Hey all! I'm back with another chapter finally. It's kind of a long one but I figure it's length makes up for my absence, haha. Anyways, I don't own Victorious. Enjoy!

[Jade's POV]

I just couldn't believe it.

So much has changed since high school. I dated, fell in love with and broke up with my best friend. I was manager at a very exclusive salon in Los Angeles. I lived on my own, even if it was with a roommate. But the thing that shocked me more than anything was the fact that Tori fucking Vega was becoming a good friend of mine. Every one of our friends knew that we never meshed. I made fun of her, whether it was calling her names or criticizing her fashion choices regularly. I stole her food and drinks without ever asking, sometimes without any intention of returning it to her. I mean, I purposely hid a pint of her blood and had flowers she was allergic to delivered to her, just so I could be the lead in a stupid forty-five minute school play!

In short, I have always treated Tori Vega like shit. Why she stuck around and accepted it was a mystery to me. Now, we were hanging out at least three days a week, I was babysitting her son when she had to run an errand and we texted each other all the time. On top of all of that, she worked for me because I hired her! Oh man, if our friends could see us now.

Speaking of our friends, I didn't talk with any of them. I didn't know where any of them were and I didn't know what any of them were doing. In all honestly, I didn't care either. Sure, we were all pretty close – but the only reason I was ever really in the group was because Beck was my boyfriend and Andre was his best friend, and Tori was Andre's friend which also brought Trina into the picture. And Cat and I were friends in school and she was best friends with Robbie. So really, I was just kind of there. I got along with all of them and did things with them, but usually it was always because of Beck. Beck was there so I had to be there, even when we weren't together. I'm not sure where Sinjin fit into this whole friend pyramid, because we basically just used him when we needed things.

Like I said before, things change but damn! And speaking of friends and Tori, she was supposed to come with me to my roommate's birthday party that was to be held in a grand deluxe villa at the Sunset Marquis. He was turning twenty-five and had booked the room almost a whole year ago, he said. I was definitely nervous, because I know that I was very mature for my age – but I was still nineteen. To be around people who were his age and older was a little intimidating even for me. What if all his friends were really smart about things I couldn't give two shits about like politics? That's why I asked Tori to be my guest.

Shark, my roommate, hasn't met her yet even though it's been almost a month since she's worked with us. He trusted me, saying that if she was as half as cool as I was and did her job, she could work at Scissors. He hardly ever worked in the salon lately, because he was always going to clients houses and then he would tell me all of the celebrity gossip he'd hear from them. It was very awesome having a friend and boss like him. Sure, he made a lot of money and was low-key famous, but he treated me like an equal. But back to him never meeting Tori, he was always busy whether that means being away from the salon or away from our apartment or asleep. So tonight he would finally meet the girl that I spent almost all my time with if I wasn't working or doing other things.

I rang the doorbell at the Vega house, hearing laughter from a man and woman on the inside. David must have been home from his case he had to handle in Seattle. I pulled my dress down a little when a bit of October wind hit me on my legs. It was close to Halloween so the weather was a little chilly at night. In fact, in two weeks we would be having another party at the salon after hours, to celebrate Halloween. Shark was definitely a party guy, which didn't bother me one bit. I was always invited and I always drank for free. My thoughts ceased when I heard the door open.

"Oh hey Jade," I heard and looked up.

It was Holly, Tori's mom. She was standing there holding Tori's son, in some slim fitting jeans, a light purple hoodie and a white t-shirt that I could see her bra through. Tori's mom was always, and always would be a MILF to me. I looked at her breasts for a second before taking my attention off of them and placing my eyes on the smiling baby boy.

"Look Tony, it's your friend Jade. Say 'hi, Jade.' C'mon, go on," she said to the baby as he grinned.

"What, is he talking already?" I asked.

"He's been babbling non-stop for the past two days, so it might be time to teach him a few words," Holly answered.

"Oh? Well in that case, can you say, 'murder?' Go ahead Tony, say 'muuuuurder'," I smiled devilishly.

"Jade, don't teach him that," Holly rolled her eyes. "C'mon in. Tori's not ready yet, in fact she's been upstairs for a while. You can go up if you'd like," she said, inviting me in.

"Thanks," I simply replied.

I fixed my dress once again before walking in. I was expecting to see David on the couch, but instead I saw his friend, Gary, I think. He was sprawled out on the floor next to a baby blanket with some toys on it. He propped himself up, looking a bit shocked at first, then relieved when he saw it was me.

"Hey…" I waved.

"Hey, how are you doing?"

"I'm good. Hey, how come every time I end up coming here, you're here? What, are you like a stalker now? You have some kind of pedophile crush on me?" I asked, crossing my arms.

