Like Cats and Dogs

by disnickyX

Tori and Jade don't get along. They're always fighting, even over the smallest of things. But then Tori's ex shows up at Hollywood Arts; and he's dating a girl named Melissa there. Tori tells him that she's dating someone new too. He invites her on a double date and now she's got a problem. She needs a date. Rating may change if I can get the courage to write one of those scenes

17. Pink Lemonade: Chapter 17

Author's note: Okay, so I lied. I feel like I need to apologize again. I'm thinking about cutting the chapters down so you guys could get the updates more often…Like maybe down to 8 or 9 thousand words….if I can figure where to cut the stupid things.

Also, I always planned on writing Ryder's party from Tori's POV, but I was afraid that if you guys only got her side of the story, you'd think Jade was a coldhearted bitch. So I added the party to Jade's POV in the last chapter too so you could see where she was coming from first. It never occurred to me that you'd think Tori was the mean one. Lol.

Anyway, that's where this chapter starts off. From Ryder's party.

{~~~~TORI~~~~}

"Lissa!" I yell the second I realize where we are.

Melissa didn't tell me where we were going. She said it was a surprise, so I just went with the flow. Now, I realize I should've insisted on an answer.

It's a party; which I'm okay with. My friend's trying to cope with her newfound singlism and independence. Going to a party is only to be expected.

But this is Ryder Daniel's party.

Oh man, Jade's gonna kill me when she finds out. Especially because I promised I wouldn't come. Not that I let her tell me what to do, but I don't know. I just have a feeling she wants me to stay away from Ryder for my safety, and not just because she doesn't like him.

While I'm off in Lala land, thinking about all the different ways Jade is going to kill me, I hear the slamming of a door. I blink a few times and realize Melissa's gotten out of her car before I could beg her to take me back home. Us back home actually, because I can't leave her here. Who knows what kind of guy Ryder is. Jade didn't elaborate, so I've been left to make up my own reasons for why she doesn't like him. Maybe he's a player, or a heavy drinker, or a girlfriend beater, or a drug user; heck, maybe he's even all of the above!

"Lissa!" I hiss, running up behind her. "Let's leave. We can go somewhere else. Anywhere!" I openly beg. I know she's gonna tease me about it, but I'm not ashamed of it in the least. Not right now.

"Come on, Icky." She says, not breaking her stride for a moment. "Quit being so damn boring. Live a little."

Live a little? That's what I'm trying to do! 'Cause if I go in there I'm sooooo gonna die. No doubt about it. My girlfriend will probably use her special scissors on me and make my death as slow and painful as possible.

I literally shudder at the thought.

Melissa turns around abruptly and I walk straight into her. "Look. You'll be fine. Just don't hook up with anybody. And if you do, I promise I won't tell your girlfriend." She winks at me.

I let out a groan of pure frustration. That's not what I'm worried about at all! So I try again. "I'm not supposed to be around Ryder." I explain.

"Why not? He's got a restraining order on you or something?" she quips just as the door's opened for us. Well, maybe not for us as we didn't even get a chance to knock. (Not that anyone would hear a knock over the loud music inside.)

I don't answer Melissa because Ryder just so happens to be our door opener. Not only that, but I don't actually have an answer. Like I said, Jade never told me why I have to stay away from him.

"Hey Tori, Melissa. Glad you made it." He grins at me.

"Jade'll be here in a few minutes." I stupidly lie. I don't know why, it just came out before I could think about it.

Surprisingly, Melissa doesn't contradict me. Not even in a nonverbal way. She doesn't roll her eyes, or scoff at me, or anything. In fact, she's barely paying attention to us, opting to look over Ryder's shoulder and peer inside the house instead. She's that eager to get to the party.

Ryder's grin widens even more before he steps to the side, motioning for us to go inside while he leaves with a gorgeous blonde who's been clinging to him since he opened the door. Only I failed to notice her because I was totally wazzing out.

He probably couldn't care less about me right now, and I immediately feel pretty stupid.

All the more reason to leave.

I tug on Melissa's hand just as she steps over the threshold. I can't go in there. I just can't. If I do I will have officially gone to Ryder's party.

It's probably a stupid rationalization on my part, but it's all I got left right about now.

Melissa looks back at me, and I mean really looks back at me. I half expect her to call me a chicken, but she just lets out a sigh. I think she's going to come back with me, but she digs in her back pocket and fishes something out instead.

"Look," she says. "If it really bothers you that much, here are my keys."

"To your car?" I blink at her disbelievingly.

"No, to my chastity belt," she answers sarcastically. "Yes to my car. You can go home if you like, but I'm going in."

I nearly do it. I nearly take her car and leave, but I can't. I can't leave her here alone. So I try to hand the keys back, but she won't take them.

"How will you get home?" I ask.

"I'll just find someone to drive me, or I'll catch a cab, or something." She shrugs.

Seriously? That's her plan? Now I know I can't leave her. So I step inside the house. I feel guilty the second I do. I'm officially at Ryder Daniel's party, though I told my girlfriend I wouldn't come.

It's not that bad of a party. It's not exactly tamed, but there isn't an orgy in the living room, or drugs in the kitchen. There's a fair amount of drinks, but it's a party. I wouldn't expect anything less. Plus, Ryder's not in at the moment, so technically I'm still "staying away from him," but I decide to make a conscious effort not to have any fun whatsoever as well. I guess it makes me feel just a little less guilty for being here.

The main party's in the living room; which is freakin' huge! Not to mention extremely spacious because all the furniture has been pushed up against the wall.

I immediately make my way to one of the wall-sofas and watch Melissa for a while. She doesn't seem to be having much fun. In fact, it looks like she's looking for someone. And maybe she is. I'm not much fun right now, so she's probably just mingling.

I take my attention from her and play around with my phone for a bit. It takes a good little while for that to get boring because I keep getting interrupted by guys, and a few girls, who wanna dance. So by the time I do get bored with my phone, it's like ten.

I groan to myself. I've only been here for an hour. Who knows how much longer Melissa will want to stay.

I search her out for the millionth time tonight. She's never too far away, and she's not too far now. I watch her drink and dance for a bit before getting bored. It's her first drink, so I expect it'll take another hour or so for her to get a bit rowdy, have a few more drinks, and then get to the point where she needs me to take her home.

But that's not what happens. Melissa actually gets drunk really fast. I'm extremely pleased. Not about my friend being wasted, but because she's obviously a lightweight; which means she probably doesn't do this very often. It's pure relief. Maybe she'll wanna go home soon.

And I think she does. Not even fifteen minutes later, she makes her way toward me and plunks down beside me, barely missing my lap. Her eyes are closed and she's holding her tummy tightly. It's obvious she doesn't feel well.

I lean over, so she can hear me over the music. "Are you ready to go home?"

She nods her head and I get the feeling she didn't really want to be here in the first place. It's like she didn't know what to do with herself, so she tried this out and found it wasn't to her liking.

"I don't think he's coming." She moans beside me.

Huh?

"Who?" I ask, getting tense. Who else would she be talking about besides Danny? But I ask anyway, just to be sure because why on earth would he come to Ryder's party?

"Danny. Wanted him to say it to my face," she slurs.

I'm starting to feel a bit of Déjà vu and I tense up even more. Say what to her face?

My tension is amplified when I hear a voice beside me. "Tori Vega?" It says. And I know he's grinning with pleasure at the sight of me before I even turn and face him.

Hudson.

"Is it really you?" He asks. "Man, Danny Boy is gonna be so pissed that he backed out at the last second when I tell him you were here!"

So Danny was supposed to come. And Melissa came to talk to him, obviously concerning something untrue that was said about her. Yeah, this is feeling a heck of a lot like déjà vu.

Hudson takes a step closer to me, "Speechless?" he grins.

I shake my head.

"W-what are you, uh…why…?" I stumble. He smirks at me and I try to get a grip. "How do you know Ryder?" I manage to say without faltering this time.

"Who's Ryder?" he frowns.

I don't tell him that this is Ryder's house. Hudson obviously doesn't care. I just stare at him instead, wondering how I'm gonna get him to go away.

I could get up and walk away from him, but go where? Outside, to Lissa's car? No way! Trust me, a girl's better off in the center of a crowded party than nearly alone, outside, in the dark, with a guy like Hudson.

He sits down next to me, not in the smallest of rushes, though there's a girl on either side of him.

It's always been like that. He's always had girls flocking around him.

It's not surprising. Objectively speaking, he's extremely good looking. Those light eyes beautifully contrasted with his dark lashes and hair are absolutely mesmerizing. And not only is he tall, dark, and handsome, but there's this ruggedness about him. He's built, a man. He could destroy anyone who gets in his way. But he can protect too. If he wants to. A girl could be made to feel safe in his arms. Or girls, I should say, as I never see him with just one.

I could've been one of those girls, but I guess Papi gave me one too many speeches about boys and I was too scared to let Hudson "take care of me." Especially as I was fifteen and it was my first party ever when I met him.

I was already paranoid as hell. I wouldn't drink anything anyone gave me and I refused to go anywhere alone. Not even to the bathroom.

I have a feeling I was the first girl to turn him down. Well, when I first told him I didn't want to go upstairs with him, he seemed to take it in stride. I bet lots of girls told him no at first. But I continued to deny him my company, and when he finally realized that I had actually truly rejected him, he gave me this look that told me I'd better run if I ever met him in a dark ally.

I met Danny that night. He told Hudson we were dating, just to get him off my back. Then we started dating for real afterward.

"So, Tori. How's life been treating you?" Hudson smiles, leaning in unnervingly close so I can hear him over the music. And though one of the girls that came with him just plopped down into his lap, he leans in even closer and says, "You ready to go upstairs with me, yet?"

