Sinjin is an ass, Beck is an ass, the girls are clearly in love and have no guts to say anything, shit goes down.

Lunch time rolled around, and there was a shift in the air.

I could feel people looking at me as I made my way over to the usual table the group sat at.

"Jade, can we talk?" Beck asked, running his hand through his hair as he looked around.

"Can I eat first?" I asked, gesturing to my salad as I set it on the table beside Tori's lunch.

"Uh, sure," he nodded, moving around the table to sit beside Cat.

"Hey, I got you a coffee while I was getting mine," Tori said, gesturing to the cup closest to me.

"Thanks," I murmured, looking around.

"What's wrong?" She asked quietly as she grabbed her own drink.

"I feel like everyone's staring," I said, pointing my fork around at the surrounding tables.

Tori glanced around to not make it too obvious and nodded. "Everyone was whispering in Maths and kept looking and pointing at me also," she told me softly.

"Beck," I said, grabbing his attention. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I don't think now is the right place, Jade," he said, looking around.

"Just say it," I snapped.

"I think we should break up," he said.

I froze, a few collective gasps came from the tables around us that heard him.

"Oh," I blinked, swallowing around the dryness in my mouth. "Okay, can I know why?"

"Come on, really? You haven't been the same since the weekend, you've been distant…"

"I've been helping Tori with things," I said but raised my hands up in surrender, hoping not to start a fight with him. "But, I accept your decision."

I grabbed my food, not really feeling hungry and stood. I grabbed my coffee with my free hand after adjusting the strap on my bag and started to leave the table.

I almost ran right into Sinjin, who was smirking at me.

"What?" I barked at him. Usually that would have been enough to make him move out of my way, but he just raised his eyebrows suggestively a few times.

"Turns out my laptop backs up to my cloud… so does my phone. My Slap page has never been more popular," he said.

I growled, my fingers crunching around my coffee cup and lunch container, the lid popped off the coffee, the scorching liquid running down my hand as the plastic container crackled loudly.

"What did you do?" I snarled.

"You and Tori kissing, oh that's all over The Slap now."

Tori… oh god, the stares, the whispers.

I turned and looked at Beck.

"Is that why?"

He looked down, silently admitting why he really broke it off with me.

"Now we need to come up with a new scene for Sikowitz," Tori said and looked up at me. "Or we can go to him and tell him Sinjin destroyed everything," she said with a smirk and a look in her eyes that I'd never seen before as she popped a mouthful of salad into her mouth.

"Yeah, lets go to Sikowitz," I said, nodding slowly as I fought to keep from strangling Sinjin.

I turned back to face him, my coffee cup- as crumpled as it was -still has a decent amount of liquid in it.

I poured the rest onto Sinjin's head, thankful to have the steaming cup out of my hand.

Sinjin yelped, backing away quickly as the cup fell off his head.

"That's hot!" He roared.

"Yeah, I know… I just had it all over my hand," I said, lifting my bright red hand up and slapping him quickly across the face with it.

"Jade, you can't just slap someone," Beck said.

"What do you care? I'm not your girlfriend anymore," I said, moving to open the lid of my salad more than the small amount my crushing grip had before dumping the salad on Sinjin's head next before walking off.

God my hand hurts so much.

I navigated my way through the halls and pushed the bathroom door open with my non-burnt hand and went up to the sink, blasting the cold water onto my hand.

"She's crazy!" I heard Sinjin yell as I made my way to the Principal's office, having been called over the PA system not long through third period.

I knocked on the door, poking my head in.

"Jade, take a seat," the principal said.

I moved across the room, smiling as I sat across from Sinjin.

"Why am I here?" I asked.

"It appears Sinjin has said that you poured coffee and salad on him, then slapped him," I was told.

"Coffee, slap, then the salad," I corrected him. "Did he tell you why that happened?" I asked, leaning forward, my eyes lighting up as I rested my elbows on my knees and cradled my chin across my fingers of my now joined hands.

