A/N: Okay so apparently I didn't make up a word. According to the urban dictionary "splunking" has like four different definitions, all of which are quite disturbing. So for the purpose of this fic it's gonna mean plain old f-wording.
Also, I'm sorry but here's another long chapter. I know you guys claim you like long chapters, but the thing is I literally reread, and reworked, this chapter at least a dozen times. So you can imagine that right now it's both extremely long and boring to me. Hopefully you don't feel the same way;)
{~~~JADE~~~}
"Jade, wake up."
I ignore the voice, but I do flinch when my light is turned on. The sudden brightening of my room causes me to see red spots behind my eyelids.
Fuck.
Annoyingly soft hands are on my shoulder, shaking me gently. And though I'm barely conscious, I'm able to identify the person doing the shaking.
Amber.
Looks like Joy isn't truly wazzed off with me. Not that I care, but I can always tell how she's feeling toward me by which one of her brats she sends to my room.
If she's feeling pleasant, she sends Amber. The kid's too sweet for her own good. She'll wake me gently, a guarded smile on her face.
Surprisingly, Amber's the one sent to fetch me the most. I guess you could say Joy's built up quite the tolerance for me over the last twelve years. But when I do manage to piss her off, she sends Riley.
That little grunch always finds the most creative and annoying ways to rouse me. I swear, the only reason she's still alive is because her fearlessness impresses me. I've retaliated in some pretty violent ways toward the kid, but she seems to always bounce back, and with a wicked grin to boot.
Darwin says she should live. So, she lives.
"Jade, please wake up." Amber begs.
God, this kid is whiny as hell.
I open my eyes abruptly. And on purpose. As I knew she would, she jumps back with a gasp.
She hates it when I do that. It always reminds her of that one scene…the one all the "scary movies" that I've made her watch seem to have. The one where the killer or monster or villain or whatever is laying still, eyes closed after being "defeated." Then the protagonist walks up to the "dead" beast, stupidly puts his/ her face near the monster's, and then wham! The killer opens its eyes abruptly and grabs the idiot.
It's totally classic and predictable as hell. Yet it scares a bucket full of wazz out of Amber every time.
I chuckle a little as I sit up. The sight of her paled face is so amusing that I momentarily forget to be pissed about her waking me up in the first place.
"Mom said to make sure you were up because Tori's gonna be here soon." She frowns back at me once she's regained her composure.
And just like that I'm no longer amused. I scowl back at her.
She flinches and apologizes, but I don't let up on my intense glare. I know it's not her fault, but she just reminded me of something that I'm really pissed off about.
I have to ride to school with Vega because Joy took away my wheels.
Now, Joy punishing me is not completely unheard of; so when she angrily barged into my room last Friday, I already knew what was up. There was no way the principle didn't call my stepmother up at work to let her know I'd fucked the hell out of my girlfriend in the janitor's closet. I mean he so much as told me he was going to do so right after giving me three weeks of detention.
And to be completely honest, I was fine with that. With most of it anyway. I expected no less than for the principal to make a call to my "parent or guardian." I expected no less than for Joy to get upset and bitch at me. I even expected her to take my keys. But what I wasn't expecting was for her to go on… and on… and on…about my behavior, and my attitude, and my blah blah fucking blah. By the time she finally got around to demanding for my keys, I handed them over without the slightest bit of my usual arguments and stalling. I wanted her to shut the hell up that bad.
That's when she let me know I wouldn't have them for two weeks. Two fucking weeks! She's never kept them that long before! She's never even kept them a full 24 hours!
I started arguing then, hoping she'd see reason when I mentioned the fact that I need my car to get to school, but she didn't. She told me I'd have to figure something out.
Bitch.
But I knew calling her a bitch wouldn't have helped me in the least. So, I switched tactics. I asked her how I was supposed to pick her brats up on Thursdays without a car.
I probably shouldn't have referred to the little pre-terds as brats, but still, you'd think she'd give in. You'd think she'd at least let me have my car on Thursdays, right?
Wrong.
Her answer was more or less the same. She still expected me to find a way to pick Thing One and Thing Two up from school.
She was that serious about not giving me my keys back.
I'll tell you, it pissed me off more than I'll ever be able to express. I think she honestly meant for me to use my allowance to catch a cab or something, but I'll be damned. I got a girlfriend with a car, and I told her as much.
The confession seemed to make Joy even happier. "I knew you'd think of something. You're such a resourceful girl." She smiled at me, and I wanted to smack that patronizing smirk off her face.
However, she was right. I am resourceful. That fact was proven when I called Vega up to let her know she was going to be my ride for the next two weeks…and her answer had been no.
No… as in the letter N followed by the letter O.
She actually said that to me.
Pissed off? Me? Nah. I surpassed that emotion. I was fucking livid! Who the hell did she think she was? And even if she was someone who could defy me without dire consequences, didn't I just have a talk with her about being my girlfriend 24/7. And as my girlfriend she couldn't just refuse to help me out without a legit excuse. I mean, if she didn't have a car, fine. If she was too sick to get out of bed, understandable. If she was pissed off at me…
And that's when I remembered I swelled her face via bush daises so she couldn't go to Ryder's party. A Vega is allowed to get mad enough to refuse giving her girlfriend a ride to school if something like that happens. I guess.
So being the resourceful girl that I am, I blackmailed her. Yep, I threatened to tell her parents about what supposedly happened in the janitor's closet Friday. It's only fair right? Joy knows because the principal called her up at work to tell her so, but Vega's parents weren't informed because Vega got off with a simple warning. A warning!
GRWLRUWL
I frown as my thoughts are interrupted by the sound of Amber's loud ass growling stomach.
"Get out of my room and go eat some damn breakfast!" I snap at her.
She jumps a little but doesn't leave.
"I can't." she whines.
I arch an eyebrow at her. "You're too young for a fucking eating disorder, bugger."
Language! Tori all but hisses at me, but I thoroughly ignore her. Hey, I still use the nicknames she made me give the twins. If I stop cursing them out too, they'll probably get it in their stupid heads that I love them or something like that.
"I don't have a eating disorder, Jade. I want to eat."
"Then go."
"Mom said not to come down without you so we can all eat together."
I clench my fist together. It's an ultimatum. A subtle ultimatum, but an ultimatum nonetheless. If I skip breakfast, so does Amber. And no one, not even me, is heartless enough to make the girl go to school hungry. Riley, on the other hand, I'd do something like that to her in a heartbeat, but not Amber.
Joy knows this. That's why she sent her youngest up here to my room. She's trying to guilt trip me into eating.
I growl a little and hop out of bed.
Amber smiles; and I know the kid enough to know that it's not a smile of triumph. It's relief.
That makes me even angrier.
"Get out of my room!" I yell, approaching her in a very aggressive manner.
She ignores my yelling and grabs my hand. "Come on, Jade. Please." She tugs, trying to get me to follow her out of my room.
"NO!" I snatch my hand away and push her down. Not hard enough to seriously injure her, but hard enough so that she is indeed injured.
