Title: The Sun's In My Heart
Pairing: Jade/Tori
Rating: R
Length: 5, 900
Spoilers: Tori & Jade's Play Date
Summary: Desperate to get out of the house, Tori spends part of her spring break with Jade.
Warning: Underage drinking, drug use, swearing, sex.

Part Four

"Would you guys… would you care if I dated a girl?" Silence followed but Tori's head remained craned up. She had used all the rage and humiliation she felt Sunday morning to reinforce her backbone, trying to make it easier for her to face Hollywood Arts, and Jade, when she arrived Monday.

"Like… for reals?" André asked with a stunned expression. "Because I would so be supportive of that." A chorus of similar agreement followed from the guys and puppets at the table, and then, oddly enough, by Cat. "You should definitely date girls. Date a lot of them. Date them in front of me. Constantly."

"Pervert," Tori accused with a small smile, unable deny the relief that flooded through her. Still, she had to dig deep to meet the face across the table from her, an incredulous and infuriated look greeting her when she mustered the courage. "Jade with nothing to say? I'm shocked."

"Me too," Rex opined. The whole table turned to look at the dark-haired girl, who's gaze remained locked with Tori until it fell to her untouched meal at the attention she was receiving. "Come on, Jade. Even a grunch like you can't be against Tori's lady loving. It's too hot."

There was a moment of quiet before Jade shook her head and began to gather up her things, pushing her tray of food to the middle of the table. "I think it's disgusting," she muttered as she closed up her bag and stood from her seat.

"You are kidding me, right?" Tori had stood up from the table as well, though far more bombastically than Jade had, earning curious looks from the people around them. "Maybe you should stop by the bathroom quick and come back, you always seem to be in a much better mood after you come out of there. What a weird coincidence."

Silence immediately followed, both from Jade and any table within a five foot radius of their own. Tori wouldn't admit it, because she was happy to once again be the proud owner of a spine, but there had been a small part of her that was terrified that Jade would jump across the table and rip her throat out. And, judging by the look on her face, it seemed as if Jade had wanted to do just that. "If you have something to say, Tori," Jade began icily, stepping around the table to stalk towards Tori, the students around them giving her a wide berth as she moved, "then say it. We're all desperate to hear."

It almost didn't made sense to Tori, how Jade's eyes could look so venomous when she had been kissing Tori and pledging her need for the Latina not two days before. Tori tried not to let that hurt show, tried not to let her gaze waver, not when Jade was staring at her like she had been. Still, she had nothing to respond with, nothing to say to back that she was ready to admit to a parking lot full of people. "That's what I thought," the dark-haired girl breathed before pushing past her.

"Tor…" André's hand reached up to grasp her wrist as Jade's form receded towards the school, squeezing it softly while he looked sympathetically. "Don't pay attention to Jade. You know that no one who matters cares about who you date as long as they treat you right."

The oh-so-familiar ache in her throat had begun to grow again, stronger than it had been before as Tori tried to keep herself calm. People were still staring at her and André's touch seemed too foreign after the weeks that had passed without him, so Tori had quickly made her excuses, asking for some time alone before speed-walking to wherever her feet wanted to take her.

The bathrooms were out, the location too-often visited for someone looking for privacy, so Tori ducked into the library, which had always been a relative ghost town during lunch. She made her way to one of the reference sections, pacing up and down an aisle while she tried to quell the bubble of emotions that felt ready to burst at any given second. Tori knew she wasn't doing herself any favors by getting worked up over Jade, but the rational part of her mind had been in overdrive for the past two days. She hadn't even touched her phone since Jade had showed up in her room on Saturday evening, too afraid of the guilt that would be waiting her the second she opened a text from Lia.

"Knock, knock." Tori's head jerked up to the top of the aisle where Noah stood, leaning against the corner of the bookshelf while he looked at Tori with soft baby blue eyes. For the first time after a month of feeling like a ragdoll being tossed about, a tear crept down Tori's cheek - surprising even herself. She tried to brush it off with a laugh and shrug, but the tightness in her throat left her feeling strangled. "Come here, kid."

So she stopped thinking, stopped trying to rationalize and reason with herself, stopped tying to push everything down and walked into Noah's open arms, pressing her face into his shoulder and allowing a strangled sob to escape her throat. She muffled the sounds in the thick purple hoodie he had on, hands fisting the material at his hips while her tears soaked it black. The bell for their next period had rung before she was able to calm herself down, but Noah hadn't moved an inch.

