A/N: they're together now, and they're so gay and in love, they don't even know what to do with themselves.
i'll warn you, there's some borderline M rated activity but nothing E rated y̶e̶t̶
The doorbell rings and Tori leaps from the kitchen table. Holly's narrowed eyes follow her daughter's quick feet toward the front door. "Who is that?"
"Jade. Play practice, remember?"
Tori's mom figured it was true that Jade always came over on Tuesdays. She wasn't sure how productive the sessions were, but it must have made Tori comfortable being "involved" in a production with an incredibly dark storyline if she had someone to talk to about it. "Oh right, I should have known."
The brunette inhaled deeply, finally dropping her upper body tension in a quick exhale and putting a smile on her face. Jade looked no less beautiful than when she was fully dressed at prom on Friday.
"Hi, Jade!"
The other girl smirked and entered quietly. "Hey."
An alarm sounded in Holly's mind. Tori was acting strange ever since prom, and her mom wondered if something happened between the two. That's all the loudmouth is gonna say? A soft 'hey'?
Jade sat on a couch and began to paw through her backpack. Tori's mom studied her daughter, who had her eyes locked on Jade who was already settled in. Jade's head did a slight tilt toward the other couch as if to prompt Tori to keep her distance.
"We're finally getting to the end of the play this week. It's about time," Jade muttered while flipping through the pages.
"Yeah, agreed."
More awkward silence. Holly began gathering her papers and laptop to give the girls some privacy when Tori noticed her mom standing from the table. "Oh, you don't have to leave!" Tori wondered if her mom would be uncomfortable listening to the subject matter.
"No, it's okay. I have some work to finish, so I'll just go outside."
"What, you don't want to hear about a boy's violent murder?" Jade turned to Holly with a sober face.
The older woman shuddered at the thought of her youngest daughter actually acting in this show, not because the message was inappropriate, but because of her own sister's identity. It was a sensitive topic that Holly hadn't reckoned with yet. If she didn't have Tori to worry about, she would be reading the entire script daily to have enough knowledge and support for her daughter.
"No, don't worry about me," Holly waved her hand dismissively and disappeared outside.
Tori gulped as her gaze returned to Jade, whispering as soon as her mom was out of sight. "What if she hates me?"
"What?" Jade asked, genuinely confused at where Tori's sudden fear came from.
"Well, I don't think she's unaccepting because my aunt is gay. And she's never said anything bad about it, but every time I talk about it she gets really weird. Like maybe it's one of those things where she wouldn't normally care unless it's her own kid and-"
"Your mom is obsessed with the Obamas. You really think she's homophobic?" Jade chuckled. "I understand it's scary, but I really don't think anything awful will happen when you tell her."
Tori frowned and slumped her shoulders at her continuing negative thoughts. "When am I supposed to tell her?"
"Whenever you're ready. I can't make that decision for you. I'm not going to push you within a certain amount of time either cause that's not fair," Jade leaned forward on the couch to catch Tori's attention. She had grown tense and started staring off into space. "It's going to be okay."
The brunette perked up a little bit at Jade's reassuring words. Something as simple as 'it's going to be okay' was enough to slow her heartbeat even if it was just a little. "Okay. God, I just... I wonder if I felt this way before, too. And what do I tell Trina? Or my dad? He's going to feel so weird!"
"Ew, don't tell Trina. Ever."
"Wait, really?" Tori wrapped her arms around her stomach.
"I'm kidding," Jade smirked. " I can't wait to see how freaked out she gets. Who knows, maybe she already saw it coming."
Tori's eyes grew wide. "Oh, God. What if she did?"
Jade scowled at the other's face, her expression indicating that she was digging up a memory. "Did… does she?"
"She had a really weird reaction when I told her we were still friends after the accident. And um… If you stole my dad's hockey trophy, won't my parents be kind of mad if we're… you know..." Tori laughed awkwardly as neither one of them was able to label anything quite yet.
Jade's eyes narrowed, her expression quickly shifting from neutral to furious. "She told you that?"
"Well, I mean I don't blame her. I'd probably tell me too if I was the older sister," Tori grimaced with hesitation.
Jade's burning gaze made Tori's chest ache. "Oh great, so you just think I'm a horrible demon crazy bitch who stole your dad's trophy for the fun of it?"
"Oh no! I really didn't think that-"
"I got kicked out of my dad's house while my mom was in France for a month and I needed money for food. I had no one to ask or go to, and Trina just drew me out to be some sort of monster to you, didn't she?"
"Wait, wait, wait. Forget about Trina. You got kicked out?"
