifts yet another and holds it in front of me, swirling it in a small circle. Swallowing my embarrassment, I find myself wanting to prove that I've gotten cooler and sexier too and lean in towards her with my tongue bridging my lip as if I am going in for a kiss. Of course this prompts Jade to pull the fruit back as soon as I get close enough to it for a bite, to everyone's amusement.

I can feel my cheeks burning red as Jade's eyes sparkle with the pleasure of knowing she can still make a fool out of Tori Vega. "Sorry." she apologizes unconvincingly as she leans in a bit herself to offer it again, and I quickly bite off the strawberry before she can punk me twice. Naturally, it its a bit clumsy since I am so hasty, and I only manage to get half of it in my mouth. Ugh.

"Aw. Almost."

I am about to reach out and just snatch it from her, if just to get the smug look off of her face, but she slowly draws it back, her eyes trained dangerously on me, shutting up my rebuttal. With a flourish, she brings the half eaten fruit up to her own lips and eats the rest off of the stem sumptuously, causing the heat to rise in my cheeks even stronger than before...spreading downward. My hands clasp tightly under the table as I press them between my legs. Just what is she trying to do here?

Amber turns towards me with a grin. "How come you never mentioned her to us, Vic? She's easily the sexiest person you know, besides me of course."

I ignore statement wholly and fix Jade with a suspicious glare as I try to gather myself. She's obviously already brainwashing my friends.

"What you don't agree?" Jade raises her eyebrows, voice playful with just a hint of displeasure that I pick up simply because I am still so used to her behavior. But things have changed since then, and I am not here to appease Jade.

So I throw her a spiteful look which only prompts her to raise her eyebrows again, her piercing glinting in the light.

"You're ridiculous." I mutter with a humph, and she sits back in her chair, crossing her legs.

"So you think I'm sexy and ridiculous?"

"Jade."

My roommates giggle surreptitiously. Oh yeah, she's totally got them charmed with her witch voodoo. Or just because she really does look so unfairly good. God Tori, get it together!

She dismisses me with a wave of her hand before clapping her hands down on her thighs and standing with a sigh. She frowns as she pulls her phone out of her pocket, reading something on the screen before flicking her eyes over the table. "It was nice to meet you all, but my brothers need me."

"Aww…" Amber and Shaun chorus as I restrain the urge to kick them both in the shin.

Jade smiles at the both of them for a moment and then nods in my direction, eyes twinkling like she knows something that I don't. "Later, Vega." She breathes.

And then she's gone. Leaving me feeling strangely as if I've missed something and yet somewhat exhilarated at the same time. This is not good.

"Wow." Shaun mumurs as she watches her walk away and I massage my temples. "Funny how you've never said anything about her."

"Yeah…" Amber drawls as she puts her hand on her face, wiggling her shoulders. "Did you guys have something going on back in the day?"

I shake my head vigorously. "Only if by "something going on" you mean her being the biggest gank that ever lived and me being dumb enough to have a fledgling crush on her."

"Oh."

"Damn."

"Did she know?" Amber asks, intrigued.

"Yeah it seems like she knows." Shaun adds with a knowing look.

"What? I mean…No, I don't think so. I didn't really come out until last year when I was still going to school in LA. And she's always been like that. About as sultry as she is scary. She just likes getting under my skin."

"If you say so."

"What do you mean?"

"lt kind of seemed like she was legitimately flirting with you."

I huff and blow a strand of hair out of my face. Yeah, okay. Sure that's what all that was about.

"That's ridiculous. For one thing, It doesn't matter because that chapter of my life is definitely over… I dealt with my feelings for Jade practically forever ago. And I don't even think she likes girls. And I know for sure that she especially doesn't like me. At all."

Amber snorts before taking a cheese cube off of my plate.. "You know, you're always complaining about how you can't find any gay girls on campus, but I'm starting to think that there are probably some literally throwing themselves at you and you're just too debilitatingly oblivious to know it."

