{~~~TORI~~~}
I discovered the best way to wake Jade up is to shove a cup of coffee under her nose. She gives this adorable little sniff/ nose twitch thing and then her hand shoots out and grabs the cup; all without opening her eyes in the slightest. It's really cool; but it can be kinda scary too if it's your first time doing it, or if you're not paying close enough attention.
This morning, however, I don't have any coffee on me. I ran out at home, I'm too broke to go out and buy a cup, and Joy doesn't have a coffee maker because she's the only adult in California who doesn't drink the stuff. So, it looks like I'll have to wake my girlfriend up the normal way.
"Jade." I call. "Wake up."
No response. Not that I was expecting much.
I shake her shoulder lightly and call her name again.
"Coffee." She mumbles.
I roll my eyes and lean forward so I can speak directly into her ear.
"Jade, come on. Get- whoa!" my eyes widen when her hand shoots and grabs the front of my shirt before pulling me in close to her face. Like extremely close. Her eyes are still closed so I suspect she's a little more than sixty percent asleep.
"No coffee. No Jade." She grumbles. Then she drops her hand limply over the side of her bed.
Really?
"Jade get"-
"No coffee, no Jade." She repeats while pulling her comforter over her head.
Crap, I've really spoiled her, haven't I?
I drop my bag on the ground and start rummaging through it. I'm looking for my lip gloss; and not just any ol' lip gloss either. This one's special. It's coffee flavored. I ordered it off line about two days after me and Jade started "dating;" but I haven't used it yet. It's still sealed and everything.
Once I find it, I put a very generous amount on. Jade wants coffee? Okay, I'll give her some dang coffee.
"Jade," I sing. Then I pull the comforter back from her head.
"I said no coffee, no Jade." She groans.
"Well, how about a little Tori instead?"
"But I hate Tor"-
Before she can tell me how much she hates me, I cut her off by biting her top lip while simultaneously forcing my bottom lip into her mouth.
She gasps and then one eye snaps open.
It's a glare. A one-eyed glare that I totally deserve. I was a bit rough because my feelings were hurt, but I can't really be too angry with her. I know Jade doesn't truly like me, even if she is my girlfriend.
And it's not really her fault she almost slipped up and told me she hates me. She was mostly still asleep. I can't expect her to be in character even while unconscious, can I?
Naturally, the thought makes me feel bad for nearly gagging my girlfriend. So, I begin to retract my lip from the inside of her mouth. Imagine my surprise when she chooses that moment to respond to me. First, by shooting her hand out and grabbing the back of my head to keep me still. And second, by sucking, actually sucking, on my lip.
At first, all I can think is "wow" because it feels nothing short of amazing. Then she abruptly quits that and attacks my top lip. And that's when I remember the lip gloss. Coffee flavored. She's sucking it all off!
Freak.
"More." She demands once she's swapped all of my lip gloss with her spit.
"No. Wake up." I scowl back while wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.
"Real coffee's better anyway." She murmurs before turning her head away from me.
I swear this girl just makes me wanna…ugh!
I stand up straight. "Jade!" I call sternly.
She ignores me.
Fine.
I yank her comforter off her body and freeze. Jade's got…um…um…well she's uh, not wearing anything. Like…anything! Not even socks!
"Vega," she growls, not even bothering to turn around and face me. Not that I give her a chance to. The second she speaks, I'm up on the bed, comforter in hand, trying to cover her back up.
"Since when do you sleep naked?!" I panic.
"Since always."
"Not yesterday, or the day before that!"
"Not when I'm on my lady time." She explains in a bored fashion while I'm frantically trying to cover her up.
I'm a little bit clumsy. I know that, but at this moment I've amped my clumsy up about four thousand volts. Meaning, I manage to get the blanket back on her just fine, but not without falling out of the bed about three times. It just couldn't be helped. A naked Jade makes me nervous for some reason.
Okay, okay, so I know the reason; but still, the reason doesn't even make sense. Not really. It's not like we don't have the same parts; even though we kinda don't because all of Jade's parts seem to be way better looking than mine and- whoa. Off track. That's quite enough of that. I need to concentrate. Focus on something else. Like school. Yeah. I have to get to school. No, we have to get to school.
"Jade." I start, having had a douse of a reality check. "Get up!"
"Go away."
I sigh, looking her over. I don't think I have the courage to shake her again. What if her comforter slides off or something? She's still naked under there for Pete's sake!
Then I see her feet and I nearly smile. They're all out in the open because well, I didn't cover them up. I was too busy trying to make sure I covered the important stuff.
And now I've got an idea.
I walk over to the end of the bed. "Jade, get up." I sing as I tickle the bottom of her exposed feet.
Huge mistake. Her feet kick up and one of them catches my mouth. There's immediate pain and the taste of blood. Yeah, Jade really just kicked me in the mouth.
"Hay!" I cry, falling on my butt and covering my mouth with both hands.
Jade gets up then.
Go figure. She's probably gonna laugh at me.
"Vega?" she calls as she gets out of her bed.
I don't answer her. I'm too busy concentrating on how bad my face hurts right now.
Next thing I know, Jade's kneeling down in front of me.
"Lemme see." She commands.
I shake my head and clamp my face even tighter, if that's possible.
"Don't be a baby." She rolls her eyes at me.
I shake my head again.
She pulls on my wrist.
"It's fine." I claim, though there's a good chance she didn't understand a word I just said because my response was so muffled.
"If it's fine, then lemme see it." She rebuttals impatiently. And when she tugs on my wrist this time, there's much more force. As a result, I'm distracted by the sudden movement of two very special pieces of anatomy swinging in my line of vision.
Boobies. Jade's naked. I forgot about that 'til just now. Maybe she's forgotten too.
I sacrifice one of my hands to point them out to her, to remind her.
She grabs a hold of my hand and says, "They're just boobs, Vega" before tucking my hand between her thighs and squeezing her legs shut tight. "Now stay still." She commands.
Oh. My. God.
