Her neck dully ached, a hiss rushing out of her mouth as she tried to lift her head. Tori's bleary eyes took in Jade's still asleep form on the couch, blanket thrown over her again and hands grasping it up to her nose so only her closed eyelids were visible. "Oh God," she harshly whispered as not to wake her, and lifted her hand to her aching neck, trying to rub some of the tension out from spending the night sleeping on the small armchair standing in a corner in Jade's living room. The memories of how she fell asleep yesterday were merely a blur to Tori right now, her mind still way to hazy with sleep to really function properly. But one thing immediately popped into her head.

It was Monday.

The realization hit her hard and she hurried to scramble to her feet, ignoring the pain in her neck for the moment, her eyes frantically searching for the time. Her mouth fell open when the clock on the receiver read 10.30, she already missed her first period of the day and she would definitely miss the second one too. Spitting out a quiet curse, Tori slipped her shoes on, ran a hand through her hair and then stopped, looking at Jade and biting her lip. She didn't quite know if she should wake her up, maybe she was late for work too. But after a moment of looking at her, Tori decided to let her sleep, looking around for a piece of paper and a pen, only to feel her frustration rising when nothing was in clear sight of her. Not wanting to leave without letting Jade know where she was headed, Tori grabbed her phone and typed in a message before sending it to Jade's number. When a quick vibration sounded and Tori saw her message displayed on the front of Jade's screen, she stuffed her phone into her jeans pocket, and with sending one last look at Jade, she took off.

She thanked the heavens that her apartment was basically just around the corner, but nevertheless, she probably broke the speeding limit at least three times in the ten minute drive to her home. Feet tripped up the stairs, hand almost breaking off her key as Tori stuck it into the lock, wiggling it and cursing when she chose the wrong one. When she finally managed to open the door, the brunette went straight to the bathroom, quickly brushed her teeth and hair, and then grabbed her things she needed for the day, not bothering to change but instead drowning her body in a cloud of deodorant spray.

She arrived at the school in record time, letting out a short 'Yes!' in victory before dashing into the school, only for her to run straight into the principal. "Ms. Vega." The short, dark-skinned woman cocked an eyebrow at her and tilted her head while she waited for an explanation for Tori's late arrival.

A long breath shot out of Tori's mouth, her face taking on a pleading expression. "I know I'm late and I am so, so sorry. It was kind of an emergency and I couldn't call and… I'm just so sorry; I promise it won't happen again, Helen."

Helen's face stayed expressionless and Tori mentally prepared herself to search for a new job. "Let's hope so. You better get going now; I believe you have a class to teach."

A relieved smile came to Tori's lips. "Yes, of course. Thank you." Tori only barely noticed the small smile and nod Helen sent her before she took off to her next class.

Almost five hours later and many curious questions about her absence earlier that day, Tori found herself sitting all alone in the teacher's lounge, glasses perched on her nose as she skimmed over the lyrics of a song one of her students asked her to give her opinion on. When she heard the door open, she looked up, surprised by who she saw coming into the room. "Thought I'd find you here," Jade said, the corner of her mouth lifting into a weak smile. The light shadows under her eyes gave away the strain she was put under yesterday, as well as her eyes did, still red from the crying she did.

"Hey. What are you doing here?"

Jade came closer, her hands tightening around the plastic cup in her hands. "I read your text this morning and I felt bad because… you were late because of me. I stopped by your place but you weren't home so I figured you would still be here."

"Don't feel bad. It's fine. I only missed two periods."

Jade's eyebrows quirked up. "I'm sor-"

"No, no, no. Don't be sorry. It's alright."

She nodded hesitantly, lip between her teeth and eyes flicking down to the papers strewn across the table in front of Tori. She looked back up and forced a light smile. "So you won't get detention?"

Tori laughed. "Let's hope not."

"Good," Jade mumbled with a smile and looked at her cup, her finger running over the white lid. "So um… you know, about yesterday…"

She left the sentence hanging and Tori found her interest piqued. "What about it?"

Piercing eyes shot up from the cup. "I… I actually didn't mean to tell you all of that… I mean, the thing about me wanting…" She stopped there and of course Tori knew that she was talking about her suicide attempts. She already figured that Jade would probably be uncomfortable with the idea of her knowing about it. After all, something like that wasn't really something you told everyone. Tori gnawed at her lip, nodding when she saw how expectant Jade was looking at her. "I know. But I don't see you any different now. Like I said yesterday."

"Yeah, I know. I just… wanted to ask you not to mention it to anyone. Not even to Cat. Especially not to Cat." Her forehead creased as she looked at Tori with pursed lips, waiting for a confirmation that she really wouldn't tell. But instead, she heard something different come out of Tori's mouth.

"Cat doesn't know about it?"

"No. And I'd like to keep it that way." All of sudden her tone became kind of cold, Tori thought, and her face became this hard façade again. It put Tori off quite a bit, so much that she wanted to ask what was wrong, but knew that she probably would just get a snappy answer. Or maybe she was overanalyzing things, like she always seemed to do with Jade.

"Yes. Of course. Either way, I wouldn't have told anyone."