Tori's continuation of concern caused Jade's rage to settle down. She hadn't Told Tori originally why she truly stole the trophy, so why did she tell her now? "Sorry. I shouldn't have said anything."
The brunette was extremely confused as to why Jade would apologize for saying something. "No, it's okay-"
"No, I was wrong to steal, and I know that now. It was really stupid. Seriously, I learned my lesson. It was supposed to be harmless."
Tori blinked her eyes rapidly while desperately trying to redirect the other's attention. "Jade, what happened with your dad?"
Blue eyes finally locked with Tori's again as Jade let out a deep sigh. "I shouldn't tell you."
"Why not?" If being involved with Jade meant that she would start opening up about her past, Tori was going to go ahead with her full speed. She had never felt this close to anyone before. Some of her desire to help Jade through this stemmed from a feeling that she owes Jade for how much she has made her feel safe and supported since the accident.
"Please don't freak out, but he's not accepting, you know, of me." Tori's heart ripped in half, though Jade didn't seem heartbroken at all. "He's an ass, always has been, always will be."
"But he's your dad. Don't you want to get along with him?"
Jade tensed up even more and had to physically restrain herself from not exploding. "Not after what he's done to me. Just… be thankful that you don't know that feeling," she explained calmly before sinking into the couch with a sigh. Normally, Jade would have gone on a rant about how you don't owe your parents anything, but she knew Tori was coming from a good place and always seeks the best in people. It had even gotten her into trouble a few times.
"I thought you mostly live with your dad?"
"I stay in my room there sometimes now, yeah. After some time he realized he can't just throw me away completely, I'm his daughter no matter what. I think he just tried to scare what he didn't like about me out of me. But my mom pulled some crazy bitch shit on him and got him to treat me like a human again. I got kicked out years ago, that's when the trophy thing happened."
"Oh, wow," Tori exhaled as she tried to internalize all of this, Jade wondered how they had even gotten on this topic or better yet, why she would admit something she has never told anyone before. Oh yeah, it's Trina's fault that this is happening right now.
"Well, I'm really sorry. Where was Beck when that happened? Couldn't you have stayed with him?" Tori tried to imagine what she would have done if that happened to her. She'd probably ask to stay with a friend, she thought. Or a significant other if she had one at the time.
"No," Jade laughed in disgust.
Tori blinked dumbfoundedly and laughed softly. "Why not?"
"I didn't want to tell him why I got kicked out... That I'm bi."
"What? He wouldn't have cared, would he?"
Jade shrugged. "Well, when I eventually did tell him, no he didn't. I don't know why I was scared. Everyone thinks if you're bi, you're just gonna go cheat on whoever you're dating and it's so stupid."
Tori's focused scowling intensified. She hadn't realized people thought that, she never had that assumption or idea in her mind. "So what did you do for that month?"
The dark-haired girl raised an eyebrow and stared at the blank TV screen. "Lived in my mom's house alone. Ate alone every night I wasn't with Beck."
"And does he even know this happened and that you went through this?"
"No," Jade laughed as pain clearly coated the sound of her voice. "Because he was too busy criticizing me for the rest of my problems. I couldn't put this one on him either."
Tori certainly wasn't expecting this deep conversation and found it incredibly difficult to learn about this experience all at once. The pieces with her dad, with Beck, how Trina completely misunderstood the entire situation and the truth behind it. It was heartbreaking, and Tori had picked up on a few side comments from Jade about her family, but she didn't realize it was actually this traumatic.
"God, I'm so sorry Jade," Tori's eyes were full of sorrow as she glanced at the girl who couldn't take her eyes off the floor.
"Thanks, it's okay," Jade muttered.
"How can I help?"
Jade stood up with a smirk and held her arms out deliberately for a hug. A cheesy grin formed on Tori's face in a split second, then she jumped up and wrapped her arms around Jade.
"Isn't this so fun? Now it's not weird to do hugs!" Tori's heart was glowing.
"Oh, you can definitely make it weird by talking about it."
"Sorry," Tori whispered, focusing on the embrace again. She closed her eyes and rocked back and forth, taking Jade in the same motion as her."Yup, it's still weird. Why are you rocking me?"
Tori pulled away, leaving her hands on Jade's arms. "I dunno."
Jade rolled her eyes slightly at the way Tori couldn't help but stare fondly at Jade. It was a new privilege to be able to feel truly close to Jade, and even to be able to kiss her at any moment. Tori's head strained over Jade's shoulder to see if Holly was around, but she wasn't. Then her eyes darted to the side windows near the piano, and Jade began laughing impatiently.
"If you're going to be that paranoid about it, don't kiss me."
Tori let go of her hold on Jade and whined. "You won't let me kiss you at school either!"
