Are we excited that I got around to this? I know I am. I never realized how silly this episode was until I had to work with it. I had to take out a few things and reword other things for the sake of the story. I wanted it to retain a sense of reality and not just slap stick humor. Especially since things are finally going somewhere with Jade and Tori. I had always planned for this season to be the major changing point between them and I didn't want the weirdness that is this episode to throw it off. So, sorry if it isn't as humorous as the actual episode. Enjoy and please review!
~Tori~
Detention. I didn't get detention, but here I was. It was for a pretty dumb reason too. I shut my locker and turned to see Beck and Jade come in the door. Both seemed so relaxed. I could believe Jade got detention every once in a while, but not Beck. Either way, he didn't look worried. Andre stood by his locker, a slightly worried crease to his brows. Robbie was making his way over to us from the other side of the hall. It seemed so quiet here without all the other students. It felt like we weren't supposed to be here. I began to walk over to Andre.
"Well, this is a great way to spend a Saturday," he said sarcastically.
"I have never had detention before," I remarked.
"I'm kind of nervous," Robbie admitted.
"If you didn't make us late for class we wouldn't be here," Jade snapped at him from her place on the bottom stair.
"I was choking on a pretzel!" Robbie exclaimed.
"Well, why you gotta always be choking on something?" Andre asked.
"Ah, give him a break," Beck said.
"Yeah, it's not Robbie's fault he has a petite throat," I added.
"It's average!" Robbie corrected. Rex made a sound of disbelief.
"Hey, who's in charge of detention anyway?" I wondered.
"Vice President-" Andre began.
"Dickers," Jade finished, pointing him out. The tall man came stopping over, slamming a locker shut on the way.
"Morning wazzbags!" he greeted loudly. I was pretty sure the man should have already been fired by now for how he treated students. I had heard some crazy things about him and was no looking forward to spending time around him.
"Detention is that way, in the library. Get ready for the worst day of your lives," he announced. Why did he always sound like he was shouting? Did he think he sounded scarier or was that just his voice? Just then, Cat finally showed up.
"Yay! We're at school on a Saturday!" she stated with a laugh. None of us thought it was funny.
"Library!" Dickers shouted, jabbing his finger in the direction of said room. We grumbled as we complied, heading up the stairs. We made it to the room and filed in, Dickers coming in last. We all took a seat at the long tables. Jade sat with Beck and I sat with Andre in front of them. Cat sat alone and Robbie too at the table in front of hers.
"Well, well. It's seven o' six am here in Los Angeles. That means in Australia it's yesterday. Or tomorrow," Dickers told us, looking confused. What did that have to do with anything. The others seemed to think the same thing, frowning at the piece of useless information. Robbie's hand shot up.
"You know, in Australia, when you flush the toilet, water swirls backwards," he shared.
"Put a sock in it, afro!" Dickers responded, Robbie touched his hair self-consciously.
"You clowns are going to sit here all day and think about why you're in detention. Now, cellphones, let's have 'em," he continued, going around with a box to collect them.
"Why?" Jade spoke up, clearly looking to agitate the man more than he already was.
"Because in detention there are no phone calls," Dickers replied.
"What about texting?" Beck asked.
"No," he answered.
"E-mail?" Andre wondered.
"No," he shot down.
"Can we play Grumpy Gerbils?" I said with a raise of my hand, just a tad hopeful. Dickers glared at me.
"I love Grumpy Gerbils!" Cat said.
"I can't get past level twenty-three," Robbie mentioned, sad.
"Zip it, corn pie!" Dickers told him.
"Can we have corn pie?" Jade jabbed again.
"Shut up!" he shouted, pointing at her. She only rolled her eyes.
"Phones!" he ordered, holding out the box. We all got up and dropped them in. He then walked them over to a shelf along the wall and set them down. I heard Jade scoff under her breath and knew she had a sarcastic comment in mind. I couldn't help but think the same way. Why didn't he take them out of the room where we couldn't get them? I raised my hand, a thought occurring to me.
"What, princess?" he spat.
"I was just wondering what the plan was for lunch?" I asked.
"If you pre-turds get hungry, there's a plate of tuna right here," he said, pointing it out. Oh, so that was the reason behind the weird smell.
"Um, technically sir, if perishable foods aren't kept at either below thirty-four degrees or above a hundred and forty degrees-" Robbie tried to explain.
"Pipe down, side salad!" Dickers silenced. Robbie nervously fell quiet.
