So, after consideration, I will be combining my other side-story into this one so that I'm not pulling double duty. I wanted to keep the two separated but, with the direction of the story, I settled on this decision. If you've already seen this chapter in the other fic, no worries. There will be added content to these chapters so it won't be the exact same thing you're used to reading.
The next thing on the agenda is a massive shout-out to those who keep up and support this fiction as I couldn't have kept this going without your encouragement and reviews/private messages.
Aiphira
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Disclaimer:
This chapter contains possible violence, gore, and mentions of rape. If any of these things disturb you, there will be a marker that will give you a chance to skip past those sections. You will be informed before and after the specific scenes so that you can avoid any triggering themes or acts that are written out. Keep in mind that this disclaimer is a 'precaution' and will be followed up with direct warnings when necessary.
Thank you in advance and enjoy the chapter.
Demons Within
Chapter 47: A Demon's Kiss
Jade sat in her car, a 2005 Chevy Impala that she was given for her 17th birthday after acquiring her license. The sounds of some metal band filled the vehicle as she pondered her next move. She didn't come to this location by chance nor was it was a mistake. She deliberately came to this place in hopes that she would find something, or rather someone, who could possibly fix things. Thank goodness she had proper a/c as the sun had been beating down on everything not covered by some form of shade.
Her sapphire orbs scanned the area for her desired target but, it was becoming that they weren't going to be found through this method. Her frustration was evident in her features as her brow seemed to furrow deeper and deeper by the minute. Driving nearly an hour from L.A. to Malibu while dealing with obnoxious traffic from locals and tourists alike, it was safe to say whoever she was searching for was going to be in for a rude reunion.
Between that and trying to beat the heat, Jade closed her eyes in hopes of calming her disturbed spirit. During her unofficial meditative state, she found her mind taking her back to the fateful moment that, in Jade's view, started this descent into personal hell.
"What do you mean Trina just disappeared?!" Liam roared in unadulterated rage.
Andre, Robbie, Ahrya, and Cat cowered but Tori seemed unfazed by his tone. "What I mean, Liam is that according to this note she wrote, Trina said she was leaving. She never specified why or where she was going. All she said is that she needed to start over and that she loved us all."
To say that he was irate would be an understatement. The last thing he remembered (all details aside) was falling asleep with Trina lying on his chest. When he woke up, he found no trace of her and wondered if she was in danger. He knew of her past and that was evidence enough for him to assume that she was in trouble. He found his way to the Vega residence along with the others riding along aside from Tori and Andre. The younger Vega sister could easily see betrayal behind his eyes. While unknowing the full extent, she did know that the two had formed a bond of friendship at least which justified his feelings. Her parents, while upset, decided against calling in the police considering she was at least 18 years old and left a note. It wasn't much and that annoyed Tori the most about all of this but she chose to direct her attention to the one person who was worried about her sister as much as she was, if not more so.
"Liam, maybe she left some sort of clue or something?" she cautiously placed a hand on his shoulder. "We can look together if you want."
He looked up at Tori Vega, unsure of what to do. Taking notice of things, she motioned for Andre and the others to give them privacy. As they left, Tori failed to remember one minor detail.
"Yo, Vega..! You're out of toilet paper..."
Jade West.
The goth girl was somehow unaware of the commotion while in the bathroom, eating a burrito.
"What was with all of that yelling?"
"Jade, not now... can you please leave?" Tori groaned. "We're kind of in the middle of something right now."
"Not until I find out what I missed out." she then took notice of the dejected form that was Liam Patterson. "What's with the bump on a log?"
"He's just upset about Trina's disappearance, okay?" she responded while flashing a look that said to 'drop the subject'.
Obviously, Jade completely missed the warning. Her attention was on devouring her double bean burrito.
"I don't know why he's so broken up over Trina?" she once more missed another 'warning', this time in the form of Liam himself slowly lifting his head towards her. "She wasn't really important. She had zero talent and nobody liked her."
In a flash, time no longer existed as everything that occurred next seemed to happen all in one second. Tori found herself shoved onto the couch and Jade ended up mounted by Liam whose eyes were like feral dogs. She had shown signs of fear a handful of times and she could add this moment to that short list as her body shivered under his grasp. He was snarling at her, his glare firmly locked onto her shifting eyes. Finding no way out, she was forced to accept whatever consequences came next. Still refusing to meet his possessed gaze, Jade was brought out of her pity party when something wet fell on her face. Making sure to move her head as slowly as possible, Jade found that he was crying. From her viewpoint, she could see more than just unbridled fury.. there was betrayal behind what was deemed to be the window to the soul.
