General A/N: Got in the Christmas spirit and wrote my first-ever one-shot. It's a little 2020-inspired Christmas story chalk full of relevant topics from virtual Secret Santa to Zoom to Covid-19 tests. Sound like wild ride? Probably, but it's worth it, I promise.
I hope you enjoy! I had a great time writing it.
OH! For reference, the mentioned picture of Tori and the fire hydrant is inspired by one of Victoria's most recent posts. What a cutie! (And by the way, I edited a Zoom graphic for this story from the Victorious reunion. It's on my Tumblr - grounderrecords)
Quarantine Christmas
Saturday, November 21, 2020
Nine years ago, during one of his Improv classes, everyone's favorite Hollywood Arts teacher, Sikowitz, gave a group of juniors a simple assignment for the holidays: participate in the school's Secret Santa event. Though first met with its fair share of groans and moans, that assignment turned out to be a huge hit. So much so, that from that year on—even when their high school days were well behind them—the self-proclaimed 'Breakfast Bunch' kept it going with an annual gift exchange of their own.
It was never meant to turn into the tradition that it did, but over time as their lives got busier and the distance between them grew larger, it became the one constant that would always bring them back together.
After graduating from the prestigious performing arts school, and in the years that followed, the six friends slowly began to leave Los Angeles to pursue their careers. Jade was the first to depart, trading the West Coast for the East to attend college in New York. By the start of junior year, Tori, her girlfriend of three years at the time, had transferred schools to join her, and the two settled into a small flat in New York City. Beck forwent college to follow acting, soon landing various gigs in Canada, while André signed a record deal that moved him to Chicago. Only Cat and Robbie remained in the City of Angels.
Despite the distance, every Thanksgiving, without fail, they would get together for a drawing of names. Then on Christmas Eve, they would gather once again for a gift reveal and an always-memorable round of guessing 'who gave what to who.' The plan was always to meet back up at Tori's childhood home, their usual spot, and do it again, but this year, 2020 had a plan of its own.
No one expected to be in the middle of a global pandemic—or that it would last as long as it did. But spring turned to summer and summer quickly faded into fall, and still, things remained just as bad—if not worse—as they were on the dreadful day in March when the country came to a surprising halt.
It quickly became obvious to Tori—the self-appointed organizer of the exchange since their first year of college—that Thanksgiving in Los Angeles surrounded by her friends and family was never going to happen. And that without it, the annual Breakfast Bunch tradition would come to an end.
Determined to keep it alive, she decided that this year, she would just have to improvise. So, on a mid-November afternoon in the heart of New York City, after trading her usual glass of wine for a steaming cup of hot chocolate, she cozied up on the couch next to her girlfriend, whose attention was consumed by a film she was editing, and set out to plan the group's first-ever virtual Secret Santa. By nightfall, she had already worked out the entire thing and had summoned the group chat for an emergency video call.
"Babe, come on! I'm about to start the meeting. Go get on Zoom!" Tori urged Jade from the living room couch, where she sat cross-legged with her laptop propped open on her lap.
Jade had left her side to prepare herself a drink in the kitchen and was now purposefully taking her time. This was life with Jade West: she did what she wanted, when she wanted, and how she wanted. Any sign of a command from Tori was always met with the opposite action.
"Don't tell me what to do, Vega," Jade countered as she finally appeared from the kitchen, a glass of rosé in hand and the half-filled bottle tucked under her other arm. She moved slowly, trudging over to the coffee table across from the couch.
"Do you have to move so—" Tori began to complain as she looked up from her computer screen, but paused when she noticed what Jade was carrying. "Hey! Is that my wine?"
"No."
"It is! What are you doing with my wine?"
"It's the only alcohol we have," Jade replied. "I'm not doing this shit sober."
"But you know wine gives you headaches."
"You give me headaches," Jade quipped, picking up her laptop from where she left it on the coffee table.
Tori rolled her eyes. "I was going to offer to help you get rid of it after we Zoom with the group, but now that you're being mean you lost that chance."
"We both know you'll still do it, babe," Jade teased with a wink before leaning down and placing a chaste kiss on her forehead.
As it happened, Tori's hand reached up to gently push her away, initially assuming her girlfriend was just going to mess with her like she liked to do, but the instant Jade's lips landed on her forehead, her tanned hand relaxed, settling on her chest. She grinned up at her, and when Jade went to pull away, she clutched her shirt in her fist and pulled her back toward her, until their faces were only inches apart.
"I love you, Asshole," she declared, gazing into blue-green eyes.
Jade chuckled softly, as she always did on the rare occasion when Tori would curse. She knew full well that was all her doing, and while the novelty of it may have long worn off, she still found it hilarious, even almost nine years into their relationship.
"I love you too, Handsy," she replied.
