Break A Leg.
Author: Invader Johnny.
Summary: No one has ever been able to intimidate Jade West, well no one except the father of her girlfriend, she wants to marry Tori but first she has to get Mr. Vega's blessings first, which is easier said than done, after all, the man has access to many, many guns.
Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious, if I did then I would have made it into an animated show and sold the rights to Cartoon Network, at least they don't cancel decent show or tried to sell the rights to another station which would make Jori possible.
Author's Note: Well my dear readers, this is a sort of prequel to my fic "Cancelled" you don't necessarily have to read it to understand what this story is gonna be about but if you do decide to have a go at it then please do so after you all finish this fic, okay?
So, anyways enjoy.
"Andre, I need you to do me a favor."
"Whatever it is the answer is no!"
"Why not?!" Jade snarled "You don't even know what I was about to ask!"
"Doesn't matter" The musician snapped "Because the last time I did a favor for you I ended up being covered in so much rotting fish tuna under a god forsaken bridge in who knows what state with at least fifty or so cats trying to eat me!"
"I said I was sorry!" She bellowed.
"No, Tori made you say sorry!"
"I still said it didn't I?!"
"Yeah well 'sorry' doesn't change the fact that I was used as a dinner plate and scratching post in places that should never be scratched!"
"The doctor said you still are able to procreate!"
"But the scars are still there! Physically, and mentally." Andre shuddered "So thank you for making me afraid of cats, Jade!"
"This is different! what I need from you isn't life threatening... This time."
"The answer is still no, asks Cat... Or Robbie!"
"Can't, they're going to Disneyland." Jade said in disdain "Figures those two would go there on their date."
"Well then your out of luck."
"What if I told you I'm the one in danger?"
"Then I would be afraid to know exactly what did you do?"
"I called Mr. Vega and asked him to meet me for dinner tomorrow night."
"Why would you do something like that?" Andre questioned puzzled. Knowing full well that even if Mr. Vega was open minded about his daughter's sexuality, he and Jade didn't exactly meet eye to eye.
If anything, the police officer sometimes was suspicious of the young Goth, and in a way, he had a justifiable reason to expect the worst of her considering she once was Tori's main source of consternation and despair when they studied at Hollywood Arts.
But that was then, this is now and yet it seems a father never forgets his child's unhappiness.
In Andre's opinion Jade was on thin ice with the cop.
"Look Harris, you may think this is beyond stupid and it probably is but I'm doing it for one reason and one reason only."
"And what would that be?"
"Before I tell you anything, I want you to promise me this won't be heard by another soul." Jade said seriously "This is the most important thing I'm about to do!"
"You aren't planning to kill Mr. Vega and ask me to help you bury his body somewhere in the middle of desert, are you?"
"What? NO!" Jade bellowed angrily "Be serious Harris! This is no time for dark twisted jokes, it really is the most important task of my fucking life!"
"Ok, Ok... I promise whatever you tell me, stays in this room!"
"Good, but If I ever find out you broke your promise and told anyone about this, then you are going to wish the cats had eaten you, understand?"
"Don't need to threaten my life Jade, just tell me already."
"I want to marry Tori."
Andre's eyes widened "Mind repeating that?" He croaked.
"You heard me."
The dark-skinned man slowly turns his lips from a frown into a smile "Well I gotta say it's about damn time."
"Huh?"
"Never mind... So is this why you want to have dinner with Mr. Vega? So you can tell him Tori said yes?"
"Andre... I think you misunderstood me." Jade said slowly "I haven't asked Tori yet, hell I haven't even thought of a way to do so!"
"Then?"
"I want Mr. Vega to have dinner with me so I could ask for his blessings."
"Ah I see." He said "Does Tori know you are having dinner with her father?"
"No." Jade answered nervously. "And I want this to stay that way."
'How come?"
"Come on Harris, we both know that if Tori finds out about my plan, she might try to weasel her way into having dinner with us."
"And that's bad because...?"
"Because I don't want her dad to come up with the wrong conclusion and think that she came along so he would be forced into saying yes, the guy can't exactly say no to her and that damn puppy dog pout."
