It's Monday morning and Cat arrives at school earlier than usual to meet up with Andre so they can work on O: GTTCHFFJATGTTGOWEO. She walks to her locker and spins in her combo, when she opens it a folded piece of paper falls out. On the front it says OPEN ME in big, black letters, so she opens it and laughs at what's written.

Cat! Meet me in the Black Box. Jade is here early and she's like, in a really bad mood so… get over here before she finds me! –Andre

She stuffs her locker with her stuff and hurries down the hallway; as soon as she rounds the corner she crashes into another body and sends them both flying backwards. They land with a grunt and a few mumbled words, Cat rubbing the back of her head and her eyes tightly shut.

"Ow, crap. Seriously?" says the other person, rubbing their behind.

Recognizing the voice, Cat opens one eye and squeals out, "Tori! I'm so sorry!" She crawls over to Tori and softly rubs her thigh, "I didn't see you. What are you doing here so early?"

Tori moans out in pain and winces when she runs her hand over a bump on her lower back, "Caaattt, why were you in such a hurry for?"

Cat softly laughs and shakes her, "Oh, I was just going to go meet An- I mean, someone. Anyway! I have to go, talk to you later!" She pats Tori on the head and runs off to the Black Box.

Tori sits on the floor for a few more minutes before she gets up and heads to the bathroom. The school is empty and she's still not sure why Cat was there so early when the red-headed girl usually arrives 5 minutes before class starts but she ignores her curiosity and pushes through the bathroom door. And as soon she pushes through the door, she crashes into another person.

"Are you kidding me?" Tori growls as back crashes back against the wall. The other person grunts and tries to catch their balance as they crash back into a bathroom stall wall.

"Are you kidding me, Vega? You have seriously got to stop doing that before I cut off your legs!" Jade growls out as she rubs the back of her head, "You're going to give me another fucking concussion!"

"Jade?" Tori opens her eyes and sees a scowling Jade standing in front her rubbing the back of her head and grimacing from the pain. "What are you doing here so early? Cat is here early too and we had an accident out in th-"

"Vega, stop talking. I have a fucking headache." Jade rubs her temples and walks over to the sink, splashing water on her face trying to cool herself down.

"Wait, did you say Cat's here?"

Tori stares at her curiously and nods her head, "Yeah, she said she was going to meet someone here."

Jade's eyes dart around the bathroom before they land on Tori, a slow, small smile forms on her lips and she chuckles, "Hey, you got a sick bump forming on your forehead."

Tori walks over to the sinks and looks at herself in the mirror, she gasps and brings a hand up to touch it. She slowly runs her fingers over it and winces at the slightest touch, "No, this is going to get huge!"

The bathroom falls quiet and neither of them make a move to talk. Tori is still staring at herself in the mirror, frowning at the growing bump on her forehead and Jade stares at her through the mirror. Tori meets Jade's gaze through the mirror and stops touching the bump, she softly smiles and nods her head toward the door. "Come with me to the nurse's for some ice?"

Jade raises an eyebrow and carefully thinks about her answer. Her body is already feeling too much from just being alone with Tori and she's not sure if she could handle being with Tori any longer but against her better judgment, she nods her head. "Sure."

"So what are you doing here so early?" Tori asks as they walk to the nurse's office.

"I could ask you the same thing." Jade glances at her through the corner of her eye, her fingers dragging along the passing lockers.

Tori laughs and looks at Jade, another smile forming on her lips. That's been happening lately, every time she looks, thinks, sees her a stupid smile forms without her consent. "I didn't feel like waiting for Trina, so I got a ride from my mom. You?"

"Beck's usually my ride but he's going to be in Canada for a few months so I came here." Jade shrugs like it means nothing and shows no emotion at Beck being gone and Tori stares at her, confused. "Well, we're here. Go get your ice."

Jade sits on one of the steps of the stairs outside the nurse's office while Tori's inside getting some ice. She sees a flash of red hair down the hall and quickly gets up and follows her.

