Title: The Faint and the Faking, Part Two
Pairing: Jade/Tori
Rating: R
Length: 9, 150
Summary: A/U Tori is a child star who seeks out a semi-normal life at a prestigious boarding school, where she meets her new roommate, Jade.
"I don't understand these posters," Tori laments as she sits down with her tray. It was unusually warm October day, allowing them to sit out in the sun rather than the cafeteria. The poster in question was advertising for Halloween Dress-Up Day, but the pictures had Tori confused – photoshopped in were two students, a guy and girl both dressed in the standard school uniforms. At the bottom it reminded students to not forget their mints. "Why do I have to have mints?"
"Because that's what we do here," Jade states, stabbing at her salad with her fork. Cat and Beck aren't sitting with them, but with some of Beck's friends, curled into each other like they're trying to become one person.
"Yeah, Halloween is different here. We don't dress up, we get in uniform," Robbie informs her from across the table.
"But why the mints?"
André shrugs. "It seemed more considerate than candy."
Tori shakes her head in bemusement and sets the flyer down, picking at her french fries instead. She takes note of Jade's violent mood and reaches over to squeeze her knee. Jade freezes but keeps her eyes on her salad, not moving until Tori removes her hand.
After her last class, Jade leads her to the office to get her school appointed shoes after Tori is made aware that they are indeed included in the Halloween tradition. Jade continues on down the hall when they receive what they came for, turning mid-step to smirk and nod towards a stand set up selling mints for the next day.
"This school is truly fascinating," Tori laughs, but she stands in line nonetheless. They return to their dorm so Tori can lay out her clothes for the next day and pack her binder with mints. She glances over at Jade who is sitting at her desk and staring out the window, a pen spinning around her fingers. "So the Beck and Cat thing? Not getting any easier?"
"I'm being petty, huh?"
"I never said that," Tori sighs as she slips out of her stockings and skirt. She's getting more comfortable changing, but she still prefers to do it when Jade's back is turned. She's at least upgraded to wearing her glasses at night now, the headaches having become too much for her. "I think it sucks that you're in this position, you know."
"Yeah, yeah." Jade turns around unexpectedly and Tori nearly trips in her pajama bottoms. "So party on campus tomorrow night."
"So it'll be alcohol free?"
"Not likely." Tori laughs and sits down on her bed, looking down in her lap as Jade strips herself of her clothes. She always sits on the end of Tori's mattress when she has to slip on her sweatpants. "So have you found a sweetheart at school yet?"
"You'd know it if I had. I think Perez would manage to find out. That's why I have to be careful at these parties. Dad doesn't want to see me in any compromising pictures." Tori is undoing her shirt, taking a deep breath before she turns her attention to her bra. "But I guess we can't get in much trouble at a high school sponsored party."
Jade snorts and smacks away Tori's fumbling fingers, undoing her bra with a quick twist before she stands and walks towards the vanity, beginning her routine of ridding herself of her heavy make up. Tori blinks and blindly reaches for the shirt she laid out, tugging it on and tossing her bra in the small hamper near the end of her bed. Jade always pulls these weird close moments out of nowhere and Tori doesn't know what to make of them.
"Some of the acts that signed up to play are pretty alright," Jade starts, rubbing her eyes after she clears them of the eye shadow she had so systematically painted on that morning. "It'll be fun."
Tori nods noncommittally and tosses her binder onto the floor, suddenly feeling exhausted. Jade glances back and then turns around fully, facing Tori while she leans against the sink.
"Hold out your wrist." Tori does – her left one, which is promptly grabbed by jade and pulled until she stands. Jade leads Tori over to her bed, pushing her down to sit on it while she grabs her laptop. "Get comfortable. Movie time."
Tori lays on her side while Jade settles her computer on her lap for them to watch, circling through the choices on Netflix. The bed is a little larger than a twin, standard dorm size, but it leaves them little room. Tori finally has to settle on resting her hand on Jade's hip with nowhere else to put it.
"You're comfortable," she manages, attempting to ease her own awkwardness. She presses her nose to Jade's shoulder, hoping that it hides her face enough from the other girl.
"You're warm," Jade offers in return as she settles on Taxi Driver. "Don't let me fall asleep, I've never finished this movie." They settle in comfortably and don't say much through the movie, and by less than an hour in, she can hear Jade's evenly paced breathing, looking up to confirm that she had fallen asleep.
"Robert De Niro was hot," she mumbles as Tori reaches down to close the laptop and slide it carefully to the end of the bed. When she gets up to shift off the bed, Jade catches her and pulls her back down. "Stay here, ragdoll."
She trusts Jade, so much so that she's handing out mints the whole next day, mostly giving away ones that fans were giving to her. It is nice that everyone in the school seemed to have nice breath, but Tori kind of misses the double Halloween she used to celebrate for the camera and in real life. She misses The Monster Mash and tacky costumes. Even the party that the school holds is decorated like an old fashioned dance rather than black and orange streamers and balloons.
"This school's logic is beyond me," Tori mutters as they gather around the large punch bowl. "Is the punch spiked?"
"No. It's kind of an unspoken agreement to just spike your own otherwise the bands don't get to play." Jade taps her foot with impatience, her hair missing its signature streak and lips covered only in chapstick. She groans and looks over the heads of the crowd in front of them. "Wanna dance instead?"
Tori nods dumbly and allows Jade to lead them to the middle of the floor. The songs that are playing are from the forties, old classics that Tori barely remembered. Jade turns out to be a master at swing, spinning Tori at all the right times and laughing as Tori struggles to keep up.
