POV: Jade

"Kiss me."

The words slipped from my mouth, unplanned, not in a demand, but in a desperate plea. She looked absolutely dumbstruck, but I couldn't take the wait for a response and subconsciously dived forward, grabbing both her wrists in my hands and tugging her to claim her lips with my own, hoping to pour every ounce of hidden feelings, of words I couldn't say, of, just, everything into the most passionate and heartfelt kiss I could muster. To my surprise and relief, she responded eagerly, arms wrapping around my neck, her tongue easily slipping in to meet mine, a wild hunger coursing though my veins at the sensation. I was instantly lost in her, her scent, her taste, her touch, her kiss. There was nothing but Tori right now. No school, no closet, no stupid avoidance, just Tori and I.

The three days since I ran out of her room had gone by in what felt like an eternity. I needed the time to myself, to lock myself in my own mind and think. Just think. Think about everything that had happened since Sikowitz paired us together for that stage kissing project, even pushing myself further back, to when she had started at school, and all the insane feelings that had sprung up the second I saw her bathed in the bright lights on stage in the Big Showcase.

Maybe it was that very moment that I fell for Tori Vega; I remembered my heart skipped a beat the second she shuffled nervously on stage and I'd sucked in a sharp breath, which had caused Beck to give me a weird look and pat my hand gently in comfort. But I had withdrawn from the touch, completely captivated by the girl on stage.

Not that I let it show, or that my mind understood the sudden rush of feelings forced upon it. All it did was shine, big, flashing, neon, warning lights, yelling "THREAT!" over and over again. I knew right then she was beautiful and talented, destined to be a star, even if she didn't know it herself, even if I pretended she wasn't. My defences automatically went up at this knowledge, and any other feeling for the girl was tucked away in deep, dark corner of my mind, only to emerge now, covered in a thick coat of dust that had slowly been blown away since that first kiss.

I was unwillingly brought back to reality as Tori pulled back from me for air, her breathing heavy from the impromptu make-out session I had just landed on her. There was a dazed smile playing lazily on her lips that soon turned into a questioning gaze up at me, her eyebrows arrowed over the bridge of her nose as if she trying to be angry, but couldn't quite manage it.

"Jade-" She began to ask, but I immediately cut in.

"Kiss me." I repeated confidently, still trying to set my breathing right. "It's what I was going to say in the improv challenge, before Sikowitz interrupted me."

She looked confused again for a moment then it clicked and she looked back up at me, her mouth slightly open in what I guess was shock. "Y-you were going to… to kiss me in front of the whole class?"

I shrugged, suddenly and inexplicably feeling shy, which is something I never do. Jade West never feels shy. Then again, Jade West has been feeling a lot of things she's never meant to feel lately.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time." I explained. "But now I'm kinda glad Sikowitz cut in. We'd have some explaining to do to everyone otherwise."

Tori nodded slowly, seemingly still stunned by my admission, and, honestly, I was too. I'd spent those three days brooding. Barely talking to anyone and getting snappy if someone hung around for too long. Everyone pretty much just shrugged it off as 'Jade being Jade' but it didn't take long for my friends to notice that something was up. Cat had been first to see it, and she knew exactly what it was, but the little red head knew better than to hound me about it, instead she just let me get on with figuring it out.

Unlike Beck. He seemed to hang around me a lot more than a broken up couple should and would often ask softly what the matter was, occasionally reaching out to lay a hand on my arm which I shrugged off, not wanting to be touched, especially not by him.

I had withdrawn in myself, finally processing and figuring out everything I'd been meaning to figure out a long time ago. Yes, the feelings I had for Tori were more than friendship. Yes, that scared me. I'd never really had feelings for any girl before, unless you count admiring certain famous people that could easily be mistaken for crushes. But, no matter how much it scared me, or how confused it made me, I could no longer deny that I wanted to be with her.

