So, I lied. This chapter is a slight AU of Stagefighting.
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Rx: Jadelyn West (Age 12)
Hydrochlorine tablets for heat control. 1 20mg tab qd
Oral contraceptive (COCP) 1 10mg tab qd
Omegas are sluts. Omegas are animals. Omegas are prizes for alphas to win.
When the pharmacist gave her that look after reading her prescription, Jade's eyes darted away and she scraped the toe of her shoe across the carpet.
Rx: Jadelyn West (Age 16)
Hydrochlorine tablets for heat control. 2 20mg tab qd, extra prn (as needed)
Oral contraceptive (COCP) 1 10mg tab qd
Betas are sluts. Alphas are animals. Omegas are prizes for alphas to win.
This time, when the pharmacist wrinkled her nose, Jade just stared at her, flat and deadly, and the stupid beta spilt pills all over the floor.
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Jade kept her body pressed up against Beck's chest, trying to say in the cloud of his scent. Tori was heading past them. She glared to keep the girl moving. That was the best method. Keep her away. Keep her out of range.
Unfortunately, Tori had managed to buddy up with Cat, who was probably Jade's only real friend. Cat was probably an idiot - though Jade was withholding judgement, because all the crazy made it hard to tell. But she had never, ever given Jade a weird look. And when Jade - like an idiot - went to school during her first heat after getting medication, and the alphas had decided to surround her and cat-call and push her into the corner of the cafeteria and cop a feel, Cat had attacked them.
They had both ended up in Mr. Alexander's office. When Mr. Alexander had frowned at Jade and said, "Are you sure you weren't encouraging them?" Cat had screeched, "What's that supposed to mean?" on her behalf. And Jade had decided that she was worth keeping around.
But these days hanging with Cat meant being near Tori, and the only way she could stand being within three feet of the stinky alpha was sitting on Beck's lap. Beck didn't mind some cuddling, but it wasn't really a normal part of their relationship. He was starting to give her weird looks.
She had Beck for a reason. He had been an overly nice beta boy who hadn't worried about stepping on alpha toes, and when Jade had gotten sick of suffering through her heats alone, she had adopted him.
It wasn't perfect. He couldn't knot and he didn't have the endurance to make it through the three days when Jade needed sex more than she needed air. But he also wanted it when she didn't. He didn't complain about the cockblock though, so she didn't complain about him falling asleep on her after a few hours.
She had her pills and she had Beck. With them she could get through anything. And it was so much better than without either. On her first heat she had spent the entire weekend in the bathtub getting very familiar with the detachable shower head. Afterwards she couldn't walk or move her wrist. Luckily, her parents hadn't been home. She hadn't told them when they got back. She wished no one had ever told them, but the stupid beta nurse had called home when she went into heat the second time during PE.
Getting knotted was supposed to make the heats more manageable, but she wasn't interested. She had thought about it, just to piss off her father. He was expecting her to just suffer until he picked the alpha he wanted to give her to. He was an old-school alpha, and he made sure his wife was an old-school omega. And when he found out that Jade was an omega, he expected her to be just like her mom. Well he was shit out of luck with that. And at least he couldn't smell Beck on her after a shower.
Jade had her pills and had Beck and they could get her through the worst her body could throw at her. Well, they had been able to. But now she was in close proximity to an alpha every single day, and she was popping her pills like candy.
And Tori was still giving her the sad, 'can't we be friends' eyes.
She was a dork and an idiot.
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"And Tori, you're with Jade."
Jade froze and shot a look of death over at Tori, who's eyes widened in what looked like actual fear. God, she was the worst alpha Jade had ever met.
"Oh, please, no!"
It was just stage fighting. Was she really that scary? Jade grinned and waggled her eyebrows. Tori was so pathetic about wanting to be friends, but she didn't trust Jade. That was a little hilarious, and it made her feel powerful again.
"Now this is important for everyone, but especially the alphas. This is a stage fight. If anyone makes real contact, or tries to use this as an excuse to make a statement about dominance, you fail the assignment, and you lose half a letter grade in the class."
Tori didn't move after the class had broken up, partners getting together to plan their practice times. Jade sauntered over to her, carefully keeping a reasonable distance between them. "What's the plan?"
