This is another long read and i'm sorry this took so long for me to upload. But hopefully y'all will enjoy this. i'll add translations tomorrow after i wake up. Thank you, Skyler for the spanish advice, i'll also add in those corrections tomorrow. i'd be more than grateful for more tips. if anybody is wondering Jaime looks and talks like Kap G , he's a Mexican rapper. i fw with his song La Policia heavy. And Veronica looks like Melanie Iglesias. but let me know what y'all think, and tell me if there anything that bugs you.

Jealous Minds Think Alike [Prt. 2]

Sunday, February 12th, 2010

Bee-beep, bee-beep, bee-beep, bee-

"Shut that fucking thing off, my god." Jade grumbled groggily, her nose buried in Tori's neck and one arm draped around her waist.

Tori blinked open her blurry eyes, hissing at the headache she was immediately greeted with upon entering the land of consciousness.

Her heart thundered in her chest as disorientation set in. She didn't recognize the room she was in, all she knew was that she was next to Jade and very warm.

That annoying ass alarm wasn't helping her headache either.

She rolled out of Jade's embrace and over onto her side, whining as her back popped from just that action.

Tori took a couple deep breaths, trying to mentally summon the physical strength and energy to search for her phone. It could honestly be anywhere.

"It's on the fucking night stand. Shut it off before I throw it out the fucking window." Jade's venomous threat was muffled by the pillow her head was stuck in.

Or, it could be on the night stand.

Tori's arm shot out toward the night stand, blindly searching for her phone. Her hand brushed against something pear-shaped, Tori immediately snatched it up and held it up to her face for inspection.

"Shit!" Tori cursed, getting a look at the time as she shut off the alarm. She wasted no time in hopping out of bed. Jade lifted her head out of the pillow and glared sleepily over at the distressed Latina.

"Are you always this goddamn noisy in the morning?" The shadow-haired girl complained irritably. Tori ignored her in favor of running over to the hair dresser to examine herself, nearly crying at the sight of the frizzled mess on top of her head.

"Never pegged you for the get some and get gone type, Vega," Jade yawned as she sat up and watched Tori desperately drag a comb through her unruly hair. "Who knew you had it in you?"

"I'm not usually. I have to be at church with my family in an hour or my mom is going to kill me." Tori rushed to explain.

"Why am I not surprised that you're a good, little Christian, girl? You probably go to church every Sunday, huh?" Jade teased, not one to ever pass up a chance to mess with Tori.

Jade chuckled softly at her own joke as she plucked the blunt from last night off the night stand. The Latina watched as the other girl put it between her lips then produced a lighter from her pockets and lit it, while continuing to watch Tori in appreciation.

"I'm Catholic. Do you have a hair tie?" " Tori responded absentmindedly, turning to Jade expectantly as she pulled her hair back.

"There a difference?" Jade deadpanned, motioning with her fingers for Tori to approach her.

"Yeah...? A big difference." Tori retorted, obediently coming over and holding Jade's blunt for her when it was offered, then turning around to face the doorway so that the other girl could pull Tori's hair back into a bun.

Jade was unusually gentle and delicate with her hair, and Tori found herself wondering what it would feel like for the darker-haired girl to casually run her fingers through it.

"Well, how am I supposed to know that? I'm not religious." Jade said, responding to Tori's earlier question. She reclaimed her blunt and sat back on her hands after finishing Tori's hair. Despite her best efforts, some strands of the chestnut locks still poked out the top of Tori's head.

"You're the one who asked..." Tori slowly pointed out, giving Jade a bewildered look over her shoulder as the Latina moved away to find her shoes.

"Yeah, an innocent question that didn't deserve a rude answer." Jade replied, stretching her arms over her head.

"How was that rude? I was answering your- You know what? Nevermind. I don't have time for this. Though, you are certainly a lot of fun to deal with in the morning." Tori dryly tossed over her shoulder as she started to leave the bedroom, shaking her head as she went. She really didn't have time to bicker with Jade, Tori needed to find Andrè and get home before her parents noticed she was gone.

She was pretty sure that if they found out about her staying all night at a party in Beverly Hills, then they would never let her leave the house until she graduated.

"Can you just wait for a second? Jesus Christ, some of us are still hungover." Jade called, scrambling to catch up with her.

"I literally don't have time to wait, Jade." Tori insisted, never breaking pace as she sped down the stairs. She could hear Jade trying to keep up with her in the background.

Reaching the living room, Tori tried to search for Andrè among the sleeping teens as quietly as she could. But the musician was nowhere to be found.

"Shit," She cursed under her breath before desperately turning to Jade who had just walked into the room, "Jade, do you know where Andrè might be? He was my ride."

"Uh, Vega, we woke up together, how the hell would I have seen Andrè between then and now?" Jade snarked.

"...Also, he may have left last night." The shadow-haired girl added as an after thought.

"What?! Why didn't you tell me?! I'm so screwed!" Tori screeched, earning a few glares from several groggy partygoers in the process.

"I could give you a ride." Jade offered quietly, not meeting Tori's eyes in favor of glaring right back at the grumpy teenagers. She silently dared them to voice their frustration, Jade had been itching to punch something for the past two weeks.

"Would you? I'd really appreciate that..." Tori said, a soft, appreciative, grin spreading slowly along her face.

On their way out, they passed the kitchen where Veronica was chatting with one of her friends.

"Jade! Can we talk really quick?" Veronica called out, immediately spotting said girl.

"Fuck." Jade whispered under her breath, glancing over at Tori.

"I'll be back in two seconds." The raven-haired girl assured, not really wanting to talk to Veronica but knowing that the Sanchez girl wouldn't leave her alone otherwise.

"I really have to go." Tori insisted with a regretful look as she started toward the front door, fully prepared to walk the whole way home.

She lived in Burbank.

As Tori made her descent down the driveway, a red Honda Civic slowly pulled up to her. The window rolled down and Tori vaguely recognized the driver as the boy she'd smoked with last night.

"Need a ride?" Jaime asked with a grin, practically leering at her.

"Why? So you can kidnap me or something? No, thanks. I'll be fine walking." Tori insisted.

Truthfully, he seemed like an okay guy, but her father had drilled the "Don't get into cars with random men" shtick into her head so prominently that she was never going to take that chance.

And hostility was the only way to get through to a man, it seemed.

"You look cold." Jaime observed.

"You look like a creep." Tori returned.

"I'm not tryna be a creep, I'm just tryna to be nice. It's an awful long walk to Hollywood Hills from here." The Latino boy remarked, playful grin never falling.

Tori stopped walking, glaring at her pesterer, she demanded, "How do you know where I live? My dad's a cop, I have him on speed dial."

That seems to give Jaime pause.

"Shit, seriously? I was just guessin' cause I see you walk home from school sometimes. My friend Wyatt lives on the corner of your street... I don't, like, stalk you and shit." He quickly backtracked.

Tori shook her head, she so did not have time for this boy at moment. She continued on with her walk, Jaime still slowly keeping pace with her in his car.

"Cops are assholes though, y'know?" He said.

Bad move.

Her head snapped in his direction, hungover and patience already wearing thin.

"You think I don't know that?! You think I haven't had bad experiences with cops just because my dad is one?! My best friend and I can't drive around his home town because we were stopped one time, and almost shot when he reached for his license! My dad's not like that. He just wants to put away actual criminals. Like creeps who try to lure girls into their cars, never to be seen again!" She shot back scathingly.

