A/N: My first attempt to publish anything. I'm not a fan of the show nor a 'shipper' of any fandom, but I do enjoy reading them and I also enjoy playing with the characters and making them do what I want *cue evil laugh*.
The characters are OOC and the plot is AU. Like I said, they're written according to how I want them to be written in the story.
Disclaimer: Victorious and its characters belong to where it legally belongs, i.e. not me.
Chapter One:
The man raised his head from the mountain of documents that he's currently reading when he heard some banging and crashes. Frowning, he slowly stood up and walked towards the commotion, hoping that it wasn't as bad as the last time.
He strutted along the long hallway, his footsteps getting faster and faster as he neared his destination. Finally, he stopped at the door at the end of the hallway, a beautifully carved door painted in black blocking his way.
But before he could open the door, it was flung open and a brunette figure stood in front of him. The woman - her faced streaked with tears - stood in shock for a few seconds before crumbling in front of him and sputtering words that are barely decipherable.
"S-sir... I w-want to resign... I-I c-can't-" she gulped a lungful of air before continuing, "can't do t-this anymore..."
Before he can give a response or even comfort the her, she ran, leaving him with a heavy feeling of sympathy and a mild case of migraine.
He exhaled, taking off his glasses and pinching the bridge of his nose.
Not again... he thought. He stood there, composing himself before going inside.
Now calm, he walked inside the room, and his eyes are then assaulted again by its usual... eccentricities.
Inside is unlike the mansion it inhabits; the walls are not exactly painted nor glued on by wallpapers. Instead, dark woods are artfully put on the walls giving an illusion of being inside a dilapidated building. The floor is neither tiles nor wood, but made of stones done to resemble a dirty pathway that leads to something akin to a horror house.
The eccentricities didn't stop there. Instead of the usual walk-in closets and cabinets, there are trees. Everywhere. They are carved, chopped, and rooted in place to give an impression that trees sprouted from the inside of the room and died to be used as furnitures.
But the most impressive of all is the bed. The bed is made to look like a small, stunted sequoia that are carved inside to accommodate three sleeping people.
Truth to be told, he is immensely impressed by the work done on the room. It's like a fairy tale in its twisted form, with the villain hiding behind every dead trees waiting to pounce on the unsuspecting victim.
He would've been impressed, but he's worried instead.
"Jadelyn?" he called out, his hand still on the doorknob.
"In here, Daddy," a soft voice replied. He sighed in relief when he heard it, and he then walked towards the voice. When he reached the bed, he saw two figures huddled atop it. The smaller, blonde one is cuddled to the bigger one, and she's apparently singing some sort of lullaby. The bigger, raven-haired one has her eyes closed, as if absorbing the melody coming from the little singer.
He stopped and just looked, trying to gauge mood. As he looked on, it still astounds him how both of them looks so much like their mother. The only difference is that his older one managed to inherit his dark hair and blue-grey eyes while the younger one inherited everything from Suzanne.
"Emmy," he asked his younger, knowing that his older might not respond. "What happened?"
The singing stopped and the little blonde girl sat up, though her hand is still maintaining its contact with the older girl's hair. "Jadey had another panic attack, Daddy," she said, her voice full of worry.
His eyebrows furrowed at that. "How did it happened?"
"Well," she started, "Anna lit some scented candles for Jadey."
Ah, he thought. He needs to talk to Ms. Thompson about the extent of Jade's problem.
"I just came in on time. Jade was hysterical," the girl continues. "She shouted some mean things to Anna and then she threw a vase at her. Anna got scared and started crying."
"I felt bad for her and I wanted to comfort her, but Jadey is still panicking, so I went to her first and then told Anna to get away and bring the candle with her," the blonde finished with furrowed eyebrows.
He nodded. He then sat at the edge of the bed and smiled at the blonde. "Don't worry honey, I'll talk to Anna later," he promised. He knows how Emmy hates it when people around her get upset.
The little girl smiled her toothy smile. "Thanks, Daddy."
"Welcome, sweetie," he smiled, kissing her forehead. "Now, go back to your room and I'll take to Jade," he said, playfully ruffling her hair in the process.
The girl can't help but giggle, but then scrunched her eyebrows. "Why? She's still sad. I don't want to leave her."
"I know, sweetie," he reassured the little girl. "I won't get her mad, I promise. I just need to talk about things with her."
"But..."
A sound of rustling fabric was heard, and both of them turned and saw a wide-eyed Jade staring at them. Jade's eyes were soft and focused on her sister. "Emmy," she said, her voice carrying the usual monotone quality when she's in her 'mood', but without any malice behind it. "I'll be okay. Go to your room, Dad and I just need to talk."
Emmy thought for a few seconds before sighing and finally saying, "okay." She bent down and placed a kiss on her sister's hair, which made Jade's lips twitch a little in an attempt to smile. The blonde girl then jumped off the bed and skipped towards the door, closing it gently behind her.
