Jade keeps Tori company as something stirs up the goths emotions.

Tori admitted she loved me then fled.

I didn't know what to do. Finding out one of your friends is in love with you is kind of a hard hurdle to jump over.

But I didn't want to lose her friendship.

I stood from the couch and made my way to the door just as Lane was about to enter his office.

"What happened?"

"She freaked out over a class assignment, it's okay, I'll get her back to school."

He only nodded, making his was over to his desk. "I'll call her parents," he said.

"No, it's okay. I've got this, something happened in her home life and it's just gaining on her emotionally right now. She needs a friend."

"And you're that?" He asked with a dry laugh.

God, I wanted to punch him.

"More of a friend than anyone right now cause I've been through the same thing," I told him, making him sober quickly and wave me away.

I went to my locker, my bag still laying on the floor by it. I picked my bag up and stuffed my books back in my locker before grabbing my keys from my bag and making my way out of the school to my car.

She couldn't of gotten that far on foot, running or not. I tossed my bag into the passenger seat and started my car up, trying to think where she would go.

As I pulled out onto the road, I started driving, keeping my eyes on the sidewalk to look for her while also trying to keep an eye on the road.

It was about twenty minutes of driving around aimlessly before my stupid ass remembered the find-a-friend app.

I pulled over on the side of the road and dig through my bag for my phone.

"What the fuck?" I huffed, rolling my eyes when I couldn't find my phone in my bag, only to remember that it was in my back pocket.

I lifted my ass off the seat and pulled my phone out searching through my messages for Tori's name before loading up her info page and tapping on the map at the top to direct me to her.

"The park? Really Tori... well, at least she's not somewhere alone."

I groaned when I'd realised I'd be driving in the complete wrong direction.

I stuck my phone in the cup holder between the two front seats and listened to the directions as I turned the car around.

I barely registered any of the road rules, and would of hit an old lady- without any complaints from myself, to be honest. But when I saw a cop car up ahead, I slammed my brakes on.

"Destination on the left," my phone said, making me glance down at it as I waited for the old woman to cross the road.

I parked the car down the road a little more and grabbed my phone, tucking my keys between my fingers after locking the car once I'd gotten out.

"Vega!" I called out.

I looked around, running down the stairs when I saw her and a guy that was getting way too close for my liking.

"Why don't boys ever take no for an answer?" I heard Tori ask as I moved closer.

"I think you better remove that hand before I cut it off," I said, noticing he was touching her chin now.

As I guided Tori up the stairs to my car after shutting that douchebag up, I stopped, my hand on the handle of the passenger side door.

I turned to look at her, Tori's fingers flexed around the strap on her bag. I think she knew what was coming, cause she looked down, and I just couldn't stop myself from telling her off.

"Why the fuck would you run away like that?"

"I-Jade... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything. I should have just kept my mouth shut about my feelings like I have for the past four years."

I blinked, trying to let that information soak into my mind.

"Wait, four years? You've liked me for four years and haven't said a bloody thing?" I asked, pulling the door open. "Get in."

"I'd rather not be in such close distance to you right now, Jade."

"Shut up, Tori. Just, get in the car, I'll take you to school, or your house. But you're not staying out alone. I don't care that it's the middle of the day."

Tori shifted slightly before pulling open the back door, sliding into the back seat and shutting the door behind her.

Well, at least she wasn't about to fight me about being alone.

I pushed the door I'd opened shut, with a little more force than necessary and ran a hand through my hair, taking a deep breath to calm myself before moving around to the drivers side and getting in.

"Where do you want to go?" I asked, slightly calmer than I'd been talking to her moments before.

"School, please."

Nodding, I started the car and clicked my seatbelt into place before turning the car around.

"I'll talk to Lane and Sikowitz about changing the genre, okay?"

"No, I'm sure we can figure something out about it... I'll just need a little time, okay?"

Tightening my grip on the wheel, I swallowed hard before clearing my throat.

"Yeah, sure. Just, lemme know whatever you decide."

It didn't take too long to arrive back to school, but long enough that the bell was chiming for lunch as we both got out of the car.

"Still want me to pick what you're going to eat?" I asked her, and I saw the smallest quirk to the edge of her lips.

