A/N: Sorry that it took so long for me to get the next chapter up, I was super slow at writing this one, I get distracted way too easily.
Lunch time is officially my favorite time of the day, if Sikowitz were to jump at me with a surprise acting exercise I would surely find some way to fit the line "I AM TORI VEGA, AND I AM A HUNGRY GIRL!" into the exercise. I brought my lunch today; can you say turkey sandwich and Pringles? Yum! I walk outside and sit down at my normal table; Cat comes and sits down next to me.
"Hi Tori! Whatcha' eatin'?"
"Turkey." It seemed to be the shortest answer, leading to me cramming food into my mouth sooner.
"Are you sure? Because it looks like a sandwich, I saw a turkey with my brother once! Oh wait, no that was his pet parrot" I should have known to be more specific with Cat, but I just ignored her and ate a Pringle, yum salty goodness. Robbie and Rex sit down at the table followed by Andre and finally Jade.
"Where's Beck?" Rex waste no time trying to start a conversation when a girl sits down without a boy, sometimes I forget he's even a puppet the way he's always trying to make a move on somebody. Of course that might be partly because he is easily offended by being called a puppet.
"He's clearly not in sight so how am I supposed to know any more than you puppet?" Remember how I said Rex didn't like being called a puppet? Well Jade gets some sort of extreme satisfaction by calling him a puppet. But something isn't right; I can see it on her face. There's no satisfaction there this time; didn't she enjoy insulting anything she could? Of course she does, she is Jade after all. Why doesn't she seem to be enjoying her insult? Glancing around the table I realize that nobody else seems to notice anything wrong, was I imagining things? Why is it only me who noticed something wrong with Jade? I find myself paying more and more attention to her lately, memorizing every look, so maybe when one doesn't appear that's why I realize it. Not that I would dream of admitting that I've got Jade memorized like that, it's not normal. I don't memorize cat or Andre or Beck or Robbie like that, so why Jade? Maybe because she hates me so much, people always say keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Maybe I'm just prone to paying more attention to her because I know she doesn't like me?
"Jade, is something wrong?" Maybe something is wrong, what's the worst that can happen by asking? She might insult me again? Like I'm not used to that.
"Nothing's wrong Vega, Just leave me alone." The words were normal enough but I could catch that what she really meant was, "If you don't shut up I'll break you in half."
"Hey Jade, want to go to Karaoke-Dokie with me after school?"
"What Cat? Now you think something's wrong so you think you can solve it with karaoke? Well karaoke doesn't solve all of the problems in life Cat!" Jade got up and almost ran away from the table; Cat looked confused and hurt, but I knew Cat and she would be over it in record time. I was more concerned about Jade. I wasn't imagining things before, there's definitely something wrong with her and now everybody knew it. Jade never jumps at Cat like that, they're best friends. But Jade just flipped out at Cat for doing nothing. No matter how much Jade had been trying to hide it before, everybody knew that something was wrong now.
"I think we should just wait till she calms down, maybe avoid getting eaten." A sensible person would listen to Andre and just let her cool off, so why do I want to chase after her and try to help? Jade's a big girl, she can deal with her own problems, and I should let her, but I would much rather go talk to her and see what's going on. I get up from the table and chase after her; I follow her into the school and all the way to her locker.
"Jade, what's going on?"
"Go away Vega, I don't want to talk to you, it doesn't concern you" Did she really expect me to give up that easily? I think she knows me better than that. I grab her arm and pull her down the hall and into the janitor's closet; most schools maybe you get pulled aside or into the bathroom when someone needed to talk. Not at Hollywood Arts, and certainly not when I'm the one doing the pulling. I shove her into the empty closet ahead of me; she looks like she really wants to get out of here.
"Let me out of here Vega!"
"Not until you talk to me!"
"IT DOESN'T CONCERN YOU!"
"Jade, you just yelled at Cat for trying to make plans tonight, whatever is wrong it's clearly nothing small, and you're going to tell me!" Jade grabs me by the arm and damn near slingshots her way around me and out of the door; I'm shocked. Nobody has ever done that to me before; I'm not surprised that Jade could do it, just that she would. Whatever is bothering her must be something huge, and she doesn't want to tell me, but I'm going to find out one way or the other.
