A.N/ Disclaimer ~ I am not Dan Schneider. I do not own the Victorious characters


The Power of a song.

Chapter 3

Jade arrived home to silence, the rest of the household was still sleeping and she was glad. She left her bags in the hallway and headed for the kitchen, she didn't bother with breakfast, she was back to not feeling hungry again. She just made herself a coffee, she did genuinely think she must be addicted to caffeine now the way she went through cups of coffee. She pulled out a chair and sat at the kitchen table turning the cup in her hands, when she thought about last night she felt so confused. She had never let anyone see her like that before, even Beck. She looked down at the tattoo on her arm and her mind drifted back, she'd been 13 then, she was already different from other girls her age in so many ways, looks, she wasn't exactly your typical Cali girl, interests, she loved literature and was already writing plays, she ate, slept and breathed music, learning to play as many instruments as she could, she was addicted to knowledge and once she became intrigued by any given subject she would devour every bit of information she could find about it. Her Mom isolated her in every way possible, she didn't have any friends and was quite withdrawn, the castle walls already long since built, only back then there were still odd bricks missing which left weaknesses in her defences. Her father had just begun a relationship with some twenty-something year old wannabe playboy bunny and she hadn't seen him for a couple of months whilst he lavished his attention on it, her Mom was furious, jealous even maybe, added to that a big deal at work hadn't been going as planned and that had frustrated her even further, Jade had suffered for it, her bullying of her becoming relentless, even Jade's fortress couldn't withstand it. The breaking point came when she had returned from school one Friday afternoon to find two small suitcases in the hall. She'd gone to find her Mom and ask where they were going, fully expecting another boring hotel trip so her Mom could meet up with some man, usually married and a work colleague, only her Mom had explained that she was taking the then 8 year old Aiden to Disneyland for the weekend, that she wasn't taking her as she was too much of an embarrassment and she couldn't stand the thought of two whole days in her company. That alone had distressed Jade enough but her Mom hadn't stopped there, when the babysitter had arrived to watch her, her Mom had told her that Jade had been vile for months and wasn't going as a punishment and was to spend the weekend in her room. The woman had given her the most disgusted look and Jade had run to her room in tears. She had tried to call her father repeatedly but he just kept dropping the call only to eventually turn his phone off. She had sank into complete despair, she could see no glimmer of hope, no end to the misery and loneliness, she'd learnt enough about anatomy (one of her many obsessions) to know that slitting her wrist would be difficult and more often than not it was ineffective so she'd simply opened a vein. She'd bled out fast and if the sitter hadn't decided to check on her at the exact moment she did, Jade knew she wouldn't be here now, the rest of that incident was a blur of noise, 'stupid girl' comments, bright lights and hospital. The hospital had kept her in for days, only agreeing to release her after her Mom arranged for her to have therapy. The hospital stay hadn't bothered her really, in all honesty it was a welcome break and it was a kind nurse there who had unwittingly prompted the beginning of the change in her. One night she had sat on the edge of Jade's bed and told her, "You are only a child for a short while, soon you'll be in charge of your own choices and destiny and whatever it is that feels like the end of the world now will be merely a distant memory." Jade had thought about that repeatedly over the years, in fact she had it written on the inside of her ideas journal. The forced sessions with the psychiatrist were short lived as Jade refused to divulge anything of real importance to him choosing instead to continue playing along with the 'she'd been seeking attention' story that her Mom had told everyone involved. She had a natural flair for acting so it hadn't been hard, there had however, been one positive to come from it and that was that she had mentioned her love of music and the arts during one session and he had told her she should audition for Hollywood Arts, that it would give her a focus, a purpose. She had contacted them to arrange the audition as soon as she had gotten home. When the day arrived she had been so nervous, there had been thirty-nine other children auditioning that day alone and only five got in including her. The response to her acting piece had been amazing but when she'd sung the place had roared with applause and that's when things had really started to change for her. Her Mom could do nothing but agree to her accepting the place she was offered, as otherwise questions would have been raised, plus she was trying to keep the whole sorry incident from Jade's father. Jade had found this all quite empowering; she also quickly discovered that her talents commanded a certain amount of respect that she had never experienced before. She'd had the tattoo done the week prior to starting the school, it had annoyed her Mom so much and given her another small taste of victory that she hadn't hesitated when she decided she wanted the piercings too. During the first weeks at Hollywood Arts her distance and awkwardness had been mistaken for meanness and mystery, this coupled with her natural talent in everything she turned her hand to quickly bumped her up the social hierarchy, not that she was interested in that at all but it made for an easier school life and instilling fear, she soon discovered, kept people at a safe distance. The more she had embraced this persona the stronger she had felt in herself; even her Mom's efforts to crush her spirit were less effective. The walls became stronger, the tolerance of others became lower and slowly she became the Jade West everyone knew today. Then Beck had come along and things changed again. It had taken him a long time to get her to be with him, he'd slowly chipped away at her armour till he found a way in and once there took a strong hold. He'd given her things no-one else ever had, positive physical contact, affection and eventually love. Ever since the end of their first year when they'd decided they would be exclusive (not that she had seen anyone else during that time anyway), she had increasingly felt the nagging fear of losing him, she knew she was jealous and possessive but she just couldn't help it. The more time elapsed and their relationship stepped up gear after gear until they were practically living with each other, the more, deep down, she had believed they would always be together. She sighed, shook her head sadly, refilled her cup and went to grab a shower and make a start on the homework.

