Tori did not leave Hollywood Arts after her first day. As much as she cried and begged her mother to let her transfer, she was brought back to the school the next day. And every day after that for almost two years.
She didn't understand anything about her relationship with Jade West. She knew they were soulmates. Everyone was assigned one (and only one) at birth; every single person. But, she insisted her soulmate was Beck Oliver. None of it made sense to the brunette. She and Jade had touched skin-to-skin countless times since the fateful day they met, and the explosion of colours danced in Tori's vision every single time. She would look to the goth, whose expression remained downturned into a scowl.
So, Tori never mentioned it. It really wasn't her place to tell the world they were soulmates, especially not with the circumstances. The world was an unpredictable place, and she couldn't risk it ruining either of their future careers. She couldn't do that to Jade, no matter how repugnant she could be.
When Beck and Jade broke up, a tiny morsel of hope sparked in Tori's chest. She let the notion of her and her soulmate finally getting together enter her head. It had to happen at some point. It was written in the stars. It was also then that the Latina realised the other girl had lied about Beck her soulmate. Tori had never asked the boy about it. It was a personal matter, and she was afraid of the answer he might give her. She saw it as a positive, though. The universe hadn't royally screwed up when creating her life. This was all supposed to happen, and the breakup was fate's way of pulling them together.
However, Jade became a recluse after the very public separation. She no longer sat with the group at lunch and didn't talk to anyone unless out of necessity, refusing any offers to do something social with her friends. She had only posted on The Slap twice. Once to confirm the end of her two-and-a-half-year long relationship with Beck. And a second time to tell everyone to leave her alone. She didn't answer texts and never returned anyone's calls, no matter the circumstance. She had isolated herself from the rest of the world while her ex-boyfriend sauntered around Hollywood Arts as if he owned the place. Tori could not think of a way to get in touch with her without pushing Jade further into her rough patch.
Tori sat down in her seat next to Andre in Sikowitz's classroom as the final bell sounded. She rolled her eyes back in her head and groaned at the sound, mentally slapping the person who thought Advanced Improvisation with Erwin Sikowitz at seven-thirty on a Monday morning was a good idea. She was exhausted and she really did not have the energy to deal with the eccentric teacher.
"Alright! Let's talk about the new play I'm directing," the teacher said, stepping off of the stage at the front of the room, a script and a coconut clenched in the same hand. He looked around at his students, his eyes too bright for so early in the morning. He frowned at the tired faces staring back at him, but kept his complaints to himself for the moment.
"Do I get to star in it?" Jade asked from the back of the classroom, where she sat on her own. She had her arms crossed over her chest and her feet up on the back of the chair in front of her. She rolled her own eyes when others in the class protested her wanting of the main role, and mocked them in various obnoxious voices. Tori decided that correcting the class and telling them that it was actually her and not Jade who had had the most lead roles was a bad idea, and kept her mouth shut. She did not feel like an argument with Jade.
"You see?" Sikowitz exclaimed, his voice louder than the bickering. He threw his arms in the air for emphasis. "Every time I cast a new play, you all get your panties in a pretzel." He picked up a box from the window sill and meandered between the rows of students. "So, this time, you people will choose your own roles."
The students each picked a role from the box their teacher presented in front of them. Andre and Beck pulled out twin brother Tommy and Carter, earning a laugh from most of the class. Jade pulled out Nancy, their mother. She didn't seem happy about it.
"Walter, husband of Nance…" Tori started, her voice lowering with worry as she read the small slip of paper. Her stomach curled in on itself. "I'll just pick another role."
This was not happening. The had played spouses once before during class, but that was an acting exercise for class, not a full-fledged production. This wasn't going to work.
"I'm supposed to play her wife?" Jade demanded, visibly fuming. The brunette could practically see smoke curling from her ears. She could feel an outburst brewing.
But, their teacher accepted no arguments, claiming his box had spoken and no changes could be made. He went on to explain the plot of the play and their deadlines. Rehearsals started a week from that class and they were expected to be off-book by then.