I scoot over a bit, but can't get too far or I'll end up sitting on Melissa. Not that she'd care. I think she's passed out. She hasn't so much as twitched since she plopped down next to me. What the hell was she drinking?

Hudson leans in even closer. "Come on Tori, there's no need to be all modest now. Danny told me all about all the stuff you let him do to you." He chuckles before pinching my shoulder playfully. I slap his hand away.

He puts his hands up in mock surrender and laughs some more. The girl on his lap laughs with him. What's wrong with her? As a girl, shouldn't she think this bull poopey isn't funny? Shouldn't she be able to relate to how I might be feeling?

"Still playing hard to get, I see." He says, draping an arm over my shoulder. The girl in his lap laughs even more at me as I struggle my way out of his embrace. I feel like slapping her in her face. And I think it shows on my face because the girl stops laughing and gives me a challenging look.

"Damn, Tor. I don't remember you being this feisty." Hudson grins in amusement, licking his bottom lip in what I guess is supposed to be a seductive manner, but really it looks disgusting. He disgusts me, makes me absolutely sick to my stomach.

I start weighing my options. Staying here and taking this is not gonna fly for too long. I gotta get outta here.

Maybe Hudson won't follow me if I get up and walk outside. Maybe he won't harass and molest me the whole time I'm dragging Melissa to her car. Maybe.

But I know he will. And I don't want that. Not again. There's no Danny here to claim to be my boyfriend this time. But what if….I pull my phone out, about to call Jade.

"Come on, Tori." Hudson says beside me.

I flinch. Somehow I didn't notice he's gotten close to me again.

"I don't even wanna do half the stuff you did with Danny. The golden showers and the tea bagging and all that other stuff, it's a bit kinky for me. For anybody really." He adds on thoughtfully. "You know that's why he dumped you, right? He said you were too much of a freak. That it got boring after a while. Not having any limits. Being able to do whatever he wanted with you. Whatever. It was like you weren't even a person. Just…trash. His words, not mine." He chuckles. "That's why none of the other guys at school asked you out too, did you know that?"

I want to be strong, but I can't help it. My bottom lip begins to tremble and tears come to my eyes. I'm in a house full of people, but no seems to care. No one even seems to notice. No one but Hudson and the stupid laughing girl in his lap.

"Aw, Tori. Why are you sad? I can make you feel better. It'll be good. I promise." He waggles his eyebrows suggestively and tugs on my elbow a little.

"Stop it!" I yell, slapping his hand away. He blinks at me, clearly surprised. I wipe at my eyes and take a deep breath. I'm not gonna cry here, I refuse. I turn away from him and face my friend. "Melissa! Get up!" I yell.

She starts and blinks at me, trying to get her focus. I reach down and grab her by her arm. But we don't get anywhere. For someone so thin, she's super heavy.

Hudson starts chuckling behind me, and it makes me angrier. Surprisingly at Melissa. If she wasn't drunk right now, this would be a heck of a lot easier.

But almost immediately I realize I shouldn't be mad at her. This isn't her fault. It's Hudson's. And now I know it's Danny's too. I can't believe I was stupid enough to believe him when he said he didn't start those rumors!

"Need help?"

"No!" I snap, looking up at Hudson, but I instantly see it was Ryder who offered.

Where the heck did he come from?

"Are you sure?" he smiles easily.

"Hey man, I called first dibs on that," Hudson cuts in, gesturing towards me.

Ryder gives him a look full of disgust, but Hudson doesn't see because he's too busy leering at me.

How can my night possibly get any worse?

"Don't even bother dude, she likes girls." Ryder finally answers Hudson after moment. Then he turns and winks at me. "Where is Jade by the way? Did she get stuck in traffic?"

I don't answer. I can't tell if he's teasing me or genuinely trying to help.

"You got a girlfriend, Tori?" Hudson grins, looking me up and down. I feel dirty. "This keeps getting better and better. I mean, what won't you do?"

I try my best to ignore him. I try my best to continue trying to get Melissa up, but he just keeps at it.

"Call your girlfriend. We'll have a real party, wont we, babe?" He asks one of the girls he came with. She's no longer in his lap but only because he's no longer sitting.

She nods her head and looks me up and down just as Hudson had done.

Gross.

"Tori?" Melissa moans suddenly. She must be near dying. She never calls me Tori. She tugs on me a little, trying hard to stand. I continue to help her, relieved to know she's just as ready to go as I am.

"This your other girlfriend, Tori?" Hudson smiles. "She's actually really hot. How do you guys do it anyway? Do you and the other girl share, or"-

"Is Melissa okay?" Ryder cuts in ignoring him, leaning close and blocking Hudson from me. "You need help getting her to the car?"

"I can help." Hudson offers.

"I got her." I snap. Though I don't. I can't really carry her.

Hudson steps up beside Ryder. "How about you take the redhead and I'll take Tori. She seems in no condition to drive anyway. I can take her home." He gestures toward my hands and gives me a wink.

I look down. My hands are shaking. Bad.

I'm not okay. I'm nowhere near okay. I hadn't even noticed.

I look to Ryder and give him a pleading look. I know Jade says he's bad, and I believe her. I do. It's just that right now, Ryder's the lesser of two evils and if he were to let Hudson take me anywhere…

"I think she's fine," Ryder tells Hudson, and I breathe a bit easier. "Aren't you, Tori?"

"I don't think she is." Hudson grins, reaching for me again. But he jumps back suddenly when Melissa vomits all over him.

Hudson's backed up. He looks absolutely murderous. But he doesn't strike. He keeps his distance; probably because he thinks she's gonna vomit again. To be honest, she looks it.

I quickly snatch Melissa's arm and start walking her toward the door, not willing to miss this opportunity. Behind me, I hear Ryder telling Hudson where he can wash off.

Melissa moans the whole way to her car. But she gets a lot more silent after I push her into the passenger seat. She's totally out of it. I wish I were too. It would beat feeling like this. I'm so shaken. I can barely get the key in the ignition. How am I supposed to drive like this?

I can't. So I decide to call Jade instead of risking it.

My hands are still shaky; so I can barely press the features I need, but I manage after a beat.

She doesn't answer immediately, but thankfully she does answer.

"What?" she snaps.

I check the time. It's only 11. So why's she in such a bad mood? It's not like I woke her up out of her sleep. "Um, Jade?" I proceed.

"What?" she repeats, still sounding extra aggravated.

"Um…" I hesitate. Then I remember… Joy's gone. She's had to watch the girls all day. That's probably what put her in a bad mood. She did ask me if I could stay the night and help her, but I declined because I'd already promised to go out with Melissa tonight. Jade's probably still mad at me for that.

"Spit it out!" She yells after a bit.

So I do. I ask her to come pick me and Melissa up. And in turn she asks me why I didn't ask my dad.

She must really not wanna come. I mean, even after I tell her my whole family's out of town, she doesn't seem very inclined to come get me. It's obvious she wishes I would've made her my very last resort.

"Where are you?" she sighs finally. And I'm left feeling like I'm a complete inconvenience in her life. And I'm so sorry about that. I am. If she just comes pick me up, I won't ever inconvenience her again. I'll make it up to her, do whatever she says.

"Vega? I said, "Where are you?"" she presses.

I blink. That's right. I never answered her. But then I remember where I am. Ryder's party. And I get a sinking feeling in my gut. "Jade, don't get mad." I beg shakily. I try my best to calm down but I'm so nervous. What if she doesn't come? What if she tells me to go splunk myself? What if-

"Where are you?" she repeats.

I take a deep breath and close my eyes. "Ryder's party." I croak.

Please come get me. Please, please, please, I silently beg.

She hangs up on me.

She's that mad at me.

And why should I be surprised? Before, when I actually wanted to go to one of Ryder's parties, she gave me a bouquet of bush daisies knowing I'm allergic to stop me. And now that I've actually gone, she probably thinks I deserve whatever trouble I'm in.

"Tori, drive." I hear Melissa whimper in the passenger seat. She's clutching at her stomach again. But her focus is on something outside her window.

I glance up at the house and see what she sees. Hudson's coming out of the front door, his head snapping sharply from the left to the right. There's no way he can be looking for me. He should assume I'm long gone, right? But I have this feeling he is indeed looking for me. That he wants to find me bad.

It sends me into a sort of panic, but not the immobilizing kind. I quickly fit the key into the ignition and speed off.

How I get us to Melissa's in one piece is a complete mystery. I doubt I followed any of the road rules or signs. But the important thing is I got her home safe.

I would stay the night at her place, but just like me, her parents are out of town. Only difference is, they left all of their kids home. Well, Ian's spending the night at a friend's, but her older brother, Jordan, is still here and he keeps giving me these looks.

My gut tells me he won't do anything more than ask for some of my time. He's a pretty good guy, about as threatening as Robbie, so I know that when I decline, that'll be the end of it. He'll leave me alone; but I just don't feel like going through any more of that tonight. Not even in the mildest form.

So I start walking home. Alone. In the dark.

Not one of my brightest ideas.

But I'm nearly halfway home now. No point in turning around.

The first clap of thunder makes me jump. It's so loud and aggressive that I know rain will fall soon. And I'm right.

Ugh. I should've stayed at Melissa's.

My phone rings, just in time too because if it had rung just two seconds earlier I wouldn't have heard it over the thunder.

I frown down at the screen before answering. I've got two missed calls. I don't even remember my phone ringing. But I guess I'll check and see who they're from after I take Jade's call.

Hopefully they're not from my father. He's a bit of a worry wart. Way worse than my mom. He once put out an amber alert when I missed the bus to school and the principal called to tell him I was absent….and I was in the eighth grade!

I smile a bit at the memory. I didn't have a phone for him to call me on because I was saving my allowance to get a new one. I accidently flushed mine down the toilet. As a result, he bought me a new one. Like the newest version of the PearPhone available. Trina was so jealous Papi had to buy her two in order to get her to shut up. Yeah, I don't know what she needed with two phones either, but Trina is hardly ever rational.