Tori gave her a sideways look. "Um, I guess we should meet?"
"Your house, after school, okay?"
"I, uh, okay."
Jade walked away. She could feel Tori's eyes lingering on her ass, and made sure to give a little extra sway to her hips.
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Ringing the girl's doorbell was a lot less satisfying. Alphas were territorial. She was going to be stepping onto her turf. This had been a mistake. Jade's house was out of the question, but she should have picked some neutral ground.
From the other side of the door she heard a shout. "Tori! Get the door! You're the one expecting company!"
There was a thunder of feet coming down the stairs and a small crash as if Tori had knocked over a chair.
Then the door creaked open and Tori peeked at her through the crack. "Hey," she said, awkwardly.
Jade stared at her. "Are you going to let me in?"
Flushing, Tori stepped back, opening the door wider and showing off a perfectly modern house. One of the chairs did look rather askew. An older woman - not much older -, looking rather like Tori, was thumbing through something on her phone. Jade paused on the threshold. Beta? She wondered. That might make sense. If Tori had been raised in a family of betas she would have no idea how to act like a proper alpha. The woman glanced up and looked at her, her nostrils flaring and her eyes widening slightly. "Oh, hello," she said, and strode right up to Jade and offered her hand.
Omega. Mated omega. An omega who acted like an alpha.
Slightly stunned, Jade took the hand and bore the firm grim and shake. Jade caught the flash of a ring on the woman's left hand. She was married, like a beta, not just mated, and yet she had clearly recognized Jade as an omega right away. If the scent wasn't enough, the recognition meant, she had to be one too. But she was looking her in the eyes. Omegas weren't supposed to look people in the eyes.
"Mom," Tori protested.
"I'm Holly Vega," Tori's mother told Jade.
"Uh, Jade West," Jade replied, hand still tingling from the unexpected shake, the unexpected actions.
Tori hopped up and down, looking like an idiot. "We're going up to my room to practice-"
"Oh no you're not," her mother said. "You're staying right here. You can practice in the living room or the yard."
Tori stuck her chin out in annoyance, but nodded easily, submitting to her mother.
Her mother was an omega. Jade swallowed. Her mother knew that it wasn't safe to let her alpha daughter alone in a closed room with an omega - or, at least that it really wouldn't be fun for Jade. Being in Tori's house was enough of a territorial boundary that she'd crossed. But she wasn't saying anything specific either. She hadn't clued her idiot daughter in that Jade wasn't a fellow alpha. She just told Tori what to do and expected to be obeyed. And she was obeyed.
"We're not going to fight," Tori muttered.
"i thought you said that it was a stage fighting project."
"We're not going to really fight!"
Holly shook her head. "Out in the yard, you two. I don't need any broken furniture."
That was subtle. Tori led Jade into the small backyard. It was fenced in, but the wind and the air carried off their scents. The house was ripe with Tori and another clearly alpha scent, plus the omega richness of her mother and the sharp over-perfumed beta-bland scent of Trina. The yard was a relief.
Jade glanced back through the glass doors and spotted Holly keeping an eye on them. She didn't know what to think about this. She was safe here, it seemed. But she really didn't remember how safe was supposed to feel.
"Okay," said Tori, hopping up to sit on a table and kicking her feet together. "So what are we going to do?"
Jade considered this. Tori was a) a klutz and b) an alpha. One meant equipment was a bad idea, but considering the other, equipment meant she wouldn't actually have to get close to her. "We could use weapons."
Tori's eyebrows shot up and grimaced. "Weapons?"
Jade rolled her eyes. "Yeah, like a stick and a rubber knife. Calm the fuck down, I'm not going to shoot you."
Tori offered a rather embarrassed smile. "If you think it's a good idea."
If it means you won't have to touch me.
Tori found a cane and a plastic fork and they started to choreograph the scene. It was going better than Jade had expected, until-
"I think it might look good if we did..."
Tori stepped in and put her arm around Jade's neck. She was pressed up against her back. The cane was raised in the air above her head it a rather idiotic kung-fu gesture. Jade couldn't breathe. The fine hairs on the back of her neck rose up. Her mouth went wet.
