Disclaimer: The Show Victorious, its characters and other associated copyrights are property of someone else and not me.
You promised me forever
Chapter 6 – Time
We jump several months ahead to April near the end of Tori and Jade's freshman year in college.
No One's POV
The hall was decorated as if it were any other wedding. Tables with white tablecloths capped by floral center pieces dotted the room. Flowers, balloons and the normal wedding staples were present. Above the main table was a banner which read "Congratulations Lisa and Lori"
At this point of the evening the Wedding reception dinner had finished and the Guests were finishing their slices of wedding cake and coffee. On the other side of the room the DJ was making final preparations for the night of post reception dancing.
Lisa and Lori were walking around the crowd mingling with the guests while Tori and Jade were sitting at a large round table near the dance floor with several of their friends. Cat, Andre, Beck and Robbie were all present. Jade was her mothers maid of honor and Tori was a bridesmaid. They looked very elegant in their dresses along with Mandy who was the Lisa's Maid of honor.
Tori could tell that Jade hated the pink dress she was wearing, just by the way the Goth would sigh on occasion. But much to her credit Jade didn't complain one single time, not wanting to do anything to spoil her mothers wedding. For once they were getting along and actually Jade had been on her best behavior during the whole planning an execution of the wedding plans.
After being back together for a year Lisa proposed to Lori while on vacation in Hawaii last summer. Lori immediately and happily accepted wanting nothing else than to spend the rest of her life with her soul mate.
Plans were made for a wedding in local botanical gardens with a local wedding hall being used for the reception. Every thing went perfectly with only one exception.
The flower girl who was a 5 year old named Chloe and the daughter of Lisa's niece made it up the aisle behind the brides until she got to the row where her mother was sitting. She immediately went and sat down next to her mother refusing to go any further up the aisle. Though not according to plan it provided an unexpected moment of humor during the ceremony..
"Hey sis" called out Mandy to Jade. "I just love saying that."
Jade turned her attention from Tori to her new step sister. "What?"
"I hear you two are moving into an apartment in June. Is that true?"
Jade nodded. "It's a small one bedroom upper flat near campus. It doesn't look like much but at least we'll have more than one room. It's all we can afford. I have some money saved up and Tori has her new job at the Coffee bean."
Cat interjected. "Oooh..Tori, how is your new Job?"
"Its fine, I've only been there 2 months but its pretty good place to work."
"You guys going to have a house warming party?" Robbie asked.
"When were moved in, we're inviting Rex and if your good, you can come too" Jade said with a smirk.
"Told you I was more popular" Rex chimed in.
"You need to behave too or I'll take your head, crack it open and use it as a bowl for the onion dip." Jade said with her trademark smirk.
"We've been thinking of getting a place ourselves." Said Mandy as she put her arm around Beck who was sitting next to her.
"Have you started looking yet?" Robbie asked.
"Just a little so far, we've been trying to figure out what we can afford. " Beck added.
"I think I'll just stick to the dorms for a while. I like my little single room." Andre said as he finished the last bites of his slice of wedding cake.
It was at this point the DJ started to play music and a few couples migrated to the dance floor.
"Would you like to dance Cat?" Robbie said hopefully.
"Maybe a little later" Cat answered.
Tori frowned but no one noticed. She knew that Robbie had a thing for Cat since high school but she only half responded. Just enough to keep his attention focused on her but not much else. She had tried to tell cat in the past that she was letting a good thing slip by but she just never seemed to listen. Jade seemed ambivalent about the situation seeming to brush it off whenever Tori brought it up.
The look of disappointment on Robbie's face was evident, which oddly the good natured Cat seemed oblivious to.
"I'll dance with you Robbie." Tori said hoping to prop up his sagging spirits.
The next thing Tori felt was pain as Jade had just stomped her foot under that table. Looking over that Goth Tori saw that Jade didn't even seem to be paying attention to her, just smiling and talking to her new step sister.
Tori resisted the urge to say "Oww"
"Err….I mean Jade and I will dance with you." Tori said as she moved her foot out of Jades reach as once again Jade tried to stomp it.
"OK" He said seeming to perk up, getting out of the chair and leaving Rex behind for some unexplained reason.
Tori got up and grabbed Jades wrist pulling her out of her seat. For an instant Jade flashed Tori a look that said "I'm going to get you for this." But knowing what Tori was doing Jade went along with a minimal amount of protest.
The three went out to the dance floor ignoring Cat, who was still sitting at the table and had begun to frown slightly.
The three danced for several songs with Jade smiling and playfully dancing with Tori and Robbie who seemed to have cheered up. Though when a slow song started, Jade looked at Robbie "Beat it" she told him as she put her arms around Tori.
"Thanks Tori and Jade" Said Robbie as he walked back to the table.
"You made me dance with Robbie." Said Jade as pair started to dance.
"I just wanted him to have a good time; you know how long he's had this thing for Cat." Tori responded.
"It's not my fault she keeps stringing him along." Jade said bluntly pulling the Latina just a bit closer to her as they slowly danced.
"Thanks for dancing with us."
"Did I have a choice?" asked Jade.
"No"
"I'm going to make you pay for that." Jade said with a rather devious looking smirk.
"I just wish I could get Cat to see how good a guy he is. I've tried so many times" Tori half whined.