"Cat! Wait up!" She runs down the hallway and grabs Cat's wrist before she could get away, "Hey, did you talk to An-"

"Oh hey, Jade." She jumps back and grabs her chest; she turns around and sees Andre smiling at her.

"You scared the shit out of me!"

Andre laughs and gives her an apologetic smile, "Sorry. So what are you doing here so early? Where's Beck?"

Calming herself down, she opens her mouth to speak but is interrupted by Tori calling out her name, "Jade! Jade, where are you?"

They all turn and see Tori making her way toward them, a smile on her face and a bag of ice on her forehead. Andre and Cat look at Tori with confused expressions wondering why she has an ice bag on her head. Cat glances at Jade and smirks when she sees her smiling, she nudges Andre and nods her head toward Jade. He smirks also but it grows bigger when he looks at Tori and sees a matching smile.

"Hey Tor, what happened to your head?"

Tori slowly pulls her gaze away from Jade and frowns at Andre, "I got in a couple of accidents this morning and my head took its toll."

He laughs hard and shakes his head, pulling her into a quick hug. "Girl, you are the biggest klutz."

She glares at him but starts laughing too because she knows it's the truth, "I know."

Cat nudges Jade's shoulder and flashes her a quick smile before turning to the other, "Hey, let's go get some breakfast! We still have about an hour before class starts."

They all nod in agreement and head out into the parking lot, climbing into Andre's car since he's the only one who brought one.

They arrive back at school about 5 minutes before class starts and Tori and Andre leave Cat and Jade since their classes are right next to each other. Cat and Jade walk to their lockers that are right next to each other and grab their stuff. They walk to class silently and take their seats, Cat leans over to Jade's desk and loudly whispers, "I talked to Andre this morning."

Jade's eyes widen and she nods her head, "What'd he say?"

A small smirk forms on Cat's lip and Jade's heart picks up. If Cat is smirking, it has to be a good thing, right? She wipes her clammy hands against her pants and licks her lips. She looks back at Cat and conveys through her eyes that she wants Cat to go on.

Cat leans in a little more – she might as well be sitting on Jade's desk – and wags her finger to bring Jade closer so that Cat can whisper in her ear.

"It's a go."

She pulls back and sits straight in her desk, staring straight ahead at the teacher and begins taking notes. Jade is left in the same position with confusion etched all over her face. She finally sits back and turns to face Cat with her mouth open.

"What does that fucking mean?" She loudly growls, forgetting that they're still in class.

Cat just sits back, letting a small smirk grace her lips while Jade quickly waves off the teacher and stares at her. The students around them are staring curiously at the two girls and Jade can feel herself about to explode if she doesn't get any answers. She stands up and grabs her bag and on her way out, she grabs Cat by the wrist and pulls her out.

"Ok, Cat. Now I'm serious," Jade is lowly growling, threatening-like, and slowly walking forward causing Cat to back up until her back hits the lockers, "Tell me what that means or I swear to God, I'll hu-"

"Hey guys… What's going on here?"

Cat yelps and quickly escapes from Jade, running behind Tori and holding onto her body. Confused, Tori pats Cat's on her waist and glares at Jade, trying to convey through her eyes what had happened. Jade just rolls her eyes and walks away, growling and mumbling under her breath.

"Jade, wait up!" Tori runs up to Jade and stares back at Cat, who looks lost and scared. "What was that all about? Why was Cat so scared?"

She slowly comes to a stop, breathing in and breathing out while trying to calm down her beating heart from being so close to Tori. She flinches and stiffens when she feels a warm hand on her back, slowly rubbing small circles which is trying to help her calm down but instead is just causing her to feel dizzy.

"TORI! Stop, stop." Tori pulls her hand away quickly and takes a few steps back, giving Jade room to breathe.

She's breathing fast and it's hard to catch her breath, her head is reeling and her eyes are blurring and everything around her is fading. She's sweating and shaking and it feels like she's dying. She reaches out her hand, to grab something, anything, and finds someone's arm. She holds on tight and brings them closer, holding them as her world blacks out.

