Disclaimer: I don't own the Victorious characters, Schneider's bakery and Nickelodeon does. Lets be honest, neither of them would have dared to make a story like this, regardless of what Ariana has recently confessed.
Enjoy.
:}
It was a sunny late summer day, as well as the beginning of the Hollywood Arts school year, and Tori and the gang had once again gathered around the Asphalt Cafe, enjoying the warm California weather. Everything felt normal, or as normal as things got at Hollywood Arts, so naturally the various members were enjoying it before everything transformed. They were seniors now, and while the gang still had the majority of the year to go, the weight of time was starting to press down on them. Each of them felt the need to make a change. Oddly, beyond the normal dramas, the gang could feel that seemed to be oddly nervous. They didn't judge, however, understanding that this was the first time since she'd arrived at Hollywood Arts where her untalented sister wasn't attending. The elder Vega girl wasn't at Hollywood Arts, having graduated the year before and moved on to collage and her career in Spanish language television. Tori was feeling a touch nervous. That odd kind of nerves were new to her, however understandable, because her sister wasn't there. Only Tori, and maybe the more perceptive of her friends, the one's who cared, had realized the emotional shift. Trina's being there was part of Tori's sense of security. Cat, for one, had realized how heavily Tori depended on her sisters presence, even if the elder girl didn't actually do anything to help her through any of their madcap adventures. Trina was like Tori's safety net, there to catch her if she fell, giving the younger girl the courage, the confidence, to try new things. Cat understood, she'd felt the same way when her brother was shipped off to Idaho, where he still lived. Tori may miss her sister, who was attending UCLA, and thus still lived in the same house, but during those short hours the more talented Vega girl was at school, the on e person who'd be there for her despite her own issues was gone, leaving only the friends that Cat knew she could count on, but Tori still didn't trust quite enough. Tori smiled at her friends, and wondered how much longer they'd stay so close. There were issues just behind their various eyes.
Beck and Jade, for their part, had been fighting more, while Cat and Robbie had gone on a few trial dates, not yet ready to make anything official. Even Andre had decided to try dating one girl, so far a miserable failure, because while Meredith was agreeable enough, the musician still had that annoying itch. But for all the differences in their lives, only Cat, with her new life in Venice of America, was dealing with anything major.
They all understood how different things had become for Cat, what with her brother in still in Idaho, now trying to grow potatoes large enough to require a trailer to move, plus living in Venice with another teen. Not just living with that teen, but running her own babysitting business, having wild adventures, and using time petite girl would otherwise spend with the gang. Cat was busy, involved in her new groups dramas and misadventures, far more then any of them would have guessed, and that sometimes made the time she had with them seem precocious. As a result, the group did what they could to make the girl comfortable. The various members of the gang took extra precautions to help maintain the semblance of normalcy for their redheaded friend, working hard so Cat wouldn't have anything distracting her from her school work, while accepting that they were all slowly splitting apart. They didn't wanna drive her away any faster, giving her instead a place where the normal was strong enough to rely upon. But the idealistic wasn't the norm for this group, and as occasionally happened, things were destined to blow up. Oddly, it was Cat's turn to ignite.
"Um, Jadey, can I ask you a favor?" Cat asked. No one paid that request any more then a passing interest, as this wasn't that unusual. Nor was what came next.
"NO!" Jade said, an air of finality that even Cat knew wouldn't last. "And don't..."
"Call you Jadey." Cat finished for her. "Sor-Rey."
"Jade, was that really necessary?" Beck asked his on again, off again girlfriend.
"How else is she gonna learn?" The blue eyed girl replied.
"Refusing before you even know what she wants? How, exactly, does that teach her anything?" Rob filled in. The boy was unusually brave to challenge the pale goth, but they were seniors, and Robbie's new goal was to take more risks.
"Oh, that." Jade waved the boy's words off.
"Jade, that's rude." Beck scolded her, again treating her like a child. "We need to learn to treat our friends better. Now apologize." He pointed at Cat, once again ignoring Robie.
