Archive of Our Own

Tori should have known something was going to go wrong when Sinjin asked her and the rest of her friends to replace the couples on the show. She was very clear when she said that the only real couple among them was Beck and Jade, but Sinjin still wouldn't take no for an answer, and suddenly she found herself looking at the audience instead of being part of it.

What she really didn't expect was to be put next to Jade of all people.

While they were switching places with the other participants, Tori had heard whispers backstage, something about Beck refusing to participate for reasons she didn't really understand, and she was suddenly guided—almost desperately—to sit next to Jade.

She didn't know what surprised her more: the fact that she was now sitting next to Jade fucking West, or that Sinjin had somehow convinced her sister to sit next to Robbie and pretend to be another couple for the show instead of being his assistant.

At least she was mentally grateful she didn't have to deal with her broken phone while she was sitting there. She knew she wouldn't last long in this plane of existence if she put Jade through the torture of her unruly device for more than a minute.

She took a deep breath and tried to focus on Sinjin's explanation of the show's rules: one person had to answer Sinjin's question, and the other had to press a button with the answer they thought their "partner" would give. It sounded simple, straightforward enough.

So why did she feel her whole body burning and her lungs unable to fill with enough air to breathe?

She envied how indifferent Jade seemed to their current situation in comparison; her slightly annoyed expression and crossed arms suggested she wasn't happy, but that she had apparently resigned herself to her fate. Although, to be fair, Jade seemed indifferent the whole time.

"Alright! Tori, Jade!" When had Sinjin finished with the other couples and approached them? "Their question is: you're stranded on a boat in the ocean—"

"I don't go in the ocean," Jade interrupted sharply, giving Sinjin a defiant look.

"Uh," Sinjin blinked, perplexed, "but you didn't hear the rest of the question—"

"I don't go in the ocean," Jade remarked once again.

Tori could practically see Sinjin swallow, and as soon as she saw him about to open his mouth again, perhaps to try to ask the same question once more, something inside Tori—her heart, she would realize later—said enough.

"Jade doesn't go near the ocean because she's afraid of dolphins," Tori interjected, leaning forward to form a wall between Sinjin and Jade, whose gazes fell upon her. "Hell, I'm sure she wouldn't touch the water that reaches the shore with a ten-foot pole." She frowned at the boy. "So you'd better ask another thing, Sinjin, because this one's completely out of the question for us."

Tori leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms loosely. From where she stood, she saw the surprise etched on Sinjin's expression, but she couldn't help but glance quickly at Jade; she still felt Sinjin's eyes on her and wanted to make sure she hadn't earned the girl's endless hatred for something as audacious as what she'd just done. When she turned to look at her, she only caught a glimpse of surprise in Jade's furrowed brows before the goth looked away, reverting to her usual indifferent expression.

Tori tried to stop the sudden warmth that rose up her neck to her cheeks. When she forced herself to look away from Jade and the warmth only seemed to increase, she knew she had failed.

Beside her, Sinjin cleared his throat. "O—Okay, let's move on to the next question then." He tapped something on his PearPad before continuing. "Jade, this question is for you. Tori's glasses have broken, and now she needs a new pair. What do you do? Option A: You let her figure it out on her own. Option B: You get her a new pair of glasses. Option C: You beat someone else, steal their glasses, and give them to her as a replacement."

Jade raised an eyebrow. "Where do you get these questions?"

"You don't want to know," was all he said, his gaze blank. "Now, Tori, press the button with your answer."

Tori reached for the device in front of her. Three red buttons, each labeled A, B, and C, stared back at her. If she was honest with herself, she knew Jade would probably choose the option with the most violence involved, so the most logical thing to do would be to press the third button, right? That way they'd earn points or whatever and win this, if there was some kind of point system or anything.

Even though they were supposed to be a couple… Sure, a fake couple for the show because Jade was still dating Beck, but still… Weren't couples supposed to treat each other well, love each other even with their bad parts, and do what's best for each other?

That didn't sound like Jade and Beck to her at all; quite the opposite. Lately, their arguments had become more frequent during school, and a tense atmosphere seemed to surround the pair whenever they were within arm's reach.

Tori didn't really wish ill on anyone, but seeing her friends become more aggressive with each other with each passing day made her wish they would stop being together for their own good. She firmly believed that violence only breeds more violence and felt that Beck and Jade's relationship was a perfect example of this. She just wished they could stop frowning all the time and be happier.

A throat clearing beside her startled her. "Tori, you need to press a button..." Sinjin whispered through gritted teeth.

