A/N: Sorry for such the long update! This summer was much busier than I anticipated but I'M BACK FULL SWING BABY and it feels AWESOME!
WARNING: M rated stuff toward the end of the chapter!
It was past midnight as Tori stared at her ceiling, using the blank white canvas as a screen to project memories onto. David invited Danny over for dinner just like he did with Jade, so to prepare for tomorrow, she would attempt to dig up every single detail she possibly could. There was no way she could accurately predict the future, but this might give her a general outline.
The small talk and specific conversation topics from that night weren't clear in Tori's memory. They were insignificant, and she didn't remember having much to contribute. Holly made some sort of stir fry for dinner with steak, something David requested to benefit his own comfort throughout the night. Danny was nervous but kept his composure with the endless questions and backhanded compliments. Tori wondered if her parents were the reason he truly shied away and started bailing on Tori. Even if that was true, she wouldn't want to end up with anyone who couldn't prioritize her over any other difficulties or obstacles. He swore he would always be there for her, but he became less and less reliable even just to spend time with. She didn't feel loved, like the only things he enjoyed were kissing and the little they did beyond that. Tori smiled as she realized she knows now what it's like to feel ultimately adored by someone.
It wasn't particularly difficult for Tori to recall the bad parts of the dinner night. She remembered the way Holly embarrassed him when he forgot to take his shoes off when coming in. David was a bit aggressive with him, holding him by his shoulders "endearingly" and buffing his own shoulders just to scare him a little bit. Holly asked a lot of questions about his life and what he wanted to do with it, of course, he didn't know. She feared that quality about him, something Tori defended time and time again as not many teenagers know what they truly want to do. They pick a major out of fear and pressure, but some don't even do that until the last minute. Some don't go to college at all, and that's okay, too. That's when Tori realized her parents were likely going to force her to go to college for something, which she understood, but dreaded at the time. And now currently dreaded, too.
Today 4:27 PM
I'm wearing pants. Is that okay?
whoa. you really are nervous
Shut up! Like it's not like I never wear pants.
it's definitely not your preference though, is it?
... No.
this isn't the 1800s, you're allowed to expose your ankles
Too late. I refuse to be a wench.
I'm sure you will look beautiful in anything :)
Jade could count on her hand the number of times Beck had made her blush. Tori was already nearing that number in the last few days alone.
What if it goes horribly?
we'll try again, or try something else.
Okay… I'm leaving in a few.
I'm so excited!
Jade huffed and stuffed her phone in the back pocket of her jeans. Her eyes shot back at her mom's for comfort.
"That's a nice sweater, I wonder who bought it for you," Dani smirked while popping a piece of chocolate in her mouth.
The daughter rolled her eyes. "Nothing says innocence like a sweater, apparently."
"According to who?"
"I don't know, myself," Jade mumbled while keeping her eyes on the floor.
Dani shook her head briefly for a moment. "Haven't the Vega folks known you for years anyway?"
" Yeah, but this is horrifying! I'm not just Jade, the bitchy intolerable friend anymore, I'm Tori's girlfriend!"
"Wait, you're-"
"No, no, it's not official or anything."
"Goddamn it, Jade! Maybe they're annoyed because it's not official yet!"
"What are you talking about! It's been like five days!"
"Okay, okay, just go. It will be fine," Dani's arms came around Jade's shoulders at the end of their bickering. "You're a perfectly pleasant girl-"
Jade cackled in an attempt to shake away the pain, but nothing would mask the overwhelming guilt of her past impulses. Utterly dangerous and cruel impulses. "Don't lie to me."
"I'm not, Jade. I'm not," Dani replied firmly, looking into her daughter's eyes with sincerity. "The fact that they're even inviting you over for dinner is a good sign! They want to like you, they want Tori to be happy. Look at it that way."
Jade took a deep breath while breaking away from her mother. Reminding herself that her mother doesn't give away complimentary words, she resentfully accepted them. "Thank you. I gotta get going."
"See you later, honey," Dani squeezed Jade's hand one last time before her daughter grabbed her keys off the counter and was gone.
After a ten-minute drive, Jade's knuckles were white and her tongue was going dry just from shallow breathing with her jaw locked open. Anxiety wasn't as common for Jade as it used to be in her earlier teen years, except for when her friend almost dies in an accident or she gets too high, so when the dreadful feeling returns it makes its presence exigent.
