Hey lovelies! I am so sorry it took forever to post the newest chapter. Writer's block is totally not fun :( If you haven't seen the change in my bio, I have recently added my tumblr account as I'll be using that as a way to let you know when chapters are coming out slower or sooner. Please enjoy Chapter 9, I tried to do something a little different this time around! -Mercy Vale

Chapter Nine

Daddy Issues

(Tori)

"No fair… I won so I get to pick what we have for lunch." I pout, setting my food down on the table.

"Sorry, Vega, but I'm not eating that garbage." Jade sits and starts unwrapping her food.

"What's wrong with Wendy's? Their burgers are the best." I grab my fries and dip some in my chocolate frosty. Jade holds up her burger for me to see.

"Most fast food is trash, but this gets a pass from me. In-N-Out is damn good. Just look at my burger and look at yours." I have to admit, her food looks really good, but I know for a fact mine is going to be delicious. Just cause her burger looks good, doesn't mean it tastes good.

"Whatever, you enjoy your food while I enjoy my much tastier food." I stick out my tongue and take a bite of my bacon cheeseburger. She rolls her eyes and starts eating. The burger might look good, but her fries look weird… What the hell are animal-style fries and what is that sauce? Looks like there's relish in it… I shudder and sip my soda, going back to my own food.

The rest of our lunch goes by fine, and I even try a bite of Jade's burger. I told her it was okay, but that was because I was too stubborn to admit how good it actually was. I finished my burger but the taste of hers kinda made mine taste bland. We toss our trash when we're finished and just walk around the mall, looking for something to do. Well, Jade's looking for something to do, I'm too busy checking out my belly button ring. It doesn't hurt at all now and it does look really cool.

My tattoo also looks really good, minus the ache and the little bit of bleeding from it. I'll have to go over the little info packet Cassie gave me to make sure I care for it properly. Don't want to irritate the area or have it get infected. At the very least, if I'm not ready to tell our friends that Jade and I are dating, we can just say we're friends now and we got tattoos together, though I'm not too sure how well they would buy that. We will just have to wait and see…

I pull out my phone to see if I can look up any other information on caring for my new jewelery and ink and I realize I turned off my phone when I went to sleep and never turned it back on. Once it's powered on, a glance at the time makes my heart leap. It's a quarter past 2. Damn it… I missed taking my meds and the bottle is back home. I should have Jade drive me back… I look over at her and she seems pretty content as we walk around, holding my other hand. We're having such a good time today and I really don't want to cut this date short… Besides, it's not even an emergency. I feel perfectly fine, and my anxiety is under control. I'll be okay for a few more hours. Yeah, I'll be fine.

I tuck my phone back in my pocket and focus on our walk, noticing a large booth nearby.

"Hey Jade, look!" I point over to a photo booth and pull her to it. "Let's take some pictures together!" She sighs, crossing her arms.

"Vega, this thing is meant for kids, teenagers, and sad adults without cellphones. It's a waste of 5 bucks when we can do it ourselves, for free." I look down, rubbing my neck. Danny said the same thing when we were dating, just not as bluntly.

"Alright…" I sigh. "What else should we do? I think there's an arcade around here somewhere." Jade rolls her eyes.

"Oh come on." Jade grabs my hand and pulls me to the photo booth.

"Wait, really?" She smirks, pulling the curtain open and motioning for me to step inside.

"Just get in before I change my mind." I grin and get in, sitting down and scooting so Jade can sit too. I put in 5 dollars and start it up.

Jade is a little stubborn at first and doesn't want to smile, but after the first two photos and some sneaky tickling, the last few photos are of us, smiling and holding each other. I'm bouncing on my toes excitedly as the photos come out and I grin, seeing how good they came out.

"I like this one the best!" I point to the last one where Jade managed to get her revenge and tickle me back. She's kissing my cheek and my face is all scrunched up from laughing.

"I will admit, you look pretty cute." She takes the photos from me, pulls a pair of scissors from her boot, and snips off the top one. "I'll keep this one. I look more natural here."

"You look intimidating." I laugh, taking back the rest of the photos.

"Exactly." She chuckles and takes my hand so we can go. "Just the way I like it." I just shake my head and we walk around to the other side of the mall, looking for something else to do. We end up coming across the arcade and here is where Jade seems to have more energy. Apparently, she really, really likes video games, mostly racing games.

