We all wondered what our favourite couple has been up to, haven't we.
The first in a series of one-shots based on Jori from this story (hey that totally rhymed). Please review!:)
A Year Later.
"Le baguette, beret, omelette du fromage."
I snickered behind my hand.
"I'm sorry, baby, but you're still not speaking French."
"Whatever, French is stupid anyway," Jade grumbled at me from a computer screen, her image getting blurrier from my crappy dorm wi-fi.
"And now not only you just rolled every slightly racist stereotype about French people in one sentence, you also called them outright inadequate."
"Stupid, Vega, the word is 'stupid', much like you're being right now."
"Oh really?" I raised a challenging eyebrow at that, secretly enjoying her little smirk. "That's how you want to start a conversation with your girlfriend? By calling her stupid?"
"First of all – our conversation started twenty minutes ago. Second of all, I'm not calling you stupid. I just think that defending French is stupid."
"What did they ever do to you?" I asked, amused, as my disgruntled and absolutely adorable girlfriend let out a dramatic exasperated sigh through her nose.
"Maybe you are a little slow," she gruffly stated. "Isn't it obvious?"
"Well maybe I just want to hear you say it."
She rolled her eyes – at least I think she did, the connection was slowly becoming unbearable.
"Jadey…" I drawled teasingly, making her mumble something incoherently under her breath before she looked straight into the camera, sighing again, her gaze becoming softer. And a lot sadder.
"They took you away from me," she quietly said, biting her lip. "And I don't like it when you're not here. With me, I mean."
"Jade…" I let out gently, tracing her face with my finger. If only I was able to feel her skin and not this stupid computer screen. "I wish I was there with you, too," my teeth gnawed at my lower lip as I struggled not to break down in front of her. "I'd give anything to have you here with me, but we gotta be patient, okay? Only a month of the semester left, and this stupid exchange will be over." I scooted even closer to the laptop, curling under the covers on my bed. "And I'll be all yours for as long as you want."
"You said that five months ago," she pointed out. "Look where it got us." Despite her smartass tone, I could detect a hint of that genuine shy smile I loved so much. I smiled back, blinding her with my usual wide grin she claimed to hate a year ago and couldn't get enough of now.
Boy, things sure could change in a year.
"Not that I'm not happy you got into the program," she quickly added, her brows furrowed in a cute concerned frown. "You made the right decision when you went with it. I'm totally on board, just like at the start of the semester. Supportive all the way."
"Jade, the first week I was gone you got drunk and started a bar fight," I reminded her calmly, fighting to keep giggles hidden from her.
"Oh please," she rolled her gorgeous icy blues again. Her phone camera shook lightly as she began walking somewhere, all the while skyping with me. "You're exaggerating. It was just a couple of punches thrown between some dudes, I wasn't even involved. Just sat there sipping my diet Coke, waiting for the police like a good citizen I am."
Right.
"Sure, uh-huh," I started, my tone eerie calm. "A couple of corrections, if I may – you were gulping shots of scotch with no soda involved whatsoever, and speaking about being involved – it was you who threw the first punch after the bartender cut you off."
"Wha- no, that's not how it went down! Just ask your dad, he was there!" she exclaimed, starting a months-old argument we never could finish.
"You know my dad keeps to his neutral position, which is already kinda fishy. His exact words to me were 'I'm not admitting nor denying anything'."
Jade scoffed at that, muttering something that sounded awfully close to 'Fuck, David, way to be a pussy'. Since I never want to hear that sentence or that word used in a sentence together with my dad's name ever again, I decided to let it slide.
"Look, I don't know what kinda gentlemen's agreement you have with my father, but I'm finding out the truth, and nothing can stop me from doing so," I stated authoritatively, waggling my finger at my suspiciously quiet girlfriend. "Last chance to fess up, West."
"Jesus, Vega, you already busted my balls over it a bunch of times, do we really need to go over that again and again?" She whined. Luckily for her, I found that to be adorable, so I took pity on a poor thing.
