Title: Ring Of Despair.
Writer: Invader Johnny.
Synopsis: Now I know why women never propose... Because finding the perfect ring for your girlfriend is pure torture! But the ring I need to pop the question is crucial... Because I want Tori to say yes! I want her to be my wife and to grow old with her! Jori.
Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious, Dan Schneider' does, simple as that, if I did then Bade would explode into a fiery hell leaving Jori as the true pairjng of the show!
Author note: well my dear readers, if you came across my other stories "Break A Leg" and "Cancelled" you would know what Jade had to go through before and during the times she pops the question, this story takes places in between my mentioned fics, highlighting on what Jade endured to get the engagement ring she thought would be "perfect" to ask Tori to tie the knob.
So all in all enjoy and tell me what you think.
"HARRIS!"
"WHOAH!"
The sleeping man unceremoniously shoved out of his warm, cozy bed the moment a very agitated Goth bellowed at the top of her voice.
"Oh that's gonna leave a mark" He grumbled as he massaged his head.
The poor guy groggily got up from the cold, hard floor to be met at the bright green glare of his alarm clock.
"6:20?" Andre said "Who the hell was waking him up at 6:20 A freaking M!?"
"So are you going to stay there like an idiot all day or get ready so we can go?!"
"oh, yes, who else but... Jade"
It was moments like these that Andre woild prefer waking up to his grandmother's batty shouting over his friend's threatening voice of desperation.
The grumbling man stumbled as he was met with the most penetrating glare from the pale woman.
"What a way to start the day"
"What are you doing here Jade?" He asked half-tired/half-scared. "And more importantly... How did you get in my house?"
"You gave me a duplicate of your keys you dolt" Jade said as she tauntingly jingled said objects in front of him "As to why I'm here, you should already know! So get dressed!"
Andre puts his hands over his tired eyes, "Can't you just go by yourself?"
"Hey! You promised that you would help me with this very, very important task, now get off your lazy ass so we can get going!" She groaned sticking her finger in his chest "Time is running out and we still have several Jewellery stores to check out so if you are done being a wussy, get out of bed this instant or I'll create a ring out of your teeth that I'll personally remove with a wrench!"
"Okay, okay," He lifted his arm to make a surrender motion, a quite terrified one too, "There's no need for you to go to the very nasty extreme and remove any of my body parts, I like to have the ability to chew after all."
"Then get ready!" She ordered harshly "We leave in five and I'll throw your naked ass to the curve if I have to!"
Running like a scared dog with its tail between his legs Andre quickly jumped in the shower, then changed, he wasn't foolish enough to test wether or not Jade was serious in her word.
As soon as he dressed in whatever clothes he had laying around Andre walked right into his living room to witness Jade drinking coffee, oh that wasn't the strange part, if anything he had come to associate that particular beverage as her trademark drink, in fact there was a joke in their group that Jade could easily become the spokeswoman for Starbucks.
Tori even had a nickname in Spanish for her "Cafecita West" which loose translated meant "Little Coffee West" something the Thespian both despised and enjoyed since she disliked the fact that it was both "cute" an "unoriginal" but still liked that Vega tried to come up with a nickname worthy of her liking towards coffee.
"Did the Cat get your tongue Harris?" Jade sneered "What the hell are you staring at?!"
His train of thoughts broken, he stared at the unsual sight that stop him in his tracks in the first place.
"Uh... Jade?" Andre asked unsurely "Where did the very big badger come from?"
"Oh, I found him eating from your garbage" She grunted "Veronica gave me a show by killing a snake so I'm rewarding her with some sugar cubes."
"You named the badger?"
"Yeah... You got a problem with that Harris?!"
The musician gulped "Uh... No... Not really"
"Good..." Jade jumped up, "Let's go guys!"
"Okay, where are we going exactly?"
"Where you paying attention in that room of yours?" she snarled/asked "We're hitting every damn jewellry store in the city until I find the perfect ring to pop the question!"
"But we already seen like twenty stores in this week alone!" Andre groaned "Wouldn't it be easier to shop online?"