"Eat the tuna or starve. I could care less," he told us.
"Um, I think you mean you couldn't care less," Jade corrected, her trademark smirk in place. I sighed.
"What's that?" Dickers questioned.
"You said you could care less," Beck started to explain.
"Which implies that you do care. Just a little bit," I finished.
"I don't," he said with conviction.
"Well then you should have said you couldn't care less," Jade stated, with just a hint of attitude.
"But you did not," Robbie joined in, getting some confidence back now that we were all involved. Dickers stood there a moment. I waited for a reaction. He was probably going to be wazzed. I could see it coming. But Cat kept it at bay.
"Hey, what about the first guy that landed on the moon? He said, 'one small step for man'. I would have just said 'oh my god, I'm on the moon'!" she rambled, throwing out her arms. Beck and Jade looked amused. Robbie seemed to be thinking about it. Andre simply nodded. Huh, she had a point.
"All right, not another word!" Dickers demanded.
"Word," Jade spoke clearly, catching my eye when I spun around to shoot her a pleading look. Why did she have to be so difficult? She only smiled, seemingly innocent, but I could see the sly glint in her eyes.
"That's it, West. You just bought yourself another Saturday detention," he promised, striding over to her. She leaned back in her chair, unaffected.
"Did I get a good deal on it?" she inquired.
"You just bought yourself another one," he responded. Cat squeaked and hid under her hood, head on the table.
"Okay, look, I'm sorry. I apologize," Jade said, relatively sincere. Dickers wasn't having it.
"That's three! Three Saturdays," he added. Jade shook her head, clearly thinking it was a lost cause now. Well, she did start it, but I was going to end it.
"She was apologizing," I spoke up.
"Okay, Vega, now you got one," he happily assigned, walking over to me. I threw my hands up.
"Why?" I asked, confused.
"Boom, another one!" he shouted.
"I don't want another one," I whined.
"That's three. You wanna try for four?" he bullied.
"I really don't," I answered.
"That's four. You wanna try for five?" he repeated. Suddenly, Jade was sitting up straight in her seat, brows creased in anger.
"Yes!" she shouted.
"Okay, Vega, you just got five!" he said.
"What? I didn't say that!" I denied, staring wide eyed at Jade who stood up.
"That was for me," she stated. He turned on her.
"Oh, so you want four?" he addressed her.
"I already said yes," she retorted.
"Fine, you have four," he agreed.
"Jade!" I exclaimed, standing up too. She glanced at me but didn't sit down.
"Vega, you want five?" Dickers warned me.
"Guys, stop!" Cat shouted, clamping her mouth closed with her hands when Dickers rounded on her. He opened his mouth but was soon distracted.
"I guess he's afraid to give one to Robbie," Rex commented. Shocked, Robbie covered Rex's mouth.
"Oh yeah? I got one for you too, fudge sack!" he shouted, bending down to Robbie's level. The poor guy looked like he was about to cry. I exchanged a look with Jade. She still looked wazzed but her defensive stance relaxed. Beck touched her arm, whispering something, and she finally sat down. I fell back in my seat with a sigh.
"Anybody else? Huh? Anybody? You mess with the cow, you get the udders," he cautioned. What? He turned away and headed for the door.
"Yeah, well, fu-" Jade tried to yell at him as soon as he was gone, but Beck practically threw himself at her. He held a hand over her mouth tightly until she agreed to behave. I looked back at her just as Beck let her go. Her expression softened a bit when she returned my stare. I offered her a grateful smile. Sure, Jade might have pushed Dickers, but she defended me too. It looked like we were both going to see each other for detention four weekdays in a row. Oh, and Robbie for one of those days.
~Jade~
I knew it wasn't a good idea to mess with Dickers, but it also seemed like a fun way to pass the time. It was pretty entertaining to watch him scream himself stupid over the dumbest things. But I didn't mean to get Vega involved. Had I known she would come to my rescue I wouldn't have tried to wazz him off. She was only trying to help, as always, so I returned the favor. I didn't mind coming back for detention, but now Vega had to also. But maybe that was a good thing. Now I had more time to see her and I didn't have to ask to hang out with her or anything. Not that we did that, because our frenemy status was kind of on shaky ground right now. I couldn't decide if we were more friends than enemies, and if we were, did that have to change our dynamic? I checked the time, glancing up from cutting out another snowflake from a flyer I found. We had already been here for hours and I had accumulated a pile of things that fell victim to my scissors. I hadn't really been paying attention to the others, so I took a look around the room.
