I'd like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that you do have the option to skip right over my A/N's, and I advise you do just that, should you find my word begging obnoxious. This story thrives on word suggestions from my readers, and asking for them is something I intend to continue doing for that specific reason. If it truly bugs anyone that much perhaps they could start suggesting some words themselves and solve my lack-of-words problem instead of finding irritation within the solution I've come up with. (:

Furthermore, SUCCESS! Five different people suggested and I present you with the awesomeness that is chapter nine! And now six different people after this, if you please, and PM themz, my pretties! PM! PM! PM! Don't put them in your reviews! :P Thank you to melymely for this epic word. (:

Disclaimer: Quit making me say I don't own Victorious, it sucks more and more every time.

These Words

-Comfort-

Well Tori and I are fighting. As usual I've managed to get under her skin. The fact that I've always been able to do this used to be satisfying to me, but this time I didn't mean it and I honestly feel terrible. I didn't mean to upset her, especially here, in a hospital room, with her father lying injured in the bed.

"Why would you say that? 'Reality is a bitch.' What does that even mean?" The rage in her tone was thick and it was almost enough to scare me. Almost.

"I don't know..." I sighed out. Not true. The fact that she's always been so happy, always willing to help anyone that needed it, it's foreign to me, and so Tori has always been a sort of enigma. In my head I imagined it was because her head was always filled to the brim with silly little fantasies where everyone is perfect, and nothing bad could ever happen.

"No, I think you do know. What, you think I live in some kind of dream world or something?" She asked, standing directly in front of the chair I occupied, her arms crossed and face twisted in anger.

She was right, of course. But what do I say to that? I suppose I've known from day one that she's never been one to beat around the bush when it came to the truth. A little too optimistic maybe, but never impractically so. Now that I really think about it, I guess the reality of the situation is that I was the one living in a fantasy. Living in a place where I could pass off Tori's genuinely good nature as a farce, making it much easier to dislike her than it would've been otherwise. Seeing her broken and worried shattered that instantly, and it gave me a great shock.

"I do know." I said nodding. "But I also know that there's a time and place for every conversation, and here is not the place for this one."

"Why not? You said it, now I want to talk about it." She demanded.

Her stubborn nature was definitely part of it. She's never given up on anything, and I don't forsee her dropping this either. "Fine, talk." I relented.

"Do you honestly think that I fooled myself into thinking that nothing like this could ever happen? That my father is immune to all of the dangers of his job? Because if that's the case, you can just leave." Her words were biting, but I rolled my eyes dramatically and turned away from her. I'm sure my face has a perfectly unphased look on it, but my eyes usually give me away. Beck's told me as much. "Ever since I was old enough to really know how dangerous his job really is, I've been terrified. And not a day go- went by, that I wasn't scared beyond belief that I'd get the very same call I got two days ago."

This is the very reason I avoid situations like this. I don't do comfort, I don't do friendship. It always gets fucked up somehow. Why did I come here in the first place? Oh yeah, everything in my room was reminding me of Beck. Well, fuck that. I never admit that I'm wrong. "Listen. I don't want to talk about this anymore. But I will say that some shit's just been put into perspective for me now, that's all."

She sighed in defeat and plopped back into her chair near her father's bed. She slouched as if the weight of the world were pressing down on her. "Why did you even come here today?"

My temper flared up within me. Almost to the point of covering the extremely annoying hurt that her words gave me. "Well," I started. "I guess I just thought that with everything you did for me, maybe I could try to do a little for you. My mistake." I shot at her.

I made to storm out of the room but her body collided with the door, slamming it shut, before I reached it. The action looked almost painful. "That's not what I meant Jade, you know that. My brain's not in a very articulate mood right now."

"So what did you mean?" I asked, my eyes boring into hers with intensity. My irritation was increasing by the second. My arms crossed over my chest and I cocked my head, waiting for her answer.

Her eyes searched my face and she sighed in utter defeat. "I mean it's not like you have ever been known to just help someone, especially me. And here you are, helping ." Her hand reached out and gripped my arm. "It's in your own demented way, but you are, and it's working." She squeezed my arm gently before letting go and pushing herself off of the door. "You can go if you want but I'd prefer it if you stayed." She walked by me and sat down next to her father again, grabbing his hand.

