A/N: Sorry for the update delay. The next one should be much faster. Enjoy!

I have a date with Jade in two days. And that's all I can think about. I should be exhausted, but I'm having a bit of trouble getting to sleep right now. It's that whole being full of energy and love feeling again. Only now it's increased so much and it won't even go away when I'm not thinking about her. I assume. But I'm not sure because I really don't think I have stopped thinking about her since giving her flowers. I especially can't stop thinking about the giving her flowers part. She looked kind of strange with her wig off but the rest of her costume on.

I've been running through ideas for dates. I wish I could ask someone, like Beck. But I don't really want him in on this, and Jade would kill me if I did. Cat! Jade said Cat would already know. I'll ask her tomorrow. There's always the movie and/or dinner date. And the slightly more romantic than just dinner picnic. The weirder piñata hitting or water balloon fight. The day at the beach might be a little too public. Why are there so many options?

I finally decide to go get a book rather than obsessing over everything. Especially since we have two shows tomorrow and I have to pretend I'm married to her instead of having a really intense schoolgirl crush. Let's see...it has to be one that can keep all my attention, so nothing too full of old-timey wording. Oh! Looks like my mom picked up the book I had on hold from the library today. That sounds good.

Hm. I have a date with Tori. That's not really anything I expected to happen. And I have flowers in my bedroom. I honestly probably expected that even less. I suppose there's nothing to do now but go to sleep.

I wake up a little late the next morning, but the matinee show isn't until 3 hours later and I have to do my makeup there anyway. I just put on some clothes and brush my hair, not really bothering to do anything else yet. I hate it when I have to drive during the day. When I get to the school, I see Cat.

"Hi Jade! Robbie styled your wig!" she practically squeaks sometimes, I swear.

I walk towards the dressing room door with her following me and see the wig. "It doesn't look ANY different."

Robbie pops out from around the corner, "It is! Wigs are especially important in theatre you know! Any stray hairs show up REALLY WELL on the stage."

He's right. "Whatever Shapiro. Just keep your hands away from my actual hair whenever I use it."

"O-of course. I don't have a death wish or anything."

I hear Tori's voice from down the hallway, "Seriously Jade, I don't think anyone would touch your hair without your express permission. Thanks for doing the wigs Robbie. And hi Jade, hello Cat." She walks into the dressing room and puts her bag down then turns back around and stares at me. She focuses around my eyes, but not my actual eyes. Right. I didn't put make-up on. "You look nice without make-up. Kind of less scary and less mysterious. Your eyes are a little softer ar—"

"I like looking scary and mysterious, and I like having a leer that can puncture people's heads. But thanks, I guess." I glance over to Cat, and she giggles a little and covers her mouth as if something really great for gossip and also really amazing for her just happened. "O-kay, I'm going to go put Nancy make-up on." I move past Tori to get into the room, and I think she forgets to let me by for a second. As I sit down sort of facing the door, I see Cat drag Tori away towards the stage.

Cat pulls me by my hand, and my head lags for a bit before it catches up to my body. "Oh, good, I wanted to ask you something, Cat."

"Me first!"

"Sure Cat, what is it?"

She hushes down a little, and asks, "When have you been hanging out with Jade more? And how did you get her to stop being so defensive?"

"Wow, Jade was so right."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, just that she knew you would know something was up."

"Kay kay."

"I don't know why she stopped being defensive. But we hung out when Sikowitz made us and also after the play Thursday, and we talked after the play on Friday, but that's it."

"Seriously? But she looks like she spent an extra month with you!"

"How can you quantify it like that?"

"I've known Jade for years. She's not the only one who studies people."

"Jade studies people?!"

"Yeah! Didn't you figure that out by now with how she kept tormenting you?"

"No, I was more focused on her tormenting me," I say a little angrily. I wish I'd known. Cat pulls back a little. I don't know how I never connected her being super sensitive about how people say things to knowing what people are feeling before. "I'm not angry at you Cat."

"Oh," she says a little airily, "good!" And she smiles like me not being angry is the best thing that ever happened. Then she looks at me expectantly with almost puppy-dog eyes and sways a little with her hands clasped.

"I asked her out," I almost whisper. And she squeals. So much for inconspicuous. "But I need your help. I don't really know where to take her."

"Torriiiiii, Tori Tori Tori." She starts to wiggle a little at this point, and she looks like she could go on forever.

"What?"

"Whatever you do, make it special. Well, interesting. Jade can't resist intriguing. And don't hold back on the touchy feely. She needs someone who feels too much. Why do you think she's actually friends with me? She hates perky things," she lowers her voice a little sadly towards the end.

"Yeah but where do—" I'm cut off as she puts her finger on my lips and shushes me. People are doing that a lot lately.

"It wouldn't be fair if I told you."

"Fair in what sense?"

"I D K, but it just wouldn't."

