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

27. Six Weeks: Chapter 27

{~~~~TORI~~~~}

I gotta wazz so chizzin' bad right now. That's the only thought that I can think of even though I know it would be better to concentrate on something else. Anything else. But it's no use. I've been holding it for nearly an hour because I don't wanna wake Josie. I'm sure she won't complain. I mean, she hasn't done it yet; but still…I feel a little bad for her. She's been taking care of me without complaint for weeks now.

Thank Dan I get these stupid casts off today. I'm so ready. Beyond ready. I just want to feed myself for a change; and drive myself around, and answer my own phone, and dress myself. But most importantly, I can't wait to be able to wipe my own duey. It's been foreeeeeever.

"Baby girl," And oh, thank goodness! I nearly melt with relief at the sound of Josie's awakeness because I seriously don't know how much longer I would've been able to hold it. "Let's get you to the bathroom." She yawns after a quick, and a very audible, stretch of her back.

I roll over quickly, stupidly forgetting that I can't just clumsily rush out of bed and catch my fall with an outstretched hand like normal. I give a surprised squeak; and before I can land on my casts, Josie's grabbed me around the middle and dragged me out of the bed on her side. She's had a lot of time to get used to me doing stuff like that, I guess. Either that, or it's her super mom reflexes. Come to think of it, Victor is a bit of a roller.

Josie yawns again before pushing me into the bathroom and shutting the door behind us. I try my best to hold still while she pulls my pants down, but I really gotta go.

She shakes her head at me. "I don't know why you always wait until the very last second." She mumbles monotonously while sitting me down on the toilet. Then she's at the sink, washing her hands and brushing her teeth.

I'm a little confused at first. Usually, she just waits for me so she won't have to wash her hands twice. But then I remember, Victor spent the whole three-day weekend with his godmother. Josie's gotta pick him up before Jade goes to school.

"Lean forward."

I'm pulled out of my thoughts by Josie's soft command and I do as she says without a thought. She never asks me if I'm done when I'm done. Just tells me to lean forward so we can get the embarrassing part out of the way. Of course, she doesn't really need to ask, I guess. She can tell by the lack of 'tinkles hitting the water' sound that I'm done.

A few seconds later, Josie pulls me up and flushes the toilet. Which is another thing I'm looking forward to doing on my own once my casts are off. Flushing the toilet by myself. That way I'm the only one who sees my business.

"I'm gonna put you back in bed. Then I'll wake you up in about an hour so I can dress you for your appointment." Josie suddenly announces.

I figured that part out already, but I suppose Josie's just talking so I'll be distracted while she pulls my pants up for me. Which I'm grateful for, but this isn't nearly as awkward as it used to be. It's just annoying.

"Are you excited about getting your cast off today?" She continues.

I roll my eyes at her. Of course, I'm excited!

She rolls hers back and calls me an asswipe before guiding me toward her bed. "Covers or no?"

"Covers." I reply.

She nods her head and pulls them back for me. Once I've slid in, she covers me up and pushes me toward the center of the bed. "Do not fall out of this, baby girl." She raises both eyebrows at me, like a dare.

"Or what?" I challenge.

"Or you'll fall out." She deadpans.

I sigh and watch her head for her closet so she can pick out something to wear. She's no fun. Or, I've been so bored for the past few weeks that arguing has become one of my main sources of entertainment. Which is just sad….like, super sad.

"I'm out." Josie yawns once more before leaving.

"Keep your crybaby in the living room." I yell after her.

I can hear her snort; and I imagine she's got an amused smirk on her lips. She thinks it's so chizzin' hilarious that my namesake hates my guts. The boy screams bloody murder every time he catches a glimpse of me. I'm not even exaggerating. His face gets all red and purple; and I swear he's about to asphyxiate because he can't get enough air into his evil little lungs.

Josie says it's cute; that he's playing hard to get and I'll probably be his favorite person in the world soon enough.

I highly doubt that.

I feel a yawn creep up on me and I put my thoughts on a happier train. I don't wanna go to sleep thinking about Victor Alexander. It'll probably give me nightmares.

Let's see….happy thoughts, happy thoughts, happy thoughts….

My casts are coming off today. I could cast a Patronus with that thought. So, I think of how awesome my life will be after 8am today until I fall back asleep. It doesn't take long at all.

{~~~O~~~}

"Rise and shine, baby girl." I feel a not so gentle smack on my butt and I'm instantly awake.

It's time!

Finally!

I roll over quickly; and with way too much excitement. I don't even care that this is my second time nearly falling out of the bed. Especially because just like last time, and all the other times before that, Josie catches me around the middle and pulls me out of the bed on her side. I halfway expect her to scold me; remind me that she just told me not to fall out of the bed, but she doesn't say a thing. Just stands me up on my two feet, waits until I have my final balance, and then she's going through my stuff to pick me out something for me to wear.

Jeans, which I haven't worn in weeks, and a simple grey tunic.

Wepa! I'm definitely down for this. I even laugh a little. Then I shake my head at myself. Who on earth gets excited because they're about to put on a pair of jeans?

Me. That's who!

"What's so funny?" Josie asks as she kneels to help me get into my pants.

"Jeans." I grin down at her.

"You need to get laid." She glances up at me briefly before going back to the task of holding my pants steady for me.

I lose my balance as soon as those words are out of her mouth. And she immediately grabs my hip to steady me. "It would probably help with your clumsiness too." She adds on nonchalantly.

I gape at the top of her head for a few seconds before spluttering out a very confused, "How could it possibly…."

Josie looks up at me and opens her mouth to explain.

"No!" I spit out frantically. "Don't answer that!"

With the most microscopic lift her eyebrow, Josie adheres to my request as she pulls my jeans up all the way and buttons them up for me. "Hands up." she commands once she's done.

"Why would you say that?" I blurt out while automatically lifting my arms so she can change my shirt.

Josie ignores me. Probably afraid I'll tell her not to answer once she opens her mouth to try. I'll admit it; if that's truly the case, she's not wrong.

Soon enough, Josie's throwing my nightshirt in her hamper before telling me to meet her at the front door while she grabs her baby banshee. Yes, she actually called him that. Because that's what I always call him. Because he's always screaming and wailing around me. ALWAYS.

I try my hardest not to pout, but I fail miserably. I don't want Victor to go. It's a special day for me and he'll only ruin it with his wailing. Then, I hear the most beautiful sound in the world. It's the sound of Eddie, Josie's dad, saying, "I'll keep him while you take Tori to her appointment, baby girl."

My gaze goes straight to Josie's doorway and there's Eddie with the baby banshee in his arms. I shoot a grin his way; so tempted to run up and hug him for his generosity.

Eddie just grins back at me; and I approach him slowly because I don't wanna startle the baby banshee in his arms. If I could have it my way, I wouldn't go anywhere near him, but there's no other way to get out of Josie's room, so….

"It was nice having you around again, Tori." Eddie continues to smile while bouncing Victor into giggles. "Don't be a stranger!"

Oh, I'm gonna be the strangiest stranger there ever was until that little demon spawn develops into a full-fledged human being. But I keep those thoughts to myself as I swiftly slide passed them. It's not as awkward to get around as before, and I manage to squeeze by with very little difficulty.

Behind me, I hear Josie say a quick, "Thanks, Daddy," before following me to the door.

"We have a few minutes to spare before your appointment, you wanna get something to eat, first?" Josie asks me as she opens the door for me.

I shake my head and hurry to her car. I'm really hungry, and I'm sure Josie knows, but I wanna wait until after my casts come off. Otherwise, she'll have to feed me.

It honestly shouldn't be a big deal. I mean, she's already doing everything for me. Everything. She even just put my seatbelt on for me without a second thought. In fact, almost everything she does for me is without a second thought by now. So, feeding me one last time shouldn't even be a bother; but I guess I just wanna ease up on the dependency as soon as possible. I mean, I've been dreaming about this day for a while; about all the independence I'll have once my casts are off. And now the time is nearly-

"Tori!"

"What!" I jump, super startled by Josie's raised voice. She hardly ever yells.

"Your phone." Josie's tone loses all of its urgency once she has my attention, and I briefly wonder how long she'd been calling me before I finally heard her. It's about three seconds later when I finally process what she's said. My phone. It's ringing. "Do you want me to answer it or ignore it?" she asks patiently.

"Who is it?"

"I'm driving, baby girl." She patronizes me. "I can't look right now."

"Then why'd you ask me!" I snap. I definitely can't wait to get these stupid casts off. Then I could answer my stupid phone by myself!

"You're so freakin' cute sometimes." Josie retorts.

"Am not!"

"Adorable." She hums.

"I just can't wait to get these stupid casts off." I admit, because I know she's not gonna let me win.

Josie simply nods her head to acknowledge my answer; and once we get to a red light, she checks my phone for me. "It's Alyssa. She wants you to call her as soon as you get your casts off. The literal second they're off. She wants to come over and be your first."

"What?" I nearly choke. "My first what?"

"That's what it says. Look." Josie holds my phone up so I can see. I read the message quickly and see that she paraphrased a bit, but that's the gist of what Alyssa said. "You made it sound dirty on purpose." I glare at her.

"Prove it."

I roll my eyes and rest my head against the head rest. My feet start tapping out an impatient, and very unrhythmic, beat without my permission; and I allow it because it helps me feel a little less restless.

"Are you ready to go back to school?" Josie asks; probably annoyed by the tapping, but not annoyed enough to tell me to stop.

"Who's ever ready to go back to school?"

"Don't be a smart ass, baby girl."

I sigh and make a conscious effort to keep my feet still.

"Are you ready to see your friends?" Josie tries again.

"I have been seeing my friends." I retort, daring her to mention the one person I haven't been seeing.

She doesn't.

"Are you ready to go home." She asks instead.

"What's with the twenty questions?" I scowl. "Are you tired of me, or something?" I won't be surprised if she says she is, but I don't want to actually hear that she is. You know?

Josie purses her lips and I hold my breath, waiting for her answer….If she even answers. And then she says, "Tired isn't the right word. You just make it awkward to masturbate at night."

"That's not funny." I roll my eyes.

"No, it's not." She agrees.

I wait a few seconds for her to tell me she's joking….but she doesn't. So that means…that means….

"Josie!" I squeal. "Please say you don't diddle your duey while I'm sleep!"

"It doesn't matter." She lets out an unbothered yawn. "You're practically dead to the world once I do the belly button thing."

"Josephina!" I gasp.

"Victoria." She deadpans.

"You can't diddle your duey while I'm asleep next to you!"

"It's my bed," She gives me the laziest little eyeroll. "In my room. I can do whatever I want to my duey."

"But it's….it's…" God, I can't even figure out how to say what I wanna say, because I'm not exactly sure about what I wanna say. "It's…." I try again.

"Not fair?" she offers.

"Huh?" I frown, because that was not what I was gonna say…ever.

"Are you jealous because you didn't get any the whole time you were casted up?" she smiles at me.

I frown some more. "No, that's not… I don't need…I don't" -

"Oh." Her eyes widen a bit with interest. "You and Jade never…"

"Yes." I answer quickly, my heart skipping a beat. How'd she come to that conclusion. I didn't say anything about Jade. In fact, I didn't really say anything about anything. "Yes, we have."

"Why not?" She asks. She doesn't even take her eyes off the road.

Que demonios?

"I said yes, Josie." I reiterate. "Yes, we have."

"Yeah, but you're lying."

I start to internally freak out a bit because no one is supposed to know that me and Jade haven't done it yet. She told everyone we'd been together that way since the first day we met.

"I won't say anything to anyone, baby girl." Josie reassures me, and I exhale slowly. Relaxing, until she says, "So…you don't masturbate either?"

"No, Josie!" I shriek.

"…No, you don't masturbate, or no you don't wanna talk about it?"

"Both!" I squeak, trying to cover my ears, but these dang casts…. "No to both!"

