It had to be the lamest, corniest joke she had ever heard in her life. Seriously. She'd heard better from 4th graders at the park. But the smiling woman in front of her was gorgeous, smart, and funny in her own right. So she threw her head back and laughed and received a soft, genuine smile in return. They both knew it was a horrible joke.

"That was terrible."

"No," Tori shook her head, dazed by the woman's eyes. The were a rare a shade, a shade that looked impossibly light, and at the same time dark as pitch in the dim light of the smoky bar. She couldn't help but be mesmerized by them. Tori felt her face split into a smile of her own. She absolutely loved talking to this woman.

"Come on. Don't lie to me. It was horrible."

She rolled her eyes playfully. "No, really... Okay," she chuckled, feeling slightly guilty, "it was horrible."

The woman's laughter was warm and soft, like the tinkling of a chime in the wind. It was pleasant, and it sent warm tingles down her spine.

They couldn't have known each other for more than a few weeks. They'd met here at the bar by accident, got to talking, and suddenly Tori found herself sitting here at this exact same table once a week waiting anxiously for her to arrive. Not only was she stunning, but also different, unique and she looked forward to their nocturnal encounters. They were a sort of escape for her, one she welcomed.

"What do you do for a living?" Tori asked. Up until now, their conversations were light, funny, random, sad, political, religious- anything and everything under the sun. Except for personal. She wanted to get to know her better.

"I work with kids." She answered easily, though her eyes seemed a bit... guarded.

"Like a teacher or CPS?" Tori felt herself stiffen slightly. Not that she had any reason to, but she'd never been a big fan of authority figures, they'd done nothing but make her already crappy life even more miserable.

"More like a babysitter. What about you? What do you do for a living?"

"I do a few things here and there." She said vaguely. It didn't take a genius to know that response was less than stellar, but it was better than the truth. Tori wasn't quiet ready to reveal that kind of information. Mostly because she really liked her.

"So, Tori, can I get you a drink?"

She smiled appreciatively, glad she knew how to take a hint. Tori liked to think she was a master when it came to guarding her emotions- with years of practice, who wouldn't be?- but sometimes the cracks in her mask shone through.

"I'd love one. But I have to go to the bathroom." She stood, grabbing her handbag from the back of the chair. "You order them and I'll be right back?"

A smile. "I'm not going anywhere."

Tori grinned and waved a goodbye before making her way to the back of the bar. She brushed past few drunken patrons and laughed at the skimpy blonde keeled over her herself projectile vomiting by the back entrance.

Pushing the the bathroom door open, she made sure no one was inside -in spite of the multiple stalls- before locking the door and heading to the mirror.

Her dark curls hung lazily past her shoulders, framing her face in an attractive yet still classy way. Tonight she'd decided to dress conservatively and went with a black sleeveless, a leather jacket, a pair of white skinny jeans, and gray Converse. She'd learned by the second date that her moonlight companion wasn't the type to be impressed by flashy outfits and jewelery. She didn't, however, care much to change her make up. A dash of eyeliner, a bit of mascara and eyeshadow. She looked good if she said so herself.

"A date, huh? Is that what this is?" She smiled at the thought of a date with the mysterious woman. She wouldn't be opposed to the idea.

Tori caught sight of her reflection. Her dark eyes were impenetrable, even to herself sometimes. Her lips twitched, a frown forming immediately.

Despite having a good time at the moment, her life was far from the fairy tale she wanted it to be. On a good day she was lucky if she made it home without the oh so pleasurable company of a cop, handcuffs slapped on her wrists. She wasn't a bad person, really, but she had a tendency to hang with the wrong crowd. It wasn't her fault, but she'd rather sleep inside a prison cell than go home most nights. Her father, an ex policemen, had a problem with pain medication. He'd become addicted after an accident that blew out his knee. He wasn't the same man he used to be. Sometimes it was like he wasn't even her father but some stranger with a bad temper sitting in that house. Her mother, well she was a lost cause from the beginning and the only reason her father stayed with her was because of her and her sister.

Trina was lucky enough to get out, though. She wasn't. The older girl had left with her boyfriend years ago. They were going to live the dream she'd said, packing plastic trash bags full of clothes one night, tossing them out the window so Ryder could stuff them into his old, beat up Toyota.