"I'll eat whatever you bring me," she said, reaching into her bag.

"I'll pay. Do you mind getting me another coffee though?"

She shook her head and made her way over to the Jet Brew vendor while I stepped up to the Grub Truck to order our lunches.

"Hey," Beck said as he sat down on the other side of me, kissing the top of my head. "Where were you both during theatre studies?"

Why do his kisses feel different and dirty lately?

"Doctors appointment," Tori said, sipping on her coffee.

"I drove," I said before eating some of my salad. "Just got back as the bell rang."

"One time, my brother had to go to the hospital cause he got a LEGO brick stuck up his nose and just as the doctor was trying to pull it out, my brother sneezed and the tweezers the doctor was using made it go deeper into his nose-"

"Cat," Tori groaned, cutting the peppy redhead off. "I'm trying to eat."

"Yeah Cat," Robbie said, pushing his food away from himself, his puppet laughing.

"Shuddup, Robbie," Rex and I said simultaneously.

"Cat, continue," I said, waving her on.

"He got a nosebleed and part of the brick is still up there cause it broke off," Cat said, my eyes lighting up.

"I've got to see that," I said, grinning.

"That's gross, and now I'm not hungry." Tori pushes her three-quarters eaten plate of fries away.

I glanced down at it, thankful she only dipped them in the mayonnaise and didn't pour it all over them before stabbing a few fries with my fork and eating it.

"The hell, those are mine," Tori said, gaining the rest of the tables attention.

"You said you weren't hungry," I smirked at her, raising a challenging brow.

She went to pull her plate back towards her but I speared a few more fries, eating them quickly.

"Uh, Jade?" Beck asked, making me look up at him.

"What?" I asked once I'd swallowed my mouthful.

"You could of just taken some of my fries," he said, sounding a little offended as he ran a hand through his hair - that was always a nervous habit of his.

"Yours are covered in ketchup," I said, pointing at them with my fork.

"You like ketchup," he said, raising an eyebrow.

"I like dipping in ketchup, not have my fries soggy from it."

I turned my attention back to my salad, using my free hand to push his hand off my waist, shifting an inch or two away from him.

He sighed, I could tell he was annoyed, but right now, he was annoying me.

Why couldn't I just eat in peace?

I finished my salad off quickly after that and downed the last of my coffee before shouldering my bag, picking my trash up and taking it to the bin.

I was halfway inside the doors when I felt my phone buzzing in my pocket. I looked down at it as I pulled it free and opened the message from Beck.

"Do you still love me?"

My heart stopped. I frowned at the message, locking my phone once more before pushing it back into my pocket and continuing my way to the bathroom.

I don't think he's ever questioned my love from him before.

Especially over text.

But why couldn't I find myself answering his question?

I washed my hands, studying myself in the mirror and running a finger around my lips quickly to clean up any crumbs from my meal and shut the taps off.

The door opened as I was reaching for the paper towel and as I looked over, I smiled softly when I saw Tori standing there.

She half smiled back at me and went into a stall, I wondered what it'd be like to taste her lips.

If she'd taste like the fries and coffee she had for lunch.

Or the gloss she wears all the time.

The sound of the toilet flushing and lock on the stall turning pulled my attention back to the present.

"Why me?" I asked when she turned the tap on to wash her hands.

"Why you what?" She frowned, a look of confusion in her eyes.

"Why do you like me?"

"Oh." She reaches behind me, grabbing a few pieces of paper towel and dried her hands. "I don't know, I just do. I find it hard not to actually," she said softly and as she reached to put the paper into the trash can I was standing in front of, I kissed her.

A brief but solid kiss. Enough of a kiss that I could taste the coffee on her lips, and the strawberry gloss she'd freshly applied. Still sticky and sweet.

I pulled away and saw her eyes flutter open as her lips parted in a soft sigh. I licked my lips, they tasted of her gloss.

I turned, leaving the bathroom as the bell chimed and made my way up the stairs to my next class in a daze.

I'd just kissed Tori Vega.

And felt the fireworks every movie describes. I felt like I knew what all those songs talked about. The swarm of butterflies, the light head, the tingling all over.

Holy Crap.

I think I'm in love with Tori.

When I got home that afternoon, I waited on the front steps for Riley to be dropped off, my head in my hands.