"Whoa! O-Kay! Look, I'm sorry! I didn't mean... I'm sorry."

Tori simply rolled her eyes in response as she kept walking down the Sanchez's annoyingly long driveway, blood now boiling.

"I'm one of the good ones, mami. I promise, I just wanna make sure you get home okay." Jaime insisted, his sincere tone matching the smile he was sporting.

She wanted to ignore him. Her headache strongly told her to, but oh boy, did her body hurt.

Tori stopped and bit her lip as she seriously considered getting a ride from him, she was cold and her house was an awfully long walk from Beverly Hills.

But, just as Tori's hand settled on the passenger side handle Jade pulled up on the side of them.

"You coming or what?" The pale girl demanded.

Tori got into Jade's car without a second thought.

They came to a stop outside Tori's house and the Latina paused before getting out.

"About last night..." Tori began.

"Tori, we don't have to-"

"Thank you for not pushing me, and respecting my boundaries."

"I, uhm... You don't have to thank me for that."

"No, but I'm going to." Tori hummed, as she leaned across the arm rest and kissed Jade's cheek, feeling Jade's entire body tense up and then relax into her.

Tori pulled away with a smile, her hand on the door handle.

"Well, have fun at church, praying for last night's sins and what not. You have a lot to repent for." Jade mumbled, clearing her throat to dispel any lingering awkwardness.

"Have fun getting blazed at seven in the morning." Tori returned, sliding out of the car and standing out on the curb as they talked.

"Oh, I will. See you Monday." With that, Jade nodded her goodbye then sped off.

Tori was beaming when she snuck around back and in through her balcony, only to be greeted by the sight of her older sister sleeping peacefully in her bed.

"Trina, Trina!" Tori hissed quietly, gently shaking her sister's shoulders to try and rouse her, careful to keep her own voice low so that she wouldn't wake her sleeping abuela in the next room.

Trina slowly came to with a pitiful moan, opening her eyes slightly then rolling them shut after seeing who woke her. Only to snap her eyes open immediately after

and pin Tori to the spot with with an accusatory look.

"You! Where were you last night?! You totally owe me $50 for covering for you!" Trina exclaimed.

"Lower your voice! And thanks. I was just studying with my friends and we lost track of time, so we stayed the night at Andrè's." Tori tried to calmly explain.

"You smell like weed and look like sex. Go take a shower before mom smells you and has a heart attack, or papi murders you." Trina deadpanned, holding her hand out expectantly for her payment.

Tori rolled her eyes, but pinched the hem of her shirt, sniffing it experimentally and... yeah, she could definitely use a shower.

Possibly, some toothpaste as well.

She groaned then handed Trina twenty and started to usher her older sister out of the room.

"Hey, I said-"

"That's all I have!" Tori griped lowly, closing her door with a soft thud and locking it, then started heading toward her en suite to get ready for church.

Monday Feb 13, 2010

Tori and Andre sat next to each other during Sikowitz's class. They were only partially listening as the teacher once again prattled on about Antony and Cleopatra, and how the two lovers were destined for tragedy.

Andre elbowed Tori in the middle of Sikowitz's lesson, drawing her attention before he nodded over to Jade who was sat on the other side of the room with Cat. The dark haired girl was leering over at them, it seemed.

"Jade's so checking me out." The musician claimed boldly, a proud, confident smile beaming on his face.

Jade, having noticed him, noticing her, quickly turned her attention to Sikowitz. A somewhat frustrated frown now adorning her features.

Tori looked over to see Jade looking at Sikowitz. She raised an eyebrow at her best friend curiously, who crossed his arms over his chest and slumped in his seat.

"I swear, she was just looking at me." Andrè pouted.

A couple minutes passed, then Tori's PearPhone vibrated in her pocket.

Dr Drè: She's doing it again. I think she got scared when she saw us look over.

Tori chuckled a little to herself at the idea of Jade being scared of anything, before she looked up and met Jade's eyes. Jade straightened at the attention and flicked her eyes toward the door before meeting Tori's again with a smirk, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

Tori smiled at her with a roll of her eyes before she leaned back in her seat, confident that Jade was looking at her.

"She's so not looking at you." Tori taunted.

"Um, we fucked last night so I'm pretty sure she's looking at me." Andrè returned, looking over at his best friend with a petulant frown.

Tori paused and blinked at Andrè, thrown into complete disbelief, she asked, "Hang on, you fucked Jade last night? When?"

"In the bathroom, after we took that molly. She probably wants seconds, most girls do." He drug his bottom lip in between his teeth seductively as he stared over at Jade, who was still not paying attention to him in the slightest.

Tori shook her head, closing her eyes and trying not to focus on the annoyance and betrayal she felt.

Her brow furrowed, "But..."

She just barely stopped herself from saying "I like her." Andrè already knew that, he knew that after they talked last week.

Yet, he still went after Jade.

"I thought you liked Pepper." Tori said instead, heaving a resigned sigh through her nose and crossing her arms over her chest.

Andrè shrugged "I mean, she's hot and everything but with Jade, I don't know, it feels..." He trailed off searching for right words.

"Meant to be?" Tori guessed for him with a bitter mumble, staring forward but not really looking at anything.

Andrè looked over at Tori, pausing at her sudden mood change.

"Hey, you said I could make a move on her so I did."

"Well, yeah, but that was before-"

"Andrè, Tori! Is there a reason your conversation can't wait until after class?"

The two looked at each in horror before glancing guiltily up at their teacher, too terrified that they had been overheard to respond to his question.

"Well, since you two are so chatty, please come up here and tell us what is so interesting." Sikowitz called, from the middle of the stage where he had been teaching his lesson just moments before.

"Welp, well, you see-"

"This is boring, I'm leaving." Jade exclaimed with an exaggerated roll of her eyes, interrupting Andrè as she walked toward the door, raising her eyebrows pointedly at Tori as she went.

Everyone watched Jade leave then turned back to Tori and Andrè expectantly.

"Well, I watched this documentary about how aliens can disguise themselves as people..." Tori began awkwardly, anxiously rubbing the back of her neck.

"And I told her that there was no way aliens existed, of course because-"

"How do you know that?" Robbie argued conversationally, interrupting Andrè yet again.

"What?" Andrè asked, dumbfounded as he squinted at the ventriloquist.

"How do you know aliens don't exist? Are you a scientist? Have you been to space? You seriously think we're the only beings in the universe?" Robbie continued, prompting others in the room to join in on the conversation.

Soon the whole class had erupted into an argument about whether or not aliens were real, while Sikowitz could only watch from the sidelines in disappointment.

"Uh, Sikowitz? Is it okay if I use the restroom?" Tori asked, eyebrow raised at the strange situation unfolding before them.

"Sure, why not? Nobody's going to listen to me now anyway. Brock, put Robbie down! You can't punch him because he's saying words you don't understand!" Sikowitz yelled, stepping away from Tori to go save Robbie.

Andrè gave her a dirty look, seeming to have already guessed her plan but Tori ignored him in favor of wandering off in search of Jade.

And the Latina has found her in the Blackbox, reclining on a small, red, couch that the set crew had left out the night before, for a play.

Jade was looking at her phone and smoking a joint when Tori walked in, and the other girl had grinned when she saw her.