Jade spends the rest of the day avoiding me, which is actually fine because I'm busy planning how to figure out what's going on. By sixth hour I've got my plan all worked out and ready to go, now I've just got to wait until after school. The hours pass by agonizingly slow, I can't focus on the class, why is it that all I can think about are Jades problems? Shouldn't I be able to push that out of my mind until it comes time to deal with it? But it's all I can think about; why did she jump at Cat like that? Why was she so eager to get out of the closet? She's never taken off running out of the closet before. And most importantly, where is Beck through all of this? Isn't it supposed to be his job to take care of his girlfriend?
School finally let out, I go to the parking lot, Jade beat me there and is already getting into her car, but that's fine, it's what I wanted, I waste a few extra minutes in my car pretending to check my makeup and scan through the radio stations. Now that Jade has a good head-start I pull out and drive to her house. I park a block away and walk into her back yard, time to put plan "figure out what is wrong with Jade" into action. Now that I think about it, maybe I could have chosen a better name for my plan.
Glad to see that Jade is still making use of her black-out shades; I climb up the big tree in her back yard, setting myself on a branch level with Jades second story window, only about 2 feet away, I hope Jade in her room, because if she's not it would be far too easy to spot me in this tree. I pull out my pear-phone and click on the app that says "super ears" plugging in my headphones and putting them in my ears. I hold my phone as close to Jades window as I can, I can hear her walking inside, confirming that she is in fact in her room. So now all I've got to do is sit and wait until I hear something that reveals what she's angry about.
I've been waiting for nearly two hours, and all I've heard is depressing music and what sounds like Jade playing with her favorite toy from her childhood. Clearly sounds showing that something's wrong, but nothing to let me know what it is. This was probably a stupid plan to begin with; I mean what did I expect to hear anyway? Did I expect Jade to sit in her room and talk to herself about what's wrong like some sort of real life soliloquy? What was I thinking? It's not like my life is some sort of television show; I just wasted two hours sitting in a tree when I could be actually accomplishing something. Time for a more sensible plan. I pick up my pear-phone from its resting place on a nearby branch and position myself to climb down; my legs are numb from sitting on this branch for so long. I miss my foot hold and slip, a quick screech escapes my mouth, arms flailing I grab hold of the branch I was sitting on and end up hanging there. Jade's window flies open.
"What the hell are you doing Vega?" Jade's voice is angry as would be expected, but there's also a bit of humor in it. I don't blame her, I would laugh too if I saw somebody dangling from a branch outside my window, with their cell phone hanging from the headphones stuck in their ear.
"I'm hanging from a tree, any more questions?" I'm really in no position to be a smart ass here but she did ask what I'm doing.
"Thought you would come hang out for a bit then did you?"
"Ha ha, your puns are hilarious, now do you feel like helping me out of this tree?"
"That depends; why were you in the tree to begin with?"
"I'll explain when you get me down" I was in no position to say no, even if I did get myself down, my dad's a cop, and Jade knows it. How funny would it be if the station got a call that his daughter is climbing in peoples trees eavesdropping on them? For Jade, very funny.
"Alright, give me one of your hands and be ready to use the other one to keep yourself from smacking into the house. Then just let go and I'll pull you in." For some reason I don't even double guess her, reaching out my hand to grab hers. It's warm and soft, but with a firmness to it that reassures me that she's not gonna let me fall. I let go of the branch and throw my arm out before I collide with the house, then using it to grab hold of the windowsill and help pull myself up. I'm heaved into Jades room where I lie on the floor, feeling lucky that I didn't fall and break a bone.
-Jades Point of view-
I'm in my room, I just got home from school, I plug my pear-pod into its dock and put on some music then I go and find my hammer. I hate Beck for what he did to me. Today was pure agony, but I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing me go home early. And then stupid Vega had to go asking questions at lunch. After I had put up all my wonderful little walls to block out the pain, how is it that Vega can damage them just by asking if I'm okay?
Two hours later I'm still in my room, just laying on my bed thinking of how I'm going to get back at Beck. I've already got a plan, but it cannot take action until later tonight. So I've got a couple of hours to waste. I pick up my hammer, about to wreck more stuff, I already have upwards of 20 holes in my wall but I've become rather decent at patching them up throughout my life. I'm looking for something else to hit when I hear a scream and the rustle of leaves outside my window. Wait a minute, I know that scream, I swear to god if she's out there I may have just figured out what I'm going to hit. I drop the hammer and fling open the window.
