Tori walks next to Jade as they stroll down the path next to the beach.
Jade: It's weird hanging out with you again.
Tori: I know... I'm glad we are, though.
Jade: It was nice that you sent me actual letters. That's more than any of my other friends have done... And you even wrote on that cool parchment paper. That's so Tori.
Tori: So pretentious. But I love writing on it, like an English poet. You deserve the best stationery.
Jade: Probably easier to write than to visit me. I don't mean that in a bitchy way. Not totally. You probably wanted to avoid awkward conversations like this.
Tori: Uh...pretty much, yeah.
Jade: Look, the worst thing you can do is treat me like a baby. I still want to laugh and talk shit with my best friend. Can we stop? This is seriously the best view of the sunset. What do photographers call that?
Tori: "The golden hour."
Jade: See? Without you here, I'd have no clue. Bet you could take some amazing shots... Those beached whales are so sad. I kind of know how they feel... At least I'm alive here with you.
Tori: You're a real survivor, Jade. I know you have to deal with so much.
Jade: I don't want anybody else feeling sorry for me. I can do that...along with my parents. My dad still feels guilty about buying me that car.
Tori: You don't really blame William...do you?
Jade: For getting me the hybrid I wanted for my sweet sixteen? No, I blame the asshole who cut me off and sent me into a ditch.
Tori: Do you...remember everything?
Jade: I saw everything in bullet time. I felt my back snap and... And that was the last thing I ever felt in my body. When I woke up in the hospital, I literally couldn't move a muscle.
Tori: Jesus! I...I don't know what to say.
Jade: Don't say anything. I'm just happy I did get to see you again. I could have ended up vanishing out of the blue like that girl from Blackwell.
Tori: You mean Emma Reese? When was the last time you talked to her?
Jade: Uh, never. I just read about her in the news. I didn't even know her name. You did?
Tori: This is such a different world than when we were together, isn't it...
Jade: After that snow and eclipse, it's more like the end of the world.
Tori: Don't say that.
Jade: Not trying to bum you out. It just seems like Arcadia Bay is having a meltdown.
Tori: I know things seem out of control, but...as long as we're together, I don't feel afraid.
Jade: Hanging out with you makes me feel like a total kid again. You don't even know...
Tori: Listen, Jade...I'm sorry I haven't been out to see you more. That was wrong. You're my best friend.
Jade: Tori, thanks for coming out to see me. You're...you're doing awesome.
Tori: I don't think so.
Jade: Um. My...my nose is getting cold. Maybe we should get back to my place.
Tori: It is hella cold out here.
Jade: "Hella"? I hate that word, no offense.
Tori: None taken.
Tori and Jade turn around and head back towards Jade's house.
Tori: This is a pretty high-tech lair.
Jade: Feels like a high-tech cell. But I am lucky my parents bust their ass to take care of me. I know it's hard for them...
Tori: They're grateful you are here with them.
Jade: Right. Especially when they can't even take a walk alone. Sometimes I act like a total teenage brat just to give them an excuse to yell at me. Pathetic, I know.
Tori: Jade, you're a great daughter.
Jade: Trust me, I still get my rage on.
Tori: I can't even imagine... But you're still amazing.
Jade: Thanks again for coming, Tori. I, uh...need to get my drink on. Can you bring me some water?
Tori gets up from her chair.
Tori gives Jade a cup of water on the nightstand.
Tori: Drink up, buttercup.
Jade: Don't call me that.
Tori: Have you ever thought about doing a podcast or something?
Jade: I wish I could punch your face right now. A podcast? Dude, I am a pod in a cast. Boring.
Tori: Ouch. It was just a thought...
Jade: I know you're just trying to help.
Tori: Yeah, that's become a bad habit of mine...
Jade: You sound like an adult now.
Tori: To me, it seems like yesterday when we were together having diner with your parents.
Jade: You're the only person I grew up with who visits me...As you can see, I can't keep all my other friends away.
Tori: You have me. I'm not leaving you, Jade.
Jade: Well, you didn't visit me a lot either. I mean, I loved your cards and photos, but...
Tori: I know I wasn't around much. No excuses, I'm a loser. But, I am trying to make things right.
Jade: I'm not trying to guilt-trip you. That's what my parents are for...
Tori: They love you so much.
Jade: I know. My mom and dad are so cute. They always pop in here and make sure everything's okay with me.
Tori: I think Joyce and William are incredible.
Jade: Tori, the accident has been so hard on them. Our insurance sucks and the medical bills are fucking insane.
Tori: Can they pay all the bills?
Jade: No way. They keep the numbers away from me, but it doesn't take much research to find out I'm costing my parents almost a million dollars a year.
Tori: Jade, you're priceless. Uh, no pun intended.
Jade: You are such a geek. That's why I love you. Of course, I know a geek when I be one. See, I'm practically a human entertainment system. It would be sweet to chill out together and watch a movie, like when you'd spend the night at my house...
Tori: What do you want to watch?
Jade: You know me better than anybody.
Tori: The scissoring it is then.
Tori places the DVD in the player and sits next to Jade. They start watching
Next morning:
Tori woke up next to Jade next morning.