"I got your sweater wet." Her voice was nearly unrecognizable, raw and stuttered with desperate breaths as she pulled away to inspect the damage she had done to the Lakers gear he had on. Tori shivered, suddenly freezing, and wiped at her cheeks desperately, intending to run off to her Physics class so she could sit in silence awhile and collect herself.

"God, I hope water doesn't stain." Noah stood back to look at her and took off the hoodie while he did, wrapping it around her shoulders. When she didn't respond, he grabbed Tori's hands and slid them through the armholes himself, earning a pathetic laugh from the brunette. "My dad would be so proud of me, giving my sweater to a girl. Proud and then terribly, terribly heartbroken all over again."

Tori's fingers curled around cuffs of sweater as she leaned back against the row of encyclopedias behind her and hugged herself. "So, it was hard for you? Is?"

Shrugging in return, Noah mirrored her position. "It's… life, I guess. Dad got a boy who likes to dance and girl who loves to play hockey. On the plus side though, she's straight." Tori didn't return his sardonic smile. "I think he just doesn't get it – why it's happening to him. Like it's some great affliction on his life to have a gay kid. So, he gets by making passive aggressive comments and I try to make out with as many guys as I can on his bed. Circle of life."

"I'm sorry. That your dad's a jerk." Tori leaned her head on Noah's shoulder and let her hands fall to her sides as she took one last shuddering breath before her body finally relaxed from it's implosion.

"It's life," he repeated as he reached down to grab her hand. "I got off pretty easy compared to some kids. Is that what you're worried about? Your parents?"

Tori sighed a little; Lia had been right, their whole little group probably knew. "No. Not really. My parents don't seem like they'd… care, really, as long as I was happy. My friends wouldn't even care. They just told me. It's… it's me who cares and I hate it."

"It's not really something to take lightly," Noah offered. "Lia and I went through it, kid. We both know what it's like. Not everyone jumps out. Especially when they're still not sure what it is they want."

Tori closed her eyes upon the introduction of the subtext, wishing she could sink away into Noah's hoodie and wake up a month in the past. "Do we have to talk about it?"

"I would prefer to, yes."

She laughed at his response and pulled away, wiping at her eyes once more. "Can I at least try to find some cover-up first?"

They ended up in one of the dressing rooms backstage in the Black Box Theater, Tori reapplying her foundation after having spent five minutes looking for her color, and Noah sitting on the edge of the counter while drawing on his hand with an eyeliner pencil. By the time she had spilled about everything, his doodling had made it halfway up his forearm.

"You have to tell Lia," he said quietly after she had finished, his arm littered in black-colored ivy.

"I know. Of course I will." Tori sighed and tossed down the sponge she'd been using; at the very least she looked normal again. She turned to watch the intrinsic lines he had drawn on his skin spread with each mark of the now-dull eyeliner pencil Noah had been using, though it didn't seem to deter him. When she reached up to help fix a smudged line, she saw it: the almost healed over pink dot at the curve of his elbow.

He followed her gaze. "You only live once."

"Stop," she said softly as her finger traced over the slightly raised skin, déjà vu settling in when she realized it had barely been a day since she had been doing the same thing with Jade.

"Okay."

"I mean it." Tori felt like a child acting like a grown-up, giving commands to Noah while wearing his too-big sweater.

"Okay," Noah repeated and when she looked up he was smiling at her. "But you owe me." Tori scoffed and flicked him in arm before sitting back in her chair, watching as he continued his eyebrow pencil artwork. "So, you like Lia?"

A small genuine smile appeared. "Of course I do. I mean… she's gorgeous and sweet and funny and charming and normal."

He prodded Tori with his shoe when she faltered. "But?"

"If there is a 'but' then I have no idea where to find it," Tori replied honestly.

"But, she's not the one you want," Noah offered as he tossed the pencil down and swiveled on the counter so he could plant his feet on either side of Tori's hips on the chair. He grabbed her face and made her look at him. "Isn't life just so much easier when you only like boys?"

"You're an idiot." Tori smacked his hands away, unable to bite back the smile on her face.

"You should be proud. You went from straight to hooking up with girls like a pro."

"Shut up," she said as forcefully as she could through a laugh.

