Brother? Jade scrunched her face in irritation. Not her normal irritation, but the kind of irritation that came with realizing you didn't know something that felt important to know. A brother? A twin brother? That was in the top five of the most critical things to know about someone you considered a friend. Or whatever Jade called Tori in the deepest recesses of her mind. But still. Why didn't Tori tell them?

Why didn't Tori tell her?

Jade frowned and studied the newcomer. Outside of Taylor's bright red buzzcut and eyebrow piercing, she had a feeling deep in her stomach that the twins were more alike than they were different. Tori had the whole All-American, Girl-Next-Door look, hampered only slightly by the nose piercing, and Taylor was nailing the rebel-against-the-world vibe from his baggy cargo pants to the bandana tied around his ankle, nestled on top of brown combat boots. But as Taylor interacted with the others, Jade watched. She observed. And from what she saw in those brief moments, Jade figured it out.

When Tori smiled, it was her eyes that sparkled. Her lips barely moved. But when Taylor smiled, his entire face lit up with his amusement or happiness. When Tori laughed, she kept her giggles hidden behind her hand. Taylor snorted and laughed without abandon. Tori spoke in dry, smooth tones, and Taylor blended his English and Spanish as if he were speaking the same language. There was an ease to the way he spoke, and Tori seemed conscious of every word she said. Tori stared at Taylor with affection when he talked about his journey to Hollywood Arts, and Taylor brushed her wrist with his fingers when she told stories of their summer together. Taylor, with his paint-stained knuckles and summer camp style bracelets, and Tori, with her pink-painted nails and diamond studs, were two sides of the same coin. Beck elbowed her lightly, and Jade straightened, tuning back into the conversation when Taylor turned his attention to her.

"And you must be Jade. I've heard many, many things about you."

"Not that much," Tori added quickly.

"Yeah, sure. It wasn't like you mentioned her every other - ow!"

Taylor stepped away from Tori's fist, rubbing his arm, and Tori tucked a stray hair behind her ear, pretending as if nothing happened. Taylor pouted, and it was almost laughable how much he looked like a puppy.

"Still, it's nice to meet you," he said.

"I would say the same, but we didn't know anything about you. So."

"Jade," Beck warned.

"Está bien," Taylor said, patting Beck on the arm. "I was warned about her prickly reputation."

"Is that the actual word that was used?"

Taylor shrugged with a coy smile and said, "Not in so many words, but I have heard you're talented in many things. A Jack of All Trades, if you will. But you can be very protective of those you care about. And you can be more than willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that no one else hurts them." A dark look crossed his eyes before he blinked it away and added, "Do not prove me wrong."

Jade was caught off guard by the unspoken threat, but she didn't show it. She met Taylor's gaze evenly, and there was something buried beneath his easygoing expression that made her want to look away first. But she didn't. She couldn't. To cover up the growing tension, Taylor threw his arm around Tori and smiled, breaking their impromptu stare contest.

"Mind giving me a tour?" he asked.

"Sure," Tori said warily.

Taylor nodded and looked back at the group.

"It was nice to meet all of you," he said. "And it was good to see you again, Roberto."

Robbie flushed at the name, and Taylor saluted before walking away with Tori. Jade felt her vision narrow on the two of them. They disappeared around the corner, and André blew out a long exhale.

"Wow," he said. "So much for an easy year."

Jade squinted at Robbie, and without prompting, Robbie rubbed the back of his neck and sighed.

"I met him at that development program in Arizona," he said.

" You kept this a secret for a month?" she asked.

"Tori seemed," he paused, "desperate about it. She begged me not to say anything"

"Desperate?" Beck asked.

"Look, I didn't even know Tori was in Arizona until we had our family night. And it still took me a minute to recognize her. I swear to you, the Tori that's here is not the Tori that I saw because…" Robbie trailed off and shook his head. "Anyway, when I saw her with Taylor, it was pretty easy to figure it out. They have the same face, and Tori wasn't exactly hiding it. But when she saw me, she worked herself into hysteria, asking me not to say anything to anyone. I had never seen her so scared."

Just as Jade was about to ask another question, Beck shook his head and cut her off.

"Okay, that's enough. We're not going to gossip about this behind Tori's back."

"Says you," Jade scoffed.

"Yes, says me. If Tori wants us to know, she'll tell us."

"Seriously? After she just dropped that bomb on us, you still think she'll be upfront with details?"

"Yes, but even if she isn't, we shouldn't go looking for answers from other people."

"Have you always been this lame, or is this a new thing?" Jade deadpanned.

Beck grabbed her arm and dragged her to the janitor's closet. He pushed her inside and closed the door behind them. Jade stumbled into a crate, and Beck locked the door.

"Was it the lame thing that got you or -

"Tell me why it matters that Tori didn't tell you."

"Because we're supposed to be friends, and friends tell each other things."

"Oh? So have you told her that you live in a motel because you got kicked out?"

"That's different," she gritted out.

"No, it's not. So, why does it matter that she kept this from us? We all have secrets, Jade."

