Jade left her class the moment the lunch bell rang. She made her way through the throngs of students that poured out of other classrooms, pushing most of them towards the brick walls. Like most of the other students, she turned into the main hallway. Her pace was quick. She had been dying to leave her script writing class. Even though no negative words had been exchanged, Mr. Gradstien had been passively criticizing her every move. The class left her bearing a bitter scowl and a nasty look in her eyes.

After putting her books in her locker, she scanned the hallway. Students lined the halls as they stopped at their lockers, chatting as they exchanged heavy books and binders for lunch money. One locker in particular caught Jade's attention. It was painted with a black silhouette of a skyline, with words in bright colours proclaiming "Make it Shine". When a button on the side of the locker was pressed, it would do exactly that. Jade smiled as she remembered the locker's history.

She tiptoed behind the brunette in front of the locker. The girl was lost in thought, in other words, a perfect target. Without a sound, Jade breathed deeply, allowing the air to go as deeply into her lungs as possible.

"Boo!"

Tori shrieked and spun around. Jade smirked at the sight of her wide eyes and open mouth.

Tori put her hand on her chest. "Jade...oh my goodness... what was that for?"

"Fun." Jade chuckled at her own practical joke.

"For you, sure, but nobody else likes somebody coming up behind them and saying-"

"Jade!"

Another voice, higher than the last two, cut through the conversation. Jade turned to see Cat standing behind her. The redhead's usual perky demeanor was not present. Instead, she was frowning, her hands firmly akimbo.

Cat took a step towards Jade. "Give me back Mr. Purple."

"No." Jade stood her ground. "I said I would give him back to you if Tori didn't get the e-mail, but she did, so I'm going to keep him."

Cat pointed at Jade. "I'm going to tell on you. You're kidnapping my giraffe. You're a giraffe-napper!"

Tori had to stifle a laugh as Cat and Jade bantered over who would have the giraffe. Eventually, the best friends came to a truce. Jade would keep the giraffe until the end of lunch. This arrangement seemed to upset Cat, but she didn't protest. Once the Battle of Mr. Purples was over, the three girls left the confines of the school building, walking straight into the warm California sunshine.

The girls made a beeline for their usual table at the Asphalt Cafe. It was closer to the school and the Grub Truck, so most of the students wanted to sit there. The threat of Jade was the only thing keeping people from taking those coveted seats. Today, a lone boy was already sitting at their table. Cat and Tori ran over to him, but Jade approached more cautiously. She knew the boy simply from his black t-shirt and fluffy black hair.

"Hey, Beck!" Cat sat right next to the boy.

Tori gave Beck more space. "Hey there!"

Beck returned the girls' greetings as Jade slid into the seat by Tori.

Jade looked up at her former boyfriend. "Hi, Beck. How've you been doing lately?"

"Pretty good." Beck scratched the back of his neck. "Nothing too big going on, just a couple of things here and there." He looked around the cafe. Seeing somebody, he stood up. "Hey, Dan, Steve. About that play..." Beck followed the other boys to a table on the other side of the cafe.

Cat let out a whimper. "Aww, now I feel lonely. I need a friend, a purple friend that can never ever leave, except when a giraffe-napper takes him."

Jade reached into her bag, pulling out the toy Cat had wanted since the beginning of the school day. She passed the stuffed animal to its owner. "Here."

Cat gasped. "Thank you!"

The redhead snatched her cherished childhood toy from Jade's grasp. She traced the seams on the giraffe's body, and caressed each of the purple spots. Giggling, she tickled the giraffes white nose. Then she held the stuffed animal by its front legs and spun him around.

"She's so cute!" Tori chuckled.

Jade nodded in agreement.

Cat held Mr. Purple at arms length. "Mr. Purple, look at you. Your mane's a mess. We have got to fix that." She put Mr. Purple under her arm. "See you in class, guys."

Waving goodbye, Cat walked back into school. Tori slid a little closer to Jade. She placed her arm next to Jade's so they were almost touching.

"So, since we're kind of a thing now, I was thinking maybe we could go on a date." Tori pushed a lock of hair behind her ear.

Jade balked. "A date- with you? I get what you're trying to do, but no. That's weird."

Tori, undeterred, continued with her backup plan. "It doesn't have to be a regular date. It could be an opposite date. We'd-"

"You tried that with Beck and I didn't believe it for a second." Jade's retort was icy.

"Fine then." Tori mulled over her other options. She watched the other students talk and laugh. Beck was still sitting at the table with several other students. He didn't appear to be engaged in the conversation, only speaking occasionally. Beck seemed more focused on watching Jade than what was going on in front of him. That gave Tori an idea.

"We don't have to be the ones to date." Tori turned back to Jade.

Jade raised her head. "What do you mean?"

"Beck looks lonely over there." Tori hoped her plan would sound as good out loud as it did in her head. "We could set him up with somebody for a blind date, and then we'd be there too. Keeping an eye on things."

A nod from Jade. "I can think of a few girls. When would this not-date be?"

"Tomorrow, six o'clock, Kareoke Dokie."

"Sounds good." Jade stood. "You go ask Beck. I've got a little cutie to find."

Tori caught a glimpse of a smile as Jade opened the school doors. She was fairly sure her cheeks turned pink. Ignoring her blushing, she made her way through the cafe to reach Beck's table in what Andre called her "big news" walk. All boys looked up when she stood beside Beck.

Beck quickly wrapped up his previous conversation. "Hi, Tori. Can I help you?"

"I have a deal for you." Tori felt the corners of her mouth move up.

Beck turned so he was facing Tori. "I'm listening."

"I know you've been hurt about the whole Jade thing, so, I was wondering if you wanted to go on a blind date tomorrow at six?"

One of the other boys at the table was staring at Tori. "Wow. You get such cool girls to go out with you."

"I'm not going out with him!" Tori glared at the boy.

Beck cut off any potential argument. "I'm free then. Where is it?"

"It'll be at Kareoke Dokie."

"Cool. I'll be there." Beck smiled.

Tori smiled back. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jade motioning to her. She rushed over to the beckoning girl.

"What'd Beck say?" Jade slid her phone in her pocket.

"He's coming. What's happening with the girl?"

"I got the first one I picked."

"Great!" Tori's cheerful demeanor shone through. "So, I guess I'll see you at the date."

"Don't worry your little head about it." Jade looked Tori in the eyes. "I'll be there. I promise."

Author's Notes: Happy National Coming Out Day!

I realize the last few chapters have been pretty heavy on setup, but trust me, the payoff is coming soon. I am sure you will smile.

There is a mistake in the last chapter that I didn't catch, but it was fixed for this chapter. If you can't find it, don't worry, I might have fixed it already.

Writing Tracker:

Chapter Being Written: Chapter 10

Last Chapter Planned Out: Chapter 26