"She wouldn't be mad at you, you know. If you ended it."

She sighed tiredly. "I hate that you get me all comfortable just to turn around and bring up feelings and all that other junk. It's giving me whiplash." Tori leaned back in her chair, her head hanging off the back while she tried to formulate her response. "I don't think I want to end it with Lia."

"But," he pressed once again.

She craned her neck back up. "But she might with me anyway, so what's the point worrying about it?"

"But, Jade…"

"Jade… is mean, and not just normal mean, she's genuinely mean-spirited. She's done nothing except be vile to me since I got here, no matter what I try to do, and I have no idea why I make her so mad in the first place. She's possessive and rude and downright terrifying sometimes. We can barely get along on good days, and those are pretty few and far between."

"So that leaves..." he trailed off in mock-thought, "the bedroom. I have to be honest, you don't seem like the kind to be in it just for the sex." Tori's face went bright red and Noah laughed, squeezing her hips with his shoes. "Okay, I think after you're so willingly de-virginized by someone who supposedly hates you in a bathroom at a party, you don't get to blush about sex."

"I'll blush about whatever I want, thank you very much," she mumbled, eyes taking a sudden fascination to the shoes by her hips. "Jade… can be nice. And it seems to mean more when it comes from her because it's not just second nature; it's actually her making an effort and it makes it even more sweet. She's funny and she's ridiculously talented, even if she has disturbing taste. She's… never boring."

Noah nodded as his fingers tapped along the counter. "I think it's safe to say that Jade West isn't boring. But you get the good with the bad, you know."

"What fun is the good without the bad, anyway?" Tori lifted her eyes, a small grin on her lips.

"So you do want to date Jade? Like actually… date her?" He stopped her as her mouth opened. "And don't say that you don't know what you want, because you do."

Tori sighed and looked over Noah's knee to her reflection in the vanity. "I just want to be happy. And I don't know how to get that result." She looked up at the blonde boy when he began rustling through his jeans, her eyebrows having knitted together when he presented her with a quarter. "Are you tipping me because you feel bad?"

Noah smiled and flicked the coin in the air, only to catch it and hold it out to her again. "The Decider," he said in an ominous voice.

She gave him a disbelieving look. "You want me to solve my emotional life crisis with a coin toss?"

"Oh, it probably won't solve anything. I think that's still on you. But give it a try." He grabbed Tori's hand, placing the quarter in the center of her palm and curling her fingers around it. The bell rang signaling the start of a new class, but Tori's eyes remained on her fist until Noah spoke up again. "Give it a toss, Tori. Trust me, you'll know which side you're really rooting for when it's in the air."

Tori ended up in the library for a second time that day, thankfully sitting at a table surrounded by her friends rather than crying in front of the encyclopedias. The conversation in the group was stilted, the tension thick even though Jade and Tori remained quiet. She had been surprised Jade had joined them at all when their teacher sent the class to do research for their papers, but Tori supposed the taller girl was attempting to assert some authority; showing Tori that she wasn't planning on hiding.

The Latina had remained preoccupied with the coin in her hand, spinning it around between her fingers while she stared blankly at the table. She was jarred out of her reverie at the sound of the group laughing, her eyes lifting to the commotion, only to find Jade doing the same at the other end of the table. They didn't immediately look away when they caught each other's gaze: Jade didn't sneer, Tori didn't make an excuse to find something else to look at. And again Tori was hit with a sense of déjà vu; the weird calm the settled over her as she and Jade took each other made her flashback to the first time Tori had woken up in bed with Jade still next to her. They both looked away without a cue, Tori swallowing as her eyes fell back to the quarter she was holding.

"Have I ever told you that you look good in Lakers colors?" Tori forced a smile at André's comment, but it became more genuine when she actually looked up at him and met his warm brown eyes.

"Will you flip this for me?"

André took the coin from her with a raised eyebrow. "Okay… why?"

"I just… need to make a decision and this is the only way I'll be able to."

"Alright," he acquiesced, rubbing the quarter between his hands. "What are we making a decision on?"

More guilt settled over Tori at the fact that she hadn't even told her closest friend about anything that had been happening to her, about why it hurt so much to even be around Jade. "Just… girl stuff."

André brushed off her comment with a disturbed face and readied the quarter. "Ready?"

