The mall was, as they had anticipated, packed. It took five minutes just to find a spot and another five to walk to the door. Jade hated this plan before they even left the house, and now she was dreading it. Little families and couples and business people flooded in and out of the doors to the Food Court, and she had no idea how they were going to comfortably manage this many bodies.
Walking through the front door was an assault on her senses. Everything from pizza to subs to Chinese food, all in one spot. Practically every table was full, and for good reason. The smells made her stomach growl, and the decision to grab something on the way out firmly cemented itself on her to-do list. There was a short oriental man giving out samples at a Japanese restaurant on the corner where they passed, and they each stopped to grab one, nodding their appreciation at the grilled chicken.
The two of them walked through the food court to the central hub where the big blueprint of the mall stood. A bunch of people were crowded around it, so they stood back and waited for their turn. Parents were trying to wrangle in their children while teenagers hung all over each other like PDAs were the new black. Jade shook her head at a couple that seemed to have their faces stuck together, and Tori laughed at her side.
"Where do you want to try first?"
"Ugh, anywhere that gets me away from these mouth breathers."
Tori smiled and rolled her eyes. Typical Jade was out to play today.
"Why do these kids feel like they have to treat this place like their own houses? You don't live here, act like a civilized person."
"Aww Jade, don't be jealous. I can hang all over you like that if you want." The idea of actually hanging on Jade in the middle of the crowded mall scared Tori to death, but she enjoyed the freakish glare she got from Jade at the mention.
"Lucky for you I'm not a Troglodyte, and I won't call your bluff for the second time today."
Tori taunted Jade smugly, secretly relieved. "We should go to Glamour Closet first, then maybe hit Cinderella on the way back around."
"Whatever you say, dear."
Jade accentuated the remark in a condescending way, but Tori couldn't help but walk with a smile plastered on her face, relishing the first time Jade had ever used a pet name on her.
The walkways were packed with pedestrians, and the stores themselves were no different. Popular stores like The Gap and A&F were so full people were waiting outside to get in. The walk to the first store was more like a driving test, dodging cones wearing jackets and shoes. The ladies arrived at the Glamour Closet first, which happened to be a little less busy than some of the other places, much to Jade's relief.
The store was brightly lit with a vast array of different dresses, sorted into racks by color and size. Both girls instinctively geared towards the blue section, since it was both of their favorite color. Tori went for a midnight blue while Jade went for a lighter blue that matched her eyes, holding it up and strutting a bit. Tori animatedly checked her out, scanning from top to bottom a few times.
"Go try it on."
"Ugh, do I have to? I thought I only had to be here to appease you."
"Well by trying that on you are appeasing me. Now go."
"You're gonna pay me back for this. Somehow, some way."
"Looking forward to it" Tori called from over her shoulder, returning to the rack to continue browsing. She picked out another dress of the same dark shade but a different style, folding it over her arm like the first. When turning to the next rack, she looked out of the store window and saw Jennifer, Beck's friend, chatting with a few other people in a small group. Tori looked through a few dresses on the second rack, looking up occasionally to see what the pretty blonde girl was up to. A minute later she heard the sound of Jade's boots behind her, glancing over her shoulder to double check.
Jade stood tall in a long ocean blue dress that stopped just short of her ankles. It hugged her curves perfectly while emphasizing her bust, and Tori couldn't help but stare. Jade spun in a slow circle, lifting the dress to show a little leg playfully. Tori looked her up and down, particularly staring at her chest. Jade snapped her fingers with a smile on her face.
"My eyes are up here, Vega."
Tori shook her head to clear it. "You look amazing."
"It's a gift."
Tori couldn't tear her eyes away from the girl in front of her. The stark contrast of her raven hair with the blue dress, and the way the dress matched her eyes perfectly. Her eyes roamed Jade's outline slowly, drinking in every inch.
"Okay Vega, you can stop staring now." Jade was starting to feel a little self-conscious with all the attention.
"Sorry, you just..."
"Is that Jennifer?" Jade asked, looking past Tori's head out the window.
Tori fumbled for a second before she found words again. "Yeah, she's been out there talking to those guys."
"How nice for her." Jade smoothed out the dress and looked back to Tori. "Well, it's pretty nice."
"Pretty nice? You look like a million bucks."
Jade reached out and grabbed Tori's hand. "Thanks, Tor. Only problem is," Jade reached to the side and grabbed the price tag, "this."
Tori grabbed the tag and opened it, reading the inside. "Two hundred dollars? Holy chiz!"
"Holy chiz, indeed."
"I'll find a way to get it for you, you deserve to look that good."
Jade couldn't help but smile. "You're still too nice, Vega."
Tori and Jade spent another half hour or so looking at other dresses, holding them up in the mirrors to get an idea of what would look best. Tori checked out a tight black dress with a sloped neck that Jade really liked, helping her zip it up in the back.
"You never show off your cleavage. I think this is a pretty good look for you."
"Yeah well I don't really have cleavage like you do." Tori looked down at her chest a little self-consciously.
"Trust me, it's not all it's cracked up to be. My back hurts like all the time."
"Yeah, I guess the trade-off isn't always worth it. I see the way the guys look at you, though. It's pretty amusing to watch them drool."
"The most amusing part about it is some of them even think they have a chance."
"Jade! That's mean."
Jade smiled at her own wit, looking at Tori with soft eyes. "Oh Tori, those boys will be perfectly fine, I can assure you that. You can rest easy knowing that you'll be the one copping a feel without fear of retaliation. Well, bad retaliation anyway." She winked at Tori and Tori smiled dumbly.
"This dress is almost as much as that one."
"Well, looks like we're just gonna have to stay home."
"Oh really?" Tori asked sarcastically. "And when did you just decide that I was going to go with you anyway?" She cocked one hip to the side and rested her hand on it.
"I..." Jade was caught off guard with that last question and didn't really know what to say. "Well I mean I just assumed that since I wanted to go with you that you would want to go with me, but I mean we don't have to go together. I won't be mad if you want to ask someone else, I'll even help you-"
Tori stepped forward and kissed Jade softly on the lips in the middle of her sentence, causing Jade to close her eyes with her mouth open. "I do want to go with you, I was just kidding." She brought her arms back down to her sides and smiled.