"I can't help her out, because I just don't have that much time." Jade argued. "You know Cat, and you know she doesn't usually have easy problems. Also, when she does, Puckett is there to take care of things." You could almost hear the unsaid statement of how she'd been replaced.
"Pleaaase, Jade, it'll only take a few hours." Cat begged, giving her best kitty cat eyes. (Cat refused to call them puppy dog eyes, because her name was Cat.)
"See, it won't take that long." Beck prodded. "Now, a good friend gives of themselves. So..."
"Is it hard or inconvenient?' Jade asked the petite girl, hoping to shut her sometimes boyfriend down.
"I don't know." Cat said, shrugging. "I mean, yea, I guess, cause it's not something Sam can do, and I need someone I really trust for this, so the boys are out. Honestly, you're about the only real choice I have, other then Trina, cause you know she can handle this. Only, Trina's not my bestest friend, and I need that level of trust."
"Does this involve surgery, or the hospital, or anything like that?" Jade wondered aloud, but Tori was seconds behind her, only staying silent because Jade had already spoke.
"No, it's a personal thing, something I've wanted to deal with soon, but I need someone I trust to help make the experience fun." Cat blinked at her friend. "Besides, you're uniquely qualified."
"How so?" Jade asked. She hated to admit it, but she was starting to be nominally intrigued.
"Cause you're a girl." Cat said, smiling. Only the smile faded, just for a second. "Oh, right, I meant to say, despite how you often act, you're a girl, and a girl would understand." Her smile returned, brighter then before, as if her words explained a lot more then they did.
"You know what, I'll do it." Tori volunteered. Mostly, she wanted to save the petite girl from the expected cruelty of their pale friend. That, and she suspected another fight between the former lovebirds was just under the surface, and no one liked it when Jade and Beck went at it.
"That's nice of you, but I really prefer Jade." Cat offered, try8ng to sound diplomatic. "See, she has more of a, um, not sure how to describe it…." Cat thought for a second, finger by her lip and she sought some elusive description. Then her smile once again exploded across her face, triumphantly exclaiming "Oh, yea, she's more pushy. Kinda need a bossy pants to do this right."
"See, Cat appreciates your unique qualities." Beck didn't need to try to keep a straight face, because this time the boy meant it. The others, however, were amazed that Jade hadn't done anything violent or scissor related to the petite girl, and possibly Beck.
Jade groaned. "If I say yes, will you all stop pestering me?"
"You have to do the favor." Beck warned, while Andre stayed quiet, not wanting to get dragged into this madness. He'd learned, a long time ago, some messes you just don't jump into the middle of.
'Jade's wazzed enough. Don't pull the tail of the dragon. You might get burned.' He reminded himself. 'Sides, I plan on having a use for ALL my body parts this year.'
"Fine, as long as it doesn't involve too much work, I'll do it." Jade relented.
Andre, who hadn't realized it, let out the breath he'd been holding. It felt like things were getting safe again, and he wouldn't have to worry about being dragged into anything uncomfortable.
"Just a couple of hours, maybe a night." Cat assured her. "You sure this isn't an inconvenience?"
"Oh, it is, but I'll do it." Jade sighed. "I suppose I do kinda owe you that much."
"Yeaaaaaaaa." Cat clapped.
"So, can we help?" Robbie asked.
"Yea, little red, maybe we can reduce the stress miss thang here is feeling, make it all right." Andre added, while others went back to lunch, and unintentionally set themselves up for what was coming next.
"No, I think Jade can take my virginity all by herself." Cat assured the musician, and just like that, Beck demonstrated the perfect spit take. It was too bad for him that he was drinking soda, cause that burned his nose as it splurted out.
"You're WHAT!" Jade surprised herself by not being the one to ask, her words somehow lost along the way. Instead, Tori, who'd spit up part of her lunch, found her voice first.
"My virginity." Cat confirmed. "What, did I pronounce it wrong?"
"CAAAT?!" Jade managed.
