Jade narrowed her kohl-rimmed eyes, leaning forward in her chair and propping her chin on her hand. Her pencil tapped out an incessant beat on her notebook as she focused on the object of her attention: one Victoria Vega, who was doing a scene with Cat Valentine for Sikowitz's class. As Tori absolutely nailed the emotion that her character was supposed to evoke, Jade smiled to herself, shaking her head just slightly, and stopped her pencil short. Beck looked over at the sudden absence of sound and Jade raised a studded eyebrow, daring him to say something.
Things between the two of them were still icy at best since their breakup, and ever since Jade had seen him try to kiss Tori via webcam she had felt nothing but contempt for him. She kept it hidden for the most part, feeling that lulling him into a false sense of security and then tearing it down when she needed to was better than letting it be known that she didn't like him at all times. She was always thinking a step ahead in those regards. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair, not used to being on the receiving end of Jade's glares, and returned his attention to the scene in front of them.
If Jade's feelings towards Beck had only cooled off, her feelings towards Tori had taken an interesting turn towards the warm side of things. In fact, she couldn't get her off of her mind, something that both drove her crazy and intrigued her, since she didn't get like this over anyone except Beck, and not even he had made her feel quite this intense. It wasn't the fact that Tori was a girl that was troubling Jade, it was the fact that Tori was Tori. The two of them had been at odds with one another since Tori had first arrived at Hollywood Arts and although they had made a few steps forward and were better than they had been, her sudden change of feelings surprised even her.
"Excellent scene, girls!" Sikowitz boomed, and Tori beamed at him. Jade's stomach twisted uncomfortably and she scowled, leaning back in her chair and dropping her binder to the side of her chair so that she could cross her arms. Tori gave her an uncertain look as she left the stage to return to her seat, and Jade just stared her down until Tori looked away.
She didn't know what the fuck she was going to do about this.
—
Jade found herself standing at her locker, pulling out her books that she would need for her homework that night when she caught a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye. She leaned back a bit so that her locker door wasn't blocking her view and watched as Tori backed up against her locker and flirtatiously flipped her hair over her shoulder as some blonde guy adjusted his backpack and laughed about something. A sudden wave of jealousy rushed over Jade and hit her with all the subtly of a truck, and she actually had to pause for a minute, her hand gripping her book so hard that her knuckles were white.
"Hi, Jade!" Cat's voice made her want to bang her head against her locker door and hope that one of her scissors hit her brain and put her out of her misery, but alas, Jade wouldn't actually kill herself. She tucked the rest of her books in her Gears of War bag and slung it over her shoulder, banging it shut before turning to face Cat, her arms crossed.
"What do you want?" Her tone was unusually caustic, even for her. Her eyes were stormy, tracking Tori's movements over Cat's shoulder. She was grateful that Cat was so distractable that she didn't notice that anything was amiss, but she wanted nothing moer than to go across the hall and tap that blonde douche on the shoulder and punch him right in the -
"How does that sound?"
She blinked, looking down at Cat. "How does what sound?"
"The sleepover at Tori's, silly!" Cat grinned up at her, playing with the strap on her backpack. Jade frowned down at her, eyebrows dipping. Why would she ever agree to a sleepover at Tori's?
"A sleepover at Vega's?" Actually, it didn't sound so bad. Maybe she could figure out a few things while she was there. Namely, why she was feeling like a jealous girlfriend right now and why she couldn't just reign these feelings in like she did with every other feeling she'd ever had. "Fine. What time?"
Cat couldn't contain the surprise that registered on her face. "Um, six."
"See you there, baby girl."
—
Jade would never admit this, not even under the severest of torture or the threat of death, but she was actually a little nervous about going over to Tori's that night. There was just the tiniest need to impress now that she had - and she hated this word so much now that it was applied to Tori - feelings for her, and Jade didn't impress people. She just did her own thing and if that impressed people, so be it. If it didn't, fuck them, she'd do it anyway. So the knots in her stomach were completely unacceptable, she thought, as she rang the doorbell and waited for someone to answer.
Tori opened the door, a smile on her face, and whatever sarcastic comment Jade had died on the tip of her tongue when she took in what Tori was wearing: yellow hot pants and a plain white tank top. That was it. Tori couldn't have been wearing less clothing unless she was in her underwear, and that thought alone sent a coil of heat straight to Jade's stomach, and she almost decided right then and there to just turn around and go home. She was officially in over her head. Beck had never had this kind of power over her and they had dated for nearly three years, and now here was freakin' Tori Vega, a girl she had formerly disliked nearly to the point of hated making her feel things that she had never felt before. She was like a walking cliche dressed in black and carrying a pair of scissors.
"Jade? Are you, uh, coming in?" Tori had an eyebrow raised and was standing to the side now. Cat was on the couch, leaning over so that she could see Jade, and even she looked quizzical. How long had they been looking at her? Jade scoffed at the two of them.