The soft look faded from the pale girl's face, and her head flopped back to her pillow as she sighed tiredly. "I'm sorry," she whispered, addressing his father.
"Don't be. I know you didn't mean it."
"But I do!" she replied, her voice raising a little as she suddenly sat upright. "I mean... yes, I didn't mean to make her cry or throw that vase, but I really am frustrated about having to go through the same routine over and over again. The candle thing might've set me off, but I'm really this close to losing it."
"Jade, we've talked about this," he reasoned, his gentle voice turned stern. "You need someone close to you. It is not a choice but a necessity."
"But I don't want a babysitter! People already think I'm crazy and some middle-aged woman following me all day every day is just validating their assumption."
"You are not crazy, Jadelyn, how many times do I have to tell you?" the man said sternly. "And I care about you, that why I'm doing this. You may think I'm punishing you, but I won't stop being a father just because you hate being followed around."
Blazing eyes met similar eyes as the girl glowered at his father. A few seconds went by and the girl finally soften her expression and just conveyed a defeated look.
"Urrgghh, fine! You win this round, old man," she conceded, rolling her eyes and huffing in frustrated defeat.
He couldn't help but chuckle at that. "I tell you what," he started, "how about we compromise?"
She raised an eyebrow at that. "Compromise how?" she asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"How about you tell me what kind of people I should be hiring for you?"
Jade rolled her eyes at his father's lame attempt to entice her into wanting to have another stranger follow her around. "How about hiring someone attractive? Like, supermodel types? Is that possible?"
"Jade..."
"Fine," she said, rolling her eyes. "I really don't care about qualifications. I just don't want someone old enough to be my mother."
"Ms. Thompson is just twenty-eight, Jade. She's too young to be your mother."
She closed her eyes and groaned in frustration. "I know she's still young, but I do go to school, Dad. And someone her age siting in my class with me is weird. So, so weird. I was the weirdest kid last year because of her, and that's saying something because I have a classmate who has a hair like Albert Einstein and a hygiene like a hobo."
"Alright," he chuckled, having momentary image of a classroom full of highschool kids with Ms. Thompson sitting in the middle. He'll admit that it was rather odd. "So, you want someone younger?"
"Yes. Or at least someone young enough to blend in with high school kids so I won't look like a weirdo."
"Okay, I'll do it," he agreed after a few seconds of pause, and Jade raised an eyebrow at her father's compliance. "But promise me that you'll be nice, okay?"
Jade shrugged, and his father raised an eyebrow at her. Truthfully, she would rather not have any babysitter ever again. But she's aware that she needs one, at least until she's 'cured'.
But that doesn't mean she'll like having one, so she can't really be nice even if she tried.
"Jadelyn..."
"Yes! Yes, I'll try dad."
His father just nodded, not really expecting too much of a positive answer. "Do you feel alright, now?"
"Yeah, I feel fine now." She then winces when she remembered something. "I think I need to apologize to Anna."
"Yes. Yes, you do. C'mon, let's go break the news to her." He stood up up and offered his hand for Jade to take. Jade rolled her eyes, took the hand and stood up. They walked towards the door and into Mr. West's office to see the hopefully calm Anna.
"Then what happened?" Emmy asked, her voice eager for the story. They are at the music and arts room at the right wing of the West mansion. Emmy is sat at the piano supposedly practicing a piece, but her attention is at her big sister who is currently sporting overalls dirtied with splashes of paints.
"She stood up, walked close to me, and then choked me!" Jade re-tells. She then threw down her paintbrush, clutched her neck with her hands, and made choking sounds.
"You're such a liar, Jade," Emmy replied, rolling her eyes and tinkling some keys on the grand piano.
"Yeah? Well, you're a midget," Jade retorted. She bent down and picked up the brush. She reached for her wooded mixing plate and then squirted some colors before applying it to the canvass.
But the little girl is in a mood to be privy. "Jadeeeey... what really happened?" the blonde girl pouted, and Jade saw it in her mind's eye even though her focus is at her work and on how she could get the right shade of blood red.
"Okay!" she said when she looked up and saw that the little blonde is still pouting. "After I apologized, she said it's okay. She and Dad then talked about compensations and salary. She's going to work at dad's friend now, because he and Dad is really impressed with her résumé or something."
"Which friend?"
"Mr. Louis, the guy who owns some shipping lines. She's going to be a manager in his branch in San Diego."
"Oh. That's good for her. She's really nice."
"Yes, yes she is."
"And you were mean to her."
Jade huffed. "I wasn't being purposely mean to her. You know I hate being followed around, and it's her job to follow me around. By that logic, I automatically don't like her. It's nothing personal, Em."
The blonde girl sighed. She doesn't like it when Jade is being mean to others. But Jade is her sister and she loves her, so she just try and make her behave whenever she could.
"Now, stop bothering me and start practicing your piece. Isn't your recital a week from now?"