"Good," she said again and after a moment she added, "I'm glad though. That I told you."

Tori's lips couldn't help but turn into a big smile at Jade's words which apparently made Jade slightly uncomfortable because she rolled her eyes and then looked away awkwardly. "Don't flatter yourself," she mumbled but Tori didn't let that dampen her excitement. Before she could say anything else, the door opened again and both women turned their heads to see Beck walking in, eyes cast downward at a slip of paper. He looked up, immediately coming to a standstill as his eyes fell on Jade and Tori, his eyebrows shooting up.

"Oh. Hey. Didn't think anyone was still here."

He smiled a half smile, coming closer and stopping when he stood next to Jade. "Um, yeah I had some work to do and decided to do it here." Beck smiled and nodded, then flicked his eyes from Tori to Jade, expectantly raising his eyebrows at Tori. Taking the hint, Tori said "Oh! Right. Jade, this is Beck Oliver. Beck, Jade, a friend of mine."

Beck lowered his chin in a polite nod, smiling at Jade. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." She shifted her cup into her right hand before she crossed her arms over her chest, turning back to Tori. "Okay, I'm going to get going now. See you around, I guess."

Tori smiled, trying not to let her disappointment of Beck's interruption and Jade's departure show. "Yeah, you know you will." Jade's eyebrow arched and a smirk lightly tugged at her lips before she rolled her eyes and turned, walking out of the door. Tori's eyes followed her, and even when the door shut behind her, her gaze stayed where Jade walked out only seconds ago. Her head tilted, her chest rose with a deep breath and she almost completely forgot that Beck was in the room with her until a clear of a throat brought her out of her trance. Snapping her head up at Beck, Tori found a pair of amused brown eyes staring at her. "What?"

"I'm really sorry," he said lightly and pulled a chair from the table, sitting down across from Tori, "I really didn't want to interrupt."

"You didn't interrupt anything."

But Beck's smirk didn't waver. "Had I known… I would have never asked you out."

Tori's lips parted, a hesitant laugh coming through. "Had you known what?"

"About your… preferences." Beck laughed and Tori's face suddenly felt warm, she figured a bright blush must stain her cheeks right about now. "Jade's a catch. She's gorgeous."

"Oh well, Jade and I aren't… she isn't my… We're really just friends," she finally stuttered out awkwardly, her face warming even more. She bit her lip and took her glasses off as Beck let out another humorous laugh. Tori's embarrassment obviously amused him greatly. "If you say so. You don't hide it very well though."

Tori placed her elbows on the table, her back hunched as she placed her hands on her warm cheeks. "What do you mean?"

"That you want her to be more than just a friend," he explained, his expression blank, "Or do you like the door so much that you can't help but stare at it longingly?"

He stared at her, his eyebrows raised as he waited for an answer. His gaze made her feel as if he could look right through her and see everything she was feeling with just a single glance, and it made her so uncomfortable that she had to avoid her eyes. Instead she looked down at the table, eyes running over every swirl and nick in the light wood. Reluctantly, and not knowing how to talk her way out of it anymore, Tori mumbled "Am I making it so obvious?"

She heard Beck suck in a breath through his teeth and looked up just in time to see him lean back and smile. "Just a little bit."

"Oh, great. That's really great." Beck's words made her all queasy inside. It's not like she wanted to make it so obvious. If she could she would make her feelings disappear completely, it would be the best for her, and of course the best for Jade too. Tori just hoped that Jade wouldn't become aware of her growing feelings for her, or who knew what would happen between them.

Beck's eyebrows furrowed. "What's so bad about it?"

"Everything is bad about it," she whined, closing her eyes as if she were in physical pain and burying her hands in her hair, "She doesn't return my feelings. And she never will."

"How do you know that?" Tori didn't bother to open her eyes at Beck's voice, only sliding her hands out of her hair and placing them over her eyes. "I mean, you never know what might happen if you don't let her know how you feel."

Tori pushed out an exaggerated sigh and let her hands fall from her face. "She can't know about it. Never. She's… still in love with someone else and… that won't go away anytime soon."

"Oh," he simply said, all lightness gone from his tone, his voice suddenly grave. "That really sucks."

"It does. But…" Tori sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "At least she's my friend. It's better than to not have her at all, right?"

Beck looked at her for a moment before he smiled and nodded his head. "I guess so."

…

Sunday,

August 18th, 2013

Jade's upper lip curled in disgust as she watched the fry dip into the blob of mayonnaise. The weight of her upper body rested on her forearms placed on the kitchen table in Cat and Robbie's kitchen, her eyes intently following the fry's way up to Tori's mouth. When the brunette's teeth bit off the tip, dunked in mayonnaise, a scoff escaped Jade's lips. "Oh my God. You are so weird. I can't believe you ate that!"

Tori grinned and swallowed, then shook her head. "It's not that weird," she said with a laugh, "I don't know why everyone thinks it's so abnormal."

"It is abnormal," Jade deadpanned, "Who dips French fries in mayonnaise?"

"I do." Tori took another fry from the big plate standing in the middle of the table and dipped it, again, into the mayonnaise, before leaning forward and holding it out to Jade. "Here, try it."

