Author's Note (IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!): This chapter is an apology. An apology on Jade's part, yes, but also an apology from me to you, for not uploading in a while, and for how short and iffy this chapter is, and for the fact that I'm not going to be updating this from now until the end of November. That's right. I'm not going to be writing any fanfiction in November, because it's NaNoWriMo, and I'm doing that. So I'll be dedicating all my writing time to my novel. If you want to keep up with my NaNoWriMo, my dA account and my NaNoWriMo account are both Mimykitty, and I'll likely be posting tidbits of the story and stuff on dA and, of course, on NaNoWriMo. So until then, my fanfiction reading friends, I bid you farewell~
Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious.
I was surprised to find her sitting on the floor right outside the Blackbox theatre. I almost didn't see her, sitting right next to the door where I could have easily walked past without knowing. Cat was out of sight by now, so I assumed that the little redhead had decided to go home, which left me alone with Tori. I swallowed and looked down at her, waiting for her to look up at me. She must have surely heard the door open right next to her, yet, with her face buried in her knees, she made no indication that she had.
"Tori…" I began, uncertain of what to say. After getting no response, I sat down on the ground next to her, crossing my legs. I looked down. "I'm sorry."
To my surprise, Tori looked up, her wet, red face vacant with shock at the fact that I was apologizing. "No, you're not," she decided finally, frowning. "You're just saying that because Cat told you to."
"Cat didn't actually tell me to apologize," I replied, sighing. It was a struggle to find the right words, and once again I was surprising myself with how much I allowed my emotions to show around Tori. She always brought out emotions in me that no one else could, and while I hated it, I loved it at the same time. "I came here on my own."
She pondered this for a moment, studying me with her steady brown gaze, trying to decide if I was telling the truth.
"Why do you hate me?" She asked suddenly. The same words she had screamed at me in the theatre earlier right before she left, yet so much more calm. So genuine, as though her life depended on knowing the answer to this simple question.
But the answer wasn't near as simple. "I don't," I stated.
She snorted. "Yes you do, Jade. You treat me like I'm the worst thing that's ever happened to you."
My eyes searched for anywhere but her, and yet her gaze, which I felt on my face, drew them back to meet hers, blue staring into brown with intensity and emotion.
"You're… you're the best thing that's ever happened to me," I confessed, suddenly spilling out words without even meaning to. "Tori, you bring out my emotions like no one does. You're the first person in this world that I'm able to be my complete self around. In the year I've known you, you've helped me more than anyone else ever has in my entire life. I treat you the way I do because… because I don't know how else to treat you. Because I've been taught to push people away all my life, and that's what I do."
I watched as Tori broke into a smile, a tear slipping down her cheek. A silent agreement seems to come between us; she doesn't seem to know how to respond. In the end, she settles for reaching over and pulling me into an enormous hug. She cries into my hair as I whisper apologies into her ear, and all is right.