Unfairly Judged

by Quitting Time

In this story, Jade asks Tori out. While Tori accepts, she assumes its prank where Jade won't show and decides not to be home at the time Jade is supposed be there. But what if Jade actually does shows up... A Jori Story.

25. The Night the lights went out in Georgia

Disclaimer: The show Victorious, its characters and other associated copyrights are property of someone else and not me.

Unfairly Judged.

Chapter 25 – The night the lights went out in Georgia.

Tori's POV.

It was a nearby rumble of thunder that momentarily distracted me from the sobbing Goth in my arms. I could see it had already begun to rain and that storm wasn't approaching any longer, it was here. Jade didn't seem to notice, in fact she actually sort of slumped in my arms.

What Jade's mother did was horrible; this must have completely traumatized her. Killing a little girls dog, because of all this. Besides being distraught, I sensed she was exhausted. After all, she was up late last night.

"Jade, you're upset and tired. You need to rest."

I half expected to protest, but she didn't. Instead she half nodded and let me walk her to her bedroom. She didn't say anything, all she did was cry hysterically.

Once in her room, I laid her down and she quickly half curled up on her side. Then I took of her shoes and as I was about to lay the blanket over her, I stopped.

I couldn't leave her alone. I simply couldn't. She had shown me the most private and painful thing in her life; all just to convince me that she really had feelings for me. I doubt she had told anyone. She needed to be comforted.

Quickly kicking off my shoes, I somewhat nervously climbed into bed with her. She was on her side, so I crawled up behind her and spooned her. Though not as tightly as I could as I wanted to give her a bit of space. Then I pulled the blanket on both of us and wrapped my arm around her. I shouldn't be nervous, but we'd never slept tighter and she is in a very emotional state.

Much to my relief, she moved herself a bit closer to me and took my hand.

It was odd, as at the moment I wasn't thinking about sex, despite the fact that we were in bed together. All I could think about was making her feel loved. Yes, I know love is a strong word and I can't say that I love her, at least right now, but she needs this. Though I will say it felt nice, very nice.

It took her almost a half an hour but she cried herself to sleep. In that time, she only said one thing.

"Soda pop"

The name of her dog, obviously. She must really miss it.

For a while I lay there, holding her, listening contrast between her soft breathing and the storm raging outside. Occasionally, I'd let go of her hand and gently stroke her hair, enjoy the smell of it. I was a lesbian laying with another woman for the very first time. Not the best of circumstances of course, but never before did I feel so complete. It wasn't even about sex. It was about being with someone I deeply care about. Someone who needed me and realizing for the first time, that I need her too. It was a closeness that I had never felt before.

Jade laid there, oblivious to all of this, in a deep sleep. Though I wasn't overly tired, I eventually drifted off myself. A nearby crack of thunder woke me about 2 hours later. Jade remained asleep.

I tried to go back to sleep, but couldn't and soon became restless. It was still a new thing and one I wasn't totally used too. So I got up, covered Jade with the blanket and returned to the living room.

Looking outside, it was raining pretty hard with lots of wind and thunder. A pretty good show, for those who like storms. It was almost dinner time, so I sat down for a bit, relaxed and thought about all that had happened. Around 5:30, Jade was still asleep, so I started to make dinner on my own. It was just spaghetti, so I could do that."

I got down to business and when I was just about done, I suddenly realized I was alone. In an near reverse of this morning, I looked up and saw Jade standing in the doorway.

Her hair was messed up and she looked somewhat ragged and she simply stood there looking at me with an unreadable expression.

I suddenly began to wonder if I had overstepped my bounds or she felt that I had taken advantage of her.

"All I need to do is drain the water from the pasta and dinner will be ready. You can see the table's all set. I made the meatballs a bit spicy. Hope you don't mind." I said, with a nervous squeak to my voice.

"I'm sorry." Said Jade as she walked into the room

"Sorry for what?"