"Took you long enough, thought you were just gonna sit in there the whole period like a good, Catholic, girl." Jade teased, as Tori approached the stage.

"Had to make up an excuse, I'm not a hooligan like you who just walks out of class." Tori said, stopping in front of Jade to take the joint from her and inhale.

The chestnut-haired girl tilted her head as she took the time to examine Jade, the paler girl had ditched her clothes from earlier and was now wearing a Roman general robe with a laurel wreath atop her head.

"What are you wearing?" Tori finally asked, blowing the smoking back out with one eyebrow raised curiously. She took one last toke before passing it back to Jade.

"You took so long I got bored, decided to play dress up. I swiped the costume off the rack from the back." Jade taunted with a shrug as she reclaimed her joint.

"Mark Antony?" Tori guessed with a roll of her eyes.

"In these confines with a monarch's voice, cry "Havoc!". And let loose the dogs of war!" Jade grunted out, puffing her chest and making a serious face. It dropped a second later when she smirked at Tori, holding up an Egyptian headdress.

"Wanna be my Cleopatra? I'm pretty sure Sikowitz is gonna pick us for the leads anyway." She drawled, raising her eyebrows playfully at Tori.

Tori looked from Jade then to the costume she was holding up for a long moment, before a smile etched it's way onto Tori's face. She gleefully took the headdress, and put it over her head, then dropped to her knees in front of Jade.

"If be love indeed, tell me how much." Tori crooned dramatically.

Jade's grin grew bigger, she took one last long drag off the spliff until it was gone, then tossed what was left off stage. Blowing out the smoke, she took Tori's face in her hands, staring at her with the most lovesick expression Jade could muster

"There's beggary in the love that can be reckoned." Jade cooed, leaning in to kiss Tori.

Tori almost let her but pulled back at the last second, laughing softly at Jade's little whimper of disapproval as she leaned back on her palms.

Her brown eyes glinting with mirth as she said, "I'll set a bourn how far to be beloved."

Rolling her eyes, but smirk still in place, Jade crawled after her.

"Then thou must need find out new heaven, new earth." Jade murmured huskily, kissing Tori fully on now. Tori responded in kind, sucking Jade's bottom lip in between her teeth and tugging gently. Jade inhaled sharply through her nose, and pushed Tori on her back, ripping the headdress from her head and throwing it somewhere off to the side.

"Must thou needs." Tori whispered as Jade lowered herself on top of her.

"What?" Jade breathed out, one hand planted on the floor near the side of Tori's head and the other tangling itself in the Latina's hair.

The darker-haired girl's forehead was creased in confusion.

"The line is 'Then must thou needs find out new heaven, new earth.'" Tori replied, looking up at Jade through her lashes.

Jade chuckled at her softly in disbelief then shook her head, murmuring, "Shakespeare nerd." Her lips gently reclaiming Tori's.

Jade started to slide her hand under Tori's shirt, only for Tori to pull away again.

Jade groaned loudly, almost sounding like she was in actual, physical, pain.

"Did you want to go on a date sometime? With me?" Tori asked quietly.

She was being brave, showing Jade that Andrè wasn't the only one interested in her.

Jade licked her lips and blinked, trying to focus on what the other girl just said, regarding Tori curiously.

"Like a date-date? Or a friend-date?" Jade asked.

Tori fidgeted, suddenly self-conscious. "A date-date. I don't even know what a friend-date is..."

Jade went completely quiet, staring at her with wide eyes.

"We don't have to tell people, of course. My mom would kill me, and I... I don't think I'm quite ready for that. But I was hoping that maybe you and me, we could be..." Tori trailed off, not really sure where she was going with this.

"I mean, I really like you, Jade." She finished, finally finding the courage to look the other girl in the eyes.

She meant it, she really did.

"Vega..." Jade began, taking on a patronizing tone and making Tori's heart sink.

"This seriously can't wait until after?" Jade drawled, tapping her nails against the skin under Tori's navel for emphasis.

Tori gave her a look that said it couldn't.

Jade let her head fall down in exasperation then raised it back up seconds later, so that she meets Tori's eyes.

"I was with Beck for years, Tori. I just want to have some fun for a little while. I'm not ready to jump into any relationships, just yet. So no, I don't want to date you, or anybody. Besides, could you really see the two of us walking down the hallway holding hands, or going to the movies, and other lame shit? Are you even comfortable with doing that?" She searched Tori's face almost desperately, and Tori doesn't know what kind of answer Jade's looking for.

Because Tori definitely could see that for them, maybe not at the current point in time, but eventually? The answer to that was yes. It was something she'd thought about ever since catching feelings for the other girl.

But Jade didn't want that.

"Oh, right. That's okay then, I guess. I just thought..." Tori trailed off, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

She couldn't look Jade in the eye anymore, so she just laid flat on her back and looked up at the ceiling, wishing she could drop off the face of the Earth. Tori's heart was still in her stomach and she tried very hard not to let her emotions show on her face, though she felt like crying.

Jade's hand slid along Tori's stomach, feeling her toned muscles constrict and her skin pimple with goosebumps at the contact. Jade hovered over her, forcing their eyes to meet and looking at Tori with a much softer expression now.

"We don't have to stop, though. I'd say we're pretty clear-headed and sober right now. Wouldn't you?"

Tori stared at her for a moment then slowly reached up and took Jade's wreath off, burying her hands deep into raven locks and bringing Jade's lips crashing back down onto hers as an answer.

Tori really wanted a date, but she'd take whatever Jade offered.

Jade responded with more vigor than Tori's ever experienced, kissing her as if they'd never do this again.

The bell rang, but Jade and Tori were too busy wrapped up in each other to hear it.

In fact, they were so preoccupied with one another they didn't even hear the door to the Blackbox open, or their friends walking into the room.

Tori's shirt was hiked up, showing off a black bra with blue hearts on it. Jade had one of her hands underneath the soft material, palming her breast. Jade's other hand held onto Tori's hip while her knee ground into her center.

All Tori could do was release whimpering moans into Jade's mouth while they kissed each other desperately.

"It smells like weed and bad decisions in here." Robbie's voice suddenly floated throughout the theatre.

The girls broke apart instantly to stare at the intruders in horror.

"What... What're y'all doing?" Andrè asked, looking between Tori and Jade as if they'd stabbed him.

"You mean besides hooking up in the Blackbox? Cause that seems pretty obvious to, like, everyone in the room." Pepper pointed out. She's got a shit eating grin on her face, like she'd been given the best present of all time by catching the two of them in the act.

Tori just had a feeling that Pepper was never going to let this go. In Pepper's mind, this was proof that Jade and Tori definitely had feelings for each other.

Which, Tori supposed the Brazilian girl was sort of right about but that didn't mean Tori was going to give her the satisfaction.

"We were not hooking up! We're, uh," Tori squeaked our, wiping her bottom lip with her thumb, "practicing for Sikowitz's play."

She unhooked her legs from around Jade's waist, pushing at Jade's shoulders.

Jade retracted her hand from Tori's bra and sat back on her heels, allowing Tori to scoot away from her and glaring at the three cock-blocks.

Robbie wasn't buying that excuse though, fixing Tori with a peeved, knowing, look he responded with, "You left before Sikowitz handed out the scripts."

Jade, who was now reluctantly sitting back against the couch to give Tori her space, came to the rescue.