Right, right, the show.

She was about to press the button with option C, but her finger stopped an inch from the button. This was a dating show, not a show about who knew Jade best. She wondered then, what would a good couple do in a hypothetical but strangely plausible situation like the one Sinjin suggested?

"Vega," Jade's voice, soft but firm, as well as a pale finger pricking her forearm, pulled Tori from her thoughts.

Feeling those clear, sea-like eyes upon her urged her to make a decision once and for all.

Tori pressed a button and lowered the device until it rested on her lap.

"Alright, Jade, your turn," Sinjin said, now with more enthusiasm than a few moments ago. "What's your answer?"

The iron will Tori must have had to keep her gaze fixed straight ahead, even when she felt Jade's gaze leave her. She heard a low laugh beside her before the words spilled from her "partner's" lips.

"As much as I'd like to give someone a free beating..." She sighed and crossed her arms with a snort. "I guess I'd get her a new pair myself. Maybe contact lenses too, in case the current ones need replacing."

A ringing of bells echoed around the studio, and Sinjin raised an arm, exclaiming, "Correct answer!"

The girls exchanged a quick glance before Tori lowered her head, feeling the blush creep up her cheeks again. Even with her gaze downcast, she couldn't help but glance once more at the girl beside her. To say she was surprised to find an oddly gentle gaze directed at her would be the understatement of the century.

Jade's eyes, usually full of daggers towards anyone other than Beck, watched her with a gentleness that Tori had never felt directed towards her by... well, anyone really.

Her own brown eyes focused on her lap once more, though she couldn't prevent a small smile from forming at the corner of her lips. For a moment, she also didn't mind the blush that had taken root on her neck and cheeks.

Sinjin had returned to André and Cat, starting the next round of questions. Tori used this as the perfect excuse to shift her focus from Jade to the other couples, who were also generally doing quite well. She was surprised that Trina seemed to actually take the time to think about her answer and then respond honestly, earning another ring of bells signaling another correct answer. Robbie looked genuinely surprised, though Tori wasn't sure if it was by Trina's correct answer or the proud smile she was giving the boy beside her.

As expected, Sinjin approached them again, ready to continue with his show.

"Tori, this next question is for you." He cleared his throat before continuing. "If you had to buy Jade something to drink because you see her in a bad mood one day—"

"That's oddly specific," Tori couldn't help but mutter to herself.

"—what would you get her? Option A, a bottle of water. Option B, Wahoo Punch. Option C, green tea."

"Horrible choices," Jade commented, leaning back in her seat, still with her arms crossed and frowning at Sinjin.

"Uh…" Tori glanced between Jade and Sinjin before her gaze settled on the boy. "I'm going to say D, none of the above," she said confidently. "I'd get her a black coffee with two sugars. That's the only thing that might calm her down."

This time there was no bell to signal whether the answer was correct or not, but a snort of laughter from Jade that made everyone's eyes fall on her.

"Sorry to say, Sinjin, but Vega is right. If I were you, I'd make it rain confetti and play that annoying music for a correct answer like that."

Sinjin gestured towards the back of the audience, then bells rang, although there was no confetti shower (much to Cat's disappointment).

Tori could only look at the girl beside her with raised eyebrows. Jade shrugged casually, though her blue eyes gazed into Tori's brown ones with the same gentleness she had witnessed earlier.

Deep down in her mind, in a corner she wasn't sure she wanted to dust off, she wished Jade would look at her that way for the rest of her life.

A strange warmth that had nothing to do with shame or blushing settled in Tori's chest, right where her heart resided.

What a strange but welcome feeling.

Life, fate, whatever you believed in, had a twisted sense of humor.

Tori must have imagined that Beck not participating in Sinjin's show wasn't going to change anything between Jade and Beck, but she didn't imagine that things between them would end in her own living room.

When Beck didn't open the door and instead went over to the table to join the poker game with the rest of his friends, Tori couldn't help but look longingly at the front door, the same one that Jade had left through and hadn't come back in even when her countdown had reached 1.

Ignoring her friends' calls to come back and play with them, Tori headed for the damned door and stepped out onto the porch, where she spotted Jade halfway up the driveway where her parents' cars usually were.

Jade, who was hugging herself, looked over her shoulder with what seemed like expectation in her expression. When her gaze landed on Tori, who had closed the door behind her and had started to approach Jade until their eyes met, her lips pursed and tears glistened in her eyes.