'Interesting..' she gazed at him with empathy and understanding. "I think I understand now..."
"Understand what?" he hissed as if Jade's words were burning his insides. "How could you possibly understand the pain I'm feeling?"
"Get off of me, and I'll tell you."
Compared to her, his frame was massive and that only served to excite the girl even more, but, she had a boyfriend. Fortunately, he wasn't around to see this display of aggression but, it didn't make things easier for Jade in the least. She would thank the universe when Liam, whose entire form was shivering from the emotions rattling inside of him, released his grip and stood to his feet. Despite this, he never released the darkness shrouding his emerald crystals.
"Thanks," she brushed herself off before resting her arms on her hips. "Anyways, I get it... What you're feeling right now, that void is the product of everything you've ever felt in your life culminating in one moment. All of the hatred, betrayal, and fear, has taken you to a dark place that, while dangerous for others, is a safe haven for you. It's your way of coping with the horrors of this world..."
Tori made sure to keep a close eye on the boy next to her; she didn't know if he was subject to another outburst while Jade continued to speak. Thankfully, his gaze managed to soften a little, giving her a bit of relief for that moment. "Jade, let's give Liam a chance to calm down."
"No, Tori..." he sighed wearily, a clear sign of an adrenaline dump. "I think... I think Jade's right..." Both girls turned to him with confused expressions at his declaration. Did he just agree with Jade? "Now that I'm a bit tired from nearly mauling her, I can definitely tell that her words hold water. Ever since I could remember, I was either abused or taken advantage of. I don't even think I know what real love is, to be honest."
Though Jade watched in silence, Tori opted to dig deeper in hopes of better understanding him. "What do you mean, Liam?"
"It's just as I said," he suddenly twisted his body until he felt the softness of the couch catching his fall. "Like now, I was taken advantage of to some degree. How can I know what it is if I've never had it?"
"Hate to break that tragic imagery, but you do, dummy."
"Watch it, Jade..." he growled at the soft-skinned girl.
Rolling her eyes, she proceeded. "Look, all I'm saying is that you can't honestly believe that you know nothing about what love is." seeing him unconvinced, Jade huffed at the boy before doing something that, made Tori Vega's jaw drop, not to mention nearly caused her to pass out.
She hugged him.
Jade West actually hugged someone not named Beck, willingly. This act actually scared Liam for a second, something she relished when she felt his heartbeat hasten. The two remained this way for about half a minute before the goth pulled away, albeit reluctantly.
"Um..." his mouth and shut like fishes, which both girls would find entertaining.
"I did that to show you what I meant," she crossed her arms, though giggled softly at how his face remained stuck in a shock expression. "You've been sweet, even when others didn't deserve it. You've been a true friend to Vega's sister, even when she didn't deserve it apparently," she ignored the look of disapproval from the Latina. "You've been so nice even when I was a gank to you. You helped Vega here with her boyfriend problem..." Both stared in wide-eyed shock at the sudden revelation. "Relax, I saw the creep running off with a broken paw right before running into you."
"I think I get it, Jade..." Liam interrupted, thankful that his complexion easily hid the burning sensation on his cheeks. "Although, I never pegged you to be the one to cheer me up."
From anyone else, she would've taken that as an insult but, after noticing the light-hearted smirk, she could tell that, not only was he being sincere but, he was joking around.
"Yeah well, don't get used to it," she playfully punched his shoulder, thus solidifying the mutual respect. "I do have an image to protect, after all."
For Tori, she watched in amazement as the two began joking and playfully arguing about something involving Jade being 'soft as a marshmallow' and Liam being a 'spineless jellyfish'. Even still, she felt that this was a good result after what had happened with her now missing sister. There was only one thing that made her left twitch.
'Did they just become friends?' she blinked silently.
Thinking back to that day, the pale skinned girl couldn't help but succumb to the might of the smile tugging at her lips. That was the day she officially gained a close friend, aside from Tori and that led her to this moment. What she, or anyone else for that fact, didn't realize was that that day would be the beginning of the end for Liam's time at Hollywood Arts. for a few weeks, he became more and more secretive around the gang but, kept things civil with her and Tori until, that day.
