Jori, Friendship

Plot idea credited to Invader Johnny

***Note: This oneshot is going to be rated T due to some minor cursing. Other than that, enjoy!

It was sophomore year when Jade and Tori's whole "frenemy" relationship started, when Tori first came to Hollywood Arts. They could've been friends, but that was doomed from the start once Jade saw her "rubbing her boyfriend." And after that stage kiss between Tori and Beck, she promised herself that she would never, ever become friends with Tori Vega. Not in a million years.

She was a pestilence, a virus that wouldn't go away. She got almost every main part in the school plays and everyone adored her. And her voice- don't even get Jade started on her perky, annoying little voice when she talked. Her constant happiness and kindness made Jade want to puke. Tori was the bane of her existence.

She was everything she wished she was. Perfect. Loved. Not a screw-up.

On the other hand, Jade was always pushed into the background. She had failed time and time again to get to the spotlight, much less stay in it for more than a couple of days or so. It angered her to no end, but she learned to deal with it and to strive harder to get to the top.

She was Jade fucking West, for crying out loud. No one stood in her way without getting punished for doing so.

And as far as she knew, no one liked her. She didn't even understand how Beck could put up with someone like her. She was a monster. Everyone was too afraid of her to even bother trying to talk to her- and she liked it that way.

Being nice was for the weak and the spineless. Being haughty and mean was a sign of confidence. She was independent, didn't care what anyone thought of her.

And that meant more to her than making friends and being nice to people.

But to her surprise, Tori never gave up on her. Every time she had an argument with Beck, Tori somehow found a way to make them work it out. Every time she insulted Tori, the girl always was able to shoot a snarky comment right back in her face or just brush it off like water off a duck's back. She even gave Jade a present for her 17th birthday when no else even bothered to give her anything.

However, the kindness didn't last for long. Because then came the day that Tori Vega snapped.

It was on a hot day in July the summer of their junior year. Jade was casually flipping through the channels on her flat screen TV. "Ugh, why is there nothing on today?" she complained and threw the TV remote across the room in frustration.

She tugged on the neckline of her black tank top and fanned herself, trying to cool herself off. Ever since that day in the RV, her ability to avoid sweating had disappeared. She growled and wiped the moisture off her forehead and chest. Man, it was hot in her room!

She checked the temperature outside on her Pearphone. 103 degrees and the air conditioning wasn't on (because of her stupid parents trying to "save money and the environment"). No wonder she was sweating to death.

She heard the doorbell echo downstairs and rolled her eyes. "Seriously?" No one used their doorbell anymore, but there was only one person that still pushed the little blue button every time.

She took her time descending the stairs and pulled the front door open violently. "What do you want, Vega?"

Even though she glared at her with her usual menacing look, Jade was taken aback by the spectacle she saw in front of her. Tori's hair was in disarray, exploding in a mass of curls bouncing in all directions. Her oval face was puffy and swollen, and her eyes had dark, gray bags under them. She gritted her pearly white teeth together, and Jade could practically see smoke coming out of her ears, she looked so mad.

"Why… did you post this on TheSlap?" Tori seethed.

"Posted what?" Jade chirped in her mock-Tori voice.

"This picture!" Tori shouted and shoved the evidence in Jade's face. The picture showed Tori, in a pink blouse with a black belt cinching her middle, kissing Sinjin on the cheek. "That happened a year ago and it meant nothing! Now everyone thinks I'm cheating on Derek with Sinjin!"

"And what's so bad about that?" Jade smirked and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Sinjin's a nice guy."

At that moment, Tori's eyes seemed to bulge out of her head. "Derek broke up with me because of it, Jade. That's why it's bad. He thinks I cheated on him with Sinjin and now he 'can't trust me anymore!' It broke his heart!"

Her eyes watered with fresh tears. "And now mine is broken, too."

Jade's satisfaction of ruining Tori's reputation started to waver. "So what? There are plenty of other guys out there."

Tori squinted at Jade and then slowly walked to where she was standing until their faces were almost touching. "You wouldn't know. You've only ever had Beck. Derek was the only guy who treated me with respect- like I was more than a pretty face with 'perfectly-shaped cheekbones.' He understood me like no one else did."

She sniffed and wiped her eyes with her fingertips. "And now he's gone and it's all your fault!" she yelled at Jade. "Are you happy now, seeing me all broken and weak? You win, Jade! Congratulations!"

For the first time ever, Jade was speechless. She used to think revenge was the cure to all of her problems. Revenge was fair and just payback for all the misdoings Tori had done to her.