Shaun sucks her teeth before downing the contents of her cup and pointing it at me. "Yeah, boo, as your queer roommate and friend I am starting to think that either your dar is broken or you're just a giant pus-"

"Hey, hey, hey!" I interject as I lift my hand, brows furrowing. "Hurtful!" My arms cross as I purse my lips. "And I'm not a giant…p-pu-..that... And I'm not oblivious either! So just drop it. Okay?"

The two of them simply shrug as Shaun pours herself another cup of wine. "All I'm saying is that you didn't even notice when that kid you were giving googly eyes to left."

Kid? Wha.. "I-huh?" And true enough, the sandy haired cutie from earlier is clearly missing from his seat. For a second I didn't even remember who she was talking about….

Abruptly, Amber lifts the bottle and sloshes it around to indicate that it's almost empty. Naturally, I snatch it out of her hands to stop her from embarrassing us, but end up pouring myself a glass as I think about the exchange that just took place. About what my friends said. And about Jade for the first time in almost two years.

/

Amongst the increasingly humid tangle of bodies, I've been swaying around to the music, drunk off of the wine the boys in the frat had so graciously refilled while the lights in the house were still on and my friends and I were still under the impression that we'd just come to show our faces and would leave within the hour. A couple more shared bottles later, here I am, in the now surprisingly sensual lighting of this mixer, watching absently as my friends engage in the usual alcohol driven grinding that these types of events lend themselves to. More than one boy has approached me, but up until this moment I've been content to just dance like a crazy person with my friends… who have now been taken away, one by one to the far and darker corners of the room. Traitors, the both of them.

But that's fine. I was not so naïve as to think that they hadn't had any intentions of well… hooking up at some point during the night. Or to think that this whole wine and cheese thing wasn't at least partially an attempt to lower all of our lady like inhibitions. And if somewhere in my mind sober Tori is disappointed by this turn of events, drunk Tori can't feel anyyything but content with the pleasant buzzing of the alcohol as it burns, thrumming through my veins. My hands lift up above my head as I sway and twist my hips, probably in a more provocative manner than I would have like if I were fully aware of myself. Whoever is in charge of this playlist or is…djing or whatever is doing such a good job. Like I really can't help but to mooove my body around. It's been soo long since I've been able to really cut loose.

Suddenly, I feel a body moving behind me and the most feather light touch of a hand on my hip as it dips to the beat of the music. As this mysterious nears, I find myself pressing up against them, my inhibitions drowned by the memories of charged partner dances in high school and the mood of the room…and maybe a little bit by the desire to negate my friend's implications that I'm sexually and romantically inept. I can do sexy too!

So I turn up the heat a little, as the song transitions to a slower one. I can feel their hips rising expertly to match the rhythmic undulations of mine, in a moment that has the blood in my body quickly diverting away from my extremities and into well, a central location. This feeling makes my breathing pick up a little and my heart start to race, I'd probably be embarrassed if it wasn't so good. In fact, we are aligned so well that I began to wonder why I can't feel the tell-tale creeping of a hand up my skirt or a linear mass bulging against my backside. Though those things have always turned me off, I am starting to feel kind of disappointed that for some reason my partner doesn't seem to be enjoying himself as much as I am. And wow he smells sooo chizzin' good. In a sloppy effort to remedy the situation, I throw my hand back to grasp onto their shoulder, only to find myself shocked by by the length of hair my mysterious partner seems to have. It's enough to cause me to stop dancing and turn towards them. Lightning quick, the blood in my body shifts from one central location to another, pooling in my cheeks as Jade West leers at me with her lips upturned in the same old smirk and her eyebrows cocked in the same old smug amusement.

"Why'd you stop? Seemed like you were really starting to get into it."

I stammered for almost a minute as I will myself to become sober enough to deal with the mortifying situation.

"Jade I…I thought you were-"

Even in the dim light of the room I could see her eyes now sparkling with humor under dark lashes as she nods for me to continue.

The amount of blushing I am doing combined with the heat of inebriation and rapidly fading arousal has me feeling as if I am literally on fire and its very disorienting. Why'd it have to be Jaaaade?

