Disclaimer: I don't own victorious, Jade, or any of the characters.

:}

Ryder walked towards the upstairs bathroom in Jade's home, but that was never his destination. Once up near her room, he quietly slipped through her door and into her bedroom. It didn't take him long to find the burner phone she'd bought for when she was Jack. Jack was good about getting extension minutes for the phone so he could keep using it. Ryder didn't care. With a quick check to make sure she didn't leave anything on to record, he picked up the phone, still charging, and pulled out of his wallet a phone card. Using that would save her the minutes of the call, making his actions almost untraceable. Then he hit auto-dial, calling the newest contact.

Tori had been at home, listening to her sister lecture her on the importance of waiting three days after getting a guys phone number. "It's like a rule or something." Trina explained. "If you don't, you seem too needy."

As if the gods of love and symmetry were mocking her, that was when her phone went off, and a quick check of the caller ID told her it was Jack. Her sisters voice over her shoulder echoed "Needy."

'Probably nothing.' Tori assured herself, worrying about whatever problems may have caused the boy to call so soon. "Hay hay Jack, whats shaking, bacon?" She said, trying to sound cool.

"When he calls, never answer the phone that way." Ryder said, and she could hear his smirk.

"What're you doing with Jack's phone?" She demanded. "Is this it? He was setting me up, with you?"

"As much as I'd love to let you talk yourself out of a good thing, I borrowed his phone to make a call, but he thinks I'm calling my cousin to check up on how they're doing." The tall boy explained. "I'm calling you because I'm worried about Jack. As much as you and I don't like one another, at least we both like him. He's making me want to be a better person, and thats without the desire to nail him, which I'm told is the requirement for some people to want to change. Now you, however, I'm hoping the thought of naked aerobics with the boy at least passed through your head last night. So, without going into too many details, I'm ready to tell you why he won't be calling if I don't pressure him into it, and it's not because he doesn't like you."

Tori wasn't liking the roller coaster her emotions were going on. The up, Jack likes her, then the down, as Ryder told her he wouldn't call without being pressured. Then another up as she was informed that her hot boy liked her, as in really liked her. Realizing Ryder was waiting for something, she tried a gentle urging. "Go on." She still didn't trust him.

"Jack was born with a, um, deformity, that he hides under his cloths. It's why he wraps himself in stuff before putting on his shirts." Ryder blabbed. "But under all that, he's a great guy, the kind I feel lucky to know. I'm telling you this because I need you're help. Jack's good, too good to be associated with what I did back in high school. So I'm not gonna let him hide behind that failed relationship of his forever. Not that, and not his odd body shape. He likes you. If we work together, we can get to the point where you won't care about his deformity. You'll just see him as the great guy I know. So, you in?"

"Is this a trick?" Tori asked, feeling very cautious. His words were all over the place, but the message was clear. Jack was self conscious, and would need a little push to get back into the dating game.

"Only on him." Ryder assured her. "And if I'm right, he'll thank me one day. He'll curse my name in about ten minutes, but he'll thank me later."

"Why would he curse your name?" She asked as a text message cam in from Jack's phone, asking her if she'd like to go out that night. "Okay, I get it. But isn't it a little soon?"

"Would you rather wait another week, wondering if he likes you or not? If so, then fine, cause if his classes get hard, or his job needs him to work longer hours, he just won't be around. No, weekends are the best time, for now, and I think you two need to go on your fist solo date. Besides, he's busy working up to talking himself out of this good thing, and I won't let him." Ryder explained.

The girl considered her options. She really didn't like letting Ryder trick the boy, and certainly wasn't happy about being a part of this scheme, but she had deniability. 'And I really want to know whats wrong with him.' She decided, saying "Okay, then I'll text back a yes." Tori said.

"Good. You've done the right thing. So, um, By." Ryder then hung up, waited for the phone to ding, and headed down stairs. "So dude, tell me, how was dating miss thang?" He called out.

"It was alright." Jade replied, rolling her eyes. But Jack was still locked in his personal corner of her mind, locked away with her darkest memories and a few other things that he liked to have to balance the dark stuff that ruled Jade's life. Jack needed out, at least once per week, but letting him stay out too long could also be a problem. 'The way he thinks is so different, it fogs thing up.' She knew the thoughts weren't that different, but the perspective, the way things seemed to process, what was important, it all went so much against who she was. "He kissed her."

"Great, I get Jade for the play by play." The tall boy griped. "Look, you're still my friend, and I care, but when Jacks here, it's so much easier to understand."

"He's not coming out, so you can hear it from me, or you can leave." The writer wasn't kidding, and he knew that look. It was similar to one Jack would give when he was being dead serious.

"Okay, give me all the gory and usually unnecessary details." Ryder gave in.

"Relax, I'm not gonna get caught up in those details." She assured him. "But I will admit that Trina looks good in Tori's purple dress. I can see why she likes it so much. Then again, it's a little tight around the bust line. Guess thats the point. Did you know Tori got that dress for a date with Michael. You remember him, the guy who's dating Rachael now. Anyways, Tori went with one of her other dresses, the blue one she wears when she knows she has to be hot but doesn't want to come across as too slutty. She'd do better in jeans, given her figure, just like Trina would do better if she could wear more sweaters…."