Five things you can see. Four you can touch. Three you can hear. Two you can smell. One you can taste.
After zoning out completely while parking the car on the street and sulking up the driveway, Jade regained her focus once taking a labored breath as she rang the doorbell. She was staring at the doormat when she heard footsteps approaching. A swift opening of the door revealed Tori's mom first.
"Hey, Jade, come on in," Holly spoke softly, winking before she turned back into the living room. Jade kept her eyes toward the floor, kicking her shoes off immediately before spotting Tori and her dad standing near the kitchen table. Her body went cold when she made eye contact with Mr. Vega, who didn't appear as cold as he had in the past. Arms folded, a blank stare, but eyes that could see right through anybody.
"Hi, Mr. Vega," Jade blinked, more like twitched, as her voice croaked while greeting him. Tori's face faltered to a smile as she looked down at her feet in avoidance of letting a laugh slip out.
"Hey, Jade. Nice to see you."
His voice was still as terrifying as the day they had the conference regarding his trophy, but Jade had built up an endurance since then. Plus, he did just say something shockingly nice. Tori watched as the other's eyes glowed and looked up at him in surprise.
"Wait… really?"
David finally broke into a smile. "Yeah, it is."
"But, but I… we… you hated me when I-"
"We don't need to talk about it," he responded gently. "Please let us know if you ever need a place to stay."
Jade could have burst into tears at this moment, as she realized Tori had told him the truth and motives behind her past regretful actions. And that's all it took for him to accept that he could clear the air with him?
The fair-skinned girl stammered as she couldn't wipe a smile off of her face. "Yeah, sure. Of course. Th-thank you."
"Of course," he smiled again before following Holly into the kitchen.
Jade glanced at Tori with tears welling in her eyes. The brunette stepped toward her and discreetly took her hand into her own. "See? Everything will be fine." Tori could also cry, but more so wanted nothing more than to kiss Jade on the forehead. It would take years, or centuries maybe to get over the fear of kissing someone in front of her parents.
"What'd you do, buy him a new set of golf clubs?" Jade whispered with a smirk.
Tori smacked Jade's arm playfully, but it almost excited Jade a bit too much. If only her hand had found another place to smack…
"Alright, dinner's ready!"
Jade snapped out of her X-Rated fantasy at the sound of Holly's voice.
"Already?"
"It smells delicious," Jade said warmly, though Tori could tell she was using her sing-songy acting voice to sound less like her regular self. She figured it would go away over time, once she grew more comfortable.
"It's lasagna, still pasta, less messy than spaghetti though," Tori replied with a sheepish smile.
The dark-haired girl smirked and narrowed her eyes on Tori. "You really were worried about that, huh?"
"That's like a standard nightmare dinner scenario. All the slurping and grossness," Tori shivered at the thought, making Jade chuckle and
David shook his head at the exchange and sat down in his seat at the head of the table. Jade awkwardly waited a few feet away until she was told a place to sit, figuring the Vega family had assigned seating at a more formal kitchen table dinner like this. Tori sat soon after her dad, leaving Jade to sit facing opposite Tori and putting Holly at the other head of the table. Ugh, this is where Trina sits. This seat is probably fucking cursed.
"Anyone need anything? Water, Jade?"
"Oh yeah, sure!" Jade wiggled a bit in her seat, feeling Tori's glance burning through her. She knew herself that she was acting out of character, but couldn't shake the fear that something horrible would happen. She focused on the sound of ice crashing into a glass instead of continuing down her self-destructive train of thought.
"So, Jade," David began as he reached for a dinner roll. "Bet you'd never thought we'd be in this spot right now for this occasion."
Wow, what a weird thing to say, Tori thought as she clenched her jaw. He could be so blunt, but maybe he might not know how to open a casual conversation about the very reason he wanted Jade over tonight: the dreaded 'what are your intentions with my daughter?' check.
"It's definitely surprising, isn't it?" Jade nodded slowly with her lips pressed thin into a smile.
"Not really," Holly sighed as she sat in her chair and pushed a glass of water Jade's way.
"It is for me. You're outnumbered, mom," Tori chimed in with a chuckle.
"Eh, I'm used to it. Let's eat!" Holly was already serving herself a slice, then passing the spatula to Jade. She would likely attempt to steer the conversation a different way like this a few times throughout the night, Jade thought.