"Ow!" She cries.
"Out!" I yell.
The little retard stands up and grabs my hand again, tugging on it gently.
Seriously?
"Jade, I'm hungry. Please!" she whimpers.
And again, I snatch my hand out of hers and push her down.
My eyes flash dangerously at her, nonverbally telling her she better get the fuck out of my room. NOW!
But she refuses to take the hint. She can be quite stubborn when she wants. Almost like Vega.
She gets up and wipes tears from her eyes with the back of her wrist. Then she grabs my hand in what I can only guess is the tightest grip her little hand can manage and she starts to pull.
"Dammit Amber just go eat!" I yell; pushing her down for the third time.
When she falls this time, she doesn't land as hard; and it's not because I pushed her down softly. It's because she braced herself this time. She knew I was gonna push her, but she's determined to get me to come downstairs. She must be really hungry.
"But mom said I can't without you." She sniffs, standing up again.
I don't even wait for her to grab at my hand. In fact, I don't even wait until she's fully standing before I push her down again.
"umph" she grunts.
Before she gets back up, I kneel down beside her, grab a fistful of her shirt, and pull until my eyelashes are touching hers.
"Go. Eat." I command.
"But"-
"Eat!"
"But I"-
"No. Eat." I cut her off again and her bottom lip begins to tremble.
"Please." She begs.
Ugh! This kid is so stupid! I have absolutely no intention of going downstairs to eat breakfast with the "family," and the brat seems determined to try and get me to do so anyway. At this rate, she will end up missing breakfast.
No more nice Jade. It's time to make this kid scream.
I let go of her shirt, grab on to her ear, and pull her up to a standing position.
"Ow! Jade! Ow!" She gasps, scrunching her eyes tightly.
"I don't care what your mom said! Go eat!"
"Let go, please." She whines while hopping up and down and tugging at my wrist.
I don't let go.
"Have I made myself clear?" I growl.
She starts crying. Gross. I hate it when she cries. She always gets snot everywhere.
"Jade, please come." She blubbers.
Obviously, I haven't made myself clear enough.
I twist her ear and pull on it a little harder.
Her breath catches and her eyes snap open. She looking straight into my eyes but I don't know if she's really focused on anything in particular. She takes a deep breath and lets out the most eardrum shattering scream I've heard from her yet.
"Out!" I yell. Though I doubt she hears me.
"MOMMY!" She screams.
Finally!
Joy doesn't really respond to screaming in general. The brats do a lot of that. Sometimes when they're excited. Sometimes when they're playing a game. Sometimes when they're mad at me. Sometimes when they're mad at each other, And sometimes for no fucking reason at all. So there's this weird little rule that we have here. If someone calls for her, if they specifically scream her name, be it Mom or Joy, that's when she comes running.
And fast.
Amber barely gets the last syllable out before Joy's in my room and snatching the brat out of my grasp. Amber doesn't dawdle. She runs passed her mother and out of my room.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Joy screams at me.
"Me!?" I yell back. "What were you thinking?!"
She blinks at me. Probably wondering how the hell I can blame the fact that I hurt her kid on her.
"Why would you tell her she can't eat unless I go downstairs and eat too? I don't do family breakfasts and she's starving! You tried to guilt trip me by sending her!"
"So you hurt her!?" She screams incredulously. "You didn't think to just come downstairs and talk to me!"
"Maybe I don't want to talk to you!"
"Yet here I am!"
"I didn't say anything about not wanting to yell at you!" I shout back.
"You…you're un-freaking believable, you know that?" she mutters, turning away from me. Obviously she's trying to reign herself in.
She's winding down
Damn. I thought I had her that time. I've been trying to piss Joy off to the point where she uses all kinds of swear words for years now. It's in her vocabulary. I know it is. I heard her thoroughly chew my dad out once when I was about nine.
"No keys until I see a change in you young lady." She says, turning back to me once she's calm.
"What?" I yell. "What kind of change?" Not that it matters. Any change Joy is talking about is gonna take me forever to achieve. And even longer to convince her that I have indeed changed.
"A good one." She retorts. "And you owe your sister an apology." And with that she turns on her heels and leaves my room.
I shower quickly, fuming the entire time.
I get dressed just as fast, barely paying attention to what I'm actually wearing. Good thing for me, my wardrobe is pretty simple. Most my tops match most of my bottoms, so I'm good no matter what I pull out. Same goes for my shoes.
I'm putting on my second boot when I hear a hunk outside.
Vega's here.
I rush downstairs and on my way to the door I hear Riley say, "You should've kicked her in the nads."
Obviously she's talking to Amber.
I make a detour, heading for the dining room. They're both there, eating breakfast. Both of them. I don't care how wrong Joy thinks I went about it; I sacrificed my car keys so that Amber could eat breakfast.
I'm a fucking martyr.
"She doesn't have nads, Riley." Amber says with her head down. And because of that, she doesn't see me walk up behind her sister. Not that she would have warned her per se, but her eyes would've widened and Riley would've known I'm behind her.
Not that she would've hesitated to say what she says next. Which is: "It still would've hurt, stupid."
I smack Riley in the back of the head.
"Ow!" She exclaims before whirling around and taking a swipe at me.
She misses.
"Don't call her stupid. One of us has got to love the little pre-terd and it's going to be you. Got it?" I tell her, ignoring the fact that she just tried to punch me.
She scowls back at me. Then suddenly, she grins.
I know that grin. She's gonna do something I won't like so I brace myself.
She bolts from the table and heads outside, slamming the door shut behind her.
What the fuck?
There's another hunk outside, longer and more urgent this time. Probably because stupid Vega doesn't want to be late to school.
I roll my eyes, about to follow behind Riley when I hear the sound of a throat being cleared behind me.
Joy.
That's right, she wants me to apologize.
Fine. I'll apologize.
"Bugger, your mother wants me to tell you I'm sorry even though she knows I'm not." I monotone and roll my eyes. An extra emphasis on how I do not want to do this.
"I guess you'll start changing tomorrow, huh?" Joy questions, not-so-subtly reminding me of the stipulations regarding getting my car back and implying that I've already failed today.
I narrow my eyes at her. She gives me a smile before walking away.
Ugh. I really don't like her.
I turn my attention back to Amber, and she's staring back at me with a genuine smile on her face. "It's okay, Jade." She forgives me way too easily.
Fuck. I'm going to have to learn how to get away with murder. Literally. I'm going to have to learn how to murder some Dick, get rid of his body plus all of the evidence, and stay out of jail so that I can repeat the process if necessary because of the little pre-terd in front of me.
I hurt her. On purpose. Then I gave her a half-assed apology, and she responds with a smile so big there's gooey love oozing out of her sockets? She's every fucking spouse abuser's wet dream! And if some Dick, or Jane, decides he or she wants to wife and abuse this kid, I'm going to have to kill 'em. period.
