Oct. 21st, 17

Hope you enjoy!

:)

No One's Perspective-

Eyes blinked groggily, her gaze sweeping across the room blankly. The dark shadows were casted throughout, leaving her mind leaking with nonsense from her prior dream. As estranged hippos and cannibalistic monkeys faded away to the back of her mind, feet to the floor, Jade turned towards the rustling cage before her bed. It was the length of the bookshelf, easily half of her own height. She gave a soft smile, shuffling towards the rabbit as it lifted its attention.

"Hey Pancakes," she hummed, "You want some food?" Black eyes blinked, his long ears flicking in anticipation. It jittered as his usual feed was poured in his bowl, teeth gnawing at the ingredients. She watched as the rabbit continued foraging, mood content as she laid back on her sheets, eyes closing briefly.

Briefly as in thirty minutes (as her clock had said). Jade grumbled, picking herself from her bed, halting as she glanced towards the cage.

Pancakes paused, lifting his plump chin from his bowl, scattered bits and pieces caught in his fur. "Jeez dude," Jade groaned, "We need to get you to the barber... I just took you a couple of weeks ago!" The critter merely blinked - an equivalent of a shrug, possibly - diving back to his food. "Now come on, we'll watch some Saturday shows. You like 'em, right?"

The black and white fur-ball gnawed at his last bite, shifting among the bedding.

"Come on."

The bunny, unsurprisingly, was lifted from the cage as a fat, limp pillow with legs, dully glancing back to his cage. Once the brush of life rubbed softly between his ears, however, Pancakes glanced up towards the teen sweetly. She gave a soft smile at the twitch of his nose. "Glad you're awake now," she mumbled gruffly. Together, the rabbit and the girl clambered up the stairs, trailing towards the kitchen in the still morning. Soon, the cradling coffee interrupted the restful sound, Pancake nibbling on something - Jade really didn't know or care so long it didn't kill him - on the ground.

The rattling of nails snapped both their gazes towards the end of the room, Jade heaving a soft breath. Rat, with his pink tongue hanging, sat at the entryway, blinking towards the bunny. Jade bristled in the corner, carefully watching as the small dog padded over towards the rabbit whose long ears flicked towards the intruder. Soft, black noses flared briefly, a small blond tail swishing excitedly. Rat gave a soft 'yip,' Pancake only dipping his attention back towards the lost crumb.

With the last of the coffee dripped into her cup, Jade began to shuffle towards the small fur-ball - the one without feathery fur - before cringing as a soft luke-warmth pawed against her ankle. Irritably, she shook her soft, striped pants so they were unhitched from her pastel skin, pale eyes glowering towards dark, watery coals. Rat tilted his head to the side, his ears flopping over. Blinking towards the microwave, Jade groaned once she read 8:42. "Is she still not up?" the goth spat down towards the small pooch.

A small, tiny bark was the reply.

Blinking down towards Rat, Jade noted how dark eyes sparkled with his wet nose, lengthy feather-like fur washed with sun settled to create one strange looking dog. His ears flopped erratically unlike Pancake's (his drooped to the ground whenever he walked) and his pink tongue was the cherry on top.

Nevertheless, he was the awkward dog that Sikowitz had dumped on her. And as she stared down at him more, Jade realized he was the awkward, hungry dog that Sikowitz dumped on her.

It really shouldn't have taken a few minutes to decide to feed him and let Tori, however awake she was, feed him, especially since it only took not half a minute to hear the scraping of dry food as he wrestled it from his bowl. Jade plopped down on the couch, resting Pancake beside her as she switched on the television. Full House soon nulled blankly through her subconscious as she drove her attention to the coffee, and the irritating clinks of the bowl in the kitchen. Creaking steps, too, was brought into her mind as Tori sluggishly maneuvered down the stairs, briefly watching the screen.

Neither said good morning as she shuffled into the other room, glancing towards the small pooch as he devoured his meal. She had to admit, she didn't expect her to actually feed him.

. . .

"Are you sure?"

Jade rolled her eyes, closing them with a sigh. "Yes, I'm sure! He's a dog, he can stay at the house for a few hours alone!" she snapped. Tori crossed her arms, giving a short huff. "Now would you get out of the car? We came here for you, you know."

"Alright, fine...I'm going," the half-Latina eased herself from the door, shutting it tightly. "There."

"You didn't have to slam it," the goth grumbled as she shut her own car as she usually did - which was twice as hard, rocking the car - leaving Tori to sputter in a gawping mess.

Finding her words, the singer retorted, "You did it just now! And it was worse than me!"

"My car."

Her strides followed Jade's, her grumbling not too far behind. "Is that all you have?" she mumbled, the thespian merely shrugging.

"At least I don't try to vandalize other people's stuff," Jade spat back pointedly.

"I- I didn't vandalize shit!" Tori growled.