"True." He nodded "But why ask him in the first place?"
"Because after Holly disowned Tori." Jade said her would be mother in law's name with contempt "Her old man became one of the few people whose opinion really mattered, so if I ask him for her hand in marriage and he says yes then it will make Tori very happy to know that once I do pop the question."
"Very considerable of you West."
"It better be." She muttered "I'm risking my ass here."
"So what exactly do you need from me?"
"Back up."
"Come again?"
"I need you to go to the restaurant in disguise and watch everything that happens in the event everything goes straight to hell!" Jade explained exasperatedly "I need a witness, so if anything goes wrong and my body goes missing then Tori won't be kept in the dark!"
"You're kidding."
"Harris, I'm about to ask a COP for his daughter's hand in marriage, this is a man who has access to several fucking guns!" Jade growled dangerously "And I'm sure he can make me disappear and get away with it! So, NO! I'm definitely not kidding!"
"You know what? I think I'll pass."
"Listen to me you idiot because I'm only going to say this once..." Jade ominously growling, grabbing him roughly by his shirt for further effect. "If you aren't there to witness everything that happens in case Mr. Vega says no then things are going to get ugly now and specially after he shoots me and gets rid of my remains."
Andre gulped, fear evident in his chocolate brown eyes.
"What's more, if Tori is in any sort of pain because she doesn't know what became of me then I promise you that I'll find a way back from my unmarked grave... And you my friend." She chucked evilly "You are going to spend the rest of your miserable existence being haunted by my very demonic ghost... And I know that you know that I can do things that will make you unhappy for a very...long...time!"
"I should have stayed under the bridge."
"So... Care to re-think your answer?"
"I'm in." He cleared his throat "Have you thought of what you're gonna say to him?"
"Not yet, but this dinner has to go right." The Thespian said determinately "I have to get Mr. Vega to accept me or die trying."
"Well then, we have a lot of work ahead of us." Andre commented. "If we are going to get your future father-in-law to see what Tori sees in you then we are going to be up all night."
"In case we don't succeed I already wrote my will."
"Why am I not surprised?"
"I also want you to give Tori this." She said, handing him a DVD.
"What's in it?"
"It contains every song we ever wrote together." Jade answered "They tell a story, from when we first met to the day we hooked up... Give it to her in case I do die."
"Being a little overdramatic here but fine I'll give it to her although I have the feeling you are going to do that yourself."
"We'll see."
"Jade?"
"What?"
"There was a time when I thought you were dating Tori just to break her heart as a form of sick enjoyment." He admitted seriously "I didn't completely trust your intentions because you've hurt her so many times before."
"Those weren't my proudest moments." Jade admitted.
"But now after seeing the lengths you're willing to go through to make things work between you? I'll admit that I had you all wrong... You make her happy West, really happy... "
"She's the best thing that ever happened to me."
"You really do love her don't you?"
"More than you know Harris, more than you know"
"Jade, I don't think there is anything I could say that would be of any comfort to you at the moment" Andre said honestly "I mean, what you are about to do would scare just about anyone."
"Well I'm not just anyone."
"No, you're not" He agreed "So Jade... Break a leg-."
The next day:
"Break a leg... Great words of encouragement Harris" The Thespian thought snidely "I'm going to ask Mr. Vega's blessings, not perform a fucking play"
Jade walked out of the Jet Brew establishment, a hot cup of coffee in her left hand and her car keys in the other, it was only 2 o'clock and she had asked Mr. Vega to meet her at six o'clock at some Italian restaurant called Mario's which Jade assumed was not so originally named after that stupid Nintendo character she despised.
Ironically despite its cheesy name, the restaurant was known for having some very high-quality dishes.
But she could fantasize about the meal to come later on, right now she only had four hours to get ready, she had to make a proper impression and she wasn't about to do that in a pair of ripped jeans and a black tank top that showed a little too much skin.
She even removed the piercings from her face, she was going to make one hell of a performance indeed.
On the outside Jade walked with an air of confidence as if the world was her oyster, but on the inside however, she was freaking out.
