Hi, we're back. Poor old Carla, I'm not feeling a lot of love for her out there - she's not such a bad old stick, and it's a thankless role in life to be the romantic foil between Jade and Tori, but somebody's got to do it.

I don't know where the banana thing comes from, I started it in Meta and now it's canon in my head.

Many thanks for your reviews.

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"This is so weird," said Tori, as they sat down.

"What?"

"You and me. Sitting in a restaurant."

"No it isn't," Jade said. "We've sat in restaurants hundreds of times. We were at Nozu's practically every week."

"I know, but... you know, voluntarily."

"I've never eaten in a restaurant against my will."

"Look, let me have my moment, okay?" Tori said. "I've waited a long time for this. The least you can do is let me revel in it."

"I'm sorry," Jade said. "Revel away."

"Thank you. Let's start again. This is so weird."

"Wow, no kidding. I never thought I'd see the day. No sirree."

"That's better."

"What do you want to drink?"

"Something big."

Jade raised her eyebrows and waved the waiter over.

"So," said Tori, when they'd ordered their drinks. "Tell me all the news."

"What news?"

"The news. You know. The gossip. The things you tell someone you haven't seen in a year."

"Oh, that."

"Yes, that. Tell it to me."

"Okay, well... everything's fine."

"Is that it?"

"I don't know what else to say. College isn't too bad, I'm working on a script, and we haven't had any earthquakes."

"Have you seen any of the guys?"

Jade shrugged. "I've been kind of busy."

"So, what about you and Beck? Going okay?"

Jade paused. "No," she said. "We split up."

"Really? Why?"

"Well, we..."

"What?"

"The thing is, Tori, when you're at school it's a pretty insular society, you know? Close-knit. You're choosing from a small pool of people, because they're everything you know. But once you get out into the world, you look around and you see that… maybe there are other choices, other options. You know," she shrugged, uncomfortably, and played with her glass. "Better options."

After a moment she looked up to find herself bathed in the light of Tori's sympathy. "What? It was a mutual thing, okay? We just decided that we'd be better off apart."

"Jade..."

She sighed. "Okay, fine," she said. "He dumped me. Happy now?"

"No! That's awful! Why would he do that?"

"You've met me, why do you think?"

"Jade!"

"He met someone else. Someone... nicer."

"You're nice."

"I'm a lot of things, Tori, but nice isn't one of them."

"You did my homework for me."

Jade found it quite cute that Tori still referred to it as 'homework', but refrained from saying so. "That was because I had an ulterior motive."

"What?"

"So we could come out tonight. I didn't want you to be stuck inside doing 'homework' while I sat all on my own, festering away in a luxury hotel."

"You can't fester in a luxury hotel."

"Fine. Languishing in a luxury hotel."

"Poor you."

"Poor me."

"I still say you're nice."

"And I still say you're an idiot."

"That's not nice!"

"See?"

Tori stuck her tongue out, and Jade laughed despite herself. The food arrived, and for a few minutes they sat and ate in companionable silence, Tori with her head down, occasionally glancing up and smiling, Jade watching her.

It was easy. It was too easy. And it shouldn't be. They'd only come to some kind of peace in the last few weeks of school, and they hadn't seen each other since. By rights, they should still be carrying the baggage of their shared animosity, but it seemed Tori was willing to throw it all overboard and act as if they'd been friends for years.

Maybe they had. Maybe Tori had always been right, and Jade had just been too pig-headed to see it. There was an odd irony in the fact she'd spent so much time being lonely in the company of the one person who might have helped.

"What?" She came back to the present to see Tori watching her, and realized she'd been staring.

"Nothing," she said quickly. "It's just you have... sauce on your face."

She offered a napkin, but Tori just leaned across the table, face tilted, and Jade realized she was expecting her to take care of it. She dabbed at the imaginary food reluctantly.

"Gone?"

"Um... yeah."

"Thanks." Tori smiled and returned to her food, hooking her hair back over one ear, and Jade was struck by the strange intimacy of the moment. She shook her head slightly to dispel it, to remind herself that this intimacy was only the shadow of a deeper one, one that Tori shared with someone else.

Carla. Tori hadn't mentioned her at all. In her admittedly limited experience of people who wanted to discuss their private lives with her, she'd found that people tended to bring this kind of thing up, no matter how hard she let it be known that she couldn't care less. Now she actually wanted to know, Tori was keeping quiet. Well that wouldn't stand.

"So. Carla," she said.

"Mmm?"

"Come on Tori, this is Friendship 101, showing off your new girlfriend. So spill. Where did you meet?"

"Oh. Er… in a nightclub."

"What, so you just went over to her and said, 'Hi, I'm Tori, fly me'?"

"No!"

"Then what?"

Tori sighed. "It's going to sound stupid."

"Probably. Why?"

"Well, you've seen her, right?"

"Not really, considering you rammed my hat on my head so hard I thought I was wearing a cranial band."