Jade took a deep, calming breath, stabilizing her nerves. "Okay, I'm sorry for just assuming like that. I mean I know you have a lot of options and I don't want you to think just because we have this...thing, that you aren't free to ask someone else."
"And I appreciate that, but I don't want to ask anyone else. I think you'll do just fine."
Jade felt much better hearing that. "Alright, go get that off so we can get out of here already."
"Unzip me?" Tori asked with a seductive look.
Jade pursed her lips, hiding a smile. "You just don't know when to quit do you?" She unzipped the dress and slid her hand down Tori's back slowly.
Tori shivered a little as Jade's touch rippled through her body, enjoying the tingling in her extremities. "It's a gift." She giggled quietly as she walked into the dressing room.
Once Tori was changed the girls headed back out into the madness of the mall. Jennifer was gone along with the guys she was talking to, and the spot was filled with new people. Tori looked sideways at Jade who was staring straight ahead, wondering what was going through her mind. She saw Jade as a possessive girlfriend over Beck, but she didn't really blame her due to Beck's fan club of girls that followed him everywhere. She also knew that while Jade was popular with most people and showed a certain confidence at school, there was that side of her that was still a little kid trying to get her parents' attention, and her insecurities really stood out in the store. Tori didn't want Jade to feel like she was only going along with it because she wanted to be friends with her, she wanted Jade to really know that she was in as an equal, the second half of their new relationship. After a couple minutes of thought, Tori reached over and grabbed Jade's hand, holding it freely in front of all of the wandering eyes in crowded mall. Jade looked down at their entwined fingers then up at Tori, who was smiling brightly back at her.
It seemed like at that exact moment, almost every eye in the vicinity was on them. Same sex couples weren't really a big deal in California, especially in the Hollywood area. Tori played it up to her imagination, the fear of being different in society. She didn't mind being different, and the idea of being gay was never a big deal to her, but something about actually being in the situation, actually holding another woman's hand in public was a lot different than her thoughts.
It was getting later in the day, meaning even more people were showing up. A group of younger kids came straight for them, so Jade ducked into a jewelry store, grabbing Tori's arm and pulling her with. The group stampeded past, and Tori watched with raised eyebrows like they were a group of safari animals. She turned to face Jade who had walked forward a few paces to a display case, checking out large diamond earrings.
The case in front of them was chocked full of huge diamonds. Watches, bracelets, earrings, rings, you name it. Jade was eyeing a diamond wedding ring set in a platinum band. It had diamonds all the way around the band with a big rock right in the middle, held in place with platinum and gold hands. She moved side to side, watching the brilliant rocks sparkle in the case light. One of the store workers walked over and stopped at the case in front of Jade.
"Can I help you ladies with anything?"
Jade pointed to the ring. "How much does that cost?"
The man looked to where she was pointing. "Ah, yes. That particular ring is a beaut. It was purchased by a certain celebrity, I can't say who, to propose to his girlfriend at the time. Alas, she said no, and the ring ended up back in our ranks."
"Fascinating. How much does it cost?"
"Well, we don't like to just throw out numbers outright, but if you want I can-"
"What I want is for you to tell me how much it costs in American dollars."
The man's face hardened. "Eight hundred and fifty thousand United States Dollars, Miss."
"HA!" Jade exclaimed loudly, garnering looks from everyone in the store. The man behind the counter grimaced and walked away, realizing that the two women weren't actually potential customers. She turned to Tori who was watching with a smile, shaking her head. "You see that? People need to adjust their priorities."
"I don't know, I thought it was nice."
"Don't make me regret being attracted to you, Vega."
Tori brought Jade into a hug, giggling into her neck.
The other stores around seemed packed, and the other dress shop, which was admittedly much cheaper than the first one, looked like an ant hill. All of the big electronics stores, sports stuff and clothing stores seemed to be full, but a lone bookstore at the end of the strip they were on seemed to be deserted. They walked in for a few minutes to see what was on the best seller shelves nowadays, enjoying the peace and quiet.
Jade picked up a tattoo magazine while Tori grabbed a large coffee table publication full of chic hairstyles, flipping through page by page. Any bystander would have no clue that the two women even knew each other, much less that they were an item. The modern goth with her boots and pale skin with the trendy tan-skinned latina, complete with long fancy curls and a brilliant smile. They clashed with each other so much, yet the old saying of 'opposites attract' held strong.
After a little of browsing the quiet bookstore, they headed out towards the food court. It was nearing lunch time, so Tori figured they could grab something, and judging on the sounds coming from Jade's stomach, she was in agreement. The food court was a madhouse. Jade stopped and scanned from side to side, huffing out a breath at the prospect of standing in line for an hour just to get something to eat. She turned to Tori to see where she was on the decision, laughing at the look on her face.
"Jade, this is nuts. Do you want to try somewhere else?"
"Doesn't really matter to me. Do you know what you want?"
"Whatever has the shortest line I suppose."
Jade looked around and noticed the shortest line was at the little Japanese place they had sampled from earlier. She tapped Tori on the shoulder and pointed, and Tori shook her head yes. They walked over and got in line, surveying the menu as the people in front of them ordered. Jade found what she wanted and returned to scanning the court again, casually people watching in broad daylight.
She caught eyes again on Jennifer, standing by the door with one of the guys she had been talking to earlier. They looked like they were standing pretty close, so Jade tapped Tori on the side with her hand, not taking her eyes off Jennifer. Tori followed Jade's eyes and watched as well, perfect timing to see her kiss the guy she was talking to and give him a long hug before disappearing outside. Tori turned to Jade in disbelief, not sure what was really going on. Jade stared at the spot Jennifer had disappeared from, a look of disgust on her face.
"Jade, what just happened?"
"Beck said they were 'friends,' so I'm not really sure."
"I thought he liked her, what happened?"
