|Jade|

Tori's mother talks to me all through dinner. What am I going to do when I graduate? What's my favorite subject? What kind of music do I listen to? And the more she talks, all friendly and open, like she actually gives a shit, the easier it becomes to answer her. Even Trina is pretty decent throughout the meal. Tori smiles at me from across the table, her fork buried in her spaghetti, and I give her a mirroring expression before returning my attention to her mom. She's a kind lady, genuine and sweet, just like her daughter.

Internally, I smirk to myself. Who would have thought that I would think such nice things about Tori Vega?

After dinner, I thank both of Tori's parents graciously for letting me stay and feeding me before following Tori up the stairs to her bedroom. She's giggling as she shoulders into the room and I nail her side with my elbow as I shut the door behind me. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing." Tori answers too quickly, falling on her bed. She pulls her backpack between her legs and unzips it, yanking out a few books. "You're just cute. That's all."

I stick my tongue out at her. Sitting beside her, I kick the backpack out of her way. When she turns to retort at me, I lift a hand. "No homework. It's only Saturday night. You can do that tomorrow when I go home."

A flicker of something akin to realization takes over Tori's face. She lowers one book, meeting my eyes like she's surprised at something I just said. My eyebrows quirk at her, a silent question, and she finally gives a nervous laugh and shakes her head. "I forgot. You have to leave tomorrow."

I look down at my knees. "Yeah. School Monday. The real world."

Her hand lands on my thigh. It's hot, her thumb swiping back and forth across the denim of her jeans that I'm wearing. "I don't want you to."

When I look up at her, she's blushing, her words tumbling out of her at an unbelievable speed. "I mean this weekend has just been so nice and I've finally had time to see the real you, you know, and I just, it sucks that it was under these circumstances and that it has to end because I've been having so much fun with you and I'm sorry this probably sounds really creepy I just, you know, I'm glad we're friends -"

"Jesus, Vega." I lift a hand, my fingertip booping the tip of her nose. "Take a breath before you hurt yourself."

She obeys, taking a deep breath and moving her hand back to her own lap. I stare at it for a moment before finding her gaze again.

"I don't want to go home, either," I tell her, my voice soft, almost whispering. "This has been like ... a safe place for me."

"It always will be." Tori's hand snaps to mine. She grips it tightly. "I mean, you can come over whenever you want. We're friends now. You can talk to me about anything."

"I know. Thanks."

"Oh, Jade -"

"Do not cry, I swear to god."

"I'm not crying."

"Yeah. Sure."

Tori puts her iPod on her dock and puts the songs on shuffle. For a while we just talk and mundane things - school, homework, and I'm aware of how easy this is, being friends with her. Before this, back when she first arrived at Hollywood Arts, I was so ... I don't know. Not jealous, not exactly, just ... intimidated. She's talented. I'm not stupid. She sings like a rockstar and isn't too bad at acting, either. And, frankly, she's gorgeous. I watch her as she paints her toenails. Whereas I've got a complexion complimentary of Casper, she's got this glossy bronze skin like beach sand and a smile that almost literally glows. She smells like summer. I didn't look at anyone as competition before she showed up, but Tori's a challenge, an obstacle.

After my parents got divorced, I tried not to put my faith in people. I didn't make close friends, I didn't reach out or speak up. Beck was my exception to that rule. He's smart and nice and he saw something in me that I didn't and I let him in. Even now, I don't regret that decision, because I know if I hadn't spent the past two and a half years at his side, I might have never experienced happiness again. Beck refused to let me sink or cage myself and maybe that's backfired, now, because I let him see the tender parts of me and he ended up stabbing me there.

Tori sees something in me, too, something worth saving, fixing - if she didn't, she would have turned away from me a long time ago. She never once stopped trying to be my friend, she's never turned me down when I came to her for help. That's significant. At first I thought it meant that Tori was stupid, but now it just makes her nice.

The room smells thick of nail polish. After some begging on her part, I let her paint mine purple. The space of her bedroom is full of music and laughter and Tori smiling - always, constantly. To her, there is always something to smile about. The glass is half full. The sun is always behind the rain clouds. It's not a state of mind I'm used to being around, let alone having, but with her this close, it's like living in the eye of the storm. The rest of the world is out there, just out of reach, with its damage and carnage tearing shit up, but I'm here with Tori and I'm safe.

We watch another movie. This time, we actually pay attention, sitting on her bedroom floor with our backs against her bed. Her head falls on my shoulder, knees drawn up, and I can smell her shampoo in her hair. It's the same one I used this morning. It feels like ages since then - standing in the too-hot water until my skin burned red, crying at the bottom of Tori's bathtub. It's embarrassing in retrospect, and though it must have been obvious that I was a total wreck, Tori still treated me well. I've lived my life convinced that everyone has ulterior motives for everything, that people are greedy and selfish because it's a part of human nature. And while that's true for some people - maybe even most of them - Tori's not. She's never been, as much as I would have liked her to be when she first arrived at Hollywood Arts. It's much easier to hate someone than it is to like them.

I lean my head on top of hers and let out a slow sigh. She's worked her way under my skin and maybe that's dangerous or naive, but after this weekend, I can't really complain.

The sound of my ringtone startles both of us. My phone is still in the pants I wore when I got here the day previous (had it really only been a day?). I detach myself from Tori's limbs, which had somehow made their way around my waist, and crawl across the floor. I pluck the phone from my pants pocket. One text message. I open it with the push of a button.

My heart slams against the back of my tongue.

Are you okay?

"What's wrong?"

I don't look away from the screen of my phone, lowering it slowly to my lap. Do I answer? What does he care? How does he even have the nerve to ask me that? What kind of stupid question is that, anyway? He breaks up with me after two and a half seemingly happy years and, what? He expects me to be recovered after twenty-four hours?

