Sunset
by
John O'Connor
Summary: Jade needs a friend. Guess who?
The latest shitstorm hit the fan just before Finals Week at Hollywood Arts. While everyone should be focusing on their classes and, for the Class of '14, their upcoming graduation and after, drama filled the halls. And it could not be ignored.
Beck and Jade had the biggest fight of their young lives. Surprisingly, this time it was all on Beck Oliver. Not that he was a bad guy but he had an opportunity and had to take it.
"Jade, I'm not going to UCLA next fall."
"What? WHAT?!"
"I…have a job in…Montreal for a new TV show. This could make or break me and…"
"So we're over?!"
"No! You can come with me…"
"And be some trophy wife or…"
"NO!" Beck paused then said, "Jade, I don't want to lose you but…"
"Too late, Oliver! You lost me when you decided to go back to Canuck land." Jumping up, she turned to leave the Asphalt Café.
As Jade stormed off past Tori Vega and Andre Harris in line at Festus' truck, she glared in their direction but not even seeing them – or anyone else – in her rage.
Tori and Andre shared glances and Andre said, "You're going after her, aren't ya?"
Tori nodded, "She needs a friend."
"I'll ID the remains," Andre said. He turned to walk over to his friend at their table while Tori just stared at him.
"Ha-ha," she muttered before she followed the dark one back into the school, down the hall and, ultimately, up to the roof of the school. There she found Jade pacing back and forth near the edge. "JADE! DON'T DO IT! IT'S NOT WORTH IT!"
Clutching her chest and staggering near the edge, Jade yelled, "VEGA! WHAT THE HELL?!"
Finally, steadying herself, she snarkily said, "I wasn't going to jump. But you almost scared me off the roof!" Then, to herself, she muttered, "Goof."
"I…" Tori realized she did almost kill her friend. "Jade, I'm so sorry. I just wanted…"
"To help… Jeez, what is it with you, Vega? You still in the Girl Scouts and going for that last badge?"
"I…I couldn't join the Girl Scouts…"
"You run over the scout master with your bike?" Jade laughed.
"No… My grandmother… Well, no one can join for another thirty years…"
"Why?"
"Some archaic bullsh… Jade, it doesn't matter. I'm here to see if you're okay and…"
"I'll be okay. The idiot isn't worth it. He really hasn't been in a while, to be honest."
"I know. I'm sorry, Jade. He's a good guy but…"
"Good? He dumped me to go back to Canada!" With a sigh, the former Goth said, "To be honest, I think… No. I knew something like this was coming. I think it started when I said I wouldn't move in with him next fall…"
"I remember," Tori replied.
Jade and Tori, while still combative, had established a solid friendship after the 'Yes' dare near the end of their junior year. The past Christmas, Jade actually admitted Tori was the best friend she'd ever had. A combination of caring and being able to fight back when she needed to meant a lot to the dark girl. Jade even asked Tori to split an apartment near campus - she actually decided before she opted not to move in with Beck. While they would be at each other's throats often enough, they did enjoy each other's company - even if Jade wouldn't admit it – so it wouldn't be much different than Hollywood Arts.
As a result, Tori knew things hadn't been going well for the school's power couple weeks before the loud announcement.
Stalking one of the vents on the roof, Jade reached out as Tori yelled, "No, Jade! That's a steam vent from the kitchen! You'll burn yourself!"
Jade glared at Tori and walked to another vent. She reached out and touched it tentatively with her fingertip to find cool metal. Her hand wrapped around the shaft and she crushed it like a cheap soda can.
"Feel better? Or do you want to crush a few more pipes? There are some up there," Tori gestured to the higher roof. She strode over to the steps mounted in the wall and waved Jade in like some usher.
"Can it, Vega!"
Tori knew the look on her friend's face and knew not to push her. "Sorry."
"No. You're just…you."
Tori huffed but asked, "So you wanna take the rest of the day? Sikowitz won't care and…"
"To do what?"
"Get your mind off the Canucklehead," Tori offered with a happy smile.
Jade started to laugh, "Tha…that's a good o…one…V…Vegaa…"
Tori started to laugh too and, in seconds, they were both doubled over laughing like lunatics. Tori fell to her knees and Jade started to laugh harder, tears falling from her eyes to the rooftop even as she gasped for air between guffaws.
Tori wasn't much better. She somehow had the presence of mind to squeeze her eyes shut when she felt her contact lenses sliding on her eyes from the tears being generated.
Finally, after on another minute or so, which seemed much longer for the girls, they slowed and eventually stopped. The two looked at each other and almost started up again but they just panted to get their breath back.
