Hey guys! It's been what, a month? Sorry for the wait, I wanted this to be up by April 1st, but I had a lot of trouble thinking of a good reason for this character. Also, I was kinda stressed out with this horrible math project, my play, and just school in general, so it was a relief to not have to worry about updating.
The chapter is 2,000 words long to make up for the wait. :)
Warning: There's a bit of swearing in this, partly because it's in Jade's point of view and I think that she'd use those words easily, and partly because it's part of Trina's reason.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you might recognize, which shouldn't be much, but I'm just covering my bases. Does anyone know if someone's been sued or anything for NOT including a disclaimer?
It was like nobody breathed for a minute. The gang stood stock still, barely blinking. Even the bartender, who had been eavesdropping, seemed to be surprised.
Looking at his wristwatch, he said, "Sorry kids, but it's almost closing time. Time for you guys to go." Tori frowned, something about him looked familiar.
"But it's only 2 o'clock!" Cat looked at the bartender curiously. "The sign in the front says you're open until 5."
"Well, I'm the boss here. If I say it's closing time then it's closing time." The man said gruffly, frowning and glancing at an envelope on the counter. "Scram!"
Reluctantly, the gang followed, gathering instead at a wilting willow tree near the train tracks.
"How did you not remember her birthday?" Jade asked, rudely curious. She faltered as tears started to stream down Tori's face, awkwardly moving forward to pat her shoulder. "Doesn't she always make some big deal about it, called her birth month or something?"
"Well," Tori choked out, wiping her eyes furiously, "that actually only started 3 years ago, when she was 15. After she got into HollyWood Arts, she got a lot more demanding. She acted like she was superior to us and made sure we noticed it. The only thing that improved about her was her dancing. I actually think her singing got worse! Anyway, since I expected for her to make a big deal out of it, I just never noticed when she didn't." Tori started sobbing, and Jade patted her shoulder again.
"Promise me, guys, that we'll share our reasons with each other. Please?" Tori asked softly.
"I swear." Cat said softly, staring at her feet. After one another, 4 other voices promised the same thing. Turning away, Tori changed the subject.
"Is that bar guy watching us?" 6 pairs of eyes shot towards the windows of the bar and towards the bartender, who looked away suddenly.
"It sure looks like it." Beck said, stepping protectively in front of the girls. "Let's go, guys."
At her house the next evening, Jade pondered her role in Trina's death. What was her part in all of this? Was she the main reason why? She had been a bitch to Trina, but she was like that to half of the school, and Trina always seemed to brush it off. She had just started to formulate an idea when her brother interrupted her.
"Jade?" He said squeakily, smiling up at her eagerly. Scowling, she turned to face him. "Why don't you ever smile?" He asked, looking down. Groaning, Jade lifted his head up and smiled brilliantly at him for a second.
"Happy? Now what do you want, squirt?"
"There's a package that came for you."
"Who's it from?"
"It's from that girl you don't like…Torina Vega?"
Jade froze. Could it be? She doubted Tori would send her anything, especially in her state. The girl looked like she could barely think, let alone mysteriously send a package. Tori was addicted to texting, not letters or shit like that.
Forcing herself to smile slightly, she got up from her bed.
"I'll get it. But I'm probably gonna have to go to Vega's anyway, would you mind taking charge of the house while I'm gone?"
"How long will you be? Dad said he's going to be home for dinner tonight." Jade snorted.
"Yeah right. He says that every week, and when's the last time that actually happened, genius?"
"2 months and 11 days ago." He said sulkily.
"There's macaroni and cheese in the fridge, don't eat too much and throw up again. And your mom will be home at 10, don't wait up for me. " Jade said before scurrying out the door, phone in hand.
"She's your mom too!" He shouted back, but Jade ignored him.
While walking, she texted the gang.
"SOS. Meet at Vega's."
Grabbing her purse from the kitchen, Jade fished out her keys and dashed out of the house, almost forgetting the package. Grabbing the small brown box, she hurriedly unlocked her car and clambered in it, unsettled that she had memorized the route from her house to Vega's so well.
By the time she got there, Cat's brother's car and Andre's silver one was already parked outside the Vega residence. Exiting her car, she sniffed the air near Cat's car suspiciously. There was the distinct scent of Axe that permeated the night, causing Jade to sneeze. Robbie was definitely here too. Grabbing the package from the passenger seat, Jade rushed towards the front door, eager to see what was inside the package.
Even before she rang the doorbell, the door opened with a swoosh.
"Hi hi!" Cat said cheerily, ushering her towards the couch. Andre and Tori were seated on one, while Robbie was perching at the corner of another. "Everyone's here but Beck!"
"I see that." Jade commented before shoving Robbie off of the couch and gracefully sitting down. "Does anyone know how long it's going to take him?"
4 people shook their heads. "Ugh." Jade sighed. "His house is closer to here than mine is. He's probably making sure his hair is perfect or something." There was a long silence.
"You know, once my brother-" Thankfully, Cat was interrupted by Beck, who opened the door with a bang.
"Sorry, my dad started being really lame and then my car didn't have any gas and I had to call someone to get a ride.." Beck rambled on for what felt like an eternity.
"Can you just open the box already?" Tori snapped, blushing as everyone stared at her.
Tentatively, Jade pulled the brown package closer to her and began unwrapping it cautiously. Cat and Robbie came over to help, making sure to be very careful. After a few minutes with Andre, Tori, and Beck hovering over them, they were done.
