Author's Note: Yes, I realize that this is really long. I also realize some parts are rushed. I'm sorry that I never went into full on detail of what happened in parts, but I wanted to finish this without having to split it up into too many parts and I'm just done staring at this for now. I might come back to this later and flesh it out some, but I'm done for now. I also have an epilogue in mind, but I don't know if I'll get to it. I mean, it ends on a pretty satisfactory note right? Anyways, enjoy the fluff. I'm sorry if you don't like it, but I hope you all try to :)
Disclaimer:I don't own Victorious, no matter how much I wish to. If I did, Jade and Tori would've been making out before the end of the first season *shrug*
"Oh come on Jade! Can't we at least try to be friends?!" Tori whined as she followed the Goth through the halls.
"No," Jade replied through grit teeth. She was getting tired of this. Act a little nice even once and the half-Latina would be all over her trying to be friends.
Tori frowned as she continued to harass her acquaintance, "Why not? I thought things were going well! Even if we got stuck in those stupid cheese costumes, we did manage to have a little fun and watch a movie after without killing each other!"
Jade dumped a few things in her locker and pulled out some of her other stuff and slammed the door. "Look, Vega. Just because we don't kill each other doesn't mean I'm going to be friendly."
The singer mumbled, "You used to be nice to me all the time…"
The Goth narrowed her eyes and asked, "What did you say Vega?" She seemed a little confused, as if she hadn't fully heard what was said.
"Nothing Jade, it's nothing," the girl sighed. At long last she finally let it go.
The raven haired girl let out an inner sigh of relief as she headed off to her next class. Sometimes Tori really got on her nerves. She almost wanted to scream into the girl's face that she actually did remember when she used to be nicer, but she also wanted to then say how it was the half-Latina's own fault that Jade became so bitter. Well, it was easier without mentioning the past, so as usual she put it behind her and carried on with her life.
She thought that it was all behind her. Usually she could push the past to the back of her mind and forget that she and Vega had a past. It wasn't too hard, well, it wasn't too hard when she had other things to occupy her mind. Whenever she for one second didn't have something to think about, the girl would invade her thoughts and she'd be stuck remembering it all.
Jade was the first to arrive at the lunch table, so she didn't have anything to distract herself with and ended up staring down at her plate of food as her mind drifted back to three summers before, when Tori was still two years away from going to Hollywood Arts.
Jade frowned as she stepped onto the hot sand, her eyes landing on the spot she usually occupied whenever she visited the beach. The beach was crowded and she could understand that the spot she liked to claim as her own was going to be used by someone else at times, but she just didn't care at the moment. Her day had been bad enough, but this was just the icing on the cake.
A tan girl was stretched out on a beach towel, shades on, and a guy was sitting next to her in the sand, leaning in and making a few comments which she pretended to laugh at. The girl was attempting to brush him off, but it didn't seem to be working.
With a scowl on her face, Jade stomped over to them and said angrily, "MOVE."
The guy flinched and the girl jumped slightly in surprise.
"Ex-excuse me?" the girl asked in confusion.
Jade tapped her foot, and said through grit teeth, "Move. This is my spot."
The guy rolled his eyes and said, "Oh come on, you can't just claim a spot on a beach. It's public property. Now if you'd excuse us, we were talking."
The Goth snorted, "Oh PLEASE. You're talking and she's wishing you would shut up and go away. It's written all over her face. Now would you move your fucking ass before I cut off your balls and shove them down your throat?!" People were looking by now, trying to read the situation. At the moment it seemed like he was the one at fault.
He gulped and seemed to be trying to stand his ground while decided whether the tan girl was worth pursuing even if he'd have to deal with a girl who seemed like the devil's spawn. He decided that his life was more valuable and a few moments later he was gone.
As soon as he was gone people decided the drama was over and went about their business. Jade walked up closer to the girl and growled, "Now move."
Hesitantly the girl began to pick up her towel and asked, "Do you mind if I just move over a few feet or something? The beach is already pretty crowded."
The Goth narrowed her eyes but slowly nodded her head.
Once the other girl readjusted herself by moving over a good five feet, Jade pulled a large towel from her bag and spread it out. She pulled on her glasses, took off her shirt, and found her sunscreen, applying it on her exposed skin before stretching out on her towel in short shorts and a bikini top.
She could feel eyes on her though. Without even having to look she could tell it was the tanned girl beside her who was staring. When it finally started grating on her nerves she let out a sigh and asked, "What? Did I not rub my sunscreen in all the way or something?"
"No…. it's just, thanks. He wouldn't take the hint and just go away."
"Whatever."
"And thanks for letting me stay nearby. I just… more guys probably would have approached me, but after you ripped on that one guy nobody has come near. So thank you for that as well."
Jade snorted, "You make it sound like you're actually attractive enough for that."