The day he left.
A few months down the road, she decided to meet him early in the morning in the dorms for some coffee when she found several members of the group huddled into the room. After a few minutes, she would find out that Liam was transferring out to another school due to his grades slipping. She, like the others, wanted to talk him out of this but, he had said that it was already confirmed; he would go to another school on an exchange program where he could always return after the semester ended.
Nearly two years had passed since that date and Jade West would find herself doing something that didn't make any sense to her. After that day, things began to change for her and the gang. For starters, the circle began to crumble, starting with Robbie and Ahrya staying away and focusing on their relationship as opposed to the affairs of the others. Andre & Cat were relatively the same, though, the latter would come off as a bit more serious at times. It was Tori though that really got to Jade. The brunette did her best to be normal, yet, it was clear that she was hurt the most by Liam's departure...
...second to Jade herself...
After the semester ended, Jade had undergone a transformation, both on the outside and inside. Gone was her brown hair with multi-colored streaks, replaced with a dark black hue with a single color that she alternated from time to time; this time she chose blue. Her wardrobe had changed significantly as well, as she would ditch the flannel shirts in exchange for black form-fitting attire.
Internally, she was beyond conflicted with her emotions.
After Liam left, she received a message from him giving her some information on how to reach him, though, he gave her explicit instructions on who to give it out to. Moreso, he would keep contact with them but, it was clear that things wouldn't be the same between the three. For Tori, she somehow pushed through the pain and kept her grades and status up, not that she cared about the latter mind you. However, it was clear that something was off about her and only Jade figured out that the girl was numb inside. Would you still be alright if your sister left abruptly one night followed by your closet crush?
Yes, for the goth, it wasn't really a secret.
Tori Vega had developed a massive crush on Liam after some events when the two had first met officially; the day she walked in on them in one of the practice rooms. While she admitted to running into the girl's ex-boyfriend after he had rushed out of that specific room, what she kept quiet about was how she nearly caught the two sharing a kiss. Remembering her rival's first day, Jade thought it would be fun to spoil the kind gesture. In a way, she sometimes wondered if the guy would've stayed at Hollywood Arts had he and Tori shared that kiss.
"No sense in wondering," she muttered as she crossed the grounds of her destination. "I'll find him and I'm going to get answers..."
Stepping out the black car, she did her best to ignore the sweltering rays assaulting her skin while avoiding the many people in her way. Upon closer inspection, she soon realized that many of them were students who were either moving in or getting ready for the upcoming semester. It took a few minutes but, after swallowing her pride, she would ask a random girl whom she deemed the least annoying for directions to the main office to which she happily led her to. Once there, she thanked her and entered the building, grateful for the cool air that blasted her exposed skin.
"Hello, welcome to Pacific Coast Academy!" a young woman exclaimed with enough glee to make Jade want to vomit in her mouth. "How may I help you?"
"Uh..." she did her best to resist her inner gank's influence. "I'm looking for a student here. I um... have some supplies in my car that I wanted to deliver to him."
"Not a problem, I just need his and your name..."
"His name's Liam..." Jade said without hesitation. "Liam Patterson."
The woman clacked several keys before turning her full attention to the screen before her. About a minute of searching and Jade could see her sickening smile return in full effect. "Yes, I have him registered here as a returning student!" Jade sighed softly, elated that he was actually on campus and that her trip hadn't been in vain. "Now, I just need your name so I can verify with him and I'll give you the directions to his hall."
"Um... well, you see..." she bit her lip, feeling anxiety slithering around her like a python. "Y-you see... I'm bringing these things as a surprise for him. I wouldn't want to ruin that by announcing my arrival."
Slowly the woman's lips fell into a straight line, signaling a red flag for the pale skinned girl. "Well, I'm sorry. Security rules dictate that I can't authorize you without clearance from an official or the student themselves. If you know someone else here that could vouch for you, that may suffice but, I can't grant you access to the school grounds otherwise."
"B-but... I really need to give these things to him!" her voice rose an octave, her irritation growing into full-blown anger which caught the attention of a few others that were either being assisted or waiting to be. "You have to understand!"
"I'm sorry, miss..." the woman shook her head. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave until you provide the necessary information."