We play several games of Mario kart, more than we should have but Jade keeps scaring off the other kids who want to play. Finally, after having my ass handed to me in each race, I decide that I want to play something else, and with the promise that we'll come back to it before we leave, I manage to pull Jade away from the game for the time being. We go from game to game for about 2 hours and we're having fun, but I know she really wants to play Mario Kart again so we compromise. Since I don't want to keep losing, I go play other games while she crushes the pride of kids and grown men alike, winning every single race. I work my way to the back and find the best game ever, Dance Dance Revolution. This game is perfect for me and I'm pretty sure I can rake in a ton of tickets from this game. Maybe enough to get a nice prize for Jade.

I'm in the middle of my last song and I'm super focused. A nice guy came over and offered to collect my tickets as they come out and now he's having difficulty holding them all. I really want to get something nice for Jade and now I'm positive I can. I just need to finish this song and...Yes! I got the perfect combo finish! That guarantees a 500 ticket bonus and not I can definitely get something cool for Jade. I even managed to get a new high score. I lock in my name and grin, knowing no one's gonna be beating that one for a while. I jump down from the dance pad and go to gather my tickets from the guy. I go to take them but he stops me.

"Whoa, before I give these to you, hear me out. You got some crazy moves there girl. How about you let me take you out to dinner and after, I can show you some of my crazy moves." I sigh, rolling my eyes. Of course he'd turn out to be a creep…

"Sorry but, I'm already seeing someone and I really should get back to them." I reach out for my tickets but again, he stops me and holds them up where I can't reach.

"I'm sure your boyfriend won't mind if you hang out with me for a little bit longer." A hand appears on his shoulder, squeezing tight and he turns around so that he's standing face to face with Jade.

"Her girlfriend will definitely mind if you don't back the fuck off." He looks from her to me and scowls, dropping the tickets on the floor.

"Damn it… Why are all the hot ones gay?" He stomps away. I let out a sigh of relief and hug Jade.

"Thank you." She just shrugs, pulling back.

"It's whatever. Let's go." She starts to walk away and I quickly grab my tickets so I can follow her. She seems upset… Is she still mad about that guy? Is she mad at me?... I don't think I did anything wrong…

We go up to the counter and exchange our tickets. She doesn't have much since Mario Kart doesn't give tickets out, but she picks out a little silver charm bracelet that has skulls. I look around at the prizes and see a teddy bear that looks shredded and holding a knife. I chuckle and pick that. It's perfect for her. As soon as it's in my hands, I'm holding it out to her.

"Here, this is for you." She takes it and smiles, but it goes away after a few seconds. She's definitely upset by something…but what?

"Thanks… Here." Jade sets the bear down and puts the bracelet around my wrist. It's really cute… and the skulls look cool.

"Thank you Jade. I love it." I grin and kiss her cheek. Again, she just shrugs. I sigh and turn when the man behind the counter hands me a voucher for the 2486 tickets I didn't use, to save for next time because there's nothing else I want to get. "What do you want to do now?"

"Wanna go see a movie? I want to see that new Kentucky Killing House movie." I shiver as I put the voucher in my wallet.

"Yes to the movie, no to the scary movie. I already watched The Scissoring and that's enough scary stuff for me."

"Awe, come on. It won't be that bad. You said it yourself, you watched The Scissoring, and that is way scarier than anything else you'll ever watch, trust me." She gives me that pout and it's so compelling that again, I can't say no. I sigh and put my hands on my hips.

"Fine. But you're buying the popcorn." The pout goes away and a huge grin takes over. At least her mood seems better now.

"I already was."

"Also, I reserve the right to leave and sneak into a different movie if it's too scary." I go to hold her hand as we leave the arcade but instead, she puts her arm around my shoulders.

"Sounds fair, but I bet 50 bucks you stay throughout the whole movie." I chuckle, rolling my eyes.

"Deal."

I groan, leaning back in my seat and eating a box of Raisinets.. Jade was right. The Scissoring was definitely one of the scariest movies I've ever seen and it looked so real that now I notice the flaws in this movie. It's mildly scary in some parts, but the rest is just atrocious.

"Are you kidding me?! You can see the blood pack under his shirt, and that body is obviously made of wax. His face melting onto the floor."

"Yeah, they didn't do a good job of filming this. The storyline isn't bad, but it's ruined by poor production. I would have done a way better job with the crappy props at school." I chuckle and agree. Every production Jade's been a part of has never been anything less than stellar. I glance over at her and see that she's back on her phone. I huff and cross my arms. She's been on that damn thing the whole time. I thought today was supposed to be about us...

