Hi. I wasn't sure whether to go on with this, but then I found that I was actually writing it, so here's another chapter. This won't be a long story, just a few chapters, unless you want to see it go further.

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It was a love that could never be…

Though it meant a lot to you and me…

On a worldwide scale…

We're just another winter's tale.

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Jade stood, rooted to the spot, mouth open, lost in a world drastically different from the one she'd known only a few minutes ago. A few minutes before Tori had turned it upside down.

I made a resolution, she'd said. And then she'd told her something so devastating, so unexpected, that Jade had found herself unable to respond, to form a reply, to find any words whatsoever.

I like you.

She could still see her now, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot, a curious light in her eyes, her expression torn between embarrassment and a steely defiance.

I missed you. At the party. And I don't know why, because I knew that all you'd do was make fun of me, or ignore me, or spill beer over me. But still I wanted you to be there, because something felt different. Like it was the end of something. This time next year we'll all be gone, and I know the guys will stay in touch, and meet up, and visit, and all those things, but it won't be the same.

And then your text came through, and I realized why I missed you, and why the thought of never seeing you again hurt so much.

I like you, Jade. I don't mean as a person, or as a friend, or that I admire you, or any of that, although all of that's true. I mean, I like you. As more than just a friend. And I know you'll think that's weird after everything we've been through, after all the fights, and the arguments, and I'm not sure I understand it myself, but there it is. I've finally worked out what it is that keeps driving me to be with you, to look out for you, to see your face even when it isn't there. I like you.

There had been a terrible silence, and some of the light had faded from her eyes.

I'm not asking anything of you, Jade. I'm not crazy enough to think that you feel the same about me, or that anything's going to change. I know that the best I can hope for is that you don't throw me out, or laugh at me, although I hope you might think enough of me as a friend to at least keep this between us. It's been so hard coming here, and I'm not sure I could stand it if everyone knew, but I had to do it. I know that this is probably a fool's errand, but if I don't tell you this now, tonight, I know never will, and I'll spend the rest of my life regretting it.

Because if there was even the slightest chance that you might want me, I have to take it.

And then she was gone.

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Jade blinked, and realized she was staring at empty space, at the half open door where Tori had stood moments before.

You idiot.

Jade wasn't a cruel person. Not really. She liked to toy with people sometimes, like a cat playing with a leaf on the breeze - and she knew that occasionally she went too far, and her claws caught, and it hurt, but she knew that this was different. This was a whole different game. Tori's confession must have taken a huge leap of faith; she couldn't imagine how much courage it must have taken to just lay it on the line like that, to leave herself wide open to fate. And what had Jade done?

She'd just stood there with her mouth open, gawping at the poor girl as though it was the stupidest thing she'd ever heard.

Nice one, West.

And now Tori was out there somewhere in the cold, feeling rejected and worthless, as though her courage counted for nothing. Jade took a moment to curse herself as a terrible human being, before she rammed her feet into her boots, grabbed her coat and headed out in pursuit.

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The snow was heavier now, and she wondered exactly how long she'd spent standing there like an idiot. There was no sign of Tori, but a series of depressions that had once been the footprints of the fleeing girl were still visible. She followed them down the street and around the corner, confident that she could move faster in her boots than Tori could in heels, and that at any moment she'd catch her up, explain, and then...

And then what? What would she say? What could she say? Thanks but no thanks? I'm flattered? It's not you it's me? On the face of it, this should be easier than brushing off a guy, because at least she had the cast-iron excuse that Tori knew she wasn't gay. But then Tori wasn't, either. Or was she? Was this her moment of enlightenment? And if it was, why her, for God's sake?

She tried to replay their relationship in her head, from all-out war in the few weeks, through a grudging acceptance, to something approaching friendship. They'd still fought, but without the bitterness that came from anger, as though they were both simply going through the motions, antagonist and protagonist, bad girl and good girl, a comedy drama with no hard feelings afterwards. She'd once privately decided that if she had to pick just one person to be stranded on a desert island with, it would be Tori. Tori would be the only one who could keep her sane. Not Beck - the romantic idyll would soon cloy, and boredom would lead to rage and a fifty percent reduction in the island's population. But Tori... She'd smiled as she'd pictured the two of them, in grass skirts and coconut-shell bras, bickering and laughing as they collected mangoes in the tattered remains of Tori's monster purse that had washed ashore with them clinging desperately to its handles. She'd never in a million years have admitted that to Tori, of course, because that wasn't how they rolled. They just played the game. I win, you lose. You win, I lose. No hard feelings. No feelings at all.