"Weren't you dancing… with me?" I ask, wanting it to come out accusatory, but of course it comes out sounding more like a whiny question. Because I'm not sure of anything anymore.

She huffs. "I saw you out of the corner of my eye-"

"How did you know it was me?"

She chuckles, low and throaty and it sends a spark down my spine. "…I'd know your dancing anywhere."

I want to be upset with her for teasing me, but something in her eyes is telling me that she isn't saying that because it looked bad. But I still feel like I want to evaporate.

"Anyway. It's been a while since I've been able to scare the shit out of you, so when I saw you dancing alone, I thought I'd take the opportunity to get the jump on you...of course, I had no idea that that was how you'd react to someone putting their hands on you."

And then I am spluttering again.

"I-I mean I… I usually don't!" I really don't! I'm no floozy I just… I feel kinda like I'm floating-

"What? Not me! Sweet ol' Tori would never dance so scandalously with a complete stranger!" She mocks, arms akimbo, feigning offense.

"I still don't talk like th-"

My words are cut off as the brown haired girl presses her thumb to my lips, once again invading my personal space. Her scent wafts about her, making my head swim even more than it already is. Geez.

"Hey now… your dirty little secrets are safe with me, baby girl." She brushes my lip briefly before sliding her hand onto my cheek, beautiful eyes trained on me intensely elciting a little squeak from the back of my throat. I think I'm still getting …drunker… cuz It seems like she's getting closer and I'm starting to feel a little faint.

Before I can pass out though, a group of frat brothers and sisters appear from the kitchen area of the house, dragging our attention away as they shake cans of what appears to be whipped cream.

I don't have a chance to try to make sense of it before one grabs a girl a little way aways from us and sprays some of the white fluff onto her neck, before sucking it off like some kind of animal!

My eyes widen. I am not prepared for that. Especially not in front of Jade. But I can't seem to get my drunk butt in gear in time to escape since now a tall boy is upon us, shaking his can as he looks back and forth between myself and Jade with unrestrained glee. He seems to settle on me as he nears, until Jade grabs the bottle out of his hands, causing him to take a wary step back.

Worldlessly, the girl gets to her knees – her knees- before shaking the bottle and making no attempt to rise.

Her alarmingly sensual gaze meets mine briefly, as she looks up at me from where she kneels.

Before my sluggish brain can register what she is doing, she has sprayed a good deal of the cold spray in a line up to the hem of my dress. Inwardly I curse myself for wearing one so short. Outwardly, I curse because the cold of the cream contrasts starkly with the warmth revving up again inside of me as Jade tilts her head to the side, studying me with a predatory smirk on her face as she licks up my thigh, punctuating the now tingling trail by sucking harshly on my skin. My quivering thighs give way to buckling knees as I struggle in my still drunken state of mind to stay upright despite how incredibly aroused I have so quickly become, shockwaves flittering from my…duey and up through my fingertips. Which is extremely embarrassing and frustrating since Jade is obviously just trying to mess with me.

Fortunately, Jade stands up and wraps her arms around my waist, pulling me to her.

"Fuck." The tall guy mutters with a smile creeping back onto his face. "I'll leave you ladies to it then."

And to my surprise, the young man actually turns on his heels and walks away, but not before throwing a thumbs up towards us as he did so. No! Not thumbs up! Someone help!

I want to ask Jade what this is all about, but can't find the words as she continues holding onto me, hands on my waist, penetrating gaze flickering back and forth between my eyes and lips.

"Don't worry." She breathes. "Just keep on dancing, no one will bother you but me." She punctuates this statement by turning me back around and swaying me along with the music. Doesn't she realize that she is the only person I'm concerned about? But my body is begging me to surrender to this sweet torture for as long as Jade allows. Until this turns out to be some elaborate ruse to get me to let my guard down. It's too late for that anyway. The guards down. Off duty. Door's wiiiiide open.