I can't, um, my hand…oh my God! My hand is…and Jade is…
She didn't even have to tell me to stay still after she did that! I'm too afraid to move an inch. Heck, I'm too afraid to expand my lungs and freakin' breathe because Jade's naked and my hand is trapped between her naked thighs! Naked thighs are wrapped around my hand! Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God….
Jade takes full advantage of my momentary paralysis. She peels my other hand away from my face, and I let her because I'm too freaked out to resist.
Jade on the other hand doesn't freak out in the least. She smirks at me and I know she's gonna tease me even before she does it.
"Jeez Vega, if all it takes for you to sit still is for me to put your hand between my legs…" she trails off distractedly once my hand is out of the way and she finally gets a good look at my lip. "Shit." She swears softly.
My eyes widen a little. Is it that bad? Am I gonna need stitches!? Oh God, I can't get stitches. Just the idea of having to go to the hospital weirds me out. I hate that place!
"It's not too bad." Jade adds quickly once I start to hyperventilate. I get the immediate impression that she's lying to try and calm me down; but for some odd reason it still works.
She reaches behind herself and yanks the sheet off her bed. Then she presses a corner of it to my bottom lip to staunch the bleeding. I flinch back. That hurt.
"I'm sorry, baby." She apologizes so sincerely that I believe her. I mean, I know the "baby" part was only added on because I'm her "girlfriend" but the rest of it…it felt real; like she apologized because she genuinely didn't mean to hurt me.
"It's okay, Mami." I forgive her.
Her breath catches. I see it happen because her face is so close to mine right now.
She wasn't lying when she said that she likes it when I call her that.
Abruptly she gives her head a slight shake, like she's trying to clear her thoughts. "Here." She says, motioning for me to take hold of the sheet she's got pressed against my lip. I do so with one hand, leaving the other one that's trapped between her legs. I can't move that one until Jade releases me.
"If you give me some money, I won't tell Mom what you guys are doing."
It's Riley. There's no doubt about it, but I turn toward the sound of her voice anyway. And there she is, standing in the doorway with a huge smirk on her face.
Crap. Jade's still naked. Of course she thinks we're doing something. How is it that this always happens to us?
"Shut my door." Jade tells Riley. "We're not even doing anything."
Riley does as she's told, but after she comes in.
Surprisingly, Jade doesn't scream at her sister for it. She just casually asks Riley to pass her a t-shirt.
What's even more surprising is that Riley complies immediately. I expected an argument, but there is none. She simply goes through Jade's drawers and gets out a t-shirt as well as a pair of sweats.
It's when she approaches Jade that I realize she's picked up on the fact that something's wrong. I mean, I am sitting here with the end of a bed sheet pressed against my lip. Add the bit of blood that's seeped through and it's hard not to come to the conclusion that something's wrong.
Riley kneels down beside me and absentmindedly hands Jade's clothes to her. "What'd you do to her?" she wonders aloud as she inspects my face.
"I accidentally kicked her."
"In the mouth?" Riley fires back incredulously.
"Yes." Jade answers before getting up to get dressed and finally freeing my other hand; which has gone partially numb. I shake it a little, trying to get some feeling back into it.
Riley rolls her eyes at Jade before turning her attention back to me. "Was it really a accident?"
"Yeah." I smile at the little girl. She's such a rowdy kid, but she can be sweet when she wants to be.
"Lemme see." She demands.
I take the sheet off and show her.
"Oh, so you'll show the terd and not me?" Jade scowls down at me. I shrug and advert my eyes as she's putting on her sweats now.
"It's because she likes me more than you." Riley answers while hooking her arm under my shoulder and helping me up to my feet.
God that was just the cutest thing ever!
Then Riley turns, showing her back to her sister and giving me her full attention. "When I grow up, you can be my girlfriend. I won't bust your lips." She declares, sending a grin over her shoulder toward her now dressed sister.
I snort and shake my head at the little monster. It's more than obvious she's just messing with Jade. I'm starting to think it's her favorite pastime.
"Get out of here you little shit." Jade scowls back at her.
"Don't call her that." I defend Riley immediately.
"Oh?" Jade's eyes widen slightly. She wants me to take it back but I'm not going to. She shouldn't call her sister that. I don't even call Trinathat… and she's Trina.
"Yeah." I answer bravely. "You really shouldn't call her that."
Jade glares at Riley as if it's her fault I just talked back to her.
Riley darts behind me and hugs me from behind, both of her hands clenching each other on top of my navel. I have no doubt whatsoever that she's milking the fact that I'm acting in her defense because Riley doesn't usually run from Jade so soon into an argument. She's not afraid of her older sister.
Jade's eyes widen. "Get your grubby little hands off my girlfriend." She snarls.
Seriously?
"Jade, come on. No need to get jealous." I smirk playfully.
Obviously Jade's not in a very playful mood. "I'm not jealous." she spits back.
I hold my hands up, the universal sign for surrender.
Jade raises her eyebrows expectantly. Riley's still holding on to me and she's made it clear that she doesn't want her to do that. I roll my eyes and pat Riley's hands. "Go downstairs, Monstrito."
"Fine." She relents and I see Jade get just a little angrier. It's because Riley listens to me more often than she listens to her own sister; but can anyone really blame her? Jade's so mean to her.
"Do you want me to get you some ice for that?" Riley asks, pointing at my lip.
Aw. She's so freakin' sweet and I nearly take her up on her offer until I see Jade's still glaring at the kid.
"You know, I think I'm good. It's not even bleeding anymore." I pat Riley's head.
"You sure? Lemme see again."
I bend down a little. Just to humor her. I know Jade won't like it but the kid is just so dang cute when-
"Mwah!" Riley lays a big, and exaggeratedly loud, one on me.
Crap. I walked right into that one, didn't I? Still, it's a little funny. I mean, I know why it was done. To mess with Jade. And of course it works. Jade's eyes flash dangerously, an indication that she's in a murderous mood.
"You little"-
She starts but I cut her off. "Jade!" I yell as I yank Riley behind me.