Tori nodded, returning her eyes to the table and shrinking away into Noah's hoodie. The sound of the coin ringing was loud in her ear and she closed her eyes when she saw him reach for it as it came back down; slapping the quarter on the back of his other hand. "So?"

"You have yourself… a George Washington. Congratulations." Tori opened her eyes again, letting out a breath as André slid the quarter back over to her. "So, are you happy with heads or were you secretly hoping for tails?"

She smiled a little and looked up at him, her eyes glancing to Jade briefly then back to André. Noah had been right; when the quarter was in the air she had known which side she wanted to see land. "I'm… happy with heads."

"Me too. It'd be dreadful if they evolved out." A box was placed in front of Tori as Lia slid into the seat next to her at the end of the table, looking every bit a movie star with hair and make up meticulously done to compliment the strapless gray dress she had on under her jean jacket as if she had just stepped off the runway. "I'm glad I found you here, I can give you your present now instead of stalking out your locker after school."

"You didn't actually have to bring me anything back, you know," Tori said softly, unable to come up with anything else.

"It's actually more of a communal gift, and my father and I had to sneak out of the show I was in so we could get them, which resulted in us nearly missing our plane, which, in turn, should significantly guilt you all into accepting my present. I am a Brit bearing baked goods." Lia reached over and pulled off the top of the box to reveal two-dozen multi-colored cupcakes, much to the delight of Cat who squeaked her approval at the sight of them. Lia grabbed one from the neat holder inside the box before pushing it to the center of the table. As the others looked over the assortment and talked amongst themselves about the flavors, the blonde girl leaned towards Tori, sliding the cupcake she had chosen over to her and speaking quietly, "Sweets for my sweet. Red velvet. Your favorite, right?"

Tori didn't even remember talking to Lia about things like cupcake flavors, though she surely had mentioned it at some point, but Lia had clearly remembered. Tori reached for the cupcake, finger swiping across the icing so she could taste it and Lia's smile brightened as she pulled away, but Tori saw as she took a deep breath, like she was readying herself for battle. "You should have one, Jade. They're fantastic." Jade didn't look up from the notebook she had been writing in, so Lia made another attempt. "I know you love peanut butter, so you have to try-"

"You'd be surprised how much my taste pallet has grown since the last time we talked about favorite flavors." Tori recognized the tone well, the snarky bite loud despite the nonchalant air of Jade's voice.

Lia blinked, her smile instantly becoming strained. "Well, I asked if they had any dead baby flavored cupcakes in stock, or at the very least, some kitten entrails to throw on one, but they were fresh out." The group turned quiet, though some had to fight off the smile on their faces as they readied themselves for Jade's impending outburst. But none came, the only response being the growth of the smirk on her lips. Tori let out a small relieved breath, even though she knew the other girl would be all bite with the others around them.

"Can we talk?" Tori asked while she stuffed her hands back into the deep pockets of Noah's sweater, breaking the silence that had fallen over the table.

"Of course." The tenseness had left Lia's smile when she turned back to Tori, pushing out her chair so she could stand. They didn't go far, the table of Tori's friends still in sight, but out of earshot, as Lia leaned back against a row of non-fiction books. "I'm sorry about that. I shouldn't be creating more drama with her right now, I know-"

"Please don't apologize to me," Tori said, tongue feeling as heavy as her conscious as she tried to speak. "Something happened."

"Are you alright?"

Tori looked away and swallowed thickly. "Jade came over on Saturday."

She didn't hear anything for a few minutes, her own silence surely a reply to Lia's unanswered questions. She heard the blonde take in a short, shuddering breath before she gave a meager, humorless laugh. "And I just tried to give her a cupcake." When Tori finally looked up she was unable to read the expression on Lia's face, her dark blue eyes seemingly conflicted about what to express. "I guess that's why you didn't call yesterday. God, I'm such an idiot."

"Lia, I'm so sorry. I didn't… she just... broke in and she was messed up and…" Tori let out a breath and shook her head. "I'm the one who didn't have a backbone. I should have stopped her. She didn't even know we were, like, a real thing-"

"She knows, Tori," Lia sighed, shaking her own head and looking away. "This is… I shouldn't have pushed you for something when you had Jade-sized emotional baggage to carry around."

"Do you even know how ridiculous it is that you're trying to make this sound like your fault?" Tori couldn't help but laugh quietly; daring to reach out and grasp the edge of the blonde's hand, immensely relieved when the only response she received was Lia's gaze returning to hers. "I told them," she said quietly, nodding towards her table full of friends. "That I was going to date a girl."