Upon hearing those four words—the nickname was quickly ignored—Tori leaned up and pressed a tender kiss on her lips. It was only meant to be an innocent peck, just a sign of appreciation, but the moment their lips collided, it was like magnets coming together, neither able to resist the other's pull. One kiss turned into two, then three, then four, until their lips were moving in a slow, familiar synchronization.
They lost track of time, both too consumed by the embrace, but before things could escalate any further, as they usually would, Jade pulled back, straightened herself, and sauntered over to the bedroom. With every step she took, she swayed her hips, playing it up knowing Tori was watching her. She could practically feel those lust-filled, chocolate brown eyes burning into her back, silently bidding her to return. When she reached the doorway, she paused, turned back to look at her with a smirk decorating her face, and said, "Oops, looks like you're late to your own Zoom."
As Jade disappeared into their bedroom, Tori shook away the salacious thoughts that had populated her mind since their kiss. She looked at the time on the top corner of her computer screen and huffed when she realized she was, in fact, late. Five minutes late, to be exact.
"Dammit, Jade," she whispered to herself as she opened the Zoom app. It was just like her girlfriend to tease her seconds before they were supposed to—virtually—hang out with their friends.
When she started the meeting, everyone was on except Jade, who was still intentionally moving at a snail's pace.
"Finally! So much for 'seven o'clock Eastern, don't be late!'" Robbie exclaimed, imitating Tori.
"I thought you forgot about your own meeting," André added.
"Hey, sorry! I—" she started to respond after unmuting her mic, but paused when she realized her voice was covered in arousal. She cleared her throat and tried again, this time, her voice back to normal. "I, uh... lost track of time."
"Yeah, we all know what that means," Robbie said suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows.
"Come on, now," André pleaded, grimacing. "Let's not get into that. Please."
Just as Tori was about to agree with André, she noticed Cat was speaking directly into the camera, but her mic was muted, so no one could hear her.
"You're muted, Cat," she informed her.
Giggling, Cat turned her mic on and her infamous laugh boomed through Tori's computer speakers, echoing throughout the living room.
"I still don't know how to use this thing," she admitted once her laughter had subsided.
This wasn't the first time they were using the popular platform for their virtual hangouts. Up until the start of quarantine, they had always used the video chat option on The Slap—yes, that was still around—but at some point Beck, having used Zoom for online table reads, suggested it to the group, and the rest was history. By mid-quarantine, they had become seasoned Zoomers, all experts in the platform except for Cat, who still hadn't really nailed down the basics.
"Were you trying to say something?" Tori asked.
"Just wondering where Jade is," Cat responded, leaning forward and squinting her eyes like she couldn't see well. "I don't see her little box."
"She'll join eventually," Tori said with an eye roll.
As the conversation turned to Beck's recent haircut—a result of his latest role—Tori muted her mic and called out to Jade from across the apartment, "Hurry! Everyone's waiting."
"That adds a minute," Jade replied casually, loud enough for Tori to hear.
"A minute to what? Just get on! "
"Two."
"Babe!"
"Three."
Before encouraging Jade any further, Tori unmuted herself and rejoined the conversation.
"Trouble in paradise, Toro?" Robbie asked. At some point in the last nine years, he had claimed Sikowitz' old nickname for her and began to use it himself.
"No, Jade's just being Jade and taking her sweet time logging on," Tori answered.
"I don't understand why you both insist on video chatting separately. You live together," André said.
"It's her fault!" Tori defended, pointing toward the bedroom like a petulant child. "I prefer when we're together, but she claims I hog the camera. I think she just wants control."
As if on cue, Jade entered the meeting wearing the wickedest grin imaginable. She had taken the brief time before joining to change her display name to ScissorLuv—an homage to her high school days—and her virtual background to a picture she had saved—and somehow forgotten about—from the year before, when she and Tori spent the holidays in LA.
Captured in the exact moment it happened, the photo featured Tori on the ground, after falling off a fire hydrant during an impromptu photoshoot in her old neighborhood. The expression on her face was a priceless mixture of surprise and slight mortification. That picture was never supposed to see the light of day.
"Jade! I told you to delete that!" Tori protested, her cheeks burning a vibrant shade of red. She almost turned off her camera as a response to her embarrassment, but managed to keep it together.
"Did you honestly think I would?" Jade asked. "This is a masterpiece. Would you ask Van Gogh to erase The Starry Night?"
"Hey Tori," Cat said in a sing-song voice. "Did you have a nice trip?"
"Looks like you really fell for Jade, huh?" Robbie teased, earning a few chuckles.
"Guys, don't make fun," Beck urged, his voice firm, dripping with mock gravity. For a second, everyone thought he was serious, until the corners of his mouth pulled into a shadow of a smile, and he added, "Can't you see she's fallen on hard times."
The group erupted into a chaos of disjointed laughter, ringing through Tori's speakers.
