Contagious Chemistry Pt. 2
Monday February 6th, 2010
A few moments before Beck arrived
"So, why did you want to know if I could sing?" Tori K asked, they were sat on the bed in Faith spare bedroom.
Jade's instinctive answer was to tell the other girl to "stop talking." then pull her in and kiss her.
Jade's honest answer to that would've been that Tori could sing and hit notes that left her marveled after every performance. And if Tori could hit those notes while singing, Jade could only imagine what she sounded like when brought to the edge of bliss.
The answer Jade gave was, "I just wanted to know if you'll sound good when I make you cum or not."
Tori K gave Jade a look that said she wanted to rip her clothes off right then and there. Who was Jade to object to that?
They were heavy duty making out when Jade got a phone call, she grunted her displeasure at the interruption but didn't pry her lips from the other girl's till she'd successfully fished her phone out of her pocket.
"Mm-uuh?" Jade answered incoherently, finally pulling away from Tori K.
"...Jade?" Beck's familiar voice responded, sounding confused and a bit amused despite having called her at least twenty times previously.
"What?" She snapped in irritation, not in the mood for his shit in the slightest in that moment.
"I was just wondering where you went, you disappeared after lunch. The gang and I are headed to the movies now, where are you at so I can come get you?" The long-haired boy responded casually, unphased by his girlfriend's attitude.
Jade doesn't know why she does it, telling him her whereabouts would be a recipe for disaster and a monumentally stupid mistake. Maybe it's the weed and vodka, making her decisions impaired. Or maybe she just really wanted to get back to making out with Tori K.
But she complies, and tells him she's at Faith's. Then hangs up immediately and eagerly reattaches her lips to Tori K's.
Present
Jade's brown flannel and jeans had been tossed somewhere across the room— she wasn't too worried about them at the moment, she'd find them later — one of Tori K's hands were knotted in her hair while the other squeezed Jade's breast, and the blonde's mouth was busy sucking a bruise onto her collar bone.
She kept flicking her tongue over the red marks she'd leave, the sensation leaving Jade dizzy with want.
Jade's thigh was wedged in between the other girl's legs as they ground furiously against each other in steady rhythm. The blonde kept making desperate little whimpers and if Jade kept her eyes closed, she could pretend that this was her Tori, and that turned her on even more.
"Fuuck, Tori!" Jade shouted, head thrown back as she moaned gutturally. She stopped thrusting, her hips and whole body shaking as her orgasm rocked through her.
She was so caught up in her pleasure that she hadn't even noticed the door open or that somebody was standing in the doorway.
But Tori K did.
The other girl practically shoved Jade away from her, in order to cover her own nudity.
"What the fuck?! Get out, you perv!" The blonde shrieked, glaring at the figure in the doorway.
Jade grunted as she fell back on the bed, blindly grabbing for cover as well. She found purchase of a rumpled sheet and shielded it against her body, turning around to rip a new asshole into whoever just walked in on her.
Only for the air to leave her lungs at the sight of her boyfriend standing in the doorway.
"Be...Beck? What-" Jade sputtered, eyes cutting guiltily toward her bed partner before returning to her frozen boyfriend.
"What're you doing here?" Jade murmured in confusion, the words just barely making it past her lips. The phone call from earlier completely forgotten.
Beck blinked slowly at the acknowledgment, his eyes moving between the two in mute shock. He closed his gaping mouth to clench his jaw and sneer at her.
He doesn't answer her as his eyes dropped to the floor, searching for her clothes that were mixed in a pile with Tori K's near the door. He roughly rifled through the pile until he found what he was looking for and tossed them at her.
Jade didn't even have time to put her hands up to catch them, resulting in her entire outfit smacking her dead in the face. She gave her boyfriend a peeved look after pulling the offending objects off her head.
"Get dressed, I'm taking you home. Now." He finally spoke, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back against the doorframe. His eyes never left Jade, glaring daggers the entire time she dressed herself.
Tori K looked between the two of them, her face turning even more sour as she realized Beck wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. She clutched the blanket more firmly against her chest.
"You're straight?" The blonde spat at Jade, who ignored her in favor of buttoning the last button on her flannel.
Beck didn't even give the raven-haired girl time to fully get out of bed before he grabbed her by the arm and started dragging her out of the room.
"Hey! Watch how you-"
"Don't. You don't get to say anything to me right now, Jade." Beck cut off her protest immediately, and Jade snapped her mouth shut and glared right back at him.
They passed Faith and Buffy on the way out, who both mouthed their apologies to Jade, looking completely guilt stricken.
Jade didn't blame them for this though, she knew it was all on her.
The car ride to Beck's RV was tense and silent, Beck didn't talk and he seemed like he didn't want Jade to speak either. So, all Jade could do was stare out the window and hope that they'd get back to his place quickly.
She hadn't planned on explaining herself or justifying her actions, she knew what she did was wrong. She just couldn't find it in herself to care at the moment. In fact, she was more upset about being interrupted from giving that girl the best orgasm of her life, than she was at the possibility that she might have hurt Beck's feelings.
Thirty-three minutes of suffocating awkwardness, Beck's truck pulled into the Oliver's driveway. Jade didn't even wait for him to fully park before she hopped out of the car and power walked to the RV, throwing open the door and going inside without even a glance back at her boyfriend.
