Chapter 2
A/N: Well I'm not sure if this story was interesting enough to catch peoples' eyes, but well….I guess I will continue it for the few followers and reviewers that have made themselves known so far. I had a bit of writers block as well as issues with my laptop, as well as getting busy with work. So i kinda went for the trifecta and was gone for over a year, now i am back but the fandom seems to have died considerably. For both of my stories. Jori Fandom and Bellice Fandom have lost a large part of their fanbase. Nevertheless, I'm excited about this story so, I decided I'll finish it after all. I'm sure the Jori fandom is just dying out and I'm one of the last of its kind. But….oh wells. Without further ado I give you the moment you all been waiting for…..(drumroll) The disclaimers!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, names or anything that has to do with the actual Victorious, I'm just playing in the sandbox left behind by the actual creator Dan Schneider. I also don't own the songs or lyrics written in this story they belong to their prospective artists and writers. Lithium and My Immortal belong to Evanescence written by the singer Amy Lee. Mysery Business, Decode, and The Only Exception are songs by Paramore(they are mentioned in name only).
Ok now for the real part you were waiting for :P
NPOV
Lithium, don't want to lock me up inside.
Lithium, don't want to forget how it feels without...
Lithium, I want to stay in love with my sorrow.
Oh, but God, I want to let it go.
Come to bed, don't make me sleep alone.
Couldn't hide the emptiness, you let it show.
Never wanted it to be so cold.
Just didn't drink enough to say you love me.
I can't hold on to me,
Wonder what's wrong with me.
Lithium, don't want to lock me up inside.
Lithium, don't want to forget how it feels without...
Lithium, I want to stay in love with my sorrow.
Don't want to let it lay me down this time.
Drown my will to fly.
Here in the darkness I know myself.
Can't break free until I let it go.
Let me go.
Darling, I forgive you... After all,
Anything is better than to be alone.
And in the end I guess I had to fall.
Always find my place among the ashes.
I can't hold on to me,
Wonder what's wrong with me.
Lithium, don't want to lock me up inside.
Lithium, don't want to forget how it feels without...
Lithium, ...stay in love with you.
I'm gonna let it go.
Jade was sitting in her room listening to her demo that she had sent in to V Records a week ago trying to scrutinize it and make sure nothing was wrong with it. Jade had listened to it a hundred times, before sending it in, and even now she still wanted to make sure she sent it with no flaws. The deadline for the announcement was coming up, and she was extremely nervous. However, if anyone asked if she was nervous she'd probably stab them. Jade briefly wondered about what kind of song Tori had sent in. Knowing Vega she probably sent in some sugary lollipop song that would even give Cat a cavity.
Jade glanced at the clock and groaned at being late for her first class of the day. Grabbing her bag and her scissors, she headed for the door and out to her car, making a brief stop for coffee at the local shop before walking into the school building a good 15 minutes late. Jade glared at the teacher daring him to say anything and when he didn't she slipped into her seat and waited as the lesson droned on. Jade couldn't pay any attention, in any of her classes, with the possible results of the contest on her mind. Instead she fascinated herself with cutting whatever happened to be nearby; coffee cup from this morning, classmates eraser when it dropped on the floor, a folded up note that was being passed between two lovebirds when it landed on her desk accidently. By the time her fourth class came around, Jade was ready to blow off her afternoon classes and just head home, but as luck would have it the PA system had an announcement during the last ten minutes of class right before lunch.
"Attention HA Students, as you all know there is a current contest going on to be a new member of the band Fallen Valkyries"
You've got to be kidding me….. they are announcing it? The school never cares about outside contests that don't concern them.
"HA is pleased to inform you that, as one of the sponsors of this contest, and as well as the fact that a good percentage of our student population has decided to take part in this.."
Well, I guess it's no longer an outside contest…. Now it makes sense…
"We will be posting the students attending HA that have passed the first round on the Student Bulletin Board. Thank you and congratulations to those who made it."
WHAT?!
Jade got up and shot for the door even though there was still a good 7 or 8 minutes left of the class but Jade ignored the teacher and went straight for the board. Not surprisingly she wasn't the only one with the idea as a few kids were already there. Jade elbowed, clawed, bit and stabbed with scissors whoever was unfortunate enough to be in her way until she reached the front.
Fallen Valkyries Big Reveal and New Member Contest:
HA Students to make the top 100 in the country! Congratulations!
Stacy Arington – Mysery Business(Song by Fallen Valkyries)
Shannon Martinez – Decode (Song by Fallen Valkyrie)
Victoria Vega – The Only Exception (Song by Herself)
Jade West – Lithium (Song by Herself)
Again Congratulations!
