A/N:

I must say….I'm surprised that this story hasn't been getting many hits. I'm a bit sad about that. Buuuut, I'm still updating it, because I like this story, which is something odd for me, so…yeah.

Read, Review, Enjoy.

-Flame

Hours earlier.

"You've got to talk to her, Tori." Beck pleaded, pacing around her apartment, his hands clasped behind his back. "She won't listen to me."

Tori sighed, leaning back in her recliner. "Beck, no offense, but you just broke up with her. Why would she listen to you?"

He threw his hands up in the air, exasperated. "I don't know! I mean, I know she has every right to be upset and all, but so do I! I loved her too!"

"Then why break up with her?" Tori asked.

He stopped, and stared at her. "Have you ever spent more than a few hours with Jade? She can be a nightmare."

Tori raised an eyebrow. "You know, you aren't exactly convincing me to help you out here…."

He sighed, walking over to the chair across from her, sitting down. He held his head in his hands. "I just need you to go see if she's alright. Believe it or not, I do care about her."

"Then shouldn't you go check on her yourself?"

He looked up at Tori, his eyes betraying his exhaustion. "It wouldn't do anything. She wouldn't even let me in her door." He let out a heavy sigh, rubbing his temples. "Please, Tori. Just this once?"

She paused, mulling it over. "If she hurts me, it'll be her fault."

He perked up, looking at her with a new expression in his gaze. "You mean you'll do it?"

She nodded, standing up. "Yeah, sure."

He stood up, running over to her, wrapping her in a bone-crushing embrace. "Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you!"

She rolled her eyes, hugging him back. "I still think you should be doing this, not me."

He grinned, stepping away from her. "Yeah…well, thanks, Tori!" he grabbed his coat off of the back of his chair, walking over to her door. "I'll call you later to see how it went!" He pulled open the door, disappearing before she could reply.

She sighed, watching her door close behind him. "What have I gotten myself into…."

"You know, I don't think I've ever told you how beautiful you really are…" he said, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

She laughed, leaning into his arms. "Actually, you tell me that on a fairly regular basis…."

He raised an eyebrow, pulling her closer. "Do I?" she nodded. "Well then…I guess I'm saying it again, then. You're so beautiful. You make every other girl out there envious of you."

"You're just saying that so you can get into my pants, Beck." She replied, seemingly joking, though a trace of doubt could be detected in her voice.

He laughed, stroking her hair softly. "No I'm not!"

"Really?" she turned her head so she could look at him. "Then prove it."

He smiled, leaning down. "Fine…"

His lips met hers, and all was right.

Tori awoke to the sound of crying.

She brushed them off as a figment of her imagination at first, refusing to open her eyes. But when they did not go away, she forced herself to wake up, and figure out what the problem was.

She opened her eyes, blinking away the remnants of sleep. "What…go on..." she muttered sleepily, looking over to her right.

Jade was curled up into a tight ball in the corner of the sofa, her face facing the direction opposite of Tori. The blanket that had been covering her in the night was discarded, thrown onto the floor. Her arms were crossed tight across her chest, and her body was shaking.

Tori immediately forced herself into action. She reached over, placing a hand on Jade's shoulder. "Jade? Jade, what's wrong?"

Jade didn't respond. Couldn't respond.

Tori stood up, walking in front of her, kneeling down. "Jade, honey, can you hear me?"

No response, other than more sobs. Jade's eyes were shut, but tears came streaming down her face, wet streaks against pale skin.

Tori bit her lip, trying to figure out what to do. "Jade…."

Jade could hear Tori, but elected to ignore her. It was easier that way. Pretend the issue isn't there, thus it does not exist.

She knew that wasn't the case this time, though. She was crying…no, sobbing. She was Jade fucking West, and she was reduced to a whimpering child. She's broken down before, but never like this. Never in front of someone else.

She wasn't even sure why she was crying. Because of Beck, of course, but were her tears ones of anger or sadness? And was there really a difference?

She could feel Tori shaking her, but only shrugged her off. Damn her. Damn her, and damn Beck. She didn't need anyone to see her like this. She didn't need Tori to come over her and comfort her. She didn't need Beck to ask her to do so. She just needed to be alone, and she was going to make sure that she was.

Tori watched as Jade's eyes finally opened, and breathed a sigh of relief. "Jade, thank go…." She stopped when she saw the look on Jade's face.