"Yeah..." the goth hummed, "Because my car isn't a shit-storm like yours." A smirk stretched across her lips once no answer had come, the doors to the mall feet from her. "Now, quick question," she pushed through the glass, Tori following with her loose fist in her jacket, "Did you buy it like that or..."

Scoffing, the singer answered, "It was like that already. I didn't do anything to it other than drive it." Jade drew out a long hum, Tori stammering, "Oh quit it, I'm not lying!" A studded brow arched. "I'm serious!" Black boots halted beside a standing mannequin, Jade folding her arms. "Okay...there's a small scratch but that's it. And that was because some car was too close to me."

Jade snorted with a wry smile, asking, "Was it parked." She turned to glance over her shoulder to catch the lightest blush across caramel cheeks, her snicker growing into a chuckle. The two girls roamed around for a good spell, glancing across the flashing lights to the stores. "Where's the thing again?"

"For my glasses?" Tori asked.

"What else?" The half-Latina grew mute, pursing her lips as Jade rolled her eyes. "So?"

"It's on the second floor," Tori answered, eyes wavering towards the left. Taking the lead, the singer shuffled around the small crowds, attention drawn towards the several shops along the path towards the escalators. With Jade following behind, she didn't think to dive into one of the shops, even if her eyes were set on a bag that wasn't as "ugly and misshapen" as her trusty, brown book-bag. And, as she had said, the glasses shop was at the second floor, tucked away to the corner. "Erm...are you going in or what?" Tori turned towards Jade.

The goth only shrugged, muttering, "Waiting out here."

She watched as Tori moved inside, clutching her broken lenses from inside her jacket. Jade sat herself onto a bench, watching as the people passed by.

Perhaps it was a strange hobby picked up as a child, though her eyes wandered along the busy people, observing every inch of their personality that she could grasp. Men in fedoras and skinny jeans (which looked odd, she had noted) laughing with their buddies were few of many. Her attention flicked towards an eager man practically vibrating at the spot, his grin towards the line of games with his Tomb Raider shirt hugging his not-so-flattering body. He shook his curled mop from his eyes, his strides flowing immediately passed the several crowds.

A boy - who perhaps had just paid a visit to a toy store - lugged a long-limbed bear behind him, his great curious eyes blinking towards the candy jars in the window. He pointed his small hands towards it, the man beside him shaking his hand. Both trudged behind a woman, her head jerking towards another store.

And then came brisk strides that snapped Jade from her observations, a woman talking dully into her phone. "No, I can't meet with him tonight! Just set up another- No, you set this as the date when I told you I couldn't make it! I'm in Los Angeles, Mr. Larmen, and soon you'll be in Lost-A-Job! This is the second time!" she spewed into the device, Jade growling to herself; the woman bore a strong of her dear mother.

Beside the glasses store - Tori was speaking over the counter, her cracked lenses in her hands - a woman with greying hair and worn skin in a huddled frame strode into the store as another woman lured her inside. Jade quirked a brow and a small smirk, watching as the elderly woman nodded along with the other. The younger woman, with dark skin and light hair, held a smile of her own, knowing the bait she had just caught for the day. The shop was otherwise empty, Jade found, foundation to mascara lined perfectly along the walls. In the sales woman's hand was some lotion, her smile gaining the agreement of the elder.

Shaking her head, Jade turned her gaze towards the side, a young couple in a bench across from her. Newly fashioned rings glinted in each of their right hands, both holding soft smiles. The goth began to wander whether or not it would last, and then if they would even have a child. Her mind brooded over the fact - or possible one - before testing the idea of them resembling the questionable figures huddled in the small alleyway leading to bathrooms.

With an arched brow, Jade looked on as another couple - around her age, she had guessed - melded into each other, if they weren't going to crash through the wall beforehand. Perhaps the married pair had been high school sweethearts, much like Beck and she would aspire to be. Her gaze lost focus as it narrowed towards the tiles, her skin anticipating warm skin and his lips against her own.

Though, as she closed her eyes, softer ones meshed with hers as her nails raced along heated skin. Clothes had draped over as she snaked under the cloth, the distant shifting to the passenger's seat flooding her thoughts. With a hand that had slipped from under the light jacket, fingers drowned in soft hair, then brushed over strong cheekbones and a soft, smooth jaw.

Lost in her recollections, Jade hadn't noticed the minutes that had passed, nor the teen biding the store worker a good day with a small back in her grasp. And so, Jade startled once Tori had asked about lunch. "We can just go, go to the food court," Jade stammered, giving a half-hearted glare up towards the singer.

Tori raised a brow at Jade's sheepish blush, the goth glowering towards the floor quickly. "And...can we shop after?"

"Whatever."

Abruptly, Jade stood, marching towards the escalators. Shuffling closely behind, Tori asked, "What's up?"

"Some idiot pervert," Jade lied swiftly, halting on the ongoing steps. Tori took it with ease, blinking towards her phone with her stomach desiring whatever fast-food available.

. . .