"A cranial band?"

"You know, like a gastric band. It stops you thinking too much."

"I didn't... wait, is that a real thing?"

"No, of course not. Now come on."

"Oh, right. Well, I..." Tori grimaced as though she were about to rip off a sticking plaster. "I kind of thought she was you."

"You what?"

"I was pretty drunk, and she looked a bit like you from behind, so I went up and put my hands..."

"Whoa, tiger! I'm not sure I like where this is going."

"Shut up. I went up behind her and put my hands over her eyes, and said 'Guess who?' And she turned round and said, 'I dunno, who?' and..." Tori shook her head, mortified. "I was so embarrassed."

"I'll bet you were. I don't know which I'm more impressed by, that you had the nerve to do that to a strange woman in a nightclub, or the fact you had the nerve to do it when you thought it was me."

"Well I was hoping, what with our new-found spirit of friendship and everything, that you might not kill me. You might even be pleased to see me."

"Why would you think I was there at all?"

"I was drunk!" Tori said. "A lot of things seem possible when you're drunk. Anyway, we got talking, and she was pretty cool about it, and... it just went on from there. We didn't date right off, we just hung out as friends for a while. But then one night we'd had a couple of drinks, and we were sat real close on the sofa, and-"

"Oh God, please. Spare me the gory details."

"I thought you wanted to know everything."

"Not that much everything. Pass the wine."

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"Was she your first?"

Tori blushed. "Jade!"

"I mean your first girlfriend."

"Oh. Er, yeah. I guess."

"You guess? Is there some doubt?" Jade said. "Have you been dated against your will? Or have there just been some guys who were just a bit too pretty, if you know what I mean?"

"No! Okay, fine, she was my first."

"Right." Jade poked at her food. "And does she... treat you well?"

"I'm not a dog, Jade."

"Hey, give me a break here! This is the first time I've ever been interested in someone else's life, I don't know what questions to ask."

Tori grinned at Jade's discomfort. "Okay, I'm sorry," she said. "I know this is a difficult time for you."

"Yes it is."

"You're doing great, though."

"Really?"

"Yeah. A little more sincerity and you'll pass for a human being in no time."

Jade snorted. "Thanks."

"And I'm quite touched."

"Yeah, you are."

"Not like that! I mean I'm touched that you're interested. It's quite sweet."

"It doesn't take much to impress you, Vega."

"It does!" Tori said, affronted. "I'll have you know that I'm very difficult to please."

Jade felt a strange sensation in her stomach, and she knew she'd make it worse by asking the next question, but she couldn't help herself. "And does she?"

"What?"

"Please you?"

"Jade!"

"Jesus, Tori, not everything is about sex. I mean, is she a good girlfriend? Are you happy?"

Tori hesitated for what seemed to Jade a little too long. "Yeah. Sure."

"Really?"

"Yes!"

"Oh, good. Well... I'm glad."

"And thank you."

"For what?"

"For not... treating me like I'm weird."

"You are weird. This is merely one facet of your general, all-round weirdness."

"I'm not weird!"

"One word, Tori. Bananas."

"There's nothing wrong with the way I eat bananas! Anyway, you know what I mean. Thank you for not making a big deal out it."

Jade shrugged. "I looked this friendship nonsense up on the internet, and it turns out that - apparently - I have to put up with you no matter how crazy you are."

"Really?" Tori said. "Can I have that in writing?"

"You've already had five thousand words of it, what more do you want?"

Tori laughed and reached out, squeezing Jade's hand without a second thought.

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The evening wore on, and the conversation inevitably turned to school, as they sat hunched close together, laughing conspiratorially as they slowly rewound their history. Jade felt for a moment as though time had stopped, as though there was nothing else in the universe but her, and Tori, and this restaurant.

"... coolest thing ever, although when I told Carla, she just said, 'of course clowns don't fricking bounce', so I don't think she really got it, but..."

The sudden and unwelcome intrusion of Carla and her opinion revived Jade's nagging sense of exclusion. She didn't want Tori, not like that, but there was still a twinge of jealousy that the girl in front of her was going home to someone else afterwards, that for all the blossoming and excitement of a new friendship, she was still on the outside, looking in.

She should be grateful for even that, she realized. If it hadn't been for the row at the end of school she might have missed the boat altogether. As it was, she could at least be the crazy friend. The friend your partner disapproves of. The dangerous one. Carla wouldn't have it all her own way.

Decision made, she reached for her glass and re-joined the conversation.

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"What happened to all the wine?"

"You drank it."

"Me?"

"Yup."

"Oh, man. I should really go. It's getting late."

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"Where did this bottle come from?"

"I just ordered it."

"I said I had to go!"

"Yeah. But you didn't sound really… committed."

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"I should really go. It's getting late."

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"Have you missed me?"

"Have you missed me?"

"I asked first."

"But I asked second."

"That doesn't even make sense."

"Oh. Okay. Well, I guess you could say... Yes."