"Thank you," she whispered back to Tori's mom. It was a thank-you intended for more reasons than having the spatula passed her way.
"Of course! So how's everything going in school?"
Jade wasn't asked this question by either of her parents. Really, ever. "Oh, um. It's alright, just sick of it."
"Any plans for after graduation?"
Tori bit her tongue as she filled a bowl with salad. Just reach for the dressing. Don't get upset.
"Yeah, I've applied to a few schools," Jade's heart began racing. Great, Tori is going to be upset that this is coming up again. This damned inevitable conversation about college and where I'll go.
"What are you going for?" David asked before clearing his throat. It seemed like Tori had remained the calmest so far, but everyone else's obvious tension, even her mom's, began to rub off on her.
Jade scratched the side of her head. "Um, I'm kind of going back and forth between Playwriting and Screenwriting or Neuroscience."
"Whoa, wasn't expecting the last one," David suddenly chuckled. "You're into science?"
"Well, yeah. More recently…"
Jade's glance returned to Tori, who was completely oblivious to the intent of Jade's recent comment. You dummy, I want to be there for you and understand everything there is to understand about what your life is going to be. All because an asshole couldn't call a cab instead of getting behind the wheel.
Holly caught on quickly. "Well, that's a huge major and really difficult, I'm not saying you can't handle it at all-"
"Oh no, I know if that's what I go into, I'm gonna hate my life," Jade laughed as she poked her fork around her bowl of salad. "But science has always come kinda easy to me. I've always been interested in biology and stuff so I think it would be okay."
"So what do you pick, your passion or something challenging?" Holly tilted her head and glanced fondly at Jade. "That's gotta be tough."
"You could make so much money," David's voice rose in pitch, an encouraging statement but definitely could be seen as rude to some people.
Tori's eyes burned into her father's. "Dad," she growled with clenched teeth.
"No, he's right. It's kind of a no-brainer if I want to actually make money," Jade laughed off the backhanded insult as she's received that exact same one many times.
The brunette frowned as her awareness of the 'starving artist' idea came into mind. Of course, her cop of a dad would prefer her partner going into the medical field.
"What's most important is that you're happy doing whatever you're doing," Holly offered warmly. "You have time to weigh the pros and cons of both."
Jade nodded as her eyes fell back to her plate. "Yeah, I have time," she repeated, reassuring herself.
"Well, I hope you get some acceptance letters soon," David said quietly.
"Me too," Jade laughed nervously, hushing herself up with her first bite of lasagna. Her eyes widened as she turned to Holly. "This is so good."
Holly shimmied her shoulders a bit and flashed a smile. "Thank you, one of my very best dishes."
"I mean I know you're a great cook, you know I've eaten over here a few times, but wow," Jade melted into her second bite.
Tori turned to her dad whose eyes were fixed on his mug of decaf coffee, staring into it to find the next series of questions to ask Jade. She kept her mouth shut, knowing her parents weren't great at bringing their own daughter into the conversation with a guest over.
"I learned everything from my mom," Holly shrugged.
"Yeah, and you refuse to teach me," Tori muttered before a bite of lasagna.
Her mom rolled her eyes. "Let me know when you can make rice without burning it."
The brunette gasped. "That was one time, mom! In like ninth grade!"
Jade couldn't help but chuckle at Tori's embarrassment. David smirked himself as Holly continued. "You did know how to make lasagna, I just have to teach you again."
Blue eyes glanced at Tori whose face fell into that blank stare again. Holly was hesitant with her comment but was only telling the truth. "Why didn't you teach me today?"
"I wasn't gonna let you ruin dinner for our guest," Holly raised an eyebrow at Tori.
"Oh my God, you're so mean!" Tori cried while more laughter sounded from Jade.
"I'm joking, Tori. I didn't want to put any more pressure on you for the night," Holly spoke with a sincere tone.
The brunette's lips pursed in thought. "Okay, that's fair."
"Yeah, you're welcome," Holly replied with a stereotypical snobby tone.
David shook his head and leaned in toward Jade to whisper. It startled her at first, her eyes widening as he neared her. "I've had to deal with this every day for years," he whispered.
Jade chuckled and brought her eyes down to her plate again. She realized that Tori was the only one getting picked on so far, which was ironic. Maybe they really didn't hate her.