The little girl stopped absentmindedly tinkling the keys and sighed. She then positioned herself and started playing the piece she's been practicing for two weeks now. While her hands are smoothly transitioning from keys to keys, she's aware that Jade is listening intently even though it seems like she's too immersed with her painting.
"What was that?" Jade asked, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as Emmy abruptly stopped after hitting a particularly difficult part of the piece. Stopping in mid-play is not what captured Jade's attention, though. "I think you missed a few notes, Em."
Emmy sighed. "I'm having trouble with the middle part. It's too fast."
"Well, why don't you ask your tutor for help?"
"You scared her off, Jade. She quit three days ago."
Jade's face scrunched in confusion. "I did?"
"Yes."
"You sure?"
"Yes, Jade. You threatened to cut off her hair."
A light of recognition flashed in Jade's eyes. "Ah! The redhead one?"
"Yes, the one who cried when you threw dirty water at her."
Jade shrugged and squirted some more paint in her mixing plate. "She ruined my sketch. You know I hate it when my paintings and sketches gets ruined by stupid people."
"She tripped and fell. It was an accident."
"Same difference."
Emmy sighed. "So yeah, she quits and there are no available tutor at the academy right now."
"There must be someone," Jade insists, her eyes not leaving the canvass as her paintbrush strokes gently at it. "And you just need help with the middle part anyway, so I'm sure they can spare someone adequate."
"Why not you?" Emmy asked absentmindedly, her eyes widening when she realized what she said.
A heavy pause. Jade's hand stopped midway, her lips set in a line. She then dropped her brush and her plate in a nearby bin to be cleaned and she started clearing up her space.
"J-Jade!" the blonde stuttered, feeling bad for saying what she said. Jade stopped, though her stance is a bit stiff.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. Please don't be mad," Emmy begged, getting teary-eyed due to the guilt of making her sister feel bad. She knows that the piano is a sore subject for her sister, and it took them a long time to make Jade comfortable for being near one let alone for hearing one being played.
The raven-haired girl sighed and relaxed her posture. Emmy took it as an invitation to hug her, and she did. Jade didn't reciprocate, but she didn't recoil, either. The blonde girl looked up and smile at her sister, and she dragged her towards the piano.
"I'll just practice and practice, Jadey. I'm sure I'll get it. Listen to me?"
The older girl just shrugged and crossed her arms in her chest, but Emmy knows that she'll listen since she didn't storm-out. She inwardly sighed in relief, and then stared playing, the soft tinkling melody creating different mood between the two sisters...
"Mom?" she looked around, the smoke clouding her vision. The heat is getting to her, and she's panicking. She couldn't find her mom, but she's hearing the wailing of a baby.
Suddenly, she heard coughing. She turned around and her tear-stricken face morphed into relief when she saw her mother beneath some debris. She tried to run towards her, but her mother's voice screeched for her to stop.
"No!" Suzanne wailed, her voice painfully raspy because of the smoke accumulating in her lungs. "Don't come closer, Jade. Go get your sister and run away from here."
"But momma..."
"Jade, listen to momma," she repeated, trying to be calm in spite of the circumstance. "Go get your sister, and then run. Go to the forest hide there. Daddy will come and get you, okay?"
Jade is full-on crying now, but she followed her mother's instruction. She ran towards the crib and tried to ignore the heat. Panting, she scooped up the baby just like how her mother taught her and tried to hush the still crying baby. Her tears aren't stopping either, so she looked towards her mother for further guidance. She gasped when she saw that the flames are getting closer and closer to her mother.
"Momma! Let's go!" She half-shouted, half-begged at her mother who is still laying unmoving at the floor.
Suzanne looked up, and tried to convey all her emotion in a single smile. "Momma loves you, remember that. Take care of your sister and daddy."
"Momma..." Jade whined, her young mind now catching up to of her mother's predicament: she's stuck and Jade is too weak to help her.
"Go!" Her mother shouted when the ceiling near Jade started collapsing. Self-preservation kicked in and the little girl ran towards the exit. She ran and ran, not stopping until she reached that spot of the West's private forest where they usually camp.
Breathless, she almost collapsed beneath the large tree - where she and her mom used to lay in - and just lay there. But then she remembered little Emmy, so she carefully sat on the grass, while being mindful of the baby, and then slumped her back on the large tree trunk.
After a while, the baby's crying finally stopped due her big sister's constant shushing. But Jade's tears didn't. It didn't stop even when the fire trucks started surrounding the mansion and hosing down the fire. It didn't stop even when a teary-eyed David West finally found his soot-covered daughters. It didn't stop even when they stayed at the presidential suite in one of the West hotels.
It didn't stop even when they buried Suzanne West six-feet under the ground and it didn't stop every night for the past ten years.
Jade was startled awake, her breathing a bit ragged. Her hands, out of habit, sought out her cheeks and found the usual moisture. There're always tears every time she wakes up, but it has been a long time since she dreamt something so vivid. It's as if she relieved it all over again, and that's a bit unnerving for her.