The line moved and the girls walked forward, quickly ordering what they wanted to eat. Tori paid for both of them and then found a table to sit at. They sat across from each other at an intimate two-person table in an area that seemed a little less crowded than the rest.
Jade didn't want to reveal too much of the personal stuff Beck shared with her, so she played the last question aloof. "He just said something about little things, not really sure. I don't think they mesh as well as..."
"As you two did? It's okay Jade. You guys had your issues obviously but when you got along you were a good couple. We all saw it."
Jade was amazed at how she could consistently find new ways to like Tori even more. She was so selfless and giving, even when people didn't always deserve it.
"Jade? You're staring."
"You're an amazing woman, Tori Vega."
Tori was blindsided by the comment. "I, uh, wow."
"I know. Eat your lunch." Jade smiled at the look on Tori's face. They ate in silence for a bit, watching people come and go to different establishments around them.
"What are you gonna do about Jennifer?"
"What do you mean what am I gonna do?"
"Are you gonna tell Beck? Don't you think he should know?"
"Honestly, his relationships aren't any of my business."
"Well you and I are friends, wouldn't you want someone to tell you if they saw me kissing someone somewhere?"
Jade felt her stomach tighten at the thought of Tori kissing someone else. "Yeah, probably."
"I'm sure he feels the same way. You two are still best friends, you should at least text him and find out what their situation is or something."
"We'll see." Jade finished the last of her noodles and sat back with her hand on her stomach, eyes closed. Tori smiled at the sleepy girl, grabbing both of their trays to take to the trash. When she returned Jade stood up and wrapped one arm around her waist. She took a deep breath and leaned in, kissing Tori plainly in front of the hundreds of people around them. "Thanks Tori, that was good."
"The kiss or the food?" Tori asked in a bit of a daze.
"Smart ass. Let's go." They hooked arms and walked toward the doors, confident that they were the happiest people on the planet.
The parking lot itself too about fifteen minutes to navigate with all the traffic and bodies. The mall area was crazy anyway, since the whole four city block area was all shopping, food and entertainment. Thousands of people poured in and out daily, and it seemed like on that particular day everyone that had ever been there decided to come back all at once.
Tori turned on some music while Jade drove, staring idly through the windshield. The thought of bringing the Jennifer thing up with Beck was eating away at her, but she knew she would have to do it. Tori was right, she would want the same courtesy. Jade grabbed her phone out of her pocket and handed it to Tori.
"Will you find Beck's number and dial it for me?"
"Sure." Tori went to O in the contacts and found Beck's name. "It's ringing."
"Put it on speaker."
"Hello?" Beck answered in a tired voice.
"Jesus are you still sleeping?"
"My name isn't Jesus, and yes I was."
"I need to talk to you, can I come over real quick?"
"Uh, sure." Beck sounded kind of nervous.
"Alright I'll be there in fifteen or twenty minutes."
"Okay."
Jade nodded to Tori to hang up the call. She felt bad for waking him up, and for going to deliver to him what could possibly be bad news first thing in his morning, but either way it was going to happen. The drive to Beck's was silent, Jade going through what she was going to say to him in her head while Tori just listened to the music and let Jade think. Beck's driveway was empty so Jade pulled into the mouth of it and stopped towards the end, turning the car off but leaving the keys in the ignition so Tori could listen to the radio.
"I'll be right back." She leaned over and kissed Tori on the cheek.
"Okay." Tori smiled sweetly and watched her walk to the back of the house to Beck's RV.
Beck was already outside, sitting on the step to the RV drinking a can of orange soda. Jade walked up slowly, taking in his demeanor to figure out how to best approach the subject. He seemed like he was in a good mood for just waking up, so she figured the best course of action would be to get right to the point instead of beating around the bush.
The RV looked like it had been recently washed, and the ground around it was neatly manicured. The grass was cut and the leaves were removed, leaving a nice patch of the American dream. Jade's overactive mind attributed this cleanliness to Beck not having much to do, and she then linked not having anything to do to not hanging out with Jennifer. Maybe they had broken up, and if so, talking to him would go a whole lot smoother.
"Hey Beck."
"What's up" he answered slowly, his eyes still a little heavy.
"Not much, just wanted to talk a bit, see how your night went. Did you go to that party?"
"Yeah me and Jennifer stopped by for a bit. It's a weekend long thing, come and go as you please."
"You guys make any progress?"
Beck looked sideways at Jade with the look a parent would give their child that just spilled juice on the carpet. "Well, we've been going out a lot, it's been working out pretty well. I think we've grown a bit since you last asked."
Jade bit her tongue. She didn't want to go through with it, since Beck was her best friend and she didn't want to do anything to hurt him. She took a deep breath and held it for a second, looking for the courage to speak, then let it go. She walked over and sat next to him on the step to the RV, setting her phone down between her feet.
"Tori and I saw Jennifer kissing someone else at the mall today." Jade turned her head and looked directly at Beck to gauge his reaction. He stared forward without speaking for the space of a few breaths, then laughed. Shaking his head, he took another drink of his pop, finishing the can, then threw it in the open trash can near the rear of the RV. Jade waited with bated breath for him to either say it was okay or scream or something, but he didn't seem to want to react at all.
"Figures." he finally muttered, smile on his face in spite of the situation. "She seemed like the fast type, but I guess I wanted to see past it." He stood up from the step and walked around a bit, running his fingers through his hair.
"I'm sorry Beck."
"It's cool, no worries kid." He smiled at Jade and stepped up to her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. "Thanks for telling me."
"Thank Tori honestly" she answered, smiling at the confused look on his face. "I didn't want to get involved in the whole thing, thinking maybe you would just think I was being jealous again and trying to ruin your relationship or whatever, but Tori asked me what I would want if the tables were turned, and I realized I would want you to tell me, so I came here."
"Well tell her for me when you see her."
"I will, she's in the car."
"How's that going by the way?"
"Well, we kinda have a thing going now. We plan on telling everyone when we see them."
"Good. I have plans with Andre to go back to that party tonight. Do you and Tori want to come? Maybe call Cat and Robbie?"