"Jade…" Tori took another step toward her, hand outstretched, though she stopped once more when she noticed Jade tighten her arms around herself. "I'm so sorry…"

"Why...? Why are you apologizing? You had nothing to do with it." To anyone else, she sounded like the same old Jade West. To Tori, though, there was an underlying tone to her words... sadder and more watered down than she should be on a normal day. "Stop apologizing for things that aren't your fault, Vega," she almost seemed to spit the words out with venom, but Tori knew better.

She always knew better, she realized it at that precise moment.

"Still, I'm sorry..."

"Don't."

"You can come back inside if you want—"

"I'd rather swallow a cactus."

The hand that Tori had extended towards Jade fell limply to her side, but her fist clenched with renewed energy.

"Do you want...?" Tori took a deep breath; Jade's steely gaze had left her breathless, and not exactly because it frightened her. "Do you want company? To—Tonight? Tomorrow? I don't want to leave you alone."

'I don't want you to be alone' was what her mind had wanted to say, but it seemed her heart thought otherwise.

Jade's eyebrows furrowed. Tori wouldn't admit to anyone that her eyes had focused for a moment on the piercing, admiring how it looked against Jade's pale skin and how good it suited her.

Then, words as soft as silk caught her attention. Her gaze met Jade's weary eyes one last time.

"Go back inside, Tori. I'm fine."

Jade didn't give her a chance to answer as she simply turned around and continued on her way to her own car, which was waiting for her parked next to the sidewalk.

Tori stayed there on the porch until Jade's car lights disappeared into the distance.

When she returned inside several minutes later, she simply sat down to play without saying another word for the rest of the night.

The next day, Tori didn't see Jade anywhere at Hollywood Arts, nor did she see Beck.

The same thing happened the day after that, still no trace of Jade and no message from her, despite the several that Tori had sent her.

On the third day, a quiet Friday where nothing special happened that was worth mentioning, Tori was startled when she closed her locker door at the end of the day and found Jade waiting behind it.

"Were you serious?"

Tori blinked. "Uh, what—"

"What happened the other night, what you said. Were you serious?"

The memory came flooding back to her at that moment. "I was," she affirmed.

Jade looked down for a moment, as if weighing something that was swimming in her mind, before looking back at Tori with what seemed to be resolve shining in her eyes.

"Do you want...?" She cleared her throat. "Do you want a ride home?"

Tori smiled.

Tori could count on one hand the number of times she had seen Jade cry.

She would have to add one more to the count later, because at that moment her hands were busy holding Jade's trembling body, who was crying inconsolably on Tori's shoulder.

Tori could also count on the fingers of her other hand the number of times Jade let her hug her, but she wouldn't have enough hands to count the times Jade let her touch her without ripping her face off like she would have done to anyone else.

It made her feel like the luckiest person in the world to be allowed to support Jade through her best and worst moments, whether it was because she had helped her put on a play or if the girl simply needed a shoulder to cry on.

That's when she realized, with Jade's sobs being absorbed by Tori's neck and her tears soaking her shirt, that she would do anything for the young woman in her arms.

She held her until Jade's body fell limp against hers and her breathing became even.

The weekend came and went, and as those 48 hours passed, uncertainty grew within Tori.

After unintentionally falling asleep, Jade woke up at some point, still wrapped in Tori's arms. The two girls looked at each other for a few seconds until Jade simply pulled away, grabbed a nearby pillow, and settled back on the sofa, seemingly ready to go back to sleep, only now away from Tori's embrace, with her back to her and facing the sofa's backrest.

Of course Tori wouldn't ask her to leave the house, but she did offer her a place to sleep in the guest room they had available, to which Jade simply replied "I'm fine here" without moving from her position.

Without wanting to insist any further, that's how Tori had left her when she went to sleep.

The next morning, Jade and her things were gone.

Jade West would never admit to anyone that she felt fear, not even to her own reflection in the mirror.

Her heart pounding in her chest could mean many things, but 'fear' was simply inconceivable to her.

She knew what it was like to be in love with someone, or at least she thought she did. Now, a few weeks after her breakup with Beck, she wasn't so sure about her old beliefs; she wasn't sure what her relationship with Beck had been—love? Obsession? Habit?—and now she wasn't sure what to think about Vega either.

Tori Vega.

How that girl had managed to slip under her skin so elusively, Jade wasn't sure. What she was sure of was that she wasn't blind to things so relatively unimportant that no one else would notice, like the fact that, at some point in their relationship, she'd grown accustomed to Tori's touch. The brush of Tori's fingers against her wrists when she dragged Jade to the janitor's closet, her arms offering a comforting warmth when she hugged Jade that not even Beck or her own mother had managed to give her over the years.