"Not until I think you'll be able to handle it without smiling for thirty minutes after that," Jade teased.
Tori laughed nervously and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Okay, that's fair."
"Okay, enough mushy stuff-"
"But I like mushy stuff!"
"I know you do," Jade laughed, "But we seriously should get started with reading. Have you analyzed the last scene yet?"
"Oh totally, I haven't been distracted by thinking of you constantly or anything."
Jade looked up at Tori, who was still grinning violently even from the hug. This dork, what have I gotten myself into.
"You are scaring me, Tori. And I can't even kiss you to shut you up, you'll just keep talking."
"Well… I can't really get used to it or over my intense reactions to kissing you unless we practice it," Tori couldn't keep a smile off her face, and sucking her lips in did not hide her eagerness whatsoever. "Like… a lot."
Jade pressed the tip of her tongue to the side of her mouth and shook her head. "You really haven't changed at all. You are still the exact same Tori I knew."
"Well aren't you lucky," Tori's tone was comical, she couldn't stop moving her shoulders tauntingly as she continued to stare at Jade. She hated to admit it, but it was impossible to not fall in love with Tori. But they were going slow, and Jade should be going slow. Although, since she has known and has memory of Tori for years, she can validly say she's in love, right?
"Reading. You're going to have to earn that kiss, Vega."
Tori immediately scrambled to grab her script from the other end of the couch and flip to the page with the last scene. Once she was there, she looked up at Jade with wide eyes while ripping a piece of hair out of her mouth that had gotten there amidst her panic. "Okay, I'm ready."
"Hi, Jade! You can sit here, I'll move my bag," Tori spoke fast with high energy, eventually turning back to Jade with a big smile.
Jade had never met anyone who was this genuinely excited to see her all of the time, not even Cat. "Sure."
Tori couldn't keep composure, but the more Jade acted her normal indifferent self, Tori was reminded to tone her excitement down a bit.
Andre leaned in to whisper to Tori, "Girl, find some chill."
The brunette scoffed. "I simply cannot! I have tried," she replied in a normal volume.
"Tried what?" Robbie questioned before sipping a smoothie.
Tori panicked. "Oh! Um... I can't do math."
Even Jade rolled her eyes and challenged Tori. "Math? Really?" Though she couldn't stay upset with her, leaving everyone but Andre confused at the table.
"Tori, you've been really weird the past few days," Beck commented in suspicion.
Tori couldn't help but remember her growing hatred toward him as soon as his voice sounded. "No, I haven't?"
"Eh, Tori's always this weird," Jade smirked while unwrapping her burrito.
"Yeah!" She agreed with Jade by default, until she realized it was actually a rude remark. "Hey!"
"Just speaking facts," blue eyes found Cat's. The redhead had been silent the entire lunch so far. "What's up, Cat?"
She immediately burst into tears, causing Jade's protective instincts to kick in. "Who hurt you?" Her tone had an edge to it as she clenched her jaw.
"No one," she mumbled as her head bowed lower.
"C'mon Cat, talk to us," Andre said between a bite of his food.
"No one! I'm just sad," she whimpered as she brushed her hands slowly down her arms.
"Please tell us why," Robbie encouraged with a soft tone.
She finally looked up to Jade's eyes specifically. "Because I'm gonna miss you guys next year."
This was the dreaded topic of the friend group. It hadn't come up too often, and now with Tori there, no one wanted to continue the conversation, especially Jade.
"We're still gonna be friends and hang out! Most of us will probably stay in California anyway," Andre said smoothly.
"Yeah, we're not going too far," Beck smiled. "We won't disappear."
Tori's mind began racing. God, what the fuck am I going to do? I haven't even thought about this yet. I can't handle going to college next fall. "Well shit, I don't even know what I'm going to do. Live in my mom's basement forever?"
" No," Robbie urged. "You're way too talented, people are going to be begging to have you on their record labels."
Tori scoffed. "A singing career? No thanks."
Everyone froze and glanced at the brunette with surprise. That had been Tori's dream since just a few weeks after joining Hollywood Arts. "Why not?" Jade finally asked, her voice croaking as her throat ached suddenly.
"I just can't imagine all of that… I hate coming to school because there are too many people here. A professional singer? I can't do that."
Andre couldn't contain his sudden upset, Andre could feel the bench shaking from his leg bouncing up and down. "You can do that. It's okay if you're scared-"
"No, no. I really don't want to do that."
"Do you not want to be famous, or are you scared of the reason you would maybe become famous?" Jade questioned calmly.