Lia gave her a polite smile, though it was stripped warmth behind it. "Well, I see that it went fine with them. Did Jade follow your lead then?"

"No, she said it was disgusting." Lia's faced instantly turned concerned and she squeezed Tori's hand, readying to say something undoubtedly perfect, but Tori spoke first, "And I don't care. Really. I just… I don't want to deal with it anymore. I want to be happy. And I'm so sorry that I hurt you, Lia, and I'd get it if you slapped me right now and never spoke to me again, but…"

Lia looked down at her feet, speaking as certainly as ever despite her downcast eyes. "I can't be the girl you date during the day if Jade's going end up in your room at night."

"I don't want that," Tori insisted, shaking her head. "I just…"

"Tori, I didn't ask you for a commitment before because I didn't want to rush you into anything, but it evidently left some gray areas that aren't working out that well." Tori looked away, eyes landing on her preoccupied group of friends across the room. "And… I'm not exactly a relationship person, to be honest, but even if I don't want to push you for commitment, I think I have to lay down some ground rules. Like, no sleeping with Jade. Or any other girl, for that matter. Actually, I think I'm going to just make it a blanket rule about sleeping with anyone else in general-"

"I can't believe you're actually even considering trying this… whole thing out again," Tori said breathlessly.

Lia's genuine smile returned again, soft and sweet as she tilted her head. "I'd like to take you out again. And even if I can't show you off, I'd like it if I was the only one who got to kiss you while we see if this works out."

Tori didn't hesitate when she made her move, obviously catching Lia by surprise when she drew the blonde in and kissed her square on the mouth. Lia smiled against her lips, her arms wrapping around Tori's waist and pulling her closer as she returned the kiss in kind: inviting and delicate but by no means chaste.

"That was lovely little moment," Lia murmured as they split apart with one last press of their lips.

"They make life worth while," Tori replied breezily as her coffee-colored eyes opened to meet deep blue.

"Do it again!" Came André's excited voice from the table, finally making Tori clue back into the fact that they were still in a very public place. And though they got a few looks from some of the other kids in the library, it was only her friends who really seemed to care.

"Probably should have warned you about that. Guys are always going to stop and stare."

Tori laughed and stepped back from Lia, grabbing her hand again as she looked bashfully over to the table. Jade's seat was unsurprisingly empty, though everyone else seemed overzealous at the development, eager to ask questions and leading them to blow off the whole period talking over cupcakes.

"I'll see you after school, then?" Lia asked as she dropped Tori off at her locker before the Latina's next class, their hands linked.

"I will definitely call you," Tori confirmed as she swapped out her books and retired Noah's sweater for the rest of the day. She closed her locker and leaned against it, laughing quietly to herself. "I'm still trying to process today."

"It's been eventful for you, apparently. My Monday afternoons usually consist of making out with gorgeous girls in the library." At Tori's laugh, Lia smiled and leaned in, pressing her lips to Tori's cheek while she gave the other girl's arm a squeeze. "Until later, love."

"Say 'cheerio.'"

"Not on your life."

Tori laughed and closed her locker as she watched Lia retreat down the hall, only to have her eyes be drawn to the spot of black amongst the colorful halls of Hollywood Arts. Jade's form was hastily walking away from her own locker and Tori hesitated before following the dark haired girl, knowing she had to say something, make some sort of stand about how things were going to be from then on. So she risked being late to her next class and attempted to keep Jade's fast-moving form in her line of sight.

When the raven-haired girl turned a corner Tori ran to catch up, but the hallway she had turned into was empty. The Latina frowned for a moment, but her eyes landed on the bathroom door and she quickly pushed it open, only to feel dejected at the silence she heard when she entered, and leaving her wondering just how the hell Jade managed to disappear so quickly. She turned to leave when she thought she heard it; someone sniffling, followed by a light cough.

Tori was about to say something when the stall door on the end opened with a bang, Jade walking out and giving a small start when she saw Tori there. She recovered quickly though, quirking her studded eyebrow, a smirk already on her lips as she spoke.

"Well, if it isn't the blushing bride," she drawled, eyes wide and dry as she walked towards the sinks. "Can I help you or something?"

"I thought you were crying…" Tori said stoically.