"You're not fair," Tori mumbles when she's pulled in close again. Jade smiles but doesn't respond and Tori is left feeling awkward as the music changes. She looks around, but amongst the sea of uniformed students she and Jade seem indistinguishable from the crowd.
I don't want to set the world on fire
I just want to start a flame in your heart
In my heart I have but one desire
And that one is you, no other will do
Tori laughs and Jade pulls back with a questioning look. "This school," the Latina starts, "I love it. It's so fucking weird, but I love it."
Jade smiles and looks over the crowd. "I can't see anyone I know, can you?"
"No way."
"Come on, let's get some air." Jade's pulling her again, through the crowds and out a side door. They walk in darkness along the wall, hidden by the ancient trees that grew outside the ring of school buildings.
"Will you tell me where we're going this time? I swear I won't try to hinder whatever plan you're thinking of," Tori sighs as she trips along the reaching roots of the trees.
"To my locker."
"Great."
Jade looks back at her, ducking her head to avoid a low hanging branch. "You don't want to know why?"
"Oh, I'm sure you have your reasons."
Tori thinks Jade smiles, but she's turned back already, bringing Tori to a halt when she finds another door open, having been testing others along their path. They slip into the science building, named after someone who was definitely reaching their hundred and fiftieth birthday. But it's right next to the main hall, where the lockers are on the upper levels.
Jade gets to her locker easily enough in the dark, though how her eyes have adjusted so quickly is beyond Tori. She spins the dial mechanically, opening the door and reaching behind the books she has neatly stacked to pull out a mickey of Jack Daniel's.
"I see why you were so desperate for air," Tori says when she makes out the label through squinted eyes as the bottle is thrust at her. She freezes at the sound of far off whistling, reaching for Jade's arm and squeezing it tightly. "Jade."
Jade closes her locker quietly and looks around before deciding to push Tori down the hall in front of them, trying each doorknob they pass. In the distance the brunette can make out the sight of a flashlight beaming up a stairwell, showing the impending arrival of whoever patrolled the halls at nights.
"Jade," she whispers again more urgently. "I cannot be caught, it'll get-"
"Just shut up and stay in front of me," Jade hisses, grunting as another door fails to give way. "You won't get caught, just stay against the wall and I'll-"
Before Tori can even hear the doorknob click she's being pushed through the doorway into an empty, standard looking classroom with maps spread out across the wall. Jade's not done pulling Tori around though; she grabs her wrist and leads her across the room to the closet door in the back, cursing under her breath as the hinges squeak under pressure.
Tori moves as far back into the closet as she can, finding herself backed up against stacks and stacks of cardboard boxes. Jade's standing in front of her, dark hair and blazer nearly one and the same with the darkness surrounding them. Hers hands rest on Tori's biceps as they stood cheek to cheek.
"Do you think he heard us?" Tori asks, hands squeezing the bottle.
Jade shakes her head and pulls back so her nose is a hair away from Tori's. Her grasp on Tori loosens but she still doesn't let go. Her smirk reaches her eyes, which are the only thing Tori can see given their proximity – so bright and blue, even in the minimal lighting. She takes a shuddering breath and Jade laughs quietly, the sound of the patroller's whistling bouncing off the lockers in the hallway behind her.
"Are you afraid of me?"
"Be quiet."
"But a teen star literally getting caught in the closet with some booze sounds like an awfully good headline to-"
She's goading Tori to silence her, to kiss her. Tori does, sloppily at first because Jade doesn't finish speaking right away. When she finally responds, she still makes Tori work for it, making her lean into Jade like the blue-eyed girl wasn't the one holding Tori down. Tori drops the bottle she's holding to the side, earning her a chuckle against her own lips. She replies to Jade by reaching up told hold her face with one hand and tangle the other in Jade's dark hair. She hadn't realized how desperate she had been for this, for Jade. Jade slows the kiss, wrapping her arms around Tori's lower back and pulling away when Tori would press for more.
She's unaware of how long they stay like that, but eventually Jade pulls away, abruptly reaching down to retrieve her bottle. When she stands again she smirks slightly at Tori's panting form and nods her head, leading them back out the way they came. She steers them onto a familiar course to her rooftop getaway and within twenty minutes, they're settling on the blanket, wrapping their blazers tightly around themselves as they watched the few people who had turned the party from the dance to the outside. Only when they're huddled together close does Jade open her bottle, taking a gulp, shuddering and passing it over to Tori.
"What the hell was that?" Tori asks bluntly as she accepts the whiskey.
"What was what?"
"What do you think?"
Jade shrugs and steals the bottle back after Tori takes her own drink. "You're the one who kissed me."
"At least do me the kindness of acknowledging that you took part in the act." Tori leans in to press her nose against Jade's shoulder, mostly out of the need to warm her very cold nose. "How long have you wanted to do that?"
Jade laughs and shakes her head. "You're so full of yourself."
"Come on, no one makes out with their roommate out of the blue." She grabs the bottle and earns another laugh. "I'll tell you if you tell me."
"Deal."
"Pretty much since the moment I saw you."
Jade snorts and reaches to grab the whiskey, only to still her hand over Tori's. "Well, sorry if you were trying to be subtle, but it's been pretty obvious."
"So you just decided out of the blue to fulfill a whim of mine?" Tori turns her head to smile up at her.
"I didn't say that."