"I hate all of you," she muttered, as she lowered the volume just enough to drown them out. When their laughter faded, she raised it back up. "If it wasn't for the fact that I invited you here, I'd end this call right now."
"Why were you so adamant that we Zoom tonight, anyway?" André asked, catching his breath. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously and pointed between both Jade and Tori's screens. "You kids got something you want to share?"
For years, everyone always wondered when Jade and Tori planned to get married. Even their closest friends and family, who all knew they were in no rush to walk down the aisle. Still, when the opportunity arose, the questions would follow.
"Don't fucking call me a kid, Harris," Jade ordered. "And no, we don't have anything to share. Mrs. Claus over here"—she nodded toward the living room—"wants to do Secret Santa again this year."
"A virtual Secret Santa," Tori corrected.
"That's what this is for?" André questioned, his voice tinged with slight disappointment. "Nothing else?"
"For the millionth time, we're not engaged!" Jade snapped. She was well aware of what he was getting at.
"Ha!" Beck boasted, rubbing his hands together in self-satisfaction. "I believe you all know my Venmo."
Following a harmony of defeated sighs, André, Robbie, and Cat pulled out their phones and proceeded to pay Beck what he was owed.
"Did you guys really make a bet?" Tori inquired, a look of utter perplexity on her face.
"It was André's idea," Robbie blurted, pointing to André's screen. He was always the first to snitch. "He started a separate thread when you texted us earlier."
André clicked his tongue. "Man, why would you call me out like that?"
"She asked," Robbie shrugged.
"If we made one! Not who started it!" André argued.
As the bickering wore on, Jade sipped on her wine and watched the group argue over the last-minute bet, silently enjoying their lunacy. Although she would never voice it—maybe to Tori if she was feeling nice that day—she really missed her friends.
"Jade!" Cat cried out, interrupting the squabble, which had somehow turned into a back-and-forth between André and Robbie. "You're drinking wine."
"Why, yes, Cat, I am. How very observant of you," Jade retorted mockingly.
"I've got some too!" Cat exclaimed, holding up a glass of red wine. "I call it Little Red Wine. Get it? Because André always calls me Little—"
"We get it," they all said in unison.
"I wrote a little song and I sing it when I drink. Wanna hear?" Cat asked.
"Not really no," Jade answered.
"Little Red Wine, I drink you up. Let's have a party!" Cat sang, swirling her wine glass around.
"Cat, that's just a rip-off of Red Solo Cup," Tori pointed out.
Cat's jaw dropped. "You have your own song too?"
"No? It's not my—Can we please just get back to talking about Secret Santa? You know, the whole point of this call," Tori begged. She looked between the fives screens, and when no one contested, she flashed them a satisfied smile.
"Great! So, I did some research on how we can make this work since we're"—she waved her arms around in a broad gesture—"all over the place. There's this site called Elfster, you may have—"
"Is that a porn site?" Beck interrupted questioningly.
"Elfster," Jade whispered seductively into the mic of her PearPod, "fulfilling all your Christmas... needs."
"Are you guys gonna take this seriously?" Tori questioned, a trace of impatience in her tone. She was met with a dissonant chorus of "yes" except for Jade, who offered an emphatic "no."
"Anyway," she continued, emphasizing each syllable, "I put the link to our gift exchange in the chat, so you can sign up. It'll randomly draw names for us and we should know who our person is by tomorrow."
"What if we don't like the person we get?" Jade asked, knowing her question would only further frustrate her girlfriend. She revelled in the knowledge of how easy it was to rile her up.
"You live with it," Tori replied defiantly. "And don't go trying to trade with anyone. You know the rules."
"Do I?" Jade asked with feigned naivety. "That's news to me."
"Don't worry, I'm more than happy to remind you of them," Tori offered, a sinister smile curling her lips. "Rule number one, gifts have to be creative. Rule number—"
"You finish that sentence, Vega, and I swear I'll log off," Jade threatened.
"Fine," Tori scoffed. "I'll just write them down for you and leave it on your bedside table. How does that sound?"
"Be my guest. It'll just end up in the trash," Jade said.
"At least recycle it, Jadey," Cat suggested.
Jade shushed her. "Mind your business, Greta Thunberg."
"Now, if you're done interrupting me," Tori began, scowling into the camera, "I'd like to continue."
"Yes, please," André agreed. "You two can flirt on your own time. I've got a songwriting session in twenty minutes that I'd like to not be late to."
Jade swept a hand in front of her, beckoning Tori to go on as if she actually needed her permission. "Well then, get on with it."
"Where was I? Oh! Make sure you get your gift to your person by the 23rd," Tori instructed, "or we can't open them at the same time."
"Send gift on December 25th," Jade said slowly, pretending to write it down. "Got it!"
Tori groaned in defeat, dropped her face in her hands, and grumbled, "I give up! This is impossible."