"Screaming at you, calling you a bitch. God knows how many other things."

Looking into her eyes, I could really see the regret, the pain and I knew she was telling the truth. This time I didn't doubt her for a second.

"It's ok. You've been through a lot. I didn't know. I'm sorry too…."

"Your suspicion was justified."

"That and earlier…grabbing you….crawling into bed with you. Not sure…"

I never got to finish my sentence as Jade suddenly pulled me into an embrace and kissed me. Not just any kiss, it was a wonderful slow tender kiss. It was so wonderful and full of feeling and I think for a second, I blacked out due to happiness.

Finally as she broke the kiss, she smiled. "You were there for me, even when I didn't want you. You held on and didn't let go, no matter how much I lashed out at you. You told me I was beautiful and held me when I cried. Held me and made me feel special, more special than everyone ever in my life. Don't ever, apologize for that Tori Vega or I'll kick your ass…."

Dazed, my mouth fell open and all I managed to get out was a weak. "OK."

Jade then grabbed the strainer. "Good. Let's eat. I'm hungry."

I stood there for a minute while Jade began to strain the noodles. Finally recovering, I said. "Are you ok?"

Pausing for a moment, Jade looked at me and shrugged. "Maybe, someday, I dunno." Her expression then shifted to a more pensive one. "Let me ask you this. Are we…..Ok?"

Without even hesitating, I nodded. "Yeah."

Her expression didn't really change but I could see a sparkle in her eye. "That's all that matters then."

"You never told anyone about your dog, what really happened to it?"

Having finished straining the noodles, Jade pulled some plates out of the cupboard and said in a blunt tone of voice. "No."

Jade had me take over the dishing of the pasta, while she opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of Red wine. A few minutes later we were both seated at the table, much closer to each other, and eating our wonderful dinner. Outside the storm was raging pretty good with wind, thunder and lighting, making for some good entertainment.

I avoided talk of Jade's mother or her dog, it was obviously something she didn't like to dwell on. I understood what happened and I did believe her story. In fact we didn't talk much really at all. I did try. However I concluded, that since Jade had totally melted down earlier she was still a bit frazzled from her experience. She needed some time to come down as it were, so I kept quiet.

But unlike this morning, a lot of the discomfort between us was gone. I was enjoying her company and watching the storm. I was now well aware of the storm that raged inside of her. I would occasionally flash a smile at her and each time, she would smile back, if only for an instant.

It was only as we were cleaning up from dinner, did Jade open back up again.

"So, how did those shoes work out for Trina." Said Jade with a slight smirk.

"She's furious, they fell apart in the middle of a date. She was pretty humiliated."

"So, as I predicted, you didn't tell her that they were very cheap knockoffs."

I flushed with embarrassment. "She sold me out, so I didn't tell her. You were right."

"You thought it was funny too, didn't you Vega."

"Yes" I said begrudgingly.

Jade chuckled and we finished cleaning up. Going anywhere was out of the question, with the storm outside, so we elected to watch some movies on the TV. There was a small selection of dvd's near the tv and I let Jade pick.

"How about the original 1980 Friday the 13th?"

"What? No scissoring?"

"I forgot it." Grumbled Jade, as she put the dvd in the player.

I wasn't too thrilled to watch it, but this one wasn't too bad and it would Make Jade happy. We sat on the couch, next to each other, but not touching at first.

By the first kill, I was holding on to her, much to Jade's amusement. It would have kept going like that, had not exactly 31 minutes into the movie, the power went out.

Seemingly angered by the interruption, Jade Instantly stood up, oblivious to the fact that she had inadvertently knocked me to the floor; on my ass no less. "Fuck!, I didn't get to see Kevin Bacon die! That's the best death of all!"

"I'm fine thank you." I retorted cynically from the floor.

Just as Jade turned a flash of lightning, illuminated her surprised expression. She then quickly helped me off the floor and onto the couch.

