Jade drove through the streets of Los Angeles. The night sky provided the perfect backdrop for the glowing neon signs on each city block. The car's headlights shone on metallic road signs before she passed them. Other cars drove past them, their headlights and taillights appearing to blink as they weaved through the lanes. Coloured traffic lights shone out, giving instructions that all but the most impatient of drivers would follow.

Tori watched the lights of the night pass by through the passenger side window. She smiled as she went over the events of the not-date in her mind. Despite Jade's reluctance to call it a date, she had been close to her. Tori had seen the way she looked at her when they were dancing onstage. Jade had encouraged her to sing, noticed that she had been staring, and reacted with embarrassment when their hands had accidentally brushed against each other. That wasn't the kind of things Tori expected from somebody who insisted she were not going on a date with her. Even now, as Jade was driving her home, Tori saw a tight grip on the wheel and a focused look in her eyes.

Tori tried to calm make Jade relax. "That was a fun night, wasn't it?"

There was some silence. "Try not to talk."

Shrugging, Tori turned back to her passenger-side window. She felt hurt and worried when Jade pushed her away like that. She was hurt because Jade always pushed her away after doing something to convince her they could become closer. She was worried because she never knew what Jade might be thinking, and because she never knew what thing could cause the fragile friendship to shatter.

Tori began to count the cars rushing by to distract her from her depressing thoughts. The sounds of the nighttime drive played like a muffled, off key symphony. No sound came from inside the car. The silence unsettled Tori, and even though she tried to distract herself from it, she became concerned with Jade's lack of a desire to speak. Cat and Beck were probably talking.

If Tori couldn't make Jade talk, she reasoned, why couldn't they sing? They had sung before. She pulled her cell phone from her pocket and began to play the song she and Jade had danced to when Tori was cleaning up after a food fight.

"Tori, if you don't put earbuds in, you won't have ears."

Tori obeyed, taking a pair of earbuds resting in a cup holder. Pop music with thumping base and energetic synth played through the earbuds. Tori hummed along to the music. For the first few songs, everything was fine. The cheery pop provided a welcome contrast to the bitter turn their conversation was taking. Then, the music changed. An accented voice and strings began to play. This song's lyrics were darker, speaking of a love triangle and a huge mistake. The chorus launched into confusion as the singers tried vainly to decipher whether the other people in the triangle loved them or not. Tori closed her eyes, taking in the sorrowful melody. As she listened, she began to feel like the song could be about Jade. The confusion, stress, and eventual acceptance were all things that Jade must have been feeling. She hoped Jade was currently feeling the last one.

She looked over at Jade, carefully studying her body language. Jade had relaxed her tight grip on the wheel. She leaned forward in her seat, keeping her eyes on the road. She looked up at the mirror before shoulder checking. Ahead, Tori could see the street she would usually turn at to go home. Jade seemed to be signaling a bit later than she should, but Tori didn't drive, so it was difficult for her to judge.

The car accelerated, driving straight through the intersection. Jade's fingers flicked the turn signal on, and she turned right at the next intersection.

Tori looked out the back window as the car turned, trying to confirm they had gone the wrong way. "You missed the turn."

"I know." Jade turned the steering wheel to the left, centering the car in their lane.

Slightly worried, Tori pulled out her phone, hoping that she could find a GPS signal. Her phone displayed a spinning pear as it tried to gather data from satellites. "GPS signal not found. Search again?" She went to the Slap and posted, "Driving with Jade. Hoping she won't hurt me..." If something went wrong, she could send a message to everyone.

Jade merged onto the freeway. Tori looked around the street as they drove along the road. There were blocks of apartment buildings, stores, office buildings and parking lots, typical for an industrial area. Tori made a note of a 24 walk-in hospital in a strip mall in case Jade dragged her into an alley. The last time Tori had been alone in a car with Jade, Jade had a shovel in the back seat. She had taken Tori to the desert and sung creepy songs until Tori got out and walked. Tori checked the back seat.

The shovel was still there.

Tori's heart began to race. A few terrifying thoughts coursed through Tori's brain. The only places she knew in the area were closed. She had no friends nearby. The houses and shops they drove past began to look foreign. She caught a glimpse of a street sign reading "Crest Road". They had to be near the beach. Tori could see herself being buried alive, with the leftover sand being formed into a castle as she suffocated.

The car stopped. A knot of dread formed in the pit of Tori's stomach. She slid her hand across the passenger door until her finger wrapped around the handle. Once she was sure she had an exit ready, she looked up.