Tori had only tackled one piece of her homework when Andre knocked at the door, as she let him in he quickly scanned the room, "Is Jade here?" he asked shiftily. "No, she's at home, why?" Tori answered suspiciously. "Good! Have you been on the slap today?" He still sounded agitated. "No, I've just been trying to do some homework. Why?" She was getting a bad feeling about this. Andre handed her his phone and as Tori read the words on the screen her jaw dropped, "This is baaad!" "I know! Jade is going to kill her!" Andre's eyes were like saucers. Tori nodded but actually didn't agree, she thought of Jade breaking in her arms last night, that was more what was concerning her! "Maybe you should warn her," Andre suggested. Tori weighed it up, she didn't want Jade to see this by accident and she certainly didn't want her walking into school tomorrow and finding out there but she also didn't want to have to tell her something she knew would cause her more pain. No, it would be better coming from her. "Will you take me round to Jade's in a bit? I need time to prepare what I'm going to say first." "Sure," Andre nodded, "I'm not coming in with you though!"

Jade's Mom left around 11 for her regular Sunday afternoon session at the spa. Within minutes of her leaving Jade had fetched some money out of the drawer in the dining room that her Mom always kept a stash in, paid and dismissed the sitter. She brought the last bits of her homework down; told Aiden to fetch his and set drinks and snacks up for them on the table. "We get this done and then I'm going to annihilate you on guitar hero!" she said giving him her best death stare. "Okay! You can try!" Aiden grinned, which made his matching glare humorously ineffective.

Tori ended up waiting till after dinner to head over to Jade's, making Andre stay to join them. She knew she shouldn't put it off any longer so after they'd cleared up she bit the bullet and they headed over. As they pulled up at Jade's house Tori was in complete awe, I mean her house was not small but Jade's was huge! She sat for a minute just staring at Andre. "Do you want me to wait here till you come out?" he asked her. "What you really aren't coming in?" Tori had assumed he was joking. "Not a chance, she has her scissors in there, you've heard of the saying, shoot or in this case stab the messenger," his eyes were saucer like again. "You really have got her totally wrong you know Andre." Tori rolled her eyes. Andre crinkled his face up at her questioningly. She got out of the car and rang the bell. Jade didn't hide her surprise when she answered the door to her and on spotting Andre in the car, gestured for him to come inside. Even though he really, really didn't want to, he did as she directed. Tori glanced around the vast space that was the entrance hall. The place was as awe inspiring inside as it was out. "What's up?" Jade's voice gave away her suspicion of this unannounced visit. "I need to talk to you about something," Tori started. "I don't," Andre chipped in. Jade looked puzzled but laughed slightly, "Okay, well Aiden's through there in the den, you can go and hang with him if you want." She had barely finished the sentence before Andre disappeared and Tori stood there dreading what she was about to do. Jade gestured towards the kitchen and followed her in there, "So are you going to tell me what's going on then?" Jade's brows were furrowed with confusion. "I don't know how to say this…" Tori hesitated. "Just tell me already!" Jade was starting to get stressed. Tori got out her phone, logged into the slap, found what she was looking for and handed Jade the phone, "I didn't want you to find out at school tomorrow." Jade took the phone and winced at the image in front of her, Tori held her breath waiting for the inevitable meltdown, only it didn't come. As Jade looked up her eyes were glistening with tears but she was fighting them. She handed the phone back and took a deep breath in. "Jade..." Tori started. "It's okay, well it's not okay but there's nothing I can do about it." Jade shrugged. Tori was sure she was probably just in shock but was still relieved she was holding it together. Jade smiled sadly at her, "Do you and Andre have to go? Or do you want to stay for a bit?" "I'll check with Andre but I'm sure it'll be fine, we'll stay," Tori guessed she probably needed the distraction. They spent the rest of the afternoon messing about on various video games with Tori usually losing miserably, even to Aiden and Andre and Jade noisily battling it out for the top spot.