My phone rings again, and I blink away the memory. For a second, I almost forgot I was walking home, alone, in the rain, after being at Ryder's party, where Hudson just so happened to be.

"Jade?" I answer, slowly. Hopefully she's changed her mind. Hopefully I can convince her to come pick me up.

"Where the fuck are you?" She snarls.

"Walking-"

"Where?" she cuts me off.

"From Melissa's." I answer, but before I can ask her for a ride home again, I hear the dial tone and I know she's hung up on me. Again.

I pocket my phone and try my best not to be angry, but I can't help how irritated I am. Why'd she even call? To make sure she scared me into leaving the party, or something? If she hadn't hung up on me the first time, she would've known I was leaving the party. Better yet, that I didn't even want to be there!

Suddenly a car pulls up beside me and I'm honked at. I can't see who it is, not just because it's dark, but because of the rain too. I get nervous. No, not nervous, scared.

Definitely should've stayed at Melissa's.

I start walking faster.

The car keeps creeping alongside me, even honks again, and my fear triples. I start to panic. Almost the same way I was when I was at Ryder's and Hudson was trying to get me alone. I look down at my hands and sure enough, they're starting to shake again so I hide them in my pocket.

Maybe the person in the car is just some nice old lady who feels sorry for me and wants to give me a ride home, but since my dad's a cop, I immediately go on the defense. You wouldn't believe the stories he's told me about girls who hop in cars with strangers, or girls who walk home alone at night, or girls who go to high school parties.

I'm already two out of three. I don't wanna push my luck.

And with those thoughts running through my mind, I pick up my speed. I'm practically running when I hear a very familiar voice shout my name.

Riley…or Amber, but I have a feeling it was Riley.

And that means Jade came for me.

I quickly hop in the car, and as I reach for the seatbelt, I notice how bad my hands are still shaking. I take a breath.

Calmate Tori. Just calm down. You're fine now. I tell myself.

But my hands still shake.

I take more deep breaths, count to ten a few times, and press my hands into my thighs.

Once my hands start behaving normally again, I reach back and grab a hold of my seatbelt again. That's when I realize the car hasn't moved, not one small inch since I got in. So I turn to face the driver, my girlfriend, Jade.

My heart sinks when I see the look on her face. I recognize that look. It's the one she gives me when I'm in deep chiz with her. And though it's been a while since she's "punished" me, I still remember how painful it can be.

"Don't you have something to say, Vega?" She glares at me.

Like what? Please don't hurt me. She's such a freak, that'd probably turn her on. So I shake my head and put on my seat belt. "No."

"No?" She questions.

I face her. She wants to punish me for going to Ryder's party? Fine! But she's wrong too. She could've asked me if I was okay! She didn't have to hang up on me without telling me she was coming! I thought I was all alone. She shouldn't have let me think I was alone. She shouldn't have let me be scared like that.

So I repeat my answer, firmly. "No." I say, and I don't blink. Not once.

She looks away first because she has to drive.

And once she looks away, I turn my head and stare out my window.

I wonder how I'm gonna get punished this time? I don't see her giving me another bouquet of bush daisies. I'd see that one coming and dodge it. Taking my clothes and making me walk around the house practically naked again doesn't seem like it would hurt enough. And man does she look like she wants to hurt me. Hmm…. She could want to try stretching my legs again. That one hurt the most physically, but…

I tense up when I realize something. This isn't the way to my house. This is the way to Jade's house. So does that mean whatever she has planned for me is gonna take all night? Especially because they'll be no Joy there to help me? In fact, none of our parents are home tonight. Not mine, not Jade's, not even Melissa's…It's like some kind of conspiracy or something!

I take a few deep breaths and try not to make myself nervous by imagining all the creative things she could do to me. It doesn't help that I know of quite a few disturbing things humans can do to one another. Courtesy of my cop dad.

At the thought of my dad, I realize I should call him. Let him know that I'm spending the night with Jade.

It's not a very long conversation because he trusts her. In fact, he doesn't even seem surprised that I'm going to her place to begin with. He does however ask me what I'm doing out so late. So I tell him about the party, and Hudson.

Yeah, my Papi knows all about that…that…wazzbag.

I have to tell him about five times that I'm okay, and that Jade came and got me. I just don't tell him when Jade came to get me. Because if he found out I'd just been walking home alone, in the dark, and rain, I'd never hear the end of it. Nunca.

By the time we finally get to Jade's house, I expect for the girls to be asleep. But they're not. Poor things must be afraid of the storm.

So I try to make it like a game for them to run outside in it. They go for it. Unsurprisingly, Riley cheats, but it's all good. I'm just glad I didn't have to carry anyone. I'm already a little clumsy; add that to the rain and my nerves, I probably would've dropped 'em.

I run the girls upstairs quickly, and get them changed into dry clothes.

And when I say, "A la cama," No one argues with me. I'm surprised, but not. It is pretty late, and they've been so quiet. They're probably exhausted; ready even, for bed.

Amber climbs into bed with Riley, and Riley actually lets her. I can't help but to smile at the both of them.

I won't lie. They kind of remind me of me and Jade sometimes. Amber being the mini me, and Riley being the mini Jade. So to see them getting along so well, or rather, to see Riley not push Amber away, I don't know. It just warms my heart I guess. Makes me wish that me and Jade were getting along right now.

"Goodnight." Riley says.

"Buenas noches." Amber repeats, but in Spanish.

I grin at her. They're both doing really good, but Amber soaks up the Spanish faster. I can actually hold little conversations with her now.

"Denme besos." I say, and the both pucker up so I can kiss them goodnight.

Once they're settled, I give them a smile and tell them to sleep. Then I turn and see Jade standing in the doorway, waiting for me. She does not look happy.

Gulp. Any happy feelings the twins just gave me drain away, and the feeling of dread moves back into the pit of my stomach.

As I walk up to her, she narrows her eyes into an intense glare. And standing so close to her while she's looking at me like that makes me freeze. Those eyes. They're nearly the same exact color as his. As Hudson's. So I walk past her without saying a thing, consciously having to remind myself that she's not Hudson. She's an evil dragon sometimes, but she's not like him.

She's never really hurt me too bad. I'm not really afraid of her. In fact, I can probably fight my way out of this mess if I tell her what happened, explain my side of the story. Who knows, maybe she'll soften up a bit.

But as I wait for Jade in her room, I start to freak a bit. I expected her to follow right behind me, but she didn't. What's she doing, getting weapons to torture me with?

I could go crazy trying to figure it out, so I decide to do something normal. Like get out of my wet clothes. I'm freezing, and shivering quite violently.

Jade comes in while I'm still in bra and panties. And even though I am a little relieved to see she's empty handed, I know I'm not in the clear yet.

"Well, let's get this over with." I manage to say without the smallest of tremors. I have to admit, I'm quite proud of myself. I start going through her drawers again, looking for a shirt. Preferably a thick long sleeved one, but it doesn't seem as though there are any.

"You know how I feel about Ryder! I've warned you, and you go to his party after you told me you wouldn't go!" she yells.

I frown a bit. There aren't any dang long sleeved shirts in here, not one! "I didn't know I was going to Ryder's party. Lissa drove and she wouldn't tell me where we were going." I answer before settling for a random t-shirt.

"Oh she wouldn't?" she scoffs.

"No. people still like to surprise people, Jade." My frown deepens as I go through her drawers again. I can't find a pair of thick long pajama pants, only thin cotton shorts.

Crap. I don't want my legs exposed. In fact, I don't want much of my body exposed. Period. I want as much cushion and protection from the wrath of Jade as I can possible get.

"Remind me why she had to take you out again."

"Moral support." I answer absently.

"Oh, that's right. Because she dumped her boyfriend."

"Yes." I sigh, giving up and selecting a pair of shorts. Hopefully she doesn't do anything that'll leave marks on me.

"Why?"

"Why?" I frown. I haven't been too focused, and I kinda lost track of where we are in this conversation right now.

"Yes, why'd she dump her boyfriend?" She clarifies.

Oh yeah.

"Because I told her he cheated on me." I shrug.

"And she dumped her boyfriend because of that?"

"Yes." I frown. Isn't that good enough reason? Who wants to date a cheater?

"If Beck's ex-girlfriend came up and told me that he cheated on her, do you think I'd dump him?"

"Why not? You dumped him because he was talking to another girl." I shrug again. Then I look at Jade. Actually, really pay attention to her. She's taking her clothes off. All of her clothes. I know she's doing that because she sleeps naked. I do, but for some reason I'm still a bit confused. Like, I can't process what I'm seeing because it's not adding up correctly.

She's preparing to go to bed? So does that mean…does that mean this is it? She's just gonna yell at me? She's not gonna punish me? Not even a little?

I nearly smile, but her face still says serious, so I don't.

"That's not the same thing." She snaps, unhooking her bra and I nearly drool when boobies come spilling out.

Di algo, Tori. I chide myself.

I blink a few times and miraculously come up with a suitable rebuttal. "How's it not the same thing?" I ask.

"Because I didn't really dump him, I'm just teaching him a lesson!" She hisses angrily.

Ouch.

I feel like someone just reached through my chest and squeezed the living chiz out of my heart. And it hurts. Bad.

I forget that we're just pretending. Well, I wouldn't say I totally forgot. It's more like…being Jade's girlfriend comes a little too naturally for me now to constantly remember that it's fake…if that makes any sense.

It's not my fault. We've been doing this for so long now, two months in fact. I even forgot to pay her last week. She didn't say anything, and I didn't bring it up. She probably thinks I don't owe her anymore. It does seem like it was a lifetime ago that we struck that deal, and it's not like we wrote anything down on paper.