"What!"
"Come on, it was just a joke. There's no need to hurt her. She's just a kid and she's you're sister." I explain unnecessarily.
"Oh, I'm not gonna hurt her. I'm gonna kill her."
"I'm not gonna hurt her. I'm gonna kill her." Riley mimics.
I nearly face palm. That is not gonna help calm Jade down at all. I turn my head a little so I can see the instigating little monster. "Monstrito, don't tease your sister, please. She just woke up, okay?"
Riley looks back up at me and I'm ninety nine percent sure she was gonna do as I asked, but then Jade just had to scream at her.
"Just get out of here you little pre-terd!"
And naturally, Riley just had to retaliate by mocking her. "Just get out of here you little pre-terd."
"Riley…" Jade warns.
"Jade." I plead, hoping I can get the oldest out of the two sisters to stop this nonsense.
"Riley…" Riley mocks, ignoring me and my attempts at making peace.
Jade takes a step forward. "One." She says and my stomach drops. I hate it when she counts.
"One." Riley mocks.
Ugh. Kill me. Just kill me now.
"Two."
"Two."
"That's it!" Jade snaps, totally screwing number three over. She lunges at me, reaching her hands behind me and nearly grabbing a hold of Riley, but I block her. I grab her around the waist and push all of my body weight against her. It barely works. But it's enough for Riley to escape.
"Riley, go." I pant.
"No thanks." I hear from behind me.
Okay, so Riley doesn't feel like going anywhere.
What else can I do but focus on Jade? It's the only logical thing to do. I mean, if Riley refuses to leave, then I've got to make it so that Jade's no longer in the mood to kill.
I just don't know how the heck I'm supposed to do that. So I wing it.
"Calm down, Mami." I hiss in her ear, taking the opportunity to try and talk some sense into her since she's already pressed so close to me.
"No!" She's still squirming, trying to get to Riley, but not as hard as before.
I think it worked a little.
"Just calm down." I murmur before placing a kiss on the spot just below her ear. She shivers, just a little; but that's it. That's the only response I get for that.
"No. I'm gonna- mmph"
I bite her earlobe mid-sentence. Not too hard, but hard enough. For a second I forgot I was dealing with my freak of a girlfriend. "Freak" being the operative word. I don't know what I was thinking with the kissing thing.
Jade pushes at my shoulders a little, still wanting me to let her go so she can kill her little sister; but at the same time it's more than obvious I started to wear her down the second I bit her.
Jeez, biting her should've been the first thing I tried. I'll have to remember that for next time.
"Are you gonna leave Riley alone?" I ask, knowing the answer already.
"No. I'm gonna kill her." she answers, but a lot less vehemently than before. Still, it's not the answer I'm looking for, so I bite her again.
This time Jade moans rather loudly before leaning into me and wrapping her arms around my neck. "Fine, I'll let the little terd live." She surrenders.
I reward her with a few nips to her lips.
"God, you're good at that." She moans. And that sound makes all the blood rush up to my face. Dios mío, she has a nice moan. Low and intense and-
"You mean to tell me all I gotta do is bite you and you'll calm down?"
Of course Riley would choose the very second I've calmed her sister down to pick another fight.
I feel Jade tense up and there's no way I'm gonna let the little monster mess up all my handy work. "Out, Monstrito," I command kicking Riley in the butt.
"Ow," she cries, though I didn't really hurt her.
"Now."
"Okay, okay. I'm going." She says. And with that she actually leaves, still rubbing her fanny.
I chuckle after her and then turn back to my girlfriend, who isn't laughing at all. "What?"
"If she starts biting me, babe, I'm gonna kick your ass." She threatens.
I roll my eyes. "Start on your shower or we'll be late for scho-"
"Don't tell me what to do." She cuts in.
"Okay…do whatever you want but"-
"You're still telling me what to do and it sounds as if you're about to turn it into an ultimatum. And I hate ultimatums." She says, giving me a serious glower and folding her hands over her chest.
Okay…
"Fine. I'm leaving in twenty minutes because I don't want to be late to school." And with that, I head downstairs to eat a little breakfast with the twins while I wait for Jade. It's the same as it's been for the past three days. Riley makes a mess, Amber doesn't.
Twelve minutes later, Jade comes down the stairs. I have no idea how she showered, dressed, and did her make-up in less than twenty minutes. I was expecting her to take at least thirty. She usually does anyway.
"Let's go." she orders, making sure I know she's allowed to tell me what to do.
Whatever. I don't feel like arguing about how unfair that is, so I let it go.
"By guys." I call. Amber runs up and gives me a hug. Riley high fives me.
I'm nearly out the door when Joy calls out to me from upstairs.
"Yes?" I yell back.
"Don't forget to pick up the girls after school!"
Crap! I completely forgot about that.
"I won't!" I yell back as I set the reminder in my phone. Then I go ahead and put a reminder in for the next two Thursdays as well. Hopefully Jade doesn't do anything to get herself another three weeks' worth of detention.
Before I can finish up with my reminders, I get a text. A very annoying text.
"Aw man!" I whine, rushing for my car. I've got to get to the school ASAP.
I rush Jade to the car as un-bossily as I can, but I'm still practically pushing her…which she doesn't like.
"What's the hurry Vega?"
"I don't wanna be late."
Jade narrows her eyes at me as I open the passenger door for her. "Even if you drive three miles an hour, we'll still make it to school on time." She explains slowly; like I'm mentally handicapped.
She's right, totally right; but I'm not worried about the stupid bells. I've got to get to school quickly for another reason all together.
I run, literally run, to the driver's side and get in. I'm even able to start the car before Jade makes it inside.
I glare at her. Can't she move any faster?
I jiggle my leg impatiently as she takes her sweet time getting into the car and shutting the door.
"Meeting someone?" She asks.
"Seatbelt." I reply.
She ignores me and that's okay. Normally I'd fight with her a little bit about it before I give up on her, but not today. I just pull off. If I get in an accident and she flies through the windshield…
"Babe, who just texted you?"
