Summary
For all intents and purposes, it looked like Beck was pinning Jade to the wall and smacking her around. And now, everyone had seen it. This wasn't bruises on her wrists that she could hide with bracelets, or a bite mark deep on his shoulder which meant he couldn't wear his usual 'vest and open shirt' combo for a week. This was a look into the deepest, most private part of their relationship; and it was broadcast for everyone to see and judge. And judge incorrectly.
When a video clip of Jade and Beck gets released on 's gossip page, it causes the entire school to judge Beck and Jade's relationship. With Beck now looking like public enemy number one and Jade being treated like glass by the student population, they have to figure out a way to get out of the mess with their reputations still intact.
A (hopefully) realistic view of teenagers in an unconventional sexual relationship.
Chapter Summary
The girls have a sleepover and discuss sex. Secrets are revealed and Tori is pretty much permanantly shocked.
Chapter Notes
This one goes into a little more detail about Jade and Beck's sex life, and explains how they found out that rough sex is something they both enjoy. Strong Jori friendship in this one too - I know, coming from me? Crazy!
Chapter 5: nails scratching my back tatt, eyes closed as you scream out
Jade was kind of...ridiculously unimpressed right now. After the horrific day she'd had (OK, well, that her and Beck had. She undoubtedly got off easier, being the 'victim' for once. And she had to admit, it gave her a teeny tiny bit of warm fuzzy feelings that, despite Beck being the far more likable and popular one out of the two, everyone seemed more than willing to rally around her . She obviously didn't need it, and the idea of Beck being abusive was near laughable, but the she was always astonished at the sense of community and protective instincts that Hollywood Arts students had for each other. That those instincts extended to someone like her, a gank, the 'Wicked Witch of West Hollywood', pretty much blew her mind.) she wanted nothing more than to go back to the RV, curl up with Beck and hide for the whole weekend.
However fate (also known as the insufferable Tori Vega and tolerable when not on a psychotic sugar rush Cat Valentine) had other ideas, as a few days previously, Cat had somehow managed to convince Jade to let her and Tori come over to her house for a sleepover tonight, before the boys came over the next day.
Tori was almost vibrating with excitement as Beck dropped them off outside a huge iron wrought double gate, as despite them being 'friends' since the spring of Sophomore year (they were now at the start of their senior year), she had never been to Jade's house.
"Calm your tits, Vega. It's just a regular house. Not a gothic manor." She told the girl as she punched in a keycode at a small iron wrought side gate next to the much large double gate for the cars. The gate slowly glided open and the three girls moved through.
"So is this like a gated community? I didn't know there was one this far into Beverly Hills." Tori asked, as they walked up a gravel pathway.
"No silly, this is Jade's house!" Cat chirped, as they rounded a hedged and before them lay a sprawling mansion, that about 8 Vega homes could fit into.
"Woah..." Tori was pretty sure her mouth was wide open and her jaw on the floor. She knew Jade was rich - her clothes despite being alt and gothic were designer (Tori was always sad that Jade's feet were a size or two smaller than her own, as it meant she couldn't borrow some of the admittedly gorgeous designer shoes Jade sometimes wore), and she always had money to spend whenever they were at the mall or out for meals or activities, and would cover other peoples costs without blinking (she was sure Robbie was thankful for that, since he had a habit of coming up short when it came to paying the bill or for entrance fees and the like). But she didn't realise Jade was 'Beverly Hills Mansion' rich.
"Yeah, yeah. My dad's rich. C'mon." Jade shrugged, stalking up the gravel path, followed closely by a skipping Cat and a still-in-awe Tori. As they got closer to the house and walked up the circular driveway, Tori could make out more details - the entrance to the house, with its imposing four columns, was made of gorgeous stained glass. The inside was just as grand as the outside, white marble with sandy pink spidery lines making up the floor of the...entrance hall? It was far too grand to just be a foyer, with it's ceiling two stories above her. A wide set of stairs - the same marble as the floor - were in the centre of the entrance hall, going up to a landing - that had a ridiculously cliche full size photograph of Jade, her father and Tori assumed her stepmother, evidentially taken at the wedding, considering the bridal clothes, with Jade in a dark navy bridesmaids dress that had no straps and went to the floor, with a slit up the side of one leg, before splitting into two and the stairs continuing upwards to the next floor.