She dropped onto the couch with her arms crossed over her chest and stared at the decorations on the walls, bracing herself for the argument that's to come.
Beck walked in a minute later, irritation and anger all over his face as he closed the door behind himself, leaning back against it while staring Jade down.
"How many times?" He spoke after a few more moments of tense silence.
She looked away from him to study the fish tank, just now noticing how dirty it was. She knew the others had pointed it out before, but she couldn't believe he let it get that dirty.
"You should clean your fish tank." Jade said, in lieu of answering his questions.
"Jade..." Beck sighed, sounding so completely broken.
"It's really dirty." She continued, her tone and face blank.
"For fuck's sake! Can you take this seriously, Jade?!" He yelled in frustration, throwing his arms up and springing off the door.
"This was the first and the last time, I swear." Jade lied, rolling her eyes at his theatrics.
"I don't believe that. This is the first time I caught you. God only knows how many people you've fucked. Have you at least been to the, um, the-" He paused, to motion to his crotch area and hoped that Jade got it.
"The pussy doctor?" Jade filled in for him dryly.
"Have you been checked for std's?" Beck amended, giving her a tired look.
"Jesus, what do you think I've been doing?! Picking up five dollar hookers off the streets?! It was just a couple girls at some parties, and this one pornstar." Jade huffed, clearly offended.
Beck gaped at her.
"You fucked a- How?! Why?! Oh my god... my dick's gonna fucking fall off." His head fell into his hands as he dropped onto the side of his bed in despair.
"I don't have any std's, you ass." Jade hissed, grabbing a couch pillow and throwing it at him. Beck sighed heavily as the pillow bounced off his fluffy hair and fell onto the floor.
It was quiet for a long moment, Beck with his head still in his hands silently contemplating his entire life, and Jade looking at everything else in the room but him.
"Are you gay?" Beck asked, voice muffled by his hands as he finally broke the silence and put his fears out in the open.
Jade had a feeling, he'd wanted to ask that of her ever since they first started dating a little over three years ago. She did leave her first girlfriend for him after all.
"No." Jade answered with an irritated eye roll.
"But... that girl, and you dated-"
"Bisexuality is a thing, Beckett."
"So, what then, Jade? What made you..."
"Can we just drop it?" Jade insisted, getting up and going over to the bed. She started to unbutton her shirt as if she was about to go to sleep. There was no way on Earth that she could tell Beck that she needed an outlit because she constantly fantasized about one of their closest friends.
"No, we fucking can't, Jade! You've been fucking other people behind my back for who knows how long!" He exclaimed, leaping off the bed and pacing around the small mobile home.
"Look, we're both tired and irritated. Let's go to sleep and we can talk about it in the morning." Jade placated, shrugging off the flannel and folding it before draping it over her shoulder.
"I can't sleep next to you without knowing why you've been cheating on me." Beck scoffed, glaring furiously at her.
"Then sleep on the couch." Jade shrugged.
Beck could only stare at her in disbelief, almost as if he didn't recognize her.
"What?" She spat.
"I want to sleep with someone else then." His head was held high as he'd said it, giving off the illusion of cool confidence. But she could still hear a bit of uncertainty in his voice.
Jade paused in popping the button on her jeans, contemplating for a moment about how she'd feel about that.
It should bother her that Beck was telling her that he wanted to fuck somebody other than her. If this were a year or two ago, she'd whirl on him and demand to know who the hell he wanted so badly. If this was how he reacted to catching her cheating for the first time, then that meant that he'd had someone else in mind already, didn't it?
But strangely, she found that she didn't care. It didn't bother her to picture Beck with somebody else. If anything, it brought relief.
Still, there was a very small part of her that wasn't quite ready to let Beck go. Beck, who put up with all her bullshit no matter how loud she yelled at him. Beck, who held her on nights when the thoughts in her head were so bad that she wanted to jump off a bridge. Beck, who understood her better than anyone. That kind of loyalty and love was rare, if she let it go, she might not ever get it back.
So, she played dumb.
"Well, your parents are right next door. I'm sure mommy and daddy won't mind if you crawl into bed with them." Jade responded.
"You know what I mean, Jade."
"You want to get even with me then, is that it? Think that's gonna make you feel better?" She snapped, this conversation was starting to get on her nerves and he'd ruined her high like an hour ago.
"It's only fair, you get to have your fun so I should get to have mine too." He insisted.
Tired, she was just tired of it all.
"If that's what you feel you need to do, I'll be here, sleeping off the fucking headache you just gave me." Jade mumbled, shimmying out of her jeans and tossing the outfit on the couch, where her bag was. Beck had let her get a few things out of her car before he'd ushered her into his.
Beck's face fell at her statement, he looked honestly crushed, with his shoulders sagging and his eyebrows pinched together in bewilderment. In this moment, Jade knew that he realized he's lost her.
He rearranged his features after a few heartbeats, and took several calming breaths before voicing his next words.
"I want to sleep with Tori."
Jade, who'd gone over to the drawer he'd cleared for her so long ago, and was in the process of pulling a pair of black sweats over her ass, stopped dead. Her head whipped around to glare at him so fast that her neck cracked audibly.
She sharply tugged the sweats on the rest of the way, then crossed the room faster than she's ever moved in her entire life. She got up threateningly close to Beck's face, her eyes squinted dangerously.
