Hey! You probably weren't expecting me to continue, huh? Well, I didn't, but here goes.

Enjoy!

Of Black Holes and Wormtongues.

Don't ask me how I remember any of this, because I obviously don't know… Back in my not-Hollywood-Arts' high-school-times I had a very boring Physics class, given by a funny little man who had the ability of making anyone — and I do mean anyone — fall asleep within just a couple of minutes. However, being asleep in his class maybe was a good thing: how else would I remember so much about black holes?

A black hole was supposed to be what a star became when it had too much mass in too small a space; its gravity got so strong that it wouldn't let light rays out of the star's surface, so it became a black void of space, a black hole. Its center became a singularity — or some crazy stuff like that — and it's black surface — its "point of no return" - became an event horizon. After that there was a thoroughly boring theoretical explanation about a black hole's origin in the space-time. And there was an interesting thing that "physicists held", as said by Mr. I-don't-remember-what: for an astronaut to find out what was at the center of the black hole, he would have to travel there, to the singularity.

"But in the center of the black hole," he had said, "the astronaut would find the end of space and time." Now, that's awfully hard to understand!

He later used a different approach to the subject: he exemplified it with death. When someone dies they're able to see what comes after death. However, with them dead it hardly matters what they're able to find out, because they're no longer alive; so us living beings won't get to know what's on the other side. With singularities it was the same: if an astronaut was to see what happened at the center of a black hole it would be meaningless to us, because we wouldn't get to know what he'd see; and he probably would only find his death, the end of his time.

In other words, it would take an awfully brave astronaut to get to the center of a black hole. You could say he would be heading to a certain death by going there! He wouldn't know what was at the other side of the "point of no return" until he got past it. And after that, nothing would ever be the same.

So… I guess I'm a brave astronaut.

I know it's ominous to compare Jade West with a black hole—or with death for that matter—, but I feel it actually fits. In retrospective, if at some point of my life I had thought of having sex with Jade—and the fact that it was Jade out of all people makes it as impossible as it was— I wouldn't have known what would come later. I mean, right now I'd rather be that brave astronaut: after his "point of no return" he'd already know what's to come.

I don't.

After yesterday—when I passed through what you could call the event horizon—you would think I got a glimpse of what would happen today. But after something like twenty minutes of very passionate and very naked kisses, Jade let go of me and started to get dressed. Impressively enough, it was then that I realized what had happened—I mean, I obviously knew what had happened, but it was at that moment that I realized Jade and I had… you know… and that we had done it in the janitor's closet—at school! Now, it's not as if I had planned any of this, but if I had planned it, I wouldn't have chosen the school to do… this—that is, with anyone. Anyway, when Jade had gotten dressed she turned to look at me inquisitively and requested, with her naturally kind tone, "You want me to dress you as well or can I just not give you a lift?" After staring for a few seconds I understood what she meant. I got dressed faster than when I'm late for school. Ten silent minutes later her car pulled up in front of my house. Her eyes remained up front and all I could think of saying was "Bye, Jade".

As I was walking away from her car I heard her say "It was good, Vega". I turned around and saw what I would bet was a teasing smile plastered on her face. And my own face was probably expressing utter surprise and incredibility, because she had the biggest smile I'd seen on her when her car went away.

So, now I'm here on my bed… I gave up on trying to fall asleep after the first three hours; I went on surfing the Internet, but got bored; I tried to read for like ten minutes and got bored again; and I still couldn't fall asleep. Whenever my mind wasn't focused on something, it focused on Jade, and I finally let that consume me a couple hours ago. What will happen at school? Is Jade going to pretend it never happened? Will she use it to torture me? Will she torture me still? Not like I'm hopeful at all, but if Jade finally stopped bullying me because of what happened, then I would consider it completely worth it—though, a hidden part of my head seems to think it was worth it no matter what.

But then again, do I even want her to do anything at all? Yesterday, I was quite uncertain whether or not I'd enjoyed what had happened. When I finally gave up and admitted that I'd liked it, I had to wonder just how much I'd liked it. I mean, was it so good that I wanted to do it again?

I guess you could say I accepted it. Jade's nice… in a twisted, very un-nicely way—nice in a very Jade-ish way. And I definitely have a crush on her. A crush that I seem to be very willing to help evolve into something else. And I sure wouldn't mind at all seeing Jade naked once more… more than once more.

