Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious

Chapter 11: So Close

Tori P.O.V.

It's very odd waking up next to Jade West. Now don't get me wrong, I'm very glad the girl spent the night at helped me out, but it's just so unexpected. She's very different from what I originally thought. She also looks very different when she sleeps; it's like she's a different person. The same girl that has a constantly poor attitude, gives out glares like they're candy, snarls when someone gets a little too close and issues out death threats with a bone-chilling smile looks like a damn angel when she's sleeping. Her features are smooth and completely devoid of her typical frown. Her raven locks flow freely over her face and the pillow she rests her head on. And to top it all off, she emits a very light snore; nothing too loud but it does add a level of cuteness about her. All in all, this side of Jade is nice to wake up to but it definitely threw me off. We've never been close enough to even sleep in the same room except for that one time after the party. But now we've spent the night in the same bed twice. Whatever relationship I've established with Jade is crazy on all levels but I'm excited to see where it takes me…or us? There's no doubt in my mind that Jade is an amazing person you just need to look past all the walls she's built over the years. Hopefully I'll know the reason behind them one day and we'll never go back to the way th-

My thoughts are interrupted by a groggy voice. "You should stop staring at me Vega. Didn't your mom ever tell you that isn't polite?"

"Huh?" I hadn't even noticed I was staring until she said something, though I don't know how she would know since her eyes are still closed. A light smile makes its way onto her face and I can almost hear how she's mocking me in her head. "How, I-ugh I didn't. Wait I mean I wasn't!" I fumble with my words, unable to think past my embarrassment.

"One, you're a horrible liar Vega, and two, I didn't even know you were staring until you made a foul out of yourself. So basically jokes on you." She lets out an airy laugh but its cut short by a yawn.

"That's not funny Jade." Honestly it is kind of funny, but I have no intention of giving Jade the satisfaction I know she wants.

"It's hysterical Vega." She's wearing a soft smile rather than a smirk and I can tell she's messing around with me, but in good spirits. It's fun when she's like this. Not all ice and a ton of heart. "So why haven't you brought me breakfast yet?"

"Umm because you have two perfectly good feet to carry your ass downstairs and two perfectly good hands to make your own food." There's no malice in my voice but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to mess with her, and I'm happy I didn't because her shocked expression is absolutely priceless. But it wasn't long before she caught on to my little game. With her signature smirk and a strange but playful glimmer in her eyes she launches at me, pinning my frame beneath her.

"Is that so? I'll admit you've got guts Vega…" She looks into my eyes, and I can't help but smile as I see the joy dancing around in her unique blue eyes. It's the first time in a long time that I can visibly see Jade happy. "But I'm still going to punish you."

"And how are you gonna do that Miss West?" I'm testing her. I know she's not going to do anything violent but I am curious how she's going to 'punish' me. To my surprise and horror, she proceeds to attack my sides causing me to erupt in laughter.

"How do you like that Vega?" She teases.

"No, Jade stop it! I can't handle it!" I frantically swat at her hands but it's no use; she easily dodges me and continues her assault.

"This is what you get when to talk crap." She's laughing wildly and so am I. in my mind the entire situation seems bizarre but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy it. Seeing Jade like this is amazing and I wish she was more like this every day.

"Jade, stop! I'm gonna pee my pant." I expected her to leap off of me and issue a harsh insult that would haunt me for the rest of my adult life or continue to tickle me to the point where I was actually going to have some problems, but she does the last thing I expected. First, she stops attacking me, second, she keeps on laughing, and third, she continues to straddle my waist.

"You're such a damn baby Vega." She offers me a kind smile and I can tell she's only teasing like she was before. "But have you learned your lesson?"

I don't know what compelled me to say, "What lesson?", but it happened and now Jade is in my face. She's got this look on her face that screams danger, but I can't lose my nerve now. I can't let her win this little battle.

"You've got a lot of nerve, Tori." She lowers her face so it's just inches from mine. Our breath mingles in the small space between us and I can feel my cheeks burn. But even with all the discomfort I'm feeling I smile. "What are you smiling about?" Her voice is thick and rich, and it causes my stomach to tighten much to my embarrassment. I'm not supposed to find Jade this attractive, or even allow her to affect me like this.