"Wouldn't it be easier to shop online" The pale woman mocked "Sure... And maybe I'll find the perfect ring inside a gum ball machine! Now if you stop wasting my time, let's get going, Tori's coming back in a week and I am not going pissing away a perfectly good day inside, now move it!"
"Why me? He asked bravely "Why is it that every time you need something, you come to me for help? Cat's your best friend, why don't you drag her along this hunt?"
"Because Cat can't keep a goddamn secret!" Jade snapped "And before you ask, Robbie isn't man enough to come with me, which leaves me with you."
"Hey I'm man enough!"
Jade and Andre turned to where they heard the very familiar voice, which comically came from the living room's closet.
The Thespian roughly opened the door, which of course made Robbie drop to the floor.
He of course was terrified of Jade so he quickly grabs the handle to try to close the door "Uh, pay no attention to the guy who's inside the closet".
A few seconds later he spoke from within the closet "Ok... I can see why people don't think I'm manly"
Jade once again opened the door and grabbed the shirt of her scrawny friend "What the hell are you doing here Shappiro?!"
"And more importantly, how did you get in my house?" Andre asked exasperatedly, "Is there a magical tunnel that all of you use without my knowledge?!"
"Actually, we all have a key to your house" Robbie replied unsurely.
"Ok...WHY?!"
"To hide from Jade when she's on one of her moods... Which now I see it's not much help."
"Oh"
"Yeah, oh," Jade snapped "Normally Shappiro, I would rip you in two and send the parts to your house and have your parents buy two caskets for your funeral! But seeing that I'm on a very tight schedule I'll let you live, now shut the hell up and get in my car, god help me if I don't find the ring for the woman I love, you two are getting my boot and scissors shove up your sorry asses!"
"Mommy!"
"Andre... I'm scared" The geeky man stutters tohis friend as Jade drove like a maniac behind the wheel of her vehicle.
"You and me both Rob... You and we both."
"Shut up back there... I need to make sure to save time by running past all signs" Jade snarled "So I need full concentration so we don't die in a car crash!"
"I wonder if there's a place where I can buy a new pair" Andre thought "Because I'm pretty sure my nuts just went running in the opposite direction."
"Why aren't there any cops trying to stop her! Robbie cried out.
"Because no cop is ever that desperate to dieeeeeeeeee!"
"If you two pee on my car, I'm shoving you both out of it wether we're moving or not!"
"She's insanely in love with Tori, that's for sure... It's good for her but dangerous for the rest of us."
As soon as the trio made it to their first stop of the day, the car parked unceremoniously in a free space, the backseat doors opened and the two males came out, embracing the ground beneath them.
"LAND!"
"Oh Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Jade calmly got out of her seat only to stare down at her two friends, kissing the pavement.
"You two are a credit to your gender." She said sarcastically "Now stop being such weaklings and get up."
Not looking behind her, she entered the jewellery store.
"Well at least we can always count on girls taking their sweet time when it comes to jewellery " Robbie comments, somewhat grateful that they won't get back on this driving death trap anytime soon.
"Yeah, you do have a point."
As soon as the two men walked towards the store, Jade came out, a deep scowl on her face "We're leaving."
"But.. But... But... We just got here!" They both sputtered at the same time.
"You two idiots didn't see what was like inside!... For fuck's sake, everything in there is pink" She snaps, shuddering disgust "It's like Cat had eaten a lot of sparkly shit and puked all over the building! And I'd be damned if I propose to Tori with anything pink, so let's go, we still have other places to look into!"
Andre and Robbie started weeping as they got back to the car of doom.
"I shouldn't have gotten out of bed"
Another drive from hell later they all arrived at Schneider's Jewells, as soon as they got to the counter, a woman came up to greet them.
"Hi, what can I help you with today?"
"You got any first aid kit?" Robbie asked.
"I'm sorry?"
"First aid!" He repeated, "I think my friend is going into shock."
To make his point Andre looked as if he couldn't breath which wasn't that far off from the truth"
"I think I see the light!"
Jade shoved Robbie out of the way, "You got to excuse my friends, They're being a pair weenies today. I actually want to inquire about an engagement ring."