"Well, no, but-"

"He posted that video all over The Slap, the one the cop took his laptop away for. You know, the one he lied about and said he had no more copies of?"

Sinjin's 'you're going down' smirk dropped, making me smile at him and the principal.

"Which resulted in me losing fifty percent of a grade on Sikowitz's class, my boyfriend breaking up with me, and, also, Tori Vega was my partner on the project we were working on, so she lost her grade too."

"I see," the principal said. "We'll deal with the rest of that, but right now, you're suspended for three days due to the coffee pouring and slapping a fellow classmate."

"So, I can go home right now and come back… Monday?"

"Tuesday," he said and I nodded.

"Great, see you then," I smiled as I spoke and stood up, pulling my keys from my bag before walking out.

Three days without school, I can't wait to go home and sleep.

I sent a text Tori to let her know what happened, she looked very concerned when I was called out of class, I made me way to my car and slid in, sighing softly.

I started the car up as I heard the bell ring, not even a second later as I was pulling out of the park, Tori was rushing out.

"Hi," she puffed out, poking her head in my window.

"Hi, what's going on?"

"Thinking of skipping, do you have plans?" She said.

I quirked an eyebrow and gestured to the passenger seat.

"Get in," I said.

She moved around to the passenger side as I pushed my bag through to the backseat.

When we got to my place, Tori followed me down to my room, dropping her bag on the couch before putting her hands in her pockets.

"So…" she started, making me turn to face her.

"So…?"

"Jade, can I kiss you?" She asked.

I felt my mouth go dry, I nodded as I licked my lips, barely getting my tongue back into my mouth as she surged forward, kissing me passionately as her hands came up, cupping my cheeks.

My hands moved at their own will, grabbing her hips and pulling her closer.

Stupid idea really seeing as the move caught her off guard, making her stumble into me.

I tripped backwards, thankfully landing half on my bed, Tori fell onto me, our foreheads bumping together painfully.

"Sorry," she whispered, tilting her chin up slightly, she pressed a kiss to my forehead where I'm sure there was a small mark.

I grabbed her chin gently, guiding her lips back to mine.

"My fault," I said, half shrugging before kissing her.

"Want to watch a movie?" She asked, stroking my sides.

I smiled, pressing a light kiss to her lips before nodding.

"Sounds like a nice way to spend an afternoon," I said, bringing a hand up to stroke her cheek. "Go pick a movie." I gestured to the bookshelf I had in the far corner of my room where I had movies piled in snuggly.

I heard my phone buzzing from somewhere across the room, probably still within my bag and pushed myself up slowly.

I eased Tori's arm from around my waist, the menu of the dvd we ended up watching running on repeat quietly on the tv.

I found my bag by the foot of the bed and lifted it up, I felt around for the buzzing device before pulling it out.

I blinked a few times when I saw it was my alarm going off to go wait outside for Riley's bus.

"Crap," I muttered, pulling some shoes on before running up the stairs.

As soon as I opened the front door, I saw his bus coming to a stop, causing me to sigh in relief.

"Bit of a nap?" The driver asked, causing me to chuckle and run a hand through my hair, feeling how nap-messed it was.

"Yeah, suspended for three days, took the relaxation time while I could," I said, smiling as Riley bounced out of the bus, jumping into me and hugging my waist tight.

"Well, nice to see you'll be able to spend more time with your son," the driver said, making me look up in shock.

"Son? Riley's my brother," I said.

"Oh, sorry, it's just… I don't think I've ever seen your mother then."

"She works a lot, she's away this week. I just get out of school at two every day, so I'm actually here to get him."

"Well, you two have a good day," she said before turning around.

"Wait," I said, gaining her attention. "I never managed to get yours, or the other drivers name. I'm Jade."

"Tara," she said, holding her hand out towards me. "The other one is Maggie."

I shook her hand with a smile and rested my arm around Riley's shoulders as I pulled away.

"See you later," she said, nodding towards us both before walking around the other side of the small bus and getting in.

"C'mon, Riley. Let's go make some milkshakes and wake up Tori," I said softly, grinning as he looked up at me. "She fell asleep watching a movie earlier."