"C'Mon. We'll go to the kitchen and get a drink then go to my room." Jade stated, utterly unphased - obviously, since it was her home. But even Cat had quietened down a little to just a soft hum, as if in reverence and respect for the mansion. "Quick tour. This is the first floor. It's got the kitchen, dining hall, lounge, movie room and bar, and a like, small ballroom or whatever. It never gets used. There's a home gym in the basement." Jade explained as they wandered down one hallway and entered a huge open plan kitchen, with one wall just made up of glass doors leading out to a gorgeous back garden with well tended hedges, water features and a swimming pool.
"Remind me why we all hang out at my place when you have a place like this?" Tori asked, her eyes wide as she took in the black granite counter tops of the kitchen and icy white floors and cabinets, the kitchen itself boasting almost every home appliance and kitchen tool in existence.
"Because that would mean the risk of running into my dad. Thankfully he's in..." Jade scoffed, before glancing at the calendar on the side of the fridge, locating the date. "Oh, Phoenix. Rare. Normally he's in Europe at this time of year. So we only need to worry about Julia." Jade wrinkled her nose as she heard a soft 'thud-thud' of someone running up a set of stairs. "Speak of the devil..."
Tori blinked as a gorgeous woman, who must have been in her mid 20s at most, entered the kitchen from a door that she assumed led down to the home gym, considering she was wear a sports bra and lycra leggings and trainers, her blonde hair pulled back into a slightly sweat-damp ponytail.
"Oh! Jade! I didn't expect you home tonight!" She exclaimed with a bright smile, moving to the fridge to pull out a bottle of water. "And Cat! Lovely to see you again!"
"Hi Mrs West!" Cat chirped with a bright smile, and Julia's eyes flickered to Jade for a second.
"Please Cat, you know that I prefer Julia!" She beamed, although she did send a mildly apologetic look to Jade briefly, to which the dark haired teen shrugged.
"This is Tori. Tori, Julia. My stepmom." Jade shrugged, slipping in behind Julia to pull two cans of Peppy Cola and a can of Peppy Cherry Cola, passing the cherry flavoured one to Cat. "They're staying over tonight."
Julia clapped her hands with a bright grin. "Oh fun! Well, I'll make sure not to bother you. And I'll stay clear of the movie room if you want to use it. Your father will notice if any whisky goes missing Jade." Julia gave her step daughter a stern look before it turned a little mischievous. "But the vodka and rum should be fine."
Jade let out a brief laugh and rolled her eyes. "Thanks Julia. I'll keep it in mind. No whisky." She nodded, before handing Tori one can of Peppy Cola. "C'mon Vega. I'll show you to my room."
They made quick work of the stairs up to the second floor, although Tori still looked around in awe, blinking a little when they entered her room and she looked around. It was...well, exactly what she imagined but just much bigger than expected. Dark wall paper with stylised fleur-de-lis, wooden frames holding an impressive collection of butterflies, an entire wall covered in dark wooden bookcases, one of which seemed to hold nothing but scissors, the rest filled with actual books, as intended. There was a matching dark wooden desk with a PearBook on it, along with a vanity that seemed to have hundreds of little boxes on the top around the mirror and too many drawers to count, along with two closed doors, which she assumed were a closet and a bathroom, along with glass double doors peeking out from behind dark red curtains and foils, which led out onto a balcony no doubt. And smack in the middle of the room was a huge king sized four posted bed, also made of dark wood, with a red and black bedspread on it.
"Did your stepmom just give us advice as to what drinks we can sneak?"
"Yeah. She's always doing stuff like that. She wants me to like her so she tries to be 'Cool Stepmom'. I guess it works. I tolerate her more than I do my dad most of the time." She shrugged. "I'll maybe even miss her when she goes."
"...Goes?"
"This is Jade's 5th Stepmom!" Cat chirped, plopping down on the bed and sitting crosslegged.
"Fourth technically, because Stepmomster 4 was kicked to the curb two weeks before the wedding." Jade corrected.
"She was the worst!" Cat shook her head with a pout. "She hit Jadey!"
Tori's eyes widened at Jade, who shrugged. "You make it sound like she abused me Cat. She slapped me once. My dad walked in just as it happened. And he really took exception to that. Hence, the kicking to the curb." She explained with a shrug. "But she was pretty much awful before that."
Tori shook her head a little. She really seemed to know nothing about Jade, or at least her home life. The girl kept her cards so close to her chest it was kind of crazy. But Tori guessed if it was her dad who seemed to change wives the same way some people changed their hair colour, she might be a little guarded instead.
"So for one slap, your dad dumped her so close to the wedding? Wow..."
"My Dad's an asshole, but he's an overprotective asshole. I had to stop him from running Beck over in his car when we had been fighting. Dad saw him crossing the road and I swear to God, he sped up." She shook her head.
"That's...sweet if a little homicidal."