"Okay." Josie answers distractedly while quickly checking her phone. Then her eyes are back on the road, and it's almost as if we were never talking about….stuff.

And now, naturally, it's all I can think about. I mean, normally I don't really think about it much. But Josie makes it seem as though it's something that I should think about, or do, frequently. And I find myself wondering…

"Is that… not normal?" I blurt out.

Josie doesn't answer right away. I don't know if she's waiting for me to elaborate, or if she's waiting for me to decide I don't actually want an answer to my question.

"Is what not normal?" She indulges me a few seconds later.

"To not…" I trail off here, suddenly super self-conscious.

"Masturbate?"

"Josie…" I whine. Must she keep saying that word? And does she have to be so…so…comfortable about it?

I don't get a response for a total of six minutes this time. And I stop expecting one, but suddenly we're at a red light and Josie turns, giving me her full attention. She's got her head cocked to the side as she studies me, and my stomach drops before she even opens her mouth because I know that look.

"You don't know how, do you?" She asks, but it's not really a question.

"Josie…" I groan as my face begins to heat up.

"Want me to show you?"

"What?!" I turn a little in my seat, about to open the door and jump out of the car, but I can't. These. Dang. Casts…..

"It's no big deal, chill." She mutters before picking up her phone and typing away. And I breathe. She meant show me on her phone, not on her or me. "First things first. You gotta figure out what makes you wet. Diddling a dry duey is just…self-abuse. It's not the experience you want, especially if you're new to it. Trust me."

She glances up from her phone and notices the green light. I expect her to put a pause on this conversation until we hit another red light, but she just puts her phone down and keeps going.

"Some people are visually stimulated." She explains nonchalantly. "Some people like hearing it more than seeing. Some people have minor kinks, some have disturbing kinks."-

"Kinks?" I interrupt, curiosity getting to me despite my mortification.

"Yeah, kinks." She nods her head. "Some people like to be tied up. Some like to be choked. Some like to roleplay. Some like"-

"Okay, I get it." I interrupt with a small cough. I twist a little in my seat again; wanting to get out of the car, but these dang casts….

"Chill, Tori." She says soothingly. And I do. Then she says, "What do you think you'll like?" and my only answer is a dropped jaw and widened eyes. It's all I can come up with.

"You don't have to tell me," Josie laughs after a quick glance at the look on my face. "Just think about it. That's step one. Figuring out what turns you on and being honest about it. That's important too."

I try to think about it, but I can't. It's too weird; and my thoughts keep straying to how weird it is to try and think about what I'm trying to think about. "I don't know." I mumble eventually.

Josie glances over at me; there's a slight frown on her face. "Are you feeling overwhelmed, Tori?"

I shrug my shoulders to my best ability. "I don't…"

"Relax." Josie instructs and I inhale slowly and exahle. "We can drop it, right now, if you want. Okay?"

I nod my head. There's a part of me that wants to drop it. A huge part. In fact, most of my parts want to drop this. But I'm also very curious. I just don't know where to start, I guess. How am I supposed to know stuff like this? And I get to thinking that maybe it'd be easier if I had some kind of guide. So, I ask Josie what she likes.

"Me?" Amusement dances around in her eyes for a minute. "Do you really want the answer? Some things you can't unknow once ya know, ya know?"

I frown some. She's right about that. Maybe I don't really wanna know what Josie's into. Maybe it would just help if I had a full complete lists of things people like in general. Then I can pick from that.

"What's considered a normal kink?" I ask, proud of my sturdy voice and steady heartrate.

"Nope."

My face falls a little. "Nope?"

"Nope." Josie reiterates. "We're not gonna discuss "normal" kinks because I don't want you to feel ashamed if you like something that's "not normal," okay?" She takes her hand off of "two" to ruffle my hair before putting it back on the wheel. "You pick the kink that's right for you and I promise I won't judge."

Although I don't usually like it when she ruffles my hair, I don't mind it so much right now. "Thanks Josie." I smile.

"Anytime."

"What do you like?" I ask again. It just comes out before I can really think about it. And I'm proud of myself for not feeling as embarrassed or awkward as before.

She raises her eyebrows at me.

I nod my head and exhale. "I'm sure. I really want to know."

She waits a few seconds before finally answering me. "I like to be talked to." She says…. And that's all she says.

"That's it?" I frown.

She lets out a soft snort. "What were you expecting?"

"I don't know," I throw up my hands…casts. It's awkward, but I barely notice anymore. "Talking doesn't sound very kinky."

"What do you think I mean by talking?" She glances over at me and I catch the smallest hint of exasperation in the tilt of her chin. "I don't mean small talk."

"Oh." I say, but I still don't get the big deal.

"Dirty talking, Tori." She elaborates; which I'm grateful for because I sure as heck wasn't gonna ask. "That, and a little edging gets the job done from time to time."

"Huh?" Now, I'm totally confused. Dirty talking, I get. Well, I've never seen it in action, but theoretically I know what it is. Edging, though? What the heck is edging?

"Here." Josie says before setting her phone down in my lap. "Read this."

Apparently, my confusion was written all over my face because she's pulled up a webpage, "Everything You Need to Know About Edging."

It's a lengthy guide. Very descriptive, with pictures and everything. My ears burn the whole time Josie's phone is in my lap. Mostly because she has to scroll down for me occasionally and it's just… a lot to take in on an empty stomach….not to mention it's gotten super hot in here, all of a sudden.

I learn very quickly what edging is, though. Just the first couple of sentences in and I have it figured out. I mean, it's kinda simple. But reading the rest of the page starts to make me nervous. There are so many tips, and instructions, and do's and don'ts…I didn't know there were so many ways things could go wrong. And what if when me and Jade….I don't even know what she likes! There are so many different things she could be into and I don't know if I'll be able to…. What if I do it wrong? More than likely, I will do it wrong and the thought makes me feel a little dizzy. More than a little dizzy, actually. My stomach is full of overcaffeinated nerves, and all the moisture in my mouth has migrated to my hands.

"All done, Josie." I croak.

She picks her phone up out of my lap almost immediately. "How do you feel?"

"I get it, now." I shrug.

"That's not what I asked." Josie pushes. It's kinda weird, because she doesn't usually. "Are you uncomfortable? Turned on? Turned off? Does any of that interest you?" she continues.

"I don't know." I rub at my forehead with my cast. A little harder than usual. It'll probably leave a mark.

"What were you thinking about while you were reading?"

"I was mostly trying to figure out what Jade would like." I accidentally blurt out.

Josie snorts, "That one's easy."

"Really?" I perk up immediately.

"Yeah."

"Well?" I sit up to my best ability, super ready to absorb everything she's about to say.

"What?" she frowns microscopically. "You want me to tell you?"

"Yeah."

Duh.

"I don't know," she checks her phone again for the millionth time. It's almost like she's trying to avoid eye contact, but I know that's not the case. Josie's never scared to look me in the eyes and say what she's thinking. Never. "Maybe that's one of those things you should figure out on your own. You know, so your first time can be special, or whatever."

"It won't be special if I mess up!" I blow up at her.

"Cálmate, mamita." Josie shushes me, and I immediately take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Even though Josie didn't yell, I know she's alarmed by my behavior. She hardly ever uses Spanish.

Once I've calmed down, Josie reaches over and gives my ear a gentle tug. "Estás bien, mija?"

I nod my head.

"Good." She tugs my ear once more before putting her hand back on the wheel. "You're overthinking this, you know."

"Am I?" I ask. My voice is much lower; partly as an apology for snapping, and partly because I already know she's right.

"Yes, you are." She smiles. "Just pay closer attention to what she responds to and you'll be fine, I promise." Then she cocks her head to the side briefly before continuing. "You do know what I mean by "respond," right?"

"Yes, Josie!" I roll my eyes.

She raises her eyebrows at me. Both of them.

"I think so," I concede.

She nods in satisfaction once before her eyes are back on the road. "What do you think I mean?"

I shrug, trying to be nonchalant when I answer. "Like, if she sweats, or something."

Josie stops the car and blinks at me; for like a whole minute before she says, "Uh, sure. We'll go with that. But since I love you, I'm gonna give you a hint. Look up praise kink." Then she unbuckles her seatbelt and opens her door.

I blink at her in confusion.

"Time to get your casts off." She winks.

I look around and notice where we are. Josie didn't just stop her car. She parked. We're here!

Finally!

{~~~O~~~}

The doctor taking off my casts isn't the same one I met in the hospital six weeks ago. And for that I'm grateful, even though this doctor seems to be so absolutely bored with life.

He takes an x-ray of my casted arms and examines them quickly while asking me if my arms hurt. I tell him they don't. As if he doesn't believe me, he gives both of my arms a firm tap; and when I don't so much as flinch, he nods in satisfaction.

"Everything looks good, Ms. Vega." He murmurs absently before taking one last look at the x-ray.

I grin over at Josie. She's standing to my left, a little closer than where the doctor said she could stand, but he doesn't tell her to move. And I don't think she would listen to him if he told her to anyway.

Josie doesn't grin back at me, but I don't take offense. I figure she's just not as excited as I am, until I realize she's not even looking at me. Her gaze is intensely fixed on the doctor.

I frown and look back at him. That's when I notice the weapon in his hand. I'm about to jump off the table and leave. I swear, I'll keep these stupid casts on forever if it means not having the doctor use a saw on me! But Josie places a firm hand on my thigh to keep me still and the doctor says, "This won't hurt at all, the blades are very dull."

I barely have time to ask him if he's sure before the dang thing is pressed against my cast.

He was right, though. It doesn't hurt. In fact, I'd even say that it tickles a bit.

And then, they're off, in no time. I can finally see my arms….and they should probably go back into casts. "Guacala," I whine. They're absolutely gross. Pale, hairy, dry, flaky, and they stink too.

The doctor holds out my arms one by one; twisting them this-a-way and that-a-way while asking if I feel any pain at all.

I would make a joke about how painfully hideous my arms are, but my gut instinct is telling me he wouldn't appreciate it. So, I tell him I feel fine; that my arms don't hurt at all.

"That's good." He replies as if he couldn't care less before writing something down on his chart.

"Your skin is going to be very sensitive for the next few days, so you'll need to treat it gently. You may be tempted to scrub or scratch all the dead skin off your limb the moment you get home. Instead of rubbing, scrubbing, or scratching your skin, gently wash it with mild soap and warm water using a soft cloth or gauze pads…" He drones. It's almost like he's reading these instructions off of a manual, but it's even worse because he's got it memorized.

I make a face at Josie.

She nonverbally scolds me for not paying attention. Just a slight frown and pointed index in the doctor's direction.

I sigh and try to focus better on the boring man in front of me. Josie's right. I do need to pay attention. It's not like anyone else is gonna help me with recovery.

"….Soak your skin in warm water for 20 minutes twice a day for the first few days. And gently rub your skin dry with a soft towel. Rubbing the skin too hard can damage the new skin. Any questions so far, Ms. Vega?" he pauses there.

"No, I got it." I claim.

Josie lifts an eyebrow at me and I continue by repeating the basics of what the doctor just told me. Soak arms for 20 minutes a day, rub dry gently.

"And don't scratch." She adds on.

"And don't scratch." I parrot.

"Good." He nods before continuing. "Support your limb as it continues to heal. Move gradually back into using it. Start with small, easy movements and work your way up to using the limb fully. The muscles of your limb will likely appear smaller and weaker because you haven't been using them. You'll need to take it easy and be careful with your activities during this time."-

"Will she be able to masturbate?" Josie cuts in.

I look to the doctor for the answer….and then I realize what the chiz Josie just chizzin' asked. My head snaps to my left, almost painfully, so I can face her; but before I can wazz out, Josie shushes me and points to the doctor.

Is she crazy!? I'm not looking at my doctor while he answers that!

