Author's Note: Do they have ShopRite stores in California and Los Angeles? I am from the New York area, so I wouldn't know. Anyway, I know this and the last chapter were rather fluffy and uneventful. If anybody is disappointed with the mood shifting away from angst and drama, I understand. However, I really do not like it in stories when relational closeness is forced and sudden, like in a romantic comedy—not to knock that format, it is understandable within two hour time limit. So to get back to the drama some everyday/fluff chapters will be necessary in-between.
Have a Happy New Year!
Jade strolls through the mall with a large diet soda in her hand and a shopping bag from Bed, Bath and Beyond in the other. Tori follows alongside her new friend and looks over her parents errand list. "Okay," Tori announces, "we got the six large bath towels to replace the used, beat-up ones." She spreads the bag open to glimpse inside, making sure they got the right towels, as Jade continues walking and sipping her beverage.
"For God's sake, we just picked them up a few minutes ago Tori," Jade complains at the other girl's obsessive compulsive disorder with the list. Tori voluntarily withdraws herself from the shopping bag, reasoning that Jade will probably either rip it away in another second, or worse, smack her over the head with it. Truth be told, Jade was thinking about it. "Come on, silly girl, what's next on the list," she asks.
Tori crosses out the item on her list with a flick of her pen. "Uhh...," she mutters as her eyes scan to the last item on the list, "Pick up dinner for the family, and that includes Trina—smiley face." Tori takes account of her surroundings, trying to figure out what part of the mall they are at. "I think we have to go this way to get to ShopRite," she says pointing to their left.
Jade drops her bag next to a table and takes a seat in the rather uncomfortable looking plastic chair. They've reached the food court, it seems. "I'm tired of walking," she informs her latin companion like a stubborn mule which is tired of carrying its burden any further.
Tori huffs, but takes a seat next to Jade anyway. It is useless arguing with someone who is intractable, she figures. Yet, Tori stares at the her like she is judging her laziness or lack of stamina.
"What?," Jade asks raising her hands in confusion. "I can't sit down to have a respite?" she spits off the tip of her tongue. This being nice thing is going to be harder than she imagined, but Tori started it!
"I didn't do anything," Tori defends with her face turning to an expression of disbelief, not realizing how Jade is getting riled up from one stupid look. She really will pick a fight for no good reason. Yet, her mind returns to the documentary she watched on runaways and remembers that damaged kids might not be the most emotionally stable.
"Don't get your panties into...," Jade starts to say but catches herself, realizing that such behavior might not be taken so kindly. She lowers her head and sighs. "I'm sorry," she mumbles across the table, hoping Vega heard her, because she hates saying those two little words, and she does not intend on saying them again. Jade extends her soda to the latina, making reconciliation. "You didn't drink anything all day," she reminds.
Tori grins a little and takes the soda cup from her. She hesitates for a moment, because she usually does not like to drink or eat what other people have already eaten and drank. Yet, she has kissed and swapped spit with the few boys she dated, so it is not an iron clad rule. She wraps her lips around the straw and takes a sip. The glorious liquid soothes her dry throat. She returns a short, "Thanks".
"Does it say what sort of food we're supposed to pick up?," Jade asks nicely.
"No, but we usually eat some sort of beef dish on Saturday nights," Tori informs her shopping companion. She brushes away the hair that has fallen in front of her face.
"When was the last time you guys ate chicken?," Jade inquires with what could only be described as a chimera created from the union of a smile and a smirk forming on her face.
"Why?," Tori answers cautiously, sinking back in her chair to get comfy.
"Oh, I just have any idea," Jade tells Tori. She leans forward and rests her elbows on the table and her head in her palms. "When my Mom ran away, I was the only one willing to cook," she continues. Tori's face drops transforming into a sad sort of smile. "My dad said it was not man's work to prepare dinner... misogynistic gank," Jade mutters the last two words under her breath, "And since I didn't want to eat salty takeout every night, I decided to teach myself how to cook by reading books, watching cooking shows and many, many burnt meals. I don't want to brag or anything, but I became quite the chef."