"Sure, text me the address."
"Alright, we're heading out about nine tonight."
"Kay, we'll meet you there." Jade smiled and waved at Beck as she turned to leave, glancing over her shoulder as she rounded the side of the house. Beck just stood outside of the door to his RV, leaning forward and resting his head. Her heart broke a little to see him upset, but he needed his space to deal with whatever issues would come of the situation.
Jade got back in the car to find a snoozing Tori. She was leaning against the window with her eyes closed, listening to The Tumbled Sea. Jade didn't want the starting of the car to scare her, so she reached over and put a light hand on her thigh, shaking gently.
"Hey Tor, I'm back."
Tori smiled and covered the hand on her leg with one of her own, smiling with her eyes still closed. "Kay."
Jade started the car and pulled out of the driveway, suddenly aware she didn't know where she was going. "So what now?"
"Hmm." Tori mused for a second, then perked up with an idea. "How about we head to your house, grab some coffee from the stand and then go back to that park with the swings?"
Jade's heart fluttered at the light in Tori's eyes when she spoke, suddenly feeling short of breath. "Yeah, that sounds good" she answered, smiling uncontrollably.
The wind died down and the sun was overhead, making it a little warmer than it was earlier that morning. The walk to the coffee stand was comfortable, allowing Tori to really look around and get a feel for Jade's neighborhood. The houses were nice with manicured lawns and fences, nice cars in the driveways. Some people had gates at the beginning with buzzers, some people only had one car garages. It was a good mix, not too rich and not too shabby.
The few small stores in the area were also well kept up. No trash in the parking lots or kids loitering outside. There was a convenience store on one corner and a liquor store across the street, which more often than not was adorned with a homeless person holding a bottle wrapped in a brown paper bag. The homeless in the area didn't really bother anyone though, so it wasn't necessarily a problem for them to be hanging out.
The coffee stand was just the same as always. A few people littered the seats outside of the window, sipping their beverages and carrying on conversation. Seagulls were amassed on the corner, picking at a discarded bag of fast food someone had most likely thrown from the window of their vehicle. Tori and Jade walked up to the window slowly so Tori could look at the menu.
"Hey Jade, how's it going today?"
"Same as usual. You?"
"Same. This your girlfriend?"
Jade was surprised the comment and didn't immediately respond.
"I'm sorry if I assumed wrong or something." The barista turned away and grabbed the cup for Jade's normal order, setting it on the counter.
"No it's uh, yeah. She is. I think."
Tori stared at Jade and a smile crept up slowly, almost giddy over what she'd just heard. "We're trying it out" she added, playfully knocking her shoulder into Jade's.
"Well congratulations then." The woman smiled as she grabbed a second cup for Tori.
Jade got her usual and Tori got a hot spiced apple cider, completing their order with slip covers and lids. They turned from the counter with a wave, heading in the direction of the park. Tori squeezed some steam out of her cup, still smiling from Jade's cute stutter. She switched the cup to her other hand and grabbed Jade's free one, raising an eyebrow coolly when she looked to inspect.
"So I'm your girlfriend now, huh?" Tori poked playfully, waiting for Jade's reaction.
"I don't know. I wasn't really sure what to say, and I didn't want to say no and hurt your feelings or anything and I wasn't sure about saying yes cause I didn't want to assume but I had to say something."
"Do you think we're ready for that? The whole labeling thing?"
"It doesn't bother me. I mean, I don't really plan on seeing anyone else."
"Neither do I" Tori added, feeling the butterflies come back to her stomach.
"So I guess if we're dating, and we don't want to see anyone else, that mean's we're girlfriends...right?" Jade's eyes flickered from her cup to Tori's face, waiting for her answer. "Cause honestly, we've already, well, you know."
"I suppose it does." Tori smiled when she heard Jade release the breath she was holding, blushing a little at the last part of the sentence.
The park was empty, and Tori and Jade walked over to the swings as they had the last time. They took neighboring swings and kicked back gently, swaying back and forth in unison. "Hey look, we're married!" Tori joked, referencing the old playground saying.
"If all goes well that's actually a possibility here." Jade joked back, and in that moment both women were off somewhere else in their heads, imagining being married to one another.
A couple kids played in a backyard that was adjacent to the park, but separated by a fence. They had their own playground equipment, and Jade watched as they played some sort of what she guessed was a pirate game, as the older kid stood at a ships' wheel. The younger ones ran around and pretended to pull on ropes as the older one shouted inaudible commands, and Jade smiled at the memory of being able to throw herself into something so simple so completely.
Tori kept her eyes trained on Jade as she watched the kids, slowly going over the events of the past couple weeks in her head. How everything had come together so nicely, and a friendship that she thought wasn't meant to be turned into something more beautiful than she could have imagined. Jade had warmed up to her, showed her things she hadn't shown anyone else, and the feeling of being a confidant made Tori smile. She studied Jade's face carefully, from her soft almond-shaped eyes to her small but pouty lips. It was amusing to her that Jade's personality was so brash and standoff-ish when her facial features blatantly contrasted it. Her face was round and her skin was soft and smooth with almost a newborn glow, all things that screamed gentle and good. She especially loved how the turmoil in Jade's eyes went away completely when she looked at her, like the clouds in the sky just disappeared to reveal the brightest stars of the night.
At that moment Jade turned to face her, looking startled at the way Tori was staring. Tori laughed loudly at getting caught, feeling more comfortable than ever with her new girlfriend. Jade looked puzzled but Tori just smiled, reaching out for her hand. Jade took hers and held it tight, deciding to just go with the flow since Tori seemed so happy.
"Hey so, uh, Beck invited us to that party tonight."
"I thought that was last night?"
"He said it's a weekend long thing. Apparently, this person has a 'school' apartment that his parents rent for him or something and he lives there by himself."
"Sounds cool."
"Yeah, I was thinking about going, but only if you come with."
"Sure. Where is it?"
"Not sure, probably somewhere on the west side. Beck said him and Andre were going at nine, and he would text me the address."
