A.N/ If you've read my story 'The Biggest Mistake' You'll notice that some of the earlier Jade sections are the same or quite similar this is because this started off as an alternative Jori version of that story for my friend but has evolved into something much deeper so please bear with it because it quickly changes. Thanks.
DISCLAIMER:~ I'm not Dan Schneider, I do not own the Victorious characters.
The Power of a Song.
Chapter 1
10! Jade heard her voice crack as she said the number she had never imagined arriving at. Her hand reached for the door handle and then retreated; he hadn't come after her, which meant he didn't want to be with her anymore. Jade felt the pain tear through her chest, she was sure her heart had literally shattered! Her eyes filled with tears, she had to get out of there. As she climbed in the car, she glanced back, hoping, praying that Beck was coming after her but he wasn't there. Jade put her foot on the gas and sped off, she wasn't sure where she was heading, she just needed to drive.
As she heard the screech of Jade's car tyres leaving her drive, Tori felt her heart sink. Everyone was silent, waiting, watching to see what Beck would do. Suddenly he turned and said "Let's play some cards" and headed over to the table, closely followed by Trina. Everyone else started awkwardly milling about, sorting the cards out but Tori was rooted to the spot staring at the door. She had the strongest desire to go after Jade but the others were all there and anyway she hadn't a clue where she would go. All she did know is that Jade would be feeling completely devastated right now, she recalled the broken mess that had turned up at her door eighteen months ago when Jade had finished with Beck after a silly fight. She was bound to be worse now, an extra year and a half's worth of love and memories make for a deeper connection and this time Beck had ended it so Jade wouldn't even have the option of trying to fix things. "Tori!" Andre's voice snapped her out of her stupor but as she sat down the crushing feeling of concern weighed heavily on her shoulders and her eyes drifted towards the door once more.
As Jade drove around she could feel the hot tears streaming down her face, she couldn't go home, she wouldn't let her Mom or brother see her like this. They weren't even expecting her back tonight; she nearly always stayed at Beck's now. That thought brought with it a fresh wave of pain. Even if Cat hadn't been at Tori's she wouldn't have gone to her house. Cat would have just made her feel worse. Andre had made it quite clear he thought their relationship was atrocious now. She hated to admit it but yet again the only person she would have gone to was Tori but of course she couldn't, the others were all there. She knew she couldn't keep driving around like this but where could she go? Think Jade! In the end the only place she could come up with was the wooded grove she used to disappear to when she was younger, she knew it wasn't exactly a safe choice at this time of night but it was secluded and private and that's what she needed.
Tori looked at the clock, it was 11pm, "Ok guys kick out time I'm afraid." Trina, who had spent the last hour or so leaning against Beck's arm glared at her, Tori just shook her head and started tidying the cards and chips away. Andre was already driving Cat and Robbie home and had offered Beck a lift too so at least they would all be leaving together. For the first time ever she had not enjoyed spending the evening with her friends, there was a cloud hanging over them and a deep tension in the air. She had had to draw on every acting skill she had learnt at Hollywood Arts as she had forced herself to take part in the conversation, smile and laugh at the jokes Rex and Cat had made in an attempt to lighten the mood. She said her goodbyes and closed the door behind them with a sigh of relief. As she stood there, with her hand on the door handle, she couldn't help her mind drifting back to the awful scene that had played out there earlier. She loved Beck, he was one of her closest friends but the feelings swirling around in the pit of her stomach told her he had behaved appallingly. It was a very rare occasion when she empathised with Jade but tonight was definitely one of those moments. Tori felt Trina pulling her arm "I'm talking to you!" She screeched. "Don't you think Beck and I make a cute couple?" She grinned inanely. "Trina, they split up like an hour and a half ago!" Trina just grinned even wider "AND!" she exclaimed as she practically danced up the stairs. Tori rubbed her hands across her face and thought for probably the millionth time in her life that either she or Trina must have been switched at birth.
Jade drove down the thin dirt track and arrived in her childhood safe haven. As she turned the engine off she allowed herself to break. The sobs came loud and heavy. She had spent the whole day scared that this was what Beck was trying to tell her, she had been trying to avoid the conversation, denying there was anything wrong. She just didn't understand, she loved him, she hadn't changed! Had she? She was sure she hadn't. They had been together forever, they were Beck and Jade! Three years! Why was he suddenly unhappy? What had she done?
