Happy New Year! Hope you have a great year coming.
Chapter 13:Concern
"She's been asleep for almost 19 hours." Tori's senses slowly awakened to the low whispers swirling in the room. Jade's muffled words hinted at a growing concern about Tori's prolonged slumber. Slowly, Tori peeled open her eyes, the room coming into focus.
"I don't think she'd slept for a while though, but I think I need to get her to eat," Jade's voice murmured, filled with a mix of worry and determination. Tori's eyes met Jade's, who was intently pacing the room and fiddling with Tori's phone. As Tori stirred, Jade's expression softened, relief washing over her face.
"Who's that?" Tori inquired, her voice groggy but curious.
"Trina," Jade replied, passing Tori the phone before turning her attention to her own device.
"Hey," Tori greeted, sitting up in bed as she held the phone to her ear.
"Hey there, sleeping beauty. Are you well-rested?" Trina's voice chirped from the other end.
"Yeah," Tori answered, glancing over at Jade, who was now engrossed in a menu and dialing her phone.
"You were freaking your girlfriend out. She thought she was going to have to force-feed you," Trina teased.
"She is about to do just that," Tori joked, playfully placing her hand atop the menu in Jade's hand. "Just order a pizza."
Jade cringed slightly, nodding in agreement as she pulled up her Slice app. Tori, feeling the urgency to address her sister, turned back to her phone call. "What's going on, Tori?"
"I hadn't been able to sleep for a couple of days. I still don't really know what Jade did to make me go down," Tori explained, realizing she urgently needed the bathroom.
"I remember when you were a baby, mom would have to literally restrain you before you would slee-" Trina started, reminiscing about their past, but Tori interrupted.
"Uh, Trina… I really have to go to the bathroom," Tori interjected, beginning to pace as she rushed into the bathroom.
"Okay, call me lat-" Tori hurriedly ended the call, ensuring privacy to address her pressing need. It took her longer than expected to fully relieve herself.
The echoes of Tori's conversation with her sister still lingered in the air, but as she devoured the pizza that Jade had ordered, a surge of energy coursed through her veins. The cheesy goodness seemed to act as a catalyst, reviving her like a dormant force suddenly awakened.
Tori's laughter bubbled up, infectious and unbridled. She looked at Jade, her eyes sparkling with a newfound vivacity. "Jade, you have to try this! It's like a flavor explosion in your mouth." Tori's gestures were animated, a stark contrast to the subdued atmosphere that had hung over the room just moments ago.
Jade observed Tori's sudden shift in energy, a mixture of curiosity and concern flickering in her eyes. "You sure you're okay, Vega?"
"I'm more than okay! I feel fantastic!" Tori exclaimed, her voice carrying an almost manic quality. She bounced on the balls of her feet, a whirlwind of enthusiasm.
As Tori devoured the pizza, her mind raced with ideas, each one more vibrant than the last. "Jade, we should do a mukbang video! Imagine the fun we could have, trying different foods and sharing it with our viewers."
Jade couldn't help but be swept up in Tori's infectious energy. She nodded, offering a small smile. "Sure, Vega. A mukbang sounds... interesting."
Tori's hyperfocus fixated on Jade's untouched plate. "Wait, you're not eating. Why aren't you eating?" Tori's eyes widened with concern, her mind racing ahead of the conversation.
"I'm not hungry right now," Jade replied casually, trying to downplay the situation.
"But you have to eat with me! It's a bonding experience. We share food, share stories, and—" Tori's words spilled out in a torrent, her excitement palpable.
Jade hesitated, not wanting to dampen Tori's spirits. "I appreciate the enthusiasm, Vega, but I'm really not hungry. I promise."
Tori's expression shifted, her brow furrowing. "But I've never seen you eat. Like, ever."
Jade, caught off guard by the sudden intensity of Tori's focus, felt a pang of discomfort. She shrugged, keeping it light. "Well, you know me, mysterious and all."
"I'm telling you, Jade, people love watching others eat. It's a thing," Tori insisted, a mischievous grin on her face.
Jade raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "I get that it's a thing, but isn't your channel about other stuff? Fashion, beauty, all that jazz."
Tori leaned in, her expression turning playful. "But imagine the fun we could have! We'll make it a special segment, something different. It'll be Tori and Jade's Mukbang Madness!"
Jade chuckled, "No!" Tori giggled at the response. "What about Music?"
Tori hesitated, admitting, "I can't sing, Jade."
Jade's eyes sparkled with an idea. "Who cares? No one is good at Karaoke. We can call it girlfriend karaoke? We can sing love songs to each other. It'll be fun, and it ties into the whole girlfriend theme."
Tori chuckled, realizing Jade had a point. "Alright, fine. Girlfriend karaoke sounds fun. But you better carry the tune because I'm warning you, my singing is not great."
Jade smirked. "Don't worry, you know I got you." She paused. "I gotta go… Sinj already freaked because I stayed here last night.
"Okay…" Tori said. "It's not that big a deal, is it?"
"Yeah, It is," Jade said softly. "Sinj is autistic. He needs to know what's going to happen; you're kind of erratic."
Tori rolled her eyes. "He is not your child."
"No," Jade assented. "But he is my friend. I can't just abandon my friends."
Tori bristled. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Jade quirked her brow, "It means nothing more than what I said. If you feel this is a slight on you, then you need to evaluate your life." Then she walked toward the door. "See you tomorrow?" Tori asked.
"I work here, don't I?" Jade asked, and she walked out of the door.
Tori didn't like that. Being her girlfriend couldn't be work. It didn't have to be… Now she was fully awake, and it was nighttime. Her sleep clock was all screwed up. She got on a live. "Hey, guys, normally on this live I'm cleaning my face off… but guess what, I just woke up so I don't know… We could do something totally different this time."
She looked around the room. "So like… I just upset my girlfriend; she has a really cool roommate with special needs and… Oh maybe she didn't want you to know that, but I have to tell you how big my girl's heart really is."
She paused and read the screen; there were no words, lots of hearts though. "Anyway, she has a friend that has ASD, and you wouldn't believe how loving and compassionate she is with him… well you wouldn't believe it if you believed what everyone likes to say about her. That kid is loved, and Jade makes sure he knows it. So, I was being a whole insensitive asshole because I like to keep her to myself," She paused and looked directly at the camera lens. "I'm sorry, baby, I love you."
She blushed right away and covered her mouth. "Oh my god… I can't believe I said it…"
A cavalcade of "Awww," and "Oh my god!" "Look at her blush!" came up on the screen.
Then she looked through her phone. "You know I was telling her we should do something together on camera; I told her I wanted to Mukbang."
"Ewww…"
"Ha! I see that's not your thing, and Jade said as much. So be happy she loves you too." Tori giggled, "She said she'd sing with me. But I can't sing, so I'm gonna make a fool of myself right now as an apology. What should I sing?"
Song suggestions started to fill up the chat. "AAA!" Tori screamed. "Whoa… wait… "
"Just close your eyes and pick." One of her fans said.
"Just close my eyes… Okay let me try," Tori said closing her eyes. She put her finger down somewhere and opened her eyes. "You don't know me?"
"LOL Sing Jade's own song back at her!" The fan said.
Tori giggled "Okay, let me find it." Tori stated. The first strings of the song began to sound. "You think you know me, but you don't know me…"
And Tori continued to sing, not noticing the chat as she sang because her fans freaked out at an entry name. One they knew. Because they had made it just for this. And Jade watched Tori's stream from home.