From that day on, the two girls were near inseparable and became close friends over several weeks. They did not have many classes together but during the few that they did, Jade made it a point to sit next to Tori to help ease her anxieties by sitting close by and offering to help her and offer any assistance she could possibly need. Part of her did not know why she was so enticed by this new girl but there was something about her that Jade liked and couldn't quite place. Maybe it was the fact that Tori wasn't afraid of the darker things in life and was willing to talk to Jade about them, while other students would just think she's strange or demented in some way. Or maybe it was the fact that Jade felt the need to protect her, like a sister she never had and was filling some void she didn't know was in her life. Another reason that Jade thought of, that stuck out to her the most, was that Tori was not afraid to push back against her. Jade has always been a more vocal and violent kid compared to her peers due to her toxic home life but where most students and some teachers would just avoid her to write her off as troubled, Tori fought and pushed back, despite her quiet and timid nature. The pale-skinned girl took pride in the knowledge that she got to see this version of Tori that nobody else got to see. A version that was lovable and sweet but strong and calculating, always thinking ahead or trying to find a solution to a problem that would make everyone happy yet not afraid to stand up for what she thought was right. This was the version of Tori Vega that Jade quickly became best friends with.

Through their conversations in the lunchroom and the hallways after school as they waited to be picked up, Jade learned from Tori that English was her fourth language. She admitted with a shy smile that she was still struggling with it and was working on it in her free time at home with her family so she could avoid embarrassing herself in class as she had once or twice already. Her first language was Spanish but her mother taught their family Irish since she was from Ireland originally. Those lessons ended up paying off for the Vega family when they moved to Northern Ireland. While there, Tori managed to learn a fair bit of Gaelic and her mother helped her learn the rest, with the help of some kind Scottish teachers who took a liking to Tori's inquisitive mind. Since Tori still struggled with English, Jade offered to teach Tori in her free time since she was placed in an accelerated writing course, but in exchange for Spanish lessons from Tori.

As the fates would have it, they gave the new friends one final gift before laying the seeds of their curse. By some luck, it turned out that the two of them lived in the same neighborhood with only a couple of blocks between the two of them. Jade was quick to point out that she could cut through the backyards of several houses and cut that time in half which made Tori laugh. From then on, the two spent most of their free time together and were constantly visiting one another and staying the night at each other's homes on the weekends. Jade made it a point to visit Tori any time she called her and would sneak over under the cover of night by crossing through the backyards and climb up a tree that grew outside of Tori's bedroom window. It was always left unlocked for her and she would slip inside and join her friend on the bed and hold her if she had a bad dream or if she needed someone to talk to and soon enough when Jade's family started to fall apart due to her parent's divorce, she found their positions reversed as she'd escape her home and come to Tori for support.

Their bond was strong but waned as the years passed and they went from elementary school and transitioned to different middle schools and then to different high schools as well. The two girls found themselves spending far less time together as they focused on their individual goals, until one day, the messages ceased entirely. Jade became focused and driven to become a famous writer and director while Tori wallowed behind in her ambition and drifted from subject to subject, trying to find something that called to her as strongly as the pen did for Jade.

In her free time, she spent her time reading and learning everything there was to know but eventually was drawn to music. Mainly because Trina kept roping her into her rehearsals and practices at home once she was accepted into Hollywood Arts while Tori attended Sherwood. Through Trina's weak attempts at music, Tori found she had a gift for singing and started to teach herself both piano and guitar through videos online and several instructional manuals she collected from bookstores around the city. She never performed and chose to play for herself in her room or at small events like church services or small parties if she was asked, but never on stage.

That was until the fateful day at a very special showcase event at Hollywood Arts. Trina had a bit of mishap with a new type of herbal remedy she picked up online that left her unable to perform and through happenstance, Tori was encouraged to take her place in the show. She was put into a shiny outfit that felt far too tight and had her glasses removed and her hair done in a way that made her feel uncomfortable and thrust onto a stage she had no want to be on. But…when the music started, she felt something come to life and she performed for the first time and blew everyone away. The next thing she knew, she was accepting an invitation to leave Sherwood and join Hollywood Arts and starting the next week!