X

She tries opening her eyes but quickly squeezes them shut when a bright light nearly blinds her. She can hear faint voices around her and she doesn't recognize either of them. She pats around her, trying to feel for something or someone and grabs hold of someone's arm. The voices around her are becoming clearer and she can feel someone running their hand through her hair.

"What happened?" She barely whispers.

The hand in her hair starts massaging her scalp and she can't help but moan at the sensation. The hand stills briefly but continues massaging.

"You're in the nurse's office." Jade recognizes the voice above her and she slightly groans.

"Vega?" Tori giggles and Jade rolls her eyes, even though they're closed. "Well, what happened?"

"You had an anxiety attack." Tori says softly, still massaging Jade's scalp. "A pretty bad one, too."

Jade opens her eyes slowly and she stares at Tori, "An anxiety attack? What the fuck. It felt like I was dying!"

Tori softly laughs and stills her hand, she looks down at Jade and flashes her a small smile, "Yeah, I bet. They usually feel like that."

They stare at each other for what feels like forever, neither of them moving or speaking. The smile on Tori's face grows softer and sweeter, more kind and caring and Jade mimics that, though her smile is shyer. Tori runs her hand through Jade's hair again which causes Jade's eyes to flutter and when she opens them again she can see Tori leaning down slowly.

Her heart is beating like crazy again and her breathing hitches in her throat and as Tori gets closer, her eyes lower and lower until…

"Hey Tori, how is she?" The school nurse walks in.

Tori sits back and blushes furiously, trying to hide her face in the inside of her jacket and faking a slight cough. "Uhm, sh-she's good. I-I think, uh, she woke up." She stutters out.

"Great. Hey Jade, how are you feeling?" The nurse walks up to them and places the back of her hand to Jade's forehead. She jerks her head away and awkwardly smiles at her.

"I'm- alright, I guess."

"That's good. Well, I called your mom to come pick you up but she's stuck in a meeting. So, do you have anyone else who can take you home? Or…" The nurse trails off and gives Jade an apologetic look.

Jade just rolls her eyes and gets up, freezing midway when she realized that she had been laying on Tori's lap the entire time. She shakes her head and jumps off the bed, "No, I'm fine. I can drive home myself."

She grabs her stuff and waves off the nurse and gives Tori a look that she's not sure what she's trying to convey with it. As soon as she rounds the corner, she stops, takes in a big breath and closes her eyes. She holds her breath for as long as she can and lets it out, reveling in the dizziness that takes over. She's about to leave when she hears feet shuffling behind her.

"Jade?" She turns around and is met with Tori, her head downcast.

"What, Tori? I'm tired." Jade rubs at her temples, her eyes showing that she's tired.

"I- uh, I- think we should talk." Tori rubs the back of her head and smiles sheepishly.

"Vega… I ca- I can't. No- not now, at least." She can't bring her eyes to meet Tori's so she stares at her feet, glancing up when she hears Tori sigh.

"Ok. When do you think we can?" She's fidgeting, moving back and forth from playing with the hem of her shirt to rubbing her fingers. "I'm just really confused, Jade…" She says when she gets no answer from Jade.

Jade sighs loudly and takes a step closer to Tori, "Look, Tori…" She takes another step closer and grabs Tori's hand. She feels Tori's hand shake in hers', she looks up and relief fills her when she sees that she's not the only one who is afraid.

"I don't like this. I don't like feeling like this, I don't like having to deal with this. I don't like any of it…" She's playing with Tori's hand and she likes how soft they are, they're not rough like Beck's. "But I like you… and it scares the shit out of me."

She likes me? Tori thinks, her heart beating irregularly. She looks at Jade with shock and with something like, like happiness? Is she happy that Jade likes her? She should be because she likes her too. She likes her a lot and it scares her too.

"Jade…" She pulls Jade closer to her, until their bodies are only several inches apart. She swipes her thumb back and forth against the back of Jade's hand and stills when Jade grips her hand.

She's never seen Jade so vulnerable before, so afraid and it makes her feel conflicted. She's happy, in a way, that Jade is showing her this side of her but she's sad that she's seeing it, that Jade isn't her usual confident self.