The sight was enough to make me groaned inwardly and stalk back to my chair against the wall, plopping in it dramatically. She's making me feel bad. Tori Vega is making me feel... sympathy. "Fine but we're not staying in a stuffy hospital room all day. You want me around, we're going to do something."

She turned her chair so she could see me and fixed me with a smirk. "A stuffy hospital room? You suck at giving comfort."

I just shrugged.

.+.+.+.+.+.+.

After her mother and sister came back from eating I all but forced Tori out of the hospital. She'd been crying on and off all day, I have to distract her before I lose all sense of hostility within me. "You hungry?" I asked her as we pulled out of the parking lot.

"Not really." She replied flatly, her gaze directed out the window.

"Okay, what do you wanna do then?"

"You're the one that dragged me out. You choose." She deadpanned.

I clenched my teeth and pushed back the irritation that was welling inside of me. I had to remind myself of why I'm with her in the first place. 'She's upset. Her dad's in the hospital. She helped me a lot with Beck.' Each time these thoughts ran through my head my heart would clench painfully at Beck's name. It was enough to replace the irritation with sadness, which was another emotion that could possibly cause me to lash out. Great, now we both needed a distraction.

'Think, West. Think.' I pretty much just went to Tori whenever I needed a distraction or comfort, now she's counting on me for them. God that's frustrating. An idea crept into my head out of nowhere and I smiled wide. "Have you ever been skydiving?" I asked her.

She looked over at me with suspicion in her eyes. "No, and I don't much like the idea of jumping out of a plane."

"Neither do I." I stated. "I have a good idea, though. A good distraction. For both of us."

Her eyes softened at this. "I'm sorry I've been so selfish. I know you're still hurting, I don't mean to put my problems on you too."

To say I was shocked would be an understatement. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard you say, Vega. First of all comparing our situations would be like comparing a toothpick to an oak tree. I lost a boyfriend, you..." I paused as I tried to find the right words, but decided to just leave it at that. "Second, I showed up yesterday of my own will, you didn't ask. And third, just shut up and trust me. We're going to have some much needed fun."

She gave me a broad smile and my stomach filled with... butterflies? Nahh. Fuck butterflies, Jade West gets bats. And however confusing those bats are, they're there. My grip tightened on the steering wheel as I averted my gaze back to the road, it was easier to hold back the grin that threatened to break out on my face.

.+.+.+.+.+.+.

It only took ten minutes to reach our destination, and for that I was thankful. Small talk is very high up on the lengthy list of things I hate. I didn't want her to know what was up right away so I ended up stopping at a small coffee shop first. "I don't know about you, but I can't imagine that you got any more sleep than I did last night."

She nodded and stepped out of the car. "Yeah coffee sounds awesome." She said gratefully. "I don't have my wallet though."

"I got it." I said, stepping through the door behind her. She turned to say something but I didn't let her. "Don't argue, or thank me, or anything. It's just coffee." She smiled and nodded again as I walked up to the small counter. "Two medium coffees."

The woman behind the counter had the world's worst spray-on tan, it looked as if she were related to an orange, and her make-up was caked on so thick you could easily mistake her for a clown. Honestly, she was a walking, talking cliche - I hate her already. There was a nail file in her hand going to town on the painted nails of the other, and she didn't even look up as she spoke. "You want flavor shots?" She asked in a bored tone.

I looked at Tori and she shook her head. "Nope. Just coffee."

She sighed dramatically and started pushing buttons on the computerized cash register, her nails clicking loudly. "That'll be five dollars and thirty five cents." She stated, holding out an expectant hand.

I handed her a five and a one dollar bill, resisting the urge to drop them on the floor behind the counter. Her attitude was revolting and I felt like she really needed a punch to her lipstick-slathered mouth. But today is not the day for such relief, today is to keep Tori from dehydrating through her eye sockets.

The annoying woman poured our coffees and handed them to us unlidded. A stubby finger pointed to the far wall. "Lids and stuff are over there." And her attention returned to filing her nails.

I bit back an insult as we made our way to the counter. I put two sugars in mine, popping a lid on, and watched as Tori poured three sugar packets and two french vanilla creamers into hers. My pierced brow raised in amusement. "Do you even like the taste of coffee?"