"So, how did you know you um…" Holly's voice trailed off as she scratched the back of her head. "...Know that you did like Tori?"
Jade didn't seem phased by the uncomfortably direct question but kept her eyes on her wandering fork. Tori noticed that her dad had started shoveling food into his mouth. "I dunno, um. I mean, you know I was with Beck for a long time but Tori is just different. And I'm different now because of her. It's a good different, something I've needed for a long time."
Tori's heart raced with Jade's words, no one had ever talked about her like that. David cleared his throat and furrowed his eyebrows. "And what's that?"
The blue-eyed girl smiled softly back at him. "I don't know. Patience, understanding. That kind of thing. I think that she brings out the best in me."
"Awwww," Holly cooed in the exact same way Tori does.
Her daughter pressed a palm to her forehead and squeezed her eyes shut. " Mooom…"
"Jade, I'm just going to put this out there. We're intense about who our daughter confides in," David began, prompting a slight chuckle from Jade. "I hope this is something you're serious about because not only is she confiding in you, but we are too. And with everything that's happened, I'm terrified of anything hurting her ever again…"
David was almost choking up, which agitated Tori. She understood that this was a drastically different situation from when they met Danny, but this was too far. "Dad, just take it easy."
"I'm being honest," he turned to his daughter with a fist forming on the table.
"Okay, but it's almost coming across threatening, we're not getting married-"
"Tori," Holly warned, but was shortly interrupted by Jade.
"It's okay," she spoke softly but firmly. Tori's eyes met Jade's and melted into them, trying to believe in the other's reassuring words. "I am serious about this. I know I'm only seventeen and whatever, but I've never been one to trust people. There's no one in my life that I have trusted more than Tori."
"But how can I trust you?" David challenged. That was what finally broke Jade into a vulnerable state. She set her fork down carefully on her plate and leaned back in her chair, fixing her eyes on the wall behind Tori.
"Mom, how can he just say all this?"
"I tried, honey. I tried."
"Well, you're not trying right now!"
"Please," Jade put out the flames with a stern tone. "This doesn't need to be a problem. I don't blame him for anything he has said."
Tori couldn't understand the other's reaction after everything that had happened in the last sixty seconds. "What?"
"I mean it, he's being super nice considering what I've done," Jade's shoulders slumped.
Tori pressed her lips together and nodded. "I'm sick of everyone bringing that up. I don't even remember what she's done, and yeah I've been told a lot but here we are, still going for this regardless. Dad, if you have a problem with this then maybe you should be talking more to me about it than her. I don't want her to feel ripped apart."
Silence fell over the table. Holly looked desperately at David, hoping he would say something neutralizing and hopefully they could get back to the pleasant evening. Tori bit the inside of her lip and waited for the silence to be broken while cursing herself for the accident.
"Okay, I might have stepped too far," David sighed and rolled up his sleeves. "I could have handled it differently. Jade, it's going to be a bit difficult for me to trust you."
Jade took a breath and leaned forward in her seat again. "That's fair."
No, it's not, Tori thought, but she kept her mouth shut. "How can I build trust with you? I know I need to do that and I'll do anything it takes," Jade's voice was soft, but her eyes begged for forgiveness.
Holly was stunned, not for the first time recently, by Jade's attempts to reassure the parents of the girl she cared deeply about. David's stern expression faltered as he pondered for a moment. "You like sports?"
"Nope," Jade replied sharply, popping her lips, regretfully. "There must be a way that doesn't involve things I hate," she smirked, letting her sarcastic side out. She figured she had the freedom to do that now if all it took for David to feel comfortable was going to a baseball game with her. Dads are so annoying.
"Alright, alright, well we'll figure something out. I need to get to know the real you, and whatever we do together doesn't need to involve sports. Just don't take me to Phantom of the Opera or something."
Holly rolled her eyes and scoffed. "You're missing out, great show."
"Yeah, whatever," David grumbled before finishing off his plate. Silence fell over the table, leaving Jade to finish her food as quickly as possible. It seemed that's what everyone was hoping to do to make this night go by quicker.
"I'd have way more to ask you but I already know you," Holly laughed nervously, bringing anything up just because she couldn't stand the silence anymore.
"Do your parents know?" David asked abruptly. "Well, um, or does your mom know?"