Tori laughed in disbelief at the way that Jade saw right through her and realized the truth immediately. "You're right. It's why I would probably become famous. If I've already performed at the AMA's, my name is out there, and a story like mine is one of those that you see on like, the X-Factor or American Idol or whatever. And everybody pities you for the rest of your life and nothing is ever normal again. I just don't want to be asked about it for the rest of my life, I want to forget about it. And then like, they expect me to say, 'oh music saved my life after the accident, even though I was literally training to have this kind of lifestyle, and singing definitely cured the fact that I lost two years of memory and the fact that I now have anxiety and dissociation constantly and that's only the beginning of my shitty mental state.'"
Cat's breathing was labored now, she had been focusing on it in order to not hyperventilate in the stressful environment. "Tori, you don't have to do anything you don't want to."
"Thank you," Tori spoke softly and sincerely back to Cat. "If it means anything, I definitely want you around after graduation."
The smile that Cat offered Tori helped relieve her build-up of emotions. Tori smiled back, though she suddenly regretted going off on her tangent. Jade's heart ached as she extended a hand to rest on Tori's thigh in comfort. The brunette startled at the contact, her eyes dropping to see Jade's fingers mapped out over her jeans. Jade stroked her thumb back and forth once Tori made eye contact with her, and it seemed nearly impossible to keep her lips off of Jade's. The only way to prevent it was to look away and take Jade's hand into hers under the table. Jade imagined that her face was still sober, but Andre could see her blank expression faltering.
"You're going to figure it out either way," Andre began with hope. "Take some time to sort through your feelings, no one is going to rush you. Even if you still wanted to make music ever, I'm your guy."
"Yeah, and the music industry can really stink," Cat said, her voice still soft and depressed.
"I know," Tori's eyes bulged out of her head. "Poor Brittany Spears."
Beck and Andre laughed, though no one else at the table understood Tori's comment with their lack of knowledge. "Yeah, no one wants to be a child star," Beck shook his head.
Andre shrugged. "Alright, let's not scare her out of it forever."
"Yeah. Tori, all that matters is that you're happy and supported. We'll make sure it happens," Jade spoke softly. Beck was bewildered at the incredibly thoughtful comment from Jade. Tori hadn't caught Beck's expression, she was too busy melting into Jade's eyes as the dark-haired girl squeezed her hand harder.
"Jade? Is that you?"
Blue eyes were set aflame at Beck's sarcastic voice. She turned to him and tilted her. "Unsolicited conversation contributor, is that you?"
"That was a lot of big words," Cat giggled, her first sign of happiness all lunch period.
Andre chortled and hid his smile behind his drink. He glanced at Tori and saw her smirking, and maybe even a bit of deviousness in her eyes as she stared back at Beck.
"I'm gonna go," Jade announced abruptly. She began to gather her things, soon followed by Tori.
"Me too," the brunette added, attempting to make as dramatic of an exit as Jade undoubtedly would.
The other four at the table bowed their heads in awkwardness as the two girls finally walked away from the table. Beck shook his head and returned to his food. "Anyone else feel like Jade has been super protective of Tori since the accident?"
"Nahhh," Andre replied sarcastically. "They're fine."
Robbie squinted and stared off in thought. "Honestly, yeah I can see it," he said in agreement with Beck.
Cat shrugged. "I think she just has a lot of regret about her history with Tori and wants to make it up to her."
Beck's rising suspicion simmered down after Cat's reasonable explanation. "Yeah, that sounds about right. At least she's not pushing Tori around anymore."
Tori gasped when her back hit the wall Jade had carefully pushed her against. "Can you do me a favor?" Jade asked teasingly, her voice raspy and hushed.
The brunette surrendered to every word and touch from Jade, her skin melting at every spot Jade's fingers traced. "Yes," she replied breathlessly as the other closed in on her.
"Don't-make-a sound," Jade's words were separated by her soft lips pressing against Tori's jaw three separate times. The brunette's breath hitched at every next kiss Jade left on the other's sun-kissed skin. Soon, Tori shuddered helplessly at the sensation of Jade's fingers tracing down the left side of her neck.
"O-okay, that's going to be hard," a breathy response escaped the brunette's lips. Her eyes shut as she swallowed the cool sensation in her mouth from panting the last several seconds.
Jade's blue eyes glowed with desire, even in the almost pitch black backstage area. Tori was finally relieved by Jade's lips latching onto hers once again. She had been waiting to be cornered by Jade at school all day, the thrill of getting caught inspired Tori to want to act out even more. But she was doing Jade a favor, and couldn't fail at that. Jade's fingers lingered to the back of Tori's neck as to pull herself even closer if that were even possible. Tori only made a timid whining sound when Jade pushed her chest against Tori's to test her limits. Jade briefly broke away after the whine, the sweet sound of their lips separating leaving Tori hungry for more.
