Title: Who Knew
Epilogue
Summary: When Tori Vega stopped talking to her long time best friend Jade West she never expected the heart break she felt, and now that she's found her again she wont let her go.
Rated: T for now, but possibly M later on. I'm not sure.
Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious, unfortunately.
Final chapter, I hope you like it. There is a time jump, just so you know.
"I don't know Cat!" I finally snapped, my voice coming out as something between a growl and a scream. Cat squeaked in fear and ducked into Beck's side. Beck let out a sigh and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, "Cat…I'm sorry." I whispered.
"Its okay, Tor. Sorry I asked so much." Cat said, peeking out from behind the hand covering her eyes. I chewed on my lip and held back a sigh, taking my cup and shaking it a bit to stir the now room temperature coffee.
"Its fine Cat, I know you're excited to see her too. She said her plane was delayed again she won't be landing until 2 am, now. We need to do something." I push my fingers through my hair as I sit up, trying to force myself to wake up more.
It was only 11 pm, and originally this is when Jade's plane would have been landing, but thanks to plane troubles-who forgets to put gas in the damn plane?- she wouldn't be in until 2 am.
Beck, Cat and I had already been at the airport when Jade finally called to let me know that her plane was delayed, so we decided to stay and were currently around the waiting area. I had just recently gotten a text that she confirmed she'd been in around 2, so now we had to kill even more time.
"I need food." Beck announced suddenly, standing with Cat, "We'll come back at 1 to wait for Jade, alright?" I didn't want to leave, I wanted to sit here and wait for Jade to get back, but I knew that would drive me nuts, so instead I nodded and got to my feet, walking with Beck over to the McDonalds.
He got all of us food while Cat sat in a small corner and stared out the windows at the planes landing. In three hours Jade would be back. She'd gone to Florida to visit her dad, Tyler and meet her new step mom, Aimee.
She'd invited me to go, but I was busy filming a new movie so I couldn't go, which left me alone in our apartment most nights, curled around Jade's pillow wishing she was home, but I wasn't going to stop her from seeing her family, even if I missed her terribly.
Since we'd gotten back together four years ago Jade and I had been inseparable. We pretty much lived together by the beginning of our junior year, and once Jade turned 18 we got an apartment together, finished our senior year and hopped right into our careers.
Jade's father wasn't into music and the arts all that much, but he supported Jade in whatever she choose to do. He even helped Jade pay for her very first movie, a creepy horror flick about a girl and a pair of scissors that actually did pretty well in theaters.
While Jade worked on her movie into the wee hours of the morning, I was working on my demo CD and getting a record deal. But every night, whoever got home first made dinner and had the table set for whoever wasn't home and we ate and told each other about our days. It was so nice, and now Jade had been gone for nearly a month and I desperately wanted her home.
"Tori." Someone snapped their fingers next to my head and I whipped my head around to find Cat standing beside me pointing at a little girl, "she was asking if she could have an autograph."
I blinked my eyes and smiled kindly, nodding my head. The little girl handed me my first CD and a purple sharpie, "what's your name?" I inquired; smiling like a mad woman I'm sure. The girl turned to Cat and started making gestures at Cat who automatically started signing back. Was the girl deaf? She had my CD though…
"Her name is Taylor, she doesn't talk." Cat explained, turning back to the girl who signed more, "She said she listened to her music when she first lost her voice and it helped her get through coming out to her parents and she wanted to thank you for that."
I turned to Taylor with a smile, "thank you, for listening to my music and I'm glad it helped you,", scrawling stay beautiful and my name across the CD before handing it back to her. She looked at it and smiled showing off all of her teeth.
"She asked about a picture." Cat stated.
"Of course." I replied instantly, standing up and fixing my hair before standing next to the girl while Cat took a picture of us together. Taylor signed thank you about four times before she rejoined her mother at a table on the other side of the restaurant, just as Beck came over to us with a tray full of food.
"Oh yum!" Cat squealed, plopping into a chair again. I sat down across from her and Beck sat next to her, passing out food to each of us before we greedily shoveled it into our mouths.