Robbie was tending to Rex, Cat had been drawing but she was now raining glitter on her head, Andre was playing with floss, and Vega had somehow come across balloons which she was trying to tie into something. I turned to look at Beck who had moved to sit on the railing behind our table. What in the world was he doing with his mouth? I shook my head at him and stood up. I couldn't sit here the whole time. I browsed the library and even pulled out some interesting reads. I lost myself among the texts and came out hours later to see that Robbie and Andre were the only ones to follow my example. I passed by a shelf of out of date dictionaries and selected one that was more tape than paper. I climbed up on the railing down a ways from Beck, got comfortably balanced, and then slowly began tearing out the pages. I let them flutter to the ground and settle before tearing out another one.
"You know what I could go for right now?" Beck said, the first to speak in hours.
"Tacos?" Andre answered.
"How did you know?" Beck asked.
"I felt you, dawg," Andre replied with a smile, a hand over his heart. Beck chuckled.
"Tacos do sound really good right now," Vega admitted with a sigh, putting down the pen she was using to doodle in a notebook. Seriously, where was she getting these things?
"I'm down for tacos," I agreed, tearing out another page.
"Yeah, I love tacos," Robbie said with a nod, yet he sounded uncertain. I tore out another page then looked to Cat, brows creasing. I really shouldn't, but I couldn't help it. It was getting so boring, and vandalism can only go so far.
"Look who's being real quiet," I commented, eyes focused on Cat. She seemed to curl in on herself at the sound of my voice.
"I'm just not that hungry right now," she mumbled, playing with the yarn wrapped around her fingers in a complex design.
"Yeah, we both know that's not the truth," I replied.
"No one else has to know," Cat said. I threw the dictionary over my shoulder and slid off the rail, landing loudly with the weight of my boots.
"What's going on?" Andre inquired.
"Our pristine little Cat has never had a taco," I said, walking past her.
"I'm not that pristine," Cat denied. She paused.
"Wait, what's pristine mean?" she asked, clueless. I only leaned in close to her, never looking away. Intimidating Cat wasn't hard. In seconds she was uneasy and leaning away.
"Are you a vegan?" I finally said.
"Knock it off, Jade," Beck said, raising his voice just enough for me to hear him across the room. I gave Cat space, only a little bummed that I couldn't keep up the taunting.
"What's a vegan?" Rex asked.
"It's a person who doesn't eat meat," Robbie answered.
"I love meat," Rex said. Robbie quieted him and Rex argued back.
"Come on, Cat. It wouldn't hurt to try it just this once, right?" I pressed, already knowing that Cat wouldn't. The silence and being cooped up for too long was getting to me if this was the only source of entertainment available.
"Hey!" Vega shouted, climbing over a chair to get to us. She landed and I turned around to stand toe to toe with her.
"Leave her alone," she challenged, determined and unafraid. A flutter of excitement pulled a smirk on my face. I really enjoyed the little moments when Vega stood up to me.
"What are you going to do if I don't?" I challenged in return.
"Well, I just might go online, to The Slap, and unfriend you," she threatened, completely serious. That was all she's got? I was tempted to laugh. Of course it was. Vega couldn't hurt a fly. Did she think that just because we finally friended each other online that it meant something? Cat gasped behind me, clearly thinking it did.
"Oh, really?" I said, brow raised. She nodded and held up two fingers.
"Two clicks. One to unfriend you and one to confirm I really wanna unfriend you," she continued, waving around her fingers for emphasis. I narrowed my eyes at her, allowing a small smirk. Vega tried hard to enforce her bad girl persona, but I could see she was seconds from crumbling. I could see the mirth shining in her eyes. We knew neither one of us meant any harm, but Andre still broke through our little staring contest.
"Hey, come on y'all. How are we going to get some tacos?" he asked everyone. No one had an answer besides Vega.
"I could text Trina, ask her to pick some up and leave them in my locker," she suggested.
"Sounds like a plan," Beck accepted. Andre nodded, looking jazzed for food. I crossed my arms, turning back to Vega.
"So get a hold of her. Or are you too afraid to use your phone?" I teased. She raised a defiant brow, turned on her heel, and then marched over to the box. I followed close behind her. She made a show of pulling out her phone and sending Trina a text while I watched over her shoulder.
