Not Just Minor Changes
God damn it Cat! I thought to myself, as I watched Tori and Cat talking in the downstairs kitchen.
Sure, I had been a little rough on Tori, but that was no big deal, right? I did that kind of stuff to her all the time. That was just our thing. We always argued, so it wasn't that big of a deal.
So why did I feel so guilty?
It was because of Cat. She was all sweet and good, and currently frustrated at me. My first thought was to apologize to Tori, to let her know I was already freaking out about our novel changes in appearance.
Yuck.
My dim-witted friend was rubbing off on me, and I hated it.
I sat down on the highest step and watched Cat tend to Tori. I smiled at my friend as she wiped away the bleeding spot on Tori's forehead.
Bleeding?
I had been going for a large bruise, not blood. I tip-toed down the stairs, trying to be quiet as possible. I only had three steps left to go, and I would be slipping out of here in no time.
"Jade." Cat said, not even looking up from Tori.
I stopped cold. I hadn't made a single sound, so how could she hear me?
"Y-yeah?" I responded nervously, taking a step closer.
"Come here." She said in a serious, I-mean-business tone.
I nodded, and slowly walked in her direction. I wiggled in next to her, watching as she washed away some of the dry blood with some hot water and a sponge.
"Cat, I can do this myself." Tori said.
"No, I want to do it." Cat said, "To make up for what my meanie friend has done." She shot me a look that made my skin crawl. I had only seen it once before, and it too was because of my treatment towards Tori.
I rolled my eyes and left for the door, "This is ridiculous." I muttered to myself.
Something wet and soft bounced off my elbow, and I noticed the sponge on the ground. I picked it up and threw it back at her, but she caught it.
"What the-" She said to herself, "How did I-"
"Already found it; it says here that 'After physical appearances change, some other affects may occur also.'" Tori said.
"Like what?" Cat asked.
"Ah, here's a list. And it seems to be based on the appearance changes you acquire, let's look at it." She clicked on a link and observed the two of us.
"Different colored hair means... oh..." Tori said, looking up at me.
"What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Change in growth, color, and style can indicate one out of two things. Light colors such as pink, yellow, blue, or green indicate the possibility of gaining mermaid powers and appearances." Tori read off, smiling at me.
I twirled a strand of my green-streaked hair and cringed.
"Mixed, darker colors can indicate the future possibility of gaining vampire or witch traits, but never a full transformation."
I bit my lip, "Interesting..."
"And me?" Cat asked.
"Bright, cat-eyes indicate the major possibility of becoming more cat-like. That's it."
Cat pouted and hugged Tori out of pure fear, "I don't want that stuff to happen to me-yow!" Cat covered her mouth, and I chuckled.
I licked my lips, "So, these are not just minor changes." I said.
"Their huge ones." Tori finished.
"C'mon Jadey, we're going to be late!" Cat said the next morning.
The red-headed girl sat in the front seat next to me, nervously urging me to speed around the traffic.
"Shut up, Cat. We're going to be fine." I spat out.
Cat shifted uncomfortably in her seat, staring out the window. She touched her eye for the hundredth time. We had gotten her a fresh new pair of contact lenses this morning, but she was still nervous about wearing them.
"Stop freaking out Cat." I reassured.
"But what about-'
"Just shut up and get out. We're here."
Cat rolled her eyes and got out of the car. She grabbed her backpack and skipped inside the front door, heading for her first class of the day.
I, however, walked at a slower pace. The red-head was already out of my line of vision.
Feeling the need to talk with someone, I reluctantly walked to Tori's locker.
"Hey." I greeted.
Tori closed the door to her locker door and turned to face me, greeting me with a 1000-watt smile.
"Hey!"
She tucked a loose strand of brown hair behind her petite ears, tilting her head to the side like a puppy.
Right off the bat I noticed she was dressed especially girly today.
Her brown hair was pulled into a long ponytail, and her feather earring (which I always despised) was completely visible.
She wore a grape colored dress which faded into black, and black ribbon was tied around her waist. Over the dress, she wore a black cardigan, and on her feet, she wore a pair of black booties.
"What?" She asked.
I crossed my arms, "What?" I mocked.
She sighed and held her textbooks to her chest, "You're staring at me."
I twirled a strand of my hair (which I was starting to admire) and glared at the girl. She smiled at me, then shrugged her shoulders, not fazed in the slightest.
She opened her mouth to speak, but then her whole body froze up.
"That's more like it Vega." I said, pleased that I had milked some fear out of her thin little body.
But as I looked closer at her face, I noticed she wasn't even looking at me. I grabbed both of her shoulders and stared into her fearful eyes, "Vega?"
She grabbed my hand and shakily pointed at Beck Oliver, who had his sights set on Tori.
She inched behind me and held on tightly to my shoulders.
"Jade." Beck said.
"Beck." I responded.
He pushed me aside and slid around me.
That idiot, I thought to myself. I had been dating him for three years now, so he should've known better.
"Nope." I said, popping the 'p.' I grabbed the neck of his shirt and pulled him back.
I sneaked a glance over at Tori. Her eyes were flickering between me and Beck, her body still shaking as she held my shoulders tighter.
I pulled Beck closer to my me. We were only inches apart now, and he was going to get it.
"Leave her alone." I snarled, "Or else."
"Or else what?"
"Or else I'll rip your body limb from limb." I snapped at him, then let him go.
Beck fell to the ground with a loud thud, groaned, then got up. He looked longingly over at Tori, who just tightened her grasp on my waist (which I didn't even realize she was holding) and ducked her head down.
"Tori, please? Stop playing hard to get, you know you love me." He defended.
Carly whimpered like a newborn puppy and hugged me closer.
"Just go, you moron." I commanded.
Beck sighed, picked up his stuff, and exited through the opposite hallway. Tori threw herself into my arms. I didn't hug her back, obviously but I allowed the contact, because I knew she needed it. I finally pushed her off and she smiled weakly at me, wiping stray tears off of her puffy red eyes.
"Sorry, I got some makeup on your shoulder." She sniffled, rubbing her left eye.
I shrugged, "Whatever. It's not the only article of clothing I own."
"You know something Ja-"
There was a loud, continuous, ear-piercing scream down the hall that only a Cat could make. And sure enough, she came running down the halls being chased by at least twelve or so dogs.
"Situation, situation, situation!" Cat yelled, as she plunged herself into a recycling bin. She screamed again when the dogs started clawing at it until it tipped over completely, and Cat fell out. The dogs jumped on her and started to scratch, bite, and lick her body.
I ran over to Cat and shooed the dogs away, and with Tori's assistance we helped the traumatized red-head up.
"Are you alright?" I asked, flicking a corner piece of torn paper out of her hair.
"Yeah, where did those dogs come from?" Tori responded.
"I-I don't know. I was just in math class, w-when they started chasing me around." She wailed, cupping face in her hands.
"This day is so weird." I commented.