Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious, it belongs to Dan and Nickelodeon. Also, this chapter's inspiration: 'Finally Found You' by Enrique Iglesias; song may be subject to future use.
Warning: light Catorade ahead. Because it had to be done, and because a little of it has never done any harm. It's not the focus, but you still know you want it...
Chapter 13: Awkward Everything
Cat had an emergency in which only her two female friends could help her. She was the only one who remained oblivious (and in Jade's mind, untarnished) to the situation between her namesake and Trina. Worse part, the girls were already at the redhead's house; only bit of good news was that her parents had taken her brother and the dog out. They had the house for themselves.
"Tori!" The bubbly girl forgot she had been speaking to her best friend, who wasn't in the best of moods. "My name in Spanish means Gato right?"
"Uh, oh hey Jade," she said to avoid the question.
"Screw this, I'm leaving!" Was the all the pale teen remarked as she began walking towards her Pontiac.
"No, wait... Jade!" The bubbly teen was clearly distressed. "I really need to do well on this project..."
"Why don't you call your namesake?!" The Goth demanded, seething.
"You know Kat can't act for her life," the pink-skinned teen replied with a pout.
"Uh, why are we here?" Tori felt the need to ask; she had missed Jade, but the car talk she had with her mother and sister had left her mildly bitter.
"She wants to make a publicity stunt for her Spanish class," the thespian spat, clearly frustrated, "and since our names spells the product..."
"You just lost me," the Latina confessed, then those blue eyes widen with a 'duh' expression as she pointed at their friend, who was still pouting.
"All you need to say is," she began, lower lip wobbling, "refrescante..."
"Sounds easy enough," the tanned teen said, unable to deny the other girl, she then turned to their pale friend, wobbling her own lip too, "come on Jade..."
"Ugh," exasperated hand motion later, she relents, "fine, as long as I can wear my swimsuit; you did promise..."
"Yay!" The teens left for the backyard.
They saw it had a camera, a kiddie pool filled with cherries and water, and a Gatorade bottle filled with a strange, pink substance. The girls changed into their swimsuits, and Jade, aviators on, slid into the kiddie pool. It had ice cubes on it, and it was quite a sunny Saturday morning that it obviously felt delicious; the Latina could only stare with jealousy. She had a punch server on her hand while the redhead turned the camera on the other portion of the yard, and the ditz began recording herself speaking in Spanish.
"Hola, mi nombre es Gato," she began introducing herself as Cat, or how it was said in Spanish, according to her.
She then proceeded to take a shot of Tori, saying her name, and finally, Jade, who picked a cherry, caressed her cheek with it before placing it in her mouth. She then turned back to a blackboard that was outside, and began spelling their names: Gato, bellow it and right where the 't' began, she wrote Tori, and below the 'r' she wrote Jade. Each name was written in a different color, and when she wrote them together, using each color for the display, it read Gatorade; the first two letters in red, the middle three in yellow and the last three in blue. By the end of the little explanation, the Latina was baffled, and the pale in dark blue two-piece swimsuit, was seething. Cat was doing publicity for the new pink Gatorade, which was made of cherries, since she was still pink from Halloween. She then turned to her friends, who had resigned themselves to their fate; Tori was too sweet to back out, and Jade was in cold water on a very sunny day. It wasn't until they heard the request that the tanned body with jean shorts and the top of a bikini a lovely purple tone (same purple that Starfire wore, the Goth couldn't help but notice) began thinking about leaving the whole enterprise.
"Okay Tori, pick some of the water with the punch server," she requested, camera turned around to record any movement from the other two; the Latina didn't question the request and did it, "now drink it!"
"Wha—?!" Her shock only increased when the aviators went up and revealed rolling blue eyes.
"Really, we're this far already," she scoffed, but the tease was only clear to someone, and hazel eyes narrowed, "what is it Vega?"
"Oh yeah, you drink it!" She challenged, positioning the server near the other's mouth.
Things happened too fast, but the camera never stopped recording. Tori was shocked when the pale teen actually took her challenge and drank the clear water, taking a cherry and her shock came with an open mouth. Taking that chance, Jade closed the distance quickly and soon, the cherry stalk was on the other girl's mouth, which was now close. Plucking the stalk with one swift motion, the Goth grinned, and said the Spanish word that they were requested to say. She passed a wet hand through those brown locks, and gave those lips a soft peck, forcing the other to swallow and choke. The redhead only smiled and said cut, looking with glee at the recorded scene. Not really caring that it was still recording, she just laughed as her best friend took the tanned girl by the waist and pulled her inside, and began tickling her. Since Cat was Cat, and she loved having fun, she didn't hesitate when she jumped inside and began helping on tickling her tanned friend.