It seems Jade never forgets though. It seems she is always aware that she's doing this, dating me, to get Beck back.

I never realized just how good of an actress she is. I bet she even still hates me.

Now that really hurts, because I don't hate her. I never have.

"Fine!" I exclaim; and before I can start crying, because I feel the tears coming, I flop down onto the bed and turn away from her.

I'm starting to really regret this whole thing. I mean, what was I thinking? I could've found an easier way to make Danny jealous months ago. Especially because he's not even worth trying to make jealous. But no, I just had to do something drastic. Now look at where I am. About to sleep with a girl who probably hates me more than anyone else she knows in the world.

I feel her climb in bed next to me and I take a deep breath. I know it's not her fault she remembers why we're doing this. So I can't really be mad at her. I shouldn't even be sad, or upset, or even surprised. It's not like I didn't know what I was getting myself into.

"Vega." She says.

I wouldn't say I ignore her. I just don't trust my voice right now. If I cry, she'll ask me what's wrong, and what could I say to that?

"Oh, I'm crying because I just realized you still hate my guts and I really, really, want us to be friends, Jade."

Yeah, she'd probably kill me for breaking character, chop me up for forgetting that we're not really dating, and feed my body to the sharks for having the nerve to wanna be friends with her.

I feel her lean over me a bit and I squeeze my eyes shut. Totally stupid because of course she knows I can't possibly be asleep already.

"I'm done." she says.

"Done with what?" I tense up. I have a feeling she means she's done with this charade. And stupidly, I don't want it to be over yet. I don't want it to go back to how it used to be; with her calling me names, tripping me, giving me dumpster coffee, hating me.

I really don't want her to hate me.

"Fighting." She answers. "So turn over and kiss me goodnight."

What?! She can't be serious.

Just like that I forget about my anxiety and fears because Jade West is truly un-freaking-believable. The nerve of this girl! She's done fighting, so I should turn over and kiss her goodnight?

Oh, I turn over alright! "Just because you're done fighting doesn't mean we're done, Jade West!" I yell at her.

"You're really hot when you're mad." She grins at me.

What?

I feel my face heat up immediately. What is wrong with me? All she has to do is tell me I'm hot and I go from pissed to a blusher in zero point five seconds?

Ugh!

"Shut up." I tell her before burying my face in my pillow.

"Vega." I hear her chuckle above me.

My heartbeat quickens and I roll my eyes at myself. I get that Jade's chuckle is sexy. How can I not get that? It's all low, and husky, and Jade-y, but I just don't understand why I'm reacting to it when just a few seconds ago I was all sad because I know she still hates me. In fact, I'm still sad, because I know she hates me. So…what's wrong with me?

"You're not gonna come out, baby?" She coos while brushing some of my hair away from the side of my face. Then she's leaning in, her lips pressed to my ear. "Come on, Vega. Look at me."

Jeez, Louise, and Steve! I actually have to bite my lip to keep quiet. Seriously? Seriously. All she did is whisper in my ear and I'm wanting to moan? She didn't even whisper anything sexy!

Maybe I should stay here, like this, with my face buried in this pillow. Just smother myself until I freakin' die because I'm truly pathetic.

I feel Jade's fingers move across the back of my neck, and it's not until I feel a cold chill against my skin that I realize she's moved my hair. Then she's kissing me there and I'm instantly warmed. And not just on the back of my neck, but all over.

I take a deep breath and realize just how hard that is to do when my face is buried in a pillow, but I still don't come out. I can't. I can't face her. I'm too embarrassed.

How does she keep it so…so… together all the time?

"Babe, look at me," she whispers, kissing the side of my face so gently that I feel like…I don't know. Like she cherishes me, though I know that's not the case. I know she hates me.

What must it feel like, to kiss a girl you hate? Does she think about it all? Is it really so easy for her to forget about all that while she's performing? Or does she mentally flinch or recoil every time I touch her?

"Come on, baby." She whispers, before planting a soft kiss on my earlobe.

Realizing she's not gonna stop, not until she gets what she wants, I give up. I pull my face out of my pillow and I look at her.

"We done?" she asks.

I study her face. Look her straight in the eyes. I see no hate there, no disgust, not even the smallest form of dislike. I see a girl looking at her girlfriend and asking if everything's okay so that we don't go to sleep angry with each other. That's it. That's all I see.

It's no wonder that I'm always forgetting this is pretend. But I won't forget it again. Nunca. I promise myself.

"Yeah, Mami. We're done." I answer. Then I nip her bottom lip instead of kissing her goodnight because I know she likes it that way better.

{~~~O~~~}

When I wake up, I keep my eyes closed so I can think while pretending to be asleep. Last night was….hard. Not even the Danny/Hudson/Ryder part. Well, that was scary, and upsetting, and uncomfortable but it wasn't hard.

Hard was remembering that I don't really have a girlfriend. Hard was feeling like some kind of rapist after climbing on top of Jade, kissing her, feeling her resist me, and realizing that it was probably because she finds me revolting. Hard was trying not to care, kissing her anyway, and getting her to open up for me. Hard was realizing that maybe I really am a slut; the worst possible kind because I paid for my own services, literally. Hard was kissing her goodnight while she was asleep so I wouldn't repulse her. Hard was knowing that I still want her to like me. For real. I want to be her friend so freakin' bad that it hurts me. That was hard.

There's a small bit of restless movement against my rib, reminding me that it's not just me and Jade in this bed. Her sisters are here too. They came in last night, scared of the storm and couldn't sleep. Naturally, Jade was ready to send them back to bed, but I told them they could stay.

At least they don't hate me.

I look down and catch Amber staring at me. Poor thing's wide awake, probably has been for a while, but is too scared to disrupt anyone's sleep.

I sit up and take a look at Riley and Jade. Riley's got a leg and an arm strewn over her sister's body. I can't help but to smile. It's too cute, but if either of them were awake, they'd be fighting about it. Well, Jade would pitch a fit, and Riley'd react.

I look down at Amber again, and press a finger to my lips. She nods her head in understanding. Then I lean over the bed and dig my phone out of my purse. I just have to have a picture of this.

Neither girl so much as stirs when my phone clicks and clacks a few pics of them.

That done, I climb out of bed and beckon Amber to follow me. She gets up carefully, making a conscious effort not to wake her sisters.

Once we're in the hallway, I whisper, "Let's go make Riley some breakfast."

"Jade too?" Her eyes light up at the prospect.

"Yeah, her too." I sigh. Kid really loves her sister, even though the girl is nothing but a gank to her.

We hurry to the kitchen and I go through the fridge, pulling out all the ingredients I'll need to make pancakes and eggs. I'm not a huge fan of eggs myself, but I know how to make them.

At first, Amber looks confused. Then she starts getting excited. I guess she thought we'd be doing something simple, like cereal.

We start on the pancakes first. Well, let's say Amber starts on the pancakes first. She learned a little about measuring in school already, so I have her follow the directions by herself. I don't even stand behind her to make sure she's doing it right. If they come out gross, I'll make Riley something else to eat. Jade can eat her sister's hard work.

Amber asks me for help once, but other than that, she'll be able to say she made breakfast by herself.

There's a huge smile on her face so I know she's excited about the prospect.

While I pour the batter for the pancakes onto the pan, I show Amber how to do the eggs. I even get a chair for her so she can stand beside me and man them at the stove. She was a bit nervous at first, but the excitement of actually working on the stove like an adult….that smile will forever be engraved in my brain. And just to be sure I don't forget it, I take about a hundred pictures of her, and some of both of us together. She's a bit messy, with the batter all over her shirt, elbows, and I don't know how she got the bit on her forehead, but I think it makes her even cuter.

While she's scraping the eggs onto the plates, I finish the last couple of pancakes. Despite my earlier mood, I'm smiling a lot now. The twins usually have that effect on me. They're just the cutest things…most of the time anyway.

I kinda zone out I guess, 'cause next thing I know, there's a searing pain on my wrist. I've burnt myself.

"Mierda!" I hiss.

Amber comes running up to me, and seeing the sheer panic on her face calms me down instantly. I don't want her to freak out, so I try and pretend it doesn't hurt that bad. I put my arm under some cold water and ask Amber to get me some ointment out of the bathroom cabinet.

She scurries off to do just that.

While she's gone, I inspect the burn. God, I'm such a baby! It's so small I can cover it with the tip of my thumb!

She comes back with ointment and a bunch of band aids.

I'll only need one.

I sit down at the table and hold my arm out to her. "Fix me up, Dr. Amber." I smile, just to let her know it's nothing because she looks seriously freaked.

She doesn't smile back. In fact her hand is shaking when she puts the ointment on it.

I know just how to take her mind off of it. "Estoy bien, Amber." I smile.

She smiles back, just like I knew she would. "Enseñale a Jade." She answers me back.

I scoff at her. Show Jade? So she can call me a baby, or "accidentally" hit it? No thank you.

"Es nada Mamita. Tu lo puedes hacer. No necesito Jade." I say a bit forcefully.

She raises her eyebrows.

"No para esto." I cover up. Then I look down at my arm and make a face full of worry.

"Que pasa?" she panics.

"No lo encuentro." I pretend to search for it.

She giggles before pointing it out to me. "Aquí está, Tori."

"Oh."

She laughs a little more before putting the band aids on. Like I said, I only need one, but I guess she doesn't wanna waste them. I end up with three covering the tiny burn and two covering an imaginary booboo on my other wrist.

"Okay, let's eat!" I announce while making our plates.

"What about Jade and Riley?" She frowns.

"They're asleep."

"We can wake them up."

"After we eat."

She makes a face at me. Like I'm asking her to leave them behind during a zombie apocalypse.

Seriously?

"Come on, Mamita. When they wake up, they'll just be fighting with each other the whole time. Wouldn't you rather eat in peace first, then watch the show later?" I reason.