After Tori and Andre had left and her Mom had returned, Jade disappeared to her room. She pulled out the ornately carved, black wooden keepsake box she had brought a few years back from under her bed, she opened the lock and lifted the heavy lid. This was where she kept some of her most treasured or private possessions. She sat on the floor with the box in front of her, she started lifting out the contents, a photo of her paternal grandmother who had passed away some time ago now, a tiny necklace with a doll pendant that her father had brought her when she was younger, she knew it was more than likely his PA who had picked it but she still treasured it none the less. Her hospital bracelet, the gauze which had been placed over her tattoo and held the star shape in her blood, a letter she had written to herself, as suggested by the psychiatrist, even though she'd told him it was a stupid idea and that no way was she ever doing it, her acceptance letter for Hollywood arts, the first play she wrote at school which she had gotten an A* for and then every birthday, Valentines and Christmas card Beck had ever sent her. For all her eye rolling and sighing over romantic gestures she did secretly love them. She went over to her bedside cabinet, picked up the photo of her and Beck hugged it for a moment then removed it from the frame, she couldn't hold the tears back any longer, although this time they were slow sad tears instead of the desperate sobs which had become so familiar to her recently. She took a last look and then placed it in the bottom of the memory box. She went over to her desk and slowly removed the photos of Beck that were blue-tacked to the wall in-between her posters and added them too. Next went in the promise ring and the necklace that held it. She put the other items back in and slowly closed the lid, she sighed deeply as she locked it. She knew that many people were prone to dramatically throwing away or burning everything following a painful break up but she loved Beck too much to do that, she would never regret the three years she'd spent with him. He'd taught her how to feel, to trust, to allow someone into her heart, he'd been her sanctuary from her home life and yes he may have hurt her but that didn't cancel all that out, but he was moving on and that meant she had to find a way to let him go. Staring at his photos wasn't going to help the situation but locking them in the box was like symbolically locking them away in her heart, treasured but hidden. She wiped her tears, enough now, put the box away and rang Tori to distract herself.

Tori hadn't slept well at all, she knew Jade had seemed fine when she had spoken to her last night but facing school, the gossips, Beck and now what was likely to be a very gloating Brittany Summers, was a whole different ball game. It was the choice in girl that had shocked her even more than Beck going on a date that soon. The only person more indiscreet in the whole school was Trina! Beck should have known the first thing Brittany would do was post their trip to the bowling alley all over the slap and he'd even more stupidly posed for a photograph with her, which, as everyone else would have expected knowing her, was now her profile picture. She was genuinely worried about how Jade was going to handle today.

Jade spent the whole time she was getting ready steeling herself for what would be facing her at school today. She was determined to keep a check on her emotions, she knew, no matter how hard she'd tried, that last week most people had known she was struggling. Luckily, due to the fact they'd expected her to blow at someone, they'd kept their distance. This week she was determined to keep it together and be as normal as she ever got. At least she knew Tori would be by her side, although Monday mornings were when Jade and Andre both ended up in senior classes, Jade had advanced script writing class and Andre was in advanced song writing. This wasn't a bad thing though as at least she'd be nowhere near either Beck or giggling Brittany, she was genuinely floored by him going anywhere near her. She left her house early knowing she really couldn't hang about thinking any longer, she headed to Starbucks and grabbed coffees and breakfast muffins and went to fetch Tori.

Tori had only just finished getting dressed when Jade knocked at the door bearing coffee, breakfast and a smile. She didn't know why but it really made her morning. Trina was in full on screech mode at her Mom again so she grabbed her bag and gestured to Jade to head back out. Jade drove them to the park not far from school and they sat and ate by the pond watching the ducks. It was serene and she guessed exactly what Jade needed before facing the day ahead. They didn't discuss it, they didn't discuss much really, just enjoyed the tranquillity. When the time came to leave Jade stood up first and held her hand out to her to help her up, she took the hand that was offered and once up pulled Jade towards her and hugged her, as Jade wrapped her arms around her she felt her stomach flip. Strange. She put it down to worrying about what would happen at school.