He ran inside, more excited than I'd seen him in a while.

"Sh," I whispered as we set the three milkshakes on the bedside table.

I knew Tori was pretending to sleep because we were texting when I was making the milkshakes and Riley was getting out of his uniform.

I just told her to keep relaxing and pretend to sleep when she heard Riley and I coming downstairs.

"Now, Riley," I said, tossing him onto my bed, making him pounce on Tori and tickle her.

Both she and Riley were laughing loudly, causing my heart to lurch and stare at my brother.

I'd never heard him laugh like that.

I saw Tori whisper something into his ear before he jumped at me and was tickling me, causing me to laugh.

"Drink your milkshake, booger." I handed Riley his drink as he settled down on the bed, watching as Tori sat up and leaned against the headboard. I handed Tori one once she was situated also, then I sat on the edge of my bed, turning so one leg was tucked under my knee of my dangling leg and leaned over to grab my own drink.

"Who wants to play a game?" Tori asked, making Riley get excited.

"What game?" I asked.

"I saw guitar hero upstairs," she said with a shrug.

"Sound good Riley?" I asked, and he nodded. "Alright, go set it all up, we'll be up in a minute," I told him.

He set his drink down on the bedside table carefully before pushing himself off the bed and grabbed his drink once more, then made his way out of my room and up the stairs.

I set my own drink down, crawling up the bed towards Tori, she looked at me, stretching her arm out to put her drink on that side of the bed and with her other hand, grabbed my shirt, pulling me closer.

As soon as she was facing me, I kissed her.

She smiled against my lips, causing my own smile to form as I kissed her in light pecks, starting at her lips and trailing them around her face.

She started grinning, her hands slipping to my hips as I lifted a leg over her thighs and straddled her lap, my lips coming to rest back down against her own.

"Stay the night?" I asked softly, my words slightly muffled against her lips, but she nodded, letting me know she heard what I said as she kissed me once more.

One thing I knew for sure, Tori was a pro at Guitar Hero.

We switched out a lot, Tori would take the bass or guitar, or drums, no one touched the microphone, it didn't feel right when Riley couldn't join in with that part.

So, we stuck to the instruments, and although Tori said she'd never played before, she picked up quickly, wiping the floor with my score that used to be the highest.

She wasn't playing on expert like I was, she played on medium until she felt confident enough.

The doorbell rang, making me pause the game, causing the other two to groan.

I just rolled my eyes at them both, "children," I muttered light heartedly.

"Grandma," Tori Shit back playfully, causing Riley to unpause the game long enough to play the 'ba-dum-tiss.'

I looked at him in shock, making him giggle uncontrollably.

The doorbell chimed again, causing Riley's hands to fly up to his ears and let out a noise that meant he was uncomfortable.

"It's okay, Riley," Tori said, rubbing his back as I moved out of the room, the guitar still strapped to my chest.

I tossed it over my shoulder so it hung on my back before opening the door.

"Beck… what are you doing here?"

"Can't I check up on a friend?" He asked.

"I guess, but… why are you here really?"

"I didn't see you in any classes after you were called to the office," he said, the sound of Riley laughing made him try to look behind me, a strange look in his eye.

"I got suspended and I'll be back at school on Tuesday," I said, moving a little to pull the door closed enough that only I could be seen.

"Listen, I'm sorry for how I ended things, I was hoping maybe we could get another shot at us, we're good together," he said.

Maybe before my feelings for Tori showed themselves I would have taken him back in a heartbeat.

Maybe last Friday.

But the weekend changed a lot of things for me.

"No," I said firmly.

"No?" He asked, a surprised and confused look marring his features.

"No."

The look he gave me made me feel like I was insane.

"So it's all true then? The video… the way you were with Tori?"

"True or not, you should respect my decision when I say no."

"But it's true? She's seen you naked? Slept with you?"

"She saw me topless accidentally cause we both fell asleep on Skype and I sleep naked when I'm home alone… I thought the blankets would stay up. She's slept beside me, but we haven't fucked if that's what you're asking. We've just fallen asleep watching movies."