"What did you just fucking say?" She demanded, daring him to repeat it.
Beck swallowed thickly, blinking at her sudden closeness several times before he brought eyes up to meet hers.
"I want to fuck Tori." He clarified confidently.
"You're not fucking cheating on me with Tori Vega." Jade snarled, teeth bared and eyes blazing with unabashed fury.
"I practically just tore you off of some random girl, but you have a problem with me wanting to fuck Tori?!" Beck returned, gaping at her as if she'd lost her mind.
"The key words being 'random girl'. I'm not the one trying to fuck our friends, Beck!"
"You and Tori aren't friends, you hate each other. You berate her every chance you get, and she literally called you a troll-goblin at lunch today." Beck scoffed in incredulous, he couldn't believe the nerve of the girl in front of him.
His words hit Jade like a slap to the face, stinging her heart as such.
"You know what? Fuck whoever you want, you and I are done. But you go near Tori, and I'll fucking end you. Hear me?" Giving his chest a hard shove, she walked around the couch and gathered her things. She angrily shrugged on her shirt not even bothering to button it as she stormed past him.
She and Tori were friends, they were. They might not show it in a normal way, but they were friends goddamnit.
The metal door to the mobile home ricocheted against the siding with a loud bang as Jade slammed it open and marched toward Beck's truck.
She bent down to scoop up a couple heavy rocks, then chucked them at the windshield. She was pleasantly pleased as the glass exploded into millions of pieces upon impact.
Beck still had yet to come out, so she strolled over to the truck, kicked the headlights in, then pulled her scissors out of her bag and brutally stabbed each tire.
By this time, the truck's alarm was screaming for someone to come save it so she hightailed it out of there and began her long trek home.
'Can't fuck Tori if your truck's fucked, Beck.' Jade thought to herself with an immensely pleased smile.
She wasn't even halfway home, on the corner of West Olive Avenue and North Keystone Street, when a Range Rover with tinted windows pulled up slowly next to her.
Apprehension ticked at the edges of her mind as she eyed the vehicle warily. It had been late when she left Beck's, a little after midnight and she'd been walking for over an hour. Now, was the time when creeps came out.
The passenger side window rolled down, and revealed the mischievously grinning face of her best friend. Jade's whole body sagged with relief, as she realized Faith was not only in the vehicle but returning her car as well.
"Think you left something at my house." Faith teased, the locks popping on the doors to let the other girl in.
"How'd you know where I was?" Jade asked, sliding into the passenger seat and returning the older woman's smile.
"Stopped by Beck's, he said you guys had it out then you destroyed his car and took off. Figured you were heading home. Sorry, about letting him in the house by the way. B answered the door and when he told her your name, she just assumed it'd be okay. She didn't know you were with Tori." Faith explained.
Jade accepted this easily enough, after all she couldn't blame Buffy for Beck catching her cheating. Especially when Buffy didn't even know she was cheating in the first place.
Jade and Faith decided to just go back to Faith's for the night, Jade could take her truck home in the morning because she had to change her clothes for school anyway.
They parted ways at the doorway to the guest room with whispers of goodnight and a quick fist bump, then Jade slid into the room and got ready for bed.
As she pulled back the sheets, she changed her relationship status on The Slap to single then settled in.
Not even two minutes later, her phone buzzed about ten different times.
'The freak squad are probably wondering what happened.' Jade thought to herself, rolling her eyes as she checked her phone and saw that she'd been right. All of her friends— and some random hookups — had texted her, mostly asking her what happened while some just wanted to profess their undying love for her.
But Jade only cared about one person's text.
She scrolled through the notifications until she found what she was looking for, her heartbeat quickening at the sight.
Vega: Are you okay? I'm here if you need to talk or anything.
Jade: I'm fine, can't say the same for Beck's truck though.
Vega: Oh god, Jade. What happened?
Jade: We got in a fight, things were said, tires were slashed
Vega: ...Are you okay though? Seriously.
Jade: Really, I'm fine, see you tomorrow. Thank you, Tori.
Vega: Always, Jade
The raven-haired girl closed her phone with a soft sigh and pressed the device to her lips thoughtfully.
She didn't know how to feel at the moment. Tori had texted her, sure, but she could just be being a good friend. This is what Jade disliked greatly about liking girls, you never knew if they were flirting or just being friendly.
'She likely texted Beck too, and is on the way over to his house right now. On a mission to mend the heart that the Big Bad Jade West broke.' Jade's brain whispered hatefully at her.
And Jade knew that if that were the case, she didn't stand a chance.
Beck was hot, way kinder than her, and had a much more placating personality. He and Tori would work extremely well together.
He was the better choice.
Tomorrow at school, Beck would ask Tori out and she'd say yes, and Jade would be left all alone. None of their friends, besides Cat, would voluntarily side with her after the breakup, especially not after finding out what she did.
The worst part would be that Tori would still want to try and be friends with Jade after it all, because Tori was good like that.
Jade wouldn't be able to do it though, she couldn't sit there and be happy for Tori and Beck, not when she thinks about the Latina every time she's with somebody else.
Jade hadn't realize she was crying until something wet dripped down her neck. She rubbed her eyes furiously in response, pressing her fists into her sockets until she saw stars.