I heard the small toot of his bus' horn and looked up as the driver stepped out and walked around to open the door.

"Hey Jade, how's it going?" The lady asked.

"Bit hectic, but okay I suppose."

I smiled as I was handed Riley's bag while I waited for him to finish getting out of the mini-bus and slipped my arm around his shoulder.

"Have a good afternoon," the driver said as she pulled the door shut and made her way around to the drivers door.

I looked down at Riley as he tugged on my shirt a few times and crouched down a little to look at the paper he was holding up to show me.

"Woah, what's this?" I asked, looking at the drawing.

He curled his fingers, spelling out Tori's name before pointing to a scribble of brown to what I assumed was her hair on top of a stick figure.

He then pointed to me then some black hair with blue in it despite the fact my hair now had green strands in it.

Then pointed to himself and a third drawing with blue on top of a hand, matching the blue hand towel that was still tied over his hand Tori had put on him that morning.

"Wow, this is amazing, Riley. I'll take a picture and send it to Tori, yeah?" I asked as we made our way inside. He made an excited noise as he nodded, making my heart clench with happiness.

"Go get out of your uniform, Riley. Than I'll check your hand, okay?"

He nodded again before running up the stairs as I made my way to the kitchen, pulling my phone from my pocket to send a picture to Tori.

It was barely a minute later, as I was making sure Riley had no notes in his bag and sorting his lunch for he next day that my phone started ringing from where I'd left it on the bench beside his drawing.

"Hello?" I asked, having swiped the screen and lifted my phone to my ear without checking who was calling so I could sort his lunch out.

"That's such a cute drawing, did you do it?" Tori asked, a clear teasing tone to her voice.

"Ha, ha..." I murmured sarcastically, trying to keep my heart from racing at the sound of her voice. "Riley did," I told her.

I could hear the click of a door over the line and a slight shuffling before she sighed happily.

"Did you just get home?" I asked.

"Yeah, Trina had to stay late to finish an assignment. Just sat down on my bed."

"Oh."

"Jade?"

"Yeah, Vega?" I asked, putting an apple in Riley's lunch box beside his juice box and water bottle. I then set the lunchbox in the fridge as I listened to her breathing. I could almost hear the gears turning in her mind.

"What are you doing?" She asked after a moment.

"Just sorted out Riley's lunch for tomorrow, then I'm going to make sure his hands okay," I said, biting my lip as I heard a little shuffling about. "What are you doing?" I asked.

"Changing into something more comfortable."

"Like what?" I asked before I could stop myself, causing me to bite down on my tongue as a small punishment.

You should not be flirting with someone, you idiot. You have a boyfriend.

"I-Uh..." She faltered, clearing her throat. "An old pair of basketball shorts and a tank top."

"You played basketball?"

"For a year before I came to Hollywood Arts," she said over the snap of a bra strap.

"Were you good?"

"I did alright, I preferred playing instruments though," she said softly and the microphone covered what she was saying to someone else.

"Sorry, my dad was asking something," she said as she came back.

I looked up at Riley as he came into the room, I felt like I'd been caught with my hand in a cookie jar after having been told no. But I forced my heart to calm down with a few deep breaths and smiled at my brother as I patted the stool in front of me.

"I gotta change Riley's hand, or atleast make sure it's fine to be let free," I said, not really wanting to hang up.

"You can call back if you want, or I can wait," she said and I found myself hanging to the Hope in her voice.

"Can I call back? I actually have a few questions for the homework from fourth. I'll skype you?"

"Yeah, I'm just going to get a drink and a snack. Text me when you're back?"

"See you soon, Vega," I said, smiling softly and forcing myself to end the call otherwise I'd be keeping it at my ear.

Ten minutes later, I made sure the house was locked and Riley was settled with a snack and okay with watching tv, I sat on my bed and text Tori.

"Ready?"

I booted my laptop up as I waited for a reply and stared at my screen.

It was a few minutes before a reply came in and I hit call on my laptop, having loaded Skype up while I waited.

It took a minute too long to connect, and my breath caught in my throat when I saw her on my screen.

"So, what questions did you have about the homework?" She asked instantly.

Swallowing my nerves, I reached to my bag and pulled it closer. "I've forgotten, one second."