He sat up some and looked at Holly then back at me, without saying anything.

"Oh, I get it. You have a crush on Holly, here," I teased.

I looked at the both of them. Holly clutched the baby a little tighter as he started to squirm around, but her eyes never left Gary. They both looked as guilty as sin.

"Oh, don't worry, your secret is safe with me," I pushed on.

"Now that's enough, Jade. Do me a favor and bring Tony to Tori, I think he wants to sleep," she said.

She walked closer and handed the five-month-old to me. I took him and started for the stairs. When I was almost at the top, I heard the two adults downstairs talking.

"Don't worry, she was just playing. That's how Jade is," Holly said and laughed nervously.

I walked to the nursery first, to see if Tori was in there. She wasn't, so I walked towards her room and heard soft crying from the inside. I stopped for a minute and looked at Tony. Oh god, what was I going to get myself into? I braced myself and took a deep breath.

"Okay, time to be sensitive, I guess…" I said quietly to the baby, who just stared at me with his big brown eyes.

I tapped on the door and opened before I got an answer.

"Knock, knock, I'm coming in," I said and walked in, shutting the door behind me.

There was Tori, sitting on the end of her bed. She looked up at me and snatched the blanket that was sitting next to her and covered her almost nude body with it.

"Jade, I didn't say you could come in," she huffed, not making any eye contact.

"Well, I'm me. I don't need an invitation. What's wrong with you?"

I walked closer to Tori, who was gripping her blanket even tighter now. Tony went to reach for her once I sat down next to her, but she didn't bother to grab him.

"Everything. I look fat in all my clothes so I don't have anything to wear. Andre and I got into an argument because he won't be here for Antonio's first Halloween, lately my mom has been unavailable to talk to because Gary is always here, and I really think there's something going on and I feel like I have nobody to talk…to…"

She stopped and looked up at me. I just looked down at the baby.

"No, Jade. I didn't mean it like that. It's just my mom helps me with all my problems and I know you don't like it when people complain, that's all…even though I'm complaining right now…" she sniffled.

I just shrugged and sighed.

"Look, Tori. I know you think I'm cold hearted, because well, let's face it…I am. But I'm also pretty good at giving advice. A lot of people will sugarcoat shit, but not me. Let me help you," I said, putting Tony on the bed.

I stood up from the bed and took Tori by the hand. When she looked back at her son, I assured her that he would be fine. He was already snuggling up with one of Tori's stuffed bears, and then proceeded in chewing on its ear.

"Okay, your first problem. First of all, you're not fat in any way, shape, or form. You borrowed pajamas from me the other night that fit just fine. So that means if you're fat, then I'm fat and I'm not fucking fat, okay?" I said reaching for the blanket she was still wrapped in.

"Jade, stop! Jaaade!" she grabbed the blanket tighter.

I was tougher than she was. I yanked it and exposed her. She was in a light pink bra and underwear. I looked over her body. It was true that she had gained some weight since having a baby. But it wasn't like a tremendous amount. It wasn't even a big amount, and the weight that she did gain was in all the right places. She still had a flat stomach, but her breasts were a lot plumper. She still had slim legs, but her hips and thighs were a bit thicker – and it wasn't a bad thing. She was almost the same build as me now, instead of the scrawny teenage girl I always knew her as.

"Tori, seriously? You have a hot body. Your skin is flawless and you have all the right curves now. You're no longer built like a twelve-year-old boy and that's a good thing, okay? You've had a baby and it doesn't even show… except your tits are bigger but that's definitely a good thing, too. You look amazing, so what the fuck are you complaining about?"

"Jade, you're just saying that to be nice," she said and I raised an eyebrow. "Wait, you're not nice," she said, giving somewhat of a smile.

"Exactly. You look great and I promise you, you'll probably get hit on like fifteen times tonight. So find something black and put it on," I said.

I folded up the blanket. I walked over to the bed where Tony was still chewing on the stuffed bear. He looked up at me and smiled, then reached for me. I picked him up and then sat down. I watched her walk over to her closet, checking herself out in her mirror first. She shook her head and then I watched a smile creep across her face. I made her feel better. Tori Vega was down in the dumps and I, Jade West, pulled her out.

"Okay, my next dilemma," she said, looking through her closet. "Andre?"

"Oh! Yeah. Okay. Well, Tori, you have to realize that Andre is in school because he wants to have a career that will be rewarding AND financially smart. There's always going to be music. Which means there's always going to be work in that area. Which means you'll always have money – both you and Tony. He's just doing what's best, and I know that I was ready to attack when you told me he was in New York and you were here with this baby, but you gotta hand it to him. He's going to school and working a job so that you and Tony will be taken care of. And you see him almost every day, even if it is online. I know it's hard to be away from him, but you have your mom, your dad and Trina. And Tori, you have me."