"Do you two want a drink!" Tori's mom waltzed into the yard and they broke apart. Jade gasped for air, and then took the proffered drink gratefully, nearly leaning into Tori's mother, grateful for the unthreatening, uninteresting scent of a fellow omega.
Tori stepped away, staring at them.
"Thanks, Mrs. Vega," Jade said.
Holly smiled. "I'm right through those glass doors if you need anything else."
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It was getting dark. Tori's mom had turned on the lights in the front room. Jade glanced at her watch. "I should go."
Tori leaned back against the lawn table. "You could stay for dinner."
It had gone better than she expected. Jade was kind of crazy and demanding, but it was nice to have someone who really knew what they were doing helping her out. She thought she could really handle all the moves. She hoped it looked as cool as it felt.
Jade gave her a sidelong glance and an arch of an eyebrow. "With Trina? No thanks."
Tori laughed. That was a first - not what she had expected. With you? No thanks "Okay. Thanks for this." She reached out and kind of clapped Jade on the shoulder. "We're going to rock them."
Jade's almost pleasant expression flattened. "Don't touch me," she said, and went through the doors.
Tori balled her hands into fists and stared at the cane lying in the grass. Dammit.
She slid back into the house. Jade was with her mother in front of the front door. Her mother had her hand on Jade's arm, speaking to her quietly. Jade was shaking her head. Then her mother handed her her jacket and opened the door.
"Thanks Mrs. Vega," Jade said, "for everything." and she was gone.
Tori's mouth opened, but she couldn't think of anything to say. It was so unfair.
Holly turned and smiled at her daughter. "She's very nice. And so polite."
It wasn't fair! And Tori wasn't supposed to be jealous of her mother! Her hands tightened around the cane and suddenly, unexpectedly, it snapped. Staring at the two jagged pieces she gasped for air, then dropped them and fled. She ran up the stairs to her room and threw herself on the bed.
Seriously? Seriously?
She clawed at the blankets. Jade West had managed to make friends with her mother in less than five minutes of conversation, when Tori was just shut out in the cold, like always! And why was she so angry? It wasn't fair that she had to be so angry.
"Tori." Her mother's voice was stern, and Tori considered throwing something. She restrained herself. Holly sat down on the edge of the bed and patted her back. "Tori. You need to calm down."
"I'm not upset," Tori mumbled into the pillow, lying through her teeth.
"I take it she's not polite to you."
Tori sat up. "I don't get it! Why you! Why is she just so cool with you, but not me? Why...?" She frowned. "Why were you keeping an eye on us from the front room? You kept coming and bringing us stuff, and you never do that when anyone else is over."
She had a horrible thought. Jade was an alpha, her mother was an omega. Maybe this was just something about that sort of dynamic that she hadn't noticed before.
But, on second thought, that didn't make sense, because then her mom would probably always bring stuff for her dad, and she basically left him to fend for himself.
"I thought it was a good idea to make sure that Jade always had an out."
Tori frowned as the words registered. What? It didn't make sense.
Her mother patted her knee. "Here's the thing, Tori. If you really do want to be friends with her, you're going to have to give her a little space."
"Space? All I give her is space! She just pushes me away!"
"If she's pushing you away, you aren't giving her space."
That was... probably true. "But how can I be friends and give her space?"
"Be friendly, but be careful." Her mother sighed. "You need to make sure she always has an escape route."
"Jade doesn't run away."
"This isn't about her using it. It's about not feeling trapped. Even if she doesn't run, she might feel better knowing that she can."
"I'm - I'm not going to attack her!"
It was more likely that Jade would attack Tori.
Holly tapped her daughter's nose. "Knowing intellectually that you're safe isnt' the same as feeling safe. Do you feel safe around a group of male alphas?"
Tori grimaced. "No. Especially not when they're saying stupid shit about female alphas."
Holly took her by the shoulders and looked into her face. "You're going to have to accept that Jade feels that way around you. And you're going to have to deal with that. Okay?"
"... okay."