"I like you too, Jade… I like you so much, I just- I don't know what to do anymore." Tori places her other hand on Jade's waist, gripping tightly and bringing her in, closing the rest of the gap between them.

Jade can feel Tori's breath on her lips and she shivers, wishing she would let go and that she wouldn't. Her heart is beating, beating, beating too fast, too hard and her head is spinning. Everything around them is blackening, everything is going dark and it's just the two of them standing in the hallway. Tori is leaning in closer and they're sharing air, sharing each other's breath.

Her eyes flutter shut and her hands are pulling at the edges of her pockets, she's not sure if she should place them on Tori's waist or not. Everything stops – her heart, her breathing, her mind, time – when she feels lips on her own. Soft, wet, plump lips are on hers and everything is spinning. After what seems like forever, she finally places her hands on Tori's waist and leans in closer, kissing back.

Tori sighs into the kiss when she feels Jade kissing her back and she smiles when she hears Jade sigh as well. She parts her lips slightly and licks Jade's bottom lip, which causes her to moan a little and she freezes. Her eyes open wide and she pulls away from Tori, she walks backward until her back hits the lockers and she jumps at the contact.

Jade brings up a shaky hand and softly touch her still tingling lips, her eyes widening when she realizes that they were just kissing. Her eyes are darting all around the room and she shakes her head in disbelief. Tori is just standing there in shock. She can't believe that she just did that, that she just kissed Jade, in public – even though no one was around – and at school.

She takes a step closer to Jade but she sticks out her hand, stopping Tori in her tracks. "Don't Tori, don't. Just, please. Stop."

"Jade, I am so sorry. I- I didn't mean- I'm sorry." Tori softly says, she drops her head, not sure what else she can do.

All Jade can do is shake her head, so she leaves, she grabs her bag and runs down the hall when she feels anxiety building within her. She can hear her name being called from behind but she doesn't dare turn around. She runs until she's outside, until she can breathe fresh air and her world around her isn't darkening.

She runs to her car and she gets in, she locks her doors and drops her head to the steering wheel. She grips the wheel so tight that her knuckles turn white and when she lets go they turn pink and stay that color for a while.

She searches for her phone everywhere but she can't find it, then she remembers that she left it in her locker. She groans and pulls out of the parking lot, driving around until it's dark, until she can finally breathe semi-normal again.

She parks her car in the drive-way noticing that her mom isn't home yet and walks up to the front door. There's a folded white piece of paper taped to her door and she sees her name on it written in really clear cursive. She traces her name with her finger and sighs knowing who it's from already.

Her house is dark and cold when she enters but she doesn't bother turning on any lights as she heads upstairs to her room. She drops her stuff at her door and walks over to her bed, dropping on it with a loud thump.

The folded paper is still in her hand and it feels like it's burning through her skin, heating her blood and burning the rest of her body as her blood courses through her. She holds the folded paper above her and her eyebrows burrow, "Why?"

She sits up and opens the paper, it's written with a purple pen in clear handwriting and she drags her finger across the words.

Jade

Are you okay? I'm so sorry, so so so so sorry. I don't know what came over me. I told myself that I wouldn't do that, that I wouldn't act out on these… feelings.

All I heard when you were talking was that you like me and everything else blanked out.

I don't regret kissing you though. I don't. But I am sorry that I did so without taking your feelings and stuff into consideration.

And I think we need to talk. We need to, we need to fix this.

Call me. Or text me, you can even write a letter.

I don't care, just as long as we talk.

-Tori

Jade re-reads the letter several more times before she falls back and yells. She yells until she can't anymore, until her throat dry and sore.

She moves up to where her pillows are at and buries her face in them. She lies there until sleep comes and takes her. That night she'll dream of that kiss, of how good she felt before reality came crashing down on her.

A/N: Did you like it? I hope so! I don't remember what I wrote so I hope it's okay, haha.

My thumb is really cold and it's turning purple... that's not good, right?

Thanksgiving is Thursday! I hope you all have a happy one!

The next update will be after Thursday, or whenever I get to it. :-)

Review or not. You know, whatever tickles your pickle. ;-)