AN: Thank you all for reviewing and favoriting this story, it's my first fanfic so I'm really appreciating this. I don't have everything planned yet, but I'm quite sure it's going to be a long piece. I'll try to update regularly, but now I'm leaving for holidays so no more chapters for next few weeks, sorry.


"I have to give it to you: you're officially my hero from now on." Andre suddenly appeared by her side and patted her on the back. "For a second I really thought you would be ripped into pieces. Even without scissors. She truly may have a soft spot for you, considering she didn't kill you with her rejection. Just almost scared to death" he giggled.

"Andre…" Tori tried to interrupt him, but her voice was so weak from emotional rollercoaster she had put herself through just a moment ago that he probably didn't even hear her.

"Now, when this nonsense is over we should celebrate tonight." He put his arm around hers and began dragging her towards their next class. Hallway was nearly hollow by now and she still didn't move from a spot against the locker. Few minutes longer and they would be late because of her stupor. "We're gonna get Cat and Robbie and have as much fun on Full Moon Jam as possible. It's not like every day you get a chance to survive confrontation with a psycho. And you can use this occasion to tell people about your near death experience." He rose his brows, looking a little thoughtful for a second. "Talking about rejection kinda sucks, but don't worry. You're still epic for going with this plan."

"Andre, wait a second…" she attempted to catch his attention, but young musician only sighed after hearing her serious tone.

"No, Tori I know what you're about to say" his voice became firm too. "You did enough. We're not interfering more. I still think we shouldn't even do it in a first place. Whatever's gonna happen next will be between Jade, Beck and maybe Meredith."

"But, listen to me…"

"Did you see how cross Jade was? I definitely saw, even from across a hallway. I was serious before. I don't wanna lose my best friend and I'm quite sure you're about to run out of luck if you push it."

"SHE SAID YES!"

Andre stopped suddenly in mid-step. He was still holding Tori's arm making her trip in a result. If he had been a cartoon character his jaw would have definitively hit a floor and his eyes would have fallen over.

"WHAT?!"

Few startled kids sent him funny glances, but luckily nobody stopped to watch their crazy conversation. Everybody was hurrying to classes.

"And that's what I said" Tori answered him with false nonchalance, still slightly irritated for his not listening to her.

"She. Agreed. To. Go. Out. With. You." This news had shaken him even more then her. "Like in: Jade West is going on a date with… you?" He emphasized last word while looking at her like she just admitted being an alien.

"Can you stop making it sound like there is something wrong with me?" she finally freed her arm from his tight grip and hurried him up with a gesture to start moving again. They were completely alone in a hallway and undoubtedly late.

"But there is something dangerously wrong with this whole situation!" young musician tried to shout and whisper at the same time while following his best friend. "Did she tell you why she agreed?"

"No, but I didn't exactly tell her why I asked." Tori visibly winced. "This conversation was just so weird."

"Maybe, but at least you survived so it was good enough. Learn to respect miracles finally." He speeded up a little, got past her and began walking backward while looking at her with worry in his eyes. "There's no way she said yes because she just wants to spend time with you. You've realized that she probably has ulterior motives, right?"

"Yeah, I'm not stupid." She fixated him with a weary glare. "I know it may be a trick to humiliate me in public or even drive somewhere and murder secretly." Her memory helpfully remained her of that one time when Jade had tried to "drive her to school". Through the deserted middle of nowhere with a shovel in the backseat.

Before Andre had time to reply with something even more pessimistic they made it to classroom and he walked right into the door with a loud thump. Tori chuckled silently, finally relaxing a little. Unfortunately her new gained good mood lasted only few second.

When they got inside, her eyes instantly landed on a well-know dark locks and blue eyes. How could she forget that Jade had math with them? The Goth watched them with a pleased smile, when they apologized for being late and clumsily got to their desks. Tori tripped twice, suddenly feeling nervous under her sight. She was torn between avoiding Jade's gaze and wanting to look at the frightening girl to check her reactions. Finally this dilemma was resolved by their seating arrangement. Tori and Andre sat at the front of the class with their backs toward Jade. They couldn't just stare at her, but the other way around Jade, who sat at the far end of the classroom, had no trouble with observing their conversation.

"What am I supposed to do now?" Tori whispered to her best friend miserably. "What kind of date someone like Jade would even like?"