"Sikowitz." I answer immediately; not even picking up on the suspicion in her tone.
She scoffs at me, like she doesn't believe me. I glance her way, wondering why wouldn't she believe me.
"Sikowitz doesn't have a phone. I bet he doesn't even know how to work one." She explains.
Ah, now the scoffing makes sense. If she truly believes Sikowitz doesn't have a phone then it can only mean she thinks I'm lying to her about who just texted me.
"Well, maybe he just got it and someone taught him how to use it." I suggest.
She holds her hand out expectantly. "Gimme your phone."
"No." I shake my head. Haven't we been through this already? She should just trust that I'm telling the truth when I give her an answer.
"No?"
"Yeah, no." I say firmly while jamming my phone down between my legs.
For normal people, it's a bit of a deterrent. To Jade, it doesn't seem to matter because without any form of warning she reaches down between my thighs and tries to grab my phone.
"Jade!" I yell, snatching her hand out and clamping my legs shut tightly.
"What's the problem, Vega?"
What's the problem? What's the problem?!
"You can't just…just"-
"I can't just what?"
"Do stuff like that!" I yell back at her.
"Stuff like…put my hand in between your legs?" I see her raise a questioning eyebrow out of the corner of my eye.
"Yeah!" I exclaim.
"Why not?"
"W-why?"
She can't be serious.
"Yeah, tell me why I can't put my hand between my girlfriend's legs, Vega."
Crap! Crap, crap, crap. She's got me there; and she knows it too because she smiles and starts reaching for me again.
"No!" I cry. "Not while I'm driving. You can cause an accident." I make up on the spot. Though it's totally true. Thank God, it's true.
"So, if we happen to come across a red light, I can put my hand in between your legs then, right?" She grins slyly at me.
God, I wish she would just stop saying that! My face has got to be magenta by now!
"Right, Vega?"
I nod my head. "Yeah, sure." I gulp.
Oh man! What the heck have I gotten myself into?
Jade puts her hand on my knee and my breathing picks up within the matter of seconds. No doubt she's resting it there until we hit a red light, then she'll…she'll…
Yellow light.
I speed through it, rather than slow down. I know better, but I do it anyway, why? Because Jade's got her hand resting on my knee, waiting until I happen across a red light. And it's just as distracting as her hand actually being down there. More so even because the anxiety that comes along with it makes me a jumpy person, and an unsafe driver.
I sigh in defeat as I fish my phone out and hand it to her. She grins at me.
Yeah, she won this time.
"Babe, why does Sikowitz want you to go to the Blackbox Theater?" She asks after reading the message.
"I have to take a picture of something he put in there."
"Something like what?"
"I don't know yet. He'll text me in a few and let me know what it is."
"Why?"
"To prove I was there." I shrug.
"Why do you have to be there in the first place?"
I frown at her briefly before focusing on the road again. What's with all the questions?
"Um, I don't have to be there I guess. Sikowitz said it was a competition but he never said what would happen to whichever one of us was the first to not show up."
"Wait. Us? Who else has to do this?"
"Melissa." I shrug.
"You, Melissa, and who else?"
I frown. She sounds kinda upset. Then I glance over at her and she looks mighty upset, but why?
"It's just me and Melissa." My eyebrows furrow. I'm not afraid to show her how confused I am. Hopefully she'll be kind enough to explain why she's suddenly wazzed off.
"Why just you two?" she barely gets out through clenched teeth.
"I don't know, 'cause we're the new ones. I guess it's some kind of initiation thing. Like, we have to prove how dedicated we are to the school by running all over town whenever he gives the word…text. And now that I think about it, it's kind of annoying." I tilt my head to the side and frown, actually starting to get irritated as I think about it. "Do you know how many times I've had to cancel my plans just because he texted me and wanted us to go to Nozu's, or Freezy Queen, or the park"-
"Wait, you guys don't just meet at school?"
I roll my eyes, getting even more irritated with my teacher. "That would be great," I reply almost wistfully. "But noooo. Sikowitz is so dang creative."
"And you never thought there was anything strange about that?"
I think about it for a second. "No. Not really. I mean, Sikowitz is a strange man. He doesn't wear shoes and sometimes he comes in through the window- actually, you know what I find really strange. He never said what the winner gets or what would happen to the loser." I gasp. "What if there is no reward? What if I've been doing this for nothing?"
"Not that!" she hits me, actually hits me on my shoulder.
"Hay!" I cry.
She ignores me, just keeps rambling on as if I didn't interrupt her.
"You didn't think I would've liked to know that you've been meeting up with some girl all over town for however long this "assignment" has been taking place?"
"Um…"
"And how long has it been?"
What the heck is her problem?"
"How long Vega!?" she practically screams.
I duck a little, so sure she was gonna hit me again; but she doesn't. She's still waiting for an answer.
"Um," I think back to the day we first got our assignment. I remember the day clearly because that was the day I choked on Jade's dirty note. "Last Monday." I answer.
"Last Monday? That was nearly two weeks ago! And you never told me?"
"Why would I have told you?"
"Because I'm your girlfriend!"
I think about that for a beat, but I don't get why she's so upset. "You want me to tell you about every assignment I get because you're my girlfriend?" I ask. I understand we're supposed to share things with each other now, but that's going a little overboard in my opinion.
"I hope you're being a smartass and that you're not actually that stupid."
Huh?
"Who am I kidding, I'm talking to you."
"Hey!" I protest.
"Vega, you're meeting a girl all around town. You don't think I'd be uncomfortable with that?"
"Um…" I seriously still don't get it.
"Okay….How do you think I'd feel if Beck was still my boyfriend and he was meeting Melissa in secret locations all around town and I found out weeks later?"
Oh. I get it now. I'm dating Jade, which kind of makes me a lesbian, and she wouldn't be comfortable with me hanging out with another girl…I wonder if that means I can hang out with a guy then.
Probably not. I was dating guys before her which means I'm not just into girls. I'll probably have to steer clear of spending alone time with both sexes. This so isn't fair.
