She was late, and being late was her pet peeve. Jade had overslept, and was speeding towards school after having hurriedly dropped off Tori's things. On top of that, she had forgotten her tumbler of hot coffee on the kitchen counter, as well as her antidepressant.
"Oh, I'm gonna rip some faces off today." She muttered angrily under her breath, as she peeled into the school parking lot. She grabbed her bag and stalked towards her locker.
"Ms. West! Your presence is requested in the guidance counsellor's office!" Sikowitz's voice rang out in the hallway just as she had slammed her locker shut.
"Great. Thank you. Thank you so very much." She muttered under her breath and stomped to the counselling centre, ripping open the door. "What do you want?" She snarled, slamming the door behind her.
"Ah…Jade. Nice of you to join me." Lane spun in his chair and peered at the fuming girl in front of him. "Have a seat." He gestured to the couch.
"No. I'm here. Say what you need to say. I'm missing class." She growled, crossing her arms and leaning against the wall.
"Suit yourself. I would just like to know where you were during the last two periods yesterday." Lane smiled.
"Home." She said curtly, flipping her hair impatiently over her shoulder.
"May I inquire as to why?"
"Cramps." She hissed at him.
"And do you have a note from your mother?"
"My mother is currently shooting a movie. So, no. I don't have a note from her." She sneered, lip curling in distaste. "Now, are we done here?"
"Not quite. I would also like to know where Ms. Vega was yesterday at around the same time." He peered concernedly at her.
"In the hospital." She said shortly, suddenly very still. Her mind churned to conjure up a cover-up.
"In the hospital. Now, why would she have been there? And how would you have known?" Lane inquired.
"Are you kidding? It's all over the freakin' internet!" She said incredulously, picking up her bag. "Now, are we done here?" She asked, wrenching open the door impatiently.
"Yes. Thank you, Jade." He said, as the door was slammed angrily shut.
"Did you hear that Tori Vega went crazy? Apparently she killed someone and now she's gone crazy in the hospital."
"No, I heard that she just went nuts in the girls' bathroom. And then they had to call the police and everything."
"Guys, it says on the Slap that she was hospitalised because her parents beat her."
The whispers were everywhere. Anger bubbled inside of Jade, and she knew it probably had something to do with missing her antidepressant this morning, but she didn't care. She had already shoved two cheerleaders into walls today, and it wasn't even lunch.
"Hey, Jade, did you hear what happened to…" The preppy voice trailed off as she slowly turned around to level the airheaded sophomore a glare. She slowly reached out and grabbed the girl's collar, pushing her into a wall.
"What did you say to me?" She snarled angrily, getting right up into the terrified student's face.
"N-nothing." She stammered nervously, eyes darting around to find an escape. A crowd had formed around them.
"Perfect." Jade murmured. She released the girl. "Listen up, you bunch of fucking idiots!" She yelled, looking around at the fearful faces around her. "The next person I hear talking about Tori Vega is going to regret it very, very much. Is that clear?" Her voice projected over the heads of the students, many of whom nodded furiously. "I SAID IS THAT CLEAR?!" She screamed, glaring at individual students.
"Yes…" They muttered, before scattering to their respective tables. She stalked off to her car. She would go visit Tori during her lunch hour.
"Hey, Tor." She sat down across from the singer, who looked up from her book.
"Hey." A grin stretched comfortably across her face. "How was school this morning?"
"Infuriating." Jade growled, tucking her legs under her. "As usual." She spat, sipping her coffee.
"I'm sure it wasn't that bad. You just have an unfounded hatred for people." Tori said easily, carefully slipping her bookmark between the pages and closing it. They were in a different room, with comfortable armchairs and carpet. Windows cast a natural light into the room, and there was a nice flat screen hanging on a wall, silently playing a Dodgers game.
"They're saying horrible things about you." Jade said, hesitantly, not wanting to trigger the singer.
"I've always wanted to be popular." Tori smiled, and then looked back at her friend in alarm. "You didn't beat anybody up today, did you?"
"No…?" Jade grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck.
"Jade…" Tori sighed resignedly. "What did you do?"
"Nothing!" Jade insisted.
"Jade." Tori looked at her sternly.
"Fine. I just…scared them." Jade admitted quietly. "I didn't hurt them!" She whined, throwing her hands in the air.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes!"
"Well, stop putting the fear of God into the student body, yeah?" Tori scolded. Jade huffed and rolled her eyes.
"You look better today." Jade's voice softened, smiling back at her friend.
"Well, we're still working on a better fit for me. I still kinda feel like I'm walking around underwater." Tori frowned, setting her book down on the floor.
"It'll take some time." Jade offered, fiddling with her paper cup. She shuffled her legs onto the ground.
"Jade, stop fidgeting." Tori murmured.
"I can't." She huffed, taking another sip of coffee. Tori's eyes slid up to meet hers.
"You forgot." She stated flatly.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Jade said, looking away guiltily.
"Jade!" Tori said, firmly. "What happened?"
"I was running late this morning. I overslept." She sighed, fiddling with the ends of her hair.
"Then you should've gone straight to school." Tori reprimanded, staunchly. "I'm serious, Jade. Your recovery comes first for you."
"You know, you'd be suuuuper convincing if you weren't slurring like a drunk." Jade smirked, setting down her empty coffee cup. Tori sighed.
"It's the Klonopin." She rolled her eyes. "And don't change the subject."
"Keep it up and you'll get kicked out of Hollywood Arts for recreational drug use." Jade mocked, grinning mischievously.
"Shut it, West." Tori quipped. "Go home and take your meds." She grinned, shoving the Goth out the door.
"Good luck, Tor." Jade turned to smile at her friend, waggling her fingers playfully.
"Get out of here, West."