"You may now kiss the bride."
A little squeak escaped Cat's brightly smiling mouth before she threw her arms around Robbie's neck and let him pull her in for their first kiss as husband and wife. Everyone began to clap wildly, rising from their seats. A bright grin stayed firmly plastered on Tori's face as she watched her friends pull away from each other, a huge smile on both their faces, before turning to face their guests and slowly walking down the with soft pink flower petals strewn aisle. Without being able to control it, Tori's eyes strayed away from the happy couple and resettled on the woman in the cream-colored dress, slowly following Cat and Robbie, her arm locked with the best man's.
She looked stunning, almost stealing Cat's spotlight. A soft smile played on her lips, her eyes trained on the floor. But then, she looked up, blue meeting brown. Tori's heart accelerated, just like it always did when Jade looked at her. But just like all the other times in the last two and a half months, Tori felt her heart drop when Jade quickly averted her eyes and her smile dampened. Tori struggled to keep the smile on her face, trying not to let Jade's coldness get to her.
She had tried, tried to get on Jade's good side again, she really did, but that turned out to be harder than expected. Jade hadn't answered her question – a 'Goodnight, Tori' really wasn't an answer – but the avoidance she always threw into her face lately was a pretty good inkling as to what their status was: not okay. They still saw each other though: on every Sunday at Cat and Robbie's place, at Cat's bachelorette party – although Jade didn't stay very long – and one time at the supermarket, in an awkward run in situation. A cord was struck in Jade, Tori got that, but she didn't even give her any chance to make it up to her.
And as it turned out, Tori seemed not to get the chance today either, as hours went by and the wedding party was in full swing now. Jade was quick on her feet, almost seeming to know exactly where Tori wanted to approach her, then quickly leaving there and letting one of the guests strike up a conversation with her. It was hopeless, Tori thought dejectedly and sank down on a chair, elbow propped up on the table and chin resting in her hand, a pout on her lips. Her eyes found the little arrangement of flowers standing in the middle of the table. She quickly reached out and took one of the flowers in her hand, feeling the soft pink petal between her fingers, when the stopping of music and the clear of a throat caught her attention.
Tori lifted an eyebrow when she saw Jade standing on the little stage, standing in front of the microphone and waiting for everybody to be quiet. "Hey," she awkwardly said and ran her tongue over her lips, "So… since I'm the maid of honor, everybody probably expects me to… make a long ass speech about Robbie and Cat or tell you funny anecdotes from high school, but-" She shrugged and shook her head. "I won't do that. So instead…" Tori sat up straight, watching Jade take a deep breath. "I'm going to sing a song."
Small cheers made the round and Tori softly smiled, locking her fingers together and resting her chin on them while she watched Jade walk over to the big piano. She had no idea that Jade could sing or played the piano, but she definitely was intrigued. Her ears took in Cat's voice and Tori flicked her eyes over to her, a bright smile on the redhead's face as she cheered her best friend on. Turning her attention fully back on the woman on stage, Tori bit her lip as Jade's hands started to glide over the black and white keys.
When the rain is blowing in your face
And the whole world is on your case
I could offer you a warm embrace
To make you feel my love
Tori found herself being completely mesmerized as soon as Jade had started singing, her lips parting at the sound of her voice. She didn't know what she had expected, but certainly nothing so… so beautiful.
When the evening shadows and the stars appear
And there's no one there to dry your tears
I could hold you for a million years
To make you feel my love
I know you haven't made your mind up yet
But I would never do you wrong
I've known it from the moment that we met
No doubt in my mind where you belong
Jade's eyes were closed, words streaming out of her mouth so effortlessly, so beautifully, that Tori had to remind herself to breathe. The entire room was quiet, everybody's attention on the beautiful woman, whose fingers were dancing over the keys of the piano, whose voice filled out every corner and made everybody's heart beat faster. Well... at least Tori's.
I'd go hungry, I'd go black and blue
I'd go crawling down the avenue
No, there is nothing that I wouldn't do
To make you feel my love
The storms are raging on the rolling sea
And on the highway of regret
The winds of change are blowing wild and free
You ain't seen nothing like me yet
I could make you happy, make your dreams come true
No, there is nothing that I wouldn't do
Go to the ends of the earth for you
Yeah, to make you feel my love
To make you feel my love
The song ended, Jade's eyes opening as she played the last set of notes before the room erupted into wild applause. Tori jumped slightly, then blinked dazedly and began to clap, smiling at the little bow Jade made before she left the stage. Tori's heart didn't slow down though, in fact, it only beat stronger when Jade's eyes fleetingly met hers. There was no doubt anymore, Tori numbly realized, letting herself fall back in her seat.
