Tori didn't sleep very well that night. The beginning was fine, she fell asleep in the living room quickly and slept hard for about two hours, but a bit after being taken up to her room she woke up. Staring at the ceiling was only captivating for about three seconds, and Tori was getting frustrated. She would fall back asleep and be out for maybe a half hour or an hour, then be wide awake again. It happened about five or six times throughout the night, and when she finally did fall asleep it was at an inopportune time. The alarm clock went off and she was oblivious to it, having finally knocked out for a while. Finally waking up a few hours later, the alarm clock read nine twenty, meaning she was late for school.
Tori flew out of bed at the speed of crop growth, dragging her feet to the closet. The clothing selection was vast but there was even less time with her rate of movement, so a random top and jeans were going to have to do. She dressed quickly, yawning the whole time. Downstairs the house was eerily still. No one was home and the TV was off, and the natural light from the windows and skylights made the room look like a show house, like no one actually lived there and it was maybe a TV set. The sun shone brightly through the patio doors on the west side of the house, illuminating the counters and causing the plants to cast broad shadows over the floor. Tori raced to the door and put her shoes on quickly, almost falling over in the process. Before heading out she thought better of it and grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl on the edge of the kitchen island, knowing that starting the day off late and with no breakfast would be a surefire disaster.
Once at school the stress of being late had died down a bit, though the worry of being disciplined had traded places hastily. Lane was usually a pretty understanding guy when it came to handing out punishments, and Tori hadn't ever been in trouble before, so she took solace in the assumption she would be forgiven. Her Pop Vocals class was already half over by the time she arrived, and the teacher waved her to her desk without missing a beat. The rest of the class was basically just listening to vocal rest theory and then practicing a few bars of whatever they wanted to sing.
Eventually the bell rang and Tori headed to her locker for the first time, getting her things in order and grabbing some money to buy a drink. The machine was out of water so she turned to head out to the Grub Truck, passing Beck on the way out.
"Hey Tor, where you goin'?"
"Machine's out of water, going to the Grub Truck real quick."
"Alright, I'll see you at lunch."
"Kay."
The Grub Truck wasn't technically open, but Festus was an odd guy and he seemed to be there all the time, even after school was out. Tori walked up and knocked on the window, jumping backwards a bit when Festus popped up immediately. He smiled and slid the window open, popping his head out to look side to side, then sat back down.
"Can I have a bottle of water?"
"Sure you can. That'll be one dollar."
Tori handed him a crisp one-dollar bill.
"Thank you." He put the money in the drawer and turned to the cooler, grabbing a bottle and setting it down on the small metal counter.
Tori reached up and grabbed it. "Thank you."
Festus slid the window shut and sunk down below where Tori could see. She walked away shaking her head slowly, willing herself to not think about it too much.
Science went by quickly and the bell signaled lunch. All of the kids shot up from the desks with a renewed energy that seemed to be missing during class time, and the teacher shook his head with a smile. The hallways packed quickly with students rushing to find some source of nourishment. Tori maneuvered easily though, having had 5 months of practice. On the way to Sikowitz' room she noticed a Halloween poster on the wall, and, thinking it was too early for such festivities, she raised an eyebrow questioningly. In Sikowitz' room Beck and Andre chatted quietly about a band they both liked coming out with a new album while Cat drew on her PearPad. Jade and Robbie weren't there yet, so Tori took a seat next to Cat.
Cat was coloring a little piece of fabric on the screen, placing patches in different spots to test color swatches on her design. Tori grabbed her phone and opened The Slap, realizing that the date was October first. Suddenly the Halloween poster made a little more sense, especially in a creative place like Hollywood Arts. Nothing was really going on so Tori posted a little update saying she was on lunch at school and that she missed Jade, closing the browser and putting her phone back in her pocket. Jade and Robbie walked in one after the other shortly after. Robbie was droning on about being the head coordinator for the Prom, saying he wanted some of Jade's décor suggestions. Jade as per usual continued to ignore him like he wasn't there, sitting next to Tori.
"Hey, where were you this morning?" Jade asked, sipping her coffee.
"I didn't wake up until like nine thirty. I had a hard time sleeping and turned my alarm off."
Jade smiled. "Vega being late for school? Pretty and rebellious."