"You need to promise me you can handle this. We have class together in ten minutes," Jade warned with a husky voice. Tori almost didn't care what Jade was saying at this point, she would agree to do anything as long as it meant she could keep kissing her.
"I promise," Tori whispered before grasping at Jade's cheeks and pulling her in again. Tori's energy was heightened, so Jade slowed them down. She wasn't ready, or maybe just simply wasn't the type to go too far with Tori without some emotion behind it. Especially at school, God forbid they got caught half-naked with who knows whose tongue down the other's throat.
Jade lowered her head to fix her lips on the skin just below Tori's ear, soft lips grazing over the area. Tori's chest tightened as her posture stiffened against the wall. Jade's mouth felt too good in that spot, but Tori knew she couldn't do anything about it in return without risking her entire dignity if they were to be caught. " Now I- I think I understand why… why you wouldn't want to do this at school," Tori managed in a whisper, her sentence broken into segments at every small gasp Jade prompted with her teeth lightly grazing over Tori's neck. "Don't leave a mark!" The brunette hissed.
"Relax, I'm not an idiot," Jade murmured into Tori's neck, absolutely immersing herself in the sweet smell of Tori's perfume and dampened skin where her mouth had been. Tori questioned that last statement once she felt Jade sucking back at the spot right below her ear. The perfectly bearable pain caused Tori to subconsciously reach her hands around Jade's back to grasp at something that would ground her. The dark-haired girl groaned into the other's mouth in almost a growl as Tori's nails scratched through the fabric of her shirt and looked forward to the day that it would be on her bare skin. Jade sucked harder at Tori's sensitive skin, her teeth eventually clamping down on the area and pulling a groan out of Tori. She couldn't deny how much she adored hearing these desperate sounds from Tori, even if it was a risk of someone discovering them backstage.
"Please, my mom would kill me," Tori whined again; although the last thing she wanted was for Jade to stop.
"I know what I'm doing," Jade purred before continuing on the other side of Tori's neck. The brunette's hands now rested on the other's lower back, slowly sliding down curiously over Jade's ass. Through their eager and messy kissing, Tori's fingernails dug into Jade's ass through her dark jeans. The fair-skinned girl moaned into a kiss, begging Tori to grip harder, now creating a competition of who could resist the urge to sound out.
"Look who's noisy now?" Tori's voice was no longer vulnerable, the resilience making Jade's head spin. It may have surprised Tori more than Jade, the words that had just come out of her mouth. She never feels too clever to make a call like that, but kissing and feeling Jade up brought sides out of Tori that she only recently learned existed. Why was this so much more fun than the boring and borderline gross kissing with Danny?
" Fuck," Jade hissed as Tori gripped her ass firmer. "Okay, okay, we need to stop and collect ourselves."
"Ugh," Tori groaned with defeat, her eyes finally falling to Jade's chest that she had felt against hers the last few moments. "I was just getting started."
"Then it's a good thing my mom won't be home this weekend," Jade's index finger rested under the other's chin to tilt her head back up to bring Tori's eyes off of her breasts and back to her eyes.
The brunette's hands innocently retreated to Jade's lower back. "I like the sound of that," Tori whispered before closing the space between her and Jade again. Tori felt her heart beating in a new way as she kissed Jade. It wasn't just desire and lust filling her mind, there was a distinct fondness that she couldn't entirely claim before. This is my person, and she makes me feel amazing emotionally… and of course physically. Jade's lips moved even slower, accentuating the sensitive moment, closing off an event Tori would certainly never forget.
Jade pulled away with a warm smile before giggling. "I can't believe I pushed you against the wall."
"I know, right? Next time it's gonna have to be you in that spot," Tori grinned innocently, but her voice was still coated with lust. Jade wasn't expecting this side of Tori to surface, let alone exist. But she certainly wasn't complaining.
Today, 1:13 PM
Yo, everyone is suspicious af. When are y'all just gonna admit it?
that's the problem! we don't know what 'it' is. we haven't talked about it.
So ask her on a date?
no!
Why not?
she should ask me.
… Why does it matter?
I don't know. it just feels like the right thing to do.
I really don't think it matters. But if it does, just ask her about it.
I'm so scared to. some people freak out at that kind of official statement. plus, every time I say "I have a girlfriend" in my head, I feel really weird
So she is your girlfriend?
no! at least not yet.
Why does that sound weird in your head?
I just… don't think I've had a ton of time to really digest it. I just found I like Jade, let alone girls in general, and here we are exactly one week later and I want to call her my girlfriend already? it just seems weird
Okay, I kind of understand. You want to wait until it's something official, then?
yeah, exactly. that's all
Makes sense. Where did you guys go during lunch today?