"We used our phones and looked it up online, that's what technology is for. You're a nerd, you should know that." She deadpanned with a flat tone, she was still looking at Tori, not even bothering to give anyone else in the room a second glance. She admired how red the girl had turned.

Robbie crossed his arms and squinted his eyes in challenge.

"We don't even know who's getting what part yet. We still have to audition." The ventriloquist countered.

Jade's eyes snapped from Tori to glare venomously at Robbie, she snarled, "How's this sound then? Mind your own fucking business, Nancy Drew. That satisfy your curiosity?"

He dropped it, shrinking under Jade's glare and shuffling to hide behind Cat.

"Jade... was that really necessary?" Tori half-heartedly scolded, fixing out the wrinkles in her shirt while she avoided eye contact with the rest of her friends.

"He was getting on my nerves." Jade defended herself with a shrug, a soft smirk aimed at Tori.

"Can we talk about how they just assume that they're getting the lead roles?" Andrè chimed in, dropping down to sit next to Jade, placing his hand on her lap possessively.

"Well, we are the most talented In his class." Jade returned, now looking at Andrè with the same smirk she'd flashed at Tori.

They were teasing each other.

Flirting.

Tori pointedly looked away from them, making brief eye-contact with Pepper who also looked a bit disturbed by Jade and Andrè, then Tori pulled out her phone and pretended to text.

Robbie rolled his eyes at his friends from behind the safety of his Cat-shield, while the last bell for second period rang in the background.

"We should get to class." Cat suggested.

"Yeah, if I'm late and the school calls my mom, she won't let me leave the house for three months-"

"I don't want to go back to class." Jade disagreed, glaring over at Robbie. She was going to blame him entirely for that interruption earlier, if it wasn't for him, she and Tori would be extremely happy right now.

Instead, they were all trapped in an awkward atmosphere.

Derek, the security guard, sauntered in, whistling leisurely before noticing the group of teens.

"Shouldn't y'all be in class?" He demanded, hands on hips as he came to a halt and glared at the kids.

"Run." Jade whispered.

Everybody got up and took off, running out of the school. They ran until they were sure that Derek wasn't following them anymore.

They wound up on the bleachers of the football field, passing around a joint Jade had gotten out of her car.

Jade was leaning back against Andrè's legs while he absentmindedly played. with her hair. Her legs were in Tori's lap, she watched in quiet admiration as Tori drew little doodles on her jeans with a permanent marker.

"You drawing any French girls, Jack?" Jade teased.

Tori smirked a little and looked up from her doodles, easily replying, "Nah, just a bunch of girly hearts and stuff."

Jade grunted in disapproval and nudged Tori with her foot with a little too much force, sending Tori off balance and making everyone laugh.

But Jade shot out of Andrè's embrace without hesitate, and caught Tori's wrist before she really fell and hurt herself.

Tori was yanked upright then Jade settled into the empty space next to her, whispering apologies, saying she hadn't meant to kick Tori that hard. Jade fussed over her until Tori grabbed her wrists and laughed gently.

"Jade, I'm fine." Tori insisted.

"You sure you're not bruised or anything?" Jade worried, looking over the arm that she kicked to make sure. There was a small red mark and a little bit of raised skin but nothing that warranted a trip to the nurse.

Jade breathed a sigh of relief through her nose, and Tori was trying to tell herself not to get too excited over Jade's concern, the other girl had rejected her.

She and Jade were just friends now, this was friendly concern.

"Beck just texted me, apparently he's hanging out with Moose and they've just been walking around Scarsborough for the past hour." Robbie piped up suddenly, squinting at his phone after receiving the text.

An awkward silence fell upon the group after that, shattering the peace.

Tori had completely forgotten about Beck, guilt now weighed heavily on her shoulders. She'd abandoned him in his time of need and what was worse, was that now she'd hooked up with his ex-girlfriend. Twice.

She couldn't believe that she had the nerve to give Andrè shit earlier for going after Jade, knowing how she felt. When she just inherently did the same thing to Beck.

'You're a horrible person.' Tori thought to herself bitterly.

"Oh, that's cool... Why's he doing that?" Pepper asked, responding to Robbie when nobody else said anything.

"Uhm..." The ventriloquist glanced at Jade warily then scooted a little ways away from the group.

"He's looking for some girl's house that he's hooked up with a couple times when he was in town." Robbie meakly stated, sounding more disappointed than he should. Tori guessed that it was because it made his theory about Beck still being oh so in love with Jade null and void.

Andrè was looking at Jade, trying to gauge her reaction to this news. Tori found herself watching him, a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Why did he have to go and tell her that they fucked?

Jade, herself, didn't seem to react, her eyes never straying from Tori's profile.

"Good for him." The pale girl mumbled, her tone riddled with disinterest.

That had caught Tori's attention, her eyes slid over to meet Jade's, giving her a bewildered look.

Robbie had just told her that her ex-boyfriend was looking for girls to hook up with and she didn't care?

Was that normal?

"Hey, hey! Why don't we go to Nozu? I'm starving and I think they're having Happy Hour now!" Cat chirped, desperately trying to break the awkward silence

"Actually, Jade, you wanna get out of here? Hangout? Just me and you?" Andrè chimed in, boldly.

Jade only continued to look at Tori, who said nothing and avoided looking at her.

"Sure." Jade finally replied with a shrug.

The rest of the gang watched as the two got up and left together. Tori suddenly didn't feel like hanging out anymore, and started walking home.

Robbie looked between Andrè and Jade leaving together in one direction, and Tori walking across the football field by herself.

"It's starting already..." He mumbled flatly.

"Whatty?" Cat asked innocently.

Tori was about a block from the school when a car pulled up next to her and a familiar voice called out, "We have to stop meeting like this."

Tori strongly resisted the urge to groan, not in the mood for anyone at all, she replied, "Seriously? Are you stalking me or something?"

"Had to leave early to pick my little sister up from school. I saw you walkin', you need a ride?" Jaime laughed her off easily with a shrug.

Tori stopped walking and glared unwelcomely.

"It's really weird and creepy that you keep trying to get me in your car." Was her irritated response.

"She says as she gets into the car." Jaime taunted smugly, wiggling his eyebrows at her as she opened the passenger door and slid into the seat next to him.

Tori rolled her eyes as she buckled her seatbelt, "Shut up, I had a bad day and it's faster than walking."

"Not afraid I'm gonna kidnap you and lock you up in my basement anymore?" Jaime asked teasingly as he started to take off.

"I know how to defend myself if it comes down to it, you creep." Tori said without hesitation.

"Okay, tough girl, what's got you so down then?" Jaime responded with a soft chuckle.

"Just... girl problems." She sighed heavily, looking out the window and hoping he'll be quiet for the rest of the ride.

No such luck.

"I'ma need a little more than that, mami. You gotta elaborate, otherwise I can't help." Jaime advised.

"Don't call me that." Tori spoke dryly, side eyeing her supposed rescuer.

"Why not? You were fine with it Saturday. And you were the one feelin' all over me if I remember correctly, mami." Jaime countered.

"I was high, and people will get the wrong idea if you go around calling me pet names."

"Well, there's nobody here but you and me."

"Well, it makes me uncomfortable, so stop." Tori snarked back, mocking him.

"Lo siento, princesa. Won't happen again, promise." Jaime amended softly, a low chuckle rumbling in his throat.

With the conversation seemingly over, Tori turned back to the window and watched as houses and streetlights passed her by.