"It's a CD!" Robbie smiled, before taking it out of its case, almost dropping it in the process.
"Robbie!" Tori and Andre exclaimed, and Robbie blushed girlishly as usual. Shaking her head, Jade snatched the CD from him and inserted it into the Vega's DVD player.
Tori turned the TV on, squealing as Trina's face popped up onto the screen.
"Didn't think you'd see me again, huh?" Trina asked, smirking from the screen. In the background you could hear yelling. Frowning, Trina walked over to her bedroom door and slammed it shut. "Sorry, Holly and David get carried away sometimes." She scowled again as the voices grew louder. "But this tape isn't about them. It's about Jade."
Jade shivered, her pale face a shade whiter. She knew it would be about her, it was sent to her, but she really, really didn't want to hear this.
"Jade West." Trina said slowly, dragging out the name. "I always suspected you had some sort of weird first name, like Jadelyn, that you shortened. Remember how I always used to try to guess it, back when you were nice to me? We were friends back then, after all, remember? Don't you remember, Jade?" Her voice had tightened and taken on a shrill tone. "I used to ask you that over and over again after all of that shit went down. At first you pretended you didn't know me, but I just kept pushing, and pushing, and pushing. Remember, Jade? One day I finally fell over the line I had perched on for so long, and you snapped at me. You yelled, and you yelled, and you yelled. It seemed like hours had passed with you saying that you had never liked me, that I had deserved what I got, and that I should go to hell. Do you remember that, Jade? There's a reason they call you the Wicked Witch of the West. You know how to hurt people, and when you want to, you scar them. You run your sharp nails all over them and once you create that cuts, you don't stop. You wait a little while, and then, just when they're starting to heal, you go back and do it all over again. And that's what you did to me. I spent the rest of Freshman year isolated from my peers, because, even though you hadn't perfected your mean girl reputation yet, you still had a hell of a lot of an influence in 8th grade, even on the freaking Seniors. Wherever I went, I heard 'Freak', 'Slut', 'Whore', 'Pathetic', 'Desperate', and, most often, 'Bitch'. You'd spread rumors about me, all of them involving the thing, but you twisted it, making me the bad guy and you the victim. Remember that, Jade? I'll save the juicy details of the thing for now, because honestly, it isn't the reason you're on this list, and I bet everyone's horrified enough for now." Trina grinned, lying down on her bed. "I auditioned for HollyWood Arts to get away from you, and due to my karate skills, I got in. But you and your boy toy didn't let me be, although I would've been more than willing to never speak of the incident and keep my head down. You took charge of HollyWood Arts to and turned everyone against me. I had built up my confidence last summer, and you took me down in one day, calling me names to my face, not sugarcoating anything. It was like you had found all of my scars again and used a knife this time." Trina grinned, staring into the camera. "You're on this list because you ruined my life. You broke me. And now, I hope you're willing to pay the price."
Smirking, Trina clicked a button on the video camera, the picture turning blurry. And the tape was over. Jade took a deep breath. It was like she had been shoved underwater, everything had seemed surreal, and fake. Almost like when you were watching a movie, but harsher, because it was all about your sins.
The rest of the gang seemed to awaken as well, and Tori turned an accusatory glance towards Jade.
"You… you… female dog!" Jade chuckled at Tori's inability to curse. "It isn't funny. You heard what Trina said. You're the reason she's dead." Tori was bristling with fury, and Jade could even see her hair crackle with energy. She looked like a madman, baring her teeth at her. Jade laughed a little more. Tori thought she could take her? Jade had dealt with much worse in her life.
"If you recall, you're a reason she's dead, too. And you're her sister. It must've been something really horrible if she couldn't forgive you."
Tori faltered, deflating. Backing off, she collapsed on the fluorescent couch and curled up into a ball. It was clear that a breakdown was imminent.
Moving towards the door, Jade called out, "Beck, do you need a ride?" They needed to talk, and this wasn't the place to do it.
Beck, thankfully catching on to her hint, agreed. "Thanks, Jade."
"Could you give me a ride, too?" Robbie asked hopefully, looking uncomfortably at Tori, who was being comforted by Cat and Andre.
"No." Jade said shortly, before opening the door and slamming it behind her, not bothering to wait for Beck. Stomping to her car, she unlocked the door and clambered into the driver's seat. Beck entered soon after, and she drove the car in silence for a few minutes.
"Should we tell them?" Beck piped up, and Jade knew exactly what he was talking about.
"No! It's not that bad, not bad enough that we feel obligated to tell them before Trina reveals it. I doubt anyone else is going to confess whatever horrible thing they did, and since they did something too, they can't exactly be mad at us." Jade said, foolishly taking her eyes off of the road to look at Beck. Hearing a honk, she quickly turned back to the road.
"But-" Beck started guiltily.
"No. Here's what we do. We tell no one. We don't talk about it, we don't talk to people who know even a little thing about it, we don't even think of it. We'll deal with it when the time comes, okay?"
"Okay." Beck said, defeated.
And they drove the rest of the way in silence.
Anon Review Replies:
Guest #1 :I know right? Trina really stung them.
Guest #2: Yes, this is kind of like PLL. This chapter also had a little connection to PLL with the thing/incident.
I know Jade changed after hearing the recording, kind of a lot, and I just want to say that she's pretty mad about the whole thing and feels pretty guilty, which she tries to push away.
Who do you want to be next? What do you think the thing/incident is? This had a lot of foreshadowing in it, and tell me any theories you have! Please review and remember, check my profile about information about updates!