I made it…..I made the top 100….
Jade dumbly stared at her name with her mouth opened unable to comprehend the results even though she had been waiting the entire time for this exact result. They like my song…..they actually liked my song and me. This is insane….
"Jade!" Jade turned around and spotted Tori who had somehow gotten through the crowd of curious onlookers, crying failures, and cheering supporters. Vega grabbed her arm and gushed like a teeny bopper, "We made it!"
Jade's stomach did a flip for a second when Tori grabbed her, she shook it off and it was then that Tori's words registered in Jade's brain. Wait, we? She quickly turned back around and spotted Tori's name on the list of four, she had also done her own song. How the hell did she make it in? Jade brushed off Tori's arm and walked out to the usual lunch table where everyone else had already gathered. She may be bubblegum pink, but she's still a threat to me.
"Congratulations you two, we just got Tori's Slap update that you two made it into the next round!" Robby shouted with excitement bouncing up and down like bobble head.
"Down boy, it's not a big deal." Jade snapped at him, it was a very big deal but Jade had a reputation to keep.
"Thanks Robby, I'm sure Jade appreciates your praise." Tori said, placating the puppet boy. She had somehow come back from the Grub Truck in a span of a few seconds with two burritos.
"Pfft…says you" Jade said as she took one of Tori's burritos and bit into it.
"Seriously though it'll be awesome if one of you guys makes it in and we can brag about being friends with a Fallen Valkyrie." Andre said as he popped a fry in his mouth.
"I'm surprised Vega made it" Jade mused out loud.
"Hey! That's mean. But honestly I'm a bit surprised to!" Tori said, slipping in the seat next to Jade.
"Ha! I would have knocked you all off that list if I had tried out for it, but I had better things to do" Trina said popping out of nowhere.
"Whatever, I bet you did try out and got slapped with a restraining order instead." Jade smirked and threw one of Andre's ketchup covered fry at her.
"Hey that was my fry!" Andre complained.
Trina let out a surprised yelp and barely dodged the fry she glared at Jade before she stuck her nose up and left to bother some cute guy across the quad.
"So Jade, what was the song you sang for the contest like?" Tori inquired as she looked over at Jade with hopeful eyes as she munched on her burrito.
"Like a song Vega" Jade deadpanned and rolled her eyes.
"I'd like to know as well, isn't lithium a sort of drug?" Beck pitched in looking at Jade concerned. He probably thought there was an underlying meaning behind the title, and the lyrics would tell him what that was. He's right, but hell if Jade was going to admit it.
"It's nothing, get over it" Jade snapped back harshly. "My question is what did you sing Vega? 'The Only Exception?' sounds like a teeny bopper love song."
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Tori replied with a bit of a mysterious air about her.
"Yeah ok, I don't really care. I just can't wait til you lose and become my slave." Jade retorted. "You got past the first round I'll give you that, but they probably only accepted you for your singing, the next round will most likely be out of your element"
"Awww is Jade saying Tori can sing? Why that's almost a compliment. You two should kiss" Rex popped up from Robbie's bag.
"Shut it puppet, I've got wood carving tools in my bag just for you!" Jade seethed, for whatever reason her cheeks felt warm so she figured Rex' words were pissing her off more than they should. As Robbie quickly stuffed the puppet into his bag for safety, Tori turned to the goth and raised an eyebrow.
"So, West. You didn't answer Robbie's question. Are you saying I can sing?" Tori challenged her dark haired Frenemy with a playful smirk while she bit a fry.
"No Vega, I am saying there are people out there, like Trina, whose singing can manage to make anyone else sound halfway decent. Even tone deaf drowning kittens like you"
The look of shock and hurt flashed over Tori's face before settling for a very tense but calm look on Tori. A look that could only mean she was seriously wazzed off. Tori gathered her trash got up and left without another word.
Jade shrugged and acted like she hadn't said anything other than the time of day and resumed eating her lunch. Internally she was in conflict, at first she felt triumphant, the look on Tori's face was priceless to her. But for reasons unknown to her, she also felt guilt. The pained expression on the latina's face wouldn't allow that triumphant feeling to last more than a fraction of a second. Meanwhile the guilt and regret seemed to have made a home in the pit of Jade's stomach. Truthfully, and Jade would deny this to herself and to god, Jade loved the latina's singing and her performances. It was like a guilty pleasure. She just hated the person that Tori was, almost always perfect and nice and touchy feely and all that other gross stuff. Beloved by all as if she were some kind of princess, Tori Vega had waltzed in and stolen the spotlight. Jade had been the top dog around HA before Tori had come in like a typhoon. Jade normally got all the lead roles and solo performances. Now with little miss Vega around Jade was lucky if she was even considered for a role. All of a sudden attention was off her and on to the latina. Sad to say it, Jade quite enjoyed all of Tori's performances and loved watch that sparkle in Tori's eyes. However even Jade didn't know that she did. She was so deep in denial that she could be deep sea diving in it. But if Jade thought she could throw herself an internal pity party. She was severely mistaken.