But now that Jade really thought about it… what had Tori really done to her that was so bad? Other than kiss her boyfriend right in front of her and annoyed her to no end?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. On the other hand, the youngest Vega sister never did anything horrible to her except use the occasional sarcasm- and even that was used rarely.

She hated to admit it, but Tori was her friend- a good friend, in fact. Someone that listened to her when no one else did.

What had she done?

Jade took a deep, shaky breath and struggled to keep her emotions inside of her. "Look Tori, I'm sorry," she started to apologize. "I didn't realize that-"

"That your action would hurt me this much? That with every insult you threw at me and with every attempt to hurt me you committed, I continued to doubt that we would ever become friends?" She threw out her arms to the side in frustration and backed away. "Well guess what, Jade? I'm done with you."

A feeling that Jade was all too familiar with gripped her heart and held onto it tightly- regret. "What… what do you mean by that?" she stuttered.

"I mean I'm done trying to be your friend. I don't get anything good out of it; in fact, it has ruined me instead." She started to walk to her car, which was parked at the end of Jade's driveway. "Go find a new punching bag, okay? There are plenty of other victims out there and I'm tired of being one of them."

And with those words, she jumped in her car and drove away, leaving a stunned Jade in the dust.

Jade spent the rest of senior year trying to get Tori to talk to her. She would throw constant insults at her because that's what she was best at. She hated compliments, absolutely despised them. She only ever gave compliments to Beck, her handsome boyfriend of three years.

Eventually, she became desperate. She initially loved that she didn't have to deal with Tori anymore. She didn't have to hear her blab about all the awesome movie roles and leads in the plays that she was offered. Finally, she was able to shut Tori out of her mind and was able to relax. She could stop worrying about the perfect girl that always vied for the spotlight.

It was her time to shine now. Not Tori's.

However, the separation between the two girls made no difference. Tori still got all the main parts in the plays. She still had all the boys swooning over her and got offered numerous roles in movies. Jade, on the other hand, continued to come in second place. No matter how hard she tried, she failed to get people to notice her talent. It frustrated her greatly.

Then, after six months of avoiding Tori altogether, she realized something: Maybe avoiding Tori was the problem.

Maybe in some convoluted, twisted way, hating Tori was making her worse. Maybe her negative energy and jealousy were screwing her up somehow and hurting her chances of having a successful future rather than helping her get what she wanted.

Maybe, just maybe, she missed her frenemy. Because when all was said and done, before they had that huge disagreement, they were more like friends than arch enemies.

She hated to admit it, even to herself, but she needed Tori Vega. She needed a friend to lean on, someone who believed in her. And besides Beck, Tori was the only one that did just that.

But now, she was gone for good. And no matter how hard Jade tried to regain her friendship, nothing worked.

She had lost the one true friend she ever had.

It wasn't until high school graduation, one year later, that Tori acknowledged her existence. It was after all the action had taken place, after all the caps were thrown in the air and all the hugging and shouting with joy had commenced.

Jade wasn't surprised that Tori didn't invite her to her huge graduation party at the fanciest country club downtown Los Angeles had to offer. In fact, she had embraced it with open arms. She could throw her own graduation party if she wanted to- well, if she had family and friends, that is. The whole gang was invited to Tori's party and her family life was a bombshell ready to blow. Her parents were always constantly screaming at each other and her brother was a wanted criminal living on the streets in a shelter far away from where the police could ever find him. No way in hell that would ever work out.

Finally, after days of complaining about how alone she was going to be on the eve of their graduation, Beck brought her along to the party. She protested at first, effectively trying to hide her relief, but he only replied with a "Trust me. You'll thank me for this later."

A few hours later, the couple stepped out a white limousine Beck had rented for the both of them and they arrived at the most lavish party Jade had ever attended. Glittering glass chandeliers in the shape of jellyfish hung from the ceiling over round tables set with fine china and white tablecloths. A huge disco ball dangled over the wooden dance floor in the middle of the room, shedding blue and pink lights upon the dancing guests below. Buffet tables piled high with various appetizers and entrees lined the walls, and she immediately made a beeline for the dessert bar, with Beck following close behind her.

He became concerned as he watched her shove a brownie in her mouth and grab a dish of chocolate pudding. He knew she only ate like this when something was bothering her. "Jade, are you okay?" he asked her.

"What? Are you saying that a girl can't enjoy her chocolate?" she retorted back.

"No, you just look upset. I'm just worried about you, that's all. I want you to be happy and enjoying the party, not moping in the corner all night."