She looked to her left and saw the embedded touchscreen on the inside of the tree trunk. The bed is done similar to a poster bed, but was given the illusion of being carved inside a large sequoia. Recently, she commissioned someone to install a touchscreen clock to her right side for convenience, and that clock says that it's five a.m in the morning.
Groaning, she fiddled with the alarm to turn it off; no need for any alarm when she's highly unlikely to get back to sleep.
Swinging her legs, her feet touched the floor and she got out of the bed. She went to her mini-fridge that looks - like all the furnitures - as if it was inside a smaller tree and got a water bottle. She chugged it all down in a handful of gulps and then chucked the empty bottle in the trash bin nearby.
She sighed, closing her eyes. Four hours from now, she's going to go back to school. The first day is not an official class day, so there's no real pressure. It's just that it's the first day of junior year, and the first two years that she's not being babysat at.
She rolled her eyes at the thought. She's fully aware that it's not exactly 'babysitting', but it feels that way for a long time now.
And she hates it.
She hates every minute whenever she sees Joyce in her freshman year and Anna in her sophomore year. She hates the feeling of eyes on her; of not having freedom. She hates being reminded how vulnerable she can be.
Sighing again, she looked at the clock on the wall. Only fifteen minutes have passed and there's still three hours and forty-five minutes to waste. She then padded towards her bed, fetched her phone on her bedside table, and then texted the one person who could possibly entertain her.
Me: Hey, u awake?
Five minutes have passed before Jade's phone chimed.
VEGetA: yeah?
Me: I'm bored. Call me.
VEGetA: 2 early
Me: C'mon...
VEGetA: stp anoying ne
Jade chuckled at the misspellings; OC Vega must've been too sleepy to care about being a text message nazi.
Me: I'll call you
She didn't wait for a reply before pressing her speed dial and putting the phone in her ear. The ringing took too long before a grouchy voice answered.
"I's too earlyyyy..." the girl on the other side whined, her voice a little scratchy from sleep.
"C'mon Vega, don't you miss me?"
"Too early."
The raven-haired girl chuckled, amused at the grouchy girl. She then lightly cleared her throat before saying, "I had a dream."
There's a pause, then Jade heard some rustling and then soft footsteps.
"Is it back?" the half-Latina asked, her voiced more coherent now although still a bit raspy. Jade heard lots of clanging and tinkling and assumed that Tori moved the conversation to the kitchen. She can see in her minds's eye how Tori moves in the kitchen, presumably preparing some coffee to combat sleepiness.
"Yeah," she replied. She also got up and went to her little kitchen to prepare her own coffee. They're both gonna need it because she knows that Tori won't let her go until they talk.
"How bad was it?"
Jade frowned. "It's... vivid."
"...vivid how?" Jade can hear the frown in Tori's voice.
"Like relieving a memory."
There was another pause, and Jade is aware of how Tori is trying not to be overly concerned. She knows how sympathetic Tori can be, and Tori knows how she hates that.
But it has been a long time since Jade relieved that memory through dreams. It has been more than five year ago, so Tori is extra worried.
Jade can hear sighing and murmuring that's too low for her to pick up. She then heard a clearing of throat. "How are you feeling, now?" Tori asked as nonchalantly as possible.
"Not sleepy."
Tori chuckled at that. "Yeah, I can see that."
"You mean you can hear that."
"Don't be a smartass," Tori scoffed playfully.
Jade smirked. The coffee maker dinged, and she poured herself a generous amount of coffee. She picked up the mug, inhaled the addictive aroma, and sipped.
"So," Tori continues, "You excited for later?"
"Excited for school? I'm not as deranged as you, nerd."
"Oh c'mon, don't you miss us hanging out?"
Jade hummed and sipped. "Whatever."
"That's the spirit," Tori sarcastically replied. "I need to organize a lot of things for Halloween, though. I'll be soooo busy," the half-Latina declared wistfully.
"It's the first week of September," Jade deadpanned. Sometimes, she can't really understand Tori. Then again, she can't really understand anyone who'll be willing to be class president just for the stress of it.
"Two months is a short time to organize everything. You know how important Halloween is and I still need to set up a bunch of fundraising campaigns."
"Urghhh, you're such a nightmare to work with, aren't you?" Jade quipped, sipping at her mug.
Tori is so used to Jade's attitude that she just brushed it off and continued sharing the stuff and responsibilities that a class president is burdened with. Jade just listened and added a snarky comment here and there just to mess with the brunette's line of thought.
Then they talked about a lot of asinine things: Trina's disastrous attempt in simultaneously dating three different guys on the same day at the same restaurant; André's new, mystery girl he met on a nearby ocean park when a particularly vicious (or jealous) dolphin pushed him in the water; a rumor about Beck's fan club attempting to build something for him as a 'welcome back' gesture; and a girl's restraining order against Robbie (technically it's Rex, but the court wouldn't believe Robbie's defense).
