The reason for the name being a few mile's higher than the one before last, is because the last was a shortcut. Just getting that out in case anyone's confused.
The car ride is longer than it was to get there. Jade takes the opportunity to yell at every person that does anything that could piss her off. Blake refused to learn the difference between Jade and Momma, and they had given up trying after about twenty minutes.
"Christmas shopping next?"
"Yeah."
It takes forever to get home, and when they do, they're exhausted. Tori picks up her list and stares at it.
Jade glances at Tori in the apartment, trying to read her emotions, but see none.
"Um, so…"
"I got a record deal." Tori says, pokerfaced. "I'm so happy right now."
She sounds like she's trying to convince herself, and Jade looks up in time to see her putting down the list before a tear slides down her cheek.
Jade takes the paper from her and sees why she's been crying. It's the Christmas shopping list.
Mom
Dad
Trina
Blake
Cat
Beck
André
Robbie
Lila
Jade
Jade wraps the girl in a hug and takes a pen from the island in the kitchen, scratching through the name. The paper rips, smearing black ink all over the counter.
"See, see? All better. You don't have to buy Lila anything, okay?" Jade says, putting down the pen and paper before moving to Tori. "She's gone now."
Tori sniffles and Blake frowns. "Momma okay?"
"Momma's fine, Blakey." Tori whispers.
Jade puts her arms around her, holding her tightly. They stay like this until Blake hums.
They break apart and Jade grabs her keys. "Come on Tor, we have shopping to do!"
Tori lets a small smile slip past the tears and she follows her son and Jade out of the apartment.
/
They get to the mall without a problem, and it's an unspoken deal that they'll buy their friends' things together. They rent a stroller for Blake, and Jade growls at the judgmental stroller lady, who curls her lip at Tori and Blake.
The first store they walk into is Tao Tea. Blake immediately points at a teapot and goes, "Oh, pretty…"
The first thing Jade picks up is a blue and white china tea mug, examining it. She smiles at puts it down before seeing Tori infatuated with a little elephant statue made out of blue and green jade, biting her lip at it before moving on.
They end up buying Cat's present here, a pink and white tea set. Next, they go to a PearStore and get Robbie a personalized laptop cover. Then, they go to Techie to get André some new headphones before stopping at a Qui to get Beck some varied coffee. Tori gets her parents a blender, and she gets Blake a playset-type thing.
Tori and Jade look at each other for a few minutes before splitting up. Jade and Blake head back to the Tao Tea, grabbing the elephant and paying before anyone else knew what had happened. Jade notices it was the last one, and grins before going to the other end of the mall, a kitschy store called The Gift Arrangement. They speed inside and grab one of the mustache-protector cups from the 1500s or whatever, a vintage one, and pay for that before sitting down on a bench and sipping some StarBucks/apple juice.
Tori runs to a Warm Topic. She grabs a few varied colors of nail polish, a few accessories, and a comically large pair of scissors. Then, she walks to a glassware store. She picks up a really pretty glass rose, buying it immediately.
The rose is dark, blood red, and the stem is clear. There's a butterfly on the rose, and where the butterfly touches, the rose is a lighter color. It's perfect for Jade.
She pays and texts the girl in question, asking where she is. She heads to the bench and sits next to Jade, fiddling with the bags in her hands.
Jade puts her arm around the other girl and Tori puts her head on Jade's shoulder, sighing softly.
They stay like that for about five minutes before standing up and heading to the car, grinning at the gifts they bought.
/
They drop Blake off at Kelly's and Jade grins when they're back at the apartment. She crosses into the kitchen, still smirking, and turns to Tori.
"Do you wanna do something crazy?" she asks slowly.
Tori narrows her eyes, following Jade into the kitchen. "What did you have in mind?"
"Have you ever ridden a motorcycle before?"