Tori tried to stop Jade at the end of class, maybe do some joined negotiated with Sikowitz to change the roles around, but the raven-haired girl's eyes screamed with offence at the suggestion, while her face bore nothing boredom. Tori wished their relationship wasn't so complicated.
They weren't able to feasibly play husband and wife. It just wasn't working. No matter how hard Tori tried, she could not bring herself to vocalise her affection for Jade, even it was while in character, and the other girl held no warmth for the brunette to express.
Tori's stomach twisted every time Sikowitz yelled at them for not being able to do this, to act like they at least tolerated each other; that they regarded one another with something more than disdain. They couldn't even pretend to be in love, and they were soulmates. How could they possibly do this in real life? Tori knew the pair of them were great actresses, especially Jade, yet their animosity undercut it and manifested as an inability to play their roles correctly. It was frustrating, and she was almost ready to cry when their teacher called them out in their sudden loss of talent for the fifth time that rehearsal.
"You girls meet me at Nozu tonight. Seven o'clock," Sikowitz told them after berating their acting so much is was near belligerent. He ignored their protests and questions, leaving the Black Box before they could refuse his invitation.
Tori and Jade stood next to one another in the empty theatre, barely a foot between them. Neither of them said anything at first, staring at the door in mild confusion.
"I'm not going," the raven-haired girl said, turning her head to look at Tori. She crossed her arms over her chest and pursed her lips, waiting for the other girl's response.
"I doubt we'll be there for more than an hour. He'll probably just give us some pointers and call us talentless again. I wouldn't miss it. Sikowitz can be scary," the brunette said, leaning back on her heels and huffing when Jade rolled her eyes and began to leave.
Tori stood alone in the theatre, her face hot from annoyance and her heart beating fast from being so close to her soulmate, even it was only for a second. She turned around and looked at the stage, set up for their play the following night. They had twenty-four hours to perfect this or the production would be a bust. Neither of them could afford a less than perfect performance. They had six months left of their high school careers. Representatives of the colleges they'd apply to attend these things. They had to be great or they weren't going anywhere.
Tori left the theatre and made a beeline for the Asphalt Cafe. Lunch had started ten minutes ago, and she'd already lost social time after school with her friends because of the play. She didn't want to waste anymore. She sat between Cat and Andre, placing her salad in front of her. No one was talking, each person on their phone or eating their food in silence. She looked around at her friends, trying to figure out what was wrong without asking. It took a few moments before she noticed Jade was sitting on the other side of the redhead, staring daggers at Beck while she stabbed her food with her fork.
"Did I miss something?" Tori asked in an attempt to diffuse the thick tension clouding over their table. Beck and Jade both rolled their eyes at her before resuming their staring competition. Robbie shrugged but looked like he did so as to not get himself in trouble. Cat didn't seem to notice anything was wrong.
"Jade sat down and everyone just stopped talking," Andre whispered to her, his voice barely audible. "She's my friend and all, but I wish she was sitting with her emo friends again."
The brunette didn't agree with him. She'd missed Jade in the months she'd been sitting with Ryder Daniels' old group of friends - her old group of friends. Yes, their group may have been a lot more vibrant without her, but it was like they'd lost an arm. It didn't feel right. Jade was one of them and they're group wasn't whole without her.
The goth seemed to have heard what he had said, and whipped her head around, moving her glare from her ex-boyfriend to Andre. "What did you just say?"
"Nothing," Andre said, almost wincing. Silence fell over the group again. Tonight was going to be fun.
Tori got to Nozu ten minutes early. She sat at the sushi bar and ordered herself an iced green tea while she waited for Sikowitz and Jade to arrive. Her teacher arrived a few minutes later. She checked her phone every few minutes, trying to stay calm when it was almost seven-thirty and Jade was a no-show. Of course, she would do this. She held no regard for anyone but herself. She didn't want to come, so she didn't.
"Call her," Sikowitz said at a quarter to eight. Tori didn't want to call Jade. The other girl had implied she wasn't coming earlier, and she was probably somewhere else doing God knows what. The brunette did not want to interrupt her and end up worsening their already dire relationship.