"I am not!" Tori scoffed, hitting Jade's leg lightly.
"Not what? Pretty or rebellious?" Jade taunted her further, tongue in cheek.
"Both." Tori said, playing her own game of cat and mouse.
"Oh stop" Jade drawled, grabbing Tori's knee, "you're beautiful and you know it."
"You guys are so cute!" Cat squeaked, getting louder at the end of the sentence.
"Thanks kitty" Jade said, smiling over at her.
The group converged to the middle of the room and sat together, going over ideas for the dance. Tori and Jade sat back and watched as they weren't going, so they had no input. Occasionally Cat would ask them about her dress and Robbie would ask for ideas on music. Andre was tasked with the playlist for the night, but none of them really knew a whole lot about swing or crooners. The conversation continued until the bell rang and everyone separated as usual.
The latter half of the school day went pretty standardly, and when the final bell rang Tori waited by her locker for Jade. The hustle of bodies trying to get out as quickly as possible to continue doing whatever they did outside of school was loud in her ears, and the whirlwind of gasps and shrieks from the different small cliques of students melded into one high pitched buzzing. Jade finally appeared at her locker and Tori strode over quickly. She watched as her girlfriend did as usual, sorting out her bag and stuffing books into odd corners. Jade shut the locker door and turned smiling to Tori, jutting one hip out to the side.
"Do you want to hang out today?"
"Absolutely" Tori said, beaming complacently.
"I'll follow you to your house then. Lead the way."
Jade listened to a few songs on her PearPod on the drive, relaxing a bit. Getting home at ten is a bit of a bummer, since she didn't want to go to bed first thing but school came early. They both pulled into Tori's driveway and headed inside, going straight for the kitchen. Neither of them had eaten much of anything and were feeling the lethargic effects of their decision. Tori grabbed a tin of pumpkin roll from the fridge she hadn't noticed before and set it on the counter, grabbing a fork for each of them. The sweet and spongy dessert was a nice treat, and Jade smiled her appreciation at Tori.
The sunlight from the patio was still shining brightly, warming their skin in the glow. Tori closed her eyes as she chewed slowly, savoring the rush of nourishment converted to energy. Jade couldn't help but stare as she tipped her head back, following the slope of her neck with her eyes. She cut a piece of the pumpkin roll with her fork and reached forward to pick it up with her fingers, smiling softly when Tori opened her eyes. Jade lifted the piece of bread to Tori's lips and she opened them, allowing Jade to drop it on her tongue. She used her tongue to move it to the side of her mouth and closed her lips around Jade's finger, sucking off the frosting with a quick wink. Jade sucked in a deep breath and brought her arm back to her side, eyes still on Tori.
"So beautiful, and full of fire..." She trailed off into Tori's eyes.
Tori blushed hard seeing the serious look on Jade's face. Most of her comments were light-hearted with a smile or something awful directed at someone else, but this was something real, something from deep down. The atmosphere was thick. The two girls looked at each other without moving, playing possum. Tori got up and walked around to the other side of the island where Jade was sitting and sat on her lap, legs off to the side and arms around her neck. Before Jade could say anything, she leaned forward and kissed her hard, tangling her fingers in the back of her hair. Jade wrapped her arms around Tori and hugged her tight, kissing back with equal energy.
They feather each other's tongues lightly, tasting cinnamon and pumpkin. Tori reached down and rubbed her hand up and down Jade's side from her hip to her ribs and across her stomach, and Jade practically purred into her mouth. She stood up with Tori in her arms and carried her over to the living room couch, laying side by side. Tori ran her fingers through Jade's hair gently while Jade rubbed from her hip to her thigh. She reached over quickly and grabbed a handful of Tori's ass, squeezing hard and pulling her body close as she nibbled on her bottom lip a bit. Tori let out a squeak and Jade smiled, kissing down to her neck.
They continued to press into each other with an urgency, tangling legs and arms and tongues. Jade had started to play with the button on Tori's pants, causing her to become rapidly short of breath. As soon as she took the go ahead and undid the button there was a knock on the door. Jade let out a low groan that rattled into a growl at the end, making Tori laugh loudly. Jade got up and straightened her clothes and Tori followed suit, buttoning her jeans and straightening her hair. She took a few calming breaths before walking to the door, which was a good idea seeing as even after taking a second she was still wobbly on her feet. The shadow outside the door was large and she wasn't really sure who it could be, opening the door to find out.