She nodded, so I dug through my bag and pulled out my notebook, flipping through the pages till I found what I needed.

"The main question I had was..."

We talked till she started yawning, about homework, and school, about her basketball days, about Riley, and even about her family.

It was almost nine at night, my stomach growled as I unplugged my laptop and carried it up the stairs to get a sandwich for my dinner.

"Oh, Jade, you scared me," Rose said softly when she spotted me.

"Sorry, all good?"

"Yes, Riley's in bed. He ate half his dinner."

I nodded, setting the laptop down on the bench as I grabbed what I needed for my sandwich.

"You gonna eat dinner?" I asked Tori once Rose had left the room.

"Nah, I'm still full from my snack earlier." She shifted the laptop to bedside her, and I got a great view of her side. I liked that her tank top had ridden up to above her stomach, and her shorts had slid down enough to see the line of the top of her underwear.

Good god, she's wearing a g-string.

I swallowed the dryness that had taken over my mouth and throat.

She stretched to the other side of her bed, giving a great shot of her ass and her lower back, making me groan and bite my lip hard.

"You okay?" She asked as she turned back towards me and slipped beneath the covers.

"Yeah, just... out of butter," I said as a lame excuse and covered my bread in a thin layer of Nutella.

"Butter doesn't go with Nutella anyway," said said, watching me.

"True." I nodded, putting the top of my bread onto the other slice and taking a very unladylike bite of my sandwich before tossing the knife into the sink.

"Jade, I have a question," she said, making me look up at the hesitance in her voice. I almost thought she was going to ask about the kids before she continued. "Is there a chance Riley will ever speak?"

"One in five," I said, smiling sadly. "I almost thought he was going to say my name when he was five, but he was just making noises. He's in a speech therapy class to try and help him, but I don't mind if he ever does, I'll love my brother no matter what."

"It must have been frustrating sometimes before he learned to sign. Not knowing what he wanted."

I nodded, taking another bite of my sandwich.

"It was a little frustrating for me not knowing what he was saying before I learned to sign," she said softly. "He's such a good kid."

"I used to get frustrated at the noises he used to make," I admitted. "Now he only makes noise when he's excited or upset, and I feel like he's scared of me to make the noises cause I used to get angry... I was a shit sister, I'd gladly go back in time and knock sense into myself because of it."

"Yeah, I had a cousin who would constantly make noise, no matter what. She died when we were eight, drowned in the pool."

My heart lurched, I don't know what I'd ever do without Riley in my life.

I finished my sandwich off and washed my hands, face, and wiped the bench down before carrying my laptop back down to my room.

"I'm just gonna do my teeth real quick," I said, positioning the laptop on my bed so it half faced my bathroom before going over there. I half closed the door, taking my robe off the hook behind it before stripping down to my underwear, throwing my bra, pants and shirt into the basket. I slipped my robe on and tied it before pulling the door open and grabbing my toothbrush.

It was only a few minutes later that I was plugging my laptop in and climbing under the covers, pulling my robe off beneath the covers and tossing it to the end of my bed.

"What're you watching?" I asked, hearing the sound of canned laughter coming through the speakers.

"Big Bang," she said, aiming her remote at the tv.

"No, keep watching, it's fine," I said as I set my alarm for the morning.

"Nah, I'm pretty tired," she said as she shifted in bed and snuggled down beneath the covers.

"Same," I murmured, rolling to face my laptop, hugging the blankets up over my shoulder so she wouldn't see that I was only in my underwear.

I'd prefer to sleep naked, but being shark week, I settled for underwear being on, just in case.

"Jade?"

"Hmm?" I asked, trying to keep my eyes open.

"Can... can you stay the night?" She whispered.

"At your place, or on call?" I asked, suddenly more alert.

"On the call? I just... I noticed that my dreams aren't as bad when you're near... I was kind of hoping the call would almost be like you're in the same room."

"Yeah, that's fine." I shifted an arm and adjusted the brightness on my laptop before pulling it back beneath the covers.

"Thanks," she whispered once more, and I looked up to see her shutting her eyes and pulling a small baby blanket over her eyes.

Fuck, could she be any cuter?

"Night, Vega," I said softly.

"Night, Jade."