"Okay, when?"
Jade pries Tori's left hand from the bottle to connect with her own. "Honestly? That last sex scene in season six."
"Oh, come on. That doesn't count," Tori whines, tearing her hand away with a laugh. "That wasn't even me, that was a character I played."
"Well, you played the part well, Victoria. Take the compliment."
"Let's go get drunk in our dorm room instead of on a freezing rooftop." Tori stands and holds out her hand. Jade seems reluctant to take it, but eventually she relents and allows herself to be dragged over to the never-ending ladder. They slip back into the room the dance is being held in, still going strong despite the late hour. They step out into the oval and weave through the people outside. When they finally return to their bedroom, Tori is somewhat scared of going in. Jade, however, waltzes in like nothing has changed, tossing her beloved bottle onto her bed as she strips herself from her jacket and cardigan.
"I really need to… talk about this thing…." she says eventually, leaning back against their door. "Because… no one can really know about this and-"
"I get that, Tori, don't worry." She begins on the buttons and Tori steps forward, her eyebrow furrowed. "Seriously, I won't tell anyone, you don't have to worry."
"I'm not, I just need to know what you're thinking, Jade." She grabs Jade's hands to still them, forcing her to look. "Please just tell me what you want."
Jade raises her pierced eyebrow, grabbing hold of Tori's hands. "What do you want, Tori?"
"What I really want… what I really want is to change and climb into your bed and drink and make out until we fall asleep, because if we don't the only alternative I see is me making a really bad attempt at me jumping your bones." Tori clears her throat. "If you must know."
Jade drops Tori's hands and continues to undo her buttons, lips giving off just the faintest hint of a smile. "And what will you want tomorrow?"
Tori fumbles to keep up, tearing off her jacket and cardigan. "I think you have to answer my question first."
Jade nods and turns to step towards her dresser, unsnapping her bra as she reaches for a shirt. "I want… to come back from class every day and see you here."
"Well, I can give you a hundred or so days of that." Tori stops for a moment and watches Jade unabashedly after she gives her surprisingly sentimental statement.
"Promise?" She turns back to face Tori, snorting as Tori kept her gaze on Jade's face. "You have to cross my heart and hope to die."
"Desperate," Tori tries to say sarcastically, but the way Jade laughs makes her feel like it's at her rather than the remark. Tori finally takes it upon herself to be the one to turn around, changing into her own pajamas without removing her bra. Jade's sitting on her bed, her bottle returned to her hands. "Don't you at least have something to chase that down with?"
Jade shakes her head and takes a swig, setting it back down so she can burrow under the blankets. Tori eventually takes the hint to join her, turning off the lights and settling in next to her roommate. She bites her lip, reaching towards the hem of Jade's shirt.
"Are you alright?" Jade asks as Tori takes a jittering breath as she reaches up to touch Tori's neck.
"Mm-mm," Tori replies from the back of her throat, brushing the tips of her fingers against Jade's stomach.
"Breathe, ragdoll."
"Shut up," Tori laughs, shaking her head before leaning in to kiss Jade. It's so comfortable and warm in their cocoon of blankets, and Jade tastes like whiskey. That was Henry's drink as well, had been since he turned fourteen. It made Jade feel more familiar put Tori at ease. "Please tell me you're not thinking of my sex scene."
"It was really convincing."
Tori pushes the laughing Jade onto her back, hovering overtop and unable to hide the smile on her face. She kisses Jade's chin, then the underside, and then down her neck as her hands pushed at each side of her shirt, revealing her slim waist.
"What will it take me to convince you?" Tori asks as she sits up to straddle Jade's hips.
Jade smiles and reaches up to pull Tori back down to her, kissing her soundly before her hands travel down Tori's back. "Let's go to sleep."
"We don't… we don't have to, like, wait or whatever, you know. Really, I'm not as bad as my track record would make me seem." Tori's hand slides up Jade's neck, their bodies pressing hip-to-hip, breast-to-breast. She definitely likes that.
Still, Jade turns so they're both on their sides, at least giving in and rewarding Tori with long, heady kisses for a long time before pulling away completely. She pushes Tori over so she can throw her arm over the Latina's slim waist.
"Sit still, Hollywood. I'm not going anywhere." Jade stretches out, biting at Tori's ear.
"You're not being fair," Tori whispers back.
"I don't particularly care about being fair."
Tori wakes up to the now-familiar warmth of Jade next to her, though this time she was securely held by Jade's limp hold. Tori blinks her eyes, but she can't make much out other than the ceiling with Jade still pressed against her like she was. She sits perfectly still, but somehow Jade seems to sense that she's woken up.
"Take off your shirt," she whispers into Tori's ear, doing nothing to remove the arm that would hinder Tori in this process. Tori obeys anyway, squirming out of the loose shirt and tossing it away. Jade's above her in an instant, her smile more of a smirk and her top quickly following Tori's to the floor.
Tori smiles up at Jade and slides her hands through her thick, dark hair, pulling her closer. But Jade resists, choosing instead to kiss Tori's jaw and chin at a languid pace that already had Tori's heart in her throat.
"Tell me about the first time you were with a girl," Jade demands, relaxing her body against Tori's and nudging her head to the side with her nose so her lips could travel down the tan neck underneath her.
"Why?"
"Because I figure it's hotter than your first time with your gay boyfriend."
Tori laughs, her bra scratching against her skin, feeling like a collar that was on too tight. "She was twenty and she knew one of the producers of the show, he was doing her next movie or something. So she came to the wrap party for the episode."