"Hey kid." Mr. Vega greeted with a smile.
"Dad!" Tori jumped forward and pulled her dad into a hug, pulling him inside the house. "How are you?"
"I'm good kiddo, I'm good. Hi Jade."
"Hi Mr. Vega" Jade smiled, suddenly not as upset when she realized how happy Tori was to see her dad.
"Well I came to see if you wanted to have dinner or something. I talked to your mom and she said she wasn't gonna be here for dinner so I thought I'd come by."
"Yeah dad that sounds great."
Jade was happy to see Tori so happy and figured she would give them some time. "Alright, I'm gonna head out so two can talk and have some time together."
"It's okay Jade you can stay." Mr. Vega said, motioning over to Tori. "If it's okay with Tori, I don't mind."
"Yeah Jade, stay." Tori smiled.
"Thanks, but I should probably go. Working during the day is gonna take away from my homework time so I should probably use my days off to get most of it done. Thanks for the offer, though."
"Anytime." Mr. Vega said.
"Text me later then?" Tori asked, grabbing a box from the pantry.
"Of course. Nice to see you again Mr. Vega."
"You too, Jade. Take care."
"Drive safe, I love you." Tori smiled as wide as she could.
"Promise. I love you too."
Jade headed out and Tori grabbed a few other ingredients to make pizza. She mixed the dough and kneaded it for a while as Mr. Vega watched intently. He rounded to the fridge and grabbed some vegetables to chop for toppings, setting a green pepper and tomato on the cutting board and grabbing a knife. They worked in silence for a few minutes while Tori stretched out the dough and sprinkled some cornmeal at the bottom of the pan. Mr. Vega chopped the veggies swiftly and scooped them into a measuring cup for easy distribution.
"So how've you been, dad?"
"Good. Just been working. Haven't really been doing much else. This whole thing has kinda taken it out of me."
"I'm sorry. It's hard for me, I know it's gotta be even harder for you."
"I'll be alright Tor. Your old man is resilient." He smiled and grabbed the cheese out of the fridge.
"That's true, you never really were the kind of guy to just lay down."
Tori grabbed a ladle and used the bottom to spread out some sauce. Once it was coated to the edge of the crust, she rinsed off the ladle and set it in the sink, grabbing the cheese and opening the bag. She sprinkled a couple handfuls in a circular motion from the outside in, making sure all of it was coated evenly. Mr. Vega shook the toppings out evenly over the cheese and Tori added a little more on top. The dishes were all discarded in the sink and the pizza stone was lowered into the oven.
"You said you spoke to mom? How often do you guys talk?"
"Not a whole lot, but our jobs cross paths from time to time. I'll see her at the station every once in a while, getting information from someone on a case or seeing a client."
"Makes sense. What about Gary?"
Mr. Vega set his jaw and looked angry for the smallest hint of a second. "I don't really see him much either. I requested a new partner."
"I'm sorry, you probably don't want to talk about this. I'm an idiot."
"No it's okay doll, you have questions and I understand that. It's just the whole thing is still a little raw. I don't want to keep any secrets from you. You're an almost-adult, and this situation affects you as much as it affects your mother and I. I'll do my best to answer them, but don't ever feel like an idiot for asking questions."
"Thanks dad." Tori walked around and gave him a big hug, and he leaned down to kiss her on top of the head.
There was about twenty minutes before the pizza would be done so they sat in the living room and turned on the TV. The five o'clock news would be coming on shortly and Tori was like her dad in that she liked to know what was going on. They watched the last ten minutes of an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond and segued into the news. A strike related to Union organization had caused a factory to shut down. A convenience store clerk was shot during a robbery and the big Halloween shop was now open for business.
"That guy's an ass." Mr. Vega piped up, pointing at the TV.
"The robber?" Tori asked.
"Yeah. He's in our jail right now. Likes to spit on guards and urinate everywhere."
Tori made a face. "I don't understand people sometimes."