Jade scowled at him before realizing that he meant what he said. Her gaze softened and she gently put the pudding bowl down. "I'm fine, Beck. Just had a bad day, that's all."

However, that was a complete lie. Thoughts were running through her head at the speed of lightning. Seriously? Does a party have to be THIS fancy? Who the hell is she trying to impress? "No, I'm not jealous," she muttered under her breath after Beck had walked across the dance floor to say hi to Andre. "I am not jealous of that annoying little witch."

Suddenly, she saw a flash of red out of the corner of her eye and turned around to see someone walking her way. "Hey," Tori, dressed in a strapless red dress and gold high heels, greeted her. She crinkled her eyebrows in confusion. "Didn't expect to see you here."

Jade smirked at her discomfort. "And yet here I am." She crossed her arms in front of her and gave her a challenging look. "So what are you going to do about it?"

Tori returned her cold, hard stare with one of her own. "We need to talk."

She grabbed Jade's wrist and before she could attack her, pulled her out into the hallway. "Hey!" Jade protested, as they headed over to the farthest corner possible. "Who the hell do you think you are, Vega? What is there to talk about?"

Tori narrowed her eyes at her. "You know very well what we need to talk about."

"What is there to talk about? You gave up on me! I should be the one talking to you, not the other way around!"

"Is there something you need to say to me?"

Tori's smart-ass attitude towards her was making Jade extremely angry. She clenched her fists to prevent herself from slapping her across the face. "Keep on being a bitch to me and I'll have a bunch of stuff to say to your face."

Then, to Tori's surprise, she sighed and sat down on a chair resting against the wall behind her. "But yes, there is something I need to tell you."

Tori looked at her for a second, then pulled over a chair from a nearby desk and sat down across from her. "Go on…"

Jade sighed. "Look, you were right about everything. I shouldn't have done that to you. I had no idea how important Derek was to you and how you felt about him. And it didn't cross my mind that he would actually take that picture seriously."

Not wanting to meet Tori's gaze, she looked down at her lap. "And I hate to admit this, but… you were my friend. You were there when no one else was. And even though you're annoying, perky, too nice for your own good, irritating-"

"Get to the point, Jade," Tori snapped.

"I wish we could be friends again!" she blurted out, throwing her hands up in frustration. "You happy now?"

Tori took a deep breath. "Yes, Jade. Yes I am. Thank you for the apology. But don't you want to know why I started avoiding you in the first place?"

"Uh… sure, why not," she said sarcastically, knowing that this conversation would never come to an end if she didn't let Tori tell her side of the story. She clasped her hands together and rested her chin on her intertwined fingers, waiting for her to continue.

"Okay… I gave you the cold shoulder because I knew that you benefit from insulting people. It satisfies you when people take offense to your comments and try to fight back. But by just simply ignoring you, I was unable to fuel your satisfaction, leaving you frustrated and mad that I wasn't absolutely miserable."

Jade was so surprised by her insight that she didn't know what to think. All she could do was stay quiet and wait for Tori to finish. "I also noticed that you relied on me a lot to help you fix your problems. With me gone, you lost that shoulder to lean on."

"So? What made you think I needed your help? Maybe I was fine on my own!" Jade yelled.

"Just let me finish! I've known you long enough to figure out what your strengths and weaknesses are, and you have done the same for me. Up to this point, we have both been cruel to each other but somewhat friendly at the same time- but I wanted to show you how I felt. I felt like my efforts to be nice to you were in vain. I was trying to inflict the same pain upon you like you did to me last year."

Jade sat in silence, pondering over what she had just been told. 'You know what, Tori? You're a lot smarter than I thought you were." She stood up and looked her in the eyes. "That took a lot of guts to do what you did to me, and I respect that."

Tori smiled and stood up as well. "So we're friends again?" She held out her hand to Jade.

Jade sighed. "It may take me a while to forgive you for playing me like that, but we'll see what happens."

Tori's grin started to fade but regained its strength when Jade met her hand in the middle and shook it. "So does this mean we can hang out over the summer?"

Jade rolled her eyes as they walked back into the main ballroom where Tori's party was being held. "Maybe."

"And we can have girl's nights out without clawing at each other's faces?"

"Watch it, Vega."

"And we can give each other makeovers, do each other's nails, and watch romantic comedies like Cat and I do every weekend?"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

Well, that was a nice change for me! That was the first (just) frienship fic I've written :). Hope y'all enjoyed it and keep those suggestions going because I may just pick yours in the future!