"What sort of dinner did you have in mind?," Tori asks with inquisitive eyes. Jade did not seem like the cooking type to her. She looked more like the kind who makes her boyfriend do all the work—or perhaps girlfriend. Trina's playful insinuations continually nip at the edges of Tori's conscious thought.
"I make a wicked chow mein dish," Jade declares, "Get some nice green onions, soft noodles and the proper soy sauce, and you'd think you died and went to China." Tori blinks at her, still wondering what is going on inside the other girl's head. All the pieces of the puzzle haven't quite fallen into place. "I just thought it could be a nice gesture for your parents letting me stay until..." she trails off not wanting to finish the sentence. Jade already spent one morning waking up at a shelter and she is terrified at the prospect of returning to such a dreadful place. The Vega's household is more like a home.
"That sounds like a wonderful idea," Tori exclaims, her face lighting up, "Me and Trina did that once for them when we were kids, and they loved it. That is, until they took the first bite and realized it tasted like dirt." She wrinkles her face at the memory of how bad the food was to the taste buds.
Jade claps her hands and cries out, "Okay, well we're not going to let you touch any of the food then," as she gets to her feet. She grabs ahold of Tori's hand and pulls, but Tori is reluctant to remove herself from such a comfortable spot. Jade commands her, "Don't be a bag of bones," and uses her superior strength to drag Tori out of the chair.
Tori hasn't seen Jade this vibrant since she first met her in this world.
"Here... taste this," Jade says to her cooking companion, holding out a small fork with the chow mein noodles and sauce wrapped around it. Tori shuffles her way beside Jade and hesitates next to the steaming fork.
Tori leans in to get closer to it. "It looks too hot yet; I don't wanna burn my tongue," she lets the master chef know. Maybe there is one thing Jade forgot about cooking!
Jade sighs and rolls her eyes. She brings the fork in front of her lips and lightly blows on it, twirling it around to get every angle. "There," she says extending it back towards Tori, "It won't give you a boo-boo tongue now."
The latin girl takes a bite and moans in delight. "Mmm..." she cries, "That's so good!" She reaches for what is still left on the fork, but Jade playfully pulls it away from her.
"Ught-ught," Jade chastises pushes her hand against Tori's midriff, who tries to grab the fork away from her, "You'll get to eat some more as soon as the rest of your family gets here."
Tori tries to change her mind with a small puppy-dog pout, but Jade merely smiles and takes the last bite from the fork. "Mmm...," Jade says over-empathically rubbing her belly. "Needs more salt," she quickly deadpans.
Jade whirls back towards the stove skillfully stirring the wok filled with the savory chow mein dinner. She takes the salt shaker from the counter and sprinkles two dashes into the mixture, to correct for the slight imbalance. Tori sets places at the table and spends time making sure the napkins are folded neatly. Jade hums the "Freak the Freak Out" melody, piquing the tanner girl's attention.
"Mmmh... Jade?," Tori asks softly, not taking her focus off the silverware.
"Yeah?," Jade responds and turns to look at the other girl, her back pressed against the stove, curiosity spread across her pallid face.
"What is the song you are humming?," Tori inquires, "I haven't heard it before. And it sounds pretty cool."
Could it be that the song doesn't exist in this world, Jade wonders. She is not quite sure how her life could have affected it, however. It is not like it was her song. The better explanation was that Tori simply isn't into music in this universe, which makes her sad on the inside for some reason she cannot decipher. "It's called 'Freak the Freakout'... we...," Jade swiftly corrects herself, "it's pretty popular, I think."
Jade leaves the meal to simmer on its own and makes her way over to the table, standing closer to Vega than she normally would. Tori can hear her shallow breathing. "You don't listen to much music, do you Tori?," she asks in earnest.
