Jade:

It's not an everyday thing that a West happens to be wrong. But I have to admit I'm wrong. Tori Vega is not the perfect princess living the perfect life I once thought her to be.

As much as she sings like an angel, her acting skills are just not up there. Anyone can easily see how she really feels through that expressive brown doe eye of hers.

I know it when she's lying. As much as she tries to assure me that she's alright, I can always see that she's not truly back to the bubbly goofball I fell in love with. Not that she ever stops trying, but the recent turn of events at her home made her recovery go in the wrong direction.

Of course, everything seems good on the surface. Vega's doing well with her physical recovery, being able to sway with me in her living room when no one else is home and even do some light jogging on good days. Our friends and Sikowitz are treating her as normally as they can, not showing any signs of pity for her, something which I'm sure she'll hate. Even screech box feels like a decent sister nowadays, not ordering Tori around to do her shit.

Her parents, however, are just acting like mine all those years ago. I know Vega's very upset over their arguments, and as much as I tried to hide it, I can tell she knows something's up with me when they start quarrelling in the living room. It's not that I don't trust her enough to spill my shitty past, but she got too much on her plate to deal with right now. I don't need to pile my old scars on to her fresh, raw ones.

I would have loved to spend tonight at her side as usual, but I have been summoned home by mother dearest for being practically absent from la casa de West for half a year.

…God I swear Vega is rubbing off on me with all these new vocabulary I'm picking up from her.

Much to my chagrin, she was already there in the living room when I stepped into the house. My mother was dressed in her usual collared white blouse, with a black suit jacket over it and dark blue dress pants. Her black loafers was neatly discarded on the floor next to the couch, her barely unpacked luggage with the handle still sticking out, standing beside her shoes. She was hunched over her Pearbook as she typed furiously on the keyboard.

She did not even looked up as I closed the door behind me, the automatic lock clicking shut. "I was wondering if I have to file a super late missing person's report for you. Where have you been?"

"Not home."

Her gray eyes shore into mine as her fingers stilled on the keyboard, a smug smile washing over her features as she one over-ed me. "We've not spoken for seven months and you're right back to your snarky self?"

I snorted as I plopped myself next to her on the sofa. "Just like you've never left, right?"

She went right back to staring at the screen in front of her. "So, how is school? How have you been?"

"Fine. School's just as usual."

"How are you and Beck?"

"We broke up. For good."

My mom turned to look at me, brows scrunched in concern. She put an arm on my shoulder, nudging me close to her side. "When did that happen? Do you want to talk about it?"

I let out a long sigh. "No. It was over six months ago, and I'm so over him. I'm seeing someone new though."

Her face broke into a warm smile. "I'm happy for you, Jade. Who's the lucky guy?"

"No, she's a girl. Her name is Tori Vega."

Now I know I had my mother's full attention. She closed the lid of the laptop and turned around to look at me. "That Tori Vega? The one you always complained about annoying you all day at school the previous times when I was at home?"

"Yes, the same one that help me get money to put on the play for dad."

She let out a breathy chuckle. "You could have made it easy to get the cash, you know. But you just had to choose the hard way." There was a faraway look in her eyes when she spoke. "Somehow, I just knew that this girl would have an unusual impact in your life the moment you talked about her."

There was a pregnant pause, then a mischievous glint in her eyes when she looked back at me. "Did you deliberately refused my funding so you could get close to her?"

"No! Of course not! It wouldn't be right to use your money to put up a play for your ex-husband. I am thoughtful like that."

Her laughter rumbled throughout the room. "Yeah, such a considerate, understanding daughter I have. How's Tori Vega working out for you?"

I rubbed my hands, considering about telling her the details of what happened in Yerba. Not many people know that I have some sort of relationship with my mother, and that West is actually my mom's family name, that I took hers instead of my father's. My ex-boyfriend and current girlfriend included. It was a condition my mother's family imposed on them when they got married despite disapproving of it. Totally understandable, since my father was considered a deadbeat who was unable to hold down a job for over three months.

Huffing some excess air from my lungs, I decided that she deserved to know everything. Despite her being always on the road due to work obligations, I know my mom actually cares for me because she makes an effort to remember things I told her. Besides, there's always this idea stuck at the back of my mind that I'll need to bring Tori home for her "inspection" at some point.

"You know the trip I took half a year ago to Yerba with my group of friends from school? There's a lot I need to tell you."