A long 'oooh' spread throughout the room and some of them boys even ducked back to whisper to eachother without being heard. Jade looked from the group to Tori so quickly she thought she would faint from dizziness before she felt a hand close around her wrist. Tori winked at her and pulled her towards the stairs, flipping her middle finger up to the boys who were cheering and high-fiving eachother at the sight of the two of them going off on their own together. Jade tried to focus on putting one foot in front of the other so she didn't fall on her face while going up the steps but Tori seemed to be in a hurry. She pulled harder as Jade fell behind a couple paces and turned to face her at the top of the stairs.
"Come on slowpoke, you drunk or something?"
Jade looked at the slim girl with bewildered eyes. "How are not?"
"I may be skinny but I can hold my alcohol." Tori said proudly, wiggling a seductive finger in a 'come here' manner as she pushed open a door behind her.
Jade followed her into a dark room that contained a four-poster bed with a bedside table and large dresser next to a desk. The desk played host to a large mirror and an array of different boxes and makeup bags as well as school books and a laptop. Jade assumed this was the room of the girl whose house they were at and found her assumption to be correct when she spotted a collection of pictures on the wall, depicting the girl and her friends on different outings. Tori walked into the room and kicked her shoes off by the bed, hopping onto it and laying back on the pillows with a big stretch of her limbs. The room smelled like sweet pea and had an overall modern tone with plush white carpet and solid wood furniture. Whoever her parents were, they made good money by the looks of the house and the things inside it, not to mention the other houses in the neighborhood. Jade traced a finger along the edge of the desk as her eyes swept the walls and looked for more clues into the girl's life when she heard a voice sound from behind her.
"Well?" Tori asked, propping her head up with her hand as she lay on her side.
"Well what?" Jade answered with her own question, wondering just how far Tori was going to take this joke.
"Are you going to strip down and get into bed with me so I can fuck you or not?"
Jade's mouth dropped open and she was, for once in her life, without words. The annoyingly girly girl from school that she hadn't really given much of a second thought to was asking her to have sex, at a party, in a stranger's bed. "I, uh, what kind of game are you playing here, Vega?"
"Game?" Tori asked in an innocent voice, pouting her plush pink lips in such an adorable manner that Jade couldn't help but stare.
"Yeah. What's the point of all of this? You hustle me into a bet that you could use to completely humiliate me and instead you bring me up here. Why let me get off so easily?"
"Well I would let you 'get off' easily if you'd just climb into bed with me but apparently Jade West is a little shy with girls." Tori licked her lips and stared Jade down like a predator submitting it's prey.
"I don't get what you're doing." Jade said flatly, a little bit of fear creeping into her voice, making it quiver a little. Tori noticed the break and smiled wickedly as she pressed on.
"All I want is to get you naked and show you how good of a friend I can be" Tori said, sliding her own shirt off and casting it onto the floor beside her. "I think we just got off on the wrong foot and I'd like to make things right."
Jade watched as Tori got up onto her knees and undid the button on her jeans and unzipped them, letting her hands fall to her sides afterward. "Tori..."
"Come on Jade" Tori teased, wiggling her hips as she slid each side down little by little, stopping with the waistband around her hips. "Don't tell me you've never thought about batting for the other team."
"Maybe once or twice" Jade squeaked out, crossing her arms over her chest. "Hasn't everyone though?"
"Well sure, some just think about it, but others actually do it." Tori crawled forward on her hands and knees towards Jade, whose heart sped up at each seductive movement. "The first time I ever went down on a girl I swear my body was on vibrate for days."
Jade started to shake and she chewed on her thumbnail to control herself, a motion that wasn't missed by Tori. She eyed Jade's hands suspiciously and sat upright again, trailing her index finger down her neck and between her breasts til it rested right above her panty line.
"How many girls have you been with?" Jade asked, her mouth watering at the image of Tori's face between a pair of smooth thighs.
"Only two, but the second one I've been with quite a few times."
"Do I know any of them?"