Sometime before the sun starts to shine I manage to fall asleep. It feels like just a couple of minutes, though, because the next thing I'm conscious of is Trina yelling at me to hurry up. I get dressed in a couple of hazy and sleepy minutes, too tired to get in the shower. I hope I'm not looking as sleepless and as showerless as I feel.

"You look terrible," Trina says as she hops in the car. She's smiling, probably thinking that with me looking like this she'll be noticed more—which was going to happen anyway, since she looks like a clown.

"You too, Trina."

"Of course I don't." She winks at me. I huff.

On the way to school I reflex upon the similarities between Jade and a black hole. Jade West sure could be called a singularity, and approaching that singularity, people tends to feel some sort of gravitational force pulling them towards its center—at least I feel that pull. I had never considered what a "point of no return" would be concerning Jade, but I could guess with what happened yesterday that I'm way over that point. About that gravitational force that pulls me to Jade, I'm not completely sure of how long it's been since I feel it, but anyone around me has probably noticed it; it's a good way to explain why I try so hard to be her friend… or her… I don't know anymore…

The truth is I like Jade. Normal people just seems to orbit around her. My spaceship got too close: I got caught in her gravitational field, and have now crossed the point of no return. Physics would say that after getting to the singularity, the only hope for the astronaut would be to find a way to survive in the other side, another galaxy, or another planet, or maybe even both, where he would have no contact with our world. I can only hope my Jade-singularity provides a good alternative life, because I won't have any contact with my past life. There's no way I'm going to forget what happened—and I have a feeling Jade's not going to forget it either.

So, yeah: I like Jade, and I just realized it yesterday.

But it hardly matters. Whatever happens today and after today depends entirely of Jade. If she decides to, like, talk about it and/or accept it, I'll play along; if she decides to ignore it and reject me—meaning, reject me even more—, I'll play along as well. She's always been the one who directs our relationship, who settles limits, who allows me liberties towards her, etc. And I don't really mind.

By the time I'm concluding, I'm already driving into the parking lot. I park. Trina jumps out and leaves. I sit there, alone with myself. Not thinking, not waiting. Not really sure why I'm staying there. I get my phone from my pocket and start playing, just to get my mind off things. There is nothing for me to do other than let things happen.

From the corner of my eyes I see Jade walk by in front of my car. When I look at her it seems as if she'd turned her head away from me, as if she'd been watching me.

The school bell rings.

…

Mind can be a real bitch. It shows you things you don't wanna see, things you don't wanna remember. And it also can show you things you want to see, but which are not necessarily happening.

When I sat to take class everything was normal. My mind had taken a little rest from its thorough exploration of my feelings towards Jade. Jade herself was sitting behind me, two other guys were in the middle. I didn't realize I wasn't paying attention until the teacher said "Miss West, please come here and show us—" I didn't even hear what she was going to show. I turned to look at her and regretted it immediately.

I could see her naked! I was looking at a fully-dressed Jade West and my mind was showing me a completely nude Jade West! What is wrong with me? I could feel her body against mine, the cold janitor's closet's wall against my naked back, Jade's lips against mine. I was driven all the way back yesterday and could see the weird smile Jade gave me when she realized we were having sex!

Jade reached the front of the classroom and turned around. Our gazes connected. The way her cheeks painted slightly red told me she was going through a situation similar to mine. The next few minutes went by, carrying with them a rather odd participation by Jade and a very embarrassing while for myself. Jade seemed to be trying anything not to look at me, but her eyes kept coming back to roam my body from head to toes in a—thankfully—very discreet way. When the teacher told her she could go back to her seat she informed she was going to the restroom instead. Our eyes connected one last time in a clear message from her to me and she left before anyone noticed her deep blush.

All that happened five minutes ago.

Now I'm kind of confused. I waited for a couple minutes after Jade walked out and asked if I could also go to the restroom. Before getting there, however, my mind starts playing with me again. Did she really look at you before going out? it asks me, weren't you just imagining it? That last part is actually reasonable… I mean, I kind of wanted something like that to happen, but maybe it just didn't.

My steps slow down until I'm standing still in the middle of a hallway, staring at the tiled floor beneath my feet.

Maybe I imagined the whole thing! Maybe Jade's cheeks weren't any redder than usual—that is, maybe they weren't red at all. Maybe she didn't look at me once while in front of the class. Maybe she didn't want me to accompany her to the restroom to have some sort of aftermath-ish conversation, as I had evidently believed.