"But..."
"I also advise that you not make a scene... Security can be a bit rough with noncompliant guests."
Jade cut her gaze to the burly man seated in the far corner of the main office, his eyes firmly locked on her form. Tightening her lips, the raven-haired girl stomped out of the building to lick her proverbial wounds. After walking little ways from the office, she sat down on a vacant bench nearby. "Damn woman..." she huffed. "Hollywood Arts Garden is not this damn uptight... I've got to find a way to see Liam..."
"You know Liam?" a voice, foreign yet so familiar caught Jade's ear. "I could help if you'd like..."
"You can?" she turned around with a soft smile that only lasted mere seconds before her signature frown returned. "What is this, a joke?"
Before Jade stood a brown-haired girl who was staring at her with a grin. "No joke. I know the guy if that's what you're referring to."
"Cut the act, Tori!" Jade spat with a glare so dark, the devil would shit his pants. "If you're here to make fun of me for trying to find Liam, then go away."
The girl stared at her ivory-skinned accusor with a raised eyebrow. "I don't know what you're talking about, but, I'm not this Tori chick. My name's Lola!" she then cautiously held out a hand to her. "Lola Martinez."
Despite the similarities, Jade began to see that she was telling the truth. 'To think there's someone that looks just like Vega...' she shuddered at the thought. She then accepted the handshake and sighed again. "I'm sorry. You remind me of someone back home in L.A."
"It's no problem," Lola chuckled. "You're actually not the first person to tell me that."
"Let me guess; Liam thought you were her too?" the corner of Jade's lip tugged upward.
"Exactly. I don't know what she looks like but, he was so sure until I showed him my I.D. to prove my point," she took a moment to savor that memory before proceeding. "It's actually how we became friends."
"That sounds like him, alright." The two shared a laugh at Lola's depiction of him being freaked out when they first met and how he swore that he was being haunted by his decision to leave his former school. That realization made Jade feel legitimately bad for the guy as it sounded as if things were a bit rough for him to some extent. "So, you said you know him personally, right?" the girl nodded. "I was trying to find him, but I can't get past the front office without him being notified and-."
"You're trying to surprise him?" Now it was Jade's turn to nod at her words. "Well security here is a bit overwhelming sometimes, but, I may be able to get you through the clearance."
"You sure about that?"
"Well, even though we click quite well, I would need to know your name first before trying to vouch for you." her face holding a grin that Jade could've sworn had a degree of smugness. It was abundantly clear that this girl was Tori's 'twin' in appearance only.
"Jade. Jade West."
"Pleasure to meet you, Jade. Now, I just need a bit of information and we can get you through."
Skeptical, the gothic girl held her hands up. "What kind of information are we talking about?"
Half an Hour Later
"Lola!" the woman nearly shrieked in elation, much to Jade's disdain. "You finally made it!"
Being smothered in a bear hug by the older woman, the Hispanic girl chuckled nervously into her shoulder. "It's good to see you too, Whitney," she then shimmied her way from the lady's grip. "How've you been this summer?"
"Marcus dumped me..." she sighed overdramatically before starting to go into hysteric-mode. "I don't what went wrong this time! We had a great few dates at the new Italian restaurant when we I mentioned that he'd make a good father one day. After that, he blocked me on his phone and on social media! I just don't know what the problem was this time..."
"It's a mystery, alright..." Jade mumbled, averting her eyes to whatever she could find interesting.
"Yeah... So, did you get my reservation request?"
"Of course! You and Zoey are going to be located in Cambridge Hall this year, though, you two are on the senior's floor so your room will be more spacious."
Lola's eyes lit up with excitement at the sound of that. "Sweet! Goodbye bunk beds! Hello solo bed!" she began to dance which brought a look of amusement to the woman, that is until her blond eyes rested on the not so pleasant sight of Jade who returned her gaze with a hard glare of her own. "Oh, you're back..."
"In living color," she taunted, wagging her eyebrows.
Sensing things about to escalate, Lola stepped in between the two. "This is my old friend, Jade," she quickly quipped. "Have you two met or something?" she feigned ignorance to their visual tug of war.
"Yeah, about half an hour ago she arrived looking for one of our students but refused to give any identification."
"Oh really? Well, she and I have been friends since middle school and she's a cool person," Lola giggled innocently. "I'll even put her in my guest file if that's good enough for you."