"There. Now all we have to do is wait," she said, putting her phone back and taking a seat. I sat right next to her, leveling my gaze on her with an intensity that was supposed to make her uneasy. She only glanced at me once in a while, brows furrowed, but nothing more. I gave up with a loud exhale. When did my glares lose their affect on her? The text came in just then and Vega was excited to announce that Trina agreed. I had my doubts, so I was pleasantly surprised. I wondered if Vega had to pay her back somehow. It seemed to be the only reason Trina would agree. It took some time after that, but another text came in saying that the tacos were in place.
"Great. Now we just have to sneak down there without Dickers seeing us. We'll need all the luck we can get if Shapiro is tagging along," I remarked, having seen the message from where I was sitting. Vega set down her phone to shoot me a look that said, 'You aren't helping'. I answered with a shrug and a feigned smile that answered, 'I wasn't trying to'. She rolled her eyes and got up to put her phone back in the box. We all debated on who would go. Vega was going to go alone, but Beck thought we should stay together. I really didn't want Shapiro to give us bad luck and Cat was never quiet. In the end, it was agreed that Vega would go and someone would back her up in case there was trouble.
"I'll go with her. We'll be there and back faster than any of you," I volunteered, gaining curious looks from Robbie and a confused one from Cat. Beck and Andre wisely didn't react.
"All right. Um, we should get going then," Vega said with a nod, only glancing at me in passing.
"Don't get her in trouble, Jade," Beck advised, pushing me to follow her.
"I won't," I told him.
"You better not," he made sure. I waved him away and jogged over to hold the door open, Vega letting it go to look down both sides of the hall.
"I don't see him. Let's go," she whispered. We stuck together, alert for any sound or movement. We got to the main hall easily enough. While Vega opened her locker I kept an eye out. She pulled out the bag with a grin and shut her locker.
"If we just backtrack-" I started to say, turning away to head back up the stairs. But Vega grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me back just as humming could be heard. Dickers was coming down the other side of the stairs. We rushed around the corner, planning to go around to a different stairwell, but he had taken an alternate route and ended up beating us by a hair. We skid to a stop and Vega almost slipped. I caught her around the middle and got her on her feet just in time to run back the other way. We had to put on the breaks again when we came out in the main hall again and saw Dicker's across it at the vending machine.
"If we cross now he won't see us," I wagered, taking a step. Vega stopped me.
"You go back to the library. I'm going to get Dickers' attention," she said, handing me the taco bag.
"How?" I asked her. As a reply, she took off running down a hall to the right, singing at the top of her lungs. Dickers was quick to run after her. I ran up the stairs and straight to the library. I burst in and the others stood up.
"Where's Tori?" Beck asked.
"Uh, she's distracting Dickers," I answered, setting down the bag.
"What?" he exclaimed.
"It was her idea," I snapped at him, going back to the door.
"Where are you going?" Andre inquired.
"I'm going back," I responded simply, pushing the door open and breaking into a jog. I could hear her voice echoing in the distance. I had to admit, she had a set of pipes on her for being that loud. It suddenly cut off and I sped up. She must have gotten caught.
~Tori~
I came back down the stairs with a school spirit poster in hand. I had torn down quite a few on my way through the school. It was kind of fun. I could see why Jade liked to do some petty vandalism once in a while. I belted out the last line and spun around at the bottom of the stairs just to smack into someone. I stumbled back to see that it was Dickers.
"Oh, I'm gonna make it shine. I'm gonna make it shine real good," he said with more points of his finger.
"Listen-" I tried to begin, but he talked over me.
"You're in big trouble, Vega," he said.
"For what?" I inquired.
"For leaving the library, skinny jeans!" he answered. I frowned, glancing down at my pants. What was wrong with them?
"And singing off key," he added. That got my attention.
"I was running and singing at the same time! That's really hard!" I defended.
"Oh, shut up!" he yelled, grabbing me by the forearm and leading me down the hall. We headed for the janitor's closet. He tossed me in and I used the momentum to catch myself on the tall toolbox, plopping down.
"That's the last time, Vega. That's the last time you kids get the better of me," he raged. I looked down at my lap and nodded.
"I'm sorry," I managed to say, only a bit nervous. I really didn't like being in trouble. But it was me or Jade, and I knew she had gotten in more trouble than me so who knew what kind of punishment she would get.
"You watch that mouth!" he yelled.
"What did I say?" I demanded, irritation edging into my voice. What was wrong with this guy? Even apologies sounded like back talk to him.