I heard her gasp as she was pulling on a black dress. Her head popped through and she a smile grew across her face.

"You mean that?"

"I mean it. I'll even go with you to take Tony trick-or-treating."

I didn't know what I was thinking. I already planned to take the actual day of Halloween off, because of the salon party the day before. I guess that meant I couldn't get totally shit-faced, which is exactly what I wanted to do. But friends come first, I guess, especially because I hardly had any. Sure, I'd communicate with people at work but besides Shark, I didn't talk to anyone outside of work. They were always bitching about their boyfriends and talking about the latest fashions, all the while I'm dressed in all black just about every day and I was single from breaking up with Cat. So the only thing I could ever talk with them about was hair – work stuff.

"And as far as your mom and Gary go, I think they're just friends. It is possible for a guy and a girl to be friends, no matter what age they are. I mean, you and Andre were friends for the longest time before, well…" I looked at Tony and smiled. "Cat and Robbie are best friends, although I'm still not sure he qualifies as a guy," I chuckled. "And if you want more time with her, tell her and I know she'll make more time for you."

"You're right…thanks Jade. I feel a lot better now," she said, looking into the mirror. "How do I look?"

I looked at her and shook my head.

"That looks like you're going to a funeral, Vega. How about that one?"

I pointed to a short dress that was all black lace in the front, on a nude background. The back was plain black and had a cage cut-out style until you got to the butt of the dress, where it was lace again. It was an awesome party dress and I knew it would look so good on her. I got up from the bed with Tony in my arms and headed towards her closet.

"Uh, I wore that once, and it was when Andre and I started…well, you know. And it stayed on for like twenty minutes," she blushed.

"Well, good. You want to be sexy tonight," I said, reaching for it.

She took off the dress she was wearing and threw it on the bed. I handed her the lace dress and she stepped into it.

"I'm going to need help zipping it up," she said and sighed, "if it will even zip at all."

"It will," I said, and placed the baby on the carpeted floor for a second.

She pulled it up on her shoulders and waited for me to zip her up. In an instant, she went from plain ol' Tori, to this sexy creature.

"Wow," my mouth dropped open. "You look good, Tori. I mean it."

"Thanks Jade," she smiled and checked herself out in the mirror again.

"Just, uh, not better than me," I said, crossing my arms.

"I know, you really do look fantastic tonight, Jade," she smiled, and picked up her son and kissed him. "Doesn't she, Tony?" she asked and nuzzled against him. He just yawned.

"Oh, great, thanks Tony," I laughed. "Why don't you put the rugrat to bed so we can get your makeup done and then hit the road?"

Tori nodded in agreement. She walked off to the nursery to place Tony in his crib and then came back to the room to grab me and led me to the bathroom. We pulled her hair back in into a bun on the crown of her head. Her makeup was a smoky eye that made her brown eyes pop and a nice, shiny, nude lipstick.

"Jade?"

We were in front of her bathroom mirror; she was sitting down on a small vanity stool as I brushed the edges of her hair down some more for a sleeker look. I looked up at the mirror and saw that she was looking at me.

"What, am I brushing too hard?" I said, but continued to brush.

"No, it's not that. It's just…thank you. Hanging out with you these past weeks have just been so much fun. And today, when you helped me with my problems…I just. I don't know."

"Ah, spit it out already, Vega," I said, stopping to look at her in the mirror.

"The only person I really talk to besides my family is Andre, and he's my fiancé so I'm not sure he counts. But, like, you're my best friend," she said and gave a sigh of relief.

I continued to brush her hair without saying anything until I was finished.

"Awh dang, I forgot I have to pump before I go," she said, admiring the work I did in the mirror.

"What?"

"You know," she said looking down at her breasts, "for Tony. I can't nurse if I have alcohol in my system, so I need to pump."

"Oh, gross. Go do that then and I'll clean this up," I said, pointing to the makeup and hair products. "We're already going to be later than I wanted to be."

"Okay," she said and headed towards the door.

Right before she exited, I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"Hey Vega," I called to her.

"Hmm?"

"Uh…you too."

I didn't really know how to word it. How would I say that Tori Vega was my best friend? But it didn't need explaining because she got what I was trying to say. I knew this when a smile lit up her face the instant I told her.

"I'll meet you downstairs…best friend," she said and bit her lip before walking into the hall.

Finally, a smile found its way on my face as well. I finished cleaning up the counter and washed my hands. I looked up into the mirror and realized that I was still smiling. A real smile, too. Something that hasn't really been around since Cat and I broke up. It felt good to say that I had a best friend once again.

It felt good to no longer feel so alone.