I give Amber a fierce glare before heading out, one that makes her smile drop. Stupid kid's gonna be the reason I go to jail. And I'm not looking forward to that. Maybe I can talk to Vega's cop dad. Subtly milk some pointers on what not to do if I don't want to get caught out of him…
When I get outside, I see where Riley'd gone. She's with Vega. They're both sitting on the trunk of her car, talking.
Not good.
"Let's go, Vega!" I call.
She ignores me. Completely. I mean, she doesn't even look up to scowl at me.
"Jade, wait!" I hear Amber call from behind me.
I'm tempted to ignore her but I don't. I turn around and she all but skids to a stop in front of me.
"I got this for you." She says as she hands me a pop tart. I hate eating breakfast but I love pop tarts. They literally give me a toothache. Every time.
I take the wrapped pastry from her without thanking her.
"I'm really sorry I screamed for mom and got you in trouble." She apologizes. And it's a heartfelt apology at that. It's coming from deep within her tiny little soul.
My eyes go wide. I'm really gonna have to do it. I can see it. I'm really going to have to kill people. She apologized for getting help? She apologized because I hurt her so bad she had to get her mother to stop me? What does that mean for her future? Does it mean that if she ever got married and her husband decided to shoot her in the leg, and the neighbors so happened to call the police because she screamed too loud, she's going to what? Visit him in jail and apologize to the fucking bastard.
I'm seething as I watch the scene play out in my mind's eye. I'm so fucking pissed off about it I clench my fists together, squishing the pop tart.
"Jade? What's wrong? It's the right kind, right?" Amber panics, eyes going just as wide as mine.
I throw the stupid pop tart down. It's not about the fucking pop tart! It's about the stupid little girl in front of me who needs to grow a pair.
"NO!" I scream.
Amber jumps and lets out a horrified squeak before covering her ears with her palms.
There's a sharp pain to my shin, and I immediately know that I've been kicked by Riley. She's the only one brave enough to do that shit.
At least I don't have to worry about her.
Still, I whirl around, grab on to the little terd, and put her in a headlock. "Riley, I swear to God if you ever put your filthy foot on me again…" I threaten.
"Jade, let her go." Vega says while tugging on my arm, trying to free the kid.
Not happening. Not until I'm done….
And now I'm done.
I let Riley go just as Joy steps out of the house, both girls' book bags in her hand. Apparently, she didn't see the way I handled the brats because she's smiling as she heads this way.
"Hello Tori it's so nice to see you again." Joy greets my girlfriend with a genuine smile. One that confuses the hell out of me. The last time Joy saw Vega, the girl had no clothes on.
Vega looks surprised for a second, perhaps remembering the last time Joy had seen her as well, but then she smiles. "Hello, Mrs. West."
"Oh, you can just call me Joy."
Vega's smile widens.
"Hey, I have a favor to ask of you sweetie." Joy says, surprising both me and Vega. What the hell could she possibly be asking of a girl she only met once?
"Oh, okay."
"On Thursdays, Jade has to pick up the girls from school, but um as you know…"
"Sure it's no problem." Vega visibly relaxes as if she's been let off the hook. But she hasn't. I doubt she even understands what Joy is asking of her. If she did, her face would be registering the very opposite of relief.
"Wha…what?" Joy stammers. Apparently she agrees with my thoughts.
"You want me to pick up the girls from school on Thursdays, right?" Vega confirms that she does indeed understand what is being asked of her.
"Really?" Joy smiles. "I didn't get to the part where I bribe you with"-
"It's okay." Vega waves her off.
"Well, Okay. I'll call the school and put you on the pick-up list. Just make sure you have your ID." Then she turns to me. "Jade, have a good day at school." She says with a quick touch to my arm.
Fuck you! I think so vehemently I know Joy knows what I'm thinking because she pulls her hand back rather quickly.
Jade… Tori reprimands.
"Bye," I grunt. I already have to deal with a wazzed off Vega. I don't feel like being nagged by Tori as well.
"Bye sweetheart. Girls, get in the car." Joy says, giving me and Vega one last wave before ushering her little monsters away in a hurry. Probably so Vega can't change her mind.
Vega's smile drops as soon as she's left alone with me and she walks over to the driver's side without saying a single word to me.
This shit is gonna get old fast.
I get in on the passenger side, slam my door shut, and stare out the window.
"Put your seatbelt on." Vega commands.
I glare at her.
She reaches over me and grabs the seatbelt for me.
"Vega…" I warn.
"Here," she says offhandedly while handing me a cup of coffee. It's exactly what I need, so I don't question it in the least. I just grab the cup out of her hand and start sipping.
It's so good. It's made just the way I like it.
I'm so distracted that I don't realize Vega is putting my seatbelt on for me until I hear the distinctive click of the restraint.
I narrow my eyes at her. I feel like she tricked me, or manipulated me, or something. I feel violated.
She ignores me, opting to start her car up and drive off.
I take my seatbelt off, getting ready for a fight because she's undoubtedly going to yell at me for undoing her handiwork.
She doesn't say a thing. She ignores me. Completely. It's as if she doesn't even realize I'm in the car with her, let alone that I'm no longer wearing the stupid seat belt.
I keep my mouth shut. I know what she's doing. She wants me to crack. She wants me to get so irritated by the fact that she's ignoring me that I tell her to stop, that I demand for her to drop it.
I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to give her the satisfaction of knowing she got to me.
Her phone buzzes and I get pissed off. I can't help it. Even if I wasn't in a cranky mood already, I'd still be pissed. It's too early in the morning for texting. And who the heck is texting her this early in the morning anyway?
She waits until she gets to a stop light before pulling her phone out of her pocket and responding.
Nerd.
"Who is that?" I ask, curiosity getting the best of me.
"Melissa." she answers shortly.
I was actually expecting her to either ignore me or tell me it's none of my business. But getting an honest answer from her doesn't make me feel better in the least. Not when her answer is Melissa.
"Wazzbag's girl?" I frown.
"No, Melissa Belle."
Smartass.
"Well what does she want this early in the morning?"
"Not you."
She barely looks at me as she responds.
I roll my eyes and stare out the window again. I can tell it's going to be another bad day at Hollywood Arts.
And I'm right. The second we enter the school, the whispers start. But that's not the bad part. In fact, that's the highlight of my day so far. I like it when people are talking about me. Whether the gossip's good or bad, matters not. And the fact that they're whispering about what I did with my girlfriend in the janitor's closet….
Good gossip.
The bad part happens as soon as Vega gets to her locker. Fuckin' Ryder shows up out of nowhere and starts talking to her.
I throw everything into my locker and pull out what I need for homeroom quickly before walking up to Vega. I missed a lot of what was said between them, but I hear enough to know he's invited her to another party.
Fucker.
I wrap an arm around Vega's waist. Possessively. She's still ignoring me so she doesn't look over at me, not even to see who's just put their hands on her.
"Hey, Jade." Ryder greets me with a perverted ass looking wink.
"Bye Bitch." I greet back.
He gives me a small smirk before walking away.
I hate that guy.