"Yeah," she grins.

"Good girl." I wink.

She blushes.

Crap. I seriously gotta be more careful about that.

"Don't you like the pancakes?" she asks after a bit.

I look down at my plate and notice I haven't touched anything yet. I've just been drinking my orange juice.

"Sorry, I was just thinking."

"About what?"

I take a bite of the pancake to avoid answering. It's a not that bad. Actually, it's not bad at all, bordering on delicious even. She must've messed them up by accident and her screw up had a yummy result.

"Mmm. These are really good Amber. I'm coming to your house for breakfast every day." I praise her.

She blushes some more. "You don't have to say that."

"Don't have to say what?" I answer around a mouthful, and I mean a mouthful, of pancake.

"If you don't like them, you don't have to pretend like you do."

I frown at her.

"I'm not good at a lot of stuff." She shrugs.

"Who told you that?" I scoff. But I have a very good idea she got the idea from her sisters.

"I just know it," she shrugs some more. Then she starts eating and I know it's because she doesn't want to talk anymore. So we finish breakfast in silence.

I swear, between Jade and Riley, the kid probably never gets a break. The only one fair to her is probably Joy.

Maybe I'll set aside some special time with Amber, help her build up some kind of self-worth.

Yeah, I think I will. I nod my head as if to confirm it with myself.

That important decision made, I take our plates to the sink and make a plate for Riley and Jade. I give Jade's plate to Amber and I dare Jade to make a ganky face at the kid when she presents her with her breakfast. I double dare her.

"Are you mad, Tori?" Amber asks out of nowhere.

"No. Why?"

"You look mad."

I look at her. She's looking down at my feet….at the way I'm stomping my way up the stairs quite aggressively.

Oh.

"No, I'm determined." I decide.

"Oh." She says. Though I know she's still a little confused.

Once inside the bedroom, I notice that Riley is on the complete opposite side of the bed. It's like she sensed there was an empty space available the second me and Amber got up. Either that, or Jade pushed her over there.

I flick on the light and yell, "Jade, Riley, get up!"

Riley sits up and rubs at her eyes.

Jade groans and turns over.

I walk up to her and shake her. "Get up Mami, me and Amber made you guys breakfast, and you better like it." I threaten playfully. Sort of. Then I hand Riley's plate to her and stand back.

Jade sits up and glares at me.

I ignore her and motion for Amber to give Jade her plate.

"Amber made the pancakes herself." I boast proudly.

Jade narrows her eyes at me as Amber hands her the plate. "You trying to poison me or something?" she scoffs, refusing to take the plate from her sister.

Amber looks backs at me. Her eyes are so…sad. How could that not affect anyone?

I glare at Jade, my hands on my hips. "Eat the damn pancakes, Jade." I growl through clenched teeth.

She stares at me, mouth slightly parted. Like she can't believe I had the nerve to talk to her like that.

I stare right back at her, one eyebrow raised. Yes. I had the dang nerve.

"Fine." She grumbles, taking the plate from Amber. But before she takes a bite, she looks over at Riley, who's nearly finished already. "What's it taste like?" she asks.

"Like pancakes, stupid."

"Syrup, Mamita." I command. And Amber passes Jade the syrup before she can attack Riley for calling her stupid.

"Eat." I tell my girlfriend.

She rolls her eyes and takes a bite.

"Well?"

"Well, what?" she asks after swallowing.

"How's it taste?"

"Like pancakes."

I fold my arms over my chest and stare her down. She refuses to look at me at first, opting to dig in to her breakfast, but after a while it starts to get to her.

She lets out a deep sigh and looks Amber in the eyes. "The pancakes are really good, Booger."

"And what else do you have to say. The both of you?" I add on, getting Riley's attention as well.

They both look at each other. Genuine confusion on their faces.

I swear these two…

"What do you say when someone does something nice for you, like… I don't know, bring you breakfast in bed?"

"Thank you?" Riley asks.

"Then say it!"

"Thank you." She tells me.

"I only made the eggs. Is that all you ate?"

"No."

"What else did you eat?"

"Pancakes?"

"And who did I just say made the pancakes?"

"Amber?" she blinks at me.

I glare at her some more

"Thanks for the pancakes, Amber." She finally says.

"You're welcome." Her sister smiles.

I turn and glare at Jade. If she doesn't thank that little girl…

"Thank you, booger. Happy now?"

"Far from it." I mutter as I walk toward the door.

"Hey, where are you going!" Jade suddenly yells at me.

"I gotta wazz."

"What about my coffee!"

"I didn't make any!" I snap back. Jeez! Can't she be satisfied with breakfast in bed? And besides, it's not like I could make her coffee anyway because Joy doesn't have a dang coffee maker!

"What the hell are you talking about? Just reach into your purse and get me some damn coffee!" She yells back.

My purse?

Oh! That kind of coffee.

I actually blush a little as I go through my purse and get out the coffee flavored lip gloss. I really need to get my head in the game. What kind of girl doesn't kiss her pretend girlfriend good morning? No wonder Jade keeps calling me an amateur.

When I walk up to Jade, she smiles at me. Dios mío, she's got the most beautiful smile, and it's aimed at me. I take a deep breath and remind myself that it's a pretend smile before kissing her lightly. I don't wanna gross her out if I don't have to. And sticking my tongue down her throat in front of the twins is not only overkill but inappropriate anyway.

"That's it?" she scowls at me. She probably feels it wasn't good enough and is upset that we have to do it again.

"You got morning breath." I shrug, using that as an excuse.

The girls start laughing. Riley first.

It takes Jade a few to work out that I insulted her. Not that she's slow, but because she probably doesn't think I have it in me to insult her.

Next think I know, I'm on the floor, on my back, and Jade is on top of me. But I'm not hurt. I'm laughing because she's tickling me.

"Stop!" I scream in between fits of giggles.

"Morning breath, huh?" she grunts. She shows me no mercy. Not even when I tell her I gotta wazz really, really, bad.

"Help!" I call to the girls. Riley comes immediately, jumping on Jade's back. And while Jade's struggling with that, I'm able to get out from underneath her.

It's not long before we over power her.

"Seriously, booger. You're just gonna let them double team me?" Jade calls to Amber, who's been sitting on the bed and laughing as she watches us wrestle and tickle each other.

Amber laughs some more before getting up and going after Riley. She's overpowered easily and Jade tries to help her, but I keep getting in her way.

It feels like hours before we're all pooped out. Me and Riley vs. Jade and Amber is a pretty even match so we basically had to all call a truce.

"Alright," I pant. "I gotta wazz. Jade, get the girls dressed."

"What? Why?"

"We're going to my house remember? Everybody's meeting us there at 8:30 'cause we have to write that song for the birthday party."

"No," she groans. "Why so early?"

"I told you! It's a proven fact that the best time for creative thinking is in the morning."

"No." she moans again.

"Yes." I say before giving her a quick kiss and heading for the bathroom. And while I'm in there, I shower as well. Only problem is, I didn't bring anything to change into when I was done. Not even a towel.

Ugh! Estupida.

I crack the bathroom door and yell, "Riley!"

"Tori!" she yells back.

"Grab me a towel, please."

"Okay!" she answers, but she's not the one who comes to the door. Jade is.

"You could've asked me." She grins mischievously.

I swallow twice before answering. "Thought you were busy." I smile, pushing my hand through the small crack and grabbing hold of the towel. I'm hoping Jade won't be difficult, just hand it over; but no such luck. She holds the towel firmly, refusing to release it.

"Jade!" I hiss. Well, it's more of a whine 'cause I'm practically begging her not to do anything embarrassing to me.

"Poke your head out." She commands.

I sigh and do as I'm told. But only as I'm told. I poke my head out and hide the rest of my body behind the door.

She's got something in her other hand, but before I get a chance to ask what it is she tells me to close my eyes.

"What's in your hand?" I ask suspiciously….nervously.

"It's a surprise. Close your eyes, baby."

I scrunch my eyes up real tight and try to think of what could possibly be in her hand. None of my ideas have good results on my behalf.

It's not until she's spreading something a little sticky across my lips that I realize it's just my coffee lip gloss.

What the…

Then she's kissing me. Really kissing me. It's not just her sucking the gloss off my lips like usual. There's no hesitation with her. No pauses. Just…passion. Genuine feeling passion that I can feel in my bones. And it makes me feel so sad, knowing it's not real. Knowing that when this is all over, when she's done pretending to be my girlfriend, I probably won't be able to get so much as a smile from her.

But I play along. I kiss her back. I moan. I get into it. Not that it's that hard. Jade's a really good kisser. It just feels different now, because I remember where I stand.

"You make the best coffee, babe." She sighs after a bit.

I sigh too. We'd make the perfect couple if she didn't hate me.

"Babe," Jade taps my chin to get my attention.

I blink at her.

"What?"

"What do you say when someone gives you a compliment?" she teases.

I force myself to smile back. "Thank you."

She hands me the towel and kisses me again before walking away. I wrap myself up quickly and mentally curse myself as I do so. A towel? Why didn't I ask for a change of clothes?

But when I make my way to Jade's room, it's empty.

I hurry through her closet and pick out an outfit. I'm also able to do my hair and makeup without interruption; which is odd.

"Don't you dare touch me, you nasty little preterd!"

That's not odd.

I jog downstairs and surprise, Jade's yelling at Riley.

"Jade…"

"What!"

"I heard you all the way upstairs, there's no reason to yell."

She rolls her eyes at me, then turns back and addresses Riley. "Wash your hands, Bacon." She says.

I blink at her. That's it? I expected some arguing, or at least for her to tell me not to tell her what to do.

"It's just a little kachew." Riley taunts Jade, moving toward her slowly as if she's going to touch her.

"What's a kachew?" I ask Amber.

"Sneeze snot."

What!? Gross!