We hadn't done much at her house that night, we hadn't even spoken a lot, but I realised just how comfortable I felt around the half-Latina. Before, even through the disguise of hate, she was the only one I'd go running to for help with problems, from breaking up with Beck to impressing my father. It was like she made me feel safe and she was always there to help, maybe not so willing at first, but she'd put her all into it regardless.

"Jade? You still here?" Tori's voice suddenly sounded.

Oh, man! I zoned out again. I've been zoning out so much lately I'm surprised I haven't just packed up and moved into my head. I blinked a few times, then nodded. "Yeah, just thinking."

"About?"

I pulled a face and gestured between the two of us. "This"

Tori's teeth sank into her lower lip as she sighed and ran a hand through her brunette locks. There was sadness in her eyes when she finally looked back up at me. "Jade, if you're going to run out on me again-"

"I'm not" I interrupted yet again, reaching out to grasp her arm, my thumb rubbing circles over the tan skin. "I'm not, Tori, I swear and I'm… I'm sorry I did before. I just needed to get away."

"Get away?" Tori repeated, tugging herself from my hold, sounding offended. "You had to get away from me?"

"That's not what I meant-" I began, but it was Tori's turn to talk over me.

"You've done nothing but run away, Jade!" She cried in exasperation "Every time I think we're getting somewhere with this, you leave me. And it's not fair! It's not just you who's confused with this, Jade, and you can't keep fucking with my emotions like this! I thought you wanted to give this a chance!"

I was slightly taken aback by her cursing, but I made sure not to let it show. I could feel anger bubbling up at Tori's own annoyance and I desperately tried to quash it. "I do, but it's not been easy, Vega."

"Don't I just know it?" She muttered, folding her arms over her chest and looking away.

"That's why I needed to get away." I continued, emphasising my point. "I needed sometime to think."

"W-what did you think about?" Tori asked, losing her anger as she let her arms drop to her sides.

"About this!" I cried, my arms thrown up in the air. "Me, you, us! These mixed up feelings that I have and trying to figure out what the hell they mean!"

I sucked in a breath, desperate to not let my anger get the better of me. I took a step forward, glad that Tori stood her ground, and my fingertips went back to tracing circular patterns on her forearm.

"I've been a gank." I stated, plain and simple. "Now, you've got to listen, because this isn't like me and you'll probably never get another moment like this in forever, okay? So, hear me out."

Tori nodded and visibly gulped. I looked into her eyes, and then sighed, bringing my free hand up to run through my hair. Its confession time, West, and you need to stop running away from it. You're hurting yourself just as much as you're hurting Tori, so spit it out now, or regret it later. I suppressed a chuckle at my inner voice sounding like an angry Cat would in this situation; that girl would be proud if she could see me now.

"I- I really like you, Tori." I said quietly. "And that's a lot for me to get my head around, because I'm meant to hate you." I could see her struggle not to roll her eyes when I said this. "But over these past few days when we weren't talking-" she raised an eyebrow at me, her arms crossed again. "Fine, when I wasn't talking to you, I realised that I really like having you around, spending time with you, hell, I like kissing you!"

Tori gave a small laugh, her lips twitching into a smile. "Yeah, that is a nice bonus." She said, a little shyly.

I nodded with my own smile, but my expression sobered as I continued. "But I just had to be sure. I just needed some space to clear my head and think about my life and I realised a lot of things. You make me feel comfortable, Tori. You help me out with my problems, even though you're sometimes the cause… like now. But, you make me feel like I can be myself, the real me, the whole me, and not have to hide behind a ganky front the whole time." I gestured to myself. "You let me shed my mask and, I dunno, I like it, I guess."

I trailed off, feeling awkward, not quite sure what to say. The confession was spilling out of me with no real thought behind it, just saying things I knew I needed to say to explain myself. She gazed intently up at me the whole time, a hard look in her eye, not from anger anymore, but as if she was trying to read me and be sure I was telling her the truth. I made sure not to break the eye contact, wanting her to know I meant every word.

"I really am sorry." I said softly, my fingers moving up to caress her cheek. "And I really do want to give this a go. Will you give me another chance?"