Before I can decide whether I want to run back to class or run into the restroom just turning the next corner, Jade appears to my right and pulls me into the infamous janitor's closet. I hadn't noticed it was there.

"You're weird, you know?" Jade says when the door closes. "You stopped there and stared at the floor for, like, five minutes." Jade giggles.

I feel awfully stiff, as if my limbs couldn't move. Jade is smiling at me. Odd. I have no idea what to say, what to do. The only thing I seem to be able to say is "So… what's up?" Jade's eyebrow quirks at that. The confidence she always expresses slips away, the same way it did when I looked into her eyes when she was in front of the class, or when my clothes were all wet and I was standing at this exact spot.

She opens her mouth and mumbles a little "Um…" She looks at the door behind her, seemingly regretting coming in here. "You know, I… I wanted to…" Her head lowers hopelessly.

Who is this Jade? The Jade I know is self-confident and untouchable. Now she's just a human being who has no idea what to say. A human being who isn't just vulnerable, but also within reach.

Some sort of demon pierces into me. My eyes close and my lips press against Jade's. It feels very familiar, as if I'd known the feeling of her lips against mine for a lifetime. Now she is the one whose body stiffens.

My body pushes hers all the way to the wall in front of me. And—oh my God!—her arms circle my waist and she starts kissing me back. I can't believe we're doing this again, and I can't believe I started this.

However, Jade doesn't seem to like that as much. I feel her tongue against my lips and it's quite funny: I don't seem to remember feeling her tongue the last time we… Anyhow, that's rather strange, isn't it? We did all that and I didn't feel her tongue? Maybe it was so good my mind blocked it for some reason. Because right now this is tremendously good!

I don't know if it's normal, or if her tongue actually is that long. And that is amazingly erotic. It feels as if it could reach the edge between my mouth and my throat, and I immediately lose the battle. She somehow flips us around and my arms join at the wrists, her hand pushing them into the wall.

"Jade."

"Shut up!"

"Jade!"

"Shut the hell up!"

I don't realize I'm the one calling her name until the third time I do it.

Mind can be a bitch.

She pushes me against the wall angrily, growling in the back of her throat.

"What!" she exclaims.

I wanna tell her nothing's wrong. I want her to keep kissing me until my mom calls me alarmed and tells me she's worried and has been looking for me all afternoon; until Jade herself offers to give me a lift back home like she did yesterday. I want her to stop kissing my lips and start kissing the rest of my face, my neck; I wanna feel her lips on my stomach, her hands cupping my breasts, my crotch.

I wanna tell my mind to go fuck itself, because it's condemning me to do exactly that.

"We have to go back, Jade." At least I can be thankful for sounding so miserable. Jade gazes uncertainly at me, as if she couldn't understand me, as if she had forgotten where we are.

"Shit." She blinks several times, seemingly coming back to reality. She pushes herself away from me. "Shit… You're right, Vega." Jade turns towards the door and starts making her way out. I stay sill.

Vega?

"Vega?"

The door's half open when she looks back at me, eyebrow raised. "What?"

"Am I still Vega?"

Jade hesitates. Her mouth open in surprise. She closes the door again. And she's…

…blushing?

"Look," she says, her eyes on my neck. "I… It's just… I kinda call you that because… 'cause…"

I take a couple steps until I'm standing right in front of her. I notice we're almost the same height. Funny I'd never realized it. Her gaze settles on me. Again I'm watching a vulnerable Jade; I like that. I ask her why one last time, just using my eyes.

"I'm the only one who calls you that," she whispers. So, Jade… she's got, she has a…

"You have a pet-name for me?"

"Well… I'd never seen it like that, but if you say so…"

Oh, teasing-Jade is back!

"I can't believe you, Jade!" She just smiles and kisses me slowly, her lips unmoving against mine. I do feel her tongue poke me once, though. She opens the door and looks expectantly at me. So, chivalry isn't dead yet… We walk side by side through the hallway. I'm sort of impressed that her shoulder seems to be bumping against mine quite willingly.

"You know, Vega?"

"What?" I hope I don't sound so freaked out. I'm not freaked out—I'm just halfway there.

"This could be fun."

"What?" Can't I say anything other than that? Jade doesn't sound like she's teasing me anymore. She sounds as if this was a normal, almost-serious conversation. The sort of conversation I've never had with her.

"You know… you, me… Us." She's rather doubtful, I think. Why? I should be begging her. Begging her to tell me I'm not dreaming.