She opened her mouth to protest but was met with a harsh glare from Sikowitz. No words came, so she called Jade.
"What do you want, Vega?" she answered. She sounded as though she was in the car.
"You were supposed to meet me and Sikowitz at Nozu forty-five minutes ago," Tori said, rolling her eyes.
"And I told you, I'm not coming."
"You have to! Sikowitz said he'll fail us for the semester if you don't show up."
Jade bore no answer and hung up. Tori sighed and shook her head. "Jade isn't coming."
"Go home after you eat. I'll deal with her tomorrow."
Tori had already eaten her food when Jade texted her.
Jade West: Fine. I'll be there as soon as I can. -J
Jade finally walked through the door of the restaurant at eight-thirty. She brought no apologies and sat down on the chair next to Tori without uttering a word to her. She ordered her food and took her phone from her bag, setting it down on the counter.
"Is there a reason you're so late?" Tori asked, her arms crossed over herself and anger bubbling in her stomach. There was no way she was going to let Jade think she could waltz in an hour-and-a-half late and the brunette would be fine with it. She was far from fine with it.
"I had other plans," the raven-haired girl said with a shrug of her shoulders. She was lying, and Tori could tell. The singer narrowed her eyes but said nothing, as if that would pull the truth from the other girl. She knew it wouldn't. Jade would die with her secrets.
They didn't speak for a long time; Jade eating her food, and Tori stewing silently next to her, rolling a pair of chopsticks between her fingers. The brunette didn't want to be there, either. There were a hundred things she'd rather do than have dinner with someone who so openly disliked her. But, she was committed to this play, and she was determined for it to go well. She needed it to go well. She was surprised Jade hadn't been more invested, she was the one looking to get into an acting programme, and her credits were dwindling.
"There is no good reason you and I shouldn't be able to sit here together and have a conversation," Tori said once nine o'clock rolled around. It was a lie, her list of reasons she didn't want to talk to Jade was a mile long, but she hated sitting there in stifling silence. She felt like she couldn't breathe. They needed to talk at some point, even for a moment. They couldn't spend the rest of their lives pouting with one another because they'd never gotten over their petty rivalry from high school. They had another three hours here, they might as well make the best of it.
"I've got a good reason," Jade said, rolling her eyes. She'd finished her food about ten minutes ago.
"Which is?"
"I don't like you!" the paler of the two said pointedly, her voice more genuine than Tori cared to admit. She knew Jade didn't like her. She'd made it quite clear.
"And, I'm not your biggest fan, either. But, I'm mature enough to sit here and talk to you," Tori said, gaining confidence she didn't know she had. "Reach down into your twisted, bitter soul and see if you can find anything nice to say about me. One thing."
Jade swallowed hard, looking to the ceiling for patience. She didn't have an answer, by the looks of it. She drummed her fingers on the table, her teeth chewing at the skin of her bottom lip. She either could not think of a compliment, or she was being mean. Tori was almost certain it was latter, but the insecure voice in the back of her head told her it was the former.
"I guess… you're singing isn't… awful?"
Tori's gut twisted into an excruciating knot, almost knocking the wind from her. She should have expected a back-handed compliment, but it still hurt nonetheless. "Thanks so much!"
"Now let's hear something nice about me."
"Sure," the singers snapped, her mind reeling, "I admire how you're never afraid to share what you think."
"That's stupid."
"See! Now, your turn again."
Tori thought the other girl's eyes may roll out of her head if she rolled them again. Jade sighed and pursed her lips into a fine line for a moment. "I guess some people might say… from certain angles… you're pretty."
The brunette stared at the goth for a moment too long, her heart beating hard in her chest. Her breaths caught in her throat and she feared she might cry. She could not cry because Jade called her pretty. She couldn't. That would be pathetic.
"You could say I'm pretty!" Jade's words came as a harsh yell, but Tori saw the longing in her eyes for validation. Did she think she wasn't pretty? Jade West was perhaps the most beautiful person Tori had ever met, despite her hideous attitude.