The stoic look from Whitney showed her that she wasn't believing a word but, there was only one way to prove that.
"Alright, I'll believe you if you can answer a few questions."
"Of course I'll-"
"Not you, Lola. I want little miss dark and spooky to answer the questions." On cue, Jade stared blankly, clearly unprepared for that turn of events. "So, what do you want to do?"
Seeing no other option, Jade shrugged. "Fine, let's do this..."
"Alright, first question: What is Lola's last name?"
Remembering their earlier meeting, Jade smirked confidently. "Martinez, duh!"
"Mhmm... What car does Lola drive?"
"That's a trick question!" Jade announced. "She doesn't have her license, yet."
Whitney cut her blue gems at a now embarrassed Lola who nudged Jade for revealing such embarrassing intel; that answer was right. There was one thing that only those who really knew Lola could answer.
"Alright, final question. Who is Lola's ex-boyfriend?"
Jade paused for a few moments, looking at the polished floor with a stumped look on her face. "Um... I believe his name was Vince, right Lola? You said you broke up with him because he kept stealing your food and making googly eyes at other girls when he thought you weren't looking?"
"Pretty much..." she huffed, crossing her arms in irritation at the unsavory memory. "I gave him a swift kick in the happy sack after he kept lying about it."
The older woman stared in disbelief at how easily this Jade West character answered all of her questions flawlessly, even getting the reasons why correctly for the third question. Even though her instincts, which were never wrong in her book, (i.e. they always were), were telling her that she was faking this all, she had no evidence that would prove that notion.
"It seems I have no choice but to allow you access to the grounds... Ms. West."
Satisfied, Jade's lips curled up at the victory; she was one step closer to finding Liam, thanks to the 'clone of Tori' standing next to her, Lola.
'This shouldn't take too long,' she figured with pride.
"That took forever..." Jade droned, her pools of blue twitching as the two trekked across the inner part of the campus. "I could've snuck past the guards in quicker time..."
To her chagrin, Lola was now openly laughing at her, serving only to increase the pained expression on her face. "I highly doubt that, Jade. It was only an hour and, now you have access to here without having to deal with Whitney anymore; Well, that's if you're within the visitation hours."
As much as she hated to admit it, the girl made a valid point; she probably wouldn't have gotten past the main area without some assistance or worse, Liam finding out she was here before she wanted him to. At least now, she was able to visit and, maybe even get a bit of a tour at some point if she wanted to hang out with Lola on occasion. After getting to know her during their short encounter, she found the girl rather interesting and actually enjoyable to be around. To Jade, she had just the right amount of weirdness without overdoing it.
"Right, I have the brochure for that," she rolled her eyes but never let her smile fall.
Soon, the two found a young man with extremely curly hair that reminded her of that nerd, Robbie Shapiro, approaching them. Unlike Robbie, what made this guy such an eye-sore to Jade was that he reeked of douchebaggery. From his cocky attitude to his poor taste in sleeveless shirts, she knew that he was the type to avoid if she wanted to get some peace around this campus.
"Hey, Lola." Jade cringed at the sound of his voice. "Fancy seeing you here."
"What's up, Logan," Even his name made Jade want to vomit right then. "We're in a hurry so hurry up."
"Nothing much, just..." his eyes finally noticed Jade's presence, followed by his grin growing. "...taking in the view."
'Oh, this guy is just asking for it...' she mentally cursed, though, maintained her cool. "Careful, that view could lead to trouble."
The final confirmation of said douchebag status came when, instead of backing away, like a normal person, he took a few steps closer to the dark girl.
"Oh, really? What kind of trouble are we talking about?"
Lola looked on in silence at what was about to unfold, hoping that her new friend wouldn't do anything to get kicked out after just getting in. To her surprise, the girl simply smiled at Logan; an odd thing to do with someone who wouldn't take a hint.
"The kind of trouble that involves cutting out your tongue and using it to banish your soul into the darkest pits of hell while my unholy master devours. He loves cocky virgins, by the way." her words, while sweet and silky smooth, were drenched in a darkness that rattled the pretty boy to his core.