Tori blushed a deeper shade of red than Cat's hair. She had finally almost wiped the scene out of her head until Andre had to ask. As Tori's fingertips lightly brushed over the skin Jade had sunk her teeth into, Cat continued to surf the web in an attempt to find answers about the project they were working on together. Brown eyes fluttered shut at the vivid memory of chills Jade's actions had left all over Tori's body just a few hours ago. The brunette's shaking hands returned to her phone to respond to him. She hoped it hadn't been too long without a reply, or he might be suspicious.
to the bathroom
Mhm. To the bathroom. I see
SHUT UP.
Hah! I knew it
don't make me regret talking to you about this
Don't worry, I'm not weird like Beck is about this stuff.
Tori's shoulders tensed. Beck is weird about everything, she thought as she typed a response.
wdym gross?
Idk he'd just get weird about it. especially because Jade is his ex
Gross. I didn't even think about how she had an intimate history with him. God, that's going to take a long time to adjust to.
Yea… Anyway, I'll ttyl
okay byeeeee
Cat cleared her throat dramatically, glaring at Tori with annoyance. "A little help here?"
"Sorry, sorry," Tori chuckled with guilt. "It was important."
"Well, are you willing to share with the class?" Cat's criticism was spoken loud enough for their teacher to hear, who glanced at the two girls and caught sight of Tori's phone in her hand.
"Tori, I'm going to need that phone on my desk," the teacher spoke calmly but eyed the brunette with narrowed eyes.
Tori gulped and did as she was told, sulking up to the front desk and placing her phone down. "Everything okay?"
The student wasn't expecting that question. "Uh, yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"
"Well, I just didn't know if something was going on, because, you know…" Mr. Sheppard was a nice teacher, but Tori often didn't particularly feel comfortable with opening up to him emotionally.
She shrugged her shoulders timidly and kept her eyes away from his stare. "No, everything's okay."
"Okay. You can get your phone at the end of class then," he responded before turning his eyes back to his laptop screen.
Cat stared at Tori with wide eyes as she walked back to her desk. "You never get in trouble!" She whispered.
"It's fine, no big deal."
"What is going on? You've been acting differently lately," Cat urged, fearing Tori was turning into someone she didn't know.
"Nothing, I was just talking to Andre," Tori replied in a whisper as she gazed over Cat's worried face with guilt. "Nothing is wrong, it's okay."
"Alright," the redhead sighed and returned to her laptop. "Can you please help me with this project, I don't know what we're supposed to be doing."
"Me neither," Tori sighed. "Alright, let's see." She tilted the laptop towards her to browse what Cat had found so far. "Did you read the book?" Tori asked while reading back over the assignment directions.
"Um… kind of?"
"I kind of did but didn't understand a single thing happening," Tori admitted while scowling over the paper.
"Are you and Jade dating?" Cat asked suddenly, her eyebrows raised at the other.
Tori immediately began stammering a dishonest answer. "What? No. No, we're not, what? That's crazy. No!" Eventually, her fragmented answers turned into forced laughs.
Cat shook her head simply. "You're lying."
"Okay, okay. Well, we're not dating, " Tori began. "Who told you?"
"No one. It's kind of obvious."
" What? But we, we haven't said anything to anyone!" The brunette was panicking now, if Cat knew, everyone would know very, very soon.
"Andre knows," Cat whispered, beginning to smirk at how hard Tori was blushing.
"So he told you then?!"
The teacher erupted at his desk. "Tori, if you don't want to tell me what's going on, maybe you could talk to Principal Helen?" The rest of the students went silent as his voice echoed through the room. Naturally, all eyes were on her at that moment.
"No, I'm sorry."
"Then focus on your work," the man replied sternly.
Tori was squirming in her seat until she felt like everyone had gone back to their own business. "Did Andre tell you something?"
"Why don't you just tell me what's going on?"
"Well, why? Are you mad?"
"No, I just want to know!"
"Shhh!" Tori hissed, turning an eye back to her teacher who was still eyeing the two girls. The brunette took a deep sigh and rested her hand on top of Cat's. "Okay. We're like, a thing I guess."
"Really?! That's so great! I knew it would happen."
Tori couldn't decide what confused her more, Cat's build-up of curiosity that came across angrily, or her confidence in the relationship eventually beginning. "Wait, how?"
"Oh please, it's been years in the making," the redhead giggled.
"Okay, now don't tell anyone, please!"
"Of course not!" Cat chirped while returning to write in her packet.
