Tori woke up to an unpleasant slap to the face. "Hey!" But Jade wasn't even awake. "Jade?"
Jade's face was contorted, and her arms were flailing like she was fighting against something. Or someone. "No... Stop..."
Tori put a hand on Jade's shoulder and shook her lightly. "Hey, wake up."
Jade swung blindly at the air. "Don't... hurt me..."
Tori was concerned now. Who was hurting her? "Hey," she started, louder this time, "you're okay, wake up, you're alright."
"Stop!" Jade yelped, now moving as if she was protecting her face.
"Jade!"
Jade snapped up into a sitting position at the sound of her best friend's voice, her breath catching in her throat. "...Tori...?"
Tori reached out to touch Jade's shoulder but stopped right before there was contact, wanting to make sure Jade was okay with it.
She was still trying to catch her breath, but Jade still nodded. She trusted her.
Tori nodded back, then gently rubbed her friend's shoulder, wanting to help her calm down. "It's alright. I'm not going to ask what you were dreaming about. You're saf-" Jade pulled her into a tight hug before she could say anything else.
"S-shut up, you talk too much...," she whispered, closing her eyes tightly.
Tori slowly rested her chin on Jade's shoulder, bewildered, but didn't want that to affect anything. Jade needed someone, and she didn't want to let her down.
Jade was struggling to contain the tears in her eyes and the whimper in the back of her throat. She pressed her forehead into Tori's shoulder and gasped for air. "Don't... make fun... of me... Vega..."
"No, no, Jade, come on." Tori protectively wrapped an arm around Jade's neck. "Don't focus on that right now. Just breathe. I'm not going to make fun of you. You don't deserve that."
Tears started to stream down Jade's face consistently. She hated this feeling. Weakness. She felt weak.
"Hey, it wasn't real, it was just a dream. Everything's okay," Tori comforted, her fingers playing with the dyed ends of Jade's hair. "I'm not going anywhere."
Jade shut her eyes tightly. Tori didn't know what she was talking about but at least she was trying. That should've been enough. "Nothing's okay..."
"Maybe not right now but it will be." Tori leaned her nose into Jade's hair. "It will be."
"No it won't, Tori, it won't!" Jade yelled, suddenly trying to push her friend away but Tori wouldn't let her go.
"Stop! Jade, you need to calm down. Focus. Do you need me to turn the light on?"
Jade stopped struggling and shook her head firmly. "Don't... Don't draw attention to this..."
"Calm down and I won't have to," Tori stated, holding her out by the shoulders. "You're safe here."
Jade took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Her head was starting to clear and her eyes were adjusting to the dark. She could now make out the expression on her friend's face, and it was full of concern. Tori wasn't supposed to find out this way, and it wasn't too late to cover it up. She didn't need to know what she went through in her dream. "Um... I'm sorry, that was stupid. I'm not sure what that was, but it will not happen again. Just pretend that never happened, and do not tell anyone what happened, or so help me, Vega-"
"Dude." Tori crossed her arms. "You underestimate me. Still. That wasn't nothing, Jade. But..." Tori sighed and leaned back against the backboard of her bed. "I won't tell anyone. And I won't ask any questions, at least not right now."
Jade grimaced.
"Anyway, it's late. Are you sure you're okay now?"
Jade swallowed thickly. She hasn't felt 'okay' in a while, but normally it would be easy for her to lie, especially to Tori. So why was it so hard now? "I-I'm fine. Let's just go back to sleep."
Tori knew better, but she knew it was better to leave it alone for now. The last thing she wanted was Jade storming out of her house. "Right." Tori adjusted her pillow and moved to lie down again. "Goodnight, Jade."
"Goodnight, Tori..." Jade carefully laid beside her, tucking her arm behind her head. "And... thank you."
Tori turned her head to look at her. "Jade?"
Jade met her gaze and smiled gently. "Don't make me take it back, Vega, because you know I will." Her voice was soft, but she meant what she said. She didn't want to talk about it.
"Okay then. You're welcome." Tori took Jade's hand and squeezed it once. "Sleep well."
Jade shut her eyes tightly as to not let any tears fall. "You too..."
xxx
Jade woke up feeling much warmer than she did when she fell asleep. When her thoughts became more coherent, she realized that there were arms wrapped loosely around her waist. Her eyes widened for a moment but soon relaxed again. Tori wouldn't hurt her, she didn't have the capacity to. Jade let out a shaky breath as she remembered the night before. She couldn't hide this forever, but she was scared. Really scared. And she just couldn't do it.
Tori wasn't holding her very tight so Jade saw that as an opportunity to leave without her knowing. She didn't want to get Tori involved in the mess she was in. She didn't want Tori to get hurt. Jade inched backward until she was on the edge of the bed, then swung her legs off the bed and slowly stood up. She stayed still for a moment, waiting to see if Tori was going to stir, then turned and picked her clothes up off the chair. Jade was about to attempt to leave the room to change and leave before anyone knew she was gone when Tori spoke.
"Jade? Where are you going?"
Jade froze, then clenched her fist. Busted. "Um..." Jade spun on her heel and smiled. "Hey, I was just..." The look on Tori's face was enough for her to stop talking. Tori knew she was trying to get out of this so there was no point in lying now. "I-"
"Jade." Tori closed her eyes tightly for a moment, still trying to wake up and process things. "Why did you come here last night?"
Jade pursed her lips, then tossed her clothes back onto the chair. "I got in a fight with my dad. Just about my plays, you know. He doesn't like most of them, and he makes sure I know it. I just didn't want to deal with it last night... I'm sorry..."
Tori was suddenly wide awake. "Your dad?" She moved to sit on the edge of the bed. "But I thought you two were able to come to an understanding? You know, after-"
"Well, I only told you what I wanted you to know!" Jade yelled, to which she then remembered there were more people in the house so she covered her mouth. "Sorry," she mumbled against her hand, apologizing for more than one reason.
"Come on, we've actually gotten close since then, Jade." Tori stood up and crossed her arms. "Is there anything else big you're not telling me?"
"No." Jade cringed. She had answered way too quickly.
"Okay then."
Jade breathed. She hadn't caught on to it.
Tori raised an eyebrow at her. "Well, what do you want to do then? You can leave if you really want to, but I don't think you actually want to."
Jade looked at the chair where her clothes were, then back at her friend. "Can I change first? I need to get out of these bright clothes as soon as humanly possible."
Tori laughed and shook her head fondly. "Go ahead. Just don't sneak out without saying goodbye, okay? I'm gonna make breakfast, so at least eat before you go. Or you can stay, whichever you want to do."
Jade's expression softened. Tori just wanted her to be okay. "I won't sneak out, I swear." Jade held her hands up. "I promise. I'll meet you downstairs."
Tori nodded and smiled warmly. "Okay. See you there in a sec."
Jade smiled back, grabbed her clothes, then walked out, gently shutting the door behind her. As soon as the door was closed, silent tears started to run down her face. She had forgotten what it felt like to be cared about.