"You and me both, kid,"
Shortly after the stove timer went off and Tori got up to check on the pizza. It looked just about perfect so she grabbed some oven mitts and took it out, setting it on the range. Mr. Vega grabbed a couple plates and set them on the table, doubling back for bottles of water. The cheese bubbled a little and stopped once the air had cooled it down a bit, and Tori scraped at the bottom with a spatula. Mr. Vega made his way in and grabbed the pizza cutter, slicing quick gashes from edge to edge. He transferred two slices on the spatula to Tori's plate and then did the same for his, grabbing two napkins on the way back to the table.
"This looks great, Tor."
"Yeah it does. Thanks for helping."
They sat and ate together, filling the spaces with light conversation about school and work. Tori finished her second piece and sat back in the chair, patting her stomach. Mr. Vega grabbed one more piece and chewed it down, winking at Tori when he finished. She smiled and got up, grabbing her plate and his and heading to the kitchen. All of the dishes got rinsed and put in the dishwasher, and Mr. Vega checked his watch.
"I should probably go sweetheart. Your mom will be home soon."
"Okay dad. Thanks for coming over, I like getting to see you sometimes." She smiled and nudged his side with her elbow lightly.
"I promise you will see so much of me you'll be tellin' me to go home before you know it." He laughed and pulled his keys out of his pocket, heading for the door. "I love ya kid, always."
"Love you too, dad."
Jade pulled out of Tori's driveway and headed for the coffee shop. Unsure of what to do, some time wasted with a hot beverage was never a bad idea. Jenae was behind the counter reading a magazine when she got up there. Jade dinged the customer bell on the counter, smiling at her boss when she looked up.
"Jade, what's up? Couldn't stay away?" she joked, grabbing a cup from under the counter.
"I was hanging out with Tori but her dad stopped over for dinner so I left to give them some time alone."
"Well that was nice of you."
"Yeah. Now I don't have anything to do."
"Well I'd say you could hang out here but I wouldn't be able to pay ya."
"That's fine, I'll probably just call Beck and see what he's up to."
"You guys on good terms I take it?"
"Yeah, we've been best friends for years. Didn't want the breakup to affect that so we made an agreement to be cool about it."
"You're lucky, that doesn't happen often."
"I know, it's pretty cool."
"Well that one's on me today for your good deed with your girlfriend."
"Thanks." Jade smiled genuinely.
"You got it, girl. Now get out of here, go be a kid."
"Yes ma'am." Jade turned and walked away still smiling.
Once in the car she grabbed her phone and dialed Beck's number. It rang a few times and he answered in a tired voice.
"You sleeping?"
"I was just takin' a nap. What's up?"
"I'm bored."
"I'm sorry."
"Hang out with me, then."
"What do you wanna do?"
"I don't know. Let's go eat somewhere or go to the movies."
"How about we go to the movies and get popcorn and candy?"
"Sounds good to me. But I'm picking the movie."
"Really, Jade? Do we have to sit through another gorefest?"
"Yes we do little sis, now get ready. I'll be there in ten."
Jade arrived at Beck's place and he was already outside waiting. She pulled up to the curb and he walked over, slinking into the passenger seat.
"Hey."
"Hey yourself."
Beck looked tired. Not a just waking up tired, but a lot of hard nights and tough decisions tired. He smiled kindly but the purple under his eyes kept them from glinting like they used to. Jade returned the smile in kind and put the car in drive, turning back to the road. A pretty much straight shot to the theater got them there in twenty minutes. Jade bought two tickets for 'Death Certificate For A Beauty Queen," some dark psychological thriller about a murdered girl who possesses the winner of a pageant and makes her kill all of the losers. Beck got Popcorn and Milk Duds, and Jade got a large Coke with two straws.
They settled into their seats and watched the previews, laughing about some dramatic period film that Jade said looked like it would probably physically kill her if she had to watch. Beck shook his head softly and laughed, glad to be back in the company of the great Jade West. The previews ended and the lights dimmed, and to Jade's enjoyment there was a grisly death in the first five minutes. Her eyes lit up and she sat up straight, watching the screen with rapt attention.
They watched kill after kill, sharing their snacks and laughing at some of the ridiculous deaths. By the end of the two-hour movie Beck was kicked back with his feet up on the chair in front of him and Jade was leaned into his side, eating chocolate and laughing. The lights came back on as the credits rolled and the two of them stood up, discarding their trash on the way out of the cinema.