They had plenty of fun, but thinking that the best part was sharing stage kisses, the redhead kissed her friends without reserve, and all they did was laugh, knowing that their sweet friend wasn't doing it for any particular reason other than sharing with them what they had shared. The problem was that even though those had been pecks to the lips, just as their bubbly ditz was giving them, they could still feel the difference between them. They still had fun, until the remaining Valentine family arrived. The young man immediately went after the feet but only two girls screamed.
"Jeremy, don't you have a bag of those in the back of your car?" Jade asked, laughing since she had hidden her feet as soon as they heard the door.
The young man looked at her as though not knowing who she was at first, then grinned wildly and turned to get those. "Oh hey Jade," he asked in one of those faint moments of lucidity, "you want more blood?"
"Perhaps another time pal," she grinned back; oh how fond she was of that freak, not that she would ever admit it. "Cat, we're even for the movies."
"Thanks Jade," Tori said with a sigh of relief; her foot had been next in line, though their redhead friend just pouted as her foot now had a new bite mark and because the two girls weren't taking her for ice cream, "so, Jeremy?"
"Jeremiah," Cat corrected her, smiling the same smile as her best friend, both looking at the spot where the older male had gone, even if it was in the garage and they couldn't see him, "he gets mad when people call him Jeremy..."
She then pouted, meaning that not even she was allowed that honor, but at the craned eyebrow from the Latina, the pale teen just smirked.
"I'm special Vega," she remarked, smirk becoming much more prominent, "deal with it."
"Yeah, she is," Cat sighed, and the girls soon left the pool.
There were towels nearby, but even if her hair wasn't that long anymore, the Goth still took one of the towels to dry it. This meant that Tori was left without a towel, and soon, her teeth began chattering; it was November after all. Cat didn't notice, being distracted when her brother arrived again, biting one of the fake foot he kept in a bag. A huge Labrador was soon besides him, chewing on another foot and this brought a dispute. Owner and pet looked at each other, and the grown man, spitting his foot on the ground, snarled and took the one the mutt had and began to tug it, with his mouth. Cat laughed at this, Jade just smiled softly and moved towards the musician, sharing her hair towel but also the other one, wrapping them both on it. She was grateful for the warmth, and soon proved why her nickname was so prudent. Tori wasn't chattering her teeth anymore and was hugging the pale teen close, who was still shivering.
"Sunshine," she whispered, her breath actually forming a mist in front of them, "I'm giving you a ride home..."
"Will you pick me up so I can see the kids off with you?" Tori requested softly, resting her chin on the shoulder; really, her house was on the way to their school, so it was cool.
"Heh, if I don't, they'll pout all day," she nuzzled the short brown hair softly, making her friend giggle at the feeling.
"You're too much Angel," she remarked, and once the thespian was warm enough, they parted ways.
Once dressed again, they waved at the family good bye and left. By then, the fight for the foot was inconclusive, as both owner and pet had begun tussling with each other. Jeremy was now biting the dog's ear, although clearly it wasn't done harshly, else the big creature would have whimpered. As it was, the Labrador was simply breathing hard, but not much. Tori couldn't believe the family, and when she inquired on the name, all her response was that the short version of the name didn't sound serious enough, but he knew that Jade never meant it in such way. It was strange, but obviously those two understood each other in a different level. Once again, the Latina found herself jealous.
"Tori, do you have something going on with that, Goth chick?" Her father demanded from her; they were having a family meeting in regards to Trina's attempt to kiss Katarina. "Speak up girl!"
"No, dad, I don't," she began for the tenth time since she was driven home by Jade, "I really don't see the issue—"
"I will not have my two girls attempting against nature!" David cried, clearly upset, "what would your abuela think..."
"Well, there's nothing going on between me and Jade," she exclaimed, feeling awkward, and being thankful for all her acting classes, she was now capable of lying semi decently; she honestly had no idea what was going on, "I swear dad, I am not interested in her that way, and I doubt she has romantic feelings. Really, we are barely good friends as it is!"
"If you're lying to me—" He began, but was interrupted by her mother, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
"David, stop it," Holly began, clearly annoyed at her husband's homophobic ways, "their family is joining our's for Thanksgiving, and I will not tolerate this lack of courtesy."
"Really dad, you weren't homophobic last I checked," Trina added, but he just glared at her.