After I got through my hamburger I slowed down my inhaling and ate my chicken nuggets slowly with my French fries. All three of us finished about the same time and headed back to the waiting area and pulled out our laptops.
As soon as I signed into my chat account I had four chat requests, "Andre!" I gasped, hitting accept and watching as my friends face materialized on my screen, "how are you?"
"I'm good, I'm good. How're things with you? How's Jade?" he asks.
From what I can tell he's sitting in a recording studio, his hair is in braids again, and he's wearing a red long sleeved shirt. His glasses are perched on the tip of his nose and he's looking at something in the top half of his screen.
"I'm good, my movie just wrapped up. And I'm not sure how Jade is, I've talked to her but I haven't seen her in a month. We're at the airport waiting for her now actually." I answered, adjusting so I was sitting on the floor to get more comfortable.
"We're?"
"Beck, Cat and I." I answered; Beck and Cat leaned over behind me and waved at Andre. Conversation surrounded me from all sides but it distracted me for the next two hours, especially when Robbie joined our chat. He had gotten much funnier once he got rid of Rex, and Jade suggested that maybe it was after he finally got laid, but I always ignored her.
But sometime during our chat I ended up falling asleep leaning on Beck, so I learned from pictures posted on Facebook by Andre and Robbie who were randomly taking pictures of us while we were chatting.
When I was woken again, it was nearly two, and my stomach tangled in knots as I put my laptop away and took a seat once again, my foot tapping on the ground as my fingers drummed on my folded up arms and I stared at the terminal, chewing on my bottom lip.
"Tori, I swear if you don't stop I will make Cat slap you." Beck threatened, reaching over and pinning my legs down to stop my tapping. I sighed and threw my arms up in the air, slouching down, and my eyes flicking to the board.
Jade's flight had arrived, according to the stupid board. And people started coming out of the terminal, I popped out of my chair in a blink, scanning the crowd on my tip toes. No brown hair with blue and yellow hair streaks, none, what so ever.
"Where is she?" I grumbled, frowning and ringing my hands together.
"Vega!" a familiar voice called, my eyes scanned across the crowd. Pale face, black hair, burnt apple green eyes. Jade. My feet moved quickly and I ran toward her. She dropped her carry on at her feet as I slammed into her, throwing myself into her arms. She picked me up and spun me around, my legs wrapped around her and she leaned against the wall next to us.
I leaned down and kissed her long and hard. Savoring being in her arms again. I actually heard a few cameras going off around us, but I didn't have a care in the world as she set me down and I kissed her again, short but sweet, and pulled back.
My hand reached up and my fingers curled through her black and blue spirals of hair, "I like what you've done with it." I tell her, looking from her hair up to her smiling face, "It looks amazing. You look amazing. I missed you."
"I missed you too, Vega." She grinned at me, her hand cupping my face. She kissed me once more quick, grabbed my hand, grabbed her bag and tugged me over to Beck and Cat who were holding their bags and my laptop.
We went to baggage claim, got Jade's bags, and then went out to the car. Beck and Cat were in the front and Jade and I were sitting in the backseat, I took the middle and shoved her bags behind Cat while I snuggled up next to Jade, unwilling to let her out of my sight again.
I could hear the chuckle rumble through her when I leaned my head on her shoulder and wrapped my arms around her, but I didn't give a shit if she found it funny. A few seconds later she pressed a kiss to the top of my head and wrapped her arm around my back and held me closer. There's silence in the car filled in only by the radio and the cars movements start to rock me to sleep.
The next time I open my eyes I'm lying in the bed Jade and I share, tangled in the purple sheets in the middle of the bed on my stomach. Beside me the bed is cold and the house is silent. My heart jumps in my chest, did I dream of picking Jade up?
"Shit!" I hear her voice and the sound of metal hitting tile. I fly out of bed, stumbling down the hall of our apartment and into the kitchen. Jade's holding a now dented frying pan in her hand and frowning at it. Her black curls are messy and frizzy and she's wearing one of my over-sized fairy shirts.
