Pretending to Fake True Love

Chapter Two: The Talk

February 12, 2017 - Six Weeks Pregnant

Tori couldn't help running an anxious hand through her hair as she sat alone with the man who thought that she got his little girl pregnant. Something told her that this talk wasn't going to be all sunshine and smiles.

Mr. West took a seat directly across from Tori and fixed her with a cool stare. He'd had a few minutes to collect himself when his wife was still talking to the girls about the…pregnancy, and he'd settled on a few concerns that needed answering. He needed to be sure that this girl was serious about his daughter, unlike that fluffy-haired moron that she'd been dating before.

"Tori, I'm going to ask you a few questions, and I would appreciate it if you would be completely honest in your answers," he said candidly, maintaining strict eye contact with the girl.

"Of course, sir," she agreed, feeling only the slightest pinch of guilt that she was already deceiving the man by pretending that she was the "father" of Jade's child. But she couldn't really bring herself to regret it – this is what Jade needed.

"How long have you been sleeping with my daughter?" Mr. West asked tersely.

Tori gulped at the look in the man's eyes and had to scramble for the answer that Jade had given her mother. "Seven weeks, sir," she said slowly, forcing herself to hold his gaze. She was no pushover but Jade's father's glare could probably make even a fucking tiger cower like a scared kitten.

Zachary took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself. "And was that Jade's decision, or was it yours?" he asked icily, laying it on thick and watching for the teen's reaction. If he didn't like what he saw in her eyes then she wouldn't have to worry about having any more kids…

Tori's eyes narrowed at the accusation. "It was a mutual decision, Mr. West. I would never hurt Jade or any woman like that," she said harshly, almost flinching at the very thought of anyone violating the spirited goth that way.

His eyes widened. He hadn't expected that strong of a reaction, but it was extremely reassuring. He could see the truth in her eyes and he knew that he could count on this girl to protect his daughter. "I'm glad to hear that," he said slowly. "But regardless of the circumstances that led to my grandchild's conception, that baby exists now and it's your responsibility to help Jade through this situation," he said seriously, laying aside the intimidation tactics to get to the core of what he wanted to talk to the teenager about.

"I understand that, sir, and I'm willing to do whatever is necessary to make this process as easy as possible for Jade." That was the whole reason she was doing this, after all…

"There are a few things that I need to know and that you should be thinking about now that my daughter's going to have a baby. First of all, I'd like to know how you intend to support my daughter and my grandchild. I hope you don't intend to force Jade to rely upon Jaina and I for her sole source of monetary support," he said with disapproval in his voice. That wasn't to say that he was at all unwilling to provide that support, but rather he was unwilling to see his daughter and his grandchild stuck with a lazy bum for a partner and a parent.

Tori was only slightly surprised by the shift in the man's tone. Just moments ago, he was almost on the verge of flying into a rage, and now he was discussing the situation with her calmly, if a bit condescendingly. Of course, he was perfectly within his rights to assume that she was just some no-good teenager that was going to drag his daughter down. She could only hope that she would be able to change his mind. "Well, for the time being, I can rely upon the money that my grandfather left me…" She went on to explain, as she had to Jaina and Jade, about her family's monetary situation.

Zachary was relieved to hear about the state of Tori's financial affairs and even more reassured to hear about how maturely she had handled her family situation in the face of her parents' lack of care for her. Despite his sympathy for her situation, he still wanted to test Tori's mettle a bit. "So, you intend not to work then? You plan to live solely on inherited money for the rest of your life?" His tone was skeptical and he raised an eyebrow at her.

Tori's eyes widened and she shook her head. "No, sir, not at all. I intend to become a singer, and I've already made some plans to get me started. After I graduate high school, I'll begin working on my first album. I've already signed a deal with Inspire Records for a full album," she said truthfully. "I've also been offered a small part in the next episode of the Star Wars saga, which begins production next year. The role doesn't pay much and I don't get much screen time, but it should help me to get my name out there."

"Well, it seems that you've considered your future," Mr. West commented, admittedly impressed by her ambition and the fact that she had already signed a record deal. Seeing as he and his wife were both talent agents, he knew that even spectacularly talented people could go years without being recognized as such by the industry and getting that kind of opportunity. "Now, what about your future with my daughter? You and Jade have only been dating for a short time, but obviously the two of you moved quickly for her to be pregnant before Jaina or I even knew you existed."

Tori grimaced. "It's true, we did move quickly, perhaps too quickly," she admitted, squaring her shoulders and looking Mr. West in the eye. "We really should have waited, but I want you to know that I do care very much for Jade. As far as the future goes, I hope that Jade and I can be a family with our child. But even if things don't work out between us, I will always be there for her and for our baby. I won't abandon them, Mr. West, no matter what," she pledged strongly. As far as she was concerned, this was her child now, and she wasn't ever going to turn her back on Jade or the baby.

