The next time Jade opened her eyes, the girlfriend who was sleeping two feet away from her was suddenly inches away, facing her with a smile. Eyes widened, Jade tried to say something to Tori, only for the latter to press a finger to her lips and whisper, "Let's just enjoy this while we can, okay?" as she replaced the finger with her own lips against Jade's. The kiss lasted for only a few seconds before they broke away and rested their foreheads together.

Jade whispered, "What are we gonna tell them? We kept saying we'll figure it out, but now's the time."

Tori sighed and locked eyes with Jade, "We tell them the truth. Maybe this was a little hasty, but—"

"Tori, we literally made this plan an hour before the flight," Jade's eyes narrowed, "'A little hasty' is like saying Cat's hair is just 'a little red'."

"Okay, okay!" Tori pouted, "This wasn't the smartest thing to do on the fly, but since when is this anything new for us? We'll find a way through this; we always do." She sat up and stretched her arms as Jade followed suit, still looking her with doubt.

"Maybe in Hollywood Arts, Tori," she sighed, "But we've graduated from that. We're supposed to be more mature than we were back then." She could see Tori's composure fading from the blunt response, to which Jade gave her a reassuring kiss. "Look, I don't regret this, Tori. I want this to work, too, but I just don't think it'll be as easy to convince your parents as you think…"

Tori took Jade's hands in hers, "Well, that doesn't mean we can't try, at least." As she gave Jade's hands a firm shake, the bedroom door opened and Jade immediately broke contact to duck under the covers.

Contrary to what the two of them feared, Tori's dad popped his head in with a kind smile of acknowledgement, "Good morning, girls. Fortunately, your mother went to get breakfast, so you have maybe half an hour to get ready."

As soon as he closed the door, Jade emerged from the covers, running a hand through her messy hair. Tori reached over her side of the bed, opening her suitcase to pick out some clothes. "Okay, I know you don't have any other clothes, so I hope you don't mind wearing some of mine for now…"

"As long as it's something comfortable," Jade groaned, peering over Tori's shoulder at her clothing selection.

A half-hour later, Tori and Jade were seated quietly on the couch together; the former wearing a light-pink t-shirt while running a brush through her post-shower hair and the latter reluctantly wearing an oversized, purple graphic tee with a picture of Reptar the dinosaur printed on it.

Noting her girlfriend's frown, Tori lightly poked Jade's shoulder with her brush, "What's wrong? It's comfortable, right?"

"I was more comfortable wearing the pajelehoocho," Jade replied sternly, "But you tossed it in the washer before I could grab it."

Tori's eyebrows furrowed as she poked a little harder, "You were wearing that all day yesterday! I know you don't sweat, but you were getting pretty dang close!"

Before Jade could quip back, the front door swung open with Mrs. Vega holding bags of McDonald's breakfast. Her eyes didn't leave Jade's as she handed them off to her husband to set on the table, or as she set down the drink holder with 4 cups of coffee on the long table in front of them.

"Try not to spill this on my daughter's head, Jade," Mrs. Vega shot first as her morning greeting.

Tori took one of the cups and sipped the hot beverage nervously. "We're already off to a great start, aren't we?"

After the table was set for breakfast, Mr. Vega motioned for the girls to join them, but when they remained seated on the couch, wanting to get this settled first, he resigned to sitting across from them on one of the lounge chairs, his wife promptly taking the other chair next to him.

"Alright," Mrs. Vega took one of the coffee cups between them and sipped it quietly, "First things first: Jade, do your parents know you're here?"

Jade coughed a bit, realizing her throat was dry from all the silence, and cleared it with coffee before answering, "I haven't talked to my dad in months; not since he moved to Europe after remarrying. I told my mom I was going on a trip with Tori…but I may not have told her how long it would be for."

Tori interjected, fearful that Jade's last words were already raising a big red flag, "I asked Jade to join me at the last minute! Trina will back me up on that! I traded the first-class ticket they sent me for two coach tickets, so that's why we arrived later than we initially thought."

"And apparently with only your luggage, Tori," Mrs. Vega raised an eyebrow at Jade's lack of any belongings besides her messenger bag. "Tell me, Jade, was that one-piece pajelehoocho the only thing you planned on wearing while you're here?"

Jade resisted the urge to snap back at her, knowing it wouldn't ease the tension one bit, and simply shook her head, "I was planning to go shopping for new clothes here. I can afford it. If you're worried about money, I'm not going to mooch off of Tori or anything! In fact, I already have a job prospect here thanks to our teacher, Sikowitz!"

"You mean the hippie teacher who admitted Trina because he was tripping on a spoiled coconut?" Mr. Vega asked suddenly before being cut off by his wife's glare.