After taking a long, deep breath, she lifted her head, tapped the mute button, and yelled across the apartment, "Babe, please! You're ruining my Secret Santa!"
It didn't initially occur to her that although she was muted, Jade wasn't, so when the group broke out laughing, she instantly realized that they'd all heard her desperate plea.
"Come on, babe!" Robbie mocked.
"Shut the fuck up, Robbie," Jade bellowed, looking straight into the the camera.
Immediately, Robbie threw his hands up in surrender, cowering under her glare. Even though they were separated by computer screens and a distance of almost three thousand miles, that green-eyed death stare still held the exact same effect on him that it did in high school.
Silence overtook the once boisterous Zoom call, but only for a moment before Jade finally broke it.
"Okay, I'll stop," she conceded somewhat begrudgingly after noticing the smallest trace of a pout pulling at her girlfriend's lips. "You have my full attention now, V."
Tori's frown dissipated just as quickly as it had appeared and she jumped right back into her explanation of the gift exchange like nothing had happened. True to her word, Jade remained quiet and undisruptive.
Mid-way through, as Tori was going on about wishlists and other website features, she received a chat alert. Without a single pause in her speech, she clicked the notification, opening up a private message from Jade.
From ScissorLuv to Me: (Privately)
I'm sorry I upset you.
That was quickly followed by another message.
I love you, Grumpy Cat.
Tori continued on, grinning like a fool while she spoke, and staring at Jade's screen the entire time, watching her pour herself more wine. Sure, her girlfriend was the poster child of a Christmas grunch—sometimes, just a flat out grunch—but she loved her, she really loved her.
"You're all free to Zoom on Christmas Eve, right?" she asked as their conversation neared its end. When everyone nodded, she added, "Awesome! I'll send an invite."
"Thanks for organizing this, Tori," André said. "This year and every year."
"Yeah, thanks," Beck added. "We couldn't do it without you."
Cat puckered her lips and kissed her camera. "We love you, Tori."
"You guys! You're gonna make me cry," Tori admitted, a little taken aback by their displays of appreciation. "God, I love you guys and I miss you every day. I can't wait until the day I can see you and hug you again."
"Ugh! I'm not drunk enough for this sappy shit," Jade whined.
Cat laughed. "We love you too, Jade."
"Yeah, you better," Jade shot back.
Thursday, December 24, 2020
Days in quarantine had an odd way of just zooming by. Hours blended into days, days blended into weeks, and before Tori could even blink, it was Christmas Eve.
Under normal circumstances, Christmas Eve was her favorite day of the year. She would look forward to it with great anticipation, counting down the days, hours, and minutes like a child eagerly awaiting a promised trip to Disneyland. And while this year Christmas Eve looked nothing like any of the ones before—no friends to drunkenly sing karaoke with at her parent's house, no family to catch up with over Christmas dinner—she was still somewhat excited about it.
Throughout the day and into the evening, her emotions were like a rollercoaster: up at some points and down at others. While she was looking forward to hosting their first-ever virtual Secret Santa party, she wanted nothing more than to be in the physical presence of her best friends, to pull them in one by one, and embrace them in tight, never-ending hugs.
An hour before their scheduled Zoom, she had reached the nostalgic point of her emotional ride. She was laying lengthwise on the couch, resting her head on Jade's lap, and scrolling through old photo albums on The Slap. She had started with the previous Christmas then moved back through the years—life in New York, Jade's Sundance debut, the release of her first EP, her brief stint at UCLA—until she had reached her high school days.
As she swiped through photos of her junior year at Hollywood Arts, she came across a set from the group's first Secret Santa. They had all been taken the day she performed André's Christmas song with Jade and Cat, her gift to him as his Secret Santa—technically Jade's since she came up with the idea.
"This feels like forever ago," she said aloud, tilting her phone just enough for Jade to see it.
Jade briefly glanced over at the screen. "That's because it was forever ago."
Tori tapped on her favorite picture from that day, and zoomed in. In it, she was standing behind Jade, her hands settled on her lower back, while Cat stood in the same manner behind her. Looking at that picture got her thinking back to their performance, and the days leading up to it. It was only a few months before she and Jade got together, but by then, she'd been harboring a crush on her for a while.
"Could you tell I had a huge crush on you by this point?" she asked, raising the phone up over her head so that Jade could get a better view this time.
"Mhm," Jade responded absently, not even looking at the picture. She was deep in a conversation on her phone, but Tori didn't know that.
"Really?"
"Hm?" Jade hummed in question, still not paying her much attention.
Upon realizing that Jade wasn't listening, Tori tilted her head up to look at her. As she expected, Jade was distracted by her phone, her pale fingers rapidly tapping away at the screen as a faint smile pulled at the corners of her mouth.