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"You could say you've missed me."

"I have missed you."

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"We have really got to go."

"I guess."

"One more then. If you insist."

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"We have really, really, really..." Tori's eyes glazed over for a moment. "What was I saying?"

"You were saying 'Really'." Jade hiccupped. "A lot."

"Tha's right." Tori nodded, solemnly. "Really."

"Really… what?"

"Got to go!" Tori remembered suddenly. "We have really got to go." She got to her feet, more by luck than intent, and looked around at the empty restaurant. "Where is everyone?"

"Gone home."

"That's not fair. Why didn't they take us with them?"

"Because we don't live there."

"Oh, yeah." She poked Jade, playfully. "'Cos you live in a fancy-pants hotel, Miss La-di-da West," she said with a giggle, "and I live in a crack den."

"Yes. Yes you do," Jade said, sternly. "Shame on you. So we'd better get you back there before-"

"Oh, no!"

"What? What's wrong?"

"We were going to go dancing!" she said, mournfully.

"Oh, yeah," Jade said, swaying slightly. "It's a little late for that."

"No!" Tori said. "It's not too late!"

"Tori…"

Tori advanced on her with a look of wanton intent. "Dance with me, Jade," she said, huskily.

"I really don't think-"

"Come on. Dance with me!" She flung her arms around the other girl's neck enthusiastically, nearly sending them both flying across the table. Jade struggled to disentangle herself, aware of both the hot breath on her neck and the looming attention of the waiters. "It's okay," she managed, waving them away. "She's just a little tired. I'm taking her home. Well, not home, home. Not my home, anyway, I mean, we're not..." She gave up. "Ah, fuck it, we're outta here."

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They sat in the back of the cab, Tori nudging up against Jade insistently until Jade relented, and rather awkwardly put her arm around her.

Tori leaned in, making herself comfortable. "I can't believe you're here," she murmured.

"I wasn't dead, Tori," Jade said. "You could have come to see me any... Tori?"

There was no answer but a gentle snore. Jade sighed, and tried to rearrange her arm, at which point Tori keeled over into her lap, and lay there asleep.

"Oh, boy."

Jade was unsure of what to do with her spare arm now, so she laid it tentatively on her drunken friend, stroking her hair, and gazed out of the window into the night as the cab pulled away.

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"We're here."

"Mmm... what?"

"We're here." Jade shook the sleeping girl gently, then less gently, then jabbed her in the ribs. "You're home."

"Oh, right." Tori heaved herself upright, leaving a small patch of drool on Jade's leg. "Ewww."

"Don't worry about it."

"I fell asleep," she offered, by way of explanation.

"Really? I didn't notice."

"'Strue."

"Uh-huh.. Well now you need to get out."

"Yeah." Tori slumped back down into Jade's lap. "In a minute."

"No, now. Come on." She used her leg to shove Tori vertical again, until the other girl reluctantly accepted the reality of the situation. She smiled, sleepily.

"It's really good to see you again," she said.

"It's good to see you, too."

They sat facing each other for a moment, until Jade raised her eyebrows and nodded towards the apartment.

"Mmm?" The spell broke. "Oh, God, yeah. I'd better go." She grabbed her purse and coat, and hesitated. "Thanks for tonight."

"No problem. I'm here for a couple of days, we can do it again."

Tori smiled. "I'd like that." She opened the door, and started to climb out of the cab.

"Tori?"

"Yup?"

"Are you... going to be all right? I mean, do you want me to come in, or anything?"

"I'll be fine. It's only over there. I'm a big girl now," she said, wiggling her eyebrows. "Tie my own shoelaces and everything."

"No, I mean... I didn't want to say anything before, but Carla... she seemed pretty pissed, that's all. I don't want you to get into trouble."

Tori leaned back into cab. "Don't you worry about Carla," she said, and poked Jade gently on the nose. "You leave Carla to me."

"But-"

"See you later, Jade." She blew a kiss and with that she was gone. Jade watched her go up the stairs to the building and disappear from view. She waited for a few minutes, but finally gave the driver the address of her hotel and leaned back feeling a little more at ease. Tori's reassurance had felt genuine. Maybe Carla was okay.

But there was something else. Tori had talked a lot about Carla as the night had gone on, the trivialities and practicalities of their relationship, the everyday and - once she'd had a few drinks, and despite Jade's best efforts to stop her - the twice-a-week, and she'd seemed happy enough. And maybe it was as simple as that. You meet someone, you hang out, you fall in love.

But Tori had never mentioned love. Not once.

She sank deeper into the seat, and felt her eyelids drooping. The last thing she remembered, before sleep took her, was that in those last few moments outside the apartment, in those last few words, she'd felt a sense of inclusion, of complicity. For a moment it had been her and Tori against Carla.

And she didn't want to give that up.

She snuggled down in the back of the cab, and drifted away.

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"Forty-five bucks, Miss."

"How much?"

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