"You know where you're going to be five years from now?" he inquired, his voice finally lowering to one more appropriate to use indoors. My eyes shifted, not knowing whether it was rhetorical or not.
"You're going to be a big popstar," he spat, like it was a bad thing.
"Well, that, sounds pretty cool," I admitted with a shrug.
"Ok, miss popstar. See if you can pop this," he said, pulling up his sleeve and shoving his arm in my face. I flinched back, disgusted.
"Is that an arm pimple?" I questioned. Why was it so huge?
"That's right. Well, go ahead popstar. Pop it! Pop my arm pimple!" he ordered. This had to be some form of abuse.
"I dare you. Pop it!" he challenged.
"No!" I refused.
"Come on!" he pressed.
"You do it!" I shouted.
"Get it!" he yelled.
"No, there's goo in there! That's disgusting! I don't want to!" I started screaming over his taunting. He smirked and finally pulled away, tugging his sleeve back down.
"That's what I thought," he stated. I jumped when his fist suddenly shot out.
"Sorry. I was just trying to kill that fly," he clarified, trying to grab it again on the way out. He shut the door behind him and I heard the lock click. I slid off the toolbox.
"What just happened?" I wondered to myself. I started to look around for a way out when there was a scratching sound at the door. I froze. It gave a click and then the door opened. Jade stepped in, letting the door close quietly behind her.
"Hey. So did you pop his gross pimple, or what?" she greeted with a playful smile.
"Jade? What are you doing here?" I replied, more than happy to see her. Without thinking I rushed to hug her, only realizing belatedly what I did. Jade tensed in my arms for only a second then she was hugging me back. And not in the painful way.
"Sorry I caused you so much trouble. I came back to help you," she muttered, voice soft. I pulled away just enough to look at her, smiling.
"Thanks. You, uh, you didn't get me in trouble. Dickers is just a, well…" I responded, hesitating.
"He's a Dickers," Jade jested. I laughed, leaning into her, and she joined me. I nodded.
"Yeah, for sure," I forced out between laughter. I let go of her when I caught my breath and her hands dropped.
"I was hoping to find time to give this to you too," she said, digging in the pocket of her sweater. She pulled out a ring that was identical to hers, offering it to me in the palm of her hand. I gasped, staring at it.
"Is that…?" I whispered, touched.
"I told you I would get you one, didn't I? Complete with my blood and everything," she assured, taking me by the hand and slipping it into place on the same finger she wore hers on. She held my hand gently and we stared at the ring, her own in close proximity. I pulled my admiring gaze away to land on her. I was almost startled to see that she was already looking at me. Our hands dropped and she pushed back a green strand of hair from her face.
"I'm sorry about a lot of things, Vega. I know I can be a gank, but I just want you to know that it's not to hurt you. That isn't at all what's going through my head. It's just collateral damage. I'm not saying it's any better, but I'll usually be a gank about anything other than that," Jade timidly explained. It was adorable to see her so out of sorts.
"So, you're saying that you're still going to be a gank, but it will never be because you want to hurt me?" I simplified.
"Pretty much," she confirmed.
"I'll try to make up for it," she tacked on.
"I'm glad to hear that," I told her. Her smile was small, but I found it cute. Something must have come to mind, because she pulled out her phone. She started playing a slow song and then set it on the nearby shelf. She slowly took my hands in hers and set them on her shoulders. Her hands then rested on my waist. I stared at her, befuddled.
"One of the many things I'm sorry for is ruining your prome. A girl deserves a good one and I didn't let you because I was being selfish," she explained, taking a step and leading me in a slow dance. I followed automatically, although troubled.
"No, I took that spot from you, Jade. I was so obsessed with having a prome I totally disregarded something that was equally important to you," I apologized.
"I guess we both should have been more respectful, but it was a fun battle of sorts, right?" Jade pointed out. I chuckled.
"It was," I allowed. She bit her lip and looked away, the song and our dance carrying on. I took in her nervous expression and smiled. My heart was racing and I couldn't think of anything besides how sweet the girl in front of me could be. I was falling for her a little more every day. I wrapped my arms around her neck and rested my head on her shoulder. Her hands tightened with the contact. Now that I was so close to her, I could hear her heart. It was just as frantic as mine.
"So, um, I was thinking. Remember that favor you owe me?" she recalled, her voice lacking the waver it had previously. I leaned away to look her in the eyes. She no longer averted her own, meeting me head on.