"As long as Ms. Vega uses small, easy movements for the first couple of days, she should be fine." He answers without the slightest bit of hesitation; like he gets that question every day. "Put on lotion after you clean the area where the cast was. This will keep your skin soft, speed healing, and help stop itching. But choose a fragrance-free lotion because perfumes can irritate skin that's delicate or sensitive from being in a cast. Lotions made with cocoa butter usually work best. Do you play any kind of sports?" He asks.

"No." I shake my head.

"When can she drive again?" Josie butts in.

"Ms. Vega shouldn't attempt to handle large machinery for a few days. I would say by Friday, she-" he suddenly turns to me after realizing he was about to talk to Josie about me as if I wasn't in the room, I guess. "You should be able to do a small amount of driving, maybe to school and back. No long road trips."

I nod my head to show I understand.

"Any more questions?"

I shake my head quickly, hoping Josie gets the hint and doesn't ask anything else. Not only do I not want her to ask anything else about my sexual activities, but I'm hungry and ready to go.

Thankfully, Josie seems satisfied and the doctor schedules a follow up exam two weeks from today so that he can check and see how my bones are healing. Then I'm dismissed. Cast-free! I'm finally independent again!

{~~~O~~~}

We pull up to my house and no one's there, to my relief.

"David had to work today." Josie explains.

"I know." I answer quickly, because it's just weird for her to tell me where my dad is. I know he's working. If he wasn't, he would've been at the hospital, stone-faced and silent. Because my papi doesn't smile at me anymore.

And to be completely honest, I don't feel like facing that right now anyway. I want to be alone. I haven't been alone in a long time. There was always someone around, just in case I needed something. And now, I can finally-

"Get out of my car, Tori." I blink a few times and look over at Josie. "Your hands work now, so open the door and get out."

I smile back at her before doing just what she says.

"Pop the trunk," I tell her.

Not even a full second later, I hear my request being fulfilled and I walk around to the back of the car so I can get my stuff. Josie's right there, grabbing stuff too. I almost tell her I can do it myself, but the bags are kind of heavy and I remember the doctor telling me to take it easy for a little while.

Josie rushes ahead of me and unlocks my front door. It's a bit suspicious. She's been letting me do everything for myself ever since I got my casts taken off. And I start to wonder…maybe my house is filled with people about to shout "welcome home" as soon as I get inside. Maybe they all parked around the corner so I wouldn't see their cars.

More than likely, that's the case.

So much for being alone for a few hours. I think to myself. Then I take a deep breath and walk up to my house.

As I cross the threshold, I brace myself for all the noise….but nothing happens. There's no one here. I don't even see Josie. Not until she comes down the stairs empty handed.

"Is that everything?" she asks me, but she doesn't slow down. She's out the door before I can even answer.

I sigh, frowning at the small bit of disappointment that's lodged itself in my chest. I want to be alone, why am I upset that I am?

Josie comes back a few seconds later and she stops in the doorway, head cocked to the side and a full frown on her face. "I can stay until Trina gets home from school." She offers. "I just have to call Daddy and ask him to keep Alex longer."

I shake my head. I really do want to be alone. I just…I don't know how to explain it, to be honest.

"Gimme your phone." She commands abruptly, and I nearly give it to her when I realize I don't have to.

"No." I answer with a genuine smile.

She rolls her eyes at me. "I'm giving you homework."

"Huh?"

"So you can practice masturbating."

"Josie!" I gasp.

"What? The doctor okayed it."

"I don't need help." I snap.

Josie doesn't say a word, just waits for me to realize I was lying to her and myself.

"I don't wanna talk about it." I say as I hand her my phone.

"Ok." She concedes. It takes her approximately 48 agonizingly long seconds to do whatever she's doing; the she hands over my phone with a simple, "Here ya go."

I snatch my phone away and jam it into my back pocket without even looking at it.

"I'm out." Josie announces. "Lock the door behind me."

"I will." I promise, while doing just that.

And then it's just me. All alone.

I smile.

What should I do first?

My arms are itchy and hairy; but I resist the urge to scratch and shave. But my doctor did say to wash it twice a day, so I do that first. Then I make myself a sandwich and thoroughly enjoy being able to feed myself.

I also purposely avoid my phone, for hours, because I don't wanna see what Josie put on there. And while I'm at it, I turn on the living room TV and try my very best to fight the nap that's creeping up on me, but I actually lose that battle. Naps have become a very integral part of my day over the past few weeks, but it's a little earlier than my usual nap time. I guess because I've had a more active day than I have in weeks and I'm pooped.

School is gonna suck so hard tomorrow.

{~~~O~~~}

A growling stomach and banging on the front door is what wakes me up from my nap; and for a moment I just lay still, forgetting that I'm home and cast free. I can feed myself and answer the door, so I hop up excitedly to do that. Door first.

It's Alyssa, and her hands are full of grocery bags.

Yes! I love it when she cooks.

I hold my hand out, offering to take one of the bags away for her, but she snatches it out of my reach.

"No, Gorgeous." She scolds me. "You can't do any strenuous work for a few days." Then she's brushing by me and headed for my kitchen.

I frown after her, I wouldn't call holding a bag of food strenuous, but whatever. "How'd you know?" I ask as I trail after her.

"How'd I know what?" she asks distractedly before setting the grocery bags down quickly and pulling out a pot and a sauce pan.

"How'd you know that I can't do anything strenuous?" I clarify.

"I looked it up," she grins over at me and gives me a wink before putting the pot in the sink and turning the faucet on. While it's being filled, she takes out the cutting board and grabs a knife out of the silverware drawer.

"On the internet?" I ask, which is a dumb question because where else would she have looked it up?

"Yep." She answers simply. Then she's turning off the water and quickly putting the pot on the stove. She's a super talented multitasker, but I notice she's moving a lot quicker than usual. She also seems a bit agitated and distracted, and I briefly wonder if she's mad at me. In the end, I decide to leave it alone rather than ask.

"What are you making?" I inquire instead.

She smiles brightly at me, and I instantly feel better. It's definitely not me she's mad at, or irritated with. "That chicken linguine stuff you like so much."

"Yes!" I practically salivate. Then I make to heave myself up onto the counter and out of Alyssa's way. I've got my palms braced against the counter behind me and everything, but before I can attempt it, Alyssa drops the knife she was using onto the vegetables she was chopping and grabs a hold of my hips. With a small hop from me and a little lifting from her, I make it onto the countertop safely. "Your casts are off, Gorgeous; but remember, you have to take it easy." She says before going back to chopping veggies.

"Sorry and thank you." I tease while kicking my feet up and down carefreely. She's such a fussy worry wart.

Instead of accepting my apology or welcoming me, Alyssa clears her throat.

Uh-oh.

"So," she pauses there for a second. "I'm making enough for a few people actually. Is Jade coming over?"

I roll my eyes. "Why do you keep asking me that?"

"Because she never comes over," she sighs exasperatedly before rolling freshly stripped chicken breasts in ground coffee. "But you're still dating….-ish, and Beck's starting to get on my damn nerves."

I roll my eyes again. "You can tell Beck to mind his own business."

"Yeah, but it would be so much better if I could tell him that you two are back together." Alyssa says as she reaches across my lap to grab one of the grocery bags she brought in. "The boy needs closure. And seeing you two in hiatus-limbo is driving him, and by extension me, nuts."

"I'm not ending break with Jade just to make you feel better, Alyssa!"

"I'll pay you." She grunts distractedly while crushing walnuts into tiny pieces.

"That's not funny." I cross my arms over my chest.

"Huh?" she looks up at me with eyebrows dipped in confusion. Then her eyes widen when she catches the look on my face. "Oh, right! It was a joke. Of course." She chuckles humorlessly. "Yep, just joking. It'd be weird to…yeah, just a joke." She murmurs absently while practically running over to the sink to rinse out the bowl she had the chicken in and dropping the dry pasta into the boiling pot of water.

"Why are you in such a hurry anyway." I ask, finally getting curious enough to do so.

"Well, I was trying to have this done before your sister got home, but someone wasn't answering her phone, even though I specifically told her to call me the very second her casts were off…" she glances at me with a mock scowl on her face. I just smile back, unaffected. "So…anyway, once I saw you'd been home for a few hours I just came over."

"How'd you see that?" I frown.

"See what?"

"How'd you see I'd been home for a few hours?"

"Oh, I tracked your phone." She admits without the slightest bit of hesitation.

"What!?"

"Yeah," she nods, before quickly stirring the linguine and checking on her tomato sauce. "With the Find Me app."

Is she serious?!

"When did you put that on!?"

She scrunches up her whole face as she thinks about it. "Last week? No, the week before?" Then she turns to me while digging in one of the grocery bags for the cream cheese. "When did Josephina drop you off at my place because her adorable baby boy had the ear infection?"

"About two weeks ago." I answer in complete and utter disbelief.

"Two weeks ago, then." She answers…like there's absolutely nothing wrong with what she'd done.

The nerve!

"Well, take it off!" I yell.

"No need to frown so much, Gorgeous. Those wrinkles are not good for aging well." She chides while stirring the cream cheese in, little by little. Then she holds out her left and says, "Gimme your phone."

I reach into my back pocket, but my phone isn't there.

"It's probably still in your room." She says.

"How'd you know where…never mind." I shake my head attempt to hop down from the counter on my own, but Alyssa doesn't let me. I don't even thank her for her help. As soon as I'm down, I rush upstairs to get my phone. I don't really have to search for it because I can hear it ringing. And when I see Melissa's name on the screen, I answer it.

"Finally, babe!" She practically yells. "I've been calling you for forever."

"What's up?" I breathe heavily. I'm a little winded so I have to hold the bannister as I walk back down the stairs. I haven't been getting a lot of exercise the past few weeks and it's showing.

"What are you doing?" Lissa asks after a brief pause.

"Nothing." I exhale.

"Who are you doing?" She counters.

"Shut up." I refuse to answer that with huge amount of protests and denial. What's with everyone having splunking on their minds today anyway?

Melissa doesn't answer immediately. There's a bit of a scuffle on her end, and I can tell she's covered the mouthpiece so I won't hear what she says. She's probably arguing with someone. And I'm pretty sure I know who it is, so I don't say anything. I just wait for Melissa to continue.

It doesn't take long.

"I'm coming over in about an hour." She tells me just as I've made it down the last stair; and I breathe out a quick "whew" of relief.

Then I frown. "I thought you had work after school today?"

"I told you yesterday, babe. Weren't you listening?" Lissa sighs "I traded with André. He's gonna work for me today and I'll work Friday for him. He's gotta take his grandma to a doctor's appointment."

"Oh." That's right. I'm about to tell her I remember now when I hear Alyssa yell, "Gorgeous, will you give me a hand in here real quick?" from the kitchen.

"Okay. I'm coming!" I yell back.

There's another brief pause on Lissa's end; and another quick scuffle before I hear, "Is Alyssa there?"

"Yeah." I confirm.

Another pause. Another scuffle.

"Is she cooking?" Lissa asks.

"Yep."

"I'll be over in a few minutes."

I roll my eyes and ask Alyssa what she wants me to do.

"Who are you talking to?" she asks instead.

"Melissa."

"Oh," she grins, eyes lighting up. "Tell her to bring Jade."

"No."

She pouts at me.

"No." I repeat firmly.

"Fine." She sighs, unnecessarily turning her back on me to continue cooking.

"And don't give me the silent treatment." I snap at her while ending my call with alyssa. "We've been over this."

"Don't get bossy, Gorgeous." She turns to face me, "I just-"

"Yeah, I know, okay!" I cut her off harshly because I'm suddenly feeling irritable. "I know we're gonna end up back together. I want her, she wants me, and I should just end break and stop torturing everyone around us. I know, already. Okay?"

Alyssa blinks at me, her bottom lip trembling like she's about to cry. I feel bad for yelling immediately.