A warmth like that of that night.

Like that night when she decided, after much reflection on herself and wondering what she really wanted, that she could demolish her walls even if only for a while to feel again what it was like to pour your being out on someone who was willing to hold you for as long as necessary.

Vulnerability was a sensitive subject for Jade. She had learned very early in her life how dangerous it was to show weakness in front of others, and what that could entail if she did so in front of the wrong person.

With Tori, as much as she hated to admit it, it was easy for her to show that side of herself that only a few people on the planet had ever witnessed. The worst part? It had been unintentional.

When she went to Tori for help that night after her first breakup with Beck, it had been pure instinct that had led her to the Vegas' house. Her more rational side hadn't played a part in that decision, and in the end, perhaps it was for the best.

Now there was no instinct to blame. Her invitation to give Tori a ride so they could be alone and she could find comfort in the girl's arms had been a decision made by the rational part of her brain, the part that devised plans, the part that found solutions to the strangest and most complicated problems, mysteries, and puzzles that life presented her.

Tori Vega had become, without Jade noticing at first, the biggest puzzle she had ever encountered in her entire life.

The worst part of it all (or the best part, if Jade could be honest with herself for once) was that she wanted to figure it out. She wanted to rearrange the pieces until the hidden picture between them formed. She wanted to find the right path to solving the enigma. She wanted to know everything about her.

Damn it…

She was right. Jade West felt no fear.

Jade West wasn't afraid of Tori Vega, she was afraid of something much worse.

She felt something so dangerous for Vega that the mere thought of the girl made Jade's heart beat a thousand miles an hour against her will.

Fuck.

Sikowitz was her favorite teacher, but damn, sometimes he drove her crazy.

A date between her and Vega. What on earth was that coconut-drinking hippie thinking?

In all honesty, things between them had improved after everything that had happened in the last few weeks, but there was still something there that didn't quite fit. Something that hung in the air around the pair, something unspoken. It wasn't tense, it was just... there, waiting to be acknowledged.

Jade wasn't sure she wanted to be the one to take the first step towards an… admission like that.

So she simply tried to reinforce her already high—and all too often rebuilt—walls during the date as best she could. Vega had a knack for finding the tiniest cracks between the bricks and exploiting that tiny gap to, once again, find what was lurking behind them. Jade wasn't sure whether to be surprised that Vega managed to get under her skin so easily or admire the girl's tenacity in making her react so explosively to something as insignificant as slurping a spoon and making a noise in the process.

The next time she had to list Tori's talents, she would have to make sure to add that to the list.

"You know?" Vega blurted out from beside her, and Jade had to use all the acting skills she'd acquired over the years to pretend to groan in misery. That, however, didn't seem to persuade the girl to stay silent. "There is no good reason why you and I shouldn't be able to sit here together and have a conversation."

"I have a good reason."

"Which is?"

"I don't like you."

Vega had the audacity to snort with laughter. "Not even you believe that."

Jade's hand, which was resting on her thigh, clenched into a fist.

"Really, Jade," Tori continued, her voice perhaps a little softer than her last comment. "Can't you think of one thing that you like about me?"

Jade thought about it. She hated how many things had occurred to her in such a short time.

"I like when you're sad," she finally said, her tone not entirely convinced.

Strangely, Tori smiled again. A slight curve at the corner of her lips, but a smile nonetheless.

"Be for real now. Reach deep down into your twisted, bitter soul and see if you can find anything nice to say about me."

She couldn't keep talking nonsense; Jade knew it, and she knew Tori knew it too. How unfair. Was this what it felt like to be a cornered animal?

"Uh, okay…" She looked away, searching for the most basic thing she could find on the mental list she'd memorized without really meaning to. "Your singing… isn't… awful."

'It's incredible,' is what she wanted to say.

"Thanks so much." There was the thousand-watt smile that Jade remembered.

"Now let's hear you say something nice about me."

'Please…' she begged internally.

"Sure," Tori replied confidently, as if she already had an answer prepared for that specific question. "I admire how you're never afraid to say what you think."

"That's stupid."

"See?" she pointed at Jade herself, who had just inadvertently proven her point. "Now your turn again."

Jade sighed. Her list was both immense and insufficient; there were so many options to choose from, but none seemed right. So many risky choices, so many others that simply weren't enough for a situation as important as this.

So she finally decided on a middle ground and dared to say something that made her heart start hammering in her chest.

"I guess... some people might say that, from certain angles... you're pretty."

