I swearrrrr I didn't forget about this! Somehow, I lost the ambition to continue, but recently got that spark back! I know it's moving slow, but it is definitely moving! I hope you enjoy it nonetheless! Reviews are always more than welcome and hopefully I'll get the next chap up much sooner than I did this one.
It's been a little over three months since Leila and I 'officially' started seeing each other. Personally, I think the difference between 'official' and 'unofficial' is a load of shit. If we went by my calendar of events, Leila and I have been together for almost four months. Because I consider our first date to be the solid foundation of what started our relationship. Leila, on the other hand, believes it to be the night of our fourth date, which was the first time I introduced her as my girlfriend.
We had been out to dinner. Some posh place I heard people talking about at the bar. I felt incredibly uncomfortable, but the way Leila's face lit up had made everything worth it.
Until we ran into my parents when we were just finishing up our meal. The second I saw them walk through the entrance, I literally felt my blood run cold.
"Oh fucking hell." I said under my breath as I stared straight into my wine glass.
"What's wrong?" Leila asked, her voice drowning in concern.
"That's my um...Those are my..." I stammered uncomfortably. Since they were no longer in my field of vision, what with my face practically in my glass, I hadn't noticed them approach our table after the waiter dropped off our bill.
"Jade? What a pleasant surprise." My father said in his loud and intimidating voice. I rolled my eyes while still keeping my head down, and took a deep breath before meeting his stare.
"Pleasure's all mine, Dad." I said in a sickeningly sweet voice.
We don't get along all that well. Not since I told him I wasn't going back to school for a bit. To him, that was his victory for our everlasting argument that I had been wasting my time at Hollywood Arts.
Poor Mom just got dragged into the middle of it all the time. She gave me a genuine smile before looking at Leila in a shocked and uneasy manner.
"Oh, dear. I don't believe I've met you." My mother said as she looked at me in surprise before settling her eyes back on Leila.
"Right. Fancy meeting the parents?" I asked Leila in a sarcastic manner, though hoping to convey an apology in my eyes, "Mom, Dad, this is my girlfriend, Leila."
Leila's smile was practically face splitting as I spoke. I watched as she sat up a little taller and tried her best to make a good impression.
"Girlfriend?" My father said loudly, startling a few tables around us.
"Walter, stop it. It should hardly come as a surprise. Especially after the fiasco your senior year, sweetie. What was her name? Tracy? Tanya?" My mother prattled off as I felt heat rising to my cheeks.
"Tori, Mom. Her name was Tori. Now, if you don't mind..." I trailed off, speaking through clenched teeth as I nodded towards Leila.
My mother let out a gasp and put her hand to her chest, "We've been so rude! It's lovely to meet you. I'm sure we'll see you for dinner soon. Isn't that right, dear?" She asked, clearly speaking to both my father and myself in the same sentence.
I nodded my defeat as my father cleared his throat and verbally agreed to my mother's suggestion. And then the very patient host that had been standing through the entire altercation finally lead my parents, thankfully, to another separate dining area.
Once they were out of ear shot I let out a large sigh before looking back to Leila, "I am really sorry. I had no idea they even came here. Although...I'm not surprised." I said as I appraised my surroundings, realizing that this was exactly the kind of place my parents would frequent.
Leila just smiled a little brighter and shook her head, "It's okay, really."
"I'm just really fucking embarrassed right now. I mean, Christ, we haven't even been together a month and I've already got you meeting my parents. Talk about cliché." I began to ramble under the stress of my nerves.
Leila laughed as she put her hand over mine on the table in a caring manner, "Jade, stop freaking out." She said softly, her smile still in place.
"Why are you all smiley, too? It's fucking creepy." I joked, hoping to lighten the mood I had been creating myself.
Her brow rose and her smile turned into a smirk, "You don't know?"
My insecurities instantly flared. Had I done something without realizing? "Do I have something on my face?" I said in a nervous voice.
Leila shook her head and looked at me, "You called me your girlfriend."
My pulse quickened. I fucking had. I, like the cocky little fucker I am, openly called her my girlfriend. Christ. We hadn't even talked about what either of us were looking for out of whatever we were doing.
"I'm sorry." I blurted out.