"Thank goodness." I say, she turns to me with a sheepish grin, scratching the back of her head while she hides the pan behind her back, "I don't care that you dented the frying pan, Jade." I tell her, stepping into the kitchen.
"Good, because it was a piece of shit anyways." She tosses it to the ground again, her demeanor changing in a flash as she fixes her dark eyes on me. I'm reminded of a lioness stalking her prey as Jade strides over to me, taking my face in her hands and pulling me toward her until her mouth is on mine and our bodies are flush against each other. She backs me into the wall, one hand holding my hip against it while the other tangles in my hair.
When she finally pulls away from me she's not smiling, instead she's frowning. My heart seems to thud to a stop, "What's wrong?" she shakes her head, pursing her lips, "what is it, Jade?"
"Go get dressed." She demands, grasping my wrist and tugging me down the hallway. Panic floods through me and I obey her command in a flash, tugging on some jeans and a clean shirt while she pulls on a skirt and a tight green top with her combat boots. Once I shove my feet into some converse Jade grabs my wrist again and tugs me downstairs.
She unlocks the door to the passenger seat for me before going around to the driver's side. I reach nervously for the door and slowly slide in, staring at Jade in fear. Was she kicking me out? Was she going to break up with me? What the hell was going on?
"Where are we going Jade?" she motions for me to shut up as she stares at her phone. A satisfied smile curls up on her mouth as she starts the car and pulls away from the curb. She leans forward and turns on the radio, Take a Hint fills the car and Jade chuckles.
"Remember when we sang this at Nozu?" she asks. I nod slowly, now really confused. She doesn't say anything else for about fifteen minutes and then she stops the car, "put this on." She hands me a bandana, "cover your eyes, Vega."
"Jade…"
"Don't argue with me, Vega. Put it on." She snaps. I roll my eyes at her, like I'm not amused. But now I'm just frightened. What is she doing? I tie the thing around my head and I feel the car shut off, her door opens and I sit and wait.
A few seconds later my door opens and Jade grabs me, pulling me out of the car. She wraps her arms around my waist and we start walking slowly. Jade doesn't say anything and all I can feel is my heart trying to break out of my chest. I force myself to breathe.
Jade isn't dumping me. Jade loves me, I love her. Nothings wrong, she's just playing a joke. She's not breaking up with you. No matter how many times I say it, my heart won't slow down.
We come to a stop, Jade lets me go and I hear some rattling and a creak before Jade's arm is around me once more, pushing me forward, "there's a step here…" she mumbles, I lift my foot up higher to feel for it and step up into wherever we are. My best guess is a house.
A door shuts behind me and Jade is pushing me to the left, "Stay here." She whispers, kissing my temple before her feet disappear in front of me. I hear creaking of stairs and someone slams a door. A few minutes pass before I hear it again and Jade's stomping down the stairs in front of me.
She wraps her arms around me again, and we walk further to my left. I hear a door sliding open, "step down, carefully." Jade commands. I do so and the door slides shut behind me, Jade's fingers brush my hair and the blind fold falls away.
The first thing I notice is a huge banner that says 'Happy Birthday Tori' and then I notice all of my friends grinning at me. I turn to Jade and sock her in the arm, "I thought you were going to break up with me, jerk!" I turn away from her crossing my arms in a fake pout but I can see her smiling out of the corner of my eye, she grabs my wrist and spins me to her, wrapping her arms around me.
"I would never break up with you, I love you Tori." She whispers, kissing me soft and quick, "happy birthday." she says. A loud round of happy birthday fills the backyard and I can't believe it took me this long to figure out I was in my own house.
"Thank you guys!" I laugh, leaning against Jade as they all burst into a horrible rendition of Happy Birthday and my dad walks over carrying a cake lit with 21 candles. When the finished I closed my eyes and blew them out.
"No wish?" Jade whispered in my ear, as if she knew.
"Nope. I've got you, and I've got my friends. What more do I need?" I whisper back as we walk to the table with my dad and get our own slices of cake. Who needs breakfast food when there's cake to be eaten?