We sit through the movie and complain the whole time, much to the dismay and irritation to the other moviegoers, but as much as I'm trying to have fun, I can't. My head is killing me and all I can think about is now distant Jade's been acting. The fact that She fidgets when I lean against her and pulls away everytime I try to hold her hand isn't helping either. Her bad mood comes and goes and I'm really starting to wonder what I did wrong because it feels aimed towards me. She even snapped at me when I had some of her candy, even though she said we could share when we picked them. I'm trying not to think too much about it but it's difficult and really stressing me out…

I decide to get up for more candy and a chance to clear my head, and by the time I return, the credits are rolling and everyone is getting up to leave. I guess it was closer to the end than I thought. I go back over to Jade and she's doing something on her phone so I wait until she's done before tapping her shoulder.

"Hey, sorry that took me so long. The snack line was insanely slow. How's was the rest of the movie?" She shrugs, standing.

"It was trash. Probably better you missed it." She walks past me, back on her phone, and I just stand there for a moment, feeling bothered with how moody she's been. I really need to figure out what's going on with her.

I catch up to her and grab her shoulder, turning her to face me.

"Jade, what has got you so bent today? You've been pissed off since we left the mall." She pulls away, rolling her eyes.

"I'm fine, Vega. Don't worry about it."

"Seriously? 'Don't worry about it'? That's all I can do. You've been nothing but short with me unless we were talking about the movie, you yelled at me over candy," I huff, crossing my arms. She crosses her arms as well and I can tell she's getting madder by the second, but I've hit my limit. "You won't even hold me hand. It's like you don't want to be here with me. Like this is just a chore for you. What could I have possibly done that has you so tweaked?" She takes a step towards me when I finish and I instinctively step back, stunned by the glare being aimed at me.

"You haven't done anything, Vega. Not yet. You're going to play the part of the innocent little girlfriend until you get bored and run off to date the next guy who bats his eyes and gives you the time of day. How many boyfriends have you had since you transferred? You don't last long in relationships, do you" Okay, that one stung... My jaw tightens and I glare at her, taking an angry step forward.

"Do you really think I'm going to turn around and break up with you like that? Jesus Jade, I let you talk me into a belly button ring. Doesn't that mean anything?"

"Yeah, it means you're willing to do whatever it takes to make me think you're not like the others."

"What others? What are you talking about. I thought we built something these last few days. I thought you knew me better than that."

"Oh, I do know you. You're Tori Vega, the good girl of Hollywood Arts. How long do you think this 'Bisexual' charade is going to last? This is just an experiment to you, a game, and I'm not going to let myself get played just because you want to try something new. You're just as bad as him."

"Jade, you've got this all wrong." She starts to walk away and I grab her hand to stop her, but she turns and shoves me away, knocking me into a couple of guys holding drinks and snacks. I'm on the ground and all of their stuff falls on to me. I stand up, in shock, furious, and covered in soda, popcorn and cheap nachos. Jade anger fades and even looks apologetic, but I've had enough.

"Vega-" I hold a finger up to stop her and take a deep breath to stop myself from blowing up on her.

"I have been nothing but honest with you since Friday. So if you really think I'm not taking this relationship seriously, then you can go fuck yourself, Jade." I storm out of the theater, tears streaming down my face, and pull out my phone to call my sister. I. Am. Done.

(Jade)

I watch Vega leave, feeling numb. Her words stung, but I'm still mad, and I know that I was right. I look down at my phone and re-read the most recent text from my father. 'Heard you have a new girlfriend. I can't wait to meet her.' This is just like Rebecca and Gale and…Alexis. Fell for each one of them only to find out Daddy Dearest was paying them off to be with me and break my heart. I guess he hoped I'd stick to guys after it.

I really thought Tori was different though… She seemed the most real out of all of my girlfriend's, but singing isn't the only thing she's good at. She's a damn good actress, the ring and the tattoo will speak for that, and I almost fell for it, but I've learned the hard way not to trust anyone. She was pretty pissed, but to be fair, that little snack slip up was a good reason to be. After this, she'll stay far away from me, and maybe now, my dad will finally realize I'm not as naive as he thinks.

I toss the guys some cash to make up for wasting their food, and leave. I just want to get home and forget this whole weekend ever happened. Tori's not out here so she either started walking or got a ride somewhere. She better get home soon, it's almost dark. Not that I care, of course, but it would be…annoying if something happened to her and the chief of police came knocking on my door. Don't need that happening. Again.

I get in my car and start to pull out when I see Vega over at the gas station with the biggest wad of paper towels I have ever seen. Guess she's trying to get that cheese out of her hair. Gotta say, she kind of looks like Cat that day she sprayed cheese all over her and her ex-boyfriend, Daniel. I can see her face but at the rate she's scrubbing, I can tell she's still pissed. Oh, I almost forgot. I pull up beside her and reach into the back, grabbing her purse and that bear she gave me.