"I'm smiling because you called me Tori." She looks at me with a goofy smile that I know matches my own.

"I guess I did." Her eyes lock with mine and we just get lost in each other. Slowly, ever so slowly she leans in until our lips are just a breath apart. I know she's waiting for me to close the gap. I know she's hesitating because she's unsure how I feel; just like how I'm unsure about how she feels. I don't know what Jade wants but I know I want her. It's a leap of faith but I don't really give a damn anymore.

"Jade stop assaulting my sister." Trina takes the choice from me because as soon as Jade hears her voice she rolls off my body. I instantly miss her heat and pressure. "Seriously if you two want to fuck go somewhere else or at least close the door." She sounds annoyed, but she has no damn right. What I do with my free time in my room is none of her business.

"That's odd because I know the door was closed. Maybe you're just nosey and don't have the self-control to mind your own damn business."

"Ha you're joking right?" Trina scoffs and crosses her arms over her chest. "Listen I don't give a damn about your escapades with my sister-"

"Trina!" I screech. Ugh I can't believe her sometimes. She's such a pain in the ass.

"Shut up Tori." She waves me off like a piece of dust. "I don't care if you two have a thing but seriously try not to shove it in people's faces. Not everyone thinks the two of you are cute."

"Yea Trina, I'll keep that in mind." Jade says. She sounds annoyed and I don't blame her. Sometimes my sister can be extremely abrasive; there are days that I question how I've been able to live with her this long without killing her. "But don't forget you're the one that told me to come over and make Tori…happy." Jade's got a wicked smile on her face and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what she's eluding to. My cheeks burn red at the thought of Jade and I being intimate. "I'm only doing my job." Jade sounds innocent as a lamb but I know her better than that, and so does Trina.

"You know what…nevermind. The two of you enjoy yourselves; I'm leaving." She looks absolutely disturbed but I know she'll eventually get over it. She stomps away like the diva that she is. Jade and I remain silent until we hear the front door slam downstairs. With one look at each other we bust out laughing.

"Can you believe her? She's crazier than I am."

"You're not crazy, Jade." Jade's laughter dies down at my comment and she looks at me with a raised eyebrow. "You may be demented and dark, but not crazy."

"Sure." Jade chuckles lightly and shakes her head. I know she doesn't believe me but I don't think it's something worth arguing over.

"So you came over because Trina asked you to?" I inquire.

"Can we not talk about this?"

"Please, Jade? I just want to know."

"Fine." She groans. "Yea, I came over because Trina called me and told me you were a mess."

"Oh, I wasn't a mess." Jade once again quirks an eyebrow and I feel a little embarrassed. "Okay maybe I wasn't in the best shape, but I think she exaggerated a bit."

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" She places a soft hand on my shoulder, sending a shock through my body.

"Andre and I had a huge argument." My voice is sad and I can feel the oh-so familiar sting of tears in my eyes. "It will probably pass, but I just feel like this time it was way worse. He was so angry and I was so angry at him. I don't know what to do."

"Hey don't worry about that stuff. Andre will come around and you guys will be best buddies again." She wraps her arms around me and I instantly feel better. For some reason I feel safe in her arms. "If it makes you feel any better, you have me until you and Andre make up."

"What about after?" I know it sounds pathetic given the odd relationship and bad blood between Jade and I but I don't want her to go away. I'm happy to have Jade in my life and I don't want her place to just be temporary because she's come to mean a lot to me. We each have our own issues, but I feel like we each other's rock.

"If you still want me to stick around I'll be here." Jade says but then shrugs. "I can't imagine that you would want me to though." She turns her head away from me as if she's ashamed.

"Jade look at me." I plead, but she continues to look away. "Hey, look at me." I place my hand on her cheek and turn her face towards me. I look deep into her aqua eyes finding regret and pain flowing through them. "I don't care about what happened in the past. I don't care that we spent years fighting with each other or that you used to hate my guts-"

"I never hated you." Jade's voice is rocky and I can physically feel my heart breaking. "Yea sometimes you annoyed me or I was jealousy of you, but I've never hated you."