"No, they're from my old school. I'll tell you what though" Tori continued, bringing her finger up to suck on it and get it wet before returning it back to it's resting position above her panties, "there's nothing like running your fingers through long, soft hair as your clit's getting sucked on." She slid her hand into her bottoms and stroked her fingers along the sides of her folds, feeling the wetness start to pool around her opening. A small moan escaped her lips at the tenderness of her sex and the perfume of her arousal drove her wild.
"Tori I don't think-"
"Hush Jade, don't think. Just feel. Kick your boots off and relax. You can even help me out if you want."
Jade finally did as she was told and started getting comfortable in the strange room she hadn't really grown accustomed to yet. The lamps from the drive outside shone through the windows and were the only source of light in the room, casting ominous shadows all over the walls. Tori pulled her hand back on sucked on the finger that was wet with her juices as Jade made her way to the bed. She sat on the far edge away from Tori, just out of arm's reach.
"I don't bite you know" Tori said playfully, crawling over to rest behind Jade's back. "I mean, unless you're into that sort of thing, which I think you might be."
Jade shivered at the warm breath on her neck and the throbbing in her center was getting unbearable. She turned to face Tori in the dim light and was surprised to find her face inches away, lips slightly parted in a sexy image of lust. "Sometimes, yeah."
"I knew it!" Tori squeaked, her angelic laugh filling the large space around them. "What other kind of freaky things do you get into, West?"
Jade blushed before shooting back. "I'm not a freak" she spat, turning her eyes down to the bed. "I just like some non-conventional things."
"Like what?" Tori asked, her eyes sparkling at the promise of Jade's intimate secrets being revealed to her.
"Biting, spanking. Sometimes I like to be..." she trailed off and couldn't finish her sentence due to embarrassment.
"Like to be what?"
"Choked, when I'm having an orgasm. I asked Beck to do it once and it was a total rush but I don't think he liked it much. He only did it once more after that and it was because I asked him on Valentine's Day but it didn't happen again."
Tori bit her lip in a wide smile and traced small circles on her own flat stomach. "I bet you'd like for me to spank you, huh? For being so mean to me?" She shook her head in a mock condescending way and cracked her knuckles. "Maybe I could push you up against the wall and choke you a little bit while I shove my hand down your pants, block off your air supply so you can't hurt my feelings anymore and torture that little bud between your legs?"
Jade parted her lips in an awkward way as she could barely keep herself from passing out, her arousal and shortness of breath making her light-headed. "I, I uh, yeah. I suppose that would be..."
"Well come here then" Tori interrupted, grabbing the front of Jade's shirt to pull towards her. Jade got on her knees and scooted forward a couple paces so she was nose to nose with the girl she'd mocked so ruthlessly since her arrival at school. Her brown eyes sparkled with intensity and lust and Jade couldn't help herself anymore. She leaned forward to kiss Tori's lips before meeting air and almost falling flat down on her face. Not a second later laughter ripped through the silence of the room and Jade was confused, sitting back up to try and figure out what happened.
"Really, Jade? You honestly thought I would bring you up here and fuck your brains out after everything you've done to me?"
Jade felt a flash of anger and embarrassment redden her cheeks as she made to get off the bed and leave as quickly as possible. Tori moved in front of her and stuck her hand out, hitting Jade in the shoulder as she tried to pass.
"Answer me."
"What do you want me to say, Vega?" Jade asked, feeling tears sting the edges of her eyes. "I know I'm an asshole and I can't help it. Actually, you know what, I probably could help it, but I don't because it's easier to be a bitch and not worry about pleasing people instead of working hard to maintain relationships that won't matter ten years from now anyway."
Tori's eyes were hard as they bored into Jade's. "You choose to be a bitch because it's easier? Makes you sound even more pathetic." She got up off the bed and redid her jeans, bending down afterward to grab her shirt up off the floor and slip it back over her head. "Anyone can take the easy way out, but all it does is make you lazy and worthless."
Jade swallowed the bile in her throat and held back the urge to slap Tori across the face. She rose from the bed as well and stood face to face with the brunette beauty in front of the large picture window in the corner of the room. "How dare you invite me to this party just to piss in my face? What's the point of dragging me all the way out here just to tell me you hate me for being a bitch to you? You could have just told me that at school and I would have shaken my head in an understanding manner because I already knew that."