"Oh, come here, Gorgeous." She sobs while holding her arms open. I go to her after a second of hesitation and she wraps me up in one of the best smelling hugs I've had in a while. "Don't listen to me. I'm just being selfish. And I'm mostly joking." She chuckles a little. "Do what's best for you, okay?"

Before I can nod my head in agreement, her phone chimes and she lets go of me. "Yep, you just do what's best for you even if I have to suffer." She sighs after checking her phone.

"Is that Beck?" I guess.

"You know it."

"What'd he say?"

She hands me her phone.

I'm unable to contain a snort once a read the message.

"Not funny." Alyssa play scowls at me. "What time is it?"

"2:52" I answer.

She smiles at me.

It's unsettling; like she's scheming.

"What?" I ask warily.

"I think I'm still gonna make it. I only have to let this simmer for five more minutes and then I'm done!"

I laugh. "Still trying to avoid Trina, I see."

"You understand, right Gorgeous?" She pleads. "Otherwise I wouldn't leave you all alone."

"Yeah, I understand." I concede easily. "Plus, Melissa's on her way."

"No, Melissa's here."

Both of us turn to see Melissa standing in the doorway with a serious scowl directed toward me. "When are you gonna start locking your door, Icky."

"I forgot." I shrug.

Both Melissa and Alyssa roll their eyes at me.

"What?" I exclaim defensively. "I haven't been able to do that kind of stuff for weeks!"

"She's got a point." Alyssa agrees.

"She does." Lissa acknowledges before shutting and locking the front door. "What'd you make?"

"Come and see."

Next thing I know Melissa's standing in front of the stove and moaning out an, "Oh my god, that smells soooo good."

Then I hear a panicked, "Save some for Tori." From Alyssa.

To which Lissa responds, "Tori's no longer a cripple. If she wants some, she better come get some."

"I would stay and argue with you, but it's time for me to go." Alyssa says as she starts putting away the leftover ingredients. Most of the dishes are already cleaned because she was cleaning while she was cooking.

"Trina?" Lissa ventures.

"Trina." Alyssa grimaces while pulling me into long hug and kissing the side of my forehead. "I'll call you later. And answer this time!"

"I will." I promise.

"We'll see."

"I will." I repeat, this time with a roll of my eyes.

"If not, I'll just have to track you down." She threatens me.

"How…" And then it hits me. "Wait! You didn't take that thing off my phone!"

"Love you!" she calls while hurrying out the door.

"Don't let Jade hear that chiz." Lissa says beside me, and I glance over at her. She's got a gigantic bowl of my pasta.

"Did you even save any for me!" I exclaim as I run toward the stove. I look into the pot and note there's about one serving size left. I was hoping to have some for leftovers! "Lissa!" I whine.

"What?" she shrugs. "I'm hungry."

"You wouldn't be so hungry all the time if you weren't so stubborn!" I yell at her. "Joy's said you're welcome to eat anything that's in the fridge."

"I don't wanna depend on Joy. It's bad enough I live in her house basically rent free."

I roll my eyes, because who complains about living somewhere for free?

She sees my eyeroll and shakes her head at me. "You don't get it."

"I do get it." I tell her. Because I do. I know exactly how uncomfortable it is to live in someone else's home. "I was living with Josie for-"

"It's not the same!" she cuts me off. "I'm not staying with Jade temporarily! I don't get to go home after a few weeks. My parents don't agree with my decisions and I'm not allowed to go back home, Tori! I have to try and make it on my own."-

"That's the thing, Lissa." I interrupt her. "You're not on your own."

"Yes, I am." She practically slams her bowl on the counter. I don't think I've ever seen her so angry. "I have to learn to fend for myself. I can't live with Jade forever. Depending on her family doesn't feel good."

"Maybe not," I placate. "But-"

"But nothing, Icky!" she interrupts me back before beginning to pace. "I hate feeling like this. Like I can't say no to Jade when she asks me to babysit her sisters because I'm in her home and I owe her. And I can't tell Joy not to hover constantly because I'm in her home, and she can do whatever she wants in her home. I can't play my music without using earbuds because I don't want to disturb anyone; because it's their home and I'm a guest who should just be grateful that I'm allowed to be there. If I have to use the bathroom, I use the one all the way downstairs; or I make sure everyone's gone before me, so that none of the little ones wet themselves. I take quick showers so I don't run up the water bill. I can't-

"I'm sorry, Lissa." I stop her right there because she's so upset she's started crying. "I didn't think about it like that." I admit as I reach to hug her; but she puts a hand up, stopping me.

"I'm fine." She sniffs. "I plan on moving out soon, anyway. So, I'm saving up for that. André's supposed to be going with me, but I don't know. It'd be easier if we could split the bills, of course; but I don't feel he'll be able to leave his grandmother." She trails off. She seems so…lost. And when she speaks again, I have to step closer to hear because she's practically whispering when she says, "I'm actually really scared, Icky."

"You can"-

"No, I'm not moving in with you." She doesn't even let me finish.

I sigh. I figured she wouldn't want to, but I couldn't help but offer.

"Well, I'm here, whenever you need me." I start to lean in for a hug, but get distracted by the front door opening. I forgot to lock it, but it's only my mother, so I'm good.

I step out of the kitchen so I can greet her. As soon as she sets eyes on me, her eyes widen and she rushes at me. "I'm so glad you're home and whole!" She exclaims while squeezing me tight. "Your sister has been so unbearable without you." I laugh because she kinda sounds like Trina with the way she's whining. She gives me nearly a doze kisses before letting me go.

Then my dad's walking in, and his eyes widen in surprise as well. But not in excitement, more like shock. He probably forgot I was coming home today. It's probably weird to see me on a Tuesday rather than a Thursday.

I start to feel a little anxious as he walks up to me. Because he still doesn't smile at me. And he doesn't say anything to me either. Not at first. He just places a hand on the top of my head for a few seconds before patting me on my shoulder.

"Welcome home, m'hija."

"Thanks." I mumble.

He sighs deeply and walks away.

I suddenly find myself missing Josie and her baby banshee.

{~~~O~~~}

The first familiar face I see when I walk into Hollywood Arts is Keaton's. He's literally waiting for me at the door and I sigh. I don't feel like dealing with him. My morning already started of…not so good because I had to let Trina drive me to school.

"Victoria!" Keaton shouts.

"Hello, Keaton." I plaster a smile onto my face.

"I've never had an understudy more prepared than I do for your character. Six weeks!" He exclaims. "You've missed six WEEKS!

"Well, I'm back, now." I say unnecessarily.

"Indeed you are." He huffs. "There's a little less than three weeks left until opening night. You'll need to rehearse every day after school, starting today!" He declares.

I shake my head. "I can't today or Friday." I answer quickly. And before he can throw a tantrum, I tell him I have to see my shrink today; well, every Wednesday, and I have physical therapy on Fridays.

I don't actually have therapy on Fridays, but I don't want to spend the beginning of my weekends here, at school.

"Well tomorrow!" he pushes.

"Tomorrow." I confirm.

"Good!" He takes a step closer, way past the boundaries of my personal space. "And some mornings before school as well!"

"Fine." I sigh, more so to get him to go away. I don't feel like arguing about it.

"Fine!" he declares before stomping away.

I inhale and exhale deeply before heading for my locker. But before I even get there, I'm stopped by Lane.

"Can I see you in my office?" he asks nicely, but it's not really a request. I don't mind it so much, because Lane's always been really nice. He's the one who convinced the school, and my parents, to allow me to have my six-week absence. I imagine he just wants to check in; see how I'm doing.

And I'm right. As soon as I take a seat in his office, he pulls out a few reports. They're from my teachers, commenting on the work I turned in while I was gone. Well, the work, Melissa and André turned in for me.

"You've done excellent with keeping up with your classes while you were away, Tori." he announces while reading the reports. "I don't really have anything here from Sikowitz but I'm sure you did fine with whatever he sent you."

I nod my head to keep from verbally lying. Sikowitz didn't really send me anything. There were a couple of times Josie had to take me on a scavenger hunt, but that was about it.

"Good." Lane pulls out a bottle of lotion. "How are you feeling?"

I try my best not to roll my eyes. I already have to see Yana after school. I don't need an extra session.

"Good." I answer before frowning. His lotion smells like…it's making me hungry. "What's that?" I point at it.

He grins. "Sour cream and onion scented lotion. Taste it." He offers me the bottle.

If I hadn't bought coffee flavored lip gloss, I'd think this was weird. Not only does it taste good, but it serves as a decent distraction. We soon get off topic; talk about things other than school and before I know it, the bell is ringing. The one that announces the end of first period.

"Crap." Lane jumps in his seat. "I'll be sure to leave a message for your homeroom." He says as a dismissal.

I'm in a much better mood when I start walking toward my locker. So much so that I don't even mind it when someone barrels right into me from behind. I stumble a little, but the "Hi, hi, Tori!" makes me smile.

Cat.

She's got her arms wrapped around me tightly and I pat her hands affectionately. "Good morning, Cat."

She giggles.

I chuckle lightly and wait for her to let go…but she doesn't.

"Uh, Cat?"

"Yes, Tori?"

"You can let go now."

I feel her shake her head into my back. "No, I can't."

"Why not?"

"Jade said not to let you go until"-

"Never mind." I cut her off, and instead of fighting it, I finish making my way over to my locker. It's a little awkward with Cat holding onto me. I have to waddle a bit to keep her from constantly stepping on the back of my heels. Plus, all the strange looks are annoying, but I ignore them.

Once I've successfully collected everything I need for second period, I take a subtle, but deep, breath and I begin heading towards Jade's locker.

She meets me halfway.

At the sight of her, I mentally try to sort through my feelings as quickly and inconspicuously as I can. There seems to be hundreds of them fighting for my attention at once, but only a couple make it to the forefront. And they're completely at odds with each other.

So I squash them back down with the rest of 'em and make a mental note to evaluate them later. Because now is not the time. Not while I'm kind of being held hostage by a Cat.

I make direct eye contact with Jade, quickly gesturing toward the hands wrapped tightly around my midsection. "You wanted to see me?" Are the first words I say to her in six weeks.

She smirks at me. "You can let go now, Cat."

"Kay, kay!" she sings before skipping off.

"I figured you'd try to avoid me." Jade explains.

The words "Like you've been doing for the past six weeks." Go unsaid, but they're definitely implied.

I nod my head. "I figured that's what that was all about; but is there anything you wanted other than that? We're gonna be late to class."

"Nope." Jade shakes her head subtly. "Just wanted to see my girlfriend."

I take in the way she stares at me; gauging my reaction to that last word specifically. It was a challenge. There's no doubt about it; but more than that, it was a question. A not so subtle 'are you still my girlfriend?'

"Well, you've seen me." I confirm. It puts a small smile on her face and those feelings I just squashed down try to resurface. Now is not the time, so once again they're pushed down. I unnecessarily check the time on my phone while it happens. I already know what time it is, but not looking at Jade makes it easier. "We should get to class." I exhale when I feel I've got everything under control. Then I take a few steps to do just that.

"Vega, wait." Jade steps right into my path and holds both hands out to stop me from moving, but she doesn't touch me. "You look…."

"What?" I ask, when she pauses there.

"Pale."

"Huh?" I frown. That was not what I was expecting to hear.

"You need vitamin D." she explains. "Lots of it."

"Okay…I'll work on that." I answer before trying to step around her.

She steps right back in front of me. "Wanna go to the beach Friday, after school? I'll invite everyone else."

It doesn't take me long to think it through. I don't really plan on doing much after school on Friday, and I don't really wanna be home with my dad. It'll be fun to hang out with my friends. So, I shrug my shoulders. "Sure. What time?"

"Right after school," she rushes. "So, like 3:15ish."

"Okay." I agree. "Anything else?"

"No."

"See ya later, Jade."

