A/N: Hey, guys! Happy Thanksgiving!
And for my international friends, I hope you had a great day anyway.
Before this day was over, I wanted to leave everyone with a little Thanksgiving Jori goodness.
Jade fumbled with her keys, exhausted from the double shift at the diner. If it weren't for the umpteenth customer wishing her a Happy Thanksgiving, she wouldn't have noticed the difference between today and every other day. But to Jade that was for the best. Just today, despite it being Thanksgiving, there was a fair amount of people coming in getting a cup of coffee to prepare them for Black Friday shopping and the second-shift people on their lunch break.
Holidays made her depressed; seeing the loving families and close friends congregating and making their plans. Such things had little relevance to the dark-haired girl.
Ever since flunking out of college and getting cut off financially from her parents; Jade has had very little to cheer about. She busted her hump six days of the week, 60-70 hours (more so during the holiday season) only to come back to an empty apartment. Cat and Beck had sent her greetings on her phone but she hadn't responded back. Cat would've had her old friend over for Thanksgiving but she was all the way in Chicago filming a movie.
She turned the knob and kicked the door in. Dropping her purse, she noticed a light emanating from the direction of the kitchen. It made her frightful, thinking that some creep broke into her place.
Jade scanned immediately around her, looking for something that could be a defense weapon. Her eyes met with a black umbrella leaning against the wall by the door. She picked it up, folding it by the tip. This way Jade could smack the assailant in the face with the solid wooden handle.
Her heart pounded as she slowly made her way toward the kitchen. In hindsight, she should have called the cops but in the heat of the moment she was cautious but still didn't think it through. The kitchen had a thin swinging door that led to it. Jade got right up to it and placed her free hand on the door. The closer she got the more she became aware of a small commotion inside. Whoever was in there sounded like they were looking for something. There were drawers opening and closing, metal banging, a faint voice muttering.
Well not muttering, but oddly enough, singing. Apparently, this was not just a thief but possibly a psycho. Not only was this stranger invading Jade's space, they were downright singing while they worked.
Jade took a deep breath as silently as she could, preparing to surprise the burglar and give the disarming blow with her trusty umbrella.
The Goth burst into the kitchen, the door slamming against the wall. As she did this, she raised her weapon high and let out a battle cry which came out as a scared scream. Jade's eyes widened at the sight she saw. It was such a shock that it took her an extra few seconds before she lowered her arms.
Tori Vega, of all people, was in the middle of her kitchen. She was cooking. Doing a lot of cooking. All burners on the stove were going at once; something was in the oven and the microwave beeped that it was finished. The half Latina stood there, startled at the sudden intrusion.
"Jade!" she blurted out, smiling nervously. "What are you doing here?"
The pale girl titled her head "Its. My. Apartment."
Tori winced, "Oh right, stupid question."
"So its my turn, what are you doing here? How did you get in?"
"Cat gave me a key a while back...for emergencies. Probably didn't tell you because she didn't know how you would react."
Jade nodded. "Okay, so WHY are you here?"
"Well..." Tori's eyes darted to the boiling water and she went over to take it off the heat. "I was in the neighborhood and didn't have anything special going on..."
Jade sniffed "Is that turkey I smell?"
"Yeah," Tori replied brushing her hair back. "17-pounder. More than enough. We'll have sandwiches for days."
"So you made Thanksgiving dinner?" Jade asked. "For me?"
Tori blushed. "Um, well, yeah. I was almost done. It was meant to be a surprise."
"But shouldn't you be with your family?"
The tan girl cleared her throat before answering.
"My folks wanted to go to Acapulco for the holiday to kind of shake things up. They invited me and Trina to come along. But I told them that I didn't want to go."
"Why not?" Jade asked.
"Cat kind of told me things were pretty hard for you these days. Buried mostly work."
Jade shrugged "It's a living."
"I know" Tori smiled. "And I was thinking the other day about you being alone on Thanksgiving and..." she sighed. "I dunno..."
"So you mean to tell me that you blew off fun in the sun to stay here and make some lame Thanksgiving dinner?"
Tori slammed down her wooden cooking spoon.
"I don't think spending time with someone I care about is so lame."
Those words shook Jade to the core and she looked down, feeling foolish. She then thought to change the subject slightly.
"So what are we having, Vega?"
The light came back to Tori's face and she proceeded to push Jade out of the kitchen.
"It's almost ready. You wait and make sure the table is cleared."
Before Jade could argue, she was standing back in her living room. She went over to her small table with two chairs and began picking up the stacks of mail that accumulated over the last couple of days, mostly bills. Jade put the mound of papers on the couch. Looking at the round table, it seemed really bare. She then got the idea to grab a couple of candles that she had in a drawer for whenever the power went out. In the same drawer was a book of matches from the diner she worked at. After a couple of attempts, Jade struck one and used it to light the two candles.
They gave some light and warmth to the corner of the living room which was the designated dining area.
"I like the candles, Jade" said a voice behind her.
Jade turned and saw Tori holding three small bowls with her oven mitts because they were still very hot. Jade stepped back as Tori put them carefully on the table. One had bright yellow corn, the second had lumpy mashed potatoes and the third bowl had some fluffy biscuits.
Smelling the food, Jade commented "Smells good, Vega."
"I'm not done," she pointed and retreated back into the kitchen. She then came out with a small foil tin. "TA-DA!"
Jade shook her head at the half Latina's silliness.
Tori put down a delicious-looking green bean casserole with golden, crunchy onions on top. That was one of Jade's most favorite things and the aroma wafting from the dish made her stomach rumble.
"Sorry, but the turkey is on the counter. I have no room for it."
"It's okay" Jade said. "I can carve it if you don't mind."
Tori looked at her "I'd love that. Thank you."
"Now let me get the plates and stuff," Jade said, motioning for Tori to sit down and get comfortable.
Jade then returned with two white plates and a pair of forks and knives, along with some spoons for the various foods. She handed one to Tori and some silverware and then sat across from her with the same.
Jade took in the food in front of her and looked up at the brown eyes of the girl who made it all possible.
"Tori?"
"Yeah?" she replied, looking hopeful.
"Thank you."
The tan girl smiled brightly "You're more than welcome."
As unlikely as it was, Jade West was thankful for something. Or rather, someone.
Indeed both girls would list this Thanksgiving dinner as one of their favorites of all time.