"Hey Vega, don't forget your crap." I toss them onto the ground and drive off, feeling pretty damn good. Mom and Rachel are going to get a kick out of this. They always love when I stick it to Dad and foil his little plots.

"You did what?!" Rachel nearly drops her glass and stares at me.

"I broke up with Tori. It wasn't going to work out between us, especially since she's been in Daddy's pocket this whole time."

"Jadelyn, what are you talking about?" Mom seems really bothered. I guess Tori worked her magic on them too much and they really did like her.

"It's just like last time, with Alex. I got a text from dad saying he knew about Tori. I never told him, and there's no way he would have found out about her this fast. He paid her to worm her way into my heart and almost worked." I go over to the fridge and look for something to eat. "Too bad I saw right through his plan. Tori's nursing a wounded ego and I am two steps ahead as always." I pop a grape into my mouth and turn around to look at them. I expect them to be happy about how I handled this, but they both look mad, like, actually mad. "What?"

"Jadelyn August West. I raised you better than that and you should know better than to assume. I was the one who told your father." I feel all the blood leave my face and I shut the fridge, looking at Mom.

"Y-you told him?"

"Yes. The police had to contact both of your parents after what happened last night. He called me because he wanted to know what happened and he asked who Tori was. I was not going to lie to him and then have it blow up in your face later. Looks like that happened anyway." Oh God…

"I'm such an idiot… She hates me… Oh my God, she hates me…" I'm suddenly grabbed by my collar and dragged out of the kitchen. "Rachel, what the hell?!" She opens the door and shoves me out. I turn to yell at her but freeze at the look in her eyes.

"You let your father get to you and you hurt an innocent young woman who cares about you very much. You need to make this right and you're not coming back inside until you do."

"Ma…" She slams the door shut and I just stand there, dumbfounded. She…she just kicked me out… She's right though. I need to apologize to Tori. I jump into my car and drive straight to Tori's house. She's not going to want to listen to a word I say, but I need her to know how sorry I am…

I get to her place and I still don't know how I'd even begin apologizing… I sit in my car, scared to talk to her, and after 20 minutes, I've built up enough confidence to get out and go up to the door. No backing down. I'm here. I got this far. Even if she doesn't forgive me, I need to explain why I was such an asshole to her… I ring the bell and just as I'm ready to just bolt back to the car, a voice calls out.

"Who is it?" Sounds like Trina.

"It's Jade. Can I come in? I need to speak to Tori and-" The door flies open and before I can say anything else, a hand slaps me across the face. I stumble back, stunned, and look up at Trina who is fuming.

"How dare you show your face here. After what you did to my baby sister, I should be kicking your ass." Any anger that I had is gone, and all I'm left with is a deep ache in my chest.

"I'd definitely deserve it if you did…" Trina stops just as she's shutting the door and I look at her. "Please, let me talk to her…"

"I don't think she's going to want to talk to you for a long time. Just go home, Jade." I catch the door before it closes and look Trina in the eyes as my own fill with tears.

"Trina...I messed up real bad...please, I need to at least try…" She stands there, staring at me with a look of surprise, and to my own surprise, she steps aside.

"You have 10 minutes." I rub my eyes and nod, coming in and running up the stairs. I stand in front of Tori's door, wanting to knock, but the sound of Tori crying on the other side has shaken me up more than anything. I can't just stand here… I let out a breath and open the door, walking in.

It's dark but from the dim light of the doorway, I can see Tori laying on her bed, her back to me. She sniffles and curls up more.

"Trina, I just want to be left alone…" I swallow hard and take a slow step forward, unsure what to even say now that I'm here. "I'm serious Trin, I will hit you if you don't leave." I stop, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Please don't… Your sister already slapped the hell out of me…" She sits up suddenly and turns towards me, gasping.

"Jade!" She moves back and falls off the bed with a yelp. I start to go over to see if she's okay but a pillow flies out and smacks me in the face. "Get out."

"Tori please, I'm here to apologize…" Another pillow comes but I managed to just barely dodge it.

"I don't want to hear it. Just get the hell out of here."

"I can explain! Please, just listen to me! I shouldn't have gone off on you like that! It wasn't your fault!"

"Then why did you?! What could I have possibly done to make you think I wasn't being real with you?!" She moves away from the bed and gets in my face. Now that I can see her face, I can see how red her eyes are and her cheeks are stained with tears.

"I'm sorry! I was stupid! I let my father get inside my head and I ruined everything because of it!" I reach out to grab her hand but she pulls away, covering her face.