Jade's whole countenance falls and the look on her face absolutely kills me. No matter what I'm feeling, I can't leave it like that.

"Jade?" This time, I step into her space.

"Yeah?" She stares back at me; eyes never leaving mine.

I'm not exactly sure what to say. I just know that I hate to see her looking so sad and I want her to smile. So, I say what I'm feeling. Partially at least. "You have a very beautiful smile, Jade."

Her eyes literally start sparkling, and I immediately feel a million times better because I love seeing her happy.

"Thank you." She grins at me "I'd compliment you on yours as well, but you haven't given me one yet."

I nod my head, quickly taking a deep breath to settle my nerves before answering. "I'm sure you'll get one soon enough. You seem to always get what you want. I'm starting to get used to that."

Jade frowns. "Vega." -

"I have to go to class, Jade." I cut her off.

This time, she lets me pass.

{~~~O~~}

My first day back to school went much better than I thought it would. Unfortunately. It doesn't give me an hour's worth of material to cover with Yana; none that I actually wanna talk about anyway.

While standing outside of Yana's office, I run through my day a few more times; trying to figure out the worse moments so I can talk to Yana about them. But there isn't much. There was an awkward moment with Beck in Sikowitz's class. And Trina irritated me this morning; aside from just being her normal annoying self, she refuses to pick Riley up for me tomorrow. Which is just frustrating because I would get her myself, but my doctor told me not to drive until Fri- Oh! maybe I can talk to her about how stressful it is to finally be free of my casts, but still somewhat dependent because my arms are still weak. Yeah, that conversation could last an hour if I present it correctly.

I take a deep breath before entering Yana's office and I try my best not to think about how much I hate coming here. I just don't think I need to anymore. I'm fine.

Mostly.

As soon as I'm inside, I spot Yana sitting on her bean bag in the middle of the room, legs crossed in front of her, phone in her hand, like always.

"Good morning, Tori." She smiles brightly as soon as she sets eyes on me. It's an annoyingly genuine smile. I can tell.

"It's not morning." I grumble before sitting on the bean bag in front of her.

"It's not." She agrees easily. Then she glances down at my hands before cocking her head to the side.

I look down at my lap and notice I'm wringing my fingers together. I stop immediately and try my best to keep my face neutral.

"Still having nightmares, Tori?" I absolutely hate the fact that she sounds like a really concerned friend and not a nosey shrink. But I answer by nodding my head anyway. So much for trying to direct the topics we talk about today.

"Same one?" She inquires.

I nod my head again.

"Are you ready to tell me about it?"

I tense up; even though I'm trying my best not to, and I shake my head frantically.

"Wanna play a game?"

I pause before answering. Usually, she says "let's play a game." She never asks me if I want to.

"What game?" I ask.

She grins at me. "I've got loads!" she exclaims while moving over to sit next to me. "This one is my favorite at the moment." She says while handing me her phone.

I quickly take in the image on the screen and smile. It's a kitten sitting on top of some super bright blocks.

"Is this a yellow Kitty game?" I snicker.

"What the heck is a yellow kitty?" She frowns. "It sounds like an STD."

I snort. I'm so sure that was inappropriate for a shrink to say.

She ignores me and points at the screen. "Alright, it's pretty easy. You're basically trying to clear this space by connecting the colored blocks. You have to have at least 4 in a row."

I press a set of pink ones.

"Yeah, like that!" Yana cheers me on.

It's such a simple game… until it's not. I get stuck on the sixth level. It's nearly impossible, but I'm so determined to get it that I just keep on playing. I barely even blink.

Suddenly, Yana speaks up beside me, "Alright, I'm done therapying you, Tori."

I jump pretty dang high in my seat. I totally forgot she was sitting right there.

She reaches for her phone, but I snatch it back. "What?" I splutter, I just got here!"

She smiles at me. Gently.

It's weird.

"It's been an hour, Tori."

That's when I notice her outstretched hand.

"Oh! Your phone!" I grimace in embarrassment before handing it over.

"It's all right, Tori."

"Okay, bye." I grin awkwardly, while gathering up my bag. "See ya next Wednesday!"

I'm in such a good mood that I don't even realize she doesn't answer me back.

{~~~O~~~}

I'm so glad it's Friday, and that I can drive, and that I'm about to spend time at the beach with my friends. Being home is like torture. Trina's still mad at me for whatever irritational reason she's mad at me for, and my dad…it's just been even more awkward between us since Yana dumped me Yesterday. Well, I'm sure she used more professional words than that when she contacted my father, but she pretty much said I didn't need to see her anymore.

And maybe it was my fault. I didn't particularly like going, but who does? And sometimes, I didn't answer questions I was uncomfortable with; but I think I was a pretty good patient overall. And Yana sent me the link to that game I was so engrossed with, so it's not like she's mad at me or anything.

A knock at my car window pulls me out of my thoughts. And even though it startled me, I'm glad. I don't wanna think about Yana or my dad. I just want to have some fun with my friends.

I quickly glance at my window and I'm not even surprised to see Jade standing there.

She makes a motion with her hand and I immediately comply by rolling my window down.

"Hey." She smiles.

"Hey." I greet back while reaching over to gather some of my things that I tossed in the passenger seat.

"You need help with any of that?"

"Thank you," I agree.

I step out of the car and move to the side so she can grab the beach bag for me. It's not too heavy, but I've gotten used to letting people help me, I guess.

Once Jade has it, I quickly lock my car door and follow behind her. Occasionally, she looks back at me and offers me a small smile. It makes those two contradicting feelings resurface, the ones I was supposed to analyze when I found the time. But I haven't done it yet. I've just been pushing them back down and ignoring them.

Soon enough, Jade picks a spot and begins to set up; spreading blankets on the ground, pulling out snacks, etc.

"When is everyone else coming?" I ask while kneeling down and pulling out the paper plates.

"Everyone should be here in a few minutes," she answers absently. Then she pulls out her phone and frowns, "Oops."

"What?" There's a small frown on my own face to compliment Jade's; and I don't even know if I'll need it.

"Looks like I forgot to text everyone." She claims.

Yeah, I need it. So I let it stay. I have a feeling it'll be growing soon.

"I'll do it now." Jade says after seeing the skepticism on my face.

I criss cross my legs, prop my left elbow onto the side of my thigh, and rest my chin in my upturned palm while I watch the show. Jade taps, presses, and swipes at her phone. Her face is appropriately animated while she scans her eyes up and down, or scrolls them from left to right.

"André said he has to take his grandma to a doctor's appointment." She announces after a beat.

"Imagine that." I deadpan.

More typing. More pressing. More swiping. A little bit of frowning.

"Redhead says she took André's shift at Nozu's."

"You don't say…" I say.

Jade frowns again.

"Robbie's in the hospital. Rex's arm got torn off."

"Oh, no." I sigh.

More typing. More pressing. More swiping. An even bigger frown.

I already know what's coming next, so I decide to just cut to the chase. "Lemme guess, everyone else can't make it." I supply.

Jade shakes her head, like she's truly disappointed. "Seems like Cat's sick and"-

"It's fine, Jade." I interrupt. "I'm sure you don't mind it just being us two."

She smiles brightly at me. "No, I don't mind that at all."

Instead of answering, I rummage around in my beach bag, looking for a bottled water.

"Vega?" Jade's voice is soft and sad. So, I look up to see what's wrong. She just…. stares at me, bottom lip caught between her teeth. I stare back, waiting for her to get the courage to say what she wants. I know she's found it when she takes a deep breath and sits in front of me. "Do you still love me?"

Not for a second does she look away. She barely even blinks as she waits for me to answer.

"Yes." I answer immediately. It's not really something I have to think about.

"But it's not the same." She continues to bite her bottom lip nervously. Her voice is still soft; still sad. "You love me less."

Her phone starts ringing, but she continues to stare at me; to wait for my answer.

"No. It's not the same," I confirm. "But it's not less."

Jade runs a hand through her hair in frustration. That's new. "What does that mean?" she demands.

"Your phone's ringing." I deflect, inhaling and exhaling as inconspicuously as I can.

"I hear it."

"Are you gonna answer it?"

"Are you gonna answer me?" She retorts.

"No."

Jade's nose flares and she purses her lips. Now that's familiar.

"What?" I say, inviting her to let the dragon out. I've been waiting on it, to be honest; and it didn't take very long at all.

"Nothing." She snaps.

Almost there.

I roll my eyes, wanting to just get this over with. "Just say it, Jade. Why are you suddenly so angry?"

"Suddenly!?" She blows up at me.

There it is.

I shrug. "Or not so suddenly."

"Because of that, Right there!" She points at me. I just wait for her to continue and she doesn't disappoint.

"I haven't seen you in six weeks!" She stands up and glares down at me as she continues to yell. "You didn't come to school! Every time I tried texting you, you never answered! If I called, someone else answered for you and you refused to get on the line to talk to me! In fact, you talked to everyone but me. My mom, my sisters, my uncle…" she takes a step closer and I inhale quietly while continuing to stare up at her. It's kinda starting to hurt my neck. "You even sent Josie to my house on Thursdays to pick Riley up! And now that we're finally face to face, you don't even seem to care. And I'm…I just…" she struggles a bit before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "I've missed you. I've missed you so fucking much, baby. Didn't you miss me at all?" She opens her eyes at this moment; again, wanting to see my face as I answer another super easy question.

"Yes."

"That's it?" She blinks down at me. "That's all you have to say!?"

"What do you want me to say, Jade?" I sigh while wishing with my whole heart that she would just do her yelling while sitting down. That way I don't have to crane my neck at this uncomfortable angle just to look at her.

"I want you to tell me why!" She yells.

I know exactly what she's asking. But I ask anyway. "Why what?"

"Why you fucking avoided me for six fucking weeks!" She screams.

"I needed space." I answer.

"You could've just said that! Instead of-"

I nearly choke on a snort, which is disgusting by the way. But I tried my very best to hold it in and it just didn't work out. Same for the smile on my face. And I roll my eyes in amusement. Jade is truly something else.

"What?" she glares down at me. "What's so fucking funny."

"Nothing." I dismiss. Because really, I could've asked for space? I did ask for space, multiple times, she just wouldn't give it to me. Instead of pointing that bit of obviousness out, I change the subject. "Look," I say while pointing at my cheeks. "You got a smile from me, just as I knew you would."

"Because I always get what I want?" Her expression softens a little.

"Eventually. That's been my experience, at least." I shrug. She seems to be winding down, so I deem it safe to continue riffling through my bag for that bottled water I was looking for earlier. I swear if I forgot to bring some….

"When do you think I'll get what I want most?"

I shrug.

"Will I get it?"

"Yeah." I glance up at her. She's still glaring down at me.

Huh. Seems like she's revving herself back up.

"You just don't seem excited about it." She accuses. "Is it something you even want?"

"Yes." I answer, and when her nostrils flare again, I add on, "Just give me a little time, Jade."

She begins to object. Most likely to tell me I've had six weeks.

"Time, Jade." I interrupt. "Not space."

"Yeah, but it's been months, plural!" She snaps. "How much more time do you fucking need!?"

"Enough, Jade!" I glare up at her. I've suddenly gotten tired of her whining and I've lost my temper. "You hurt me. You don't get to tell me how to process it. If I'm taking too long to heal then just break up with me and leave me alone! If you don't want to break up with me then just wait for me, patiently!" Then I point to the ground in front of me. "And sit down, you're hurting my neck!"

Jade snaps her legs closed, and she seems to lose focus before biting down on her bottom lip, which is not what I told her to do.

"Sit. Down!" I command

"Fine." She relents, a little breathlessly, before doing what I said; but I notice she's acting weird. She keeps her legs closed the whole time, or tries to. I have a perverted moment and my eyes just go… there. That's when I see why she sat so weird.

She's sweating.