A quick glance to her right allowed her to witness Tori lower her gaze and a smile, now a genuine one, growing on her lips. Her cheekbones, as striking as ever, now stood out even more thanks to the rosy hue that rose to her tanned cheeks.

Jade thought Tori looked prettier than she had a few seconds ago.

The silence, however, was becoming too long for her liking.

"You could say I'm pretty," she interjected, her voice sharp.

Old habits die hard apparently.

Then Vega opened her mouth.

"You're... not pretty."

The fingers of the hand holding the pink chopsticks tightened around them. The chopsticks dug deep into her rice. Her eyes widened as her brows furrowed.

Her heart, the one that was pounding hard in her chest, seemed to stop for a moment that was too long.

"The fuck you mean by that, Ve—"

"You are beautiful."

It was like a command to her entire body. Her fingers loosened, her brow recede, her heart began to beat again.

They looked at each other, truly this time, absorbing every detail they could of the other.

The warmth in their eyes. The gentleness of their gazes.

For a brief moment in time, it was perfect.

Until they were crushed against each other by two guys who had come out of nowhere.

Jade's fingers, still around the chopsticks, tightened again, only for different reasons this time.

A blazing fire burned in her chest.

Singing that song to those idiots was fun. Watching them slink away with their tails between their legs was even funnier.

Holding Tori's hand was, perhaps, the best part of Jade's night so far.

"How did you know?"

Tori finished taking a sip of her green tea before looking at Jade with a raised eyebrow, an unspoken question.

"Dolphins." Jade stared directly at her newly refilled plate of rice as she stabbed at the poor meal. "How did you know about that?"

"Oh! Well…" Tori put her glass down on the table and scratched the back of her neck, which Jade could only assume was embarrassment, judging by the face she'd made. "I overheard you mentioning it to Cat one day while you two were having lunch at the Asphalt Cafe, as I was walking over to your table. I didn't say anything then so as not to, you know, earn your endless hatred when we were just starting to get along better," she laughed awkwardly at the end.

"It's a very specific thing to remember," Jade commented, raising a pierced eyebrow at the girl next to her.

"Yeah, well," Tori's hands searched for a napkin and began folding it in various directions, "when I sat down with you guys and pulled out my notes from science class that I hadn't finished copying, I made a drawing."

Upon hearing that, Jade let out a good-humored snort. "Don't tell me that in addition to being a singer and actress, you're also an artist."

"I'm not!" she exclaimed with a grin. "I just... I dunno, I like to doodle when I really want to remember something, if I have paper and pencil at hand. Drawing a picture of it helps me recall it more easily, for some reason. I guess I saw your comment as kind of valuable information— Uh, not as something for blackmail or anything!" She held up her hands in surrender in front of her. "But more like... Well, something new I learned about you, you know? And I guess I didn't want to forget it, so I made a little doodle in the corner of my notebook and yeah..."

Her voice trailed off at the end, and her hands, which had begun gesturing as she tried to explain her reasons for doing something as mundane as drawing, clenched into fists in her lap. Her gaze shifted to anywhere but the goth sitting to her left.

Jade, for her part, put her rice aside and rested her arms on the table, leaning slightly forward and fixing her gaze on Vega, who still refused to look at her.

"What did you draw?" Jade asked, resting her chin on her hand.

Tori shrugged slightly. "It's stupid. It was just a meaningless doodle."

"Hm, I wouldn't say it was meaningless if you still remember what I said a while ago thanks to that little doodle you made."

"I remember many things. I like remembering things about my friends."

"So you make a doodle every time you want to remember something specific about all of us?"

"No…" she drawled. "I take notes, and I also write down your birthdays on my calendar."

Silence, then a low laugh beside her and Tori found herself turning her gaze towards a laughing Jade.

"You're a dork," she said, giggling, with no trace of malice in her voice.

Tori could only blink at the strange sight before her. Jade was laughing at her, but not in the way the old Jade would have. This laugh sounded more… endearing than anything else; like a friend teasing you in that way only friends can, without any real malice behind the laughter.

"Just so you know," Jade's voice distracted Tori from her thoughts, their eyes finally meeting, "you have to show me that doodle sometime."

"Why?"

"Because I want to see it."

"You wouldn't make fun of the fanged, fire-breathing dolphin chasing a miniature version of you in the ocean, would you?"

Another giggle. "I make no promises."

Tori gave her a half-hearted punch on the shoulder. "Gank," she said, though there was no resentment in her voice, but rather a playful tone.