"What did she look like?" Jade presses a kiss to Tori's shoulder.
"Short. Bottle blonde. Brightest blue eyes." She shudders as Jade's lips move along her clavicle. "Long legs… really funny. She invited me over for dinner…"
"And took advantage of your sweet naivety?" Jade asks sliding down Tori's chest, past her bra but taking the straps with her. Tori laughs and removes them from her arms.
"No. We talked all night. She didn't make her move until sunrise until I was good and stoned." Tori's hands slip from Jade's shoulders to her hips as she sits to straddle her like she had the night before. This time she allows herself to look. "We just made out. That time."
"Sit up." Tori does, sliding her hands around to Jade's lower back as she twists the clasps of her bra are undone and freed, leaving the garment falling between them. Jade kisses her when they're both finally topless, sliding her hands up Tori's bare sides. "How far did you get with her?"
Tori smiles when she hears the sound of people in the halls, unknowing of what was happening behind their door. She bites her lip, which does nothing to hinder her grin, but it's a nervous habit she can't seem to break while her hands squirm between them to all but manhandle Jade's breasts.
"I made it pretty far with her, but I the favor wasn't really returned. I never even saw her naked." She kisses Jade roughly, finally feeling free enough to give into what she wants to do. "I was definitely missing out."
"I'm not going anywhere," Jade reminds her, her breath becoming deep and heavy. The way she kisses Tori is sweet and hot and Tori was feeling desperate for more. She pulls Jade back down to the bed, her legs sliding over Jade's hips. But Jade detangles from Tori's grasp to breathe out, "But now I have to go somewhere."
Tori's hips fall to the bed as Jade stands, walking towards their small bathroom.
"Why?" Tori whines, gathering the covers to warm her half-naked body. "Where?"
"Volleyball tryouts," Jade says as if it had been news known to all. She closes the door behind her and the fan starts to run. For whatever reason, this has Tori rushing to get dressed and return to her still made bed. She throws her hair up after pulling her binder to her lap.
She has no idea what just happened. She does, but she doesn't. And every minute Jade's in the shower is a minute closer to her coming back through that door. Tori has a certain level of neurosis about these things now and when Jade does return, it sets every nerve on edge.
"So can we discuss things? I'd feel much better knowing what ground I'm on. Not that you… you know, totally get to choose, that's why I said discuss. Because I want to know what you're thinking because I have no idea what I'm thinking right now, but you seem to have a better handle on life than I do."
Jade just looks at her in the reflection of the mirror, raising her eyebrow as she brushes back her hair. She remains quiet while she does a slimmed down version of her routine: applying moisturizer and lotion, but forgetting the makeup, then towel drying her hair lazily just to brush it out again and put it in a ponytail.
"How about you take the day to think about what you want so I don't influence your decision," she says evenly, turning to her dresser and dropping her towel as she reaches for a sports bra, underwear, and a pair of socks. Jade still has no qualms in undressing around Tori, though Tori can't find the courage to look yet. "You seem like you can be easily swayed."
Tori looks up as Jade puts on a pair of tight spandex shorts and a loose red t-shirt that had her last name and presumably former number on the back. Tori can see the Hollywood Arts monogram on the left side of the shirt as she turns to sit on her bed and put on her socks.
"I need to know where you stand. I really, really, really do."
Jade pulls on tear-away track pants that match her shirt and looks at Tori. She doesn't say a word as she stares, despite the fact that she's blindly slipping into her shoes before grabbing her Hollywood Arts duffel bag. She walks over to Tori's bed when she's ready, leaning over to trick Tori into a leading kiss that she stops abruptly. Jade winks and waltzes out of the room, leaving Tori in silence.
Tori decides to fill her time with productive things rather than think about the kiss, hoping the mess in her brain would sort itself out while she was preoccupied with bathing and homework and vocal exercises. André texts her and informs her that they're officially signed up for the November showcase, noting that Jade's name was already on there. He asks her what she's doing but Tori replies that she's in the dark.
When she's left without distraction, Tori's mind remains as stuck as it was when Jade first walked away from her that morning. All she can think about now is Jade playing volleyball in her shorts. To distract herself from, well, herself, she decides to take a walk, running into Beck before too long. He was standing in line at the coffee vendor outside, waving her over.
"What do you take?"
"Chai tea latte?"
"You heard the woman," he informs the barista, pulling out his wallet and settling their bill. "How's Hollywood Arts' resident showgirl? Have they asked you to attend any fundraiser banquets yet?"
"They have actually," she laughs as she reaches for the cup handed to her. "I guess they have some sort of gala thing at Christmas?"
"Ah," he nods, steering her towards the oval so they could walk around the open green space. "They have some pretty rigorous tryouts for students to perform at that. I take it you'll just be a trophy though, huh?"
"More than likely. The worst part is that Trina gets to come by default because my whole family is invited. My dad's already dreading it – a TV producer in a room filled with helicopter parents that have kids who go here." Tori shudders at the thought but takes a sip of her sweet drink. "Are you going to try and audition?"
"Nah, I'll be out of town by then no matter what."
"What do you mean 'no matter what?''
"Well," he begins but prolongs by taking a long drink of his own coffee, "Cat's parents invited me to come spend Christmas with them in Portland."
"And your other option is?"