Damn, I'd asked for permission. This was a new one for me too, but I knew I needed to, I couldn't just barge my way back in. Tori was different from everyone else in my life, she actually stood up to me and she'd push my out if that was what she wanted, rather than roll over and allow me to walk all over her.

My fingertips wandered over her perfect cheekbones, the ones that made all other girls sick with envy, and I could no longer deny were beautiful. God, she was turning me into a mushy sap, but I didn't mind it, as long as no one else knew. Slowly, she nodded her head, her lips barely parted, trying to form words, but she seemed to give in and launched herself at me, throwing me into a kiss that caught me off guard and almost knocked me off balance. I couldn't help but smile into it, my arms wrapped tightly around my waist, her arms around my neck, as I drew her in closer, the feeling of butterflies in my stomach that I no longer fought against made me feel lighter than air. We drew back quickly again, both of us grinning stupidly from ear to ear.

"So, I'll take that as a yes, then." I laughed, pleased to see a small blush colour her cheeks.

She was about to say something when the smile slipped from her face, replaced with a look of horror as she stared at the door behind me. I whipped around and through the long, thin window I could see a pair of deep brown, almost black, eyes staring at me as if transfixed, the hurt evident behind them. They blinked once, turning cold as a stony expression fell upon the owners face. Then they were gone, storming off down the corridor, away from the janitors' closet where Tori and I stood, me rooted to the spot, Tori just as stunned.

"Shit." I muttered regaining the ability to move, pushing past Tori, who had taken a step forward, then raced to the door, calling after the retreating back.

Xxx

"BECK!" I yelled after my ex-boyfriend as I chased him through the empty school corridors, the only sounds being my boots slapping against the floor and my heavy breathing. "BECK!"

Shit! I didn't want him to find out like that, I didn't want anyone to find out just yet! The look I'd caught in his eyes said it all, and I knew I had some more explaining to do, to him this time. I just hoped he'd let me.

"Beck." I said, my voice soft, as I finally caught up with him. He was sat up on one for the tables in The Asphalt Café, his feet up on the bench with his arms resting on his knees, hands clasped together. He was staring straight ahead, his expression completely blank; he didn't even look at me as I approached and hopped up next to him. "Beck."

"Her?" He said after a few moments, so quietly that I almost missed it.

"It's not what you-"

"Not what I think!" He gave a harsh laugh and rounded on me, a fierce look in his eyes now. "Don't even try that one with me, Jade! You were kissing her! Tori!"

I opened my mouth, searching for words to defend myself, but nothing more than a choking sound came out. He threw his head back in another humourless laugh then jumped off the table, standing in front of me with his hands stuffed into the back pockets of his jeans.

"So, that's why you dumped me! For her? For Tori Vega! You hate her, Jade! Why the hell are you kissing her in a closet!"

"I didn't dump you for her, Beck." I reasoned, feeling my anger beginning to rise. "We broke up because it wasn't working out anymore, what I feel for Tori is completely unrelated!"

"So, you have feelings for her?" He ran a hand through his hair, a touch of hysteria in his voice as if he didn't believe me.

"I didn't really get a choice in it." I muttered truthfully, then raised my voice a little. "I didn't ask for these feelings, they just… happened."

"Oh, yeah? And how long have they been 'happening'?"

He had me there. If I told him it was since the stage kissing project, he'd still think I dumped him for Tori. If I lied he'd see through it, or just wouldn't believe me.

"That doesn't matter! It's got nothing to do with us!"

"It has everything to do with us, Jade!" Beck bellowed. He was pacing back and forth now as I stood stock still, watching his every move. "You know, I thought this whole thing was going to blow over. I thought it would be like every other time: we'd break up then a week or so later we'd be back together again. I thought that was why you've been moping around lately."

Suddenly, he stopped pacing and slammed a palm down on the table behind him, hard enough to make the plastic seating shake. "But, no! Instead, when I come to look for you to see if you wanted to give it another go, I see you in a closet with your tongue shoved down Tori Vega's throat!"

