Whoo, sorry, it's been a while. Enjoy!

~Tori~

I slowly knelt down to Andre's level after he hastily tried to put some space between us and ended up falling over on his back. He had scrambled across the floor clumsily before he hit the wall by the door and had nowhere else to go. His panicked eyes flicked everywhere, looking for a way out, before he just closed them and held up his hands.

"Please don't hurt me," he pleaded. I stopped in my tracks at the fear ringing clear in his voice. That was when I crouched down in an effort to seem less intimidating. I reached out carefully and placed a hand on his raised ones to push them down.

"I would never hurt you, Andre. We're friends. You're my best friend," I told him honestly. His rapid breathing had me worried he would hyperventilate. I had to calm him down.

"Andre, look at me," I called to him softly. He shook his head and I waited patiently until he finally decided to open his eyes. My eyes must not have returned to normal yet because he did so reluctantly like he was afraid he would see a monster. That was what I was to humans though, nothing but a monster. I pushed away the negative thoughts and patted his hand reassuringly.

"It's just me, I swear. I'm still the Tori you know. Please don't be afraid," I told him, my voice falling into pleading. He must have heard my sincerity because he nodded and relaxed just a little more. His defenses were still up but I couldn't blame him. He just walked in on something straight out of a horror flick. I mean, it felt great for me and Jade, but the sight of sharp teeth and blood wasn't such a turn on for everyone, especially humans.

"Gosh, I'm so sorry you had to see that. I didn't mean to scare you. It's just-well, you see-um, damn, I have to wait for Jade to get back with Cat and then I promise we'll explain everything, ok?" I rambled, trying my best to keep him placated. He just stared at me uncertainly. Well, he wasn't trying to run so I guess that was a good sign, wasn't it? Jade returned at that moment and stepped over Robbie to enter the house. A crying Cat was thrown over her shoulder. Jade plopped her on the couch and then turned to drag Robbie in before shutting the door. She leaned against it with her arms crossed, a silent warning that no one should attempt to get away.

"Did you tell him anything yet?" she inquired calmly. I shook my head and glanced over at Cat who sat up and brushed her hair out of her face. Her trembling bottom lip indicated she was close to letting out a fresh set of tears. I sighed and stood up to stand by Jade. She offered her hand and I took it, the effect of her contact with me calmed me down immensely. I took a deep breath and then let it out before continuing.

"Ok, look…I'm sorry if this came as such a shock to you, but now that you've seen this we have no choice but to explain. You have to promise me you won't breathe a word to anyone though," I began, keeping my tone even and hopeful yet serious. Andre slowly got to his feet, his eyes staying locked on us. He moved to sit next to Cat. She gripped his arm for comfort as soon as he was seated.

"I want to agree with you. I really do. but it's so hard to-I mean, it's so hard to erase that picture of you two-and Jade had…" he sighed, holding his face in his hands before dropping them to look at us with a focused gaze.

"You're my best friend too Tor, and I think I should give you the benefit of the doubt to explain. I trust you, so yeah, I won't say a word," Andre stated with a nod. He still looked uncomfortable but a small smile appeared to show he would be as supportive as he could. Cat glanced from him to me and then back to Andre questionably. He nodded to her and patted her back before she looked to us again.

"Cat, you can trust us. We've been best friends for so long and I've never wanted to hurt you. What makes you think I would start now? You've always been there for me even when I haven't been there for you. I need you to trust me and stand by me again. Please, Cat?" Jade chimed in, her tone nothing like the one that would come from the Jade a week ago. I highly doubted she would even confess to such a thing before, let alone use the soft tone she used now. Cat seemed to pick up on her sincerity as well as Andre had with me. Coupled with the fact that Jade said please, she smiled hopefully.

"Ok, Jade," she said quietly with a nod. Jade gave her a small smile in return. We approached them slowly and stopped to stand directly in front of them. Cat let out a sob and then launched from the couch to throw her arms around us. It caught us by surprise, but eventually, we each slung an arm around her. Andre joined us shortly after, turning it into a group hug. We parted with emotions running high but no more hesitation between us.