"She's known for a while now, yeah," Jade smiled. Tori didn't know that, but it melted her heart immediately.
Holly melted, too. "That's sweet, I haven't seen her in a long time, how is she?"
"Oh, fine. Apparently dating someone new but I haven't even met him yet. She swears I'll like him." Jade explained before finishing off her salad.
"Well I hope so, I think I remember you mentioning the last boyfriend and saying you didn't like him." Tori glanced at Holly, realizing there were things her mom knew about Jade that she herself didn't know.
"Oh there's too many to count, I'm not even sure who you're referring to," Jade responded quietly, prompting David to clear his throat obnoxiously. Holly shot him a glare before returning to her food.
"Well if she ever wants to come over she's welcome to plan something with David and me," she offered, keeping a stern eye on her husband so he didn't react impolitely.
Jade smirked with doubt. "You're sure about that?"
"No rush at all! Not a requirement, but sometimes parents like to connect is all I'm saying. Just an offer," Holly smoothed over.
"Maybe you guys could meet up at the Laramie show in a few weekends," Tori suggested hesitantly. Jade beamed softly at the effort and took a sip of water.
"Oh, good idea!"
Tori sensed that all of the negative emotions had fizzled out by now. Her dad was going to be grumpy for the rest of the night regardless, but if his mouth was shut he would be fine. She couldn't stand how quickly her parents could flip through emotions until she realized she often did the same. "Um, should we have dessert?"
"Of course! Nobody move," Holly volunteered immediately as she'd love nothing more than the night to be over already so she could put David in his place later.
David stood from the table anyway to whisper with Holly, detecting her typical 'over diligent hostess techniques to deny my own stress and discomfort' routine. Tori and Jade locked their eyes on each other, offering small smiles and taking a deep breath together.
Jade wasn't expecting to stay and "hang out" with Tori's parents after eating. Since enjoying an amazing slice of apple pie, David had turned football on, opened a beer, and had been yelling at the TV periodically. Jade normally would have left with intolerance of such obnoxious yelling over sports, but Holly's million questions about boring and unproductive topics kept her somewhat distracted.
"Are you okay, honey?" Holly's hand suddenly rested on Jade's knee. Tori had let Jade and her mom sit on the same couch knowing Jade would lose her mind if David was yelling directly next to her.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Jade kept her eyes focused on a commercial.
Holly glanced at Tori quickly with worry and released her hand from Jade's knee. Tori shrugged, thinking if her mom was feeling guilty about Jade's discomfort she was partially to blame. "I'm sorry he said those things."
"I'm not, he just wants to trust me. Nothing wrong with that, really," Jade laughed softly and turned to face Holly. "At least he wants to try, my dad just chose not to trust me."
Tori had to focus extremely hard to be able to make out Jade's whispered words, but she pieced it together after a few seconds. It was disheartening that David's behavior was a step up from her own dad's and that she was thankful for such an intense and humiliating conversation. This night couldn't end sooner, and Tori wished Jade didn't have to go home, but of course, she did. As long as Tori still lived with her parents and Holly was home every minute Tori was home, they'd never be able to pull off an overnight plan.
"He'll come around eventually, he's just stubborn," Holly offered with a scrunched nose.
"That's how dads are," Jade raised her eyebrows, her eyes suddenly breaking away from the TV screen to check her phone. "Ah, I should probably be heading out."
Holly jumped up from the couch and was already heading toward the kitchen. "Please, take some leftovers!"
Tori groaned and stood from the couch. "Mom, can you relax?"
"Nope!" she called from in the kitchen as she pawed through a Tupperware cabinet.
David yawned and reached for the TV remote to turn the volume down. "Headed out?"
"Yeah," Jade sighed with relief. "Told my mom I'd be home around 8."
Tori stood by Jade near the doorway as she slipped her boots back on. She reached for Jade's coat on the hook and began to wrap it around her shoulders. Jade looked back at the other, her movements slowing in reaction to Tori's simple yet adorable and somehow romantic gesture.
Holly approached Jade with a container of leftovers. "I'm picky with leftovers, any time you're over for dinner just expect to take leftovers home."
"I will. Thank you so much for having me over, Mrs. Vega," Jade's eyes lit up at Holly's contagious smile.