"Not much anymore really," Tori answers with a cheerless shake of her head. "Ever since Trina started going to that preppy Hollywood Arts school, she's been singing practically every song on the radio. And the girl cannot sing... like at all," Tori finishes her train of thought. Jade cannot help but chuckle at that last line. "She basically ruined music for me," she sneaks in with a low tone.
"That sucks," Jade offers for comfort, "I bet you have a lovely singing voice." A big smile finds its way onto the latina's face. The pale skinned goth returns a wry grin, reaching forward to pat Tori for re-assurance.
Yet, the front door pops open causing Jade to jump and retract her hand. Mr. and Mrs. Vega enter through the portal and announce, "We're home!," clearly in good moods from their afternoon date.
"Hey!," Tori shouts back at them while leaning over the counter, so as to put some distance between her and Jade. The pale-skinned female gives her weird feelings, which are both warm and frightening at the same time—an internal dissonance. Frightening because she has never felt this way towards someone and warm because these feelings are rather pleasant to have circling around her whole body. "Look at what Jade made for us," she announces to her parents, tilting the wok towards them.
Trina enters just as Tori finishes speaking and quips to no one in particular, "I think Tori should taste it first, in case Jade wants to poison us." The remark earns a stabbing glare from Jade.
"It's definitely not poison," Tori defends, "I tasted it a minute ago and it is delicious."
Mr. and Mrs. Vega make their way to the kitchen after throwing their coats down on the couches and smell the ambrosial fragrance. "Wow, Jade," Mrs. Vega says surprisedly, examining the contents of the wok, "You made all of this?"
"Yeah, it's not a big deal," Jade answers rather blasé and a wave of her hand. She takes the wok off the stovetop and grabs a wooden spatula from the drainboard. "This is really nothing for me. I figured it would be the decent thing to do after you two were kind enough to let me stay here for a couple nights," Jade says with a shrug, dishing out spoonfuls to each place setting, "You can all wash your hands and sit down if you're hungry."
"I'm starving," Mr. Vega interjects, as he moves to the sink and rinses his hands, being careful not to scatter the water anywhere it shouldn't be. The other family members follow suit, even Trina.
They take their seats at the family table, Tori sitting next to Jade, and Trina on the opposite side watching all of their little habits and body language. Mrs. Vega asks everybody, "Who would like to say grace?"
Tori glances over at Jade who looks confused and informs her Mom, "I'm pretty sure Jade wasn't raised Catholic, and maybe we shouldn't be intrusive upon her, since she's our guest, you know?"
Her mom replies, "I just thought it would be nice with company."
"No, it's okay," Jade inserts, tracking the expressions of each member of the Vega family. "I'm not religious, but please don't change your evening ritual on my account. I don't want to impose too much. I'm not like a Dawkins fan or anything," she jokes. She is, however, quite anti-angel at the moment! Jade grabs Tori's hand and shakes it a little, reassuringly, saying, "Why don't you do it Tori?" She keeps her hand in the other girl's because she thinks this is how group prayer is supposed to work. At least it did in every movie she's seen.
"Okay," Tori begins, stuttering at the beginning and closing her eyes—Jade following suit—, "Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts which we are about to receive from your bounty, through Christ our Lord. We thank you for giving us the ability to come together for this wonderful meal that Jade prepared for us, and thankful that she is with us here tonight." Tori peaks her eyes open to take a look at Jade.
Jade takes in the sensation of Tori's warm hand in her own. It's not clammy at all like her hands sometimes get. It feels soothing. It feels like two pieces of a puzzle coming together, as if each were made for the other.
"Amen," Tori concludes, with Jade whispering the same under her breath.
Jade steps out of the shower and wraps the purple towel around her body after drying her skin off thoroughly. She runs her fingers through her wet hair. Jade never puts a towel on her head like some girls do, however, because she says it makes her look like a gigantic marshmallow.