Vega slams her locker door shut, startling the crap out of me. Then she walks away. She doesn't tell me I was out of line. She doesn't look at me. She just…walks away.
Okay, this shit is starting to tick me the fuck off.
"Jade."
I groan and turn around. It's Beck. And he's got that serious "we need to talk" face.
We don't need to talk. We really, really, don't.
"You're not going to walk me to all my classes again are you? Seriously, my girlfriend's already pissed off at me." I pinch the bridge of my nose and pray for patience because this is Beck; the guy I love, and the reason I'm dating Vega in the first place. So I have no idea why I'm feeling so irritable around him.
"Well, can you blame her?"
I frown at him. He knows about the bush daises?
"Look, Jade. I don't know how you got Tori to date you." I roll my eyes and grab onto my forehead, as if that will keep my brain from exploding. I can't believe he's on this again. "But I figured if she really wanted out, she'd find a way. Then Friday I realized that whatever you have on her has to be so bad that she can't get out, considering she's still pretending to be your girlfriend even after whatever you did to her in that janitor's closet."
"Beck," I interrupt, but he cuts me off.
"Jade…you really hurt her. You can't do that to people."
Denial. Dude's in serious, serious, denial. This is gonna be my least favorite stage.
"God Beck, get over yourself. I didn't hurt her okay? I fucked her!" I hiss exasperatedly.
"You expect me to believe that?" He scoffs.
I don't answer him. I push past him and start walking to class. I don't need this shit.
"Jade!" he calls. "We're gonna finish this talk sooner or later!"
"Later!" I yell back and walk even faster. I'm actually going to be early to first period for the first time this year. At this moment, I really don't see how my day can get any worse.
It does.
Four hours later I find myself sitting with my, well, they're not really my friends; but I'm sitting with Beck, Cat, André, Robbie, and Vega at The Asphalt.
Naturally, I was expecting Vega to sit next to me so she can leech off my plate, but she doesn't. She's sitting next to Cat, and she's bought her own lunch.
Okay, fine. She's mad at me so I can't be too surprised; but since she's been giving me the silent treatment all day, I was kind of expecting her to be silent at the lunch table too.
She's not.
She's her regular chipper self…with everyone but me.
She doesn't talk to me. She doesn't look at me. It's like I don't exist for her.
What's worse? I let her get away with it. I absolutely refuse to acknowledge the fact that she's doing it. Especially in front of an audience. I'd rather it seemed I'm not bothered by Vega's silent treatment.
I pull out my phone and plug in my ear buds. Everyone knows not to talk to me when I'm listening to my music. It won't seem odd that Vega's not talking to me if no one's talking to me, right?
That doesn't stop Beck from fucking with me.
I'm two songs in when he pulls an ear bud out of my ear.
"What!" I snap.
"I said, "What's going on with you two?"" He smiles while pointing from me to Vega.
Vega turns her attention from André to Beck. Apparently she didn't hear him ask that the first time either.
"Mind your own business." I glare before shoving my ear bud back in.
"Tori?" I hear him question and I snatch my ear buds out.
"Leave her alone," I growl. But of course Vega ignores my attempt to keep our little fight between the two of us.
"What do you mean?" she asks Beck.
"I mean, you haven't said anything to Jade all day. Did you guys break up over the weekend?" He chuckles, pretending to be joking.
Everyone frowns as they contemplate Beck's observation. It seems none of the others noticed anything was different between me and Vega.
Morons.
"No." Vega says as she stabs her salad with her fork. "I'm just mad at her right now."
"Mad?" Beck patronizes. "Why? Did she get you in trouble with the closet stunt Friday?"
Vega frowns. "What closet - Oh!" her eyes widen, as she realizes what he was referring to and she surreptitiously checks her surroundings before hissing, "Don't talk about that! If Trina finds out my parents will mysteriously find out too!" She puts air quotes around the word mysteriously.
Beck looks confused. Serves him right. He was so sure Vega was mad about the "closet stunt" as he called it. The fact that she didn't even know what the chiz he was initially talking about means there's no way she was upset over that.
But he recovers quickly. "So how come you're mad at her?" He asks point blank.
"It's none of your business." I hiss.
"She gave me a bouquet of bush daises." Vega answers.
"It's none of his business." I glare at her.
She ignores me. No surprise there.
"You're mad at her because she gave you flowers?" André questions. Bet that fucked him up in the head. André doesn't like to be confused. And a girl getting flowers is not supposed to be a bad thing. Ever. Ergo, he's confused.
"I'm allergic to bush daises." Vega explains with a rather violent stab to her lettuce.
"It's none of his business either!" I continue to glare at her. And though she's absolutely refusing to look at me, I know she can feel my gaze on her.
Robbie decides it's his turn to ask a question. "Why'd you…" he trails off when I turn my glare on him. He shudders and I wonder if I made him wet his pants a little.
I like doing that.
"Because she didn't want me to go to Ryder's party." Vega decides to answer Robbie's unfinished question.
Chick just won't take a fuckin' hint, will she?
Cat opens her mouth. I know she's about to ask me why I didn't want Vega to go to Ryder's party and that's just not a question I want to answer.
"NO!" I scream at her.
She squeaks and heavily drops her forehead onto Vega's shoulder.
"Hay! Cat!" Vega yells, and no one can blame her for it either. That shit looked like it hurt. Despite the way Cat acts, her head isn't hollow.
Cat squeaks again after being yelled at by Vega and covers her ears with her hands, but she doesn't lift her head up.
Vega turns a little and begins to pat Cat's head awkwardly before manually pulling the girl's hands away from ears. "Aw, I'm sorry Cat. It's okay." Vega croons.
Gross.
Cat shakes her head. Obviously, it's not okay. And there's only one way to make a Cat happy after you make it sad.
Vega sighs. "You wanna go to Freezy Queen after school?" She offers.
"Yay!" Cat sits up, instantaneously happy again.
"You guys in?" Vega asks, and of course everyone says yes. Obviously it'll be her treat as she was the one who did the offending of the Cat.
"What time?" André asks.
"5:30 good?" Vega asks, looking at everyone but me.
If she thinks I'm not going to Freezy Queen on her tab….wait. How is she going to pay for Freezy Queen? In fact, how'd she even pay for lunch? She doesn't have any money. She gave it to me already, right? Unless…
Vega's been holding out.
"What happened to you saving up?" I ask suspiciously, hoping she's smart enough to understand what I'm really asking.
"It's birthday money." She shrugs. "I can spend that."
And I'm smart enough to understand she's telling me our agreement was that I'd get her allowance and her lunch money. I never asked for anything she gets on the side.
Smart girl, but birthday money? That doesn't add up.
"You're birthday's not for four more months." I narrow my eyes at her.
Vega's jaw drops and her eyes seem to double in size. "You…you know my birthday?"
I scowl back at her. Of course I know her birthday. "I do my research." I answer. "Now stop trying to change the subject."
"Wait, you don't know my birthday." Beck frowns at me.
