16. Forced to Listen.

Jade was heading back to sit in the Black Box and watch the end of rehearsal. She was about to turn the corner when Cat stopped her.

"Wait, Jadey!"

"What, Cat?" Jade turned around.

"Come back!" Cat beckoned pleadingly.

Jade sighed and took a few paces back until she was once again at the stage door. Beck was still in the doorway. Cat skipped out the door and bounded to a stop between them.

"Andre just told me we're all going to Tori's tonight after rehearsal, do you guys wanna come?" she asked in an almost-whisper, trying not to disturb the scene that was still on stage.

"Yeah, sure," Beck agreed with his usual shrug. "I'll be there. Jade?"

"No," Jade crossed her arms. "I won't."

"Please, Jadey? You couldn't come on Sunday so you should come this time!" Cat pouted.

"Yeah, come on, Jade."

"Don't speak to me." Jade's glare was harsh enough to send Beck away — or maybe it was the undeniable sincerity in her words. He disappeared into the wings of the stage. "Cat, I don't want to go to Tori's."

"Why not?" Cat cocked her head.

"You wouldn't understand," Jade sighed.

"Why do people always say that to me?" Cat wondered in a murmur, fiddling with the hem of her pink shirt.

"What did you say?" Jade stepped forward, her eyes softening with sympathy.

"People always say that to me. Do people think I'm stupid because I like pink and I giggle a lot?" Cat asked.

"No, of course not."

"'Cause you hate pink and you hardly ever giggle and no one thinks you're stupid."

"No one thinks you're stupid, Cat," Jade rubbed Cat's arm. "They just don't see who you really are. So…so that just proves that you do understand. You get why I don't want to be with Tori and everyone else."

"No," Cat shook her head, "I don't understand. We're your friends and we miss you. Why don't you like us anymore?"

"It's not that. I just…it's…I don't…. Fine. I'll come to Tori's for a little while."

"Yay!" Cat clasped her hands together. "I'm so excited!"

"Great."

Tori suddenly appeared — her scene must be over— and stood next to Cat.

"So're you coming tonight?" Tori asked Jade with bright eyes.

"Yes, she is!"

"I'd rather not." In truth, Jade did want to go. She wanted to be loved and included and told she mattered, but she knew she wouldn't find that with the Scooby Gang. She wondered for a moment if she ever did.

"Please? Jade, I know you may not consider us your friends, but we are! I promise."

"Oh, you promise?"

"Yes."

"Tori, do you know how many people have promised me things?" Jade asked this very calmly. Cat started squirming at her dark-haired friend's voice tone.

"Um…" Tori hesitated. "A lot?"

"Can I go?" Cat interrupted, raising her hand.

"Sure. Leave," Jade shrugged. Cat breathed a little sigh of relief and scurried back into the theater. Jade turned back to Tori.

"No, not a lot of people have promised me things. But the people that did make me promises were the ones I trusted — the ones I expected to keep their promises. Family, friends…"

"Boyfriends?" Tori supplied sadly.

"Yeah," Jade sighed. "Do you get what I'm trying to say?"

"That…you don't want to come tonight?"

"No. Well, yes. Yes, I don't want to come tonight, but that's not my point. My point is…I can't trust any of you."

"What? Yes you can!"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Give me a reason."

"…huh?" Tori gaped slightly at Jade, her brown eyes wide.

"Give me one reason why I should trust any one of you. I guarantee I will be able to counter with a better reason not to."

"Okay, um… Well, I know you hate me…and Robbie…and, honestly, you have kind of a good reason to not trust Beck…."

"All true. But I'm hearing nothing that's going to get me to hang out with you."

"What about Cat? She's trustworthy!"

Jade shrugged.

"You don't have a good reason not to trust her so you have to come tonight!"

"She can't keep a secret."

"That's not a good reason!" Tori whined.

"It's good enough for me."

"Fine. What about Andre? He's never done anything horrible. Like ever."

"He thought I tried to kill my father."