Just yesterday I intended to take revenge on Jade. Now I want her to be my girlfriend.

"Sounds like a plan."

Oh my God!

"Yes, it does."

…

"So, honestly, were you looking so tired just because of me?"

"What? No, I…" I sound awfully unsure. "Maybe a bit." Jade looks pointedly at me. "Yeah… yeah, it was because of you," I say as we come out to the parking lot.

There's a hint of what at first guess I'd call regret; it is slightly covered by a smug smile on her face, the one I used to find annoying. Now it makes me smile.

It feels weird to be so comfortable with this nice Jade. I'm still expecting her to say it's a joke. But something tells me that's not going to happen. Something tells me Jade's as happy with this as I am—if not even more: I've never seen her smiling so much.

At first I had no idea how to react. Without any heads-up she came and sat next to me at lunch. Not one mean joke and not one snarky remark; she sat there and actually talked to me. Our friends noticed. They obviously were curious, but as the minutes went on they probably realized we weren't going to explain whatever was going on between us. What's more, they probably realized we weren't paying attention to them at all. Jade has turned out to be a very nice person to talk to. And it sure was flattering to think that Jade was talking and smiling and laughing with me alone. It got me thinking that maybe I was a black hole just as much as her.

Anyway, right now we're leaving after Sikowitz' class, our last class of the day. After the old teacher left through the window Jade made her way from the back of the classroom and stood next to my bench, waiting for me to finish packing my stuff.

"So… About today…" I say. "Got any plans?" I feel awfully unconfident and am blushing redder than a tomato. I have no idea why would she agree to go anywhere with me.

"Not at all." And she's still smiling!

I wanna dance and jump all the way to my car, leave Trina to walk home, and go catch a movie with this girl, have some dinner at Nozu and kiss her goodbye in front of her house. It's amazing we're… Whatever it is we are… I don't wanna ask her about that because—Well, I really doubt anyone would wonder why I haven't asked her. But I'm as happy as can be.

"I want you to sleep tonight, though, so you can't have plans either."

Leave it to Jade to pinch and deflate my balloon of happiness…

"Oh," I say, feeling my own chest deflating. "Okay… I'll be seeing you, then."

I start towards my car with my head bent. I'd like to say Jade's cruel, but she really sounded as if she wanted me to sleep well. Is that ridiculous? Maybe she actually regretted… what, making me so anxious that I couldn't sleep all night? I don't know, maybe she is just trying to bully me in a newer, crueler way, after all…

"What are you doing?"

I turn around slowly, surprised. "W-uh…" is all I'm able to pronounce.

"You're coming home with me, didn't you guess?"

Yeah… Now I actually jump.

I keep myself from kissing her right there in front of her car. But I hug her full of joy. And I press her tight against my body; and I love the way she tenses, it makes her cute. When I push myself away I'm hoping I haven't gone over some unmentioned line. Are we close enough as for us to hug? It's almost pathetic: I hug Cat all the time and nothing seems strange; I give Jade a hug and am afraid she's gonna punch me in the face. And thankfully she doesn't. She puts her hands on my shoulders and pushes me gently, blushing madly while looking around with a small smile. No one noticed. She gets into her car and waits for me to throw my keys at Trina, who is standing next to our car some six yards away. Ignoring my sister's screeching, I walk round the car and get on it, next to Jade. She starts the engine and within minutes we're driving away from school.

Jade remains silent for a few blocks and I just don't know if I screwed up or if she's doing it on purpose because she knows how anxious I'll get.

"Are we going to discuss limits?"

She chuckles at that. "No. What are you talking about?" Jade turns her head to look at me and her smile widens. "About the hug?" I nod. "Hey, it's okay… I mean, it's weird, but it's soon." The car slows down until it stops at a side of the road and she shifts sideways to gaze at me more directly. "In any case, let's discuss who's going to know about…"-her hands motion from me to her and the other way around-"…us."

"Uh…" What am I supposed to say? I don't even know if we're something. Are we something? Are we going to be something at all? "What are we?" It comes out before I can stop it.

I don't know if I was expecting some sort of reaction from Jade. And she doesn't precisely react in any way. My question makes her thoughtful.

"Well…" she says after a short silence. And then, very slowly, she whispers, "What do you want us to be?"

Again: Oh my God!

