In Sikowitz's class that morning, Jade sat staring out the window. She wasn't paying attention to the scene Cat and Robbie were currently engaged in, although it had started out quite playfully and normally would have interested her. But today her thoughts were too chaotic to be suppressed, even for the sake of watching funny improv.

I agreed to talk to Tori after school. Now what? What the hell am I supposed to say? "Hi, I hate your guts but for some stupid reason I can't get you out of my head and I'd really just like to get rid of you once and for all"? Or how about "Want to know the reason I've been sleep deprived? It's because I can't stop thinking about you"? Like, what the fuck? I can't tell her what's going on because it just sounds weird! And she's not even my friend; why the hell should I tell her anything?

Jade's thoughts continued to cycle rapidly, coming up with dozens of options of things she could say, all equally terrible. And none of them were things she would ever dream of actually saying to anyone, much less Tori. What's the point of this? I'm not getting anywhere with trying to plan a speech. So basically, I'm just going to be spending time one-on-one with Tori, with no clue what I'm going to say, after school, of my own free will. Greeaat plan, Jade. Geez, I'm a fucking idiot.

When the bell rang for lunch, Jade waited until everyone else had left the room, ignoring the stares she got as people wondered why she was staying in her seat. As Tori passed her chair on the way out, she paused and caught Jade's eye. Jade managed to maintain eye contact for a few seconds, until Tori finally looked away and continued on her way out of the room. Jade mentally gave a million thanks that Tori hadn't said anything. I have no clue why that happened or what that meant, but that actually wasn't terrible. I guess I can manage to exist around Tori as long as there are no words. So I'm not a total lost cause. But every time she tries to speak, it feels like her words explode and echo in my head, and it's overwhelming. And when I try to speak, it's just… hard. Like I can't trust my words. Fuck, why did I ever agree to talk to her after school?

When Sikowitz tried to engage Jade in some conversation about the nutritious properties of coconut milk, she finally stood up and left the room. I couldn't care less about his stupid coconut milk. Upon consideration of the fact that if she had lunch at the Asphalt Cafe, she may have to endure listening to a conversation that involved Tori, Jade decided to eat in the janitor's closet. It's not like the janitors ever really used it during the school day.

After a few more minutes of mental turmoil, Jade took out her phone and dialed Beck's number (one of the few numbers she had committed to memory). Maybe he can help me figure out what to say. Then, her finger midway between the last digit of his number and the call button, Jade paused. What would I even say to him? "Hi, boyfriend. Hope you're having a great time with your family. You know the new girl whom I absolutely despise? Yeah? Well, I also think about her way more than I ever think about you. What do you think of that? Oh, and, I'm going to be talking to her alone after school today. So what should I say to get her to like me?" Pathetic. If it hadn't been so sad, it would have almost been funny.

Unable to think of anything to say and unable to find anyone to turn to for help, Jade's thoughts turned to the possibility of ditching the end of school. If I never show up, then I never have to say anything. And that option seemed wonderful. Jade imagined walking past Tori and crossing the Asphalt Cafe, then getting in her car and pulling away from the school. How nice that would be. But then Jade remembered all her sleepless nights, and the idea was suddenly less appealing. I'm stuck in a position where there are literally no good options. And I guess I'll just have to go with the least terrible one…

Jade emerged from her last class of the day feeling a mix of emotions: a bit of pride at finishing up a project she had been working on and a bit of antsy anticipation about the conversation she was about to participate in, but mainly a lot of worry and dread. If she had been a stereotypical movie character, she might have walked slowly to her locker to prolong the time she had before the encounter, but that was not Jade's style. Jade was incredibly irked by people who walked slowly in the halls. She took up her normal pace (which was slightly faster than most people's; when she had a place to be, she intended to get there. If she wanted to delay, better to do something worthwhile as a way to delay departure; walking slowly was, in her opinion, an idiotic form of procrastination). However, she did wish she could remain on the other side of the school. When she arrived at her locker, she noted that Tori was not yet across the hall at her own locker. I bet she's the kind of person who walks slowly as a delay tactic, Jade thought with just a little bit of scorn. But then her thoughts were once again replaced by worry. Tori's walking pace was really not that significant when compared to the conversation that was approaching.