"And the fact that you know you're a shitty person and make no effort to change your ways is even worse." Tori looked disappointed as she passed Jade and headed for the bedroom door. "The worst part, though? I actually do think you're beautiful and I would love to get to know you, the real you without all the bullshit you put out there, but I doubt that's ever going to happen." Tori opened the door and passed through it without shutting it behind her, leaving Jade standing in the room all by herself.
Downstairs everyone from the party had either gone home or passed out and Tori headed for the kitchen, hoping Hannah had unlocked the cabinet that held the key bowl. At their parties everyone that drove had to surrender their keys at the door in a large glass bowl that was locked up in a cabinet with a padlock for the duration of the party, and the only way to get your keys back was to pass a breathalyzer using an actual police issue test kit. Upon rounding the entrance to the kitchen, she saw the cabinet was in fact open and she breathed out a sigh of relief. Keys in hand Tori headed towards the front door as Jade appeared at the bottom of the stairs, her eyes red from what might have either been the drink or some stray tears after Tori had left the room. They crossed the threshold silently and headed out to the car.
The drive back to Jade's was quiet until the last five minutes or so when Jade decided that she was going to try to turn the situation around. She'd said a lot of things to Tori that should wouldn't have said to anyone else, especially in casual conversation, and she didn't want the intimate details to be used as blackmail against her should she do something to make Tori upset.
"Hey, so I get why you did that and everything but you really shouldn't have. You're a nice person and that's one of the things that's always irked me about you, but it's also one of your best traits."
Tori smiled as she turned onto the street Jade lived on. "I know you better than that, Jade. You're not gonna flip it and reverse it in twenty minutes if you haven't in however many years you've been this way. I know what you're doing but I'll let it slide, your secrets are safe with me."
"They better be" Jade said with a harshness in her voice that was half carried by anger and half by shame. She got out of the car when it stopped in her driveway and went inside without saying goodbye or looking back.
Tori took a deep breath and huffed it out as she backed into the street and headed home. She wasn't particularly proud of what she'd just done but she knew it would take an overdose of her own medicine to make Jade see what a bad person she really was. Over her high school career she had pissed off pretty much every single student at Hollywood Arts in some way or another with her bratish attitude and ability to go from zero to asshole in two seconds flat. Tori knew though, that somewhere under all of the harshness and negativity there was a real person that used to exist as a small child, before the reality of the world had settled onto her unwilling shoulders. All it would take was a few pokes and prods to remind her that making people feel as bad as you do isn't the right way to balance out your situation and she would hopefully be a little more pleasant to be around.
The next morning Tori slept in and got up for breakfast around eleven. Mrs. Vega had made eggs and bacon and pancakes so Tori loaded up her plate and scarfed it down with an eagerness. Her mom laughed at the memories of drunk munchies and rotgut but didn't say anything. It was a lazy and warm Sunday that Tori would probably fill with a movie marathon and some ice cream later in the day with no plans to go anywhere. Trina had fled the house early with the excuse of going to the beach with some friends and Tori's dad was working as usual so it was just her and her mom, and that was the way she liked it.
Jade woke up with a horrible hangover and bad feeling in the pit of her stomach that she quickly remembered didn't have anything to do with alcohol. She stumbled her way into her bathroom to brush and fix her hair, and probably throw up if she was being truthful with herself. The heat of the day had already started and in her absentminded stupor the night before she forgot to turn up the AC in her room, making her skin feel clammy and uncomfortable. A quick check of herself found no bruises or missing chunks of hair, nor anything else detrimental to her quasi-normal appearance that was possible to happen at a drunken high school party, so she made her way upstairs to find some water and Aleve.
Mr. West was at the kitchen island drinking a smoothie and watching some local access meeting with a bunch of stuffy-looking old men. He nodded his acknowledgment of her presence and went back to the TV while Jade grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. She sucked the whole thing down at once and opened the door to grab another, earning a stern look from her dad.
"Out drinking last night?" Mr. West asked, running his hand over the back of his neck.
"Yeah dad, I got hammered and gangbanged the defensive line from Sherwood." Jade pulled what was left of a cheesecake out and cut herself a piece hoping that the sugar would pick her up a bit, and the thought of something sweet to take the edge off of that emotional burn was welcomed.