"Vancouver, with my family. It's only like an hour flight so I think I might just try both. Spend New Year's with Cat and Christmas with my family." He glances at her out of the corner of his eye. "Nothing's in stone yet though, so, you know, Jade doesn't have to know…"
"Don't worry, I won't tell her." She feels like one in hundred in her school hoodie, blending in as she walks with Beck. "She's out at volleyball tryouts."
"Oh, you have to see this girl play. She is downright vicious. The fact that they even make her tryout is a joke, she always makes it as the swing so they can send her in whenever they want." He places a hand on her shoulder and leads her through a doorway towards the gymnasium. "Come on, the tryouts are open."
"I'm not going to stalk my roommate," she states, pulling him to a stop.
Beck laughs a little. "Who's stalking anyone? They're open for everyone to watch. A lot of people go."
"I just don't want to upset Jade."
"I guarantee you," he starts, pointing a finger at her and then at the doorway, "that everyone you eat lunch with is in the gym right now."
"What are the odds?" Tori asks.
"Two-to-one. The currency will be cups of coffee." He proceeds to lead her back into the gym, smiling as they spot Robbie, Cat and André amongst the first few rows of seating next to the court. They sit directly behind them, asking about the tryouts so far.
"I think Jade spiked a ball so hard that one of the other girls sprained her wrist trying to return it," André says matter-of-factly as he leans back against the step behind him, pointing out the subject in question on the other side of the court, just getting ready to serve.
Jade spins the ball twice and bounces it once before she takes a step and roughly hits the synthetic-leather black and red ball across the court, directing it to a space left open by the other side's defense. It hits the floor of the gym with a sharp smack and the whistle blows, causing all the players to switch their spots. Another player takes her turn serving, choosing to go underhand instead. The serve is easily bounced back and Jade receives it, setting it up so another player could return it with an overhand hit.
The tryouts go on for what seems like hours, though there seem to be a lot of girls who want to be on the team – girls with tattoos and green hair and holes where piercings usually sit. The group stays until four before they decide to duck out and get dinner. Trina joins them, taking it as her and Tori's bonding time while she shamelessly flirts with Beck. Cat sits next to him, oblivious, but Tori constantly nudges her sister in the ribs under the table.
She returns to her room with just enough time to change before Jade walks through the door, looking exhausted and smelling like a fresh shower. She drops her bag and kicks her shoes off in one fluid moment before she collapses on the bed. Tori laughs from her spot at her desk.
"Make the team?"
"Duh," Jade replies, but it comes out more like a groan. Her eyes are closed and her hair is damp and her face is clean and Tori smiles because she can't help thinking how ridiculously pretty the girl across the room from her is.
It gives her the fuel to stand and walk over to the bed, carefully climbing on and earning the curious gaze from the blue eyes below her.
"Take off your hoodie," she commands as she settles over Jade's hips. Jade obeys, surprising Tori with the sight of nothing but bare skin as she does. It makes it easier for her, though, to move her hands along Jade's back.
"I guess you've had a hundred massages," Jade comments with a sigh.
"Three dozen, tops." Jade smiles but doesn't make much noise as Tori's fingers press into the tight muscles stretched under porcelain skin. "You were amazing."
"It was nice that you came," she attempts vainly, voice ending in a yawn. Jade eventually opens her eyes again to turn her head to the side and look up at her. "Think about your feelings or what?"
"You're so romantic."
"You were the one willing to go all the way the night after our first kiss."
"No fair, you baited with second base." Again she earns a smile from Jade, turning into more of a smirk as she gives a small laugh. "Well you did."
"I did," she agrees. "You didn't answer my question."
Tori bides her time as the heel of her hands roll against Jade's shoulders. "I thought about you all day."
"You didn't answer my question," she parrots wearily, occasionally rolling her muscles back and resettling in her spot.
"Do you think we skipped too many steps? I mean, seeing that we live together and all. It must be hard to change rooms if something happens-"
"It's surprisingly easy, actually."
"Anyway, I feel like… maybe I shouldn't have… let it go that far. Or maybe we just shouldn't let it go further, because I actually don't mind where we were at-"
"I miss when you were shy and quiet."
Tori flicks Jade's shoulder and moves her hands down to rub soothing circles along her spine. She actually likes this, even if her hands are tired. She likes making someone else feel better. "I don't know what this is. I want to see. There are my feelings, you pain in the ass."
Jade chuckles quietly against her bedspread, reaching back to pat Tori's thigh until she relents and sits back against the wall as Jade promptly puts her sweater back on, turning to face Tori when she resituates on the bed.
"I'm really tired and want to watch something that won't make me think until I fall asleep."
Tori smiles and springs off the bed to get her laptop as Jade pulls back the covers. When Tori returns it's with both her computer and her pillow, having had to settle for a corner of Jade's the previous evening. They set up, barely propped up as they bicker about which loved childhood show should be picked, eventually settling on The Powerpuff Girls.
Jade makes it through about three episodes before her head falls on Tori's shoulder. Tori just smiles and closes her laptop, stretching to place it on Jade's desk before she lies back down.
It gets colder than Tori would have thought in November. While there's no snow where they are, there is occasionally fog and many overcast days. There's a dampness in the air that settles in, unlike the brisk, frigid days of November in New York. Basketball tryouts prove to be just as rigorous as Jade's volleyball one, but Tori makes the team. She doubts she'll be a starting player, but she can keep up enough with the good players that the coach gives her a pass.
It opens her up to a whole new group of friends, her teammates now becoming close allies during the brutal drills they ran during practice. Tori was a good player, but in shape she was not. She asks for Jade's help in increasing her endurance, but the plan soon backfires shortly into their first attempt at a jog.