As expected the halls fell deathly silent when Jade walked in which could only mean that moments earlier they had been buzzing with the latest tantalising piece of gossip. She went straight to her locker and got ready for class. She saw Beck heading her way out the corner of her eye, shut her locker door quickly and headed for the stairs pretending not to have seen him. She didn't even stop to acknowledge Tori who was still at her own locker, she'd know she'd meet her at lunchtime. "Jade!" Beck caught up with her, gripped her arm and turned her towards him. "What?" She looked at him in exasperation, "What really could you want to say to me right now Beck?" "Don't be like that!" He retorted. "Like what? What do you want me to be like? I'm not even raising my voice Beck, or is that what you want? You want me to cause a scene?" She was managing to stay so calm she was even shocking herself. "No. No, I just wanted you to know that it wasn't like she's making out" he tried to explain. "We're not together anymore Beck, you want to go play with things like that then go for it." Jade started to turn away. "It was just one night out, she asked me, I knew I'd be bored at home, I've no intention of dating that, I mean her," Beck rambled. "Well you'd best go tell her that then hadn't you." Jade took slow deep breaths as she carried on up the stairs to class, she'd dealt with it and actually managed to not make herself look like a complete idiot. Bonus. Her phone beeped in her pocket, Tori, of course, the message simply said, 'Good girl, see you at lunch xo' The rest of the day was relatively calm, the rumour mill was still well and truly spinning but Jade just shut herself off from it. She saw Beck desperately trying to distance himself from Brittany at lunch time and it was strangely, slightly amusing to watch. Tori had persuaded her to spend the evening with her and Cat. For all her protesting she didn't mind really, she'd been friends with Cat since the first week when she'd stepped in to stop her getting blatantly ridiculed by another group of students, Cat hadn't been able to see what they were doing. Jade may not be a pleasant person but she couldn't stand bullies and she certainly couldn't stand by and watch someone as defenceless as Cat get subjected to that kind of treatment. She drove her completely nuts sometimes, trying to protect her from her own stupidity was wearing and she had lost her temper with her on many, many occasions but she would never let anyone hurt Cat. She had actually been relieved when Tori had befriended her too as this had lessened the responsibility, not that she would previously have admitted to that. She dropped Tori off and headed home for a couple of hours after school but was careful to leave before her Mom got in from work. Avoidance was always the best option. She went to pick Cat up and was, as usual, dragged in there as Cat's Mom 'hadn't seen her in ages!' She didn't dislike Cat's Mom but she was just an older version of Cat and her brother, well, the less said the better, Jade felt so very sorry for Cat's Dad. After the obligatory ten minutes of mindless chatter they headed over to Tori's.

Tori was glad she'd managed to persuade Jade to come over with Cat tonight, one thing that had bugged her since the three of them had been to Karaoke Dokie all that time ago, was that they'd had such a brilliant night and yet since then there had only been one occasion where just the three of them had spent any time together and that had been when they were practicing Andre's Christmas song. She heard Cat before she'd even got to the door, she was so over excited. She laughed and went to let them in, Cat danced past her with arms full of her make-up case and hairstyling equipment. Jade followed her in shaking her head, as her eyes met Tori's she mouthed, "What have you got me into?" "I don't know," she mouthed back and they both started laughing. She took the brunt of Cat's makeover night in the end anyway, Jade got away with just reluctantly agreeing she could redo her nails as long as they stayed black. When she'd finished with them both Cat shoved a hairbrush at Jade, "Brush my hair for me please" That baby voice always irritated Jade, "Why?" "Because I like it," Cat said giving Jade her sweetest smile. Jade rolled her eyes but sat forward on the sofa and Cat deposited herself on the floor between her feet. Jade started gently brushing her hair and Tori went to make them all a drink. Watching Cat and Jade sat together like that made her feel all warm and fuzzy and it occurred to her that as much as she'd seen Jade yelling at Cat she'd also seen her smiling at her or looking after her too. It was strange how they all fell into the trap of focusing on the negative parts of Jade's behaviour and personality. It was like unless you properly thought about it, you completely missed the sweeter side of her. Maybe it was just easier to acknowledge the bad stuff or maybe that was all Jade had really wanted them to see.