"I mean, I won't tell you to be my girlfriend because I'm not yet sure I want you to, but I won't tell you I don't want to because I'm not sure I won't want to… eventually." I stare at Jade open-mouthed. If I'm not wrong—and I'm begging to all the gods I know that I'm not wrong—, I'm looking at a new planet where to live in. It looks similar enough to our very lovely earth; it seems warm and very habitable. But I can't dwell so much on that: I realize it should be my turn to talk. Seeing how nervous she is, I decide to send the matter away for now.

"Maybe we should explore our options first?"

Jade smiles widely at me and gets out of the car. "C'mon, Tor," she says before closing the door. I get out. I didn't notice we were in front of her house until now. I reach Jade when she's getting inside, holding the door for me to go through it. Without a single word she guides me upstairs to her room. The place sounds like it's empty. Mmmh, I hear inside my head, I guess we're not about to do our homework… I don't need to hear a confirmation to know what we came here to do. My stomach knows it too and it starts bubbling either out of fear or out of eagerness.

Jade's opening the last door of a hallway I barely realized we were crossing. I give the room less than a look by the time Jade has me against her door. Her hands are on the sides of my head. Her lips are kissing mine.

And here we go again.

Jade doesn't lose time. She turns us around and throws me to her bed. When she straddles my hips I'm almost crying of joy. She undresses in a haste and has me topless faster than I can tell her to stop. But then again, why the hell would I want her to stop? Upon seeing my polka-dotted bra Jade releases a laugh.

"You should give that back to Cat, you know?"

I can't make myself think of Cat when I have a gloriously-naked Jade West on my lap. I take it off myself and wipe that smirk from her face. My hands take Jade's head by the nape and I pull her downwards to kiss her passionately. And I really—and yet again— cannot believe that Jade's tongue feels so long inside my mouth. I need to remember asking her whether or not she can touch her nose with it. Being in this situation—clearly, Jade being naked and all over me— and with that thing—tongue— in my mouth I can't help but wish she intends to show me just how far inside me she can reach. And I also can't help blushing at the mere thought. And now I'm salivating… in more than one place.

"Shit, Vega! You look so hot right now…" says Jade, looking rather… hungry?

Her lips glue to mine for a short moment, and then they start downwards. They kiss my chin and my neck. And they spend a while on my breasts. They kiss my nipples, and they bite them as well. Jade's hands roam my body: they run all over my thighs, all the way to my stomach, and they cup my breasts suggestively. I'm squirming, looking for something where to grind my center at. My back arches into and away from the mattress beneath me, up and down, trying to stimulate Jade's hyperactive mouth to kiss me and suck me and lick me further. I want her to take my pants off, I want to feel her naked skin against mine once again. And I don't lose time in telling her that…

—or at least, in trying to.

"Jade, Ja—Fuck! Jade, please! I want to… I wanna…"

"What?" Jade says. "What do you want?"

Fuck! What is she doing to me?

Since obviously I'm not gonna be able to connect more than a couple words I just tell her "You!" Thankfully, that seems to be enough.

I probably black out from the sexual frustration that was building up within me, because the next thing I know is that I'm naked and with my legs hanging in the air. My hips are now on the edge of Jade's bed, and she's kneeling in front of me with her face still buried in the valley between my breasts. Her own bosom feels amazingly firm against my stomach, and her arms tight and strong around my waist. For a second I'm able to wonder if my body is being over-sensitive. But I can't think about that for too long, because Jade answers my question for me. Her long tongue—and now I'm actually watching it work— slides across my stomach, pausing for just a second to play with my navel. And it keeps going. Her teeth somehow pull open the button of my jeans. A hand pulls down the zipper. And Jade tugs them off my legs.

I can only hope that the reason why I'm now completely naked is that she tugged my panties along with the pants, because I'm pretty sure I remember putting on my undergarments before choosing my jeans; and it would be awfully embarrassing—and even a bit worrying—to think I had imagined that.

As soon as her tongue attacks me, I feel like I'm losing my mind. My hands tense on the sheets beneath me. My toes and feet press painfully against the rug on the floor. My eyelids close tightly. A moan escapes my mouth, making my throat tremble.

Meanwhile, Jade's tongue is reaching me in places I didn't know were in me. It's twisting and twirling. It's drawing sketches and writing stories inside me. Her warm breath soaks my center and stimulates my clitoris; I feel her nose scratching me there, too. Her fingers caress my chest and stomach. She's really paying attention to me. She's paying attention to a lot of details. I wanna open my eyes and find out if she's grown another couple of arms—though, it seems I'm not able to. There's no way she can do all that at once. For some reason she moans into me. And that makes me convulse as if I was having some attack.