"You know just when I think you can't possible even more of a gank, you prove me wrong time and time again" Andre spat looking at Jade with a look that teetered on contempt and shame. Like, he was sorry for even having to talk to her about this. He then left to go after Tori.
"Tori's sad now, Jade that was mean." Cat pouted her face looking towards the school grounds where her two friends had just disappeared to. The little redhead sighed and went back to picking miserably at her fries.
"Jesus, Jade. You couldn't go one hour without being a gank could you?" Beck shook his head, but his look was one of disappointment. For some reason seeing that look on her ex-boyfriend's face, hit her even harder than the looks on her other friends increasing the weight of her guilt in her gut. This of course also made her lash out verbally.
"What? She can't take the truth then she shouldn't have asked." She said angrily, though at this moment she couldn't tell if it was at her friends or herself. "What you want me to lie and tell her she is the best? Cuz, fuck that, I'm not sugar-coating a thing!"
"Only, you were lying just now. Weren't you?" Cat said looking at Jade again.
The angry goth got up from the table and tossed her food and stomped off leaving Beck, Cat and a still shocked Robbie behind. She knew she had to get away, what she said still gnawed at her a little. This meant it wasn't going to go away unless she apologized or did something to make it up to Tori. Naturally she loathed doing so, but this feeling wouldn't be leaving her anytime soon unless she did something to alleviate it. Jade stomped over to the black box and bellowed at the choir club that was in there to leave. She flashed her scissors; they ran like chickens leaving behind a bluetooth speaker. Jade fished her phone out of her pocket and looked to find a song before plugging it in. It was an instrumental piece, one she was making for the second round of the competition. Jade walked over to the mic and began to sing.
I'm so tired of being here
Suppressed by all my childish fears
And if you have to leave
I wish that you would just leave
'Cause your presence still lingers here
And it won't leave me alone
These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
And I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have all of me
You used to captivate me by your resonating light
Now I'm bound by the life you left behind
Your face—it haunts my once pleasant dreams
Your voice—it chased away all the sanity in me
These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
And I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have all of me
I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone
But though you're still with me
I've been alone all along
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
And I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have all of me
Unknown to Jade there was another occupant in the black box. After she had stormed off from the quad, Tori had moved to the Black Box Theater, she wasn't expecting anyone to be there. Normally no one ever was. The choir apparently had entered a tournament of sorts and was practicing, She apologized and just indicated she would sit down and relax off in the corner. She had laid across two seats which gave the illusion no one was in the seats so Jade hadn't seen her during her first scan of the room. Had she looked harder she might have been able to pick Tori out. Instead Jade's singing had woken the latina from her slumber, however rather than get up, Tori decided to stay and listen to the music. The secret musician in her was impressed at the emotion of the song but in her mind it wasn't the right emotion. The voice carried guilt and a sense of melancholy to it; however based on the lyrics this song needed longing and pain. It was the song of a broken person who was left behind and the endless pain of still wanting them. Tori assumed the song was for Beck. Jade finished the song. Tori got up silently. Seeing the goth's eyes closed she figured Jade must be remembering something. She reached the door and looked back at the goth again, and against her better judgment she spoke. But not in her 'Tori' voice, in her 'Vicky' voice.
"Not bad, but it needs alot of work. You have enough emotion in the song, however you have the wrong emotion. Your voice is full of guilt, when it should be of a broken heart that longs for whats no longer there. If i were you i'd work on that." Tori immediately turned her back on the Goth who was still trying to get over the fact that Tori was there, let alone the cold distant voice she just heard come from the normally sweet girl. Then almost as sudden as she was there, Tori was gone. Jade was left to wonder….Was that really Tori?
A/N: I am in need of a co-writer or Beta. This story is coming off the top of my head and at times i do have blocks and cant think of anything. Also...i must admit i have not watched more than 10 episodes of the show...most of what i got is from the talented writers of fanfics. I write based on what i've read, and the few episodes i have seen. Special shout out to Invader Johnny and Quitting Time for their stories are what mostly drove me to write a fanfic. so more than of the show itself this is a fanfic off of fanfics. (by the way if either of you(Invader Johnny or Quitting Time) want to help me with this story feel free i'll push you to the front of the line :P but shhh dont tell the others. LMAO) PM if you have ideas, wanna beta, or help co write. etc.