"What, the two of you mouth breathers are so impatient you can't wait at all? Sorry for making you wait, princesses." She stepped into the house and dropped her stuff in the middle of the floor before heading over to the couch and settling herself in on it. "What are we watching? No. This is shit." She took the remote from Cat and flicked through the channels until she landed on a nice horror movie, which Cat immediately tried to veto.
"Um, Tori, can we - "
"No," Jade growled, and Tori actually shook her head.
"Let her watch it, Cat. We'll pick the next movie." Jade glanced over at Tori, looking at her like she had grown another head, and Tori gave her a small smile. The weird string of events continued for the night, with Tori sitting just a little too close to Jade on the couch; offering Jade the first of the popcorn, the candy, dinner, everything, basically, before Cat; letting her choose the movie even though she had promised Cat that she and Tori would be able to; letting Jade sleep in her bed with her and telling Cat that she'd have to use the sleeping bag or the couch, even though Jade only agreed because she didn't want to deal with the floor. There was something just a little off about all of it, and when Trina cornered Cat and got her into her room to help her pick out an outfit for a date she had the next weekend (Jade would bet ten dollars it would get canceled), Jade did a little cornering of her own.
Tori was in the kitchen getting herself a soda when Jade sauntered up behind her, leaning on counter and putting her other hand on her hip. "Vega."
Tori yelped and nearly threw her soda everywhere before spinning around and putting a hand on her heart. "Jade, don't do that!" she whisper-yelled, glaring.
"Don't be a little bitch baby," Jade said dismissively. "Vega, what the hell are you doing?"
"Um, getting a soda?"
"Don't play stupid. You know what I mean. What's all this crap you're doing tonight? The sitting close to me, letting me pick the movie, giving me the stuff before Cat. What is it all?"
Tori blushed and tried to move past Jade, but Jade held firm and didn't let her. "Jade, it's nothing. I'm just being nice. Try it sometime."
"I saw you and Beck, you know." Jade's voice was totally calm, but she felt anything but inside. This was the moment. She was going to lay her cards down and tell Tori, and she felt rickety, like she might fall apart if things didn't go the way she wanted them to. She didn't really know how she wanted them to play out, but she had heard that if you picked a side on a coin and then tossed it you wouldn't find out what side you really wanted until it was in the air and there was no turning back. That was what she was banking on, anyhow. She couldn't tell where this sudden drive was coming from, this sudden need to tell Tori, but she guessed that it had something to do with the glimmer in Tori's eyes. Tori's eyes were far too expressive for her own good sometimes.
"What?"
"I saw you. On the webcam. You guys left it running, and I saw him try to kiss you, but you wouldn't let him. Why? And don't give me that friends bullshit. We aren't friends."
The other girl hung her head, then put her soda down and bit her lip. Jade waited, since it seemed like Tori was making a big decision in her head, and finally she met Jade's eyes. "I just didn't want you to be mad at me if anything happened."
"Bullshit," Jade called.
"It's not bullshit!"
"It's not the whole story."
Tori bit her lip again. "No. It's not."
Jade ran a hand through her hair, let out a sigh, and paced the kitchen for a moment before spinning around and facing Tori. "You know what? Fuck this. Okay, Tori, just - just fuck this."
There was a confused look on Tori's face, and she shook her head. "Jade, what are - "
"Tori, I'm not stupid. You like me." The words hung in the air between them, and there was no coming back from there. Tori stared at Jade and Jade stared back. Neither of them said a word, and just when Tori opened her mouth Cat bounded down the stairs.
"Hey, guys! Do you want to keep watching movies or do you want to go to sleep? I'm kind of tired, but whatever you want to do is fine!"
—
Jade didn't talk to Tori for the next two weeks. She avoided her at all costs and ate lunch alone, preferring not to see the girl that she had embarrassed herself in front of. She had been so, so stupid, letting her guard down in an absolute moment of weakness that she normally never allowed herself. It was completely uncharacteristic of her - everything she had been doing since the goddamn Platinum Music Awards had been uncharacteristic, really - and she felt the need to take back the reigns of her life, which meant she needed time to think.
Everyone who crossed her path during those two weeks got the brunt of her anger about the entire Tori ordeal, and she made more than one person cry. She was sent to Lane's office a few times but she was resolute in her want to remain silent, and he would finally let her go out of sheer frustration. In all of this Tori hadn't tried to contact Jade once or talk to her in the hall or in classes, although Jade had seen her looking and once she had even taken a seat near Jade and opened her mouth as though she was going to say something before closing it and slumping back in her seat. Jade didn't care. She preferred Tori with her mouth shut anyhow.
That was a complete lie. Even with the mad jumble of thoughts in her head, Jade still couldn't help but sneak looks across the hall at Tori when she was at her locker and growl in frustration at the butterflies that were still in her stomach, or want to punch Beck in the face when Tori did a scene in Sikowitz's class and find herself wanting to kiss her. In fact, her feelings seemed to be getting stronger, which was ridiculous, since they hadn't been around each other or talking or anything of the sort.