"Alright, as long as he gives us time to freshen up a bit."
Jade smiled at her comment. "Oh yeah miss priss? Trying to impress some of the boys, are we?"
"How else am I gonna get a big strong man to carry me up to a bedroom at the end of the night?"
Jade threw her head back in laughter, but Tori didn't move or make a sound. She looked at Jade quizzically, and Jade's laugh quickly stopped. The two stared into each other's eyes for a second until Tori started laughing again.
"You are so easy sometimes."
"Don't make me murder you, Vega."
"You wouldn't kill me, you like me too much." Tori bit her bottom lip seductively and stared Jade down with as much eye-sex as she could muster.
Jade felt the familiar tingling between her legs and the beginning of a ball of heat in her stomach. "Well, maybe not yet. But don't think for a minute I'm not prepared to hide a body at a moment's notice."
Tori's laugh sobered immediately at the serious tone in Jade's voice. "Why do you-"
"I have my reasons." Jade got up from the swing and started walking back towards her house, leaving Tori to trail behind.
Jade's parent's cars were in the garage, so held a hand out to stop Tori by her own car. "My parents are here, we should probably go to your house instead."
"Okay, that's fine with me."
The two got in Jade's car and backed out quickly, hoping to make a getaway before Jade's mom came flying out the front door with a purpose. Afternoon traffic was picking up, so Jade drove as quickly as the cars around her would allow, trying to get off the main drag as soon as possible. Tori's neighborhood was a lot like her own, maybe a little more spaced out. The houses had big yards with lots of space between, perfect for families with pets. Tori's house sat high in the valley towards the peak, which offered her side deck extraordinary views.
Tori and Jade passed Trina and Melanie as they went through the front door. Jade exchanged dirty looks with Trina and Tori exchanged waves with Melanie.
"Tell mom I'll be home tomorrow."
Tori stopped and turned around. "Tell her yourself, you have a phone."
"Yeah but could you just do that for me? Thanks." Trina got in the car before Tori could respond.
"I'm not your fucking slave, Trina" Tori responded to herself angrily, and Jade laughed in surprise.
"Wow Vega, I've never heard you drop the f bomb before."
"Yeah well when you have a sister like Trina..."
"It would probably be every other word out of my mouth, touché."
Jade walked over and sat on the end cap of one of the couches, grabbing the remote to find something on TV. Tori grabbed a couple bottles of water from the fridge and found a spot next to Jade, leaning into her side to get comfortable. They found a Charmed marathon and decided that was good, settling into their spots to relax and waste some time. Jade texted Cat about the party, and she answered saying she had to take care of her brother after he had gotten in trouble with the police over their neighbor's dog. Robbie said couldn't make it either, claiming something about the new PearPad software and debugging or whatever. Jade sat her phone down and got comfortable, leaning her head on Tori's.
Three episodes later the sound of the door opening and shutting woke Jade up. She had fallen asleep against the arm of the couch, and Tori had fallen asleep against her. Jade's right arm was draped over her shoulder and Tori was holding her hand near her chest. Mrs. Vega slipped her heels off quietly and set them by the door, tiptoeing into the kitchen to get something to drink.
"Hey Mrs. Vega" Jade called over quietly, looking down at Tori to see if she would stir.
"Hello Jade, nice to see you again."
"You too. Sorry we kinda fell asleep on the couch here."
"Oh no worries at all hon."
Jade pressed the hand Tori was holding against her chest, rubbing small circles on her skin with her thumb. "Tor, your mom's home."
Tori stirred a little, wiping sleep from her eyes. "Did I fall asleep?"
"We both did" Jade laughed, retracting her arm a bit to rub Tori's back when she sat up. "You fell asleep on me like twenty minutes into the first episode and I didn't want to move you, so I ended up falling asleep too."
"I'm sorry."
Jade lowered her voice. "Does she...know?"
Tori looked spaced for a second, but her brain caught up after the sleep cloud passed. "Yeah, I told her."
"She's okay with it?"
"Yeah, she's just like my dad."
"Good." Jade smiled at Tori and stood up to stretch.
"Have you girls eaten anything?" Mrs. Vega asked, glossing over various menus magneted to the fridge.
"We had lunch at the mall around noon but nothing since then" Tori answered, stretching her legs as she walked into the kitchen.
"Well I think," Mrs. Vega grabbed her phone out of her bag, "I'm gonna order some sandwiches. Is that okay?"
"Sounds good to me, mom. Jade?"
"Yeah, sure. Anything to not have to go home." Jade joked, still a little nervous on the inside about what exactly would happen when she went home.
"You can get me a number seven and Jade and I will share it."
"How do you know? You don't know what I like yet."
"Well if you don't like it I'll break up with you anyway so we'll just go with that."
Jade couldn't help but smile at the nonchalance of the beautifully tan woman.
The food came about thirty minutes later, and all of the women took a seat at the kitchen table. Tori handed Jade her half and Jade just kind of stared at it. There had to be six different cuts of meat on it with cheese in between each kind.
"Jesus Vega, you're not a dinosaur."
Tori looked offended by Jade's comment. "So what? I like meat okay?"
"Well, can't knock a girl for knowing what she wants." Jade winked at Tori and tucked her napkin on her lap.
Mrs. Vega recounted her day at work, telling the girls about a couple of cases coming through the firm while glossing over the details as per the legal attorney/client privilege agreement. As they finished their meals, Tori got up to clear the table and straighten up the couch where she'd fallen asleep earlier. Mrs. Vega made to head upstairs to start unwinding from her day, grabbing her briefcase and a bottle of water.
"Oh hey mom, we're gonna be heading to a party tonight, if that's okay with you."
"Where is it?"
"Uh" Tori looked at Jade, unsure of what to say.
"Well I think it's on the west side, I'm waiting for Beck to text me details. Actually," she pulled out her phone to check her messages, realizing that he had already done so, "yeah, it's towards the shore about twenty minutes away from North Ridge."
"Okay, but I want you home tonight."
"No problem. Also, Trina said she would be home tomorrow."