Two and a half hours later and they're both saying their goodbyes; Jade's has an inflection of "thank you" in hers that both she and Tori nonverbally acknowledges.
Jade got up from her seat and is about to take a shower when her phone chimed, again.
VEGetA: See you later! :)
Me: See ya nerd
"Watch where you're going, asshole!"
"Jade..."
"Oh, c'mon! It's a green light, you fucker!"
"Jade..."
"What the hell is wrong with you?! Go back to driving school, dumbass!"
"Jade!"
Jade whipped her scowling face towards her right. She saw her sister wearing a disapproving expression, mainly because her road rage is at full force.
It's not her fault that people are incapable of being a functioning human being. Okay, so she's not used to driving to early morning traffic. Ever since Jade started high school, she always have a chauffeur to drive her anywhere and everywhere she wants, so sue her for just getting used to L.A. traffic.
Ever since she started high school, a lot of her peers envy her for having a personal chauffeur and 'assistant'. Though it may seem cool to some, it is just another form of babysitting for her.
So when her father told her that he's going to need a full week to find a new 'candidate', she took advantage of the moment and asked if she can drive by herself for a full week. Mr. West is skeptical at first, but eventually gave in when she promised to drive Emmy to and from her school for a whole week. Her father agreed, knowing that she won't do anything stupid to endanger Emmy.
Well, if he can see her now...
"Hey! Did you just fucking cut me off, you motherfucker?!"
"Stop it, Jade!"
They eventually made it to Emmy's school without any more incident except for a couple of verbal abuses thrown at their way due to Jade's terrible temper. Unbuckling her seat, Emmy kissed Jade's cheek and told her to behave herself before getting out of the car.
Jade really tried to behave, but her temper got the best of her again and she cussed a few more equally hot-tempered drivers before parking her car at Hollywood Arts.
But as soon as she got out of the car and slammed her door shut, her eyes were assaulted by the most intriguing and disturbing sight that immediately erased any trace of bad mood in her.
"What do you think?" a familiar, amused voice joined her, both of them basking in the strangeness that is in front of them.
In the middle of the parking lot is a life-size cut-off of Beckett Oliver decorated with flowers.
At the foot of the cut-off picture lay some pictures, drawings, oil-paintings, caricatures, hair, and some artfully done posters dedicated to him. It is a disturbing sight mainly because if everyone didn't know any better, they would think that the boy died. But of course, the cut-off picture itself is under a wooden arc that says: "Welcome Beck".
"How long has that been there?" Jade asked, her amusement so strong that she's close to breaking into laughter.
"Just this morning, I guess?" Tori replied, giggling at the baffled expression of the students gathering around to observe the peculiar 'shrine'.
"How did he take it?"
"Oh, you know, the usual. He ran and hid in the janitor's closet."
"He's such a wussy."
"Yeah."
They stayed long enough to be entertained by some students who took out their phones and had their picture taken beside the shrine. And when André arrived and gawked at the shrine, they couldn't resist taking pictures themselves.
They struck the most ridiculous poses to show to Beck later. And after a few more ridiculous poses, the three of them went inside Hollywood Arts.
They walked towards their respective lockers to gather some things for their class. When done, Tori and André waved their goodbye to Jade and left her at her own locker. The pale girl is so busy looking for her biology book that she didn't see a figure creeping beside her.
"Hey..." a voice whispered and she jumped in surprise.
"What the- Beck!"
He made a shushing gesture before pushing her out of her locker and then putting his whole head inside said locker. Puzzled, she looked around for any camera, thinking that she's being pranked. But then she saw a gaggle of girls walking towards their direction instead, and she instantly figured it out.
"Hey girls, you looking for Beck?"
The girls all looked at her, intrigued. It seems that they're all too excited to hear about Beck's whereabouts that none of them got suspicious when the resident mean girl started talking to them.
"Well, I saw him go over there," Jade said, pointing at the opposite direction where Tori and André just disappeared into while making sure that she's hiding Beck behind her. She also made sure to school her face properly.
Convinced of Jade's good intention (or acting, as Jade calls it), they went to the direction she pointed.
"Thanks, Jade," Beck said after finally resurfacing from the locker.
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Getting tired of being such a heartthrob?"
Beck sighed, rubbing his neck with his palm. "It's nice to have the attention, but it's kinda scary."
Jade scoffed. "Yeah. I'll be scared too if someone build a shrine for me. It's a bit obsessive, serial killer-ish for my taste."
"You all saw that?" he asked, his eyebrow a bit furrowed.
"Dude, the students and the faculty all saw it."
Beck chuckled uncomfortably and Jade just smirked at him, too amused at his predicament to really feel sorry for him. Beck is actually somewhat shy and a bit of a dork. But his shyness was mistaken for a mysterious allure instead. So, 'mystery' combined with good looks and he became the resident heartthrob.
The funny thing is, he never even had a girlfriend before. Again, his 'unattainability' became a part of his supposed 'charm', and it made him more attractive to the girls of Hollywood Arts.
