Hey guys! So my other story, Love is in the Eye of the Beholder, got kind of boring and I don't think it was really going anywhere interesting, so I'm starting a new one. Gonna try and make it longish, as long as you guys are liking it. So enjoy, and please review :]

Disclaimer: Victorious is not mine. If it was it'd be on TeenNick so I could make this stuff actually happen.

Her. Jade. Who would have thought that Jade, of all people, would be so broken? That Jade would be so hurt? She comes off as so… so tough, so "I don't give a shit about what you think of me," but she's just… lost.

Maybe that's why I thought it'd be a good idea. Maybe that's why I thought she'd go for me. Because she had nobody else to go for. Nobody else that would want her. Beck was old news. Beck was a sympathy case. But she didn't go for me. Now I'm shut out. Not even in the friend zone. More of the gross-aunt-that-always-wants-to-kiss-your-cheek-with-her-red-lipstick zone. I tried. I put my heart on my sleeve and this is what happens.

People think of me as the ditz. The dumb girl. The floaty one. The chick who lives in her head and never has any idea of what's going on around her. But I'm not like that. I'm not that girl who they think I am. That's one reason why Jade and I are alike. We both can so easily fool people. We both can so easily put on masks. But I mean, we are actors, after all. Putting on shows to give people what they want is what we do best.

If somebody bothered to look hard enough, they would see how I'm more observant than most. How I can put on a mask so they think I'm clueless. It works this way. I can get what I want. Manipulate people with my fake vanity, my fake naivety. Usually. Jade knows me too well. She's knows how I work, and maybe that's why she's staying away from me. She knows the kind of plans I can come up with. She's known me too long to see me as anything more than a "friend."

But I'm not letting go this easily. I'm gonna fight for that sad, broken girl, who hides her true feelings with rude remarks and violent gestures. She had a bad childhood, but I don't think her teenage years are much better. Not right now, anyway.

"Hey, Jade." I walk up to her as she's putting her books into her locker.

"Hi," she says, barely looking at me.

"So how've you been since… you know…?"

"Since what? Since Beck and I broke up? Fine. I've been fine. You know what? I'm better without him. He was holding me back."

I cock my head to the side. "Holding you back from what?" You see, when I'm around Jade, I don't feel the need to act how I do around everyone else. She can see through my disguise, so why even try to hide? Why try to hide the fact that I notice every little detail and take everything I hear into account? But that's why she's tentative when she talks to me. She knows I'm going to analyze everything. Sometimes I wish she didn't know me so well...

She opens her mouth slightly to respond, but closes it again. "Look, I gotta get to class." And with that she turns away from me, walking briskly down the hallway and around the corner.

I sigh. Why? Ever since I initially asked her out a couple weeks ago, she's been acting so different around me. I mean, maybe she's not gay. Maybe she is. But either way, I need her, I want her, and I've known it for a long time. I just had to find a way to get her in a situation where she can't help but want me, too.

The bell rings, and I head towards my next class. Special effects. My favorite. Not. But the teacher never really does anything besides play with the switches and dials on the lights and fans, so it's a good time to think.

As I sit there, I can feel people looking at me, like they always do. Thinking I'm zoning out. Why can't they just carry on with their own business? Why do they have to pay so much attention to the "stupid girl?" They think I need special assistance or something? They think I need help finding a pencil?

Okay. Planning time. How can I get Jade into a position where she realizes she needs me? She doesn't know I know how broken she is. She doesn't know how easily I can see through her shell, just like how she can see through mine.

Maybe if I just get her alone… I don't want to force her to do anything. I want it to happen naturally. But a little acting never hurt anyone, did it? We do go to a performing arts school, after all.

When people are broken like Jade is, they'll accept anyone. Which is why I was surprised when she declined when I asked her out. I used to be sad, but then I realized it was getting me nowhere.

But you ask me, why Jade? Why her, of all the girls? And I answer that I honestly don't know. There's just something. I know everything there is to know about her, and... and she... she needs me, even if she doesn't realize it. And I need her. You ask me what I need her for. I tell you that I need her to feel whole. But you keep pounding me with questions. Doesn't that mean you just want her for sex? Yes and no. I want her for that reason, but I also want her to keep myself grounded. To know that there's someone I can go to in the worst of times.

Class ends but I stay in my seat for a minute. I pull my PearPhone out of my pocket and click "new message" and type "Jade" at the top. Hey, meet me in the Black Box after school? I want to talk to you. I send the message, put my phone back in my pocket, and leave the classroom.

I have study hall this period, but it's more like "do nothing hall." I take my usual spot, next to the window in the back corner of the room. The only class I have with Jade is Sikowitz's drama class, but that's only every other day.

I feel my phone buzz and pull it quickly out, fumbling to open the message. Sure, I'll be there. It wasn't much, but it was something. But now that I think about, I actually have no idea what I'm going to say to her when we talk.

The last few classes of the day drag on, and at last the final bell rings. I hurry to my locker an quickly put my things away, then go over to the Black Box.

There's something about this place that I just like. It feels almost… safe, protective. I honestly have no idea why. It's just been here for so long. So much has happened here. When you're in here, you can be whatever you want. Play whatever role you need to to get things done.

Less than a minute later Jade walks in. She has a small smile on her face, but I can tell it's fake. She wants to please me, at least a little bit. Make me feel like she's glad to be here.

"Hi!"

"Hey, Cat. So why'd you call me here?"

"I just wanted to say that…" I lick my lips. "Say that I'm sorry for what happened a few weeks ago…"

"Why are you sorry? You didn't do anything wrong."

"Oh. Well, yeah but… just sorry for putting you in an awkward position…"

She smiles a bit more. Now I'm not sure if it's real or not. "It's fine." She sees the skeptical look on my face. "Really, it's fine." She rests a hand on my shoulder and I feel a tingling sensations sweep through my body from the point of contact.

"Hey," she continues. "Let's hang out. As friends." Well she sure made that part clear…

"Yeah!" This could be good. "Today?"

"Why not? Maybe we could watch a movie or something."

"That sounds awesome. Thanks, Jade…"

"Thanks for what?"

"For understanding. Again I'm sorry, I just-"

"Stop saying that! Come on, friend, let's go over to my house and watch a movie."

Friend. Alright, I'll take it. It's better than gross aunt.