Green Eyes

Running Interference

Sorry, I've let this slide a bit. Anyway, regular readers will know by now that Jade invariably tries to solve problems in the stupidest way possible, so let's see how she gets on this time.

I don't know why I think Tori likes 'The Lion King'. It's just stuck in my head, like the banana thing.

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It wasn't that Tori didn't like Ted - she liked him very much. He was clever, and funny, and good-looking, and once they'd got over the night of their slight... misunderstanding, he'd been considerate and gentlemanly. He was quite a catch, and she couldn't for the life of her explain why she hadn't introduced him to her parents. It was just... she wished she felt something. She kept waiting for the fire to start, to feel the sparks when he kissed her, the butterflies in her stomach when he touched her, to be 'overcome with lust' at the very thought of him, as Jade had put it. But it just didn't happen. Maybe it takes time, she told herself, maybe passion is something that has to develop, that takes a while to build up pressure before it ignites.

But that's not what TV told her. Or the movies. Or books, or music, for that matter. In fact pretty much no one supported that theory. Maybe it was her. Maybe that was why Danny hadn't stuck around. Even kissing Beck hadn't done much for her - it had been a thrill to watch Jade react, but the kiss had left her nowhere. It just didn't grab her that way. Heck, she'd been more excited at the thought of Jade staying over than she ever had about seeing Ted.

Well maybe the whole of western civilization was wrong, she decided. Maybe they were all saying it ought to be like that just to spite her, to fool her into thinking that being in love was all about fireworks and fluttering hearts, when actually it was a more humdrum affair. After all, the only person she knew with any actual experience of it was Jade, and she seemed pretty unimpressed with the whole thing - she'd passed off sex as being much ado about nothing, and Tori couldn't imagine there being anything wrong with Beck.

Oh, well. There was no point dwelling on it. The movies tonight. Ted was picking her up in half an hour. She resolved to make it to the back row, and maybe let him get a little frisky, just to show willing.

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Not quite the back row, but far enough back to allow them some privacy, she loosened her grip on Ted's hand, knowing that as soon as she did it would slip away from its chaperone and make its way towards her leg. She tried not to shiver. Concentrate, Tori. You're supposed to like this.

"Hey."

They both turned in surprise to see Jade's beaming face appear between them, as she leaned over from the row behind. Tori was the first to recover.

"Jade?"

"That's me."

"What are you doing here?"

"I just thought I'd come and catch a movie."

Tori glanced around. "On your own?"

For the first time Jade's smile drooped a little. "Yeah," she said, defensively. "What's wrong with that?"

"Er... nothing," Tori said. She looked at Ted, confused, who misread this as a sign he should say something.

"Hi, Jade," he started. "Look, about the other night, I'm really sorry if I-"

"Yeah, no talking now," Jade said, abruptly. "The movie's starting."

"But-"

"I said no talking." She leaned back and crossed her legs as the music began, and sat, arms folded, apparently engrossed in the opening credits. Ted and Tori looked at each other and turned back towards the screen, their ardor, or at least Ted's, a little dampened by the knowledge that Jade was sitting three feet away from them.