"We'd make a cute couple though, you gotta admit." Jaime added absently as an afterthought, his fingers tapping rhythmically against the steering wheel.

"I like Jade." Tori responded with another roll of her eyes and an annoyed huff.

Jaime braked extra hard at the stop sign.

"Shit, that's right! I'm so sorry, I totally forgot that you guys are a thing." He exclaimed, then a moment later, under his breath he added, "Coquetear con una lesbiana ... bueno, estúpido."

Tori continued looking out the window, bored, "Jade and I aren't a thing. I like her, and she apparently likes Andre." Pausing to think, she added, "...Or at least, I think she does. Either way she doesn't want to be with me."

It's silent for another beat before Tori uncomfortably commented, "And I'm not a lesbian."

"That sucks. Er, not the thing about you not being gay... That's... cool. Not that I would, uh, have a problem with it if you were gay-"

"I'm not."

"Just sayin'. But the thing about Jade not likin' you back, that sucks. She don't know what she's missin'." Jaime told her sincerely.

Tori looked at him finally and he gave her a thousand-watt grin, she smiled back at him gently. Grateful that he took the time to listen.

They turned on to Tori's street and cruised all the way down it until they pulled up to a familiar, white, house near the end of the block.

"This is it, right here." Tori said, her hand already on the door handle. She couldn't wait to run inside and hide in her room by herself, maybe cry, she hadn't planned that far ahead yet.

"Keep your chin up, hermosa. I'm sure she'll come around." Jaime called out to her as she walked up the driveway.

Tori paused and looked back at him, thinking to herself that maybe this boy wasn't so bad after all.

"Thanks, Jaime. For the ride, and the advice." She murmured, leaning in through the passenger side window.

"Anytime." He replied, smiling softly at her.

Tori gives him a final wave then turned and started walking up her driveway.

When she opened the door and stepped inside, she immediately noticed something was off.

The tv had been left on, and was playing some novella Tori had never seen before. Which was strange considering no one but her abuela was home during this time and all she did was sleep until Tori and Trina got out of school.

Suspicious, Tori picked up the remote from the couch and turned the tv off.

"Abuelita?" She called experimentally, heading upstairs to check on her elderly grandmother.

She stopped at the top after hearing a rustling noise and a thump from her parents room.

Tori faintly heard a man's voice that didn't belong to her father shushing someone else in the room.

She quickly crept to the hall closet and grabbed the wooden bat her father kept there for emergencies, then flung open the door to her parents room and ran inside, ready to start swinging.

Only for Tori to find her mother frantically covering herself with the fancy duvet her parents kept on their bed, and father's partner; Gary, throwing a dark 'LAPD' shirt over his head.

Tori said nothing for a few moments, only glancing back and forth between them slack-jawed.

It was one thing to suspect your mother of cheating, it was a whole different ball game to catch her in the act.

"Tori..." Her mother began warily, her voice gentle but there was a stern edge to to it.

The youngest Vega girl snapped her eyes to her mother, a vicious glare now fully consuming her features.

"What are you even thinking?! Why are you fucking Gary, of all people?! What is wrong with you?! What did dad do to you to make you want to hurt him like this?!" Tori shrieked, all the emotions from that day bursting out in this moment.

Holly stared in wide eyed shock before rearranging her face into a neutral, uncaring, expression.

"You shouldn't even be home right now, you're supposed to be at school. That place is very expensive, Tori, and this is the second time you've skipped in the past couple weeks. I'm starting to get worried about you-"

"Don't! Don't try to turn this around on me! You're the one in the wrong here, you're cheating on dad with his best friend-!"

"I think that's enough, kiddo. Why don't you go sit in your room till your dad comes home? Then we can all talk this out as a family." Gary cut in unexpectedly, trying to fasten the belt on his pants as least awkwardly as one can after having been interrupted mid-fuck.

"You're not part of our family, I don't have to listen to you!" Tori tossed at him haughtily, pointing at him threateningly with her trusty bat. Gary swallowed thickly and took a step back toward the bed.

"Tori, put the bat down. Gary, for the love of god, shut up and leave so that I can talk to my daughter." Holly groaned, hand rubbing her temple and eyes rolling back as she felt the beginnings of a headache.

Gary nodded mutely, never taking his eyes off of the bat or Tori as he quickly gathered his things and fled from the room.

A couple minutes later, Tori heard the garage door open and the sound of a car peeling out of the driveway.

"Well-"

"We're not going to talk about this right now, Tori. You're going to go to your room until dinner, while I consider whether or not I'm going to tell your father about you skipping school today." Holly interrupted Tori before she had a chance to even finish her thought.

Tori wanted to scream at the injustice of it all, but she was also too emotionally drained to argue. Choosing instead to go to her room, lock the door, bury her head in her pillow, and scream.

She didn't leave her room for the rest of the night.

Tuesday Feb 14th, 2010

Tori woke up that morning dreading school. Tonight was the Valentine's Ball and she didn't have a date. There was no way that Jade would want to go with her, not after turning the down just the idea of going on a date with her.

Tori knew that Cat really wanted to go, and you couldn't really say no to Cat. She was adorable.

Tori came downstairs to find her whole family sat at the dining table, with what seemed like an entire buffet spread out before them. Pancakes, eggs, sausage, waffles, Orange juice, and even a plate of apple quesitos. Tor's favorite.

The youngest Vega girl narrowed her eyes at her mother, who was in the kitchen, making more food.

The situation was certainly odd, considering her mother never made breakfast for anyone but herself lately.

David Vega beamed at Tori when she came into view.

"¡Mija, ven! Mira lo que tu madre ha hecho." He waved her over, to sit in between him and her abuela.

Tori meekly returned his smile, a rock in her heart as her mind jumped back to the events she'd witnessed yesterday.

She placed a kiss on her abuela's head and then one to her father's cheek as she slid into the seat in between them.

"Buenos días... ¿Por qué comemos todos juntos?" Tori greeted, reaching for the half eaten plate of waffles.

"Mijita, dale las gracias... a tu madre por esta comida... Trabajó duro en ello..." Her abuela scolded Tori hoarsely, old age having taken it's toll on the woman's vocal cords.

The conflicted teen glanced down, her brow furrowed in indecision.

She didn't want to disobey her elders but on the other hand, her mother was a lying, cheating, bitch and Tori just really didn't feel all that thankful toward her.

"¿Por qué? Nunca hace comida para la familia ahora." Trina said, rolling her eyes as she saved Tori from having to grovel to her mother.

The woman did not deserve her thanks.

Holly sighed heavily as she joined her family at the table.

"Está bien, Monica. Sólo come por favor." Holly brushed off, her eyes never leaving her plate.

"Sí, Trina está diciendo la verdad, abuelita. ¿No es eso lo que nos criaron para hacer? ¿Ser honesto?" Tori joined in, she plucked up the pitcher of orange juice from the middle of the table and filled her glass. She made a point of looking at her mother while she took a sip.

Holly discreetly shook her head at her daughter, a stern glare on her face as her eyes bounced from David back to Tori. She was silently trying to tell her daughter that now was not the time for the girl's meddling antics.

"¡Suficiente! ¿Qué les ha pasado esta mañana, chicas? Cállate y come, llegarás tarde a la escuela." David himself finally spoke, his authoritative tone leaving no room for arguments.

He pinned each member of his family to the table with a look that said he meant business.