"Alright. Thanks, I guess."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm not really disappointed, Cat." I finally know to just tell her what my tone of voice actually means now.

"Yay!" She skips off to do God knows what.

I take out my computer and sit with my back facing the fake wall. I pull up two tabs, one to browse random things on the web and one to look up date ideas. I don't know why I bother with the date ideas, they all say the same vague things. So I end up on the Slap for a long time. I look at Andre's page and go back to before I started at Hollywood Arts. Apparently Sinjin used to be even more obsessed with our friend group. I see some random stalker-ey photos from on top of the balcony area that he slapped everyone in. I think he's actually on top of the roof in one of them. Weird. I shut down my laptop and go back into the dressing room, it's about time to get ready again.

After the matinee show and getting out of costume, we all get lunch and eat at our regular table. Everyone's there too, since Cat and Robbie volunteered as stage hands. By the time Tori gets her food, everyone's already sitting. Cat's next to Robbie in the middle, Beck and Andre are opposite me, and I assume Tori's going to sit next to me. Unless she suddenly decides to sit on that gross fourth bench.

"I feel sorry for Tori." I really wish Robbie didn't have to bring Rex to lunch. "Ever since Beck and Jade broke it off she has to sit next to Jade."

"You know Rex, you're sitting next to me too." Tori's sitting by now.

"Yeah, but I don't have to share a bench with you. Though I suppose I wouldn't mind sharing one with your and Vega's fine asses."

"You know, I feel sorry for you. You always have to sit next to Robbie. That can't be fun."

Robbie pipes up, "Hey!"

"Don't get your panties in a twist girl, I was just trying to empathize with Tori. She's into that touchy-feely stuff in guys." How he manages to make the word empathize sound crass I'll never know.

Andre interjects, "You know, I didn't think about that. Why isn't Cat sitting next to Jade?"

Robbie, the love sick puppy, decides to tell everyone, "Cat can sit wherever she wants."

"You guys. It's fine. I'm used to Jade by now," Tori finally says something.

"Used to me?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Yeah…uh, not like anyone could ever fully get used to you, but sitting next to you isn't torturous in the same way it used to be." Is she insinuating something? Well, at least she can't get used to me. I don't want her to get bored with me or anything.

Andre thinks it's time for him to talk again so he tells Tori, "Alright girl, as long as you're cool."

Tori nods and I feel her knee bump into mine. Her leg goes behind mine and her foot wraps around my ankle. It's strange, but when she gives a squeeze, I'm kind of reminded of someone squeezing a hand reassuringly. And it's much better than footsie at least. The rest of lunch passes with inane conversation. Then we all go our separate ways to pass the time between the matinee and the evening show.

I think I'm going to take Jade on a picnic date. I saw the place from the roof that Sinjin took the picture from at lunch, and it looks like it only requires a little climbing. Plus at night it's probably trespassing, so Jade'll like that. I'm really excited, but now I need to figure out what food to bring. I busy myself making a list of everything I can remember Jade eating at lunch. Sikowitz finds me and makes me do a drive by acting exercise with Cat where I have to be a butterfly. Then he walks away, I assume to prepare for whatever the prank is. I try to get it out of Cat what it's going to be since stagehands always help, but she just giggles and tells me to stay off the set until the play.

When I go onstage, I see on every surface the audience can't pictures of scantily clad, very well-muscled men. I'd heard about his pranks, but I wasn't in any productions he was in charge of before except for Steamboat Suzie. They decided to forego pranks because of all the blood loss. So I'm not exactly prepared for this, but I decide if it's just another way to test our acting ability I'm going to pass. I see Jade's eyes twinkle with almost laughter at me from offstage. He must pull the scantily clad men one a lot.

When the play's over, I go see Cat, Robbie, and Jade again and talk to them about the prank. Robbie can't stop laughing when Jade pulls out the beauty magazine cover with a man's body attached to the head. I'm not sure how Beck and Andre dealt with that being on the table the whole time. When there's a standstill in the conversation and the audience has left, Jade yells, "Alright, next four people over here get a ride to Vega's house for the cast party."
"We count as being over here, right?" I ask.

"Yup." She says as Andre runs up.

"Alright, that's four, time to go," Andre says a little nervously.

"Why so antsy, pretty boy?" Jade's actually pretty funny once you get past the mean edge to her words.

"That girl who liked my lips is here, and she had me confused for Beck cause we were dressed as twins, so now we gotta move before she realizes his lips aren't candy."

"You really pick the smart ones, huh?" I say as we walk towards the car. Cat and Robbie ran off to get their potluck contributions and are hurrying to get back.

"Yeah, yeah." He keeps looking back at her and gets in the car. "Thanks Jade, I really appreciate this."

"Whatever." She gets in the driver's seat, and Robbie and Cat sit next to Andre in the back. So I get to sit in the front, and Jade is the only one who can see my face. I let myself smile as hard as I've been wanting to this whole time.