Flashback continued
Friday,
"Okay, girls huddle up! In five minutes the game will begin. I don't know how well you performed in the practice but today You will give your best" the coach said.
The teammates spread out in the basket ball court in their positions as they warmed up.
"Hey, don't you think our coach is a hell of a motivational speaker?" Linda said sarcastically.
"Then you should hear what my parents told me in the morning?"
"Let me guess kill the Northbridge girls?"
Tori giggled before replying, "If you don't win no worries there is always next year!"
Linda laughed "So partner ready to take these pests by storm"
"Pests?"
"Northbridge girls are hot but annoying so I call them pests!"
The coach called them all as the game began.
The ball was with Northbridge first but was soon stolen by Jessica the Sherwood team captain, it got passed to Tori then to Linda, and again to Jessica as she scored the first basket.
By halftime it was six baskets for Sherwood and four for Northbridge, Tori took a water break when she heard, "Two baskets in a row not bad huh!" Linda complimented herself.
"You are a pretty strong player!" Tori replied.
"It's teamwork Besides Tori is much better at stealing the ball!" Jessica intervened, " C'mon girls we still have a match to win!"
Northbridge scored the first basket in the second half, Linda stole the ball from them and passed it to another teammate who was being obnoxious and lost the ball to Northbridge again, Tori snatched the ball again and passed it to Jessica, who ran for a few minutes but was soon blocked by Northbridge team so she passed the ball luckily to Sierra who was unguarded and scored for the team.
By the last few seconds, both the teams were at 9 points each, the pressure was immense. The ball was with Linda when one of the Northbridge girls tried to tackle her, but she quickly passed the ball to Tori before falling victim to the plot, by this time the Northbridge girls had blocked almost all the good players of her team including her, Tori did a quick motion to pass the ball to Jessica distracting the girls' when she actually threw the ball forward hoping for it to basket.
Everyone watched in anticipation as the ball rolled over the rim as if in slow motion and fell through the basket just before the time ended. The whole school erupted in shouts of joy as Sherwood High rejoiced its win.
—-
Tori was happy but as soon as she reached the parking lot, a wave of loneliness washed over her. She couldn't stop envying her teammates, who were being praised by their parents, at least during the match her imagination let her believe that there was someone who was cheering for her.
"You were good !" She turned around to be met with the raven-haired beauty, "Jade?"
"I wanted to check if you really know basketball or are just buffing!" She replied.
Tori didn't understand the new feelings bubbling in her chest, Jade was a person who should evoke icicles and fear in hearts not this warm feeling like hot cocoa with melted marshmallows, No, Not at all this feeling. But Tori's heart was maybe carved in a different way because it melted at the sight of the wicked witch of the West and she immediately hugged her.
"Thank you for being here, For once in my life someone was actually cheering for me"
The hug was a quick one but Jade wouldn't say it even to a ghost that she missed the warmth once Tori untangled herself from Jade.
"Wait, for a minute I need to tell the coach I am leaving!" Tori rushed elated towards the coach.
"Wow!" Beck exclaimed
"What? And where were you?"
"I was politely declining the Northbridge girls that I can't give them a ride home"
"Ohhh!"
"Anyway, what's with you and Tori?"
"What's with me and Tori?"
"Normally you shout at anyone who touches you, but she got a free pass"
"She just caught me off guard, and besides you touched me"
"Yeah, I am your boyfriend, and you even shout at me sometimes!"
"So?!"
"So, maybe this Jade West has a soft spot?"
"No! Remember you dragged me here!"
"Yeah, I remember I didn't have to fight a lot too?"
"Yeah because I wanted to see how Tori gets tackled on the field"
"Right!"
"What?"
"C'mon admit it "
"No!"
"Beck ?" Tori broke their banter." You came here too!" She jumped excitedly. "Yeah it was my Idea besides Mom loves you more than me right now and she ordered me to take you back to my place"
"Really?"
"Yeah!"
"Were you really going to ride a bike at this hour?" Jade asked, squinting at the purple tricycle.
"Well, I didn't have any other ride so yes"
"Well I brought the jeep so there is enough space for the bike at the back."
"It's really sweet of you two to come here"
"I am getting bored. Can we move?" Jade said.
The three of them were huddled together, in the car as Beck fumbled with the radio.
"Just play a station already!"
"How about we just talk, you know it is not that long a distance," Tori suggested.
"Good idea !" Beck responded.
"Huh my mind can't take the idiotic conversations"
"How about you tell me about the new play you are directing, you seemed excited about it last"
"They are not letting her direct it?"
"What why?"
"Because they don't understand creative art!"
"They said it was too cruel and gruesome" Beck replied.
"That's bad"
"Yeah and I don't like you two enjoying my misery"
"You know if you just don't kill the main character maybe they will let you do it"
"But that's not what I want?"