"Babe, are you even listening?" Tori questioned, sitting up on her elbows and twisting at the waist to look at her.
"What?" Jade asked, meeting her waiting gaze. She pulled her phone toward her, like she was hiding it from Tori's view. As subtle as the move was, Tori definitely noticed it.
Actually, she'd been noticing that kind of behavior a lot lately, especially in the last couple of weeks. Jade had become a bit secretive, and on a few occasions, even a little nervous around her. Tori didn't know what to make of it, or if to ask what was going on. Instead of pressing her, she'd choose to let it go. "It's probably nothing," she would say to herself.
In their almost nine years together, Jade had never given her the impression that she was unhappy—I mean, it was Jade, she could be unhappy but not that type of unhappy—and not once had she given her the reason to think she was straying. Jade could be many things, but she wasn't a cheater.
Opting to trust her girlfriend, Tori decided to once again let it go. "It's probably nothing," she tried to tell herself again.
"I asked if you could tell that I had a crush on you by this point," she repeated to Jade, showing her the picture.
"Of course," Jade said, clicking her phone off and setting it on the armrest beside her. "The way you felt me up when I came over to give you your gift, I knew you wanted me."
"I did not feel you up!" Tori defended. "I simply inspected you for scissors which, surprise, surprise, you had!"
"Well, no shit. I always carry."
Tori rolled her eyes. If there was one thing her girlfriend loved just as much as her—on some days, maybe a smidge more—it was scissors. And no, that wasn't an innuendo. She really loved scissors. Though, she did love that other thing too.
Jade's phone lit up with a message notification, and before Tori could even make out a name, she had picked it up to read it.
"Jade?" Tori asked nervously, sitting up and swinging her legs over the couch.
Even though she had just told herself that she wasn't going to bring it up, she couldn't stop herself from overthinking.
"What if Jade is that type of unhappy?" she thought to herself. "What if she wants to leave me? What if —"
"Yeah?" Jade replied, interrupting her internal panic. She wore a puzzled expression, her studded brow raised in slight concern.
Tori opened her mouth to voice her feelings, but was immediately cut off by back-to-back text alerts on her own phone. Unable to stop herself, she trailed her eyes over to the lit up screen and sighed as she read the messages. Suddenly, confronting Jade had to be put on hold.
Beck🇨🇦: I hate to do this right before we're supposed to meet but I got called in to shoot a scene. I'm so sorry!
Beck🇨🇦: You guys go head and do it without me though.
After a great deal of back and forth between the group, and an immeasurable amount of apologies from Beck, they settled on pushing the virtual party to Christmas Day. At his insistence, they would all open their gifts in advance, but save the party to show them off and guess their gifter.
Tori was so devastated by the change of plans—and still upset by the mere thought of Jade with someone else—that as soon as it was decided, she slid her phone across the coffee table and stood up.
"Where are you going?" Jade asked, sensing something was wrong.
"To sleep," Tori grumbled. "What's the point in staying up now?"
"You're not going to sleep," Jade directed, standing up and taking her by the hand. "Come on, I know something that'll cheer you up."
Tori shook her head. "I'm not really in the mood to have sex right now."
"Not what I'm talking about, babe," Jade said, lightly pulling her toward her and leading them to their Christmas tree.
Letting go of her hand, Jade bent down, moved a few gifts around, and picked up a hidden small white envelope that was addressed to Tori.
"What is that?" Tori asked, a hint of curiosity in her mostly solemn voice.
Jade handed her the envelope. "Your Secret Santa sent this."
Tori immediately took it from her hands and inspected it, flipping it over and back a couple of times to take in every detail. It had her parent's house listed as the return address and everything was printed on labels, as to not give away who the person was.
"I know you're upset that we had to postpone the party," Jade began, "but I figured this would at least cheer you up a bit."
"Aren't you gonna open yours?"
"Mine can wait." Jade waved it off. "You go first."
Brown eyes flickered between Jade and the present. Tori couldn't deny she was intrigued to find out what could be lying inside such a small package. Without uttering a single word, she tore open the envelope in a mixture of eagerness and slight frustration.
"So, what is it?" Jade asked curiously, leaning over to peek inside.
Tori reached in and pulled out a black blindfold. "That's it?"
"How kinky," Jade quipped with a wink.
Bewildered by her gift, Tori looked inside the envelope in search of some kind of explanation and found a note.
"There's a note," she noted aloud.
"Well, are you gonna read it?" Jade asked, displaying a level of interest that she normally wouldn't.
Tori pulled out the note and read it to herself.
Ho, ho, ho.
Grab a coat, put on this blindfold, and let Jade guide you.
-SS
"You're supposed to lead me somewhere," Tori stated, showing Jade the note.
"I know, I have these," Jade said, pulling out a piece of paper from her back pocket and waving it in front of Tori's face. "They're instructions and they came the same day as your present."