She never heard from her again. That was more than four years ago.

Tori stared herself down, lost deep in thought when someone knocked gently on the door.

"Tori? Are you okay?"

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Tori forced a smile on her face before reaching over and unlocking the door. "Hey you." She greeted, her voice a bit rough, as if she'd been crying. Maybe she had. Things like that seemed to escape her notice.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay. You were taking so long."

Checking her watch, the Latina grimaced. A whole ten minutes had gone by. "I'm sorry. I lost track of time."

"Are you okay?" The woman asked, concern etched on her features.

Closing the small distance between them, Tori took her hands, offering a small smirk before claiming her lips in a small kiss. Small, but it still made her unsteady on her feet. Still made her heart race and her knees week and her breath hitch and her chest constrict and all these other little things that made her want to stay in this bar forever.

"I'm fine now."

Taking her hand, they made their way back to their table where two fruity looking drinks sat waiting for them. Tori immediately missed the warmth of her hand as they separated to claim their individual seats. She took a sip from her drink, her mind not quite done wandering.

'So I was thinking, and feel free to say no, if maybe..."

"Maybe what?" She coaxed, very aware of the blush creeping up her companion's pale skin. Crimson looked lovely on her cheeks, really.

"Well, see, I wanted to know if maybe you'd like to have lunch with me." She stuttered, looking away when she finished.

Tori felt her lips lilt upwards, something that seemed to happen a lot around here. She could tell she was nervous- her cheeks were red, eyes dodgy, hands sweating. Really, she didn't look the type to get nervous. She was flattered.

"I'd really like that."

Her lips split into a grin a mile wide. "Awesome."

Tori laughed at the sound of relief in her voice. "Wow. Do you always get so wound up?" She asked playfully, aware of the double meaning to her question.

The woman was no fool. She caught on quickly. "Only around you.

Tori meant to speak. She meant to tell her exactly what was on her mind. But she couldn't. Not yet. Years of bad experiences left her guarded- her defenses were her only means of control in her crazy, chaotic world.

"Lis-"

A ring tone blasted from the woman's breast pocket. She offered an apologetic grimace as she snatched it up. "Please tell me you dialed the wrong number."

Tori sighed. The night was over. She wasn't ready for it to be over but a phone call usually meant she had to go. She watched her pull out her wallet and take out a few bills. "I'm so sorry, Tori, really. I didn't mean for this-"

"Go," she waved her off, "It's no problem." A skeptical brow. "Really," she smiled, getting up to hug her. "I had fun tonight."

"Me too... How does Italian sound? Saturday night? My treat."

"That sounds an awful lot like a date." She found herself indulging in the taste of strawberry lip gloss as she was kissed. She sighed when it was over, their foreheads pressed together. Parting really was such sweet sorrow.

"Do you want it to be?"

"I'd like that."

They shared a few more words, and Tori resisted the urge to end the night with an impromptu make out session in the back of her car. If she had anything to say, they would be doing a lot of that in the future. The near future hopefully.

Now that her companion was gone Tori didn't really see the point in hanging around the bar any longer. Once upon a time it had been a place she looked forward to coming to- meeting new people, scoring free drinks, maybe even finding someone to shack with for the night. Things had changed thanks to a wonderfully insightful woman.

The thought of her alone was enough to make her want to go home, prepared to face anything the world threw her way because she would see her again this week.

They were strange, these feelings. Most of her life was spent being hurt by the people she trusted most. She'd learned a long time ago that expectations were almost always likely to end badly. Relying on people always led to disappointment, and getting attached would only lead to misery when the promise of forever actually meant only until they got bored.

Tori was no stranger to any of these things. Yet she found herself daydreaming about the woman, wondering what it would be like to spend every waking hour with her, waking up beside her, laying in bed talking about stupid, trivial little matters like they did at the bar.

There was no denying it- she'd fallen for her nightly company, she'd fallen hard. It was strange, strange because they'd only just met, yet there was something powerfully compelling about her. She just couldn't help it.

Tori grabbed her purse, ready to call it a night.

Suddenly the front door of the bar slammed open. Two officers flashed their lights into the bar as a third barked orders for the music to stop and the lights to turn up.