"You don't have balls, Jade." Well, not without the last jab.
"Now I'm hurt, Vega," she smirked, lifting her eyebrows suggestively.
"Where are you, anyway?" I squinted, trying to make out her surroundings in the darkness. "Why aren't you at home?"
"I stuck around on campus, will crush with Robbie," Jade replied easily. "We got a test coming up, and since he's the nerd, he's helping me out."
I giggled at that, picturing Jade and Robbie trying to study. 'Trying' being the key word. Somehow, over the year, those two have found themselves in the middle of a blooming bromance with no way of preventing the inevitable. Turned out Jade had a secret geeky side, and Robbie had somewhat of a dark vibe to him after he finally admitted to himself that Rex was really just voicing everything he thought all that time. The revelations resulted in two being thicker than thieves, and yes, I'm most certainly not proud of it, but I had been quite a jealous girlfriend for the first month or so.
"If you'll be preparing with Robbie, you're gonna fail that test, I guarantee it," I chuckled. "You'll probably end up watching 'American Horror Story' all night anyway."
"Been there, done that," Jade cringed at me. "Last season sucked. Madison didn't make it as the Supreme, good guys won just like always, and it made me sick."
"Let me guess, Madison is probably the hot one," I dryly commented. What? Yes, I'm jealous, so sue me.
"Not really, but she's certainly not a goody-two-shoes."
"Yeah, because you like a little bit of wild in your girls," I snorted sarcastically. "I mean, look at who you're dating."
"Duh, Vega. You're not just wild, you're pure evil," Jade purred, making me smile in spite of myself. "Why'd you think I'm dating you?"
"Uh, cause you love me?"
"Meh."
"Jade!" I crossed my arms over my chest, scowling. "Take it back!"
"Take what back, take 'meh' back?"
"Yes – wait, no. Just, don't make it seem like love doesn't mean all that much to you." I took in a deep breath after that, my scowl turning into a hurt frown.
"… Tori, I was just joking around. I didn't mean to make you upset, I'm sorry," she said, a genuine guilt in her worried tone. "I swear, I didn't mean to."
"I know," I sighed, relaxing my posture a bit. "I just… I really miss you, Jade. It's so hard without you all the time – I feel like I'm going crazy sometimes," I admitted quietly. "And I also feel vulnerable, and insecure, and I just want you to be here to hug me and tell me it's gonna be okay, but you're not there," tears were impossible to hide at this point as I slowly began to lose it, my cheerful façade cracking. I didn't want to put her through it. I've managed so good those past months, what the heck happened? "I just need you so badly, and every tiny little thing sets me off… I'm sorry," I sobbed, hugging myself.
"Hey, Tori, please don't cry," she whispered, her voice filled with pain. "I'm the one who's sorry. I'm a jackass for being so insensitive. Baby, don't cry. We're gonna be together soon, okay? We just need to wait for a little while. We can do it, you can do it. You're strong, baby, you're so strong," she cooed gently, but it just made me cry harder.
"…I'm sorry, I'm ruining our evening," I got out through tears.
"Don't you ever say something like that," Jade berated me softly. "You could never ruin anything, not for me. You're my everything, you know that? How can my everything ruin something for me when she's already that something?"
"You're not even making sense," I managed to chuckle between sobs. "But you're my everything, too. Jade, I miss you- I don't think I'll be able to go on," I added in a whisper.
"Hold that thought," and then her camera paused, black screen rendering me speechless.
Um. What the hell?
A loud knock on my door interrupted my confused-turning-angry thoughts concerning Jade's sudden disappearance.
"No one's home!"
A muffled reply in French came from behind the door, with the only things I could understand being my name and something about delivery. I huffed, throwing away the covers and stomping to the door.
"Who's there?"
"Livraison pour mademoiselle Victoria Vega," a female voice informed me in flawless French. A delivery for me, but from whom?