He took a deep breath; I could tell the blow to the hand stung but he was refusing to let that show, instead he just raked the fingers of his other hand through his hair once more. I'd seen Beck angry before- hell, we had fought enough!- but nothing quite compared to this. When I left his RV that evening after we broke up, I'd left us too, for good. I thought he'd accepted it a little too easy, but I thought it was because he knew it had been a long time coming. Seems like he hadn't accepted it at all, and was just waiting for me to come running back. Not this time.

"It's not like that!" I screamed at him, needing him to understand. "We broke up because, like you said, things had run their course! I've moved on. And yes, I like Tori now, I have for a while, but that has nothing to do with us!"

"So, what, you're a lesbian now?" Beck asked with a slight smirk.

I cringed. I hadn't thought that far ahead, and I hated putting labels on myself; I'm not a damn soup can. "I'm not anything, Beck. Why can't you just accept that it's over between us?"

"Because I love you, Jade." His voice lost all its anger in an instant, only to be replaced with hurt. "And I thought you loved me too."

That hit me where it hurt.

"I did love you, Beck. I still do, in a way. But it's just not the same anymore." I tried to explain, my words as soft as I could make them. Damn, people are really getting the better of me today. "We fought too much; we had a lot of issues, especially jealously on my part. I- I think we're better off as friends."

"So, it really is over between us?" He said, realisation finally dawning.

"I'm sorry, Beck."

He shrugged, apparently collecting himself. His hand automatically pushed back his hair and he looked away. "Whatever, Jade. Go. Have fun with your little girlfriend, or play thing, or whatever she is to you. I'll see you around."

Beck turned on his heel before I could say another word and strode across the parking lot to where his car sat. I watched him as he hopped in, started it up then drove steadily away from the school, and away from me. I felt sick, like we'd broken up all over again. I never thought he'd take it so hard, if anything, I thought I'd be worse off when we finally called it quits, but that wasn't the case. He had no right to just assume I'd come back, but it was what he was used to; it was the comfort, routine thing again, doing stuff because that's what we're used to. It almost felt like I'd been leading him on over the short time we'd been apart, although, I gave him no indication that we'd get back together. To me, it was final, and still is.

Somehow managing to forget all about abandoning Tori in the janitors' closet, I made my way to my own car, getting in just as calmly as Beck had done, keeping all my anger and resentment under control. I wasn't going to break down again like before, I'd already dealt with that, I just needed to be on my own again.

Xxx

I lay back on my bed with my hands behind my head, staring up at the ceiling as music pounded in my ears through the oversized headphones I wore. I'd skipped school that day; I just couldn't face it. I couldn't take whatever Beck would throw at me, whether it was accusing, hurt filled glares or just ignoring me altogether. The guy had been a huge part of my life but even in the two, almost three, years that we had been together, I'd never seen him look like that. He was always so strong, so calm. Sure, he'd blown up once or twice when we got into a big fight, but this was a different kind of anger, and it made me feel sick to know I was the cause.

The other reason I couldn't go was because of Tori. I'd once again run out on her with no explanation and I knew she wouldn't take it well, even after everything I'd confessed. I mean, me chasing after my ex-boyfriend probably doesn't look good from her point of view. Maybe I was a coward for not wanting to face either of them, but I couldn't care less right now.

One song ended and through the small, silent gap between it and the next, I heard a voice calling out. Removing my headphones so they settled around my neck, the beat of the music still easily heard as it pulsed against my collar bone, I strained my ears to make out just who was yelling at me about what.

"LYN!"

I cringed; my damn step-mom wanted me. I'd know it was her even if I didn't recognise the voice as she was the only idiot in the world who would ever call me Lyn. Yes, my full name is Jadelyn, named after some relative who probably died a long time ago, but I never, ever used it. Jade is who I am and always will be, but for some reason my dear step mother found it, in her words, 'cute', to use the second half of my name instead.