"Jesus, you're coughing like a chainsmoker."
"Shut up," Tori gasps, holding herself steady by placing a hand against a great redwood. "People were not meant to run like this. It's why we began settling in cities. It's the exact reason why."
Jade's still bouncing back and forth on the balls on her feet, trying to keep her pace up, but she manages to roll her eyes all the same. "Come on. If we get far enough away from campus, I'll reward you."
She sets off before Tori can ask what that reward is, and she finds herself stumbling through the trees at a somewhat brisk pace, always managing to keep Jade in view. They come to a stop in front of the wall that encircled the campus, Jade leaning back against the wall as if she was sitting in a chair, choosing to continue to increase her endurance and stamina while Tori chooses to lay out flat on the grass.
"I hate you… so goddamn much…"
"You asked me to take you on a run."
"How are you still standing? This campus… is so fucking big…" Tori drops her hand on top of her rapidly beating chest, feeling it hammer back against her ribs. "I hate you."
"Feeling's mutual, remember?"
"Shut up… devil child…" Jade laughs and Tori opens her eyes again, squinting against the bright gray sky to look at her. "You promised me a reward."
"You have to come get it, starlet."
"Well, never you mind then."
Again, Jade laughs, loudly and clearly hidden amongst the trees. The sounds of the school are a distant echo from here, with the sounds of the city even fainter to their west. The raven-haired girl pushes off the wall and moves to straddle Tori, bending down to kiss her she pins the actress back against the grass.
"Maybe it would have been worth it," Tori admits between kisses, pushing Jade's cascading hair back and keeping her grip tight on the other girl's head so she doesn't pull away. On the contrary, Jade seems perfectly set on staying where she was, she smiles against Tori's mouth when she brings her thighs up to wrap around her waist. This time she doesn't pull back.
Jade rocks against her and Tori responds with a gasp against her lips, pressing back and reaching for more kisses than Jade seems to be willing to give. She finds her hands being grabbed and held down above her head as Jade slowly begins to stop.
"Is this going too fast?" She asks quietly, hands grasping Tori's tightly in response to the grip the Latina had on hers.
"Shut up," she breathes as she steals one kiss and Jade resumes her motions. It's annoyingly hot, the feel of her bare legs against Tori's in their running shorts as she rolls against her. Eventually she gives up her quest for Jade's mouth and allows her head to fall back against the soft ground, hair guarded by the hood pulled over her head.
"No one can hear us you know," Jade reminds her, lips warm against Tori's earlobe. Tori's breath catches in her throat for a moment, but she has nothing else to respond with except to squeeze Jade's hips with her thighs and gasp in the cold Californian air.
"Not a screamer then?" Jade asks. Tori's response is a mixture between a quiet grunt and a nearly silent groan. "Well then…"
She's up and off Tori before Tori can blink, bounding through the small forest of trees to the wide-open field. Tori doesn't follow, not immediately, not until she catches her breath and she hears Jade yelling her name from the clearing. She wills her sore and painfully turned on body to move, walking through the trees at the fastest pace her legs would allow.
Jade is bouncing on her feet again but relents when Tori finally appears, her expression somewhat similar to a cat preening in a windowsill. They walk across the large field and past the track/football field.
"We should go to a game. It must be ending soon. Why haven't we gone?" Tori asks, throwing an arm over Jade's shoulder as they pass the stands.
"Because they're super lame? Our girls kick ass at sports, but there aren't a ton of big, burly guys who want to be actors or singers or musicians. Our team doesn't have a lot of brawn."
"But does it have heart?" Tori asks dramatically as they step into the locker room and head to their lockers, Jade shoving Tori in response to her ridiculous question. They gather their things and head to the weird circular shower stalls. Both girls throw their clothes over the red barriers between them.
"Let's go," Tori tries again as she adjusts the temperature of her water, reaching for the body wash in her small shower caddy. She hates feeling sweaty. And she has to send away for more body wash.
"If you want to," Jade replies drolly from her stall to Tori's right. "I'll ask Beck to pick up some tickets."
"Why Beck?"
"Because the twenty year-old who runs the ticket booth to our various sporting events and acts has a major crush on him and always gives him good seats for cheap."
"He's cute," Tori offers weakly.
"Work with what you've got." Jade doesn't linger in the shower like Tori, turning off her taps quickly, gathering her things and exiting the stall while wrapped in a red towel.
Tori remains in for another five minutes, her sore muscles aching for the water, but she relents and walks into the locker room, pausing briefly when she sees Jade sitting on the bench in front of her locker, lazily running the towel through her hair.
"What was it like when you got the part?" She asks out of nowhere as Tori approaches.
"It feels like forever ago," Tori says somewhat wistfully as she pulls out her clothes, sitting on the bench next to Jade so she can awkwardly redress without removing her towel. "I remember this feeling… it wasn't when I got the news, but the first time I walked on to the set, ready to film a scene. All I had to do was eat cereal and say, 'Bye, dad!' and the whole thing only took us two takes. But the moment I stepped onto that fake kitchen floor, I was just… elated."
Jade looks over at her thoughtfully, saving Tori the trouble after she gets her underwear on and is trying to find a way to stealthily put on her bra. Jade tugs the knot holding the ends of her towel together and it falls around Tori's hips. She kisses Tori's shoulder before pulling back and searching through her bag for her phone.