The other girl seemed slightly taken aback, "I'm… not?" Her tone sounded like that of a kicked puppy, and Jade could see the girl looking herself over worriedly.
With a groan Jade pulled down her sunglasses and looked the girl up and down. "You look attractive enough alright? Now shut up and let me sunbathe."
A small smile tugged at the tan girls lips. "Oh, by the way, I'm Tori Vega." She held out her hand and allowed a toothy grin to appear on her face.
"Jade West," the Goth replied while rolling her eyes, taking the hand for a second before lounging back on the towel.
"Sooo," Tori asked with a slight grin, "why did you want to sit here? Is this spot special or something?"
"I sit here because I can."
"You didn't come here with anyone else?" the girl asked, jumping topics.
Jade quirked an eyebrow up. "And you did?" she asked in retort.
"Well… I mean…" Tori fidgeted slightly, "I did… I came with my sister, but she decided to go boy hunting. I got left here."
"Why didn't you just join her?"
"I'm not looking right now, and honestly, I'd probably have a better chance on my own." Tori sighed and stretched slightly before turning her head and looking at the paler girl, "So, what about you then? Why are you alone? You didn't come here with a boyfriend or anyone?"
Jade frowned and was mentally scolding herself for starting a conversation. At this rate it would never end, and she was getting slightly annoyed. "No, I am not dating anyone. Yes, I am here alone. And, I was avoiding people," she spat out, with a bit more venom than intended, but it seemed to have done the trick.
Tori squeaked out, "Oh," and fell silent. She took the hint.
With a small sigh of content, seeing as how the talking had ceased, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to relax. She may not have any chance of actually tanning, but the sun on her skin always made her feel comforted, like a warm blanket that wiped away all other thoughts except for that of bliss.
The silence was broken half an hour later when Tori slowly stood up and said hesitantly, "I'm going to go get some ice cream. Can you watch my stuff? I'll get you something too."
Jade groaned inwardly but sat up. Ice cream did sound good. "Small cup, chocolate, no toppings."
"Ok," Tori replied, sighing in slight relief. The silence had been killing her, and she thought her entire existence had been forgotten.
The half-Latina practically skipped off towards the ice cream place as Jade plopped back down and closed her eyes.
When the girl hadn't returned after half an hour the Goth started to get a little suspicious. The ice cream place was MAYBE a three minute walk from where they were set up, and there was no way the line was so long that it took half an hour to get ice cream. Jade sat up with a frown and contemplated what to do.
Grumbling, Jade pulled herself to her feet and grabbed both of their things, shaking them free of sand and stuffing it into her bag. She then headed off towards the ice cream place with a scowl on her face. Nobody dared get in her way.
What she found on her way to the ice cream shop didn't surprise her at all. She figured something of the nature had to have happened. Tori was surrounded by three guys who seemed to not let her leave. None of them were touching her or anything, but they were still blocking her exit. They didn't seem threatening, but they were acting like a pain in the ass.
Jade stomped over angrily and shoved past them and to the girl's side, "Why does it not surprise me that you can't even handle such a simple task as buying some ice cream?!"
Tori shrunk back slightly, "I'm sorry…"
The Goth then whipped back around to the guys and said, "And YOU all, you guys are just as bad! Do you know how long I've been waiting for her to come back?"
The guys looked her over and said, "Sorry about that. If we'd known she had a friend waiting we would've escorted her back. There are all sorts of jerks out there; we wouldn't want anything happening to two beautiful ladies."
Jade's eye twitched and her hand slowly reach the waistband of her shorts, her thumb looping through a piece of plastic. "I'd rather deal with jerks than guys like you. At least with them I can have a reason to use these," she whipped out a pair of scissors and brandished them with a satisfied smirk. She watched as they backed up slightly.
With their intimidating stance broken, Jade used that time to grab Tori's wrist and drag her out of the circle of guys.
As soon as they were far enough away, Tori let out a sigh of relief and asked, "Scissors, huh?"
Jade shrugged, "I like them."
They continued walking as Tori asked, "So… where are you taking me?"
"We're going back to my house. I'm done with this place."
"Are we walking there? Wait! What about my stuff?!" Tori asked, snapping back slightly.
Jade rolled her eyes, "I have it." She reached into her bag and tossed the half-Latina's cell phone at her, "There you go. Call your family or whatever and say you met up with a friend and you're hanging with them."
Tori didn't question the other girl and did as she was told. She called her sister and let her know that she met one of her friends and was going to their house to chill.
It was a fifteen minute walk, not too long, and all the while Tori was looking around in amazement. All the houses were huge, practically mansions.
"You live in this area?!" Tori asked in surprise.
Jade shrugged as they came to a halt at one of the larger ones. The tan girl's jaw dropped. "This is your place?"