"And you kiss her..."

"I did, yes. A few times before you broke it off with me, but nothing more."

"So you'll kiss her, and sleep naked when there's a chance she'll see you- but you wouldn't even let me touch you beneath your clothes?"

"What part of accident don't you get? What part of no, don't you get?"

He let out a growl, very against his behavior before putting a hands on my collarbones, his thumbs pressing to the base of my neck before his hands started sliding closer together.

I brought my hands up, clawing at his arms as he pushed against me, the door thudding against the wall as he guided me back to the wall, the guitar pushing painfully against my back.

"Let her go," a demanding voice said and we both turned our heads to see Rose, Riley and Tori standing there.

"Uh, homework," he said, clearly fumbling away from me quickly.

"Fuck off," Tori spat, charging up between us, pushing him roughly.

"Riley, go upstairs, quickly," I rasped out as I held a hand against my neck gently.

Rose ushered him upstairs, I waved her on when she gave me a look.

When I turned back to face Tori and Beck, they were in an intense stare down, both their hands tightly clenched by their sides.

"If you lay a hand on Jade ever again, I'll hurt you. Never touch her without her consent."

Tori's voice was low, deep, lacking fear. Her face was blank, showed no emotion. She was actually starting to scare me a little.

It's almost like the girl in front of me, wasn't Tori at all.

"Vega," I said, snapping her gaze to me.

Okay, I'm definitely a little scared. Her eyes were dark, too dark to even begin compare to her usual hazelnut colored pools of happiness.

"Go, I'll sort this out," I said softly, gesturing for her to go to another room.

"I'm not taking my eyes off him," she said. There was so much darkness in her usually-cheery tone.

"Then go stand somewhere else where you can see him, but let me handle this."

She unwillingly nodded and moved to the other end of the foyer, so I turned back to Beck.

"This isn't you," I said to him. "This isn't the Beck I know, and if you've been hiding who you are over the past four years and this is really you, I'm glad we're over. Now you need to leave and not make any contact with me, Beck."

He looked furious, and I just pushed him out the door, making him stumble a little.

"Like Tori said, if you ever touch me again, I will hurt you, and I'll make it look like an accident, and with Tori on my side, that would make her father- the cop - be on my side too, and I don't think you'd want to mess with that."

He simply nodded, tucking his hands into his pockets. "Have a nice life, Jade," he said softly.

I closed the door and locked it, heavily leaning into it before taking a calming breath and turning as I felt Tori's hand on my back beside the guitar.

I smiled softly and her, grabbing her hand. "You don't need to protect me, it's okay," I murmured.

"You protect me, I'll protect you."

She slipped her arms around my waist, her nails tickling beneath me shirt as she drew lazy patterns.

I wasn't a fan of hugs, but I felt safe in her arms.

Riley, Tori and I played guitar hero a little longer until Rose came into the lounge room, letting us know that dinner was ready.

"You didn't have to cook for us, Rose," Tori said, setting her guitar down on the couch.

"It's no hassle," she waved her off, the four of us walked back into the kitchen and saw the table set up for us all.

"You're not joining us?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I have a date," Rose admitted with a shy smile.

"Oh? With who?"

"Jade, leave her alone," Tori said, patting my arm as she sat beside me.

"It's alright," Rose said. "His name is Ryan, he's a teacher at Riley's school… he's been asking me out for a while."

"He teaches second grade, right?" I asked.

"He moved on to sixth grade a few weeks ago. I need to go get ready as soon as Riley's has his bath and is in bed."

"Nonsense," I said, holding a hand up. "Go get ready now, I'll watch my brother. Tori and I were just going to stay and watch movies anyway," I said, making Tori beam and nod.

"Yeah, we've got this. Go enjoy yourself," Tori said.

Rose smiled, looking almost thankful before nodding. "Thank you, girls."

"Hey, you do need a life outside of this house, you're here ninety percent of the time," I said, shooing her away gently