Jade doesn't get it.
"If you get a girlfriend, maybe they'll mellow down," she suggested, closing her locker after getting both biology and trigonometry books.
He quirked his eyebrow at the suggestion and his expression became contemplative. But then he shook his head and said, "Yeah, I don't think it'll happen."
"Why not?" she asked, confused.
"The person I like is not available at the moment."
"She dating anyone?" Jade asked. She didn't bother asking who it is because she didn't care. As long as it helps Beck from being mobbed daily, then the girl's identity doesn't matter to her.
"Nah. She's interested in someone else."
"...okay, Then date someone else."
"But I'm not interested in other girls."
Jade scoffed. "Do you have to like them to date them? Just take some girl out on a few dates or something."
"Well," he drawled, slinging his backpack in one shoulder, "what's the point of taking someone out when you don't like them? It should be special." He grinned a toothy grin, and Jade had a mental image of his fan girls screaming and fainting because of that smile.
She almost laughed at the mental image, but she just raised an eyebrow instead. "Fine, suit yourself, lover boy," she mocked and Beck laughed as the pale girl dragged him to their shared class.
"Ohhhh, this one dude! We look like rockstars!"
"You look gay there, André."
"Have you seen my new portable wood chipper that I'm planning to bring to school?"
"Why is it that someone built you a shrine? Why not me? I'm gorgeous!"
"Trina! Stop stealing my fries!"
"But I'm hungry! Stop being selfish!"
"Your voice literally hurts my ears. I think it's bleeding."
"Beck! Ninja Form Chameleon 3 o'clock!"
Beck dove under the table as soon as Robbie said those words. All of them rolled their eyes at that and just continued with comparing of silly pictures they took with the Beck cut-off (except Robbie who is hellbent on helping Beck and Trina who is glaring daggers at a smirking Jade as she whined about her lack of shrine). When the gaggle of excitable girls saw that Beck is missing from their table, they moved on to another place.
"Well, that was a close one," Beck commented, resurfacing from under the table.
"Oh no, the horror of being chased by attractive girls," Rex deadpanned, and everyone silently agreed with him.
"You know, if you could just date one of them, they'll eventually stop," Jade suggested.
"Nah, it'll encourage them more."
"What do you know, Gay-dré?" Rex commented, and it earned him a slap in the back of the head by André.
"Hey, André isn't gay. In fact, he was about to tell us about this girl he met," Tori said, wiggling her eyebrows at the blushing boy.
After a few minutes of teasing, André eventually spilled. "Her name is Melissa," he started, excitement evident in his voice. "I met her when I brought my nephew at the ocean park last week."
"Here," he said, picking up his phone and then showing a picture of the girl. She's a very pretty girl with dark expressive eyes, dark hair, and a petite figure. The picture is taken beside some sort of man-made lagoon and she's wearing a blue scuba suit.
"Awwww, she's cute."
"Nice one, dude!"
"She's wet."
"I'm prettier."
"Does she have a sister?"
"Does she have a thing for puppets?"
The gang fawned over the Melissa as André talked about how he will be seeing her again this Friday. When the school bell sounded, they all gathered their things and went to their respected classes.
When the bell sounded that signals the final class for the day, all of them went inside the one class that they all share. Tori and André sat in front row (the 'norks', as Jade calls them); Robbie and Trina in the middle row; Jade and Beck at the back row.
Fifteen minutes later and Mr. Sikowitz finally showed up through climbing in the window. Since it's the first day, he just let the class do mirror exercises for thirty minutes and they're all dismissed.
They all decided to meet for dinner later to properly catch up. Then they all went to their respective cars with the boys carpooling in André's car.
"What do you mean you're gone? You were just beside me five minutes ago! Urghhh, Trina!"
Jade looked up from searching her bag for her car keys to Tori shouting at her phone. From what she could gather, it seems that Trina left Tori... again.
"I'm so gonna tell on you!" the half-Latina shouted before ending the call. She then turned around and saw that Jade is still standing beside her car. She smiled sweetly, and Jade rolled her eyes and motioned for her to get in.
"Are you regretting not passing that driving exam now, Vega?" Jade taunted, enjoying the view of a pissed off Tori.
Tori huffed, obviously miffed. "Stop reminding me," she grumbled, fumbling with the seatbelt.
Jade rolled her eyes at Tori's clumsy attempt at reattaching the seatbelt. A pissed off Tori is an even clumsier Tori, and that's saying something. When the fumbling didn't stop, Jade sighed and reached over the passenger side to fix the seatbelt herself. She heard a subtle hitch of breath, and now she's pretty sure that Tori is really pissed if she couldn't be bothered to let someone help her with her clumsiness.
"We'll pick up Emmy first before I drop you off."
Tori said nothing and Jade just let it be.
A few minutes later and Tori started getting animated again. She babbled about some auditions that the committee are helping to organize for the winter theatrical play.