"You are pretty," Tori promised, properly looking at her date for the first time that night. Her blue-green eyes, which were the same colour both when they were and weren't touching, shone in the lighting of the restaurant. Tori loved Jade's eyes. They almost made her behaviour tolerable. She could look into them for hours if she ever got the opportunity.
Jade looked away first, faking a cough. Tori followed suit and focused on the table closest to the entryway. Two boys around their age sat there, talking loudly about football. After a few minutes, one of them looked to her, a wide grin spreading across his face. He waved, and she reciprocated, before lowering his voice and turning to his friend again.
The two of them stood in unison, their gazes fixed on Tori and Jade. Oh, God. They were coming over. What had Tori done? This was already going terribly, and she'd just made it much, much worse. JAde was going to kill her.
"Uh oh!" they all but yelled, "babe sandwich!" They squashed Jade and Tori between them and then high-fived. Tori wished Jade would kill her.
Despite their efforts, the boys would not leave them alone until they sang Take a Hint, and then they slunk back to their table with their tails between their legs.
Tori sat back down again, breathless and giddy from the performance. Jade seemed to be feeling just as buzzed as she did, her rare smile breaking her face and showing off her perfect teeth. They ordered celebratory dessert, only ice cream to share.
"Are you going to tell me why you were late?" Tori asked. She took a spoonful of the ice cream and ate it, resting her spoon on her lips.
Jade stared at her for a few moments, her eyes lingering on the spoon. She hadn't eaten any of the dessert yet.
"Wait, what?" she asked after a moment, her eyes ripping from Tori's lips to her eyes.
"Are you going to tell me why you were so late?" Tori repeated patiently, her stomach doing backflips.
"I had to babysit," her soulmate said, her tongue running over the surface of her teeth. "I'm sorry I was so late.
The brunette beamed at her, not saying anything further. An apology from Jade West? She'd just worked miracles.
Jade stopped her car outside of the Vega residence at half after midnight. Tori smiled at her and moved to get out.
"Thanks for waiting up for me tonight," the goth said, rubbing her lips together as though she'd just applied lipgloss.
"Anytime," Tori replied, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "See you tomorrow."
"Yeah, see you tomorrow."
The brunette got out of the car and walked into the house. She shut the door behind her and slid down it. Her brain fogged with tiredness, but also with feelings she couldn't describe. Jade was nice to her! Jade! She stood from the floor and trudged to bed, her heart fluttering and a stupid smile on her face.
"I love you," Jade said as Nancy as the final line of the play, leaning in to hug Tori. They embraced for a moment too long, the brunette aching at the goth's touch. She bit down hard on the inside of her cheek to stop herself from expressing any reaction to the explosion of colours in the room.
They pulled apart, but kept their hands joined, and turned to face the audience and bowed. Sikowitz stood in the wings, clapping proudly. They'd done it. They'd proved they could act as a married couple with two kids despite their personal conflicts.
They exited the stage and Tori made a beeline for her dressing room, which she shared with Jade. No college representatives had shown up, so she could change then talk to her parents and friends afterwards.
She pulled her hair from inside her wig and out of its tight bun, and peeled off her moustache. She picked up the brush from her vanity and began to comb through her hair. The door opened and Jade filed through it, untying her apron, and her wig already off.
"Good show," she said, unzipping her dress and stepping out of it once it had pooled at her ankles. Tori looked away, keeping her eyes fixed on her reflection as she brushed her hair.
"Thanks. You too," she said.
She set the hairbrush down again and collected her neatly folded clothes from a chair and moved to the corner to change. By the time she was back in her own clothes and turned around, Jade was sat on the other side of the tiny room, lacing up her blood-red Doc Martens.
"Hey, Vega," she said, crossing her legs and fluffing her hair. Tori looked up and made eye contact. "Cat told me you need a ride to school next week. I can pick you up if you want."
"That would be great. Thanks," Tori replied, her face burning. She left the room before Jade and went home with her parents without talking to any of her friends. Her heart was beating too fast for her to coherently have a conversation.