"Shit, Vega, what's with you." I feel more than hear Jade, and wanna trap her head with my legs.

Oh, I think, just wait till it's my turn… You're gonna regret having teased me. I can't help but wondering where is that coming from.

Chuckling, she adds, "I'm barely doing anything to you." I don't know if she's threatening me, mocking me, or trying to show me what's to come, what she's able to do. My whole body trembles in anticipation. If Jade was to make me beg to let me come, she would get everything she'd ask out of me. But she doesn't. My eyes open for just a second after Jade spoke. And her eyes stare into mine. Our bodies stop. My chest is rising and falling, Jade's nose keeps tickling my mound. I open my mouth to beg.

Before I can make any sound, though, Jade's on me again. Her eyes remain looking into mine. I start moaning, feeling her gaze on my chin as my head tilts backward with pleasure. My body tenses: I feel my hands and my feet clamping, my breath escapes me and my back arches forwards by itself. I press Jade's face forcefully against me and I'm surprised to find her eyes still staring at me. A minute later—that feels as long as an eternity— my body stops convulsing and my hands cup Jade's moist face. I blush when I realize what's that that covers her face.

But I don't care: I kiss her. And she kisses me back.

And I know then that for as long as I'm able to kiss Jade like this—not necessarily with my cream covering her face— I'm gonna feel happy, as happy as I'm feeling right now. As happy as I've felt ever since the moment Jade came and sat next to me at lunch just because she wanted to; as happy as I've felt since she left me in front of my house yesterday. Because I now know that that feeling, that uncertainty I felt, the one that kept me from sleeping last night, was some sort of sleeping happiness; which only Jade could awake.

And that she did.

I don't know if Jade's gonna want me as her girlfriend, I don't know if I'm gonna want her as such… I don't even know if we're gonna be something the moment I leave Jade's house. But I couldn't care less right now. It turns out I cannot think about anything other than the fact that Jade's climbing up my body, dragging her lips along my stomach, my breasts and my neck. She pushes me back up to the center of the bed and lies on top of me.

But she doesn't stop there. Her lips kiss mine for a couple of minutes. She looks at me, and I can almost swear that what's in her eyes is tenderness; though, that sounds awfully unbelievable… She resumes her climbing and I feel a wet path being drawn across my stomach as her hips—and her wet strip of pubic hair— presses against it. And she keeps moving. Until I'm seeing her face from beneath her hips. The part of her body that's closer to me—almost touching my lips— seems to be dripping wet, and what it makes me feel confuses me. It's obvious I can't call it beautiful, but the way it smells and what it means to us excites my mind in a way I can't understand, it makes me hot in very embarrassing places, and it makes me wanna taste…

And that I do.

"Oh, my fucking God!" moans Jade. Her hands cover my forehead and it's more a caress than a desperate push, like mine probably was… She keeps moaning loudly. Her hips gyrate obscenely on my face; now, I'm probably wetter than Jade herself.

"Fuck, Jade! You're amazing!" I say against her. And she seems to like it, judging by the way she presses down on my face. The pain I feel on my nose is absolutely worth it.

I twist my tongue in her. I push it in and pull it out. I lick all around. With my lips and teeth I take a soft hold on her hard nub, running my tongue on it back and forth. My arms are grasping her thighs; my hands are holding Jade's lips open. Her nectar runs down her inner-thighs, though most of it falls on my invading muscle and provides a strong, salty taste. My nose is numb all over from her hips' constant pressure. My chin feels moist, and very hot as well. My throat keeps vibrating with passing moans and Jade's body keeps trembling with pleasure: with the pleasure I'm providing.

Her eyes gaze heavy-liddedly down at me. Her face is framed by the impressively pronounced mounts that are her breasts. I watch her as my hands caress their way up her torso and cup her chest. I watch the way her eyelids finally blind her momentarily, the way her mouth gapes slowly. I watch the vibrations of her throat as a breathless gasp battles past her pink lips. I watch and feel as her chest pushes into my hands with her arching back. And I watch—and can't help but love— my own hands close and squeeze Jade's bosom.

"Oh, Tori!" she wails, and her voice sounds almost-worryingly soft. "How are you so good at that?"