Things were looking up for Tori as she felt a call to perform but on her first day, but then things went from bad to worse as she stumbled over her words, her glasses cracked as they fell to the floor as she tripped going down the stairs and to make the day go from bad to absolutely terrible, she was bullied by her old best friend. She could recall the moment she saw Jade again after three years and almost ran up to hug her but was pushed back into her shell as Jade stormed towards her and berated her for touching the boy that Tori had knocked coffee onto. She wanted to speak and ask why Jade was being so mean but her heart broke as Jade took a cup of ice coffee and dumped it on her head.

From then on, Tori resigned herself to what was known as a "Shrugger" at Hollywood Arts, a student that attended and completed assignments but did nothing to stick out of the crowd, only shrugging and nodding to get through to the next thing. She still sang in the choir at school and took several music courses and writing courses, but never tried for a solo or performed in a showcase by herself, she only ever did backups for the more popular students that adored the attention.

Yet, what perplexed her and infuriated her to no end was that almost every other night, she would find Jade in her room, waiting for her as if nothing had happened. It was then that Tori felt betrayed and used but could not find it in herself to stand up and speak her mind. She was just Jade's secret friend. Someone she could talk to when no one else was around when it wouldn't hurt the image, she had built up at Hollywood Arts, someone who would help her with her problems yet receives no thanks in the end for her efforts. Those years came and went for Jade, yet for Tori, they dragged on for what felt like an eternity. When graduation came, she took her shot and got accepted to the California Institute of the Arts and went on to have a double major in music and writing with minors in guitar and piano while Jade went to UCLA to study film and directing.

It wasn't until the summer before their senior year of college, that their paths crossed once again.

Tori, ever diligent in her studies was busy getting a head start on her work for the coming semester, despite it being June. She sat at the check-out desk of the popular bookstore, Fact and Fiction, a newer addition to the city but one that was well received and had become fairly popular in recent years due to its location and its fun design. The building itself was a part of an old office building that was closed down during the recession, the newest owners jumped at the opportunity and took out some loans and renovated the five-story building and put in a rooftop garden café that overlooked the surrounding area and offered loyal customers a place to relax and read. The other four stories were loaded with books from every genre and were organized so that fiction was on one side of the building, decorated in bright colors that flowed and melded against the other side of the building which looked like a higher-end library you may see in an old university. Currently, the two owners, a lovely married couple, were off in Utah visiting family and had entrusted the operations to be handled by their manager and Tori who had been one of the first people hired when the store opened.

Currently, she was the only one in the store since they weren't officially open yet since it was one of their late days and Tori wanted to use the quiet atmosphere to get a jump on writing out her schedule. She sat there at the front desk, tucked off to the side with the store computer and security system on a separate console tucked underneath the desk and out of a customer's view and shuffled through a stack of papers and her phone as she wrote out her coming plans in a daily planner. With the store being owned locally instead of by a corporation, Tori was able to wear what she wanted. Today, her long brown hair was up in a messy bun with strands hanging down and framing her glasses, she wore no makeup and had on a faded t-shirt, underneath a CALARTS hoodie and a pair of jeans, and some worn-out sneakers. This was her typical attire, faded or old clothing paired with little to no make and no accessories to speak of. As she sat there and wrote out more of her schedule, the alarm on her phone went off, signaling it was time for the store to open.

She pushed her office chair over to the security console and checked the cameras and saw the first batch of employees walking inside through the back parking lot and smiled before switching to the electronic lock system and opened the front doors so that customers could start coming in. Over the next thirty minutes, she and her coworkers met up on the first floor at Tori's desk and chatted about the plan for the shift and had some coffee that someone had brewed from the breakroom's coffee machine before they all dispersed and scattered amongst the various floors and the café, leaving Tori alone once again.