"Very funny, I hope you don't talk to your mother with that mouth."
"You bet your ass I do" Jade called back on her way to the basement. She rarely stayed out of her room when she was at home, only to get food and water for the most part.
The day passed quickly as she went back and forth from the TV to her laptop, checking The Slap to see if Tori had spilled her guts to all of their friends yet about how Jade liked to be hurt sexually. She wasn't really embarrassed about it since she was comfortable in what she liked but it also wasn't anyone else's business. Tori held a pretty strong hand between them as if the word got out Beck would be implicated in her little game and people would use it against her. She wasn't ready to defend her personal life against a bunch of nameless people from school that she didn't know or care about and the stress of it all weighed on her pretty heavily. There was no way she could sweet talk her way out of it like she had with Tori many times before since she was onto her game, meaning Jade would have to just bite her tongue and hopefully nothing would come of it. When night fell she passed out early with the hope of getting some sleep before enduring what was sure to be a fantastic start to the school week.
At Hollywood Arts the group met up at the Asphalt Cafe for lunch like they usually did except Tori sat right next to Jade instead of across from her. Andre and Beck exchanged a curious glance but chalked it up to the laziness of a Monday. Jade picked at her salad and looked over when Tori sat down next to her with a can of Sprite and a slice of pepperoni pizza, wondering how she managed to eat such awful things and stay so physically attractive. Tori didn't miss the sweep of Jade's eyes over her figure and licked her lips seductively before taking a drink of her pop. She tipped her head back further than necessary to show off her long, strong neck as she drank and had to stifle a laugh at the look on Jade's face. The pale girl turned away and kept her eyes on her food for the rest of the lunch period.
"So Tori how was the party?" Andre asked, sipping a juice box.
"It was fun. Jade and I both had a good time as far as I know. A few drinks, some beer pong, some dancing. It was nice to get out and see some old friends." Jade listened to the conversation but didn't look up at the mention of her name.
"That's cool" Andre said, tossing his empty drink in the trash can behind him. "You meet some cool peeps, Jade?"
After a minute and no word from Jade everyone at the table trained their eyes on her and the weird feeling you get when you know someone's watching you crept over her shoulders. She looked up and found who she subconsciously attributed the voice to before replying. "Uh yeah, Tori's friends are pretty nice. The girl whose house we went to seemed a little too hipster for her own good but her parents' house is gorgeous."
Everyone nodded silently as they finished eating and got up to head to class. A quick stop at their lockers to put stuff away and they all met back up in Sikowitz' class with the few other kids no one really knew.
Not long after they sat in their seats Sikowitz made his way inside and sat on a chair in front of the class, crossing his right leg to rest his ankle on his left knee while sipping a coconut. The class watched him for a minute and when it seemed like he wasn't going to say anything Cat finally spoke up.
"Um, Sikowitz, you're supposed to teach us stuff." Cat giggled and played with her hair as she sat back against the backrest of her chair.
"Right!" Sikowitz yelled, causing the kids in the front row to jump a little bit. "Well then, how about an impromptu acting exercise?" A chorus of murmurs erupted around the room in favor of the idea. "Hmm, now what to do. Jade!" he yelled, causing her to jump this time and scowl even harder than normal.
"What?" she asked, annoyed.
"Come up here, and bring Beck with you." They did as they were told and stood next to eachother on the stage. "Now who else. Tori!"
"What?" she yelled, startled at hearing her name shouted across the room.
"Get up here." Sikowitz said, jabbing a thumb towards Jade and Beck.
Andre and Cat exchanged glances in a 'this can't be good' fashion at the three people standing together on the stage. Sikowitz took a seat in the front row and crossed his legs again, sipping freely on his drink with his eyes screwed up in thought. A minute later they unscrunched and sparkled with the satisfaction of a good idea.
"Okay. Jade, Beck; The two of you are a married couple with a small child. You call your neighbor Tori to babysit so you can have a date night but a fight foils your plans and Beck heads out alone, leaving Tori to console Jade in the living room."
The three actors on stage all stared at eachother for a moment before getting ready for their scene. Jade looked nervous at the prospect of a one-on-one with Tori in front of a bunch of people and hoped that she wouldn't turn fire engine red in front of her whole class.