Tori changed into her nightwear and climbed into bed. She looked at her phone and wondered whether she should ring Jade or maybe just send a text to ask her if she was ok. No, that was a daft idea; it's obvious she wouldn't be ok. She chewed her lip absentmindedly. Probably best just to leave her to it for now, she'd try and talk to her at school in the morning. As she lay there waiting for sleep to come, her mind was awash with thoughts of Jade.
Jade looked at the clock on the dash, it was 3am, she really should go home now. At least everyone would be asleep at this time. She glanced in the rear view mirror, she looked awful, it was a good job they would be asleep. She got her phone out of her pocket and checked for the umpteenth time tonight if Beck, or anyone for that matter, had text her. There was nothing. He really had meant it, it really was over. She was alone again. Jade wiped her face, started the car and headed for home.
The alarm went off at 7am as usual and Tori hit the snooze button and wriggled back under the duvet. She always felt that extra five minutes was a sacred right somehow. She could hear Trina stomping across the landing complaining to their Mom that she couldn't find some top or other. She decided to stay where she was until the coast was clear. She picked up her phone and logged into the slap to kill a bit of time, after she updated her status to complain about Trina, she did her usual check through her friend's statuses. As she clicked on Beck's, the sinking feeling she had experienced the night before returned. There was no longer a relationship link between his and Jade's profile's and his status had changed to "Single, yup!" Tori cringed and clicked onto Jade's profile. Nothing had changed except for the missing relationship status. It was definitely Beck who'd severed the connection. "Oh Beck" she sighed and shook her head. She knew he wouldn't have done it intending to hurt Jade but she was absolutely positive that when Jade saw that, it would be like a knife though her already bleeding heart. As she put the phone on her bed she was aware of the blissful sound of silence across the upper floor of the house. Trina had obviously gone downstairs now, so Tori grabbed her stuff and headed for the shower.
Jade lay on her bed, sleep had completely evaded her, she could hear her brother playing in his room and the morning sun was seeping through the gap in the curtains. She would have given anything to have felt Beck's arms around her right now. She knew she should be angry with him but she was just too wounded to be angry, broken, she was broken. She got up and went for a shower not quite knowing how she'd face school that day. She stood in the shower with the water flowing over her like hot rain; it would have been soothing if her mind didn't keep wandering to Beck. When she finally came out she instinctively picked up her phone. She knew he wouldn't have text her but she checked anyway. As she sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the phone, she logged into the slap, more out of habit than choice. She did a double take when her profile appeared in front of her minus "Jade is in a relationship with Beck" Her hands shook as she clicked onto Beck's profile and as the words "Single yup" appeared in front of her the tears flowed once more.
As Tori got dressed she heard the familiar ping coming from her phone which signalled a text message had arrived. For the briefest second as she picked it up she wondered if it might be Jade reaching out to her but of course it wasn't, instead it was Cat asking her if she'd seen Beck's status yet. She was sure this would be the main topic of conversation at school today, in fact probably for the rest of the week at least, knowing how the kids at Hollywood Arts loved a good drama. She sighed, responded to Cat's text, finished getting dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast.
Jade knew the comments would start soon so she had to write something but what? If he wasn't bothered she certainly wasn't going to show that she was. In the end she decided on "Yeah, yeah. Beck and I broke up. Can we talk about something else now…Like how annoying Tori is?" She put down her phone and stared at her wardrobe. She knew she should get ready but she just couldn't. She couldn't face school today, she pulled on a pair of pyjamas (even that felt weird now) and climbed into bed.