As if the food in Tori's hand was poisonous, Jade jerked back, her hands gripping the edge of the table. "No way!"

"Aw, come on! Just one little bite!" She leaned forward even more, even lifting from her seat to lean over the table but Jade turned her head away, out of Tori's reach. She let out a low laugh, then as quick as lighting, curled her fingers around the tan wrist and guided Tori's hand away from her mouth. "I swear if you make me eat that, I'm going to bite your finger off."

Tori retracted her hand, narrowed her eyes and stuck her tongue out, laughing when Jade playfully snapped her teeth together. Jade smirked and let herself fall back in her seat, watching as Tori popped the fry she had offered her into her mouth with a satisfied hum, before she sighed and stood up from the table. "I need to go to the bathroom now. Puke my guts out at your disgusting eating habits."

"Blah, blah, blah." Tori smiled at the laugh that came from Jade's retreating figure. "If you'd taste it you'd love it."

"Sure," she called over her shoulder before disappearing out of the kitchen. Tori's gaze shifted from the doorway to Robbie and Cat, both quietly leaning against their kitchen counter, and both of them looking at her, Robbie smiling and Cat frowning.

"What?"

"Jade is just in a really good mood," Robbie piped up before Cat could say anything. He walked towards the table and came to a stand in front of it, peering down at Tori with a bright grin. "You know whatever you do to make her be like that… keep doing it, Toro." He winked and then clapped his hands together. "And now... I'm going to set up my new Xbox!"

Tori laughed as she watched Robbie practically skip out of the room, shaking her head before turning to Cat, her smile slightly dampening when she saw her still frowning. "Is something wrong?"

The redhead opened her mouth but when Jade came strolling back in, she quickly shut it again, curiously looking at her best friend. "Where did Rob disappear to?"

Tori got ready to answer but Cat beat her to it. "He's in the living room, setting up the Xbox. Maybe you could go help him?" She smiled at Jade and raised her eyebrows. "I'm not sure if he can do it alone."

"Yeah, sure. But you should have a little faith in your husband," she teased, "He might be a dork but I think setting up a games console is very high on his talent list." Tori watched as she smirked at Cat, not realizing that the redhead's giggle was kind of forced, before she walked into the living room to do what Cat had told her. Tori's confusion about Cat's behavior just grew when Cat peeked into the living room to make sure both Robbie and Jade were occupied, before quietly closing the door that led into the other room.

"Cat, what are you-"

"Are you and Jade a thing now?"

Tori stopped talking immediately, her eyebrows creasing when she replayed Cat's words in her head before incredulously asking "What?"

"Are you and Jade a thing now?" the redhead repeated, her face taking on a troubled expression. Tori didn't know what to say, neither did she know where Cat would get such an idea. A loud breath rushed out of Cat's nose before she continued. "I mean, you… you and Jade… I just don't understand why you were with her last Sunday!"

Tori's eyes widened in realization as to why Cat was acting this way. Last Sunday was the anniversary of Amelia's death. "Oh, that's what it is about?" Cat didn't say anything, but the way her eyebrows were drawn down and her arms were crossed over her chest, coupled with her weird behavior this entire day, Tori knew that this seemed to be a serious problem for her. "Cat, I told you that Jade called me. She didn't want to be alone."

"She could have called me," Cat huffed indignantly, the corners of her mouth drawing down in a deep frown, and now Tori realized what exactly the problem was. "You… You really don't have to be jealous," Tori started and slowly got up, "She just needed someone to talk to."

"So?" Cat shook her head and stared at Tori, seemingly waiting for something – Tori really wasn't sure for what – but when Tori stayed quiet, she uncrossed her arms and swung them up exasperatedly. "I'm her best friend, Tori! Why would she call you?"

"Well… It's nothing against you," Tori reasoned in a soft voice and walked over to the shorter woman, "She needed a little company and it was… She called me because…" Tori stalled. Now would be the perfect time to tell Cat that she didn't think it was okay how she handled Jade and her grief, that she should be more understanding. But the thought of Jade, probably not wanting Cat to know anything that they talked about, stopped her, so she tried her best to worm herself around Cat's question. "The most important thing is… that she's feeling alright, isn't it? I mean, she's pretty happy today. We should be glad about that."

The lines on Cat's forehead slowly weakened, the uncertain look in her eyes vanishing. With a sigh, she dropped her gaze to the floor and quietly said "Yeah. I guess you're right."

Relieved, Tori smiled. "Yeah. Now," she smirked and whipped her head towards the living room when Cat looked up again, "Let's go and see if we can help those two in there."

A/N: I'm on such a roll right now, if you haven't noticed. Hope you're all still with me, I know the progress between Jade and Tori is pretty slow but I just want to keep it as real as possible. You can't just jump back from so much pain from one moment to the next. Also, I kind of started to ship Lia and Jade... But yeah, don't worry, of course the main focus stays on Jori. And it will pick up speed now. Exciting things (or not... I don't know if you'll find them exciting) are about to happen!

P.S.: I love getting your reviews! It encourages me and I really, really appreciate it! I always get so happy whenever I get a notification.