"Wash your hands, Monstrito!"

Jade smirks at me. Probably because I just told her not to yell and now I'm doing it.

"But"-

"Ya!" I cut her off, pointing toward the direction of the downstairs bathroom.

"Okay, okay. I'm going."

"So….I can't yell at the little"-

"Don't call her any names." I interrupt.

"Kid, but you can?" Jade continues without missing a beat.

"I apologize." I say reluctantly.

She smiles at me. "You look good in my clothes, by the way."

Actually I don't. Her jeans are a bit loose on me. So, I wait for the rest, the insult that's sure to follow, pero nada. That's it. She's looking at me expectantly, waiting for my response…to her compliment.

I don't even remember her complimenting Beck when they were going out.

She walks up to me and wraps her arms around my waist, pulls me close to her. Jeez, she smells so dang good.

"You look good without clothes too." She says.

"Jade…" I moan.

And as if my face wasn't heating up fast enough, I hear another voice call Jade's name. A woman's voice. Joy.

I jump out of Jade's embrace quickly. Jade scowls and pulls me back to her.

"I didn't know you were home." Jade greets casually. Even if Amber wasn't already wrapped around her mother, I think that's all Joy would get from her oldest, um, well her step….ex-stepdaughter. .. I'm still a little confused as to how that works.

"I got in early this morning." Joy answer with an easy smile. "Going somewhere?"

"Yeah, to Vega's. I guess since you're home you can watch your own bra"-

"Jade…" I warn.

"Kids." She finishes.

Amber's face drops.

"They can come." I say without even thinking about it.

"What? Why?"

"Why not, they're already dressed." I shrug.

"They can undress." She hisses.

"Will you go see what's taking Riley so long, please? We're gonna be late." I tell her while grabbing Amber's hand. "We'll meet you two at the car. Bye Joy."

"Bye Mom!" Amber echoes excitedly.

"Bye girls."

One quick glance behind me and I see Jade stomping her way toward the bathroom as well as Joy grinning from me to Jade.

Since I don't have the key to Jade's care, we have to wait for her to let us in. It's only a few seconds before she comes out, pulling Riley by her wrist

Once inside the car, Jade puts her seatbelt on immediately. I openly stare at her. That is not normal Jade behavior. Normal is me having to put Jade's seatbelt on for her, and her taking it off a few seconds later.

"Riley, seatbelt," Jade calls.

"Since when do you care?"

"Since I got a girlfriend with a cop dad. Now do it."

Riley grumbles a bit to herself, but she puts the seatbelt on, and I have a feeling she won't take it off until we get to my place.

"Babe, I know you're wondering how you got so lucky as to have a girlfriend as hot as me, but can you please stop staring at me and put your seatbelt on so we can go." Jade says, and I realize I haven't put my seatbelt on yet.

"Shut up." I roll my eyes playfully. I can feel that my whole face has turned red, but I ignore it.

After putting on my seatbelt, I stare out my window and think. Jade's been a little nicer than usual this morning. Actually, she's been a little nicer than usual lately if I think about it.

What if …what if she likes me? Not likes me like that, but what if she doesn't hate me as much as she used to? What if we can be friends after this?

That single thought has me grinning so hard my cheeks hurt by the time we get to my house.

We're a little bit late, but it's no big deal. Everyone else is late too. Except for Melissa, I see her car.

I hop out of Jade's car, and as I do, Melissa gets out of hers as well. But that's not it, I see her passenger door open and I get a little confused. Did she give someone a ride? I could've sworn André was bringing Robbie, Cat was getting a ride from her brother, and Beck has his own car.

But neither Cat, Robbie, Beck, or André gets out of Melissa's car. It's her little brother, Ian.

I grin at her. She likes her brother just a teeny bit more than Jade likes the twins.

"Lost a bet?" I ask her.

"Or my brother blackmailed me." She monotones.

"Really, Jordan doesn't seem the blackmailing type."

"Not Jordan."

"Ian?" my grin widens.

"Shut up."

But instead of shutting up, I turn toward her brother. "Hey, Ian."

"Hey Tor- whoa, who is that?" He asks, tilting his head so he can peek around me.

I look over my shoulder, expecting to see one of the girls because Ian's like nine years old, but I see he's pointing at Jade.

Seriously?

"My girlfriend." I answer, crossing my arms over my chest.

He smiles at me. "What's her name?"

I roll my eyes at him.

Melissa slaps him in the back of the head and calls him a perv.

That doesn't deter him in the least. He runs over to Jade and introduces himself. Jade looks down at him and then up at me. Dios mío…her face.

I turn away so maybe she can't see me laughing, but it's really of no use. My whole body's shaking with laughter.

"Get it away from me." I suddenly hear beside me.

I watch as Ian grabs Jade's hand and she pulls hers away.

"Get it away from me before I stab it."

Ian grabs Jade's hand again, and she pulls away again.

Melissa shrugs. I don't think she cares if Jade's serious or not.

"Mini Jades." Melissa points out when the girls come to stand beside us. She doesn't smile, it's like she can't decide whether or not it's a good or bad thing for there to be miniature Jades.

Jade snatches her hand from Ian's once again, and Ian scoops it right back up without missing a beat.

Abruptly, Riley pushes Ian down on the ground. Hard. "Stop it!" she scowls.

In return, he jumps up quickly, pushes her back, and grabs Jade's hand again.

"That one's Riley." I say, pointing to the girl who is now down on the ground wrestling her brother.

Then I grab the one who was standing behind me and put her in front. "And this one's Amber. Mamita, this is my friend Melissa, say hi."

"Hi," Amber says immediately.

I ruffle her hair proudly, like I made her myself or something.

Out of nowhere, Melissa grabs my hand. Just snatches it up quick as lightning.

"What's this?" she freaks, pointing at the band aids on my arm.

"They're band aids." I deadpan. Not even in a sarcastic kind of way. I'm just all kinds of confused. What's wrong with my band aids? Sure they've got Invader Zim characters all over them, but that's not that weird.

Obviously I didn't give her the answer that she wanted because she turns to Jade, Jade, and yells, "What's this?"

"How the hell should I know?" Jade scoffs.

"You didn't notice that your girlfriend's hurt?" Melissa scoffs back.

Jade clenches her teeth together, but before she can say anything else, Lissa turns back to me. She looks worried, more than worried actually. She's extremely freaked out in a way that I've never seen on her before, and it's sorta spazzing me out.

"You're not like a…um, when you get upset, you don't like…you know?" she asks me.

I look at Jade 'cause I don't know what Melissa's asking and Jade's much better with the cryptic stuff.

Jade scoffs. "You're overreacting. Vega doesn't do that."

Huh? Do what?

"You sure about that?" She asks skeptically.

"I would know!" Jade hisses back

What are they talking about?

"You didn't even know she was hurt at all!" Melissa exclaims.

"She's clumsy. She gets hurt all the time, but I'd know if she was hurting herself!" Jade yells defensively.

Hurting myself?

Then it clicks. Finally. I know what they're talking about.

"I didn't cut myself." I rush to explain. "I burned myself."

Jade's mouth drops open.

"You burn yourself!? What the fuck, Icky, that's worse!" Melissa squeaks.

Jeez!

"Not on purpose! I was making breakfast!" I look down at Amber. "Right, Mamita?"

Amber nods her head vigorously. I don't think she understands what's going on, or what the big deal is, but she does know everyone's freaking out around her. And that's enough to freak her out too.

"And you accidently burned both wrists?"

I roll my eyes and peel the band aids off my right wrist. "Look, there's nothing there. Me and Amber were playing Doctor."

Melissa sighs out of pure relief and hugs me.

"Sorry I jumped to conclusions like that, but can you blame me?" she apologizes "Last night"-

I pinch her, hard, cutting her off midsentence.

"What?" she pulls back.

I don't want to talk about last night. Ever. I just wanna forget it happened.

I guess my face says it all, because she doesn't say another word. Just pats me on the shoulder reassuringly.

I look back at Jade, ready to share a roll of our eyes at Melissa's unnecessary wazzout, but she's glaring at me.

What did I do?

Thankfully André pulls up and everyone's distracted for a second.

"I'll go unlock the door." I announce. And as I'm doing that, Cat arrives. Now the only one left is Beck.

I shepherd all the kids into the house and try to find them something to do. I'd let them watch TV but that could cut into our creativeness and effect the song-making process, not that it'll be that hard to write a song for four year olds.

"Just leave 'em." Jade scowls while I'm searching for the board games. I know they're around here somewhere.

"I don't want them to be bored." I answer absently just as I find the UNO cards. Wepa!

I start to set the kids up on the floor, by the piano. That way, they're out of the way, but still visible.

"Why do you even care?" Jade scowls some more.

"Why are you even surprised? Icky loves kids. She's wanted to be a 2nd grade teacher ever since she was like three years old. Everyone knows that." Melissa answers on my behalf. Then she comes over to help me settle the kids into the game.

"I didn't know that." André pipes up.

"Really?" Melissa frowns. "She says it all the time. Maybe you just don't listen to her. Then again, you are a guy."

"Judging by the surprised look on her face, I'd say Jade didn't know either," Robbie points out.

"Of course I knew!" Jade snaps, but then she gives me this look, like I'm in trouble; and I don't even know what I did wrong.

"I'll go get the snacks and stuff so we can get started." I say, trying to ease some of the tension.

"Alright, let's get this chiz over with." André encourages while setting up his laptop. Robbie brings out his guitar, and Cat….she's um here. Most of her anyway. She's playing UNO with the kids so….yeah.

As soon as I make it to the kitchen, there's a knock on my door. I know it's Beck. He's the only one missing, so I feel a little twinge against my heart when Jade announces she'll get it. I don't want her to see him, and miss him, and decide he's learned his lesson so it's time to dump me.