"No. He's just trying to make up for being a useless shitheel for the first 12 years of my life." Jade responded with a frown. "Anyway. Enough about that asshole. What do you guys want to do first? We can order food, go for a swim, watch movies, make a slap video or something..."
"Swim?" Cat suggested, hopping to her feet. "Did you bring a bathing suit Tori?"
"Should we not wait until tomorrow to go swimming, when the boys are here? I don't want to have to wash chlorine out of my hair twice. It makes it all dry and nasty." Tori wrinkled her nose.
"Tori just wants to see Andre in a bathing suit." Jade replied with a smirk, ignoring Tori's protests and denial - she did not see Andre that way, and knew Andre didn't see her like that either, despite their friends teasing. "I don't blame you - the boy has some fine looking arms."
"I can just be friends with a guy you know! Just because me and Andre happen to be different genders doesn't mean we want to date! Like, I don't want to date Robbie or Beck either, but I'm friends with them too!"
Jade gave her a pointed look. "You better not want to date Beck."
"Even if this was some alternate universe where I did want to date him-" Which she knew was kind of a lie because until this morning, she'd still harbored a bit of a crush on the handsome teen. "I don't think I could match up with his...interests." Tori said the last word pointedly, looking at Jade with raised eyebrows.
Jade gave a saucy smile in return. "Well, it's not for everyone."
"How did...I mean..." Tori bit her lip as she struggled to find the words without spontaneously combusting out of sheer embarrassment. "How did you even like...realise you both liked that kind of stuff? I can't even imagine how it must have come up in conversation."
Jade sighed as she flopped down onto her bed, Cat and Tori following her. "Jesus. This is either turning into a very special after school special or it's the set up to a badly staged lesbian porno." She stated, rolling her eyes and Tori flushed red and Cat giggled while twirling her hair. Was she really going to do this? Get into conversation with Cat and Tori of all people about her sex life? She supposed it was only right; they were technically her 'friends' (although referring to Tori as a friend still left a bad taste in her mouth). And if they knew more about it, maybe they wouldn't feel so awkward or worried, because Jade could tell Tori was still a little wigged out about it. Her looks towards Beck today - both shock and distrust, just a teeny bit, proved that she didn't fully get it. So in the interest of not having Beck be thought of as a monster by someone he considered a friend, she figured it was best to tell.
"It's not like we just...started it. Like..." She heaved another sigh again. "We had regular sex at first. Then once we had sex while we were angry because we'd been fighting and he was...rougher than normal." Seeing Tori's wide eyes, she shook her head. "Not that rough. Just...he gripped my hips hard enough to bruise and I bit his shoulder hard. After we...touched on it, discussed it. That we'd both enjoyed it more than normal. And it just...progressed." She rolled onto her stomach, kicking her legs up in the air as she looked at Tori and Cat, both of them looking like they were listening to the most interesting story in the world. Well, she supposed finding out about your friends sex life could be interesting.
"But like...how?" Cat asked curiously, her brown eyes wide.
"Well he held my wrists down. Once I bit him too hard and he slapped his hand over my mouth, but my nose too by accident, so I couldn't breath. He noticed pretty quickly and stopped but...I liked it. So him holding my throat came into play. He doesn't do it hard enough to actually cut off my breathing!" She added quickly, seeing Tori's lips tighten a little. "Just enough to make it like...difficult to get deep breaths of air. I can still breath, it's just harder. He likes it too...my hands aren't as big so I can't really restrict his air a lot but he likes when I dig my nails into his throat as I grip it."
"But...what about the...the slapping." Tori asked in a whisper, chewing her lower lip.
"That...was introduced accidentally." She bit her lip. Did she tell the truth about it or lie? "We were having a huge fight about...well, you actually." Jade sent a smirk towards Tori. "I can't remember what you had done, but it had pissed me off and he was pissed off that I was accusing him of stuff and we were shouting and screaming and throwing things around - I nailed him in the forehead with a charm bracelet actually. He went to storm out of the RV, I followed him and grabbed his arm...he like, jerked his arm away from me but when he did that he accidentally slapped me." She admitted and then, once more rushed to explain herself when Tori looked like she was about to jump up from the bed in shock and anger. "He apologised instantly. I know the whole 'abusive boyfriend' excuse but really, he genuinely didn't mean it. He didn't realise I was so close behind him. He was in tears. But..." She bit her lip a little and shrugged. "I kinda liked it. I didn't tell him that straight away but...later than night, I did. So it slowly came into it too. He didn't like it as much at first, and it's still definitely still more for me than him."