Tori was opening her locker as Robbie almost fell into her out of breath. "Geez, what?" She snapped at him, too stressed from her previous conversation with Cat.
"You and Jade are together?" He asked with a huge smile on his face.
The other held her hands in the air as if to be arrested. "You caught me. Have a nice night, Robbie," she turned back to her locker when Beck stepped in front of Robbie and startled Tori. "Oh, oh no-"
"Are you feeling okay?" Beck stared at her with a blank expression. "You really did hit your head pretty hard, huh?"
"Excuse me?" Tori snapped at him, taking a few steps back. Robbie stayed behind and faded into the backdrop of the scene. "You don't get to say that to me-"
"She's going to destroy you, you know," Beck warned, stepping closer to Tori. "She's cold-hearted and hates everything, and you're the complete opposite of that. It's just destined to fail."
"You don't know shit about her, all you did was belittle her and never actually listened to her feelings!" Tori stood in her place instead of backing up this time. If Beck was going to get in her face like this, she wasn't going to let him think he won.
"What makes you think she'll be any different with you?" He laughed and looked Tori up and down, causing her blood to boil.
"Because I actually value and respect her, something you never figured out. Nothing you say is going to change my mind."
Beck shook his head and had finally stopped stepping closer to Tori. "You'll see."
It wasn't until Tori tried to run and attack Beck that she jolted awake from a deep sleep and a disturbing nightmare.
"Oh, God… Oh my God," she groaned while rubbing her eyes. She glanced to her phone screen to see that she had woken up fifteen minutes later than usual. As she sprang out of bed, there was only one thought on her mind: I can't hide this anymore.
"Tori, are you up?" Holly called from downstairs.
"I am now, I'll get ready quickly!" Tori shouted back.
Luckily, her hair had dried overnight the way she wanted it to. After some quick makeup application and an underwhelming outfit choice, Tori crept downstairs and deliberately avoided eye contact with her mom. Holly had unsettlingly strong motherly instincts and could tell Tori was avoiding her without even studying her behavior for more than ten seconds.
"You okay?" She offered quietly.
Tori glanced up with a blank expression while filling a water bottle. "Yeah, why?"
"You haven't even said good morning," Holly placed a hand on her hip and watched as Tori turned back to the faucet.
"Oh, good morning. Sorry, just in a rush, you know," her words became mumbling near the end of her sentence. Holly didn't continue to push the conversation until they sat in the car.
"You've been different. Like you're avoiding me," Holly's voice had the slightest tint of sadness in it that tugged at Tori's heartstrings.
The daughter sighed. "I'm not. Seriously," she reached to pull the seat belt over her body only to notice her mom was still staring at her.
"You know you can tell me anything, right?"
"Yes, mom. I know," Tori nodded with a soft smile. "Nothing is going on."
Holly knew Tori was still lying, but if it was this important to keep to herself, she wouldn't pry it out of her. She brought up other topics of conversation instead, like the next time Trina would be home, what they should do together for Thanksgiving if they would travel to see any family members, all topics Tori couldn't focus on when she knew she was about to see Jade.
"You love to host big parties, I can help you cook!" Tori offered, forcing herself to at least pretend like she cared.
Holly laughed. "I don't know if I would want you to help with the food."
"Hey!" Tori yelled in defense. "You refuse to have me learn from you, the very best. So you want me to be a horrible cook for the rest of my life?"
Holly grimaced. "Well… no. I'm just really bossy in the kitchen. Everything is my way or the highway. You never see dad cooking, do you?" She pulled over to the sidewalk for Tori to get out at the main entrance of the school.
"No, that's unheard of," Tori agreed while nodding. "Okay, see you later! Thanks for the ride!"
"Bye, kiddo!" Holly watched as Tori walked into the school alone. She was hoping Jade would pop out of nowhere to maybe prove Holly's suspicions right, but no luck this time. An angry driver behind Holly laid on their horn and finally, she drove away.
Tori was reaching for her belongings in her locker when Andre approached to say good morning. He immediately noticed her exhaustion and unusually dressed-down look. "Whoa, didn't sleep well last night?"
"No, I dreamt that I tried to beat the shit out of Beck," Tori grumbled with a crackly voice.
It took a few long seconds for Andre to begin cackling at the thought of Tori actually hurting somebody, but the longer he looked at his friend, he realized she wasn't joking. "Wow, that's something."
"Cat knows about me and Jade," Tori slammed her locker and turned to Andre.
His jaw fell open and his eyes widened. "I didn't tell her!"
"Then how does she know?!"
Andre's hands flew up in the air. "I don't know! She went camping with you and Jade. Maybe she overheard that conversation you two had that one night. The one that you used for the lyrics in your song," that was the only solution Andre could come up with. Cat also has a knack for detecting people's feelings for each other, it was a secret talent she had.