The first thing Tori saw was a relatively flat cliff. Only a few thin blades of grass were able to grow in the cliff's cracks. A light breeze tickled these blades. Beyond the cliff's edge, waves rolled across the beach. Moonlight and starlight bounced off the shifting tides. The dark sky was peppered with stars, far more than she could see in the city. The moon hung in the sky like the world's largest spotlight, beaming down on Tori with its full glory. The girl couldn't help but smile.

Tori heard the sliding sound of a seatbelt being sucked back into its unused position. Jade had moved to the end of her seat. Her hand rested near Tori's. "It's pretty, isn't it, Tori?"

"Yea." Tori looked away from Jade, blushing and uneasy.

Jade narrowed her eyes. "You've been freaking out since I made that 'wrong' turn."

"Yea..." Tori's voice was barely above a whisper.

Jade laughed. "Look, I know I've been awful to you this whole trip. I saw you were really happy at Karaoke Dokie, and that made me happy, and when I saw Cat and Beck in their car kissing, I got really...upset, I guess."

"You're jealous of Beck?"

"No! I wanted to be like that. I was going to just drop you off, go home, and be all angry about it. But then I decided that was stupid. It wouldn't change anything. So... I decided to drive you here. It's pretty, you're pretty, and I just thought with you here that I might be able to do something for once and... I can't say it."

Tori leaned in, taking Jade's hand gently in her own. "If you have to tell me something, you can."

"I really thought... I mean, I like you and... I..."

"Tell me!"

Jade shook her head. She grabbed onto the hand underneath her own, and pulled Tori close. She put her free hand on Tori's back. Without wasting a second, she closed the gap between them, pressing her lips against Tori's. Tori's whole body tensed up. Jade pulled away slowly, sitting normally again.

"You okay?" Tori tried to hide her disappointment, but it didn't work.

Jade nodded. "Are you okay?"

Tori had been preparing herself for beating or a burial, not this. But as she panicked, she remembered how many times she'd wanted to kiss Jade. She had pushed those feelings away each time, thinking Jade would never go that far. Now Jade was going that far, Tori realized. She should enjoy it.

"Yea." Tori unbuckled her seat belt.

Jade felt a light stream of breath on her cheek as Tori relaxed. Jade let go of Tori's hand so she could move closer, and Tori moved in too. This time, it was Tori who kissed Jade first. She was relived by Jade's immediate response. Jade's lips were warm and soft. When Jade kissed her, the caressing of her lips was smoother than she had imagined. Kissing Jade wasn't like kissing a boy. It was sweeter, deeper, and more gentle than any other kiss she'd had. There was something else too, a spark deep inside her that had never been there before.

Tori opened her mouth with a soft moan. Jade slowly slid her tongue into Tori's mouth. The feeling of Jade's tongue over her own was wonderful. Tori wiped a small line of drool from her chin as Jade's tongue receded. Jade licked Tori's lips, tasting the strawberry lip gloss she wore. Tori tasted hints of tangy buffalo sauce on Jade's lips.

Tori's phone buzzed. Carefully, Tori closed her mouth. She drew her lips back and began to pull away from Jade. Jade tried to keep her lips on Tori's, but when she realized what Tori was doing, she let her go.

Tori unlocked her phone. "It's Mom. She wants to know when I'll be home."

"Tell her 'soon'."

Jade put her seatbelt on, and Tori did the same. Jade squeezed Tori's hand before starting the car, a caring gesture. Jade turned the car around and drove back to the city. Tori smiled and looked up at the stars. She felt like she was flying.

Author's Notes: I can here your cheers of excitement from over here!

I have something to address right now. I know I promised I would update every Friday, and I had a three-chapter head start when I started posting this story. I thought these measures would help me from falling behind and not updating the story. (See The Lost Girl, which has been abandoned.) Then, school started. I'm in the academic stream, which meant I couldn't write as much as I wanted to. My head-start chapters were posted one by one as I didn't have time to write new chapters each week. By chapter 8, I was posting as soon as chapters were done. This is why I would sometimes post late Friday night or early Saturday.

Then this chapter happened. I was busy for two weekends in a row. I felt so guilty I couldn't do what you guys wanted, but there still wasn't much time to write. As much as I love writing this story, getting my butt into university is more important than this completely voluntary project. I'm going to have to break my promise of posting new chapters once a week.

I want your input. What schedule would you like for the upcoming chapters? Post your answer in the review box along with your review. I'll consider all realistic responses when making my decision. (If you say once a week or more, your suggestion will not be considered realistic.)