"What everyone else does isn't the problem," he began, "but you two are my girls, and I will not tolerate this act against nature—"
"Are we really going there?" The older woman asked, clearly not liking the way the conversation was going, raising a hand to show so, and she took a deep breath as she began lowering her limb, "listen, David, we cannot control our daughters, and if you keep on trying, I'm afraid I'll resort to drastic measures."
"Wait, love," he began; he had clearly assumed she would be on his side.
"David, I'm taking steps at the school to make sure they understand their sexuality," she said softly, and both girls gagged, "but I am not going to start kicking children out if they turn out gay, and we're not doing that inside this house, am I making myself clear?"
"Crystal," he whispered, and they hugged, her eyes rolling. "That doesn't mean I approve."
He glared at the girls, and left, just to have Trina following after him. Mother and youngest daughter were left in the kitchen, although it was clear that one had been deeply affected. Tori couldn't help but think that, perhaps, she was actually beginning to enjoy Jade's company, and more than just because they were friends. Was there something more? She was fidgety all the while her mother cooked dinner. There was one way to make things better, though she wasn't sure if things would be alright.
"Tori, stop it, you're making me restless!" Holly said, clearly not pleased.
"Mom, why did dad act that way?" She asked softly, taking her seat back, and trying to calm her nerves.
"It takes a while for Latinos to get used to America," she said softly, tasting the different dishes; she was polishing her cooking skills for when their guests came, "your father came when he was young, around eight or nine, but he was quite catholic.
"Christians, Catholics, I honestly cannot tell them apart," she continued after a brief silence, "but they are incredibly rooted in their beliefs of Hell and Heaven. He seems to think its acting against nature, against life, and against God."
"So he thinks that Trina might go to hell?" She asked, confused.
"Well, since she didn't actually kiss the girl," the older woman shrugged, "he is just concerned for your guys' afterlife."
"I thought God loved everyone equally," Tori felt so confused...
"And He does," her mother raised her wooden spoon, pointing at the heavens, "but as I said, even if we don't go to mass every Sunday like your grandma would like, and he doesn't think that's such a big transgression..."
"This is, like," she began searching for words, "at a different level of sorts?"
"Yes, it is something that the almighty lord won't forgive," she sighed, clearly exhausted, "please tell me the conversation is done..."
"Yeah..." She sat there, worried but not fidgeting.
Sadly, her mother didn't notice. It's not that she ignored her children, or that she wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, because she was. Holly just lacked the common, motherly sense; it wasn't clear if she was cooking for everyone, or just for the happily married couple. Trina walked in, looking a tad worried herself. Turning to face their mother, she cleared her throat uselessly.
"Yes Trina," their mother inquired with a sigh, "what is it baby?"
"Will you and daddy divorce?" The eldest sibling asked, pouting and looking near tears; her use of the cute word wasn't coincidence either. "Tell me you won't, mommy..."
"Is that what you wanted to know honey?" The cooking female laughed outright, which made her children frown. "Darling, I'm happily married, I'm not about to divorce your father."
"Not even for Gary?" Trina pressed, making her sister crane an eyebrow; she had never been that direct before.
"What does Gary have to do with anything?" She asked, immediately texting someone. "He's coming for Thanksgiving too—"
"Why?" Was the indignant reply.
"Trina, Gary is Amber's brother," Tori said, soft smile appearing despite the gravity of the situation; her sister clearly had no idea whom she was talking about, "he's Jade's uncle, Amber is her mother..."
She rolled her hazel eyes in good, Jade West fashion. Her sister narrowed her eyes on her, and sniffed. Placing her phone down, Holly continued with her cooking.
"Since the divorce, Amber hasn't been well," was there concern in their mother's tone? "And since she's coming for Thanksgiving, it isn't fair that he gets left out."
Trina quietly took their mother's phone and forwarded the text messages to her, and her sister's phone, then made sure not to leave a trace and placed it back where it had been. In good time as well; their mother got another text, and her eyes lighted. Both girls looked at the messages, then at each other. Things had just turned weird. Their mother was indeed, texting with Gary, but it was in regards to what Amber liked in her meals, and what she didn't. Trina looked ready to faint, but managed to hold off the drama. Tori, for her part, felt the sinking feeling in her stomach bustling over; she was about to be sick. Leaving, they passed by their father who was in his room, smiling at a piece of paper.
"Your mother's vow," he said, waving, and dragging her younger sister, Trina bolted to his side.
"You'll be the only man in my life..." She read out loud, and they both went pale, but their father didn't notice; just their luck, two parents who had no idea about their children. Suddenly Jade's life made a tad more sense to the teen. "Come Tor, we have much to catch up on..."