"What the hell are you doing Vega?" I almost laugh a little but refuse to let myself, doing my best to sound angry, I'm really not sure why she's hanging in a tree by my window but just the sight is enough to make me laugh. Am I really getting over Beck that easily? Didn't I love him? Shouldn't I be in a state of deep depression right now? Not to be entertained by Vega dangling from a branch.
"I'm hanging from a tree, any more questions?" I had to admire the boldness, hanging in a tree outside my window and she acts like I'm the one out of place.
"Thought you would come hang out for a bit then did you?" Should I really be making jokes right now? I just found out by boyfriend was cheating on me and then I lost him. But now that there's somebody else around I feel better, almost normal.
"Ha ha, your puns are hilarious, now do you feel like helping me out of this tree?" Even I wouldn't leave Vega to hang in a tree until she dropped to the ground and hurt herself, plus she has already helped my mood just by being here, I don't know how that's possible but I'm not gonna complain. But I would like to know what's going on so long as I'm sure I can get an answer.
"That depends; why were you in the tree to begin with?" My first legit question since I opened the window, unless you count "what the hell are you doing" as a legit question. I swear if I get a sarcastic remark I may just let her fall, I'm starting to realize what I pain I must be most of the time.
"I'll explain when you get me down." Fair enough, I was going to get her down anyway, and now that I know I'm gonna get answers I'm more than happy to do so.
"Alright, give me one of your hands and be ready to use the other one to keep yourself from smacking into the house. Then just let go and I'll pull you in" I expect her to hesitate, to question whether this is a good idea or not, but she doesn't, as soon as I hold out my hand hers flashes out to grab it. I don't know why but I can't help but notice how soft and smooth her hand is, and how warm her skin is on mine, her hand shaking from nerves. She lets go of the tree and I'm so distracted I almost forget to pull her up, but I manage to yank her in through the window and now she lies panting on my floor. I let her catch her breath for a minute.
"Alright Vega, what gives? Feelin' like Tarzan lately?
"I wanted to know what was going on; I thought if I sat out there and listened maybe I could figure out why." Wow, I've got to hand it to Vega, she's persistent.
"What; you think I'm just going to be in here telling my bedroom wall all about it? That was your dumbest plan yet Vega, this isn't some T.V. Show."
"Yeah I figured that out, about two hours too late." Two hours? She had been in my tree for two hours? Note to self, install security camera outside of window.
"You sat in my tree for two hours trying to figure out what's wrong with me?" I'm not angry, but what kind of friend is so devoted that they would stay out there for two whole hours just listening to me attack stuff with a hammer? And shouldn't I be mad that she was eavesdropping on me?
"I'm really sorry Jade, I just wanted to know what was wrong, you never yell at Cat like that and I was concerned."
"It's fine, if you really want to know what's wrong that bad I'll tell you." Who cares if she knows, it gets her off my back, and talking about stuff is supposed to help anyway right? And bonus points if I shatter her perfect little image of Beck somewhere along the way.
"Does this mean I finally got through to you?" She sounds way too happy about this; I think maybe she's right though, normally I wouldn't dream of confiding in Vega. But this just feels right, I'm used to bottling shit up inside but maybe this is the kind of thing I can't keep to myself. She is going to find out eventually anyway when Beck comes back from vacation (damn Canadian, I should have known not to trust one.)
"No, it means I'm ready to get you off my back." There's no way I'm gonna let Vega go on thinking she made some sort of great breakthrough, this is a one-time thing, right?
"Good enough for me." At this point I have a feeling that a confession at gunpoint would be good enough for Vega.
I spend the next few minutes telling her all about today, all the way up to lunch when I yelled at Cat. Vega listens, but doesn't talk much. That's good, because my hope is to get through the entire story before the pain really hits again, so that I can focus completely on blocking out the pain when it comes. But it doesn't, I make it through the entire story and I feel no hint of remorse or depression, just a lot of anger at Beck.
"So that's why you were freaking out when I pulled you into the closet, I'm sorry."
"It's fine. I'm over it now; I just want to get back at him for being such a gank."
"Alright then; what's the plan? How are we gonna get back at him?" Whoa, did the perfect little Tori Vega just offer to help me get revenge on somebody? We'll just see if she's still interested when she hears the plan.
"Well, he left for Canada today; I say we wait for dark and go trash his RV."
"Sounds good."