With that she finally releases her cream, washing my face with it. As she convulses her body shifts and her hands pull my head out from under her hips. And her lips kiss mine tenderly. So, so softly… Her arms hug my body and I feel her hot body pin me against her bed.

Before I'm able to assimilate what's happening, Jade's face is buried in my neck. But she's not kissing me, or breathing in my scent, as I had thought she would after all that's been done here. No. She's unmoving. She's paralyzed. She's not even breathing I think.

"Vega?" she whispers.

"Yeah?" I answer uncertainly. What exactly is going on?

"What was that?"

"I… I don't… What do you mean, Jade?"

"What do I…? You're at my house, on my bed! Naked and with me!" She's still talking into my collarbone. Her breathing's accelerating against my skin. But her arms are still tight around me, and her hands are still caressing my back. "What does this mean?"

Her voice sounds so normal. Not the way it sounded since I first saw her in front of the classroom all those hours ago; not the way it sounded when she came and sat with me, and talked to me. It sounds the same way it did yesterday, when she was teasing me for my disastrous attempt of a prank; the way it sounded every time she's teased me and bullied me since the moment I met her. But that's not it. There's seems to be a certain edge to her voice… unknown to me inside the background of Jade's voice, unheard of. And I could almost swear Jade's… scared.

How could I ignore it? Now that I'm thinking about it, Jade did seem tired when I saw her pass by in front of my car when the day started; she did seem surprised—and even ashamed— when we had that silent exchange in the classroom. And she definitely seemed uncertain for a second when I asked her if we were something.

Jade's been as troubled by all this as I have, if not even more.

And for the first time I wonder: Why did Jade kiss me in the first place? What made her come closer and press her body against mine when she saw me, dripping wet and inside the janitor's closet? Why was it that her expression changed so suddenly and so extremely as her eyes ran over my body?

And—again, for the first time— I wonder: What if Jade feels for me what I feel for her? I mean, whatever that is… Maybe Jade's as affected by me as I'm affected by her!

Now, that is a flattering thought—not to mention relieving and motivating.

"I don't know." I come back to reality, hoping I didn't leave her hanging for too long. "I don't know," I whisper, with my lips softly caressing her shoulder.

"I… I'm tired of this, Tori. I'm tired of not knowing. I'm tired of seeing you every day and not knowing why my chest deflates of its confidence, why my stomach starts to ache; why I feel like I should make you hate me. I'm tired of feeling bad for making you hate me… Tired of wondering whether I want you to hate me or… Or what?"

I don't speak.

Her lips open and press for just a second against my collarbone. Her breathing is warm against my skin, but it still gives me goosebumps.

"I don't know what's going on, Tori. But I'm willing to find out. And I don't give a shit how weird it will look if I don't insult you anymore. I don't give a shit if it ruins my reputation. I want to learn things about you. I want to learn how to look at you without feeling doubts. I want to be able to look into your eyes the next time I drop some cheesy shit like this."

I'm sort of uncertain, but know what to do. I shift our bodies until I'm looking at her with my hands cupping her cheeks. I'm desperately hoping I don't have my face covered in tears, because I don't wanna freak her out right after all that. And I kiss her, just as I finally start assimilating what's going on.

I got too close to this black hole—that I named Jade One—. It pulled me in until I went right through the "point of no return". Somehow, I got swallowed by a wormhole and got across space without realizing it, and without knowing where I had gotten to. I came out in an unknown galaxy, with lots of habitable planets. Now, I've settled down on one. I don't know if I'll live here forever, or if I'll leave after a while. Maybe living here will end up killing me. But as for now, it looks like a very fine place to live in. And so, I'm sticking a sign, pronouncing this planet as my actual home, and naming it Jade.

After all, Jade wasn't a black hole, it seems.

And there it was. I hope the scientific stuff wasn't too boring, I sure tried to make it as clear as possible for the purposes of the story. I don't know if anyone noticed, but the first chapter changed its name, and it's most likely that the story's name will change as well; though, I don't yet know to which one. I've had a couple of ideas for more erotically-plotted chapters—that is, no more lemons— which would come by the hand of Jade West herself... Only time—and my disposition during vacations—will tell if there's any more coming...

By the way, I wanted to tell you guys about this thing that's not precisely new in FF but allows users and readers lots of expression freedom: it's called reviewing and you can do it even if you're not registered! So, why don't we all go there and post some cool opinions about this story? I know it's a great idea! Carry on and do it! :)