She wanted to scream because she hated this, she hated that felt anything at all.
With a quiet growl, she threw back the covers and crossed the room, snatching up her bag and finding the 10mg pills that she'd bought from Jaime earlier.
She crushed up two of the pills then cut them in neat little lines on the nightstand. She put her nose to the medication and inhaled.
Tuesday, Feb 7th, 2018
After not sleeping a wink, Jade left Faith's at six in the morning, and snuck back into her parents house through the basement window.
She took her clunky boots off so that when she landed, it was silent. Jade quickly changed her clothes, then ran upstairs to wake Jake up so she could give him a ride to school.
After getting breakfast and dropping her brother off at elementary, Jade goes to school with plans to start seducing Tori, she wasn't about to let her douchebag ex-boyfriend take his shot at the girl she's been non-stop thinking about for the last couple years.
Jade walked into Hollywood Arts stone faced, warding off any potential gossipers that tried to approach her with a single glance.
Jade couldn't even find it in herself to care that she and Beck were over, so why did the losers at her school care?
She got to her locker, and was barely there for three seconds before she felt another's presence near her.
"Hey, Jade..." came the cautious greeting.
The raven-haired girl threw her head back with a groan and rolled her eyes so hard her pupils disappeared. She was definitely not in the mood for Veronica fuckin' Sanchez this early in the morning.
"Fuck off, Veronica." Jade responded, not missing the way the other girl swallowed thickly at the sting from her harsh words.
"I saw your status update on The Slap last night. So, you're single now?" The Latina continued, seemingly unphased.
Jade mumbled a few curses under her breath before slamming her locker door shut with such force that Veronica jumped back.
"What the fuck do you want? Get to the point and stop trying to make small talk." The raven haired girl demanded, patience having worn thin.
"So, my birthday is on Saturday and-"
"No, it isn't. Your birthday is in March." Jade rebuked, showing no remorse for interrupting Veronica.
"You remembered my birthday?" Veronica was astonished, and Jade really couldn't blame her. She'd spent every day since the eighth grade terrorising the other girl.
"Yeah, I remembered your stupid birthday. I seriously hope you don't expect me to get you anything." Jade said with another roll of her eyes.
"You don't have to get me anything, just come to my party on Saturday."
"And why would I do that?"
"Free drugs and alcohol? And the pleasure of spending the evening with moi."
Now, she was speaking Jade's language. Well, the first thing anyway. If it came down to it, Jade supposed she could just hide out in the Latina's family shed they'd had in the backyard. Nobody ever found her out there.
A brilliant idea popped into Jade's head a moment later.
This party could be the perfect opportunity to hook up with Tori. She knew she had to act fast, Beck posted a selfie of himself at the airport to Instasnap last night a couple hours after she left. Apparently, he was going to Canada for a couple weeks to heal his broken heart.
She'd rolled her eyes when she'd seen it, What a drama queen.
But it could prove to be a blessing in disguise. Beck leaving meant there was nothing in the way of her going after Tori for two whole weeks. Plenty of time for her to seduce the other girl before Beck even had a chance to.
"Can I bring a friend?" Jade asked, after contemplating the last couple minutes.
"Sure." Veronica chirped, a little too excitedly. Probably just happy that Jade's even considering going to her dumb party.
"I don't want to ask her myself, you should do it for me." The raven-haired girl suggested.
Annoyance flashed across Veronica's face for the briefest of moments before the Latina quickly covered it up.
"Fine, who?" Veronica grumbled.
"Tori Vega."
"Her?! But she's so-"
"So, what?" Jade asked narrowed eyes and a tone that warned the other girl to think about her next words very carefully.
"Perky?" Veronica finished, now unsure of herself.
"Hmph, don't remind me." Jade murmured softly, a thoughtful look in her eyes as they gazed off into space.
"So, I'll see you on Saturday then?" Veronica question just as the last bell for first hour rang. But still the girl lingered, eagerly awaiting Jade's answer.
"If Tori says yes, then possibly." Jade responded with a bored shrug, then turned on her heel and headed for Sikowitz's class without another word.
"O-Okay, see you later!" Veronica called from somewhere behind her. Jade continued on down the hall as if she heard nothing.
Once inside her first hour class, Jade's eyes immediately sought out Tori. She soon found her towards the back of the classroom, surrounded by the rest of their friends and Pepper. The Latina was sitting in between Andre and Robbie, with Cat sitting in front of her and Pepper sitting behind her. Of the musician and the ventriloquist, Jade supposed Robbie would be the easiest to force out of his seat.
It would probably raise some eyebrows, her making Robbie to move just so that she could sit next to Tori but she was way past caring at this point. She knew what she wanted and she was going to get it, she dared someone to say anything.
With her mind made up, Jade marched over to her friends.
"Crazy how the guy-"
"Move." Jade growled at Robbie, cutting him off and interrupting a really animated conversation about whatever movie they all saw last night.
Robbie stopped talking immediately, swallowing nervously as his eyes left Tori and Andre to look at Jade.
"Wh-What? But I'm sitting here." He squeaked, as if he hadn't heard her.
"Well, I want to sit there so move." Jade gritted out, her eyes flashing dangerously. Nowhere near in the mood for bullshit this early in the morning.
Robbie scrambled out of the chair, tripping over his own legs and falling into the aisle in the process. Jade merely stepped around and over him to stand in front of the now empty seat.