She was falling for Jade West.
…
An inexplicable rush of energy coursed through her veins as she took in the rumbling applause, smiling slightly and bowing a little before making her way off the stage. She accepted the tight hug Robbie offered her, then moved on to Cat who practically jumped into her arms and almost tackled her to the ground. "That was so, so beautiful, Jade," the redhead mumbled into her shoulder, only squeezing her arms tighter around Jade, "Thank you so much."
To her surprise, Jade found herself looking into teary brown eyes when Cat finally pulled away. She smiled and sniffled a little, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm sorry. I just haven't heard you singing in so long. I missed listening to you."
Jade chuckled. "See it as my wedding gift."
"Kay," Cat giggled, her eyes widening and a laugh bubbling out as she let Robbie pull her onto the dance floor. Jade watched with a smile but soon found her eyes catching a certain brunette woman across the room. She was animatedly talking to Cat's mother, a bright smile on her face. Jade tilted her head as she watched her. She had seen her looking at her, almost in awe, when she finished the song and she wondered just how right Cat's assumption had been. "Tori… she seemed… into you." She liked Tori, no doubt, but really not in that way. That's why she had gotten so mad at Cat, that's why she didn't spend time with her friends anymore. She didn't want anyone pushing her into a new relationship and if Tori really had feelings for her, well… then it probably was for the best to keep avoiding the brunette.
"Can I offer you a drink?"
Jade froze, then slowly turned to see Darren standing by her side, his hand holding a glass of sparkling champagne out to her. She gazed at him, then, after a moment gingerly took the glass he was offering her. Mumbling a quiet thanks, Jade turned away and lifted the glass to her lips, taking a small sip. They stayed quiet, both of them watching people swirl around on the dance floor. It was awkward, just like Jade had dreaded it would be. It had been her plan to dodge everyone and up to this moment, it had worked pretty well, hadn't she been so concentrated on Tori freaking Vega. "It was really sweet. The ceremony, I mean," Darren brought forward softly, his eyes still trained on the dance floor when Jade glanced at him.
"Yep." Jade nodded and took another sip, letting the tingling liquid swirl around her tongue before swallowing. Turning her head towards the man next to her, she saw him look to his feet, sighing, before he lifted his eyes to lock on her own. "How have you been, Jade?"
His voice was soft, almost drowning in the sound of other people's chatter and the slow music that just came on. Jade's eyes flicked over his face, then settled on his eyes again. Her shoulder lifted in a careless shrug. "I've been good," she simply said and watched his face fall slightly before a small smile appeared. "That's good. You were great up there." He motioned his hand towards the stage, letting out a light laugh. "Like always."
Jade allowed her lips to form a genuine smile. "Thank you."
Then it was back, that uncomfortable and tense silence, hovering over them like a heavy cloud. Jade hated it, so much, but she wouldn't do anything about it. She couldn't. It was too late now. She had pushed her friends away for too long, too much time had passed for her to crawl back to them. It was impossible to swallow her pride and admit that she missed Darren. It wouldn't be right, not for her and not for him because in the end, she would just end up hurting him. Again. "Well, I'll just… go now," Jade mumbled awkwardly, her feet already starting to carry her away.
"Wait."
Jade's eyes briefly closed before she turned around and raised her eyebrows at him. He shifted uncomfortably, his fingers tightening on the glass in his hand. His lips formed a hopeful smile. "Maybe we could meet up some time. Make some music? Or just go out for coffee."
"I don't… No, I don't think that would be so good." Jade watched defeat swamp over his face as he slowly nodded his head, his eyes suddenly finding his glass of champagne much more interesting. Jade sighed. "I'm sorry, Darren."
"Yeah." Darren frowned and looked up at Jade with creased eyebrows. "I… I miss her too. We all do. I know you… you want her back and I get that, I do." Jade took a deep breath, sucked her bottom lip in and bit down. "But you know… maybe we could… help you make it better. I miss you and it just hurts me that… that you obviously stopped caring about me."
"It's not like that," she argued tiredly, shaking her head. Cat's laughter sounded somewhere behind her but she didn't turn around, keeping her eyes on the disappointed man in front of her. "I just can't deal with it. I can't deal with you or anyone else because it's… it's a constant reminder of… of her and… to top it all off, you all seem to want me to forget her."
"That's not true," he softly murmured and tilted his head to the side, "We don't want that. We could never want that."
