Disclaimer: Later in the chapter I say that Tori writes "Without You". This is only because I am incapable of creating my own song lyrics so I had to borrow a song and this one seemed to be perfect. Just letting you know so nobody gets confused and thinks "Without You" is something it's not. It's from RENT.
"I'm so excited you came with me!" Tori jumped around excitedly, gripping Jade's hand tight as she pulled her along to her studio.
Jade couldn't help but laugh at the Latina's enthusiasm. "So am I. Can't wait to see you belt out some tunes."
Tori giggled as she ran in to see her manager and record producer there waiting for her. They turned to welcome her, giving Jade confused glances. Both men knew Tori's preference for women. They didn't care. But Tori could tell they were wondering if Jade was Tori's knew girlfriend. "Morning Mason. Morning Criss. This is Jade West. Do you remember her Mason? She was the one who was supposed to take my place at the Platinum Music Awards but didn't."
"Ugh. Don't remind me," Jade joked.
"Ah yes. I do remember," Mason smiled slightly at her.
The other man, Criss, a tall man with long, black hair and black clothes nodded to her, "Nice to meet you. You hangin' around today?"
Jade stood proudly as she responded, "Yes I am."
"Well that's good. You can keep Tori company while we head to an emergency meeting with Kelly Clarkson," Jade's eyes widened, but Tori just calmly frowned slightly. ('Maybe she's already met Kelly Clarkson,' Jade told herself.) Mason continued, "I was just getting ready to call you to tell you when you walked in. Of course, as usual, you can hang around here, practice, or whatever. I do expect us to continue when we're done with Kelly though. So if you go far, at least be reachable by phone."
Tori stood straight-backed and faked a salute, "Aye aye Cap'n."
Jade had to drop her head to hide her giggle and rolling of her eyes. Mason and Criss seemed to be used to Tori's tomfoolery so they just said their goodbyes and left. Once they were gone, Tori headed over to where there was a small platform type area. She went to the table to pour herself a cup of coffee. "Want some?" she asked over her shoulder.
"Sure. Black," Jade answered as she looked around.
"Yah. I remember how you like it," Tori said quietly.
Jade continued to look around as if she hadn't heard. She was fascinated by the huge electrical board in front of the recording room. She felt a bit sad being reminded of the life she had dreamed for herself- the life that had been snatched from her. Tori appeared by her side just then and handed her the coffee. She could sense Jade's regrets but decided to leave it alone. "So what do you wanna do? We could get out of here and go do some shopping? Goof around her for a while? Whatever you want."
Jade turned to smile at her, "Let's just stay here."
Tori smiled back, "Okay!" she sipped her coffee before turning to look at the three guitars and piano that were sitting in the recording booth. An idea came to her. "You still play and sing?" she asked.
Jade shrugged, "Haven't since Hollywood Arts, but I think I still could."
"Must be like riding a bike. Or swimming. Once you learn it well enough, you never forget it," Tori wondered aloud, thinking what it would be like if she were to take a break from playing, singing, swimming, or riding a bike for years at a time. She shook the thought away, wanting to focus on Jade. She grabbed Jade's free hand and, as she began to pull her into the other room, said, "Come on. Let's play."
"I like the sound of that," Jade couldn't help but make her voice all deep and husky. When Tori looked over at her with one eyebrow raised, she winked with a smirk. Tori giggled and rolled her eyes, but otherwise ignored her. She picked up the acoustic guitar and put the strap around her. Jade sat down at the piano. While Tori moved a chair around so she could sit facing Jade, Jade gently ran her fingers over the piano without pressing them hard enough to make noise. It had been years since she'd played any instrument, even longer since she'd sang. After being forced to leave, the two things reminded her too much of Hollywood Arts, the life she wanted, the life she missed, and Tori. Without Tori her singing voice literally died inside her. It was odd, she couldn't really explain it. But whenever she'd tried singing, she either didn't feel the music inside her and therefore sounded like crap or she just couldn't produce a voice. That had been before things had gotten really bad and after that she didn't even try at all. She wondered if her voice would be raw from being unused for so long or broken completely. She used to be so proud of her voice; it may not have been the career path she would've chosen but she knew she could really sing, and it had been something that brought her joy. She hadn't realized before how much that bothered her, how much she missed music and singing. And now that she was presented with the opportunity to do it again, she was nervous.
Tori watched Jade for a few minutes as she ghosted her hands over the keys. She had this far-off, deep-in-concentration-and-memories look. Tori wondered if Jade had been telling the truth when she said she hadn't even sung since Hollywood Arts. She must have been for her to look like that, like singing was suddenly the scariest, most difficult thing in the world. Tori pondered how to ease Jade into singing. Then an idea came, and she smiled. She strummed the strings on the guitar and quietly, slowly begun to sing.
"Here I am
Once again
Feeling lost
But now and then
I breathe it in
To let it go"
Jade looked at Tori with a wide-eyed look. Then when she saw Tori was trying to get her to sing the song that had gotten Tori into Hollywood Arts, the song that became the inspiration behind Tori's locker, the song they had sang when they all thought they were going to die in Beck's RV from heat exhaustion, the song they'd sang along with the iCarly guys' song, Jade slowly smiled.