Nodding, the Goth pushed open the front gates and they went up to her front door. Jade fished around for her keys for a moment before finding them and unlocking the front door. They didn't stop to put down their stuff and Jade led them straight to the basement.
The place was huge, and it all seemed to have one theme.
"The basement is all mine. We don't have to worry about being bothered or whatever," Jade said, tossing her things against the wall. She walked over towards her closet and pulled out a large blanket, stretching it over the couch in front of a large flat screen TV. "Come on, we're going to watch a movie."
Tori hesitantly plopped down on the couch and watched as Jade moved about, putting a movie in the DVD player before taking a seat on the couch. "So, what movie?"
"The Scissoring."
"Isn't that a horror movie?"
"Yeah. You got a problem with that?"
"Nope," Tori grinned. "I haven't seen it yet, but I love horror."
Jade smirked, "Good."
They spent the rest of the day watching horror movies and eating pizza. At the end of the day, Jade's rough exterior had slowly gone away. Her bad mood had disappeared, and she was actually enjoying her company.
Tori's mom was the one who came to pick her up, but before she left, she and Jade decided to be friends and hang out the rest of the summer.
So that's just what they did. They hung out at least three times a week. Before either had realized what had happened, they'd gone from friends to best friends to lovers. It hadn't been anything spectacular like a romance movie.
Jade had always been aware that Tori looked at her differently than most girls who were friends. She didn't care. It wasn't like she was complaining. She enjoyed it. One night they'd just been talking about life, and somehow the topic of love came up, and Tori had blurted out that she just MIGHT like Jade in that way. She'd prepared herself for a big blow, but Jade had just said, "I just MIGHT feel the same," smirking but a slight blush on her cheeks.
Then they decided to try to date for real. They'd kissed, gotten to second base even, and everything was going well. Summer was about to end and school was beginning. They had managed to keep their relationship secret, and everything was going well. Jade didn't care that they didn't proclaim it to the world. It was no one else's business anyways. Tori was a bit more cautious though. She always seemed a bit nervous in public. Even so, they managed to find themselves falling deeper and deeper for the other. Overall things were going well, and Jade was content.
Then the end of summer came.
Tori and Jade had just finished watching a movie at the Vega residence and were lounging on Tori's bed. The brunette was fiddling with the Goth's raven locks and biting her lip.
Jade could tell something was wrong and slowly sat up, moving herself above the half-Latina and asking, "Is everything alright?"
Tori weakly smiled and said, "Y-yeah."
The Goth slowly lowered herself down a little and pecked the other girl on the lips before plopping down beside her on the bed. "You know you can tell me anything."
The brunette gulped.
Jade turned her head and asked, "What's wrong?"
Licking her lips nervously, the youngest Vega finally said, "I… I don't think I can keep doing this."
"What do you mean?" Jade asked, scrunching her forehead.
"I'm afraid of what'll happen if people find out about us. I just… I don't think it'll work out. I don't want to come out of the closet just to have my heart broken eventually. I don't think I could handle it."
Jade slowly sat up with a confused look on her face, "Wait… you think I'd abandon you just for coming out of the closet? What's with that logic?"
Tori closed her eyes and sunk back onto her bed, "I just… I'm afraid. I don't want to risk you breaking my heart and leaving me in pieces. I'd rather just end it now and avoid the heartbreak."
"So you're breaking up with me?" Jade asked, her face slowly becoming neutral, her tone not hinting at her emotions.
"Yeah, I think so. I just… I don't want my heart to be broken by you. It'd be too painful."
Jade grit her teeth and said slowly, "Don't worry, I won't be able to break yours, not after you just broke mine." She slowly stood up off the bed and walked towards the door in an eerily calm way. At long last she let out a slightly shaky sigh and turned, allowing the half-Latina to see a small tear roll down her cheek as she said in a rueful voice, "I thought I'd found something stable in my life for once, but I guess I just found out an important thing in life, good things can't last forever." She then left and never looked back.
Tori and Jade never talked again, not until the youngest Vega's first day at Hollywood Arts, and Jade swore to herself to pretend the past Vega didn't exist anymore, because she wasn't going to fall back into the trap again.
Jade pulled herself from her reminiscence when she heard a few people asking, "Jade… you alright?" Tori was taking a seat next to her, a worried look on her face.
"I'm fine," she spat, turning her attention to her food.
Everyone decided to steer clear of that train. An angry Jade was never a good thing, and nobody wanted to throw themselves in front of her just to get mowed down.
"So," André said, grabbing everyone's attention, "I think I've finally found the right girl!"
Beck asked suspiciously, "She's not from Northridge… right?"
"Nope. Valley High."
"That upper class private school for the elite's kids?" Robbie asked. "How'd you find a girl like that?!"
André grinned as he relayed his tale about helping her carry things out to her car when he saw her struggling at the mall. They'd hit it off from there. "You know," he said with a dreamy look on his face, "I think she'll be good for me. No more Northridge girls and no more drama queen Hollywood Arts girls."