Except now there were feelings, and that changed everything. The whole dynamic would be different. However she treated Tori now, it could only ever be seen through the prism of Tori's confession. Teasing her now would feel cruel and heartless - being affectionate doubly so, as though she was toying with her emotions, or worse, pitying the poor girl. Crap. Never mind about thanks but no thanks, what she really wanted to do, when she finally caught up with Tori in the goddamned snowstorm, was grab her by the ears and shake her till her teeth rattled, and say, How could you do this? How could you ruin my only friendship by actually liking me?

She cursed and moved on, and saw to her dismay that the footprint petered out and stopped at the edge of the sidewalk. She glanced up and down along the street, but it was empty as far as she could see through the falling snow. She looked down again at the prints. Tire tracks at the curb. Tori must have flagged down a cab.

She stood, defeated. The year was only an hour old, and already everything was against her. And then another thought struck her - what if it hadn't been a cab? She had a horrible vision of Tori being abducted off the street, bundled into the back of a car by a passing pervert. She reached for her phone in panic, and realized she'd left it back at the house. She turned on her heel and sprinted back up the street, slipping and slithering in the snow.

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No answer. No answer. No answer. Voicemail.

Off.

Jade stared at the screen. Tori had switched it off. Or at least someone had. She tried to think. Should she call the police? No, they'd laugh at her. How long had she been missing? Fifteen minutes? Twenty? Barely enough time to get home.

Home. Of course. She scrolled down her contacts. She had Tori's home number somewhere, for those awkward moments when she suspected everyone was hanging out there but hadn't actually been invited. Hey, Mr. V, how's it going? Are the guys there yet? Yeah, Tori totally forgot to tell me what time to come over. I know, teenagers, right?

She made the call, and waited anxiously for someone to pick up.

"Hello?" It was Tori's mom, her voice pitched somewhere between annoyance and caution.

Jade took a breath. "Hi," she said. "Look, I'm really, really sorry to bother you. It's Jade, Tori's... friend from school. I just wondered if she was back yet."

There was a short pause. "Yes," Holly said. "She just got back. Why?"

Jade let out a sigh of relief that must have sounded like a hurricane on the other end of the line. "Thank God for that."

It dawned on her too late that that perhaps wasn't what Tori's mom wanted to hear. "Why? What's wrong?" Holly said, with a note of panic.

"Nothing," Jade said, hastily. "Everything's fine. I just wanted to check she got back safely, that's all."

"Oh." The panic subsided. "Well, yes, she did. Do you want to talk to her? She might still be awake."

Jade considered it, but if Tori had turned off her phone it didn't seem likely she'd want to talk. "No, it's okay," she said. "I'll catch her later."

"Okay. Well I'll tell her you called. I'm sure she'll appreciate it."

It seemed unlikely. "Okay, thanks."

There was another short pause, and Jade was about to kill the call when Holly said, "Jade?"

"Yeah?"

"Did something happen at the party?"

Jade was about to say that she wasn't there, but realized that would lead to a whole bunch of questions that she didn't want to answer. "What do you mean?"

"It's just Tori seemed a little... off when she came in. Like she was upset about something."

Great. "Did she say anything?"

"No, she just went straight to her room."

Jade hesitated. "No, nothing happened," she said. "We had a great time. I guess she was just tired, that's all."

"Oh. Well, okay, then."

Jade cut the call, and lay down on the bed with a long groan. Tori was still alive, and that was what mattered. Everything else could wait for another day. It occurred to her that running around in the snow when you had the flu wasn't the best idea in the world, and decided she was now morally justified in feeling sorry for herself. She kicked off her boots and crawled under the covers, pulling them up to her chin, shivering and sniffing, her nose running and her eyes stinging. Everything would look different in the morning. Maybe not better, but different. There was always the possibility that all this was a fever dream, and that she'd wake up tomorrow to find herself back in the real world, a happy, carefree world where everything was normal, influenza bugs had more sense than to mess with her, and the funny, pretty little girl from school hadn't just turned up on her doorstep to say that she loved her.

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So, tomorrow's another day. Is Tori going to regret her confession?