"And you don't know where you are now
Or what it would come to
If only somebody could hear
When you figure out how
You're lost in the moment
You disappear"
Tori looked at her, silently giving her her cue. Jade took a deep breath and sung the chorus along with her.
"You don't have to be afraid
To put your dream in action
You're never gonna fade
You'll be the main attraction
Not a fantasy
Just remember me
When it turns out right"
Jade's voice was a little shaky and pitchy at first, but she was overjoyed to know it still worked. The way Tori smiled happily and proudly at her gave her the courage to put more into it.
"'Cause you know that if you live in your imagination
Tomorrow you'll be everybody's fascination
In my victory
Just remember me
When I make it shine"
Tori continued playing but let Jade have the solo. Her heart swelled as Jade got more and more confident and happy-looking, her voice returning to what it had once been. Utterly beautiful and powerful.
"Reaching high
Feeling low
I'm holding on but letting go
I like to shine
I'll shine for you
And it's time to show the world how
It's a little bit closer
As long as I'm ready to go
All we have is right now
As long as you feel it inside you know"
Tori joined back in for the chorus, and together they belted the rest of song.
"[Chorus]
Everyone can tell you how
It's all been said and done (oh whoa oh)
That harder times will change your mind
And make you wanna run
But you want it
And you need it
Like you need to breathe the air
If they doubt you
Just believe it
That's enough to get you there
[Chorus]"
As the song ended, they both finished with a strong, loud bang by standing up and putting their arms over their head. When they finished they both collapsed into their seats. For a moment they just stared at each other, then Jade erupted in joyous, uncontrollable laughter. Tori felt herself fall under the spell of Jade's laughter and let it take her over, making her laugh uncontrollably as well. When Jade finally stopped laughing, she smiled widely at Tori. "My voice works again!" She said victoriously.
Tori giggled, "It sure does! Wanna do another?"
Jade nodded excitedly and, for the next few hours, they sang happily together.
~~~~~Victorious~~~~~
Joe rubbed his fingers over his temples as his eyes grew tired and weak and his headache transformed into a migraine. He and his fellow cops had spent hours at the house of Sloane Remeire the day before. The smell had spread through the whole house, making them all feel sick by the time everything had been processed. When they were done, they had taken all their pictures and evidence back to their headquarters to go over it, trying to piece together what had happened the Remeire. Once word had spread that the highly wanted man had been found slain in the house, everyone had been stopping by his desk to ask for details. And after going over everything for the rest of the previous day, through the night, and into the morning, he and his team had nothing. It was driving Joe absolutely nuts.
Sloane Remeire was previously one of the most wanted people in the country. They had a whole list of things against him- murder, identity theft, armed robbery, kidnapping, drug smuggling, and arms distribution to name the biggest crimes. But probably the one that Joe considered one of the most heinous was the serial rape of underage girls. Joe had a 15 year old daughter himself, and had been forced to worry about her safety more than usual when multiple girls had either gone missing- never to be found again- or had been later found with a story of being raped. There was no pattern to the rapes other than them being in their teens. It was only the survivors' description of their rapist that led them to believe Remeire was a suspect. The man had gone from place to place, always being two steps ahead of the police, never leaving a trail behind him until he grabbed a girl or several. No one had been able to find him until Joe's precinct had gotten a tip from a neighbor of Remeire's. That had been what led them to the house the previous day. It wasn't exactly a surprise to find the offensive man dead. Hell, Joe had even considered it to be a gift; the man deserved to die and die brutally by the looks of it, and he wasn't the only one who thought so. There were only two negative parts to finding him dead. One, they wouldn't be able to get him to confess where the bodies of the other girls he'd kidnapped and raped were (because let's face the cold, hard truth- they were almost certainly dead by now). Two, now they had to figure out and find whoever killed the son of a bitch.
Personally, Joe wanted to congratulate and thank said person for ridding the world of such a horrible man. But the law doesn't work that way. Murder is murder no matter if the person deserved it or not. The only clue they had to go on was that it appeared he'd kept his prisoners in the basement. They had found cages, chains, hooks, and a mattress among other things. The sight made Joe sick to his stomach, making him picture his own little girl chained up and raped. When they had taken a closer look around, they'd found that one of the chains had been ripped from the wall and there was a pile of blood by the mattress. According to their ME, that had probably been where Remeire had his throat slit judging by the amount of blood. They were running the blood now as well as all the other evidence. If it was proved that girls had been kept down there, it could give them the possibility that one of them had broken free, killed him, and escaped. That would narrow down their suspects. Though Joe partially hoped that wouldn't be the case. He would hate to arrest a young girl who had been put through hell and killed the person responsible for said hell.
Other than that possibility, they figured that it could have also been a revenge seeking parent or a rival drug lord. They had so many paths this could go down, but no clues as to which one yet. The more Joe looked, the more frustrated he got. Bob and the fourth member of their team Alex had already decided to give up for the time being and go home for some rest, but Joe had stayed hoping to find some answers. Suddenly, a bottle of Advil bounced on his desk. He looked up to see the team leader Rod looking down at him. "Thanks," he grumbled grabbing the bottle.