Tori rushed her breakfast down as fast as possible, Trina was driving her mad going on and on about her imaginary "new relationship" with Beck. She wanted to get to school and away from her as soon as possible but Trina was driving her in today, so unfortunately she'd still have to put up with her for a while longer yet. As she sat next to Trina in the car she decided she couldn't stand it any longer, she popped her headphones in, put some music on and logged back into the slap. She checked Jade's profile again and saw that she had now updated it. Tori cringed once more, until she saw what Jade had written. Typical! She'd been worrying about her since last night and yet again Jade was publicly ridiculing her. Feeling irked she hammered out a reply "Look I know you're hurt but don't drag me into this." Almost as soon as she clicked the send button she regretted it. Jade would not be impressed at having her feelings paraded about on the slap and would surely be baying for her blood now, so much for her plan to offer her a shoulder to cry on. They arrived at school and she quickly got out and dashed off before Trina could start talking at her again. Andre and Robbie were over by the lockers and as Tori walked towards them she could hear a group of students stood by the stairs discussing how Jade never deserved Beck anyway and they were surprised they'd been together this long. Just as she'd expected the gossip had started. "Have you seen Beck and Jade's statuses?" Robbie asked as she stepped towards them. "Yeah, I saw it earlier," she sighed. "I think we're in for an awkward day." Robbie and Andre nodded in agreement. Cat came down the stairs looking like a sad puppy and approached them, "I don't like this," she looked like she was about to burst into tears. "It'll be alright Cat, honestly," Tori tried to reassure her whilst secretly feeling the same dread at what this would mean for their little circle of friends. By the time the bell went for class neither Beck nor Jade had appeared. She was getting increasingly worried. It wasn't like either of them to just miss school. She grabbed her books and walked to class with the others.
Jade spent the whole day flitting between sleep and tears, she was glad of the fact that the house was empty and her Mum was, as usual, too wrapped up in herself to even wonder why Jade's car was in the drive this morning. She had to stop doing this, she had to pull herself together. Beck didn't want her anymore; there was nothing she could do about that! She would allow herself this day to crumble but tomorrow, tomorrow Jade West would be back and no-one would know she was even remotely bothered about Beck flaming Oliver!
Beck had ended up coming into school after all; he was just a little late. Although Tori was relieved to see him arrive, she was soon distracted by an overwhelming concern that Jade hadn't. Any grievance she had held early over Jade's status update, had now vanished. That was obviously Jade's way of trying to divert attention from her grief. Beck had been a little quiet during the day and there was this general mist in the air of something unspoken, as they all avoided mentioning Jade or the break up in his presence but alone in the girls bathroom with Cat, Tori raised the subject of her absence. "Have you even heard from Jade since last night?" Cat's worried expression was back and her bottom lip shook slightly, "No, I..I was going to text her but I didn't know whether she would want me to." Cat's eyes misted up and her voice hit a higher pitch as she asked "Does that make me a really bad friend? I should have rung her shouldn't I?" Tori rubbed her arm reassuringly "No, no you were probably right not to, Jade most likely, just wants to be alone at the minute." Cat calmed a little then. "Kay, kay. Do you think I should try later?" Tori had to admit, she wasn't really sure, "I don't know Cat, perhaps you should wait and see if she comes in tomorrow?" Cat nodded, the doors to the bathroom opened and Tori took that as her cue to end the conversation, there was already enough people gossiping about Jade and Beck right now. The end of the school day couldn't come fast enough for her, she had been so distracted, her mind heavy with images of a devastated Jade. So much so it even surprised her, I mean they weren't exactly close, she couldn't explain it but couldn't shake the overwhelming feeling of concern either. At least Andre was coming over tonight, he was sure to provide entertainment and relief from these thoughts.
Jade felt like her eyes were on fire, they stung so much. She must have cried enough to end a drought single handed. She rubbed her face and turned to the misshapen, silver and black clock that hung on her bedroom wall, just after midnight. It felt like she'd spent months lying there, like being in a surreal haze, almost a nightmare, only she wasn't going to wake up from this and as her phone still sat empty of any communication from Beck, she was certain this was going to stay her new reality. Alone. A grumbling sound emerged from her stomach, alerting her to the fact she hadn't eaten since yesterday. Her Mom and brother would be in bed by now so it would be safe to go downstairs. Jade shook her head in slight dismay as it dawned on her that she'd been at home now since 3am and her Mom still hadn't even so much as knocked on the door and said hello. She wasn't exactly bothered by this, she was more than used to her Mom's complete lack of concern for her but an acknowledgement of her existence might be nice once in a while. She quietly descended the stairs, headed into the kitchen and flicked the kettle on. On examining the contents of the fridge, Jade decided she still felt too sick for food; she'd just stick to the coffee. The house was eerily silent, so the kettle boiling sounded like thunder rumbling around the kitchen. She leaned against the ice cold marble of the counter top, the skin on her arms started to numb and she wished she could do the same to her heart. She felt the tears brimming up again. She wondered what Beck was doing, probably asleep by now. The tears spilled over and mingled in with her coffee; she grabbed the cup, headed back to her room and broke down again.