The Vega family finished the rest of their breakfast in tense silence, then the girls said their goodbyes and left for school.

"Can you believe her? Making breakfast for everyone to try and ease her guilt. Like we wouldn't notice?" Trina scoffed, once they were in the privacy of the older Vega girl's car.

"Notice what?" Tori asked, already having a feeling of what Trina was going to say.

"That she's stepping out on dad! C'mon, don't even try to act like you don't know!"

"Okay, yeah, I knew. But since when did you?"

"I've known for months. I've been a side piece before, I know what it looks like when someone's trying to hide their affair. That's why I always go through my boyfriends phones, you can never trust people nowadays."

"I saw her yesterday, in bed with him. It's Gary, Treen."

"Dad's partner?! What the fuck, that fucking bitch!" Trina hissed.

"What are we gonna do? We have to tell him."

"Uh, Tori, no, we don't. One, that's not our place. Two, mom's shady ass should be the one to tell him. And three, are you trying break up our family? Like, honestly? What the fuck are you even thinking?"

"I'm thinking that our father deserves not to be strung along and end up getting his heart broken."

"I agree, but, again, it's not our place to say anything. That's something mom and dad need to work out on their own. Promise me you won't say anything."

"I promise..."

The sisters tied pinkies then broke apart and headed into the school.

When Tori got to her locker, Pepper was there waiting for her again.

"Hey, what's up?" Tori greeted, smiling easily as she approached her newest friend.

"Hi, nothing. I'm just thinking about how much today is going to suck." Pepper responded, looking like she'd rather be anywhere else but there.

Tori laughed quietly as she put in her combination and opened her locker, noticing a little white stub of paper sitting on her books.

"Not a fan of Valentine's Day?" The Latina murmured distractedly as she stared at the slip in confusion.

It was a ticket to the dance tonight but she hadn't bought one yet. She had no idea where it came from.

"Most people who are alone today aren't." Pepper remarked.

Tori glanced over at her and offered a sympathetic smile as she pinned the ticket to her locker door with a magnet.

"Things aren't working out with you and Andrè?" Tori guessed.

"Ugh, no. I thought he liked me, we hooked up and spent all day together on Sunday, but he's been ignoring me for the past couple of days. Then he and Jade hung out yesterday, doing God knows what. I don't even know what he sees in her, she's so mean. No offense." Pepper ranted, having the decency to look a little apologetic for the slight dig at the object of Tori's affections.

"Maybe he's just playing hard to get... But I wouldn't hold out hope for him, Pepper. He's my best friend and I love him, but he has a short attention span when it comes to girls." Tori went back to gathering her books and stuff, quietly thinking to herself that was the reason why she wasn't too worried about the whole Andrè-Jade thing.

He'd find some new girl to fawn over in like a week and this whole fiasco could be put behind them.

"Speaking of," Pepper scoffed.

Tori glanced over at her again to see Pepper looking at the door, her brow creased in distress.

Tori turned to see what the Brazilian girl was looking at against her better judgment, and received a front row seat to Andrè walking in with his arm around Jade's shoulders.

Jade with her arm wrapped around his waist. They both had cups of coffee and looked very much like a couple.

Tori felt like she'd been stabbed in the heart and the back, and her pain reflected on her face.

She and Jade made eye-contact, Jade's face fell immediately upon taking in Tori's saddened features and she separated herself from André.

Tori turned back to her locker and closed it weakly, avoiding eye contact with everyone.

"I've got to get to class." The Latina half-heartedly mumbled.

The bell hadn't even rung yet, but she didn't care. She just desperately needed to get out of there as fast as possible.

Tori quickly left down the hallway, in the opposite direction of her first hour class. She ran into the nearest restroom and slammed the stall door shut, throwing the lock in place, Tori slid down the wall and cried into her hands.

She was such an idiot.

It wasn't that Jade didn't want a relationship, she just didn't want one with her.

God, it was all too much.

Tori choked on a sob and tried to quiet herself as she heard the bathroom door open, a group of girls gossiping loudly with each other as they walked in.

"I heard Sarah Peterson blew at least five guys at your party, Veronica." One of the girl's said.

"Oh my god, Hayden, is that true?" Another girl chimed in.

"Of course it is, Leslie, the 'S' in Sarah's middle name stands for Slut. Duh." A third girl said.

The group laughed at that.

"Everybody got more action than me at my own party, how the hell is that possible?" Veronica complained with a groan.

"Uhm, you had hella people drooling over you on Saturday, Veronica. It's not their fault you only want the wicked witch." Hayden pointed out.

"And poor V doesn't even have luck there, I heard from Evelyn Rodriguez that Jade West is into that Tori Vega girl. They even hooked up in your parents room on Saturday, is that true?" Leslie asked.

Tori immediately recognized the name of one of her other crushes, a Latina girl Tori shared her R&B vocals class with.

Evelyn reminded her of Jade a lot actually, she was always mouthing off to the teacher, and showing up late. She constantly flirted with Tori until she blushed.

But Tori had no idea why Evelyn would spread rumors about her.

"Ugh, subject change now!" Veronica snapped, ending the gossip session right then and there as she stormed out of the bathroom.

The girls all immediately stopped talked and clambered over each other to quickly follow after their leader.

Tori finally let out the breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding, then stood up and unlocked the stall door.

After opening it, she looked at herself in the mirror and felt nothing but shame for the blubbering mess she'd turned into.

What was worse was that now the entire school was going to think she was gay.

Tori and her brain came to the mutual decision that classes just weren't in the cards for her today.

Instead, she relocated to the back of the library where she could quietly sob her eyes out in peace. Life was getting to be too much for her, and she was only just barely getting used to being seventeen.

It shouldn't be this hard.

Somebody knelt in front of her a moment later, two rough hands held hers between their's and rubbed comforting circles on the back of her hands with their thumbs.

Tori sniffled and looked up, quickly taking hands back so she could desperately wipe her tears away.

Jaime's friendly face smiled softly at her, deep brown eyes swimming with concern.

"Jade?" He guessed.

Tori nodded mutely. He clicked his tongue and shook his head frustratedly in response, muttering something about "too good for her." under his breath. Tori wasn't sure, she was too distraught to focus.

"Would you like a hug, hermosa?" He offered, stretching his arms out for her, trying to provide comfort in the only way he knew how.

Tori threw herself into his arms, relishing the feeling of human contact.

Jaime wrapped his arms around her securely, like he'd never let go and honestly this had been exactly what Tori needed in the moment.

A friend.

Tori clung to his leather jacket, weeping into his chest so hard that her whole body shook from the force. He stroked her hair reassuringly, softly encouraging her to let it out.

They stayed like that until she ran out of tears, shortly after the last bell for first period rang. He helped her to her feet and offered to walk her to class.

She let him, leaning into his side when he draped an arm around her shoulders. They came to a stop in front of Sikowitz's classroom, Jaime wiping gently at her face with the rough pads of his thumbs.

"Bitches, man. Can't live with them, can't live without them." He murmured with a shrug of his shoulders. Then offered Tori a smile that she returned, albeit less enthusiastically.

"Thank you." Tori rasped, her throat sore and dry from crying but she looked at Jaime with all the gratitude in the word.

"No problem, hermosa. Don't let her get you so down, okay? Your face is too pretty to be stained with tears." He waved off, stepping back and slowly walking backwards down the hallway.