"Go home Joe. Rest. Hug that daughter of yours. When you come back in tomorrow, you'll be able to look at this with fresh eyes and mind," Rod said. His voice was gentle as if it were a suggestion, but Joe had been working with Rod for 12 years; he knew better and saw that his eyes were hardened, making it an order.
Joe sighed, knowing he had no choice, and nodded. "See you tomorrow then Boss," he said as he walked away. He would just feel better when this whole case went away.
~~~~~Victorious~~~~~
"Are you really sure it was a good idea to record us singing together?" Jade asked nervously as she and Tori sat down inside the restaurant. She and Tori had spent the first half of the day singing and playing and goofing off. Tori taught Jade a song she'd written but hadn't recorded yet- a love song meant to be sung as a duet. Jade had thought it was beautiful and demanded they sing it together. They had gotten it nearly perfect when they had to break for lunch. They had ordered a pizza and ate it then went back to singing when Mason and Criss had returned, only the girls hadn't noticed.
"Whenever you're ready," Tori said. When Jade gave her the 'okay' nod, Tori began to play the music on her guitar. Then Jade began to sing.
"Without you, the ground thaws, the rain falls, the grass grows.
Without you, the seeds root, the flowers bloom, the children play.
The stars gleam, the poets dream, the eagles fly, without you.
The earth turns, the sun burns, but I die, without you.
Without you, the breeze warms, the girl smiles, the cloud moves.
Without you, the tides change, the boys run, the oceans crash.
The crowds roar, the days soar, the babies cry, without you.
The moon glows, the river flows, but I die, without you.
TORI:
The world revives
JADE:
Colors renew
BOTH:
But I know blue, only blue, lonely blue, within me blue.
JADE:
Without you.
Without you, the hand gropes, the ear hears, the pulse beats.
TORI:
Without you, the eyes gaze, the legs walk, the lungs breathe.
The mind churns!
JADE:
The mind churns!
TORI:
The heart yearns!
JADE:
The heart yearns!
BOTH:
The tears dry, without you.
Life goes on, but I'm gone.
Cause I die, without you.
JADE:
Without you.
TORI:
Without you.
BOTH:
Without you."
When the song ended, they stared at each other for a moment until they were interrupted by clapping. They both looked over to see Mason and Criss clapping at them in awe. Jade and Tori both blushed at having their moment interrupted.
"My God," Mason exclaimed, "That was bloody brilliant. You two sound wonderful together."
They both laughed awkwardly. "Thanks," Tori said as she tried to ignore the blush on her face.
"I say they should do it again," Criss looked at Mason.
Mason got the underlying message and said, "Yes! Brilliant! What would you two say to doing that again and letting it be recorded? Tori's next album was almost finished, but we could add it on there. Or we could release this as a special single. That can be worked out later, but what do you two say recording that?"
Tori and Jade shared a look. Seeing that Jade didn't have a problem with the idea, she nodded at the men, "Alright. Let's do it!"
So they had set up the microphones and equipment before singing it once again. Jade was a bit nervous at first, but then her eyes found Tori's and her unease melted away. It felt so good and natural to be singing a duet with Tori- just like it had when they'd sung "Take a Hint". It hadn't taken very long to get it done. After that, Tori recorded one of the songs she was supposed to get done today and then they'd called it a day, deciding to stop for dinner before going home.
"Of course I'm sure!" Tori exclaimed, "It was fun, and we sounded amazing. And maybe that'll get you some recognition. Plus, I really liked sharing that with you."
Jade felt herself relax as she melted at Tori's words, "Yah. I liked sharing that with you two."
Just then their food arrived, and they paused their conversation as the waiter placed down their meals. When he left, they started to eat in comfortable silence until Tori said, "Wanna know a secret?"
Jade raised an eyebrow in curiosity, "Sure Vega."
"I wrote that song for you."
Jade's eyes widened at the words. "What?" she gasped.
Tori blushed and looked away, "I wrote it years ago. I needed a song that captured how I felt after you vanished. At first I wasn't sure whether I'd record it or not; no one seemed good enough to sing it with me since it was supposed to be for you. But then as time went on, it sorta went to the back of my mind. I'm not sure why I decided to share it with you today, but I'd have done it eventually." She looked back up into the sapphires that were Jade's eyes as she said, "I just wanted you to know that the song was for you."
Jade was shocked into silence. She had never had someone write a song for/about her before. She was instantly hit with just how deeply Tori loved her, and it amazed her. The amount of awe and love she felt in return at that moment took her by surprise as well. She had no idea how to tell Tori just how she felt, so instead she leaned over the table, grabbed gently onto her hair, and pulled their faces together until their lips met in a searing kiss. Jade tried to pour everything she felt into the kiss, hoping Tori would understand. For a moment, Tori was frozen as she let Jade's emotions flow through their lips. Then she melted when she felt just how appreciative Jade was and responded back with as much heat as she was getting. It was then that both girls realized this was the first kiss they'd shared in seven years. They noticed that it hardly felt like that; it felt like they had been kissing each other for years. It was then they realized that it felt like returning home.