"Yeah," I said with a single nod.
"I've been thinking about it a lot lately. I was glad I didn't waste it on Rex because I finally know what I could use it for," she explained. I tilted my head, curious.
"And what's that?" I inquired. She looked at me in a way that sent butterflies fluttering in my stomach. We slowed to a stop but didn't part. Instead, Jade leaned a bit closer. Like a magnet I was drawn forward, subconsciously knowing what she wanted.
"You didn't have to cash in a debt for me to give you that," I whispered, just barely getting the words out when our lips connected. The gentle press of Jade's soft lips on mine was a sensation I didn't think I would ever feel again. She was careful but deliberate and every brush of her lips made me crave more. My hands got lost in her hair and her arms wrapped around me to hold me close. When it came to a natural end, I held her face in my hands and brushed my nose with hers. My eyes opened to stare into the unique ocean eyes staring back at me. We stayed that way only a moment then Jade was relaxing her hold on me so that I could step back. I stumbled on wobbly legs until I was sitting on the toolbox again.
"Wow," I whispered, leaning on one hand while the other briefly touched my lips. I could still feel her there. Jade hummed an agreement and scuffed her boot on a mat.
"You think we should head back?" she asked quietly. A bit reluctantly too. I grinned, ready to tell her that it could wait, but then my stomach growled. I blushed, embarrassed by my body's betrayal. Jade laughed, a bell like sound that put me at ease.
"I'll take that as a yes. Let's go get some tacos before everyone eats them all," she suggested, moving to pocket her phone then turning to hold out a hand to me. I took it and she helped me on my feet. She turned to pull down a tarp. Behind it was a sign with arrows pointing up. It took me a second to realize that Jade revealed a ladder.
"Dickers won't catch us this way," she said.
"How long has that been there?" I asked her.
"Forever as far as I know," she responded with a shrug, stepping back to let me go first. I started climbing, stopping to push open the trap door at the top. I came out in the little sitting room area located a few rows down from the tables. I climbed out and Jade followed close behind me, shutting the trap door.
"Hey, what'd I miss?" I greeted when I saw everyone else draped on the couches and chairs. They cheered and Robbie held up the bag.
"Taco?" he asked.
"Yeah," I accepted.
"Starving," Jade added. I didn't know if that was a correction for me or her own response. Robbie came over and handed us one each.
"Ooh, still warm," I commented.
"Well they were in Robbie's pants," Andre remarked, pointing to the boy as he returned to Cat's side. They each sat in an armchair but they were pushed together.
"Can you not say that again?" Beck told him, words muffled through a mouthful of food. Wait, what? I stared down at my food then over at Jade who looked to be contemplating whether she would eat the taco or not.
~Jade~
They were in Robbie's pants? I didn't give up kissing Vega to eat underwear tacos. I glared at Andre, waiting for an explanation.
"After you left to look for Tori we thought we heard Dickers coming in so-" he began to explain.
"I panicked and stuffed them down my pants!" Robbie shouted, panicking again. I turned my steely gaze on him.
"You could have thought of literally anything but that," I hissed at him. He cowered in his seat. Vega shifted in my peripheral, and I knew she was getting ready to step in, so I dropped it.
"Whatever. Let's just eat," I said, finally unwrapping my taco. I leaned back, feeling relaxed. Beck raised a brow at me then looked at Vega. He was connecting the dots. When Vega realized that Beck was staring at her she quickly hid behind her taco, taking a big bite. I smiled and shook my head. Adorable. To regain my credibility, I went back to teasing Cat about being a vegan. It then carried to Robbie who I noticed hadn't taken a single bite from his. He tried to tell me some story of how he went out with Tori on a date where they ate tacos together, but I could see right through his lie.
"Hey, Vega," I called to her. Robbie flailed and stammered in a futile attempt to stop me. She turned from the shelf of books she was looking at to give me her attention.
"Shapiro tells me that sometimes you two crunch the corn shell together," I told her with a teasing smirk. Vega stared at Robbie, a disapproving frown on her face.
"Uh, I didn't say that," he denied.
"Did you or did you not motion to Tori?" I interrogated him.
"Yeah, but, only because I didn't want her to know I'm a vegan, okay?" he admitted. Mission accomplished. I smiled triumphantly and popped the last of the taco in my mouth. I looked at Vega who had turned her disapproving stare on me. I merely shrugged and she crossed her arms.