"Of course! Call me Holly, it makes me feel younger," she burst into laughter and placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder. Tori rolled her eyes and smirked back at Jade who was miraculously not cringing. Or at least she wasn't very obviously cringing.
David wasn't far behind Holly, meeting Jade at the door. "Come by any time. I'll get you into sports one of these days."
"Yeah, good luck with that," Jade laughed, keeping good spirits with him. "Thanks so much for having me. Have a good night."
"Goodnight." He smiled at her one last time, and it almost convinced Jade that she had a chance of eventually getting along just fine with him.
"Drive safe!" Holly called by default.
Tori followed Jade close behind and turned back around to her parents. "I'm just gonna… say goodbye. Privately," her eyes narrowed on her mom who was definitely the type to spy out the window facing the driveway.
"Okay, okay!" Holly hissed as the door closed. David returned to the couch and took his beer in his hand again. His wife of course tiptoed to the window.
"You're unbelievable," he mumbled while glaring at her.
" Shit! She parked on the street," she whined. "Next time."
"Don't be a creep, honey. They need their debriefing just like we need ours," David explained while kicking his feet up on the footrest.
"Yeah," Holly began thinking. "We do need a debriefing. You owe Tori an apology."
His jaw dropped. "For what?!"
"Don't 'for what' me," Holly mocked. "I'm not going to spell it out for you. I'm telling you that you owe her some sort of an apology for making her feel the need to be defensive on Jade's behalf. And how Jade reacted to you should tell you that she has seriously changed."
Jade noticed her heart rate was slower exiting Tori's house than it was while entering it and took that as a good sign. Tori had gripped Jade's hand tightly in her own as they walked to the car, imagining that the tighter she gripped, the more of her father's words she could erase from Jade's mind.
"I'm so sorry he was so rude to you," Tori spoke with a hushed tone as her thumb stroked over Jade's.
"Tori, this went way better than I was expecting, and I'm okay. I kind of have a reputation of being untrustworthy, and that's my own fault."
Tori huffed. "Well, I guess if you're okay then I'm okay. I trust you, you know that, right?"
The two stopped in front of the door to Jade's car. "I do," she whispered as she used their joint hands to pull Tori's arm around her back and hugged her tightly. Tori melted into the contact as a tear fell from her eye. It ran down her cheek while the night breeze rustled through her hair.
"Hey, Tori?" Jade asked, causing Tori to break the hug and look the other in the eyes.
"Yeah?"
Jade didn't see Tori in low light often, but every time she did she couldn't fail to notice how her brown eyes would shimmer even with no daylight. "Will you be my girlfriend?"
Tori's single tear turned into a broken cry as she took Jade's face in her hands and crashed their lips together. Jade smiled into the kiss as Tori's lips warmed her own, bringing her comfort she had never known from just a kiss alone.
"Only if you'll be mine, too," Tori laughed as she broke away, wiping a few more tears off of her cheeks.
"Ugh, fine," Jade groaned before placing a quick kiss on Tori's lips once more. "Okay, don't wanna be stalked by your mom. I'll see you tomorrow morning."
"Goodnight…" Tori's smile grew wider, "…girlfriend."
Jade slipped into her car and sighed. "Now you just sound like a middle-aged woman talking to a friend."
Tori's face scrunched up as she looked away. "You're probably right."
After another exchange of goodbyes, Jade was gone. Tori turned around to find no silhouettes in the windows of the house. The closer she approached the door, the quicker all of her pleasant and warm feelings faded away.
Holly's head snapped when Tori walked in again, kicking her shoes off and fixing her hair. "Alright, what was that, dad?"
David didn't even bother to look up at Tori while responding. "I'm sorry for coming off too strong."
"Do you understand how much it took for her to do this? She agonized for days about what to even wear to dinner because she wanted to be perfect for you."
"It's not about what she wears," David scoffed.
Tori walked around the couch to stand in front of the TV that he was using as a way to avoid giving her his full attention. "Really? Because if you hadn't made so many comments over the years about what she looks like, she wouldn't have felt the need to change."
"Okay, okay," he surrendered the TV and sat upright. "Tori, I would have asked anyone the 'How do I know I can trust you' question."
"No you wouldn't," Tori grumbled as she folded her arms.
"Yes he would," Holly joined in. Tori cooled her temper slightly, knowing Jade insisted she was fine and that Tori was the only person truly upset here.