"Wait a second, are you serious? Have you already forgotten what we talked about in the corridor? Are you really gonna do this?" Disbelief was clear in his voice.

The brunette sighed deeply. She was completely taken aback by the turn of events and willing to admit that Andre could be right with all his suspicions, but this didn't change a thing. All of this craziness wasn't only about helping Beck. Tori decided to really show people that there is something kind and human in Jade and she wasn't going to give up on that. Unfortunately it meant that firstly she had to believe in it and trust Jade to not turn this date into a torture.

"I can't just back out now, Andre. I would never do this to anyone. Especially Jade." She stated definitely. "Not to mention that she would kill me for standing her up. I've spent so much time trying to become her friend and now I accidently get a chance to know her better. I just don't want to mess it all up." Her voice became softer, when against herself she stole a glance at the Goth.

She wasn't surprised to see her staring at them with a little smirk and unreadable expression. She could basically fell Jade's gaze at her back the whole time. It definitively didn't help her nerves. At this rate Jade wouldn't even have to kill her on their date, she might just give her a heart attack before.

"Where can I possibly take her? She kinda hates everything." Another sigh escaped her lips when she once again turned to Andre. The boy was still watching her with serious expression, but finally he loosened up a bit.

"A cemetery?" He chuckled quietly. "I bet it's like a home for her."

"Alright, I get it. I volunteered to be murdered. But it doesn't mean I have to make it so easy for her to hide a body" She sent him a disapproving glare but couldn't contain her laughter.

"Right, you probably should go for something as public as possible…"

He tried to add something more but their quiet laughter finally alarmed the teacher of their complete lack of attention. Luckily old Mr. Jensen was a great guy, that hated punishing his student. He just reprimanded them and went on with his lesson. Either way, Tori didn't want to irritate him even more today so she fixed her gaze on the formula Mr. Jensen was writing at the moment.

Despite her effort of looking at the teacher, she had already completely given up on paying attention to anything he was saying. Her thoughts was constantly wandering back to Jade. Maybe something typical would work out? Like cinema or restaurant? But on the other hand there was absolutely nothing typical about Jade West, so it just didn't mix up. And one thing was certain: Nozu was out of question. One awkward "date" there was enough for a lifetime.

"She keeps staring at us." After some time Andre whispered again leaning a little in her direction.

"I know." She replied tiredly. All of this thinking and worrying had already given her a headache. And she didn't need to ask who he'd meant by "she". She could feel the staring too. Another factor to her headache.

"It's totally creepy..."

"I know…"

"You're so dead."

"And you're really not helping!"


"You nearly drilled a hole in my head with all the staring during math."

Maybe Andre was right the whole time. Maybe she really had subconscious suicidal thoughts. But she was so tired with all the overthinking and stressing she'd already done. With a clench stomach and Andre's disapproving gaze on her back she caught up with Jade just after the last bell. She was planning to find out a little more information about what the Goth was expecting from their date and if all of this wasn't just some kind of a joke for her.

"It was amusing watching you squirm all the time." Jade stopped in her track and sent Tori a devious smile. "Especially knowing I was the reason." She didn't wait for a reply, walking down the hallway.

"Jade…" With a sign and total mess in her head Tori quickly followed her. She was used to Jade sarcastic remark and making fun of her, but that comment successfully made her embarrassed a little. Or maybe it wasn't a comment but that knowing smirk? One thing was sure: Jade was very much aware of her nervousness.

"What now, Vega?" the Goth didn't slow down, but a least gave her a sidelong glance acknowledging her presence. "I agreed to go out with you not to be stalk by you."

"I'm not a stalker" Tori quickly protested, but she was relieved to hear Jade repeating her approval. She could be sure now that she didn't just dream it all up.

"So what are you doing at my locker?" Jade stopped abruptly and began browsing through her books. Tori waited patiently until the Goth tossed few of them into her locker, closed it and finally looked at her expectantly.

"I just want to talk with you." Tori admitted shyly. She'd never been so intimated by Jade before, never had so much trouble with talking to her, but now everything felt different somehow. Maybe it all was just in her head, but their frenemy's atmosphere seemed to has changed suddenly.