Mrs. Vega shook her head. "There's something wrong with that girl."
Jade laughed loudly and quickly covered her mouth, and Mrs. Vega smiled her appreciation.
The girls headed up to Tori's room to get ready for the party. Tori changed her shirt to a light black top that stretched over one shoulder with a dark gray tank top underneath it. After she changed, she sat at her desk where the mirror was, combing out her hair and touching up her mascara. Jade stood idly by the door and waited.
"You can look through my closet for something to wear if you want. Whatever's mine is yours."
Jade felt really good about that. Even though it would just be a small sentiment to most people, Jade didn't really have any girlfriends that she hung out with, like most girls that share clothes and makeup. To her it was the real mark of a friendship, not just the relationship going on between them. She watched Tori groom her hair for a minute, smiling like an idiot. "Okay, I'll see if my boobs will fit into any of your shirts."
Tori smiled into the mirror. "I'll be sure to watch in case you get stuck."
They finished getting changed and freshened up, but still had about an hour until nine. Not sure on what to do, Jade sat on the edge of Tori's bed, looking out the window at cars going by. Tori stood silently running her fingers through her hair in front of the mirror, catching sight of Jade behind her. She watched as Jade sat quietly, watching the wonders of the world out the window. Tori cracked her neck and stepped back from the mirror, turning to Jade. She walked forward and stood in front of her at the end of the bed, turning her head to side slightly. Jade looked up questioningly, and in that moment, Tori pushed her backwards onto her bed and crawled over her.
"We have about a half hour before we gotta leave, wanna play with me?" She looked as seductively as possible before crushing her lips down onto Jade's.
Jade's mouth was half open in shock that Tori had climbed onto her, and Tori used it to her advantage to slip her tongue in and massage Jade's. She had Jade's arms pinned down to the bed above her head by the wrists, her stomach gently grazing Jade's. As she moved their shirts bunched up and the skin on skin contact ignited them both, causing Tori to lose her strength a bit and fall down onto Jade. Their bodies fit together perfectly, each part falling into some nook comfortably. Tori reached down and rubbed Jade's bare stomach with her right hand, gently dragging her nails along the space between her belly button and waist. Jade reached up and grabbed Tori's face with both hands, kissing her with vigor. Tori teased Jade by fumbling with the button on her pants, sliding her thumb underneath and rubbing it back and forth. Jade's hips involuntarily bucked upwards and made Tori push down on her center, making Jade moan. A quick rap on the door made Jade move so fast that she accidentally bit Tori's lip in an attempt to get out from under her.
"Come in" Tori answered weakly, her voice cracking.
Mrs. Vega opened the door and stuck her head in. "Home by one o'clock, okay?"
"Sure mom."
"Okay. Have fun girls." Mrs. Vega shut the door and headed to bed, leaving Tori and Jade standing breathless on opposite sides of the room.
"Oh my god" Jade laughed under breath, sounding relieved and hysterical at the same time.
"That was, uh, close." Tori smiled and put her hands on top of her head.
"Yeah, thanks for getting me all worked up, lover" Jade snarled in a playful way, holding a hand on her stomach.
"I'm sorry, I didn't expect that."
"Well, you'll just have to make it up to me somehow." Jade smiled and walked over to Tori, planting one last soft kiss on her lips before heading for the stairs.
Down in the living room Jade called Beck and asked him what the plan was. He reported that him and Andre were on the way now since they were a little further out, and that Tori and Jade should leave in about ten minutes to meet them there. Tori put her brown knee-high boots on and waited by the door while Jade finished up, hanging up the call and doing the same.
It was colder out since the sun had gone down, so Tori threw on a leather jacket before locking the door and heading out. Jade's car was at the bottom of the driveway so they decided she would drive, and Tori set up a playlist on her PearPod for the trip. She leaned back in the seat and held Jade's hand, watching as the town came to life on a Saturday night. The lights from all of the downtown buildings lit up the sky so much you couldn't see the stars, but the tradeoff of the neon signs and glamor of Hollywood wasn't so bad.
They arrived at the house just before Beck and Andre, waiting in the car for Beck's call. They hummed along to a Coheed and Cambria song together until Jade's phone rang, and Beck and Andre could be spotted walking up the driveway. The girls got out of the car and greeted the boys, and Jade stowed their bags in the trunk.
The building was large and sturdy, yet pretty nondescript from the outside. It looked just as any factory building you'd see in a big city, with a solid foundation and heavy doors. They walked through the front door way which led to an elevator room, noticing a sign on the wall that said 'Party: Floor 5." Beck pushed the call button for the elevator and they all filed in, then Andre hit the 5 button and the elevator rose to the top.
The party was back in full swing. The apartment was beautiful, with low hardwood floors and vaulted ceilings. The far wall was made entirely of glass and led to a large balcony, while the east wall held a bar and the west wall held a large flatscreen and DJ station. The place was pretty packed, and the dance floor was full of buzzing bodies swaying to the beat. Tori surveyed the room from side to side as a young professional-looking guy came up to greet them.
"Hey guys, Beck."
"Tyler." Beck nodded.
"Welcome everyone to my humble abode. My name is Tyler, and you call me whatever you like."
"Oh God" Jade groaned, rolling her eyes to the ceiling.
Tyler looked confused when Beck and Tori both muttered "don't ask."
"This is Tori, Jade and Andre."
"Nice to meet you all. Where's Jennifer?"
"Seems I was getting stale." Beck answered with a little acidity.
"Bummer bro, chicks like Jennifer will do it to you every time though. Open bar here though, so have a drink and forget about it."
"Thanks Tyler, I think I'll do just that." Beck nodded his appreciation and headed for the bar.
Tyler turned and headed back in to the party and Andre followed Beck, leaving Tori and Jade standing in the entrance way. Tori turned to Jade and raised her eyebrows in a questioning way, wondering what to do next. Jade walked slowly over to the bar where Beck was, and Tori followed behind.
"Go easy on those tonight, champ." Jade motioned to the solo cup in Beck's hand.