"Hey, Robbie. I'll try one if you will," Cat spoke up, shy. Robbie smiled and nodded. Their interaction drew Vega's attention to them and she smiled in the same way one would smile at two frolicking puppies playing together. While those two ate their tacos together, Andre was up out of his seat again. He started running and dancing, clearly going nuts from being stuck in here. We all exchanged looks when he ran out of sight so we rushed to follow. Any entertainment was good entertainment at that point. We stayed at the top railing and watched him go while cheering. When he was finally tired out, we all went back to the couches.
A look at my phone showed that it was around one. We were almost out of here. I fell into the longer couch and Vega sat in a chair next to me, a leg draped over the armrest. I leaned against it and casually let my arm fall over her leg. She didn't seem to notice, too busy talking with Andre who had retaken the seat on the other side of her. Beck sat next to me, propping his feet on the round table in front of us. I rested by feet over one of his. Cat sat with her legs crossed on the other side of him, the two busy throwing pieces of taco in each other's mouths. Robbie looked more than comfortable laying on his back sideways in the last armchair, eating another taco. I nudged Beck to get his attention and gestured to Cat.
"Give her some hot sauce," I told him. For my amusement of course. Beck pulled out a packet from his shirt pocket and opened it with his teeth. He then put a good amount on Cat's second taco. She took a bite and immediately coughed.
"Chicks cannot hold their hot sauce," Robbie joked, laughing. Being in a good mood, we all laughed with him. Vega's foot dropped and its absence caused me to look at her. She was wearing sunglasses she had found. She shot me what she believed to be a cool smirk then raised a hand for a high five. I smirked back, seeing an opportunity, and capitalized on it by smacking her hand hard enough that it smacked her forehead and she went tumbling backward in her chair. She let out a girly squeal as she went and sent me into another laughing fit. When I caught my breath, I stood to help her up, smiling at her dazed expression.
"What was that for?" she demanded, focusing and pulling off the askew shades. I took them from her and put them on, tapping her nose condescendingly.
"It was too good not to," I answered simply. She countered by plucking the shades off my face and running.
"Hey!" I exclaimed, surprised by her gall. I chased after her. I caught her at the tables, tackling her. We fought for the glasses but neither of us made progress so we ended up splayed out on the floor, trying to catch our breath, and each of us gripping one side arm of the sunglasses. The rest of the gang found us there and Andre thought it was a great idea to just lay down and relax. They pushed away a table so they could join us. They filled in the large gap on either side of us until we were all laying in a circle with our heads toward the middle, just how Tori and I had been across from each other. Suddenly crowded, we were forced to let go of the glasses. Beck took them so that our impasse remained intact. We settled into silence for some time, not needing to talk. It was eventually broken by minimal conversation. I closed my eyes and listened to the mumbled voices. A topic on parents came up and I heard Vega ask if it was true that people tended to end up like their parents.
"When you get old, your butt sags," I commented, adding my two cents.
"And you can't find your pants," Beck added.
"Not like that. I mean-oh, you know what I mean," Vega replied, reaching over to smack my shoulder. I hit her back.
"Sometimes, I feel so much pressure. You know, with my music. My cousin JJ is always telling me you gotta be the best. You gotta be number one! And I wanna tell him, hey man, get off my chiz, but sometimes he drives me to school and I don't wanna blow my ride," Andre shared. Hm. Well, I've got nothing to say to that.
"I have a weird talent," Vega spoke up.
"You're so conceited," Robbie commented. I hit him in the head.
"Ouch!" he exclaimed.
"Shut up, Shapiro! People are trying to talk and you're being disrespectful!" I scolded. He rubbed his head but he didn't say anything else.
"What's your talent?" Cat wondered.
"I can sometimes use my feet like hands," she confessed.
"No way!" Cat exclaimed, highly interested.
"Let's see it," I encouraged. Andre, Beck, and Robbie joined in.
"Okay, okay. I'll show you. I can't believe I'm doing this," she said, getting up to look around. She spotted something on a shelf and left to retrieve it. She came back and sat down, taking off her boots and socks. I raised a brow, having sat up to watch her with the others. She picked up the bow and arrow toy she had brought back and fitted it between her feet. I watched, almost as interested at the strange display as Cat was. Beck looked weirded out. But that was why I liked it. I never pegged Vega for having a weird talent. Cute and awkward quirks, but not weird talents. She pulled back on the bow then let the arrow fly. It actually got some air and sunk into a poster on the wall. Everyone clapped, amazed. I joined them with a slow clap.