Jade waited at her locker for a couple minutes, gradually growing more impatient. Where the hell is she? Is she just gonna not show up and then rub it in my face? As the halls gradually emptied while people left on the bus or to drive themselves home, Jade's thoughts only grew more agitated.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Jade heard the soft sound of approaching footsteps. She turned around to see a sheepish-looking Tori walking toward her (at a pace that was not particularly indicative of a procrastinative motivation).

"Hi," Tori said tentatively.

Jade just stared at her, crossing her arms across her chest. (There was no specific reason for the arm-crossing except that she preferred that position to leaving her arms dangling at her sides. If she was going to engage in a conversation that was uncomfortable by nature, she might as well hold her arms in a comfortable position, right?)

"So… uh, should we go somewhere?"

Jade shrugged. Internally, her answer was yes, because of course she didn't want to have a conversation with Tori right in the middle of the hall, where anyone could listen in. But she didn't want to have to open her mouth and say so.

Tori appeared to become more uncomfortable with Jade's continued silence. She fidgeted with the thin textbook she was holding (Intro to Music Theory, Jade noted. Her mind was getting distracted pretty easily as it tried to find details to cling to as diversions from her nerves). Finally, Tori spoke again: "We could go to the Blackbox Theater?"

Jade shrugged again, then picked up her book bag from where she had deposited it on the floor and walked in the direction Tori had suggested. From the corner of her eye, she could see Tori, trailing her by a few feet but following nonetheless.

When Jade entered the Blackbox Theater, she saw Sinjin on the second level, fiddling with some lighting controls. She sighed. Of course he has to make this more complicated. After a moment's contemplation, she spoke up to him: "I need to use the theater."

Sinjin looked down, clearly surprised that he was no longer alone in the room. After a second, his eyes widened happily when he saw that the other person there was Jade. "I need to work on the lights for next week's play. But you're always welcome to be here with me, Jade." The dreamy way Sinjin said her name disgusted Jade. She glared up at him.

"I'm using the theater. You can find somewhere else to work," she said coldly.

Sinjin looked like he wanted to argue, but then he clearly thought better of it. He gathered his things and descended to the main part of the theater, then gave Jade one more dreamy look and started to leave the room. When he saw Tori standing in the doorway, he paused. "Two pretty girls in the Blackbox Theater, and I'm not allowed to join in the fun," he mused sadly.

"Get out," Jade said through clenched teeth. This was quite effective; Sinjin scurried off within moments.

With Sinjin finally gone, Jade reluctantly turned to face Tori, trying not to show how nervous she was. Tori met Jade's gaze. They stood like that for a couple seconds, facing each other in a silence that felt tense and slightly uncomfortable, but not quite awkward. Then Tori began to walk toward Jade slowly, swinging her arms in front of her, as if she didn't quite know what to do with them. Yup, that's exactly why I cross my arms. When Tori was about two feet away from Jade, she stopped. As Jade looked into Tori's face, she was greeted by an overwhelming amount of detail. Woah, there. That's a bit too close for comfort. Jade took a few small steps backwards, never breaking eye contact. Even though she still had no clue what to say, her thoughts felt calm, somehow; all the confused chaos of the past few days had suddenly ceased, and Jade felt okay, even as she was standing here staring Tori right in the face.

After a few moments, Tori spoke. "I don't know what to say."

"Clearly." Jade had always been a fan of the sarcastic cop-out answer. It made things simple for her and made people uncomfortable; a double win, in Jade's opinion.

Tori closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes again, she reached out her hand toward Jade, then retracted it. "I… I don't want you to be my enemy."

This simple statement affected Jade deeply. She felt a little bit of a warm, fuzzy feeling slowly creeping its way into her heart. Jade was exceedingly pleased, yet she felt that she couldn't reveal it. To hide her emotions, she turned to her default: dry sarcasm. "No one wants enemies."

Tori didn't appear to be taken aback by Jade's response in the least. She gazed at Jade with an earnest look that seemed to peek into her soul. "I just wish we could be friends," she said quietly.