"Hey Tor, you have a little somethin' right there," Andre said to me with a smile, rubbing his thumb over a spot next to his own mouth as an indicator. I blushed and moved to wipe away the blood when Jade beat me to it. She held my chin steady and licked her thumb before proceeding to wipe away the missed blood at the corner of my mouth. She smirked at me before walking away to retrieve Robbie who was groaning groggily as he began returning to consciousness.

"What happened? I dreamed something so weird not even my Rex dreams could top it," he mumbled, too out of it still to realize Jade had hauled him off the floor and directed him to sit on the couch next to Andre. He slumped back with a hand to his head. He shook off the rest of his stooper and sat up to see where he was wasn't a dream. He looked up at Jade with wide eyes and she returned it with a smirk showing off her fangs. He let out a girly scream and hid behind Andre who pushed him away.

"Man up dude. They won't hurt us," he reassured Robbie calmly.

"Are you sure? Because I believe I, as well as you, just saw them attacking each other. I don't think you missed the blood either," he commented nervously. I blushed and Jade chuckled, her hand lacing with mine.

"Oh yeah, we were attacking each other all right. Actually, we kind of got carried away. Believe me, it was a love bite more than any hostile intent," she replied with her trademark smirk that always made people uneasy when combined with an equally uncomfortable topic. Both boys blushed and looked away, clearly flustered they had walked in on something now that they understood what Jade was implying. Cat held her hands over her mouth.

"Oh my," she mumbled, her own blush staining her cheeks.

"Don't beat yourself up over it. It's cool," Jade dismissed, messing with them further for more entertainment. I almost forgot she liked to purposely make people uncomfortable for fun. I nudged her and shook my head but she just shrugged.

"Same old Jade," Andre pointed out after he recovered.

"So, um…" Robbie began uncertainly, clearing his throat before continuing.

"What's going on here?" he continued as evenly as he could. I sighed and moved to sit on the other couch. Jade trailed along behind me and sat to my left.

"Look, if you really want to know everything, it's going to take some time. Want me to order something to eat and then we can all discuss it? You can ask us anything you want to know, but all I ask is that it stays between us. I trust you guys will agree to this," I told them, starting off lightly but unintentionally ending serious.

"We would never want to hurt you. I promise I won't tell anyone," Cat replied in a manner unlike her. She was certain and unwavering, serious like she had never been before. Andre nodded in agreement and Robbie did too.

"Are you sure about this?" Jade asked me. I always trusted my instincts, and right now, they assured me my friends could be trusted.

"Yes, I trust them," I replied. She looked back at them with a calculative gaze before sighing and looking down.

"Ok, let's tell them," she agreed. We ordered a pizza, as decided, and sat back to exchange information about the previous days with our friends. I explained the standard rules and regulations governing my world and Jade filled them in on how she came to be what she was. Three hours passed in this way, before finally, the whole truth was out. Our friends looked at us in a mix of awe, shock, and admiration.

"Holy chiz, that's janked up. You guys went through so much and we didn't even know! Here we were, wondering where you two ran off to and whether you hooked up or not," Andre stated in amazement. I laughed and reached over to pat his knee.

"You'll get used to it. It settles in pretty fast. Or, it did for Jade," I told him.

"I had no choice but to accept it. I'm not saying it was easy, but I got over it. The Bond helped too of course," she commented.

"It's so romantic you guys. You're connected!" Cat exclaimed happily, her index fingers linking together as she giggled. Jade scowled and crossed her arms.

"Don't make it sound so mushy, Cat," she complained. Cat giggled again and smiled brightly.

"Is there anything else out there?" Robbie questioned nervously.

"Not that I know of. Just vampires and werewolves so far. For all we know there could be something more, but we just don't know. They could be hiding in plain sight just like us," I answered him. He nodded thoughtfully.

"So, are you guys coming into school tomorrow?" Andre asked.

"Yeah. The threat is over. We'll be seeing you guys tomorrow at school promptly on the dot," I told him with a smile.

"Unless I decide to jump Vega before school," Jade cut in, smiling wickedly, a hand on my thigh. I slapped it away.

"Jade," I whined discouragingly. She chuckled and pulled me closer with an arm around my waist.

"I'm just joking, Tor," she muttered, kissing my temple. Cat cheered and then giggled when Jade shot her a look. I chuckled and so did Andre. That would never get old.