"I know that."

"Do you?"

"Of course, I do!"

"So then you can see why it's so fucking hypocritical for you to be upset about this?"

"I am not being a hypocrite! I just - I want to know why she told Robbie first."

"Were you listening at all? Robbie just said it was- hold on. Are you jealous?"

"No," she answered quickly.

"You totally are!"

"No, I'm not! Why would I be jealous?"

"I don't know. Maybe because Tori trusted Robbie with the secret before she trusted you?" Jade sucked in a sharp breath, and Beck immediately looked guilty. He held up his hands and changed course. "I'm sorry, okay? But come on, you're being a little hypocritical right now. Robbie admitted it was an accident, and if I know Tori as well as I think I do, then I imagine she panicked and went into preservation mode. Anything to protect her secret, right?"

Jade looked away, and Beck stepped to the side, catching her eye again.

"Secrets like how Robbie tells people that he donated Rex when we know his father set Rex on fire over Spring Break last year. Or how Cat is stuck pretending to be a child because her mother only remembers her as an eight-year-old. Or how André works so hard to be successful so he doesn't disappoint his grandmother after she rescued him from being his brother's punching bag. Or how I had to date my best friend so my family doesn't find out I'm gay."

"Damnit, Beck. I'm not angry," she said. "I'm…hurt."

"Hurt? Why?"

Jade clenched her jaw, and Beck waited patiently. He put his hands on her shoulders and squeezed, and Jade huffed softly.

"You want to talk secrets and do anything to protect them? This is one of mine. Tori's been my biggest secret since I met her, and finding out I don't know her as well as I thought I did hurt."

"You still haven't told me why."

"Because I'm in love with her, Beck. I have been since the moment I met her. And for the longest, I thought it was the worst thing to happen to me. I pushed Tori away so much last year because she scared me. What I felt for her was terrifying. I've seen what love does to people. I watched my mother become a different person when she met my stepfather, and I swore I wouldn't allow myself to love anyone if it meant changing who I was to satisfy them. And then Tori fucking Vega danced into my life, and all I can think about is how much brighter my world would be if she loved me back."

"You in love with Tori?"

"Of course, I am," she murmured. "How could I not be?"

"Shit, Jay. Why didn't you tell me?"

"You were having your own sexuality crisis. The last thing you needed was mine on top of that."

"Wait, is this why your stepfather kicked you out?"

"Traditional family values are important to him, and I guess he was tired of pretending to love the odd child. He now has his picture-perfect family with my half-sister, creating the American dream with their blonde hair, blue eyes, and tanned skin. It looks a helluva lot different without the black-haired, green-eyed, pale Goth child hovering in the background."

"I'm so sorry."

"Don't be," she said. "The motel's not that bad. AJ gave me a good deal."

"AJ? As in your brother?"

"Turns out, he never got further than eight blocks after he stormed out last year. He started working at the motel, and the owner died, left it to him. Now he owns it and charges me twenty bucks to live there. All I have to do is clean my own sheets and sometimes take pictures of cheating husbands. It's honestly a win-win."

"I can't tell if you're joking or not."

"Okay, fine. He charges me fifty bucks, not twenty."

Beck snorted and kissed the top of her head.

"I hate you."

"Yeah, I know. You said that a lot when we were dating."

"We were so awful for each other."

"It's not like we were actually dating."

Beck gasped loudly and clutched his chest, and Jade pushed at him.

"You're so annoying."

Beck chuckled and kept squeezing and rubbing her shoulders. Eventually, Jade leaned forward and rested her head on his chest. The ensuing silence was contemplative, each lost in their own thoughts. Jade thought back on their "relationship" and how she always made sure that their breakups were dramatic and messy. She needed the world too terrified to get involved because once people got involved, they would ask too many questions that she nor Beck could answer. Well, questions they didn't want to answer.

Before Jade's sexual awakening, so to speak, Beck's own sexuality crisis was hard. It was painful and messy, often leaving one or both in tears. He'd known since he was twelve that he was attracted to boys. Men. But Beck was an only child. He loved his family, and he didn't want to ruin that. Sure, his parents were more unconventional, but they were conservative at their core. They only tolerated his dreams of being an actor, so a compromise had to come in his dating life. Jade agreed to help keep his parents off his back while he worked through his internalized homophobia because she knew all too well what it felt like to live up to someone else's expectations. And for a moment, they had a system going.

But then Tori came to the school, and Jade silently cried herself to sleep one night because she'd triggered an awakening Jade wasn't ready to have. Beck never knew, and Jade never told him. Because in what world does Tori love Jade back? In what world, does Jade get the happy ending with the girl? According to the walls of the auditorium bathroom, Jade was a crazy, psychotic freak. She was mean and rude and nasty. Beck could only fuck her with a bag over her head and a rag stuffed in her mouth while the lights were off to get any satisfaction. On and on it went. Every mean word was drawn onto the walls that the janitor gave up trying to cover months ago. Jade saw it every afternoon, and she would always feel a piece of her heart break a little more when a new comment was added. She told Beck, and he'd promised that none of it was true.