Tori rubbed her index finger on the bridge of her nose. "You're right. Shit."
"Good morning, Tori," Jade's voice sounded from behind Tori. She snuck her arms around the brunette's waist and pulled her in for a tight embrace, immediately melting away all of Tori's previous anger and anxiety. Andre took a step back in surprise at the sight and felt a wave of happiness come over him at the look of pure joy on Tori's face.
"Good morning," Tori giggled softly, straining her neck to look at Jade over her shoulder.
"Well that wasn't subtle at all," Andre stated while folding his arms. "Aren't you guys like, trying to keep it on the DL and all?"
Jade shrugged. "Cat knows. You know. Robbie and Beck's opinions don't matter to me, so what's the difference?" She explained calmly, now wrapping an arm around Tori's shoulders. "Did you sleep okay?" The dark-haired girl asked Tori with an earnest tone that Andre had never heard.
Tori blushed. "Oh, um no. I actually had a really weird dream, I was just telling Andre about it."
"Hey Andre," Beck appeared from around the corner, stopping in his tracks at the sight of Jade's arm wrapped affectionately around Tori. "Okay, I can't tell if you are trying to intimidate her or if it's supposed to actually be affectionate.
"It's kind of like a hug," Jade shot back sarcastically before pressing her lips to Tori's temple. The brunette's face flushed for two reasons: their first public display of affection, and a public display of affection in front of Jade's ex-boyfriend.
"Ohhh, is Sikowitz trying to set you guys up again?" Beck laughed and nudged his elbow into Andre's arm. Andre stood still like a deer in headlights waiting for how the girls would correct his assumption.
Tori looked to Jade for encouragement to speak, eventually finding the courage to tell Beck herself. "No, we're uh. Actually… a thing."
"Yes, a thing."
Beck's eyes narrowed. "You're joking right?"
"Not at all!" Jade said proudly, not a single ounce of sarcasm detected for once. "We're a thing."
"We're not like, dating yet, right?" Tori's eyes shot at Jade's
"No, because we'd have to set up a date and I think we're both still kind of scared of each other."
"Yeah, like we'll eventually decide that we're dating at some point, but right now we're suffocating pretending that there's nothing between us."
"And the tension has been growing for years and we both were made aware of it very recently."
"And finally it happened because I sang a song I wrote about her at the prom and well…"
They had gone back and forth rapid-fire nervous for how Beck would react, but more so because it was a conversation that still had yet to take place. They were both comfortable to not be labeled, but clearly, both of them wanted to fall into a relationship hard. Unfortunately, Tori was aware it wouldn't be fair to Jade with everything she has going on with her own personal life.
Beck's face hadn't changed since he entered the scene, but he finally took a breath once they were done and eyed Jade. "Well, that took longer than expected."
"What, us talking, or…?" Tori squinted at the impossible-to-read-sometimes boy.
"No. Jade figuring out how crazy she is about you. I thought it would never happen."
Andre smiled, but still wanted to explode at how tense the air around the four had become. Jade glared at Beck even while his reaction was mild. "Oh."
"I'm happy for you guys," Beck said with a warm smile before briskly walking by them down the hallway.
Andre exhaled his tension and dug his nails into the top of his head. "That was really weird!" He hissed through his teeth.
"Yeah, that was really weird. He seems upset but like, he was trying to hide it?" Tori scowled, trying to replay the scene in her head and make sense of it.
"He's bullshitting, he didn't know anything," Jade hissed, folding her arms with annoyance. "He loves to just pretend he knows everything about me. He didn't know I liked you."
Andre nodded. "He never said anything to me about that. Some guys get butthurt when you end up with a girl after dating them. Makes them feel weak. I think he could use a little bit of that feeling honestly."
Jade high-fived Andre for his much-appreciated opinion of her ex-boyfriend. "Alright, I gotta run to class. See you later?"
"Yeah, bye," Tori whispered to Jade before confidently moving in for a small innocent goodbye kiss. Andre witnessing this just about stunned him, he had been waiting for this to happen for so long it almost didn't seem real. Jade gave him one last smile before heading in the other direction.
"Man, you went from coffee getting spilled on your head from her to kissing her goodbye. What an incredible love story."
Tori widened her eyes at him and pointed in his face. " Hey! It's not a love story until we say that four-letter word that you are not going to repeat again any time soon, " she scolded him.
Andre couldn't hide a smirk from his face. There was no denying exactly how strongly Tori felt for Jade. "I give it two weeks," he muttered, which earned him a whack on the arm from Tori.
As always, thanks for reading!