Cat bounces over to me just as I finish eating my slice of cake and tosses her arms around my shoulders, "happy birthday, Tor!" she squeals, crushing my neck in her arms as she puts all of her weight on it. When she lets me go I have to hold onto er so I don't fall over as the oxygen and blood rush back to my head, "sorry." She whispers.
"It's fine, Cat." I tell her with a smile and a crushing hug of my own. She tugs me to a small group of people standing by the grill. I spot Beck easily, Trina is beside him and Robbie beside her, and then I spot Andre next to Robbie and crush the pair of them in a huge hug before I hug Trina, too.
I don't see Jade for the next hour or so, and when I finally felt her come up behind me I sighed in relief as my eyes gazed over the world beyond the balcony. She wrapped her arms around my stomach and leaned her chin on my shoulder; I didn't need to look to know it was her.
"Enjoying your party Tori?" she asked.
"I am. Where have you been?" I turned my head slightly to look at her.
"Around." She shrugs. Kissing my cheek, "come on, we've got to go say goodbye to everyone." She slips her fingers through mine and pulls me downstairs. I stand at the door hugging my friends goodbye and then I say goodbye to my parents and Trina before Jade and I go back out to her car.
The ride home is silent and so is the walk up to our apartment. Jade bows her head in concentration as she unlocks the door, her hair falls over her face and she growls in frustration as she flicks through the 8 keys on her keychain.
I reach over and brush her hair away from her face and over her shoulder, "What?" she asks, straightening to stare at me with a strange smile on her face. I shrug, "just felt like it?" I nod and she smiles, taking a step to close the space between us, she pushes my hair back from my face silently, her fingers lingering on my cheek for a moment before she unlocks the door and pushes it open, flicking the light on.
I step in behind her and push the door closed, flipping the lock and sliding the chain into place, "Did you ever think, the day we met, that one day we'd be living together and dating?" I ask.
Jade turns to me from the kitchen where she's holding a loaf of bread, "No. I didn't think we'd be together as in dating, but when you called me Go that day on the play ground, I knew I'd want to be in your life as long as possible."
I grin.
"Did you ever think about it?"
"About us, being a thing? Back then, no. I just knew you were interesting, a mystery. I liked mysteries. You're my favorite enigma, Jade. I never wanna lose you." I walked over to our bar and sat down on one of the stools watching Jade make her favorite sandwich, peanut butter and banana.
"When did you know?" she asks, slowly slicing a banana.
"Know what?" I ask, twirling a pen on the counter top.
"That you never wanted to lose me." she stops cutting her banana and looks up at me, leaning over the counter.
"The day I saw you kiss Jeremy Stevens." I told her honestly, "I hated myself when I walked away. The day we moved I sat in the backseat, crying enough tears to fill an ocean. It took me three weeks to be okay enough to make a new friend at school when we got here, and even that friend knew I was constantly sad."
"When did you stop being sad?"
"When you walked into Sikowitz's class and told me to stop rubbing on your boyfriend." I spin the pen again, my cheeks warming. Jade chuckled and I heard her slicing through the banana again, "did any of those girls ever make you feel better?"
Jade's eyes meet mine and she stops cutting the banana again. Right after we'd started going back out she'd told me about all of the girls she'd fucked around with trying to find just one that could make her feel like she did with me, but we'd been interrupted by Tyler and I'd never wanted to bring it up.
"No." she whispers, "none of them made me feel like you, nobody can make me feel the way you make me feel." She sets a plate in front of me and takes one for herself, walking around to sit next to me while we eat, "I love you, Tori Vega."
I turn to her and smile, "I love you, Jade West." She leans over and kisses me, it's sticky and she's got peanut butter all over her lips. I lick mine instinctively as she pulls away and she licks her lips, too and smiles at me. My heart jumps in my chest, reminding me it's placed back where it belongs.
Jade West.
A name I'd longed to hear for years.
It's the name of the girl I fell in love with.
It's the name of the girl I lost, and then found.
It's the name of the girl I want to spend the rest of my life with.
It's the name of the girl who is my best friend.
It's the name of the girl who is my heart.
It's the name of the girl I'm in love with.
It's the name of the girl who is mine forever.