tuesday means we shouldn't have to worry (at least, not very much)
Well, she says, voice softer than usual, I don't know. Doesn't everybody care? / Tori/Andre.
morning
sunrise
open my eyes
and i can tell it's gonna be a good day
;;
He is her first friend at Hollywood Arts.
That shouldn't mean much, but-
it does.
She presses her arm against his, smiles into the bright white lights, waves at the audience.
She sees his name next to hers in the program; grins, slightly.
;;
They're lying on the ground outside, in the back of the school, past the tables and coffee shops and people.
Tori sighs into the green grass, her hair spread out around her, and he turns to her.
Hey, he says.
She blinks slowly. Hi, she replies.
You're different, Tori, he tells her, you're so different. I don't think I've met anyone like you.
I'm not, Tori says. Well- I don't know what I am, really. But you, you're a special kind of different. I'm only different because I care about things that no one else does.
So that doesn't count? He asks, Being different because you care?
No. Well, I mean- doesn't everyone care?
He smiles at her then, it's soft and sweet and Tori feels something inside her warm up, burst- change.
I'm glad I met you, she says.
He moves his hand near hers. She reaches out with her pinkie, wraps it around his own.
There is a dandelion in the corner of her eye. For a split second, she stops, wonders if she should make a wish.
;;
She's singing to herself when he walks by her in the hallway.
i'm just a little bit, caught in the middle, life's like a maze, and love's like a riddle…
He likes her voice, he's told her this before.
It's sweet and soft and it reminds him of something, something he can't quite remember-
childhood, or swing sets, something like that.
(It's not important, but- she reminds him of happiness, pure and nothing else, like sunshine breaking through the clouds.)
He keeps on going, hums when he's past her.
;;
They sit together at a lunch table one day. Jade and Beck are off "studying" (fucking) in the RV, Cat and Robbie are doing something that Tori couldn't even pretend to understand, and Trina's off being her usual crazy self.
You don't talk much, do you, Andre, she asks.
No, he says, I do. All the time.
(Sometimes, though, he whispers to her later, like it's a secret, it's nice just to sit in silence.)
;;
Hey, Tori instructs him, once, play me something.
He rolls his eyes at her. Gets out his guitar anyway.
Well, he questions, what do you want to hear?
She shrugs, lays her head in her hands. Stares at him with a smirk.
I don't know, she replies. I guess I just- she exhales slowly, smoothly- I like seeing you play.
He smiles (something stops, pauses).
Alright, he winks, and bursts into Have I Told You Lately.
Mid-verse, she starts to sing along.
(She likes how he sounds when they harmonise. She doesn't think she's heard anything prettier.)
;;
They hold hands once, under the desks in class. Jade catches them, looks at Tori with this strange emotion in her eyes- Tori wants to say happiness, but that seems far fetched.
After the period is over, the girl walks up to her at her locker.
She doesn't say anything at first, just looks her up and down and taps her fingers against the cold metal surface.
Okay, Jade sighs, like she's doing something she doesn't really want to. You can stay.
Tori does a double take, raises an eyebrow. What do you mean?
Jade laughs.
Oh, she replies, walking away, Tori, you know I can't tell you that.
;;
Do you ever regret coming here? Andre asks her. His arm is resting near hers, if she reached out she could touch his hand. (She doesn't, not yet.)
Tori purses her lips together, swings her leg back and forth. Sometimes, she tells him.
Mhm, he says.
But then she leans forward, closer and closer, until she can count all the flecks of colors in his eyes, the bits of gold and light brown and everything-
But, she whispers, Sometimes I'm happy.
She kisses him, lips pressing against his.
He tastes like coffee and sugar. It's sweet, she thinks, nice.
She smiles, wide and brighter than any type of stage lights- She takes his hand, intertwines their fingers.
He laughs into her neck, says- Me too.
Especially now.
;;