"Come on Jade!" Beck whined, checking his watch again. "Our reservations are going to be canceled in like twenty minutes. We need to go now!"
"I'm coming damnit!" Jade yelled, presumably from an upstairs bedroom. She walked back onto the stage and hopped like she was putting a shoe on. "Excuse me for trying to look nice for you on our one date night of the month."
Beck slid his fingers through his hair. "You know it's not that Jade, I appreciate everything you go through for my benefit. But honestly it's all gonna be for naught if we don't make the damn reservation I made three weeks ago."
"You know what, Beck? If you're so worried about getting there on time, just go." Jade flung the imaginary heels off her feet and sat down on the chair next to Tori that resembled a couch. "I'm sorry Tori I didn't mean for all of this. I know you canceled your plans to be here for me but you can go and try to salvage what's left of the night."
"That's okay Jade I don't mind" Tori said, reaching over to place a hand on Jade's arm. Jade looked at her out of the corner of her eye but didn't say anything.
"Come on Jade don't be like this, I just wanted you to move a little faster so we could enjoy some alone time."
"Yeah well while you were cracking the whip I decided I don't want to go anymore, so go by yourself." Jade crossed her arms over her chest and looked in the opposite direction.
"Fine. You know what, I'm just gonna go get a drink and we can talk about this later." Beck opened an imaginary door and walked through it, stepping off the stage and back to his chair in the audience. Tori took Jade's hand in her own and rubbed it with her other.
"I'm sorry Jade, you know I'm always here for you."
"Thanks. He just gets so irritating sometimes."
"Yeah it happens to the best of us. I thought maybe he was mad because of me." Tori looked away but didn't remove her hands.
"Why would he be mad at you?" Jade asked with a raised eyebrow, though her voice was soft.
"I mean because I've been around here a lot lately, even when I'm not babysitting and I just wondered if maybe he..."
"Maybe what, Tori? You can tell me."
"Noticed me looking at you or something." Tori said quickly, stumbling over her words.
Jade's jaw dropped and she almost lost character wondering what Tori was up to, but she sucked it up and pressed on. "What do you mean? Why would you be looking at me?"
Tori turned in her chair to face Jade. "Well you're just so...beautiful. I can't help but stare sometimes and I feared he might have caught me. I don't think he knows I'm gay but-"
"Wait, you are?" Jade asked, not sure if Tori was projecting onto her character or not but she saw the smallest flash of a playful look in Tori's eyes when she asked.
"Yes, I have been since I was a young teenager, and it just so happens that you're my type." Tori laughed a shy and embarrassed laugh as she brought her hands back and clasped them together. "I never said anything because I hoped that it would go unnoticed and we wouldn't have to have this awkward discussion."
"It's not awkward" Jade said, clearing her throat before continuing. "I had some...experimenting of my own in college. Being gay is totally fine."
Tori beamed and bit her bottom lip gently. "I was just always so scared that I might...try making a move on you or something."
Jade blushed and tried as hard as she could to hide it from the rest of the class. "Well if I wasn't married I might even make one on you."
The kids in the classroom all looked at each other and wondered what exactly was going on in the scene as it seemed to be a little more than just an exercise. Sikowitz wasn't even paying attention but was playing Angry Birds on his PearPhone. Andre looked over his shoulder and shook his head with a laugh, wondering what he would think of the happenings on stage. Tori leaned towards Jade until their faces were inches apart and spoke again.
"If I had to guess I'd say you have some pretty wild fantasies in that mind of yours, what with the distant husband and unfulfilled needs. Ever thought about getting a bit kinky?"
Jade slid back and started to panic internally until Andre noticed the tension and cleared his throat next to Sikowitz' ear, who suddenly shouted "scene!" and got up from his seat. Jade looked scared and her chest was heaving as she panted, thinking about bolting from the room. Tori passed her and winked softly with a playful drag of her fingertips over Jade's stomach that sent shivers throughout her whole body. She watched Tori shake her hips as she walked back to her chair and sat down, crossing her long legs at the knee and grabbing a strand of hair to twirl around her finger.