"That last kill with the tractor and the scarecrow was awesome." Jade recanted, smiling at every word.
"I liked the one at the school pool, when the chick got the chemicals thrown in her face."
Jade threw her head back in laughter, linking her arm in Beck's on the way back to the car. She checked her phone and realized she had a new message.
Hey Jadey, we're coming back to the states for Christmas this year! I hope you're gonna be around, I have a ton of stuff for you. -Kait
Jade smiled hard and set her phone in the cup holder.
"What's up?" Beck asked, looking at her questioningly.
"My cousin Kait is coming back from Switzerland for Christmas. I haven't seen her in years."
"That's cool. Maybe I'll get to meet her?"
"Possibly."And there it was. Jade was struck with the most amazing idea she'd ever come up with. She grabbed her phone and unbuckled her seatbelt.
"Where are-"
"Stay here just a sec. I gotta make a phone call."
Beck waited in the car for a few minutes, watching Jade chat animatedly on the phone. He turned the key back and started some music, nodding along to it. He closed his eyes and listened while he waited, and shortly Jade got back in the car.
"Everything all right?"
"Yeah, it's good." Jade said, turning the car on with a permanent grin.
She drove them back to Beck's house and parked in the same spot on the curb. He unbuckled his seatbelt and reached over, pulling Jade into a hug. She patted his back and when he broke the hug, she ran her fingers through his long hair, looking into his eyes.
"You sure you're okay Beck?"
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"I don't know. You just seem to be a little...different."
"People change, Jade. You should know that." He winked.
"I know. I guess it just feels weird not seeing you as full of light as you used to be."
"I'm workin' on it."
"Well you know where to find me if need be."
"Thanks." He knucked her chin lightly and got out, shutting the door behind him.
On the drive home Jade texted Tori at a red light. She asked how dinner went and what she did for the rest of the night, sending the message and putting the phone back in the cup holder. Her parents were home but thankfully they were occupied. Mr. West was reading the paper with his trusty drink in hand while Mrs. West was pouring over a stack of papers. Jade didn't say anything as she passed the living room and they didn't say anything to her. She headed into the kitchen and grabbed a banana and some vitamin water from the fridge before heading downstairs.
Her bag reminded her that she had some Math work to do, so after she changed into some comfier clothes, she got her book out and cleared off the desk. The sun was going down, splaying purples and pinks and oranges across the sky. There wasn't a whole lot of work to do, but Jade figured it would be better to get it done now. It only took about an hour, and around the time she was finished a reply from Tori hit her phone.
Dinner was good. We got to talk for a bit and hang out. After that I cleaned up and put in a movie, so I'm just laying here watching it.
What are you watching?
The Bridges of Madison County. Don't judge me.
Jade laughed at the last message and set her phone aside, cleaning up the workspace. She put her book back in her bag and set it on the floor by the door, ready to go for morning. The wind blew the trees outside of her window, casting brilliant shadows on her walls. The TV sprang to life and Jade grabbed her trusty DVD case, looking for something to pass the time. She had gotten a new copy of 'Sound of my Voice' recently and absolutely loved it. Once that was in she grabbed her phone and dialed Tori's number, getting into bed.
"Hi."
"Hey babe."
"You had a good time with your dad?"
"Yeah. It was nice to see him."
"That's good. I wanted to give you guys some time together in private, I didn't want you to think I didn't want to be there or something."
"I figured, it's okay. Thanks for that. What did you do?"
"I called Beck and we went to the movies."
"That's cool. Did you have fun?"
"Yeah, we watched a pretty sweet slasher and ate popcorn."
"Good. How is he?"
"He's...Well, he's workin' on it."
They both went silent for a minute, watching their respective screens. Tori let out an 'awwww!' and Jade laughed into the receiver.
"Don't laugh at me!"
"I'm not laughing at you, you're just cute."
"Well so are you."
"Don't I know it. Hey I got a text from my cousin Kait that I told you about. She said her family is coming back for Christmas this year."
"Really? That's awesome!"
"Yeah. I guess they still own that house."
"Well we'll have to go over there when they get here and hang out with her."
"Yeah we should. Well you know how much I hate talking on the phone, I just wanted..."
"Wanted what?"