Thankfully, his next response was to make up an excuse that a guy named Michael was calling him over to the basketball court. Watching him run in fear brought along another chorus of laughter from the two before they arrived at their destination: Bartholomew Hall. As expected, there were several guys entering and exiting with boxes and various items to add to their home away from home. It was at that moment that Jade West felt something that she hadn't known was there until she laid eyes on the building before her.
Worry...
In truth, she really wanted to see him again but, her reasons were not fully disclosed. While she told Lola that she and Liam were old friends from his previous high school, she purposefully left out several crucial details. One was that she and Liam's status as friends was greatly in question after an incident that ended with Jade cutting communications with him. The second detail was that she had only taken this opportunity without anyone else knowing, including Beck, her boyfriend. The last detail was probably the greatest contributor to the fear that crawled all over her body like a million bugs:
She had fallen for him a long time ago.
That's right, Jade West was also crushing on Liam long before he left for P.C.A. but whether from pride or her own fear of rejection, she kept that secret under lock and key with only one other figuring it out within the gang. Now, she stood so close and yet, felt like she was a million miles away from him. What did he look like now? Would he even want to see her after all this time? How would he react? She couldn't fathom a clear solution which only made her stomach sink even more.
"Come on, Jade!" Lola's cheerful voice pulled her from her depressing thoughts. "Liam's on the fourth floor, room 407 I believe."
For someone who was just friends, she came off as more excited to see Liam than the goth was; perhaps they were really close friends. It wasn't as farfetched as one might think considering how the brunette reacted to hearing that Jade knew him personally.
"Alright," she swallowed a lump in her throat, hardening her resolve. "Let's do this..."
While it only took a few minutes to climb the steps, even with the heavy traffic, Jade could feel her body growing heavier with each step forward. Everything in her was telling her to run and go back home. Nobody had to know that she was there and she could go back to her standard life at Hollywood Arts without anyone suspecting a thing and yet, she pressed on, following Lola Martinez to what she considered to be Pandora's Box, a sanctum forbidden for her to attempt to open and yet, as in the myth, her curiosity had gotten the better of her.
"Turn now!" he inner voice pleaded. "He doesn't want to see you!"
She blinked several times to block out the negativity spawning from within.
"He's probably miserable anyway... why add to his suffering."
She kept going; nearly there.
"What if he's happy? Would you like to ruin that?"
Jade then stopped dead in her tracks, her thoughts finally catching up to a possible reality. What if her being here messes up his happiness? Could she live with that result?
"Jade? Are you okay?" she looked up, seeing the look of concern from Lola.
"Y-yeah... I just had to catch my breath." she was lying but, it was enough for the girl to believe her. "How much farther is his room?"
"It's just around the corner actually," she gave Jade a thumbs up before continuing on. Following close behind, she ignored the stares from the guys she passed by, her only focus on the young man from her past. She soon reached the fourth floor where she saw Lola waiting to the right of her. "Took you long enough." she joked.
"Sorry, I'm not used to this many flights of stairs," she admitted. "Don't you guys believe in elevators?"
"Nah, too much money to have to fix them if they break," she tucked a bit of her hair behind her ear; another reminder of Tori. "His room is just down the hall."
Jade didn't say another word as the two approached room 407, Liam's room. Considering the others around campus, neither was surprised that the door was wide open. Peeking inside, their target was currently setting up his clothes in the closet, completely oblivious to the two pairs of eyes analyzing him. Inside, there was a lone full sized bed, greyish-blue carpet with a futon next to the closet. Along with a 50" flat screen television, there was a large dresser that had a collection of games and a PS4 system with some books stacked next to it. A few posters depicting Legend of Zelda and God of War were posted on the wall to give it some flavor but, none of that mattered to Jade.
Her eyes were glued to the occupied form of Liam Patterson, her (possibly former) friend...
Considering the nature of her getting here, Lola quietly convinced her to wait outside while she attempted to sneak up on the unsuspecting boy. Reluctant at first, she agreed though kept peeking while remaining out of sight. From what she could see, the girl would tip-toe closer, pacing herself until she was a few inches away from scaring the now kneeling Liam who was humming something. Lifting her arms, she prepared to tickle him to add to his unpreparedness.
"Don't even think about it, Lola..."
She stopped dead in her tracks, groaning at being caught. "How do you keep doing that?" she pouted.
His response was twisting his body and picking up the girl who shrieked playfully at his swiftness. "You're too predictable, girl," he laughed before spinning her around, thus adding to her amused terror. "You keep using the same tricks while expecting to get a different result."