Tori had been right, Andre had provided entertainment and a welcome distraction from her worried state for the evening but as she changed and climbed into bed her mind wandered back to Jade. She couldn't help thinking that night time must be the worst part for her. They all knew Jade practically lived at Beck's RV, in fact the Hollywood Arts rumour mill had always speculated that Beck had moved into the RV to have Jade stay over. She just couldn't imagine what it must be like to have that kind of relationship and lose it, for all Jade's meanness and bad attitude, she loved Beck, was completely devoted to him. That was one of the things that had always confused but fascinated Tori about Jade, that underneath that icy exterior she had this capacity to love someone so overwhelmingly. Sure she was extremely jealous and possessive but even that was somehow strangely endearing. She had always known that was down to Jade actually being very insecure and having a deep rooted fear of losing Beck and now that fear had been realised. She sighed sadly at that thought as she settled down to sleep.
Morning came and Jade headed for the shower she had finally gained control of her emotions, she was fairly sure she could make it through the day without bursting into tears. As she dried herself she glanced at her wardrobe, half of her favourite clothes were still at Beck's RV. Oh well, she certainly wasn't ready to deal with all that yet. She dressed and carefully applied her make-up, she was at least beginning to look more like herself. Jade grabbed her bag and went downstairs, she could hear her Mum and brother in the kitchen but as she didn't want any breakfast and couldn't begin to even contemplate dealing with questions from her mother right now, she just walked straight past and out to her car.
Tori, woke at her usual time, she showered and changed and went downstairs to join her family for breakfast. As her dad caught her gaze, he rolled his eyes at Trina and smiled at her, she grinned back at him widely. Much as Trina drove her mad, she loved her family more than anything. They ate breakfast and chatted. Andre was giving her a lift in today, so she could tolerate Trina more, knowing she would be able to escape her soon. A few minutes later she heard Andre beep his horn, she said her goodbyes and left.
As Jade pulled onto the school car park she took a deep breath in and mentally prepared herself to walk through the door. For the first time in her life she wished she had just one close friend, she could really have used the support right now. She looked around to see if she could spot Cat, even going in with her would have been preferable to going in alone but she couldn't see her. Jade stop being stupid! She scolded herself, got out of the car, grabbed her bag and strolled into school.
Tori wandered into school chatting to Andre, as she glanced across the hall she saw Jade opening her locker, she looked different, Tori couldn't quite put her finger on what exactly was different but there was definitely something. As she stood looking at her she didn't quite know what to do, should she go and speak to her, would she even want her too? She was aware of the fact she wasn't the only one looking at Jade, although the gossiping was being kept to a whisper today, she was sure Jade must be noticing it too.
Jade stood by her locker, sorting her books out, she could see Tori and Andre over the other side of the corridor. She was just trying to persuade herself to swallow her pride and go over and speak to them, when she heard Robbie's dulcet tones. She looked across towards the doors and saw Beck walking in with him, for a brief second their eyes met and the pain hit her all over again, her gaze dropped, she closed the locker door, turned and walked to class. At least she hadn't cried for that she was thankful.
Tori watched Jade walking away and suddenly realised what the difference in her was, she looked crushed. Quietly walking away was the last thing she had expected her to do, a big showdown with Beck, yes, a vicious put down, definitely, dignified silence was just so out of character. The sound of the bell cut through her thoughts and Tori made her way to class with the others.
As the lunch bell rang out Jade realised she hadn't taken in an iota of any of her morning lessons, Beck had been in all of them and she had had to use all her concentration to keep her emotions in check. As everyone filed out of the classroom, she hung back, she couldn't face going out to the Asphalt Café but she didn't want to hover in the corridor or Janitor's closet either. She let out a long sigh grabbed her bag and headed to her car.