Tori and Cat were quiet for a few moments, Tori thoughtful yet still kind of embarrassed, Cat chewing her hair as if deep in thought but really, she could have just been thinking about jelly beans or something.
"What else do you...I mean..." Tori struggled for words. "I'm sorry, this is just so bizarre to ask but...what other stuff are you guys into?" She must have seen the weirded out and confused look on Jade's face, because she rushed to add. "I'm sorry but...you're...I mean, you're the only girl I really know who's done...stuff like that. Or that I know has even had sex."
"You know Cat." Jade pointed out with a grin at the clueless redhead.
"CAT!?" Tori exclaimed, looking at the girl in question. "You've...you've had..."
Cat nodded with a giggle, still playing with her hair. "Over the summer break!"
"Coming back to that..." Tori blinked, before turning back to Jade. "But I mean...how do you figure out what you like and what he likes? Or what if one of you likes something but the other doesn't..."
"It takes a lot of trust. It took a while even after the rough stuff started for us to feel 100% comfortable talking about other stuff but...at this point, if one of us wants to try something, we discuss it, research it if needed and will try it out. If one person doesn't like it, we don't do it again. Sometimes we make compromises."
"Compromises?" Cat asked curiously, tilting her head.
Jade groaned and buried her face into her duvet cover. "OK. You cannot say this to anyone because I'm pretty sure Beck would literally die of embarrassment, OK? So like, not a freakin' word about it. Not to Robbie or Andre or anyone OK?" She lifted her head up and looked both girls in the eye with deathly seriousness. "If this gets out, I'll know it was one of you and I'll skin you alive, got it?"
Cat let out a high pitched 'Meep' before covering her ears. "I don't wanna hear it! I'm bad at keeping stuff from Robbie and Andre!"
Jade sighed. "Do you want to go play with Tawny while me and Tori talk?"
Cat brightened up immediately and nodded. "Kay kay! I'm going to give her lettuce!" She exclaimed, jumping to her feet and practically tearing out of the room.
"Tawny...?"
"My rabbit. She has a run in the back garden. Cat loves going into the run and playing with her." Jade rolled her eyes.
"I...I won't say anything to anyone." Tori bit her lip.
Jade nodded and rolled her eyes, wondering why the hell she was doing this. "You ever heard of...water sports?"
"Like...water polo or..?"
"No, not water polo!" Jade rolled her eyes. God this was going to be painful. "It's like...pee." She saw Tori's grossed out expression and laughed lightly. "Nothing gross like, drinking it or anything like that! But y'know...we tried it. Both me on him and vice versa. It doesn't do anything for me, but he didn't mind it so..." She shrugged a little, red tinting across her cheekbones. "Sometimes I'll like...leave the RV bathroom door open when I'm going to a pee, if I'm horny and want to get him in the mood. Or if it's a special occasion I'll let him…Uh, 'go' on me but only in the shower, and never on my face or in my hair. Nothing more than that." She tucked her hair behind her ears to give her fluttering hands something to do. "And I mean...I like handcuffs. He doesn't mind them during foreplay, but he doesn't like using them during actual...y'know. Sex. It weirds him out a bit, because he says he can't tell if I'm actually struggling or just being playful when it's handcuffs and not his own hands holding my wrists. So we sometimes use them for foreplay but never during actual sex." That was an easier one to explain.
She could claim she didn't know why she was going into this amount of detail with Tori Vega of all people. Sure, the earlier stuff, about what she'd seen, made sense to explain. But this was getting into different territory. But, deep down she knew the real reason she was going into detail like this with Tori.
Because with just one look at her, there was a word that summed her up to perfection; Innocent. Sure, Cat may seem the most innocent and child like, but that was just for show. Tori Vega was a sweetheart and pretty much made of sugar plums and lace trimmed ankle socks and rhinestone hair barrettes. She was naïve and that was dangerous, especially in Hollywood, where innocence and naïveté were twisted and broken and sold off to the highest bidder. The sob stories plastered on almost every magazine of a Hollywood Starlet who went too far too fast, who crashed and burned and then got discarded. And as much as she pretended she didn't like Tori, that she only tolerated her; she didn't want to see the bright eyed girl chewed up and spat out in the Hollywood Meat Grinder. Tori wasn't the type to get involved in drugs or drinking and parties - too smart and too overprepared by a Policeman father (Trina was the same. The girl was a mess, but never overindulged at parties). But she loved boys and flirting and dating. If there was going to be a Hollywood Stereotypical Vice she fell into, it would be sex. And she was completely unprepared for that temptation.
"How did...you know you were ready to...be with Beck? He was your first right?"