She and Andre had stayed up until at least 4 A.M the previous night and made up a plan:
It mainly consisted of impressing Mr. Vega with a fine and expensive meal followed by after dinner drinks, then Jade would make her intentions with Tori clear, but only when the two of them would feel relaxed with one other, not before.
But that was easier said than done considering Officer Vega could easily smell a kiss ass a mile away, so Jade had to be very subtle in order to win him over.
Andre would keep true to his word and look over them from a few tables in case Jade's paranoid fear became true.
As she made her way to her car she heard the beep of another vehicle, she ignored it thinking it was just some asshole trying to make the traffic move by being as obnoxious as possible.
Beep beep.
Jade turned her head in all directions, hoping to see who was the idiot who was pissing her off.
Once she saw who exactly was making the noises, her face paled... A bit more.
On the other side of the parking lot Jade saw a police car and inside the vehicle she saw her current thorn on her side...
David Vega motioned her to come over, something she reluctantly did.
As she walked closer to the black and white car, Jade could feel as if she was getting closer to the electric chair, once she made it to the law enforcer, she timidly waved her hand.
The cop rolled down the window, his eyes hidden behind the dark glasses.
"Jade."
"Mr. Vega."
"Get in." He ordered sharply "You and I are going to have a little talk."
"Um... What about my car?" She asked nervously "And I thought we were gonna talk at the restaurant?"
"I'll drop you off once we're done." The man replied "As for dinner? We're having it at my house."
The Goth gulped, this made her entire plan go straight to the crapper, but she had no choice, she wasn't about to argue or run from the man, that would be cowardly and stupid and Jade West was neither.
Unfortunately this meant one other thing.
"No witnesses."
Defeated, the brunette got in the passenger seat, as Mr. Vega drove them to his house she couldn't help but think of Tori and how she wished she hadn't gotten in that plane to New York earlier that day.
An hour later both of them were in the Vega household, the police office eyes his would be daughter in law with such intensity she felt as if she was under a microscope.
"Ok West, you can do this, break a leg."
"So, um... Mr. Vega? Caught any criminals lately?" Jade asked lamely.
"Listen West, I know why you called." The man said, folding his arms. "So why don't we stop all the pleasantries and get down to business."
"How do you know why I wanted to talk to you?"
"There is only one reason why my daughter's girlfriend would be asking me to have dinner while Tori's on the other side of the states." He replied evenly "You are intending on asking for my permission to marry her."
Jade coughed on the sip of coffee she had just taken.
Mr. Vega looked at the Goth sadly. "I knew this day would come but I really don't think that either of us are ready for it." Jade swallowed hard and looked up at the man that she hoped would soon be her father in law.
"My baby girl loves you, anyone has to be blind not to see that." He pointed out "Despite everything you did to her in the past?... She still loved you and while I consider you a bad influence on my daughter I had to let her make her own decisions... I had to stop seeing her as my little girl and start seeing her become a woman."
"well uh Mr. Vega...You're right... I do want to marry Tori and I would like your blessing but I Just thought that we could get to know each other first... That's why I asked you to have dinner with me."
"Jadelyn, you're the woman who is trying to steal my baby girl away... For any father it's hard to get along with the boyfriend or in this case girlfriend of his child... It's hard for me to like you for that."
"With all due respect sir, I'm not stealing Tori from you." The Goth replied "You're her father, the man who raised her and the most important male figure in her life, I simply want her as my wife... I want to be able to grow old with her."
"You seemed so sure you two could last the distance."
"Why not?" Jade retorted "We been together for five years."
"That was high school and college romance." He said with such seriousness it made the thespian feel his disappointment "Things change once you make the real and ultimate commitment. So, I don't want to see you run away when things get hard... I do not want to see Tori getting hurt."
"When have I ever ran away Mr. Vega?" Jade asked angrily "I been with her every step of the way! When her mother kicked her out I took her in, when she started drinking I was there to try and stop it."
"You also left her."
"It's something I had to do... I didn't like it one bit but it had to be done!" She snapped "Just so she could see the harm she was giving me... The harm she was giving herself."