"What?!" The redhead smiled, honestly confused. "I read somewhere that girls who weren't ready to do things like that with their Bo's, or boyfriends, cause not everyone dates one of the Dukes of Hazzard." Cat shrugged, again, and seemed innocent and oblivious to the enormity of what she' was asking. "Anyways, some girls ask a friend to help them. You know, to take their virginity."
"You mean, like what, get you information? Maybe be there for you when you use some kind of, er, thingy, to break your hymen?" Andre was fishing, and already felt too involved.
"No, I meant sex." Cat told the gang. "It's why I wanted Jade. She's my best friend, so I know she'll do everything she can to make it fun, and she's both very feminine, and very very masculine." Cat paused only a moment, getting started again before anyone could think to speak. "Also, she's got a boy like personality, thus, hyper aggressive. Plus, she's bossy, kinda like some boys are."
"I see why Sam couldn't do it." Tori groaned. Inwardly, she had no clue, having only briefly met the iCary alum years earlier, and not really understanding the similarities in the two semi-psychopaths personalities.
"Actually, Sam could, except she's a virgin too." Cat told the singer. "Which reminds me, Jade, I may need to see how it's done before we do it, so I might, probably will, kinda you're gonna have to take Sam's virginity too. That is, if she says yes." Cat explained.
"No, not gonna happen, no way, never." Jade spat out quickly.
"But Jade, you promised." Cat whined, once again breaking out the kitty cat eyes. "I'm not ready to try this with a boy yet, and without you, I don't have anyone I trust enough, except maybe Trina, and that would be weird. I mean, we don't have that kind of relationship."
"And we do" Jade tried to shout, except something inside failed, and her voice faltered. Jade all but choked on her own words, trying to clear her throat for the next scream.
"Yea, cause I know you, and I know you can handle this." Cat said, now sounding so small. "No one else can, and I really need you to help me out here."
"Um, Cat, sex changes everything." Rob warned.
"Kinda the reason I'm not asking you to do it." Cat told the boy. "No, Jade's the least likely to change. And also, I know, this will help her too."
"How will it help her?" Sinjin asked. Then he realized he'd intruded on a private conversation, and ran, fast, to avoid the wrath of Jade.
"I hate to say it, but I suspect Cat here thought this out a lot more then we did." Tori conceded. "Jade, maybe, if you think you can handle it, you should help her out. I mean, if you think about it, this is huge, and she asked you."
Jade sighed, nervous and uncomfortable and for whatever reason accepting this wasn't about her or her assets. "Fine, but I'm gonna need more then a day."
"Jade, we agreed, that's private." Beck whisper yelled at his girl.
"What I meant was, I need to so some research before we, er..." Jade searched for the word.
"Fuck." Cat filled in. "That is the right meaning, right?"
"Cat, you swore." Rob scolded the redhead.
"At this point, why do we even care about the language?" Andre groaned. "Guys, lets accept that this is a major favor that Jade's gonna try to do for Cat, and move on from there, kay?" He glanced around, feeling way to exposed. "Maybe never mention it again, or at least not in public? And I don't know if any of you noticed, but where are we? In public, where we just agreed never to talk about this, so why is anyone still talking? Huh? Huh?"
"ANDRE!" Jade screamed.
"What?" He said back, loud but not screaming.
"Shut it, kay?" Jade ordered, and then silence descended on the table.
The gang sat there, trying to move on, but the seed had been set, and no one was comfortable moving on. They just weren't interested in talking about this either. So they sat in silence, uncomfortable, unable to broach the subject least they say the wrong thing, or upset Jade, or Cat, or apparently Andre. In the end, the end of lunch was a mercy. But the gang, they still had yet to figure out how to address this new elephant that dominated the table.
:}
Not sure where to end this chapter, so here it is. Sorry about any errors and misspellings. Anyways, thoughts? Yes, this will have a higher rating later, but we'll be taking our time getting there. Anyone got thoughts on how Jade'll prepare for this favor/ And yes, I get that the name has interesting meanings here.
Had to find this story, cause I wrote it, and it chose to hide in the wrong directory. Glad I found it, cause this, it's kinda, I don't know, fun?