"You're a prickly pear on the outside," he'd whispered. "But you're sweet and good on the inside."

Jade rolled her eyes affectionately at the reminder, and how they'd laughed all night at the unintended innuendo. But it never left Jade's mind how Beck was so quick to shut down her spiraling thoughts. She needed him to do it again.

"I don't know what to do now," she whispered.

"You go with the flow."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. This journey isn't linear. It's a roller coaster. You'll have your ups, downs, and loops. You might even have a corkscrew here and there, but there's a point where the ride ends, and you're left with this exhilaration because you made it through. You survived."

"Did you just compare my life to a roller coaster?"

"Technically, but yours is more of a free-fall. Anxiety when it starts, terror when it happens, and relief when it's over."

"Gee, thanks."

"I'm kidding. Mostly. But it's a good thing. It's overrated being as predictable as a roller coaster."

"Free falls are the epitome of predictable."

"You never know when the fall will happen." Jade looked up and gave him an unimpressed look, and he grinned. "You know I'm telling the truth," he added.

Jade shook her head and suddenly groaned, running a hand over her face.

"I can't believe I told you that I'm in love with Tori," she muttered.

"Stop acting like it's the worst thing in the world."

"It feels like it."

"Because you take small things and blow them out of proportion." Before she could respond, he kept going. "Yes, I can see why it's scary. I will say that I'm with you every step of the way, just like you were with me. Whatever you need, I'm here. But you should know that falling in love with a girl isn't the end of the world. Love is too pure to be twisted into something hateful, and I think Tori is a damn good person to be in love with."

"You still haven't told me what to do."

"I did. I was serious. There's nothing you can do but go with the flow. We have to adjust to being back in school, and there's a new dynamic in the group. But, seeing as you have a short leash for patience, I think a good start would be letting her in a bit. Show her who you are, the real you, and who knows? Maybe she'll love you as openly and as freely as you deserve. Because, while I was serious about you being a free fall, I know that when the relief fades, there's a feeling of being more alive than before the ride started. And that feeling is worth all of the scary parts in between."

Tori slumped down in the chair and closed her eyes. She felt more than saw Taylor sit down beside her, and she knew whatever conversation they were about to have would start with him. The auditorium was usually empty on the first day back, most people choosing to sit out in the courtyard or hang out in the screenwriter's block.

"Mami warned me this could happen."

Tori opened her eyes and turned her head, eying Taylor curiously.

"She told me I would cause your carefully crafted life to fall apart."

"I'm not too sure it was carefully crafted," Tori said. "But she wasn't completely wrong."

"Look, I'm sorry, but this was a golden opportunity for me, and-

"Ducky, stop. I am so happy that you're getting a chance to show the world how talented you are."

"But?"

"I'm so used to being Tori Vega. Not Tori Villanueva. This school, these people, my teachers, and my friends all know me as this," she paused and gestured to herself, "but with you here, my brain's all confused, and it feels like I'm living a double life."

"Because you are living a double life. You just said it yourself. Tori Vega and Tori Villanueva are different people, and for three months, you live as one version, and then at school or around anyone but our family, you turn into someone else. At some point, you had to have known it would come to an end."

"Of course, I did! But I was thinking college when I was away from Los Angeles and David."

"Your father? What does he have to do with this?"

Tori rubbed her eyes with her palms and sat forward.

"His fiancée is throwing a party Friday night. It's a black tie, and I've been ordered to be there."

"Ordered?"

"He said if I didn't come, he'd stop paying the bills."

"So he's blackmailing you?"

"Father of the year, right?"

"Why can't you tell him you have a first week of school project or something?"

Tori laughed, saying, "I keep forgetting that you didn't grow up with David. Projects, homework, and school events aren't important to him, and for me to use that as an excuse would be a cop-out. Excuse the pun. But I have to go, and I have to pretend like he and I haven't been living in two separate places for two years. I have to act as if David and I aren't more than passing strangers until he needs me to show up to one of his police events, smile for the cameras, and take the check he shoves into my hand with a smile before leaving and going home to an empty house."

Tori stopped and shook her head, getting to her feet.

"I'll be fine. That's not for you to worry about."

"You're my sister. I'm going to worry."

"Then figure out how not to."

"You make it sound as if this will be a long-term thing."

"Taylor, I work so hard to keep everything separate because the last thing I want is the world to know how utterly alone I've been for the last couple of years. Meeting you and your parents was the best thing to happen to me. It saved my relationship with Trina, I found whatever confidence I needed to audition for that play, and somehow, I got here. I have friends now. I'm finally in a place where things might be looking up for me. But…" Tori suddenly looked as if she hadn't slept in weeks. "Until I graduate, until I'm on my own, David will have this hold over me. By law, he has so much control over my life, and unless I play his game, I'll lose, Ducky. Every time."

Taylor was cut off by the bell, and Tori hurried from the auditorium without looking back.