Jade pulled herself to her feet, pushing Tori aside, making her way to the bathroom.

Tori followed her, practically running to keep up. "Jade, where are you…"

Jade whirled around, her eyes burning with a fire that Tori had rarely seen before. The streaks on her cheeks burned bright against the red of her face. "Leave me the fuck alone, Vega! Why don't you understand that I don't need you!"

With that, she pulled the bathroom door open, escaping inside before Tori could respond. The door slammed shut behind her, shaking the foundation, the sound echoing down the hall.

Jade turned on the shower, stripping off her clothes, stepping inside. She hissed as the hot water burned her skin. She hadn't bother to check the temperature before she had gotten in. She turned it down, adjusting it until it got to a hot, but bearable, temperature.

Water cascaded down her skin, bouncing against the floor of the shower. Jade shut her eyes, turning to face the water. She let it wash away the tears that streaked her face, staying that way for a few moments before the heat became too much, and she had to turn her face to the left so the water wouldn't burn her.

"Fuck." She whispered, resting her hands against the wall, bending her head down. As the steam rose, so did her anger. She slammed her fist against the tiles, the sound reverberating throughout the bathroom. "Fuck!"

She felt tears sting her eyes once again, and forced herself to bite her lip. She fought back the tears, tasting blood. There was no way she was going to let herself break down again.

She could hear Tori knocking on the door. "Jade? Jade, are you okay? I thought I heard something crash in there…."

"Fuck…" Jade whispered again, pressing her forehead against the cool tile of the shower. "I'm fine, Vega! Go away!"

There was silence for a few moments, then Jade heard the slow squeak of the bathroom door opening. She gritted her teeth, and took a deep breath. "What part…of go away…do you not understand?"

She opened her eyes, and could see the outline of Tori through the shower curtain. Tori stood by the sink, eyes cast down at the floor.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry." She heard Tori say, her voice low and hesitant. "I know that you're hurting, and….I know that you don't like being around me, and….I'm just sorry."

Jade watched as she backed up, her silhouette reaching for the door handle. "I'll go now, if that's what you want. I really am sorry." She started to walk out of the door when Jade finally replied.

"Wait."

Tori froze, her ears perking up. She waited for Jade to continue.

Jade took another deep breath, then bent her head once more, feeling the water cascade down her back. "I'll be out in a few minutes. We can talk this over then, okay? Just….go wait in the living room."

Tori's eyes opened wide, and she nodded quickly. "Okay!" she grabbed the door handle again, this time stepping outside. "Okay!" the door shut, leaving Jade alone in the bathroom once more.

Jade turned off the water, but stood there for a few minutes anyway, dreading stepping out of the warm into the cold embrace of reality.

She finally grasped the shower curtain, pulling it back so she had enough room to step out onto the shower mat.

Droplets of water fell off of her body and onto the mat. She stood there, staring into the mirror.

Her eyes were red and puffy. The mascara that she had on the day before (god, has it only been a day) had made little black lines that spread out on her face. Some had been washed away by the shower, but others remained as a reminder of the weakness that she had showed.

She grabbed a washcloth out of her cabinet, and ran it under the sink, dampening it. She brought it up to her face, rubbing against the streaks. Soft at first, then harder and harder, the cloth rough against her skin. She kept on rubbing, even when the black was gone, and her skin was raw. She had to scrub it away. Scrub away the pain.

(I'm leaving)

She dropped the washcloth in the sink, bending over, grasping the porcelain counter, gasping for breath. She felt tears once more come to her eyes, but she fought them back, the wound on her lip opening back up again. Droplets of crimson fell onto the washcloth, but she had succeeded. The tears were gone.

She straightened back up, refusing to look in the mirror. She grabbed a towel out of the same cabinet she got the washcloth out of, and wrapped it around herself, tight and secure. Before exiting the bathroom, she drug a brush through her hair, and a toothbrush around her mouth. If she was going to talk to Vega, she might as well look presentable.

Tori heard the bathroom door open, and immediately looked up. She watched as Jade walked out, then quickly averted her gaze when she realized that the other woman was wearing only a towel.

Jade caught her looking at her, and had to suppress a grin at her bashfulness. "It's not like I'm naked, Vega!"

Tori refused to look back up at her. "Just put some clothes on, would you!"

Jade rolled her eyes, stepping into her bedroom, closing the door. "This is my apartment! I can walk around in the buff if I wanted to!"