Instantly, I'm reminded of the conversation I had with Josie on Tuesday. She said to pay closer attention to when Jade sweats. Well, not exactly in those words, but it's what she meant.

I'm a little confused at first because nothing's happening. I didn't touch her or anything. In fact, I just yelled at her. But then I think back to all the other times I remember Jade sweating and I start to get it. She usually sweats when I'm being bossy.

I bite down on my lip to keep from smirking because now is not the time. But while my mind is on this track, what was that thing Josie told me to look up? I'll have to call her and ask. Unless she already texted it to me.

I'm seconds away from picking up my phone and going through my messages when Jade finally speaks up.

"What do you mean by patiently, anyway?"

I raise an eyebrow at her. What else could it mean?

"I'm being serious." Jade insists. "Does that mean we avoid each other until you're ready? Or, is it the same rules as before; friends like you and Beck? Or new rules, maybe friends like you and Redhead?"

Before I can answer, her phone goes off again.

"It's my mom." She tells me after glancing at her screen. "Grayson's coming Sunday evening and Joy's been driving me nuts."

"This Sunday?" I try my best to keep my face neutral. It's not my place to judge, but I don't really like Jade's father; even though I've never actually met him.

"Yep."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she shrugs dismissively. "I don't think he'll try to take me with him. He hasn't yet. So, it should be fine. A little awkward because he's probably pissed that I haven't answered his phone calls." She answers absently while picking up the sun screen. "Take your shirt off."

I raise my eyebrows at her. That was the worse segue….

"So I can put this stuff on your back." She clarifies, as if I didn't already know that. And before I can even move a muscle, she says, "On second thought. We should probably leave."

I just blink my confusion at her.

Que demonios?

"One:" she holds up an index. "I remember telling you I was never taking you to the beach again, and you know why."

I blink at her some more.

Seriously. What the heck?

"And two:" she continues while adding a second finger. "It's probably not the best idea to possibly give your sensitive arms a sunburn. I looked it up."

Ok. I'm so lost. This doesn't make any chizzin' sense. Why the heck are we here? What was the point of even coming! And before I can ask why she suggested the beach in the first place, she says. "Wanna go to the movies instead? My treat."

It takes me another minute or so to fully process what the chiz is happening; and when the dots finally connect I splutter out an undignified, "Really, Jade?"

She shrugs.

I take a deep breath and exhale slowly. This girl…

"Fine, let's go." I concede before packing away the stuff. And I refuse to help her carry any of the bags back to the car because of my "sensitive arms."

"We should've carpooled." Jade huffs once we get closer to where my car is parked. "You parked too far away."

I just roll my eyes; and then my jaw drops as I get the biggest surprise of my life. My car is being towed away. Right before my very eyes.

"I had nothing to do with that, babe." Jade says in a tone so unconvincing it's like she wants me to know she's lying.

"Jade!" I screech. It's like nails on a chalk board, even to my own ears.

"What?"

"Seriously?"

"Are you gonna start yelling in Spanish?" she asks. She looks every bit of hopeful and I suddenly remember how much she likes it when I'm angry. So I don't give her the satisfaction. She does not get to sweat right now.

I inhale deeply and let it out slowly. "Seriously, Jade?" I ask after fixing my face into a more neutral expression.

"We can just take my car to the movies."

"….The movies? What about my car?"

"Yes, the movies, Vega. You already agreed to go; and I'll take you to get your car after." She promises.

"Fine." I agree.

"Yeah?" She grins. She seems surprised that I gave in so easily.

I'm not.

"This way." She nods her head in what I'm assuming is the direction of her car. And she's right. She is parked a long way from me. How on earth did she find me earlier, anyway? I didn't tell her where I par- I inhale deeply. That stupid Find Me app. I bet she has me on there!

"Something wrong, baby?" Jade asks suddenly. She's probably glanced over at me and noticed the look on my face.

"Beck doesn't call me that." I answer distractedly.

"Oh?" She frowns slightly. "I thought you said we could be friends like you and Redhead? She still calls you babe, right? What's one more syllable?"

I said nothing of the sort. So, I ignore her; which she ignores. Then she drops everything onto the ground and opens the passenger door for me because of my sensitive arms. Once I'm inside, she shuts the door for me and grabs up all our stuff from the ground and tosses it into the backseat.

I close my eyes and inhale deeply. It's to calm my nerves at first, but then I do it again, because Jade's car smells like good memories.

"Are you alright, Vega?" Jade asks after skidding into the driver's seat.

"I'm fine."

"You sure?" she tries again. "You're breathing weird."

My eyes are closed still, but I can tell she's gotten nervous. So, I let her off the hook. "I like the way your car smells, Jade." I admit. I don't even have to open my eyes to know she's grinning like a maniac. I can hear it in her voice when she says, "I like the way you smell too, baby."

I open my eyes, just so that I can roll them at her.

She just smiles at me and I close my eyes so I can't see her face any longer.

I hear her fiddle with the AC, then she turns the radio on and we're off. I take a peek at the speed meter and notice she's going five miles over the speed limit.

"Jade, slow down."

She does so reluctantly, but not without responding with an absent minded, "The movie starts in ten minutes. We spent too much time arguing."

I shake my head. Seriously? Why couldn't she just ask me out like a normal person? And even though it was a rhetorical question, the answer comes to me anyway. Jade didn't want to give me a choice; much less a chance to say no.

{~~~O~~~}

By the time we get to the theatre, I'm freezing. I think nothing of it until Jade grabs a huge jacket from the backseat.

Now, I'm suddenly aware of how I'm dressed versus how Jade's dressed. I'm wearing a tank top and shorts. Jade's wearing jeans and a long-sleeved flannel.

I narrow my eyes at her, but she blatantly ignores me. Opting to rush me out of the car so we won't be late.

I'm surprised, but not really surprised, when we bypass the ticket line and Jade pulls out two slips of paper to the admittance host. He tells her where our movie is located, but I wasn't really paying attention.

I'm too cold to really function.

"What movie are we watching?" I shiver involuntarily as I follow slightly behind Jade since she's the one who knows where we're supposed to be going.

Jade smiles back at me. "Are you cold?"

"No," I answer stubbornly; and I try to ignore the way my teeth chatter.

Her smile widens.

I shiver again.

"Are you sure?" Jade taunts.

"Fine." I give in. "Can I use your jacket."

"Nope." She smirks. "I'm cold too."

"If you loved me, you'd let me wear your jacket." I shiver some more.

"No, I wouldn't." She snorts. "If I loved you, I'd suggest you come closer to me; and then I'd wrap my arms around you and pull you close because I miss holding you." She stops and smirks at me, arms opened wide. "You wouldn't want to lean up against me for body warmth, would you?"

I can either concede or continue to freeze. At least, I'm sure she believes those are the only two options I have.

They aren't.

I put both hands on my hips glare at her, "Give me. The damn. Jacket, Jade." I hiss angrily.

"Fine." She shifts slightly from one foot to the other before taking the jacket off and handing it over.

I slip it on quickly and ask which theater room we're supposed to be going to.

She points to the one that says "The Call" on the outside and I nod. This is actually a movie I want to see. And I'm pretty happy we got here early enough to get good seats. Not too far back, but not too close up, and dead center in the middle.

"Do you want popcorn, or anything?" Jade asks once I've chosen our seats.

"Your treat, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then yes. I want popcorn, a large sprite, no ice, Swedish fish, and a hot dog." I smile sweetly.

She gives me an amused smile back before leaving.

While she's gone, the trailer for another hobbit movie and a redo of the Carrie play. She comes back and is passing out snacks all throughout the trailer for another Hunger Games movie; and we've settled down by the time the last trailer plays for a movie called The Book Thief.

Once the actual movie starts, it grabs my attention immediately. It's such an intense and tragic beginning. And from there, I'm totally engrossed.

I'm not exactly sure what causes me to glance toward Jade midway through the movie, but I do, and she's shivering.

I smile and lean over; whispering, "You wouldn't want to lean against me for warmth, would ya?"

She hesitates before answering; eyes roaming over my face. She's probably trying to see if it was a genuine offer or if I was just teasing. I don't know if she'll figure it out because I'm not entirely sure myself.

"Shut up, Vega." She scowls playfully after a bit. Then she turns her attention back to the movie.

She's still shivering, and I suddenly know the answer. I take my drink out of the cupholder and place it down on the ground before pulling the arm rest between us up. "Come here," I command while holding my arm up.

She hesitates at first, jaw dropped in surprise, before scooting over a bit and leaning into my side. I drape my arm around her shoulder and pull her in even closer to me.

"Better?" I ask.

She nods her head.

I hold her for the rest of the movie; and I don't mind it so much when she wraps an arm around my middle. In fact, I get a little disappointed once the movie ends because I know she'll have to let go. She doesn't do it immediately, opting not to move until the credits are over.

"That was a good movie." She sits up reluctantly.

"It was." I agree.

"Wanna see another?"

I smile softly. "Yeah."

She pulls two tickets out of her back pocket and I roll my eyes playfully.

"Seriously, Jade?"

She shrugs.

"What movie?"

"Warm Bodies."

I snort. "The romantic zombie movie?"

She shrugs again. "I figured you'd enjoy it."

"I'm sure I will." I stand and stretch.

"I'm still cold though, so…" she trails off.

I grab her hand in mine and pull her up to her feet. "Don't worry, Jade. I'll hold you."

"The whole time, right?"

"From the very beginning."

The smile she gives me is a little overwhelming. I have to breathe in deep, before letting out a long exhale.

{~~~O~~~}

"Jade?" I let out a huge yawn and kinda roll my eyes at myself. It's not that late; barely ten p.m., but I'm so chizzin' tired. I can't wait to get home. I swear, Jade's taking the longest route possible to my house.

"Almost there, baby." She pats my knee soothingly. It's almost patronizing.

"Jade." I try again, covering her hand with my own and giving it the same almost-patronizing pats.

She smiles. "What?"

"Thanks for the date." I yawn once more.

"You think I tricked you into going on a date with me?" Her smile morphs into a full-on smirk and I roll my eyes because that's exactly what she did.

"Baby," she grins at me "If this was a date, I'd kiss you goodnight."

I bite my lip and turn to stare out my window, not wanting her to see just how she's affected me. Because for the life of me, I can't seem to fight back a smile.

I mean, it's kinda not funny and I shouldn't be encouraging her behavior. The girl basically kidnapped me. But it was also kinda romantic….in a slightly disturbing kind of way.

. "You're not supposed to call me that," I say after a while, but only because I know she's waiting for me to say something.

"Do you really hate it?" She teases; and I choose to stay silent rather than respond. She already knows the answer and I'm painfully aware of it as well. I mean, it's quite obvious. I don't hate it. I don't dislike it. It doesn't irritate me. I love it, in fact. I absolutely love it when she calls me that. And I love her. And I want to be with her. I'm just…. afraid.

I'm afraid of Jade hurting me again. Not physically; but just…when she gets mad, she says things. What if I make her mad... It's not even a 'what if.' I'm going to make her mad because she gets mad so easily, over the most random things. I don't want to walk on egg shells when dealing with my own girlfriend. I shouldn't have to, right?

God, Yana would be so proud of me for admitting that. Not that she'll ever know about it.

"Baby?" I blink a few times; the change of Jade's tone caught me off guard and I realize right away that I was starting to panic. Immediately, I close my eyes and inhale quietly. My following exhale is barely audible.

"Vega, you okay?" Jade squeezes my knee a little, trying to coax a response out of me. I'm not ready to give her a verbal one yet, so I squeeze her hand back briefly before lifting it up and pressing a kiss to the back of her palm.

She reciprocates immediately; only the kiss she places on the back of my hand is much longer, a lot gentler, and way more reverent.

"Baby?" she says tentatively; my hand's still in hers, and it's almost as if she's asking for permission to continue calling me that.

"Yeah." I answer both her call for my attention and her unasked plea.