"Well, I can see you've both put some thought into this. But I still have a hard time believing my daughter has fallen in love with someone who dumped coffee on her head, tried to trigger her deadly allergy to bush daisies, and nearly sabotaged a party she organized herself!"

Jade would have interjected that Tori sabotaged her show first with that "prome", but Tori's grip tightening over her hand held her back. Instead, Tori did her best to explain for the both of them.

"Look, Mom. I made it no secret that I hated Jade at first. I thought we'd never be friends with all that stuff she and I did to each other! But we're not the same girls we were all those years ago. We've come to appreciate so much more about each other, and I wouldn't even have this opportunity if Jade hadn't given up her chance to open for the Platinum Music Awards that night! I know this all seems so sudden and hasty—and maybe it is—but it doesn't change how I feel about Jade. I really like her, and I want to give this…us…a chance while we still can!"

Her arms still crossed, Mrs. Vega scoffed and turned to her husband, "David, come on, say something!"

David Vega took a long look at his wife's glaring eyes, his daughter's pleading eyes, and finally the goth's eyes darting all over the place. Catching Jade's gaze, he tried to give her a smile, which Jade responded to with a reluctant smile of her own. "Jade…do you feel the same way? You really like my daughter?"

Jade nodded more than necessary, "I do, sir—Mr. Vega! I know I never really showed it, but Tori means a lot to me—more than I even knew until now. I wouldn't be here if I didn't feel this way about her. I know she's your daughter, and you'll always be protective of her, but I promise I won't do anything to hurt her or her career! I'll help pay the rent, I'll earn my keep, and I'll support her as long as…as she's willing to have me." Jade's face turned scarlet as she reached for Tori's hand, realizing her words sounded more like marriage vows than a simple promise to her parents. Tori responded with a smile and took Jade's hand in hers happily.

David took a long look at Jade's sincere gaze toward Tori and shrugged, "Holly, I think she's telling the truth, and after all, our daughter's grown up; more than her sister, anyway. I think she deserves a chance, at least…"

Holly's stern expression didn't let up, but she sighed again, looking at both girls, "Alright. We'll give you until the end of the summer to prove to us you can make this work. Jade, I'll tell your mother that we talked about this, but it'll be up to you to tell her if you're really going to stay or not. If this job of yours works out, we expect you to pay half the rent and 'earn your keep', as you said. Finally, I accept that you two are girlfriends, but as long as we're helping you pay rent here, you're roommates first. There are two bedrooms in this apartment, and I expect both of them to be used; as in one of you in each bedroom every night. Understood?" Now both Tori and Jade were blushing madly, knowing full well what Holly meant, as they nodded in agreement.

"Just because you two graduated high school, don't think you're ready for the working world just yet. It'll be tough, big record deal or not." She turned to Tori, who was visibly nervous that the conversation now shifted to her. "I trust Thornesmith will take care of your work, but you need to take care of yourself, too. Don't let yourself fall for anything that you don't feel safe about, got that?" Tori nodded, both with confidence and a bit of fear for what her mother could be referring to.

Holly then turned to Jade, "I want to trust you, Jade, I really do. From what you and Tori are saying, you're not going to take advantage of her like the last people she's dated, but it's up to you to prove that to me, David, and everyone. Not to mention some people here may not be…accepting…of a couple like you two. I'm sure you know what I mean."

Tori and Jade were fortunate to have grown up with friends, family, and teachers that were accepting of same-sex couples, but in a new city, they knew now that they couldn't rely on that comfort of familiar friends anymore. Accepting that risk, they nodded again, keeping their hands clasped strongly together.

Holly took one last look at her daughter and her girlfriend and finally gave them an assuring smile, "Now, with all that out of the way, let's eat before breakfast gets cold!" Everyone let out a big sigh of relief as they rushed to the dining table to dig into their respective meals.

After breakfast, Jade was sorting through potential clothes to "borrow" from Tori in her room while she and her parents sat together on the living room couch.

"You know," David chuckled as he took another sip of his coffee, "This at least takes care of finding you a roommate. We almost considered asking Trina to move here with you…"

Tori looked at her father with as much fear and disgust as when she watched The Scissoring.

"…but we assumed she'd mess with you working with Mason at that record company," Holly gave Tori a loving pat on her head to assuage her fears. "You sure there's no opportunity for Jade to work there with you?"

Tori briefly looked back toward the closed door to her bedroom before answering, "She never really considered it. She said she'd get in touch with the community theater Sikowitz worked at as soon as possible. I just really hope it works out for her."

Holly rubbed Tori's back, sensing her anxiety, "I'm curious what her mother thinks about her going straight to work instead of college. I understand what Jade said about not wanting to commit money for tuition when she doesn't quite know what she wants to do yet, but for both of your sakes, I hope she finds out soon."