Jade tilted her head to the side and chewed her lip. Beck was always adamant that he was her first, her real first. That what happened before didn't count. She never knew how to view it, not really. But she wasn't going to get into that with Tori after all. Best just to go with what Beck always said. "Yeah. We were each others firsts. And...I don't know. It just seemed the right time. We talked about it, about how we were both out of our depth and had never felt ready for sex before. We didn't do anything more than heavy making out for like...a year. Our first time was actually around October of our Sophomore year, and we'd started dating in the summer before Freshman year. But I knew I loved him, and he loved me so...we decided to go for it." She shrugged a little, sitting up cross legged on the bed and picking at the tab of her Peppy Cola, which made a little metallic 'Ting!' each time she did it.
"It was awkward and messy and we ended up laughing midway through because it was just so ridiculous. But like...that made it easier, you know? Like, it was still just us but...he was inside me." She took a sip of her soda.
"Did you...y'know..." Tori lowered her voice as if they could be overheard - which was ridiculous. Julia wouldn't be snooping and Cat was still out with Tawny - Jade could see her in the large run that had been built in the garden, if she leaned left just enough to see through the foils and curtains of her balcony window. "Did you...'cum'?"
"The first time? No." She shook her head. "Don't believe what movies tell you. I don't think most girls 'cum' their first time, even if the guy knows what he's doing. It's awkward and kind of uncomfortable and kinda hurt a little bit. None of that is exactly, conclusive to orgasms during your first time. But then a few days later we tried it again and...I don't know if he'd been reading up on it or what but it was totally different. That time I was seeing stars. Needless to say, he was pretty proud of himself." She couldn't help grinning as she remembered the stupidly proud grin on Beck's face after they'd finished and the fact he made her cum twice had hit him, on their second time. Of course over the years he'd upped that number to a minimum of 4 times at the very least, and that was only when it was sloppy drunken sex or lazy morning sex. She pulled herself away from those memories and looked at Tori curiously. "Why all the questions about sex though?"
"I...I dunno. I mean...I'm a senior now. I'm turning 18 soon enough and going to college...part of me thinks that maybe I should be ready for sex."
Jade's perfectly waxed eyebrows raised a little as she tilted her head curiously. "Yeah but...are you ready for sex? Not just do you 'think you should be' ready."
Tori shrugged a little, picking at a loose thread on the bedspread. "I don't know..."
Jade sighed and pushed herself to her feet, moving over to the balcony and opening the doors, sticking her head out. "CAT! Come back in now!" She called, and Tori heard the faint reply of 'Kay kay!'. Jade moved back into the room and sat back on her bed. "For a different perspective. Plus, if Cat finds out we talked about this stuff without her, you know she'll just pout." Tori let out a small laugh at that, knowing it was all too true.
They waited a few moments, before a faux-redheaded missile burst into the room and launched onto the bed, her tiny body landing on it hard, causing the two girls already on the bed to bounce a little. "Tawny is so cute Jade! I love her so much!"
"I know Cat, I know." She rolled her eyes and patted the little redheads shoulder. "But Tori wants to talk about something serious, so we thought it'd be good to speak with you too. For more perspectives on it."
"You want my advice about something?" Cat chirped wide eyed, looking from Jade to Tori; Cat was rarely sought out just for her advice. Normally it was because she was part of a group that was asked, or she just happened to be present when someone asked a question.
"Tori is curious about sex. So I thought it'd be useful for her to get two takes on it; one from me, who's in a long term relationship since before high school even started-" Although she didn't like to count the 9 months apart in Junior year. "And one from you, who wasn't in a relationship but with someone you trusted."
"It wasn't like...a summer boyfriend?" Tori asked, eyes wide. She'd assumed it had been a summer love (Tori had spent most of the summer in Puerto Rico, with her dads family, thus wasn't exactly up to scratch on the summer gossip yet.) with a sweet boy who had fallen hard and fast for Cat.
"Nope! It was Andre!" Cat chirped, as if it was no big deal to announce that she had lost her virginity to one of their best friends.
"WHAT?! I mean...I didn't even think you guys liked each other like that?! I thought Andre was still in love with Ja-" Tori cut herself off with wide eyes and a frantic glance at Jade, who thankfully seemed oblivious to her slip up. "Janey Bell, that girl from the Junior end of year party!"