"You better not have pissed in it either." The raven-haired girl grumbled as she cautiously sat in the terrified boy's former seat.
Robbie picked himself up off the floor and gave a downtrodden look at the group, the rest of the seats around them were filled. Everybody else avoided eye-contact with him in favor of staring wide eyed and terrified at Jade.
"Where am I supposed to sit?" The boy asked timidly, pulling on his sleeve with anxiousness.
"I don't care." Jade emphasized, pulling her bag into her lap and busying herself with going through the contents of it to avoid the rest of the group's shocked stares.
"Take a picture, it'll last longer." She barked dryly at the gang when their staring started to make her uncomfortable. They all jumped and quickly pretended to be distracted by something else in the room.
Finally, Jade pulled her notebook out of her bag. She had no intention of actually using it to take notes though.
Feeling eyes on her once again, Jade glanced to her right and was meet with Tori's curious gaze.
"Tori..." She sighed, annoyed but definitely softer than the tone she'd used with literally everyone else she encountered that morning.
"Sorry, sorry." Tori rushed out, eyes dropping down to her own notebook where she haphazardly scribbles some weird spiral doodle. It was actually kind of cool the longer Jade examined it. Jade also noticed the embarrassment reddening Tori's cheeks at being caught, and made a mental note of it.
Something twitches in Jade's stomach at the sight, it's not quite pain but she's not really sure what it is. It always happens when she's within touching distance of Tori, it's super annoying.
Mentally chastising herself, Jade realised she'd woke up this morning with plans to win Tori over. And she had accomplished so far was making Tori uncomfortable.
Why was it so easy to slip back into old ways?
Before Jade even had a chance to backtrack, Sikowitz bursted through the back door suddenly, dawned in full Roman Gladiator gear. He'd scared the chiz out of every sleepy teenager in the classroom.
"Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears! I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him! The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones." Sikowitz boasted loudly, his crazed rambling only bringing forth looks of perplexion from his students' faces.
"Sound familiar anyone?" He prompted, only to be met with an awkward silence from a fatigued audience.
Jade, of course, recognized the lines her delusional drama teacher was spitting. Julius Caesar was one of her favorite plays, next to Macbeth, obviously. And The Fall Of Rome? Easily her favorite era of history.
But it was too goddamn early to talk about history, she didn't even want to think about it. Instead, the raven-haired girl discreetly watched Tori.
The Latina glanced around the room to see if anyone would answer Sikowitz. And sighed lowly at seeing her classmates' lackluster response, then picked her head up to humor the old man.
"Et tu, Brute?" The songstress spoke with a small smile, knowing that wasn't the next line but confident that Sikowitz would get it.
Sikowitz beamed at Tori, shouting, "Yes!" and pointing at her with glee written all over his face.
Robbie, who'd found a seat next to some shruggers on their other side of the room, raised his hand.
"Why're we quoting last year's play? Didn't Trina ruin that horribly?" The ventriloquist chimed in, without waiting to be called on.
He was referring to the annual End Of The Year Play, where the Juniors and Seniors perform a classic play in the Blackbox for talent scouts. The Seniors would be offered a scholarship and a spot at a prestige college, while the Juniors would just be approached by a scout and told to consider a future with their college if their performances pleased.
Last Year's Juniors had Trina in their class, who had gotten the Juniors temporarily banned from performing in anything for the rest of the semester.
"Yeah... She did, didn't she? Quite frankly, I'm surprised the scouts want to come back after last year's performance. But they do, and that is why this year, Juniors, you'll be giving them the best performance yet." Sikowitz said, pausing to let the excitement die down before he continued.
"Not only are scouts coming back, but big name schools have sent them this year as well. Such as Juliard, Carnegie, Yale, DePaul, the Royal College of Art, the National School of Fine Arts, and Florence University." He finished, looking back to Robbie and raising an eyebrow at him. As if to say, 'Satisfied?'.
Upon hearing this, Jade became a little more attentive.
Ever since visiting the country as a child, Jade fell in love with the sights and sounds of Italy. The city of Florence, always being her first pick for a vacation spot in the Spring and Summer with her family. It had the most breathtaking views.
Jade often sat out on the rooftop of the Glance on quiet summer nights, taking in the beauty with a mimosa and a joint. She always dreaded having to leave and return to life back in California.
Excited murmurs broke out all around her, bringing Jade back into the room. Tori turned to Andre to eagerly prattle about hoping Juliard's scout noticed her.
That feeling from earlier came back to hit Jade at full force, this time attacking her in both the chest and stomach.
Why hadn't Tori turned to talk to her?
"Yes, yes, it's all very exciting. Now, can anybody besides Tori tell me who Mark Antony is?" Sikowitz spoke, regaining his pupils' attention.
And again, he's only gets dead silence in return.
"Seriously, you guys? We went over this just last year." The drama teacher released a long suffering sigh, then bounded up to the white board in the front of the classroom.
"Actually he went over this last year, with the Juniors and Seniors, not us." Jade heard Andre whisper to Tori, making the brunette giggle softly under her breath.
Jade only rolled her eyes and tried to tune them out.