Finally, he put her down only to be met with a sour-faced Lola. "You could at least let me win, you know?"
"Hmmm...?" he tapped his chin thoughtfully before shaking his head. "Nope, that's spoiling you, don't you agree?"
Lola, for the most part, would've loved to keep the conversation going, but, she knew that she wasn't just there for her own reasons. "Mhmm sure..." she poked his chest. "Oh, I met someone who says they know you!"
Liam raised an eyebrow, partly from intrigue but, mostly in confusion. "You did? Who would that be?" Unfortunately, she didn't give a direct response, choosing instead to let him find out himself.
"Okay, you can come in," she called to her.
Hearing a deep breath, Liam watched the lone entrance/exit and was rewarded for his patience with the appearance of a familiar blue-eyed girl from his past. His lips parted at the sudden sight of Jade West in his dorm room.
"Jade?" his face, outside of a shocked expression, was a mystery to the goth who did her best to form a smile.
"Hey, Liam," she wiggled her fingers as a weak form of a wave.
Seeing their matching expressions, Lola realized that there was some form of history between Jade and Liam, a history that she would've inquired more about herself but, that idea would have to be put on hold when her phone went on. Checking it, she found that it was her roommate, Zoey calling.
"I have to check on my room with Zoey." she batted her eyelashes, almost in a romantic way. "I'll catch you later on tonight at Sushi Rox?"
"It's a date," he chuckled at her mock attempt at pouting before receiving a soft kiss on his cheek as gratitude.
"Until then, Wolfy..." Lola winked. As Jade looked on, she blinked several times at the scene playing out in front of her when she noticed Lola passing her by. "See ya later, Jade."
"Y-yeah, see you around, Lola." she put on a smile for the girl until she disappeared from view. That was when everything settled in her mind as she felt a gaze locked onto her. Turning her head, she searched for a way to shatter this unnerving feeling that gripped her. "Wolfy?"
"It's her nickname for me..." his voice grew calm and unreadable.
"I'm just saying, tiger," she noticed a slight shudder from his solid build after reciting her nickname for him. "Of all the names to give, who on earth would give out such a corny nickname?"
She watched as he crossed his arms, not entertained in the slightest at her wise-crack.
"My girlfriend..."
While Lola was a construct in the earlier chapters, she is, in fact, canon now. I wanted to use her as an actual character but, with the way things turned out, it wouldn't have worked out well. Instead, I'm introducing her officially here as an alternate to Tori, and there is a good explanation for this happening as we move forward with our story arc. While it's obvious that this is an alternate timeline, the big question is, whose is it?
Below is just the character list based off of alternate timeline's story.
Main Characters (thus far):
Liam Patterson:
After finding out that Trina ran away, after sharing their first time with each other, a betrayed Liam decided that he no longer wanted to stay in a city that continued to destroy his outlook on the world. He chooses to transfer, winding up in PCA where it is learned that he encountered Zoey and the gang at some point. This is definitely true with Lola Martinez, whom he initially mistakes for Tori at first. After that awkward encounter, it is revealed that the two have become an item at some point. With a new semester looming in a month, he finds himself thrust back into the uncertainty of his past: the return of Jade West.
Lola Martinez:
Shortly after he transferred to PCA, Lola meets Liam at some point where the two share an awkward encounter with one another. Eventually, they form a strong friendship that, sometime later, form a romantic relationship. She happened to run into Jade West after overhearing her mentioning Liam and helped her get onto the campus grounds. After getting to know her, but, also seeing her boyfriend's reaction to her, it's safe to say that Lola will be keeping a close eye on the goth.
Not much is known about her besides that thus far, but her role will be fleshed out more as the story progresses.
Jade West:
After finding out that her friend, Liam was leaving Hollywood, Jade, at some point, fell out with the young boy. After over a year of no communication, Jade went looking for him, while keeping her mission a secret from Beck, Tori, and the others. She tried to get in once she found a lead on his location but struggled to get inside until she met Lola, whom she also mistook for Tori Vega. The two eventually worked out the 'kinks' with that and soon, Jade was given access to PCA as a registered guest. Conflicted with her actions, she finds that her lead was true as she prepares the fateful encounter. The big question is: Why has she returned to Liam's life?