"You're not going to be happy until this thing with Robbie and Cat is settled." Jade said sounding frustrated.
"No"
"Step aside and let me handle this once and for all. But now, just shut up and dance with me." Jade said as she gave her girlfriend a kiss on the dance floor.
They pair danced until the song ended and as they came back to the table Jade looked at Cat.
"Cat, let's go to the bathroom." Jade said somewhat tersely.
"But I don't have to go to the pee." Whined Cat.
"We'll I say you have to pee." Barked Jade as she grabbed Cat's wrist and pulled her to the direction of the bathroom.
5 minutes later Jade and Cat emerged from the bathroom with Jade. Tori could tell by the smirk on Jade's face that she had succeeded in whatever she was planning. Cat on the other had kept nervously glancing at Jade with a rather trepid look on her face.
"Robbie would you like to dance with me." Cat said very quickly.
"Sure Cat." Robbie said practically bounding out of his chair.
"Problem solved. And look, it took me 5 minutes what you couldn't in what 3 years. She'll be dancing with him the rest of the night and will be asking him on a date for tomorrow." Jade said rather smugly as she drained the last of her cup of coffee.
Tori looked at Cat who was now happily dancing with Robbie and then back to Jade. "What on earth did you say or do to her?"
Jade stood up and made a rather evil looking smile. "You're so pretty" she said as gently caressed Tori's check before she simply turned around and headed to the coffee bar set up on the other side of the room.
Tori asked a number of times up to the day where Cat and Robbie got married a few years later what happened in the bathroom that night in those 5 minutes. Whenever Tori would ask Jade what she said or did to Cat in the bathroom, Jade would simply smile, pay Tori a compliment and either leave or change the subject.
Tori asked Cat once what happened in the bathroom that night and the Red haired girl just began to stutter uncontrollably causing Tori to give up asking once and for all.
After Jade had left to go to the coffee bar Tori realized she was alone at the table. Andre had disappeared, Mandy, Beck, Robbie and Cat were all dancing. So just sitting there Tori simply let her mind wander. Thinking about upcoming plans for the summer.
"Hey Tori" Said a familiar voice pulling her out of her thoughts.
Tori glanced over to see Lisa sitting down next to her.
"Oh, Hi Lisa, I didn't see you sit down." Tori said as she snapped out of her daydream.
Lisa smiled. "Looks like you were daydreaming."
Tori nodded. "Yeah, just thinking about the summer and Jade and mine's new place."
"Other than moving in to your new place, what plans do you have?"
"Not much at this point, with Jade's double major she's taking some summer school classes so her time may be limited." Tori said managing to avoid the sound of disappointment creep into her voice.
Lisa appeared to think for a moment. "Time escapes you, and sometimes you need to simply capture it or make time. Not sure if this makes any sense but once time escapes you it takes other things in your life along with it."
"I think I get your point." Tori said with a smile.
Lisa put her hand on Tori's shoulder. "I've probably thanked you before, but I'll just take this opportunity to say it again. This all this" Lisa said pointing to the various decorations and the banner saying Congratulations Lisa and Lori. "You made this all possible. If you had just come into my salon and say exactly who you were and what you wanted to do I don't know how I would have reacted. But you managed to handle it in such a unique way. I have my Lori back and I will always be in your debt."
"Just live happily ever after and we'll call it even."
"We'll I think I will get back to my wife. God I love to say that. If you ever need anything, just let me know." Lisa said with a grateful smile.
"Thanks"
Lisa left leaving Tori alone once again, but her solitude was short live as Jade returned with a cup off coffee in hand.
"Hey Lover" said Jade as she sat down.
"Hey Jade" Tori said perking up a bit taking the Goth's cool hand. "I know we didn't have any plans for next weekend how about we go to that Bed and Breakfast up the coast I told you about. I have some money saved"
Jade looked down for a moment as her face saddened. "I'm sorry Tori, my final project for film school is due in 2 weeks. Next weekend is the only time I could get time in the studio to shoot. We can do it another time. I hope you didn't put a deposit down or something."
Tori didn't want to bring make the moment even more depressing so she lied. "No, I hadn't made any arrangements. I was just thinking."
Tori made a mental note to cancel the arrangements she had made for the romantic weekend she had planned It included the bed and breakfast plus a few suprises. Hope fully she could get most of her deposit money back for the last minute cancellations she quietly thought.
At that moment a slow 80's balled True by Spandau Ballet came on. Not wanting to see her girlfriend look so disappointed Jade took her by the hand.
"Dance with me Tori" Jade said tenderly.
Tori let Jade take her out on the dance floor and the two put their arms around each other and began to slowly dance.
"I love you Tori" Jade whispered in Tori's ear.
"I love you Jade" she said back.
Jade did notice Tori still seemed a bit down and preoccupied but figured it was because she couldn't plan some romantic weekend. Jade told herself she would make it up to Tori when she got the time.
Tori was thinking about the weekend and the ruined plans but she was thinking of Time in general. About what Lisa said about when Time escapes you it takes other things in your life with it. Jade had a double major and Tori had a part time Job, Tori knew there would be a lot on both of their plates in the future.
"Time" Tori quietly thought to herself with a small amount of worry as she pulled Jade ever so closer to her.
The incidident I describe about the flower girl sitting with her mom, happened in a wedding I attended once. I thought it funny and tossed it in.