"Let me take you back to Ancient Rome, then. Since nobody paid attention last year, to tell Antony's story we must first tell Caesar's. The year is 48BC, Caesar and his legion are waiting on the Pharsalian plain for Gnaeus Pompeius to send in his infantry..." Sikowitz began, launching into an elaborate history lesson on the Battle Of Pharsalus.
Jade was able to listen for maybe half a minute before tuning out, and letting her eyes wander around the room.
The rest of her classmates seemed to have no trouble following along with Sikowitz's words, all of them deligently taking notes in respective silence.
But Jade's so bored, she just wanted to step out and go to the roof for her morning smoke. Her eyes slide over to Tori once again, wondering if she'd come with her if she asked. Experimentally, she pulled her phone out and sent Tori a text.
Jade: This is boring. Wanna come to the roof with me?
She heard Tori's phone buzz in the other girl's pocket but she ignored it, in favor of focusing on the lesson.
Jade sighed obnoxiously loud, purposely being disruptive in order to get Tori's attention. When that didn't work, she spread her legs out more than she needed to, bumping her knee against Tori's and bouncing it slightly.
Tori's pencil stopped moving as she casted a sidelong glance at Jade, raising her eyebrows at her in slight irritation.
"Check your phone." Jade whispered, flashing the Latina a mischievous smirk.
Tori rolled her eyes then looked up to make sure Sikowitz wasn't paying attention to her. After realizing he wasn't, she reached into her pocket and retrieved her phone. She read the text then glanced over at Jade again, slightly apprehensive but also curious.
Tori's eyes dropped back down to the screen, and her fingers flew across it for a couple seconds then Jade's phone lit up with her response.
Vega: Are you going to push me off of it?
Jade chuckled softly to herself before typing her own reply. They texted back and forth for a few moments, occasionally giggling quietly with each other.
Eventually, Sikowitz got fed up with them distracting the other students from the lesson as well as themselves and called them out on it.
"Jade! Tori! Since your conversation is so much more interesting than my lesson, why don't you come up here and tell the rest of us all about it?" The acting teacher drawled, sitting down cross-legged on the steps of the stage.
"I'll read it out loud but I'm not walking all the way up there." Jade replied, rolling her eyes as if this were a mild inconvenience while Tori looked like she wanted to die beside her.
"I said 'This is boring. Wanna come to the roof with me?' and Tori said-"
"Are you going to push me off of it?" Tori interrupted, looking up at the ceiling to avoid the stunned stares. Jade's probably the most shocked though, she thought she was going to have to read their whole conversation by herself because of how embarrassed the other girl looked.
"...So, I replied with 'No, you coming or not?'" Jade continued, glaring at Andre once she noticed the weird looks he kept throwing her and Tori.
"And I said 'Sure, how are we going to sneak out?'" Tori mumbled, sinking lower into her seat as if that would help hide her from all the eyes in the room.
"Then, I was like 'You could pretend to have really bad period cramps and I could volunteer to take you to the nurse?'" Jade read the last text dryly, bringing her eyes up to meet Sikowitz's and daring him to take action.
If he kicked them out, that wouldn't bother Jade at all, seeing as that was what she wanted all along.
"I see... That was indeed an entertaining conversation." The drama teacher remarked, hand combing through his beard as he smirked at Jade.
"Yep..." Jade said in response, eyeing the middle aged man warily. The look he was giving her was just weird, even for Sikowitz.
They stand there for a few moments, Sikowitz in the front of the class and Jade in back, just staring at each other. Each of them waiting for the other to speak.
"Well? Aren't you going to take her to the nurse?" Sikowitz prompted, lifting an eyebrow at his pupil.
Jade blinked, more perplexed than the older man, before a sly smile spread across her face to match her teacher's.
"Let's go, Tori," The raven haired girl commanded, reaching beside her to grab the Latina's wrist and pull her toward the back door.
"Come back tomorrow ready to actually learn something!" Sikowitz called after them before the door shut.
The two exchange twin looks of incredulous before bursting into laughter. Neither being able to believe they just got away with straight up walking out of class, not only that, but Sikowitz practically told them to.
They're halfway to Jade's locker before she realizes that she's still holding Tori's wrist, a soft smile pulls at her lips and she doesn't let go of the other girl until Jade has to put her combination in.
"You smoke?" Jade asked, clearing her throat and trying to appear casual.
"Ew, no." Tori protested, her face scrunching up in disgust as she peered at Jade in horror.
"Not crack, Vega. Mary Jane, the good kush, that dank stank." Jade clarified with a roll of her eyes, pulling out a pack of Pink Lemonade 4K's as well as the gram of Blue Dream she'd bought yesterday. She held her goods up for the Latina to see.
"Oh, well in that case, yeah. Why didn't you just say it was weed? I thought you were talking about cigarettes." Tori countered, relief pouring over her features at the sight of the clear baggie with the greenest weed she'd ever seen in it.
" ...Do I smell like I smoke cigarettes?" Jade shot back, unable to restrain herself.
"Sorry, jeez." Tori quickly apologized, putting her hands up in surrender.
Jade gave her companion a dry look before she slammed her locker closed and strode towards the staircase near the school's entrance. She climbed the stairs and navigated through the halls, leading the way to the roof with Tori following right behind her.
The raven-haired girl plopped down on the edging of the roof saddle-style, and began the process of rolling up the blunt, Tori joined her after taking in a part of the school she's never seen before.