"Do you get it now?" Jade's voice cuts into my thoughts
I blink a little. I didn't even realize we'd made it to school. I mentally scold myself. Driving on autopilot while I'm in lala land is not safe.
"Yeah." I say. "I get it."
I park my car and absolutely refuse to look at my girlfriend while I grab books and stuff from the back seat.
"So why do you still look lost."
"Just realized something." I answer quietly.
"Like?"
I roll my eyes. If I wanted to tell her that I just realized I'm practically a prisoner because it doesn't seem like I'll be able to have a life outside of her, I wouldn't have given her such a vague answer to begin with. So I decide to mess with her instead.
"Melissa is pretty."
Jade narrows her eyes.
"What? Don't tell me you haven't noticed."
"I haven't." She growls.
"Really? She's got the most gorgeous hair I've ever seen."
Jade works her jaw from side to side, and I feel bad for making her mad; but at the same time she's just so dang sexy when she glares like that.
She turns away from me, pulling on her door handle.
I sigh inwardly. I can't leave it like this.
"But you, mami?" I say. And she turns around, hand still on the handle, but at least she's still giving me her attention.
I lean in close to her, definitely invading her personal space. "You're the sexiest girl alive." I nip at her lips. "You have nothing to worry about." I do it again. And she smiles.
"I better not have anything to worry about."
"You don't…for now." I smirk.
She grabs a hold of my face and kisses me hard…my busted lip totally getting caught in the crossfires.
"Ow!" I cry, jerking my head back and covering my mouth with both hands.
"What's the matter, babe?" She grins at me.
"You did that on purpose!" I accuse.
She simply winks at me and gets out of the car.
"Freak." I mutter as I do the same.
"What was that?"
Lucky for me, my phone lights up. "Gotta go! Sikowitz just sent the five minute warning text." I yell, running all the way to the Blackbox Theater.
Melissa's already in here when I arrive. She doesn't even realize she's no longer alone. Her back's to me and she's wearing ear buds.
I sneak up behind her and pull a bud out of her ear. "Fancy meeting you here, Lissy." I say.
She visibly shutters. She hates it when I call her that. She says it sounds like an STD. and I hate it when she calls me-
"Icky Vicky, I see you made it."
It's my turn to shutter. I really do hate being called Vicky. It's icky and I explained that to her, so naturally she's taken to calling me Icky Vicky.
"Don't call me that!" I snap.
"You started it." She shrugs.
"Ugh! When are you gonna not show up so I can win and be done with this?" I whine.
"You seem to be in a sour mood." She observes.
I sigh and try to calm down immediately. I shouldn't take anything out on her. "I'm sorry; I'm Just having a weird day." I explain.
"Staring with that?" she points at my lip, which is still throbbing from Jade's "kiss."
"Yeah, I was trying to wake Jade up for school and she kicked me, by accident." I add when Melissa's eyes go wide. Then I begin to explain my morning to her. The attempt to wake Jade up, the kick to the face, playing referee between the two sisters…
"Wow. All that, in just one morning?"
"Yup. Then she gets mad at me because she's just now finding out about this assignment." I continue, because I hadn't even gotten to that part yet.
Melissa frowns. "Just now, as in this morning?"
"Yeah..." I answer suspiciously.
"As in we've been doing this for nearly two weeks and you're just now telling her today?"
"What?" I ask defensively.
"Oh, come on, Vicky! You can't be serious!"
I frown at her. I got this speech from my girlfriend already. I don't feel like hearing it again. Yet, I get the privilege of hearing it again.
"You're meeting another girl…alone…in places that aren't always public…" She trails off, probably hoping I can fill in the rest of the blanks by myself.
I roll my eyes. "You sound just like her!"
"Well, she's right. How did you not get it?
"I do get it!"
She quirks an eyebrow at me.
"Okay, so I didn't get it before, but that's because I wasn't doing anything wrong. Not even one wrong thought entered my mind while we were out together. Jade should just trust me." I explain.
"She should." Melissa agrees, "but trust doesn't always come so easily. I'm not even fully sure Danny trusts me a hundred percent… and I'm the "good" one in our relationship."
"So you're telling me you told Danny about this assignment?" I ask, just to make sure I understand about this whole trust or lack thereof thing.
"No. I didn't tell him."
My eyes light up. "Aha! Why not?" I ask mockingly.
"Because I'm not the lesbian who's meeting a very pretty red head." She flips her hair flirtatiously.
"I"- I stop myself from telling her that I'm not a lesbian as I'm currently dating a girl. "You know, I started off liking boys too." I say instead.
She cocks her head to the side and smirks at me. "You tryna say you can turn me, Vicky?"
I smirk back at her. "I'm just saying Danny would probably like to know that his new girlfriend is meeting his lesbian ex-girlfriend alone…all over town…in places that aren't always public…"
"You forgot to mention the fact that I'm his very pretty new girlfriend." She winks.
I roll my eyes. "You're not that pretty, you dang STD."
"Oh, I'm plenty pretty, Icky." She fires back.
"Not enough to make me want to cheat on my girlfriend. Not that I would ever do that anyway."
"I don't know, Vicky. Jade cheated on Beck with you. Doesn't that make you an accomplice or something?"
She's just teasing me. I can tell; but I feel guilty immediately. Like I'm a horrible person. Even though I know it's not true, that Jade didn't cheat on Beck, at least not with me, I still feel guilty. Because that's what Melissa thinks happened. That's what she must think of me.
Both of our phones buzz and we check our messages. There's a picture of a blue star on it. We find it almost immediately and take the picture of it and send it back to Sikowitz; just in time for the warning bell.
"Hey, Vicky. I want to ask you something important."
"Okay, what's up?" I give her my attention. She sure looks like whatever she has to say is important. She just went from teasing to serious in two seconds flat.
She takes a deep breath. "You're my boyfriend's ex-girlfriend."