"I promise I will be appropriate with these in comparison to my situation." Beck saluted Jade and leaned back against the bar, taking a sip of the drink.
"Do you want one, Jade?" Tori asked after locking eyes with the bartender.
Jade hesitated for a second, thinking back to last week. "I think I should pass on those tonight."
"It's up to you" Tori replied with a smile, taking one for herself. "If you want to have just one or two to get loose and dance with me, I'll help keep you in check."
Jade shook her head with a smile. "I suppose one would do me just fine." The bartender handed her a cup like the others and she took a sip of it, puckering her lips at the sour taste. "Not bad."
Tori and Jade bounced around to different groups around the party, stopping for brief moments to catch glimpses of conversation. Some people were discussing music, others discussing politics or world events, others recanting drug experiences. There was an impressive amount of different people at the party, like the guy whose party it was seemed to float around to any crowd freely. Jade peeked in one door that was closed over but not shut since she saw smoke, and realized a group of people were smoking pot in the room. She waved smoke out of her face and continued down the hall, finding Beck in the kitchen with a couple of guys and a beer bong.
They'd only been at the party for a half hour or so but it looked like Beck was already half in the bag, laughing loudly and chugging beer from the funnel. He finished off one and the two guys with him threw their arms up in victory, shouting loudly in Beck's honor. He stood up straight and noticed Jade and Tori watching him, stumbling a little as he grabbed another full cup from the counter.
"Beck..." Jade cooed softly.
"Don't Jade, you're not my mom."
"I know I'm not your mom, I'm your best friend." She looked Beck pointedly in the face, but he just smiled drunkenly and laughed at her.
"I have it under control little lady, go have some fun with your girlfriend."
Jade was unimpressed by Beck's attitude and felt the urge to slap the smile off his face for the way he was acting. One of the guys Beck was with was tapping his friend on the shoulder and talking behind his hand like a third grader, looking back and forth between Tori and Jade, making Tori uncomfortable.
"You two are lesbros?" he blurted out, immediately laughing at the attempted joke.
Jade raised her eyebrows at the two boys who were practically falling over each other.
"You're an idiot" she replied, grabbing Tori's hand and leading her out of the kitchen. Beck laughed into his cup as he drained it, turning back to the two guys and searching for the funnel.
Andre was on the dance floor dancing in a small circle with four other people, each person taking turns to bust out a couple moves. He looked happy, and the smile on his face made Tori smile. She walked up to the bar and handed the bartender the empty cup she was holding and he replaced it with a full one and then another, which she handed to Jade, who accepted despite her earlier protest.
After their second drink Tori and Jade went out onto the dance floor themselves and danced a few songs. Tori made her way over to Andre and the three of them danced a bit, making Tori happy that she was finally getting some time to spend with her best friend. When Jade started to get tired, she motioned that she was gonna go take a break, heading over to the bar to sit down.
The bartender handed her a third drink but she refused, knowing she had to drive home in a couple hours. Deciding it would be best to go check on Beck again, she got up to go look for him and make sure he wasn't making an ass of himself somewhere. She got up from the bar and headed down the same hallway as before, checking each room on the way through. The pot room was still full of smoke, but Beck was thankfully absent. She checked the kitchen where he was last time, no luck. Realizing the only place she hadn't checked yet was the balcony, Jade turned around headed back for the main area, turning left to the glass wall.
Beck was out on the balcony with a few other people who were smoking cigarettes. Beck had one that he was puffing on, and it was funny to see because he'd never smoked in his life. He was holding it all wrong and the smoke kept getting in his eye, and he apologized so profusely for ashing in someone's drink that he almost knocked her over in the process. The guys he was still hanging with thought it was hilarious, and the woman and her friend went back inside.
Jade stepped out onto the balcony and walked up to Beck, taking the cigarette from him and disposing of it in an abandoned cup with a little liquid left on the bottom. The two guys laughed again, taking a step back from Beck and Jade advanced to standing right in front of him.
"What's your issue, Beck?"
"What's your issue, Jade? I'm just trying to have some fun here."
"You're getting out of control. Is this because of Jennifer?"
Beck drained his umpteenth cup and threw it over the balcony.
"Oh, real nice."
"Get off my back, Jade. You can be a bitch to anyone whenever you want, people expect it even. You have no idea what it's like to be the calm, cool and collected guy all the time." Beck's mood had changed dramatically and his last sentence came out as more of a booming statement, echoing across the balcony.
The rest of the people who were out there with them put out their cigarettes and went inside, glancing sideways at the two of them as they passed. Jade looked down at her feet and took a few deep breaths.
"Beck, why don't you just come inside and get some water in the kitchen, we'll come back out here to the fresh air, get hydrated and talk a little bit."
"I don't want to talk, I want to drink. That's why I'm here."
"You know that's not gonna make anything better."
"That's rich coming from the girl I carried into her house last weekend cause she was too hammered to stand up."
"Yeah, and look how well that worked out for me."
"What's the problem? Tori forgave you and now you're even better friends than you were before."
"She might have forgiven me but she'll never forget." Jade felt guilty even remembering that incident, and she was upset at Beck for playing it off like it didn't mean anything.
Beck ran his fingers through his hair and leaned back against the balcony wall. He picked up the cup next to him to find out it was empty, then threw it over the edge like the last one. Jade scoffed and tapped her foot with her arms crossed, getting more annoyed by the minute. After a few minutes of silence Beck opened his eyes and looked at Jade softly, like he was remembering a different time.
"What happened to us, Jade? How come we changed from how good we used to be?"
"Beck, please don't do this." Jade replied, pleading to him not only with her words but with her eyes as well. "We don't need to go down this road-"
"Maybe I do, okay?" Beck cut across, quickly bringing his thumb to his lips to bite his nail.
"Are you regretting breaking up with me now?" Jade asked, wishing she had another drink at that moment.
"I don't know. I mean, we had our issues sometimes, but we were good to each other."
The line hit Jade right in the gut, as it was almost exactly what Tori had said to her earlier that very same day. She chewed the words in her mouth, not sure what exactly to say to him. "You made it very clear that you were done with my bullying or whatever it was, and you were very clear about the fact that you deserved better."