After that interaction, silence settled around them as people left the establishment, although, unlike earlier, this new calm felt more comfortable, without not-so-imaginary weights crushing their backs.

With each passing minute, the restaurant gradually lost its bustle; soon it would be midnight and all the customers had a place to return to after dinner.

The pair included.

So when the clock was a mere five minutes away from midnight, the girls began gathering their things to finally leave. With neither Sinjin nor Burf in sight, it seemed Sikowitz's experiment had come to a premature end, so they took advantage of this small window of time to slip out of the restaurant.

A light but cool breeze greeted them as the doors closed behind them. Although they were both wearing jackets, Tori hugged herself when a particular draft passed over them and leaned back against a nearby wall.

Jade, who had already taken a step towards the parking lot, turned towards Tori when she noticed that the girl did not seem to have any intention of accompanying her.

"Aren't you coming?" she asked her, trying to sound as casual as possible.

Vega shook her head. "Trina's supposed to come pick me up in a little while," she shrugged. "Last I heard she was at a party, so that means she'll come either when she gets kicked out or when she manages to hook up with a guy. Whichever comes first."

A pierced eyebrow rose. "So what? You're going to wait for your sister for who knows how long? Out here? At night?"

Judging by her resigned expression and her lips pressed into a thin line, Vega seemed to understand how bad that sounded, but she still shrugged helplessly.

"Ugh," Jade groaned, and with a movement that now felt as natural as breathing, she grabbed Tori's wrist before starting to drag her toward the parking lot. "Let's go, Vega."

"Wow, Ja—Jade, wait!" Jade did just that, stopping abruptly, but still holding Tori's wrist, who almost tripped over her because of the sudden stop. "Where are you taking me? You—You're not kidnapping me, are you?" A nervous laugh escaped her at the end.

"I'm taking you home, also known as 'giving someone a ride'."

"Oh, um…" Tori was pulled along once again, though this time more gently than before. "Thank you, Jade…"

"Don't even mention it." A pause, then in a lower voice: "Seriously, don't."

That just made Tori laugh.

When they arrived at Jade's car—a metallic black 2005 Chrysler 300C parked in a spot right under a lamppost—she let go of Vega's wrist, who approached the passenger seat as Jade unlocked the doors.

"Also wanted to ask you," Jade began as she opened the driver's side door, "what about the coffee order?"

"Coffee?" Tori asked as she sat down in the seat and closed the door behind her.

"Sinjin's question," she clarified, closing her own door and starting the car. "You went against the rules, which, admirable, Vega," Jade couldn't help but smile slightly when she heard the playful snort that escaped Tori, "and you said 'none of the above' before offering your own answer."

"What about it?"

"You knew none of the options were correct, and what you said was quite specific. Black with two sugars. Remember now?"

After Jade made sure they were both wearing their seatbelts, the car soon left the parking lot, and Jade turned on the heater as they got out. She tried to ignore the grateful smile she knew and felt Tori was sending her.

"Yeah," Tori commented, crossing her arms and hiding her hands under her armpits. A small shiver seemed to run through her. Jade attributed it to the cold the girl must still be feeling. "It's not… hard to guess it. Your order, I mean."

"Beck never memorized it the entire time we were dating."

To that, Tori could only hum in agreement.

"One day you arrived at school much earlier than usual and without your usual Jet Brew cup in your hand," Tori began quietly, looking out the window. "You looked tired, your makeup wasn't quite… How should I put it? Um, it looked rushed."

Jade's hands around the steering wheel tightened slightly, almost involuntarily.

"You always arrive at school with one of those cups in your hands, so it seemed strange to me, and I won't lie, it took a little courage to approach you and ask why you looked like that, what had happened," she let out a warm chuckle. "I thought you'd try to rip my head off for asking you something in that state, but you just looked at me like I wasn't really there and simply said 'black, two sugars' almost like a robot and then walked away like nothing had happened." By that point, Tori's words were occasionally interrupted by laughter that grew louder as she recounted the moment. "Now that I think about it, did you think you were ordering your coffee or something?"

"No comment," she replied curtly, earning another laugh from Tori.

The inside of the car was filled with Tori's giggles for a good minute until they gradually subsided, leaving the pair once again enveloped in silence, along with the soft music playing through the speakers.

"And what about you?" Tori asked several minutes later, shifting her gaze from the city outside the window to Jade. "Your answer about the glasses was also very… unique."

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, first of all, you seemed to take the game more seriously than I expected."

"And that means…?" She didn't take her eyes off the road, but her eyebrow rose almost instinctively.