Consider my attention caught. I have no idea where this is heading. But it sounds bad and I don't want it to be. I wouldn't say me and Melissa are the best of friends, but I think we're working on getting there, which is more than fine by me. Sometimes I need a girl to talk to. I mean, I've got Trina, but she's my sister…and she's Trina. Then there's Jade, who still hates me but doesn't express it as much because she's my girlfriend now, and Cat is well, she's cat.
"I want us to be friends. I really do. You're a nice person. And you're silly and you make me laugh."
"Why does it sound like you're breaking up with me?" I deadpan.
"See?" She laughs a little.
"But?" I prompt for her.
"But I think…What I'm trying to say is…" She takes another deep breath. "Friends have to be honest with each other so I'm just gonna say it."
"Please do. The suspense is killing me here." I beg.
She nods her understanding before taking a shaky breath and letting it all out. "About Chris's soccer game on Saturday, I'd be uncomfortable if you went with us."
I blink. That's not where I thought this would go.
"It's just that he remembers you as Danny's girlfriend, and he doesn't quite understand that you're not anymore, and since I'm Danny's girlfriend now…I just don't want him to be confused."-
I hold my hand up. "I got it. Say no more." I give her a tight smile. I feel bad because I told Chris I'd be there, but Melissa has a point. I wish I would've thought about her before I agreed to go to the soccer game in the first place.
"So…"
"So, I'll text Danny. Let him know I'm not coming." I reassure her that there are no hard feelings. That I understand and we can still be friends.
"Um, maybe I should tell him."
I roll my eyes. "What do you think I'm gonna do Lissy? Tell him I can't come because his new girlfriend can't cope?"
"So what are you gonna say, Icky?" She glares back.
"Do I have to give him a reason, ya dang STD? I don't owe Danny anything!"
She sighs in relief when she realizes that I was just messing with her and gives me a genuine smile. "Thanks, Vicky."
"No problem." I smile back.
{~~~(O)~~~}
"ID please?" the woman with the clipboard asks me when I finally make it to the front of the child pick-up line.
I hand over my ID and she checks it rather thoroughly before handing it back to me with a not so friendly smile.
Jeez, this woman takes her job seriously. She's been holding a hand in front of Amber's chest ever since the girls spotted me and tried to run up to my car.
But I guess I can understand. Wouldn't want some stranger to drive off with someone else's kids.
Finally she gives the girls the okay to get in my car. Amber rolls her eyes at the woman and Riley gives her an uncertain smile.
I frown, a little confused. I don't think I've ever seen Amber roll her eyes at anyone. Maybe this woman is a complete b-word.
Riley climbs into the back seat and gives me a shy smile. I smile back at her a little nervously. I bet she's up to something.
"What's up, Tori?" Amber says while hoping into the front seat.
"Um, hi Mamita." I greet with a confused smile. Amber usually says "hi," not "what's up."
She rolls her eyes at me. "I'm Riley." She explains.
I look at her; then I look back at Riley. Now I get it. They've switched. Riley is acting like Amber and Amber is acting like Riley.
There's a honk behind me and I remember that I need to start driving.
"Seatbelt." I call.
Riley puts hers on immediately. Amber refuses, so I put it on for her.
When I drive off, she unbuckles it.
"Come on, Mamita. That's not funny." I reach over and buckle her again.
"I'm Riley." She repeats exasperatedly.
I look in the rearview mirror and catch Riley's eye. "And you're supposed to be Amber." I confirm.
She nods her head.
"Just so we're clear, are you guys doing some kind of school assignment and I'm just supposed to go along with it? Or are you two trying to trick me and it's just not working because I know for a fact that you," I point to Amber, "are my sweet baby girl version of Jade, my Mamita. And you," I eye Riley once again, "are my little monster version of Jade, my Monstrito."
Both girls start grinning from ear to ear.
"What?" I ask.
"You can tell us apart." Amber answers, shyly.
"Off course I can tell you apart. Wait, you were testing me?" I feign shock and disappointment before suddenly attacking her sides with the tickle bunny twins. She laughs and I can't help but to laugh with her. She's so adorable and sweet. She needs to never act like Riley again. It looks awkward on her sweet face.
Riley unbuckles her seatbelt and leans forward, poking her head in between me and Amber's seats. And she never needs to act like Amber again. It's kinda creepy and makes it seem like she's up to something drastic…like plotting to take over the world.
"You know, Beck still can't tell us apart." Riley announces.
"Well, I'm not Beck. Now sit back."
She does as I ask.
"Hey Tori?" she calls from the back seat.
I raise my eyebrows at her. "Seatbelt."
"Oh right." She says before buckling in. "Are you taking us home?"
"Yep."
"Can we go to your house instead?"
It's not a bad idea. My house is closer to the schools anyway. If I take the girls to my place, then I won't have to drive twenty minutes to Jade's house, drop them off, drive twenty minutes to the school to pick Jade up, drive twenty more minutes to Jade's house again to drop her off, only to have to make my way home…which would take another twenty minutes.
Hm, It's not a bad idea at all.
"Okay." I shrug. "Just call your mom and let her know so she won't panic when she doesn't hear you guys walk through the door within the next half hour.
"Mom's not at home."
"Well then your dad then." I reply without even thinking about the fact that I've never heard anyone ever mention Mr. West. Not Riley, not Amber, not Joy, not Jade. I just suggested it because it would never in a million years have occurred to me that I was about to drop two third graders off to an empty house.
"Dad doesn't live with us." Riley frowns.
"Oh, where does he live?"
"New York, with his girlfriend."
"New York!?" I squeak. "How long has he lived there?"
"Since we were five." Amber pipes up.
Three years. Their father's been away for three years. I don't understand how…where that leaves Jade, and I know it's none of my business and that she'll kill me if she ever finds out I'd been prying in her life, but I ask anyway. I have to. "Where's Jade's mom?"
"She lives in new York."
"What, like with your father?"
"Uh-huh. She's his girlfriend again."