Tori brings her attention to the opening bathroom door as a moist Jade walks out and stands over the bed. Her eyes lock onto the bright-red scar visible on the her pale arm. Tori props herself up on her knees and leans forwards examining it closer, without saying a word. It takes Jade a moment before she realizes that she should have worn a shirt if she wanted to keep it hidden. She was having too much fun today that she completely forgot about it. Jade quickly cups her hand over the bloody mark.
"Jade," Tori chirps in worry, capturing the arm and running her fingers over the wound. Jade winces when Tori's finger contacts the red gash, causing the other girl to withdraw her hand. "What happened," Tori inquires.
Jade clicks her tongue and rolls her eyes. "It's not a big deal," she answers, moving over to the dresser and grabbing the clothing Tori laid out for her. "Sometimes when I get stressed or depressed, I need a release and...," she trails off, slipping the pair of black panties over her legs and under the towel. Tori tries not to notice.
"You did this to yourself?," Tori asks in disbelief. She has always been so together and happy that sometimes she cannot comprehend how difficult some people have it, and the things they do to deal with those problems.
The goth drops her eyes in shame, feeling like a dog who pissed on the rug and has to account to the owner for his mistake. "Yeah, yesterday in the shower," Jade answers candidly, "I just got thrown out of my house and I was feeling hopeless." She finishes with a small shrug.
"Yeah," Tori replies in the most steady voice she can muster, "Just... please try not to do it again. I know this isn't the high point of your life, but you're safe and warm here, and if you ever need anything, you know you could always come talk to me, right?"
"I know," Jade says as she curls her lips back against one another. "I appreciate it. I won't do it again. Not while I'm here," she shakes her head.
Tori forces a sullen smile and sinks back down into her bed. The sheets are a mess, but it looks cozy and inviting. "Come watch Good Luck Charlie with me," Tori says in her normal, cheerful voice, patting the open space on the bed beside her. Jade turns her back towards the latina and drops the towel. Tori tries not to look, but her eyes keep floating to Jade's naked back and panties. She cannot push out the thoughts from her head this time. Tori chokes a bit on her spit as she tries to swallow the lump in her throat when Jade slides the short-sleeve shirt over her arms and down her body. She reaches over and completes the nighttime attire by putting on the pair of plushy pajama pants.
Jade turns back around and cautiously climes onto the sheets. She flips on her back and rests against the pillows. Tori is something of a pillow freak and sleeps with four pillows every night! So there are more than enough to go around. Jade would be lying if she said she did not think about Tori in a new light. The other day she was wishing Tori would disappear from her life altogether. Yet tonight, she cannot think of another place she would rather be.
In actuality, no matter how much Jade would deny it, there has always been a thin line separating love and hate in their complicated relationship. From the first moment Jade's eyes met Tori's that first day at Hollywood Arts she felt attraction and repulsion. Most of the time, repulsion would triumph, especially when Tori was getting too close to Beck or outshining her at school. But when Tori was persistent enough, attraction would prevail. No matter how hard Jade worked to exorcise it, the trace of love always existed, perpetually haunting her.
Jade slides down on the pillow to lay flat, her hair brushing up against Tori's arm. She doesn't move it away. It is comfortable just the way it is. They both stay like this, in peaceful silence, watching and occasionally laughing together at the antics of Teddy and Gabe.
The show ends, and even though she has become incredibly sleepy, Jade pushes herself up on her elbows, ready to get up from the bed and head downstairs. Tori shoots her head up and places a hand on Jade, barring her from leaving.
"Uh-h," Tori stutters scratching her head, "it's already so late. Why don't you just stay here for the night?" Her eyes shift, nervous but hopeful.
Jade knows she will not get any sleep by herself on the couch. The warmth of Tori's body feels irresistibly inviting.
The pale skinned girl crawls back into bed, tucking herself under the covers, next to Tori.
