The Apartment
"God, my cousin was right. Trying to find an apartment around here is as hard as getting a new job! At least a real job…"
Tori Vega, the up-and-coming pop star, chuckled, "Jade, you've looked at… What? Ten or twelve places that you can afford? Only liked four or five. And they're already rented to someone else."
"Yeah! Why show a place if you already rented it?! Jeez! Narcissistic much?"
"Huh?" Tori turned to her friend Jade West with a questioning look.
"They like the property so much, they have to show it off even after it was taken! God, I don't want to go into some lame psychology lesson here!"
"Jade, just move in here. I've got another bedroom and we could split everything…"
Tori had an apartment that was more than a studio but not quite a two-bedroom in Westwood, across the street from UCLA's main campus. Walking in, there was a bedroom area to the right but straight ahead was the fairly spacious, high-ceiling living room then a small breakfast nook and decent kitchen with sufficient counter space and even a small walk-in pantry. The bathroom was on the left just past the entrance. But what gave the place a roomier feeling was the lofty ceiling and the upper level that extended out over the lower bedroom space. It was large enough for two twin beds and some dressers and end tables, even though there was only a single queen-sized that hadn't been slept in for a couple of weeks. Now with Cat gone, Tori had been planning to 'take the upper' – but mid-terms and some Neutronium recording sessions left her too wiped out to do much once she got home beyond hanging with the acerbic girl sitting on her couch.
Fortunately, her scholarship, coupled with income from her YouTube subscription, made it easy for her to rent whole place. But it was so lonely without Cat and her bubbly, whacky personality.
Tori asked again, "Why not move in?"
"NO!"
"Why the hell not?"
"Because I don't like you!"
"That sad, old refrain. Why don't you just record that and play it? Save your vocal cords for original material," Tori teased. It earned her a familiar angry glare. "Anyway, if that's the case, why do you come over all the time? Why do we hang out all the time? Why do we do things together all the time? Why do we go out to eat together all the time? Anyway…"
"Anyway what?"
"Nothing."
"Three! Two! On…"
"ALRIGHT! I like hanging with you. Okay?"
Jade nodded smugly. Then Tori said, "You have to admit you like me. At least a little."
"No! I don't!"
"Three! Two! Don't let me get to One!"
"That's my bit!" Jade growled. Then she sighed, "Alright, Vega! You're not…completely repulsive…"
Tori pinched the bridge of her nose and grunted out, "Jeezus! It's like pulling teeth with a loose pair of pliers."
"I would love that!"
"Yeah, if you were the yanker."
"Vega, that sounds dirty! Way to go!" Jade said proudly.
"Oh, shut up! I'm trying to be a friend here and you're being your usual ganky self!" Tori sighed and walked across the room, past the small breakfast table to stare out of the window in the far wall of the place. She stared at the blank wall of the neighboring apartment but was focused on the conversation, not the stucco wall. "You could at least make an effort!"
"You're right. I've been a bitch the past couple of weeks. But the place I've lived in since we started college is going condo! Who does that anymore?! And I have to find a place to live before the end of the month.
"I've been…stressing. Like a lot!"
"Jade, what are you stressing over?"
"What if I can't find a place? No one rents around here after the semester has started. And now it's almost half-over! My car isn't big enough to live in and… With my projects due, I can't be distracted with this shit…"
Tori walked back over to her friend sitting on the edge of the couch. She sat by the distraught girl and placed a hand on her shoulder lightly. She was surprised Jade didn't shrug her off.
"Listen, this place is directly across the street from campus. Your place is…what? Nearly a mile away? And there's plenty of room for both of us.
"To tell you the truth, I've been lonely since Cat went up to San Luis Obispo to live with Trina, except when you come over to be your typical Jade-self. But, after a couple of years with Cat and her non-sequitur lifestyle, I find myself in an empty apartment with tons of silence. Even if I play music…that's a band-aid. I miss having a friend here."
"Why did Cat move?"