Tori met up with the others in the café and started scanning the crowd looking for Jade. She was not entirely sure what she was going to do if she spotted her, probably send Cat over, Jade may get irritated by Cat easily but the protectiveness that slipped out from time to time suggested she did class her as a friend and Tori just didn't like the thought of her sitting alone. In the end it didn't matter anyway, as she couldn't see her anywhere.
The afternoon dragged so slowly for Jade, she couldn't wait to get home to the sanctuary of her room. She had always thought she didn't really, actually need anyone, she loved being with Beck but when he was busy or in a different class it didn't particularly bother her. Only now did she realise that that was because she knew she could be with him whenever she wanted, now there was this gaping hole in her heart, in her life and she hadn't the faintest idea how she was ever going to fill it. She had felt the eyes boring into her all day, heard the whispers about how it was her own fault, she knew they were probably right, she was hardly a ray of sunshine after all but she had loved Beck, she still loved Beck with every ounce of her being but obviously that wasn't enough for him. The bell to signal the end of the school day arrived just in time to save her from an embarrassing melt down. Jade grabbed her bag and was first out of the door. She dived into her car and sped off as the now all too familiar rivers of tears rolled down her cheeks again, stinging the already sensitive skin as they went.
Tori had planned to try and speak to Jade before they left school but as the bell had gone Jade had left before Tori had even packed her books away. By the time she and Andre had headed to the car park Jade was long gone. As she glanced towards the empty space Jade's car usually occupied, Andre followed her gaze, "For what it's worth, I do surprisingly feel sorry for her too." This admission shocked Tori significantly but she was pleased he'd given her an opening to talk about it, "It's just so strange seeing her like that, she's always so, well, you know, Jade." Andre nodded, "I feel kinda bad, like what I said the other night caused this, I wanted them to stop arguing, not split up!" Tori climbed in the car looked Andre straight in the eye and tried to reassure him, "I think Beck was heading down that road anyway to be honest, it's not your fault Andre, nobody forced him to not follow her, well, at least after Trina was removed from his legs!" Andre shrugged and turned the key in the ignition. As the stereo kicked in Tori leaned back in her seat, gazed out of the window and tried to think of a way to reach out to Jade.
Jade pulled onto her driveway, her Mom wouldn't be back for a couple of hours yet and her brother would still be at his care club until then. She wondered if her Mom would actually bother to come and speak to her tonight, this would be the first time in over a year that she'd been home two nights in a row, surely she would notice that. Her relationship, if you could even call it that, with her Mom was beyond strained. Jade had known for years now that her Mom disliked her immensely, mostly because she voiced it, often. Everything she did was a disappointment, even in her earliest years. Her Mom had wanted a sweet little beauty pageant Barbie doll but of course Jade had been more like an over-inquisitive, tomboy version of snow white. Her Dad had been too focused on his career to really pay any attention to who she was or what she did but he had at least been slightly impressed by Jade's intelligence, had stated she got that from him, then her passion for the arts had taken hold and his disapproval and disinterest in her had deepened. He hadn't lived with them for the past eight years so it was easy for him to ignore her, out of sight, out of mind as they say. Beck was the only person who'd ever truly understood her, accepted her exactly as she was, well at least she had thought he had. Maybe there was just something fundamentally wrong with her. She wiped her face with her sleeve and went inside.
Tori's evening was filled with her family and a visit from Robbie and Cat. After they had headed home she sat on the sofa just staring at her phone, trying to think of how to word a text to Jade that wouldn't be misunderstood as patronising or false. She felt the sofa sink slightly next to her, she glanced to the side and saw her Mom's kindly face looking at her questioningly, "What's bothering you?" Tori sighed and leaned against her Mom's shoulder, "You know Beck finished with Jade the other night, well she just looks so lost and I want to let her know that I'm here for her if she needs me but I don't know how to, Jade's kind of complicated, you see." Her Mom crinkled her nose in the same way Tori did when she was thinking, it always made Tori smile. She loved the little things that made them so similar. "Find something you have in common with Jade, there must be something you could offer to do with her or somewhere you could go maybe?" Tori nodded and grinned slightly, music, that was what they had in common, not in quite the way her Mom had in mind but it could still work. "Thanks Mom" and with that Tori shot off upstairs to prepare.