"You could keep that a mystery?" Tori suggested.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean show it in such a way that your audience in a hook, if she lived or died, they can interpret their own version"
"That's a good idea," Beck smiled.
"I don't take ideas from nobodies!" Jade retorted while the other two shrugged.
They arrived at Oliver Residence and Jade immediately got out and rang the bell, While Beck and Tori were talking about some movie.
"There you are, our dark Witch!" Claire greeted excitedly, "Where are the rest two?"
Jade pointed at the two people who were laughing, "Wow, they look so similar and I don't remember when I last saw him laughing like that, smiling yes but laughing?"
"Yeah, the whole car ride we were talking, and I realized they have a lot in common"
"And you are not jealous, that's a first!"
Oh Jade was jealous, when she first met Tori she didn't like her very much but somehow that girl earned her trust.
Jade remembered the time Tori told her something really meaningful that a relationship needs trust more than anything. That's when Jade actually started noticing how Beck interacted with the girls who approached him. Maybe he didn't push them off but he gently declined their offer and had the most disinterested look ever.
So, yes she may not be sure about many girls right now but she sometimes gets insecure about Tori, because those two fit well together.
"Hey Claire!" Tori's voice broke Jade out of her trance.
"Oh Tori, I hope you are hungry?"
"I am starving, I really am! "
"Then what are you waiting for come on!"
They all shared the meal while talking about little topics and enjoying the win.
"So Tori? I bet there are a lot of boys after you already" Steve asked, making everyone else uncomfortable.
"No, I actually have a boyfriend"
"Oh really? Tell me about him?"
"He is really sweet and a year older, his name is Daniel," Tori replied with a tight smile.
"That's a nice name !" Claire commented.
"Yeah!" Both Beck and Jade commented in an uninteresting manner, that got a raised eyebrow from Claire.
"So how long have you two been together?" Claire asked, trying to figure out the reactions of the other two.
"Almost five months," she replied.
"So, Tori, didn't your lovely boyfriend come to your match today?" Jade snarked.
"No… he is not really into sports.." Tori shifted in her seat uncomfortably, she didn't want to mention that Daniel was not really fond of her participating in sports. They even argued recently about how she was not putting enough effort into the relationship and spending more time with her team.
Being a Psychologist Claire understood two things about Tori, One this Daniel guy is not as good as Tori is trying to paint him, and two she lacks someone to have a heart-to-heart conversation with.
When Claire first met Jade, she was a bit skeptical of her but as they two started spending time together, Claire understood her more. She wanted to find a way to help this new girl out too.
Flashback over
—-
Claire smiled watching the three kids banter while playing Monopoly, normally a parent would be freaked out after knowing their special dating arrangement, but not her. In the past year, she had seen how Beck was more lively, how Jade was letting go of her fears and insecurities, and how Tori was opening up and finding herself.
A notification pinged on Tori's phone.
"Who is it now?" Jade asked irritated.
"It's Andre! He sent me the complete lyrics."
"How about you sing it ?" Beck asked eagerly
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah?" Jade said
"C'mon, I will bring the guitar!"
"But I don't know how to play guitar and you don't have a piano?"
"We don't need music to listen to a song c'mon"
"Fine!"
Tori began singing
"I don't wanna make a scene
I don't wanna let you down….."
"Wow!" Both of them stated.
"That was beautiful," Beck added.
"You think she will like it?"
"Any sane person would like that, Tori," Jade commented.
Two days later,
"I said SANE and your sister does not fall on that list!"
"I can't believe she sold the song," Beck said.
"And she even lied to the producer that she sang it" Tori complained
"That was a shit thing to do!" Jade commented
"At least I got revenge by giving her the damn garbage coffee"
"Should I say it?" Beck asked.
"What?"
"It was not actually a garbage coffee, just had too much sugar in it for my liking but I loved to get a reaction out of you so I told that to you!"
"Why? I thought I got my revenge on her" Tori wailed. "Next year I will not give her any presents!" and she stormed and sat on the couch with a pouting face.
The two others shared a knowing look because they knew next year Tori would again go mad trying to find the perfect present for Trina.
Honestly, I really get mad when people say, Jade hates Tori, and Tori is a villainess. Tori is the only one who stands up to Jade and is still unharmed. I mean she ran over Sinjin's legs, She could have done something bad to Tori too but she did not, well not directly.
Besides if Tori was such a bad character then she wouldn't have helped Andre get back his confidence and record deal, listen to his banter at three in the morning when she had an exam the next day, or even help him with getting over his crush on Jade. She wouldn't have helped Jade produce the play, or get her and Beck back together And she obviously wouldn't give three pints of blood for Robbie.