"Why?! Have you been blind the past several years? They started fooling around during that makeup fiasco when I had to perform in front of the playwright in hideous makeup."
"That was funny as hell. But, somehow you pulled it out of your ass. Again! Jeez… No wonder I hate you!" Jade said, with none of the usual animosity. "So what about Screech Box and Cat?"
Sighing, Tori went on, "It only got more intense after Sam Puckett let Cat stew in an Arizona jail right before our senior year. Trina took the time to go down and get Cat out and got her a decent attorney who got the case thrown out. Oh, and after getting Cat out, she went to Cat's apartment in Venice and kicked Sam's ass. The gank hit the road when she recovered the next day."
"That's what happened? I had no idea!"
"No one did. Cat didn't want anyone to know what happened with Sam," Tori continued. "Trina moved in after that and, being over 18, she was a legitimate tenant if 'Venice of America' called them on who was the real resident."
Tori went on, "Trina ended up at Venice Junior College so she could be with Cat. Didn't you notice Trina dropping her off every morning or picking her up just about everyday after school? Well, except when she had a late afternoon class.
"And you said I was dense!" Tori concluded with a chuckle.
"So, they're…" Jade wiggled her eyebrows.
"Yes, they're lovers. I hope you don't have a problem with that. They're still our friends. And my sister."
"I'm cool with them as a couple, but I have to question Cat's taste. And your sister isn't my friend. You're not my…"
"Finish that statement at your peril! I won't abide lying in my apartment!" Tori stated firmly. "And digs at my sister? Well…too many digs..."
"Sorry, even after all these years, it's kind of a habit."
"All these years? We became friends after that stupid Yes bet our junior year. That's been less than five years."
"To a fruit fly, that's over fifteen thousand lifetimes…"
"Alright, you've managed to avoid the topic enough. Go home and pack your shit. At least be ready to move in if you must deign to move in with me. Even you have to admit it'd be nicer to live here than out of your car."
"Not admitting anything, Vega. And 'shit'? 'Deign'? Wow, Tori Vega used a bad word and an obscure word… Way to round out your vocabulary."
"Shut up, Jade," Tori laughed even as she shook her head in frustration.
Nonchalantly, Jade asked, "Wanna grab some lunch?"
Tori nodded and they set off to find some new Westwood eatery.
Several days later, Jade gave in. She agreed to move in with the girl who used to irritate her to the point of violence – on occasion. What Jade rarely admitted to herself was how much support she got from the singer. Today was another example.
"God, I've got to reevaluate my life!" she muttered as she grabbed the first two bags from her car. Tori came up seconds later and grabbed two more.
"This'll be great," she enthused. Then, seeing the look on Jade's face, she backed off a bit. "This'll be good? This'll be okay? Um, this'll be tolerable?"
"Bingo! Got it in four!"
"God, Jade…" Tori moaned quietly.
"Sorry… Sorry, seriously, Vega. You're doing a good thing for me – again – and I won't forget this. But it's not easy changing your personality. I'm going to try but it'll be…"
"Jade, I don't want you to change. For some weird, twisted reason, I like you as you are. All I wanted was some sign of gratitude. You did give that. And I'm okay with that. I'm more than okay. I'm glad you appreciate this. And I'm really, really glad you're moving in."
"Didn't think you were going to get all mushy," Jade stated but with a smile that belied the words.
"C'mon, get your crap in here," Tori replied, also smiling. "You got the loft. We share the bathroom and the kitchen as well as the central area, of course."
After another trip, using both Jade's and Tori's cars, the one-time Goth was moved into the Westwood apartment. The furniture she left behind was second-hand at best – much was third and fourth hand – and the Salvation Army hauled that away. Jade even had a receipt if she wanted to declare the donation on her taxes.
"Wanna grad some pizza?" Jade asked, in her Sweet Sally Peaches voice which automatically alerted Tori.
"I guess I'm paying?"
"If you insist," Jade said, again in her farm girl voice.