Jade watched the lights on the christmas tree flicker on and off in random patterns through the glass of a lower floor window. Other than the cautious shadows created by the tiny golden LED's, the house was still and quiet. She didn't know who lived there. Couldn't say she cared a lot.

Somewhere in the distance a car horn blared out and a man's voice carried, angry and quick. A second voice shouted back, a dog barked, and the dark streets fell quiet again. A cutting wind bore occasional breaths of icy drizzle that coated everything in seconds, leaving all it touched dripping and shivering, Jade included.

The bench she sat on was cold and damp, and faced a road. On the other side of the road there stretched a huddled line of houses. They were all in darkness, save for the house directly across from the goth, which had one room erratically illuminated by the christmas tree.

From the corner of her eye, Jade became aware of an approaching figure way down the street to her left. She pulled out her phone and tried to look busy, hoping they'd pass by without asking her what she was doing sat on a bench alone at fifteen minutes to midnight. Apart from a message from Cat about her brother getting a silver painted pinecone stuck in his mouth, there was nothing new. The figure was getting closer and Jade started to text Cat back as slowly as she could, glancing at the nearing person every other word.

"Where'd he even find a pinecone? Is it still in there?" She wrote, aware of how obvious her unusual level of attention was. For the last few months, she'd mainly only given one word answers- even to Cat.

The figure was now close enough to tell it was a she. Cross-armed and face buried in a scarf, it was hard to tell much in the darkness. Maybe a leather jacket. Very skinny jeans. Long hair.

Not much of a threat. Jade decided. Her phone buzzed in her hand and she gratefully welcomed the distraction- the woman didn't seem much of a threat, but statistically was more likely to stop and see if she was okay. Maybe the phone would deter her.

"It was one of his special decorations. He ate most of it."

Jade pulled a face. That boy was a trip.

As the woman drew closer Jade focused all her attention on the screen, reading the same line over and over again.

It was one of his special decorations. He ate most of it. It was one of his special decorations. He ate most of it. It was one of his special decorations. He-

"..Jade?"

Fuck. The goth knew the face she'd see before her eyes reached their destination. Tori stood a few feet away, peering at her over the top of her scarf.

"Jade what are you doing sat out here at this time?" She said, her voice full of typical Tori concern as she took the last few steps to stand in front of the other girl.

"I could ask you the same." Jade mumbled reluctantly, realising there was no avoiding conversation.

Tori sighed. "Trina's stupid car broke down on the way back from the smoothie bar and her stupid boyfriend picked her up on a stupid motorbike so I get to walk back." She huffed.

Jade frowned. "She left you to walk back alone?"

Tori gave her a look. "Careful Jade, starting to sound like you care."

Jade just shrugged. She was too tired to argue. She realised her mistake quickly, but not quick enough to save herself from the immediate suspicion her lack of a sarcastic retort evoked.

Tori perched herself on the edge of the bench Jade sat on and tightened her arms across her chest. "So, uh... What are you doing out here? It's freezing..."

Jade glanced at the other girl. "I was... I was kicked out." She sighed, deciding against lying. After all, what was the point?

"What? But... It's christmas eve!" The brunette exclaimed.

Jade didn't meet her gaze. "Yeah." Was all she could say. Technically it had been the 23rd when she was kicked out but it must be past midnight now, so she supposed it didn't matter.

Merry christmas. She thought numbly. The christmas tree still flashed happily in the window opposite.

"So you're just.. sitting here?"

"Yeah." Jade repeated.

Tori was quiet for a while. She supposed Jade would usually have headed for Beck's house, but since they'd broken up a few months back she'd avoided him like a proximity mine. The wicked temper Jade was so famed for seemed to have been worn down to an exhausted irritability in the last few weeks and it hadn't gone unnoticed. In a strange way, Tori found it made the goth seem more approachable.

"Do you.. want to come back with me?" Tori tried, unsure how the suggestion would go down.

Jade snorted. "Yeah, 'cause I'm sure your parents would love to have me over on christmas eve."

Tori frowned. "They wouldn't mind. It is christmas."