"Would you like to go on a date with me, tomorrow?"

I grin. I can't even help it. "Tomorrow?"

"Yeah, tomorrow." Her tone has switched to confident and I entertain the idea of making her wait for an answer; just to make her sweat…the figurative kind of sweating, not the other kind. But then we pull up to my house and I see my car in the driveway. For some reason I thought it was in an abandoned junkyard somewhere. It never occurred to me that she had it towed to my house!

There's an uninvited smile on my face when I turn to face Jade, and it slides right off when I see the look on her face.

She's staring at me; at my lips specifically, with the hungriest expression.

I gulp because I realize she's not really asking me out on a date. We've already been on one; somewhere nice, just the two of us enjoying each other's company.

She's asking me if she can kiss me goodnight tomorrow.

I mentally sort through a few of my most intense feelings swiftly before nodding my head.

"Are you sure, baby?" Her eyes are no longer on my lips. She's staring into my eyes.

"Yes." I croak. I would've just nodded my head again, but something tells me Jade would've waited for verbal confirmation. "I'm sure."

"Alright." She smiles at me. Not a small smile, but a huge one drenched in excitement. "I'll pick you up at three."

"Okay." I stumble out of the car before I can do, or say, something stupid. And I'm nearly at my front door when I realize she said she'll pick me up at three. Three. What kind of date starts at three? And what am I supposed to wear on a date that starts at three?

I pull out my phone and call her, but she doesn't answer. And she shouldn't answer either; she's driving!

So, I make a mental note to call her in about thirty minutes. That gives her plenty of time to get home. But I completely forget it the second I step foot into my house; because the first thing I see is Riley, my monstrito.

"When did you get here!" I squeal, totally ignoring the fact that it's late and she should be asleep. It's obvious she waited up for me and I'm so dang happy about it.

"Trina picked me up right after school." She answers.

"Really?" I frown because seriously? Why did Trina make such a big fuss and refuse to get Riley yesterday? It makes absolutely no sense! Then again, Trina never makes any sense.

Riley pats my stomach; and once she has my attention, she holds her arms out to me. I deliberately dismiss the fact that this is strange behavior for her because I want to hold her anyway.

Then she says, "Up, Mama." And I sigh. I want Riley right now, not Patty.

Still, I lift my monstrito up and hold her close because I haven't really been able to properly hold her in so long.

Once she's in my arms, her whole body just sags and she rests her cheek on my shoulder.

"Tienes sueño?" I ask, while rubbing her back.

Riley pulls back and blinks at me in confusion.

Right, she's Patty. Patty doesn't understand Spanish.

I sigh. Stupid Keaton and his stupid method acting lessons.

"Are you sleepy?" I switch back to English.

Before she can answer, I get distracted by the sound of rapidly descending footsteps on the stairs. I hold Riley a little closer because I know it's my dad and I need the comfort.

He barely looks at me. His gaze goes straight to Riley and he says, "Has anyone seen my handcuffs?"

Riley stiffens in my arms.

Seriously? Again?

"We'll go look for them." I say while setting Riley down. She's gotten super heavy and I know it's mostly because my arms are still kind of weak.

My dad follows us up the stairs; but pauses at my bedroom door. It never takes us very long to find his handcuffs when they go "missing."

This time isn't any different.

Riley grabs them up off of my desk and before she can hand them over to my dad, I grab her arm to stop her. "Why do you keep taking these?" I hiss.

She simply shrugs her shoulder before snatching her arm out of my hold and walking up to my dad.

"I found them, Papi." She smiles brightly.

He smiles down at her. "Gracias, mija."

Then he looks up at me and his smile is gone. "Good night, m'hija."

He doesn't really wait for me to say it back before leaving, but I wish him a good night anyway.

A huge yawn distracts me from the sadness I feel, reminding me that it's late and I'm tired. So, I tell Riley to hop into bed and I go to shut my bedroom door. Just as I grab a hold of the doorknob, Trina shows up out of absolutely nowhere, scaring the chizlets out of me. I squeal, jump back, grab my heart, and everything!

"There you are!" She ignores my reaction thoroughly. "I've been looking all over for you."

"I just got home." I scowl while rubbing at my chest to try and calm my heart.

Trina rolls her eyes at me and shoves me to the side. "Not you." She says while marching over to my bed and pulling Riley out of it.

I don't react right away because I'm so bewildered. It's not until Riley says, "goodnight Tori" as she's dragged by that I fully check in.

"Hey!" I exclaim, grabbing on to Riley's other arm.

"Let go!" Trina wails at me. "I need her."

"No, you don't!" I argue as I tug Riley toward me.

"Yes, I do!" Trina insists, tugging Riley toward herself as well. Riley let's out a surprised "whoa" before Trina screeches, "And I need her all day tomorrow too!"

"What?" I tug.

"You owe me." Trina tugs back.

"How?"

"Because there's only one of her!" Trina wails in an octave that makes me miss the baby banshee something fierce.

Really? This again?

"You know it's not my fault Amber won't come over!" I yell, throwing my hands up. Which is a mistake because Trina snatches Riley up and my monstrito is soon folded over her shoulder.

"Well I need the both of them so you should take her place while she's not here!" Trina unreasonably reasons.

"No!"

"Then you owe me!" Trina insists. "I need her tonight and all day tomorrow!"

"Por favor, Tori?" Riley finally says something other than the occasional grunt of surprise or discomfort. "We're going to Pacific Park tomorrow."

"Fine." I relent; but mostly because I won't be able to watch Riley tomorrow anyway since Jade's taking me on a date.

{~~~O~~~}

"Where are we going, Jade?"

"Are you cold, baby?" Jade asks instead of answering me. "You can turn the AC off if you want."

"Why won't you just tell me?" I whine. I've asked a dozen times since she picked me up, but she won't answer. She just changes the subject.

"You look beautiful, by the way."

I just scowl at her because getting dressed, while not knowing where we're going, was a lot more difficult than I anticipated. I didn't know if I should go for casual or if I should dress up. I didn't know whether to dress for warm weather or cool surroundings. I didn't know what to do with my hair or my face-

"Who's watching Riley?" Jade cuts into my thoughts.

"Trina's taking her to Pacific Park."

"Really?" Jade gasps dramatically. "What a coincidence. My uncle's taking Amber and her booger there today."

"Really, Jade?" I roll my eyes. Am I really supposed to believe that's a coincidence?

"What?" she fixes her face into the absolute epitome of innocence.

I look out my window to avoid looking at her. For some reason, I get the feeling she planned everything. I mean, it's obvious, she planned for Riley to have a babysitter while we were on our date; but I'm referring to the other part too. To the fact that Trina wouldn't pick up Riley for me on Thursday. I thought it was weird, because Trina loves having Riley over. Especially because Riley usually begs to stay the rest of the week and- Oh, I get it. If Riley had stayed, I would've wanted to bring her to the beach with us on Friday. It would've ruined our non-date.

After realizing the lengths Jade went through to make sure she got to spend time alone with me, those two persistent contradicting feelings begin to fight their way up to the forefront of my mind, but I push them back down. I've learned that it's not healthy to avoid my feelings altogether, but I can put them on hold until I want to deal with them. And right now, I don't. Especially because I've been dealing with them for a while and I still haven't really come to a decision on what they mean for me.

"We're here!" Jade announces suddenly.

I come out of my head and rejoin the real world. I look around eagerly, wanting to see where Jade's brought me. We're parked in front of a very colorful building with the words "Bob's Bounce Back" printed on the front in huge block letters.

I turn to face Jade. She's unabashedly staring right at me.

"Here?" I grin.

"I've been wanting to bring you here for months." She confirms with a grin of her own.

"Really?"

"Really."

I look back at the building, smile still on my face. I would've never guessed Jade would bring me to a place like this. It's essentially a huge playground for adults. Almost every walkable surface is a trampoline, and the walls are essentially the same, but with a softer foamier material.

Before I know it, Jade's opening the door for me. I'd spaced out again and didn't even realize she'd gotten out of the car.

"I could've gotten it." I tell her, because I don't want her to think I'm expecting her to open the door for me and stuff.

Jade just smiles at me. Then she opens the door to let me in the building as well. Just to be stubborn, I guess.

I offer to pay for my own ticket, but I'm not too surprised when she refuses to let me. I just look around, at all the other people bouncing and running, and falling….

I bite my lip, and my heart sinks a little. I shouldn't be here.

"What's wrong, baby?" Eventually Jade catches on to my dampening mood, and I just point at all the chaos.

"This probably isn't a good idea." I sigh. "If I fall on my arms"-

"You won't fall, baby." Jade smiles at me, while grabbing a hold of both my hands. "I'll hold you the whole time."

Oh, she so planned this.

"Come on." She grins while leading me to one of the few semi-empty areas. "Trust me."

"Okay." I give in nearly immediately.

I start jumping around, tentatively at first, because even though Jade said she'll catch me, I still don't want to fall. But it's not long until I get into it and I'm just bouncing around all over the place.

Jade holds true to her promise. Any time I nearly fall, she's got her arms around my waist to steady me. And the few times that I actually do fall, she holds me so that I land safely. And I try, I try my very, very, best to ignore how much I'm loving all the contact between us, but I can't. I let her hold me because I like the way it feels. I let her grab on to me because I'm craving the contact. And I let her caress me because she's good at it and I like the reminder.

Eventually, like only thirty minutes later, I get tired and thirsty.

"I need a drink." I announce. "I'm tired."

"Already?" Jade smirks at me. She's every bit of amused.

"Hey!" I pout. "I don't have as much stamina as before."

"I can help you with that, you know."

"Jade!" I choke. On absolutely nothing.

"What?" She raises her eyebrows and widens her eyes. There goes that innocent expression again but she's not fooling anyone. "I meant like running and stuff."

"Liar." I call her out. "You hate running because you hate sweating."

"I love sweating." Jade winks at me.

I shiver. That caught me so off guard. And it's way too dang hot in here to be shivering, so I take a huge step away from her. "I'll be right back. I'm thirsty."

She attempts to follow me, but I put my hand up to stop her. "No, you stay right here!"

I expect her to object, but she just smirks at me. Whatever she's thinking, I don't care. Just as long as she stays right here so I can get myself together.

I all but run up to the concession stand, and I'm standing in line for all ten seconds when someone covers my eyes from behind.

Really, Jade? "I thought I told you"-

"Guess who…"

Oh. Not Jade.

"Alyssa?" I turn around before she can confirm her identity. "What are you doing here?"

"It's my little cousin's birthday," she grins happily. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm on a date."

She frowns at me. "Um...Here?"

"Yep."

"Who in their right mind..."

"Jade." I grin.

"Oh...Oh." Her eyes widen suddenly. "Like, is this a real date? Don't play with my heart, Gorgeous. You know what this means to me."

"Yep, it's a real date." I continue to grin because I just can't seem to stop. "She's gonna kiss me afterward. You can tell Beck that."

"Oh, thank Jesus and his daddy!" She exclaims before pulling me into a huge hug and kissing the side of my head. Then she pulls out her phone and starts texting away.

"Really?" I giggle. "Right now?"

"Yes, right now." She murmurs absently. Then, when she's done, she grabs my face in both hands. "Call me the minute you get home." She demands. And she doesn't let me go until I promise.

I mean, I'm totally gonna forget to, but I still agree to it.

She kisses me on the cheek and tells me to get back to my date.

I shake my head in amusement as I make my way back over to Jade. I suddenly feel even happier than I did before. I mean, Jade bringing me here is pretty special and I hope we get to come again. Maybe not as a date, but definitely with the girls. Poor Riley's so bored at my house without her sister. I swear, it's the only reason she keeps taking my dad's handcuffs. I'd get her her own but that's weird- hey. I have some. I totally forgot but I know I have some. My dad bought them for me, only I've forgotten because They disappeared the same day I got 'em. I bet Jade took them.

