Disclaimer: Je ne possède pas Victorious.

A/N: I advise that you read this chapter slowly. Really take in every word, otherwise it doesn't have the intended effect.


Sinjin sprinted away from me as quickly as his skinny legs could carry him. I didn't try to chase him, I was frozen in shock. I could feel judgemental eyes on me from all directions. People gave me dirty looks as they passed, and I could hear them whispering to each other maliciously.

"Hey look, it's Jade."

"What a dyke."

"Lesbo."

"Gay freak."

I ran back to the janitor's closet, choking back tears. I pulled the door shut behind me, collapsed onto the floor, and sobbed. My whole life was ruined. What would my parents say? What about my grandparents? My family, friends, and even my worst enemies had seen the picture. Everyone had seen that picture. Everyone. Now, because of that…that stupid picture, that temporary lapse in judgement - that moment of weakness, they all knew what I had been denying for as long as I could remember.

Jade West is gay.

"Jade?"

My head shot up and I pushed myself back against the wall, away from where the voice had come from.

Shit, I'd forgotten that Cat was still in here.

"Are you ok, Jade?" She stood over me looking concerned, her eyes red and puffy. She knelt down and placed her hand on my shoulder. "I heard about what happened with that p-picture."

"Don't touch me." I jerked away and attempted to growl at her, but it came out as more of a pathetic sob.

"Oh." She sat back and crossed her legs, her head bowed and her hands clasped in her lap. "Sorry."

We sat in silence for a while. I watched her crimson hair flow down from her head towards her tightly clasped hands. Her knuckles were white and I could see through her curtain of hair to tears sparkling on her cheek.

"Cat?" She raised her head at the sound of my voice, a glimmer of hope showing in her face. "I'm sorry for snapping at you. I'm just so…scared." My voice cracked on the last word. I would never have admitted that to anyone else. Cat was the only one who had ever seen me this vulnerable. She had a way of getting to me, gently forcing me to let her in instead of shut her off like I did to everyone else.

"It's okay." She smiled, her voice soft and quiet. "I'm scared too. Scared of what people will think, scared of what they'll say, and…" She trailed off and a single tear rolled down her face.

"And what?"

"Scared of what this means for us."

My breath caught in my throat. Us.

"There is no us." I attempted to sound firm, but it came out rather uncertainly.

"But…" Cat looked utterly distraught. "We almost kissed like 10 minutes ago! We've already kissed twice. Please, Jade. I'm so confused."

"Me too." I muttered, my head in my hands.

Cat moved closer to me and took my hands away from my face, forcing me to look her in the eye. She looked determined, fed up of waiting.

"Do you have feelings for me?" She asked simply.

I froze, terrified, and instinctively shot back an answer.

"No."

She moved even closer.

"Look me in the eye, Jade, and tell me the truth. Please."

Something about her pleading eyes changed something in me. I finally gave up. I gave up on hiding, on lying, on pretending to be someone I'm not. I was so tired of hiding who I was to suite everyone else. In that moment, I dropped my act. I was done lying.

"Yes, I do."

I immediately felt her lips on mine, gentle and soothing. She lingered before breaking off the kiss and moving to sit beside me. We sat quietly with our backs to the wall. My hand tingled as Cat gently took it in hers, smoothing it softly with her thumb. The atmosphere was serene and comforting. I felt as if I had just gotten a huge weight off of my shoulders, as if I had been dragging around a ten tonne boulder for years and Cat had just finally cut the chain.

She broke the silence.

"So what are we now?" She almost whispered, not wanting to ruin the calm that had settled on us following my long awaited admittance of feelings for her.

"I don't know." I mused.

"Are we…girlfriends?" She sounded nervous.

I gazed at her, taking in her beautiful red velvet hair, her soft skin, her innocent eyes. I looked back at our memories together, from being best friends to kissing in her house that night. I thought about the way she made me feel, how safe and warm I felt when I was around her. I looked at the way she looked at me, and then I knew the answer.

"If that's okay with you." I smiled.

She didn't answer, she merely crashed her lips into mine, swivelling her body around so she was sitting on my lap. She ran her fingers through her hair as she kissed me passionately. My heart melted as I felt her smile into the kiss. She slid her hand from my face down to my waist, caressing the outline of my body. I grinned, slowly trailing my hand down her lower back and to her-

The bell rang.

We both pulled away reluctantly and stood up.

"We missed lunch!" Cat cried, looking genuinely distressed. I laughed and took her into my arms again, kissing her one last time.

"I'd rather not go out there anyway, I don't want to see anyone at the moment." Being with Cat had made me forget all about the picture, but now I was going to have to go out and face this problem head on.

"We're in this together." Cat took my hand. "We can help each other through this, no matter what happens. We're Cat and Jade, super girlfriends!" She struck a goofy superhero pose, making me laugh again.

"Yeah, we'll be fine." I grinned at Cat, my girlfriend Cat, and I felt happier than I had in a long time.


A/N: Woohoo! They're together at last!

Sorry that I've been gone for like a month, I've been incredibly busy and I have had no time to write. Fortunately, all of my exams are over now so I will have plenty of time to write!

This chapter's a bit short, but I'm planning on writing another one tomorrow. Hopefully that will make up for it.

Please review! Take the time to tell me what you think so that I can improve for next time. Your reviews honestly make me so happy it's kind of silly. :)