"But it feels like you do," her voice carried a tinge of exasperation, "You don't even know how tiring it is to hear everyone tell you to move on, if you just can't do it. It's not as easy as you all think it might be." A tired sigh left her lips and she lifted her hand to rub her forehead. "So just… leave me alone."
She walked away then, without waiting for a response from Darren, put her glass on some random table and pushed down the handle of the patio door, pushing it open and walking outside. Her mouth opened and took a large gulp of fresh air, a failing attempt to clear her head and heart from all the heaviness she was feeling. After a moment or two, she heard the patio door open again. She hoped it wasn't Darren or, anyone else who wanted to talk to her, really, but she didn't dare to turn around.
"It was a nice ceremony, wasn't it?"
Jade's eyes shifted from the little lights twinkling in the small trees towards the ground as she heard the slight clicking of heels coming closer. "It was," she agreed for the second time that day, nodding her head but not turning towards the other woman, her eyes lifting from the floor and fixing on a point somewhere in the distance. When the brunette came to stand right next to her, Jade turned her attention towards her. "What are you doing out here?"
Tori grinned and lazily lifted one shoulder. "What are you doing out here?"
"Too crowded in there," Jade stated casually, locking her wrists behind her back and taking a couple of steps towards the railing of the little patio they were standing on. The music was even heard outside, the beats filtering through the white rimmed glass doors and disturbing the silence of the dark night. The park the patio overlooked, small trees decorated with strings of lights standing here and there, was peacefully quiet, the only sound the light rippling of the water inside of a small water fountain. Jade turned around, her hands running over the smooth railing she was leaning against while her eyes came to rest on Tori's calm face. "Did you want something from me?"
Tori's chest rose with the breath she took in. She shook her head, locked her hands in front of her and glanced at the white marble floor, her eyes running over the tiles before they lifted to look at Jade again. "I just saw you coming out here," she softly explained, "and I was hoping you wouldn't mind some company."
Jade's lips formed a small smile. She shrugged her shoulders, then turned back around to face the park. "I don't mind." She listened to Tori's steps as they carefully approached her until they stopped right beside her, tan hands coming to rest on the railing. They were silent, comfortable though, and kept their eyes in front of them. "The song you sang," Tori murmured eventually and brought Jade to turn her head towards her, "was really beautiful. I didn't know you were a singer."
"Yeah, well… There's a lot you don't know about me, Tori."
Tori weakly smiled and looked at her hands before lifting her head and looking at Jade. "I want to change that." Jade's forehead creased. Her eyes flickered over the brunette's face, then settled on the ever so hopeful eyes staring into her own. "I want to get to know you. See who you really are. What you like to do, what you don't like. Just everything." Jade breathed in and stood up straight. "I just want to be your friend," Tori added with a small smile and a shrug.
"I don't think that's such a good idea."
"Why not?" Jade stayed quiet, unsurely staring at the brunette. "Look, I promise you that I won't pry into your life or… tell you how to live it, I just… will keep my mouth shut about… about…" Tori trailed off uncertainly, her fingers locking in front of her body as she carefully flicked her gaze over Jade's face.
"Amelia?"
Tori slowly nodded, her lip clamped between her teeth. Jade released a sigh and closed her eyes, shaking her head. Never in a million years did she believe that Tori would be able to keep her mouth shut. She was just too… invested in other people's life, the need to help – even if that 'help' wasn't even appreciated – seemed way too powerful for her to keep out of Jade's business. "Listen, Tori… I'm not a fun person to be around, okay?" Tori's mouth opened to protest but Jade held her hand up. "No. I'm not. And I don't want to make new friends. If you haven't noticed, I don't even want my old friends to hang out with me."
"But I-"
"No. No, let me just-"Jade sighed and raised her eyebrows at a frowning Tori. "Let me just speak now. We'll still see each other, you know, through Robbie and Cat but… we really should leave it at that."
Confusion was etched on Tori's face. "But why? I don't understand that."
"I don't need another person in my life that wants to tell me to move on."
"I won't do that! I promise you." Jade shook her head and got ready to go into another round of telling Tori to stay away from her, when Tori continued. "I know you're still mad at me."
Jade sighed harshly. "I'm not exactly mad-"
"Yeah, but… I'm not your most favorite person right now," Tori interrupted her from saying anything else, her tone matter of factly, "and I totally get that. But… if you think I'm just going to let you push me away… then you're wrong."
Jade's expression turned to surprise at the brunette's words, even though she should have expected Tori to be persistent. Tori's voice turned soft when she next spoke. "I'll do everything to redeem myself. You won't get rid of me that easily."
And then she smiled, spun around and walked back inside, leaving Jade perplexedly staring after her.