'You still left her."
"But I came back didn't I?!"
"You did." He agreed "And I'll admit that your bizarre tactic did work."
"Things with Tori had her ups and down Mr. Vega... I done things to her I'm not proud of now, but I also tried to make up for them, I did stuff I never done before; she knows I'm not good at the touchy feeling thing but I had to get out of my comfort zone... For her... I mean, when your ex-wife kicked her out she was such a mess, you have no idea how much it killed me to see her in that much agony."
"Holly hurt us all for that."
"I had to pick up the pieces and I tried to fill up that hole, God knows I tried Mr. Vega!" Jade bellowed angrily "But I didn't stop there, there were times when she needed reassurance on her auditions. I gave her that emotional support she needed when she didn't believe she could get the roles she wanted! To you that may not seem like much, but that little push made her strive for more!"
"Can't argue with that."
"You may think I'm not good enough for Tori, but guess what? what's important here is that I want you to believe me when I tell you that I love her more than anything and I am going to fight for have her in my life!"
Both of them stared at each other, neither wavering their gaze.
"I'm beginning to see what Tori sees in you." The cop said out of the blue "You're no push over."
"That's a given."
"Let me ask you something West, let's say that this acting, singing or scriptwriting thing doesn't work, what then? Do you have a plan B? How would you be able to support yourself and Tori?"
"You think Tori wants me to support her?" She asked disgustedly "She isn't a weak person that wants everything handed to her in a silver platter! I know she wants to work for her goals, I want to work for what I want! We both had made a plan B, she is taking classes to be a music teacher in case she doesn't become the next big thing and I'm going to become a publish author, I already had a reply and one of my books I wrote is getting published, I'm not going to delude myself into thinking everything I write is going to instantaneously get out there but I am going to make sure that Tori is well taken care off, I'm a hard worker Mr. Vega and I don't give up, and if I say that I'm going to give Tori the best possible life then you better believe it!"
"Words are cheap." He said quickly.
"Then my actions up to now had to spoke volumes then."
"I don't question your love for my daughter West... You have shown me time and again that you would do anything for her... But..."
"But...?"
"I don't trust you."
"Oh."
"That being said, I need you to answer me one last thing."
"What's that?"
"Have you looked for a ring yet?"
"HUH?"
"Well if plan on marrying my daughter then you better have a damn good ring when you propose."
"But... But you just said you don't trust me five seconds ago!"
"Yes, but I think it's time I started doing so and I'm taking a big gamble here."
"So this means that...?"
"Jade... I'd be happy to call you my daughter-in-law."
The Thespian was shocked to say the least, things didn't exactly go according to plan, but she wasn't complaining.
"However," The cop said in a tone that made Jade feel like she was in boot camp, "I want to make this perfectly clear West, if you're going to marry my baby girl, you'd better wise up."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean that you better not do anything stupid, I heard stories from both my daughters, I know you tend to get nasty when you're mad." Mr. Vega said evenly "That rash behavior doesn't sit well with me and it can get you in a lot of trouble, I have my sources and I'll be watching you from afar, I will get the entire police department if I have to, my squad treats Tori as if she was their own child, so you'd better know now that she has several guardian angels looking out for her wellbeing."
"Yes sir!" Jade replied, half-mockingly.
"I'm serious," the officer replied. Then in a softer voice, he added, "Jade, take care of my little girl, please."
"Don't worry, Dad, I will," she answered, with a trace of her trademark sarcasm.
David laughed in good nature "Don't push your luck kid. You may not believe this, but I've had trainers scarier than you."
"I doubt it." She said "But you have my word Mr. Vega, having her as my wife will make me a better person and I will love her like she deserves to be loved!"
The officer puts his hand on Jade's shoulder "I know you will do just that and more."
"Now, since I think we lost the reservations at the restaurant what do you say we simply go to another less expensive place to eat?" Jade suggested "That is, if you are still up for it Mr. Vega?"
"I am," He replied smiling at his future daughter-in-law "I do think a celebration dinner sounds appropriate, we still have a lot to talk about... But that can wait another day."