She shook her head and smiled. "Not really, but you were right. Sleeping in a hospital chair doesn't allow much in the way of comfort. Combine that with blind worry and you get hours awake, and mere minutes of nightmare-filled slumber."

I nodded in understanding. "Well let's head to our distraction then. We'll leave the car here and walk, it's just up the street." I said, leading her out of the shop and holding the door open for her.

We walked slowly, both completely satisfied with sipping the warm coffee in silence. I savored the bitterly delicious flavor. The small shop had a shitty choice in staff but the coffee was superb. "So good." I mumbled between small sips.

Tori chuckled at my wards and sipped her coffee again too. "It's alright." She put her free hand into her pocket and looked around. "Where are we headed anyway?" I pointed ahead and across the street. "CityWalk? I think I've been there once. My parents took Trina and I bowling there. We spent more time in the arcade though." She giggled at the memory. "My dad complained the whole time, he loves bowling." The sadness that weighed on her voice was contagious and I almost stopped to hug her in the middle of crossing the street.

"Yeah, we're not here to go bowling. Unless you want to after." I stated. She looked at me confused and I just smirked at her. "You'll see what's up. Patience, Vega."

We walked into the enormous building and I lead her through the winding halls. This was bound to take Tori's mind off of her father, at least for a little while. We walked through a doorway into a wide open courtyard and our destination was in sight. I pointed it out to her and her eyes grew wide.

"Seriously?" The excitement was evident in her voice and I had to swallow a laugh. "No way! I've always wanted to try that!"

She all but skipped her way up to the counter beneath a huge sign that read, 'iFly' in large white letters. I had to quicken my pace to catch up. When I stepped up next to her she was talking animatedly with the man behind the counter. "... and it's totally safe as long as you follow all of the rules and wear all of the proper gear. Which is pretty much just a helmet and some ugly goggles. It's a seriously awesome experience. I go at least once on every break I get." He chuckled, his long read hair was frizzy and gross looking but he seemed nice enough. At least his face wasn't completely overrun with freckles like most redheads. I hate freckles.

"Yeah, we're both going." I pulled out my debit card and handed it to him, leaning as far as I could over the counter, just out of Tori's hearing range. "I know the cost, she won't go if she does." It was true. I'm sure if Tori knew I was dropping over one hundred dollars on this distraction alone, she'd refuse. Or at least refuse to do anything after, and the girl needs to eat.

After a sly glance in response to Tori's questioning gaze Red led us back behind the counter to get prepared. The rules were explained, the goggles secured, we were ready in about fifteen minutes. We laughed at each other once we were fully dressed properly. She was wearing a bright red jump-suit with blue stripes going up the sides, an all-black helmet that read 'iFly' in bold white letters on the front, and bulky plastic goggles over her eyes. I was dressed indentically except that my jump-suit was dark blue with red lines on the sides.

We walked to the gigantic enclosed wind tunnel, Tori practically bouncing with anticipation next to me. "This is gonna be so awesome!" She gushed.

I nodded, keeping my composure, but I was excited too. "Yeah, it's pretty intense."

"How many times have you done this?" She asked.

"Just once." I replied, thinking back to that time. "One of my exes and I went together. She was a nervous wreck. It didn't phase me, of course." I gave her a smug smirk and she returned it with a look of confusion.

"She?" Tori said, her eyes conveying some emotion unknown to me.

I nodded. "Everyone assumes Beck was the only person I've ever been with. Mostly just because he's my longest relationship. I didn't meet him until I came to Hollywood Arts. I've dated more girls than guys, honestly."

Tori nodded, dropping the subject. We made it to the wind tunnel and it was already fired up, the redheaded weirdo awaiting our arrival. "Hey. Our instructor is just getting off break, she'll be here in a few minutes."

Tori giggled in excitement. "This is gonna be so awesome!" Her eyes widened and she slapped her palm against her forehead. "I wish I had brought my phone from the back, we need pictures!"

I dangled my phone in front of her face and she smiled as she took it, bringing up the camera mode and handing it to Red. "Can you take one of us?"