"What? Yes I do!" I answer quickly. Too quickly.
"Then when is it?" He seems to be a bit angry, and I can't really blame him. I'm just now realizing that I don't know his stupid birthday.
"I know the month!" I snap before gathering my stuff and getting up.
"Where are you going?" Beck asks, obviously wanting to talk more about the fact that I was dating him for forever and didn't know his birthday while I've only been dating Vega for a little more than a week and I know hers. But that's really not my fault. I had to learn Vega's birthday. I had to pretend to be her all day a couple weeks ago. I couldn't very well be Tori and not know my own fucking birthday, now could I?
"You people give me a rash!" I hiss at him before making my way toward my girlfriend.
"Don't forget. I get out of detention at four." I say, reminding her that she's my ride before leaning in for a quick kiss.
She snaps her head back, ducking my lips. "I'm still mad you." She scowls.
I roll my eyes, playing off the irritation of being rejected in front of everyone. "No tongue then." I shrug and lean in again.
Truthfully, I've never put my tongue in her mouth before. She's my girlfriend, sure, but first and foremost this is an act. There's no tongue needed when kissing her.
"Jade…" Vega protests, leaning back even more.
I let out a frustrated growl. "And when are you gonna not be mad at me anymore?" I snap impatiently.
"When you apologize for giving me a bouquet of bush daises!" She fires back.
"Yeah, that's not gonna happen."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. Four o'clock." I say. One last reminder of what time to pick me up from detention.
"Yeah, yeah…I know."
I move in to kiss her and she bites the shit out of my lips. Fuck. I think she was actually tryingto draw blood this time.
I really should've seen that coming.
{~~~O~~~}
Vega seems to have regrouped since lunch. It's like she's realized she talked to me and is now on a mission to make up for that.
She came back to school, (or she never left I don't know which it is) and waited for me to get in the car. When I greeted her, her eyebrow didn't so much as twitch, and then she was driving away.
I did my best to get her to talk to me. I insulted her driving, her music, the smell of her car.
Nothing.
I even went as far as to unbuckle her seat belt a couple of times, but that got boring real fast. She would just buckle it back. She didn't even sigh out of exasperation.
Do you know how that shit feels? To be ignored in such a drastic way? It feels like…like…shit. It feels like you don't matter.
And I fuckin' matter dammit!
I fume silently, staring out my window. I'm not gonna let Vega get to me. I'm not going to let her silence break me. I don't break.
Once Vega gets to my house, I lie to her. "Come inside. Joy wants to talk to you." I tell her.
She unbuckles and heads toward my door without questioning me in the slightest. And not just because she's not talking to me, but probably because she thinks Joy wants to smooth out any wrinkles considering her brats and the fact that Vega will be picking them up for her.
I unlock the door and head toward my room. "She'll be here soon." I call over my shoulder.
Truth is, Joy won't be home for about twenty minutes. By the time she gets here, Vega will have to head straight for Freezy Queen in order to make it by 5:30. Then I'll just hop in the car and go with her.
What? I couldn't chance her being all attitudey and not wanting to come pick me up if she'd gone home; and I sure as hell am not asking Beck for a ride so he can torture the heck out of me with his millions of questions.
To my surprise, Vega follows me up to my room. I expected her to sit out in the living room and wait for Joy.
I don't say anything about it to her though. It's not like I'll get a response.
Vega walks over to my bed and makes herself comfortable. Too comfortable. She actually sits on my pillow! I don't want Vega butt on my pillow!
"Get off!" I yell at her.
She ignores me.
I walk up to her but just as I get in front of her she pulls out her phone and gives it her full attention.
She's ignoring me.
I snatch my pillow from underneath her. She barely blinks. And she most definitely doesn't look up from her phone.
She's ignoring me!
I can't take this shit anymore!
I don't know what possesses me to do it; perhaps I want to be in a position where she can't ignore me, where she has to acknowledge my existence, but I plop into her lap, straddling her thighs.
"Stop ignoring me." I command
"I'm still mad at you." She deadpans.
I scowl back at her. So what if I didn't let her go to the party. That's not my fault. It's Tori's. Yeah, Tori. I was fine with it. I was gonna let Vega go, but Tori made me change my mind. She was all, 'You can't let Vega go! You can't, you can't, you can't…' until I was like, Fine, I won't. Just shut the fuck up!
Of course when I told Vega not to go she got all stubborn and basically told me she was going no matter what, so I had to physically stop her by getting her a bouquet of bush daises.
Truthfully, Tori didn't agree with the flowers at first; but then I entertained the thought of holding Vega hostage in my closet, gagged and bound while I poke and prod her so I can hear her make some more noises like the ones she made in the janitors closet because those were so, so, delicious. When Tori realized I was seriously contemplating doing that, she quickly agreed that giving Vega lethal flowers was the nicest way to go about keeping my girlfriend away from Ryder Daniel's party.
The sound of Vega tapping away at her screen is what brings me back to the present.
She's ignoring me again. How can anyone ignore a lap full of Jade?
Maybe it's time to switch tactics 'cause my girlfriend's uber stubborn. She's kinda reminding me of Amber right now.
"Vega," I sigh. "You're…you're a nice girl."
She looks up at me. I've never really complimented her before, but this isn't just a compliment. I'm trying to explain something very important to her.
"And Ryder, he's not a very nice guy." God that sounds stupid. "Okay?" I ask, hoping she understands what I'm trying to say so that I don't have to go into details. That was seriously hard enough as it is.
Vega stares back at me, a disturbing and calculating stare. Then she shrugs. "Okay." She says before turning back to her phone.
Seriously?
"Okay what?" I scowl.
"Okay." She shrugs again. "Ryder's not a nice guy. I'll stay away from him."
She got it. She got what I was trying to say, yet she's still mad at me. Why the fuck is she still mad at me?
You didn't apologize yet, Jade.
Tori's right, but that doesn't mean a thing to me 'cause I'm not apologizing.
Not that I would've had the chance to if I was going to, because my door's opened and two little terds walk in.
"What the fuck do you want?" I scowl at the both of them.
"Language, Jade." Vega and Tori reprimand me at the same time.
I ignore them.
"Mom sent us in here." Riley casually shrugs as she walks into my room and plops down onto my bed beside me. She's not upset by my language.
"Why?" I scowl at her.
"Cock-blocking duty." She says while cocking her head to the side and staring at us pointedly.
"Oh, God." Vega groans.
It's then that I realize I'm still straddling my girlfriend.
"Go find something else to do." I take a swipe at the little brat, but she easily dodges me.
"Nah, I'd rather be here."
Goddamn perv.
"Where is your mom?" Vega speaks up, pushing me off of her lap; and I remember how I told her that Joy wanted to talk to her.
Apparently, she can't wait to get out of here. And neither can I.
"She's downstairs with a client." Amber offers from the door way. She never exactly made it into my room. She's a smart kid….sometimes.
"Okay," Vega hops up and practically runs downstairs. I follow after her. And the terds follow me.