"I said some things, yeah. Maybe I didn't mean all of them."
Jade's face flushed with anger and she was ready to scream right in Beck's face, but she held her composure and continued at a decent level. "Maybe you didn't mean all of them?"
"I don't know. Maybe once you get over this phase with Tori we could try again?"
"What the fuck, Beck?" Jade got right in his face as she spoke. "This is not a phase. We talked about this. You know how I feel about Tori, and you know how I feel about you. You're drunk and feeling sorry for yourself, and you're taking it out on me. It's not fair."
"Jade, come on." Beck leaned down and kissed her on the lips at the same time Jade heard footsteps behind her. Beck broke away and Jade whirled around to see Tori and Andre standing in the doorway to the balcony. Tori squeaked out a little breath and turned around, jogging back into the party.
"Tori wait!" Jade went to run after her but Beck grabbed her arm.
"Beck, let go of me!"
"Come on Jade, let her go."
Jade struggled against Beck's grip, stopping when Andre walked forward.
"Beck, bro, let her go man."
"Stay out of it, Andre."
"Beck man, you're losin' it. Get a grip."
Beck finally let go of Jade who flew forward through the door to find Tori. Andre stayed with Beck on the balcony to make sure he was alright.
"Come on man let's go get some water-"
"Get off me, I'm fine." Beck shrugged Andre's arm off of his, walking into the house. Andre followed him straight across the dance floor to the entrance, then onto the elevator. They rode it down in silence, walking out onto the street to try to find any semblance of Tori and Jade.
Tori had run to the car and was leaning against the passenger side door when Jade came down looking for her. She had consumed a few more drinks after Jade had went to find Beck, not being able to taste the alcohol over the sour. The buzz was kicking in and she didn't particularly want to talk, but she really didn't have anywhere to go. Thankfully Andre and Beck weren't far behind her, and when they approached Tori sought out Andre over Jade.
"Andre will you take me home please?" Tori asked in a stern voice, despite the sobs breaking through.
"Tori, please let me explain."
"Yeah chica I'll take you." Andre unlocked his car with the remote and Tori got in immediately, not wanting to hear anymore conversation.
"Jade can you take Beck?"
"He is not riding with me!" Jade shouted, on the verge of tears.
"Please, we'll sort this out later. I promise. I'll help you get everything back to the way it was, let's just get these two home."
"Fine. You, get in now. Andre, make sure she gets home safely. Please."
"I promise." He got in the car and started it, taking off seconds later.
Beck got in the car and slumped to the side. Jade got in and reached over to buckle his seat belt, then put her own on before starting the car. She'd only had two drinks, and between the time since the last one and the high emotions she was perfectly sober to drive. Andre had only had one drink so he was fine as well, relieving Jade's stress a little bit.
It was a little after midnight when Jade arrived at Beck's RV. She had to slap him a few times to wake him up since she couldn't carry him by herself. He looked around groggily for a second and then got out of the car, immediately stumbling to the ground and throwing up. Jade waited til he was finished and helped him up, slinging one of his arms around her shoulder.
She pushed him up the step into the RV and propped him up against the counter, shutting the door behind her. He was a mess, covered in vomit and spilled drink, cigarette ashes rubbed into his jeans. Jade walked him over to his bed and sat him down, pulling off his shoes and shirt. She laid him down on his side and planted the trash can next to the bed, giving one last look at him before she left. "I guess the tables have turned huh?"
Tori didn't say much of anything for most of the ride home. Andre put on some relaxing music and let her sleep a little, figuring if she wanted to talk, she would initiate the conversation. About ten minutes from her house Tori looked over at Andre and watched him drive for a minute. He glanced over and smiled, putting his eyes back on the road.
"Hey chica, wondered if I was gonna have to carry you inside."
"No, I'm okay."
Andre turned the music down a bit. "I just have to say this to get it out there, but I don't really know what's going on with this whole situation."
Tori laughed at the realization that Andre was in the dark for this whole thing, and the laughter quickly turned into a warmth in her heart. Even though he had no clue what was going on, he still left the party and ended his good time for Tori, and didn't press the subject the whole ride home. She looked at her best friend with a new found sense of respect.
"Thanks for the ride, and for not harassing me about anything."
Andre laughed. "I figured you would let me know when the time was right."
"Well, Jade and I are...together."
"Like, for real together?" Andre's eyebrows almost disappeared on top of his head. "Never would have guessed."
"Yeah, we kinda worked out our differences, found out we had some stuff in common. Built from there."
"Well I guess this makes sense now. How did I not know that you were even interested in girls? I am your best friend. And I should say that I don't think that kiss was anything important. I think it was just Beck being drunk."
"Yeah, I think so too. It's just in the moment I was feeling good. I had a buzz from the drinks and the dancing, it was all pretty euphoric. I was happy to be dancing with you and just having a good time. Jade and I had a great day together, and it was all coming to a good end until I saw that. It just shattered everything in less than a second, and I just wanted to get away."
"Understandable. That said though, you gotta be the bigger person tomorrow and call her."
"I know. She's probably gonna be a wreck all night. Not to mention she has to deal with her parents."
"What's up with her parents?"
Tori didn't want to get into all the gory details, so she just skated over it. "She's gonna be on the hook for a bit over some stuff, nothing bad."
"Alright I got you." He didn't press the matter.
They pulled into Tori's driveway and Andre shut off the car, getting out with her. He walked to her side of the car and brought her into a big hug, holding her tight for a minute.
"If you need anything call me, alright? Anytime."
"Thanks Andre, you're the best."
He tapped her on the shoulder and got back in the car, heading out for his own house. Tori went inside quietly and shuffled upstairs, still a little tipsy from the buzz. She got undressed and barely managed to get pajamas on before she hit the bed. Before passing out, she sent Jade a text, feeling guilty for the whole scene.
Jade – I'm sorry for the way I acted at the party. I hope you're not too upset with me. I love you. -Tori