A/N: This extremely late update is dedicated to the awesome BananaNut37, who pushed me out of my laziness and got me excited about this story again. It means a lot to hear that you haven't been forgotten.
Chapter Three: Jade Gets Crushed...Again
Tori was still arguing bitterly with Jade as they dragged Cat, and was totally oblivious to what the redhead was doing - pressing the button on Sinjin's remote.
"I just don't understand why you just can't be nice to me even for..." she trailed off as the sound of harps played, finding herself lost in Jade's emerald eyes. "...wow."
Jade quirked her pierced eyebrow, and took in Tori's sudden change from amusingly angry, to somewhat dazed. "'Wow'?" she repeated, incredulously.
Tori's cheeks flushed red and she looked at her shoes. "Er, yeah, wow...wow we're gonna be late for class!" she faked cheerfully.
Jade rolled her eyes to show how unimpressed she was at the other girl's attitude.
Cat was in her own little world as usual, flipping the remote in her hands and pressing the button in a bid to repeat the pretty harp sound. She was disappointed when nothing was happening, then noticed the second button on the machine. She pressed it eagerly, and a strange sound came out, like a vacuum cleaner.
Cat frowned and shook herself. "Hey. Why are you guys dragging me?" she asked innocently.
Jade shot her a glare. "Because, Cat, you need to go to math class, not drool over Shapiro."
The redhead looked at her quizzically as she shuffled free and got to her feet. "I don't drool over..." she stopped and thought for a moment, then gasped in shock. "I kissed Robbie!" she exclaimed.
"And Jade," Tori added, feeling jealous. Jade delivered her a trademark warning look, and she felt weak at the knees.
"You almost did a whole lot more, too," the dark haired girl said with another shudder. "To Robbie, I mean. I would have killed you."
Cat just stood there, perplexed.
"We should probably get to class," Tori decided for them.
"Kay Kay..." Cat replied half-heartedly.
The three girls set off to their next lesson, with Tori trying her best not to notice the way Jade's hips swayed hypnotically as she walked.
Tori wasn't remotely interested in whatever theorem Pythagorous had developed. Algebra was even less of a concern to her than usual.
As the teacher droned on and on about triangles, Tori was doodling pictures of Jade all over her notebook, only stopping every once in a while to take in the other girl's beauty.
Jade sat a few seats away, looking disinterested as usual and tapping her pencil rhythmically on the desk. Tori's gaze travelled down the girl's body slowly, landing on the her left foot which was tapping the same tune as her pencil.
Out of the corner of her eye, Jade noticed her staring and glared at her, aggressively mouthing "WHAT?"
Tori looked away, embarrassed. Her thoughts were hurtling around her head, screaming with confusion. Where had this come from? True, she'd always wanted to see beyond Jade's cold, bitter exterior and be the friend she thought the girl needed, but she'd never before had romantic feelings for her - or for any girl, for that matter.
But something inside her had switched, and now she was totally be consumed by Jade West...and it hurt. It hurt because she knew she could never act upon it, because it was fairly likely that Jade would pummel her to the ground. The only pleasure the other girl had in having Tori around was to torture her. She knew she would never love her back.
Cat was feeling equally conflicted. She couldn't fathom why she'd let go of all her inhibitions and been able to see nothing but Robbie, or why the feeling had faded...but still kind of remained.
She'd always seen Robbie as a good friend, or the sane brother she wished she'd always had (or as sane as you could be with a puppet). But now...now there was something else about him.
The bell rang for lunch, interrupting Tori and Cat's musings.
Before anyone in the class could even get to their feet, Robbie appeared in the doorway, a paper rose in his hand and a smile on his face.
Cat inhaled deeply when she caught his eye, and reluctantly walked towards him, filled with uncertainty.
Jade stood up and started to put her books in her bag, as Tori brushed past her, skimming her forearm with her fingers.
She frowned and shivered, glaring fiercely at Tori. "Ever heard of personal space, Vega?"
"Sorry," Tori lied, smiling.
"Hi love-muffin. I made this for you in prop class," Robbie gushed, holding out the paper rose as the redhead reached him.
She hesitated, staring at her sparkly shoes and twisting the pink remote in her hands. Her nerves made her clutch it tightly before, all of a sudden, the whooshing sound occurred.
Robbie's smile faded and he looked confused and groggy, like he'd just woken up from a strange dream.
He lowered the rose and scrunched his eyes up a few times, removing his glasses.
"You alright, Rob?" Jade asked, watching his odd reactions. "You look even weirder than usual."
"Yeah..." he replied doubtfully, trying to find his bearings. "What's this?" he studied the paper flower.
"You made it for me. In prop class," Cat said faintly, still looking to the floor.
"For...you?" Robbie said in surprise.
He hadn't intended for it to sound mean, but Cat nevertheless took it the wrong way. Tears clouded her eyes and she dropped the remote, running off down the corridor and sobbing.
"Wow. That relationship was short even for a Hollywood couple," Jade noted, dryly.
"...Relationship?" Robbie repeated.
"C'mon," the raven haired girl rolled her eyes. "I'm so hungry even you are starting to look tasty."
She pushed passed a stunned Robbie and headed towards the Asphalt Cafe.
"I could buy you lunch!" Tori suggested cheerfully, scurrying after her.
Robbie found his thoughts had fragmented into little pieces that he couldn't quite seem to fit together - like they'd warped somehow.
It was true, he liked Cat a lot, but he'd never acted upon it...had he? He had! Glimpses of the moment he'd kissed her raced around his mind but it was like they'd been witnessed by someone else. Somebody he wished he was.
His feet decided to carry him towards lunch, but he tripped on something and almost fell. A pink remote. Maybe it was Cat's?
He picked it up and pocketed it, still lost in his new struggles as he went to join his friends.
A/NII: Reviews and PMs make the world go around. Well, okay, that's a lie, but it's sure better than going outside and punching someone (or whatever you had planned today).