Last Chapter: That night as Jade was climbing the tree as usual; she noticed something different about the situation. There was a note attached to the windowsill, "I would never forgive myself if you fell and hurt yourself. I hope this decreases the chances of that happening. 3 Tori" Jade looked up and noticed the window was already open, just waiting for Jade to crawl inside. Jade smiled to herself, happy that Tori was so patient and supportive. She carefully folded the note and placed it in her pocket before sliding in through the open window to spend the seventh night with her new friend…
…...
The next few days go by pretty normal. Tori and Jade have fallen into a routine: at night Tori would leave the window open, around midnight Jade would come crawling through the window, some nights Tori would wake up when this happened and other nights she would sleep through it, and every morning jade would leave before the alarm goes off, and Tori would wake up to an empty bed minutes later.
On the nights where Tori would wake up when Jade came in through the window, they would spend an hour or so just talking. Just a light conversation about the most random things, from their day at school, old memories, tv shows, music, books. They talked about everything. They had become really close, and learned a lot about each other. They really had become friends, great friends; some could even say best friends. But neither of them put a label on it. Jade wasn't quite ready to admit Tori was her friend, and Tori was too scared to loses everything they created over the past couple weeks.
Both of them were different. During school, and the daylight hours, they were merely friends by association, but in the midnight hours, when it was dark outside and no one could see them, they were more than that. They were two people who genuinely enjoyed each other's presence, not simply tolerating each other for the sake of keeping the peace. There was something about the darkness that brought out their true colors. It was a bizarre sort of paradox, which even they couldn't explain. It masked them from the reality of life, school; it released them from the pressure to maintain face, reputation. When it was dark, they were secluded, transported to their own little world where nothing really mattered, and nothing could bring them down from the incredible high they were experiencing.
Although Tori was worried about Jade, and still wondered why she kept coming over, she learned not to question it. Jade wasn't ready to talk, and that was fine with her. She didn't want to wreck the friendship they developed, cause even though Tori wishes they could be more, she doesn't want to lose what she can have with Jade, what she now has; friendship. She promised herself not to push Jade into talking, as long as Jade was seemingly safe, no signs of abuse, she showed up to school, and she slept at Tori's house. She figured the best way to earn Jade's trust was to not push her buttons.
She secretly loved how she was the one Jade came to every night, the one she trusted to take care of her. She wondered if Jade ever opened up like this with Beck, surely she did they dated for practically three years. But Tori liked to believe otherwise, it made her feel special to think she was the only one that got to see this side of Jade, even if she was just lying to herself.
When Jade would arrive at Tori's house, and Tori was asleep, she would be a little bummed. She enjoyed talking to Tori for that hour or so every night. It was the only time they really got to talk. Sure they talked at school, but they were constantly surrounded by their friends, who did not know about their special little arrangement. So if they were to randomly start talking like they were best friends, they would have a lot of explaining to do, explaining that neither of them wanted to admit. It was on these nights, where Tori was asleep, Jade would just crawl into bed, albeit a little pouty, and she would nudge Tori trying to wake her up. It never worked, although Tori would usually roll over and end up draping an arm across Jade's chest, nestling her head into the crock of Jade's neck, or unknowingly initiating some other form of physical contact. This never bothered Jade. In fact she had grown used to it. She wouldn't admit to Tori she actually kind of enjoyed cuddling with her. There was something very comforting about Tori's touch. She didn't understand it.
She enjoyed the comfort of Tori's arms so much she didn't want to leave in the morning. But the risk of Tori finding out she was living in her car was too great. It's not that she was afraid of Tori's reaction; she knew Tori would be nothing but helpful and caring. And it was exactly that that scared of. Tori was stubborn, almost to a fault at times. She was afraid Tori would go overboard and try to help too much where she would do something crazy, like ask her to move in with her or something. Even though the sound of that was, at this point, very appealing, she knew that wasn't an option, it couldn't be. She just needed time to figure things out for herself, and find a way to fix it. She didn't want Tori's constant worrying to get in the way of that. So she hated leaving, but it had to be done.
Jade was glad Tori cared as much as she did; she never experienced anything like it. Tori was more devoted to Jade than both of her parents combined. Hell, Tori cared more than Beck did for the entirety of their relationship. It was a weirdly exhilarating feeling knowing someone was genuinely concerned for her wellbeing, someone who actually wanted to know how your day was, someone who was always there. It was refreshing, and Jade loved the attention.
The majority of the time, Jade and Tori got along really well. Things had gotten past the weird awkward stage they experienced the first few nights Jade stayed over. There hadn't been any strife since Tori's little meltdown on the second night they spent together. They learned how to coexist without biting each other's heads off. Don't get me wrong, things weren't always sunshine and rainbows, Jade was still as stubborn and sarcastic, and Tori was still as annoyingly perky as ever. So it wasn't unusual for them to clash every now and then.
As far as that goes, things hadn't entirely changed between the two of them. Sure Jade finally referred to Tori as a friend, although she still didn't like to admit she'd grown fond of her. They still had their usual banter; the only difference being it was more lighthearted. Jade still made fun of Tori using that terrible southern accent, but Tori was less annoyed by it, knowing it was all in good fun now. Tori still annoyed the crap out of Jade by being so optimistic and peppy, but she had a higher tolerance for it now.
So, overall things were still the same, and they liked it that way. Neither one of them wanted whatever it was they were doing, to change the way they are. Because even though things weren't always the greatest between them, Tori could attest to that, things would be too weird.
It was a strange relationship to say the least. These people who are considered polar opposites, who seemed to hate each other from the day they met, well maybe that was more on Jade's end. Regardless of their history, they were great friends now, and that's all that really mattered. Tori finally received the sort of positive attention from Jade she had been begging for since day one. While Jade finally received the love, care, and attention, she's craved all her life. In an odd way they completed each other, and if you asked either one of them they'd tell you they were happier than they've ever been.