Confusion overtook her face, though the faintest smile could still be found on her lips, "What could you possibly be sorry for?"
"Well, I just know that we haven't really talked about what we are. Or what we aren't. I guess I kind of just assumed, and it's a really stupid thing to assume, I mean, for all I know you could be casually dating a couple people right now. Not that you seem like that kind of girl, 'coz you don't, but only because we never-" My rambling nonsense was disrupted by the pair of soft lips thad had been pressed against mine as Leila leaned over the table to silence me.
"Get out of your head, West." Leila joked once she returned to her seat across from me.
My cheeks blushed a deep rouge as I smiled back at her, "So. Girlfriend." I said with a smirk.
"Girlfriend." She repeated with a smug smile, "I think I could get used to that."
"What do ya say we get outta here, Fitz?" I said once I handed the waiter the black folder with enough cash to cover our bill and a hefty tip.
Leila rolled her eyes, "I shouldn't have expected the last name thing to go away when you started calling me your girlfriend, huh?" She asked as she slipped her jacket back on.
"Not a chance." I answered simply as I placed my hand on her lower back and lead her out of the restaurant.
We went for a walk and once I dropped my hand from its previous place on her back, I felt her own hand slip into mine, lacing our fingers together and squeezing gently. We talked about what we had going on in our lives, and she went into great detail about the frustration she was experiencing with some of her professors in school.
The conversation had grown to a lull as we walked in a comfortable silence until she cleared her throat loudly.
"So, West," she started, I casted her a sideways glance as I watched her chew on her lower lip, "what's your favorite ice cream flavor?"
I laughed and couldn't help feeling incredibly giddy that she would have made the effort to remember something so trivial I had said weeks ago.
"Trick question." I answered simply. She looked at me, confusion etched on her face.
"What do you mean?"
I shrugged, "I don't have one. I don't really like ice cream unless its in a root beer float." I answered. Leila looked at me with a smirk and shook her head.
"You're crazy." She said with a laugh.
"Because I don't like ice cream?" I asked in mock offense.
We had stopped walking and I realized that we had made it all the way back to her apartment. She stood in front of me, keeping my hand interlocked with hers as she smiled up at me with rosy cheeks from the brisk air.
"Yeah. Let's go with that." She said before claiming my lips in a chaste kiss. Well, the first one was chaste. The kiss that followed that one could have easily escalated, and very well might have had the car that drove by not laid on their horn rather obnoxiously.
"Fitz." I said, slightly breathless as I looked into her eyes.
"Yeah?" She asked as I watched her gaze fix onto my lips.
"We're not making out on your front porch again." I said with a smile.
Her eyes snapped back up to mine as she looked at me in surprise, "Oh. Right. Yeah. Of course." She stammered nervously and I chuckled, enjoying the fact that this time I was the one that had my wits about me. She unlocked the door and lead me up to her apartment.
I had only been inside her building once before, to drop her off after a different night where her friends coaxed her into a night of drinking and dancing. I offered to take care of her when I saw Emma flirting with a guy at the bar. I hoped my desire to care for her drunken friend, and also enable her drunken hook up would have earned me some points in her book. The thought alone surprised me because I have never given a fuck what anyone has thought about me.
Regardless, she fumbled with her keys as she tried to unlock the door to her apartment as I stood by and found great humor in the situation.
"Fuck off." She said when she managed to open the door.
I shrugged, "If that's what you want." I said as I moved to leave. Leila grabbed my arm and yanked me back to her, her other hand instantly pulling on the back of my neck.
"Oh, I think you know what I want." She breathed before crushing her lips against mine and leading me inside her apartment.
Okay, so maybe that night was monumental for more than just one reason.
I digress, though. We were now three months past the time when Leila and I mutually agreed that we were exclusively each other's. And something else big happened.
I had been lounging around my apartment, thankful that I had a day off where I could just unwind and not do anything of any importance. Leila had left in the morning for class, and I wasn't expecting to see her until after dinner time. She wasn't living with me, but she spent the majority of her week at my place. I surely wasn't complaining. It took some getting used to, but it was something I definitely enjoyed getting used to.