It earned an immediate reaction from the other girl, a snort followed by an incredulous look directed at her via the mirror. "Oh my god, you're serious." When Tori didn't give an immediate response, Jade outright laughed, a harsh bitter sound that echoed in the empty room. "So, tell me, why am I supposed to be crying?"

Tori stared at Jade, who's own gaze had returned to herself in the mirror as she preened, constricted eyes vibrant despite the fluorescent lighting. She sighed but straightened her back, spine once again firm despite the small fracture it had received that day. "I just wanted to tell you that… I'm not trying to rub it in your face or make you upset or-"

"And why," Jade sniffed and turned to face her, "would I be upset?

"I don't know, Jade. Why would you be getting high in the school's bathroom an hour before we get out?" Tori inquired in an exasperated voice, a breath heaving out of her.

Jade was quiet for for a minute, though her smile had turned twisted. "Variety is the spice of life. You know that though, don't you? Went all the way across the pond for your – is it girlfriend? I assume it is, since that seemed to be what you were pushing on me."

"I wasn't pushing any-" Tori stopped and looked away, livid at herself for falling for Jade's bait so easily. "I just wanted to tell you I'm not doing this to hurt you."

"You seem to hold yourself in pretty high regard. But, I guess I knew that already." She took a step, and then another, eyes wide and dangerous as she made her way closer to Tori. "Do you think I care? Honestly. Do you think it makes any difference to me that you threw yourself at the closest thing you could find when I said no?"

"I'm done being tortured by you, Jade," Tori stated, her voice whispered but her eyes steady.

"Did I torture you?" Jade asked once again, the question lacking the warmth it had the last time she had inquired. She crossed the short gap between them until she was standing toe-to-toe with the Latina, glazed eyes untiring as they zeroed in on Tori's. "I already got what I wanted from you, Tori. I don't care what you do. But, the thing is, I don't buy this. I think you like being tortured by me. I'm willing to bet all the money in the world that Barbie doesn't make you feel half as good as I did."

Tori didn't reply but she barely allowed herself to blink for fear of creating a crack in her already hard-pressed tough demeanor. Jade stared at her like prey, her smirk as taunting as every spoken word. "You already miss it, don't you? Miss me? Are you that pathetic, Tori, or am I filling in too many blanks on my own? But, I mean, why else would you even be here if you weren't desperate to get fucked again? Oh, wait, it wasn't just about that for you. You had it in your deluded little head that we were Romeo and Juliet, right?" Jade's teeth bore as she gave a small breathy laugh. "You can't stop thinking about me, can you?"

"No," Tori replied honestly as she found her voice again, strong and sure. "But the thing is, Jade... I'd bet all the money in the world that you can't stop thinking about me, either." She turned without another word and headed toward her last class.

Jade was the night; porcelain skin protected by the dark hair, clothes and make up that she chose, her armor from the world. She was mysterious and brash, and inviting despite it all. She enjoyed being the rose, but she wanted even more for you to get close enough to get pricked by the thorns she so loved to expose. Jade was tails, alternative and obtuse, intrigue and pain.

Lia was sunshine; she was golden hair, deep blue eyes and warm comforting hands. She was freckles that she didn't try to hide under make up and kisses that she loved to bestow. She could bare her teeth with the best of them, but her smile could light up a room. Lia was heads, sweetness and strength, transparency and compassion. She hadn't lied when she told André she was happy with result of her coin toss.

But when the quarter was in the air, it had been tails that Tori was hoping for.

Author's Note: Sorry it's so much shorter than the other entries (as a strictly one-shot writer, I can't believe any of the chapters made it beyond 1000 words tbh), but I wanted to put something out because it feels like it's been forever (sorry) and the story kind of calls for a break at this point before the last part.

Also, just wanted to say that I'm a person who rarely likes OCs, and by that I mean I generally hate them, but in the case of this story it seemed necessary due to the smallish cast and the overall tone – I couldn't really find a feasible way to make the other characters fit with where it was going, nor find a way to make them a huge part of the story while still writing it as realistically as I could. So I added some to fill in the background a bit and they got a positive response so I gave them more to do, and that seemed to go over well enough and it's really shaped the story. So, I'm glad that they've been pretty well-received because they've made fantastic plot devices and I've enjoyed writing them; even if they've turned me into a filthy, filthy OC-not-hating hypocrite.