Tori: I'm sorry I crashed so hard. Were you...okay?
Jade: I do have a mother and father when you're not falling asleep on me.
Tori: You are a bitch in the morning.
Jade: It's the company I keep... Yesterday was such a blast.
Tori: It was great, seeing you.
Jade: I know things were different when three years ago, but being with you made me feel like I can count on you again. It meant a lot to me just to chill out with you and bullshit. Ahh... Fuck. Um, I'm getting my regular head pains... Uh, can you pretty please go upstairs and get my-my morphine injector in the bathroom?
Tori: Morphine injector?
Jade: It's-ahh. It's total Star Trek shit. You can't even see the needle. Seriously, I need it. Um, my parents keep the swag upstairs because they think I can't get to it...but you can, Tori. Like a pirate, right?
Tori: I'm on it, Jade.
Tori: Hey, William. Am I bothering you?
William: Why, yes, Tori, I love going through bills. Kidding. How can you bother me? I haven't seen you in forever.
Tori: I know. You look exactly the same. It's so cool.
William: Good, or I'd be scared if I didn't look like me... Of course, you seem more adult now. So what's on your mind?
Tori: I was impressed by Jade's room and all the high-tech equipment.
William: You should be. We could buy a few mansions for what it all costs. The insurance helps, but...I don't know, Tori.
Tori: I know it must be hard on you guys, financially.
William: These bills are more like crushing. We have to mortgage our home and that's pretty scary...but we'll get through it.
Tori: I don't know how to say this, but I am truly sorry about what happened to Jade.
William: Me too. All it takes is a few minutes to change a girl's whole life. But she's alive. And she's been a trooper.
Tori: Is she mad at me for not staying in touch? She should be, I have no excuse.
William: She was disappointed, but she knows you care. And I know how hard it is to process all this. It's taken us years.
Tori: William, I just want you to know that whatever happens, I'll always be here for Jade. Always.
William: I know you will, Tori.
Joyce: Good morning, Tori. You and Jade are so much quieter now than when you were kids.
Tori: I remember. It's nice waking up in your house again.
Joyce: Oh, William and I love it. Finally seeing you and Jade together after all these years...after the accident...
Tori: I wish I was a better friend. I know Jade doesn't get many visitors.
Joyce: Oh, Tori, you're Jade's best friend for a reason. You're here exactly when she needs you.
Tori: I hope so. You guys do such an amazing job taking care of her. Joyce: We can only do so much...and she gets damn sick of her parents. That's why it's so important you came to spend time with her.
Joyce: Tori, Jade's condition is not improving. Her respiratory system is very weak and she...she...do you know what I'm saying?
Tori: Oh, Joyce, I'm so sorry you have to go through all this.
Joyce: Bad or good, I embrace every moment with my daughter and husband. This is what it means to be a family...and we'll always be one, no matter what.
Tori enters the bathroom and takes the morphine injector from the left side of the cupboard above the toilet.
Tori returns to Jade and gives her the morphine.
Jade: Finally. Give me the blue pill...
Tori: I'm sorry. I'm nosy, but not precise.
Jade: Go ahead and plug it right in. It's so easy. And painless.
Tori: Um, okay, but get ready to yell for your folks if I screw up. (Tori injects the morphine into Jade's IV)
Jade: Oh, trust me, I will. Of course, my pain just keeps getting worse...but you caught me on a good day. Tori, I'm so grateful that I'm even able to hang out with you. See, I'm getting mushy. I'm already high.
Tori: Jade I…. Do you want anything else?
Jade: Um, stop me if I'm being too emo, but can you grab one of the photo albums over there? I'd like to check out some old pictures of us when we were kids.
Tori: Please. My diary is like emo ground zero. Plus Tori Vega does not pass up a photo op with Jade West ever.
Tori takes the photo album on the chest of drawers near the window, then returns to Jade and places the album on Jade's lap.
Tori: Is that okay?
Jade: Perfect.
Tori turns the page.
Jade: Whoa, awesome picture. We look so badass
Tori: We should have taken over Arcadia Bay when we had the chance.
Jade: There's still time for you...
Tori turns the page.
Jade: Oh man, there we are making pancakes. I love that shot of us. It's hard to believe my dad took that picture only three years ago.
Tori: Literally seems like yesterday...
Jade: I wish it was.
Tori: Me too...
Tori (thinking): This photo... Maybe I could...
Jade: Listen, Tori, my respiratory system is failing and...and it's only getting worse. I've heard the doctors talking about it when they thought I was zonked out. So I know I'm just putting off the inevitable, while my parents suffer along...and I will, too. This isn't how I want things to end.
Tori: What? What are you saying?
Jade: I'm saying that being with you again has been so special. I just wanted to feel like when we were kids running around Arcadia Bay...and everything was possible. And you made me feel that way today. I want this time with you to be my last memory... Do you understand?
Tori: Yes, I do.
Jade: All you have to do is crank up the IV to eleven...
Now it's your choice for the next part of the story,
Accept to end Jade's suffering or Refuse to keep her living with pain but at least alive.
Just go to chapter Accept Or Refuse and then move on to the next chapter The story will continue anyway.