Before Jade could stop herself from saying anything, she replied, "Be careful, good things can't last forever." She froze as soon as she realized the words had left her lips, and she could feel the girl beside her stiffen up.
Everyone was looking at her, but she didn't meet their eyes. Instead she stood up and walked away.
A few silent moments later and Tori was up as well, chasing after the Goth. The others were left to look on in confusion. André was the only one who understood what was going on. It'd taken Tori almost an entire year to tell him the truth, but he'd found out about the fact that Jade and Tori had a thing, and that they hadn't lasted and Jade supposedly didn't remember. He'd also heard about the last words Jade had said to her and how it had torn up the younger Vega inside, especially knowing she was the cause. André could only wish the best of luck to his friend. She would need a lot of it to ever get on Jade's good side again.
Tori found herself following Jade who'd stormed away, barely noticing the Janitor's closet door closing. She steeled herself as she opened the door to find Jade sitting on the ground, knees to her chest, and staring at the wall.
"What do you want Vega?" the Goth spat venomously.
Tori's stomach dropped slightly. "J-Jade I just… I thought you didn't…"
"Thought I didn't remember?" she scoffed. "Oh please, I'm not stupid."
"But you always acted like we'd never met each other before…"
"Exactly Vega, ACT. Key word right there. I'm an actress."
"Then how did you slip up?" the brunette asked. "You've kept up the charade for over a year."
Jade groaned as the girl slid down beside her. "I just happened to have the past on my mind alright? It happens."
"Jade… I'm really sorry. You know that. I've been trying to get you to remember me since we first met. Even if you never remembered me then I at least wanted to be your friend."
"Do you not remember what you did?" Jade asked, sending her a glare and pulling her knees closer to her chest. "You broke my fucking heart and then reappear like nothing happened," she seethed.
"I'm not the only one who pretended it didn't happen!" Tori said in slight defense.
"You're not the one whose heart was smashed to pieces without any warning."
Tori flinched, "I'm sorry, I really am. But I was in pain too. Do you know how hard it is to come out to your family? I was terrified. What happened if they rejected me?"
Jade frowned, "Seriously Vega? Do you not remember my coming out story? I told you how it went for me. My dad has barely talked to me since. My mom may be ok with it, but only when my dad isn't in the room. I've been living with this for years."
The brunette bit her lip, "Look, Jade, I did a horrible thing, and I'm really sorry. I've just… I've missed you. I did come out to my family eventually, and they accepted. When I found out I tried to talk to you but I'd only ever been to your house that first time and I couldn't find you. You never told me where you were going to high school and you never answered your phone."
Jade sighed, "If you didn't notice, I changed my number."
"Because of me?"
Rolling her eyes the Goth replied, "Of course not. My father realized something had to be going on when I was spending most of my days out of the house during the summer, and he decided to stop my cell service a month into the school year. My mom set up a new plan without his knowledge."
"Oh," Tori squeaked. "I'm really sorry Jade, seriously."
"Yeah, yeah. I know Vega. You wouldn't be able to lie about that."
"Then please, PLEASE, can you just give me one more chance to prove that I still do want to be with you and that I'm really sorry?" she asked, her brown eyes widening and turning into a slight puppy dog face.
"That face has never worked on me Vega, it won't now," Jade replied, rolling her eyes.
"Come on Jade, please?" The half-Latina's eyes were watering now, her voice slightly desperate.
With a deep sigh the Goth finally replied, "You have one chance Vega, you ruin it and we can't even be acquaintances anymore. I don't want to have to deal with an ex thinking I'm willing to be acquaintances, especially with the way I was dumped."
The brunettes eyes widened and a grin spread out across her face. "Thank you Jade! You won't be disappointed, I promise!" She threw her arms around Jade.
The raven haired girl stiffened. "Vega, I'm not much of a touchy person anymore. You still haven't earned the right."
The brunette pulled back and mumbled, "S-Sorry, I'm just excited. I promise you, I won't disappoint!"
"You better not."
"Then… I'll pick you up Saturday morning at 10?" Tori asked, a big grin on her face.
Jade shrugged, "I guess. Just text me when you arrive. I'd rather not alert my dad to your presence, if he's home that is."
"Got it."
A few moments later the two were leaving the closet, heading to their separate classes before the end of lunch.
A/N: So, good, bad? Leave a review, thanks :D (And again, sorry that the past is rushed. I had ideas for what I could put in there, but I just didn't feel up to fleshing it out, and it works... right?) I'm probably going to wait a little before posting the second chapter... I just feel like posting two chapters in one day is being stupid, even if it's fully written. I dunno, and I just didn't want to post it all in one chapter because that's a lot to read for one chapter and I wouldn't want you all losing your place D: I hate when that sort of thing happens...