Tori's piercing gaze made Jade feel open and exposed, like a dead bird with its innards ripped out. She increasingly felt as though she needed to scramble for cover, but she found herself unable to break eye contact. Her helplessness gave rise to a boiling anger that bubbled up from her chest and brought warmth to her cheeks. As her ire intensified, Jade felt the need to express it; she had never been good at suppressing her anger, especially not when it came to interacting with other people.

"Wow Vega, you really think everything is about you," Jade spat.

Now Tori seemed caught off guard, and a bit flustered. "Wait—that's not what I—"

"Really. You kiss my boyfriend because you think he's hot. You try to apologize because you don't like how it feels for me to be mad at you, and then when I don't immediately fawn over you, you follow me around, begging to know why I don't like you. And now you want me to be your friend, not because you care about me, but because you don't like having enemies. That sound about right?"

Tori opened and closed her mouth, looking like a clueless idiot. Well, a sad and hurt clueless idiot, which honestly looked… pathetic. A small part of Jade softened at how distraught Tori looked, but her anger drowned out the caringness that was trying to root itself in her heart. She looked upon Tori coldly.

Finally Tori regained some composure. "I do care about you," she said, speaking so softly Jade could barely make out the words.

What the—

Did she really just say she cares about me? Thanks to those five words, all hell broke loose in Jade's mind. All the feelings she had experienced throughout the past couple of days came roaring back: the confusion, the longing, the sadness, the helplessness… they were all there, rushing in and replacing most of the anger. Here was Tori standing right in front of her, as beautiful and sweet as a twinkling star. Vega. One of the stars in the Summer Triangle. Turns out it actually is an apt last name for her. But what did all these feelings mean? I have a boyfriend, for goodness' sake. Why the fuck should I care that this girl is pretty or that she cares about me? I have Beck and I have Cat. I don't need anyone else. But why did everything feel so peaceful a couple minutes ago when we were just staring at each other? What the fuck is going on with me?

"Jade?" Tori asked tentatively. "Are you… going to say anything?"

"No," Jade responded, quietly but forcefully. Then she walked briskly out of the theater, leaving nothing but a dazed and confused Tori in her wake.

Tori stood in the middle of the Blackbox Theater, rooted to the spot. She was trying to process what had just transpired, and what it meant.

Jade was really different today. Well, kind of. She seemed really distant and closed off the whole time. With her crossed arms, and her silence… and her sarcastic replies. I was just trying to have an open conversation with her… but I guess maybe that was too much to expect. She got upset once—and she really did seem upset—but maybe what she said was important. Maybe I need to give her more space. But aside from that moment, it seemed like she was at least listening to me… she didn't react much, but she was definitely paying attention. So that's something.

But where do we go from here? We talked, but nothing was resolved. And… I told her that I care about her, and then she just walked away. Should I not have said that? Is that going to make things between us awkward? But of course I care about her! It's not like it's on some sort of deep level; I don't even know her that well. But I care about her feelings, and I want her to be able to be happy, just like I do for everyone else! That's just the kind of person I am! Is there really anything wrong with that? Is there something wrong with me for trying so much to get Jade to like me, when she seems so bent on hating me?

Tori's thoughts were interrupted by the muted ping of her phone as she got a text message. She pulled her phone out of her backpack. It was from Trina: I got bored of waiting so I went home. Find someone else to drive you. Tori sighed, resolving to get back at Trina whenever the opportunity arose. Then she put her phone back into her bag and left the theater, walking briskly into the parking lot in hopes that one of her friends was still there and could drive her.

Tori only recognized two cars: Sinjin's and Jade's. Well, then. If I don't want to get in a creepy dude's car, I guess I only really have one option.

Tori cupped her hands below her mouth to amplify her sound, then yelled Jade's name across the parking lot.

Jade paused, just about to get in her car after having dumped her book bag in the trunk. She turned to face Tori, closing her car door and leaning against the side. "What do you want now, Vega?" she asked icily.

Tori was crossing the parking lot rapidly, and soon she was standing a few feet away from Jade. "Trina left without me. Do you think… you might be able to give me a ride?"

A/N: Well! They had… a conversation. Quite a tense one, at that. I was kind of concerned about writing this because neither Jade nor Tori really knew what to say, so therefore I had no clue what to have them say either, but it ended up working itself out.

Thank you so much for reading! I really appreciate you all. 'Till next week!