The woman smiled unsurely, because frankly it's not every day in the job that you encounter such a colorful group,, but she still decided to be professional, telling them that they had a large selection to choose from.
"Yeah, we can see that" Jade growled "But listen, I been going from place to place to find my girlfriend the perfect ring and so far no such luck, so I'm going to ask once... Can you help me?"
The Clerk smiled kindly, she had seen both men and women trying to find the stone that would tie the knob with their significant other, it didn't bother her cliente sexual orientation long as she helped in any future wedding.
"Sure I can!" She said eager to please "I can show you what we have here, but to make everything a little less hectic, did you have a special ring in mind?"
"That's the thing" Jade began speak "I want to see the selection because I don't exactly have a good record with Jewells, my girlfriend is... Very unique, any ring won't do so when I see the perfect one, I'll just know"
"Aww" The clerk gushed, putting her hands over her heart "That's so cute!"
"That's actually unlike you Jade" Robbie pointed out "Very unlike you"
"Yeah, see that's the trick right there" Jade admitted grudgingly "If I'm going to find the ring I can't think like myself, I gotta think like Tori"
"Ah... Andre took a deep breath... "Then you might want to look at...Diamonds... Lot's and lots of diamonds!"
"Maybe one with a heart shaped ?" The curly haired man suggested. "Tori could like that"
"Save that one when you propose Shappiro" Jade sneered "Only I know what Vega will like"
The clerk smiled weakly and pulled out a few rings for the trio to look at them.
"I never seen so much shiny rocks in my life" Robbie said in awe "And I been to Cat's house!"
"Kinda...makes... this...so...surreal... huh... Jade?." Andre said between breaths "None... Of... Us... Saw... Coming... That...you... Would... Marry... Tori"
"You and me both Harris"
"Technically you'll only get married if she says yes." Everyone turned to stare at Robbie, "What? It's a legitimate thought! I mean could still say no"
Jade's eyes widened in despair, "Oh my God! She's going to say no!"
Even thought Andre was having a hard time breathing, he still had the strength to smack the ventriloquist in the back of his head.
"Ow!"
"You deserve that!" The musician snapped. "Telling someone when they're about to propose is not something you do! You got to be positive, otherwise you'll jinx it, and sure, it could happen and Jade might end up alone..."
"Thanks for the support Harris" Jade said sarcastically.
"You didn't let me finish!" He yelled out, now facing her "But you got nothing to worry about Jade, She's not going to say no. Come on Tori loves you."
"You think so?"
"I know so"
"Good... Good thanks, I'm calm, I'm calm"
"Perfect... Now ignore what Robbie said and concentrate on the task at hand"
"I will but I swear on my future grave that if Tori says no I'll be holding you two responsible for jinxing me!"
"Mommy"
Three days later and several other trips to malls, stores and who knows what else Jade return to the apartment she shared with her girlfriend.
She tiredly went to the kitchen's table and unceremoniously drop her forehead on it.
"Now I know why girls don't propose" Jade said to herself "It's a living hell trying to hold everything in, the ring, the question and the possible rejection... How the fuck do guys do it?!"
"It comes with the job" A voice said.
The former Goth rose from the table and started looking in all directions "What the fuck? Who the hell is there?!"
"Calm down Jadelyn it's just me"
"Only one person calls me that"
Jade noticed a man entering the kitchen, a very well dressed man.
"Dad... What are you doing here?" She asked grimly "I thought you were on Chicago on a business trip"
"That's tomorrow Jadelyn" He pointed out "So I thought I come check on you before I leave"
"Why?" She asked suspicionsly "You never did it before when I was growing up"
"Consider it a long overdue bonding experience" Her father replied "So... I hear you're getting married?"
"Almost"
"What do you mean almost?"
"First I got to get the ring" She admitted reluctantly "Which is a lot harder than I expected it would"
Mr West took a sip of the wine he brought with him, then put a bit on another glass for his daughter "Asking your girlfriend to marry you would make anyone feel like they have bats in their stomachs... I should know... I been where you are when I asked your mother to be my wife."