But I also know there's nothing I can do to keep Jade from leaving me for him.

I shrug my shoulders, square up so to speak, and start pulling out snack foods. I get the apples and peanut butter for the kids, and I pull out chips and cookies for the rest of us.

Next thing I know, there are a bunch of "Oh my Gods" and "Sweet chizzes;" so I peek into the living room and it's freakin' Alyssa Vaughn….in my living room.

Oh God.

Oh Chizz.

Oh my chizzin' God.

"You need a hand with that?" I hear beside me and I turn to see Beck, not in the living room with his guest. Is he crazy?! Jade is gonna kill her!

I look at Jade and she's looking back at me. I hope she doesn't blame me for this. Beck asked if he could bring over a friend and I told him it was no problem. I didn't know he wanted to bring Alyssa Vaughn!

"Earth to Tori." A hand passes in front of my face and I blink a few times before giving Beck my attention.

"What?"

"I said, do you need help with this?" he chuckles.

"You didn't say your friend was Alyssa Vaughn." I accuse.

"You didn't ask. So…" He gestures toward the snacks, asking once again if I need help.

"I'm almost done, just finishing up the lemonade." I answer.

He looks at the pitcher and frowns. "Why's it pink."

"It's pink lemonade." I frown back.

"Have you ever seen a pink lemon?"

"No."

"….Then why's it pink?"

"It's…because when….shut up!" I laugh, playfully punching him in the shoulder.

It feels weird, but kinda nice. We haven't been in a good place ever since Jade told him that she cheated on him with me.

Beck's a good guy. I still want him to be friends with me. And if that's too much to ask for, then I'll settle for us being on friendly terms.

I search out Jade. She's sitting beside André and she's glaring at me something furious. I can almost taste the jealously oozing out of her pores. I know it's because she doesn't like me and Beck being friendly with each other. She never has. I wish there was a way to convince her that I don't want him. Not like that.

I look away when I see Alyssa walk up to Jade and try to strike up a conversation with her.

Yeah, good luck with that one.

I turn my attention back to Beck "So, are you and Alyssa dating now?"

"No, we're just friends. I still love Jade." He says in such a casual manner that I don't quite catch on to what he's said.

I just keep stirring the lemonade, and then I get it a few seconds later.

And it's okay; his answer, I mean. At least, that's what I tell myself before I nod my head, say, "I understand," and smile back at him.

"This is gonna be so hard, but I like you." He continues. "You're a pretty good person."

"Um thanks. You too."

"I still want us to be friends, no matter what happens in the future."

"In the future?" I frown.

He runs a hand through his hair. "See, I've been thinking about it a lot and I just don't think you two will last."

I blink at him. Hopefully, that's an okay response to give your girlfriend's ex when he says something like that to you, because it's all I got right now.

"All you guys do is fight and make out." He continues. "And it's fine for now. Maybe Jade just wants a little of that frustration, or tension, or spice, or whatever; but when that's all gone, what else will there be? What do you have in common? What do you even know about each other?"

I blink some more as I process his words.

Does everyone think that of me? Even good guys, like Beck? That I'm only good for "spicing things up" or taking care of someone's "frustrations," and then after that I should be discarded, like trash?

"So if you guys don't work out, and me and Jade try again, I'd still like to be friends with you. But if it's too hard for you to be friends with me, then I'll understand." He finishes.

I nod my head again, suddenly finding it hard to speak, or even look him in the eyes. Honestly, it's a good deal as that's exactly what's going to happen. That's what I signed up for, right? Getting Jade and Beck back together.

Actually, as I think about it, I realize it's more than I can hope for. Beck's forgiveness and understanding? I mean, didn't I just say I still want to be his friend?

"I'll pass out the artificial lemonade." He smiles at me.

I smile back at him, though I don't really feel up to it.

Then I take a deep breath. The apples and peanut butter. I need to finish up the kids' snacks.

As I'm cutting up the fruit, I feel an arm snake its way around my waist. I jump and end up cutting my finger.

Dang it.

"Why so jumpy, babe?"

Jade.

Duh! Who else would it be besides your fake girlfriend, Tori?

"You scared me." I mutter as I go to the sink to wash my cut. Jade disappears for a second, but then she comes back with a band aid.

"I'm getting you special band aids with your face on it." She tells me.

I shrug. "Like you said earlier, I'm clumsy." I deadpan.

"Lemme see."

"I got it," I answer, holding my hand out for the band aid, but she doesn't give it to me.

"Look at me."

I haven't looked at her since she came into the kitchen with me and I guess she noticed. She can be quite attentive when she wants to be.

I sigh before glancing up at her real quick, then looking back down at my finger.

"Are you okay?" She asks me.

I nod my head. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's not that deep." I smile before trying to take the band aid again.

She still doesn't give it up. And I know what she wants, so I give it to her.

I look up at her face, straight into her eyes, and she's staring back at me. I don't know how to describe the look she's giving me. It's…different. I think it's concern, but fear too? Maybe not fear, apprehensiveness? I don't know. It's confusing.

"What'd Beck say to you, baby?" she asks softly while taking my finger and putting the band aid on for me.

"Nothing much." I answer.

She looks up at me. "He didn't call you a slut?"

I pull my finger away. "No. Why would you ask that?"

"Then why was….what was that look for?"

"What look?"

"The one you had while you two were talking."

"I don't know what you're talking about." I frown.

She stares at me for a few seconds before grabbing my hand back. "Well then what did he say?"

"Nothing," I shrug. "He just wanted to know why the lemonade's pink."

"The pink lemon joke?" She groans, as if she's heard it a thousand times. And she probably has, because those two have history. One of the many things me and Jade don't have.

"And what else," she presses.

"That's it."

She frowns at me. "The lemonade joke takes twenty two seconds to tell. You two were talking for two minutes and three seconds. So what were you talking about for the other minute and forty one seconds, Vega?"

My mouth falls open.

Seriously? Did she really just say that?

Jade taps my chin with her index. "Answer." She commands

"He wants to be friends." I answer. It's mostly the truth anyway.

She stares at me for a little while longer, and then she gives an unintelligible grunt before going back to fixing my finger.

"Done." She announces seconds later, just before lifting my finger to her lips and kissing the bandage.

I sigh. She's such a good pretend girlfriend.

"What are you thinking about right now?" she asks. She's got her head tilted slightly to the side, the way she does when she really wants an answer, an honest answer.

But I can't tell her what I was thinking, and I don't really feel like lying either, so I kiss her.

"Good answer." She mumbles against my lips.

I'm glad she thinks so. I've been totally out of it all day. I think I might even need a small time-out, just a second or two to collect my thoughts and get back into the game.

The moment I realize I've been kissing Jade on autopilot, is when I hear a cough to my left. A loud cough, like someone's trying to get my attention.

I open my eyes, and oh. My. God. I'm on the kitchen counter with Jade in between my legs, her hands under my shirt, and my tongue shoved down her throat. How did I…When…I don't remember….Oh God, how embarrassing!

"Sorry," I murmur, my face going red. Especially when I see Beck's the cougher. He just told me that all me and Jade do is make out and fight, and not even a minute later we prove his point when he walks in on us in the kitchen….an open kitchen where everyone can see us, even the kids!

Maybe I really am a slut.

Thankfully they don't notice though. Riley and Ian are fighting again. And Amber and Cat are trying to get them to take their turn so the game can continue.

"You need more help passing out snacks, Tori?" Beck asks. He's giving me a look that can only mean "I told you so."

"Um yeah." I answer a bit breathlessly as I smooth my hair and pull down my shirt. "Can you take these apples to the kids?"

"They're brown." He frowns.

"It's peanut butter."

"Peanut butter?" He frowns some more.

"They like it, now go give it to them!" Jade yells irritably.

Once he's gone, Jade tries to kiss me again, but I duck out of her embrace. "Uh, Mami, can you help me get the rest of the snacks? Then you can introduce me to your new friend."

"My new friend?" she scowls.

"Alyssa. I saw you two talking."

Jade rolls her eyes, but grabs the cookies.

I grab the chips.

Because Jade is Jade, she doesn't introduce me to Alyssa the normal way. She tosses the cookies on the table, plops down on the floor, pulls me down into her lap, and then she says, "Beck, introduce your girlfriend to my girlfriend. Vega wants to meet her."

"Alyssa, this is Tori Vega. Tori this is Alyssa." Beck makes the introductions without missing a beat. He doesn't apologize for Jade's behavior and he doesn't deny that Alyssa's his girlfriend.

Maybe he's trying to make Jade jealous.

"Hi." I say, a little bit shyly because she is Alyssa Vaughn.

"Hello," she smiles at me. Then she gives Jade an incredulous scoff. "You call your girlfriend by her last name?"

"I hate Tori," I feel her shrug behind me. Then she rests her chin on my shoulder and wraps her arms around my middle.

Ouch.

I've heard that answer before. In fact, I've heard it every time someone asks her why she calls me by my last name, but it's never bothered me until now. I guess I always assumed she meant she doesn't like my first name. But what if it's just her way to take a jab at me? To remind me that she does indeed hate me still.

I take a breath, and try not to show that my feelings have been hurt.

"What's Tori short for? Victoria?" Alyssa asks me.

"Yeah." I smile politely.

"How could you hate Victoria? It's a beautiful name." She asks Jade. Then her eyes shift back to mine. "It suits you well." She smiles.

"Thanks." My smile widens. I don't think she's just making small talk with me. I think she's genuinely being nice, and I don't expect that at all. Not from someone like Alyssa Vaughn. I expect her to be a stuck up snob.

Suddenly, Jade's arms tighten around my middle.

Ow!

I squirm a little, trying to get up, but she holds me in place.

"Where do you think you're going?" she growls.

"I gotta wazz." I make up on the spot.