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It was strange, the idea of Jade being afraid of anything. But her mother was pretty smart, and usually right about things, so Tori really was going to take her advice. She had worked out a plan. She would stay a good six feet away from Jade's personal space, and she would smile and wave. Friendly, but not suffocating. When Cat was around, she would make sure Cat stayed in between them, as a buffer. When she came into a class that Jade was in, she would take a seat on the other side of the room and then smile and wave. It was going to work.
Well, it had been going to work. But she hadn't planned on someone spilling their bottle of linseed oil on the stairs, and she was heading down them as she spotted Jade crossing below, and she hurried, ready to cross her path right at the time to be noticed but at a safe distance, and stepped into the oil slick.
She fell down the stairs, arms windmilling, skidded on the bottom step, and slammed bodily into Jade, sending them both onto the floor in a heap.
The impact knocked the wind out of Tori and she couldn't draw a breath. It seemed to have done the same to Jade, because Jade was just staring at her with an expression of utter disbelief. Finally, Tori hauled in air. "Oh god, I'm so-"
"Get the HELL off of me, Vega!"
Tori skittered to the side, one hand landing accidentally on Jade's soft belly and then she rolled away.
Jade stood, brushing linoleum dirt off her black leggings and skirt and cast a look of death at Tori. It was more death than usual. It was - I will grind you into dirt and I will choke you and crush your windpipe, and I will dig my nails into your skin until you bleed, and I will bury your living corpse in a shallow grave.
She stormed off. Tori buried her face in her hands. "Oh god." This really wasn't working out.
"Why are you on the floor, Tori?" Cat's feet were bouncing next to her.
"Jade's going to kill me."
Cat reached down and offered her a hand. She grinned at Tori. "Well, yeah. One way or another."
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The looks Jade had been giving her were not pleasant and happy looks. And stage fighting. Tori really wasn't ready for this.
"Butternut!"
But when they actually got going it felt like it was going to be all right. Well, right until she swung her cane and Jade actually screamed.
Mr. Alexander, swinging gently in his wicker basket chair, looked at her sadly. "I do usually see all the alphas in here. But I was hoping that you might be an exception to the rule."
Why did all the faculty have to know that she was an alpha?
"I didn't hit her!" Unsurprisingly, her protests fell on deaf ears.
"I know Jade can be a challenge to your dominance-."
Dominance? What dominance? Tori wasn't that kind of alpha! And, okay, maybe their first interaction had been a dominance one, but ever since Tori had happily ceded it, and been kind of rewarded by Jade just casually swinging her hips or giving her the eyebrow of incredulity. That was enough.
"It was a stage fight," Tori murmured. "I didn't want to hit her. I didn't mean to hit her." She seriously hadn't felt any contact either, but alphas were known for occasionally going into rages and not remembering anything before or after punching the shit out of someone, and if you did that, you had to be kept in the hospital and watched carefully. She was not ending up there.
"I believe you Tori."
Somehow, glancing from Mr. Alexander to Derek, the beefy alpha security guard, standing with a speculative eye on her, Tori didn't believe him.
"I wouldn't want to hurt Jade! I like her!" Well, "I want to like her. I want her to let me like her."
Mr. Alexander nodded sympathetically. "But she isn't yours, and you're jealous. But it's wrong to take it out on her. You need to control your frustration, especially your sexual frustration."
Tori's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "My what?"
"You can't own people anymore, Tori. It's wrong. You have to let people make their own choices, and sometimes they won't choose you. Accept that. Learn to grow. Become a better alpha."
Tori tried not to grind her teeth.
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Shit, shit, shit. Jade could feel the make up running down her face. And then there was Andre, stepping in front of her, catching her in a lie. The force of him when he was annoyed was always unsettling because it was so unexpected. And he was going to tell Tori, he was going to ruin this.
It had been a perfect plan. It had been necessary. There were only so many pills she could stomach without getting an ulcer, and Tori sprawled all over her - Tori pinning her to the ground - had made the omega in her rise up with a vengeance, and it had taken all her will to not loop her legs around Tori, jerk her in, and grind up against her.
She needed to keep Tori away from her, because she could ruin everything. And this way people would keep her away. They wouldn't let the crazy stick-wielding alpha anywhere near poor little Jade.