When they eventually leave for the comfort of their room Jade and Tori are bombarded by Cat, who quite literally jumps out from behind a tree to surprise them. She follows them to their room, chattering away and insisting they watch an advanced copy she got of some new thriller movie. Tori likes the idea, but she would like a nap more.
Nevertheless, they set up the wall by Jade's bed with pillows and blankets, setting the laptop on the nightstand once they remove what's on it. Jade sits in the middle under the blanket, somewhat keeping the conversation with Cat going as they settle down.
Tori leans against Jade's shoulder, almost ready to fall asleep until the startling first scene opens with a gruesome murder at an orphanage, more than grabbing her horrified attention. Jade looks as surprised as she feels, but she's definitely enjoying the fake massacre while Cat talks about how her brother got this from one of his famous 'clients'.
In the end, the chief of police did it and Tori saw about as many dead bodies as she has in every episode of Law and Order: SVU reruns. Cat almost literally bounces out of the room after she ejects the disc, announcing she was going to go watch it with Robbie and André now and give away the ending right before it's revealed.
Tori sits up from her position just to pull Jade back down to the bed with her, lying vertically on the bed, their foreheads pressed together. Jade smiles and pushes Tori's hair back, tucking it behind her ear.
"What was it like being on Inside the Actor's Studio?"
"Crazy. I couldn't have done it if it wasn't the whole cast. It was cool though."
"I was surprised to find out your favorite swear word is cocksucker."
"It just feels so satisfying to say." Jade kisses her, and it's in these moments that Tori gets to see the real side of her; the way she'll possessively grab Tori's chin at first just to then dance down her arm and squeeze Tori's hand. "You're so gorgeous, you know that?"
"I do, actually." Jade reaches up to play with the ends of Tori's hair. "There's a bar in town, you know."
"I didn't. How would I know that?"
"I don't know, I assumed you had opened your eyes upon one of your many, many visits to town, silly me, I know." She grabs Tori's chin once again, her own face a mixture of cold flirtation. "You're coming with me and the team." Her thumb flicks against Tori's lower lip. "Just so you know."
"Thanks for the heads-up." Jade stares at her, one of those deep penetrating gazes that makes Tori feel naked. She's used to it, though, the gazes of hundreds of nameless cameramen on a red carpet line-up. "I'm really happy."
"Are you?"
"I am." She smiles as Jade's hand falls between them so she can grab it.
In a town where the main attraction is a high school, the crappy dive bar has learned to stop carding. They're in a booth at the back of the room, so far back and out of the way that they're hidden from the entrance. Tori orders what Jade does and tries not to feel uncomfortable around the half-dozen other girls sitting with them.
Jade doesn't appear to be that much more social, despite the fact that each girl on the team seeming desperate for approval. As the girls eventually slowly dispense throughout the bar, meeting with other students or going to dance on the poor excuse for a floor set up in the corner, she seems to become more relaxed, slowing on her drink consumption and talking more openly.
"There's three guys at the other table staring at us," Jade states matter-of-factly, spinning her drink in her cup and shaking her head at the passing waiter who was taking their orders. "How much do you want to bet that they're trying to work up on a pick-up line special for you?"
"Please tell me you're joking." Tori doesn't look at the guys in question for fear of seeming inviting. "Scare them away with your wonderful powers of biting sarcasm and total aversion of the human race."
"Well, now that you've hurt my feelings, I'm going to wave them over." She does before Tori can make a grab for her arm, causing the Latina to groan at the arrival of shadows at their table. She looks up at the two guys who have approached them, both very cute despite the leers. "Didn't your mothers teach you that it's impolite to stare?"
"Can't help it, Jenny de Luca pulled the 'trigger' on my heart." Tori stifles a groan at pun as Jade jabs her side. "Can we join you?"
"And why would we let you do a thing like that? Want an Instagram photo with a TV star to impress your twenty followers?" Jade's hand drops to Tori's bare thigh and the brunette freezes. "Jenny de Luca's pretty busy, if you can't tell."
The boys lean on the table instead, and the brave one, the one who actually speaks to Jade, smiles. "Just wanted to see if HBO's latest jailbait was interested in talking."
"Oh, she is. She does it all the time." Tori hates that she chose a dress, feeling as if Jade had insisted upon it for this very purpose, to slide along the inside of her thigh undetected under the table. "It's been a big hobby of hers since she was a kid."
"What about you, ice princess? Need some material for a new play about a murderous volleyball star who's out to get her one night stands?"
Tori would actually be somewhat surprised and humored by the joke if she hadn't been squirming in her seat and biting her cheeks to keep from making a sound as the result of the hand that's made it to the apex of her thighs.
"Not tonight. Maybe I'll take Jenny de Luca home and see if it doesn't inspire some Sapphic poetry." The guy laughs a little at Jade's reply while Tori's hands grip the vinyl cushion in their booth. She wants to tell Jade to stop, swiftly kick her under the table until she relents and removes her hand, but she can't when Jade's palm is pressed against her like it is.
"We have to go," she announces in a strained voice, clearing her throat and digging her nails in as Jade smirks and presses harder. "It was nice meeting you."
She doesn't know why Jade chose her mother's house, when they easily could have gone back to their dorm for privacy, or better yet, Jade's father's unfilled home, but she's being pressed against the screen door and she can't find the words to express such thoughts when Jade is kissing her like she is. Despite their stumbling through the doors and halls, Jade's family remains asleep as they eventually make their way to Jade's attic room. Tori pushes her through the curtains at the far end and pulls her down to the large mattress on the floor.