"...and apparently, Trina is banned from auditioning this year after the last winter musical."
"Why? I thought her musical got a lot of buzz."
"Yeah, for being a cautionary tale for prospective performers that excessive narcissism is dangerous."
Jade chuckled, remembering Trina's disastrous attempt at a one-woman musical. "You have to admit, her dedication to harmonize with herself is pretty impressive."
Tori chuckled. "Hey, remember the one where she re-enacted an emotional dialogue between the two protagonists all by herself?"
"Yeah, that is both entertaining and disturbing."
They continue to converse lightly, mostly about the upcoming auditions this year for the junior class, until they finally reached St. Michaels Academy. Jade saw Emmy sitting in the bench so she didn't bother parking and just honked.
"Ow! Vega!" Jade cried, a bit startled when Tori suddenly punched her in the arm.
"Did you seriously just honked at your sister?" Tori hissed. "Go get her, you ass!"
"She's right there! She can see us!"
"Go!"
Jade groaned on protest but nonetheless gotten out the car before Tori literally kick her out. She slammed the door hard, smirked when Tori jumped at the noise, and walked towards the bench. When she's a foot away, she noticed that Emmy is immersed in yet another novel.
"You do know that that book glorifies prostitution?"
"Hey Jade," Emmy greeted, not taking her eyes off the book.
Jade sat beside the blonde and continues with her quip. "I mean, a love story between a hooker and a rich client? Talk about unrealistic life expectation for the next generation of hookers and professional escorts."
Emmy just sighed and closed her copy of Pretty Women. She looked at her sister with the patented West eyebrow raise.
Jade raised her hands in mock surrender. "Just sayin'," she reasoned with a smirk.
"Whatever," Emmy huffed, haphazardly throwing the paperback inside her backpack. Jade inwardly laughed at her sister's reaction. Between the two of them, Emerald West is the calm and rational one. But when you insulted her literary choices, the 'Jade West' in her comes out to play.
"C'mon midget, Vega is waiting at the car. I want to get there before she got too comfortable with the radio.
"Are you sure you're gonna be okay here?"
"Yes, I'm sure."
"Are you really sure? I can stay here if you want, we could just hangout and watch some Barney or-"
"Jade!" Emmy shouted, looking indignant.
"What? You like Dora better?" Jade asked, her eyes wide with mock innocence.
"Just go, please. It's not like I'll be all alone here. Anton and Louisa is gonna be here with me, anyways."
"Fine. But no party, okay? If I ever catch you chugging beers or taking body shots when I get home..."
"Are you seriously asking me that?" Emmy questioned, her face showing disbelief.
"Yes, I'm serious."
"I'm ten, Jade."
"I had my first beer when I was ten."
"Well, I'm not you."
"Well, thank god for that. Because if you're anything like me at ten years old, I'll probably lock you up in the basement before leaving you and-"
"Jadeyyy..." Emmy whined, getting annoyed at Jade's sarcastic overprotectiveness.
"Okay, okay!" Jade smirked, raising her hands in mock surrender. She picked up her bag and rummaged for her car keys. "I'll call every hour, and you better pick up."
"Fine."
Jade ruffled her sister's hair, which earned a delighted giggle from the blonde. She doesn't get how the blonde could giggle whenever she or her dad messes with her hair. If it was her, she'll throw a fit.
"I'll be back by nine. Remember the rules, midget."
"Go already," Emmy whined, rolling her eyes before kissing her sister in the cheek. She then turned around and walked to her room to start on her homework.
The drive to that new Italian bistro is uneventful, and Jade's car is already pulling over at the nearby parking space after ten minutes. She killed the engine and then whipped out her phone to send a couple of texts.
Me: I'm hir outside d bistro, is any1 inside yet?
She sent it to all four numbers; she didn't bother with Trina seeing that she's with Tori anyways. A few seconds later and her phone chimed twice.
Becky: Just got insyd. Robbie nd André r wid me.
Of course, she thought. The boys probably carpooled again in André's car to save money for that new PS4 console. She then clicked on Tori's message and chuckled at the content.
VEGetA: Still at home because Trina is STILL DOING HER HAIR. :|
Me: I told u 2 shave it all off wen she was asleep at my couch last Fri
VEGetA: I'm regretting it now :| She's done, we're going outside now. See you!
Me: Yeah, yeah. Hurry up
Jade opened the car door and stepped outside the parking lot, double-checking her bag in case she forgot something in her car. When everything checks out, she slammed her door shut and strutted on pavement towards the bistro's entrance.
"Good evening, ma'am," a girl in a waitress uniform greeted her. She started curling up her lips in her usual attempt of a smile reserved for strangers, but then she saw the boys seated at a circular table on the far right. She walked over to them and plopped herself to a chair beside Beck, but not without hearing a snippet of their conversation.
"...and then she shouted something about having a restraining order. But that's unfair! I mean, Rex is the one who told them last time about getting it on with each other and then filming it to be sold on 'Girls Gone Wild'."