Jade had grabbed a sandwich and a coffee, gone to her room and spent the entirety of the evening there. She had half-heartedly done her homework, then put her music on, looked through her vast collection of photographs of her and Beck and wept relentlessly. She hated herself for not being able to just get over this and move on but Beck was her life, he was her best friend, her lover, her safety net, he completed her. She genuinely had no-one else. He'd been there for such a long time now; she had never even considered that there might be a time when he wouldn't be. She was completely lost. She considered phoning Cat but on reflection she really didn't think Cat would be able to deal with her in this state. She could hear her Mom talking on the phone downstairs, why couldn't she be the kind of Mom to come and sit with her, hug her, make hot chocolate and cookies and tell her everything was going to be alright. It was this thought more than any other that made Jade acutely aware of just how vulnerable she was right now and that scared her, she could feel herself unravelling and had no clue how to stop it. The hours slipped away and she heard her brother go to bed, followed a short while later by her Mom and even though she had to walk past Jade's room to go to bed, she didn't acknowledge her presence in the house. Jade curled up on her bed, she didn't even bother getting undressed, just laid there listening to her music, lost in the painful memories until she fell into a restless sleep.
Tori awoke with a renewed sense of positivity, she had at least got a plan of action where Jade was concerned now. She couldn't be totally sure that it would work but it had to be better than just sitting around watching her struggle and at least then she could say to herself that she'd tried. She got ready quickly and bounded downstairs to chat to her Mom before she left for school.
Jade was awake long before her alarm went off, she'd spent so long in the shower her skin had wrinkled but it had helped to somewhat clear the fuzziness in her head from the recent lack of sleep. She got ready slowly, she knew today would be much the same as yesterday and she wasn't looking forward to the repeat performance. At least Beck wouldn't be in the first lesson, one small mercy. She grabbed her bag and headed downstairs, her brother, Aiden, was just coming out of the lounge as she passed, "How come you're here?" he asked her, looking genuinely puzzled. "I live here," she replied without her usual sarcastic tone, this left Aiden looking even more confused. "I'll see you tonight, maybe," she said with a kind of half smile. She'd never hated her brother, after all, it wasn't his fault their Mom favoured him and he only got slightly better treatment from their father, she just barely saw him anymore. He irritated her, granted and she'd done her fair share of winding him up for own amusement but that was nothing every other set of siblings she knew didn't do. As she headed out of the front door, she tried to recall when they had last spent any time together, it must have been last year, just after she got him to do her audition piece with her for Helen, her Mum had been going out and as she and Beck had been there and the babysitter had cancelled just before she was due to leave, she had informed Jade she would have to watch him instead. To Jade's complete surprise, they had actually had a fun night together playing various computer games, with Aiden usually slaughtering Beck but losing to Jade. Beck was just so good with kids, he had this easy way with them and Jade had often thought over the years they'd been together that one day he would make a brilliant father, very different to her own; she let out a slow sad sigh as she climbed into her car. She knew she was leaving too early but she needed coffee and she felt far more at home at the local Starbucks than she did at her own house.
As soon as Tori walked through the school entrance she started scanning the corridor for Jade. Thirty seconds with her was all she needed but Jade wasn't there yet. She went over to her locker and started sorting out what she needed for the first lesson, glancing over her shoulder every now and then to see if Jade had arrived. By the time she was organised she had been joined by Beck and Robbie, she would have to wait until lunchtime to catch Jade now.
Jade had deliberately timed it so she would arrive in school minutes before class started. She just couldn't take being the circus freak this morning, everyone staring and whispering. As she walked through the main doors she could see Beck, Robbie, Tori, Cat and Andre heading off to class and she felt the knife that had been embedded in her chest since Monday twist. She hadn't just lost Beck but her whole social circle and much as she loathed admitting it, she missed them, especially Andre and surprisingly Tori too. Her gaze dropped to the floor, she took a deep breath in and then followed the sea of students into class.