"Well..." Cat shrugged, and now she appeared a little shy. "We were hanging out a lot over the summer, just us; 'cuz, yanno, Jade and Beck went to New York with his parents and then to St Moritz with her dad and Julia, you were in Puerto Rico...and Robbie was in Phoenix most of the summer seeing his grandparents so...we hung out alone a lot. And I...well..." She chewed her lip. "I know I'm kind of an easy target, yanno? Because I get distracted easily and believe lots of things people tell me. And I was at a party with Andre and this guy from Northridge was all...pushy with me and Andre came and got rid of him. Then, the next day I was thinking...well, what if that happens again and Andre's not there? What if no one's there." Cat twisted her lips unhappily, as she looked down at her thin little fingers.
"So...I thought...that it would be better if my first time was with someone I trusted. And liked. And with someone who knew what they were doing. Robbie has no clue how to kiss, so he'd make it awkward. And Beck well...he's Jades." Cat shrugged and then giggled. "And I like Andre. And I've heard his ex's talk before and they never had anything bad to say about him so...I asked him to...y'know. Be my first. He freaked a little but understood that...I wouldn't want my first time to be rough or forced..." She shuddered here. "Or just a one night stand or something...so after we talked about it lots, he agreed. And it was fun once the soreness and awkwardness had gone away!" She chewed her lip and looked at Tori with wide eyes. "I'm sorry Tori...do you hate me? I know you like him lots-"
"Woah Cat!" Tori waved her arms, putting them up in a 'X' motion across her face. "Firstly. I could never hate you. I was just...shocked. And secondly, seriously. I am not interested in Andre! I love him to bits, but he's more like...like a cousin or something. He's my best friend but I just don't see him romantically." Everyone seemed convinced that her and Andre were some cliche Hallmark movie couple who'd finally get together at the end, but honestly, she couldn't even imagine kissing him outside of a play or scene. They'd once had to kiss during a game of Spin The Bottle and it had been the most awkward kiss of her life; hell, when she'd had to kiss Jade in the same game, it was less awkward (that may be because Jade was actually a really good kisser)!
"So...you're thinking of...doing it too?" Cat asked curiously, chewing her lower lip.
"I'm not sure...it's not like I think about it a lot but...I don't want to have my first time be forced or with some gross asshole frat boy in college, y'know?"
"But it wouldn't be like that for you Tori!" Cat promised with a sweet grin. "You're not like me - you're too smart! You wouldn't be talked into it unless you wanted too."
"Cat, you're smart too." Jade scolded lightly.
"I know! But Tori's less...me-like!" She giggled twirling her hair.
"I think what Cat was trying to say, was that you shouldn't do it for the same reasons as she did. You're different people and have different personalities. If you're not 100% ready for sex, don't do it." Jade shrugged, as she had done a lot of during this conversation. "You shouldn't just lose your virginity because you feel like that's what you're meant to do. I couldn't do what Cat did."
"Really?" Cat looked at Jade with wide eyes. "Does that mean I'm braver?!"
Jade looked at Cat a little quizzically. "I...guess? In this one scenario, sure Cat." At that, Cat squeeled happily and clapped her hands together. "But seriously Tori. Don't do it until you're 100% ready. And if you think you need to be in love with a guy for that, then that's fine. It's what I would have done, but I found the guy I love when I was 14. Hell, waiting until marriage is a thing for a reason." She paused. "I couldn't do it - I mean, imagine waiting until you're married and plan to spend the rest of your life with them...then realise they have no skill in bed. Or there's no like...passion." She shuddered a little.
"I don't think I'd want to wait until marriage either but...I just feel like there's so much pressure to just...do it."
"Pressure? From what?" Jade asked, raising her eyebrows. "Like...from a guy? Or in general?"
"In general - no one is like, literally pressuring me." Tori assured her dark hair...friend? They were discussing sex, and Jade had divulged some pretty personal things, so she was pretty sure they were genuinely classified as friends at this point, but Jade switched back and forth between admitting she was friends with Tori and vehemently denying it on a near daily basis. But she saw her hands tense and her eyes narrow just a tiny bit, which made Tori feel a burst of affection for the girl; Jade would no doubt hunt down any boy who tried to pressure one of her friends. "But...like magazines and TV shows all seem to make sex out to be like...the best thing ever, and that a guy won't date you if you don't sleep with him. And that all teenagers should be doing it!"
"That's all bullshit. If you're ready, you're ready. If you're not, you're not."
"Yeah! I was ready but didn't want to risk it being bad and hating it! But if you're not ready, that's fine too!" Cat chimed in, with a bright smile that didn't seem to match the rather mature advice she gave.
"TV Shows are designed to be dramatic and shocking. That's why they have teenagers fucking like rabbits or drinking like fish every single episode. It's more shock factor for the parents of the audience, rather than the people actually watching. Made up by a bunch of middle aged men who think that's what all teenagers do, because it's what they thought the cool kids were doing when they were growing up. But there's always drama or whatever with it too. Like, non-stop pregnancy scares or STI's or rumours or whatever." Jade shook her head.