"See you around." Jaime said with a soft smile as a final goodbye, then turned to leave to get to his own class.

Tori faced the door to Sikowitz's class, took a deep breath to brace herself then walked in.

She took a seat at the back, ignoring her friends' odd looks.

She didn't listen to Sikowitz's lesson at all. All she could do was stare blankly at the board in a daze. Tori wondered where Jade was, she wasn't in class and neither was Cat. The Latina had observed this after a quick glance over at her friend group.

But Tori resolved to put the rebellious girl out of her mind, and tried to focus on her studies.

Sikowitz was saying something about how Cleopatra retreated from a naval battle and how it still remained a mystery to this day. Tori was sure it was interesting, but it was at that moment that Jade walked in with Cat, interrupting Sikowitz's lesson.

The two girls met each other's gaze for a few seconds, conveying everything to the other with just a glance. But then Tori dropped hers, unable to look at the girl who broke her heart any longer.

Jade and Cat sat with rest of the group, murmuring quietly how strange it was for Tori not to sit with them.

The Latina ignored them, choosing instead to stare unseeingly at the white board. She kept feeling Jade's eyes on her for the rest of the period, though, occasionally getting caught in a somber staring contest with her.

This happened four or five times, until Andrè glanced back at Tori, and she felt embarrassed at being caught by Jade's new boyfriend.

God, that left a bad taste in her mouth.

Thankfully, class was over soon and Tori raced out of the classroom before any of her friends had the chance to talk to her.

She got to her locker and opened it, Tori's spirits were lifted immensely.

A bouquet of purple violets were sat atop an expensive looking, black matte, gift box. A white, lotus, corsage was tucked nearly on the side of the box, just barely noticeable. There was no note to indicate who these gifts were from but Tori could guess.

She pulled the bouquet out and smelled the violets, then exchanged them for the giant black box that was practically begging her to open it.

Tori sat on the floor, crossing her legs and setting the box on her lap.

Tori pulled the top off and gasped in amazement at the gorgeous, lace, dress that lay inside. She gently ran her hand over the glistening material, feeling the sequins. She couldn't imagine how much this must've cost.

Tori looked over in the direction of Jade's locker to find the other girl already staring at her, trying to hide behind her door.

Jade quickly averted her eyes to the inside of her locker, cheek coloring with embarrassment at having been caught.

'Because that wasn't telling at all.' Tori thought to herself, grinning cheekily over at Jade.

The Latina put the top back on the gift box and got to her feet, putting away the last of the gifts and redoing her makeup with haste, then shut her locker and started to make her way over to Jade.

A boy slid in front of her before Tori could reach Jade however, blocking her path with an eager smile on his face.

"Hey, Tori. Happy Valentine's Day." The boy chirped excitedly.

"Oh, uh, hi. Fred, is it?" Tori returned, finally recognizing him as the boy whose skateboard she'd tripped over the other day.

Fred grinned and nodded, "Dope, you remembered my name."

"I'm pretty sure my dad arrested you one time." Tori said conversationally, laughing a little because who even said "Dope" unironically anymore?

"Probably more than that, I've seen you at the station a couple times." Fred half-chuckled, gazing at Tori with a tender expression.

She was starting to get uncomfortable until he spoke again, "Did you get my gift?"

Tori tilted her head to the side, bemused.

"Wait, all of those things in my locker? That was you?" She asked, needing confirmation.

"Yeah! So, did you want to go with me?"

Tori's face fell in disappointment, she had been hoping that the dress, corsage, and flowers had been from Jade. That those were Jade's way of asking Tori to the dance, but she had been wrong. Tori tried to quickly cover up her dismay.

"Go where?" She wondered, tubing back into the conversation.

"The ball tonight? I thought you saw your ticket in your locker. It's not really my thing, but you seem like you'd be into it. So, I went ahead bought us tickets. Pretty straight forward, I know, but I've liked you for a really long time, Tori. I've just been waiting for the right moment." Fred replied without missing a beat.

Tori nodded, scratching the back of her head as she processed this.

"Nothing says romantic like dancing all night at the Valentine's Ball, I suppose."

"So, you'll go then? With me?"

Tori glanced over his shoulder at Jade one more time, locking eyes yet again.

Jade's eyes were wide and her brow was furrowed angrily, Tori knew that she had been listening to her conversation.

An awful idea popped into Tori's head.

No, she wasn't really interested in Fred but Jade wasn't an option anymore. The other girl had made that perfectly clear by walking in with Andrè that morning, but Tori didn't really want to go to the dance alone.

So, she looked back at Fred, tossing her hair flirtatiously over her shoulder and smiling at him brightly.

"Sure, I'll go to the dance with you. I'd hate for that beautiful dress you got me to go to waste."

Fred's eyebrows furrow in confusion almost and he tilted his head to the side, he opened his mouth like he was going to say something but was cut off by the slamming of a locker door.

They both turned to see Jade glaring daggers at them, before she stormed down the hallway, scaring the life out of a couple of freshmen who were in her way.

"Shit," Fred muttered, looking a little more than frightened for his life.

He turned back to Tori and seriously asked, "She's not going to kill me, is she?"

"Huh, who? Jade? Why, did you do something to piss her off?" Tori replied, blinking distractedly as she stared after Jade.

"Uhm, didn't you guys like date or something?" Fred voiced his confusion.

Tori barked out a high-pitched laugh.

"No, I'm not gay."

"Oh, okay. Sorry for assuming or whatever. But, wait, didn't you guys hook up at Veronica's or-"

"That was a one time thing. Walk me to class?" Tori hurriedly interrupted, hoping to derail his train of thought.

Fred eagerly grinned and offered her his arm, "Sure!"

Her next class was R&B vocals, which she shared with Robbie.

Fred walked her to the door and tried to lean in and kiss her, but Tori ducked out of the way quickly.

"Welp, thanks for this. See you at 7?" Tori stammered out awkwardly, praying he'd take the hint and go to his own class.

"And leave you to walk to all your classes alone? What do you take me for, Miss Vega? I'm a gentleman." Fred dismissed her with a wave of his hand.

"My hero..." Tori sarcastically mumbled, her tone oddly dry and vacant.

Evelyn joined them shortly, leaning against the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest. She was wearing her usual dark eye liner and shadow, her jet black hair pulled back into a neat ponytail. Her almond eyes were narrowed at Fred.

"Don't you have a class to get to, assface?" She asked.

"Fuck off, Evelyn. Tori and I having a conversation." Fred hissed.

"Okay, but if you're late again then you're not gonna be eligible to go to the dance tonight, and I'd be more than happy to go with Tori in your place." Evelyn pointed, turning to Tori with a faux sympathetic pout on her face.

"Poor kid's been talking about how excited he is to take you to that dumb ass dance for weeks." Evelyn continued, giving Tori a devilish grin.

"Evelyn! Shut up!" Fred whined.

"You probably should get to class though, I don't want to go to the dance alone tonight." Tori cut in gently.

Fred softened and nodded his head obediently before giving Tori a shy wave, and flipping Evelyn off. He then turned and literally ran to his next class.

"You looked like you would rather be anywhere else than with him." The girl to her left commented.

Tori ducked her head bashfully and brushed her hair out of her face.

"Was it that obvious?" Tori asked guiltily.