"You realize this is illegal right? And if we get caught we're in serious trouble. Doesn't sound like something perfect little Tori Vega should be getting involved in."
"Yeah well the gank deserves it." I think I like this side of Vega. It's nice to know she has a side that isn't cuddly and warm.
"Alright, go home and change into something darker, if we have to run I don't want you shining the way like the North Star for whoever wants to follow us"
"I uhh...I don't have anything dark." Ha-ha leave it to Vega to only have bright and flowery clothes. I laughed and walked over to my dresser, pulling out a pair of black sweats and a hoodie.
"Here, take these and keep 'em. Seems to me like everybody needs something dark to wear occasionally"
"Ha, well let's hope I don't make a habit out of trashing peoples' homes, I don't think my dad would approve." Vega turns and faces the wall as she strips down and pulls on my clothes. I catch myself looking at her for a moment and quickly turn away. I do not need to be looking at Vega while she undresses, yes, she looks good, but it's creepy. And since when am I into girls?
"We have a couple of hours until dark, how are we gonna waste the time."
"Well we need to go to Wal-Mart, there's a couple of valuable tools that we're gonna need to buy."
"Like what?"
"Spray paint, baseball bats, and I think it's time we get you your own hammer." Yeah, it's true; hammers are very special to me. I've still got mine from childhood, and it's a real sized hammer. When my mom tried to give me a little kids toy hammer I found a real one and destroyed it, so they let me keep the real hammer, mainly because they didn't want to go back to the store I "found" it in and try to explain. It was my favorite toy. And it still makes a really good one when I'm angry.
We go outside and get in my car; ten minutes later were sitting in front of Wal-Mart. I didn't think Vega would be prepared for my driving, but she didn't freak out when I flipped off an idiot or when I drove 30 mph over the speed limit. She was just sitting there all happy and content and not caring. By the time we got to Wal-Mart I had expected her to be a nervous wreck but she was fine, then I remembered, she spent an entire year riding with Trina before she could drive, and compared to Trina I was a model motorist, at least I looked at the road most of the time.
We go in Wal-Mart and waste a bit of time just looking around before we get what we came for. We get the baseball bats first, picking out two good metal bats. And then we pick up three cans of black spray paint, and one can of bright yellow, because Vega just HAD to have something pretty, does she realize were vandalizing an RV? Either way though, whatever you spray the paint on is going to be ruined. We arrive at the hammers.
"Alright Vega, which one do you want? This is a special moment, I'm paying. Pick a good one." Tori scanned her eyes over the hammers, and think I saw her face light up.
"Oooh! Can I have the pink one?" Remind me again why I told Vega she could pick?
"Are you really sure you want a pink hammer?" It's all I can do to keep from laughing, it's kind of cute the way Vega is looking at the hammer, like a child looking at a giant chocolate bar.
"Please?"
"Fine, I guess it's just as good regardless of the color." I pull the pink hammer off the rack and put it in the cart, picking up the baseball bats and handing them to her.
"Alright, so you're going to take those and go to a different register. I'm a little paranoid we might draw too much attention to ourselves buying all this stuff together. Neither of us are 18 so I'll have to use my fake ID to buy the spray paint. I'll meet you outside." I hand her a twenty and she sets off to the registers. I go and check out and met her outside at the car.
I drive back to my house and ran inside, quickly grabbing my own hammer and a couple of black drawstring bags I had. Getting back in the car I handed one to Vega.
"Put your hammer and spray paint in this, it will make it easier to carry everything." I load up my own bag with my hammer and two black cans of spray paint, close it up and set it next to me.
"You seem to have everything figured out"
"Well Vega, we can't all be newbies can we?" Twenty minutes later were parked a block away from Becks house.
"Last chance to back out Vega, if you don't want to go through with it you better back out now, once you've done it there's no taking it back."
"I'm not backing out now, Beck deserves it. Plus, I've already got my hammer." She had a point there; if she were to back out I would have to take away her hammer.
"Alright we will have to walk from here, people know Beck's out of town; a car in his driveway would be suspicious."
"I know; sneaking up to somebodies house is actually one thing in your plan that I know how to do. This makes twice in one day."
A/N: special thanks to my editor, Mystia, whom is responsible for EVERY simicolon in the entire chapter. And to everybody who reviewed chapter one and/or subscribed to this story! Don't forget to review! It makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. :D