Jade paused for a moment as she usually did when a deep sentiment came out. "I just wanted to hear your voice, that's all."
Tori smiled uncontrollably. "You're adorable and I love you."
"I love you too. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Okay, goodnight."
Tori slept much better and woke up on time the next morning. While she was getting dressed her phone rang, and she picked it up realizing it was Cat.
"Hey Tori!"
"Hi Cat."
"We have a half day today, so I was wondering if you wanted to come over after school and help me out with my dress?"
"Sure Cat, but couldn't you have just asked me at school?"
"I could have, but this way I can come pick you up and you can save on gas."
Tori could hear Cat's smile over the phone. "You're so thoughtful. Yeah, I'd love to come hang out. I'll be ready in about twenty minutes."
"Okay I'll be right there."
Tori hung up and finished getting dressed, grabbing her phone and PearPod. Trina and Mrs. Vega were both downstairs and the smell of bacon made Tori's stomach growl. There was a stack of pancakes on the table and a big plate of bacon. Syrup, blueberries, orange juice. Tori walked over and sat down, looking up at her mom.
"What's all this?"
"I decided to take the day off, thought I'd make my girls breakfast."
"Well thanks mom."
Trina had finished and put her plate in the sink, walking with her eyes down on her phone. The doorbell rang and Mrs. Vega asked Trina to answer it, and she did without missing a beat of her text. Cat walked in and smiled at everyone.
"Hi!"
"Hi Cat." Tori and Mrs. Vega said at the same time.
"It smells great in here."
"Well sit down and eat something, there's plenty." Mrs. Vega motioned with a smile.
"Kaykay."
Cat and Tori ate and drank quietly, giving thumbs up to Tori's mom when she looked over. Tori checked The Slap on her phone with her free hand, seeing the post from Lane that it was a half day for teacher workshops again. Robbie and Rex had apparently got in a tussle at a restaurant the night before. Sinjin and Burf were working on lighting and sound for the Prom.
"I can't wait for you to see my dress design. It looks so pretty but it just needs a few adjustments."
"I'm happy to help." Tori smiled and downed her orange juice. "Thanks for breakfast mom. We're gonna head out. I'm riding with Cat since I'm going to her house after school cause it's a half day, but I should be home before dinner."
"Okay girls, have a good day."
Tori waved to Cat in the entryway at school and headed for her R&B Vocals class. Andre was sitting in his seat with a piece of music, erasing parts and writing new notes in. He looked up when she walked in and smiled, nodding his head hello.
"Hey chica."
"Hi Andre, what's up?"
"Just workin' on a song. How's everything with you?"
"Good. I'm good, Jade's good, my parents are good, Trina...well, she's Trina."
"Glad to hear it. I'm thinking of writing a duet part for this song on the chorus, think you might wanna sing it with me sometime?"
"Sure." She smiled at the thought of working with her best friend again.
"Cool, I'll work it out and let you know."
Class went by quickly. The half day was an excuse for everyone, teachers included, to kind of take it easy and not do any real work. Most teachers just let the kids study or talk quietly. When the bell rang for what would be lunch, everyone chatted excitedly about going home to go back to sleep. Tori ran into Jade at her locker, walking up behind and putting her arms around her waist.
"Hey Tor."
"Hey. What're you doin' today?"
"I have work at three but I'm free until then."
"I'm going over to Cat's house to help her with her dress and stuff. Wanna come?"
"Sure."
Jade's phone beeped and she checked it, immediately smiling hugely. She typed a speedy reply and put the phone in her pocket, bringing Tori into a proper hug.
"What was that about?"
"Oh, nothing. Just something with my cousin."
Cat came around the corner and beamed at the two of them. "Hey Tori! You ready?"
"Yeah. Jade's gonna follow us there and hang out until she has to go to work. Is that okay?"
"Sure! I love having people over."
Jade and Tori both smiled and headed out the door with Cat.
They settled in at Cat's house, stretching out onto the bed and the space by the window that Tori liked so much. Cat grabbed her dress and the material cart and wheeled it over to the desk, setting things out. Tori looked out the window and watched the world. A boy was running his paper route, throwing rolled up papers lazily onto sidewalks and in bushes. A woman was getting pulled by her dog on the other side, apparently not as enthusiastic about the walk as he was.