"Then why be so cruel to me?" I'm not trying to make it worse I just want to genuinely know why she was always so harsh and cold. I've known Jade since sophomore year and I still feel completely in the dark as to why she reacts the way she does to certain things.

"I just don't know how to act." She grabs my hand and pulls it away from her face. "I never learned to be social and I never learned how to properly treat the people I care about. Then the drugs just made everything that much harder." There are tears in her eyes, along with a tinge of regret.

"That doesn't matter now. You're much nicer than you used to be and you're trying to stay clean."

"Trying is the key word." She says bitterly. "Can we not talk about this?"

"Promise you'll talk to someone about it later on? It doesn't have to be me, but you should definitely talk to someone."

"I don't like making promises I can't keep." She mumbles, but I can hear her clearly much to my dismay. I keep trying to make myself believe that she's getting better but I know she's not, at least not as quickly as I would like. Her face has got some color back but it's still hollow and her arms are still covered in tracks. Hopefully all of this is reversible, but it won't be if she doesn't find the will to stop.

"Jade, please? You don't have to do it alone either; there are tons of resources available." My voice betrays me because I sound hopeful but I definitely don't feel it. I know Jade's as stubborn as a cow and won't ask for help from anyone. She'll just wait until help isn't an option but by then it may be too late.

"Maybe I don't want help." Her voice is sharp. "I can do whatever I want and I don't need to be babysat Vega."

"I know, I know. I just want to see you back to being your normal self. I mean do you know how annoying Sinjin has gotten since you haven't been around to scare the living shit out of him." I say, trying to lighten the mood. I don't want Jade to shut down at this point, especially because I'm selfish and want her to stick around as long as possible so I don't have to be alone.

"You're such a dork Vega." She nudges me with her shoulder and I can tell all is well; she doesn't want to argue and neither do I. "I can't believe you just cursed." She pauses then looks at me with a wicked smile. "I think I like it."

Jade P.O.V.

I stayed at the Vega household for a few more hours after Vega and I had the strange heart to heart. We watched some dumb movie that she thought was spectacular. It was a romantic comedy, enough said. But overall my day with Vega wasn't bad. She's a really good friend to me and I guess I've kind of become a rock for her, which I'm proud of. I never thought I would be able to establish a friendship with Vega after how nasty I was to her, but I guess it was just bond to happen.

Pulling into my driveway I notice that both my father's and my mother's cars are parked neatly in their respective spots. It's a strange sight to see since my father is barely ever around. Something's up.

I quickly park my car and rush through the front door. As soon as I do I am greeted with the scent of baked goods.

"Mom?" I call out.

"I'm in the kitchen, hun." She calls out. I slowly walk to the kitchen not really trusting my feet because this entire thing seems ultra-surreal. "How was your time with Tori?"

"Umm it was fine. Thanks for asking." I look around the kitchen. Half is covered in dirty pans and dishes and the other half is decorated with every type of cookie possible.

"She's a nice girl, Jade. I'm glad the two of you finally got along after all this time." My mother has a sweet smile on her face but I know she's trying to use it to cover something else up. She's hiding something from me. "Would you like some before I divvy it up and put it in the oven?" She offers me a glob of cookie dough from the batch she's currently mixing.

"What's the meaning of all this, Mom? You hate baking; you think it only feeds stereotypical thinking about females." She frowns.

"People can change their mind at any point in time. Just like your father always changes his damn mind about everything!" She throws the dish she was previously using to the ground where it shatters into a million little pieces.

"Mom calm down. Tell me what's wrong." I wrap my arms around her small frame and usher her away from the shards of glass that litter the floor.

"I'll just wait for James to tell you." She buries her head in my shoulder and I can feel the hot tears soak through my shirt. "I tried Jade. Believe me I tried, but there was nothing I could do sweetheart."

"What are you talking ab-"

"Oh great, you're home." He interrupts. "I'm sure your mother was just about to tell you, but I think I should be the one to ruin your day. We're moving." And with that everything goes black.

A/N: It's going to take me a while to update now. The military, college and fanfiction don't mix well. I'll try my best to post as often as possible.

-JKJOKER