"You're rushing things," Jade reminds against Tori's lips.
"You're a tease," Tori accuses in reply, but she allows herself to be pinned down against the bed as Jade flips them over. Jade proves herself to be less of a tease as her teeth take careful bites at Tori's neck and her hands move up her stomach underneath her shirt.
She doesn't touch her though, instead Jade relinquishes her hold on Tori's hands as she settles in, just to catch her right one again when she's pressed against Tori's side. Tori tries to roll over to mirror her position, but finds herself being held back.
"You're not fair," she breathes in frustration. Jade only smirks in response, waiting a moment before kissing Tori again, slowly and without restraint as she forces Tori's hand to then end of her dress, guiding it up her thigh on the same path she had taken earlier that night. "That's not going to work."
"And why not?" Jade asks, only releasing Tori's lips after her teeth have raked across it. She presses Tori's palm to the heat Tori can feel through her underwear, and despite her shaky breath, she replies.
"It just doesn't work when I do it."
"Quitter." Jade kisses her again, moving their hands to the top of Tori's underwear and sliding beneath it. She seems pleased by Tori's reactionary gasp and begins to move her hand in small circles, kissing her softly as Tori's eyebrows furrow – her wrist goes limp as she allows Jade to move it.
"Is it working?" Jade breathes against her ear.
"Shut up," Tori breathes, her voice catching in a whimper.
Jade's tongue licks at her top lip as she moves in small, quick circles, laughing quietly whenever Tori's legs twitch in response. Her hand leaves Tori's, but before she can protest it's groping at the front of her shirt as Jade moves her mouth to her neck, leaving hot, heady kisses down to her collar.
"Don't stop," Jade instructs, surely leaving a mark at the spot her lips have chosen. "I think it's working."
"Shut up," she repeats, her hand moving even more rapidly without Jade's control. Jade chuckles against her shoulder but moves her mouth down the front of her shirt.
"Is it working?" Jade asks again, this time biting at a pert nipple through the fabrics of her dress and bra. Tori whimpers, her free hand flying up to the back of Jade's head, tangling her fingers in her soft, black hair. It surprises her, when the coil being tightly wound in her lower stomach snaps without warning.
"Jesus Christ," she gasps as the heat floods her body, her hand falling limply to the bed. Jade kisses the underside of her jaw, her hand sliding across Tori's twitching stomach, smoothing out the material of the dress. "Jesus cocksucking Christ."
Jade laughs against her skin and then rolls away suddenly, leaving Tori feeling cold and bare. "Want a cigarette?"
"I can barely breathe."
"Well, I do," she announces as she pulls out an old pack of Marlboros from her makeshift end table. Jade walks unevenly across the bed again to open the large window that allowed the light to flow in. Tori closes her eyes at the feeling of the cold November air filtering in but opens them again to stare up at the girl.
"What are you?"
"A Leo." Tori smiles and rolls over so she can paw at the zipper on her back, eventually pulling it down so she can free herself from it. "Careful. There might be paparazzi in the window."
"If there are, they just got a pretty good show, I think." It's Jade's turn to smile, but she doesn't say anything, only takes another drag. "What was the girl you were with before like?"
"Asking about exes? Rushing."
"Please, we've already discussed them. Well, mine. And Beck."
"Just a mood killer, then?" Tori bundles up her dress and throws it at her before climbing under one of the blankets. Jade waits until her cigarette has burnt down to the filter before pressing it out in the ashtray on the ledge and closing the window, stripping herself to her underwear before she joins Tori. "She was blonde."
"Oh?"
"Mhmm," Jade replies as she falls back against her pillow. She brushes her hair back out of her eyes before letting out a breath. "That's about it. Blonde hair, blue eyes, pretty – the works."
"That's barely anything," Tori whines as she turns to face her counterpart.
Jade smiles and seems to contemplate how to say her next words. "She was… gorgeous. A senior when I was a sophomore. Her family was Italian but she grew up in Britain. Accents."
"And you seduced this glorious blonde from across the pond?"
"You should help André with his lyrics. That was impressive."
"I think you're avoiding the question. I've never known Jade West to be afraid of anything."
"You've only known me for a month and a half," Jade fires back, but she's frowning in a way that implies that she's thinking. "She seduced me, if you must know. At that little bar we went to. It was right after Beck."
"Did you bring her home too?"
"No." Tori feels somewhat relieved, like this curtained-off partition is her space with Jade that no one else can touch. "We went back to my room. I was still living with Cat then, but she was mysteriously absent that night. I bet I can guess why."
Tori wants to slide over and kiss her, but something holds her back. "Did you like her?"
"Cat? I'm still kind of fond of her actually."
"No, your mystery blonde."
"I know who you meant, starlet." Jade sighs loudly and settles on a look of disinterest. "It was a one-time thing. She left, time went by, and she graduated. I only saw her on campus a few times after it happened."
Tori finally gives in and moves closer to Jade, settling her head so it rested by her shoulder. "So you're all mine?"
"For now."
"I'll take it."
"Why?" Jade asks as she rolls her head over to look at Tori. "You're aware you could have anyone you want, right? Not just your roommate?"
"I could scour the campus," Tori muses, her hand reaching for Jade's left, resting her arm on Jade's stomach. "But I found you. And you… well, I may owe you a life debt after tonight."
"If I figure out a way for you to pay me back, I'll tell you."