Oh my God. I just had to ask, didn't I? I just had to ask! That's just so…messed up! What'd he do? Divorce Jade's mom, marry the twins' mom, divorce her, then leave Jade with wife number two and go back to wife number one? Why didn't he take Jade with him? Better yet, why didn't Jade's mom come and get her. Just what the hell is going on?!
"Tori?" one of the twins calls.
"What?"
"The light's green." The other finishes.
Crap! Focus Tori. You've got two little girls in the car with you! I scold myself.
Thankfully, I make it home without incident. Nobody was there so I got the girls some snacks and had them do their homework before we headed out for Hollywood Arts to pick up Jade an hour later.
"Alright." I announce once we make it to my school. "Mamita, hop in the back with your sister. Jade's gonna wanna sit up front."
"Okay." She agrees before doing just that.
We've only been sitting in the nearly empty parking lot for all of two minutes when there's a knock on my window. I jump a little. Who the heck…?
When I roll my window down, Beck puts his face in my car. "Hey Tori." He smiles.
"Hi." I smile back.
"So…whatcha doin' out here?"
I frown at him. I've got a backseat full of mini Jades. And "big Jade" is in detention. What else could I be doing out here?
"I'm picking up Jade." I reply, stating the obvious. "What are you doing out here still?"
"Waiting for you."
I frown. Did I just hear him right?
"Can we talk?" he asks, looking in at the twins and giving them a wave.
"Hi Beck," Riley says softly.
"What's up Amber." He answers, proving to me that he really can't tell them apart. "Hey Riley," he says to Amber. She rolls her eyes and waves back unenthusiastically while shooting me this look that clearly says 'see what I mean?'
I laugh.
Beck looks at me, probably wondering what's so funny, but I just shake my head. "You wanna talk in private, right?"
He nods.
"Sit still. I'll be right back." I tell the girls.
I get out of my car and walk a little ways away, far enough so that we're out of hearing range, but still close enough so I can watch.
"Jade's gonna be out soon, so I'll make this quick." He starts off.
"Okay…"
"Look, there's no easy way to ask this, so I'm just gonna let it out." He continues.
Whoa…déjà vu. And I feel my heart begin to race. What the chiz does he have to say to me?
"Is Jade blackmailing you into dating her?"
My Jaw drops. That is not… I don't even know…."What?" I'm finally able to say.
"I just…" He looks me in the eyes and squares his shoulders. "Look, you don't have to take it anymore."
"What?" I repeat stupidly.
"Now, I'm not telling you to tell me what it is. Whatever she has on you is your business, but if you want out just say the word and I can find a way to help you"-
"She's not blackmailing me." I interrupt, realizing that he's serious. That he seriously thinks he's attempting to rescue me from big bad Jade.
"Tori, you're a bad liar." He tells me.
Naturally, I take offense because… I'm not even lying. "She's not blackmailing me." I repeat.
"Really?" he raises his eyebrows and folds his arms over his chest. "Then what's with that thing she does when you do something she doesn't agree with, huh?"
"What thing?"
"That thing." He emphasizes with this weird gesture of his arm.
"Huh?" I'm so dang confused.
"You know, when she says "gimme your arm." And you just give her your arm automatically. No protest whatsoever. It's almost as if it's some sort of trigger sentence for you guys or something." His eyes go wide as if he's just had a major epiphany. "wait, it is some sort of trigger sentence, isn't it?"
"That doesn't even make sense!" I scoff.
"Oh?"
"Yeah, I just trust people like that. I have a very trusting nature." I explain.
"Really?"
"Yes!"
"Gimme your arm," he says while reaching for me.
I snatch back away from him.
"See?" He says smugly.
I narrow my eyes at him. Okay…maybe I don't have a very trusting nature. "Maybe I just trust her."
He scoffs at me.
"What was that for?"
"You trust her?"
"Yeah."
"Really?"
"Yeah!" I say a little bit louder. I'm starting to get agitated.
"The girl who kicked you in the mouth just this morning?" he goads.
"It was an accident."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Yeah!"
"And I suppose the bush daisies were just her way of showing how much she cares about you?"
"She had her reason for doing it." I defend her. Why am I defending her?
"So that time in the janitors closet"-
That's it! "Did she blackmail you!?" I yell.
He frowns at me. Clearly confused. But I asked a simple question. Nothing confusing about it at all.
"Is that why you guys were dating? Because she blackmailed you?" I break it down for him, just so he can hear how silly it sounds.
"No, we were dating because I actually love her."
"Well, maybe me and Jade aren't to the point in our relationship where we can use the l-word yet but we're still dating Beck. Deal with it!" I fire back.
"So you actually like her?"
"Yes!"
"And you can honestly look me in the eyes and tell me that."
"Yes!" He raises his eyebrows at me, waiting for me to finish the rest. So I look him in the eyes and I say it. "I really like her."
He looks a bit taken aback, like he wasn't expecting me to be able to do it. I'm even surprised I was able to do it, to be honest.
"Why?" he asks softly.
"Why?" I frown.
"Yeah, look me in the eyes and tell me why you like her."
I look down. Can I? I don't even think I do like her. Beck's right. She's not a very nice person. She did kick me this morning. But it was an accident. And the way she looked at me when she saw that I was really hurt, the way she grabbed the closest thing to her and pressed it to my mouth, the way she looked at me as she apologized…She's no monster.
But then the bush daisies. That was bad too, right? But the reason she did it. Maybe she could've just talked to me like a normal person, but she did it because she doesn't trust Ryder. She didn't want me near him. She wanted to keep me safe.
The sound of a honking horn, my honking horn, makes me jump. I turn back and see Jade standing by the passenger door. She's giving me this look, a mix of a frown and mild curiosity.
I turn back around and look Beck in the eyes and answer his question. "She's good to me, Beck. She makes me feel…safe." I whisper the last part before turning and jogging back toward my car.
God, what if I messed that up? What if I didn't say the right things? And why was he like that? Did he genuinely want to help me? Did he genuinely think I needed the help? Or was he jealous? Does he want Jade back now? Because I don't think…I just don't think I'm ready to give her back yet. This Jade, the one who's tolerating me simply because she's dating me to make her ex jealous, is a thousand times better than the Jade who hates my guts and openly shows it. And I'm not ready to go back to that Jade.