"I'm sorry Tori, I didn't mean it." She said, sounding unusually worried. "Please believe me, we've made so much progress, I don't want you to think I did this on purpose."

It was my chuckle which caught her off guard.

"What?" Sputtered Jade, no looking upset and confused.

"I believe you Jade. You really love your horror films and I get it."

"But why did you laugh?"

"Once upon a time, you'd burst out laughing seeing me rubbing my rear on the floor. Instead you're downright concerned about my well-being. I think I just might have gotten to you."

In the darkness, I couldn't totally see her expression, but it appeared to be a scowl. "Are you mocking me?"

I shrugged. "Ok, a bit, but mostly, I'm happy."

"About what, exactly?"

"That I know, once and for all, I finally did get to you. That….."

I would have kept talking but Jade shut me up with a rather tender and long kiss.

"You talk too much. You know that Vega. Nice to know I finally got it through your thick skull, I actually like you."

"Ahh….what would be a heartfelt talk with Jade without at least one insult. I knew there had to be one coming sooner or later. You didn't make it easy, Miss I hate Tori."

"I never said that."

"Yes you did! All the time. Like the time you shouted it in the middle of my…."

Once again, I found myself being cut off by another very long kiss.

"That's rude….You know Jade, someday, you'll let me finish a sentence."

"Yeah…Yeah….Ok, I get it, I was a bitch….but in my defense for cutting you off, you kissed right back."

"Was a bitch? Sounds like your talking in the past tense." I then put my finger to my chin and appeared to think. Of course, the effect was rather muted as the only light was from occasional flashes of lightening. "That doesn't sound quite right."

"Are you calling me a bitch!" Retorted Jade in a angry tone of that sounded surprisingly, real.

Though it sounded real, I knew it was not, so in the terms of golf, I decided to play on through, "Yes, You're a bitch. the bitchetidest bitch of all bitches."

Jade immediately snorted. "bitchetidest isn't even a word. You're a total numbskull. The queen of all numbskulls. You're so stupid, you….."

This time I kissed, her quickly pinning her to the couch at the same time. She put up a bit of a struggle, but quickly acquiesced.

After another minute of very fun lip locking, I stopped and said. "Bitch!"

"Numbskull!"

Not sure if that would have continued, but a loud bang of thunder, which must have been extremely close, startled us, resulting in both of us grabbing each other and screaming.

We burst out laughing afterword.

"Now what?" I said as the laughter subsided.

Once the moment was done, Jade got up and disappeared into the darkness.. "As much as I love the dark, how about I light some candles . This happened before and my uncle has a box in the kitchen closet with candles and a battery operated radio. How about a game?"

Deciding to be cute, I said. "Sounds fun, could it be the one where I tie you to the bed and…"

"You know what I mean! A board game. Owwww! God damit!"

"What? Are you ok?"

"I just walked into the corner of the kitchen counter. Stupid counter!"

Jade did manage to retrieved the box from the closet, not before tripping over a chair, resulting in yet an even longer stream of obscenities.

"You sound so cute when you rage in pain, you know that Jade."

"Very funny!" Replied Jade, from the darkness, her words dripping in sarcasm.

A few minutes later, Jade had several candles lit and the radio going. Sadly, one of the few stations we could get up in the mountains was a 70's easy listening station. But it wasn't too bad.

Jade then grabbed some games off the shelf and walked back over.

"What are we playing? Monopoly?"

Jade tossed two board games on the table. "That's game's stupid."

Looking down I could see she had grabbed, a very old copy of the game. "Mystery date" and a newer version of the game, "Mall Madness."

"Ok, Interesting choices. I would guess, you would think these are both vapid and somewhat sexist. One a game where you're supposed to get date with a really cute guy and another one centered around shopping."

"Who cares, they're more fun than buying property. And I am so going to kick your ass in Mystery date, the captain of the football team is mine!"