Cat stripped down to her underwear in the middle of the room and put her dress on. Jade helped her pin it in a couple spots and Tori grabbed the tape measure. They marked a few seams and measured out how much it needed to be taken in and where, then Cat took the dress off and put her regular clothes back on. Tori wrote the numbers down on a piece of paper and Cat grabbed the sewing machine, getting to work on the new seams. Jade grabbed Cat's laptop and was watching Youtube videos while Tori found some music on Cat's iPod. She set it on the dock and Mariah Carey started playing, and Cat smiled.
A couple of hours went by of the three of them hanging out, talking, listening to music. Cat put the finishing touches on her dress and modeled it for them. She looked like she should be going to the picture show.
"Cat you look amazing" Jade said, nodding her appreciation of the design.
"You really do. You look like you belong in stuff like that."
"You guys really like it? Yay!" Cat ran up to Tori and gave her a huge hug.
"Well girls this was fun but I have to go get ready for work."
Cat bounced over and gave Jade a big hug as well.
Tori pouted a little. "I wish you didn't have to go."
"Me too."
The three of them walked out to the driveway and exchanged hugs. Tori kissed Jade quickly on the lips and squeezed her hard. Jade inhaled a deep breath of Tori's perfume and rested there for a second, planting a soft kiss on her neck before she backed up. Jade winked and got in her car, starting it up and taking off. Cat and Tori got into Cat's car and took off as well.
Jade went home and changed into something warm. It wasn't particularly cold out, but standing out there for seven hours changes things, especially when the sun goes down. A thick but moveable hoodie and jeans were the best choice.
She dressed and headed back up to the kitchen, coring an apple and bagging it before leaving. The stand was empty when she arrived. The door was unlocked but Jenae wasn't inside, and Jade looked around curiously. The bathroom door was closed so she walked over and knocked on it softly, but no one answered. A customer came to the window and Jade looked around once more with no sign of Jenae, so she walked up to the counter and took the order as usual.
After two whole hours her boss was still nowhere to be found. Jade held the store down like a champ, not messing up any orders at all and keeping everything in order. Finally, Jenae came running up to the stand out of breath and practically burst in the side door.
"Oh god Jade I'm so sorry."
"Holy chiz Jenae, what's the matter?"
"Dom got sick at school and they told me I had to go get him and I couldn't find your paperwork with your phone number on it." She took a few deep breaths and slowed down. "I ran out of here in a hurry and went to the school, picked him up. I didn't want to bring him here to sit in the cold all day when he's sick, so I had to make a few phone calls to see if someone could watch him. The only person I could get a hold of was my brother but he couldn't get out of work for another couple of hours, so I had to wait at his office until he was ready. He took Dom to his house and I came straight back from there. I'm so sorry!"
"No way, nothing to be sorry for. The door was unlocked so I came in. I looked for you for a few but I didn't see you anywhere outside, then people started coming so I just went about business thinking you'd show up whenever you were finished."
"Thank you so much for covering for me. I owe you."
"Nonsense, it's my job."
Jenae smiled and took over the register for a little bit, and Jade busied herself with stocking the cups and lids. The day went by pretty quickly. The after-work rush kept them busy for a couple hours, and the downtime at the end of the day was spent playing Mancala. Jade had never played before but Jenae taught her how, and she caught on quickly. They came up with a system so whenever they were both there at the same time, whoever was losing the current game would have to get up and take care of customers. Jade ended up getting up a lot in the beginning, but as she caught on it evened out.
The end of the night came and Jade punched out, which basically meant telling Jenae that she was leaving. It was a small store and Jenae was the only one that had ever worked there, so there was no need for an actual punch clock. They said their goodbyes and Jade hopped in the car, ready to go home and sleep. She went in through the side door and straight down to her room. When plugging her phone in she realized there was a voicemail, so she called and listened.
Jade, I got your message. I'm okay with that, just let me know when and I'll take care of it. Looking forward to seeing you and your folks in couple months! Love you guys.
Jade beamed with excitement, not sure how she was going to be able to sleep.
Tori went inside after being dropped off by Cat. Her mom was watching TV in the living room. There were no case files or anything around, which was odd for her. Tori walked over and sat on the cushion next to her and snuggled in, and Mrs. Vega lifted her arm over her shoulders.