As the timid girl waved off her coworkers and picked up her walkie-talkie and kept it close by in case they needed her, she heard the musical chime of the front doors and glanced up and saw out of the corner of her eye and saw three figures and said, "Hello, welcome to Fact and Fiction. If you need anything, just let me or someone else know and we'll see what we can do to help."

She could hear them grumble a response and stray away from the desk and off to the various shelving units but one pair of footsteps seemed to drift closer towards her desk which caused Tori to look up and muster up the best customer service smile she could give. "Hi, did you…need something?"

As she spoke, it felt as if the world went into slow motion as she locked eyes with a beautiful pair of deep emerald eyes that drew her into a trance. Her face was rather slender with a splattering of freckles across her nose, a pointed chin, and a pair of dimples on her cheeks as she smiled back at Tori will full plump lips. Her hair was long and curly in fiery red hues as it stretches down to her waist and hung over her shoulders, framing her slender body. She wore a black tank top that showed off her assortment of tattoos across her arms and shoulders and a green flannel button-up shirt tied around her waist. Her jeans were torn and scuffed in various places and she had a pair of ankle boots that seemed to have some hand-painted decals on the sides. Her voice, oh her voice was rich and warm, a little lower in tone compared to most girls but it was so inviting and was complimented by her Irish accent that Tori picked up on immediately as she said, "Hey, there. Sorry to bug ya, but I was wondering what floor I'd find newer releases."

Tori shook her head for a moment, trying to compose herself, and slid her chair over to the computer and said, "Oh yeah, if you don't mind me asking, what kind of releases are you looking for?"

As Tori spoke, she allowed her accent to creep back into her voice, seeing if her assumptions about this mystery girl were correct. Having lived in the U.S. for so long now, she was able to shake a lot of her old speaking habits but thankfully, through her time as HA and practice at home, she found a way to turn it on and off naturally. The girl raised one of her eyebrows with a curious smile curling at the corner of her lips as she leaned forward, placing her hands on the desk and said, "Táim ag lorg leabhair rúndiamhair."

Without skipping a beat, Tori looked at her with a soft smile and said, "Ba mhaith leat an tríú hurlár. Taobh na láimhe clé feadh an bhalla nó sa taispeáint lár."

With each word that passed from Tori's lips, the smile on the girl's face grew wider and brighter as she laughed and slapped a hand down on the desk and said, "No way! How do you know Irish?! That's so cool! I've lived here for years and haven't met anyone that knows it aside from some basic shit."

"I lived there for a while," Tori said as she giggled at how excited her new acquitance was getting, "I know Spanish and Gaelic too. Mom is Irish and Dad was Spanish so we moved around a lot and we learned it as we went."

"That's incredible! I don't know too much Gaelic myself, just enough to get by and have some light conversation," She leaned back in, crossing her arms on the counter as she looked at Tori and said, "So what's your name, mo stór?"

Tori smiled as she fixed one of the loose strands of hair and tucked it behind her ear and said, "It's Tori, Tori Vega. What's your name?"

"Sile Walsh," She stuck her hand out for Tori to shake and said, "Think I could get your number, Tori Vega?"

The two shook hands and Tori looked at Sile and said, "Want me to write it down for you? Or should I just put it in your phone for you?"

Sile reached into her back pocket and pulled out her phone and handed it over to Tori and said, "So what do you play?"

"Hm?" Tori mumbled as she glanced up at Sile as she typed in her name and phone number, confused by the question.

The lively woman held up her hand and pointed to the various calluses adorning the fingertips and took Tori's free hand and looked at them and said, "You've got calluses all over your fingertips like me, so what's your instrument?"

Tori looked and shyly withdrew her hand from Sile's grasp and said, "Oh, I play guitar and piano. I don't do it too often though, just for myself."

"Ah! Nice! I play a little guitar but I usually play violin in my band," Sile said as she kept leaning on the counter, resting her hand under her chin as she studied Tori with a very intrigued look in her eyes, "So you don't do anything professionally? Just enough for yourself and school?"