"Only to someone who knows how to read women. And word on the gossip vine is, you and West are hooking up. Why're you even going to the dance with him if you don't like him?" Evelyn remarked.

"It's better than going alone." Tori offered with a shrug, before moving past Evelyn and into the classroom.

"Woah, West isn't going with you?" Evelyn reiterated, amazingly surprised.

"Pretty sure she's dating André now, so that isn't really- Oh! That reminds me, quit going around telling everyone about me and Jade. I don't even know how you know that!" Tori hissed, raising her hand as if to smack the other girl's arm but thinking better of it at the last minute.

Evelyn crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes in response, "I have my ways. You better not be using my step-brother to make your girlfriend jealous Vega. Otherwise you and I are gonna have problems."

"It's a dance not a date, Rodriguez. His heart will remain intact, I promise." Tori swore.

The two then moved inside the classroom and took their seats as the last for second period bell rung.

Evelyn snorted and rested her feet on the back of Tori's chair as she stretched in her desk.

"Just let me know if he tries to kiss you again and I'll beat his ass." The hardcore girl said with a yawn.

"How sweet of you." Tori mumbled with a raised eyebrow.

Robbie turned around in his seat just then, giving Tori a doubtful look.

"You're going to the dance tonight with Fred Burnstein?" He asked with a judging tone.

"How did you- Evelyn, quit telling everyone my business!" Tori hissed.

"It wasn't even me this time..." Evelyn promised, raising her hands in surrender.

"Are you insane, Tori?! You can't go to the dance with somebody else, Jade's going to kill him!" Robbie screeched, almost hysterical with panic.

Tori couldn't hook up with Jade without Robbie saying something at first, now he had a problem with her going to the dance with a boy that wasn't even part of their friend group?

"God, am I allowed to do anything, Robbie?!" Tori snapped, slamming her notebook onto her desk and glaring down at it, resolving to not speak to anyone for the rest of class.

Two periods later, Fred had been walking her to lunch when they'd ran into Jaime.

"Hermosa, you got any plans for tonight? There's this dance-"

"Sorry, dude. You're too late, I already asked her." Fred interrupted the Chicano boy quickly.

"Who the fuck are you?" Jaime hissed with a nasty glare thrown in the other boy's direction.

Fred ignored him and turned to Tori, "You seriously know this loser?"

Jaime scoffed at him, then started rolling up the sleeves of his Calvin Klein button-up.

"You want your ass beat, pinche culero?!" Jaime snapped.

"I'd like to see you try, pussy." Fred rebuffed, squaring his shoulders and meeting Jaime's heated glare evenly.

Tori quickly stepped in between them, yelling, "What is you guys' problem?"

"He started it!" Fred threw out.

"I can finish it too." Jaime huffed, pushing lightly against Tori's elbow that was keeping he and Fred separated.

"Oh my god, enough. Fred, Jaime is my friend and if you don't mind, I'm gonna go eat lunch with him." Tori spoke with exasperation and finality, giving the shorter boy a pleading look.

"Uh, I do mind actually-"

"She ain't actually askin' for your permission. Where'd you find this dude, Hermosa?" Jaime interrupted Fred with a sneer.

"Bye, Fred. See you at 7." Tori waved, with that, the Latina grabbed Jaime's arm and lead him to the cafeteria so that they could get their food.

They got their lunch then went to the recording studio to eat.

"You're really going to the dance with that pendejo?" Jaime asked in disbelief.

Tori shrugged as she sipped from her juice pouch.

"He bought me the ticket, a dress, and a corsage. I couldn't exactly say no." Tori replied.

"'Course you can, just go with me instead." Jaime grinned easily.

"I already promised his sister I wouldn't break his heart." Tori responded with a roll of her eyes and a small smile.

Jaime chuckled softly then offered his chips to Tori, who gratefully took them.

"And what does Jade have to say about all this?" He asked curiously.

"Jade's dating Andrè now, so I don't really think she cares." Tori brushed the question off easily.

"Really? When did that happen? Cause I had just came in from the Asphalt when I ran into you and Wonderboy earlier, she looked pissed and Drè looked terrified. Man, I fuck with Andrè but that's some pussy shit." Jaime laughed after he said this, like he thought it was the funniest thing in the world to be scared of Jade.

But his words did give Tori a small amount of hope.

Maybe, it was possible that Jade liked her more than she let on. But Tori was starting to think that she and Jade not going to the dance together would be for the better.

There were already enough rumors going around that Tori was gay now, and the Latina really didn't want to stoke that fire.

Pepper and Jaime came over at six to help Tori get ready and give her moral support. Cat and Robbie joined them shortly after, they had all decided that they were going to the dance together as friends.

And to help Tori not feel so awkward with her date.

The girls were up in Tori's room, getting ready while the boys waited downstairs.

"How come you're not going to the dance with Jade, Tori?" Pepper asked while curling the Latina's hair.

"She wouldn't have wanted to go even if I asked, she hates dances. Besides, I'm pretty sure she's with Andrè." Tori responded, her eyes on her hands that were folded in her lap.

"Uh, no she's not. The only reason she's going to the dance with him is because she didn't want to go with Veronica. But you should've heard them this morning after you left, he asked her to the dance and she flipped out on him." Pepper quickly refuted.

"Jade's going to the dance with André?" Tori mumbled with a frown.

"That's seriously all you got from that?" Pepper sighed and stepped away from doing Tori's hair for a moment to look the other girl in the eyes, "Look, I don't know much about Jade but from what I've seen she doesn't really care about anything or anyone-"

"Wow, gee, thanks. This sure is making me feel better." Tori cut her off dryly.

"But I've also noticed that she doesn't get half as nearly worked up about who Andrè spends his time with, as she does when it comes to you." Pepper continued, unphased.

"Yeah, because she feeds off my misery like some kind of demented weirdo." Tori dismissed.

"...If you say so. But that's not what I see." Pepper mumbled, picking the curling iron back up and refocusing on her task.

"She's right, Tori. Jade was so mad when she heard that you were going to the dance with Fred, it was really scary." Cat chimed in.

"I'm sure Jade would never hurt you, Cat." Pepper soothed.

Meanwhile, Tori sat at her vanity, trying to process and make sense of Jade's mindset. If Jade felt some type of way about Tori going to the dance with somebody else, why did she tell Tori that she hadn't wanted a relationship the day before?

What did it all mean?

The girls come downstairs twenty minutes later, and Jaime looked like he was having trouble breathing as he stared at Tori.

The Latina had invited him to come as a hook up for Pepper but it was clear who the object of his affections truly was.

"Hermosa." He whispered.

Tori smiled at him and touched his bicep as she stopped on the bottom step.

"You clean up nice for a creep." She complimented.

Jaime softly returned her smile then offered her his arm. Tori misunderstood and moved out of the way so that Pepper could approach him and clutch his arm.

The pair smiled awkwardly at each other for a moment, then they all start toward the door.

The doorbell rang just as Tori opened it, seeing Fred standing there with a surprised look on his face. The look quickly melted into a beaming smile as his eyes appraised Tori in her gorgeous, burgundy, dress.

He cleaned up nice as well, his spiky hair was slicked back and he even took out all his piercings.

"Wow... You look... like a princess." Fred breathed out, completely in awe of the Latina before him.

Tori smiled and took his arm that was offered to her, allowing him to lead her to his truck.

The other two pairs agreed to follow behind them to the dance, and soon they were off.