I sighed impatiently, throwing the door open.
"Bonjour."
I could only gape as Jade stood on the other side of the door, smiling softly as she held up a brown bag.
"Jade," I said, dumbfounded, my tears quickly forgotten. "What are you…"
She's here. She's standing on my doorstep in my dorm in the freaking Paris at nine p.m., smelling and looking amazing and so familiar my chest hurts, and all I wanna do is ask her what is she doing here?
It's pretty obvious what she's about to do. Me.
I'm completely okay with that.
"…you know what, doesn't matter," I mumbled right before I leaped into her arms, capturing her lips with mine as she caught me, hoisting me up on her hips as she kissed back heatedly.
"…Hi," she softly whispered after we parted for air, our breathing erratic as we rested our foreheads against each other.
"HI," I whispered back shyly, nuzzling her nose. She's here.
"Do you usually open the door to unknown delivery girls in nothing but my oversized t-shirt and panties?" She arched an eyebrow, unimpressed.
"Of course not. I have shorts on, you goof."
"I'm torn," she muttered, walking us to the bed and laying me down with her nestling between my legs. "On one hand, I'm glad there's some modesty left, but on the other hand, that's too many layers for me right now."
"We can manage that," I giggled, leaning up to meet her halfway in a soft kiss.
"God, I missed you so much," she groaned urgently into my neck, making me shiver all over.
"Me too." I caught her face in my arms, dropping tiny kissed all over her skin. "I love you."
"I love you too," Jade said back quietly, making my chest erupt into flames with the way she was looking at me. "I love you, Tori," she whispered, over and over again as she kissed my lips, my neck, my chest, all over my body, mapping me out with her touch and making me moan my love for her.
Hours later, the sun rose lazily, dancing on the walls as I snuggled up to her, sighing contentedly with absolute bliss.
That's what happiness felt like. Right here, covered under cheap dorm-provided blanket, in a tiny bed somewhere in France, listening to her steady heartbeat as she held me, careful, tight, possessive.
"So," I felt her drop a sweet kiss in my probably wild hair as she spoke up. "Still think I don't speak French?"
"That was… surprisingly awesome," I admitted, looking up at her sated face. "Where did you learn that?"
"Are you talking about my French or about?..." She wiggled her eyebrows as her hand trailed deliciously slow up my naked body.
"French," I informed her laughingly. "And stop that, my roommate might be back soon."
"She won't," Jade stated confidently. "Not if she values her pathetic life."
"Jade!" I slapped her arm. "Did you threaten my roommate – and stop whining, I didn't hit you that hard, you big faker."
"You hurt my feelings," she accused me. I just rolled my eyes. "And no, I didn't. She's currently enjoying breakfast in bed at a nice family hotel."
"I really hope she was aware where she was going to end up beforehand."
"I didn't kidnap her, if that's what you're insinuating," Jade grunted.
"With you, I never know."
"True."
"I can't believe how much I missed you," I crawled up, straddling her naked form, my body touching her everywhere it could, our sweaty skin clinging to one another in the best way imaginable. She lifted her head up so our noses brushed, her eyes half-lidded as we breathed each other in. "You have no idea how happy I am right now."
"It's like my heart will jump out of my throat with how tight my chest feels," she replied, perfectly summarizing my state. "It's like if I don't have you right now, I'm going to explode…" her fingers tangled themselves in my hair as she sighed, holding me closer. "It's like I was drowning these past months, just… existing, and now, everything makes sense again, now that I'm with you," she ended in a whisper, her clear blue eyes sincere, open, longing as she took me in.
"…Alright, maybe you do know how I feel right now," I giggled quietly, draping my arms over her shoulders as she slowly sat up, holding me firmly in her lap, friction between our bodies making me hold my breath.
"I love you," Jade said tenderly, a rare vulnerability in her expression as she studied my face, those damn eyes spinning my head.
"I love you, too."
I never did find out where did she learn that French phrase.