"We got a tip," the female officer announced, eyes scanning the crowd until they rested on Tori. "There's a minor on the premises.

Her heart sank. This couldn't be happening. Not when things were starting to look up...

Tori growled in frustration, rolling her eyes as she listened to the same bullshit she'd heard a million times over. They said the exact same crap each and every time, and each and every time they said it was that much harder not to headbutt the monotonous, brainless cops in the damn face.

She didn't need assaulting an officer added to the long list of crimes under her name. The officer leading her into the building was pleasant enough were it not for the fact that she wouldn't shut up. Didn't they have some kind of rule against this?

She sighed. This was her last strike. Underage drinking at an establishment for patrons 21 and older. It wasn't that big of a deal, not to her anyway but apparently the judge frowned upon that. She was certain she would be spending the next year in a juvenile correctional facility and a few more in prison after that.

Must be her lucky day. The arresting officer suggested something a little less dramatic and a little more productive. Was she grateful? Not in the least. The bitch shouldn't have arrested her in the first place. It wasn't like she was causing trouble, she was headed home before they decided to rain on her parade. It was such a good night, too.

The officer side glanced at her every few seconds. It was beginning to bother her.

"What?"

"You didn't get the booze all by yourself. If you would have told the judge who got it for you, you wouldn't be here right now."

Tori shrugged. "I'm not a snitch."

The officer scoffed. "Obviously."

The Latina felt her words hit like a physical blow. "I take it you've read through my file." It wasn't a question.

A nod. "Possession, hiding your boyfriend from the police, acting as an accomplice, stealing, running away from home. That's a pretty impressive rapsheet for a 17 year old girl."

"l try."

"I don't get it. I know you're a good kid."

Tori snorted. "Now I know you're crazy."

The officer chuckled, tucking a strand of velvet red hair into her hat. "Come on, Tori, I've spoken to your teachers. You have straight A's, you're a class favorite. Your music teacher said you have the voice of angel- what gives?"

She remained quiet for a bit, the sound of their footsteps echoing through the halls. "I like school." She said finally, sounding dejected.

The officer seemed to want to say something before her attention turned to the door they'd come to stop at. "Here we are." She said enthusiastically. She did not miss the way the brunette rolled her eyes. "Listen, Tori, I don't know what's going on with you, but I do know you need to get your act together. You're such a beautiful, intelligent young woman. Don't throw that away." She rapped on the door a few times before cracking it open and sticking her head inside. "You're gonna like this one, she's spunky." Turning to Tori once more, she offered the frowning brunette her hand. "Officer Cat Valentine. If you ever need anything look for me. That girl in there, she's going to take care of you. She's my best friend."

Tori found herself warming up to the cop. Sure, she busted her, but she was only doing her job. The same as anyone else.

Taking a deep breath, she knocked once on the door and mentally steeled herself for another one of those annoying 'this is your last hope' talks. They just didn't get it- the cops, the probation officers, the judges? They just didn't get that she really didn't have any last hope. She would be better off in prison. They thought they were giving her another chance. What they were really giving her was another broken rib, another slap to the face.

"Come in."

The universe must REALLY hate her...

She didn't walk in. She fucking barged in! She literally barreled through the door, nearly knocking it off its hinges catching the probation officer off guard.

"What the hell-"

"JADE?"

Shit, shit, shit, shit, fucking shit!

Her eyes widened in horror, her mouth hanging open as she found herself gawking at the woman from the bar- the one who made her heart race, the one that made her palms sweat, the one that made her nervous in that good kind of way. The one she'd kissed and touched and asked out on a date...

"You've got to be fucking kidding me..." Jade whispered, emerald eyes fierce, sharp. "Really, you're fucking kidding me."

An: S'up homies? Official here. Yup, another story, just cus I can. :D Nah, Idk, I was asleep, I woke up suddenly, grabbed my laptop, and started typing away. At 4:15 in the freaking morning.

After more than a few drinks...

ouch... headache...

Anyway, I know it's a bit -or a lot!- AU but I would really appreciate some feedback. Should I see this through? Or should I write it off as some horrible drunken monstrosity that should have never seen the light of day? I can kill it you know. Use holywater or something. Maybe a stake.