Following the note's instructions, Tori let Jade put on her blindfold before grabbing both their coats from the coat closet by the door.
"Who would do something like this?" Tori asked, thinking out loud.
"It's not my gift to guess," Jade responded, slipping Tori's coat on her.
"Maybe it's André," Tori continued as Jade buttoned her up. "He would send me on a scavenger hunt. If that's even what this is."
Jade threw her own coat on. "Are you ready or are you just gonna stand there blindly guessing?"
"I'm ready," Tori said.
Jade took her by the hand, interlaced their fingers together, and led her out of the apartment. Before closing and locking the door, she threw her instructions inside. She wasn't gonna need those.
As Jade guided her down the hall, Tori's attention went from guessing who her Secret Santa was back to her failed conversation from earlier. Opening her gift was a nice temporary distraction, but as they walked in silence and without her sight to keep her preoccupied, there was just one thing ruminating in her mind.
"Jade, there's something I need to talk—"
"I'm not cheating on you," Jade quickly interjected as they reached their first stopping point. She paused, opened a door, and ushered Tori in.
"How did you…" Tori began, but trailed off.
"Because I know you, Vega. Probably better than you know yourself," Jade explained, her voice echoing in the small confines of where they stood. "I know you were panicking back there, because of how I was acting."
"Can you blame me? You've been acting really weird."
"Do you trust me?" Jade asked, her voice soft and gentle. This wasn't her everyday voice, it was reserved only for Tori.
"Yes, it's just—"
"Do you trust me?" Jade repeated, the sweetness in her voice never wavering.
"Of course, I trust you," Tori answered earnestly.
"Good," Jade said, squeezing her hand reassuringly. "I promise to tell you why I've been acting so weird after you see your present."
"Is that why you've been acting weird, then? Because you knew about this? Were you talking to my Secret Santa this entire time?" Tori questioned. "You're not supposed to do that, you know that."
Jade sighed. "Will you hush? We're almost there."
"Where's there?" Tori asked. "And why are we by the stairs?"
"No more questions," Jade ordered. She retracted her hand and gingerly placed it on the small of Tori's back, guiding her forward until they reached the first steps of the stairs.
The trek up the stairs took a few minutes, but by the time they were halfway up, Tori knew exactly where they were going. There was only one logical explanation for the path they were taking.
"We're going to the roof, aren't we?" she asked with full confidence.
"Zip it, babe."
Moments later Jade pushed past a loud, creaky door and stepped out onto the roof. She held it open with her back as she took both of Tori's hands and steered her out.
Between the sound of the door, the gust of wind that picked up at their arrival, and the flurries of snow that grazed her exposed face, Tori knew her suspicions were correct.
"I knew it," she boasted. "We're on the roof."
"It wasn't that hard to guess, genius," Jade quipped. She let go of one hand and intertwined their fingers with the other.
The warmth of her hand sent an electric shock throughout Tori's entire body. Suddenly, she was very aware of how cold her hands had become. "Babe, next time you bring me to the roof in the middle of a snow storm, please, grab our mittens."
But Jade had gone quiet. She started walking, pulling her with her, and leading her somewhere.
"Babe?" Tori asked, confused by the silence.
They walked about a yard or two more before they paused.
"We're here," Jade announced, an almost unnoticeable amount of nervousness in her tone.
"Okay? What the heck is this gift? Why is it so—" Tori began to ramble off, until Jade removed the blindfold and she was met with a setting straight out of a Christmas movie: hanging colored lights all around, lit-up candy canes sprinkled around the seating area, and a fully-decorated Christmas tree in the center. "Ho... ly... shit."
"Quite the decorations, huh?" Beck asked and Tori nodded, completely at a loss for words.
It took her exactly five seconds to realize that the person who spoke to her wasn't her girlfriend, but Beck. Beck Oliver. The one who was supposed to be filming a scene in Vancouver, not standing on a rooftop in the middle of New York City.
The second it hit her, she turned around fast enough to give the average person whiplash. She practically shrieked when her eyes landed on him, then Cat, then Robbie, then André, and ending at her sister, Trina.
"This isn't real," she said, shaking her head in disbelief.
Jade pinched her cheek. "Is it real now?"
Tori didn't even flinch, or shoo her off. She just stood frozen in place, her eyes fixated on the five people she hadn't seen in person since exactly a year before.
"Are you just gonna stand there staring or are you gonna come hug me?" André asked.
"Wait, me first," Trina demanded. "I'm her sister."
"No, me first," Cat followed. "I'm her... Cat."
Somehow, Tori found it in her to move and before the group could decide on who got her love first, she let go of Jade's hand and took off toward them, walking fast but cautiously, not trying to injure herself in the snow.
The instant she was in their space, they enveloped her in a giant group hug, missing only Jade, who stood back watching with a self-satisfied smile plastered on her face.