I had been lounging on the couch in sweats and a white muscle tank when there was a knock on the door. I glanced at the clock on my cable box. It wasn't even four yet. There was no way that could be Leila. Wouldn't be Cat, either. She was working. In confusion, I got off the couch and opened the door.
The sight in front of me made me guffaw as I stood watching Leila struggle with a cardboard drink holder, her school bag, and at least four text books.
"A little help." She said, looking at me in a slightly irritated fashion.
I took the drink tray and the textbooks from her as she walked into my apartment in a flustered fashion. It was then that I took inventory of what I was holding.
"Root beer floats?" I asked as I pulled one from the container and took a sip.
Leila nodded with a smile as she set her bag down on the couch and relieved me of the books I had been holding.
"What's the occasion?" I asked with a mouth full of ice cream.
She moved up on her tip toes and placed a kiss on my sugary lips, "You talk in your sleep." She answered.
"What?" I asked, clearly not bothering to hide my confusion.
"You talk in your sleep." She repeated, as if that were the part that I hadn't understood.
"About root beer floats?" I asked as she took her own from the container and tossed the cardboard onto the kitchen counter.
"Among other things." Leila answered vaguely as she sat down on the couch.
I laughed, "Like what?"
Leila watched me as I hunkered down next to her on the cushion. She gave me a smirk, "Not telling. But," she began loudly, "Emma wants us to go out tonight."
I groaned, "It's my day off."
"I know, I know. We don't even have to go out long. She just wants to know that I'm still alive or some stupid shit like that." Leila explained as she looked at me with those puppy dog eyes.
"Oh Christ, you're bribing me with sweet treats!" I exclaimed as I pointed to the frothy beverage in my hand, "Do I even talk in my sleep?" I asked in mock disbelief.
Leila laughed, "Sweetheart, I'm going to start recording the shit you say. It's unbelievable."
I began to pout like a child and Leila let out a cooing noise before taking the plastic cup out of my hand and setting both beverages on the coffee table. She straddled my legs and rested her hands around my neck.
"It's cute." She said, trying to convince me. I looked up at her and couldn't help but forget why I was even pretending to be mad. She was so beautiful, and she had such a great heart. She was smart as hell, too. She was...perfect.
"Cute, huh?" I baited.
Leila smiled, knowing I was giving up my ruse, "Adorable, actually. I love it. I love," her words caught in her throat as she let out a small cough, "I love the silly things you say." She finished saying, though the blush on her cheeks suggested she had been about to say something else. Something else incredibly important.
My heart was fluttering in my chest as I thought about the fact that she had been just about to tell me she loved me. But she stopped herself.
She was about to extract herself from my hold, but I gave her a gentle squeeze and guided her face back so she was looking at me, "I love you, too." I whispered.
I think we were both surprised that those words had just fallen from my lips. Though once the shock subsided, I couldn't manage to speak through the flurry of kisses that were being peppered all over my face.
Needless to say, a few heated hours later, and I had found myself standing the queue of a club with Leila on my side.
"Have I told you how much I appreciate you doing this for me?" Leila practically purred into my neck. I shivered before giving her a warning glare.
"Have I told you how much of a tease you are?" I retorted.
Leila laughed as she leaned up to kiss the spot below my ear, "Not in the last hour."
"Oh fuck this." I said before pulling Leila out of the line. She protested and asked me what the hell I was doing several times until we walked up to where the bouncer stood.
"Jade!" The guy said, giving me a big hug, "It's been a long time."
"Yeah, it has. Is Andre performing tonight?" I asked as I nodded to the building.
The guy, Roger, shook his head, "Nah. He took off. Said he had something important going on. Figured you woulda been there with him."
I tilted my head to the side in confusion, "Huh. I haven't heard from him yet." I said with a shrug.
Roger waved it off, "Probably nothin' special. You head in." He said waving Leila and I past those waiting in line. I had to stifle a laugh at the groans and protests that were being thrown at Roger. Though I knew that one simple look would get everyone to shut up.
"It's official. You know everyone." Leila said simply as we walked up to the bar.
I shook my head, "One of my best friends performs here a lot."
Leila nodded her head, "Sure. You've got connections." She said sarcastically.