"I know you said you were okay last night but, I honestly just thought it was a front. You're not sobbing your eyes out and begging me to help you and Beck get back together, using weird kite metaphors. So, I guess I was wrong. I'm proud of you, Jade." The Latina remarked, watching Jade's lips and tongue movements as she wet the stick after gutting it.
"Well, it was my fault this time so, don't throw a parade or anything." Jade shrugged her shoulders with a frown, pinching the ground up green and spreading it evenly throughout the blunt. She hadn't thought they'd be talking about her breakup, when Jade originally planned on bringing Tori up here.
Tori's eyebrows reached her hairline and her eyes widened as she stared at the other girl as if she were a stranger.
"Your fault?" She echoed in disbelief.
"...Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Sorry, it's just... Don't maim me for saying this but, you don't admit when you're wrong. Like, ever."
And Jade couldn't even be mad about that, it was true. Which is why she chuckled while she finished the blunt.
"So, how was it your fault?" Tori asked softly after Jade's quiet laughter died down, her brown eyes shining beautifully with curiously in the early morning sun.
Jade sighed deeply, bringing her masterpiece up to her lips and lighting it. She didn't answer Tori for awhile, her gaze falling on the school's football and track teams out on the field below them. It was a little early for them to be practicing, especially since it was the beginning of February and neither team had an event they had to get ready for until the next school year.
"I cheated on him." Jade answered, after leaving the songstress hanging for longer than she'd intended to.
Tori went deathly quiet as Jade slid her eyes shut, fearing those words would be the nail in her coffin.
"Why? Did you love whoever you cheated on him with?" Tori asked after a long moment, her brows furrowed and looking a little annoyed.
"No, I just... it's complicated, Tori." Jade sighed, running her hand through her hair anxiously.
"So, help me understand stand it, Jade." Tori returned, making her voice deeper to mock Jade's raspy tone.
Jade rolled her eyes but the corners of her lips threatened to twitch into a smile at the obnoxiously, adorable, way Tori was trying to get information out of her.
"It was just some random girl at my friend's party. It didn't mean anything." Jade conceded.
Tori's mouth dropped open in shock.
"Girl?! Wait a minute, you like girls? Since when?!" Tori shrieked, staring at Jade wide eyed and bewildered.
"Uh, I don't know? Since I was like five... It's not a problem, is it?" Jade squinted at Tori while her heartbeat frantically in her chest. She hoped to god Tori didn't think she was disgusting, because she'd really hate to have punch that beautiful face of hers in for intolerance.
"Huh? No, nooo! That's great! Really, good for you." Tori quickly backtracked, placing her hand on Jade's shoulder to try and reassure her that she meant no ill-will.
"Why are you being so weird?"
"Sorry, I'm not trying to be..."
They sat in silence for a bit, passing the blunt back and forth while occasionally trying not to choke on smoke.
"So, this girl-"
Jade groaned loudly, cutting Tori off from her questioning and receiving a heated look in return.
"You don't have feelings for her?" Tori continued, regardless of the other girl's impoliteness.
"No." Jade mumbled, handing the blunt back to Tori after blowing out the steam.
"So, why did you cheat on Beck with her then?"
Jade shrugged, "Wanted to fuck, wasn't in the mood for Beck, and she was just convenient, I guess."
"She was convenient? Oh my god, Jade. You're worse than Andre! I mean I could understand if you were in love with the girl, maybe even sympathize with you. But you threw away three years worth of a relationship just for what? A quick screw? Why would you do that to Beck? Was she even worth it?" Tori ranted incredulously.
Jade's eyebrows rose to her hairline, jealousy and anger shot through her veins.
"You said you wanted to understand, so I'm explaining. Why do you even care, huh? Bored of your non-existent love life so you o lecture me about mine?" The raven-haired girl snapped harshly.
Tori's lips parted slightly in stunned shock, like she couldn't believe Jade would sink that low. She shook her head sadly, knowing Jade was just lashing out because it was a sensitive topic that she didn't want to talk about.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to overstep. I'm just trying to make sense of it." The Latina backtracked softly.
"Nothing to make sense of, I can just be really impulsive sometimes." Jade dismissed.
Thankfully, Tori let it go and they fell into companionable silence, finishing off the rest of the blunt and laying on the floor with their heads tucked together comfortably, staring at the sky.
The bell rang but they both remained still on the floor of the roof.
"I don't want to move." Jade whispered, eyes half-lidded and her body feeling heavy.
"Me either." Tori responded, listening to the kids on the track and football team practice their drills.
So, they lay there for awhile, relishing in their high and each other's company. Their hands that lay flat on the floor of the rooftop overlap, and they cautiously intertwine their fingers, eventually holding hands.
"Tori?" Jade called gently, hoping the other girl hadn't fallen asleep.
"Yeah?"
"We're friends, right?"
Jesus, Jade feels like she's six.
"Are we?" Tori asked, quirking an eyebrow.
Jade's heart started to beat faster in her chest as fear gripped her heart.
"I mean... I think we are." Jade mumbled, suddenly very insecure.
Tori turned her head to look at her with a doubtful expression.
"Friends don't constantly insult each other, Jade." The Latina reminded her.
"I've heard you and Andre call each other-"
"Friends don't insult each other and genuinely mean it." Tori amended, cutting off Jade's protest sharply.