"C'mon, we both know you could have said you'd beat someone up just for fun, but…" Tori's voice trailed off. She looked back out the window. "But you didn't," she said quietly.

"…No, I didn't," Jade confirmed, her voice almost a whisper in the darkness.

"And you also added that bit about the contact lenses. As far as I remember, I don't think any of you guys have ever asked about me wearing glasses before. It was… a real surprise, I won't deny it." Once again, her gaze shifted to Jade's profile, who still hadn't taken her eyes off the road. "I didn't know you knew so much about me, West."

"Yeah, well, I didn't know you knew so much about me either, Vega."

"I told you, didn't I?" She leaned forward slightly, almost hovering over the gearshift. "I like to know things about my friends, remember everything I can about them. What's your excuse?" she asked with a smug smile.

Jade only mumbled something unintelligible under her breath in response. Tori's laughter filled the car again for a few seconds as she straightened up.

"I wonder, though, how did you find out about that?"

"Are you trying to find all the answers to the universe's questions tonight or what?" Jade tried to bark, though she came out a little more strangled than she would have liked.

"No." She leaned her elbow against the door and rested her chin on her palm, watching the buildings and cars go by with a lazy smile. "I just want to know more about you. To know how you know so much."

A sigh escaped Jade's lips. Her palms were starting to feel sweaty from gripping the steering wheel so tightly, but she couldn't let go, not only because if she did they would probably crash into one of the surrounding cars, but because her hands wanted to reach something that seemed unattainable to her, and yet it was right there, sitting beside her. Tempting her without her even knowing it.

If fate really existed, how fucking cruel it was.

"It's possible that," Jade began suddenly, drawing the other girl's attention, "hypothetically, someone snuck into your bathroom one night during one of our many meetings with the rest of the gang while you were distracted, and that someone inspected your bathroom mirror only to find your contact lenses there. That someone then told me what they found. Hypothetically speaking, of course."

Tori snorted, amused, and leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms. Even in the darkness of the car, occasionally illuminated by the outside lights, Jade knew that if Vega dared to look closely she could see a blush rising in her pale cheeks.

"Is that hypothetical someone sitting next to me right now driving this car?"

Jade hummed. "Maybe."

"And tell me, what did that hypothetical person do with that new knowledge they acquired?"

"…They kept it to themselves."

"Why? That's not what the someone I know would do. I think we both know what that someone would have done with information like that, don't we?" Strangely for Jade, there was no accusation in her voice, just what it seemed like genuine curiosity.

Jade couldn't help but let out a soft laugh when she heard that. If Vega hadn't already proven it that night, she really did know her better than Jade could ever have imagined.

"Maybe…" She licked her lips and cleared her throat. "Maybe they just wanted to know more about you."

"They could have asked me at any time." A chuckle. "It wasn't like it was some kind of classified information, the contact lenses."

"She was—" The change in pronoun was an honest mistake on her part, but Jade knew she couldn't back down now. She bit her lip before continuing. "She was afraid to ask."

She could practically feel Tori's eyes on her, studying her, scrutinizing her. Blessed be the need to look where she was driving a multi-ton mobile death machine, because that was preferable to facing whatever was glowing in those brown eyes at that moment.

"But I don't bite."

Jade wasn't sure she recognized the emotion pouring into Tori's words.

"Maybe, but you're intimidating… In your own way."

Jade felt the weight of Tori's gaze shifting away from her. "I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult. Or both," she chuckled softly.

The car slowed down until it stopped at a red light.

"You're dangerous." Jade's mouth no longer obeyed her rational side. Perhaps Jade had never listened to that part of her brain when it came to Tori. "Being in your presence could calm even the most enraged gorilla. Your voice can be as soft as a balm and at the same time as deadly as the poison of a black widow. Your kindness can be your best weapon but also your greatest weakness, although you don't hesitate to put others in their place if they dare to play with you. You don't allow others to trample on your friends and you return blows with twice the force. You're stubborn; you don't give up easily even when all the odds seem stacked against you. You've accomplished so much in such a short time, and my imagination isn't enough to even begin to imagine what you'll achieve in the years you still have left in this life."

The pounding of Jade's heart thumped in her ears. It wasn't fear, she was sure of that now. There was no doubt left, no excuses.

"You're dangerous," she declared, as if it were the most logical thing in the world.

Jade took a deep breath before glancing at the girl beside her, who was watching her with wide eyes, slightly parted lips, and genuine affection in her gaze.

Her eyes returned to the road.

"The good kind of dangerous."