"Hey baby."
"Hi mom. How's your day?"
"Good. It's nice to relax a bit."
"Why the day off? Tired?"
"Yeah. Lots of built up stress lately, kinda wanted to get away from it all for a day or two and just have some me time. And family time, of course."
"Well that's good. You have so much sick time accumulated you could probably take a few months off."
"Four months and nine days, actually."
"Holy chiz!"
Mrs. Vega laughed. "I don't really take any time off, it adds up."
"I guess so."
They watched TV together for a while and Tori dozed off. She dreamt that Beck and Andre had kidnapped Jade and locked her up somewhere. Andre was with Tori and Beck was with Jade. Tori didn't know what was going on. She had tried to call Jade a dozen times but the phone never stopped ringing. Andre appeared out of nowhere and told Tori that she hadn't spent any time with him lately because she was so infatuated with Jade, and he held up his phone, showing Jade tied to a chair in another room somewhere. Beck said the same thing, and that it was really unfair of them to ignore their friends for each other. Tori tried telling Andre over and over that she didn't mean to ignore him, and that if he felt like she wasn't paying attention to him all he had to do was say something, but Andre didn't seem to hear her. She could hear Jade yelling at Beck to let her go in the video feed, but Beck killed the feed and the screen went black. Tori tried to wrestle the phone from Andre but he was too strong.
"Tori? Hey babe wake up."
Tori opened her eyes. She was at the other end of the couch, covered up with a blanket. Her mom was on her knees at the side of the couch, shaking her gently.
"Mom? What happened?"
"You fell asleep, and by the sounds of it it wasn't a very pleasant dream. You okay?"
"Yeah. It was really weird. Beck and Andre kidnapped Jade because they said we weren't spending enough time with them."
"Well, is that true?"
"I don't know. I mean, we all hang out together at school and stuff, and I don't really think our patterns have changed since we started dating."
"Sounds subconscious to me. Maybe you feel like you're ignoring them, not the other way around."
"I guess, I don't know. That was strange."
"You hungry? It's past dinner time."
"Sure."
Tori got up and folded the blanket, laying it over the back of the couch. She went into the kitchen with her mom and they made sandwiches with cold cuts and mayo. Tori ate slowly, still reeling a bit from her nightmare. Jade looked scared and Tori had no idea where she was in the video, which made it all the weirder.
"Oh, I didn't really get a chance to talk to you yesterday, but I had dinner with dad."
"Really? How was that?"
"It was good. He stopped by and we made pizza together."
"Well that sounds nice." Mrs. Vega's voice sounded polite but the look on her face said otherwise. Tori was nervous she had done a bad thing by mentioning it.
"Well, he didn't stay for too long. We cooked and hung out while we waited, then ate and then he had to go."
"That's all right, at least you got to spend some time together."
"Yeah, I was glad for that."
Tori finished her sandwich and threw her napkin in the trash. "Thanks mom. I think I'm gonna head up do some homework and probably go to bed."
"Okay hon, sweet dreams."
The only homework she had wasn't actually homework, it was just going over the edits to Andre's song she agreed to sing with him for R&B Vocals. She checked her email and it was all there, so she read it over and listened to the MP3 he had attached of the actual music. After listening it through twice, she hummed the syllables for the words to the beat, finding the best spots for rests and power vocals. She made little mental notes of times in the music for each opportunity and then practiced it fully once, keeping her voice soft and smooth. It felt good coming out and Tori smiled, knowing that her best friend was going to have a fantastic career one day.
Her phone beeped and she opened the message mid strip, changing into pajamas for the night. Before she could read, she had to set the phone down to keep from falling over when putting her pants on. The glow of the screen mixed with her lampshade and made a cool orangeish-pink color on the wall. After she got dressed she picked the phone back up to read the message.
Just wanted to say hey before I go to bed. So, hey. Love you.
Tori closed her eyes and breathed deeply, smiling as she exhaled. Her bed beckoned and she obeyed, crawling in and switching on the TV to some random channel for background noise. It was a re-air of Dumb & Dumber, one of her other favorite movies. She watched the TV for a couple minutes, laughing at the scene and turning back to her phone to reply to Jade.
I love you too. Hope you had a good night at work. Can't wait to see you tomorrow.