We dance for much longer than I would have imagined. I don't even notice when the cool whip crew finally disappears. Jade really is a fantastic partner. Too good. I need to get out of this situation as soon as possible. But I lean further back into her and she responds to me, one hand resting low on my hip as the other grasps my hand and tugs it behind her neck for me to hold. My back arches against her and she lets her fingers dance across the smooth satin fabric of my skirt. My body is alive with sensitivity, and though my heads a little foggy I am hyper aware of her hands as they tease at my tingling flesh. I still can't tell what she's trying to do and I don't know how far she is willing to take this, but I give myself over to sensation and she just pulls me closer, harmonizing with the music in her low husky register. I've never felt so overwhelmed.

Suddenly I am startled by my phone suddenly vibrating in my left hand only to be relieved when I realize it's my "time to go, it's a school night " alarm.

"Who is that?" Jade's lips tickle my ear she's so close.

I shudder as I turn towards her face subconsciously. My eyes flicker to her pink lips before I regain my focus.

"Uh…" Come on. Come on, brain. "it was my friends… trying to let me know that they're ready to go."

"Aw, Vega." She sighs and it causes the hair on the back of my neck to stand up.

She swings me gently in the direction of both Shaun and Amber who are in the same area of the house, totally preoccupied with making out with their respective partners.

"Still need to work on that improv I see. They're obviously too busy for that."

I am silent because my current level of inebriation is not allowing me to come up with any feasible response.

"But if you're really ready to go, I can take you home if you want."

"Um…" I begin as red lights flash behind my eyelids, and red flags flutter through my chest. I can't quite get a finger on why, but I know that I definitely shouldn't let Jade take me anywhere. Then I remember something.

"I'm too drunk to fight you off if you try to bury me in the middle of nowhere again, Jade. And while I don't really expect you to sympathize with my will to survive, I would like to live long enough to regret this entire evening, if you don't mind."

Jade just turns me around in her arms again and looks into my eyes.

"Why exactly are you in such a rush to get home anyway?" I swear I can hear a bit of burgeoning jealousy in her voice.

I find myself scanning all over her face as I attempt to pull it together. "It's a school night."

She rolls her eyes. "Fuck that, it's a Thursday. It's practically the weekend."

"Well maybe it is for you but I have a Spanish class in the morning and-"

"Aren't you fluent in Spanish anyway?"

"Well I mean, pretty much, but it's an upper level class and I-"

"You should let me take you to my friend's set downtown so we can catch up some more."

I am about to mumble another excuse but then process what she's said. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why would you want to hang out with me? Be seen with me? Catch up?"

She bites her lip and sweeps the floor with her gaze before glancing back up at me."Well we're friends aren't we?"

I just look at her with absolute confusion as she looks back with the most neutral expression on her face.

"Are you going to come with me… or not?" She asks lowly and I feel her hands sliding gently down my back and it's making it hard for me to get my thoughts together.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Amber stumbling towards me with her heels in hand, and hair now up in a messy bun.

"Vic! Uh.." she looks between myself and Jade who is definitely clutching me closer. "We gotta go. Are you ready?"

I have never been so happy about Amber's self-absorbed tendencies as that moment.

"Um yes," I rush out, ignoring the look on Jade's face, whatever it may be. "Sorry Jade."

I turn back towards Amber to see her now pulling Shaun off of the girl she is kissing.

Jade grabs my wrist and inclines her head in their direction. "Are you sure you're going to be safer with them than you are with me?"

I look to see the two of them arguing loudly with each other and frown. "Whatever happens to me with them is better than whatever torture you could come up with to put me through."

Jade shrugs. "There's more than one kind of torture, Vega."

I balk at this for a moment as she waggles her brows suggestively. "I want no part in any 50 shades shenanigans, Jadelyn."

She doesn't say anything but lets out an amused puff of air.

"And-and what's up with you anyway? Fear tactics not good enough anymore? What's with all this... weird flirting stuff?" I ask this as I finally pull away from her, mind finally set on getting some sort of answer from her.

"My methods have only matured with time. Psychological manipulation comes in as many forms as torture, baby girl."