"Oh, Vega, I lied to you." I say as soon as we're in the presence of Joy and man I've never seen before. "Joy didn't want to talk to you." I smirk.
"I figured as much." She shrugs back.
That surprises me. "So why'd you stay?" I frown.
She smiles at me. The first time today, yet it makes me feel a bit wary. I don't like it.
"Um, Joy?" she says, interrupting Joy's meeting.
Joy turns around, with a bit of a frown on her face. Possibly because she doesn't recognize the voice calling her name. But when she sets eyes on Vega, she smiles. "Hey sweetie. Allen these are my daughters," she says, stepping aside so "Allen" can get a look. "Jade, Riley and Amber. And this one's Tori, Jade's girlfriend."
I really wish Joy would stop introducing me as her daughter. Trust me, I've told her countless times that I'm not her daughter and that she's not my mother, but her introduction is always the same. It's always: "So and so, these are my daughters, Jade, Riley and Amber." In that order.
"Nice to meet you." Allen says, and gives us a little wave. I ignore him as well as the way his eyes linger on me and Vega.
Perv.
"Um, I'm sorry to bother you, Joy." Vega starts off with an uncertain smile. "But I was wondering… me and Jade are gonna go meet some friends at Freezy Queen. Do you mind if we take the girls too?"
The twins' eyes light up at the prospect of getting treated to one of their favorite places in the world. Riley's because she loves food and Amber's because the little weirdo likes being near me for more than a few minutes at a time.
"Mind?" Joy scoffs disbelievingly.
I, on the other hand, am glaring at Vega. She's punishing me? Who the fuck does she think she is?!
"If you're worried about spoiling their appetite I guess I can get them a burger or something first." Vega continues whiles inconspicuously stepping away from me so I can't kick the shit out of her.
"Of course I don't mind." Joy grins at Vega. Then she pulls out a couple twenties and shoves them in her hand. "My treat."
Vega blushes, actually blushes, as she stammers out her thanks.
'Keep her,' Joy mouths to me on our way out.
I scowl back at her. I can't wait to get rid of her.
Freezy Queen's not far away, but with Thing One and Thing Two in the back seat it might as well be in outer space. It's not like they're arguing or anything sensible like that. It's the singing. Sometimes I doubt they're related to me. They can't carry a tune to save their lives.
"No!" I scream as they murder, and I mean absolutely murder an already annoying pop song Vega's got playing.
They both go quiet immediately, but in different ways. Riley scowls at me and gives me the finger. Amber snaps her mouth shut, her eyes going round and bright. If the kid cries I swear to God…
Vega turns the music up much louder and starts singing at the top of her lungs. And not only is she singing at the top of her lungs, but she's off key.
On purpose.
I'd rather listen to the twins. That's how bad it is.
I stare at her. She's gonna be my guinea pig. She's gonna be the first person I kill to see if I can really get away with it.
Then Riley starts singing again and I swear, I swear, she's gonna be next. Maybe I'll even do them both on the same day.
But for now, I reach over and turn the radio off.
They. Keep. Fucking. Singing.
And it's even worse acapella!
And they don't stop until they finish the whole song. The whole fucking song!
"Nice, Riley." Vega chuckles once they're done. Then she throws her hand back behind her, palm up. "Five." She says.
Riley smirks back before slapping Vega's hand.
Thank God only one of them is like that. If Amber had joined in too…
I guess Vega's noticed how quiet Amber's been as well because once we get to a red light, she turns in her seat, facing Amber, and says, "You okay back there, mamita? You're so quiet."
I gape at my girlfriend. I just realized something. She hasn't called me mami all day. Not once. I like it when she calls me that. She knows that. I told her so. And now she wants to go around calling a brat Mamita?
It's too close. Way too close.
I glare at Vega. I have a feeling she did that on purpose.
As a response to my soon-to-be dead girlfriend's question, Amber gives Vega an uncertain nod of her head. She's noticed the way I'm glaring at her and it's making the kid uneasy.
Vega smiles back. "You sure? I can always kick Jade out." She jokes.
"Do it!" Riley laughs.
I switch my glare from Vega to Riley.
"Do it, Tori!" she repeats defiantly.
"Shh, monstrito. Your sister's got the floor." Vega winks.
And just like that, Riley shuts up. What the hell? The little terd never listens to me.
"I'm good, Tori." Amber smiles shyly after a beat.
"Okay." Vega gives Amber one last smile before turning her eyes on the road.
We get to Freezy Queen five minutes later. I'm the first out, followed by Riley. She all but runs up to Vega.
I narrow my eyes when I see her whispering in Vega's ear. What could she possibly have to say to her? Which reminds me… What the heck were they talking about this morning?
Then I see Vega's eyebrow dip and she chuckles. "That's what you want to use it for?" she says.
I have no idea what the fuck that means, and it makes even less sense when both Vega and Riley duck down. Seconds later they're back up, but Vega's got a Riley on her back.
Huh?
Vega walks past me as if it's normal to piggy back people around. Not even bothering to explain. Not that I expect her to. She still mad at me.
"There goes Cat!" Riley shouts.
She's never officially met Cat before, but I described her to the twins once. And once is all it takes to get a vivid visual of the girl.
"HI, HI! Tori! HI, HI Jade!" Cat runs up to the both of like an eager puppy. It's so weird how I've always thought of her as more of a k-9 than a cat.
"My turn! I wanna ride!" Cat squeals.
"Um later, it's Riley's turn now." Vega answers.
I roll my eyes. Not at the fact that Cat obviously asked for a piggy back ride, but at the fact that Vega more or less agreed to give her one.
"Can we go inside now?" I ask impatiently. Standing around in an empty parking lot isn't my idea of a good time.
"We gotta wait for the others." Vega responds to me, but her tone is more or less lifeless.
"Can't we wait inside?"
She ignores me.
I pretend not to care.
The first person in our "group" other than Cat to arrive is Beck.
Man I really don't feel like seeing Beck right now.
"Hey ladies. Girls." He winks at the twins.
"'Sup" Riley nods, and Vega leans forward a little so she can give Beck five
Amber just waves and moves to stand a closer to me. I pretend not to notice.
André's next to arrive. I'm surprised. He's usually the latest as he's always got last minute grandma issues.
I cross my arms over my chest and tap my foot restlessly while everyone greets André as if they didn't just see him a few hours ago.
"And these must be the terrible duo Jade's told us absolutely nothing about." André says once he gets a look at my sisters.
"I'm not terrible. Jade's just stupid." Riley rebuttals.
André and Cat gasp, probably wondering how this kid is still alive. Everyone else doesn't even bat an eyelash. They're familiar with Riley's ways.
You'd think she would've changed them by now, but like I mentioned before. The kid's got guts. She's not afraid.
Still, there should be some repercussions.
So, I smack Riley's butt so hard Vega stumbles a little.
"Jade!" She yells at me, turning so that I no longer have easy access to the brat. Then she turns her head a little so she can face the kid. "You okay, monstrito?"