"I can't believe you're all here," Tori mumbled into someone's shoulder. She could feel herself getting teary-eyed. "Which one of you did this?"
"Well, it wasn't me, considering I didn't get an invite to Secret Santa, again," Trina complained as they pulled apart.
"It's your Secret Santa gift, Tori," André reminded her with the same energy she always used on them. "You guess."
Tori didn't have to think it through. There was only one person who would do this for her.
"Jade," she guessed confidently, spinning around and dashing back toward her.
She didn't even give Jade a second to prepare before she threw her arms around her neck and hugged her tight.
"You're suffocating me," Jade choked out.
Tori pulled back and grabbed her hand, pulling her toward their friends.
"I should've realized it was you from the moment you said you got instructions and actually did what they told you to do," Tori joked as they came to stand by the group.
"You were a little preoccupied thinking I was cheating on you," Jade said.
Beck chuckled. "You thought Jade was cheating?"
"She's been acting really weird lately," Tori defended.
Cat chuckled, but stopped when Jade shot her a glare. It went unnoticed by the rest.
"And earlier she was typing away on her phone when I was trying to talk to her," Tori continued.
"That's because she was directing us," André explained.
"Ordering is more like it," Robbie corrected.
"I wasn't gonna let you idiots fuck up my master plan," Jade said.
"Master plan?" Tori inquired.
"Do you want to do the honors, Jade? It's your gift after all," Beck asked.
Jade shook her head as she wrapped her arm around Tori. "Take it away, Oliver."
"Jade told us about her plan the day we got our Secret Santa assignments," Beck began. "She wanted to fly us out because she knew you were sad about not having a traditional Christmas this year.""That's very thoughtful," Tori pointed out, laying her head onto Jade's shoulder, silently thanking her. When Jade gently rubbed up and down her side, she knew she had understood. "But, wait, New York is practically closed. How did you get in?"
"It's not that hard to get in here," Robbie answered. "We just had to quarantine."
"For fourteen days?" Tori asked, lifting her head up and looking at him with surprise-filled eyes.
"It's only four days now. We took tests at home and then here," Beck explained. "Luckily we all tested negative."
"We stayed at a nearby hotel and Jade came to see us this morning once we got our tests back," André added.
"You said you went on a walk," Tori cried out, looking at Jade.
"I did," Jade responded. "I walked to the hotel and back."
"God, I can't believe you guys went through all of that just to be here," Tori stated, baffled by the information. She turned back to Jade and added, "And you, I can't believe you did this for me."
"Merry Christmas, Vega," Jade said, leaning forward and pressing a soft kiss on her temple.
Tori suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of happiness. She was standing on a beautiful rooftop with the love of her life, her best friends, and her sister, about to enjoy their traditional holiday festivities… together. In that moment, she couldn't think of anything that would make her Christmas Eve any better.
"I just wanna hug you guys again," she declared, opening her arms and gesturing them to come into her embrace.
They all hugged again. This time, for a longer period of time and with Jade actually in the mix. But she sneakily pulled away before anyone else and stepped back.
There was just one more part to her master plan, one that only a single other person on that rooftop had even the slightest idea about: Cat. Cat, who'd been quiet throughout most of the interaction, trying her hardest not to spill the beans. Because Cat Valentine couldn't keep a secret even if you bribed her with bibble.
"Tori?" Jade called, voice dripping with that same softness from earlier.
The group pulled away and Tori turned around to face her as a chorus of gasps filled the cold air.
Tori's hand shot up to cover her mouth as her eyes settled on the unexpected scene in front of her: Jade down on one knee.
"Oh my god," she let out shakily. "Oh my god."
Jade offered her a hand and she took it, stepping in closer so she was standing directly in front of her. She could tell Jade was nervous, but she masked it well.
"If there's one thing this year has confirmed for me, it's that there's no one I'd rather spend every waking day with, than you. I love you. I've loved you since the day I kissed you in Sikowitz' classroom after everyone had left. When you thought I didn't want to be friends anymore. I guess you were right, because I didn't. I wanted to be your girlfriend, I wanted to be… yours.
"God, I sound like such a sap right now," she continued through a laugh as she reached into her coat pocket.
The few seconds that it took Jade to pull out the box felt like an eternity, but as soon as Tori saw it peeking out of her pocket, her brown eyes filled with tears. It was happening, it was really happening.
"Victoria Lucia Vega," Jade began, holding out a small black velvet box and opening it slowly to reveal a jade-colored ring. "Will you marry me?"
"Yes!" Tori cried out without a second's delay.
With ever-so-slightly trembling hands—which she later blamed on the weather—Jade took the ring out and placed it on her finger, slipping it on with ease. It was a perfect fit, just like she knew it would be.