Tuesday arrived and school was uneventful, which for Jade at the moment was a good thing. She had a plan for the evening that she was hoping wouldn't back fire on her too much. When they finished for the day she detoured to fetch Aiden again. She was about to drop Tori off at home when she got another of those strange feelings she didn't quite understand, she didn't want her to go, "We're going to go grab something to eat and then catch a movie, do you want to come with us?" Tori glanced between the matching pairs of eyes that were fixed on her, "I'd love to." Jade smiled and nodded and pulled back off the drive, Aiden gave her a far more vocal and enthusiastic response. Jade gave Aiden the choice of where to eat and of course he'd chosen McDonalds, she'd expected that, she knew giving him the choice of movie carried no risk, she was certain he'd choose The Hunger Games, which she was totally fine with, she had read the books a while ago and loved them. She was right, she'd also been prepared to be conned into buying him popcorn, drinks and ice-cream too. They took their seats and she ended up sat in between Tori and Aiden. As the lights dimmed she turned to look at Tori, she felt a pang of regret for all the time she'd wasted being difficult and rejecting her repeated attempts at friendship, she couldn't imagine not spending time with her now.

Tori realised Jade was looking at her and turned towards her, the screen, which was now showing the previews, lit up her face and her beautiful smile. She'd been pleasantly surprised that she'd asked her to come with them. As the film started and they turned to watch it, she slipped her hand into Jade's and Jade interlocked her fingers with hers. This time the butterflies in her stomach were unmistakeable, she didn't move her hand though.

After the movie, Jade dropped Tori off and then headed home. As they pulled onto the drive she turned to Aiden, "Whatever happens, I'll deal with it okay." He didn't speak, just nodded at her. Their Mom met them in the hallway as they came through the front door, "Aiden, room, now." Aiden looked at Jade nervously, she nodded and he ran off up the stairs. "Where have you been?" Jade swore her Mum could probably freeze stuff with her voice if she wanted to. "McDonalds and the movie theatre," she replied in matter of fact tone. "It's a school night," her Mom was just glaring at her, shouting and screaming would be less unnerving. "And his bedtime is not for another hour, I don't see the problem here." Jade was careful to maintain eye contact with her Mom at all times. "Be very careful Jade, you really don't want to start a war with me," she glared at her menacingly but as always kept her tone level. "I didn't think I was," Jade turned and slowly walked up the stairs waiting to hit the top step before exhaling.

Tori joined the rest of her family on the sofa when she got in, she'd had a good night but the one thought that kept swirling around her mind and confusing her was why she'd held Jade's hand. She couldn't explain why she'd done it but it had just felt right at that moment and Jade obviously hadn't minded as she didn't pull away. The more she thought about it though the more confused she became, she wouldn't have done that with anyone else, she never had before, except when she'd been with Steven but that was totally different, she was dating him. Her Dad put his arm around her and she leaned into him. She tried to focus on the television and put it out of her mind.

First period on Wednesday morning's was Sikowitz's class, Jade knew he was likely to pair her and Beck up today. One thing that man had was a knack for sensing any disharmony in the group, she knew his heart was in right place even if his involvement wasn't always welcome. She was right, she spent the whole lesson doing improv work with Beck, it actually wasn't as bad as she thought as once she got herself into character she could pretty much detach herself from her feelings. She just made sure that the second the class finished she made a beeline for Tori and got away from him.