The light turned green. The cars on both sides started moving before Jade even hit the gas.

"And that terrifies me. In the best possible way."

A rock song started playing on the speakers, the only sound that filled the atmosphere inside the car, as neither Jade nor Tori said anything else during the rest of the trip.

When Jade parked in the driveway of the Vegas' house, both girls' gazes were still fixed straight ahead, the radio having been turned off sometime before Jade parked, allowing them to now be in complete silence that felt almost suffocating.

The rustling of clothes was heard beside her and Jade saw before she felt a tanned hand rest on her pale one that was still gripping the steering wheel tightly, her knuckles as white as snow.

She missed feeling that warmth on her skin. Mere minutes had felt like an eternity since they'd finished singing that song to those idiots and she'd held the same hand that now rested on hers.

"I had a fun night, Jade," Tori said, her voice as warm and soft as Jade had rarely heard it. "Thank you."

"I… I had a good night too." In the silence that surrounded them, Jade was sure Tori could hear her swallow audibly. "Thank you, too."

That tanned hand gently took her pale fingers and began to untangle them one by one from the steering wheel until their fingers were interlaced. Jade couldn't find any strength in her to try to stop her.

She had surrendered to the force of nature that was Tori Vega a long time ago.

"Will you walk me to the door?"

How could you deny someone who has done so much for you something as simple and gentlemanly as that?

"Sure," Jade answered, more strangled than she expected.

Their hands had to separate so Jade could turn off the car and they could both get out. The walk to the front door was short, but their bodies seemed to gravitate toward each other, like the force that keeps a natural satellite close to its planet.

They stood side by side in front of the door, but Tori made no move to open it once they reached it. Instead, she turned to Jade, and her tanned hands found Jade's, her pale knuckles slowly gaining color now that they had nothing to grip tightly, and she wouldn't even dare to do that to Tori's hands.

Tori, who held Jade's hands as if they were the most precious thing she had ever found.

"You've always let me touch you. It feels special to be one of the few who can."

Jade's eyes were fixed on their clasped hands. Her brain wanted to retain as much information as possible, not only from the sensation of her fingers being carefully protected by hands belonging to someone she knew could destroy her heart with just a few words, but also from the strange sight of herself being treated as something precious, worthy of being handled with care.

"You were always gentle with me," Jade confessed in a low voice, still without raising her gaze.

"And you always tried to be the complete opposite." Tori held Jade's hands a little more firmly, as if she feared Jade might slip away at any moment. "I hate to say it, Jade, but that wasn't one of your best performances." She smiled.

Then Tori's hands left hers and rested on Jade's hips, pulling her closer as Jade's own hands rose up to clench her fists around the collar of Tori's shirt, pulling her until their faces were mere breaths apart.

"You don't know what you're getting into, Tori," she whispered, her fists clenching tighter.

"I'd like to find out, West." Those warm brown eyes fixed their gaze directly on the icy blue ones. "If you'll allow me."

Maybe it was Tori, maybe it was Jade. Neither was sure anymore, nor did they really care, because their lips met in a kiss that was both hungry and gentle, full of longing and desperation, chasing each other as they always had, now in a more intimate way.

Even when the air in their lungs became insufficient, they would only take a short breath before diving back in each other once more.

Until they had to separate completely to breathe properly again, their lungs begging for mercy but their hearts only wanting more.

"Please don't leave," Tori pleaded, her hands still on Jade's hips, a possessive grip on them. She gathered her strength and tried to control her breathing, without much success. "I want you all to myself for a little while longer," she sounded almost breathless.

"How greedy of you, Vega," Jade grinned.

"What can I say?" It was Tori who reached out this time to kiss Jade on the lips once more. When they parted, her smile rivaled Jade's. "I can't get enough of you."

One of Jade's hands left Tori's shirt and her fingers rose to lovingly brush one of her cheekbones. Tori couldn't help but rest her cheek against Jade's palm, chasing her touch.

"I meant it when I said you were pretty, beautiful even," Jade said softly. "Your beauty has always been incandescent for me, from the very first day."

"Look at you, quite the poet," Tori laughed, reaching behind her for the doorknob and opening it. "I want to find out what else you know about me." Her hand moved up to take Jade's, who had let go and was now being gently pulled by Tori into the house. "I want to discover more about you. I want to see everything about you."

Jade couldn't help it, she laughed. She let herself be drawn in by Tori and threw herself at her for another kiss just as hungry as the previous ones, then slammed the door behind her with a kick.

For once, she was glad that the Vega house was empty.