I glare at her and make to walk away, but she grabs my wrist again, causing me to stamp my feet petulantly. "What do you waaant?"

She gives me a once over before responding. "Give me your number."

I hesitate a moment before I shake my head no, subtly.

She looks genuinely annoyed by this which reminds me so much of the Jade I remember from high school. She reins it in quickly enough though and takes a deep breath.

"You know what? It's fine you don't have to tell me." She says noncommittally, withdrawing her hand.

It's never that easy. I squint at her in suspicion. "You'll just get it some other way, won't you?"

She says nothing, and simply smiles deviously before pulling a pen out of her pocket and pulling up one of her sleeves, exposing new additions to the nautical star tattoo she'd had in high school. She flips her forearm over to where it is just clear pale skin and presses the pen into my hand.

I just stare at her arm for a bit, causing her to shake it at me. "Well?"

"Come on, Vic!" I hear Amber holler from behind me and it prompts me to quickly scrawl my number down on Jade's forearm, not really concerned with its legibility. Gank.

She looks at it briefly and then pulls down her sleeve. "Sure you don't want a sober driver?"

I shake my head as I take a step back from her."That would just be all the more reason not to trust you… you'll be able to make me disappear without a trace and make it look like I ran off with a pig farmer in Wisconsin or something."

"Creative." She deadpans, arching her pierced brow. "At any rate, I'll text you tonight...Just in case you change your mind."

And with that, she picks up the can of cream that she'd put on the ground at some point and shakes it before spraying some into her mouth, eyes fully trained on me. Then when I'm feeling sufficiently flustered, she turns on her heels and saunters towards the back of the room.

And she did text me, right as my head was hitting the pillow, sometime around 2 in the morning. I didn't reply. Because then she would know that I was awake. And thinking about her. And what might have happened if I'd gotten in her car. What she might have wanted to happen. What I would have wanted to happen.

But I do text her back the next day, after Spanish. Only to be surprised at the fact that Jade is pretty fun to text when she wants to be. And that the invitation had not been a one off thing.

She still wants me to hang out with her a week later.

'Tonight 'was all she'd said. I was in the music building, working on a midterm project. I was in a good working mode so of course I said no. And then she didn't text back. Not that day or the next.

Even though I was the one to end the communication, I found myself hunting for a reason to keep communicating with her even as I worried over her intentions. Eventually a particularly morbid art film I'd seen in one of my classes prompted me to send her a clip and a link to it.

She responded an hour later with a smirky face emoji and an impromptu review of it followed by:

Jade: Is this what you're into now?

I smiledown at my phone.

Me: Ha. No, I'll leave all the freaky stuff 2 u ;p

Jade: Aw, and here I was thinking we could start doing freaky things together. But I'm happy to introduce you

I cover my face with my hand; why does she always say things like that?

Me: Stoppp

Jade: Stop what? Also, you should come over tomorrow and watch this whole thing with me.

Me: idk Jade I've got a couple of tests next week and I need to study :/

There is a long period of waiting following that text and I am afraid/relieved that maybe Jade has given up. I'm not sure how much of it is really relief though, seeing as how my eyes could not stay off of my phone for more than a few seconds. But finally when I'd given up and regained my focus on my work her special text tone dinged.

Jade: If you don't want to you can just say that you know. I've never been interested in wasting my time, Vega.

Here it is, my opportunity to get out of this mess. And of course, at this moment, I decide that I am most sure that I don't really want to.

Me: It's not that..tbh I'm just rly concerned about ur intentions

Jade: Are you seriously that concerned that I'm going to kill you

Me: Well… _

Jade: Oh, nut up, Vega. I'll pick you up in the day time and we can go to some public location, with plenty of witnesses. Your choice.

I couldn't really see the problem with doing that. Ball was in my court right? So I finally cave. God I hope I don't regret this.

/

/

/

/

Yo! Not entirely sure where I'm going with this, just that it's gonna be a 2-3 shot. If you guys have any suggestions or feedback please let me know! I'll probably use it in the story at least a bit. Thanks in advance.