With that, Trina flicked the paper back at their father, who smiled as he found an old VHS; it was in his wedding film. He tucked it, planning on asking one of his colleagues in the tech department of the police to turn it to DVD format. He then went back down to the kitchen, played some music, and danced with his wife as she cooked.
"So, since she vowed that he would be the only man in her life," the oldest Vega began as she paced her room, "does it mean she isn't cheating if it's a woman?"
"Maybe that's why she got so upset with dad," the youngest reasoned, sighing. "Maybe that's why she threatened him..."
"Maybe the only reason why she hasn't gone through," Trina said softly, mocha eyes falling on her sister's lighter ones, "is because they're afraid society would reject them..."
"Really, our mom and Jade's mom—" Tori shook her head, unable to continue. "The universe must find our lives to be a cosmic joke."
"I agree," her sister sighed, falling on her mattress; she had no idea that the teen actually meant herself and Jade, "I mean, this is one cruel way for karma to come at us and bite us in our—"
"Trina, can it!" The youngest begged but to no avail.
"Oh my beautiful rear," Trina cried, as if in real anguish, going as far as to shed tears as she rubbed said body part softly; Tori mimicked her as she said those words, clearly disgusted, "if I could just kiss you..."
"Ugh, I'm not staying and watching you," was all the youngest could say, obviously gagging, but her sister was to entrance patting her butt as though it were alive. "I'm gonna be sick..."
"Hate the game, not the playah!" The first born called, perhaps on purpose as now the hazel eyed female looked positively green.
Amber stared at her daughter. After her afternoon with Cat (she had no idea that Tori had been there) her child had come home with something akin to worry. The kids were in the tree house, playing video games and so her only girl had used the opportunity to talk to her. But the subject of their talk wasn't one she expected. Not with Jade.
"Mom?" She asked; it was one of those brief instances in which she was opening herself, getting her heart out in the open and actually ready for a huge stab on it, "should I take your silence as—"
"No baby," her mother interrupted, standing and going to her, holding her arms, "my silence means nothing other than shock..."
"Is that good or bad?" Her baby girl looked ready to burst in tears, so she held her daughter close.
"Is this because of the incident between Trina and Katarina?" She asked softly, petting the short, dark blue hair.
"No," she could hear the pout and it made her smile softly, "it's just—"
The teen huffed, pulling her away and clearly exasperated, passing a hand through her short hair. Amber remembered that Beck used to do the same, and so she could only be puzzled; wasn't Jade into boys? It then became clear that the girl didn't even know with certainty what she was, and that her own sexuality was a puzzle.
"Honey," she whispered softly, forcing those beautiful blue eyes to look into her own, serene ones, "baby girl, it's perfectly normal—"
"Mom, I'm not concerned over family or friends," for honesty's sake, those eyes rolled, "I mean, that man isn't going to understand but he isn't—"
"Jade," the tone wasn't one her child was used to, and the shock made her quiet down, "I meant that it was perfectly normal to be puzzled. Come, let us sit down, this is one long story..."
Amber sighed and took her daughter to the living room, where they could sit on a couch and still watch the tree house. They looked at it, sound traveling with the wind and smiled. It had been too long since that place had been filled with such joyful laughter, and Jade turned to look at the windows, still engraved. There were now old pictures of Jazz spread throughout the house, and Tyler had been happy to learn about his older brother. Perhaps...
"Have you kissed this girl?" Her mother's question brought the subject back to reality, and she could feel the blush creeping, so she nodded. "Have you kisses other girls?"
"I'm in Hollywood Arts mom," she rolled her eyes, "stage kisses are frequent, and we must learn to do so, no matter the gender..."
"But it's only this girl that makes your heart beat faster?" It was a soft question, but had the desired outcome. "Just one smile, and you have to smile back, one touch and you still feel it..."
The dance, she could also tell she had been smiling more frequently, and how she gave in, not to Cat's plea, which was common after an hour or so, but five minutes after the Latina requested. Her eyes glazed over as she remembered the brief pecks, and she closed her eyes, feeling the sensation all over again, and simply loving it... When she opened her eyes, they looked green despite her hair, sight far off somewhere, and with her flushed face, lips parted softly, fingers hovering over them... Amber took a picture, sent it to someone, and the reply was: She's in love, love... The woman smiled at the words and message.