Zachary watched Tori carefully for any sign of deceit or insincerity, but what he found put him even more at ease. This young woman clearly cared a great deal about his daughter and intended to do right by her and by his grandchild, and he found that he respected her sense of responsibility. In fact, he was beginning to find that he already liked her a hell of a lot better than that damn Canadian boy.

He sighed. He wanted to keep up the interrogation, but he found that the tan teenager was already growing on him and he wanted to check on his daughter. "I suppose that's really all I need to hear for now. Just know," he began seriously, "if you ever hurt my daughter or my grandchild, there will be nowhere on this earth for you to hide where I won't find you."

Tori shivered at the implied threat. "I completely understand, sir," she said soberly. It was now crystal clear where Jade learned her intimidation tactics.

Zachary nodded, letting a small smile show on his face. "Now, would you like some breakfast?" he asked, standing and walking toward the kitchen.

"I'd love some, thank you." Tori looked up as they entered the kitchen and her eyes immediately went to Jade, whose chin was resting on her folded arms where she sat at the island. With her eyes closed, she seemed even paler than usual. She crossed the room to stand beside her. "How are you feeling?" she murmured, automatically reaching to rest a hand on her shoulder.

Jade looked up at the question and gave a half-smile at the comforting touch. "I'm fine, just a little tired," she murmured back, watching Tori as she sat in the seat next to her.

She found it hard to believe how much had changed in the course of the last twenty-four hours. Just yesterday, she'd been a regular teenage girl with her whole life ahead of her, and Tori had been the All-American girl in her group of friends that she thought had the perfect life. Now, Jade had realized she was pregnant and she was going to have to put in a lot of effort to keep her future on track, and she saw Tori for who she really was: a complicated person who was just trying her best to deal with the hand that life dealt her.

"Alright, everyone to the table. Breakfast is ready," Jaina interrupted the quiet moment, her arms laden with plates of food. "I hope you like scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon, Tori," she said as she began setting everything down on the table.

Tori grinned widely upon seeing the homemade food. "Everything looks delicious, Mrs. West," she complimented as she took her seat next to Jade on one side of the table.

"Ah, ah, ah. I insist, it's just Jaina," Mrs. West corrected her, though she had to smile at the sheepish look Tori gave her upon hearing the reminder.

"Well, let's dig in," Mr. West said eagerly. After the morning he'd had, he was more than ready to just eat his breakfast and try to get on with the day.

Fortunately for him, everyone else seemed to be of the same mind and there was little more than polite chatter throughout breakfast. After all of the food had been consumed, Mrs. West intended to take up the dirty dishes, but Tori beat her to it.

"I'll take care of these for you," she offered. "That was a wonderful meal. The least I can do is clean up," Tori continued. Honestly, it had been such a long time since anyone had cooked for her that she didn't mind cleaning up in the least.

Jaina blinked in surprise. "That's very nice of you, Tori, thank you." She turned to look at her daughter. "Your father and I have to go out now. We have our conference today, so we won't be back until late this evening," she informed her.

Jade nodded in acknowledgment. "Okay." She hesitated. "Is it alright if Tori stays for a while so that we can talk?" she asked carefully. She wasn't sure how her father might react to her request. Though when he'd come in from his talk with the Latina he hadn't looked on the verge of exploding, so she supposed things had gone alright.

Mr. West grimaced but then exchanged a glance with his wife. "Well, it isn't like you can get anymore pregnant than you are now," he mused but then gave his girl a soft smile. "That's fine, I'm sure that the two of you have a lot to talk about."

"Actually, Tori, I'd feel better if you would stay until Jade's father and I return this evening. Would you mind staying with her?" Jaina asked, hiding a small grin at the surprise in the teenager's eyes. You'd never suspect from her facial expression but her eyes gave her away. She supposed that it must seem odd for her to be so friendly to the person who got her daughter pregnant, but there was nothing to suggest that the decision to have sex hadn't been a mutual one, so Jade was just as responsible as Tori. Besides, the small glimpses that she'd had since the two arrived at the house that morning had shown her that Tori obviously cared deeply for her daughter.

"Of course, I'd be happy to stay until you and Mr. West return from your conference," Tori agreed respectfully. Honestly, she'd been hoping for a chance like this. If they were going to make this work, she and Jade needed to talk about how to proceed.

"Thank you, Tori. Alright, we're going to head out now. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call," Jaina instructed as she moved around the table to place a loving kiss on top of her daughter's head.