"You said a lot of hurtful things… You brought up my ex-boyfriends and made me feel like…like some high school slut…"

"I never should have done that… It was a low blow and I am so sorry…" She steps back and sits on the bed, crying. There's only one way to get her to understand...and I really don't want to do it... "Tori… I need to tell you what happened between me and my father." She lifts her head, ready to say something, but I hold up my hands. "It's not going to make up for what I did, but it's the only way I can explain why I freaked out. Please?…" Her shoulders slump and she sighs, nodding.

"Fine…" I sit on the bed, keeping a safe distance between us so she's not uncomfortable.

"It started about 10 years ago. I was 8. My parents had just gotten divorced and after a long court battle, my dad won joint custody of me. He got to visit me anytime he wanted and I was forced to spend every other month at his house. It wasn't so bad at first, but I started to notice how angry he'd get when I talked about my mom. It got even worse after she married Rachel. He started making me go to work with him and tried to get me interested in what he did for a living, but I wasn't interested in any of it. It got to the point where I was openly irritated when he picked me up and I'd complain the whole time, wanting to go back with my mom."

I rub my face, feeling too vulnerable and exposed. I never wanted to think about this again. "My 13th birthday had just past and after spending it with my dad, I made the mistake of not only saying I wanted to go home, but that I wanted to see mom and Rachel. He hates Rachel so much, and he'd yell at me just for talking about her. He didn't like that she and I were bonding and he went out of his way to always talk trash about her, and one day, I asked him why he hated her."

I run my hands through my hair. "He told me. He hated the fact that my mom divorced him because she was gay. She'd been hiding it from him for my sake. I wasn't even supposed to be born, but she and him got drunk one night and, boom. Mom was pregnant. She stayed with him for me, but when he found out the truth, it was like she was some demon trying to ruin his life. My dad is openly homophobic, so when he found out that his own wife was gay, he went off. He swore to her that he'd get me and raise me the right way, the way his parents raised him, so I wouldn't end up like her."

"That…that's awful…" I shake my head, sighing.

"Honestly, I think he knew before I did that I liked girls. He would yell at me when I talked about a friend from school a little too much, but never when it was a guy, and when I brought posters of actresses and female singers to hang up in my room at his house, he'd rip them up or they'd be gone by my next visit."

"He was definitely not handling it the right way, but that doesn't sound like the end of the world." I scowl, turning to look at her.

"Doesn't sound that bad, huh? Alright, well, there's the time I was 14 and he locked me in my room for four days, just because I called Rachel "Momma Rachel". Or the time he pushed me down a flight of stairs after I refused to go to this summer camp he picked for me. Worst decision of his life. Broke my arm in three places and the cops who were handling it also found out that the camp he wanted me to go to was one of those conversion camps. You know, the ones that abuse you until they think you're straight enough? He was ready to send me to one of those, and because of that, he lost custody. The one part that got me though was him not being arrested for breaking my arm. Since they believed me getting hurt really was an accident, he got away with it." Tori stands up frowning and pacing.

"That's so...wrong… Did you not tell them what happened?"

"Of course I did, but it was at a dinner party for people are his office and he really made it look like an accident… Everyone at the party had the same story: I tripped on my dress while coming down the stairs. The EMT's just assumed I'd hit my head when I fell and thought my father did it. Ever since then, he's tried to have control over my life, from a distance. Every single one of my girlfriends were just some girl he paid, not to really date me, but to make me fall in love with them and then break my worst part is, I really liked some of them…" Tori stops pacing and stands in front of me.

"That's what you meant when you said I was 'just like them'... You thought your father paid me to be with you…" I nod, rubbing my eyes, and then look at her, worried.

"That's not to say you did anything to make me think that. It's just...my father sent me a text that said he knew about you. I thought it was his way of saying he was involved… I never should have yelled at you like I did, or pushed you… I just have a lot of issues that are hard to deal with…" She sits down next to me and I feel an arm around my shoulders and her hand grabbing mine.

"Well, you don't have to deal with them alone you know. Isn't helping you through problems the girlfriends job?" I snort, smirking a little.

"What, are you saying you still want to be my girlfriend after all I did to you?"

"I'm still mad that you pushed me and got my clothes all messy," I blush, nodding and feeling really bad about that. "But, I'm willing to give this another chance. Before that happens though, I need you to promise that we'll talk these things out next time. I don't want to fight with you again." She rubs my back and I sigh, squeezing her hand. She's really going to forgive me… I seriously don't deserve this woman…

"I promise…" I wrap my arms around Tori and bury my face in her neck. I still have this feeling of vulnerability, but if I'm being honest, it feels different with Tori. It feels safe. I really hope we're going to be okay now...