"Yep. Lemme down."
Vega does so, and Riley approaches me. I give her a warning glare. She does not want to start with me right now. There's no Joy to save her.
"Think terd. Your mommy's not here to save you."
"Yeah, but you're gonna look stupid running around chasing a kid," she says before kicking the shit out of me and running off. I don't hesitate. I chase. I'm gonna kill.
Riley runs to Beck and hides behind his back.
I don't stop trying to get at her.
"Jade stop." Beck commands, putting a hand to my chest.
"The little shit kicked me."
"You hit her."
"She called me stupid."
Riley peeks from around Beck's back. "You are stupid."
I reach for her once again.
"Robbie's here!" Cat squeaks, momentarily distracting me.
I look over at her. She's on Vega's back.
Really?
Vega's giving me a cool look, and I feel Beck snatch his hand back.
Right, my chest is no longer his jurisdiction.
Speaking of chests, Vega's isn't Cat's jurisdiction. Yet her hands are awfully close…
Vega walks passed me without saying a word, Cat still on her back. And we all follow behind them.
The sight before me is wazzing me off for some reason. I get that Cat's Cat, which means she's like a five year old in a teenager's body; but that's just it. She's got a teenager's body. Vega's got her arms hooked beneath Cat's teenaged knees. And Cat's s got her teenaged tits on my girlfriend's back; her teenaged thighs wrapped around my girlfriend's waist; and let's not forget to mention the fact that Cat's got her teenaged kitty on my girlfriends lower back. And to make matters worse, it's been slowly making its way down to Vega's ass because Cat's heavy and slipping.
Vega stops at the door, then gives a bit of a bounce to get Cat situated.
Cat giggles. Her little clitty was probably stimulated by that move.
That's it!
"Get down." I growl before grabbing Cat around the middle and pulling her off of my girlfriend. I make sure to set her on her feet though I'd like nothing more than to let her fall on her ass.
Everyone stares at me, probably wondering what the chiz my problem is.
"You're too old for piggy back rides. You look ridiculous," I scoff.
"Aww, phooey." Cat pouts.
Vega shakes her head at me and rolls her eyes. I don't know what her problem is. Cat's fine. I, on the other hand, am irritated as hell. The girl was practically humping my girl from behind. And now I feel the need to mark my territory.
"Gimme your hand." I command
To my surprise, Vega hands it over immediately. Even while every one of our friends simultaneously shouts, "No Tori, don't!"
She jumps; then looks at her hand; at our entwined hands. "Aw man, Jade lemme go."
"No."
"I don't want to hold your hand. I'm still mad at you." She whines.
Big surprise there.
"So?" I shrug while walking her up to the counter. Vega tries to pull her hand out of mine the whole time but she can't.
I have a strong grip.
When we take our order, I speak first. I ask for a kid's meal and an extra drink for the twins. Then I pull Vega off to the side so everyone else can put their orders in.
"One kid's meal?" Vega frowns.
"For the brats." I answer.
"To share?"
"Yep."
"Why?"
Beck chimes in, seemingly coming out of nowhere. "Amber usually only eats her fries. Riley usually only eats her burger. It just makes sense to get them one meal to share and get an extra drink."
"Oh." Vega nods in understanding.
I want to smack him. There's this look of satisfaction on his face as he show off how much better he knows the twins than she does.
But Vega doesn't seem to catch on. She seems to be in a bit of an argument with Thing One.
"Fine," she says before successfully snatching her hand from mine this time, stooping down, and letting Riley climb on her back again.
Really, what the hell is going on with those two?
"Anything else?" the cashier asks.
I add on a burger and fries for myself, and Vega does the same.
When our total is given, I nearly wait for Vega to pull out the money Joy gave her. But then I remember which pocket she put it in and I turn so that I'm facing my girlfriend, stick my hand in her back pocket, and fish the money out.
She sucks in a tiny breath when I purposely cop a feel. Then she bites her lip.
I know that look. "You wanna kiss me, don't you?" I smirk.
"Gross." Riley rolls her eyes, but I ignore her.
"I'm still mad at you." Vega claims.
I lean in.
"I'll bite." She threatens.
"I like that."
"Eh-hem."
It's the cashier. And though I can't blame her for interrupting because I know she just wants the money we owe, but at the same time, this place is empty. It's not like she has anything else to do anyway.
"Here." I say, thrusting the money in her face.
She snatches it away and I kindly resist the urge to snatch her hair out of her scalp. Courtesy of Tori.
Vega nudges Amber, and once she has the brat's attention, she points at me.
I don't know what to make of that until Amber grabs my hand and starts pulling me away.
Damage control? Really? I wasn't gonna do anything to her. Well, I was thinking of saying a few words, making a few threats, but I really wasn't going to do anything.
"Jade, where are we all gonna sit?" Amber asks suddenly.
Looking around, it's easy to understand why she's asking. The booths are all relatively small, not exactly enough room to comfortably seat all eight of us.
Fine by me.
"Oh well, looks like you brats will have your own table. Far, far away if I I'm lucky enough." I grunt.
"Don't be silly Jade," Vega says while coming up behind me with a try full of food. "The girls can sit in our laps."
And she's lost her damn mind.
"No." I answer simply.
"Okay, well, I guess since the girls are so small they can fit on the seat with us if Cat sits in my lap." She shrugs. No bluff. She'll really do it.
And have Cat's teenaged butt on my girlfriends lap? I don't think so.
"Fine. I got Amber." I agree reluctantly. There's just no way I'd willingly sit that other one on my lap, no matter how irritating Amber is.
Five minutes later, I change my mind. Amber's not necessarily a hyper kid, but for some reason she can't seem to keep still.
"Stop squirming so much, bugger." I command.
"I have to wazz." She whimpers.
Seriously?
"Then go!" I shout.
She jumps a little and I swear to God if she tinkled a little in my lap…
"Jade, just take her to the bathroom." Vega rolls her eyes beside me.
"Take her? She can go by herself."
"Herself?" Vega frowns.
"Yeah." I frown back. "Herself."
"You can't send a little girl to the bathroom by herself."
"Why not?"
"Something could happen to her."
"Like what?"
"Anything!" Vega yells.
On the other side of the table, the boys are starting to look a bit uncomfortable. Well, Robbie and André are. Beck and Rex seem to be amused by my bickering with Vega.
This bull chiz is not amusing.
"Don't be so paranoid!" I yell back.
"I'm not paranoid. My dad's a cop. You wouldn't believe the stories I've heard."
"Oh, I'd believe them. I just don't believe I'd ever get lucky enough to have the brats disappear via kidnappers or serial killers.
Vega's eyes go wide and she gasps for like ever.
Long enough for Riley to open her mouth and show me her regurgitated burger. That's her response because she's used to me wishing bad things and murder on her and her sister.
"Jade!" Vega yells at me.
"Vega!" I yell back. Who the hell pissed in her Lucky Charms?
"I can't believe you just said that!"