Tori had made arrangements with Andre for the evening and when Jade dropped her off after school she felt her heart sink as she drove off. She didn't like the fact she wouldn't see her now until the morning, which was ridiculous, she loved hanging out with Andre, two weeks ago she only really saw Jade in class, at lunchtimes or with Beck. She watched Jade drive out of sight and shook her head. She was just being daft. Still, she couldn't shake that feeling, she was so distracted while she did her homework, kept checking her phone for a text even though she knew she would have heard the ping. She was on the verge of ringing Jade as Andre arrived laden down with goodies. They settled down and stuck a dvd on, although there wasn't much point as Andre talked non-stop through it about his date on Saturday night. "So then her dress caught fire and the whole club burnt down," he watched Tori's face for her reaction. "Uh huh," she nodded. "I knew it!" Andre exclaimed, "You haven't listened to a word I've been saying have you?" "I'm sorry…I have, well…bits of it," she said apologetically. "Okay, tell Uncle Andre what's wrong!" He caught her eye and raised his eyebrows at her. "It's nothing, really," she shrugged. "It obviously is something; you've been somewhere else all night," he shuffled a little closer to her. "Sorry," she genuinely felt bad for not listening to him. "It's ok, really, just tell me what's on your mind." Before she had a chance to respond he realised the answer himself, "Jade! That's what's up isn't it." She looked at him and scrunched her face up, "Yes…I don't know what it is, Andre but I just can't stop thinking about her." "Yeah, she can do that to you," he laughed. "Oh yeah, I remember now," she cringed. Andre smiled, "and what did you tell me?" She shook her head, "No, this is different Andre, I've spent so much time with her recently, seen a whole different side to her," as he went to protest she held her hand up to stop him, "More than the fleeting glance you saw, much, much more. She's…" she couldn't find the words she wanted. "I have to say, Sunday afternoon she surprised me," he admitted, "she was good to be around but Tori if you're saying what I think you're saying, you are not in for an easy ride you know." "I know," she sighed. "For a start there's Beck," he pointed out. "No! He finished with her, he's not a factor now, and he's made it quite obvious he doesn't want her!" She was being a little over defensive and she knew it. Andre shook his head, "I didn't even mean that, I meant that Jade's still totally in love with him." Tori shrugged, "but she will get over him eventually." "Maybe, but what about your Mom, Dad, Trina what would they think?" "Mom and Dad are chilled with the whole gay issue, they have a few close friends who are. I don't think it'd be a problem for them really and Trina might be weird because it's Jade and maybe a bit shocked at first but that'd be her problem. Anyway I'm not saying it'd happen, I mean I don't even know if Jade would….I don't know if I would, I'm just confused that's all." Andre grabbed her arms and pulled her towards him for a hug, "Well if you're this confused then I think you probably do like her more than just as a friend and I think you're going to have to let her know that because it's only going to get worse Tori." She knew he was right, the more time she spent with her the more she couldn't bear to be apart from her. She was on her mind constantly. She pulled back from Andre and changed the subject, "Okay, I'm listening now, you have my full attention, tell me about your date again."

Jade was keeping a low profile, her Mom was right about one thing, she didn't want to start a war with her. She spent the evening in her room; she did her homework, listened to music and after a while grabbed her sketch pad. She loved to draw but she had been so busy with writing, music and until recently, Beck that it'd been a while since she'd indulged that particular hobby. She didn't think about what she was going to draw, just put the pencil to the paper and went with it. An hour later Tori's sweet face was smiling up at her.

When Andre had gone, Tori started getting ready for bed but her head was still swimming with their conversation about Jade. She picked up her phone, stared it for a while and then typed in, 'Missed you tonight.' Her finger hovered over the send button for what seemed like forever, she took a deep breath, and pressed it. She was sure it was a fairly harmless statement really, she could twist it to be less meaningful if she needed to, her phone pinged, she held her breath as she opened the text, 'Ditto' was all it said. She smiled and switched her computer on, she hunted for the song she was after and grabbed a disc from the pile, this however would be a little harder to backtrack from. She would have to gauge tomorrow whether to give it to her or not.

Jade woke up and grumbled to herself when she saw the time, 5.27am Ugh even for her this was early! She wrapped the duvet tighter around herself hoping to drift back off but it just didn't happen. She picked up her phone and opened Tori's last text, the only person who'd ever told her that they missed her was Beck and that was only when he'd been in Canada. She reluctantly climbed out of bed and started to get ready, oh how she wished she'd invested in a coffee machine for her room. She was completely ready before 7am, she pulled her sketch pad onto the bed and gazed at her drawing. She picked up her phone and text Tori.

Tori had just opened her eyes when Jade's text arrived, 'Fancy breakfast in the park again?' That woke her up! 'Yep, give me half an hour and I'm all yours. xo' After she had sent it she cringed a little at the wording before hurriedly getting ready. She was sat outside on the wall when Jade pulled up, as she got in the car she saw Jade was wearing her new black top with long sheer sleeves and her black skirt, tights and boots. She had never seen anyone else pull that combination off with the finesse that Jade did. They chatted more over their breakfast this time, mostly about the film, the atmosphere being completely different from Monday morning. She had definitely noticed a shift in Jade's mood this last few days and it pleased her.