"I can see why you two suddenly got so comfortable with each other now," Robbie commented.

"I wasn't comfortable with her before because she tried too hard when I wasn't really sure what I was feeling, so I reacted the only way I knew how, by distancing myself. Now I just see it was all the Bond's fault," Jade explained nonchalantly.

"Don't blame everything on the Bond. You know you love me," I teased her playfully. She looked away defiantly but I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her shoulder. That was all it took for her to give in. She looked back at me with a genuine smile.

"I do," she agreed. I grinned happily.

"Aww, look at the love birds," Andre pointed out dramatically. Robbie and Cat joined him, making me and Jade roll our eyes at them. They spent another hour filling us in on what had happened at school the days we hadn't shown up and then they headed out. I didn't miss the way no one wanted to bring up anything that had to do with Beck. I guess they knew it was a sore subject now that they knew the truth. We all hugged again before saying our farewells. They left us to a quiet house once more.

"Well, that could have gone worse," Jade spoke up with a shrug. I pushed her with a laugh and she pulled me into a hug, laughing with me in relief. Our friends were on board and accepted us for who we were. I was more than pleased with the outcome. Jade held me close and leaned in to rest her chin on my shoulder.

"Where were we?" she mumbled playfully. I laughed again and laid a heated kiss on her lips before slipping out of her grasp.

"Aww, don't play hard to get, Vega," she complained, chasing me anyways. We laughed as we began our little game of catch and make out until it began getting late. Jade reluctantly got a hold of her parents and told them she would be there soon. She griped and complained extensively after hanging up, but I silenced her with another kiss.

"Just a few more months, Jade," I reminded her. She sighed but nodded.

"Yeah, a few months," she repeated with a sigh. Jade left after my family came home. My parents each gave her a hug and Trina offered her a hand which Jade took and shook once before she walked away without a word. I had helped Jade pack earlier and now I walked her out. She threw her stuff in the back of her car and then leaned against it stubbornly, a frown on her face.

"I don't want to go back there," she muttered. I shook my head and sighed.

"Oh Jade, stop being a big baby," I reprimanded, half joking and half meaning it.

"No, you don't get it. Now that I've seen what a true family is like, I don't want to go back to what I had before. It'll be so lonely," she stated hollowly. Her eyes were settled on her feet, a grim scowl on her face. She looked too much like the old, unhappy, Jade so I rushed to raise her spirits just as I always had.

"Hey, look at me," I called to her, lifting her face up with two fingers under her chin. She let me bring her eyes up to lock with mine.

"We'll still see each other and you can always come over whenever you want. I'll even sneak over to your place if you behave and stay out of trouble," I promised with a smile I knew she would adore. She groaned and raised her hands to cup my face. Her forehead rested on mine, eyes closed, and just enjoyed the close proximity.

"Ok," she finally agreed. I kissed her tenderly then brushed back a lock of her thick black hair before trailing my hand over her face, admiring the way the black contrasted with her smooth pale skin and framed her face.

"See you tomorrow then," I said in farewell, just as unwilling to say good-bye as she was. I was too used to her always being around and the first thing I woke up to that I was finding it hard to do what I was trying to make her do without further complaint.

"See you," she mumbled. She threw open her door and moved to get in when I grabbed her arm and spun her back around. I molded my lips with hers and she responded enthusiastically. It was languid but full of passion. When we broke apart I was panting and Jade was smiling cockily.

"Can't get enough can you?" she asked me. I laughed but didn't deny it.

"I just love you so much," I replied. Her playfulness turned sincere in a blink of an eye.

"I love you too," she responded. We shared one last hug for the road and then she got in her car. I stepped back and watched as she drove away. I could feel the comfortable distance that was always between us stretch into a long one, the Bond straining unwillingly. It tugged at my heart and my eyes started to tear up as sadness struck. I had no reason to cry but I couldn't help it. Our connection was strong and it would take some time to flex it back into one that could stand the distance; almost like a muscle. But until then, it had free reign of my emotions just as I was sure it did with Jade. I sighed and wiped at my eyes before turning around and heading inside. Night one of a Jade-less sleep was the first on my agenda.