"Jade," Tori groaned, "will you please come to my house tonight? We miss you."

"Why does it matter?"

"Because the group is…off without you."

Jade stared at Tori suspiciously for a moment, her eyes narrowed.

"Is this some sort of plan to do something well-intentioned but completely idiotic?"

"What? No. It's a plan to hang out with my friend."

"Well I'm not your friend, so I won't be there."

"But you told Cat you would!"

"Tell her I got sick."

"So you want me to lie to Cat?" Tori looked appalled. "I can't do that!"

"And yet you get all the leading roles," Jade muttered.

"But Cat and I made a cake yesterday afternoon! You can't turn down free cake."

"Fine. I'll come and eat a piece of cake. But then I'm leaving."

"If you're going to come eat cake, you might as well sleep over."

"Or not."

"Well, we're going to probably watch a movie or something while we eat the cake, and it'll be dark when the movie's over."

"I like driving in the dark."

"But it's not safe."

"All the better."

"Okay. Let's compromise. You'll come tonight and hang out with us, but you don't have to sleep over."

"Fine," Jade sighed, rolling her eyes.

It didn't occur to Jade to be nervous until she and Cat were pulling onto Tori's street after rehearsal that evening. They'd taken a detour to stop at Cat's for her "sleepover stuff," so Jade knew everyone else was already inside.

"You know, I think I'm just going to drop you and head home," she said as she parked the car in the Vega's driveway. "I'm tired."

"No you aren't," Cat declared. "You're scared."

"I'm not scared!" Jade nearly shouted. "I'm—"

"You're scared. You're scared that no one wants you here, but everyone wants you here."

"It seems like everyone's perfectly comfortable hanging out without me. I bet I could walk out Tori's door and no one would even care," Jade said pointedly.

"Oh Jadey," Cat cooed with teary eyes. "It was so awful."

"Well, it was pretty bad for me too."

"And then we just kept playing cards and I didn't like cards to begin with but after you left it was so tense and scary…."

"You…you just kept playing cards?" Jade asked, her face falling. She hadn't known that. She'd always just assumed that the get-together had broken up, maybe with someone defending her, after she'd walked out that door (and hadn't been followed).

"Yeah," Cat's voice was even higher than normal. "But no one would say anything and I tried so hard not to cry but then I started crying and I just couldn't stop. And then Beck left and then Andre took Robbie home. I called my mom to pick me up but I'd forgotten she was out with my dad and Andre was supposed to take me home so I had to stay at Tori's until my mom could get me."

"Cat—"

"And Tori was so mad at Trina and they were yelling at each other and I was still crying when my mom picked me up and I knew I should call you but I thought I should wait until I stopped crying but I fell asleep. I was still crying when I woke up the next day. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, Cat. Really. None of it was your fault."

An all-too-familiar feeling of emptiness ignited in her ribcage as Cat knocked out a light rhythm on the door. Jade realized she was wearing the same jacket she had on the last time she waited for the door to be opened, and the empty feeling expanded beyond her ribs. It exploded up into her head and down into her toes when Beck answered the door. (A dream come true, just a little too late.) Jade shouldered her way into the house, pretending she didn't smell the combination of shampoo and hair gel and laundry detergent with which she used to fall asleep. She hesitated for a moment when she saw Andre dealing out cards for poker. Were they trying to recreate that night? Stalking toward the table like a runway model, Jade tore her jacket off and tossed it onto one of the orange couches, and took the empty seat next to Andre.

"Deal me in."

Hold me, 'cause I'm sure I'm hated.

Promises — they are overrated.

Happy Friday! Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed - you're all amazing. I was asked two questions: one, how many chapters are in this story? and two, could I post more often? And the answers are: I haven't finished the story yet, but it's shaping up to be 30-35 chapters, and I really can't post more often because I've only written up to chapter 22, and I don't have the wherewithal to write any faster. But the fact that people want me to post more often is so exciting! I'm so happy everyone is enjoying this story. Chapter 17 will be up by Tuesday!