Chapter Two

By LandminesLandslides

(Andre's POV)

"Hey, isn't Tori taking kind of a long time?" Cat is asking, "We only have like fifteen minutes left to eat. If she doesn't get here soon, she's going to go hungry."

"Why do you think I ordered so much?" I ask her with a grin, "If Tori doesn't get here, then I'll make sure she gets the leftovers."

"Isn't that her coming through the door right now?" Robbie asks, pointing at the restaurant entrance.

"You're right," Cat says, "Looks like she brought a guest too." I glance next to her. Cat is right. Tori and Jade are walking over to us together.

"Hey guys," Tori says, "Sorry I took so long."

"No worries," Robbie answers, "But you brought her along?"

"You have a problem with that?" Tori counters, causing Jade to look a bit uncomfortable. I can sort of understand that. Jade isn't used to having someone else defend her. She's probably trying to figure out how to process Tori's actions. See, if Jade goes after someone, she expects them to either fight back or run in scared. Tori's attempts to be friendly are probably confusing her. Jade's easy to read that way.

"Back off Robbie," I tell him, "If Tori wants to bring Jade along, that's cool." Tori shoots me a grateful look and sits down, with Jade following suit.

"This one's for you," Cat says, pushing a plate with a beef burrito on it towards Tori.

"Whoa," Jade says, speaking for the first time since she got in the restaurant, "That thing is huge." As if on cue, her stomach growls.

"Here, I'll split it with you," Tori says, grabbing a knife and carefully dividing the burrito in half, "Dig in." Without waiting to be told twice, Jade grabs her half of the burrito and begins attacking it like she hasn't seen food in ages. Come to think of it, I haven't seen her in the lunch area for the past few days.

"You really should eat more slowly," I tell her, which causes her to glare at me. Guess she's not interested in my advice. Maybe she should be interested though, because she's starting to cough.

"Oh my God, is she choking?" Cat asks, sounding alarmed.

"No," Tori says, "It looks like she just ate a little too fast. That's not good when you have spicy food. Well, it's not good with any kind of food, but especially not spicy food." She grabs the glass of water that's sitting in front of her and hands it to Jade. "Drink this slowly," she tells Jade, who takes the glass and drinks it carefully. Eventually, she recovers her breath and stops coughing.

"Are you okay?" Cat asks Jade in a worried tone. Jade nods slowly.

"I need some air," she says and gets up from the table, walking outside.

"Jade's been acting really weird lately," Robbie says, "Is everything all right with her?"

"I'm not sure," Tori says, sounding worried, "I think something's bothering her, but she won't tell me what's going on."

"I hope she's okay," Cat says, shifting uncomfortably in her chair. It surprises me a little bit, since Cat and Jade aren't exactly best friends. Not enemies either, but still. On the other hand, Cat seems to be able to manage some level of concern for just about anyone, when she's not worrying about whether they're judging her or not.

"I'll go out and talk to her," Tori says, "Hey Andre, do me a favor and get my half of the burrito wrapped up, will you?"

"Sure," I say, "I'll come bring it to you later." She gives me another grateful look and heads outside.

(Tori's POV)

The air outside of Luisa's is cool, despite the fact that it's only around 12:30 in the afternoon. A bit of a breeze has picked up since I brought Jade here. Speaking of Jade, she's standing against the wall, staring off into the distance.

"Hey," I say to her, "You feeling all right?"

"Fine," she says, "I just ate a little too fast, like you said"

"Maybe that's because you haven't been eating for the last few days," I say. I'll admit, I'm fishing for information a bit here, but it's for her own good. Something's obviously bothering her and she needs to talk to someone.

"Look, I told you earlier," she says, "I don't feel like talking right now. Please, just leave me alone." Guess my lousy attempt to get her to talk to me was pretty obvious. Wait a minute, stop the presses. Did Jade just say "please?" To me, of all people? I guess that if this is big enough for her to do something like that, then I can be patient with her.

"All right," I said, "But just remember that I'm around if you change your mind." I give her a small smile, but she looks away.

"I'm going back to school now," she says, standing up, "Lunch is almost over." I want to stop her, but she's already gone before I can even say anything.

(Robbie's POV)

I can't believe Tori brought Jade to lunch with her. It's true that Jade does seem a little bothered by something, so I can understand Tori wanting to help out, but bringing her to lunch here seemed over the top. I mean, Jade doesn't even like us. Why would Tori think bringing her here would help her feel better? That girl is so hard to understand. Well anyway, Jade's gone now. The whole burrito incident was a little shocking, but I guess it's a good thing that she's okay.

"Hey," Cat says, "We have to get going."

"Oh you're right," I say looking down at my watch, "Class is starting soon isn't it?"

"Well what are we waiting for?" Andre asks, "Let's go." The three of us all walk outside. Jade and Tori aren't there anymore. Guess they already headed back. The three of us head back in silence, not saying much.