"And I've told you already that I don't have time for you today at all. I have to find Sinjin and…" She sighed deeply, clearly irritated but surprisingly not angry. "Whatever… You know what? You can tag along and help if you're so willing. I don't get it, but half of school seems to be madly in love with you. Maybe those idiots will stop fucking everything up if you watch them work…"


Jade was true to her words. Just as they'd gotten to stage she'd made Tori work just like she was a part of the preparation team. It wasn't exactly what the brunette had had in mind when she'd approached her after classes. They didn't really have time to talk expect for one moment when Tori was trying to stop Jade from strangling Sinjin for the third time and then she nearly choked him herself when he began making comments about kissing his savior. Actually most of her work included stopping other guys from shaking in terror after Jade'd shouted at them, but she kinda enjoyed herself.

She and Jade were a really effective team. It wasn't anything new, but it was easy to forget, because sadly they usually worked against, not with each other. Tori couldn't stop herself from appreciating Jade's knowledge and control of situation. If she hadn't been paralyzing everyone with a single glare, she would have been a perfect leader.

The preparation was nearly over, when Tori finished talking to the band and helping them to plug all the instruments and began looking for Jade. She spotted her at the side of the stage with black notebook in her hand. The Goth didn't notice her, looking lost in thoughts. She left her notebook open on the closest speaker and went to the microphone.

Tori approached her carefully stopping by the abounded notebook. The curiosity got the better of her when she stole one glance at the open page. She didn't dare reading anything but she was quite sure it was a song.

"Is it your song for tonight?" She pointed at the notebook, but kept her eyes on Jade watching her closely. "Can I?" Her voice was soft and careful even despite her curiosity. Jade was always pretty confident with her work, but she definitely wasn't the one to share something private with anyone else.

The Goth only sent her a sidelong glance while concentrating all her attention at the microphone, so Tori took this for a "yes". She read the whole thing trice completely taken aback. She was anticipating something more… drastic and macabre. With blood and dead people. But 'You don't know me' was as close to love song as someone like Jade could possibly get. And that's kind of complicated a few things.

What if there actually was someone special on Jade's mind? What worse: what if this someone was Beck? Jade never showed any interest in anyone else so maybe she just wanted her ex-boyfriend back. That would explain her extreme jealously when Tori and Beck had gotten a little closer.

In that case Tori just really messed everything up. Maybe she should help them to make up instead of moving on. Damned all the consequences, she had to know!

"Wow Jade. It's pretty impressive song. Did you write it for someone special?"

Without a warning, the Goth stormed towards her with a murderous look on her face.

"Do I look to you like some soppy romantic idiot who writes disgusting love songs?" She growled while snapping the notebook out of her hands.

"Umm, no… but…" The second time that day Tori was left nearly speechless by Jade's fury.

"But?" The challenge and the warning was clear in Goth's eyes, but the brunette wasn't going to back down.

"But…" She coughed a little to restore her voice and get rid of the lump in her throat. "This is quite a romantic song and you wrote it so...?"

She didn't anticipate an honest replay, actually she prepared herself for a physical violence, but to her surprise nothing drastic happened. Jade just squeezed her notebook tight and turned away from Tori.

"People like those stuff…" she murmured indifferently, before going back to the microphone.

Tori didn't believe it for a second - it was Jade West, the last thing she cared about was other people likings – but she let her get away with this. The brunette didn't even expect her to let her read the song in the first place, so she definitely wasn't about to push.

She watched Jade for a few seconds repeating in mind every word she remembered from her song. It reassured all of her anxieties a little. She had been right, there had to be something more to Jade than viciousness, horror and scissors. The Goth basically said so herself in that song. A small, subconscious smile appeared on Tori's lips.

"That crap's randomly turning off every few minutes." Jade interrupted her train of thoughts waving angrily the microphone in the air. "Where are those idiots who were supposed to take care of that?"

"Probably in the bathroom." Tori replayed with a barely contained giggle although she was truly sorry for them. "You made them piss their pants half an hour ago."

"Good. They deserve it" With a frown on her face she tried to use a microphone one more time, but when it didn't even turn on, she finally gave up. "We have to get a different one."

"There should be some in music's classroom." Tori joined her when they left Asphalt Café and headed to school. She tried to start a conversation by telling Jade that the band was ready and everything was finished with that, but the Goth only rolled her eyes at her with annoyance. She was silent until they got at their destination.