Accepting the challenge, I grabbed the game and began to open it. "Your ass it will"

So for the next couple hours we, drank wine, talked, and played somewhat sexist board games. Jade did kick my ass in Mystery date. But I cleaned her clock in Mall Madness, All the while, we sang along to cheesy 70's radio, at least when they weren't talking about the storm. We also did a bit of kissing.

I could say I had a great time but that doesn't quite cover it. The whole evening seemed magical and judging by the gleam in Jade's eyes and the smile that never quite left her face, she felt the same way.

We were singing along to the aptly titled, "The Night the lights went out in Georgia" By Vicki Lawrence, when I noticed Jade starting to look a bit weary for a moment. She looked fine a second later kept on singing to the next song, "Rose Garden" By Lynn Anderson. Watching her I realized she was probably a lot more tired than she let on.

"Tired?" I asked, as the song ended.

"I'm fine."

"Come on. You don't have to act for me. Not after all this."

Jade sat down allowing herself to look tired and nodded in reply. "Yeah. I was up pretty late last night worrying, the nap helped a bit I'm worn out. I don't want this to end, I really don't, but I just can't go on. Sorry."

"Don't apologize. We had a great time, I think the storm is finally starting to let up and now is a good a time as ever to turn in."

So we cleaned up and got ready for bed. Once that was done, I said good night to Jade, gave her a nice kiss retired to my room.

By now, the storm was winding down, with the thunder getting ever more distant. So I just lay in bed, listening to the rain softly pelt the roof while I thought of the day's events.

I was nearing sleep, when I heard Jade's voice in the darkness, coming from the doorway. Her voice sounded tired and vulnerable. It was a tone of voice, I'll bet she rarely let anyone hear come from her.

"Tori?"

"Jade? What do you need?" I said as I could feel my heart flutter.

"Thank you for trusting me. I know it's not easy. Kidding aside, I am a bitch a lot of the time. Not many people would give me more than one chance. You put up with my shit."

"I screwed up too, besides, nothing worthwhile is easy or something like that."

"Can I ask you something Tori?"

"What?"

"You held me earlier while I slept, never before did I feel more special. I told you that. But I feel like I can talk to you, about anything and that means a lot. I know we just patched things up, but could I sleep with you. Just snuggle and sleep."

She paused for a moment and in a shaky voice, said. "I just want to be near you. You're the only one that understands me. You don't have to say yes. I won't be angry."

I'm not sure if I ever felt so more touched in my life. My answer came in an instant as I pulled aside the covers.

"Jade, we can be anything we want. Snuggle buddies it is. Come on."

I couldn't see her or her expression but she quickly slipped under the covers and pressed herself up against me, putting one arm across my midsection. A second later she pulled me closer.

For a few moments, we lay there, again it felt like magic and I knew there was no other place I wanted to be at that moment. I felt warm, safe and much like Jade, very special. It felt more than right.

Breaking the silence, Jade whispered in a half sleepy voice. "You're beautiful Tori, I mean it. I love your hair, your eyes, and your smile. I hope we can be good together. I really do."

Grinning in the dark, I whispered back. "I think you're beautiful too. I think we will."

Jade hummed for a moment, sounding very happy started to quietly sing that song we were just listening too on the radio. I guessed she liked the grim subject matter, regardless, I quickly I joined her.

"That's the night that the lights went out in Georgia.
That's the night that they hung an innocent man.
Well, don't trust your soul to no backwoods Southern lawyer
'Cause the judge in the town's got blood stains on his hands."

By the time we finished, Jade had fallen fast asleep. For a time, I lay there, not listening to the rain anymore, but Jade's soft rhythmic breathing as I had earlier this afternoon. This time, I was struck how oddly soothing it was and in time, it gently put me to sleep.

The song, "The nights the lights went out in Georgia" was a 1972 #1 song for Vicki Lawrence. Lyrics used without permission.

Almost done with the story. I hoped you like the chapter.