"Hey Jade," André greeted with a nod and an amused expression on his face. Beck just nodded her way, seemingly distracted with Robbie's adventures with the Northridge girls.
"Then this one girl, the one with the blonde hair and copper highlight thingy at the end of her hair, jumped on me and started beating me with a foam finger. And no one stopped her! They all cheered for her! Then they all threw soda cans at me when I started running to my gran-gran."
"How many were they?" Beck asked, looking sympathetic at Robbie.
"Six? Or maybe just three. I got dizzy after five minutes of being pummeled to death by that foam finger that I could be seeing double."
"What did you tell them before all that?" Jade asked, expecting something mundane and totally innocent from the awkward boy. She knows that she should be sorry to the poor guy and his bad luck with girls, but she's not. She thinks his situation is pathetic; more pathetic than Beck's.
At least he left that stupid puppet at home, she thought.
"I just told them 'hi' and commented about the weather," Robbie whined, looking as dejected as a kicked puppy.
"C'mon man, let's drown your girl sorrows and physical torments with a big bowl of spaghetti and some root beer float," André declared after a few seconds of Robbie's self-pity. He patted his back with a bit of a force, the awkward boy coughing at the force and his glasses almost flew across the table.
"Yeah, dude. Tori and Trina is probably close now. And here they are," Beck said when his dark eyes flitted towards the bistro's entrance, capturing his attention as Robbie adjusts his glasses. Beck waved the two girls over and they both sat with Tori besides Jade and Trina besides André.
"Hey guys," Trina greeted with a smile, and Tori huffed and rolled her eyes in annoyance at her sister before greeting the gang. The older sister then nonchalantly picked up the menu and scanned the items. "Is the food any good here?" Trina asked.
"Yeah. Melissa recommended this place. I think her uncle owns it or something."
"Ohhh, do we get a discount?"
"Trina!"
"What? That's a legitimate question," the older Vega defended, shrugging and looking at the menu again.
"It actually is a legitimate question," Jade agreed, earning her a glare from the still annoyed half-Latina. Tori just huffed again and picked up the menu while mumbling some presumably obscenities under her breath.
A waiter came to take their orders a few minutes later. After jutting it down on a little notebook, he politely told them that the food will be out in ten minutes. He then excused himself, but not before throwing a wary glance at the smiling Trina who were flirting heavily at him.
She winked seductively at the waiter, and he answered it with a sort of half-hearted smile before scurrying to the kitchen.
"I think you scared him," Robbie noticed, furrowing his eyebrow at the smirking girl.
"Or maybe he's just too overwhelmed with my gorgeousness that he forgot how to act properly," Trina confidently stated.
"Or," André started, "maybe you scared him."
Their waiting is filled with André and Trina bickering about the subtlety of flirting and how Trina is terrible at it. The girl is insistent about how being overly aggressive is a good thing and André is contradicting every points she makes.
"It isn't always, though. Mostly, it's just scary for us."
"Is it? Are you seriously gonna tell me that you'll run away from a hot girl when she's throwing herself at you?"
"Well, probably not. But I will run away if a Katrina Vega is throwing herself at me."
The whole table guffawed at that and Trina looked mortified. But before she could give a vicious retort, the first batch of their orders came. Robbie and André both ordered meatball spaghetti, Beck ordered carbonara, and Trina ordered sun dried tomato pesto. The waiter told them that the rest of the orders will be out, and it didn't escape the gang's attention on how the waiter is different this time. André gave Trina a see-what-happened-to-your-flirting-buddy look and the girl just flipped him off.
Suddenly, Jade's phone vibrated from her pocket. She took it out and saw her father calling her. Frowning, she started to stand up, planning to answer her phone outside for privacy's sake when a body collided into her.
She heard a couple of gasps and clattering of some sort and she tried to back away, a glare set at ready and a couple of insults at the tip of her tongue. But that was obviously a mistake; because as soon as she took a step back, she stepped on something slippery and she, well, slipped.
In a last-second desperate attempt to salvage herself from pain and indignity, her hand flailed in front of her to seek something to hold onto to balance herself. But that was another mistake; she managed to catch the shirt of the person she collided with and accidentally pulled, taking said person with her on the ground.
Thud!
Jade is painfully aware of being crushed; her chest felt constricted by the unexpected weight on top of her. Groaning, Jade tried to stand when she felt something slippery and warm at her back and her hair. Raising her head, she felt it with her free hand and she raised it on front of her face.
Her breath hitched at what she saw.
It was pasta. More specifically, it was the shrimp fettuccine in tomato sauce that she ordered.
Their server not only bumped into her, but he also managed to drop their order, make her slip on said order, and then crash on top of her with said order now all over her back and her hair.
She opened her eyes, a deathly glare now permanently set in place and ready to lash out, but her still blurry vision only registered red and brown before it focuses on a pair of frightened doe eyes.
To be continued...