"Oh. Well… I like her a lot, she's the nicest person I know."
David burst into laughter again, shaking his head and glancing at Holly. "She's Jade, I just need some time with all of this, I do."
Bullshit. "Well hurry it up, you're making me feel stupid."
Holly hummed and shook her head. "You're not stupid, honey, it's just ironic given how much you two used to-"
"Nope. I don't want to hear that again. You know what? I can't talk about this anymore," Tori decided before fleeing to her room and crashing into her bed. It must be awkward in every meeting the parents scenario, but what is this dreaded feeling like Tori is doing something wrong? It's not wrong, she knows it's not. Maybe there's something else she doesn't know that people are hiding from her again.
Just sleep. Deal with this another day.
"Mmm, and then what?"
"I just felt so stupid! Like nothing I was saying was going to make them think differently, that I'm just the girl who lost years of memory and is now miraculously gay, bi, whatever, and they see me as a joke!"
"Mhm, that reaction sounds valid," Jade hummed, her lips beginning to ghost over Tori's neck. She had kept interrupting the start of something to continue venting about the night before, but Jade didn't mind. She admittedly couldn't help herself when it was just the two of them alone. This had become an almost daily occurrence to escape during lunch to have alone time, since it seemed like nowhere else in the world allowed it to happen.
"Sorry, sorry," Tori whispered as she turned back toward Jade, who had resorted to kissing Tori's cheek. "I know I'm distracted."
"It's okay, how can I make you feel better?"
God, if they could just find a place better to do this than backstage in the Blackbox. "Umm… I don't know," Tori admitted. She had no knowledge of how a question like that is expected to be answered, but it created butterflies in her stomach anyway.
Jade smiled and inched her body closer to Tori. "That's fine, I have some ideas," Jade's lips were back to hovering over the skin of Tori's neck, it was unfair considering how much Tori wanted the true contact. One pale finger began tracing lazily over Tori's collarbone, other fingers teasing the hair at the nape of Tori's neck once her hand reached back far enough. It seemed that every next second contained a new reason for Tori's spine to shiver.
"How does it feel so good when it's almost nothing?" Tori panted as her eyes wearily found Jade's.
"Maybe it's because you know I can do more," Jade hummed as she softly kissed right below Tori's ear, prompting a small moan.
"This is so mean," Tori whined and squirmed, letting out a shaky nervous laugh. Jade noticed Tori tightly cross one leg over another in her spot on the platform they were sitting on.
"Unfortunately, we don't have many location options, which limits our physical relationship," the other explained before placing a soft, innocent kiss on her lips.
"Yeah," Tori sighed and rested her forehead on Jade's. Her breath hitched once Jade's hand slid down Tori's side and stopped at Tori's hip. "You can't just keep exciting me and getting stopped by the bell. We need to do something differently."
Jade pulled her head away. "Are you sure?" she asked with a slight scowl, surprised by Tori's eagerness. She brought her head up to face the other normally as she licked her lips.
Tori nodded as she began slowly leaning in again. "I think so. I mean if we weren't in school, I'd ask you to-"
"Hey, guys!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
After screaming and clinging to each other in horror, two pairs of eyes finally peeked open to see Cat standing on the stage looking into the wing.
"Cat what do you want!" Jade growled, removing herself from Tori and stepping off the platform.
Cat twirled her dress and clasped her hands behind her back. "You owe me a smoothie and I couldn't find you!"
Tori made sure she didn't look like a mess before emerging from the wing. "Why do you owe Cat a smoothie?"
Jade's eyes grew wide, her lips soon pursing together in an attempt to hold back a laugh.
Cat scowled and put a hand on her hip. "Go on, tell her!"
The blue-eyed girl turned to her girlfriend. "I said I'd buy Cat a smoothie if she was right about us um, becoming girlfriends within seven days of the prom."
Tori's eyes grew as Jade's were a moment ago. "Wow, has it only been that long?"
"It's been six, now someone get me a smoothie!"
"Okay, okay, fine! Let's go," Jade laughed as she watched Cat run to the door leading back to the hallway.
Tori turned to Jade with a hand held out toward the direction Cat had run. "See, now it's not just the bell interrupting us."
"Okay, we'll figure something out," Jade nodded in agreement, holding her hand out for Tori to take into her own before they walked into the hallway.
Thanks for reading!