I chuck the phone across the carpet. "Asshole."

I was doing so well. I was feeling so much better, so confident and in control, and he had to go and fuck it all up with his goddamn sincerity and genuine concern for me. I push my fingers through my hair and close my eyes, forcing the tears back into my skull as if to drown everything out. When warm fingertips graze over my arm, I shift away, giving a slight shake of my head. Tori backs off, the movie still playing beyond us, and we sit there for a time without talking and I'm happy for the silence. I don't want to be badgered with questions.

I want to hate Beck. Like I said, hating people is much easier than liking, let alone loving them. I want to want to punch him the next time I see him, or cuss him out, or send him the angriest text I can come up with. I wish I could do that and feel like it was something I should be doing, something I would do, but it's not. Not to Beck, because I love him. I've loved him for a long time and maybe it's the teenage fucked up hormones talking, but I feel like I'll always love him. That's what I always planned on - Beck and I, starring in movies together or becoming singers and going on tour together, getting married and popping out a few kids, all because he made me happier than anyone else. Forever was an option with him. He wiped away the pain of my parents' divorce and in general neglect of my existence and replaced it with a heart that worked like a normal human being, which I was convinced I was not for the longest time. He made me feel things again. He loved - loves? - me despite everything.

Taking a deep breath, I open my eyes and search for my phone. Dragging it back to me, my fingers hover above the keys. I think about punching in the words fuck off. It would make me feel a hell of a lot better because I know that my red hot anger has always hurt him worse than anything else. He hates knowing that he's pissed me off, even more so when he knows he's really hurt me, and I could exploit this to my full advantage until he feels more guilty than he ever has in his entire life. A part of me wants to do just that because maybe that would drive him to take me back, to kiss me like he did on the curb outside of the coffee shop and remember just how much he's always wanted - needed - me.

I glance up at Tori. Her eyes are on the TV but I can tell she's not paying attention. Her profile is gentle, soft. I want to touch her face, bring it to mine, like some of her inner peace will transfer from her skin into me. And when I look at her I feel the other part of me, what I want to be the stronger part, refusing to cave in. I have to be strong. I can't fall apart after Tori has already done so much to make sure I don't.

I run my thumb over the buttons, take a deep breath, and finally type out I'm with Tori. I'm fine.

I'm not lying. I am fine because I'm with her, because she took me in and let me be broken. She had every right to laugh in my face. Had the roles been reversed, I might have done just that, because I'm a bitter, sour human being.

But she didn't. She cradled me as I cried in her bed and she held my hand at the coffee shop and hugged me. All because she wanted to. All because she likes me.

I send the message and slip back to Tori's side. I feel better, much better than I would have had I sent an angry text instead of an honest one. Before Tori can ask, I say, "He asked if I was all right. I told him I was with you."

There's a moment of silence. Tori's watching me from the corner of her eye. "And that means?"

I look at her, giving her a smile that I don't have to force or exaggerate. "That I'm fine. And I will be fine. As long as you're -" I shake my head before letting it fall back against her mattress. "You are destroying my rough and tough reputation, Vega."

"As long as I'm here," she finishes for me, clapping a hand on my knee. "Which I will be. You are stuck with me for life."

I twirl an unenthusiastic finger in the air to celebrate, Tori giving my leg a firm slap before her hands dive into my sides. I fall over with laughter, Tori's limbs crawling over me until she's saddled across my waist. Her fingers dig under my ribs and drive embarrassing noises out of me. She's laughing, too, and through my gasps I make half-hearted threats at her that include tearing off her limbs and/or me killing her. Nothing serious, you know.

My hands find her hips. I hold them tightly, rolling sideways and forcing her on her back. Crushing myself between her legs, I find her criminal hands and lock my fingers around the wrists, shoving them into the carpet above her head. Tori's still laughing, biting her tongue as she looks up at me, expression smug.

"Jade West is ticklish. That's interesting information."

I lower my face closer to hers. "Like you aren't." Releasing one of her hands, my fingers collide into her stomach. She squeals, hips bucking upward, and I'm suddenly aware of the position we're in, how close we are, and how pretty Tori looks when she's flushed with laughter.

I swallow, the slight shake of my head knocking the sudden thoughts away. I've never had a friend before, a real one, one that's a girl. It'll take some adjustment, that's all. All of these sappy thoughts and feelings are just going to have to be assessed one at a time. I peel away from her, crossing my arms and perking a studded eyebrow. "So, now we both know our weaknesses."

Tori pushes herself on her elbows. Her dark hair tumbles behind her. There's a degree of nervousness in her eyes, almost hesitance, as her eyes skitter across my legs and torso before steadying on my eyes. I almost question her but decide that maybe she's struggling to understand this whole friendship concept, too. I mean, she obviously has other friends and is much more accustomed to this kind of thing than I am, but maybe she's never had a friend like me? I am a bit of a oddity.

"We're totally missing the movie," she says, making a face at me and sitting at my side. For a few minutes, there's a distance between us - a wrist-span, but enough for me to notice. I'm almost afraid to close it and bothered when I realize how much I want to. Is this how friendships work between teenage girls? To hell if I know.

Eventually, I scoot closer to her, if just to make myself feel better. Her head falls on my shoulder again and my arm tucks around her waist. I like being close to her and I'm not going to deprive myself of that just because I don't understand what it means.

My eyes fall to the top of her head. Besides, who doesn't like a good mystery?

A/N: I know Mondays suck for people, but hopefully this makes it a little bit better? Yeah? It did?

Review and tell me all about it. Oh hooo~