"That was amazing. You learn that from your dad?" I asked her, taunting just a bit.
"No, my grandpa, actually," she corrected, surprising me. She was prepared this time.
"Oh, well, I figured being weird ran in the Vega genes. Trina had to have gotten it from somewhere," I jeered. Her eyebrows shot up and she opened her mouth to defend her family, but Andre beat her to it.
"Stop it! No fighting! As teenagers, we are all under too much pressure as it is!" he reprimanded us. Well, yes. But what Andre failed to see was that it was only a little healthy banter between me and Vega. I looked up from my lap and had to bite back a laugh at her shocked expression. Cat's unexpected laughter caused everyone else to laugh and only then did I start.
~Tori~
I laughed along with everyone else, only now realizing that if Jade and I were going to put up this front we should really keep the peace between the rest of the gang when we didn't actually mean it.
"We were only joking, Andre," I got out while laughing.
"I'm sorry, but y'all are so serious I thought it was going to be an actual fight," he replied. I shook my head at him and stood up.
"We need to relax," I decided, going to get my phone. I got some music going and the others stood up to dance, more than happy to agree. We spent the rest of the time in an upbeat mood, changing dance partners, dancing as a group, and just plain messing around. Jade got me to dance on the table with her and even caught me from falling when I was trying to get down. Being so close to her seemed to remind us both of our time in the janitor's closet so we quickly separated before the others noticed. Dickers poked his head in the room right on time to yell at us.
"What are you pre-turds still doing here? Get out! I still have to see some of your faces next week!" he shouted, slamming the door. The others picked up their phones before we headed for the exit. Beck and Jade were up front, leaning in close while they talked. But for the first time, there was something different about it. It didn't look like boyfriend and girlfriend interaction, as I had always thought. Something about it was less intimate and more friendly. A thought came to me. One I hadn't touched upon since I came to this school. How close were Jade a Beck, really? If me and her had a secret relationship, then it was possible that she and Beck might have one too.
I mean, she wanted me to kiss her. She definitely wasn't worrying over Beck. Beck himself never seems worried. In fact, he's encouraging at times. And all those other shared moments together…I watched them all the way outside, stopping when Jade said something to Beck then let him continue while she double backed to me. Andre tapped my shoulder and waved. I returned it. Cat and Robbie walked by with a wave, the two heading for Robbie's bike. Beck met up with Andre on his way out to the parking lot. And just like that, Jade and I were alone again. She approached with a knowing smirk, eyes flicking down and back up. I blushed, aware she was openly checking me out.
"Hey. Why'd you come back?" I wondered. She reached down and took me by the hand, our fingers sliding together effortlessly.
"It must be a habit for me to make sure you get back home safe," she answered, starting to walk backward and tugging me along so that I would follow. I giggled and allowed myself to share more of her space on our way to her car.
"I thought you came with Beck," I mentioned.
"Nope. Like I said, habit. If I come with him I won't be able to offer you a ride if you get stranded," she said, unlocking her car. She let my hand go so that we could get in. I couldn't help but grin from ear to ear. Jade actively planned things with me in mind. That had to mean that either Beck was fine with things, or he didn't know. But Jade wasn't a cheater, as she has said so many times before, so Beck had to know how we feel about each other and is rooting for her. That had to be it. Or, I was just really, really hoping that was it. How had I not given this more thought before? Jade's lips on my cheek brought me out of my thoughts so quickly she couldn't react in time. I turned my head to face her, but she was still close. Our noses brushed and we froze.
"Here I was trying to bring you back down to Earth and you're taking advantage," she whispered, eyes flicking down to my lips before settling on my eyes. I shivered, enjoying her full attention and the low quality to her voice.
"S-sorry," I mumbled, slowly pulling away to give us space. Jade smirked and moved away too, starting up the car.
"Buckle up, Vega. I'm not getting a ticket just because you can't think straight," she teased, laughing when I gasped at the double meaning.
"Jade!" I scolded, hitting her again. She only continued to laugh, pulling out of the parking. I crossed my arms and made a show of pouting.
"Save it for our next detention. You and I are going to be seeing a lot of each other," she reminded me, acting like it would be terrible. Oh yeah. My smile returned and she mirrored it. Four more Saturdays of detention with Jade. Now I just had to convince my parents that it wasn't a bad thing.