The engine grumbled as she started across the lawn, eyes not leaving from the upcoming door. Setting her bag down, Tori briefly flashed a glance behind her, the street empty. She sighed wearily, hands beginning their search around her pockets. Within a few moments, she closed her eyes, hissing a short stream of obscenities. "God damn it Beck..." she growled thereafter, recalling her one needed key attached to the car's, and then the few keychains.

However, a quick solution formed in the front of her consciousness, prompting her to move about the small pot against the door, and then the mat. "There we are," she hummed, gripping the one spare house key. 'And Trina said that we'd be broken in,' she internally snickered as the front door swung open.

With it soon clicking behind her, Tori exhaled, glancing across the room. Trina, she had assumed, wouldn't be home but wherever, while her mom was...wherever. David, meanwhile, was just a call away, Tori's ebbing anxiety pressing through the few screens. She tapped her foot nervously before settling in the couch, the phone buzzing.

"Hullo?"

"Hi Dad," she greeted, grimacing at the croak. "So, how are you?"

"Fine," he answered, sounding considerably more cheerful. "But, only as good as I can get I suppose."

She furrowed her brows at that. "But you are okay, right? What happened?"

"Oh just a difficult dude, sweetie, you know what happens at my work," Mr. Vega murmured, "Tried to grab the freaking baton from my hip and ended up running me into the ground. Didn't end too well for him though."

"But Mom said your arm-"

"I know. But look at it this way, your old man will get a cool scar!" Tori couldn't suppress the chuckle as David gave himself a hearty laugh. Though, once a few moments had dissipated between the two, he asked, "So, how's Jade so far?"

The half-Latina paused, none of the small laughs to be heard. "Fine..."

"A woman's favorite word..." David mumbled quietly, briefly recalling all of his wife's simple distresses. "Are you sure she hasn't been...difficult? A bully?"

"No...why?" Tori asked hesitantly, though she knew the truth had leaked from between her teeth.

"Honey, Sikowitz does give updates, you know... He said you two still aren't getting along that well at the rehearsals and even in class," he explained. Tori didn't answer immediately after, her free-hand too busy shuffling for the remote. "Tori, is there anything wrong?"

"No, there's nothing wrong," she grumbled quietly.

She winced once David's uncomfortable grunt made its way through the line, the man shifting in the bed several streets away. "So..." he began slowly, "Is it about your little...thing?"

"What thing?"

"Tori," the father chuckled dryly, "You know what I'm talking about."

"Well I don't have a 'thing' for her..."

"Ah, so it is," he murmured. As she gasped in retort, David put in, "Tori, for one you are a terrible liar. Two, I do well with asking people questions. Put the two and two together-"

"But I don't!"

"Right, and I just asked you about a thing - nothing to do with Jade." Tori glowered towards Michonne as bullets rang across the room, the screen flashing; she could feel his cheeky grin all the way from the hospital.

As Tori didn't much care for rotting corpses shuffling about, she flicked through the channels. "It has nothing to do with it, alright? I'm over it, I don't have anything since over the summer," she mumbled.

"Uh huh...I see," he drawled, adding, "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure, it's just a stupid little thing in the past."

"Tori...are you sure?" David continued, "You do have this look whenever she comes ov -"

"I'm sure I don't have a thing for Jade!" Tori gasped.

"-er... Alright," the father sighed. He tapped against the phone before asking, "So, can you check ESPN? I need to see what happens with the Bears...need to run them to the ground."

"Okay," Tori rolled her eyes, flipping through the channels, "Do they not have it?"

"No. The nurse keeps telling me to sleep and I don't want to." Tori sighed as he continued with his rant, a small smile creeping along her lips - he was a nightmare to all nurses and his well-being.

. . .

The towel grazed her skin as she tucked it away, the hot water ceasing its splashes against the sink. Jade blinked down towards the dishes, shaking her head. "I do take care of my shit," she growled, trudging through the kitchen. She paused beside the couch, arching a brow as Rat lifted his head from the pillow. Heaving a short breath, she strode towards the basement, her grip clutching the doorknob. Nails clacked against the floors, dragging her eyes towards the small pooch.

"You're not going down here, dog," she muttered. Rat tilted his head to the side, setting his rump down onto the floor. The door opened with a creak, Jade flooding into her bedroom. Rat stepped closer to the door, the goth rolling her eyes. The door shut before a black nose, Rat's ears flopping about as he scratched himself. Once his paw settled down onto the floor, he remained sitting. Steps creaked down the stairs behind it, earning a soft whine.

There was no response, other than the distant ministrations of a teen going to bed.

Heaving a long breath, coal eyes glinted towards the front door before he shuffled towards the basement entryway once again. He curled to the side, resting against the door frame.

Holy shit... Thanks for the follows, firstly. And then there's the updating. I didn't forget but time flies, ya know? Anyway, figured I could update this one and then get back to the others.

Hope you enjoyed anyway!

:)