Andre ran off yelling for Tori and Jade chased him. She really would kill him this time.
She lost him in the cafeteria, and gave up, sinking down against a cement pillar and clenching her fists, grinding her knuckles against the rough stone until they were raw.
She had a new plan now. Mr. Alexander would come after her, and he thought he was so sensitive, so able to understand the omega experience. Fucking beta with a psych-degree. She would duck her head and rub her eyes and say she had done it because she was scared, because Tori was pressuring her, because she didn't want to take her knot.
But no one came for her.
Well, Cat came. "Tori's in detention, again."
Jade slammed her locker shut. "And I should care, why?"
Cat gave her an incredulous eyebrow that was clearly an imitation of Jade's own. "She can't go to the party on Friday because she's cleaning food off the black box."
"As if she would go to the party anyway. It's a beta party."
Cat cocked her head and smiled at Jade. "We're supposed to be pretending we think Tori's a beta."
Jade's shoulders dropped. "Thanks for the reminder," she ground out.
"You're welcome! You should come to the party too."
"Haha, no." An omega go to a party? There was risky and then there was just dumb.
"Then you'll... talk to Tori?"
"No."
Cat pouted. "Please? She's really kind of fun. Can't you guys have a truce?"
"How can we have a truce?" That was impossible. The situation was unsustainable as it was, and a truce would only make Tori think that hanging all over her was okay, when it wasn't.
"Mmm, you could say, promise not to try to knot me and I promise I won't set you up for more detention?"
"Oh that sounds fabulous. I'll just go try that now."
"Really?"
"No."
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But Jade found herself in the black box on Friday night anyway. And she found herself doing other horrifying things, like apologizing (kinda), and breaking Tori out of her punishment. The music still humming in her veins, Tori bobbing beside her, they climbed over the balcony railing and sat on the edge, feet swinging. Jade stared out into space, but was still entirely aware of Tori glancing over at her and then looking away, on repeat.
It wasn't fair. Honorable was one of those medieval qualities that no one was supposed to have anymore. And she was kind of the worst dancer, but Jade liked to watch her anyway. It made her laugh.
Tori made her laugh.
"Couldn't we try being friends?"
Tori, when she wasn't being a pathetic whine-ball, made her laugh.
"No."
Tori flinched back like she was hit.
"Look," Jade said. "I just can't hang out with you."
"Because I smell?" Tori asked, like a five year old.
Jade rolled her eyes. "Yeah. And... other stuff." Like getting her in heat through the pill. Like being endlessly irritating and still kind of sexy. By being one of the like three female alphas on the fucking planet and being here, in her goddamn life, and messing with it. "Let's call a truce."
Tori perked up.
"We can't be friends. And we really can't hang out. But if you... make an effort to keep a three foot radius between our bodies at all times, I will... not have you put in detention again."
Tori ran her fingers through her hair. "I can do that. Well, I can try. I was trying to do that before, when I fell down the stairs. It didn't work so well."
"Try harder."
"I will. So, um. Cat said there was a party. Do you want to go?"
Jade stared at her, and for a moment let herself imagine what it would be like. The betas loved to party, and alphas would come, ready to get rowdy. Some would bring omegas, who were off limits. They would stay in a group, enjoying the vicarious power that came from their association with an alpha. Some omegas would come looking to get knotted. Jade had considered going with Beck once or twice, but it was asking for trouble, and Beck getting beaten up for her was a little more work than he signed up for, and if he wandered off, she was open season for the roaming alphas. But going with Tori...
Having an alpha meant you were off-limits. Getting knotted and scent-marked was enough to keep all the lower totem-pole alphas away. But a girl alpha? Who was lower than that? Gang rape central.
"No," Jade said flatly. "And you don't either."
"We could... do something else. Somewhere, uh, well ventilated?"
Jade stood and swung her leg over the railing. "What part of we're never hanging out didn't you understand?" But she cast a grin over her shoulder as she sauntered away.
She sensed a little flare of interest and put a bit of swing into her hips. That girl hated to see her go, but she loved to watch her walk away. And fucking with people's heads was Jade's favorite activity.
Better be careful, Jade warned herself, or Tori will become your favorite activity.
And then that would be that.