"Have you guys ever had...yanno...pregnancy scares or anything?"
"I've only done it three times...and never had anything like that." Cat said, with a bright grin on her face. "Andre was super careful anyway. He used protection AND made sure to not...yanno...finish.." She almost whispered the word for whatever reason. "Inside, even though he had the thingy on."
"It's called a condom Cat. Not a 'Thingy'." Jade lightly scolded with a roll of her eyes. "If you're mature enough to need one, then you're old enough to use the word."
Cat only giggled behind her hand in response.
"I have...once." Jade wrinkled her nose as she remembered the horrific week. "Remember when Beck was in Canada and I was...extra mean, in Junior year?"
"You mean...the time you had me donate so much blood that I almost passed out and couldn't perform and then when you tried to ruin Prome?"
Jade smirked a little. "Yeah. Well, I was due my period two days after Beck left for Canada. It didn't come. I was freaking out and couldn't even talk to Beck as his PearPhone has like, the worst reception when he's off in the land of lumberjacks and maple syrup. So I bullied Andre into coming to the drug store with me. Got a test. Made him sit in my bedroom as I went and used it." She shuddered a little at the memory. "It was positive. I freaked out."
"You were pregnant?!" Tori exclaimed and Jade shoved her hard.
"Shut up Tori! God, Julia may not lurk around this floor but you're loud enough for the maids to hear you!" She snapped. "And let me finish my story before you interrupt. Anyway. It was positive. Poor Andre had no clue what to say or do or anything. And I couldn't reach Beck. Hence why I went a little...crazy about Steamboat Suzie and Prome. Although it was still a dick move for you to throw your stupid Prome on the same day I had the stage booked, you gank." She pouted a little, remembering how unfair the whole situation was; although it wasn't really Tori's fault. It was the stupid faculty who decided to erase her weeks-in-advance booking for Tori's stupid little Prome.
"I said I was sorry! I didn't realise!"
"Doesn't matter, still don't accept the apology." She stuck her tongue out playfully. "Anyway. I was freaking out, Andre was the only one I could talk to about it because...well, no offense Cat but you would have freaked me out even more."
"I would...most likely not have been much help. You're right." Cat agreed with a nod and wide eyes.
"Anyway. Beck comes back. I go to his RV and just...tell him. We both spend a good hour freaking the hell out about it. Then we made a doctors appointment and...well, turned out all the worrying was for nothing." She let out a light laugh. "The home test was a false positive. I was just late because of stress and not eating properly. But safe to say, it freaked us out enough. I mean, we hadn't exactly been lax about birth control, and always tried to use condoms but sometimes when we were super horny or drunk, we'd forget. So I decided to get the implant." She lifted up her arm and pointed to a tiny little bump in the inside of her bicep. "And since then, no need for condoms and we've never had another scare, thank God." She shuddered and patted her flat stomach.
"So he...finishes inside you?" Tori asked, tilting her head to the side.
"I mean...about 40% of the time, yeah." She shrugged.
"Isn't that really...messy?" Cat wrinkled her nose a little.
"Ugh, yes! It's so messy! Like, that's the one thing I miss about condoms - it's so much better without them, but I can't just like...pass out and sleep once we're done, otherwise I wake up feeling all gross and nasty and sticky. I have to nip to the bathroom to clean up, which is never fun on wobbly legs."
"What about the other 60% of the time? You said he only finishes inside 40%?" Tori wondered, blinking a little.
"Oh, most of the time he finishes in my mouth or on my tits, face or my back, depending on the position." She grinned a little. "I prefer that. It's super hot. And surprisingly good for the skin! Why do you think I never get zits or pimples." She wiggled her eyebrows and it caused Tori to burst into unexpected and shocked laughter, along with Cat joining in with her usual 'Haaah haaah haaaaaaaah!'.
"You should market it. You could make a fortune." Tori teased with a half grin.
"What? Sell a moisturiser made out of my boyfriend's spunk?" Jade laughed. "I don't think he'd go for that. And imagine the dehydration the poor boy would suffer. Also?" She raised her eyebrows. "I would not put it past desperate skanks to try to knock themselves up with it." She rolled her eyes. She both loved and hated how popular her boyfriend was. She loved it because he could have any girl in the school, hell, in the state and he loved her. But she hated it because girls were constantly hitting on him, flirting with him and panting over him, acting as if they had a chance with him. He was a bit better now than he used to be, and actually made sure to point out he had a girlfriend early on in the flirtations, but when did that ever stop thirsty skanks?