"Well if you're so worried about her, why don't you take her to the bathroom?" I suggest.
"You're so…ugh!" she exclaims before going on a tangent that I can't understand in the least…because it's all in Spanish.
Fuck.
She pushes at me, and I move out the way so she and Riley can get out of the booth. She continues to fuss at me, but I really, really, don't know what the hell she's saying.
"Cat what's she saying?" I panic slightly, only chancing a few glances at the red head just in case Vega does something…unexpected.
Cat covers her mouth. Whatever Vega's saying, she's not going to repeat it.
That's the "speak no evil" face. Vega must be cursing her ass off.
"You speak Spanish Little Red?" André asks.
"No, but I understand." Cat says. Her eyes are huge as she stares at Vega who's suddenly decided to pace as well as curse me out.
Fuck!
"Well translate!" I urge.
"What?"
"Tell us what Tori's saying." Robbie explains patiently.
"But I can't speak Spanish."
"Tell us in English." Beck tries.
"But she's speaking in Spanish."
"Yes, but whatever she's saying in Spanish, you say it in English!" I snap, breaking it down as far as it can be broken down.
"Oh…I'm confused."
"…and you can't just have your way all the time Jade! If I want to go to a party then..."
English. Thank God, I just heard a snippet of English!
"Okay, Stop it." I grab both of her arms and make her face me; just to keep her still and so that she can really, really, hear me out. "Stop! I'm sorry, okay? Maybe I'm not sorry I kept you from going to Ryder's stupid party but I probably should've talked to you instead of giving you bush daises. Okay?"
She stares at me.
"And I didn't mean what I said about the kidnappers just now." I add on.
Vega tilts her head to the side. "I think…that counts as an apology."
"What?"
"You apologized." She smiles.
"I didn't." I scoff.
"You did too. You said you're sorry."
"No"-
"Sorry was in there." André cuts in.
Fuck, it was. But I still turn and give him a withering glare.
"Maybe I just heard something I didn't really hear?" he changes his mind.
Not that it changes the fact that I really did apologize to Vega.
"Amber's still gotta wazz guys." Riley announces while pointing to her sister who's currently doing the pee-pee dance.
What the fuck is wrong with this kid?
"I'll take her." I offer. I really need to get away for a second anyway.
Amber grabs my hand on the way, and I snatch mine away from hers.
Jade…
Fuck you, Tori.
I chance a glance back at Vega and she's frowning disapprovingly at me.
Fine.
I snatch the brat's hand up and I don't let go until she's actually in the stall.
"Jade?" she calls in the middle of her wazz.
Kids are so gross.
"Amber." I answer.
"How long is Tori gonna be your girlfriend?"
What kind of question is that? "Why?" I ask.
"Just wondering."
"Why?" I repeat.
"She's really nice."
"You think so?"
"Uh-huh"
"Hurry up." I say irritably.
"Okay." She says, flushing the toilet.
I remind her to wash her hands and hope she doesn't want to hold mine again.
She does.
God, she's irritating.
Halfway back to our table I stop mid step. Fucking Wazzbag is here.
It doesn't seem as if he's spotted Vega, or vice versa yet, so I don't think he knew she was coming, but still…the sight of him just makes me feel murderous. Even more so than usual.
Amber whimpers beside me, and when I look down I realize I've been squeezing the chiz out of her hand.
I let go. And as soon as I do, she grabs my hand again.
I make a conscious effort not to hurt her this time. But I'm still a bit tense. And I stay that way until Wazzbag starts heading toward the door. He's gonna leave without seeing my girlfriend.
I breathe easier and finish making my way toward our table.
When Riley sees me, she smiles and starts tugging on my girlfriend's arm until she's leaning down low enough for the kid to whisper in her ear.
Color me suspicious.
Vega looks up, see me, and stands. "Jade"-
"Tori!"
Out of nowhere, a dark haired little boy of about four runs and attaches itself to my girlfriend's leg.
"Chris?" Vega practically squeals before picking up the little monkey
"Tori?"
I stiffen. Wazzbag.
"Hi Danny. You already know my girlfriend. And these are our friends." Vega cheerfully introduces everyone at the table, and I tell myself she's just in a good mood because of the mini Wazzbag on her hip. "He's so dirty. Is this a uniform?" she asks, referring to his clothing.
Wazzbag chuckles. "Yeah, soccer. Or whatever you call a bunch of four year olds running down the field with the ball in their hands."
Vega laughs.
I inch a bit closer, until I'm standing right next to her.
Riley tugs on her shirt. And Vega looks down at her for a brief second before looking up and catching my eye.
"Jade, mami. Riley has to wazz."
Now? Right this second? Hell no!
"Why didn't you go just now?"
"I didn't have to go then."
Vega rolls her eyes before beckoning a finger at Amber. "Come here, mamita."
Amber obediently makes her way over to Vega's side. Immediately, she pulls Amber into her side and covers her ear with the other hand, blocking off as much sound from me and Riley's argument as possible.
"Yes you did!" I shout back at Riley.
"No, I didn't!"
"I'm not taking you to the bathroom!
"Tori says you have to!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"NO!"
"YES!"
I glare at the little brat, my hands folded over my chest.
She mirrors my stance.
After a few seconds of this, Vega lets go of Amber's ear. "I think they're done with the loud part, go finish your fries and I'll get your ice cream, okay?"
"Okay." She smiles.
I smile too. Vega's picked up on the face that Amber hates yelling and that looks like Vega's spent a lot of time at my place, and with the brats. Which is why Beck's face is so amusing right now. He looks confused as hell. He was so convinced that me and Vega are faking; and now he probably doesn't know what the hell to think.
"You were always good with kids." I hear wazzbag compliment. And just like that, my smile is gone; because he's smiling at my girlfriend. and it's this wistful "I thought you were gonna bear my children" kind of smile.
"Thanks." Vega grins. But I let it slide because her grin is aimed at the monkey perched on her hip. Not the wazzbag in front of her.
Wazzbag smiles back until he catches the glare I'm aiming at him. And when he takes notice, he audibly gulps.
"So, uh… It was nice seeing you Tori. We should be heading home." He gestures toward the mini Wazzbag.
Vega puts the monkey down. "Bye Chris." She says.
"Say bye to Tori, Chris." Wazzbag coaches
"Bye tori." He says sadly.
"Aw don't be sad, I'll see ya again."
"When?"
"Oh uh"-
"He's got a soccer game this Saturday." Wazzbag cuts in "You're welcome to come. All of you." he adds after my glare intensifies.
"Sure I'll be there." Vega smiles. Again, her smile is aimed at mini Wazzbag, so I can't exactly get mad. But there's no way we or she is going to that stupid game Saturday.
"Um babe, we have a thing this Saturday. We can't go."
"What thing?" She frowns.
"That thing." I tilt my head a little.
"What thing?" She repeats.
I glare at her. Her refusal to play along has just pissed me off; and I find myself seriously contemplating giving my girlfriend another bouquet of bush daises this Saturday.