Finally, Jade said, "Thanks Vega. I guess I needed that. Even if you almost made me pass out from oxygen deprivation!" Tori just stuck out her tongue. Jade smiled and shook her head. "What did you have in mind?"
"How about going to the beach? We haven't been there since…"
Jade nodded but scowled. Neither one wanted to remember the horrible time they had trapped in Beck's Airstream at the end of their sophomore year. Then Jade cracked a smile, "It was funny watching Robbie drink the dirty fish water though…"
"And throw up in Trina's bag," Tori added with a chuckle.
Jade barked out another laugh. "Alright, let's go!"
"Who's driving?" Jade asked.
"Well, I wanna live so I'll drive," Tori stated.
"Fine."
At Jade's urging, the summer before, Tori applied, tested for and passed her driver's license requirements. This included some extra on-line classes, given her accident with the little old lady. True to their word, her parents gave her a used Camry – after they Carfaxed the hell out of it to make sure it was a good buy.
In the dark green car which Tori affectionately named She-Hulk, she glanced to Jade, "Seatbelt?"
"I like to live dangerously."
"Not in my car," Tori replied, taking a stand.
"Fine!" Jade said with a huffy sigh. "But I choose the stations!"
"Okay with me," Tori agreed. Her tastes had adjusted to accept Jade's music. She even liked a lot of it. As they headed out of Hollywood, grunge rock from KROQ filled Tori's car. As they drove, Tori waited for Jade to speak but the dark one just watched L.A. pass by as they headed southwest out of Hollywood. Eventually, Tori turned onto Venice Boulevard heading towards the shore.
Once they were in Venice, Jade's stomach grumbled. Tori glanced over at her with a knowing smirk, "You got an alien growing in there?"
"Funny… But thanks to…he who shall not be named, I left my lunch on our table."
"I'm hungry too. Let's go to Bots." Tori glanced at Jade as she offered, "I'll even buy."
"Thanks," Tori said as she pulled off the boulevard before they reached the canal area that gave Venice it's name. Tori headed south and soon, they reached the marina area of Marina Del Rey and Bots, the automaton restaurant on the water overlooking Basin D, Marina Beach and all the yachts moored there.
"Cat and Sam have told me stories of some of the craziness that goes on here," Jade said after the bot with the female voice seated them.
"Craziness?" Tori asked, glancing around quickly.
"Relax, just occasional mechanical or programming errors. Like squirting some kid with hot cheese or taking food before Cat had a chance to eat. Gives me hope that AI won't be taking over the world any time soon."
"Skynet is just a movie villain, Jade. So was HAL 9000."
"Yeah, well…"
After their late lunch/early dinner, Tori led Jade out. Deciding to leave her car in the lot, Tori and Jade walked north to West Washington Boulevard and down towards the shore. At the end of the street, they started out along the Venice Beach Fishing Pier which jutted out over the Pacific for several hundred feet. There were ten fishing platforms that jutted off from the main pier, five on one side alternating with the other five on the other side. As they walked, Jade said, "How far are we going? I could've called an Uber…"
"Shush!"
As they moved from the shoreline, the sound of the waves receded. As the roar toned down, they came up on the next outward platform. It actually hosted a one-woman band who did a decent job playing old jazz with her banjo, harmonica, cymbals between her knees and bells on her fingers. After listening for several minutes to her version of "Mr. Bojangles", they both tossed several dollars into the woman's open banjo case.
The end of the pier was a large, circular platform. Unlike Santa Monica, this pier was bare and unremarkable but for the views of the coastline stretching in both directions and the blue expanse of the Pacific Ocean. A few miles north, the coast curved along toward Malibu and points north. To the south, through the evening mist, the Palos Verde peninsula could be glimpsed. All along the shoreline, from Malibu to Palos Verde, the lights were coming up – street lights and condos. Eventually, they would provide a futile attempt to illuminate the ocean.
But, at this point, the sun was visible as it was sliding down beyond the horizon.
Luckily, when the girls got the end of the platform, no one was fishing and they could take the optimum location for the sunset.
Standing at the western-most curve of the pier, the sun was just disappearing into the Pacific as they watched. The beauty of the scene was not lost on either one. The sunset colored their faces in orange and red. The lights behind them had already come up and the lights of the pier were a strand of pearls leading from the shore along the pier into the growing darkness of the Pacific.
Jade's hand slid over and covered Tori's. When it stayed there, Tori turned hers under Jade's warm flesh and fingers intertwined.
Tori glanced at Jade only to see her looking back. "Thank you, Ve…Tori." Tori opened her mouth to speak but Jade shook her head, "No, just… Thank you."
Tori nodded and the couple watched the last of the sunlight fade into the warm dark night.