Jade leaned back on her elbows. She watched the swans, ducks and geese all swimming in their own little cliques on the pond, it reminded her of school. It was so relaxing here at this time of day as apart from the odd dog walker no-one else really came near. She could quite happily wile away many hours here just chatting with Tori. She glanced at the time on her phone, unfortunately school called.

Tori was surprised to find Beck waiting by her locker before last period. "Hey," he smiled. "Hi Beck, what's up?" She tried to sound as normal as possible. He leaned against the locker, "I need you to do something for me Tori." "Depends what it is," here came that bad feeling again. "Robbie and Rex are meeting up with a few Northridge girls on Friday night and he asked me to go with him, it's not really a date or anything but I don't want Jade finding out and getting even more annoyed with me. She seems to spend most of her time with you now, so will you speak to her for me please?" He smiled hopefully. Tori shook her head in disbelief, "No Beck I won't, I'm sorry, you're my friend and everything but you are so far out of line it's unreal." "What do you mean?" Beck looked at her with genuine confusion. "I don't want to have this discussion with you." She shut her locker and went to walk away but Beck caught her arm and pulled her back, "Well I do! Seriously, what are you on about?" She hesitated for a second, "Okay…Well seeing as you insist…firstly what you did to Jade the night you finished with her was actually really cruel! Secondly, you've acted like the three years you spent with her meant absolutely nothing to you, I've not even seen you looking remotely bothered while Jade on the other hand has been completely devastated and thirdly I can't even believe you went out on a date four days after splitting up with her and expected her to be okay with it!" Beck stood there for a minute digesting what she'd just said. "Alright, in hindsight, maybe I should have gone off somewhere and spoken to her but it wasn't exactly planned, it just happened like that and Jade just doesn't do devastated, after three years, I know she's just not capable of that." He didn't try to defend against the date comment as he already knew she had a valid point there. "Even if it did just happen, you've still made no effort to apologise to her or make it right which is just as bad and you really didn't know her very well at all if you think you haven't hurt her." She shook her head, "Do whatever you're going to do Beck just don't involve me okay!" She turned and walked off to class, leaving Beck stood looking bewildered, "Tori!" He yelled after her, "Since when did you start caring so much about Jade." She glanced back over her shoulder, "Since you broke her heart."

Jade didn't even bother going home after school, just went straight to Tori's with her. Andre and Cat descended a little later, Robbie was with Beck which she was glad of, she hadn't forgotten how horrible it was the other week when she'd been avoiding him and ended up by herself and she wouldn't like the thought of Beck being in the same position. She was going to have to find a way to be around him again soon as it wasn't fair on the others. They played cards for a while and when Trina invited herself to join them she tried so hard not to be sarcastic, for Tori's sake, but failed miserably. Trina just made it too easy, she was more than a little relieved when she noticed Tori was biting back a grin. Eventually Trina disappeared to make a call and never came back down. Andre left to take Cat home around 10pm and she went to leave shortly after, Tori stepped outside after her and pulled the door almost shut behind her. As they said their goodbyes she held her gaze for a second and Jade felt the oddest sensation in the pit of her stomach, she also had this weird feeling, like Tori was about to kiss her or something. She shook her head to physically pull herself out of the thought. "I'll see you in the morning," she said as she walked off. When Jade got in her car, she almost missed the silver disc lying on the passenger seat; Tori must have snuck it in here when she went to the bathroom. She picked it up and slid it into the car stereo, she pulled off the drive just as the song started to play. "What day is it? And in what month? This clock never seemed so alive, I can't keep up and I can't back down, I've been losing so much time. Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do, nothing to lose and it's you and me and all of the people and I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you .All of the things that I want to say, just aren't coming out right. I'm tripping on words, you've got my head spinning, I don't know where to go from here. Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do, nothing to prove and it's you and me and all of the people and I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you." She pulled over, leaned back in her seat and concentrated on the rest of the song. "There's something about you now, I can't quite figure out. Everything she does is beautiful, everything she does is right. Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do, nothing to lose and it's you and me and all of the people and I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you." She clicked it back to the beginning and played it again in case she'd misunderstood the message, but no, there was no other way to take it. She hadn't imagined it then, the only problem now was, as the song said, where to go from here.


A.N/ Sorry for the delay in updating, I got sidetracked reading. The song qouted in this chapter is Lifehouse ~ you and me

Hope you've enjoyed this chapter, chapter 4 is almost finished so I will update in the next day or two and the rating will have to change to M. Thanks for taking the time to read this.