It's strange how she hasn't learnt by now that I do not answer to it.

"Lyn!" She was getting closer to my door, her whiney, nasally voice already irritating me.

"Jade." She finally used my first name as my bedroom door was pushed open. Her peroxide blond head peered around as she looked at me through a huge pair of dark sunglasses. "As I've been trying to tell you for the past five minutes, your friends are here."

I cocked my head to one side, raising an eyebrow at her. "Who?"

"That little, crazy red head." She replied, earning a small growl from me; I absolutely hated it when she called Cat 'crazy'. "And some other girl. Brunette, kinda tall, really skinny."

My heart seemed to stop for a second; Tori was here? With Cat? Well, I couldn't avoid them forever but-

"In here." My thoughts were interrupted when the blond thing disappeared back into the corridor, only to be replaced by a bouncing Cat Valentine and a shy, awkward looking Tori Vega, who said a small thanks to the woman before closing my door softly to behind her. I sat up on my bed, leaning against the headboard as I took the headphones away completely now and switched my PearPod off, my eyes fixed on the half-Latina who stayed on the other side of the room to me, unlike Cat, who had jumped on my bed the second she entered and was now sat happily swinging her legs back and forth over the side.

"Hi!" she greeted cheerfully, waving at me..

"What are you doing here?" I asked, trying but failing to sound annoyed. I watched Tori shift as she stared at the floor, refusing to look at me.

"Tori couldn't remember the way to your house, so I helped her!" Cat replied, sounding proud of herself.

"Cat!" Tori finally looked up to half-heartedly scowl at the smaller girl.

"Whatty?"

"Nevermind." She sighed, a faint blush on her cheeks. With what seemed like great effort, Tori finally turned to look at me with an attempt at a smile. "How come you weren't at school today?"

I shrugged. "Didn't feel like it."

"One time, my brother skipped school a lot, so they suspended him for a month, but then he forgot and kept going back to school and they kept having to kick him out until they got fed up and gave him a restraining order." Cat grinned. "He has it framed on his wall."

The two of us gawked at Cat for a moment before we both shook our heads, deciding it were best not to ask. Tori bit her lip before she crossed the room, sitting herself between me and Cat, a guilty expression on her face.

"I saw you and Beck fight." She admitted. When I just stared at her, taken aback, she continued. "I went running after you, to see what was going on. I didn't want to interrupt or anything, so I stayed out of the way, but… I heard the whole thing."

I swallowed, unsure of how to feel about this. I think she expected me to be angry, but I wasn't; that even surprised me. No, I think I was more relieved, mainly because that meant I didn't have to do anymore explaining, but, I don't know, there was something else I couldn't quite put my finger on.

"I understand why you went after him, Jade. He has a right to know the truth after… after what he saw." Tori said, staring down at her fingers that were nervously wrapping around each other.

I didn't know what to say, so I leant forward to place a hand over hers, stopping her fidgeting. Her bottom lip caught between her teeth as her eyes trailed from our hands to my face, a small, shy smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"I'm sorry I ran out on you again, Vega." I apologised for what felt like the millionth time. For someone who doesn't apologise much, this was a big deal for me. She better appreciate it.

Her shoulders lifted in a shrug. "It's okay. I get it."

"And I meant what I said before." I continued, my thumb circling over the back of her hand in comfort. "I do want to give this a go, but this is just all new to me and, kinda weird."

She laughed softly. "You can say that again."

I smiled. "Come here" Something must've taken over my body because the next second I found myself gathering Tori into my arms in a hug. She was just as stunned as I was, but after a moment I felt her arms slink around my waist and Tori cuddled in closer to me, burying her head against my shoulder, her nose nuzzling my neck. I couldn't help but grin as her breath tickled over my skin. Over the top of her head I looked up at Cat, who was being very quiet the whole time, understanding the seriousness of the situation, but she was still beaming from ear to ear as she watched us. Her face practically split in half when she caught my eye and gave me a quick thumbs up, to which I rolled my eyes.