"Please don't!" Tori squeaked, her face turning red. She waited out in the living room, on the couch, until Jade came back out, wearing a pair of black jeans and a t-shirt.

"Better?" Jade asked, holding her arms apart, spinning in a circle quickly to give Tori a good view of every aspect of clothing.

"Much." Tori replied, a sigh of relief escaping her lips.

Jade rolled her eyes again, sitting down on the couch next to the embarrassed young woman. "How the hell did you survive gym class, Vega? The locker room was full of naked girls."

Tori shook her head, mouth clamped shut. Jade cast a glance at her, amused. "That answers that, then, doesn't it?"

"Shut up…" Tori replied, refusing to look at her. Jade just laughed, and turned away.

Tori waited a few moments, then looked over at her. "Are you….okay?"

Jade stared off into the distance, not looking at anything in particular. "Yep. Just peachy."

"You know, you don't have to lie."

Jade looked over at her, propping her head up on her elbow. "Who said I was lying?"

"I know you." was all Tori said, trying to get Jade to meet her eye. When she finally did, she could see the pain that shone in the other woman's gaze. "I know that you're hurting. You woke up crying, Jade. That's not something…."

"That I do?" Jade waited for Tori to nod, then laughed, no humor in the sound. "You'd be surprised, Vega."

"Would I?" she leaned closer to Jade, staying just far enough away so she didn't feel claustrophobic. "I think that I'd be far less surprised than you think."

Jade stared at her, unconsciously clenching her fist. "That's nice, but I seriously doubt that."

"You put on this tough act, you know? A shell that covers up a soft interior. Take that mask away, and what are you?"

Jade gritted her teeth, irritation rising. "I'm nothing!" she shrunk back, shocked by the words that had escaped past her lips.

Tori saw the change in the woman, and instantly knew that she had gone too far. "Jade…."

Jade shook her head. "Don't, Vega. Please….just don't." her voice was low and weary.

"I….I'm sorry." Tori moved away from her, moving back to her corner of the sofa.

Jade groaned, covering her face with her hands. "Dammit, Vega, stop apologizing!" She rubbed her temples, trying to calm down. "Just….just stop, okay?"

Tori hesitated, unsure of how to proceed. "Oh…Okay."

Jade brought her knees up to her chest, crossing her arms in front of them. "Why….are you here?"

"Because I offered to come check up on you. Because Beck came to me, begging me to talk to you." She looked up at Jade, biting her lip. "Because I really did miss you."

Eyebrows raised. "Why?"

Tori swallowed, looking down at the floor. "Because all I've ever wanted to be is your friend….and this gave me an opportunity to try again."

Jade looked at her, confused. "All I've ever been is utterly horrible to you. Why would you want to be my friend?"

"Because…." Tori began, hesitant. Jade had a tendency to take things the wrong way….especially with her. Must tread carefully. "Because you never just….liked me. You resisted. The others just gravitated towards me, like most people do. But, for some reason, you hated me…"

"I never hated you." Jade whispered, her voice barely audible. Tori's head whipped around, staring at the other woman, who refused to look at her.

"What?" Tori blinked, unable to accept what she heard. "Bullshit. You hated me, and made no qualms about telling everyone that you did."

"I lied." Jade lifted her head, staring straight ahead. "I'm really good at lying."

Tori took a deep breath, releasing it in a steady stream. "Then why were you such an ass all those years?"

Jade laughed, shaking her head. "Vega's swearing now. God, what has this world come to?" She turned her head, looking at Tori. "Change of subject, please."

Tori shook her head violently. "No! You're not about to…"

Jade held up her hand, one finger pointing up. "Not now. Please, Vega. Just let me….think things through a bit. I…promise that we'll talk later." She stood up. "Now, let's go."

"Where to?" Tori asked, confused by the turn of events. "And did you mean that promise?"

Jade was already heading for the door. "Yes, I did, and we're going to your apartment. It's in the general area, right?"

Tori stood up, even more confused than before. "Yeah…but, why are we going there?"

Jade pulled the door open, waiting for Tori to follow. "Because, if you're going to be staying here, you need clothes and stuff."

Tori followed her out, chasing after her. "Wait, who said I was staying?"

"I did!" Jade replied, making her way down the staircase, not bothering to wait for Tori to catch up. She knew she would follow.

She was sure of it.