He accepted it. "Sure thing!" Tori's arm went around me to grip my waist and gave the camera a thumbs-up with a cheesy grin. I crossed my arms over my chest in mock irritation, but a scowl was out of the question. The excitement that was radiating from her was contagious, so I settled on an amused smirk. He snapped three different ones at Tori's request. That one, one with Tori pointing excitedly at the wind tunnel, and one with our backs to eachother, arms crossed, and my expression the same as the first, hers amusedly determined.

"Jade!?" I high feminine voice called out behind us as Tori sent the pictures to herself. I whirled around to see a tall slender blonde girl striding towards us in a black jump-suit of her own. "Oh my god, it is you!"

It took me a few moments but recognition set in and I almost turned and ran right then. "Hey Lily." I mumbled.

Lily reached us and instantly pulled me in for a bonecrushing hug. "It's been years! How have you been?"

"I've been better, I've been worse." I replied noncommittally.

Lily's eyes flashed to Tori momentarily - who was eyeing her with suspicion while talking with Red - and she gave me another smile. "Is this the first time you've come here since we came?"

Realization showed on Tori's eyes and a frown distorted her features. "Yeah. How long have you worked here?"

"Well I started after I got my working papers. I'd have to say about three years. Maybe a little less. As soon as I turned eighteen they made me an instructor and it's so fun. I was hoping to run into you at least once throughout my employment, you seemed to enjoy it a lot more than I did." She giggled and twirled a lock of hair between her fingers.

Uh oh. Flirting. She's flirting with me. I so don't need this today. "Yeah, I guess I ju-"

She cut me off mid-sentence and I almost growled at her. "So is this your new gi-" I hate that, it's why I broke up with her in the first place. The girl doesn't know how to shut up, so I interrupted her in return.

"This is my friend Tori." Her eyes lit up at hearing this.

"Tori." She gave the brunette a sweet smile and extended her hand to her. "It's nice to meet you, my name is Lily."

She shook Lily's hand almost stiffly and nodded in acknowledgement. If I hadn't spent so much time studying her, I wouldn't have noticed the slightly narrowed eyes and falseness in her smile. That's a weird reaction, especially from Tori. I nudged her and gave her a small smirk, and she relaxed.

"Well let's get started!" Lily exclaimed. And that we did.

All three of us stepped up to the clear plexi-glass door, Tori and I waited while Red opened it and Lily climbed in. I leaned over and whispered in Tori's ear, "You want me to hop in first?" Tori nodded and gave me a nervous look, so I grabbed her hand and squeezed it lightly before dropping it and looking to Lily for the permission I needed. Her eyes narrowed at us both but she composed herself and shrugged nonchalantly.

After she did a few test flips in the air, she straightened her body out and landed firmly near the entrance. She beckoned me forward and I stepped into the roaring winds of the monstrous fan. My heart rate jumped instantly with adrenaline as Lily's arms encircled my waist and coaxed me to lean forward which instantly caused me to drop down before the wind caught my weight and suspended me into the air. Lily pushed me aside but kept a hand gripped on my jump-suit. She beckoned to Tori who took tentative steps into the wind tunnel, and - dare I say - it was adorable.

Tori walked slowly towards the center, her nerves getting the best of her. Lily turned to me and motioned that she was going to release me, to which I nodded. She did and her arms made their way around Tori's waist. As I watched, I could feel jealousy bubble up in my stomach. Not cool... No, it's just her job. Wait, do I really care? Yeah, I think I do. Fuck.

Tori's breathing was a little erratic before she remembered we'd been instructed to breath slowly and even through out noses. She calmed instantly and a smile broke out onto her face as the wind caught her body, raising her just about level with me. I'm sure if she could, she'd yell out in exhiliration. Lily gripped our jump-suits at the shoulders and flattened her body too, causing us all to rise up the complete length of the translucent tube.

She adjusted her body so we'd fall back down and she gave me a look that I didn't understand, mostly because the generated wind was contorting her features. Releasing my shoulder she motioned to me that she intended to take us up and flip us around a little. She'd have to do one at a time for that. I nodded and gestured to me, and then gestured for Tori to watch.