I remember my promise, I do. I remember that I'm supposed to be helping Jade and Beck get back together, but I guess I'm just hoping that doesn't happen until Jade no longer hates me. That we can be friends afterward instead of going back to the way things were.
"What was that all about?" Jade questions when I get into the car.
"Nothing. Seatbelt." I order shortly while putting mine on for emphasis.
Jade ignores me.
And so does Riley. She pops her head up in between our seats and asks, "What'd Beck want to talk to you about?"
"You know, Vega, I was wondering the same damn thing." Jade says, choosing now to get along with her little sister.
Isn't that some bull chiz.
"I said it's nothing. Sit back Riley."
"Was he asking you for Jade back?" she ignores me.
I wince a little and my heart skips a beat. The thought of giving Jade back now just really doesn't sit well with me.
"Sit back and put your seatbelt on, Riley." I tell her again, forcing the words out as calmly as I can. I can feel myself getting upset and I don't want to take it out on anyone.
Riley turns her attention on Jade. "So if he wanted you back, would you dump Tori and go back with him?"
"Get outta my face," Jade scowls, totally changing the subject so that she won't have to answer the question, because we both know what her answer would be. It'd be yes. She would dump me to go back to him.
"Get outta my face." Riley mimics and I just can't take it. I'm not in the mood for that bull chiz right now.
I turn in my seat abruptly and face Riley. "Sit back and put your seatbelt on, right now!" I yell.
She blinks at me.
"Ya!" I scream. Subconsciously, I realize that she probably has absolutely no idea what the heck ya means, but I just know in my soul that she knows exactly whatI mean for her to do just by my tone alone.
And she does. She scrambles back into her seat and hastily buckles herself in.
I turn to Jade who's still unbuckled as well. I'm not in the mood for her either. I reach across her and buckle her in myself. "Leave it!" I command as soon as I hear it snap in place.
I glare at her, daring her to unbuckle herself. I can't see the look on my face, I can't see what she sees when she looks at me, I have no way of knowing just how intimidating or should I say not intimidating I look, but I know that if she takes that damn seatbelt off…
She stares back at me, eyes wide and then she says, "Okay."
If I wasn't so irritated I would've been proud of myself; that I, Tori Vega, got Jade to listen to me, but that's not the mood I'm in. So I simply start my car up and pull off.
She's still staring at me. Five, ten, even fifteen minutes later, she's still staring at me. I can feel it, but I ignore her…the whole time.
Then she speaks. "What did he say to you?"
I could pretend to not know who and what she's talking about; but again, I'm not in the mood.
"Nothing." I answer shortly.
She nods her head almost as if she was expecting that answer from me before pulling out her phone.
I ignore that, she's probably going online to watch some videos or check TheSlap or whatever, but then she puts the phone to her ear and I realize she'd been dialing out. She's calling someone.
It makes me a little nervous.
"Who are you calling?" I ask, not exactly expecting an answer from her.
"Beck."
Crap! "Why?"
"He said something to make you mad and if you won't tell me"-
"Mami, no. Just forget it." I panic. I don't want him to know that he affected me so bad. Especially because I can't for the life of me figure out why the things he said affected me so bad.
"No." she says stubbornly. "Either you talk, or I talk to him."
Fine.
"He just…can't believe we're dating is all." I answer. "It bugged me."
Jade stares at me for a second before putting her phone away. I breathe an audible sigh of relief That is until she places her hand on my back.
I tense up, not knowing what her intentions are; but then she dips her hand under my shirt and starts rubbing circles onto my bare back. Just the way I like it.
I let out a long sigh. It feels good. Really good. And it's having this weird calming effect on me.
Jade reaches over and turns on y radio and that's when I realize just how silent the ride to Jade's had been. I feel guilty immediately. I caused that silence. I snapped at everyone in this car, well, everyone except for Amber. And for what? Why am I even upset? I can't even figure that out.
I park in front of Jade's and everyone starts to unbuckle, but I can't just let that happen. I have a very important apology to make.
"Riley, hang back." I say.
"Or what?" She scowls back at me rather nastily. Her hand's already on the handle. She can't wait to get away from me.
"Please." I beg.
She lets go of her handle and sits back in her seat.
"See you later, babe." Jade announces before leaning in to kiss my lips.
I duck out of reflex. "It hurts." I point to my bottom lip, reminding her that it's busted.
She grabs my face with one hand and I grimace. She's still gonna kiss me. She doesn't care that it hurts. She's still Jade. She's probably gotta get me back for yelling at her in front of the twins.
I brace myself for the pain.
It doesn't come. She kisses my top lip, and only my top lip, and gently to boot. I'm grinning like a maniac when she pulls back.
"Don't worry about it. He'll come around." She reassures me before dropping a light kiss on my shoulder.
"I hope so." I smile. And I just know it's one of my goofy ones.
She winks at me. Then points to the back seat. "You need help with that?"
It takes me a second to figure out that she's talking about Riley.
I shake my head and wave her away. I got this.
I climb over my seat and sit next to Riley. She refuses to look at me.
"I could say I'm sorry for yelling at you;" I start off. She rolls her eyes but otherwise continues to stare out her window. "But you know that already don't you? You know that I never want to hurt your feelings, or make you sad." I tug on her hair a little and she keeps still. I take the fact that she doesn't jerk away from me as a good sign. "So…whaddo I gotta do to make you not mad at me anymore, huh? I'll do anything." I plead.
"Anything?" She questions.
"Anything." I repeat, seriously relieved that she's talking to me. Riley turns to me with a huge grin on her face and her small hand held out for me to shake. "You owe me a huge favor."
"Done." I smile and shake on it, not alarmed in the least. The last time I owed her a "big favor" she wasted it on piggy back rides at Freezy Queen. And I'd gladly give her a dozen more right now in exchange for her forgiveness.