"Have you seen my handcuffs?" I ask Jade as soon as I'm standing in front of her.

"Seriously?" she snarls at me.

I stop short and just blink at her; feeling like I've missed something.

"I bring you on a date and you go kissing all over some other girl before coming back to ask me about fucking handcuffs?" Jade hisses. "What the fuck do you need them for? Huh? What are you and Alyssa gonna do with them?"

I shake my head. "Nothing."

"You owe me."

"W-what?" I stutter.

"You owe me a blind pinky promise." She clarifies. "Remember?"

"I"-

"A while ago, Vega." She snaps. "I made you promise not to go to the Gorilla Club and I told you I'd do anything but you were too scared to ask; so I pinky promised to do whatever you asked of me before you even told me. Remember? You asked me not to date Beck. And then you agreed that you owed me a blind pinky promise. Remember now?" She rushes.

"Yeah, I remem"-

"I'm collecting now." She grabs my hand, my left hand, and jams something onto my ring finger. "Promise not to take that off until I say so!"

I look down at my hand. There's an engagement ring there. It looks like a real engagement ring.

It is a real engagement ring.

And I get angry.

I turn on my heels, while she's still yelling at me. I just walk away from her. I honestly expect to hear her yell more. To hear her following behind me and telling, no demanding, me not to walk away from her.

But she doesn't yell more. And she doesn't follow me. Not immediately.

I've left the bouncy house. I've walked through the parking lot, and I've stopped at a crosswalk for a minute before I hear it. My name.

Jade's yelling at me again. Telling me to stop being stubborn and get in her f-ing car.

I ignore her. I just keep walking.

I absolutely hate the fact that I love her so much. I really do. My life would be so much simpler if I could just find someone else to love. Someone kind, and gentle, and considerate. But no, I want Jade. A selfish girl who blows up over every little thing and-

HONK!

I jump and take in my surroundings. I'm in the middle of the street. There's a car not even two feet away from me.

Oh my God. I almost got hit by a car!

I rush the rest of the way across the street, too embarrassed to look at what can only be a very angry and annoyed driver. And then a car pulls up beside me.

I know it's Jade without looking, but just to be safe, I take a quick peek.

Yeah, it's her.

I open the passenger door, and get in. She doesn't say anything. Nothing at all. The whole ride to my house is done in silence. A very uncomfortable, suffocating, silence.

I start to panic a little.

She's gonna tell my dad. I know she is. She's always telling on me. For my own good in her mind; but there really isn't anything to tell. This was an accident. I wasn't trying to die. I just wasn't paying attention.

As soon as we stop, I reach for my handle. I've got to get to my dad first. Tell him what happened. Make sure he knows it was an accident.

"Vega." Jade breathes.

I freeze.

"I'm sorry."

I look at her. Totally not expecting an apology.

"I'm sorry." she says again. "But can you please, the next time I make you mad, can you please just stay still until you've calmed down? The next time anyone makes you mad?"

I hang my head a little, shamed. Though she wasn't blaming me, I should've known better.

"Sorry." I mutter.

She grabs my hand, my left hand, and starts to pull the ring off. Without even thinking, I close my fist and snatch my hand back.

I want this ring. I want Jade. It irritates me to no end that I do.

She smiles at me. "You still want me?" she asks. But it doesn't sound very much like a question.

I open my door and get out. "Bye, Jade."

On my way to the door, I realize I forgot something. Or rather, Jade forgot something. She was supposed to give me a goodnight kiss. And the fact that I still want one after everything that just happened also irritates me to no end.

{~~~O~~~}

I'm super tired of Patty. She's irritating and underdeveloped. The only good thing about her is she likes kisses and affection. In that way, it's almost like having Amber around, but at the same time, it's not the same.

So, I've brought Riley to the mall. She never turns into Patty in public. And you can't get more public than the mall, there are people everywhere. All the time. Plus, I figured it'd be a good distraction from the fact that I basically got engaged yesterday.

We've been here most of the day, since about ten. Just wandering around and window shopping mostly.

Much to Riley's disappointment, we ran into Melissa just outside the GNC and I invited her to hang out with us. My monstrito has been in a sour mood ever since. And that was about two hours ago. I was hoping she'd get in a better mood if I got her something to eat at the food court, but no such luck.

I watch her eat and scowl at everything. But it's kind of adorable. And the little bit of ketchup on her cheek is adorable too. "Riley, you're making a mess." I chide affectionately.

She rolls her eyes. "Esto es nada."

I roll mine back. English. Would it kill her to use English for two minutes? Normally, I love it when the girls use Spanish. Riley's much better at it than Amber now because I see her more often; but she hasn't used a bit of English since Melissa joined us. She doesn't seem to like her very much. She's so much like Jade in that way.

"Come here, Monstrito." I beckon to her. Without hesitation, she gets up and stands before me.

I take a napkin and dip it into my ice water before cleaning off her face with it. She protests the whole time, all of it in Spanish of course.

I laugh at her discomfort, before pulling her in by the chin and kissing her cheek. She scowls at me and wipes my kiss away.

I laugh again. "Go ahead and sit back down." I dismiss.

She plops down into my lap.

"Really? I didn't mean sit on me, Riley Jade." I love calling her that. The first time was a slip that earned me a fierce scowl from her. But now it's habit and Riley doesn't seem to be bothered by it as much.

"No has dicho donde." She wiggles a little, getting comfortable.

"But I didn't say here either." I mutter.

She shrugs her shoulders.

While I'm distracted, the cutest little girl wanders up to our table and takes one of my fries.

"Sarah!" I glance up from the adorable little girl and see a woman, who has to be her mother, making her way to us. "Sarah no!" She continues to scold, but she's too far away and Sarah's not listening. She takes another fry.

"No, Sarah." Riley scowls at the kid before taking the fry away.

Seriously?

"Riley, give it back to her."

"Pero, no es de ella!" She yells back at me.

"Do it."

"Pero"-

"She's just a baby." I interject, because honestly! Some things shouldn't even have to be said!

Riley snatches a few fries off my plate and hands them to the little girl.

"Haslo con amor." I command sternly.

"Lo estoy haciendo con amor!" she bites back before giving her attention back to little Sarah. "Here!"

Little Sarah isn't threatened by Riley's grumpiness at all. She smiles brightly at Riley before stuffing the fries in her mouth.

"I'm so sorry about that." Her mother exclaims, finally getting to us. "She just keeps getting into everything!"

"It's okay." I reassure the woman.

She gives me a grateful smile before apologizing once more. Then, as she's about to walk away, she turns back around. "Is her father around?"

I frown at her. That just came out of nowhere. And my frown deepens when I hear Melissa snort beside me.

"It's none of my business," Sarah's mom continues. "But I just wanted you to know, you're doing such a good job with her. Especially making sure she's exposed to her heritage."

"Huh?" Her heritage? This woman can't possibly think….

"I've seen so many young mothers…" She continues without missing a beat. "She's…you're doing fine. Even with all the pouting, she seems to be a good kid."

Melissa laughs. Hard. Like, doubled over and crying.

I glare over at her. It's really not that funny.

"Mama?"

"Not now, Patty." I answer absently.

"I don't got a daddy." Riley speaks up, and I suddenly remember the woman asked me about her father. I honestly can't believe she's still waiting on an answer. "Mama's gay."

"I see." Sarah's mother looks over at Melissa.

Wait. What does she see? She doesn't think, Oh God, please tell me she doesn't think"-

"We're not a couple." I have to say because Melissa's still laughing super hard. And this chiz isn't even funny.

"Oh." Sarah's mom comments and I find myself wishing she'd go away. "In that case, I'm sure one day you'll find a nice woman to settle"-

"Mama has a girlfriend." Riley cuts in.

"Oh."

Okay, this has gone far enough!

"She's not my daughter." I admit while pushing Riley off of my lap.

Riley turns around and faces me with the most genuine expression of heartbreak on her little face. "Mama?" She sniffs.

Seriously? "Stop calling me that. It's Tori!"

I don't really mean to yell, but I just feel so irritated. Between Sarah's mother's look of disapproval and Melissa's uncontrollable laughter….And Riley makes it no better when she reaches for me, bottom lip trembling. "Mama?" She sobs pitifully.

I stand up and glare down at Jade's evil little sister. "Riley, Jade! Que está pasando contigo?" I demand.

Riley just starts crying.

This is a complete nightmare. "Look," I face Sara's mother and point at Riley. "I'm not her mother!"

She gives me a doubtful look and holds little Sarah tighter; like she can't believe any woman would disclaim their child the way I'm doing.

"Melissa!" I turn around, noting with relief that she seems to be in control of herself now. Well, she's still wiping away tears, but she can form sentences now. "Tell her!" I beg; urging her to come to my defense and tell this woman that I'm not Riley's mother.

"I think it's time for me to go." Melissa sniffs before standing up and gathering all her stuff. "You've clearly got a lot on your plate."

"What?!" I gasp. "Why are you on her side? She doesn't even like you!"

"I'm not on anyone's side, Icky." She shrugs. "I just think you two need to work this out…without me. So, bye."

And then she's gone.

I can't believe she didn't help me. Wait, yes I can.

I inhale deeply before turning back around. Sarah's mother hasn't gone anywhere, unfortunately. She nods her head down toward Riley, who's still crying. And not only is she still crying, she's got her arms outstretched, nonverbally asking to be picked up.

I glare down at her.

It doesn't phase her one bit.

"Would you like a napkin for the child calling you mama even though she isn't your daughter?" Sarah's mother is full on scowling at me now.

"She's faking." I snap at her.

"She's a good actress then." She says doubtfully.

"The best." I answer through clenched teeth as I lift Riley up into my arms and carry her away.

She stops crying as soon as we're no longer within earshot of Sarah and her mother and I put her down.

"What the hell was that?" I demand.

"What?" She asks innocently.

"What do you mean "what?"" I scowl. "You made me look like a really bad mother."

"But, you're not a mother, Tori."

"I"- Oh yeah…. Wait, that's even worse! "That's not the point!" I yell.

"What's the point then?" she fires back.

Ugh! She's so much like Jade that it's extremely frustrating sometimes.

"Why are you so dang difficult all the time? Huh. Why can't you just be"-

"Be what?" She snaps, getting really agitated all of a sudden. She even crosses her arms over her chest and glares up at me. What the chiz is going on with this girl? "You want me to be more like Amber?"

I shake my head, "I didn't say th"-

"Well, I'm not! No one even notices her."

"Hey! I notice her."

"Well yeah, of course you do." She rolls her eyes at me. "Everybody already knows she's your favorite!"

"That's not true. I like you both the same."

"No you don't."

"Yes I do. And you know it!"

"No, I don't know it!" She screams. "You do like her better than me! You're always asking about her, and calling her, and buying her stuff. You never do that with me!" she points to her chest to emphasize her last word.

"That's because I miss her, Riley!" I explain. "I never have time to miss you!

"Oh?"

Okay, that didn't come out the way I meant it. So, I try again, "You're with me every Thursday, sometimes the whole weekend." I clarify. "Amber always stays home with Jade."

"Whatever. At least you like us at all." She says quietly. I know she's genuinely upset, so I kneel down in front of her and grab her hands.

"Riley, a lot of people like you guys."

"Jade doesn't." She scoffs.

"Jade loves you." I counter immediately, because I believe it with all my heart.

Riley just scowls at our hands.

"She doesn't always show it," I continue. "But she's trying."

"Puh-lease." She rolls her eyes

"You haven't noticed she's gotten better?"

"Yeah, but that's just because you make her." Riley explains. "What happens if you leave for good and she goes back to…to before?"

"Riley, she's not going to go back to before." I say.

I regret those words as soon as they come out of my mouth. How can I promise Riley that Jade's not going to start acting ganky toward her at any moment's notice when I don't believe that myself? If I did, I'd end break already.