"Did you ever felt scared about getting rejected?"
"Everyone does Jadelyn" He replied seriously "You aren't the first one and you sure won't be the last"
The pale brunette took a drink out of her wine "How did you know I planned on proposing?"
"Your future father-in-law told me" Mr West replied.
"Since when you two hand out?"
"We don't, in actually he was about to give me a ticket for speeding the other day until he saw it was me and rip the paper in half, telling me we'll be family soon and gave me a free pass"
"Ah... That's nice of him I guess"
"Now, the reason why I'm here is to ask you if you already found a ring?"
"No, and I have the feeling I'll rip my eyes out if I see another one any time soon"
"Lovely description there Jadelyn" The business man said disturbed "I may come in the right time then, I have something for you, it might just be what you're looking for, the solution to all your problems so to speak"
Jade took a big gulp from her cup "Whatever it is, don't go beating around the bush dad, just spit it out so I can say no, right now I don't have the time for whatever it is your planning"
"You soon may re-think that" Mr West said as he took a tiny box out of his pocket.
"What are you...?"
Jade's speech was cut short as she stared at a ring with plain rose gold band with an oval diamond surronded by a few small diamonds.
"Dad... What is that?"
"This, is the engagement ring I gave your mother the night I asked her to marry me."
"Wow, that's beautiful"
"Took me over three months to find and another month to get the courage to pop the question"
"That long?"
"Indeed, waiting for your mother to say yes we're the longest ten seconds of my life and I did it with this ring, so I think it's appropriate that you should have it!"
"I'm sorry what?!"
"I want you to give it to your girlfriend"
"You want me to propose with mom's ring?" Jade asked perplexed "Why?"
"I have no doubt in my mind that if your mother was alive today, she would've loved Victoria because she made you extremely happy and that's all she ever wanted for you, so use her ring to tie the knob and make it official."
Mr West then puts his deceased wife's ring on his daughter's hand and closed it.
"Are... Are you sure dad?"
"I'm sure it's what your mom would have wanted."
"I... I... I don't know what to say."
"A simple thank you would do"
For the first time in her life Jade looked at her old man with something other than contempt... Gratitude.
"Dad... This is the nicest thing you ever given me."
"You're my child Jadelyn" He commented as a matter of fact "Now I'm sorry I been out of your life for so long, hopefully this will be a start to patch things up between us."
Jade looked down at the engagement ring.
"Tell you what dad" She spoke calmly "As soon as I get the courage to pop the question I'll let you know... Maybe we can get coffee sometime"."
"And bring Victoria with you" Mr West said I want to get to know my future daughter-in-law."
The Former Goth gave him a small grateful smile.
"I'm sure Tori would love that"
"Good" Mr West got up from his seat without another word as he started to walk out of the apartment "Oh and Jadelyn?"
"Yeah dad?"
"I'm proud of you."
"For getting married?"
"No, for growing up into such a wonderful young lady."
"I'm anything but."
"Oh?" He teased "Your future wife would say otherwise."
Jade smiles uncertainty "Thanks... Dad."
So... What do you guys think of the story? I honestly didn't plan on Jade having a conversation with her father but considering I gave her a decent connection with Mr Vega in the prequel, I suppose it was only logical for her to have some kind of "Father-Daughter bonding."
Mr West maybe OOC, but let's remember he only appears once in the show so his personality isn't well explored.
As for her poor if abusive treatment of her friends? Don't worry, eventually she thank both Robbie and Andre for the input they provided (In her mind).
What? Of course she wasn't about to say it out loud, she may have acted like a gank but Jade isn't one to apologize.
The name of the story is supposed to allude to Jade's feelings towards getting the perfect ring, it certainly drove her over the edge, no?
Ah, On a final note, today is my birthday and to celebrate I decided to post a yet another new Jori fic, three updates should be enough for the day, umm?
Anyway I hope this was a nice mix of dark humor and joy involving Jade since she's my favourite character of the show.
Want to gimme a present? Then press the button bellow and leave me your reviews, that's sure to make my day.
Invader Johnny Signing Off.