Lily pulled at just the right angle, flipping Tori to float on her back, and her hand released Tori's shoulder. The blonde's hands met mine and intertwined at the fingers. Well that's not how it's supposed to be done... I quickly untangled my fingers from hers and gave her a glare. She smiled silently, flattening herself and lifting us into the air. She adjusted my body in many ways, causing me to twist and turn. The feeling was amazing, it was like I weighed absolutely nothing.

Lily took us back down and turned to Tori whose eyes were wide - with fear or excitement, I have no clue - flipping her onto her stomach again. I took it upon myself to flip over so I could watch them and Lily smiled at me as she took Tori up.

Lily stayed in the tunnel with us the entire time, although she was supposed to have left us alone when she was sure we were comfortable since I'd done it before. Each flight was usually only a minute long but Lily didn't seem too upset about going over the limit. In fact, we were in the tunnel for a good five minutes, which is almost twice as long as the average real sky-diving experience.

When we were safely outside of the wind tunnel and it was powering down, Tori jumped into my arms. "Oh my god, Jade! That was so freakin' awesome, thank you so much!"

My arms wrapped around her and her pleasant scent filled my nose. "Any time, Vega."

Lily's throat cleared and Tori pulled away from me, blushing. "Hey, thanks for the extra time. It was great." I said.

The blonde gave me a seductive smile and winked. "Anything for you, hun." And with that she was walking back towards the counter.

We followed behind her and Tori leaned in to whisper, "I don't think I like Lily."

"Why not?" I asked with a smirk. "You like everyone else. I treat you like complete crap and you still like being around me. Lily's likeable."

A blush crept onto her face again as she shook her head. "I don't know."

I bumped into her lightly. "I think you do know."

She giggled. "Okay, I do."

I just smiled at her and continued walking. Her words forced my mind into a frenzy. 'Does Tori Vega like me? Like, like me, like me? Really Jade... What am I, twelve? She couldn't have the hots for me, I treat her like shit. Could she? Many women do respond to that more than nice people. But not Tori, no way. Since when does she even like girls? God, shut the fuck up, I'm annoying myself.'

My inner monologue was interrupted by Tori's hand on my shoulder. "Hey!"

"What!?" I yelled back as my eyes focused on her. "Oh, sorry. What did you say?"

She chuckled as she took my jump-suit from my hands and folded it. "I said I should probably get back to the hospital now."

"No way, Vega. You're going to eat something. We're going to the Hardrock Cafe here." I stated, snatching the helmets with the goggles inside. We began walking back to the front counter to turn the gear in.

Tori thought for a moment and then smiled at me. "I could eat."

We handed the gear over to Lily and started to walk away but we were stopped before we made it too far. "Hey Jade, hold up!" The blonde called.

I gritted my teeth in frustration, but turned back to her nonetheless. "Yeah?"

She jogged up to meet us and handed me a piece of paper. I looked at it and it had her name and number. "That's my cell number. Give me a call some time, you know, if you wanna go out or something." Her hand made its way to fiddle with a lock of my hair, and I stepped back, glaring at her.

Tori - who had been watching for my reaction - stepped up and grabbed my hand, lacing our fingers together. "It's very rude to give your number to someone while they're on a date with someone else." She said, her voice dripping with discontent.

Lily scoffed. "She said you guys are friends."

Tori's eyes narrowed at the blonde. If this was Tori acting, then she played the part of a jealous date extremely well. "We are friends, friends on a date. You don't start out in a relationship." She spoke calmly, a fake small plastered on her lips. I was trying my best not to laugh.

"If it's not an official relationship, I have nothing to feel bad about. Besides, I don't really think you're Jade's type." Lily challenged. Her eyes scanned Tori up and down mockingly, her expression one of distaste. My free hand closed into a tight fist as anger bubbled up inside of me.

Tori's jaw clamped shut with a small click and she spoke through clenched teeth. "Whatever Jade's type used to be has obviously changed. I don't see her ever being attracted to ditsy blonde bimbos anymore."

"Listen to me you little twit." Lily stepped forward shoving her finger in Tori's face. "You can't fool me any more than you can fool yourself." I pulled on Tori's hand to get her away from the threatening being before her but Tori wasn't having it.

Tori leaned closer to her and said in a cheery voice, "Honey, I bet I could tell you your mouth was your asshole and you'd believe it, considering all the shit that pours out."