Absence did make the heart grow fonder, though.
—
After two and a half weeks, Jade found herself alone in the bathroom, reapplying her thick eyeliner when Tori burst in. She turned around, flicked the lock on the door, and leaned her head against it for a brief second. Jade had paused in her activities as soon as Tori had opened the door and was openly staring now, unsure of what to do. Her bitch face slid into place and she threw her pencil into her make up bag and then put her make up bag into her Gears of War bag. "Vega, open the door," she barked, taking a step towards Tori.
Tori held her arms out in front of the door, blocking it with her body as if Jade was going to just barrel her over in order to escape. Maybe she would. "No, Jade. We're going to talk."
Jade laughed, crossing her arms over chest. "Talk about what? We don't have anything to talk about, Vega. Let me out."
"You were right."
That made Jade stop short, her heart pounding painfully fast. Had Tori really just said what she thought she said? "What the hell are you talking about? Are you drunk?"
Tori rolled her eyes but then bit her thumbnail, eyes bouncing around the bathroom, clearly nervous. "You were right. I - I do like you. That's why I didn't kiss Beck. That's why I was being so nice to you. I've liked you for a while now. I just - I didn't want you to know about it." She sighed and moved away from the door, gesturing to it. "Go ahead. Destroy me socially now. Tell everyone that Tori Vega's gay and has a huge crush on you. I just had to get that off my chest. It was killing me." She looked down to the floor, hugging her arms around herself.
Jade bit her lip, wondering if she had really been so awful that Tori thought she was going to run out the door and tell everyone right away that Tori was gay. Actually, looking back on how she acted, she could see why Tori would think that, and before the Platinum Music Awards, she probably would have done something like that, or she would have filed it away to blackmail Tori with later. But now? Now this was like an unbelievable dream that Jade was going to wake up from any minute now.
A slow smile spread across Jade's face - a real one, a rare one that showed her teeth, not a smirk. Tori frowned, clearly thinking that Jade was just up to something. "Vega, you're such an idiot." Tori sighed again, looking away from Jade and hugging herself tighter. Upon closer look, Jade could see tears swimming in Tori's eyes and a pang went straight through her heart.
She dropped her bag against the sink and stepped forward, Tori stepping backward in sync with her footsteps. Jade just barely shook her head and Tori stopped, knitting her eyebrows. Jade looked down at her, hesitantly brushing her hair off of her forehead, and then kissed her. Tori didn't respond at first, out of pure shock, but once she did she wrapped her arms around Jade's neck, and Jade's hands settled on Tori's waist.
When they broke apart, Tori's eyes flicked between Jade's. "How long?"
"Since the Platinum Music Awards."
Tori smiled softly and laced her fingers behind Jade's head. "Dummy. I wish you'd have told me sooner."
"Yeah, well, it was a lot to process."
"I'm just glad I told you."
"Me too."
—
Needless to say, everyone in Hollywood Arts was shocked. They didn't make a huge announcement or anything unnecessary like that, but it was enough to walk into school one day holding hands. Rumors began to spread like wildfire, and when Jade kissed Tori after walking her to one of her classes everyone nearly had a conniption and more rumors spread. Jade wasn't sure Tori would be able to handle it, but she was a lot stronger than she seemed.
Their friends were more surprised than anyone else, but they were also more supportive. "Just let me know if anyone gives you any trouble," Andre said, "cause I'll give them trouble!"
Robbie just smiled and put a hand over Rex's mouth when he tried to make some kind of comment about watching Tori and Jade making out, and Jade just ripped off both of his arms and threw them into the parking lot. Cat squealed and hugged the both of them, and the only reason Jade didn't throw her off was because Tori put her hand on her knee and shot her a warning look.
The only person who was a little standoffish was Beck, but that was understandable for both girls. He gave them a tight smile and didn't say much to the both of them for a couple of weeks, but after a while he loosened up about it and gave them the same spiel as Andre did about people giving them trouble.
—
"You're kinda cute," Tori commented one night when they were on her couch and watching The Scissoring.
"That's what my girlfriend says," Jade said dryly, her head in Tori's lap. Tori laughed, playing with the streaks in her hair and then gently touching the stud in her eyebrow.
"I'm really glad you happened," Tori broke the silence a few minutes later.
Jade rolled her eyes. "I'm glad I happened, too.
"You know what I mean," she admonished.
"Yeah, yeah. I guess I'm glad you happened, too."
"That's the closest I'm going to get from you, isn't it?"
"Take it or leave it, baby girl."
Tori rolled her eyes this time, but she still leaned down to kiss Jade, thankful that the two of them had managed to find their way to one another somehow, even if they were the unlikeliest thing to happen in Hollywood Arts in a long, long time.