I rolled my eyes as I ordered us drinks while Leila scanned the crowds.
"Oh! I see them!" She said, pointing to a table that was packed with girls. I let out a sigh as I handed Leila her drink.
It isn't that I didn't want to be with her friends. They were perfectly nice. I just really hate the club scene. In fact, the only time I would go out to a place like this would be when Andre would perform.
Leila pulled me into a passionate kiss, "I love you," she said before successfully dragging me through the throngs of sweaty bodies and to her friends.
I must've been smiling like an idiot because when Emma saw us, she gave me a strange look before saying, "Look who it is. The lovebirds finally decided to grace us with their presence."
"Fuck off, Emma." Leila said, silencing her friend as we scooted into the booth.
After a few rounds of drinks, I was watching Leila get dragged onto the dance floor by her friends, which just left me sitting alone with Emma.
"She seems happy." Emma commented.
I nodded my head as I stared after her blissfully, "I hope so."
Emma let out a snort as a response and I was growing increasingly frustrated with the girl. It was as if nothing I ever did would be good enough for Leila. I understand protective best friends, trust me, I practically wrote the handbook, but this was fucking ridiculous.
"You don't like me." I said bluntly, letting my eyes fall onto her.
Emma shrugged, "I don't know you."
I scoffed, "All the more reason not to like me."
"I know of you, though." Emma said.
Confusion faltered any kind of reply as I thought about what she could mean, "What?"
Emma rolled her eyes, "I've heard all about you and the way you play girls to your advantage before tossing them aside."
I laughed. I actually fucking laughed, "You think that's what I'm doing?"
She shrugged her shoulders in a very noncommittal way.
I let out another scoff in disbelief, "Okay. I get that I have a shit reputation, and I get the whole protective best friend thing too, but listen to me, and I'm only going to say this to you once: I love her and I do not need to prove that to anyone else but her. So whatever you've got going on here is going to stop now, because I do not need to feel that my relationship is being judged or critiqued by a third party."
Emma looked at me in shock at my declaration, "Holy shit."
"What?" I asked, still irritated.
"You really mean it." She stated.
"Damn straight I do. So are we sorted?" I asked in a low voice, noticing her re approaching friends being led by my girlfriend.
She shrugged and nodded, "Sure." She said before bashfully looking away.
Leila tucked herself into my side as the rest of her friends got situated. I felt my phone buzzing in my pocket and I wrestled with my pants to retrieve it.
1 New Message: Andre Harris
Hollywood Arts hangs at Roscoe's. Be there or I'm revoking your best friend title and giving it to Robbie.
I smiled at the message and punched in a quick reply:
We both know that's an empty threat. I'll be there.
I leaned in so Leila could hear me clearer amongst all the other chatter, "My friends are at Roscoe's. Do you want to go with?"
Leila looked at me apologetically, "Would you hate me if I stayed?"
I laughed, "Course not. I just wanted to offer." I gave her a smile and kissed her chastely.
"I'll come over tomorrow morning." She said with a grin before pulling me in for another kiss.
"Will you now?" I asked playfully. She nodded her head and I leaned in to kiss her one last time before standing and saying my goodbyes to her friends as they simultaneously cooed, gagged, and playfully joked at our interaction.
I caught a cab to Roscoe's and walked into the building. My heart swelled with excitement as I saw my friends seated at our usual table. Beck had his arm slung around Cat's shoulders, and I smiled as I remembered that her and I still needed to talk about their situation. Robbie had been telling an elaborate story as his arms waved around comically while Andre ducked to avoid getting a fist to the face.
When they noticed my arrival, I saw joy in everyone's face but Cat's. Her eyes held apprehension as she looked at me as though she was giving me a warning. I walked over to the table, hoping that I seemed more sober than I was, as I gave my hello's.
"The fuck is your deal, kitty cat?" I asked Cat as I plucked a slice of pizza off of their table.
Cat looked around and I saw her uneasiness bleed onto Beck and worry grew in the pit of my stomach. Had something terrible happened?
"Jade." A familiar voice said from behind me. I nearly dropped the slice in my hand as I reeled around to see the owner of the voice that had haunted me for nearly three years.
"Tori." I managed to choke out.