Jade looked down the road to her right, wishing for a miracle to come and whisk her away. Tori's parents were lovely, and she never knew how to handle it. God knows what the christmas spirit had done to further their temperaments. Then again, she didn't really want to spend the whole night on a bench either.

Jade groaned. "Okay.. fine. But if Trina comes near me I'm out."

"There's something we can both agree on." Tori muttered. "Come on," She said, standing back up from the bench. "I can't feel my toes."

"Something else we can both agree on." Jade admitted wearily.

Tori smiled before burying the lower half of her face back below her knitted purple scarf. "Wow. Twice in one night. What's happening?" She joked, her voice slightly muffled.

Jade smiled weakly. "Witchcraft." She said matter-of-factly.

The two walked in silence for the journey back to Tori's house. When chez Vega finally came into view it was five to one in the morning. The house was dark but when they reached the door they found it unlocked- Jade couldn't help but compare Tori's parents to her own. Her parents, she knew, would have locked her out without hesitation regardless of the date.

"They're all asleep, so you don't have to worry about Trina." Tori said quietly, as she stood aside to let Jade in, closing the door behind her. The house was warm and it came as an immediate relief after so long in the unnatural cold outside. Hollywood's temperature rarely dropped this low.

"I suppose that's one good thing." The goth mumbled.

"Yeah..." Tori looked around. "Well, usually I'd offer the sofa, but with no one knowing you're here you might give some family members a heart attack in the morning."

"I'm not that scary." Jade defended.

"No, but Trina is convinced that her eyes are especially sensitive to light in the mornings, so she forces everyone to walk around in the dark while she wakes up. She's been known to accidentally throw herself down on top of guests on the sofa before."

Jade wrinkled her nose. She really didn't want to be sat on by Trina.

"There's a load of heavy boxes full of christmas decorations on the spare bed at the moment," Tori continued, "and I can't get them off without waking the whole house so until we move them tomorrow I guess you'll have to sleep in my room."

Jade looked doubtful. "Well... I suppose..."

Tori smiled a bit and began to pick her way across the dark room towards the stairs. She managed the whole walk to her bedroom without walking into anything, which was more than could be said for Jade, who caught her shin on the corner of the table with a mutter of 'Son of a bitch.'

Once in the safety of Tori's room, the brunette put a lamp on and sat heavily down on her bed. "Well, I'll go brush my teeth and get changed... I'll see if we have a new toothbrush for you. There should be something around here somewhere that would fit you- oh, here-" she said, plucking a black hoodie out from under a red coat that hung on the back of her door. She chucked it to Jade who caught it and gave her a brief grateful look. "Thanks.."

Tori returned the look and then slipped back out of her room to the bathroom, leaving Jade to change into the hoodie. She didn't have anything else to wear other than her jeans and Tori was back before she could make a decision as to whether or not to take them off.

The brunette stood in a small burgundy and white christmas nightie and offered her a yellow toothbrush. Jade took it. "Thanks." she said again, secretly wondering if she had the strength left in her to walk all the way to the bathroom and back. She did. Tori's toothpaste had her name written on the tube in black marker pen and tasted like strawberries. As Jade brushed, she realised everything in the room had either Trina or Tori's name written on it- shampoo, conditioner, even hairbrushes- the goth dread to think what it must be like to share such a confined area with Trina constantly.

She traipsed back to Tori's room to find the girl had already gotten into bed.

"I only really wear nighties," Tori said, sounding half asleep, "I couldn't find anything to replace your jeans. I don't mind if you just leave them off."

Jade supposed she had little choice. "Do you want me to sleep on the floor?"

Tori pointed at the side of the bed behind her without looking. "I didn't save you from a bench to make you sleep on the floor." She murmured.

Exhaustion getting the better of her, Jade pulled her jeans off and crawled into bed beside her frenemy, though she'd been slacking in her duties as an enemy recently.

"Tell me what happened with your parents tomorrow?" Tori asked as she leaved over to turn the lamp off.

Jade closed her eyes. "Yeah."

Tori sighed in the dark. "Night Jade."

For a moment Jade considered pretending to be asleep already, but considering Tori had taken her in on christmas eve when even her own parents didn't want her, she answered.

"Night Tori."