Everyone clapped and cheered as Jade rose to her feet and wrapped her arms around Tori's waist, tanned arms snaking around her neck. Their lips brushed together in an elated kiss, which had they been alone, probably would've turned into something else.
After weathering two grueling years of long distance on opposite ends of the country, full of late night calls, daily video chats, and essay-long text messages professing their love; it was finally happening. After a brief, but needed, four-month break in college while they sorted themselves out; it was finally happening. After Tori left the warmth of LA for the cold, wintery New York, transferring schools and leaving everything she'd ever known behind, just to be with her person, the one she loved more than anything, more than anyone; it was finally happening. After nearly nine of the best years of her life; it was finally happening. She was going to marry Jade West.
"I thought you said people getting engaged or married during quarantine was cheesy as hell," Tori asked, pulling back and looking into blue-green eyes. She kept her arms wrapped loosely around Jade's neck, while Jade's hands settled at her waist.
"I was going to propose to you on our trip to Europe back in May," Jade confessed, "but a fucking pandemic happened. This is the best I could do."
"It was perfect," Tori admitted before pressing a kiss on her lips.
"It's all true, Tori!" Cat spoke up from where the group stood. She had one of Jade's professional cameras around her neck, filming the entire thing. "Jade had it all planned out. The first attempt and this one."
"You mean to tell me Cat knew about this?" Tori asked and Jade nodded. "How in the hell did you get her to keep a secret this big?"
"Easy, I bribed her," Jade revealed like it was nothing.
They pulled apart so Jade could reach into her coat pocket—the one that didn't carry the engagement ring—and pull out a small bag of bibble. She waved it in front of Tori like she was trying to entice a dog.
"No way," Tori said, refusing to believe it was actually that easy.
"Hey Cat? Give my camera to Beck," Jade ordered.
"Kay kay!" Cat replied.
Doing as she was instructed, she removed the strap from around her neck and handed Beck the camera. Once she didn't have an extremely expensive piece of technology in front of her, Jade threw the bag at her.
"What about the other one?" Cat asked, opening it as soon as it was in her possession.
Jade rolled her eyes and reached back into her coat pocket. She pulled out a similar bag and tossed it to her.
"Thanks for the switch, Baby Girl," she said with a wink.
Tori looked suspiciously between them. "Wait a minute… what switch?"
"Oh, nothing," Jade said with a flirtatious smirk, trying to get her attention off the subject.
Tori looked at Cat with an ounce of intimidation in her stare, just enough to get her talking. Of course, Cat cracked.
"I got you and Jade got Robbie and—"
"You're my Secret Santa?" Robbie interrupted, looking at Cat.
Cat waved him off and continued, "Jade made me switch with her because she had this plan."
"Jade, you broke the rules," Tori chided, looking at her like a disappointed guardian.
"Yeah, to propose to you," Jade reminded her. "You're welcome."
Tori bashfully smiled at her. "Okay, I'll let it slide this time."
After only lasting an hour on the roof, the group moved their celebration into the Vega-West apartment, where, after a few drinks, they began their traditional drunk karaoke.
As requested by the others, Jade and Tori kicked things off with their annual rendition of Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart. Yes, their go-to duet was a break up song.
Eventually, after everyone had a turn, including Trina with an over-the-top performance of Britney Spears' Gimme More, Cat and Jade took the make-shift stage—they moved the furniture around to create enough space—and, at Cat's insistence, sang Take Me or Leave Me from Rent.
Like every year, Jade took on Maureen's part, starting the song off with that sultry voice of hers that never failed to leave Tori downright hypnotized.
"Every single day, I walk down the street, I hear people say 'baby's so sweet,'" she sang. "Ever since puberty, everybody stares at me. Boys"—she pointed to Beck—"Girls"—she pointed to Tori and winked—"I can't help it, baby."
As Jade continued, Tori watched from the couch, brown eyes trained on the way she moved. She had started to update her status on The Slap before the song began, and then all her attention was consumed by her fiancée.
By the end of Maureen's verses, Jade was straddling Tori on the couch, a rare occurrence outside of their private lives, but between the drinks and the high of their engagement, she was feeling loose, free, and uncontrollably happy.
"'Cause every night, who's in your bed? " Jade sang, looking into Tori's eyes and matching her smile. "Who? Who's in your bed?"
"Kiss Pookie," they sang simultaneously before Tori leaned forward and stole a kiss.
Cat took over the performance, singing Joanne's part as Jade reluctantly got off Tori to join her. As the two commanded the "stage" like a pair of Broadway veterans, Tori quickly returned her attention to her phone, finished typing out the rest of her status, and posted it to The Slap.
Tori Vega got engaged to Jade West on December 24
General A/N: Drop a comment below and let me know what you think! I love to hear your feedback/thoughts/concerns! What did you love/hate?
Come chat Jori with me on Tumblr - grounderrecords! Unlike Jade, I don't bite.