Eventually, we pulled away from each other, but neither letting go fully; Tori's hand found its way to mine and, with a quick, hopeful glance at me to check if it were okay, she linked our fingers together. "So, what now?"

I shrugged. "Dunno."

"You're girlfriends!" Cat cried excitedly, bouncing up at down where she sat on the bed, clapping her hands together. The momentum caused both Vega and I to bob around too and after a second, identical smirks broke out on both of our faces as we burst out laughing at our over excited friend.

"Whatty?" Cat asked, instantly stopping her jiggling as she pouted at us. We both shook our heads, unable to respond while we tried to stop ourselves from sniggering anymore.

It didn't take long for us all to calm down again, a comfortable silence falling over the three of us. I felt a lot better now, like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders, there was just one last thing I needed to know.

"So, uh" I began, feeling a bit awkward. "Are we, you know… girlfriends, then?"

Tori smiled. "Are you trying to ask me out, Jade?" She teased.

"Maybe." I replied in a nonchalant tone.

"Welp, you're going to have to do better than that!" She smirked, crossing her arms.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine! Vega-" She raised an eyebrow; I glared at her for a second before smiling again. "Tori. Will you be my girlfriend?"

She put on her 'thinky' face, tapping her chin with her index finger as she pretended to mull over the question. I watched her intently, knowing she was doing this on purpose to wind me up, but I wouldn't let her have the satisfaction of knowing I was actually anxious for her answer. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Cat practically buzzing with excitement.

"If you don't answer me soon, I'll take it as a no." I threatened, unable to take her delay any longer.

Instantly her fake serious expression turned to a huge, cheesy grin. "Yes, Jade, I would love to be your girlfriend." The next moment I found her arms thrown around me as she planted a quick kiss slap bang on my lips. That was something I was going to have to get used to.

"Yay!" Cat squealed. "I'm so happy for you both!"

"Thanks, Cat." Tori said. She turned away to face the other girl, but scooted back a little so she was closer to me. "Couldn't've done it without you."

"Yeah, we owe you big time, Cat." I nodded in agreement, wrapping my arm around Tori's shoulder, feeling the little butterflies in my stomach flutter as she settled into the embrace.

Cat suddenly gasped. "Freezy Queen!" She giggled before diving off the bed and racing out the door.

Even in all the time I'd known her, I could never get used to Cats random outbursts like that. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion but next to me, Tori chuckled.

"I kinda promised to take her to Freezy Queen if she helped me out with you."

"Ah." I said, now understanding.

"I suppose we better go there, then." Tori said, reluctantly getting off the bed. She stretched out an arm when I didn't move, wiggling her fingers at me. "Coming with?"

"You want me to?" I asked, for some reason feeling unsure if I was invited or not.

"Duh" Tori replied, sticking her tongue out. "Besides, neither of us have a car, so we need some way of getting there."

I grabbed her hand, letting her help me to my feet. After quickly finding a jacket, my wallet and my keys, I followed Tori out of my house to where my car was parked, Cat already standing beside it, waiting impatiently for us to arrive. I clicked the button, zapping the car open so she could climb in the back and was about to get in as well when a question sprang to mind.

"Wait, how did you two get here if neither of you have a car?"

"Oh." Tori waved a hand dismissively. She was stood across from me, about to get in the passengers side. "Trina dropped us off. She said that things better work out because she wasn't driving all the way out here to pick us up again."

I shook my head and laughed a little as I got in the car, ready to drive my best friend and, now, girlfriend, to the ice cream store.

A/N: YAY! *happy dance* Finally!
I hope you guys liked this, it was, yet again, a pain to write.

Again, thank you all for the reviews/favourites/etc, they're so much appreciated ^_^ Keep it up ;P

Also, if you haven't read it yet, I've done a short one shot about Jade's family, which you can kinda link into this story. Just clicky my name up there^ and you'll find it /shameless-self-promo.

Oh, and you can blame the book I'm reading for the fluff xP
*le peace*!