"Baby, finding someone like that is..." She sighed, massaging her scalp, smiling at the laughter that was closer; the kids were now in the backyard, doing crazy stuff, "it's hard. The reason why I left your father was mostly because he had changed too much, and I found ... a woman that made me live and love once again."
"Why haven't you married her then?" Her daughter was clearly out of her reverie and actually looking forward to seeing her mother happy; she smiled at that.
"She's married," was the reply with a chuckle, and her daughter threw her a fluffy pillow from the couch, "I am not looking forward to give that family pain..."
"Holly Vega huh?" She blushed; how could her daughter know? The teen chuckled with gusto. "Mom, she gave you a job, is giving you the Home Ec class after the holidays, invited us for Thanksgiving... Mark my words, we'll be invited over for Christmas dinner...
"Mom, it's okay," she took the woman's hands from her face, "I understand, I'm glad you're not a homewrecker... Just tell me this: the school has been left without—"
"Jade! How could you possibly..." She laughed at her mother's embarrassment; their roles were swapped, though that wasn't quite surprising. "Actually, when you met Tori thirteen years ago, and left with her and Katarina to Pablo's house, I met her. Your brother was adamant on knowing what was going on: suddenly I had stopped trying to make things right with your father..."
"He was the one to push you for it, wasn't he?" The nod was all she needed and her child sighed in mild desperation. "Did he know it was a woman, a married woman?"
"Let me tell you this kid," the older female said with a light tone, "between women, there is no such thing as foreplay, the line is far too blurred and easily skipped without notice. She was crushed by our first encounter and she wasn't the only one...
"After a while, marriage becomes platonic love," they both blushed, "not meaning there won't be... you know—"
"I do..." They both sighed in mild relief; there's a limit to how much their mother-daughter relation could go.
"It's more the fact that the relation isn't based solely on that," the woman took a breath and sighed dreamily, "just knowing that that person is there and willing to help... It's love in its purest sense, because you are willing to help them smile. There are many different types of love, because she loves David, and her kids and she also loves you..."
"I guess it explains why she's so flexible with me," the teen replied with a laugh, standing as her mother did so, "I'm usually hated by principals..."
"It's a nice change, right?" Her mother said with a smile as she went to get towels. "Don't embarrass me..."
"I'll try," she chuckled at her mother's worry, "come, those kids will catch their death..."
Jade took care of rinsing the kids and their clothes from the mud party they had thrown. Once Suzy was done, Amber draped a towel on the girl, who laughed and dried up better before leaving for her room, Jade's old room. Next, was Tyler, who had to get his mouth rinsed from eating too many mud pies. They laughed at their antics and prepared for a movie marathon. Making sure there were enough snacks, they got ready.
"Why don't you invite Tori?" Amber asked, seeing the movie collection that had been prepared.
"I'll give her a call in a minute," she made a good act of not watching her mother, but she was looking out for some kind of hint that indicated her mother had other reasons for the suggestions. "I was thinking it was time to remodel the house..."
Her mother took a deep breath, but just nodded. They hugged, and then she called her friend, and invited her for dinner. Once the Latina arrived (after many glares from her father and sister) the kids were overjoyed and they had a good time. Amber spoke with Holly about letting the teens have a sleepover, but it would send David over the top so they decided against it. At one point, Tori caught sight of the picture and the message, but it didn't upset her what her mother had called the other woman, but what she had said. Jade, in love? She looked at the pale teen, and could see her glow. With whom? Dinner was a pleasant affair, and doing something she would never even consider, she sent herself the picture. Soon, her friend took her to her house and dropped her off, and once in bed, she would look at the picture constantly. Jade was in love, her Angel had found someone, and she felt a need to cry. Now that she had finally found her dearest friend, her Angel, she was about to lose her to an unknown boy... Why did she have to learn things in such a way? Didn't her Angel trust her enough to tell her? She fell asleep after she couldn't shed a single tear anymore.
A/N: I swear the last conversation wasn't planned; when I decided I wanted some subtext between Vega and West (mothers), it was official in my head, but I never thought it would become so ... explicit, or even that this conversation could happen. It came to me one night, and all I could think was: this conversation could go any way... But, I didn't write it out until later... March 29 is the birth of it, by April 15 it was fully written... This ending is beyond me, but I do believe that it's preparing the tone.
Okay, another brief note: Latinos aren't tolerant and mostly homophobic, times are changing but not enough. By the time stamp on the series, I would guess David to be on the tolerant side, but even so, with his deeply rooted religion (if he was truly on the US since 8, religion would have played a key part in his formation) so I'm sorry if this isn't the usual, kind and understanding and loving David we all read about.