"I'll be fine, Mom," Jade said. Her amusement was clear in her voice. She should have guessed that her mother would be a bit overprotective when she found out that she was pregnant, but she couldn't complain when her most irrational fear about telling them was that they would just stop caring about her because she was irresponsible enough to get herself in this situation. Granted, their reaction may have been slightly angrier if they knew that it was actually Beck's baby…but thanks to Tori and her unique anatomy, that was now irrelevant.

"We'd best get going if we want to get there on time," Zachary said as he quickly hugged his daughter and began guiding his wife out of the room. "There's money for pizza in the usual spot, if you wanted to order takeout for dinner later," he instructed.

"Sounds good. Bye, Dad." Jade grinned as she watched her father tug her mother out of the room.

"Bye, Jade," he called from just outside the room.

A moment later the sound of the front door shutting, followed by the sounds of a car starting and pulling away, reached the girls ears.

For a moment, Jade just watched Tori wash and dry the breakfast dishes. She honestly couldn't believe that Tori had been willing to go to such an extreme for her, but she was extremely grateful. Of course, she felt a bit guilty for deceiving her parents but this was necessary for the protection of her child.

Of course, now that they were alone, Jade's natural curiosity was beginning to spring up and she had some questions for her "girlfriend." "So…" she started, wondering where to begin as she moved to sit at the bar across the counter from the object of her concentration. "You have a penis?" Apparently, her mouth decided to ignore her mind, which was searching for a more tactful way to begin the conversation, and dive right in.

Tori let out a laugh. She always could count on Jade to speak her mind. She dried the last dish before turning around to face her. "Yes," she said with amusement in her voice, deciding to see where the other girl would go with that line of questioning.

Seeing that Tori wasn't upset by her question, she decided to press on. "How exactly does that work? I mean, if I wasn't pregnant already and we had sex, would you actually be capable of getting me pregnant?" Jade asked curiously.

Tori chuckled at the question. "Yes, I could get you or any other girl pregnant. Basically, my lower half works just the same as any man's does. The difference, of course, is that you'd never know I wasn't a normal girl from looking at me while I'm dressed – unless I wear a pair of tight pants, that is," she added, leaning on the counter and watching the inscrutable expression on Jade's face.

"Huh. So, basically you always carry the world's best dildo with you," Jade mused with a straight face, before cracking a grin to show that she was joking and earning a small laugh for her efforts. "All joking aside, I think we do need to talk about what we're going to do about this whole situation," she said seriously, unconsciously placing her hand on her stomach. There wasn't even a small bulge yet – she'd actually lost five pounds from all the throwing up she'd been doing lately – but she knew it wouldn't be too long before she started to show.

Tori hummed in acknowledgment, her eyes drawn to glance at Jade's hand on her stomach. "I agree. Now that your parents think that I'm the one who got you pregnant, where do you want to go from here?" she asked, not letting anything show on her face just yet. She was committed to being a part of the baby's life, but she wanted to find out what Jade thought first.

Jade hesitated. Even though Tori had taken responsibility for getting her pregnant, would she really want to be a part of her and her child's life? "Well…" she hedged, unsure how to approach the question she wanted to ask. "I always dreamt of having a family of my own. You know, the stereotypical American-Dream type of thing: two parents living in the same house with the 2.5 children and a dog running around," she admitted slowly. "Seeing my parents' marriage when I was growing up just reinforced the idea in my head."

Upon hearing that, Tori let a small smile show on her face. "Do you think there's room for me in that family?" she asked nonchalantly, boldly reaching across the counter to hold one of Jade's hands in hers.

Jade's eyes widened when Tori held her hand, and she almost jumped when she started rubbing her thumb across the back of said hand. But then a smile crossed her lips at the question the other teen posed to her. Tori actually wanted to be a family with her and her baby?

It was then that something occurred to her. "Earlier, you told my parents that you've had a crush on me since we first met… Did you mean that?" she asked, surprise clear in her voice. With how she'd treated her for the majority of their friendship, she could hardly believe that Tori Vega could have feelings for her.

But now she had to wonder… Could it be true?

To Be Continued.

A/N: Hey, girls and guys! So, Tori's kind of on the spot – how do you think she'll respond? You'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out, of course, but drop me a review and let me know your thoughts! Speaking of reviews, thanks so much to everyone who reviewed the first chapter! It means a lot to hear from all of you! Now, as for future chapters, I am going to try to update at least once a month, but to help me reach that goal, the chapters are going to be shorter than the initial posting was. The first chapter was 6,000+ words, but for this and future chapters, I'm going to drop the word count to about 3,000+ so that I can get chapters out sooner for you to read. Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you'll review and let me know what you think!

-The Midnight Vale