"Well, I don't..." Jade trailed off as Tori gave her a look that told her not to even try to lie to her.
"Okay, I don't mean it most of the time. You can be really annoying sometimes though."
"If you want to be friends, this is not a very good way to start."
"So, what I'm getting here is that we aren't friends?" Jade was disappointed and it showed on her face.
Tori sighed heavily then turned on her side to look at Jade fully on, folding her arm underneath her head to use as a pillow, Jade copying her position. They were facing each other and inches apart, Jade's heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest.
"I didn't think we were friends because you never gave me a reason to." Tori whispered.
"You're the only person I come to when I have a problem." Jade murmured with a shake of her head.
"A soundboard for pain isn't friendship." Tori reasoned.
"I... I can't be vulnerable with anybody else, that means something to me." Jade breathed, looking deep into the other girl's eyes and hoping she believed her.
She might not ever say it, but Tori's friendship meant the world to her. Nobody had ever tried as hard as she did to get Jade to like them.
Tori gave her a soft smile, and she looked so beautiful in that moment Jade really wanted to kiss her, she even started to lean in a little.
Tori glanced down at her lips, and Jade swore the other girl was leaning in too.
Until the Latina cleared her throat sharply and scooted back a little bit. Tori sat up abruptly and looked back at her with a grin.
"Okay, I guess we're friends then." She conceded.
Jade blinked then met her eyes with a wide smile, though a part of her didn't actually want to be friends, maybe something more.
But she locked that part of her in a cage and melted the key, Tori wasn't ready for that yet and neither was she.
"What made you ask anyway?" Tori wondered curiously.
"Oh, it was just something somebody said to me." Jade hummed, already over it now that Tori has given her the validation she craved.
Tori frowned, her eyebrows drawn together angrily, "Who? What did they say?"
"Relax, princess. I set them straight, won't be seeing them for awhile." Jade grinned at the other girl's protectiveness.
"Oh my god, did you kill someone because they said we weren't friends?" Tori gasped, staring at the other girl in slight horror.
"No, but I may have run them out of town for a little bit."
"You are a menace."
"You expect anything less?" Jade responded with a devious grin and a wink before hopping to her feet and offering Tori an outstretched hand. Tori graciously took it, and Jade effortlessly pulled her to her feet. Tori's hands went to Jade's biceps to catch herself while Jade's fall down to Tori's waist to steady her.
Jade's eyes fell to Tori's lips again, watching as Tori pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth and bit it as she fought the urge to lean in again.
Jade exhaled sharply through her nose in mild frustration as Tori cleared her throat and pulled back.
"You wanna go to the mall?" Tori asked with a lopsided grin, sounding a bit breathless. And while Jade didn't want to get her hopes up, she still did.
It hadn't taken them but two minutes to get the mall, with their school being so close to it.
They were currently stood in a jewelry store, staring at a fourteen karat bracelet that Tori had admired in passing.
Jade had seen her looking at it, so she insisted they go inside and look around.
"Can she try it on?" Jade asked the salesclerk, completely captivated by Tori's awed expression as she stared at the sparkling diamonds. Her tone told the man that he didn't really have a choice in the matter, so he opened the display case and carefully held the bracelet out for Tori to take.
Tori tried it on, a radiant smile encompassing her face while the gemstones sparkles against the light on her wrist.
Jade frowned when Tori started to take it off after a few moments.
"What're you doing? It looks great on you, you should get it." Jade protested.
"It's $3,000, Jade. I can't afford that." Tori responded perfectly rational.
"Then I'll get it for you." Jade insisted with a dismissive shrug, reaching over to take the bracelet, only for Tori to move it out of her grasp.
"I can't let you spend that much money on me. Are you insane?!"
"Yes, you can and you will. Friends buy each other things all the time. Besides, you go to a snobby rich kid school, it's time you started accessorizing like it."
"If this is you trying to make up for the last two years of torture and insults, you're already forgiven. You don't need to buy me anything."
"This is me trying to be a good friend. Let me buy you the damn bracelet, Vega."
Tori made meaningful eye contact with Jade while she put the bracelet back in the hands of the clerk, who was glancing back and forth between the two of them like he'd wanted them to just get out.
"No, Jade. Now, you come on," Tori grabbed the other girl's hand and lead her out of the jeweler's.
"Let's get some food."
They went to the Groovy Smoothie in the food court, got tacos and strawberry smoothies, that Jade paid for because she insisted that let her pay for something.
When it was three o'clock and school was over, Jade took Tori home and the other girl thanked her for the fun day, saying that she really needed something to lift her spirits.
And Jade responded with she liked it when Tori was happy, it didn't make her sick as it used to. But truth be told, it only ever made her sick when she wasn't the one causing Tori's happiness.
Tori smiled at her dazzlingly in response, and Jade felt like she was looking at the sun. A star so bright and beautiful that you had to look away quickly before it blinded you.
She wasn't going to tell Tori that though, that was gay.
Unexpectedly, Tori leaned over and pulled Jade into a tight hug.
"Bye, Jade." She whispered in her ear, sending shivers down Jade's spine.
After Tori pulled back and went inside, Jade went back to that store and bought Tori the bracelet and a set of matching earrings for good measure
The girl was as bright as the sun, and she'd fucking shine like it.