"Hopefully not anytime soon."
"Gotta say West, you did a lot better than that Gibby kid did when he asked to marry Trina."
"Wait... what?!" She asked surprised "Gibby came by here?! When?!"
"About two weeks ago, telling me how much Trina means to him and how much he wants to marry her..." The cop replied "Never thought I see the day that would happen."
"That he would ask?"
"That anyone would ask." He clarified "But seeing as I haven't heard any news back from him or Trina, then I'm guessing he hasn't gotten the courage to pop the question just yet."
"And?... How did it go when he came to ask your blessing?"
"There is something seriously wrong with that boy."
"But you still said yes?"
"You and Gibby have make my daughters quite happy Jade and that's all that really matter to me, for my little girls, to have a happier life."
"Now I see where Tori got her heart from."
"Jade?"
"Yes?"
"Welcome to the family."
"We are getting a little ahead of ourselves Mr. Vega." She said with a smirk "After all I haven't bought the ring let alone ask the big one."
"A technicality, it's only a matter of time until she says yes."
"I sure hope so."
"I know so."
"Now I just gotta think of a way to propose."
"Well you have more than enough time." He said reassuringly "After all, Tori will be in New York for a few months."
"Very True."
As they left the Vega household, Jade couldn't help but get this nagging feeling that she was forgetting something.
"Oh well, it's probably nothing important."
Andre was sitting in the restaurant, freaking out.
Jade and Mr. Vega hadn't arrived yet, they were supposed to be here two hours ago.
"Oh my god... What if Mr. Vega really did kill her!" He thought fearfully "Oh crap, then her ghost will haunt me!"
Heh, Well Andre really got the short end of the stick to say the least.
To those who wonder how and why he was covered in tuna and about to "be eaten" by cats? Well I decided to leave that a mystery because it was meant to serve as a parody of what the goat did to Carly and was never truly answered.
Andre also was meant to serve as a protective older brother sort of person towards Tori since he's her best friend and all.
Speaking of Tori, you may all wonder why she didn't make an appearance in the story, not even in a flashback, well the answer is simple:
I felt that if I had put Tori in some form; it would have gotten rid of some of the impact of the story; which is why I decided to have her leave for New York to do her role as Lindy Sampson for "Eye Candy", I had to put continuity in some form since this IS a prequel to "Cancelled".
To those who don't know; the title of the story as well as Andre telling Jade to "Break A Leg" is actually an old expression that reflects a theatrical superstition in which wishing a person "Good Luck" is considered bad luck, it seems fitting considering they are all in the entertainment industry, plus Jade was about to do the "performance" of her young life, so to speak.
Funny story, this idea came to me while I was watching a repeat of one of my favorite episodes of Invader Zim called "Hobo 13" in which Zim goes to a desert world similar to Tatooine just so he could get a bunch of military goodies.
You may ask how did that gave me this idea? Simple, Zim had a drill Sargent called Hobo 678 and he was one of the few characters that could actually intimidate Zim, in fact I based Mr Vega and Jade's uneasy relationship a bit on the one Hobo 678 and Zim had since in the episode the Sargent was impressed but disgusted with Zim's determination since the Irken saw his squad as expendable and one by one getting them sent to the "holding pin of pain" but in his defense he DID manage complete the treacherous trials.
Anyway, getting sidetracked here, I just thought it would be a rather interesting idea for Jade to show some character development if someone could manage to intimidate her and Mr Vega was the perfect "man for the job" since she IS dating his youngest daughter, I mean what person isn't scared of a freaking cop?!"
This fic takes place in the same universe as the following stories:
-Cancelled (Sequel)
-50 Shades of Jori
-One For The Road.
-Parenthood.
-It's a Miracle
-Doomed Vega
So any mention of past events in this fic for those who have read my previous Jori work is not an error or negligence of continuity on my part, ok? I just want these stories to be a part of a universe I'm creating.
Anyways what did you guys think of the interaction between Jade and Mr. Vega? Entertaining enough? After all, it was my first time writing Tori's father as a main character but I think I did ok.
Invader Johnny Signing Off.