I lost it at that. My hand left Tori's and I grabbed my stomach, laughter bellowing from me. Before I was able to compose myself, Lily's hand pulled back. "No, no. You won't hit me." Tori said with confidence. I stood up straight as my rage over-rode all traces of amusement. "You see. If you hit me, not only will you undoubtedly lose your job, but there's a million different cameras all around us. I could have the proof to press criminal charges from at least six different angles."

Lily's hand lowered but her face remained twisted with rage. "I bet you're not even gay."

Tori put a hand on her hip and stared at the blonde for a moment before turning to me with a wicked grin on her lips. Before I could even register what was flowing through her brain her lips were on mine. My body stiffened in shock but recovered quickly as her arms snaked around her neck, and mine wrapped around her waist.

Tori must've known that a small kiss wouldn't be enough because her tongue slid over my bottom lip, asking to deepen the moment. My heart raced beyond my control as my lips parted and I slid my tongue into her mouth. I could've sworn she moaned a little as our tongues made contact, and I know I had to fight one back at how she tasted. So sweet, like flavored coffee and completely overwhelming.

Somehow I had lost myself in the embrace as we kissed eachother slowly, bringing forth all previous frustrations I'd had over her, ten-fold. The familiar coil in my gut made itself known and I pulled Tori even closer to me, feeling her heart rate flying as fast as mine. She kissed me with more passion than any fake kiss could ever have. It was then that I was able to confirm the mental musings that plagued me earlier. What really jarred me was that there seemed to be a little more than just sexual frustration coming from my end.

Tori pulled back and there was a sad but longing look in her eyes as her gaze locked with mine. We were both breathing rapidly. Our bodies remained pressed together as I tried to read her emotions in her eyes. The deep chocolate colors that used to shine there darkened to a staggeringly sharp almost-black shade. Seductively sad, I guess.

"Woah." I said breathlessly, and she smiled an earthshattering smile. It was radiant, I just had to smile back at her.

I glanced out of the corner of my eye and noticed Lily's angry gaze shooting daggers at Tori. "Hey Lily?" I said, and her eyes met mine, filling with hope, as Tori stepped away from me. I grabbed her hand again before she could get too far and Tori looked at me failing to conceal the hurt look on her face. "I may have started this date out single, but I can't imagine how I'd continue with it after that." I smirked, winking at Tori.

Lily looked at me as if I'd just punched her in the stomach and took the paper that I was holding out to her. "Whatever. We could've had something even better than last time."

My eyes traced up her body just as hers had over Tori's, same expression and everything. "I don't want it." I said with a glare. The blonde stomped away from us and Tori laughed animatedly, I couldn't help but join her. We laughed until we were sure Lily was far away, only then did we begin to settle. Our eyes locked again and blush flooded her cheeks. Our hands broke apart as we started walking toward the restaurant in awkward silence.

.+.+.+.+.+.+.

After we ate we walked around visiting various shops and I ended up buying myself a new pair of black combat-style boots that reached all the way up to the middle of my thigh, heavy buckle straps placed along the length of them. Tori insisted that she didn't want anything. She probably felt bad about all the money I had already spent on her. Whatever.

I decided not to stay at the hospital with her, not wanting to deal with Trina's annoying presence. I told Tori as much and she just laughed claiming that she couldn't blame me. I pulled right up to the hospital entrance and Tori hopped out. Before I was able to shift gears and pull away she turned back to my car and spoke to me through the window she'd left open. "Y'know, this morning aside, you're not too terrible at the whole comfort thing." She said smiling, my ice-cold heart warmed just a little bit at her words. How incredibly Grinchy of me. "Thanks for today, Jade. I mean it. I really needed this." With that, she turned and I watched her disappear behind the automatic sliding doors. Okay, I watched her ass. Sue me.

Interestingly enough most of the word suggestions I recieved for this chapter were along the same lines as this one. So it was relatively easy to see what my readers wanted. Lol.

It's going to be a bumpy road from here on out guys. The five people that met the quota this time are really the only people that have been suggesting. I think six and up are going to be rough, so if you have any old random words - seriously, any at all - swimming around your brain, PM them to me. I have a feeling it'll take a while to post in a timely fashion if you don't.