"I know you're thinking of me when it comes to that, too, Mom," Tori frowned, putting down her coffee cup. "If it'll put your mind at ease, I can take some online classes while doing this, too. That won't be as expensive, at least, right?"

"One thing at a time, dear," Holly nodded to her, "You worked hard for this opportunity to make your own name in music, so try to put everything you can into this first. No need to overwork yourself for our sake, dear."

Tori pulled her parents in for a hug before they got up to throw out the remaining breakfast cups and containers.

"Well, we'd better get ready to leave for the airport soon," David took out his phone to check the time, "I'm starting to worry about Trina back at home. I hope she's not too lonely without us there."

Holly chuckled, "Really? I'm more worried about the house being trashed by her throwing some wild party."

Tori grinned as she thought back to Trina giving her the drive with their song before she left, "Aw, don't be too hard on her. She's been growing up a bit, too."

With a reassured smile from her parents, she got up to hug them both again, "Thank you both, again, for trusting me with this."

"You deserve it, dear," David patted her back lovingly.

"But it's all up to you and Jade from here on," Holly reminded her, "If anything—and I mean anything—happens that you need us for…"

"I'll call the second I need you," Tori finished the sentence for her.

A while later, Jade heard the Vega parents leaving in a cab they called and she emerged from the bedroom in a new outfit. Tori turned from the front door to see her, not expecting what she was wearing. Her graphic tee was expertly cut much shorter from the bottom, still preserving the Reptar picture while showing Jade's midriff, and the shoulders cut from the sleeves to bare her shoulders. Underneath, she wore long black leggings running down to her ankles. Without a word, Jade smirked in Tori's direction, as if to say, "Go on. Tell me I look hot. Again."

Tori walked over and pulled Jade's hands toward her, saying, "Well, I'd question how you managed to bring your scissors with you in your carry-on, but I know you well enough not to do just that."

"Spoken like a true…girlfriend," Jade winked and then looked over at the piano next to them, "You break that in yet?"

Tori strode over to the bench and sat down, her mind scrolling through what songs she could remember. She settled on one familiar tune, playing the intro before turning to Jade. "I think you know this one?"

Jade nodded, joining her on the piano bench before they both started singing at the same time.

The situation turns around… [Tell Me That You Love Me, as performed by Victoria Justice]

Head underwater and you… [Love Song, by Sara Bareilles]

Both of them immediately stopped when they realized their lyrics didn't match. They quickly hummed through their respective songs and looked at each other in surprise.

"Wow, those songs are more alike than I thought," Tori laughed a bit.

"Do you remember which one came first?" Jade blinked, "Because I'm forgetting myself…"

After a few seconds of confusion, they both burst out laughing and bumped shoulders with each other playfully. Both sighing themselves out of their laughter, Jade leaned against Tori and smiled, "So this is us now? Girlfriends…and roommates, making it in Miami together?"

Tori giggled a bit at the reference to her own song, "I guess so, but remember, we're roommates first if we wanna keep living like this."

"Yeah…" Jade feigned a disappointed frown then put on that accent she knew Tori hated, "And we gotta sleep in separate bedrooms and not get into any shenanigans that'll make the old parentals unhappy~"

Rolling her eyes, Tori looked at Jade's joking smirk, "You joke, but you know we have to take that seriously. We promised my parents."

"I know we did," Jade nodded, leaning closer to Tori and glancing down at her lips, "But correct me if I'm wrong, but…they didn't explicitly say anything about doing anything together in the living room, right?" She raised her eyebrows suggestively, which prompted Tori to gasp and slap her shoulder.

"Jade! Come on!" Her face quickly growing red, Tori stepped off the piano bench to hide her blushing complexion.

Laughing harder, Jade put on the accent again and dramatically swooned off the bench and onto the couch, "Oh, mercy! Sweet Victoria just physically assaulted me on my bare shoulder! What will Mommy and Daddy say about that~?"

Tori groaned, knowing she walked right into Jade's little game, and joined her on the couch, sighing, "We're off to a great start already~"

Jade dropped the acting and shimmied closer to Tori, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "And we have no one to blame but ourselves, dear Tori. But don't worry, we're gonna be just fine."

"Oh!" Tori exclaimed like a light bulb sparked on in her head, "That reminds me of a song that totally fits right now!"

She started to clap rhythmically in a way Jade instantly recognized, to which she interjected, "Oh my god, if you start singing that corny little—"

[Just Fine by Michael Corcoran]
If you're livin' a dream
And you know what it means
Then you can't let 'em change your mind!

Jade groaned loudly and shook her girlfriend's shoulders, "You are such a doooork!"

But Tori continued singing while keeping in her laughter, content with the moment she was sharing with Jade; assuring her that whatever tomorrow had in store, she and Jade could handle it together.