~Jade~

I parked outside my house in my usual spot and shouldered my bags then walked up to my quiet house and unlocked the door. I entered, fully expecting to run into my parents. I had seen that they were home when I had pulled up. I found my mother in the kitchen cooking and my father in his study. I took the time to greet them both for some reason and then headed down into my room. I hadn't been there in what felt like so long. So much had happened since I slept in my own bed. Now it was just a useless decoration I didn't really have a need for. No, forget that, I'm sure I could find a use for it when Tori comes over. I could find a lot of uses for it actually. I grinned at the thought and began unpacking. Once that was done I threw on some clothes to wear to bed and then fell onto it with my arms and legs spread out.

After staring into space for a long time I glanced over at my bedside clock to see only fifteen minutes had gone by. Why the fuck was time moving so slow? I groaned in frustration but was saved from having to sit around any longer when my mother called me up for dinner. Of course, I didn't need to eat anymore so I was more than reluctant to go, but I grudgingly forced myself out of bed to participate in the only time we ever gathered as a family. I took my seat removed from my parents before relocating to sit closer to them. If I wanted things to get better I had to show them I wanted it to. Living with Tori had changed so much about me, but I wasn't complaining. Maybe tit his was just for the best. They gave me questioning looks but shrugged it off. Silence took over as usual but I was sick and tired of it. Fuck it. Things were definitely going to change, for my sake as well as theirs.

"So, that project with Vega wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, we kind of hit it off. I want you to meet her some time," I told them candidly, picking at my food idly and waiting for the information to sink in.

"Are you…going out…with her?" my mother finally spoke up, catching on. I looked up at her to see her gaze on me, not at all unhappy, but curious, like she wanted to know what was new with me but uncertain whether she should do so. She was showing willingness so I went with it.

"Yeah. I really like her. I know you'll like her too. I mean, everyone does eventually. You really can't help it. She's an amazing person and great at making everyone, including me, very happy," I stated honestly. My father looked up from eating, his expression comically questionable. He looked like he was trying to process what I was up to.

"Are you sure you feel this way? Are you sure you aren't just…experimenting?" my mother asked. I would have gotten mad at that in the past, because really, I hated when they questioned the decisions I made, but now, I answered with calm certainty.

"No, I'm sure. I realized I had this thing for her all along. I just didn't want to accept it until now. I'm a hundred percent serious and I want you guys to see that," I replied evenly. It felt good talking with them like this. It was then I realized that they were there when they could and they weren't completely removed from my life like I had felt. Could it be I just felt lost and confused without my wolf to help guide me as was meant to be? Whatever it was that kept me from wanting to open up to my parents in the past, it was removed now. I had felt that need to connect with them the few times I gave them updates on how I was doing, but now that I was back, I felt it more solidly than before. If I started now, hopefully I could build some form of trust and communication before I left to be with my mate forever.

"As long as you're sure, Jade. I don't want you pining over some girl who turns out to be using you or something. It's a waste of everyone's time. Yours especially," my father warned. Now, I would have snapped at that, but I could see his concern hidden behind harsh words. Was that how Tori saw me? I understood her need to reach out to me now, and like Tori, I would find that balance I had with my parents before we became irreversibly distant.

"So you're alright with it as long as I'm sure?" I asked them to clarify.

"Yes, as long as you're sure," my mother repeated with a nod. I smiled and leaned back in my chair.

"Well, I assure you I'm completely sure. Thank you. All I wanted was to come to an agreement with you guys," I admitted, not meaning to but finding the words tumbling out of my mouth truthfully. They both looked at me with a mix of emotions, but the one that stood out was shock. I was sure they hadn't seen me smile in ages or thank them for anything. Add in the words after and I knew it was majorly fucking with their heads. I chuckled and finished off my dinner before standing to wash my dishes.

"Night," I said as I passed by to head back to my room. I was at my door when I heard my father speak.

"What did that girl do to her?" he asked my mother. His thoroughly confused yet impressed tone made me want to laugh. I settled for an amused smile instead.

"Whatever it was, it sure made an important difference to her," my mother observed. I opened the door and shut it quietly behind me after that. It really did make a difference. Victoria Vega, as well as her whole family, made such an impact in my life and I was more than grateful for it. They made me come to terms with so much and gave me the tools to make things right with my own family. I realized that I couldn't wait to start.