It's the best excuse I could've come up with because the second she releases me, I realize that I really do gotta wazz.

And it's a perfect opportunity to give myself a pep talk. Silently, because I don't want to be overheard trying to talk myself into being okay with me and Jade's arrangement and the fact that she hates me.

I tell myself everything's fine, that I can do this. That I've been doing this. I just need to focus a little harder now, that's all.

When I come out of the bathroom, I plop down on the couch, in between Melissa and André, instead of sitting back down in Jade's lap. I won't be able to concentrate there, I know it. Jade's lap is super soft. In fact, her whole body is super soft… and warm… and comfortable. Not only that, but any time I'm sitting really close to her, her hands automatically travel under my shirt and she starts rubbing my back.

I swear, it's like heaven the way she touches me. Soft and light, but firm enough to feel all over. Who could concentrate while being subjected to that? And I really do need to concentrate because I just want to get this over with. The sooner we get this stupid song written, the sooner everyone can leave. Especially Beck. I don't very much feel like being his friend right now. Maybe he didn't mean what he said the way I took it, but I still feel uncomfortable around him. Hopefully the feeling will go away eventually. But for now I don't want to be around him. Especially not while Jade's here, touching me and kissing me. Because no matter how much I understand this is fake, my body responds to her. I can't help it. And I don't want him giving me those looks every time it happens. And it's gonna happen. A lot. Jade's a very sexual creature. Always kissing and touching; heck, I'm surprised we haven't done it yet.

Well, I'm not surprised anymore. This is pretend. There's no need to go all the way.

"Okay, let's start. Anyone got any ideas." I say, addressing everyone.

I gulp audibly when I catch the look Jade's giving me. She looks like she's literally gonna kill me.

"What?" I mouth.

"Get. Back. Down. Here." She commands.

Man I hate it when she breaks up her words like that.

"But I can't concentrate when I'm sitting in your lap." I whine pathetically.

"I don't care." She hisses back, eyes flashing dangerously.

"But we have to write this song." I protest some more.

To my left, Lissa tries to hold in her laugh, but it comes out any way by way of a very unattractive snort.

"Shut up." I mutter.

She doesn't. She snorts again. And then again when Jade gets up, pulls me up off the couch, and sits down in my spot before pulling me down into her lap.

I sigh, like I didn't know I wasn't gonna get my way. Heck, everyone knew I wasn't gonna get my way too judging by their responses. Or rather, their lack of response. Robbie's tuning up his guitar, André's pretending to do research on the internet while staring at Alyssa, and Lissa's playing on her phone. The only one surprised is Alyssa. She staring, mouth open and eyes wide.

"What are you looking at?" Jade snarls, and when I turn a little to take a peek at her, I see she's sending Alyssa one of her most fierce glares.

But Alyssa doesn't back down.

"You two have the most…interesting relationship." She says.

Interesting is an understatement.

"Mind your business." Jade snaps.

"Your business shouldn't be out here for everyone else to mind." She counters.

Sheesh, she's quick…and brave.

Then she's looking at me. "Tori, you don't have to put up with that kind of abuse. I'm sure there are plenty of other girls around." She advises.

Yep. She's definitely brave….and dead.

"That's it!" Jade yells. I feel her hand shoot down, underneath my butt, and I know exactly what she's reaching for, so I stop her.

It's not easy, not in the least. There's a bit of a struggle between me and Jade, but no one intervenes. Again, everyone's used to this. Lissa scoots over a bit without looking up from her PearPhone screen. And André constantly moves his laptop around so that it doesn't get kicked, punched, or elbowed.

We tussle until I manage to face, straddle, and pin Jade down. Well, it's still a little bit of a struggle. She's not exactly letting me hold her hands down against the seat. But I've still got her for now; however, I will lose if I don't do something drastic. Now.

So I bite her. Right on the chin.

"Shit, Vega!" she exclaims.

"Language!" I hiss back before biting her again. This time along her jaw.

"Vega…" she warns.

"Stay still…" I warn back.

She narrows her eyes at me, and I just now something bad is gonna come out of her mouth, so I stop it. I clamp my teeth on to her lips, both of them at the same time. Then I let go.

I raise my eyebrows, daring her to say anything I don't like.

Her mouth opens, closes, forms straight firm lines, and round o's for all of twenty seconds, but in the end, she lets out a puff of air and goes still.

Adorable isn't a word I'd use to describe too Jade often, but right now…She's just looks so dang adorable, the way she's looking up at me. I kiss the tip of her nose without even thinking about it.

She kisses my chin back.

I'm so used to her affections that I can't help responding. I lower my head, give her a lingering kiss on her lips, and while I'm at it, I might as well take care of some business. I sneak my hand under her shirt, dip my fingers into the waistline of her jeans, and pull out the scissors she was gonna use on Alyssa Vaughn.

"Hey!" she protests.

"Alyssa's a guest in my house, Mami. You can't cut her." I murmur.

"Fine. But I'm gonna think really hard about it." She pouts some more.

I giggle and roll my eyes. "You can have these back when you show some good behavior." I say as I hop off of her lap.

"Where are you goin'?" she groans

"Upstairs to put these away."

As I pass by Alyssa I feel I need to clarify a few things for her. It's obvious she thought Jade beats the crap out of me regularly, but it's not like that. And I don't want her to feel silly for jumping to that conclusion. I want her to know that I appreciate her concern for my wellbeing. So I say, "Thanks for having my back, but it's not how it looks sometimes."

"I saw that." She exhales. "You uh…you seemed to be very much in control there." She stutters a bit, probably still in shock after learning Jade keeps scissors in her pants, and that they were almost used on her.

"We take turns." I pat her shoulder comfortingly, but it's a little awkward. I mean, how do you comfort a person like Alyssa Vaughn after your girlfriend threatens to stab her? God I hope she doesn't sue us.

I give her an encouraging smile, and she smiles back. Hopefully if I keep friendly with her, she won't even think about filing that law suit.

As I'm walking away, I hear Jade yell, "What the hell are you looking at?"

I shake my head and keep going. That temper of hers…

After putting the scissors on top of my desk, I decide to change my clothes while I'm up here. One, I'm really hot for some reason. And two, Jade's jeans are a little loose on me and it's kinda uncomfortable. I can actually feel sweat running down my thighs.

Gross.

"Vega, what are you doing up there!" Jade yells up at me.

Since I'm done changing anyway, I quickly make my way downstairs. "I had to change, it's hot in here." I explain before plopping back down into her lap.

"You don't have any longer shorts?"

I frown. Why would I wear long shorts if it's hot in here?

"It's hot." I repeat.

"I'm not hot." She argues.

I ignore that statement and turn my body toward André. "Whatcha got so far?"

"Not much yet." He frowns.

André's an excellent song writer, so it must be buggin' him that he's having a hard time trying to figure out what to write for a four year old's birthday party.

"I got something." Robbie announces suddenly. Then he starts singing a song he made up…about broken glass.

"NO!" Jade screams.

I agree, just not as loudly. You'd think he'd be embarrassed to sing a song like that in front of Alyssa Vaughn, but then again, Rex is still sitting next to him. Maybe the boy just doesn't feel shame like the rest of the human race.

"I got something," André announces.

Thank God.

"It says here that the top ten most popular children songs are about food." He explains.

Well, there's an idea. All we gotta do is write a song about food.

I get up to get a notebook and pen so I can write down a list of food and such. And when I come back, Jade does that thing again. She wraps her arms around my middle a bit too tightly.

What's with her today?

I try to loosen her hold manually, but she doesn't like that. So I give up. I start writing down some of kids' favorite foods, like spaghetti and pizza, but then I realize I'm gonna need my glasses or I'm gonna have a major headache by the time this is over with.

I make to get up, but Jade holds me tighter.

"Stop getting up! It's annoying." She barks at me.

Jeez.

"I forgot my glasses."

"You don't wear glasses!" She snaps, just as Melissa announces she'll get them for me.

Everyone goes quiet. And it gets real awkward in here real fast.

Melissa looks like she doesn't know whether or not she should get them for me, but in the end she goes upstairs. She probably wants a little escape from the tension filled room.

I do too.

"You didn't know you're girlfriend wears glasses?" Alyssa asks Jade. She's the first to speak.

Jade's hold on me tightens even more.

Ow.

"They're for reading." I answer, feeling the need to defend her. "We don't usually do a lot of reading when we're together." I say. Then I catch the look on Beck's face. The "I told you so" face, and I realize how what I said must've come across.

I feel the tips of my ears get hot first. Then the rest of my face follows rather quickly. It's just like he said. All we do is fight and make out. We don't know anything about each other, especially not if Jade doesn't know that I wear glasses sometimes. There's no sustenance to our relationship. Nothing to hold us together if we're not fighting or making out. But it's not because I'm a slut. I tell myself firmly. It's because Jade's not mine.

I inhale sharply. Why does that thought hurt even more?

{~~~O~~~}

Author's Note: One more thing, some weeks ago, I was told that I won the topaz award in my category. I can't believe it! Thank you guys so much! I feel like I should give you some kind of reward or something…so I will.

Remember how I said this story might turn into an M-rated fic? Well, I've chickened out since then and decided to keep it T. I didn't think you'd notice or care, but lately I've gotten a few PMs and reviews from you guys wanting "one of those" scenes. So…I'll let you pick. I'll do a majority rules type thing and let ya'll vote on it. You can vote to keep it T or vote to get it bumped up to M. And to all of you, whether you decide to participate and vote or not, please don't get upset with me if the results don't go your way. This is the fairest way I could think to do this. I hope you guys think so too.

You can also let me know where you'd like the next chapter to start. Naturally, it's gonna be a chapter from Jade's POV, so if there was a part of this chapter you would've liked to get her thoughts on, then lemme know. I promise it won't affect the update time. I'm slow on that anyway;)