"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" Ryder cut her off.

"Sorry, too much Jack time does that to me." The goth confessed. "But yea, we danced, cuddled, talked, and even kissed. Truth be told, she's one of the few people I've ever felt slip past my walls."

"So, fuck, date, marry, which will it be?" He asked.

"You know, I know places where they'll never find the body…." Jade started, only for a beep to cut her off. Ryder pulled his phone out of his pocket, having already set a timer to go off with one of his ring-tones, giving him an excuse to check his phone.

"Sorry, got a message from mom, gotta read this." The boy excused himself. "Looks like she needs me to pick something on the way home."

"You want me to check my phone, don't you?" Jade guessed. "You've done this before, and I know you don't live at home any more. So spill, why? What will I find when I check my phone? Or are we talking Jack's phone?"

"I kinda texted her, from Jack's phone, asking for another date." The tall boy confessed. "Look, I know, if she waits the required three days, it'll be next weekend before you two get together again, and I think you both need that solo date. Like now. So do us all a favor and go check your phone, and then you can decide where you're taking her on this, your first real date."

"Don't move." Jade warned as she stomped her way up stairs to her room, intent on checking his phone. 'It could be a trick. God please let it be a trick.' She thought as she picked up his phone. It did indeed have a text sent out from her asking for a date, and Tori's reply. It also rang out with the sound of bells as another text popped in, one from Ryder telling her to have fun, and wishing her luck. "RYDER!"

Half way to his car, he could still hear her scream clearly. "Sorry, buddy, but this is for your own good." He mumbled as he raced to his vehicle and got in. Moments later, he drove off, putting distance between himself and Jade. 'Girls gonna be the death of me, but Jack has a date with a piece of hot Latin ass.'

He ignored the first call he got, thinking it would be the expected death threats. But when there wasn't a second call, he checked his missed calls and found Tony had been the one calling. He checked his message. "Ryder, just wanted to be sure there wouldn't be any more shenanigans involving Trina, cause I really like her. We've agreed to go hot tubbing tonight. I think this could work out, assuming we both take our time, cause I don't want to make any mistakes. No, and I hate that I have to explain this, but sex is for after you get to know them, maybe three dates in. Anyways, if you do leave her alone, then thanks for introducing us. And if not, I may have to hurt you. Just a friendly warning." Ryder couldn't help himself as a smile spread across his face.

Back at the Jade's home, she was pacing, trying to decide if it was easier to stand Tori up, or to face this beast head on, either by dating her or canseling. 'I like her, and thats a bad thing.' She thought. 'I can't let her fall for Jack, cause she thinks Jade hates her. No wonder, considering I worked so hard at getting her to have that impression.'

"Maybe you should just tell her." Jack chimed in from the depth of her mind. "Or, if your not ready, we try dating her, see if she might be ready for this kind of information. Tell her we can't be intimate until you both trust each other with your biggest secrets. Then, when we reveal that I'm a part of you, it's expected."

"You just wanna fuck her." Jade told her mirror. It wasn't like Jack appeared in the mirror, but she had a great imagination, and could place him there in her mind.

"Oh Jade." The boy sighed. "First, you forget, I'm not a separate entity. With the exception of Beck, we want the same things. We just go about them in different ways. Seriously, if your love for that boy wasn't so dependent on your fear of being alone, or your need to be seen as worth something, I wouldn't have a problem with you screwing him. I'd just be in the other room, with my hands over my ears, chanting 'Lalalala'. You know, like a mature adult."

Jade smiled, and for a second, she forgot why she was angry at her other half. Then again, she almost never had this kind of interaction. Only when the two halves were at odds, or she really really needed to work through things did he appear in her mind to talk at her. "So, about Tori?" He asked.

"Okay, maybe we wanna fuck her." Jade said, this time out loud. It wasn't like her mom was there to ask her who she was talking to. "Happy now?"

"No, but only because we both know you just aren't the one night stand kind of gal." Jack looked at her, showing both compassion, and a lot of the overt patients one shows a child. "Remember the Moose fiasco? You couldn't go all the way with him, and the thought of him made you so wet. But once you were done with him, he bored you, didn't he? You were drawn to the image of what he could be, and the challenge of winning, beating your friends, weren't you. See, you need the challenge, a challenge, and Tori's it. So lets get dressed, course it looks like I'm going out for the evening." The image of him in her mind started to turn away from the mirror, but hesitated. "That is, unless you think Tori would be happy staying in?"

:}

Okay, we got to see more of Ryders machinations. I'm sure you're wondering why Jade didn't kill him first then go check her phone. Simply put, guys sometimes mess with each other, and it wasn't worth it to hurt him for pretending to text Tori. However, now she's pissed, and literally talking to herself. (Himself?) But it also leads to another date.

So, how are you liking this story so far?