Lunch time arrived and as the group filed out of the classroom to make their way to the Asphalt Café Tori grabbed Andre's arm, "I'll be there in a minute, grab me a burrito please." Andre nodded, "Okay." Tori turned to look for Jade but yet again she'd vanished. The Janitor's closet she thought, she opened the door and peeped in but it was uninhabited. Where could she be? She wandered the corridors for a moment, still no sign of Jade but as she passed the main entrance she glanced down towards the car park and spotted the empty bay which had earlier housed Jade's car. Wow, Jade was obviously struggling far more than she'd imagined if she couldn't even stay in school during the lunch hour. Tori wandered to the Café to meet with the others, she would just have to make sure she got out of class before Jade this afternoon.
As the final bell rang out Jade did her leaving at the speed of light trick again so she was more than a little surprised to find Tori standing by her car when she got out there. She wasn't quite sure what to say, so was relieved when Tori spoke first, "Don't say anything, just take this and listen to it when you get a minute, ok?" Jade took the cd Tori was holding out towards her. Her brow furrowed in confusion but she still nodded in agreement, "Okay." Tori smiled and walked away leaving Jade to just stand there bemused for a second staring at the cd in her hand. The deafening sound of mass chatter which always accompanied home time pulled Jade from her thoughts. She placed the cd in her bag, climbed into the car and set off for home.
Tori was more than a little pleased with herself for managing to beat Jade out of school. She just prayed that she would be curious enough to listen to the song. Jade was far from stupid, that much Tori did know, she would understand what she was trying to say to her. Whether she chose to respond to it was another story and one which she had no control over. She spotted Trina annoying some poor senior guy over by the benches near the front entrance, she decided to go and rescue him so she could go home. She really needed to retake her test soon; she was so fed up of relying on other people for lifts.
Jade arrived back to an empty house, as usual. She grabbed a coffee and wandered into the living room. The walls were filled with expensive works of art and the mantel piece held a few beautifully framed photographs, mostly of her brother. She picked up the one that did contain an image of her, she was about eight and Aiden would have been around three. He was sat on her knee and she had her arms wrapped around him. They had the same dark hair, pale skin and big green and grey eyes but that was where the similarities ended. She smiled slightly, he had been kind of cute back then, used to call her "My Jadey." That was before her Mom's poisonous hatred of her had gotten in the way of their relationship. Jade put the photograph down and wandered back into the kitchen. She refilled her coffee cup, picked up her bag and slowly climbed the stairs to her room. Once in there, she sat heavily on the edge of her bed and glanced at the photograph of her and Beck that sat on her bedside cabinet. She knew she should move it; it was like pouring salt on the still very open wound every time she looked at it but she just wasn't ready yet. She went to switch her stereo on when she remembered the cd Tori had given her earlier. She fished it out of her bag and gazed at it, it was just a plain silver disc with nothing written on it. She placed it into the cd player and pushed the play button. A familiar tune started to filter out, she knew this song. "When you feel all alone and the world has turned its back on you, give me a moment please to tame your wild, wild heart. I know you feel like the walls are closing in on you, it's hard to find relief and people can be so cold. When darkness is upon your door and you feel like you can't take anymore, let me be the one you call. If you jump I'll break your fall,
lift you up and fly away with you into the night. If you need to fall apart I can mend a broken heart. If you need to crash then crash and burn, you're not alone." Jade listened intently to the lyrics, she already knew them but she still listened like it was the first time she'd ever heard those words. "When you feel all alone and a loyal friend is hard to find, you're caught in a one way street, with the monsters in your head. When hopes and dreams are far away and you feel like you can't face the day, let me be the one you call. If you jump I'll break your fall, lift you up and fly away with you into the night. If you need to fall apart I can mend a broken heart. If you need to crash then crash and burn, you're not alone." She didn't need to hear anymore, she grabbed her car keys and ran down the stairs, the sound of the song still playing in her room getting fainter as she went. She needed this, she needed someone, anyone and if Tori was offering to be that someone then she wasn't stupid enough to turn it down. She dived in her car and drove to Tori's barely registering the journey.
A.N/ Song quoted is Savage Garden ~ Crash and Burn.
Hope you've enjoyed and thanks for reading this. Chapter 2 has gone straight up too.