"His fangirls are scary." Cat's eyes widened. "Once, they tried to bribe me to tell them his favourite band. And when I said no, they started getting really pushy. But then Robbie came and dragged me away before they could pounce!"
"I don't get it. Why girls all seem to go crazy over one boy..." Tori shook her head a little. "Don't get me wrong, Beck's...well, he's Beck. He's totally gorgeous. But also obviously unavailable." She motioned to Jade, who acknowledge her ownership of Beck by raising her can of cola. "Why do they turn into rabid dogs?"
"Because they're dumb skanks who's bra size is larger than their IQ's." Jade supplied with a shrug. "Although I have considered that he's actually maybe a mutant, like in those comic books? And his mutant power is like, emitting pheromones or something that makes girls go into heat around him. The only hold out I've ever really seen has been Cat." Both Tori and Jade turned to look at the girl in question...who was currently laughing as she tickled her own chin with strands of dyed red hair. She blinked innocently at them.
"Whaty?"
"We were just saying you're the only girl we've ever seen not y'know...hit on Beck." Because Tori could admit now, that yes; When she'd first come to the school and even a few times over the course of her time at Hollywood Arts so far, she had flirted with the boy.
Cat let out a high pitched laugh. "Ewwww why would I do that? He's like a brother!" She wrinkled her nose a little. "Plus, Jade called dibs the first time either of us saw him."
"I did not!" Jade squawked. "I poured coffee on him!"
"That's your way to call dibs."
"And here I thought I was special to you Jade!" Tori gasped, clutching at her chest dramatically, happy she could now joke about what had to be one of the most embarrassing moments in her high school life - although it was joined by a fair few other moments now. "Hang on...if Jade pouring coffee on someone is calling dibs...do you have something to tell me, Jade?" Tori looked at the girl with both eyebrows raised, a grin twisting playfully at her lips.
"Oh yeah Vega. Your skinny little chicken legs and flat chest really get my engine going." She stated bluntly, rolling her eyes.
"I'm not flat chested! I'm a B cup!"
Both Cat and Jade laughed at that. "Which is essentially, flat chested." Jade sniped, a smirk on her lips. "Even tiny Cat is a C-Cup and I'm-"
"Yeah yeah, I know. D-Cup. 8th Grade." The skinny brunette rolled her eyes.
"Well, a DD now, to be fair. I kept growing a bit." She smirked more. "But I've had no complaints."
"Yeah yeah. Well at least I can go running without the risk of giving myself a black eye!" Tori snapped back playfully. "I've seen you in gym class - two sports bras just to strap them down."
Jade narrowed her eyes a little. "Touché, Vega. Skipping over the fact you've stared at me changing enough to know about my two-sports bra trick." She wriggled her eyebrows and Tori promptly flushed neon red. Jade had always had a sneaking suspicion that Tori was, perhaps, not 100% straight. She had no problem with it though, and it wasn't her place to try to out the girl. So instead, she made playful comments in the hopes that Tori would realise that it wasn't a big deal and none of the gang would care about her not being heterosexual.
"Don't worry Jade. I'll keep your secret and eternally burning love for me from Beck. Wouldn't want him to get jealous." The Latina teased and Jade rolled her eyes. Points to Tori for being so sassy though.
"How can I ever thank you for being so noble." She sneered, shoving Tori hard - hard enough that she went rolling off the bed and landed with a thud on the fluffy carpet. This, of course, caused both Jade and Cat to burst into laughter (although one of the laughs was a lot higher pitched than the other).
"Stop pushing me off of things!"
"Stop being so pushable then!"
End Notes: I tried really hard with Tori in this chapter - because I feel she's going through what a lot of girls at her age, or even older or younger than her, go through; I know I did when I was her age. Luckily I, like Tori, had never been pressured by a boyfriend or a guy but I still felt the pressure to have sex when I wasn't ready due to TV shows, movies, books and magazines.
I also do believe that Tori is bisexual, or at least bicurious and just hasn't fully admitted it to herself or the others. Jade too, although (in my mind) she's aware she's at least bicurious, but has never explored it due to being in a long term relationship with Beck from a young age, and is perfectly happy with that.
Also, no hate on Cat or Andre. I think Cat would look at it a little pragmatically. I also think, with the way her personality is, that if she had sex and it was a bad experience, it would put her off it for life or give her a slight phobia of it. And if she realised that too, it would make sense for her to take the matter of her virginity into her own hands; with someone she trusted fully and knew wouldn't make her feel bad about it or spread it around after.