Tori glanced at her hoodie and back to Sile as she handed her the phone back and lied by saying, "No, I've been too busy working and focusing on some personal things."

Sile didn't seem to buy that as she smirked a little bit and said, "Right…well how about you and I meet up when you get off work and get a round—"

"Sile! Let's get going, they pushed up the call time!" A familiar voice said from down one of the aisles.

Coming from the center walkway, wearing a pair of dark combat boots, black tights with a flowing back skirt, a tight green top that showed off an impressive amount of cleavage, and a dark leather jacket with a coffee in one hand and annoyed glare adoring her porcelain skin was Jade West. Tori recognized the girl following behind her as her official best friend, Cat Valentine. As usual, she was adorned in bright pastels, and her hair was a vibrant neon red as it had been in high school. She was too busy looking at her phone and walked past the desk to the door and waited outside as Sile looked back over at Jade and said, "Give me a minute, I'll meet you in the car."

"No, now," Jade said as she approached the desk, "you can flirt with the check-out girl another day, we have to get you to the audition and—Vega?"

Tori's heart felt like it was ready to burst from its chest as she had attempted to get away before being noticed but froze in place as she turned back towards Jade who was looking at her with a perplexed yet intrigued look in her eyes as Sile glanced between the two of them and said, "You two know each other?"

"Yeah, we—"

"We had some classes together in high school," Tori found herself quickly saying. "Nice to see you Jade, and Sile, it was nice meeting you, I have to go and do some work. Have a good day."

Before Sile could stop her, Tori pushed back from the desk and stood up, and briskly walked away and over to a door that led to one of the employee rooms and leaned up against the wall as the door started to close behind her. She brought her hand to her chest, willing her heart to slow itself, and heard the voices of the two women fading as they walked away.

"Thanks for that Jade, do you have to interrupt me every time I try to get a date?" Sile said in an annoyed tone of voice.

Tori pictured Jade rolling her eyes as she walked away and could hear her say, "Relax, you aren't missing out on much with her. Besides, we have more important things to worry about."

The door to the employee room closed with a loud thud as Tori sank into a chair at one of the tables and ran her hands through her hair as she tried to calm down and ignore Jade's comment. For the last few years, she had managed to be free of her and forget about the friendship they used to share that Jade twisted and turned into a one-sided relationship. Using Tori and talking to her only when she needed her help with something, never giving her thanks or praise for her assistance while out in public, if she was seen with her, she would belittle and pick on her like most of the other people and toss her aside as if she was nothing. College was the escape, the opportunity she needed to finally break free of Jade and she took it and ran, never looking back.

Her phone went off in her pocket and Tori's heart sunk a little further as she pulled it out and opened it to find one new message.

Jade: Call me later. We need to talk.

Author's Notes:

Here we go with the second chapter and a bit of a time skip into the future for the leads. Tori became a Shrugger and Jade stayed with the main cast but seemed to keep Tori at arm's reach, out of sight of the popular people but still close enough that Tori was still around. A different dynamic, I know, but it'll pay off in the end.

As you can see, I'm dipping far more into the fact that Tori is half-Latina and half-Irish. I can't remember if that was cannon in the show, but I may have read it in another story and I just really liked it so it became my own head cannon and now she has a new person to interact with who actually knows a fair bit about the culture. Fun fact, Sile (shee-la) is the Irish version of the Latin name Cecillia, the patron saint of music and implies 'pure and musical.'

Feel free to leave a review of what you think so far and again, I'm sorry if my translations are wrong, I tried my best with them but if they are incorrect, just let me know and I'll fix them!

Táim ag lorg leabhair rúndiamhair. = I'm looking for mystery books.

Ba mhaith leat an tríú hurlár. Taobh na láimhe clé feadh an bhalla nó an taispeántais lár. = You'd want the third floor. Left hand side along the wall or in the middle display.

mo stór = my dear

Songs Used for Inspiration:

1. ?

2. ?

3. "Happier" by Marshmello ft. Bastille