"So what do you think about it?" She asked suddenly with a crossed arms and stone face, while Tori was trying to find a working microphone. The question was completely out of nowhere, so the brunette wasn't even sure what it was about.

"I think they're gonna work just fine." She shrugged looking at the equipment.

"I mean the song, Vega!" Low growl brought all her attention towards Jade. "Do you like it?" The girl was looking at her expectantly. Her whole posture's screaming 'defensive'.

"Of course. It's beautiful" Tori answered without a second thought. "And it's so… you." She added softly.

Jade relaxed a little, but still didn't uncross her arms or lower her gaze.

"So me?" She raised a brow. "You mean frightening? It doesn't sound like a compliment."

"No! I mean… perfect. I can feel you in that song, it's making it true."

Atmosphere changed drastically. They fell into heavy silence, looking at each other. Jade with another unreadable expression and Tori suddenly too nervous to continue with her praises. They spent few long moments in that position until the sound of locking door broke their stupors. They exchanged surprised glances.

"Jade! Tori! Good to see you!" Sikowitz's subdued voice reached them through the closed door.

"Sikowitz! Why the hell did you lock us up?!" Jade instantly became angry storming towards the source of his voice.

"I still can't believe he's a teacher." Tori murmured more calmly staying far away from Jade's track.

"I have a news for you, Jade" Even through the door they could hear him gulp. "Bad news…"

This had to be really bad news if Sikowitz didn't even dare to stand before Jade. Which meant that Tori was definitively on the wrong side of that door.

"Sikowitz, wait! Let me out first!" She tried to come closer, but Jade completely blocked her way by grabbing the handle.

"What bad news?!" She shouted and squeezed the handle harder.

"There are small complication with your performance…"

"What complication?!"

"It turned out that we will have a special guest t-t-tonight." His voice began to shake when Jade cursed at that. "Y-y-your performance was postponed for later."

"Sikowitz! You're kidding me, right? Later how?" It was just a miracle that the handle didn't explode at that point.

"Umm… Two months later?"

"WHAT?!" She kicked the door hard, but it luckily didn't break.

"They will be playing the whole evening this time and in the next Full Moon Jam music's class will present their songs for grades. It leaves you free spot after two months." He explained quickly, but it didn't stop Jade from releasing her fury at the door.

"Sikowitz!" She hit a wooden surface few times with her palms.

"Umm.. yeah, I gotta go. Have fun tonight!" And with that, they heard his hurried footsteps down the corridor.

After few minutes Jade finally stopped fighting but she was still looking like she was about to breathe fire, so Tori didn't even dare to breathe too loudly. She waited until the Goth composed herself enough to not murder a casual witness.

"That fucker left us here locked up!" Jade crossed her arms once again.

"I'm really sorry about your performance." Tori took a cautious step in her direction, feeling truly bad for the girl.

"Great to hear it from a girl who always gets what she wants. It's not like they care here about anybody else." Jade fixated her with a ruthless glare.

"It's not true. There is at least one person that cares: me. It's such a shame they change plans. I couldn't wait to hear your song." She disagreed honestly.

Jade didn't reply to that, but she relaxed visibly, looking now more irritated than angry. Tori kept smiling at her softly when suddenly an idea struck her.

"But that means you're free tonight." She said spontaneously without even thinking it over. "We can go to Full Moon Jam together." It was public, it was something they both liked and it wasn't very serious. Just perfect.

"I was supposed to perform tonight and instead I'm gonna get a date with you?" Jade laughed sarcastically.

"Hey, you've already agreed to go out with me, so why not?" The brunette perfectly understood her unwillingness, but she wasn't ready to give up such an opportunity.

"Uh… Yes, I guess" Jade sighed with resignation. "This evening is already completely terrible, even you can't make it worse."

"Cool! Great! Tonight's gonna be so much fun, I promise." Tori stated enthusiastically bouncing from one foot to another. She was really pleased with the turns of events. Like REALLY pleased.

"Stop being so happy all the time. It's disturbing and irritating." She received a firm glare that cooled her a little, but couldn't destroy her optimism.

"Only if you stop being so angry." She challenged without hesitation.

"Whatever…" Jade just rolled her eyes at her. "First things first" She pointed at the door with her head. "Can you maybe by any chance pick up locks?"